Let’s roar together WOW! Did you see January and February fly by with lightning speed? Where did the time go? Let me give you a brief recap of the past couple of months: 3 Division training sessions with more than 300 officers and members attending At least 12 educational sessions Area & Division Council Meetings Open House Celebrations Planning for Contest Season We have four months left of this Toastmaster year. How are you going to go out—like a lamb …
Building Membership We have been campaigning for the “Talk Up Toastmasters” award recently. It covers the increase in membership during February and March primarily through spreading the word and bringing guests to your club meeting. We already have one club in our district that has gained five members in February – “Igniters Club.” Here are the tips from Igniters Club. We have two more clubs that are getting there, with three new members in February: “Twin Towers Toastmasters Club” and “Calgary Talking …
Speeches on Zoom It’s March 2022, almost two years of Zoom Toastmaster meetings. And right now it’s contest season. Whether you are doing a speech just because or entering a contest, here are a couple of tips. Update your Zoom software (it’s free)https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362233-Upgrading-Zoom-to-the-latest-version One reason for updating is if the Zoom Host asks you to use a new Zoom function, you will be able to do it. Make sure you are not backlit; which is having a window or bright …
ONE NOTE AT A TIME Leadership Training – January 29, 2022 ONE NOTE AT A TIME D42 Leadership Training performed at the Zoom auditorium on Saturday, January 29 to a packed house of over 150 eager and enthusiastic fans! Making a Difference, ONE BOX AT A TIME with Shelter Box was directed by Stephanie Christensen. Please find out how you can help disaster relief assistance in one simple step HERE. Finish the Race ONE KM AT A TIME with Super …
DID YOU KNOW District 42 Website February 17, 2022 Visit the District 42 website to begin exploring. It is a treasure trove of information. To help with navigation on the District website, there are several tabs to click on: Home, About, Events, Members, Clubs, Districts, Opportunities, Blog, Find a Club and Search. These tabs are located at the top of the home page. If you click on home, you will return to the main page of https://d42tm.org If you’re planning …
RE-INVENTING OURSELVES Through Dreaming, Planning & Changing Perhaps you find it interesting, as I do, how quickly time seems to pass when we are adults as opposed to how slowly it seems to go by when we are younger. Remember how Christmas always seemed so far off no matter what month it was. Now in the blink of an eye we are already more than 6 months into our year. Christmas & New Year’s celebrations are behind us. January tends …
Are you a Go Getter? I bet you are! I love February, don’t you? The days are getting longer, and the cold snap over Christmas seems like a distant memory. I’ve attended District and Club Leadership training and I feel renewed and re-energized by better weather, fantastic keynotes and what I know our District will accomplish in the last few months of our year. We had many clubs earn a Go Getter award-a District incentive offered to clubs who achieve …
Membership Building Fellow Toastmasters, we have come a long way. We have had a challenging year, especially with the pandemic and the membership of our clubs is just one of those things that were affected by it. In any case, we have another six months to go in our Toastmasters calendar year. It has been proven that word of mouth is one of the best ways to grow our clubs, which is the basis of the “Talk Up Toastmasters” membership-building …
Visit An Open House Toastmasters District 42 invites you to the following Toastmaster Club open houses to meet members and watch special guest speakers talk about the importance of communication skills for today’s professionals. Toastmasters clubs provide a supportive and positive environment where members have the opportunity to develop their communication and leadership skills,” says Katrina Aburrow, District 42 Director. After hearing from special speakers, members and guests will enjoy a regular Toastmasters meeting that will include prepared speeches, Table …
Then & Now: Communications Evolution Technology has been evolving for a long time, along with different forms of communication. The most primitive means of communication are cave paintings, which would then lead to hieroglyphics, all the way down to our modern-day equivalents, emojis. The innovations and imagination of humanity are astounding, as it is terrifying. However, one of the innovations that we are continually progressing in, is how we stay in contact with each other, even through the vastness of …
WHAT DOES 2022 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU? WHAT DOES 2022 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU? WHAT DOES 2022 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU? What does 2022 have in store for you? I can hardly believe it is January of a new year! It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that it was January of 2021, and I was wondering what 2021 would hold for me. At that time, I was the D42 Club Growth Director, marvelling that …
DCP Go-Getter Award The mission of a Toastmasters Club is to provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth. What are the goals of your Club? An updated Club Success Plan will list the goals your Club hopes to achieve. Where are you starting from? A Moments of Truth with input from all members, will give a snapshot of where you are. How …
Congratulations! Your Club has its own Zoom Account. Now what? You will need to “sign in” with an ID and PW by creating an email address that can be used in the future by the club. A suggestion would be clubnamezoom@gmail.com. This means that this can be transferred at anytime to the member(s) who will be learning the settings and opening meetings. I would highly recommend this info be given to the executives who will open the meeting. Perhaps the …
Dynamically Speaking Toastmasters Like a beacon of light during this challenging time Dynamically Speaking Toastmasters has fostered communication, connection, and collaboration to its club members. Our diverse membership, of fifty-three participants, range in age from their 20’s to their 70’s andjoin us from five countries and three continents. Currently, we are the second-largest Toastmasters Club in Canada. While we do love the “bragging rights” associated with a large club, this is secondary to the relationships we develop with each of …
Igniters Toastmasters Another year of Igniting Spirits! Igniters Toastmasters like many other clubs had a challenging year. We were able find solutions and energize the members to keep Igniting Spirits! We are proud of being a President’s Distinguished Club for the past 7 years in a row and a place where laughter, learning, and friendship flourished. Mentoring is a cornerstone at our club to help members grow. Our President embraced using Zoom for our meetings. Having technical expertise and being …
CREATING A SYMPHONY TOGETHER Wow! What a couple of weeks it’s been. Six Division contests & 27 Area contests. Just WOW! Congratulations to all contestants but especially to the winners. In competitions a judging team selects winners, those who received top honours. We celebrate their giving their best, creating a beautiful rhythm to their words. I believe, however & as trite as it seems, there are no losers. Each person who stood before an audience, presented their speech, & learned …
You can be a Zoom Master too! Does your club have a Zoom Master for club meetings? Welcome to the new norm-Virtual Toastmaster Club meetings. Over the past year, many of us have been zooming in virtually for club meetings, contests, educational and other Toastmaster events. In the real world, no meeting could run without a Toastmaster. I suggest that all Toastmaster clubs where virtual meetings are held should have a Zoom Master of the Day (ZMOD). In the last …
Marketing and growing membership of your club. We can all learn from successful clubs in our district and other districts. We heard many talks on these areas, and we could need some more tweaking or adjustments on how we do things. So here are some of those valuable tips we have seen achieved success: Doing more referrals. 80% of the guests who join Toastmasters meetings are through referrals. This is how we use the good old-fashioned word of mouth for …
District Zoom account for club meetings Is your club using a District Zoom account for club meetings? If so, I can relate! We celebrated the support of District 42 when this online world was suddenly our club’s reality. Knowing that the account cost the District and was provided to us free, made the support very real. But we experienced some unexpected issues with meeting on Zoom. Discovering that our meeting was on a shared account helped our understanding tremendously. Recently, …
WHERE IS YOUR FOCUS? Message from the District 42 District Director Katrina Aburrow, DTM I heard a quote recently that says, where your focus goes, your energy flows. It really got me thinking about where our focus is now and where our energy is going. We are one of the only Districts in Region 4 to hold fall contests, so I hope your focus has been on Tall Tales and Table Topics contests, whether as a competitor, official or an …
WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? Message from the District 42 District Director Katrina Aburrow, DTM He who fails to plan is planning to fail. Sir Winston Churchill Most of us are familiar with this quote from Sir Winston Churchill. It means a lot to me because of my experience in planning through Toastmasters. I used to think that I had zero experience in planning and my lack of confidence in strategic planning made job interviews particularly scary. I didn’t realize that …
SMEDLEY CLUB AWARD Message from Eugene Sicat, District 42 Club Growth Director Big salutes and congratulations to the two clubs in our district, Wascana Club and Dynamically Speaking, who have already added five new members as of September 15, and we are still 15 days before the deadline for the prestigious Smedley Club Award. As of September 15, we have 3 other clubs who are very close to reaching 5 new members. By September 30, we sure hope more clubs …
IT’S ALL ABOUT OUR ATTITUDE Making Music Together Message from the D42 Program Quality Director Bev LeBlanc, DTM I was watching a baseball game a couple of days ago. The score was 16 to 4 in the third inning. 16 to 4 in the THIRD inning. That’s a football score! As I was shaking my head, feeling sorry for the underdog, I remembered something I once heard Wayne Gretzky say in an interview: “When you are winning, the game is …
HYBRID MEETINGS – A WAY FORWARD As our world keeps changing, so too do our Toastmaster meetings. Where we once didn’t think it possible to be 100% virtual, here we are – and many clubs are thriving in this medium! Now we are faced with the opportunity to pivot once again. Do we revert back to strictly in-person meetings? Do we stay online and carry on virtually for the foreseeable future? Or, perhaps, do we consider melding those two worlds …
Toastmasters District 42 Youth Leadership Program Toastmasters International has been invested in the Youth for many years. They’ve put together a training that was implemented successfully over time. However, Christina Kruis, Direct Past District Director for District 42, felt that to connect with younger kids, we had to adapt the program in such a way that we could engage with them. We had a pilot program at the Seton Library Calgary in 2019 run by the current Region 4 PRM, …
ZOOM TIDBITS Most, if not every Toastmaster in District 42 (Southern AB & SK) has experienced Zoom. And you can obtain your own account from Zoom, for free. In fact, many people use Zoom this way. Sure it has limitations compared to a paid account, but what you get for free, is an outstanding deal. And it allows you to play around with Zoom, and not break anything You can join someone’s Zoom meeting easily, especially if they send you …
The Calgary Pace Setters Toastmasters Club celebrated its 30th anniversary on May 1, 2021. In honor of the occasion, a special meeting was held virtually on Tuesday, May 4th, 2021. Numerous current and past members along with distinguished Area, Division, and District guests attended the virtual party. The year was 1991-a year filled with many historic moments. The USSR formally dissolved, the first-ever website (titled the World Wide Web) was launched, Silence of the Lambs won the Academy Award for best picture, becoming …
Are you looking for a Toastmasters meeting to attend over the summer? Look no further. To register your club as a Sunshine Club, please please submit Club name, meeting days/times, and contact info to D42 PRM. To qualify for the Sunshine Virtual Badge, submissions must be received by June 30, 2021. Any submission received after that date will be listed; however, the club will not receive the Sunshine Club Badge. If you’re interested in attending a meeting during July or …
A year ago, Dynamically Speaking Toastmasters was a Lethbridge based club, with a long record of President’s Distinguished status. In place was a 4-person mentoring team, and 25 members. On average, 17 members and guests graced our meetings. Today Dynamically Speaking is an Alberta based club with international connections. The difference is there is now a 13-person mentoring team and 37 members. Additionally, approximately 32 members and guests magically materialize, Thursdays at 6:45 a.m. (MST) What happened? Nothing more …
High Performance Leadership inspires and guides. Good leaders build an environment where visions are developed. They support a team while goals are achieved. In other words, a leader who motivates others to join them and contribute, is a high performance leader. Practise and grow your skills in real-world situations by doing a High Perfomance Leadership Project. High Performance Leadership (HPL) Projects in District 42 create leaders. These leaders cultivate something new while enhancing valuable leadership wisdom for the future. Effective …
Ten area directors began their DARE journey not only to discover and enhance their leadership skills but also to be recognized for their journey. The recognition is the DARE award based on the four aspects of an Area Director journey. Develop (leadership style) Achieve (success plan) Relate (to clubs and members) Encourage (quality clubs) The Journey Continues Although it has been a challenging year, they have journeyed well. The DARE award will recognize the effort which they have made and …
If you feel you are ready for a new challenge, don’t step forward in Toastmasters – jump forward! The scariest speech for a Toastmaster to give is their very first ice breaker speech. Subsequently, it may tie your stomach in knots and cause you to perspire more than usual. That fear is a great indicator that you are doing something new and expanding your learning and abilities. As we become experienced Toastmasters and begin to master the 5-7 minute speech. There is …
Toastmasters District 42 invites you to the following Toastmaster Club open houses to meet members and watch special guest speakers talk about the importance of communication skills for today’s professionals. Toastmasters clubs provide a supportive and positive environment where members have the opportunity to develop their communication and leadership skills,” says Christina Kruis, District 42 Director. After hearing from special speakers, members and guests will enjoy a regular Toastmasters meeting that will include prepared speeches, Table Topics™ (impromptu speeches) and …
It’s that time of year again – February! Time to Talk Up Toastmasters! Let’s ramp up our membership recruitment efforts for our clubs! Talk Up Open Houses We invited guests to January Open Houses. Or we are going to invite them to our February Open House. Guess what – your club can win a membership recruitment award! That’s right, sign up your guests. Then get them involved as new members in your club from February 1 to …
It was time to move the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program online. Learn what it took to create a pilot program for global implementation.
Why? To develop REAL-WORLD online presentation skills! I love being a Meetup event host. Chatting with potential guests is energizing and rewarding! Being the face of my club I get to SHOWCASE my club members, their achievements and the benefits of the Toastmasters program. I now have a polished “elevator speech” sharing #MyWhy. Furthermore, my Toastmasters experience is enriched when I match the needs and goals of potential guests to the Pathways curriculum. I encourage you to stretch your skills, add …
Long time member survey My club, Literally Speaking, has several members that have been here for many years, ten years or more. Also, the seven club members who have earned the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award. Without a doubt, I realized the participation of these members has been fundamental to my growth. Moreover, they are vital to the success of my club. Therefore, why is it important that these members stay? Obviously, all of these members are unique. Consequently, they all …
Feedback for Division Winners We had six humorous speakers, as well as four of our six Table Topics contestants, all Division winners sharpening their skills to go forward to District on Saturday, Dec 5th. Humorous speakers showcased their speeches. Then, the sharp minds and wit of the Table Topics competitors left us in awe. Honestly! What could possibly be a better, more entertaining way to spend a Friday evening? Frequently, competitors commented about how surprising it was that the feedback …
Toastmasters District 42 has a new award. It recognizes the one-year journey of an Area Director. The DARE award augments the traditional scoreboard performance approach. DARE considers the four elements which yield success as a director. Developing a leadership style reinforces the ‘where leaders are made’ Toastmasters International hashtag. Achieving tasks reinforces the district mission of supporting the clubs. Relating to the executive and members reinforces that areas work as a team. Encouraging clubs to be recognized reinforces the concept …
Ilana Herzberg – Brand Strategist at Toastmasters International On October 23rd, 2020 Toastmasters District 42 had a special visitor all the way from Denver, Colorado – Ilana Herzberg, current brand strategist at Toastmasters International. She presented an informative lesson about Toastmasters branding and how it goes beyond the logo. In her words: “It’s easy to get lost in the fonts, colours and logos… but it’s so much more than that – it’s what it represents! A brand is alive; …
Alisen Dopf experienced information overload when she joined Toastmasters. As a new member she relied on in-person meetings to learn about Toastmasters. However, when the pandemic hit, it became a challenge to transition from in-person to online meetings. Alisen realized her situation was not unique. As a result she decided to create the New Member Boot Camp. When new members don’t know how to access information they get frustrated. They don’t understand the roles during a club meeting. They don’t …
With limited capacity gathering feasible, some Toastmasters clubs started hybrid meetings that allow both in-person and online attendance. This blog post will look at pointers on how to create the best hybrid experience and how to tackle some challenges that can arise. When several countries shut down banning social gatherings of all kinds, Toastmasters meetings shifted online. People worked on their online presentation skills, staying mute, online clapping without interrupting, engaging backgrounds and more. This transition also allowed members all …
Teamwork drove the results when FCC Stubble Jumpers Toastmasters Club added nine new members in September. This brought our total membership number up to 24. Before providing examples of what we did, we wanted to thank our members and our Executive (including Deborah, Laurel, Don, Korey, Alex, Isabelle and our immediate past President Arunima) for all their hard work. We started off the year with a strong base of 23 members to build on. This was from the previous year’s …
A mentor plays a significant role in the Toastmasters experience. Important not only to the new member, they aid club development.
The DCP (Distinguished Club Program) helps members and clubs experience success. Start by knowing how this Toastmasters program works.
Open the door of opportunity to others. Invite others to join you at a Toastmasters meeting to help your club win a Smedley Award.
On June 30, 2020, Darlene Davies, DTM, stepped down as the D42 Circle of Gold Core Team Leader and announced a new COG leader for District 42. Darlene was honoured to announce Laura Chambers is taking on the role of D42 Circle of Gold Core Team Leader for 2020-2021. Please give a warm welcome to Laura. She is raring to go, enthusiastic and full of ideas about how Circle of Gold can continue to grow in our District and beyond …
If so, Toastmasters Leadership Training is available this winter for every Toastmaster in District 42. We are happy to report over 900 people participated in the four training sessions in November and January. In addition, to learning how to level up their club experience, they laughed, danced and had fun together. Never the less, instead of experiencing FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), be sure to register for one of the three remaining training dates in January and February 2021. Each …