Toastmasters Leadership Institute

Burien Breakfast's new officers attended Toastmasters Leadership Institute this past Saturday. Bang, the President, Jean, VP of Education, Theresa, VP of Public Relations and Membership, and Keith the Sergeant at Arms.

They heard inspiring keynotes by District 2 leaders and went to training sessions specifically for their offices so they will know how to serve the club better in the coming year.

Four of Burien Breakfast's Toastmasters Officers have attended training (Mike had to work, so he will do his at another time), so now they have achieved half of Point Number 1 towards achieving their Distinguished Club status. Only nine and a half more to go!

Graduation - the Start of Something New

'Tis the season of marking the beginning of something new. Our toastmaster, Theresa, made that point with a graduation themed meeting.

Joan introduced the word "thesaurus" a book containing synonyms. Keeping on the graduation theme, Mike had the members talking about their thoughts, memories, and advice on graduations. In our two speeches we had a touching story and an icebreaker. Darleen moved us with the inspirational story of a man who was in a fire as a youth and went on to help and inspire others. We all got to know Theresa much from her icebreaker.

New Officers!

Burien Breakfast has elected new officers for the new 2010-2011 year, beginning July 1, 2010. Bang Parkinson will be President, Jean Schmidt will be the Vice President of Education, Theresa Frasch will be the Vice President of Membership and Public Relations , Mike DeLeon will be Secretary/Treasurer and Keith Weir will be the Sergeant at Arms.

Thank you to the officers who served last year. We appreciate your time and dedication.

Let's move forward and strive to be a Distinguished Club this year. With everyone's help we can do it!

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where are the meetings?

There are educational sessions occurring at 7am on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month from 7 to 8:15 AM at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W. Burien, WA 98166.

How much does Burien Breakfast Toastmasters cost?

Dues are made up of Toastmaster International and local club dues: $32 paid every six months, in March and September. Memberships established at an interim period are on a prorated basis. For first time Toastmasters there is an additional one time fee of $20 which includes two manuals and other materials.

What is the time commitment required for participation in Burien Breakfast Toastmasters?

The club meets twice a month on 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month from 7:00 to 8:15am. Attendance and participation are the cornerstones of the learning process, yet in our club we are very understanding and flexible about unexpected work conflicts which cannot be avoided.Depending on your needs you should expect to spend a minimum of 5 hours+ per month including attendance and preparation.

Who are the members in the Burien BreakfastToastmasters club?

We are a community club from a variety of different backgrounds and ages. Since many of the members are using Toastmasters as a tool to improve work performance (i.e. teaching, one on one, leading meetings, giving presentations, communication, public speaking, and leadership skills, etc.), a common understanding helps us help each other improve these sought after work and life attributes.

What are the benefits of joining this Toastmasters club?

This club is a safe, secure environment to build confidence in the following areas: alleviate fear of public speaking, practice presentation skills, learn to better persuade and convince others. It also helps its members think more quickly on their feet and is a good place to network with others with similar interests.

What are the meetings like?

The meetings are an hour and 15 minutes long. A typical speech meeting consists of two to three speeches (5-7 minutes each) and the evaluations of the speeches (2-3 minutes each), as well as Table topics which is an impromptu speaking topic that provides members a chance to speak at random for 1-2 minutes each.

How can I learn more about Burien Breakfast Toastmasters and what it has to offer?

Feel free to talk to any of our officers and members. Visit our blog (http://burienbreakfast.blogspot.com/), call or email our President Dan (206) 664-1406 or burienbreakfast@gmail.com.

A Typical Burien Breakfast Meeting

Our meetings run from 7:00am until 8:15am. The format is usually the same for each meeting unless we are having a special meeting or the Toastmaster wants to change the format.

At 7:00am the President calls the meeting to order and welcomes everyone. When we have guests our club president will have each member give a brief introduction - if time permits. The club president then introduces the Toastmaster for the meeting. (The Toastmaster acts as master of ceremonies.)

The Toastmaster - will have a theme for the meeting and set the stage by calling for the thought of the day and introducing his or her team.

The Grammarian - offers a word for the day and listens for good and poor grammar. We try to use the word of the day for all speaking parts of the meeting.

The Timer - keeps the meeting running on time. Most speeches are for 5 - 7 minutes in length. The evaluations are 2 - 3 minutes and table topics (impromptu speaking) run for 1 - 2 minutes.

The Vote Counter - gathers and tabulates the voting after each portion of the meeting. At the end of the speaking portion of the meeting he or she will hand out the awards with the Toastmaster.

The Table Topics Master - involves members who don't have a speaking role in the meeting by asking them a question and have them get up and answer it.

The General Evaluator - evaluates the overall meeting.

The Evaluators - work with the speakers and will give them a written evaluation if a speaker is working from one of the manuals. Additionally, each evaluator will give a speaker an oral evaluation.

The Speakers - will deliver a presentation of their choice. The manuals all have clear objectives but the speaker selects the topic.

An average meeting will have 5 - 7 table topics followed by two speeches. Then the Toastmaster leads his or her team for the evaluation portion of the meeting by introducing each of the evaluators and then by asking for reports from the grammarian, timer and hand out the awards with the vote counter.

The speaking portion of our meetings is usually completed by 8:10 am. The Toastmaster will return control of the meeting to our club president.

The president will ask for feedback from our guests, announce the schedule for the following week and handle any remaining club business.

The meeting will be adjourned at 8:15am.

Your First Visit

We welcome you with open arms! No need to make a reservation, just show up 5 - 10 minutes before 7:00 am on our meeting morning and we will get you started. We meet the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month from 7am to 8:15am.

Park in the ERAC parking lot and enter through the double doors. Follow the signs to Burien Breakfast Toastmasters.

You can contact Theresa at burienbreakfast@gmail.com or (206) 588-5088.

We look forward to seeing you!

How Do I Learn? - Competent Communication Manual

Competent Communication Manual

This manual, which has 10 speech projects, is the first step in the communication track. It helps develop your speaking skills one step at a time. Every project builds upon what you learned in the preceding project.

As you prepare and present each project speech you'll learn the importance of organization, how to use body language and voice to convey your message, select the right words and use visual aids.

You also learn how to speak persuasively and inspire others. An evaluator will give your feedback on each speech you present and help you to improve.

When you complete this manual you are eligible for Competent Communicator (CC) recognition. Complete the CC application in the manual and ask your vice president education to submit it online to World Headquarters. You'll receive a CC Certificate and, if this is your first CC award, two Advanced Communication manuals free of charge.

The ten projects are designed to help you grow as a presenter. They are:

1. The Ice Breaker (www.turbobase.com/tools/IceBreaker.pdf)
2. Organize Your Speech
3. Get to the Point
4. How to Say It
5. Your Body Speaks
6. Vocal Variety
7. Research Your Topic
8. Get Comfortable with Visual Aids
9. Persuade with Power
10. Inspire Your Audience

Each project has a clear set of objectives but you select the topic! You can click on the Ice Breaker link to download that project.

This information is provided from the Toastmasters International site at: http://www.toastmasters.org/education.asp

A Toast to Self-Improvement

By Theresa Frasch

Looking to enhance your resume, improve your interviewing skills, become a leader, enrich your business presentations, polish your sales skills, upgrade your team-leading abilities, or strengthen your listening skills? You can accomplish all this and more at the Burien Breakfast Toastmasters Club.

About Toastmasters

Toastmasters is a worldwide non-profit organization that has a presence in more than 70 countries. It is dedicated to helping members develop and enhance communication and leadership skills. The organization achieves this goal through regularly scheduled meetings that allow participants to gain practical experience in:

Holding meetings -- each meeting members play various leadership roles and become accustomed to the process of meetings.

Extemporaneous speaking -- a session called "table topics" provides opportunities for members to speak for a few minutes on topics assigned on the spot. This helps participants to become more comfortable with thinking and speaking on their feet.

Prepared speaking -- two or three members present short, planned speeches on various topics. Speakers have predetermined goals regarding skills to practice, such as persuasion, voice, language, use of gestures.

Evaluation -- individual members evaluate each meeting and speaker, enabling speakers to receive constructive feedback and members to learn to listen and evaluate speeches effectively.

Getting Started

Burien Breakfast Toastmasters is open to everyone. New members are accepted on an ongoing basis, and visitors are always welcome. We meet at 7:00AM on the second and fourth Thursday of every month at the ERAC15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W. Burien, WA 98166.

Visit our blog http://burienbreakfast.blogspot.com/ to learn more about our group or contact Theresa for more information: tfrasch at gmail.com or (206) 588-5088.