5 Tips for Making your presentation more social

I am working from the Technical Presentations manual.  This week I am giving a speech to meeting the objective of presenting from a technical paper.  I have selected an article from Mashable giving 5 tips for making presentations more social.  

I am not sure how many of my fellow club members read this blog or follow me on Twitter.  Still, I thought it would be fun to try some of these tips using this speech as an example.  Here is how you can help get me ready for Tuesday (yep, this is a last minute decision):

-          Post a comment to this blog entry about how you think social media could be used in presentations.  Please, if you can, include stories and examples of what you have done.

-          If you have a twitter account, post a tool you think could be helpful and use the hashtag #sarastechspeech

-          Respond to the poll on this blog!

-          Don’t stop after Tuesday!  Let’s keep this conversation going!  Toastmasters should be pushing not only how social technology can help promote clubs, but how it can help speakers!  Try some of the tips yourself and share how it worked.  Share successes, learning experiences and failures.  This way we can all learn together!

What is it an Area Gov. Actually Does?

It is closing in on the end of my year as Area Governor.  While I have enjoyed it, I am very ready to be done.  I keep coming back to this idea of what it is that I way suppose to be doing as Area Governor.  Like most TM trainings, our training last summer focused on the details of making visits and running contests.  Even that was limited.  What nobody ever talked about was the big picture: Area Governors support clubs.   Nobody ever really talked about ways we could do this beyond 2 visits, reports and speech contests.

Half way through the year I realized I could do more.  I began working on a high performance leadership project to help my clubs gain new members the right way.  My goal was to have all 5 clubs host open houses as a way to showcase the club and recruit new members.  In retrospect, I should have started on this project at the beginning of the year.  By the time I brought this idea to many of the clubs they were wrapping up their year and looking to complete educational awards rather than recruit members.

I will reflect more on the project in another entry.  The point of this entry is focusing on exactly what we should be teaching Area Governors?  What is their job?  Making visits and speech contests are duties, not the point of their job.  How does your district address this?  How can we structure Area Governor training to help people understand the details of the job and give them the big picture with idea on how they can accomplish it?

Electronic Newsletters

A few years ago I ran a TLI session on electronic newsletters.  At the time I focused on the divide between traditional print newsletters and electronic alternatives.  I even created a guide on issues to consider, tools to research and the pros & cons of each tool (from my perspective).   The response was not massive, but as one of the district's top web people, it was the beginning of an important discussion.

Here we are a few years later and Scribd came on the scene.  It was a little less than a year ago that I started playing with it.  I posted all my old conference and TLI workshop handouts originally.  Then I took on the job of Area Governor.  I wanted to get a newsletter out to my 5 presidents without loading their email with a large file to download.  I find myself getting frustrated with people who send me emails that contain megabites of images and files attached to them.  I don't want to be part of that problem because I am sure I am not alone in my frustration.

I decided to try Scribd to get my newsletters out.  I liked that I could see statistics and embed the newsletter in places like this blog:

Toastmasters District 31 - Area B1 Spring Newsletter


Yep- this is one of the area newsletters.  I have done three this year and am getting the fourth and final one ready for the end of June.  I love that these are up forever and the next Area Governor can see them to get an idea of what went on.  I love that I can see how many people have looked at the document.  I love that I can see related documents like a club that is putting their fliers and education material up.  I am hoping to use it as VP PR next year for my club to promote the us or at least store fliers we use.

The end result of this is here is another way to get newsletters to members and guest.  Yes, you have to find a way to manage the email list, but it is better than building massive newsletters and then emailing them to people.

Taking a break, but not really

I have been taking a break from my home club for the past few weeks.  I have been feeling overwhelmed and too close to a growing conflict within the club leadership.   I was creating more problems rather than helping resolve them.  I felt the best solution for me was distance.  I feel I am too invested in the work I did to rebuild the club to have a clear perspective.  I have a vision for the club and the immediate leadership is not on the same page.  It's not that they don't want what I want, its more that they aren't living up to my expectations of the work necessary to achieve the vision.  Inherently, the problem is me and not them.  As a result I have not been enjoying my time at the club meetings.  I have other things I would rather be doing.  Half of why I stick with this club is because I enjoy the people and the meetings we have.

This doesn't mean I am taking a break from Toastmasters.  It seems I am doing just as much work now as Area Governor and maybe even more.  I have been working on another High Performance Leadership project in relation to the work I am doing as Area Governor.  This has been a much more interesting and educational experience for me.  All the work is being done outside my home club as they are not part of the Area I am working with.  I found, when trying to decide the focus of this HPL, that people use their Area Gov experience as an HPL, but they seem to just do the basic requirements: make the visits, promote DCP and run 2 contests. 
When I took this to my committee they were not fully on-board and wanted me to focus my vision.  They liked some points I had about assisting the struggling clubs in my area.  They wanted me to expand it too all 5 clubs to support them equally, but too their needs.  So, my current project developed: promote appropriate membership growth by encouraging open house events.  Here is how it is breaking down:
1) Recently Chartered Corporate Club: needs to rebuild membership and understand place in organization.  Held one open house of moderate success and last week had a chartering ceremony/open house to better success.  Possibly 4 new members coming from both events.  I encouraged a summer open house when more people will actually be on site to work (winter is when people are MIA as they can work from home)
2) Established Corporate Club: doing well, but I am going to challenge them to hold an open house in late spring to bolster their membership.  Goal is to establish something they can do periodically with ease.
3) Advanced Club: they can really only recruit from within the organization.  Its a plus and a minus.  They have to demonstrate why members need an advance club rather than explaining the organization.  They are hosting the Division Contest as an open house event. 
4) Community Club #1: also doing very, very well.  Like with the established corporate club, I am hoping to focus them on establishing a process for open houses rather than immediately increasing their current numbers.  My feeling is that if clubs have at least one good open house a year they can do well.
5) Struggling Community Club: they have coaches, their meetings are stronger and their numbers are going up.  They have a PR plan, but nothing like an open house.  There is concern that an open house is a lot of work for little reward.  I suggested they had nothing too loose.  They are considering the challenge, but they are very motivated right now and I think they may accept.

There have been challenges, mostly communication between me and the presidents.  One president and I can never seem to sync up with each other and two seem to avoid me.  I have not been able to get them all on a conference call let alone meet for an Area Council meeting.  I do know this Area has had problems with their Area Governors in the past.  Most start the year strong and then fizzle about now.  There is little sense of community between the clubs.  I had hoped to start building that community, but it has not been easy. 

Still, this is the project I am enjoying and really learning from.  For now my home club is on the back burner because I am not taking away what I need from them.  My needs have changed and I need to focus on where I can gain the right lessons and experiences within Toastmasters.  I am sure I will return to the club (I want to try VP PR next year, finally), but for now I am taking a break.

Speaking, but not communicating

I am home sick today and catching up on watching The Daily Show.  I only get news from the Daily Show.  I can't take the pundits from the 24-hour networks and local news just scares me.  At least the Daily Show makes me laugh at the world's problems.

I just finished watching last Thursday's episode where Stewart covered the previous evenings State of the Union.  His guest was Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian.  They discussed many things, but the one thing that struck me was a comment made about how the President was a great speaker, but maybe not a great communicator.

This comment really struck me as a Toastmaster.  This is exactly why I joined and stay in Toastmasters.  When I joined I was a good speaker, but a poor communicator.  I find, and I am sure many of you would agree, that most people come just to be better speakers.  Once they are more comfortable speaking they often leave and use their new skills.  So few stay and refocus their efforts on being better communicators.

Why can't we, as Toastmasters, communicate this part of the mission of the organization?  When I talk to people about being a Toastmaster they assume I went to be a better speaker.  They are often surprised to hear me talk about the communication skills I have learned.

As a better communicator I have been able to develop better speeches.  I have been able to identify what my message is and how to promote that message to my audience.  I have been able to ask questions and find it easier to understand my audience than I did before I began Toastmasters.  Through programs like High Performance Leadership I have been able to understand how to articulate a vision and mission; how to let others help me; how to build investment in my message and more.

These lessons and more have been more valuable to me than the lessons on being a better speaker.  I can only imagine that the same is true for those who have transitioned into the program.  I especially believe this is true for those who take the program and its lessons seriously rather than just accumulating the awards without going through the process.


Would you agree with any of this?  Feel free to tell me more in the comments. 


Watch the video from the show to hear some of Stewart's thoughts on how Obama could communicate better.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Doris Kearns Goodwin
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Club Webpages: Who Is It For? Members?

Here we go with the much anticipated part 2 of my comments on club webpages. Last time I wrote about what we should be thinking about with webpages for guests. What about a webpage for members? What do members need to help them reach their goals? Let's stick with our evaluation of FreeToastHost since most clubs are going with them. I am aware of easy-Speak, but I have not had a chance to really play with it yet. We will save that review for another day.

A comment from the previous post mentioned that the front page is mostly for guests while the duty roster, calendar and other resources are for members. I would venture to say that the front page can and maybe should be for members too.

Members typically have similar goals: be better speakers, get over fear of speaking, be better leaders, have a good time. To reach these goals, within this organization, they need to go to their club's meetings. Thus, they are very much like a guest. They need to know where and when the meeting it. Last time I said the meeting information should be "above the fold". I told you to look at your page on the most common resolution: 1024 x 768. If members and guests need the meeting information it is critical that this information be easy to locate. It should be the first thing they see.

Does your club meet in an area with bad weather? Mine does! We spend our entire winter wondering if we are going to have a meeting night with snow and ice on the ground. How will your members find out about meeting cancellations or sudden changes? I know I check the webpage. We added a Twitter widget (very problematic with FTH). We post news to Twitter and it shows up on the webpage. This is above the fold right next to our meeting information. We don't just use Twitter to post meeting updates. We use it to announce awards, welcome new members, post updates from our blog/newsletter. You don't have to use Twitter, but that front page is an easy way to keep people updated on the club. Let guests and members know what is going on with the club. Members want to know.

What else does FTH have for members? It depends on what the club wants to make available. Here are the ones I like:

• Calendar- members should be able to easily find a calendar of upcoming meetings. This is especially true if your meetings are not weekly, if they change location or if they change times. People often forget these things. Rather than forcing them to remember, accommodate their bad memories.
• Duty Roster- members should know what the upcoming meeting agenda is so they can sign up for roles. I would even suggest that FTH allow clubs to change the name of this feature to agenda if they want. I know that's something my fellow members find easier to understand.
• Extra pages and link spots- we have a club library, occasionally offer free workshops, and a club blog/newsletter. We added links and pages to our webpage to add those features in. They are not the most popular feature, but they help provide information to people who may be interested.
  

Chances are your club webpage isn't just for guests or just for members. Webmasters need to keep thinking strategically about what they are putting on their pages, where it is located and who it is for. Being aware of the power of your webpage will help you be able to use it to meet everyone's needs.

Club Webpages: Who Is It For? Guests?

I am my home club's webmaster this year. We use FreeToastHost to run our webpage, but I have found it very limiting. It has sent me down a path of deep contemplation about club webpages.

I am going to stop here and say that Freetoasthost is a fantastic service and one I am glad is available to clubs. Most clubs are just beginning to understand how a webpage can help them. It is enough to ask them to have a webpage. Without FTH this would not be possible for 99% of the clubs in the organization. I thank Bo and his team for helping this organization take this step in 21st century communication.

Now that club's have webpages, it is time to start thinking about them strategically. We have to ask ourselves this very important question: Who is this webpage for? There is no wrong answer, yet being able to answer it will help you shape your page and its message.

• Is this page for guests? If so, what do guests need to be able to find and know about this club?
• Is this page for members? If so, what are your members asking to have information about? What, from this webpage, will help them reach their goals?
• Is it for both guests and members? If so, how do you combine the needs of both groups to create a good webpage.

I am going to focus on FTH since so many clubs use this service for their webpages. I think there are many club who should move to FTH, but that is a post for another day. I am also going to focus this entry on what guests need on your webpage. I will do another entry about pages for members and blended-needs.

Think of your standard FTH webpage. It's full of information that you have to read. Do you read it? No, really, answer the question honestly. Chances are you said 'no'. Don't worry, I said no as well. Here is why: nobody reads online. We skim and scan. What are we skimming and scanning for? FTH assumes you are interested in know more about TM, what's in it for you and how it works. Oh yes, and about the club you have visited (down at the very end of the page).

Anyone searching for Toastmasters would first find Wikipedia and the TM International website. How are people finding clubs? That's a good question and there is probably not one way it happens. Let's put that aside for this entry. The point is that most people who come to your webpage may already have an basic idea about the organization and what it can do for them. They want to know about your club. What do that want to know:

• When the club meets (date and time)
• Where the club meets (actual location and city, state)
• If they can come

That information should be above the fold. The phrase "above the fold" is something from print newspapers. The newspaper is folded in half. The most important information is on the top half of the paper or above the fold. That information is the name of the paper, the top headline, and the date of the paper. It remains a big deal to be above the fold of a newspaper. The same is true for your webpage. The most important information should be what people can see without having to scroll down the page.

What information should be above the fold for guests? The information that answers the questions I listed above. FTH does allow you to customize that first page. You could remove all of it and put your own content in. Cut out all that text and put in bullet points. Redesign the entire page like I did for my club (the key is tables). FTH has made this more flexible than people realize.

Keep this in mind: everyone has different size screens (aka resolutions). I know people with massive screens who can see most of the page. I know people with tiny screens who can't see much. How do you decide what is above the fold for most people? You have to go with the most common screen size. Some statistical packages (like Google Analytics) will actually tell you what screen resolution is most common for your website. FTH has statistics, but this is not something they will provide you with data about. W3 Schools can provide you with a very general idea of the common screen resolution: 36% use 1024 x 768. My computer is 1280 x 1024. This means I see more of the page than most people. Thus, when I design webpages, I have to keep in mind that my fold is lower than most of yours.

Look at your club webpage as a guest. Is it easy for them to find the information they need? What is your screen resolution? How does your page look at 1240 x 768? What changes should your club consider making to the page?

Contest Season... again

Yep, it's speech contest season again- Humorous this time. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of contests. There are a few reasons.
While they are fun to watch, I don't think most members want to be part of them. I have found it intimidating to be speaking with those who are much better speakers than I am. I can only imagine how intimidating it would be to speak in the same contest as one of the few who return to the contests each year and make it to the international level. I suspect this actually acts as a deterrent for contest participation. I have spoken to a number of people who have said they aren't good enough to participate. This time it will be that they aren't funny enough. I can only push the "you don't until you try" line so far before I feel pushy and disingenuous.
Then there is the club level of contests. I am sure there are clubs with real contests, but from my experience clubs are lucky to have one participant. As a past VP of Ed and now an Area Governor I find myself begging people to participate. I am telling club presidents that if they have one person they can just appoint them. The pressure from TMI seems to be on having the actual contest.
Personally, I am bored of planning contests. There are so many rules and things to consider, even at the Area level where I may have just 1 participant. I still have to have a full contest for that one participant. Then there is the participation rule which is specific for the international contest, but doesn't exist for the humorous contest. It is a major point of confusion. There there is judging and training judges. I think something isn't working when you have to train people to be judges and most of that time is spent on the judging form. How to fold it so you aren't influenced by others, make sure you sign it, etc.

I get that this is important at the upper level contest and especially for the International Speech Contest. For me, an Area Governor and maybe even for the Division Governors, this is a lot of work for something that most of our members don't care about. I think we want to see those who make it to the World Champion of Public Speaking/International Convention level. Still, I don't think we all want to spend the time planning endless contests to help someone get there.

Thoughts?

New Toy: Scribd

I realized last night that it has been 2 years since I updated my actual webpage. I use it as a professional portfolio. Thus, it isn't critical to keep updated, but 2 years is too long.
I do keep a list of presentations I have done for Toastmasters. I send people there to re-print handouts and get copies of power points I may have run. In those 2 years, a lot has changed with technology and I have been looking for a way to begin using Scribd.
Scribd is pretty cool. It allows you to upload word, power point, excel, pdf and more. People can then view, download, print and share the document. Here is an example from one of the items I uploaded:
Toastmasters: Successful Club Series Activity (2006 TLU)
As you can see- the entire document is here. I will be uploading more this week. I also plan on updating the Squidoo guides before the end of the month. I need to pay more attention to my toys.

Padding the Numbers... again

I am involved in 2 clubs. One is my home community club where many of my friends are members. I love this club because I helped rebuild it and we are all on the same page with our club's identity. Last year we were presidential distinguished, but we knew we were getting ready to loose a few members. We took a bigger hit than we expected and were down bellow 10 members again. We worked our magic, focused on our members and their goals. We rebuilt the mentor program and re-thought our education program. We came back to 17 with no members ready to leave the club this fall. In my opinion we did better this year than the previous year, but the DCP can't measure it.
The other is an advanced club I was once a club coach for. I worked with this club to rebuild and they did it- last year they were select distinguished because they sold the club to new members. This is a club that may loose 1 or 2 members a year. Most of the members are involved in the district and know what they are doing and trying to learn. I enjoy this club because of the feedback I can get from them and the things I can learn about being a better leader. They didn't end the year as distinguished either. Mostly because they didn't have enough membership growth.
Their membership numbers are possible the result of the plea from the DG to join clubs at our end of the year BBQ.
When I checked the numbers on June 30th, they still reflected that the membership number from the meeting I last attended. When I checked a week later, I found the final number were actually up by three.
I happened to be at the most recent meeting, the first one after the new year began. Two of those three members happened to be at the meeting. Both of those two people had been at the BBQ, heard the plea and committed to join another club. I spoke to one of them who indicated she was in a number of clubs already... 6 or 7. Her membership went in on June 30th.
I am sure these people mean well and I am happy to see two of the three at the meetings. My point is that we are stuck in this pattern of not thinking when asked to do something unethical. Yes, this is an ethics issue. It's about doing what's right rather than doing what is easy.
Did these people actually join because they were asked to do so? Probably.
I really end up with one question: how did they pick this advanced club?