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Editor-In-Chief: District 71 PR Manager Brenda Lannon email: [email protected]

A WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN!

John Cox 2019-2020 District Director

Hello Fellow Toastmasters.

Can I first of all thank you for the positive ways you have responded to the coronavirus restrictions - taken

to online meetings like a “duck to water,” and participated in online contests as contestants, contest

officials and audience.

I also recognise that not all members have found the transition possible, with family responsibilities,

technology challenges and work commitments getting in the way.

The lockdown has created new roles such as Zoom Master, encouraged new ways of undertaking old roles,

and delivering speeches is now to a sea of video faces, or a blank screen, instead of a more animated

audience.

I hope you have gained something from the new online experience.

Coronavirus is affecting all our lives in a variety of different ways and staying positive can be a real

challenge.

DISTRICT 71 MAGAZINE

DISTRICT 71

MAGAZINE APRIL 2020

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

A World Turned Upside Down – John Cox 1 Division E News 10

Life on Zoom – Gerard Mannix 4 District History #23 Ted Corcoran, PIP 20

District Contests - schedule 5 Speechcraft/ Youth Leadership Program 22

CGD Update – Daniel Sandars 6

e 5 Division F News 14

http://d71toastmasters.org/

Toastmasters can and does still give us lots of opportunities to fill aspects of our lives – to learn something

new, to meet old and new friends around the world, to continue to develop our communication, speaking

and leadership skills.

The next month is a very busy period for our clubs and the District.

At the first meeting in May 16,800 Toastmasters clubs worldwide will be looking for 7 brave, bold and

brilliant individuals to step up to the plate and take on a club officer role for 2020-2021.

I recently gave a presentation to one of my clubs about the officer roles and listed what I thought were the

learning opportunities of taking on a role - what’s in it for us? What are the transferable skills? Here’s my

top 10 learning points:

1. How to run a small business – each club is a small business 2. How to motivate and get the best out of volunteers 3. How to grow your customer/membership base 4. How to satisfy and retain your customers/members 5. How to resolve disputes 6. How to manage budgets 7. How to produce a plan for success 8. How to promote yourself and the club 9. How to network with colleagues in similar roles 10. Understanding Parliamentary procedures – how to run meetings and elections

And many, many more learning opportunities associated with each role.

Your Club NEEDS YOU – GO ON TAKE A RISK, be one of the BOLD, BRAVE and BRILLIANT – AND PUT

YOURSELF FORWARD.

District wise there are also many things happening in May:

• Online District Semi-finals and Finals of the Humorous Speech, Table Topics, International Speech and Evaluation Contests (see Gerard’s report for details)

• Online Candidate Showcase on 22 May at 5.00pm. Come and hear the District Officer candidates for 2020-2021 answer important questions

• Online Annual District Council Meeting and Elections at 10.00am on 23 May • Online Hall of Fame for 2018-2109 officers 7.00pm 23 May • European Open House Meetings Marathon in May for non-members to find out more about

Toastmasters • International online convention in August now that the Paris International Convention has

been postponed until 2021

There’s never been a better time and opportunity to attend such a range of Toastmasters events – make

the most of it.



I’d like to close by showing the wise words in Idris Elba's message of hope with John Greenleaf Whittier's

poem "Don't Quit," currently being heard on the BBC's Coronavirus Public Service announcement.

Please keep safe and well and try to maintain some kind of normality in this strange new world in which we

find ourselves.

Best wishes, take care and stay positive. Hopefully we will be out of total lockdown soon.

John


LIFE ON ZOOM

Gerard Mannix, Program Quality Director

Just under one month ago the normal procedure of Toastmaster life changed dramatically. The onset of

the Covid-19 virus with Government and Health restrictions meant the usual assembly of Toastmasters for

meetings and contests was closed down. Followed was a hiatus or even could be described as a period of

shock and loss. The District Conference which was to be held in Killarney, Ireland was cancelled. Then, the

Board of Toastmasters International gave the ‘go-ahead’ for online meetings, contests and also extended

the membership renewal date one month to 30 April 2020. The concept of online meetings of

Toastmasters had been taking place since 2016, yet novel to a vast number of members. The legend of

Zoom got a new lease of life. Few members had acquaintance with Zoom which they used for the online

aspect of work and conference communication. Many other members had an occasional journey on Skype.

Some brave members took the initiative to organise and invite fellow members for a Club meeting. Initially

these were of a test nature with a simple agenda of get together and some Topics. This has progressed to

develop a more fulfilled agenda. Zoom has a very appealing platform in which 40 minutes comes free of

charge and is very user friendly with ease of setup. Indeed, it was a treat to greet our fellow members and

more than that we could have members from remote clubs at the meeting.

Then, the bar is raised when it comes to running contests online. The International Speech contest does

have a straight forward set up but the Evaluation contest is more challenging. Organising the breakout

room was a new experience which was required for the Evaluation contestants and also the Chief Judge/

Counters. One of the challenges for online contests is the reliability of broadband and this can require

substitute role performers. The online contests have been undertaken well by clubs, areas and divisions.

Congratulations to all involved.

Exceptions granted due to COVID-19

To see the most up to date information on changes, exceptions, extensions, and other helpful information

specific to COVID-19, you can review the resources found in the COVID-19 web page.

DISTRICT 71 CONTEST time. Schedule and Planned Programme is set out on the next page

Remember to check the Eligibility for Contestants and Judges.

Click here for Speech Contest Rulebook (ITEM 1171)

https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/news%20and%20announcements/covid-19

https://files.constantcontact.com/86f14826301/74dc4c1a-4777-4912-95f0-e9eb92efbede.pdf

April 2020 Club Growth News

Daniel Sandars, District 71 Club Growth Director, [email protected]

District 71 Marketing Team

• M. Zain Ul Abidin, Club Extension Chair - covering new clubs & club sponsors

• Elizabeth Jordan, Club Quality Chair - covering club coaches and mentors

• Judy Barretto, Corporate Liaison Chair

I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the fabulous efforts of our officers and leaders in helping our

members enjoy the benefits of membership and fellowship of the Toastmasters family in tricky times.

Welcome District 71 Newest Clubs Stripemasters and Grant Thornton

On 24 March District 71 welcomed newly chartered club

Stripemasters (#7752171). Stripemasters is in Dublin and

aligned to Division J Area 2. Congratulations to all

involved, particularly to Toastmaster Sponsors George

Reilley and Zain Ul Abidin as well as Stripe’s Aideen Lowe

for getting stuck in and organising the chartership. Fantastic teamwork!

On 29 April our newest club Grant Thornton Ireland Toastmasters Club

(#7757882) chartered. Grant Thornton is in Dublin and is based in

Division J. Congratulations to all involved, particularly to Toastmaster

Sponsors Eimear Cotter and Zain Ul Abidin for organising the

chartership.

19 May 2020 5pm BST Online Open House

District 71 is hosting a virtual Open house/Demo meeting as part of a ‘marathon’ of 11 similar events

across Europe over five days in nine different languages. It is a skills development and brand awareness

exercise.

Some of the tips already learned from the two pilots that have been run in Districts 110 and 91:

Guest engagement is key. The best engagement from the pilot in the Wild East of Europe (District 110)

used a guest/member greeter in the zoom room and a guest/member greeter in the chat room to connect

with everyone on the call as they arrived and to respond to questions. Registration involved a question

designed to capture table topics ideas that at least that guest would be up for. Two thirds of the table

mailto:[email protected]



topics were picked up by guests and one evaluation session was panel based and the chair skilfully drew in

more guests. In addition to direct engagement, preparation, practice, energy and fun go a long way

toward creating smooth compelling viewing. All the guests remained engaged to the question and answer

session and closing remarks.

A key component is meeting etiquette from members – the main objective is to create a professional smart

atmosphere that signals engagement/participation by the membership. This will encourage guests to

engage with and participate in the meeting.

The marketing tip is that the most powerful way of reaching new guests is to have our members personally

invite them. A lot of their professional friends could well be interested and now have the means, motive

and opportunity to attend as a guest. Second best marketing tool looks like LinkedIn, but it is likely to be a

slow burner to reach professional non-Toastmasters. The challenge with existing club digital media like

Facebook and Instagram is that it doesn’t reach far beyond other Toastmasters unless you pay to advertise.

Contact me to learn more about this exciting project!

Beat the Clock - Membership Building

Toastmasters are taught to run meetings on time, finish

speeches on time and reach membership goals on time. In that

spirit, Beat the Clock is a great motivator for finishing the year

on schedule—on time and with record numbers! Make it your

club’s goal to earn the Beat the Clock award and encourage

every member to take part. Clubs adding five new, dual or

reinstated members with a join date between 1 May and 30

June receive a Beat the Clock ribbon to display on the club’s

banner. Qualifying clubs also earn a special discount code for

10% off their next club order. (The discount code expires six months from the date of issue and is not valid

with any other offer.)

Applications and payments for members with a join date between 1 May and 30 June must be received at

World Headquarters or online no later than 30 June. The addition of transfer and charter members does

not count toward Beat the Clock credit.

Beat the Clock - District 71 extra incentives

In the next newsletter and by email we will announce incentives. The

Toastmasters International Store is currently impacted by distancing measures,

so we are reviewing how to incentivise.

Talk Up Toastmasters - Membership Building

The challenge of Talk Up Toastmasters is to add 5 or more new, dual, or

reinstated members between 1 February and 31 March 2020. We gained 337

new dual or reinstated members.


Congratulations Division E Director Danny Banks for top Division performance of 13.3% growth which

earns a $50 Toastmasters Gift Certificate. The five most successful Area Directors each receive a $25

Toastmasters Gift Certificate and they are Sanat Shelat E42 (22% growth), Julian Cereceda N48 (13.5%

growth), Paulina Blaszczyk H44 (13.4% growth), Vincent Delaney J57 (13% growth), and

Maureen McCowen D28 (12.6% growth).

Clubs that succeed are recognized internationally by Toastmasters International and awarded a banner

ribbon and a 10% store discount. District 71 goes further and adds progressive incentives of our own.

Eighteen clubs met the target of five or more. Well done!

Club Name Division Area New, Dual or

Reinstated members (Feb - Mar)

Gift Certificate

Godiva Speakers E 42 14 $50

Anglia Communicators Club H 14 9 $25

Manchester Orators Toastmasters Club

N 48 8 $25

IE Templebar Toastmasters J 57 7 $15

Nottingham Robin Hood Speakers' Club

E 6 7 $15

Haymarket Toastmasters S 30 6 $15

State Street Edinburgh Toastmasters S 30 6 $15

Galway Club F 12 6 $15

Manchester Communicators N 48 6 $15

Warrington Toastmasters N 31 6 $15

Leicester Leaders Speakers' Club

E 6 5 $15

Saffron Walden Speakers G 41 5 $15

Northampton Speakers H 44 5 $15

IFSC Toastmasters J 57 5 $15

Naas Club D 28 5 $15

Heart of England Club E 42 5 $15

Bullring Speakers Club E 39 5 $15

Cranfield Speakers Club H 44 5 $15

A further two coached clubs have earned District recognition by recruiting 3 or more new members.

Fantastic and congratulations to these clubs.

Club Name Division Area New, Dual or

Reinstated members (Feb - Mar)

Gift Certificate

Clane Toastmasters D 28 3 $25

Dundee Toastmasters S 43 3 $25



Tips for thriving Online under Lock-down

There is a lot of work going on in District 71 to help clubs get online for this

uncharted period ahead. It is the same the world over now that approximately

1/3 of the population on Earth is locked down. On social media, Club Growth

Directors and others have been discussing online tips and I want to share a few

of these.

1. Bolster internal club communications by sharing club news, tips, relevant articles, and a few light-

hearted messages to help keep spirits high;

2. Boost social media presence: include information about the club and the meeting on social media;

3. Enhance meeting quality by using video to visually connect;

4. Restrict video to just the person speaking to manage bandwidth;

5. Reduce Toastmaster Burden: Have a technology master co-hosting the meetings to ensure

meetings run smoothly;

6. Optimise meeting roles: (i) a Meeting Greeter to spend 15 minutes before the meeting inviting

participants to introduce themselves, (ii) the Grammarian providing feedback on appearance in

frame on video, and (iii) A Chat Monitor to answer chat questions and feedback to the meeting at

the end;

7. Expand your attendee list and grow your club: Invite past members who moved away to return as

guests, reach out on social media, collaborate online to help weaker clubs, and create partnerships

such as the local Rotary; and

8. Register that your club is online on Toastmasters International Club Central to both keep your

club constitution up to date, but crucially to help guests and members find your online meetings.

Also, double check all your club contact details on Club Central.

https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/news-and-announcements/online-meetings

The importance of membership building online

We will return to physical meetings and want to be in top form.

Thirty is very much the sweet spot for club membership, as then meeting roles

are easily filled and everyone has time and space to focus on excellence and

flourishing rather than scrambling. When we are scrambling and

overstretched, we are struggling to deliver the Toastmasters brand promise to

members.

Empowering individuals through personal and professional development.

We need to keep ahead of attrition, and we need to remember the member always. A final remark:

"In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity." Albert Einstein


https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/news-and-announcements/online-meetings

Good luck leading each other forward #StaySafe

DIVISION E NEWS

Danny Banks Division E Director

Welcome to Division E which covers the English Midlands and stretches from Shropshire on the Welsh

border to Lincolnshire on the East coast.

We have thirteen clubs with Warwick Speakers chartering in November last year. We hope to have a

fourteenth club when our corporate club at Jaguar Land Rover charters in the next couple of months.

The Division leadership team comprises: Danny Banks, Division Director, Janice Pickersgill Area 06 Director

(East Midlands), Asma Riaz Area 39 Director (Birmingham & Shropshire) and Sanat Shelat Area 42 Director

(Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull).

Division E is the youngest Division within District being formed in July 2018 when the old Division E split to

form our Division and Division N.

There have been many high spots this year notably the success of our Division COT’s. This is the first time

we have held a Division-wide officer training and it has been a great success with 44 officers trained at our

first COT in Derby and 49 at our second training session in Solihull.

Club Officers attending Division E Club Officer Training

We have also been involved in several outreach projects: delivering speaking skills courses to students at

Loughborough and Warwick Universities. Members have also been involved in delivering a successful

youth leadership course and organising a TEDx event.



Below you will find the stories of 4 of our members and how belonging to Toastmasters has given them the

courage and ability to ‘step out of their comfort zones.’

Manjinder Atwal talks about how Toastmasters has helped him develop from a quiet, shy young man into

someone with the confidence to inspire and teach young children using Toastmasters’ Youth Leadership

program.

Heidi De Wolf tells us how joining Lincolnshire speakers gave her the confidence and skills to organise and

speak at a TEDx talk.

Claire Claxton, SAA at Robin Hood speakers, Nottingham, describes how Toastmaster has helped her tackle

job interviews and actively seek-out speaking roles at conferences.

Finally, Sam Warner outlines her Toastmasters’ journey which has led her through two DTM’s and a couple

of projects short of her Pathways DTM.

***************************************************************************************

Janice Pickersgill Area 6 Director (East Midlands)

Area 6 Toastmasters is made up of four clubs; East Midlands Speakers, Leicester Leaders, Lincolnshire

Speakers and Nottingham Robin Hood Speakers. It’s one of the more widespread areas so it’s great when

there are COTs and Area Contests just so members get to meet up.

Lincoln is the newest and smallest of the clubs but they’re an active and enthusiastic bunch. In September

last year two of their members Ryan Lovett and Heidi de Wolf participated in the TEDx talks Brayford Pool,

Lincoln.

“Prior to joining Lincolnshire Speakers Club just over a year ago, I would have never put myself forward for

doing a TEDx Talk! Today I feel proud to call myself one of the world’s TEDx Speakers!” - Heidi De Wolf,

Lincs Speakers Club Member, pictured above.


Then Lincoln had their 100th meeting celebration in January complete with cake!

Leicester Leaders are the home club of Danny Banks, Division E Director. Danny is one of the members

going for his DTM before the old educational path ends in June this year. Good luck Danny and anyone else

trying to squeeze in the last remaining accomplishments before moving onto Pathways.

Robin Hood Speakers are lucky enough to have John Cox, District Director as Treasurer. This club has had

an influx of new members recently which has really given the club a boost and there’s a real buzz to the

meetings.

East Midlands Speakers is the first club started by John and Roma Cox in this area. This busy club meet on a

Monday night and try to take advantage of that by having extra meetings in the months where there are

five Mondays. They sometimes use these to have mini-speech marathons and that really helps to move

members through their Pathways.

Area 6 has a diverse range of members all bringing their unique skills and talents to the meetings. If I could

change one thing, it would be to be closer geographically so we could get together easier and share more.

Asma Riaz Area 39 Director (Birmingham & Shropshire)

Area 39 is part of Division E, District 71 stretching over Birmingham to Telford.

Area 39 consists of five clubs, four community clubs and one corporate club; Shropshire speakers, Walsall

speakers, New street speakers, Bullring Speakers and Deutsche Bank Toastmasters, respectively.

Shropshire speakers have been chartered since 2013, they are a substantial club and have already achieved

10 Distinguished Club Points (DCP), becoming a President’s Distinguished club! They currently have 27

members, their highest number of members yet, where two members have attained Distinguished

Toastmaster (DTM) award. Jill Ming completed the legacy DTM and Sam Warner has achieved a second

DTM.

Walsall Speakers have been chartered since 2018, they are a relatively new club and have achieved 7 DCP

points, becoming a select Distinguished club. They have a strong presence in the area and support

neighbouring club. Nigel Skellern did the club proud by representing the club at Division E humorous

speech contest late 2019.

New Street Speakers have been chartered since May 2019 and are a thriving club already achieving 10 DCP

points and currently supporting Warwick Speakers. New street speakers have raced to the top having also

achieved three DTMs - Andy Nichols and Mish Barad achieving DTM and Tanya Barad achieving a second

DTM.



Bullring Speakers have been chartered since 2006 becoming the longest established club in Area 39! Based

in the heart of the city, the club has 31 members. The club have long standing committed members, they

support clubs in the area, are actively participating in training and visiting surrounding clubs. Nigel Smith

represented the club and area in Division E humorous speech contest in late 2019.

Deutsche Bank Toastmasters, are the Division’s only corporate club, chartered since 2017, the club

committee gets stronger each year and pathways has been implemented relatively easily in this club, they

embrace the program and are familiar with the use of the application. Deutsche Bank are implementing

corporate clubs in multiple offices, showing commitment and enthusiasm about the benefits of

Toastmasters in the corporate environment.

Overall, as the Area Director, I feel privileged to be able to represent Area 39, with striving clubs, improving

year by year I am happy to say I am very proud of each club and member, the commitment and the efforts

the members have put in to visit other clubs in the area and bring the area closer together has been

incredible and I hope we continue to be a strong area going forward.

***************************************************************************************

Sanat Shelat Area 42 Director (Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull)

Nestled in the heart of England is Area 42, where at the beginning of June 2019 we had three established

Clubs namely Godiva Speakers in Coventry, Spa Speakers in Leamington Spa and Heart of England speakers

in Solihull.

We had also given ourselves the challenge to start a new club in Warwick and a corporate club within

Jaguar Land Rover. Often times in life the best experiences come from the most unexpected of sources.

This was certainly the case when I was inspired to take on the role of Area Director after attending the

exceptional 2019 District 71 conference in Norwich. I love the role and have gained, grown and made so

many more friends than I could have ever imagined.

The progress within the Clubs and Area has been amazing.

Godiva Speakers have the highest growth of new members in the whole of District71. Starting the year

with low numbers and an inexperienced leadership they have turned things around with a self- belief and

determination that now sees a thriving Club.

Spa Speakers faced the challenge of too many members with a long waiting list. A tradition of success and

ample interest indicated to me that there was little for me to add.

Well the President Sunny Lalli and his VPE Peter Temple had other ideas and together they have steered

the culture of the Club to raise the quality and standard so that meetings are run to time allowing more

speeches and opportunities to take part.

Heart of England Speakers in Solihull/Knowle is a standout Club doing many of the right things with 4 past

Area Directors amongst its membership, you would expect that! Growing membership, near 100%

retention and on time renewals. Fun and fellowship are in plentiful supply at meetings.


We have successfully chartered a brand-new club – Warwick Speakers with membership growing from a

spark of an idea from its first President David Thompson supported by a committed team guided by our

Division E Director Danny Banks.

The Jaguar Land Rover Corporate Club is beginning to gain traction and near to chartering in the coming

months.

I am proud of the members in all of Area 42 and can unreservedly recommend the role of Area Director.

**************************************************************************************

Helping Primary school children develop better speaking skills through Youth Leadership Program.

Manjinder Atwal, Walsall Speakers Club

As a child I was extremely shy and quiet; I would hardly speak to anyone. As I grew older, I began to believe

that I would never be good at communicating and that it was part of your genetics - you were either born

with the ability or not. However, there was always a part of me that felt that I could be a good

communicator. In a final attempt at developing my communication skills I joined Toastmasters in February

2019 and was introduced to a room full of people that told me that when they began Toastmasters they

felt exactly as I did. At first, I was sceptical, when I watched the more experienced toastmasters perform

their speeches, I felt that it was impossible that they could have once been as unconfident as I was.

However, as the months passed, I began to develop my communication skills and family and friends took

notice that I was beginning to find my voice. This was the first time that I realised that communication is a

skill like any other skill in life that with the correct knowledge and application can be developed.

This also upset me, why had taken me nearly 40 years of my life to be shown how I could develop my

communication skills. At school my school reports would say how quiet I was and at work my quarterly

reviews with my managers would say that my progression within the company was being held back by my

lack of ability to express my ideas, yet not once was I ever shown I could overcome this. When I heard

about Toastmasters’ Youth Leadership Program, I instantly thought this is something I wanted to do. I may

not be able to turn back time and develop my communication skills from a young age, however I could

certainly help other young children that are feeling as I once did. In December 2019 I began the YLP at

Salisbury Primary School in Wednesbury. I worked with a group of 14, nine to ten-year olds, it was one of

the best and most rewarding experiences of my life.

The children were chosen as being the ones least confident in the class and those needing to develop their

communication skills. When I first met the children, I saw a reflection of myself at their age they were

really shy and some even shivered with nerves as they introduced themselves. I ran weekly sessions with

them where I showed them how to write a speech and develop all the skills required in successful

communication including eye contact, vocal range and pitch and the use of gestures. I often introduced

games into my sessions which allowed the children to practice each of those skills in a fun way. At the end

of the 10 weeks the children performed a speech they had written themselves in front of the entire school,

it was one of the proudest moments of my life. They were all amazing; they had transformed from shy,

unconfident children to children that were full of confidence and self-belief. Seeing the proud look on the

children’s faces and their parents, teachers and fellow class mates was something that will stay with me

forever. I even had a teacher approach me at the end and say she was amazed by one of the girls as she

hardly ever speaks a word in class and there she was performing an amazing speech about bullying in front



of her whole school. It just proves communication is just a skill like any other skill that can be developed

with practice.

Having had a difficult childhood I always believed that my purpose in life was to one day help young

children that may also be having difficulties at home. Helping young children grow in self-confidence

through the YLP has helped me realise how I can fulfil my purpose. After running the YLP I created a

morning routine which I named, Magical Mornings, where children work on developing a healthy body and

mind. The routine includes yoga, exercise and meditation it also allows children to develop their

communication skills. I started to roll out the program in primary schools towards the end of last year and

already have two schools signed up and over 100 children doing the routine.

***************************************************************************************

How Toastmasters made me a TEDx Speaker

Heidi de Wolfe, Lincolnshire Speakers

While attending our last Club Officer Meeting in Birmingham, I overheard a few people drop TEDx into

conversations around the room.

For those not familiar, TEDx events are local volunteer-led gatherings where live talks and performances

are shared with the community. According to Wikipedia, over 2600 TED talks from around the globe have

been posted on YouTube. The events provide a platform to share ‘ideas worth sharing’.

I got involved in my local TEDx event as a planning volunteer back in November 2017. At this point, I hadn’t

even considered the possibility of speaking on stage. I was happy to help the event happen so that I could

enjoy great talks by others.

It was a few months in when a friend suggested I put myself forward as host or as speaker. The thought of

it planted a seed, though my confidence was lacking. This is when I started to look for ways to work on my

confidence and in June. 2018 I joined Lincolnshire Speakers. I found a friendly and supportive club, which

provided me with the opportunities I needed to build my confidence, hone my message and get on top of

my time management while speaking.

A year later, I applied to speak and was shortlisted, together with one other member of Lincolnshire

Speakers. While we did access some extra coaching prior to the event, I would not have stepped up

without the peer support from other members in my club.

On the day, nerves did set in, but as part of the Club Meetings I had learned to reframe these as a positive

boost to get me through my talk. And there it was, the announcement. ‘please give a warm welcome to ...

Heidi De Wolf!’ The applause reminded me of my club’s support and energy.

If you would like to speak at a future TEDx event, I would highly recommend running the speech by your

fellow-Toastmasters, who as always will give you invaluable feedback as part of a balanced evaluation. As

for TEDx, why not volunteer at your local TEDx event first, or at the very least be an audience member.


That way you can see what the day feels like and hear examples of the talks that most engage the TEDx

audience.

We all have ‘ideas worth sharing’! The TEDx stage is waiting for you!

*********************************************************************************

Working with local Universities.

Over the last year members from clubs in our Division have worked with both Warwick and Loughborough

Universities.

Members from Leicester Leaders club worked with the University of Loughborough’s Enactus group.

Enactus is an international organisation whose aim is to encourage university students to develop

entrepreneurial approaches to solving social problems. The students are expected to identify a social need

then devise ways of raising funds to address these needs. So, for example the students we worked with

had identified poor dental health in pre-school children in Leicester and devised ways of promoting better

healthcare amongst this group. They also secured funding and resources from local companies involved in

this area. They are the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders to use innovation and business

principles to improve the world.

As part of their projects they had to present their ideas to local business people and take part in inter-

University competitions. That’s where we came in, the president of the group approached us and asked if

we could run a series of sessions on presentation skills. Working with the students the club delivered a set

of 4 sessions on how to deliver a speech, body language etc. I’m pleased to say that the group did really

well; coming runners-up at the national final.

We were approached by the student development team at Warwick University to work with a group of

postgraduate students on the University’s Warwick Manufacturing Masters course. The majority of these

students are International students whose first language isn’t English. The University wanted us to help the

students develop speaking skills and develop the confidence to speak in front of a group.

Toastmasters from Coventry and Warwickshire clubs stepped-up to the mark and have delivered two

sessions with a final session planned for later this month.

In both cases the students gave very positive feedback and really felt that they had benefitted from the

sessions. It’s also a positive experience for our Toastmasters who have had the opportunity to use the skills

they are developing in the club in a very different setting.

Both Loughborough and Warwick have asked us back to do the same things next year!



Loughborough Students working with Warwick Postgraduates with Toastmasters from Leicester Toastmasters Olie Lee and Godiva and Spa Speakers Barbara Opala (on right)

***************************************************************************************

Here we go again!

Sam Warner, Shropshire Speakers

I joined Toastmasters International in 2010 and it was a happy accident that I even learned of the

organisation’s existence. I was coaching a young lady who wanted more experience of public speaking

and found a club online, but didn’t want to attend on her own. She asked me to go with her and I was

hooked from the start.

I found so many opportunities laid at my feet. Coming from a corporate background where feedback is

poor, progression is incredibly difficult & stressful and values like trust & honesty are low, I found TM a

breath of fresh air.

I feel like a walking advert for all things TM, and when I list all of my achievements in TM and how it has

opened doors and transformed my life, it starts to sound a bit unbelievable! Winning contests and ribbons,

taking on meaty District roles and delivering workshops and keynotes in 3 different Districts.


I chartered my first club (Shropshire Speakers) in 2013 as I didn’t fancy travelling in and out of Birmingham

in rush hour traffic twice a month and my second (Ludlow Speakers – also in Shropshire but sits in District

91) in 2019. Our club has currently been looking at Shrewsbury as the next possible Shropshire club.

I have run several Area & Division conferences and training days, which directly set me up for arranging

TEDxTelford in 2018 and 2019. Both days had 15/14 speakers respectively and was a full day for the 100+

attendees.

I’m about to deliver my own TEDxTalk in Malvern on 23 April 2020 and the training I have received through

TM has directly contributed to this.

The way I express myself, explain things, listen more intently, convey my messages, tell stories and get my

message across has all been shaped and honed by TM and the wonderful fellow members therein.

I have met the most lovely people and made friends for life (previously very difficult for me). I have gained

experience in leadership roles that helped me to develop my “speaking with gravitas” skills, and gave me

lots of exposure to managing conflict and confrontation which is a valuable skill too.

I was 37 when I joined and I’m only short of a handful of things to achieve my 3rd DTM (this time in

Pathways), the first was awarded in January 2018, the second in February 2020, both in the previous

education framework. I know there was some resistance to Pathways from members who have been

around for a while, but I never saw the “feels like I’m starting again” as a step backwards, for me, it’s

always a step forwards, forever honing my skills, polishing my craft and striving to maintain my craft the

highest standard I can achieve. It also gives me a fantastic opportunity to consolidate my knowledge by

teaching new members all that I know. The ethos of paying it forward gives me the warm and fuzzies. Roll

on my 5th Icebreaker in my 3rd Pathway, I’m getting to share different aspects of my life each time I do one.

I think maybe I’m a lifer, I just can’t imagine not having TM in my life, it brings me great joy, it has changed

my career forever and I have found a contentment and happiness I’m not sure I could have found

anywhere else.

***************************************************************************************

My Toastmasters journey so far……..

Claire Claxton, Nottingham Robin Hood Speakers Club.

A couple of years ago, I decided to take a career break.

I had been thinking about it for a while, but I genuinely enjoy working and have always thrived on the

challenge of creating and driving change, whether it’s a new marketing strategy, a new product/service

initiative or general commercial or operational project I can really get my teeth into.

Much of my success and personal enjoyment at work has come from inspiring, persuading and

communicating with a diverse range of stakeholders to make things happen. However, whilst I credit

myself with being a reasonably effective communicator, standing up in front of large groups of people and

giving a presentation has been something I have either endured or simply avoided. Even when I had

something to contribute to a discussion, in particular at industry forums or other events with unfamiliar

faces, even introducing myself or briefly sharing an opinion would make me feel uneasy.



Interestingly, it was never what I wanted to say, or the point I was making that was the issue. It was

stepping onto the stage or raising my hand and making those first opening words, whilst at the same time

looking out to a “sea” of faces all looking at me that made me feel uneasy. Then, once I was speaking, I

always have a strong desire to sound articulate, get my point across clearly, and to leave a positive

impression.

One of the first things I decided to do at the beginning of my career break, was to focus on and take charge

of my own personal development. Working with a coach has helped me to clarify what I wanted and to set

clear goals and plans to achieve that. During a conversation I spoke about my lack of confidence at public

speaking and my coach suggested I join Toastmasters. She is now the CEO of a successful business and had

been a member earlier in her career.

So, that’s how I became a member of the Robin Hood Speakers Club in Nottingham in September 2018. I

was drawn to this particular Club because of the very friendly and fun Club atmosphere and the

subsequent genuine support from the Club Officers to help me to learn and achieve my goals.

I have found that the formal meeting agendas and the Pathways programme provide me with the

structured guidance I need to learn and to gradually progress on to more challenging and broader

speeches and roles. And, coupled with this a supportive mentoring forum has given me the confidence to

practise speech making in a safe environment.

I am still very much on a journey to get where I want to be, but during my membership of the Club I have

found that my ambitions for myself have grown. I now find myself thinking I would like to actually find an

opportunity to be a speaker on a panel or as part of a speaker line-up at a Conference. Something I would

never have entertained in my head eighteen months ago.

When I reflect on how my confidence has grown and my speech writing and delivery has improved, I can

now see very clearly how the Toastmasters Club features and learning style have benefitted me.

For example, I recently had an interview for a new job and was a little nervous about what questions they

might ask. I was surprised how composed and confident I answered all of the questions - repeating the

question, pausing for thought and composing myself, and not being afraid of the silence and pausing for

effect. All good tips learned from the Impromptu speaking section of the Toastmaster Club Agenda.

Following the Pathways programme, dedicating time to developing a speech, practising the delivery of the

speech, then delivering it and hearing constructive feedback has also improved my commitment to

learning and improving in other areas of my life too. The reason for this is that I can see how my speech

writing and public speaking has improved over time since I have put the work and pushed myself outside of

my comfort zone to make this happen.

And lastly, becoming a Club Officer working with other Officers, and supporting others in the Club has

opened up other learning opportunities for me and reminded me how much I enjoy helping others to

achieve their needs and sharing my experience to help them to succeed too.


Newsletter #23

Ted Corcoran, Past International President

I promised in my last article to discuss further why, initially, the introduction of our Club Excellence

Programme and later the Distinguished Club Program led to the transformation of our district’s fortunes

and why the DCP measures the quality of service afforded by a club to its members.

In 1972, when D71 was established, it was in a very bad place which steadily grew worse. After the Scots

finally achieved independence from Toastmasters International in 1971, departing with some 130 clubs,

there were just 31 clubs left in all of Britain and Ireland. These comprised 21 in England, 7 in Ireland and 3

in Scotland. These 31 clubs were the bedrock on which our district was founded. However, the numbers of

clubs continued to decline over the next decade. By 1982, just 28 clubs existed, as the number in England

had halved, in Ireland had doubled and in Scotland had disappeared completely. Numbers then began to

increase slowly over the next decade, so that by 1992 numbers had doubled to 57.

It was no wonder then that the district achieved Distinguished District status, or better, on only three

occasions in these 20 years. The major achievement, in fact, was that the district survived at all.

When you consider the challenges caused by the distances involved, difficulty in communications and a

paucity of any funds due to the low membership, great credit must be given to those leaders who kept the

show on the road. Their names and their achievements are recorded in Newsletter #12.

The statistics hereunder reveal exactly why our district began to thrive.

Year Clubs Payments CTMs (latterly CCs) ATMs (ACs)

1988/89 43 2346 75 4

1989/90 48 2563 82 11

1990/91 51 2980 76 12

1991/92 57 3278 73 8

1992/93 65 3888 152 20

1993/94 67 3911 167 22

1994/95 82 4600 213 29

1995/96 89 4774 200 33

Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s and indeed up to the late 2000s, districts were set 4 main goals to achieve

Distinguished status – 2 Growth and 2 Educational, plus some administration goals. D71 nearly always met

the Growth goals but failed miserably on the Educational side, except for the three lone years the district

was Distinguished in the entire two decades from 1972 to 1992.



Look how the educational achievements exploded between years 1991/92 and 1992/93 after the

introduction of the Club Excellence Program. Club leaders and members now had clear goals to aim for.

More speeches, more evaluations equals more learning!

Over the years I’ve several times heard the complaint that the DCP is just an exercise in point scoring. In

fact, I hate the term points being used instead of goals. A friend of mine in Canada came up with new

words to represent DCP which are Documented Changes in People. When you think of it, this exactly

describes what happens when members participate at meetings whether this is fulfilling a role, major or

minor, a speech, an evaluation, or answer a topic. So, when a club achieves any level of Distinguished, it

means its members have changed in some manner whether that be in confidence levels, speaking, or

leadership ability. The individual changes may be minute but they all add up, so the goals achieved reflect

Documented Changes in People and not just anonymous impersonal points. And isn’t that just what

membership of TI is all about?


Speechcraft Program

Brid Meighan PRO and Isweri Pillay President, Clonmel Toastmasters

Inspired by listening to presentations at work, Clonmel Toastmaster Isweri Pillay thought Toastmasters

would benefit many of the speakers. Most were busy nurses and shift-workers. Toastmasters is time-

consuming. Enter Speechcraft!

Daniel Sandars and John Cox sign-posted us to experienced Toastmasters. We got lots of help from the

District. Isweri Pillay co-ordinated the program and was supported by 11 volunteer members from four

Area 8 clubs. Clonmel Toastmasters ran Speechcraft in 2018-2019.

“There were 6 of us who began the first night. Like me, for many of the other participants attending this

program, the primary reason and expectation was to boost my confidence and develop my conversation skills.

Other than that, Toastmasters to me was a place where other people more confident than me went.

I was glad when with nerves jangling, I entered on the first of 5 Thursday evenings to find a small bunch of

truly amazingly friendly people.

Talks were given on a variety of topics from what to me seemed like seasoned professionals. Table topics

were then introduced which involved on the spot topics being spoken about for short periods. I sat and

wondered how would I ever be able to stand in front of such people and hold their interest for any more that

a fleeting moment.

After the first night was over and with knowledge of what was expected of the participants, I decided to

continue to attend purely for the joy of listening to the wide range of topics and knowledge that each member

brings.

The part of the course that me and others found slightly distressing was giving our speeches, but it generally

wasn’t too bad.

It was while writing these speeches and in particular about my “Garden Retreat” that I got the most out of

this course. As I wondered around my garden looking for inspiration, I found it in spades! I wrote about what

I loved and it was easy, I loved it.

I would recommend and advise any one from any age to any walk of like to attend at least one evening at

Toastmasters.

It’s a great place for introverts, extroverts, old, young, male and female. All walks of life will find a smiling

face and a good story”. David Clarke, Speechcraft graduate.

The programme runs again this year with volunteers, 3 of whom are last year’s Speechcrafters!



The 2018-2019 graduates: Front: Clare Dunlea

Back, left to right: David Clarke, Julie Dwyer, Elaine Egan, Brid Skehan


Youth Leadership Program

Stephen Morrow, Lagan Valley Toastmasters

Some of the students who took part in the Youth Leadership Program run by Lagan Valley Toastmasters.

They delivered their speeches to the club in February 2020. Proud moment for all concerned.

Photo shows Donal O’Neill of Lagan Valley Toastmasters with students who participated in the Youth

Leadership Program



April Prize Quiz

Guest edited by Alex Knibbs, Brandon Speakers Club and Saffron Walden Speakers Club Instructions

Email completed quiz to [email protected] by Wednesday 27 May

2020

All correct answers will be entered in a prize draw.

Win Mini Notebook and Pen Set

T O P I C S M A S T E R E M

A S T A B E K P R C E C E D T F A R C H C E E P S N P E

K P I G H R I O T A T E A E

S E U N D E N A N O R V T P

R T W I T O R S R A A A H A

K K P T T I R I I E A L W K

C S M S A T N U Y M I U A M

P S A A N G Y E C I S A Y E

P M A C E S A B O C K T S N

O I O D R M N A N N L I I O

M C O O T P T T E T U O E N

F S A P T S E T N O C N C O

L T O T K A I N A N O N O W

SPEECHCRAFT CONTEST PODCASTING

BASECAMP DEEPAKMENON TOPICSMASTER

MENTORING PATHWAYS EVALUATION

1. Enjoy the wordsearch by finding all the words on the grid.

2. Using the highlighted letters in the yellow fields, identify another 7-lettered Toastmaster-related word. 3. An additional cryptic clue: Spectre materialises into more admirable TI entity (7)

*Note for competition entrants, you can just complete steps 2 and/or 3 above to find the 7-letter word to submit.


mailto:[email protected]

Last month’s Quiz Solution:

Answers

1. Coronavirus

2. Zoom

3. Helen Blanchard (5,9)

4. Electives

5. Gerard Mannix (6,6)

6. Effective (9)

7. Tie-Break (3,5)

Congratulations to Eileen Hopkins, East Coast Toastmasters on winning last month’s quiz.

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