In this issue

Letter from the President

What happened in September

Meetings

Members

What is happening in October

Agenda

Division Contest and GrowCon

Things to remember

Pro Tip of the month

Speak like Obama

In General

Message from the VPE

Mentorship

Contact Information

Letter from the President

Fellow Toastmasters

For the first time in my year of President, we had a proper business meeting. Lead by Danie, we followed the proper protocol for amending a motion and voting on the amendment and then the amended motion. Danie handed the process quickly and efficiently.

I am not sure when this newsletter will be published, and maybe Growcon will be over by then. If not, look at www.minicon.co.za or details. I have worked as part of the conference committee as the program convenor – what an eye-opener it has been! Such a lot of work and organisation goes into a conference where 150+ people are expected. I have renewed respect for people out there who do this for a living. Coming out of the conference will be one person who is the winner of the humorous contest for the Southern African region of Toastmasters. What an achievement! Of course there will have been many people slightly disappointed for having not made the various levels of the contest. Contests are the only time in Toastmasters where people compete against each other. The rest of the time, you ‘compete’ against yourself, hoping to better your previous effort.

This brings me to the ever-contentious issue of repeating speeches. There are advantages and disadvantages to being asked to repeat speeches or to merely move onto the next level. We have looked at this issue in our club committee meetings and thought that the best way forward is this: we will NOT ask members to repeat a speech during a public evaluation. The evaluator can speak to the member in private and merely suggest that they may want to repeat in order to meet the objectives of the particular speech more fully. The member then has the choice and can decide for him/herself whether to repeat or not.

Your feedback however is hugely important. In the near future, we are going to have a proper debate during the table topic session on being asked to repeat a speech. Think about whether you are FOR or AGAINST! In the meantime, if you would like to give us feedback, email me at president@4thdimension.org.za

Keep on keeping on!

Yours in growth,

President 4th Dimension

Meetings

1st Meeting (7 September)

Meeting #: 151

 
The theme for the evening was “Spring” and we had 19 members, 8 visitor and 1 guests attending.

Speeches:
We had 3 CC level speeches, 1 advanced (Silver) speech and 1 HPL (High Performance Leadership) presentation.

Lyle Jobling – Cricket has got to be the most boring game I’ve ever watched! (CC2)
Clinton Jacobs – Meta-Memory (CC4)
Christa Roux – Travel Companion  (CC8)
Kirsten Long – Monkey Business (ACS2)
HPL presentation by Graham Nicholls

Evaluation:
Danie Roux evaluated Lyle’s speech
Ray Smith evaluated Clinton’s speech
Richard Riche evaluated Christa’s speech

Graham Nicholls evaluated Kirsten’s speech

Other roles:

Toastmaster: Jacques Velleman

Toast: Marlize Pretorius

2nd Meeting (23 September)

Meeting #: 152

The theme for the evening was “Balance” and we had 12 members and 3 guests attending.

Speeches:

Only 2 speeches tonight, 1 CC level speech and 1 advanced (Gold) speech. Because of this there was an extended table topics session.

Janine Holtzhausen – Moving (CC1)
Richard Riche – Excellence (ACG)

Evaluation:

Danie Roux evaluated Janine’s speech

Matthew Hindley evaluated Richard’s speech

Other roles:

Toastmaster: Thuli Makhene

Table Topics: Christa Roux

Toast: Lyle Jobling

Members Section

Congratulations and well done to Janine Holtzhausen for taking the first step in the CC program! We are looking forward to many more speeches and will be there to support you all the way!

Agenda

October

5

1st Meeting

14

Division H Humerous Contest

16

GrowCon and District Humorous Contest

21

2nd Meeting (Speakathon)

Division Contest and GrowCon!

Division H Humorous Contest

Congrats Matthew, who blew away the other contestants at the Area Humorous contest. The next step on the road to fame is the Division H contest.

Where: 4^th Dimension TM usual venue

When: Wednesday the 14^th at 18:00.

Come on guys! Be there to support Matthew!

GrowCon and District Humorous Contest

This year’s TM mini conference is all about growth! And the GrowCon team has pulled out all the stops to make it one of the best conferences yet.

·          Great speeches from “awesome” people

·          Networking with other toastmasters from all of Southern Africa

·          The Grand Final of the humorous contest

·          Team building sessions

·          A Banquet (Food glorious food)

·          And much more!

Where: Country Club Johannesburg (off Woodmead drive)

When: Friday the 16^th at 18:30 for those that aren’t area or division governors.

            Saturday the 17^th at 07:00

More info: www.minicon.co.za

For you who still need to book, remember to talk to Kirsten Long about how the club can help you with the cost.

Things to Remember

Remember the 14^th! Matthew needs your support!

Talk About the Audience’s Concerns

Notice that when Obama addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time, he told our story before he told his own.

This was brilliant, and you can do it, too.

Start your talk by broadly defining the situation that your listeners face. Then, once you’ve got them nodding their heads in agreement, move on to describe the problems or challenges that are on their minds. Start where the audience is, not where you are. Once you have their attention, you can lead your listeners wherever you want to take them.

Keep It Simple

Throughout the presidential campaign, Obama kept his main message — “change you can believe in” — simple and easy to remember. You, too, can keep it simple, even if you have mountains of research to report.

It is important to fine-tune your core message. Once you achieve this, all your complex ideas can march behind it.

Obama won people through a simple slogan, which then allowed him to more easily serve up his ideas about meaty topics such as health care, terrorism, and the crumbling economy.

We make a serious error if we mistake a complete argument for a persuasive one. All audiences, no matter how sophisticated, have limited attention spans and a limited ability to retain detailed spoken information. Don’t fear that you’re leaving details out; you must be selective. After all, what good is a thorough and detailed argument if it is inaccessible?

Anticipate What Your Audience Is Thinking

Obama and his speechwriters are certainly aware of the great line by Goethe, “Every word that is uttered evokes the idea of its opposite.” What this means is that when you express one view, the odds are high that people will reflexively think about other, unmentioned aspects of the topic.

A presentation that does not deal with this “evoking of opposites” loses the audience’s attention because it fails to address the questions and concerns that come up in people’s minds. So anticipate it. Show your audience that you understand the contrary view better than they do, and explain why your proposal or argument is still superior.

This approach will not only grab and hold the attention of your listeners, but it will also help you win people into your camp, which is what you need to do if, say, your goal is to persuade your board of directors of the wisdom of a seemingly risky partnership.

Learn to Pause

Obama has mastered the art of pausing. Just check out his presidential acceptance speech in Chicago to see this skill at work. He pauses to let us catch up with him. He pauses to let his words resonate. He pauses, in a sense, to let us rest. Pauses also give the impression of composure and thoughtfulness.

Master the Body Language of Leadership

Obama’s body language is relaxed and fluid. It does not display tension or fear. He’s calm and assertive — which is exactly what you need to be to get people to comply with your requests. For the ultimate in Obama smoothness, watch his entrance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

You’ll need to rehearse. Practice calmly walking up to the lectern or the front of the room. Arrange your papers calmly. Look out to the audience with a sense of command, with assertiveness. Let the silence hang for a moment, and only then deliver your opening remarks.

Calmness begets a sense of authority. Behave as if you are in control, and you will in fact gain control and command attention.

Message from the VPE (Danie Roux)

Cricket, Toastmasters and Speech Rates

So far it is: 4.3

In Cricket when South Africa is chasing a total, we watch the run rate with interest. We constantly compare the current run rate against the required run rate. Can you remember that game back in 2006 when South Africa won with 438/9? How elated did we all feel when we made that target!

In the same way, I watch the speech rate of 4th Dimension. The speech rate tells us how many speeches we are averaging since July of this year.

We are a strong club who continuously strive to become even better at serving our members needs. If every member of our club wants to do a speech as often as there is space on the programme, then that member will only be able to speak at every 5th meeting. For that reason, we need to maintain a high speech rate, to allow everyone who wants to speak the opportunity to do so in a reasonable time.

It is my goal to end my term as VPE with a speech rate of 5. By now you may be asking how you can help make that happen:

Keep doing speeches, as regularly as you are comfortable with. Remember that every speaking slot you have is a slot that someone else could not get and grab the opportunity with both hands!

Looking forward to creating a record speech rate with you all!

Mentorship

For the new members and all members that would like to maximize their learning experience at toastmasters, finding a mentor is an essential part of the process!

We have identified 6 club members (names given at the bottom) who are willing to be mentors, but your mentor need not be one of these, you could ask any member of the club to assist you if you feel they have the qualities you aspire to.

How do you find the right mentor? Here are some ideas…

Craig and Ginger’s Keys to Finding the Right Mentor

Ask yourself these questions:

1.     What do I need to know and who can I learn from? Who, in my club, area, division or district, has the experience I seek?

2.     Is there a Toastmaster whose style I admire or wish to emulate?

3.     Who is in a position I aspire to someday reach or attain within my club, district or profession?

4.     Who do I feel a kinship with? Who do I feel safe around? Who is supportive? Who do I respect?

The answer to these questions is likely your mentor. Your mentor may or not be the

same gender, age, race, religion or other variables as you, yet for the commonalities

listed above, will be the logical person to shepherd you to success.

Share these findings with your club’s educational vice president to be assigned the

mentor of your choosing.

The members who have volunteered to be mentors are:

Danie Roux

Andrew Timberlake

Kirsten Long

Richard Riche

Erich Viedge

Matthew Hindley

, but do not hesitate to ask any of the club members!

If you would like to get in touch with a mentor, or would like to be one, please let Tiaan Otto know at vppr@4thdimension.org.za or 0828753191