Constructive Critique

At least 24 hours ago I was sitting in LT12 at Taylor's University. Why? Because of:

District 51, Division B
Toastmasters Leadership Training 2

However today I would like to share with you a sweet trickle of knowledge I managed to pick up from one of the Elective Sessions we had yesterday. I have extracted what I seem to think were the key points of the talk.

EVALUATE TO UPLIFT

What is the Importance of Evaluation?
- To Learn from the mistake of others
- One becomes more aware of speech crutches
- Increased sensitivity to listening to a speech
- Allows you to become an effective leader ( you learn how to give out constructive crticism in the work place)



SPECIAL NOTE: SAFE FEEDBACK IS NO FFEDBACK

4 Skills of an Evaluator
1. Good Listening Skills
2. Observation Skills
3. Analytical Skills
4. Delivery Skills (IMPORTANT)

3 Golden Rules
R - Respect to the speaker

E - Evaluate, not summarise

D - Discuss with the speaker (before & after speech)

Now take it to THE NEXT LEVEL:

4 Platinum Rules
R - read, read, read

O - Own Format

S - Be Specific

E - Eliminate Inconsistencies

SPECIAL NOTE: REMEMBER TO STAY FOCUSED SO YOU CAN KEEP EVALUATIONS ON TARGET

Explanation:
The 3 GOLDEN RULES teach us that firstly it is important to respect the speaker, do not hang the speaker and be too harsh, you are not a judge but an EVALUATOR. Secondly Evaluate, not summarise. Most people have the tendancy of summarising the speech instead of actually giving evaluation of the speakers skills. Finally Discuss with the speaker before and after the speech. Before the speech, the speaker might have some habits or certain areas they would like you to look out for during their speech, this also helps in your evaluation.

We then take it a step further by examining the 4 PLATINUM RULES to evaluation. Read, Read, Read refers to the fact that an evaluator should read the speaker's speech objectives, note to the evaluator, and previous feedback of the speaker!! (not many do this). When giving your evaluation, it will help to highlight areas of improvement from the last speech the speaker delivered. Subsequently when giving an evaluation one should have an organized way of evaluating.

Evaluations should have:

Intro - KISS
Body - KICK
Conclusion - KISS







* KKK method. Also known as the sandwhiching method.

Thirdly, be specific. For exmaple a lot of the time, you hear evaluators say you lack vocal variety. BE SPECIFIC here, Vocal Variety addresses articulation, volume, inflection, pitch, pause and tempo; explain to the speaker what you are talking about. This helps them to improve, which is the main objective.

The Fourth and final rule is to eliminate inconsistencies. This includes the NO NO's OF EVALUATION:

* Speak for yourself not others (Avoid using words like "we")

* Avoid Impersonal Statements (impersonal statements: "They say", "one must")

* Avoid Judgmental Statements (ie. A good speaker would not twiddle their
fingers)

* Avoid saying "but" - it negates everything good you just said!

SPECIAL NOTE: JUST REMEMBER R.E.D R.O.S.E



orignal presentation by Eu Choi San, CC

THE END

Personal Thoughts:

Comrades, it is important to give an effective evaluation. Why? What you say affects the speaker. Your word at that point and time is the gospel truth. So remember to be effective in delivering your evaluations. Dont be too harsh, allow lots of room for improvement and the main goal is to learn from and help others.

I truly enjoyed myself and I hope that you find use for this information too.

I end with my club's driving motto "PUSH YOURSELF TO THE LIMIT!"

signing off,
Isabell Zubinsha
Vice President of Education
Taylor's University Toastmasters Club

Charter Ceremony on Nov 6, 2010: Charter President's Address

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Happy Deepavali. I hereby would like to extend a warm welcome and appreciation once again to all our special guests, families and friends present here today. I’m honored to be given the opportunity to speak as the first Charter President of the Taylor’s University Toastmasters Club and I’m thrilled to have a great team together with me in bringing the club to a higher level. Today, I would like to share with you 3 things which are the benefits of toastmasters, my goal of the club and the term’s theme.


The establishment of Taylor’s University Toastmasters Club has been a long yet exciting road. It was after months of communication and documentation that we finally arrived to a day which we’ve been longing for. Our club is officially chartered on the 4th of October this year. I believe this day wouldn’t have come true without having the assistance and support from many experience toastmasters.


I was once told, “In life, you ought to obtain 2 masters. One is to master yourself; two is to master your communication.” A simple sentence; yet it got me thinking for quite a while. It was until I joined Toastmasters early this year that I found a beautiful matching to this sentence.


This non-profit organization does not only provide a platform for us to enhance our communication but also to build our leadership skills. As days go by, our speaking improves with the opportunities and the instant constructive feedback given and we discover more of our soft skills by taking up various roles in club meeting. We have seen people who were shy and shutter in speaking, yet we also see how confident they become today. This has far proven how beneficial toastmasters program is, and how it helps us to master ourselves and our delivery.


Like a building, it will soon topple without a strong base. As a leader of a new born toastmasters club, my goal this term is to lay a solid foundation for the club and further develop the club into achieving DCP goal with The Moment of Truth as the backbone.


Our club’s theme this term is “Push Yourself to the Limit!”. Truth to be told, joining Toastmasters is my will, but becoming a president wasn’t my initial intention. But let me tell you this one thing, as time flies, my passion towards this club has grown much deeper. Being a president no longer becomes a responsibility to me but something I truly enjoy doing. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have felt this passion in me if I didn’t push myself to take up the challenge as the club president.


In accordance to the theme, I would like to invite all of you here to begin pushing yourself to the limit, be it in toastmasters itself, your academic, your co-curriculum or your current job. We often get too comfortable at our current state that we refuse to be out of this comfort zone, refuse to take risk because we’re afraid of failure. But many times, we didn’t realize that it takes several failures to achieve great success. Keep exploring and you may be surprised upon your discovery. And I promise you that when you look back in time, you will realize all these first steps are in fact the best decisions you’ve made in your life.


Thank you.



Stephanie Teoh Jie Ying
Charter President 2010/11
Taylor's University Toastmasters Club

Professional Speaking Tips- Get Started

Professional Speaking Tips- Get Started

Learning beyond books

Recently, on November 7th 2010, there was an article that was written by Dr Theva Nithy in which he mentions that students should really focus on bringing up and improving their skills whether it be on communication, decision making, language skills, and be able to take risk in the things that they do (i.e. academic, business). Dr Theva Nithy also mentions that these skills should not be taught solely based on books rather learning based on experience. Major areas of highlights of the article are;

Ability to communicate


Inclusive and collaborative decisions


The need to be heard


Take Calculated Risk


Technology & Language


For more details please check out this website: http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/11/7/education/7094544&sec=education

Inter-college Joint Meeting at HELP University College

Last Saturday, after our charter ceremony at Taylor's University, Taylor's University Toastmaster Club went for an inter college joint meeting with Help University College which was organized by Help University College. The meeting was held from 1.30 p.m. till 4.00 p.m.

During the meeting itself, we had a lot of fun during the meeting as some of the members of Taylor's University Toastmaster Club were able to meet with the members of Help University College Toastmaster Club.

We hope that we can have more inter college joint meeting with other universities and colleges in the near future.

Teaser: Our Charter Ceremony

Hey guys,


Last Saturday, on the 6th of November 2010, Taylor's University Toastmaster Club had its charter ceremony at Lecture Theatre 12 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The turnout for the charter ceremony was great.




We would like to thank everyone who attended the charter ceremony of Taylor's University Toastmaster Club because without the support of everyone, we wouldn't have been able to have a successful ceremony.

Taylor's University Toastmaster Club Officially Charted

Hey guys!

Taylor's University Toastmasters Club is officially chartered!! :D Kudos to everyone who's been putting the efforts into this accomplishment!


Stephanie
Charter President

Events in October

Hey guys!


There's a slight change in the dates of our meetings this month (October)!

Our meeting yesterday (02.10) went well. :) While the upcoming meeting will be on next Saturday instead! To avoid confusion, below are the upcoming events for this month.



Club meeting

Date: 9 Oct 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30am - 11:30am
Venue: Lecture Theatre 14, Level 1, Block E, Taylor's Lakeside Campus



Joint meeting with HELP TMC at Wisma Help

Date: 23 Oct 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30am - 11:30am
Venue: 5th Floor, Wisma HELP, Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur

University Status

Our university (formerly known as Taylor's University College) is now Taylor's University! Having reached university status, there's some changes in all the name of clubs and societies.


We now proudly present you that we're now

Taylor's University Toastmasters Club! :D

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

"Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself -- at the university's 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005."

The Toastmasters International Guide to Successful Speaking

MPH Bookstore is now selling a book entitled The Toastmasters International Guide to Successful Speaking. This is a self help book written by Toastmaster's International to help people to communicate effectively in front of a crowd. If you are interested to get a copy of this book, just head on out to the nearest MPH Bookstore to get a copy of this book.

Videos For the Benefits of All

6 Ways to Control Your Stage Fright





3 More Ways to Control Your Stage Fright






Public Speaking Course: Fastest Easiest Stage Fright Cure Ever!

iPIONEER: iAWARD

Taylor's University College Toastmasters has recently taken part in the iPIONEER Campaign since April and Taylor's University College Toastmasters is one of the 21 New Clubs & Societies has been established at Taylor's University College Toastmasters. Members of Taylor's University College Toastmasters has been invited to come to the event on the 15th of September 2010 from 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. Details are as below.

Toastmasters International's World Champion of Public Speaking in 2010

A Death-Defying Flight to Victory


How David Henderson, Toastmasters’ 2010 World Champion of Public Speaking, soared to the top.


“We all fall down. That’s the bad news. No matter how far you fall, love will lift you up.” With these words, attorney David Henderson, a Toastmaster from San Antonio, Texas, rose above 30,000 contestants from 113 countries to win the final round of what’s possibly the world’s largest speech contest: the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking.

Henderson presented his winning speech, titled “The Aviators,” to a rapt audience Aug. 14 in Palm Desert, California. Nine finalists delivered five- to seven-minute presentations on wide-ranging topics. A panel of 14 judges voted on the winner; criteria included content, organization and delivery.


Henderson’s winning speech could have gone down in flames. Yet the one-year member of San Antonio’s Sociable Toastmasters club managed to pull it off. From costume choice to emotional content to dangerous physical maneuvers, Henderson’s speech presented challenges rivaled only by the feats of his opponents. This experienced trial lawyer steered his speech straight through all the calculated risks, proving that skill and talent mixed with courage can lead to success.

When is a Costume a Good Idea?
The first risk Henderson faced was the costume he designed. In a field of conservatively dressed opponents, Henderson wore an aviator helmet, goggles, bomber jacket and a long “Snoopy” scarf.

“I didn’t know if people were going to think coming out with the helmet and the goggles was ridiculous,” he says. “I didn’t know how people would feel about the bomber jacket … or the use of the scarf as a prop.”

Leery of using props in competition, Henderson says, “I’m actually skeptical of people doing things that are gimmicky. I think there’s a really fine line with props.” Nevertheless, he decided to wear the costume, because it helped to delineate his characters and storyline.

The Speech’s Engine: A Powerful Story


Exploring a theme of coping with loss, Henderson told a story about the death of a childhood friend named Jackie. He repeated one sentence three times during his speech: “Sooner or later, we all fall down.” The story wove its way around this phrase, showing three different stages of how people respond to loss. At first, he used the example of children, who have no understanding of “falling down,” because they can’t fully comprehend the permanence of loss. The second time Henderson delivered that line, it was to teach the audience how to recover from grief with an intact heart. And the last time he said it, Henderson explained how his love had helped the girl, Jackie, bravely face her own death.


With a heartrending story to tell, Henderson even managed to insert some well-placed humor. He said he felt jokes were needed to keep the audience from becoming overwhelmed. “If you make them hurt too much and don’t provide some relief, they’ll hold it against you.”

Taking a Tumble

Even while making the audience laugh, he knew he needed to find a way to drop them down to a somber mood quickly. “The speech had to move from being sad to being happy, but by the time I got the audience to be invested in Jackie, I didn’t have time to trail it down slowly.”

Henderson was stumped by the problem. And so, the day before the championship round, he made the decision to add a physical maneuver to his speech – falling to the floor – to illustrate his key message that “We all fall down.”

He didn’t know what was going to happen when he performed it during the contest. “The problem is, if you don’t go all the way, it just looks like you did something really goofy. So you have to actually fall.”

It was a calculated risk. “There was a point where I was losing my balance, and I’m crashing onto the floor,” he says. “So I’m thinking, I may actually hurt myself… And I don’t know if the mike will come dislodged and there will be some kind of weird feedback. I made a sound after I fell to make sure the mike still worked before I stood back up.”

Henderson joined the competition for the same reason he joined Toastmasters - to learn. “When you learn a Toastmasters skill, you’re supposed to use that skill in your everyday speech.” Contest skills, he says, are no different. They should come out of Toastmasters skills that are applicable in everyday life. Henderson’s winning speech proved that Toastmasters skills can carry you through your everyday life, and they can also help you soar to new heights.

This is a condensed version of the article “A Death-Defying Flight to Victory” in the November issue of the Toastmaster magazine.

Beth Black is an associate editor of the Toastmaster magazine. Contact her at bblack@toastmasters.org.

Next Taylor's University College Toastmaster's meeting

The next meeting that Taylor's University College Toastmaster will be held on Sept 4, 2010 (Saturday) from 9:30am - 11:30am at Lecture Theatre 11, Level 1, Taylor's Lakeside Campus. Kindly note that this will be held every 1st & 3rd Saturday (starting from Sept 4, 2010) as many of the members are not able to make the Friday's meeting due to a conflict in timetable.

Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI)

On July 10, 2010, the Toastmasters Club Charter Exco Team attended the Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI), which was held at our very own Taylor's University College Lecture Theater 20. The Toastmasters Leadership Institutes (TLI) was a training program for the charter exco officers and was beneficial to the charter exco officers. During this session the chartered exco officers were able to gain a lot of valuable information on how to run a successful Toastmasters Club and was also able to gain more information about the roles of the various exco officers. Overall, it was a fun and beneficial event for the exco officers and was able to gain more knowledge.

Recruitment Drive for Taylor's University College Taoastmasters Club

The recruitment drive that took place on the 25th of May 2010 at Taylor's University College Lakeside Campus was a success. We were content with the number of people who came to the booth to find out more about the club and there were some who keen to attend the Toastmaster's Club meeting on the 31st of May 2010. Below are some of the pictures of the the day itself.











From the recruitment drive alone, we were able to get 36 people who were interest to learn more about the club itself to sign up the club. They're asked to attend the meeting that took place on the 31st of May. Hopefully we will be able to recruit more people at the next recruitment drive in August.

Toastmasters Club General Meeting

We had a successful meeting on May 26, 2010, May 31, 2010 and June 7,2010. It is also known to be our last meeting for this semester. We will have a month and half break (from June 8,2010 - July 31,2010). TUC Toastmasters meeting will resume in the month, August.




After sorting out the new timetables for all courses (for the next sem), Stephanie would then inform the members perhaps a new day and time for the toastmasters club meeting in August so that majority or likely all members are able to make it to the club meeting.



We are also pleased to inform that the club have been able to recruit 3 new members to register as a charter member in TUC Toastmasters Club. Since we have a total of 21 registered members in our club, hence we will charter Taylor's Toastmasters Club with Toastmasters International soon.

Taylor's Toastmasters Club Charter Exco Team 2010/2011

Congratulation to the newly elected Charter Exco Officers term 2010/11!

President

Stephanie Teoh Jie Ying

Vice President of Education

Tan Tiam Loong

Vice President of Membership

Maggie Tan Mui Theng

Vice President of Public Relation

Timothy Kandilis

Secretary

Kelly Kok Pei Jing

Treasurer

Choong Xiao Wen

Sergeat-At-Arms

Jillian Ng Ming Zhu

For further enquires, do email us at tuctoastmasters@gmail.com.

Launch of Taylor's University College Toastmasters Club

After months of discussing, we are pleased to announce that Toastmaster Club of Taylor's College University has finally created a blog and a Facebook page!


If you have any question please feel free to contact Stephanie Teoh at stephanie.tjy@hotmail.com or email us at tuctoastmasters@gmail.com.


For any updates on the latest happening of Toastmasters Club of Taylor's College University, we will be posting the update on Facebook as well as our blog.