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Date Subject Author
07/23/2010
1. Learn to Lead - Guaranteed! Frances Morrison
07/05/2010
2. Visual Aids and PowerPoint Frances Morrison
06/24/2010
3. Toastmasters has improved my professional life Jacqulyn Hudgins
06/23/2010
4. ACE the Interview! Frances Morrison
5. RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills,... Marie Herman
6. RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills,... Frances Morrison
7. RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills,... Jeannette Peters
06/21/2010
8. Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips,... Frances Morrison

Next 1. Learn to Lead - Guaranteed!
From: Frances Morrison
To: IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination
Posted: 07-23-2010 12:22:00 PM
Subject: Learn to Lead - Guaranteed!
Message:
This message has been cross posted to the following eGroups: General IAAP Discussion and IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination .
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Learn to Lead - Guaranteed!

When you visit a Toastmasters club you'll see more than people giving speeches. You'll see members performing various jobs in the meetings that help them develop leadership skills.

One of the tools Toastmasters use to learn about and practice leadership skills is the Competent Leadership manual. This manual, which all new Toastmasters receive as part of their New Member Kit, guides you through the learning process and focuses on leadership skills you can learn simply by serving in various meeting roles. Some of the skills you'll learn as a member include: how to listen effectively, think critically, plan a meeting, manage time, facilitate a contest, motivate listeners, mentor a member and build a team.

The manual offers 10 projects. You will perform several meeting roles to gain experience and complete each of the projects. With each role you carry out, you'll learn an aspect of the skill covered in that assignment. Most projects let you choose which roles to serve in.

For example, one of a leader's most important qualities is to be able to listen effectively. Active listening helps you acquire information to identify and clarify issues, make decisions, resolve conflict and be creative. There are several roles you can perform during a meeting to practice and develop your listening skills.

After you've served in a meeting role, a supportive evaluator gives you feedback on each role you complete in the manual. The evaluator will point out strengths and offer suggestions for improvement for your next role. And there are no deadlines for working through the manual. You complete the projects at your own pace.

Communication and leadership abilities are only a fraction of the skills you can cultivate in Toastmasters. Other opportunities include experience in marketing, public relations, event-planning and many more! You have to see it to believe it - visit a meeting today!

 

From http://www.toastmasters.org/MainMenuCategories/WhyJoin/SuccessStories/LearntoLeadGuaranteed.aspx

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Frances Morrison, CAP, DTM
Sr. Administrative Support Specialist
Cleco Power, LLC


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Previous Next 2. Visual Aids and PowerPoint
From: Frances Morrison
To: IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination
Posted: 07-05-2010 09:40:00 PM
Subject: Visual Aids and PowerPoint
Message:
Visual Aids & PowerPoint


Helping you present professionally

Visual aids are an important part of many presentations. The most commonly used media are the flipchart and computer-based presentation programs. Here are some suggestions for making the most of your visual aids:

Flipchart
A flipchart mounted on a portable easel works best when used with a relatively small audience - 20 or fewer people. A flipchart can be prepared prior to your presentation. You can also write or draw during your presentation - especially to record audience responses. Use bold colors, but avoid using ink that bleeds through the paper. Don't look at your flipchart when speaking. If you must write on the flipchart, pause, then resume speaking when you're done. Use small strips of masking tape to facilitate changing from one page to the next.

Computer-based visuals
The technology is rapidly changing. These days, using a laptop computer and presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint is the norm. Add a screen and other equipment, and you can produce and display dramatic visual aids, including animation and simulations. Computer-based visuals are becoming the standard for most technical, educational or business-related presentations. Useful for large and small audiences, they can convey simple as well as complex information. If you use a remote control, you can change the visuals while walking about the room. To accomplish this you'll need a data projector, a device that accepts output from a computer and projects it onto a screen. Plan to create the visuals in advance, to ensure all of the electronic components work together and be sure to rehearse with them.

 

Keep your visual aids:

  • Visible
  • Simple
  • Colorful, but don't let them upstage you
  • Justified by the content -- not too many or too few slides

For effective PowerPoint shows:

 

  • Don't read the slides to your audience!
  • Make your text large.
  • Choose colors that make the text easier to read.
  • Use bullet points instead of full sentences.
  • Don't let the text or graphics fly around too much.
  • Avoid charts and diagrams that are hard to see.

Most Importantly - Remember, you control the presentation; don't let it control you. PowerPoint should be a "visual aid" - not the entire show.

From Toastmasters International

http://www.toastmasters.org/MainMenuCategories/FreeResources/NeedHelpGiving​aSpeech/TipsTechniques/VisualAidsPowerPoint.aspx

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Frances Morrison, CAP, DTM
Sr. Administrative Support Specialist
Cleco Power, LLC


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Previous Next 3. Toastmasters has improved my professional life
From: Jacqulyn Hudgins
To: IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination
Posted: 06-24-2010 10:19:00 AM
Subject: Toastmasters has improved my professional life
Message:
I joined a Toastmasters club in 2006.  I was terrified of speaking before a group of people.  I had been an IAAP member for many years and held many leadership positions.  However, I knew that I needed to overcome my fear of speaking to continue to grow professionally.

A Toastmasters club is like an IAAP chapter in that you are able to learn and practice a new skill in a safe, friendly, positive environment.  The Toastmasters program takes you step by step, allowing you to develop your skills a little more each time you prepare and deliver a speech.

Today, I know how to build and organize a speech.  I practice my speeches in front of my husband, who times my delivery.  It's important to learn to deliver your message within a specified amount of time. My husband tells me how much improvement he has seen in me since joining Toastmasters.  I am much more confident and relaxed now when speaking before a group.  Toastmasters has helped me develop communication skills, including interpersonal skills.  All this makes me a more valuable employee and a more attractive candidate for other positions.  You will even be able to communicate with family members more effectively. (Do you have a teenager in the house?)

I strongly recommend adding a Toastmasters membership to your IAAP membership.  Just like your IAAP membership, you will only get as much out of a Toastmasters membership as you are willing to put into it.  So, join, get involved, participate and you will experience exceptional personal and professional growth.

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Jacqulyn Hudgins CPS/CAP
Administration/Budget Manager
Fort Worth Star Telegram

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Previous Next 4. ACE the Interview!
From: Frances Morrison
To: IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination
Posted: 06-23-2010 02:38:00 PM
Subject: ACE the Interview!
Message:
Ace the Interview!

In these hard times, no job is completely stable. Employees must be ready to act and react quickly. For the past 85 years, Toastmasters International has prepared members to communicate effectively through practice and study, in an environment that is comfortable as well as educational. In Toastmasters, you will learn skills to help you in your next interview as well as in your daily life.

Here's a common scenario these days: You're 45 years old and haven't had a job interview for more than a decade. Your company has just terminated half of its staff and you are worried that your job is no longer secure. You may have to start interviewing for a position with a new company.

Reality has hit, and you are forced to find a new career. After your first interview, you realize that your skills are rusty. Answering questions, you were nervous, tongue-tied and not as confident as you thought you might be. Toastmasters can help!

After attending your first Toastmasters meeting, you'll find that Toastmasters can do more than help you with that job interview. With continued attendance, you'll have more confidence and better communication and leadership skills for the rest of your life.

A few key things to remember before your next interview:

  • Think about the questions you might be asked and consider possible answers in advance. At a Toastmasters meeting, you will have the opportunity to discuss your fear of failing the interview and also practice your responses with other members.
  • Try to relax. Remember that you were called for the interview because you look good on paper. Now your job is to sell yourself in person. Even the best speakers get nervous. But it is how you deal with your nervous energy that is important. Begin by taking a deep breath. Smile. And filter that energy into positive, calm responses.
  • Make and keep eye contact with the person interviewing you. Eye contact shows great confidence as well as control.
  • Think positive! This company needs you and its management team is interested in you. They are on your side.

You'll have the opportunity to practice these skills and more when you become a member of the Toastmasters family. Not only will you have the confidence to walk into an interview, but you will also gain leadership and communication skills to improve your daily life. Many Toastmasters who are interviewed by prospective employers are complimented on their interviewing skills. Take the leap, join or at least visit a Toastmasters club today. It will change your life!

To find a club near you:  http://reports.toastmasters.org/findaclub/

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Frances Morrison
Sr. Administrative Support Specialist
Cleco Power, LLC


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Previous Next 5. RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips, or tricks?
From: Marie Herman
To: IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination
Posted: 06-23-2010 02:31:00 PM
Subject: RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips, or tricks?
Message:
I have been a member of toastmasters for many years and highly recommend it!

Jeannette, I have definitely noticed improvement in your public speaking skills over the last year, so I agree, you are definitely making tons of progress. If nothing else, practice goes a long way as well. Just getting up and speaking tends to help anyone improve the more they do it. :)

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Marie Herman
Two Rivers Chapter, Naperville, IL





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Previous Next 6. RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips, or tricks?
From: Frances Morrison
To: IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination
Posted: 06-23-2010 02:28:00 PM
Subject: RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips, or tricks?
Message:
Congrats, Jeannette!  Yes, it will help in SO many ways.  I know of people that use it as a practice group before big presentations at work.  Great feedback on the spot so they know where they need to tweak the presentation.

A guy that I work with was turned down for a promotion (was a management position) because his confidence level was too low. After 2 years in Toastmasters he was HANDED the promotion because of the difference in him. He was asked to present at conferences within the utility industry and got rave reviews and asked back year after year.

He credits it all to Toastmasters!  (one of my protégés!)

If anyone is looking for a club to visit, go to www.toastmasters.org and look on the left hand side for "find a club" You can then put in your zip code and the clubs and the distance from you will be displayed.  The best training you will get for around $60 a year.  That is about $1.25 a week!

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Frances Morrison
Sr. Administrative Support Specialist
Cleco Power, LLC


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Previous Next 7. RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips, or tricks?
From: Jeannette Peters
To: IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination
Posted: 06-23-2010 02:05:00 PM
Subject: RE:Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips, or tricks?
Message:
Toastmasters is my new best friend! I joined in October, because as a division president-elect I knew I had a big speech to give in May. In that short amount of time, I was able to improve my public speaking skills and conquer my fear. I know I have more work to do, but my speech went well and I am thankful for my Toastmasters membership!

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Jeannette Peters CAP
Practice Administrator, KPMG LLP



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Previous 8. Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips, or tricks?
From: Frances Morrison
To: IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination
Posted: 06-21-2010 10:12:00 AM
Subject: Looking for speaking/presentation skills, tips, or tricks?
Message:
This message has been cross posted to the following eGroups: General IAAP Discussion and IAAP & Toastmasters - A Winning Combination .
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Looking for tips and/or tricks for that presenation you need to give? visit Toastmasters.org or contact me.

If you are looking to find a local Toastmaster group to you, visit  http://reports.toastmasters.org/findaclub/

IAAP & Toastmasters is a winning combination!

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Frances Morrison
Sr. Administrative Support Specialist
Cleco Power, LLC


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