Dear fellow Toastmasters,
May this New Year bring you everything that is necessary to meet and exceed your wildest expectations! The Committee of Toastmasters Antwerpen is ready to help you achieve your goals for 2015 in terms of public speaking and leadership — and to exceed them!
As your VP Ed, I am very pleased to see that the efficiency of our meetings is improving. Not only in terms of timekeeping, but also in terms of planning and preparation. More and more fellow TMs use easy-Speak to request speeches. The result is that speaking slots fill up rapidly — I am even considering a speech-a-thon in March to cope with the demand! Please keep using easy-Speak to make sure you get the speaking slot you want, but don’t forget to use the system for taking up other meeting roles as well (Table Topics Master, Evaluator, General Evaluator, Timekeeper, Ah Counter, ...) During meetings you can also write your name on the infamous Meeting Role Filler sheet.
Please note that from now on, the Word of the Day role will be merged with the Grammarian role — as it is the case in many TM clubs worldwide. This means the role of the Grammarian has evolved into an even richer package and a nice challenge to exercise your language skills.
So, what can you expect to happen at Toastmasters Antwerpen in the next months?
In January, our goal is to raise awareness and improve knowledge about Toastmasters’ educational programmes in our club. The more you know about what Toastmasters has to offer, the more your personal development will benefit from it.
In the (long!) list below, you will find educationals on the CC and CL programmes, on mentoring and on giving better evaluations. We are proud to offer you such a serious educational experience, but we won’t forget to have some serious fun: we also plan to throw a party!
Have a look at the club activities below and save the dates. I am looking forward to meeting you there!
Best wishes for 2015!
Uw kapoen, euh... your VP Education,
Egwin
January 2015
This month, because New Year’s day is the 1rst Thursday, we are swapping our traditional meeting days for the 2nd and 4th Thursdays. In case you have been waiting at De Finale on the 1st: sorry, but we did warn you!
Meeting of Thursday 8th of January
Edouard Cogne, our Toastmaster of the Evening, will treat us to a theme that is most appropriate for the season: “New Year’s Resolutions: Get Things Done, Achieve Your Dreams”.
Have you set your goals for 2015? What do you want to achieve as a Toastmaster? Irina Hauser’s educational on the Competent Communication and Competent Leadership programmes will help you to set your goals based on solid knowledge of what these magic acronyms CC and CL entail.
For this meeting, Edouard is still looking for a grammarian. To take up this role, or just to confirm your attendance, please go on easy-Speak!
Party on Friday 16th of January
To have a fun get-together outside our normal meeting “work” and to celebrate the achievements of our fellow TMs who received their CC and CL (or even higher) awards, Erika and Irina will be throwing a party, exclusively for members of Toastmasters Antwerpen (without partners or other guests). The party will take place at Erika’s apartment (located in the centre of Antwerp, near Astridplein). More details will be announced at the club meeting of 8th of January.
Meeting of Thursday 22nd of January
Do you feel that having a mentor could boost your growth as a Toastmaster? Would you like to help a fellow Toastmaster by being his/her mentor? In his educational, Stefan Scheers will show you the ins and outs of mentoring.
For this meeting, all speaking slots have been filled. But we are still looking for a Toastmaster of the Evening and several other roles. Choose one on easy-Speak!
Toastmasters Leadership Institute:
Saturday 31st of January at the European Communication School, Brussels
This TLI leadership training day is intended for club officers, but open to all Toastmasters who wish to develop their leadership skills. Key note speaker will be John Zimmer, a top speaker and former District Champion. John will talk about perseverance and leadership. There will also be five fantastic workshops on leadership. Expect a small entrance fee to cover lunch and venue costs. Car pooling from Antwerp can be arranged, as several of our club members intent to go. More details will be announced soon. If you consider joining this TLI training, just notify a Committee member.
February 2015
As of February, our meeting schedule goes back to normal.
Meeting of Thursday 5th of February
Cathelijne de Vries, our Toastmaster of the Evening, is looking for evaluators and several other meeting roles. Take up a role and contribute to the success of this meeting!
Meeting of Thursday 19th of February
Kirsten Ujvari will be giving a workshop on evaluations: “Evaluate to Motivate”. I remember Kirsten giving this workshop in the Summer of 2013: it was insightful and very interactive, and it has certainly improved my evaluations. As we all want to give better and better evaluations, this workshop is highly recommended to all of us — not only to those who think of competing in the Evaluation Contest!
Spring Contest Season 2015
In the Spring contest season you are invited to compete two important contests:
- the International Speech Contest
- the Evaluation Contest
... or to root for your fellow Toastmasters who are competing!
Save the Contest dates:
Thursday 19th of March: Club Contest at De Finale
Wednesday 1st of April: Area B4 Contest in Ghent
Saturday 25th of April: Division B Contest in Brussels
15th - 17th of May: District 59 Spring Conference in Porto, Portugal. Contests, workshops and fun! Register before 28th of February at the early bird rate of 120€. More info: http://tmporto2015.eu
12th - 15th of August: World Championship of Public Speaking at the Toastmasters International Convention in Las Vegas, USA.