by Ann Banham
Eighty ‘newbie’ Toastmasters attended the Introduction to Toastmasters (aka Newbie Toastie Love) workshop at the Austin Hospital, Heidelberg on Sunday, 15th May 2016.
This was the brainchild of Natalie Hart, who said: “Being an Area Director and visiting many Toastmasters clubs, I noted a significant knowledge gap for newbie toasties in the basics of being a Toastmaster. Reflecting on my own journey, and with a passion for helping others, Newbie Toasties Love was created. This workshop is designed to help new Toastmasters (0 to 2 years) gain the basics of Toastmasters’ etiquette and learn from experienced toastmasters who they may not have access to at their clubs.”
The newbie toastie audience discovered that LOVE was an acronym (according to Nola Sharp) that stood for Laughter, Opportunity, Validation and Energy.
There certainly was laughter and energy in the workshop, where the arcane* aspects of Toastmasters were demystified in several light-hearted but value-packed sessions. It’s impossible to record the whole workshop – but here are some selected highlights.
Julie Wacker and Cleo Pitt outlined meeting roles and responsibilities and filled in audience members on etiquette and pitfalls at meetings. Did you know, for instance, for the first 20 seconds of your speech, the audience are not listening to you? They are checking you out!
What do a toy car, stuffed cuddly rabbit and tiger and an oversized teddy bear have to do with Toastmasters? If you’re Nola Sharp they are props to explain the Competent Communicator and Competent Leader manuals.
Nola said: “The car is the vehicle on the Communication and Leadership Highways. The bear is the Toastmaster deciding the speed and preferred destinations. The rabbit is the mentor that travels with you, and the Tiger is the VPE who records your successful arrival dates and celebrations.
See – easy when it is explained like that.
Ann Banham demonstrated that club executive roles could directly relate to positions within a corporate organisation by presenting them as job ads. And Yoke-Ching Tan presented an easy-to-follow diagram, which gave an overview of the district and international structure.
CC, CL, ALS …. Tracy Green didn’t discuss the many acronyms Toastmasters encounter en route to a Distinguished Toastmaster award – she sang them. And then inveigled DTMs in the audience to sing the acronym anthem with her.
New Toastmasters should put their hands up for evaluation roles, according to Darrell Pitt. “New members can bring a fresh perspective to evaluations. The role should focus on building self esteem and helping the speaker be the best person they can be.” Charles Pakana was equally encouraging to all new Toastmasters to enter eligible contests. He said: “Contests are great networking opportunities and can drive skills development.” A tip from Charles: check out the judges’ marking sheets to see what is required in each contest.
Travis Finlayson reminded everyone to bring their CC and CL manuals to every meeting and emphasised how important mentors are in the Toastmaster’s journey. He even suggested finding a mentor from another club if it felt like a better fit.
Wow! So much information was imparted over three hours – but, as every good Toastmaster knows, the most important part of any presentation is the audience and what they got out of it.
I talked to some audience members afterwards to get their impressions.
Phil, a Toastmaster for one year wanted to get a better idea of what Toastmasters was about, particularly the executive roles. “For the first year I was just getting my bearings,” he said. “It has given me information to really throw myself into Toastmasters for the next year”.
Kerem has only been a member for four months. He learnt about the structure of the club, the area and district. “I liked the section on etiquette, e.g. show up early!” he said.
Hannah’s views on the event? “I loved it! It would be extremely beneficial for this sort of workshop to be run a couple of times a year. I have been a member for 18 months and most of it I have figured out myself. Having it all consolidated has shown opportunities and what is possible.”
Last word goes to Natalie. “The workshop was an incredible success and will definitely run again in a few months’ time (watch this space) and hopefully have a slot at the semi-annual conference.”
* arcane = mysterious and secret. A good ‘word of the day’ perhaps?
Ann is a member of three Toastmasters Clubs in Melbourne: National Australia Bank, Victorian Governors and Williamstown. She is also the Speechcraft Coordinator for Victoria. Now retired from corporate life, Ann is a happy grandmother and loves to have adventures with her three-year-old grandson, Luke.