How Readable is Your Writing?

Do you struggle with editing? I certainly do.

Whether it a be a speech, a resume cover letter, or a blog post I struggle with writing the perfect sentence.  I use too many words.  Sentences, or whole paragraphs, are written with a passive voice (like this one).

Microsoft Word will catch many of the "there" versus "their" type of errors. But wouldn't it be great if there was an easy way to grade what you've written? Wouldn't it be nice to have a tool that points out where sentences could be made less sucky by changing the length, voice, or word choice?

You are in luck.  Hemingwayapp.com is a simple application that analyzes the readability of your writing. Copy and paste into the editor and color highlights appear showing you areas of improvement. 

Check out the attached photo for the grade a first draft of this post received.  As you can see, there were several issues to address.








Are you writing your next speech? Before the final draft, I encourage you to let Hemingway provide sound editing advice.

Submitted By
Jeff Wright
President
Top of Texas Toastmasters

The First Step

We’re now at the half way mark for 2014! Every year, at the beginning of the year, lots of us make resolutions and set goals.  How are you doing on yours? Have you moved closer to what you want? Have you begun the work you need? Have you taken that 1st step?

The members of Top of Texas have definitely been doing all that. I see you participating in contests, moving into officer positions that will stretch you, finishing education goals, and stepping outside the club for leadership positions. We got our blog up and running.

All of that AND making healthy changes in our personal lives as well! Ana Ortega inspired us to pay more attention to our health with a speech she gave to our club earlier this year. Because of her inspiration, some of us are eating healthier and even participating in marathons.

But, how did we start to achieve our goals? How did we begin to work on making our New Year’s Resolutions come to fruition? How did we begin to make changes?

We started with 1 step. Just one. And then we kept moving.

Each day is a chance to start new, to set up a plan to make the decisions that will lead us where we want to be, to take that 1st step.

Submitted By
Sandra Price

The Importance Of Mentoring

This Saturday one of my mentees will be giving his Icebreaker speech, and it got me to thinking about being a mentor. The Competent Leader manual has the requirement that in order to get credit, the mentee has to speak through three speeches. Sure, that's measurable, but to me, it's only the minimum.

I have had one of the most "intense" mentors, Aparna Valluri. Intense on her words, "DeAnna, you EXUDED confidence," intense on her encouragement, "DeAnna we're number one baby!"  And intense on her guidance, "DeAnna, here is a link to 17 sites to help you with speech #4." Okay, maybe she didn't send me 17, but it was plenty. She has taught me so much (and still does), that I can use her as an example of what a mentor can provide.

Guidance on Roles 

When a new member attends his or her first meeting as a member, it can seem daunting.

• Being a Listener? "What do I say?" 
• Being a Grammarian and Ah Counter?  "I have to tell all these people I've never met about all the crutch phrases they used and expect them to not be upset when I correct them on grammar?" 

A mentor tells the mentee how to handle the role without feeling under prepared.

Guidance on Speeches

Despite taking two years for my CC, I did at one point actually blaze through my first few speeches, but by the fourth speech, I couldn't come up with a topic.  With the bare minimum three speeches, Aparna could have felt her job was over and not helped, but she did, which brings me to one of my biggest emphases: there's no set stopping point.

Aparna is still my mentor, even now that I have finished my CC, and if there is anything I struggle with, I am free to talk to anyone, but I know I have Aparna rooting for me to keep pushing. To me, a mentee ought to feel the mentor is in his or her corner of the ring.

Guidance on Toastmasters

Toastmasters is an organization with so many levels above the club, and it's nice to excel within the club. But if ever a member feels that he or she wants to reach higher, by all means, the mentor should encourage. We're all here to get something out of Toastmasters and those who want to give back should have the opportunity to. A mentor encourages that spirit.

Having a mentor is an excellent benefit to Toastmasters and being a mentor is an excellent opportunity to have. I hope that both of these are promoted even more in Toastmasters as we see our clubs grow.

DeAnna Wolf, CC

Summer Solstice - June 21st Meeting Review

The sky may have been cloudy outside but inside our Saturday morning Top of Texas meeting the sun was shining with the Summer Solstice theme. Out toastmaster DeAnna gave us her long list of to-dos for the longest day of the year. I'd be interested to know how many items she managed to complete!

During out Table Topics we found out that a few of our members were spending their entire day working on Toastmasters business. Now that's dedication!  I'm sure whatever they worked on will benefit many clubs and their members.

We also had two speeches. The first speaker, Ken, is on his one-speech-a-week streak and gave his fourth speech titled "Kanban Meets The Family." Kanban is a methodology by which tasks are listed on a signboard, and we learned how the concept was developed by Toyota. Ken told us how the concept of Kanban could be utilized at home to keep all household chores prioritized and completed.

Our second speaker, Jeff, completed another project from the Interpretive Reading manual: The Monologue.  I have to say that Jeff's speech (or one-man act) was funny, entertaining, and one of my favorite of Jeff's speeches. He had the audience laughing and I think that there is a future for Jeff in theatre!  Great flair Jeff!

Last but not least DeAnna and Sandra announced that Top of Texas Toastmasters has earned the distinction of being a President's Distinguished Club for 2013 - 2014!  Our club earned *all ten* goals for the Toastmaster year! Our club is awesome and no doubt will have another great year coming soon.

Ana Ortega, ACB, ALB

Teamwork

A Toastmasters Club Mission “is to provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.”  

One of the ways we do that is through teamwork. As Toastmasters, we are almost always working as a part of a team. When we accept a role for a meeting, help plan a contest, even writing an article for the club blog, we are a part of a team. When we are a mentor or a mentee, we’re part of a team.

Sometimes we are the leader and sometimes not. In Toastmasters, you get the opportunity to do both - to lead and to follow. One of the great things about Toastmasters is that you get to choose.

Working as a team makes us stronger, more creative, and more effective. People learn about each other and depend on each other to accomplish more than they could on their own. Often a bond is formed between the members of the team.

Something I like about Top of Texas is the willingness of our members to step up as well as step out. Our members take pride in not only working together as a team within our club but also helping with district events and responsibilities.

Personally, something I have not done well in the past is to work well with a team. When I joined Toastmasters though, I was introduced to a different attitude about working with others. The good examples I've seen in my club and in my district have helped me grow as a person and as a Toastmaster and I am grateful for all those shining examples of service.

Sandra Price, DTM

Meeting Recap from June 14 - Mystery

Saturday's Top of Texas Toastmasters meeting on Saturday can only be best described by the theme. "Mystery."  

Regina Clay led the meeting with her interesting take on picking the theme, noting that we were all as a meeting going to improvise because... "That's the mystery!"  

Ken Dorsey continued his run of consecutive weeks doing speeches, doing his third speech. For a new member, he is showing us all up! Actually, he is doing an excellent job, continuing his excellence with the speech of the hour, "What's Next?" He described how predictions in the 1970s and 1990s of life today are actually coming true, and what we can expect next from those predictions. Truly, the possibilities are endless. It was such a befitting speech given the theme.

Ana Ortega led the Table Topics with interesting and fun questions, such as "How do you get your mystery fix?" "What's the biggest mystery to you?" "Do you believe in extra-terrestrial life?" and the biggest one answered by the winning response (Marshall Lehr), "What is the meaning of life?"

It was a very entertaining meeting, everyone had a chance to speak, and afterwards we handed out the Education Award to Lina Choun for reaching the halfway mark to her Competent Communicator after completing five speeches. Here's to five more Lina!

DeAnna Wolf, CC

Photo Credit: i k o via Compfight cc

Confidence Is A Game Changer

"Your results can never exceed your self-concept" - Brian Singer

Being fully invested in youth baseball I've often heard a well-meaning coach or parent yell out to their struggling hitter something like “be confident” or “believe you can.” The reason for those words is because the parent or coach understands how much confidence can enhance performance; it’s literally a game changer.

Here’s the problem. Confidence - full trust and belief in oneself - is not a product of the will.

Confidence cannot be mustered up in the on deck circle moments before you step into the batter’s box. The same is true whether we're talking about giving a speech, tackling a work project, or interviewing for a promotion.

Although confidence is not a product of the will it can be increased through education and preparation.

New Information Effects Your Belief

When you invest time in learning and understanding, you realize things are not as difficult as you first thought.

My first physical inventory at work was intimidating and I felt overwhelmed leading my first project of any significance. In the wholesale industry inventory is your lifeblood and thus taken very seriously. Because of this, I took the time to read through all the documented procedures. Once I understood that taking inventory was basically a five step process, I felt much more comfortable. I took time up front to educate myself and a new found confidence accompanied that understanding.

Preparation Boosts Confidence

This seems obvious, I know.  However, many people let procrastination win the battle over preparation.

I was very tense about giving my ice breaker speech several years ago, but to my surprise one of the evaluation comments received was about how confident I looked.  The level of confidence I achieved, a very small level, was because in my nervousness about the speech I practiced it over and over and over again. To this day it is still probably the one speech I rehearsed the most. The upfront investment in practice enabled me to feel a certain amount of confidence giving that first ever speech.

Benefits from Toastmasters

I bring up confidence and self-belief today because of all the benefits that Toastmasters has provided me, I believe a boost in self-belief has been the most valuable.

This boost applies to all areas of my life, not just in giving a speech. I've often shared with family and friends that Toastmasters changes you. It's so much more than just giving speeches. The ability to stand in front of a group of people and deliver a speech is a magical thing. You’re not the same afterward. For me my "if only then’s" and the "someday maybe’s" seem a little more within my reach.

Marshall Lehr, CC,ALB

Photo Credit: Oberazzi via Compfight cc