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Club #2158 Area 28 Division D District 42 Telecommunicators Toastmasters Page 1 September 2006 In this Issue... Welcome Back! Message from Our Prez Announcements Star Pupil Communication Styles Dear Gabby Challenge Yourself Mark Your Calendar Toastmasters: Simply Amazing Telecommunicators Toastmasters Wednesdays Noon to 1 p.m. Room 19-025 TELUS Plaza South 10020 - 100 Street Edmonton, AB Info: 780-493-6658 Page 2 1 3 6 4 5 7 8 Volume 2 Issue 1 Fall Back! Sad but true, Summer’s over, September’s here! Back to school, Back to basics, Back to business, and... most importantly, back to Toastmasters! cont’d on page 2 Message from Our Prez... A nother year, another adventure, another opportunity. For me, that’s what Toastmasters has always been about: an adventure in pushing the envelope a bit more, and in exploring changes. It’s a good thing Toastmasters is mostly an hour a week commitment, making it quite a manageable load. Sure, on occasion there’s the odd speech composition and practice. But how often do I do that? Not nearly enough, according to the stats. T his year has thrown me into a whole new adventure! Just a month into the position of president, I’m already learning a lot about working with six intelligent, accomplished and cool folks. It’s a big change for me to work with a talented group, running a club from which you expect value and worthwhile benefits. Luckily, they seem to know what they’re doing. Jay Atienza ATMB Telegram The

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Club #2158 Area 28 Division D District 42Telecommunicators Toastmasters Page 1

September 2006

In this Issue...

Welcome Back! Message from Our PrezAnnouncementsStar PupilCommunication StylesDear GabbyChallenge YourselfMark Your Calendar

Toastmasters: Simply Amazing

Telecommunicators ToastmastersWednesdaysNoon to 1 p.m.Room 19-025TELUS Plaza South10020 - 100 StreetEdmonton, AB

Info: 780-493-6658

Page

21

3

6

45

78

Volume 2 Issue 1

Fall Back!Sad but true,Summer’s over,September’s here!Back to school,Back to basics,Back to business, and...

most importantly, back to Toastmasters!

cont’d on page 2

Message from Our Prez...

Another year, another adventure, another opportunity. For me, that’s what

Toastmasters has always been about: an adventure in pushing the envelope a bit more, and in exploring changes. It’s a good thing Toastmasters is mostly an hour a week commitment, making it quite a manageable load. Sure, on occasion there’s the odd speech composition and practice. But how often do I do that? Not nearly enough, according to the stats.

This year has thrown me into a whole new adventure! Just a month into the position of president, I’m already learning

a lot about working with six intelligent, accomplished and cool folks. It’s a big change for me to work with a talented group, running a club from which you expect value and worthwhile benefits. Luckily, they seem to know what they’re doing.

Jay Atienza ATMB

TelegramThe

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cont’d from page 1

Like I said, that’s what it’s been about for me. But I’d say it’s likely the same for you.

You also joined to learn, develop, and maybe even master the difficult, yet essential skills of effective communications and leadership. So it’s also your quest to have a learning adventure and to explore the opportunities that presents. And this is what we hope to deliver. You’ve signed up, paid up and shown up, so now let’s saddle up!

Most of what the club does and all of what we must achieve are set by

Toastmasters International. We must have our meetings, speeches and contests. But we have plenty of say in how we do this. Here are some activities that we will be working on:

Challenging meetings/Practice contests: What better way to have fun at Toastmaster competitions than to be better prepared at table topics and evaluations? Special format meetings like debates, challenging but rewarding. A definite envelope pusher!

Speechcraft: A double-edged sword that gives the lucky participants (non-members) the practical benefits of the Toastmaster experience, while drumming up membership by motivating them to join the club after.

Public Relations: Four award-worthy newsletters and various club promotional events.

Socials: Revelry and food to celebrate our club.

Administration: These are housekeeping items like a revamp of the website, amendments to the club bylaws, re-organization of the club files, upkeep of our materials and inventory, etc.

There may be more, and you will be informed.

But even as big as they seemingly are, these are still just a smaller part of our club. The bigger part is what you as a member

of Toastmasters will be doing to contribute to your own personal goals of improving your communication and leadership skills. This is determined by your weekly participation, your personal goals, and your commitment to reach and achieve those goals. The good thing about it is that it isn’t a selfish pursuit. We benefit from each other. It is only when we all work toward these achievements that we take this club to its fullest potential.

Welcome to 2006-2007, the year of the great Telecommunicator!

Visitor’s Viewpoint

A fantastic balance of fun and productivity

in an extremely supportive environment. I wish I had learned about Toastmasters sooner!

Meng NgoTELUS Communications

SAP Logistics Management

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A hearty welcome to our newest members!Evan MaceGloria WilsonWes LimGary HetheringtonTammy Morrison

Congratulations Curtis Nicholson on the arrival of your new son, Luke, on August 11, 2006.

“Until you’re ready to look foolish, you’ll never have the possibility of being great.”

Cher

Announcements

Congratulations Jim Guloien (ATMG/CL) on the arrival of your new daughter, Stephanie, on February 15, 2006.

Oh, Baby!

Way to go, Big Guy!Our own past president, Rhys Davies (ATMS/CL), went to Washington in August and was presented with the Top Five District 42 Newsletter Award for 2005/2006.

Past International President, Dilip Abayasekara, DTM congratulates Rhys on his outstanding achievement

Never one to shy away from a roadtrip, Rhys travelled 6,544 kilometers from Edmonton to Washington for the International Conference.

See District 42: One Million K Challengewww.d42.org

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Back to SchoolHelen Mah ATMB/CL

What do I want to be when I grow up?

I know I don’t want to be processing domain name requests for the rest of my life. Yet, that’s what I have been doing for the last seven years. Now I know what people mean by the seven-year itch.

I need to get out of this sentence before I am committed for another seven years.

But what could I do? What do I like?

I enjoy being a member of a Toastmasters club. I enjoy public speaking, and aspire to be a motivational speaker one day. But I would likely have to do some pro bono engagements to get recognized. No, that would take too long and no money…

A colleague said to me, “Why don’t you go back to school?”

I didn’t want to go back to school, or so I thought. In spite of that,

I did the only thing I knew how—I turned to the Internet for advice and wisdom. I went

to the Grant MacEwan College website, since

my first diploma served me well. I stumbled upon the Public Relations program, which would take 10 months to complete, plus a year of post-secondary courses. I can handle that, I thought.

This program jumped out at me because of the public speaking component—dealing

with the media, writing or delivering speeches, making presentations, etc. I thought, with Toastmasters, I already have an advantage!

I completed the Public Relations Diploma program this past June, and appreciate

my involvement with Toastmasters because it helped me to organize and articulate my thoughts, which is always helpful in presentations. To my delight, I received an award from my peers for the Best Speaker, a further testament to Toastmasters. Toastmasters has paved the road for my next journey in life, which shows that Toastmasters creates opportunities beyond your wildest imagination.

“When the student is ready,

the teacher will appear.”

Buddhist Proverb

Mind Your P’s ...and Q’s

Practise - Practise your speech at least a dozen timesPause - Use pauses in your speech to allow the audience time to absorb your message and laughPosture - Stand with your feet shoulder width apart to give you a solid foundation, enabling you to use gestures effectively Project - Breathing techniques will allow you to project your voicePersonalize - Personalize your message to connect with your audience

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What is your communication style?

NON SEQUITUR © 2002 Wiley Miller. Dist. By UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.Permission includes non-profit editions for use by the handicapped and visually impaired.

Vaughn Seward ATMB/CL

I became interested in Haiku poetry last summer from a book on Haiku. I have since then written over 700 Haikus. Massago is my Haiku pen-name and means

“grain(s) of sand” in Japanese. I mostly like to write about things I see in nature but I also write about everyday events in my life. I started a blog in January and generally post a new Haiku each day.

http://masago-no-haiku.blogspot.com/

Reminder:Membership fees are due October 1

What kind of a communicator are you really?

Are you sure? Would your spouse or significant other agree? Do

you beat around the bush, have trouble remembering your supporting arguments, or do you ever just argue for the sake of arguing?

Bring your strong skills (described above) to the next Telecommuni-

cators’ Debate!

Catch the next issue of The Tele-gram for further details.

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Welcome to the first publish-ing by Gabby. Have you ever been bothered by something

that happened or continues to happen at your club meetings? Are you con-fused about a role, or maybe you have a question on content or topic choice. If so, this forum is for you. It offers a non-threatening environment in which to ask for my advice on how to handle such situations, without fear of offend-ing someone while letting your concerns be known. Feel free to discuss this article with your fellow club members as an icebreaker, or to find out their opinions on the same issue. As an example, the following issue was asked of me in the past few months:

Dear Gabby,

I have only been a toastmaster for 7 months. I am still getting to know my club members and

they are getting to know me. Well at least some of them are. Therein lies the problem. I have a common name that has not been a problem in the past, yet I have been mistakenly introduced by other names several times since joining the club. I used to correct the offender, but he just seems to brush it off without apology. Am I being too sensitive in expecting him to learn my name?

Sincerely,Nameless

Dear Nameless,

You have every right to be offended. The very least that anyone can do for another is to get

their name right. I for one, will not call someone by name if I am not sure I have it correct. It is better to admit you have forgotten a name than to insult someone by guessing wrong. Sometimes clubs can get complacent on these items if not reminded from time to time.

You might try making eye contact with the offender(s) during self-introductions,

and make sure you enunciate. Also make sure to wear your nametag prominently. The General Evaluator should also have picked up on this faux pas and mentioned it in his or her report. If not, that is a different problem! You may want to take on the role of General Evaluator when your biggest offender is the Toastmaster. That way, when they introduce you incorrectly, you can mention it in your report as part of your duty as GE. Remember, Toastmasters is all about feedback and improvement. Hopefully, you will not remain Nameless for long.

All the best,

Gabby

Dear Gabby

Please send your letters to the editor “ATTN: GABBY” and once they are forwarded on to me, I will try to reply to them quickly.

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Challenge Yourself Today!Jay Atienza ATMB

Today’s Newsletter Word of the Day is challenge: to arouse or stimulate, especially by presenting with difficulties. Used in a sentence, I challenge myself to deliver my best speech ever.

In Toastmasters, our main currency is our weekly meetings. We expend our talents in various ways: by signing up for a duty or to deliver a speech, or perhaps we tighten our purse strings a little and just hope to be called upon to do a table topic…or not. We learn things about ourselves by experimenting with our style and by practicing our delivery, and we help others by listening to and evaluating their speeches.

Why do we do this? The answer lies in our purpose as

Toastmasters – to become effective communicators and leaders. It is a unique and noble endeavor, yet one that probably qualifies us, to be blunt, as a member of a rather strange bunch! For starters, we spend our lunch hour in yet another meeting, often sandwiched between other required meetings. We throw ourselves into the very condition that many, including ourselves, find very difficult: public speaking. And we pay to do this?

Obviously, we are also a driven bunch. However, on occasion we enter into a zone of complacency where meetings run on cruise

control. Still, entertaining and complete as far as the Toastmasters meeting components are concerned. In the Charlie Chaplin classic, Modern Times, Chaplin’s character goes to prison where he finds conditions better than in the depression-ravaged streets outside the walls. At times we too enter a zone in our Toastmastership where we become rather comfortable. The meetings become a familiar routine of friendly people, supportive evaluators and familiar procedures. But sometimes it becomes a sort of prison where our goals can’t break through and be realized. We take a break from challenging ourselves.

When this complacency sets in we see it in areas like our speech progress, the number of times we’ve been Toastmaster and the

quality of our meeting participations.

This new Toastmasters year is a chance to renew our drive and push hard once again. For new Toastmasters, this challenge is one you likely decided

you had to undertake. There are many things we can do but a big starting point is meeting with our new VP of Education, Ben Bazinet, to discuss our goals and develop a plan to achieve them. Between our drive and Ben’s work, we’re sure to gain one of Toastmasters’ greatest offerings of support and encouragement.

Some of the other things we can do:

Commit to attend every meeting. The more, the merrier. A large turn out brings the meeting to life and creates an energetic atmosphere.

Deliver that one perfect speech. Make your next speech the speech that you will be fully satisfied and completely happy with, or the next one.

Run the model meeting. As Toastmaster, run the meeting just as you planned where speakers are given their due introduction, flow is nice and smooth throughout, time taken is as allotted, and the closing is to your satisfaction. A job well done.Sign up as a contestant and go all the way. The biannual contests break the routine of weekly meetings and pushes us like no other meeting can. Taking part as contestant is a tough challenge with plenty of returns. So much so that merely helping out or watching contests can be a learning experience.Serve on committees and as an executive in the next year. The benefits are two-fold: our involvement beyond meetings makes the club stronger and it makes for a deeper Toastmasters experience.

There are more ways to up the ante, I’m sure. You probably have your own ideas about how you challenge yourself. The key is to make that push that sets you on your way. Then we’ll all enjoy the ride.

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The Telegram

Publisher: Helen MahEditor: Karen ToberFeatured contributors:

Jay Atienza Vaughn Seward Trent KowalczukJim GuloienMeng Ngo

Comments, ideas for futurearticles, and letters to the editor,please email:[email protected]

(L to R): Jim Guloien (SAA), Karen Tober (VP PR), Quang Nguyen (Treasurer), Cindy Sparks (Secretary), Pat Sample (VP Membership), Ben Bazinet (VP Ed), Jay Atienza (President)

The Super Seven - Telecommunicators’ Executive

Mark your calendar...Come cheer on our club contest winners, Humorous Speech - Pat Sample

(“The Big Guy’s Brief Beliefs”)Table Topics - Ben Bazinet Area 28 Contest:

ATCO CenterAssembly Hall #1, 3rd Floor10035 - 105 StreetTuesday, October 10, 2006Registration at 6:30 p.m.Contest at 7 p.m.

Don’t Be Late For An Important Date!

Important WebsitesTelecommunicatorswww.telecommunicators.orgToastmasters Internationalwww.toastmasters.org

Next Issue:December