district 71 newsletter february 2018 - the official district 71...

Toastmasters International District 71 Newsletter February 2018 www.d71toastmasters.org 1

District 71 Newsletter February 2018

Celebrating in style Norman Vincent Peake said “Live your life and forget your age”. This could be Distinguished Toastmaster Noel O'Beara’s motto.

A well-known Toastmaster not just in Division C or District 71 but internationally, he is one of an elite group

who received the President's Citation from his long-time friend and Past International President, Ted Corcoran.

He is a regular attendee at District Conferences and likes to tell jokes at

the Nightly Craic. . . if he isn't running it! He is known to sing a song or two, but he is best known for his "Point of Order" at the business meetings. He is a keen traveller, having travelled to nearly 20 international conferences not just in USA but also Canada and Kuala Lumpur.

A few years ago he gave a workshop on a storytelling at a District 59 Conference . . . in Majorca! Not bad for a man who recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

Fingal Toastmasters are lucky to have him among its members but he is also a member of Swords Club only missing meetings when he is out of the country.

The photo shows Ted Corcoran (left) making a presentation to Noel in December on the occasion of his 90th birthday. We wish him many more years of good health and look forward to him keeping the high standards that he has always encouraged in Toastmasters.

Bernadette Mulvey President, Fingal Toastmasters

From our District Director

Fellow Toastmasters and Friends,

I can’t believe that this Toastmaster year is 2/3rds over! How are you doing on your personal goals? Are you going to reach that next education level? Leadership level? How about your club goals? Will you be a Distinguished club again this year? Select Distinguished? Or, even President’s Distinguished? The bad news is we are running out of time. But, the good news is, you still have time to accomplish your goals. Take a look where you are and work towards your goals.

“Guess who’s coming to dinner?”

Well, in fact, coming to a couple of dinners at our Cork conference? If you said “Dan Rex” you would be correct. [I hope you’re not thinking, “Who?!”] Dan Rex is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Toastmasters International and it is our privilege to host him.

Mr. Rex has worked for Toastmasters for 27 years, and during that time he has led several departments at World Headquarters, giving him a unique perspective and an impressive depth of knowledge of the organization. In 2008, he assumed the role of Executive Director, a title that was changed to Chief Executive Officer in 2013. Mr. Rex’s previous positions include Deputy Executive Director, Director of Communications and Marketing, Marketing Division Manager, and Membership Manager.

Mr. Rex will have two speaking slots during the conference weekend and I am sure he will leave us with a message that we can use. Ahead of our conference, he will also visit a couple of corporations that host a Toastmasters club, and will visit other Toastmasters clubs during his visit. If, you are lucky enough to host Mr.



Rex, please enjoy the experience, and learn from one of the best.

D71 Safe Haven Conference

This brings me to our “Safe Haven” Conference in Cork. The conference team have done a great job in putting together what I feel will be a great conference. Fun, friends and education – what could be better? If you have booked or are planning to book, I will see you there. If you are still thinking about it, please remember, we are going down to one conference a year so this will be your only chance to go to a conference for a year. If you are not thinking about it. . . please do! A district conference is great fun and a great learning experience. There will some great workshops, keynote and of course the annual business meeting where elections will be held for the next Toastmaster year! Besides, Cork is a lovely place just to be enjoyed.

I would like to thank everyone for making my year enjoyable. It is appreciated and I’m looking forward to seeing you at Cork, or at a venue near you.

Red

Red Skelton, DTM District 71 Director

Safe Haven 2017 Conference Have you booked yet? Click here for all details.

Cork Recce: a sneak peek at the Conference city In mid-February, the SafeHaven 2018 team invited me to

Cork for a recce ahead of the May District 71

ConferenceI had

been to Cork in

2006, but hadn’t

visited the city,

only the

surrounding area.

What a warm

welcome I

received!

There is so much to do in the area! Joined by the

Sheffield Steel City Team – the conference team had

arranged visits to Blarney Castle (where you can kiss the

eponymous stone), to Blarney Woolen Mill, to English

Market (above, right) --

a great stop

for foodies – amazing cheeses were just the tip of the

iceberg, one could spend hours in this wonderful place!)

and to Jameson Distillery at Midleton.

The Conference PR and Communications Manager Paul

O’Mahony generously hosted me, and I was made to feel

very much at home with Paul and his family.

A wonderful hospitality pervades the county – or

“kingdom” as the natives call it – and I would highly

recommend staying on for a few days if you are flexible

with your holidays and budget.

Laura Bruce, District 71 Public Relations Manager

mailto:https://safehaven2018.ie



Speechcraft - a great membership-building program

Clubs can run Speechcraft to:-

• Raise awareness of your community club and Toastmasters in the local community

• Raise awareness of your corporate club and Toastmasters in your organisation

Over a period of 4-6-8 weeks participants learn Toastmasters skills such as:-

• How to structure, write and deliver a speech

• Impromptu speaking

• Listening

• Evaluation

Benefits to members:-

The opportunity to build leadership skills, develop mentoring skills and present educational sessions

Can you charge participants a fee?

• A Speechcraft program should at least pay for itself. You can charge a nominal fee to cover the cost of materials, refreshments and room rental if applicable. TI suggests a fee between $10 and $25.

• No individuals, educational institutions or other organizations may derive financial gain either directly or indirectly from the presentation of these programs.

• Charging a fee can make the participants value the program more.

• Any excess funds should be placed in the club’s bank to be used by the club for educational purposes.

• BUT as an incentive for any participant who goes on to become a member, the club could reduce his/her membership by the fee already paid.

Resources:-

• Speechcraft Starter Kit

• Speechcraft Workbook

• Speechcraft Coordinator’s Guide

For more information on running a Speechcraft program contact me, Patricia O’Reilly D71 Program Quality Director [email protected] or Sharon O’Neill, D71 Speechcraft coordinator [email protected]

My personal experience of Speechcraft:-

Over the last 5 years I have delivered Speechcraft to:-

• the staff of the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street - sometimes twice a year

• the students of Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) - two sessions each year

• the trainers and trainees of National College for the Blind Ireland (NCBI) - once a year

What I love about delivering Speechcraft:-

Giving participants the key to structuring a speech - opening, body (with 3 points) & conclusion. I am indebted to PIP Ted Corcoran’s “How to write a speech in 10 minutes” workshop. I use a version of this to explain how easy it is to write and structure a speech and it works every time.

Seeing students in DKIT who are often very self-conscious about speaking in public growing more confident, understanding how eye contact, hand gestures, movement and body language enhance a speech and relying less on “like” and “you know” when delivering a presentation or speech – it’s very gratifying.

In NCBI some of the visually impaired trainees lost their sight as adults and with the loss of sight they also lost their confidence. Speechcraft helps them to gain self-confidence again.

Patricia O’Reilly, DTM D71 Program Quality Director

https://www.toastmasters.org/shop/205--Speechcraft-Starter-Kit

https://www.toastmasters.org/shop/204H--Speechcraft-Workbook

https://www.toastmasters.org/shop/204--Speechcraft-Coordinators-Guide

mailto:[email protected]




A busy time in Toastmasters There’s a lot going on in our Clubs at this busy time of the year. It’s contest time again, dues have to be renewed, there’s the “Talk Up Toastmasters” membership growth campaign, clubs are being visited by Pathways Ambassadors and Guides and I know many clubs have been running Open House meetings or Guest Nights. How do you have time for anything else?!

Dues Renewal Deadline - 31st March

We all have a key role to play in retaining members, encouraging them to renew their membership and demonstrating that toastmasters membership is still great value for money. Particularly with the exciting introduction to the all-new Pathways.

Here are some great tips for helping to get those dues renewed on time:

1. If the club can afford it offer a 10% discount for early payment.

2. Send out 1st, 2nd, 3rd and final reminder emails.

3. Remind members that they can only compete in contests and get access to Pathways if they are "a member in good standing" and that there is no grace period.

4. In your reminder emails, name and thank those that have paid and you may also want to list those still to pay.

5. Thank those that have paid for helping the club to achieve one of its DCP goals.

6. It's also all about membership retention, work with your VP Membership and other officers to encourage renewals from members that you have not seen for a while. Encourage them back.

7. Many clubs use monthly standing orders to help members to spread the cost. GoCardless is a great tool for collecting Direct Debits.

8. Also take a look at Monzo - a free debit card preloaded from your club bank account to pay Toastmasters International dues.

9. Corporate clubs can have an invoice raised for their dues by using the attached invoice template here.

District 71 is offering a gift of TI shop items to the value of $20 to any club who manages to get 100% or more (if you have added new members) of their members to pay before the deadline of 31st March or any club that gets 20 or more payments in to TI by the 17th March.

“Talk Up Toastmasters” Membership Growth Campaign ends on 31st March

Add and pay for 5, 7 or 10 and more New, Dual or Reinstated Members between the 1st February and 31st March and win an Award Ribbon from Toastmasters International, a 10% discount on future TI shop purchases and from District: TI shop prizes to the value of $20, $40 and $75.

Many thanks to all our club officers and club members for their hard work and efforts in helping us to retain and grow our members.

Best wishes for the rest of the Toastmasters year.

John Cox Club Growth Director

http://files.constantcontact.com/86f14826301/bb0044b2-e9b1-4ac1-9bb0-b02ab3bbbbb5.xlsx



NEWS FROM DIVISION C

Welcome to the February 2018 District 71 Newsletter and news from Division C. Division C spans the east-northeast coast of Ireland from Dublin all the way up to Belfast. Division C has 5 areas and 24 clubs.

Division C has a good mix of well-established and new clubs, the newest of which are Digital Hub which chartered in June 2007, and Datable which chartered in October 2017. Division C is a very successful division, achieving “President’s Distinguished” status last year.

Division C was well represented at the last District 71 Autumn Conference – the Steel City Conference, Sheffield in November – with Laurence Kelly from Glasnevin Club in Area 22 representing the Division in the Humorous Speech Contest and Seamus Hynes

representing East Coast in the Table Topics Contest. Both performed very well and we’re very proud of both of you. We held Division-wide Club Officer Training session (pictured above) on 17th February 2018 at which we were honoured to have the District 71 Program Quality Director Ms Patricia O’Reilly (pictured) and Past International President Mr Ted Corcoran present.

Brenda Lannon Division C Director Division C Director Brenda Lannon with Program Quality Director Patricia O’Reilly (right) and with Past International President Ted Corcoran (above, left) at Division C Club Officer Training 17 February



Around Area 16 in Division C Area 16 includes 5 clubs, Castleknock Toastmasters, Navan Toastmaster, Phoenix Tara Toastmasters based in Dunboyne and two corporate clubs, IBM Blue and Ditigal Hub in Thomas Street.

The highlights include:

Castleknock Barry Lane DTM achieved another A.L., A.L.B, C.C. and a Triple Crown. Elaine Hayden, Aidan O'Gorman, and Fiona Redmond have attained their C.L.'s Eugene Lucey, Gus Milligan and Billy Walsh all attained their A.L.B.'s. Dermot O'Brien attained his second C.L. Jenny O'Halloran attained her A.C.S. and her C.L. to date. Martin Miley, and Maree Farrell attained their A.C.B's

Sinead Moore is doing the Youth Leadership Programme with her transition students and we wish her well. Castleknock have had nine new members since 4th Sept. thanks to our V.P. Membership James Scullion. Indeed, in recognition of attracting five new members within the first few weeks of the 2017/18 season, Castleknock won a Smedley award. This was presented during the Division Humorous Speech Contest in the Grand Hotel Malahide in October.

This year’s clubs’ achievements could not have been achieved without the efforts of our dynamic committee. We are also looking forward to our annual trip abroad. This year, plans are underway to travel to Munich Toastmasters the end of May. Finally, Castleknock is now a President’s Distinguished club.

At Phoenix Tara Toastmasters, we believe in potential, possibilities and opportunities, so it was with great

pleasure that we attended the Dunboyne Enterprise exhibition in association with Bank of Ireland. The atmosphere was electric as everyone celebrated what was on offer in the local area - not least Phoenix Tara Toastmasters which has been a feature of the community since 2006.

Some members pictured at the event, above. From left: Sharon Rossignuolo, Cathy McCloskey, Roisin Graham, John Doherty, Mairead Murphy and Marian Brennan.

Many people start a business that is borne from a passion, but they often struggle with the elements of the business that are necessary to make it a success. These elements include:

- Presenting your offering & making pitches

- Media engagements

- Awards and Presentations

At the Dunboyne Enterprise event, we were able to explain how Toastmasters can help with all of these things as well as generally helping to build confidence, improve communication & develop leadership skills. We also gave some handy tips around how people could make their next presentation a great one.

We were delighted to have Irish celebrity Daithi O Shea drop by to say hello! Here he is pictured with Club President Sharon Rossignuolo.

Navan Toastmasters hosted a very successful Tall Tales competition in the Ardboyne Hotel on Wednesday 7th



February. Joe Armstrong (pictured below with myself and Navan Toastmasters President Cathy Reilly) took honours with an outrageous story

Andrew Finnigan Area 16 Director

Area 57 round-up Area 57 is made up of four clubs- PWC, IFSC, IE Templebar & Saudi Toastmasters. It is based on the northern side of the quays in Dublin city centre with a mix of corporate, community and a closed club. IFSC was formally Citi Bank (a corporate club) but in the last 12 months has changed to a community club and is currently expanding its membership. In the autumn the Humorous speech contest was won by Peter Kieran and Evaluation contest was won by Michael Dineen. They both went on to represent the area in the Division contest.

John Brady Area 57 Director

Around Area 19 Area 19 spans the counties directly to the north and south of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It comprises 6 clubs – Drogheda, Dundalk, Lagan Valley, Belfast, Citibank, and Newry. The Clubs are well established and are successful with committed club officers and valued members.

Lagan Valley were honoured to be visited by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Lisburn and Castlereagh Council for their

Humourous Speech Contest on 6 September 2017. The members of the club had a social night at the races on 23 September 2017.

Lagan Valley President Alison Matthews (above) attended the “Women in Busines”s event on 18 January 2018 which was organised by Woman In Business NI/ Lisburn and Castlereagh Council.

Belfast Toastmasters held a workshop and Open Evening on 8 February 2018 at which Simon Scriver presented a Speechwriting workshop.

Drogheda Toastmasters were delighted to welcome well known business man Gavin Duffy and regular “dragon” on “Dragons’ Den” to their meeting in November 2017.

Michael Woods Area 19 Director

Area 10 round-up Area 10 Director Bernadette Fennell with D71 Program Quality Director Patricia O’Reilly

and Seamus Hynes winner of autumn 2017 Table Topics contest in Balbriggan and former Division C Director.

Area 10 is located for the most part in North County Dublin and is composed of five clubs: East Coast Toastmasters - Santry Dublin 9, Swords Toastmasters – Swords, Co Dublin, Fingal Toastmasters – Sutton, Co



Dublin, Malahide Toastmasters – Malahide, Co Dublin and Balbriggan Toastmasters – Balbriggan, Co Dublin. The atmosphere in all five clubs is open, welcoming and supportive. All of the clubs are vibrant with a great sense of pride and commitment to grow their club and are dedicated to the educational and personal development projects offered by Toastmasters.

Area 10 Director Bernadette Fennell with Patricia O’Reilly, D71 Program Quality Director, and John Mulligan winner of the Humourous Speech Contest in Balbriggan

Toastmasters Club.

Several of these clubs have some very accomplished Toastmasters who are more than generous with their knowledge and experience. The theme of my time as Area 10 Director is to play my part in helping clubs in the area to share this valuable knowledge and experience.

Here is a speech from one of our members. It’s Project 4 – “How to Say it” from the Competent Communicator (aka “CC”) manual. He has given me permission to share this, and I think it’s a great resource for the Speech 4 Project. Enjoy!

Bernadette Fennell Director, Area 10 Featured speech:

“As drunk as a skunk” I hope you’ve never told anyone you’re as drunk as a skunk? Or as high as a kite? Or as blind as a bat? Well, if you have, you’re using figures of speech, also known as stylistic or rhetorical devices.

The objectives of Project 4 in the CC manual focus on the use of these. For example, you are asked to use these devices to enhance and emphasise ideas. And they, indeed, do that, because they provide emphasis, clarity and freshness of expression.

So, I’ll tell you what they’re not, some that we all know well and some that can and do confuse people.

First, what they’re not. They’re not what are known as idioms, although they can appear similar.

A few examples of idioms are: A breath of fresh air.

This is said about a new, fresh, and imaginative approach, a change that feels good.

The new president says that the club needs a breath of fresh air.

A number cruncher

A number cruncher refers to someone whose job is to work with numbers. He's a number cruncher. He works for a big firm of accountants

A baptism of fire: said about a very difficult first experience someone undergoes. My first time as the toastmaster of the meeting was a real baptism of fire.

Next moving to those rhetorical devices that we know well and use quite often.

Triads, or the rule of three.

For some reason saying words or ideas in threes’ is very pleasing to the human ear. Examples are faith, hope and charity. He never shuts up morning, noon, or night.

Even the Romans used triads 2000 years ago.

Veni, vidi, vicit. I came, I saw, I conquered.

Alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds in neighbouring words.

Alliteration draws attention to the phrase and is often used for emphasis. The initial consonant sound is usually repeated in two neighbouring words, although sometimes the repetition occurs also in words that are not neighbours.

Examples: sweet smell of success, a dime a dozen, bigger and better, jump for joy

A pun, also called paronomasia, involves a word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect.

Example: "You can tune a guitar, but you can't tuna fish. Unless of course, you play bass." - Douglas Adams.

Finally, to those devices which can cause confusion.



Ever hear of a figure of speech called hypophora? The strange thing is we use this very frequently without any idea we are doing so! But, if I asked you what is a rhetorical question, you would tell me you use them very often. But, like so many people, we confuse one for the other.

Hypophora is a figure of speech in which the speaker raises a question and then answers it. Hypophora is, therefore, different from a rhetorical question in that the speaker poses the question and then answers it immediately after.

Example: How many times have I asked you this? A dozen times or more.

On the other hand, a rhetorical question is a question that you ask without expecting an answer. The question might be one that does not have an answer. It might also be one that has an obvious answer, but you have asked the question to make a point, to persuade, or for literary effect. Was I foolish or what?

Next, we come to similes and metaphors and again we can be easily confused thinking we’re using a metaphor when it’s a simile and vice versa.

What is a simile?

A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as". It takes the form of:

He fights like a lion. He’s as strong as an ox. She slithers like a snake.

Unlike simile, metaphor is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things, but not using like or as.

It was a sea of grief. He has a broken heart. She is the apple of his eye. A roller coaster of emotions.

So now I’ve told you about idioms, about rhetorical devices which we use often and finally devices which can confuse us, but add a lot to our speeches. There are many others, of course, but there is no time to mention them here.

Now that you know what they are, why not begin using them in your speeches, as suggested in Project 4? (That’s a rhetorical question by the way!)

And the next time you hear someone described as drunk as a skunk, or as high as a kite, or as blind as a bat, you will immediately recognise them as similes, won’t you?

I just know in my heart you will.

And that Ladies and Gentlemen is my final example of hypophora and the end of my speech!

Compliments of Ted Corcoran, DTM, International President 2003/2004

Area 22 round-up Area 22 is a new area created as a result of the realignment of Division C in May 2017. It comprises 3 established clubs (Enterprise Ireland, Glasnevin and Viking Voices) and 1 newly chartered club (Datalex). Datalex was established due to the hard work of Club President Anton Marinov with support from Patricia O’Reilly District 71 Program Quality Director, Peter Kieran, Past Division C Director, Vincent Delaney and Patricia Duffy (members of Viking Voices club and Datalex Club Sponsors). Anton Mannov was presented with his club’s Charter pack at the Division C Club Officer

Training in the Grand Hotel, Malahide on 17th February 2018.

Area 22’s Christmas Party was well-attended



Under the guidance of President, Greg Coyle, Enterprise Ireland (Corporate Club) took part in the Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contests for the very first time in October 2017. While over at Glasnevin, first-time contestant Samantha Nagle came third in the Division C table topics contest while Laurence Kelly went on to represent Division C at the Steel Conference in Sheffield.

Other events that took pace in area 22 included:

Eric Fitzpatrick delivered “Persuade on Purpose – a Masterclass on High Impact Presentations” at Glasnevin Toastmasters in November 2017.

Members from clubs in area 22 gathered together in December for a fun filled night of Christmas poetry, topics and speeches followed by some food and drinks. A great night was had by all and was well attended.

Dawn Browne Area 22 Director

Editor’s note: The following article is a great example of a club getting together to set goals, plan an event, and

pull it together as a team. Thank you to Caroline Higgins, who supplied this story to me in December.

Wicklow Toastmasters host Christmas “Storytelling” evening On Friday December 15th 2017, Tinakilly House Hotel was the venue for Wicklow Toastmaster’s inaugural Storytelling night. Plans for this evening had been initiated in September at the beginning of the Toastmaster season. A meeting had been held first with the committee and then with the members to agree the year’s objectives. One key project agreed was the hosting of a storytelling evening. The date and venue were agreed.

Overall aim: To run an entertaining storytelling evening

Objectives:

• To invite clubs in Area 5, D. 71 to partake

• To secure venue for the date suitable for such an event

• To promote the event to the public and other Toastmasters

• To ensure it was a cost-neutral project for the club and value for the attendees

• To ensure it promoted Wicklow Toastmasters in a positive fashion

• To ensure it promoted Toastmasters in a positive fashion

• To ensure it showed Toastmasters as an educational and leadership opportunity

• To ensure it projected the spirit of openness and inclusivity of Toastmasters

• To share information about Toastmasters

• To encourage interest in joining Toastmasters

• To provide an evening of entertainment and enjoyment for attendees

• To provide a platform for speakers out of the Toastmaster meeting

The venue was chosen specifically as it lent itself to a cosy atmospheric setting suitable to host a storytelling evening. Wicklow Toastmasters President, Caroline Higgins co-ordinated the event. Our Area Director, Paddy Lavelle was supportive from the start and helped with venue, and suggestions of various speakers.

Daire Fitzgerald (SAA)-Will Doyle-(mc) Caroline Higgins (president)

All club members were supportive. Some assisted by managing promotion and advertising of the event. Our Vice president PR, Sarah Colfer set up an event page on Facebook and posted regular



updates. Sarah also continued to send reports into the local newspaper. Vice President Education Harry Cullen set up a special agenda for the evening. Notification and invitations for the event were circulated to the other clubs in our area, namely, Dunlaoire, Greystones, Bray and Allianz by the treasurer Carolann Murphy. Speakers were invited to participate from all the five clubs, and four participated. Speakers were chosen on known ability from previous presentations and from recommendations. We also had Dermot Carey, an award-winning speaker from the Dublin club participating. All material was designed, developed and circulated by members of the Wicklow club.

The night was a huge success with a capacity crowd gleaned from both Toastmasters and from the general public. The topics were very diverse – from shoes that were too tight, to moments in history, to memories, and the far-fetched. Will Doyle, a long-serving and experienced Wicklow Toastmaster was master of ceremonies for the evening. Will kept the show on the road with his wit and cracker jokes. He interjected with Toastmaster information and seamlessly put the speakers at ease as well as drawing in the audience.

The venue served delicious mini Christmas bites and mulled wine, enjoyed by all. The feedback on all aspects

of the night was very positive and complimentary indeed. The pre-set objectives for the event were fully achieved.

The speakers were, from Dublin, Dermot Carey; from Bray & Dunlaoire club, Eddie Dunphy; from Greystones, Fiona Morrissey, Orla Cantwell & Kevin Doyle; from Dunlaoire, Paul Cuffe; Area Director Paddy Lavelle, and from Wicklow, Ashleigh Tobin & Caroline Higgins. All speakers spoke positively of their experience and valued the opportunity to be involved.

Congratulations to all the speakers for their willing participation and excellent delivery of wonderful stories. A huge thank-you to all the team involved in the project. This was a great example of a “Toastmasters’ team effort” with enhancement of fruitful collaboration with other clubs. It was also an exciting and innovative demonstration of Toastmasters at its best, demonstrating leadership, development ,and most of all – pure entertainment.

Caroline Higgins President, Wicklow Toastmasters



Did you know…

. . .there was a split in the ‘70’s?

Following on from the previous column, we move on to the ‘70s, when TI, and 120 clubs approximately in TCBI, parted company.

The February 1971 issue contains an editorial critical of WHQ’s response to a “letter of intent” sent by the Executive Council in August, 1970. It states in part, “The Executive Council, at its January meeting, expressed disappointment with the reply from Santa Ana (TI HQ) and, as a result, a motion concerning the situation will be put forward at the Conference in April when the whole matter will come under discussion.” Unfortunately, there is no record of the contents of this “letter of intent”. However, one could reasonably speculate that the “intent” was a notice of intention to disassociate from TI, unless certain conditions were met. This is borne out by the following motion.

At the 1971 April Conference in Edinburgh a motion, “That this Council approve the line of action taken by the Executive Committee and instruct them to draw up contingency plans for a separate organisation”, was carried overwhelmingly.

On November 4, 1971, R.T. Buck Engle wrote to each TCBI club president detailing a plan for the British and Irish clubs. Each toastmasters club would receive a free copy of the new Basic and Advanced speech manuals, plus club officer’s leadership materials. The letter detailed an increased fees schedule, effective in gradual steps for current members over a three-year period, raising the annual dues, from $2, to $8. Clubs were given until Jan 1, 1972, to advise WHQ of their intent to continue as a member club of TI and, if so, to return a current membership list.

The TCBI Executive met on Nov 21. It decided all clubs would cease as members of TI on December 31, 1971. A new organisation was proposed – The Institute of Public Speaking. This later became the Association of Speakers Clubs, or ASC. However, most of the clubs in the Southern district (the

Territory was divided into six districts equating in size to divisions nowadays) which comprised London, East Anglia and the Home Counties opted to remain with TI. These 21 clubs along with 7 Irish and 3 Scottish were assigned by TI to the proposed new District 71 in April, 1972. Interestingly, one of the Scottish clubs to remain with TI was the Glasgow club #86, the first club founded in Scotland in 1935.

Did you know. . . ? is a regular feature of

the District 71 newsletter writted by Ted

Corcoran, DTM, Past International President

of Toastmasters.

Ted has documented the development of

Toastmasters in Ireland and Britain in A

Comprehensive History of Toastmasters in

Great Britain and Ireland: 1935–2014.

To read more of Ted’s history of Toastmasters, visit

http://d71Toastmasters.org/history/

http://d71toastmasters.org/history/



ANGLIAN ADVANCED SPEAKERS CLUB speak more professionally and become a professional speaker…..

Where can you go to develop advanced speaking skills or make yourself more marketable as a professional speaker? Answer, the Anglian Advanced Speakers Club, and you are cordially invited to join us at one of our meetings and experience speaking at a higher level. The club, chartered in 2016, is

dedicated to providing

the opportunity

for its members to

achieve levels of

speaking

professionalism beyond the standard Toastmasters club. It draws on the pool of knowledge within the club as well as carefully selected outside sources to provide educational, varied and dynamic meetings, all underpinned by the club’s core values of commitment, respect, integrity and support.

Meetings include educational sessions - recent topics have been ‘Giving TED talks’, ‘Speaking Humorously’, ‘Dealing with Nerves’, ‘Powerful Storytelling’ and ‘Using Emotions in Speeches’ - and the added challenge of Tougher Table Topics, with innovative twists to sharpen up

your impromptu speaking skills. The programme also has a target speech, which receives a stringent group evaluation. We often hold a speakers’ clinic, whereby members can request advice on a particular area of interest about a speaking issue.

The benefits to you are many, from increasing your knowledge of professional speaking techniques and making yourself more marketable as a speaker to raising your confidence to an even higher level and fine tuning your delivery style with personal coaching from experienced speakers. You also have the opportunity to achieve higher educational awards sooner by being able to give advanced manual speeches and improve to a higher speaking level through more focused feedback, including video.

The club meets on the second Monday of the month, primarily at Meeting Point Dereham, Jubilee Suite, St Withburga Lane, Dereham, NR19 1ED and occasionally in other locations in East Anglia. For more details, or if you would like to host a meeting at your venue, please contact Natalie King, at [email protected]. Please follow Anglian Advanced Speakers Club on Facebook for information and clips from previous meetings.

Come along to see for yourself what the club can offer, to enhance your existing skills and help you succeed in achieving your speaking aspirations and goals. We look forward to meeting you.

Linda Whiteley President, Anglian Advanced Speakers Club




Has your club had an event you would like featured? If so please email me details and a photo with the subject line “Event Feature for Newsletter” and I will do my best to include it!

Phillip O’Brien writes

Bandon Toastmasters Club hosted a special motivational evening 22nd February - "Ignite your Potential" which was an amazing success with over 150 people present. The audience was treated to fantastic, inspiring and up-lifting speeches and how Toastmasters can help us all "Ignite our Potential"

Pictured is our truly inspirational

President, Imelda Westcott with our two special guest speakers, Walt Hampton and Henk van der Klok.

Well done Bandon Toastmasters!

Travelling Toasties!

Eileen Hopkins of Swords Toastmasters visited Strictly Speaking Harrowgate, pictured here with club president Sue McQueen

Please remember to tag your Facebook post #TravellingToastie.

Phillipa Collier visiting Watford Speakers

Clare Crowther, the UK’s first Toastmasters International

accredited speaker, has also been making tracks across

the District as a Travelling Toastie. Well done Clare!

https://www.facebook.com/imelda.kennedy.98?fref=mentions




Toasties in the News!

Well done Imelda Westcott Kennedy, interviewed on Cork Today on C103 ahead of Bandon Toastmasters big event! Give it a listen here via Soundcloud.

Imelda also was interviewed in the Irish Examiner!

More media interviews:

Fear of Public Speaking Conquered: listen here to

an extended interview with writer Susan Ryan. She

credits Toastmasters with helping her overcome her

fear of public speaking. Listen to her interview with

Ryan Tubridy on RTE

Have you registered your

#TravellingToastie visit?

Read all the details and get the link to the online

form here to get credit for all your Travelling

Toastie visits!

Contest season photos!

Send pics from your club or area

contest with a detailed caption for

the next issue. Deadline 15

March!

Your intrepid District PR manager was warmly

welcomed by Prague Business Toastmasters and

helped out by taking on a role at their club contest.

Is your club’s website working?


https://www.facebook.com/Bandontoastmasters/?fref=mentions

https://www.facebook.com/Bandontoastmasters/?fref=mentions

https://soundcloud.com/cork103/fear-of-public-speaking-patricia-chats-with-imelda-westcott

https://www.rte.ie/radio1/ryan-tubridy/programmes/2018/0213/940332-the-ryan-tubridy-show-tuesday-13-february-2018/?clipid=102728968#102728968

https://www.rte.ie/radio1/ryan-tubridy/programmes/2018/0213/940332-the-ryan-tubridy-show-tuesday-13-february-2018/?clipid=102728968#102728968

http://d71toastmasters.org/travelling-toastie-programme/

http://d71toastmasters.org/travelling-toastie-programme/




Does your club website help visitors find you? Does it give them all the pertinent info? Does it tell them what to expect? If you think your site ‘ticks all the boxes’, then consider entering it in the Distinguished Club Website programme. A new initiative this year, it’s a 10-point checklist to ensure you cover the most important information. Clubs whose website conforms to these “best practices” will receive a set of club ribbons.

To date only a few clubs, including Stirling Speakers and East Herts Speakers have submitted their site and achieved this recognition.

What’s stopping you from participating? Do you think your club website is worthy of recognition? See all the details on the D71 website by clicking here and get in touch if you want to submit your site. It’s really simple – review the criteria to make sure your site’s a match, and then just sent me an email with DCW + your club name. Good luck! Laura Bruce Public Relations Manager

Club video!

Check out the club videos on the D71 PR Facebook page – and why not submit a video you created during a #TravellingToastie visit? Have you made a video at a club meeting? Share it to the D71 Public Relations Facebook page to spread the word. Speaking of videos, the conference team have a contest, to sing their theme song.

P.S. “Newsletter-itis”

If you’ve read this far, then congratulations!

As anyone who has ever published a newsletter will recall, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Our District 71 newsletter is no different.

Thank you to everyone who contributed articles and photos, or even ideas. I appreciate it.

While I am a bit behind schedule with this issue, the important thing is that it is done. I hope you enjoy it!

As always, your feedback is welcomed and encouraged. Please email me here and let me know what you think. Hope to see you before too long.

-- Laura

http://d71toastmasters.org/best-club-website-award/



https://www.facebook.com/d71toastmasters.org/?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/d71toastmasters.org/?fref=ts


district 71 newsletter february 2018 - the official district 71...

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