When I first joined Toastmasters I was absolutely positively overwhelmed by the new terms and acronyms that I was hearing. I thought, "My goodness, I have entered another culture with a completely new language! No one told me it would be THIS difficult!" And so began my journey, with a HUGE learning curve. Then I found my two best friends, The Competent Leadership Manual and the Competent Communicator Manual. Yes, I CAN do this, I THINK I CAN, I THINK CAN!!
Fellow Toastmasters, are you taking the time to read your manuals? Be honest now, are you really? Have you began at the beginning of your manuals and then do you read your instructions as you prepare for each project? Are you keeping good records of your accomplishments and having them signed by your club's Vice President of Education? Did you know that you were suppose to do that? Ah ha! I thought so. You were as confused as myself when I first started. Okay then, now that we are being honest with each other, here is a little help for the weary and possibly overwhelmed new Toasty.
A simple guide to assist you on your learning journey:
1. Get out your Competent Leadership Manual and turn to page three. Here you should find the Table of Contents. Listed first is the Introduction, then the ALL IMPORTANT Project Completion page. Go there!
2.The Project Completion page is very important to pay attention to. Please note that EACH project has certain roles that need to be completed in order to get your CL, Competent Leadership Award, and each project needs to be signed by your VP of ED, Vice President of Education, for this award to be given to you. NOT all roles need to be done in each project. For example, in Project One you only need to complete 3 out of 4 to finish that project, Yay!! Of course you can do them all if you like, but that is not necessary. I have more than one CL manual that I work out of so that I can get credit for all the roles I fill. Good advise right? Yep, a great mentor suggested that to me and I am more than happy to pass this advice along to you!
3. Turn to your first Project. Read how to be a good listener. Take the exercise and see how you feel about your listening skills. Each project has suggestions and guidelines to assist you in fulfilling these roles in an effective way. Remember, the Leadership projects do NOT have to be done in order. In my CL manual I have all projects done except for 4, 6 and 9. Once these are completed, I will have earned my third CL award. Cool huh? You can too, there are limitless opportunities for you to lead and grow!
4. Get out you Competent Communicator Manual. Again, you will have a Contents page. Go there! In the book I am currently using, my Project Completion Record is in the back of the book.
5. The Project Completion page is important to pay attention to in this manual as well. Remember, make sure that all your speeches get evaluated and you record them on this page. Get credit for all that you do in Toastmasters. They want to honor you with your job well done and so do the rest of us! Keep good records, have your Vice President of Education sign this, and help your club achieve their goals too. It's a win win situation for everyone.
6. Now, turn to your first speech "The Ice Breaker". Read how to do this, know your objectives. The objectives are listed in the blue box to the right on the first page. They are to: 1. Begin speaking before and audience, 2. Discover speaking skills you already have and skills that need some attention. That's it. But that is good enough. Not only is there valuable information for you in this project, but at the end of the project there is a Speaker's Checklist telling you what to do and reminding you to have the VP of ED initial the Project Completion Record. Easy as pie, right?
Okay fellow Toasties, now you know the important stuff and it's time to go forth and accomplish our mission! What is our mission? It is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which EVERY individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth. Yes, we can do this! I KNOW WE CAN!!
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Cottonwood Toastmasters meets every Monday 12:00 to 1:15 at
Cottonwood Village, 201 E Mingus Ave. Guests are welcome.
For more information call Laurie Rangel at 928-300-1130 or Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638
