Tuesday, December 13, 2016

New Officers December 2017



Congratulations to the New Officers to Begin in 2017
&
Congratulations to Top of Texas
 Celebrating 15 years on February 4th


Top of Texas Club Officers
Office
07/01/2016 - 12/31/2016
President
VP Education
Anne Brown
VP Membership
VP Public Relations
Secretary
Treasurer
Sergeant at Arms

Club officer training has also begun!

You can check the District 25 website calendar for officer training dates here: http://d25toastmasters.org/tli/index.htm

Monday, December 12, 2016

Tips from Tops of Texas

How To Start a Youth Leadership Program within Toastmasters


One of the strengths of Toastmasters is learning the value of communication and competent leadership.  It’s such a great idea and offering that Toastmaster makes available to anyone interested in helping to start a Youth Leadership Program.  Since getting started and taking that first step is always one of the hardest things we encounter….let me take that first step for you and help you know what to do to get started. It’s really not that hard!  

Here is where you go on the TI Website to get the material:  Click Here

Once on the site, assuming you are sure you want to start a Youth Leadership Club, then the Youth Leadership Kit is what I recommend you grab to start with.

PLEASE NOTE: this kit only serves to supply enough materials for 5 students.  

 Here’s a link directly to the Youth Leadership Kit ç start here – this has the forms and info on what you will need to submit. The kit itself is $17.00
  

…and depending on how many students, the way to start I would think is get the kit, then go back to the material and get what additional materials you need for any additional students once you have a better grasp of the program.  The limit for any Youth Leadership Program in terms of size is 25 members.

Here is the description that can be found on the Toastmasters International Website as of Dec 2016:

........................................................................................................
Youth Leadership Program
The Youth Leadership Program is a workshop consisting of eight one- to two-hour sessions that enable participants to develop communication and leadership skills through practical experience. The program is presented during or after school, or on weekends. Participants learn to:
  • Evaluate present speaking ability
  • Organize and give speeches
  • Give impromptu talks
  • Control voice, vocabulary and gestures
  • Give constructive feedback and more
Each Youth Leadership Program group is limited to 25 people. Participants are selected by the sponsoring Toastmasters club or by a cooperating organization (such as a school).
A local Toastmasters club serves as sponsor and provides a coordinator to present the program. The individual coordinator attends each meeting, where he or she will lead most of the presentations and counsel participants. The coordinator assigns an assistant who can fill in for the coordinator should he or she be unable to attend a meeting. Meetings generally follow a format similar to that of a Toastmasters club meeting, including an announced agenda, practice in parliamentary procedure, and the selection of presiding officers.
  ……..............................................................................................
Once you have received your kit from TI, start first by using the Coordinator Manual.  It provides what you need to submit to form your Youth Program with explanations
Please note that you really do need to get the Youth Leadership Kit from the link provided above to really get the materials you need to get started.  I’m emphasizing do this first. 
I also recommend you visit this website below as it will help you gain a better understanding of the program while you’re waiting on your kit to arrive.
Check Out This Website   <= after looking at several sites, I thought this particular site stood out as being one of the best and most helpful.

Then here are some other links I found that I thought might be useful:
PDF  <= PDF on “How to start a Youth Leadership Program”

Here’s an old Youth Leadership Guide from District 25, although some of the links no longer work. Still, the material is very helpful: Old PDF Guide


Check out this copy of a Youth Leadership Workbook in PDF form for reference.  Please note that I don’t know if this is still the most current workbook, but I’m sure they are similar and should be useful in giving you a visual idea of what you will be receiving in your kit to work with.  Go to: Workbook
Finally, a video interview on the Youth Leadership Program I found that isn’t atrociously long and has some content coupled with a nice show and tell.  Actually very useful and visually shows many items. Check out this Video


In summary,  here’s the order  I’d recommend be followed to get started with a Youth Leadership Program
1. Order the $17.00 kit from TI – this has the Coordinator Manual                                                        
2. Watch the video... it’s a little fluffy, but it also gets you familiar with what you’ll get and need to do
Then…

3. Dive into the Website I sent you above.  I think this has what you need to help you really get started once you get your kit.

4. Look thru the other links, and spend a moment with the one showing the workbook. These links should offer some ideas / formats and a look into the Youth Leadership Program further before you get your material.

5. Final point - as you read and watch and get your footing and understanding, I would recommend going ahead and getting whatever else you may need for any additional students only after you had a chance to receive and review your kit.  It will take a little time to get the forms in place, and it won’t take long to get the additional manuals to begin – and – this way you can be sure of exactly what you need once you’ve had a chance to rummage thru your kit further.  Just a suggestion.

You may also find that as you learn How to Start and Present a Youth Leadership Program that it would provide an EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY for a How To Informative speech. You could also perhaps invite others to help you out, form a committee and teach “How to Start a Youth Leadership Program” via an HPL project (High Performance Leadership) with the goal to get other clubs informed and more youth programs started within our District.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Upcoming Area 56 Contest!



Congratulations to all our contestants and to Ana who won our Evaluation Contest and Wayne who won our Humorous Contest.

Both will be representing Top of Texas Toastmasters at our Area Contest in October.




We had a great time Saturday at our club contest and afterward, many of us participated in the Trinity Trash Bash!


Come join us each Saturday from 9am - 10am, Visit our website for directions.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Remembering the Speech of Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig's farewell speech has been compared to the Gettysburg Address by some.  The comparison is interesting, and while there are similarities, in researching Gehrig's last speech I was astounded to learn just how similar one could draw a parallel when looking at the circumstances.


Both Lincoln and Gehrig didn't feel well.  Lincoln was sick on the train ride to Gettysburg, and was said to be running a high fever; likely the flu.  Gehrig was suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and since pulling himself out of a game in April, now on July 4th just 3 months later, his teammates and the fans noticed a distinct difference in his body and the weight loss.  Because ALS attacks your muscles, Gehrig was afraid of the long walk out onto the field for fear of tripping; the acceptance of trophies for fear of dropping; and the fear of speaking for fear of not knowing what to say.  In fact, unlike Lincoln, Gehrig had not planned to speak at all.  In fact, it is said he asked his teammates and Babe Ruth to speak for him, insisting he did not want to speak.

Both men had a connection to July 4th.  The Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day where Gehrig would give his final speech was held on July 4th; and Lincoln's Gettysburg address spoke of our nations birth, and gave meaning to a battle that happened during the early days of July including July 4th in 1863.

Both men were said to be soft spoken, but articulate.  Both were not known for any oral skills at the time of their speeches, and both with some reluctance spoke last.  The crowd for Lincoln had listened to a famed orator for hours, and out of respect, but not interest, stayed to hear Lincoln.  The crowd for Gehrig wanted to hear him speak, but he had said that he wasn't going to and was heading back off the field.  The microphones were even in the process of being removed.  That is, until his coach pulled him aside.  We will never know what was said, but it was enough to encourage Gehrig to approach the microphone for what would be perhaps the most famous speech in sports, and what would ultimately be Gehrig's last speech.


The Gettysburg address was 272 words long; Gehrig's Farewell Address was 276 words long. Both limiting their dialog with simplistic everlasting beauty of word that touched a nation.

As Gehrig approached the microphone, knowing he did not want to speak makes the film we have of this day in 1935 that more interesting.  He looks down through most of the ceremony honoring him.  He takes off his hat and looks stoic but calm as he wipes his forehead before speaking into the mic.  Then he starts:
"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.   


"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.


"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

Gehrig had recently turned 36 at the time of his speech.  Within months after the speech, to take a picture of him at his desk working, someone would have to close his hand around his pencil.  

Within months of that, he would not be able to raise his own head.



At the age of 37, he could not leave his house.

At the age of 38, just two weeks into what should have been his 38th year of life, Lou Gehrig died of ALS.

During his life, Gehrig did not want to say he had a disease, and doctors didn’t know how to treat him, and there was no cure for it, and they humanely offered a 50/50 chance for recovery when they knew very little about his chances at all.  And although he did not want for others to worry and avoided ever referring to his circumstance as a disease, today we know ALS as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

In ALS, nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control movement stop functioning. The condition leads to paralysis, and patients eventually cannot breathe or swallow on their own.
The disease afflicts about 350,000 people a year worldwide, and about half of patients die within three years of diagnosis.

However, according to WebMD, -- Researchers from Northwestern University are reporting a major breakthrough in understanding  ALS and think their discovery proves that different forms of ALS actually have a common cause and that this could lead to better strategies to treat the disease in the future.  

As a Toastmaster, I am more appreciative of the strength Lou Gehrig had, and his conquering of fear of speaking that day, and delivering a Farewell Address that will live on for the ages.  Lou Gehrig taught us about life, and the importance of living through his character, his courage, and the power of words.  God bless you Mr. Gehrig. 







Sunday, July 10, 2016

Do you C what I C?




I know .. I know ...we need an acronym for the word acronym.  In Toastmasters, acronyms are alive and well there too.  You just can't get away from them it seems.
 There's CC's and CL's and DTMs, and ACBs, and on and on and on and to speak the lango you'll  need to tango with the tongue of the Toastmaster.   

But  S-L-O-W  D-O-W-N ... it's not really all that bad....if you're just starting out, you do need to add vitamin C to your Toastmaster diet, as C stands for "competent" and "communicator" making you a Competent Communicator (or CC) once you've completed your first 10 speeches.  Let's start here!

Competent Communicator = CC and consists of 10 speeches which are:
  1. Speech 1: The Ice Breaker — The first speech of the Toastmasters program is about introducing yourself to your peers, providing a benchmark for your current skill level, and standing and speaking without falling over.
  2. Speech 2: Organize Your Speech — Introduces the basic concepts of organizing a speech around a speech outline.
  3. Speech 3: Get to the Point — Clearly state your speech goal, and make sure that every element of your speech focuses on that goal.
  4. Speech 4: How to Say It — Examines word choice, sentence structure, and rhetorical devices.
  5. Speech 5: Your Body Speaks — Shows how to complement words with posture, stance, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.
  6. Speech 6: Vocal Variety — Guides you to add life to your voice with variations in pitch, pace, power, and pauses.
  7. Speech 7: Research Your Topic — Addresses the importance of backing up your arguments with evidence, and touches on the types of evidence to use.
  8. Speech 8: Get Comfortable With Visual Aids — Examines the use of slides, transparencies, flip charts, whiteboards, or props.
  9. Speech 9: Persuade With Power — Discusses audience analysis and the different forms of persuasion available to a speaker.
  10. Speech 10: Inspire Your Audience — The last of ten speeches, this project challenges the speaker to draw all their skills together to deliver a powerful inspirational message.

When you join Toastmasters, you are given a Competent Communication manual like THIS



 ...but Toastmasters is not just about overcoming your fear of speaking, improving your speaking, and building confidence.  It also builds leaders through it's Competent Leadership program.  Because leadership skills are so important and coincide with the ability to express yourself professionally, the other half of Toastmasters consists of improving your leadership skills.   The Competent Leader or CL can be worked and earned together with the CC program and both manuals are provided when a new Toastmaster member joins.   Like the CC's 10 speeches, the CL consists of 10 projects to help grow leadership skills giving you the opportunity to complete these while serving in various club meeting roles.   See the Competent Leadership manual HERE

Want to learn more?  Come join TOTTs (That's an acronym for our club Top of Texas Toastmasters) as we'd love to have you at our next meeting.   
You can visit our Web Page HERE

Come see us!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

May 7th  Recap & Upcoming Open House on May 14th...


Congratulations to Lina Choun who gave her 10th speech and earned her CC!   


Way to go Lina!


Marcus not only gave us our word of the day (which was Zenith), but he also provided his Vision for our upcoming Open House this weekend, May 14th!




Our Open House will feature guest speaker Timothy Park.  Things get underway promptly at 9am, and there will be snacks provided.  Please join us.

The theme is of interest to the Open House, as it is "Public Speaking"

 
We are located at 5025 Jacksboro Hwy, Ft Worth, TX 76114.
Follow the signs and enter thru the back of the Northwest Bible Church.

Hope to see you there!

- Ken Dorsey, Top of Texas VPPR.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Top of Texas Represents Area 56 at the International  Division Speech Contest


Our own Anne Brown recently won the Top of Texas International Speech contest and advanced by winning 1st place for Area 56, representing at the Toastmasters District 25 Division Contest held Saturday, April 30th.




Anne's speech entitled, "Breathe, Believe, Battle" was an inspirational and touching expression she shared about a member of her family and the will to overcome enormous hardships.


Great job Anne!   


And thanks also to Lina who helped out as time keeper for the district competition!


Great job guys!

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Why I joined Toastmasters

by Vanessa Foster


I believe there are two types of people in this world: word people, and number people.
And since I was nine years old, I’ve known to which tribe I belong—I’m a Word Person,
through and through. Some might call me a Word Nerd! My fate was sealed in the fourth
grade. When I began struggling with fractions, Mr. Teacher patted me on the head and
said, “Don’t worry your pretty little head, your husband can do the math in the family.”
And it stuck. To this day, math and its confounding intricacies continues to elude me.

But words—words are my friends!

Writing and telling stories have been passions of mine for as long as I can remember.
As a child, it was not uncommon for me to climb a tree with a tiny spiral notebook and
a pencil so I could have some peace and quiet and let the words flow. I wrote poetry,
I journaled (even though it would be years before that word entered my vocabulary), and
I made up stories. I also wrote plays and would gather my sisters and friends and we’d
act them out for the neighborhood kids, charging a nickel for admittance.

As an adult, I have written poetry, short stories, two memoirs, and am three-quarters of
the way through my first novel. After publishing my memoir, More Than Everything (and
becoming an advocate for helping young women find a way out of seemingly impossible
situations), I found myself talking to groups of people—sharing my story in front of an
audience. And as an introvert, this did not come naturally.

Enter Toastmasters!

After being invited to attend an open house, and witnessing first-hand the positive
atmosphere and helpful attitudes of its members, I knew I’d found an answer. It was
immediately clear that the club environment of support and positive feedback, with
assignments and the goal-tracking process of the Toastmasters program would be a great
fit for me.

My goal is to someday be a professional speaker. I also dream of telling stories live,
on stage in front of an audience. With four speeches under my belt, I’m growing more
and more confident that Toastmasters will help this Word Nerd reach those goals.

                                                                                                              - Vanessa


Top of Texas would like to wish Vanessa all the best with her Toastmasters journey. 
We will miss you!  





Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Riding high

Top of Texas Toastmasters Meeting Recap – January 23, 2016



Top of Texas had another great meeting on Saturday with three speakers, a large audience, and one guest.  Our guest, Wayne, is a past member of our club who is back in town after five years of living out of state.

In honor of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo that is currently taking place at Will Rogers Memorial Center, the theme of our meeting was the Stock Show & Rodeo.


Our first speaker was Carenthia who gave her Ice Breaker speech.  We learned about Carenthia’s childhood, education, and her strong desire to serve her country.  Carenthia used humor and storytelling skills in her speech and did a great job!  We thank Carenthia for her service to our country.


Next, Jennifer told us about her experience with the Beachbody products and fitness plan.  From the sound of it, the Beachbody supplements have been very good for Jennifer’s body and has helped her health.  With this speech Jennifer is halfway to completing her CC (Competent Communication) manual and attaining her CC education level! 

Our third speaker was Ken who educated the members with a speech from the Toastmasters Successful Club Series.  Ken walked us thru the two Toastmasters educational tracks: the Communication track and the Leadership track. 


Ken provided us with a number of online resources that are available and can help members move toward earning the DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster) award.  This speech provided a good overview for many of our new members, and a good refresher for some of our long-time members.  Here are some links from Ken’s speech below:


Our club welcomes all guests and we meet every Saturday morning (except holidays) at 9 am at the Northwest Bible Church in northwest Fort Worth.  We hope to see you at our next meeting!
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                               - Ana Ortega  ALB, ACB

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Time for Those 2016 Resolutions

As another year trucks in and another runs out…let’s analyze things:

This time last year the Dallas Cowboys were on a roll, and we knew if they didn’t win it all, that THIS YEAR (2015) would be THEIR year to go all the way!
Hmm – how’d that work out for us?

And last year, we knew going into 2015 we all felt uneasy about the economy … and going into 2016 it seems like Déjà vu.
But I think I did OK on my resolutions for last year :-)    I am of the breed that actually really writes them down, and really tries to stay after them beyond February.  I haven’t had that bikini / swimsuit one on my list for several years, it’s easier to just stay clear of watering holes.   But I did make some resolutions to continue the journey toward acquiring my DTM (a Distinguished Toastmaster Title) and so far looking at last year, I believe I’ve stayed on course!  So what’s in store for you this year?    

I asked a few fellow Top of Texas Members what their commitments were for 2016, and I’ve got to say that after hearing others chime in with their resolutions, I’m going to have to adopt some of them as mine too.  For instance…Marcus wants to pay off some debt and get back in the gym.  

For me, the gym is a debt…I mean, I don’t even know what the gym hours are.  Pretty bad.  I think I got my gym membership after guilt over a brownie bottom pie.  But OK! … This year I’m with Marcus!…the gym will make my list!


If we start going to the gym, just maybe when we give our speeches, people will be so overcome with our super hero physique, they won’t notice our “ums” and "ahs".  But then that’s what Toastmasters is for; and because one of my resolutions is to become a better leader and speaker, I want to up the ante and vow to end 2016 with my Advanced Leader Silver and Advanced Communicator Silver!  (OK, I’ve done it now, it’s in writing for all to see).  But I’m serious!  Toastmasters is such a great opportunity for all of us to improve, I just need to take advantage of it.  I hope we all do!

One of the best tips someone shared with me a few years ago was that in life, we should always work hard at recognizing and overcoming Parkinson’s Law.   I’ve found this to be a great tool for Toastmasters when you are trying to settle down to write that speech!   Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”  It’s really just a nice way to coin that favorite word we all know - procrastination.     Think about it – how many hours (and I mean LOTS of HOURS) have you spent in your life PREPARING to study, and deciding instead to clean a drawer that has been dirty since the Roman conquest just so you don’t have to sit down and study for that test, read that book, or write that paper?   It’s Parkinson’s Law that gives power to resolutions!   Really!   We have resolutions because we all suffer from procrastination … oops, I mean Parkinson’s Law. 

A good friend of mine showed me a trick.  If you need to finish up something you’re working on, rather than daydreaming or doing any of a 101 things you shouldn’t be doing that wastes time; (i.e. Facebook, email, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Groupon, MeetUp, eBay, texting, Spotify, Amazon, Rhapsody, Kindle, Pandora, Instagram, ESPN, Tumblr, IHeartRadio, Pinterest, Fox News, Fandango, MSN, Yahoo, YouTube, Nook, Periscope, WhatsApp, SnapChat, Netflix, Hulu, Vine, Kik, Craigslist, OfferUp, Etsy, Fitbit, E*Trade, Drudge Report, Audible, WebEx, Apple App Store, KickStart, OneDrive, iCloud, Dropbox or just that good ole’ fashioned phone call) …that instead, work to grow conscience about what you ARE doing with your time!!!   

Take notice of what's going on and recognize that you’re EXPANDING the time you have to instead fill-up the time so that you will finish what you need to be doing just in time to meet the deadline!   That's just BAD BAD BAD!   Stop wasting time, and knock it out ahead of time!   How you ask?  Simple.  Unplug your laptop and work from your battery only. 
You now have given yourself a window of approximately 3 hours to finish your work, and you can’t waste time with those 101 things because if you do, your battery will go dead before you finish!  Try and finish it before the battery dies, and remember to save often.  Hey, it works for me!   In the words of Timothy Leary (well sort of) “Turn on, Tune In, Plug Out”  I promise you will work faster and get things done!     

OK, so if that's as radical to you as Mr. Leary was,  then just do a 5 min (no longer) surge thru the house to get the drink ready, the pen, paper, and PC ready..then  hide the social devices in the next room to charge, turn off the TV, the radio, put the dog outside, take the phone off the hook, and sit down and start without anything to distract you.  If you have kids, tell them you are not to be disturbed or feedings and allowances will cease to exist. Well, maybe that's a little harsh, but make sure they get the point that knocking politely doesn't apply here.  Starting is usually the hardest thing for most of us.  Set a goal to finish by a certain time that pushes you and don't give yourself any time off for good behavior.  Just stay with it and knock it out!
  
Perhaps we need to make 2016 the year of getting things done.  Our country needs it, and we all need it in our lives more than ever with so many apps and devices to distract us.   I hope all your resolutions come true, and who knows – maybe I’ll run into you at the gym.   If not, I’ll see you at Toastmasters.

Happy New Year!

Ken Dorsey, CC