Archive for the 'Toastmasters' Category
Being told how to cook and owning a recipe do not make you a cook, is it not? You become an accountant after spending years of studies in the appropriate field and pass the examination which tests your knowledge of the subjects. You are given the title of accountant by the governing bodies such as ACCA or Chartered Accountant ( CA) only after having passed the exams and having practiced accountancy for a number of years under specified conditions.
Knowledge by itself does not give you a trade; practice and experience must be included. How many students, who have learned management for years, albeit at university level, can be called managers in absence of any practice?
How many of us know how to speak? Does the knowledge qualify us to become a public speaker? Likewise, we can learn leadership and leadership skills, but until we have practiced leadership for some years, we cannot pretend to be leaders. Toastmasters offer you the possibility of learning communication & leadership skills and practicing them. I recommend my readers to try out and join one of the Toastmasters club within your vicinity. I laughed when I read on today’s Le Mauricien out of the Societe section “astuce Prendre la Parole” which to my liking, came out of the blue. It is better than nothing. Was it meant for the parliamentaries we voted in, where the foremost skills should be those of communication & leadership? Thank you Le Mauricien for the knowledge but do run to Toastmasters for the practice.
ASTUCES
Prendre la parole
Si la prise de parole est le plus souvent associée à un orateur face à un public important, nous savons que les enjeux de nos communications orales ne dépendent pas du nombre de spectateurs, de la taille de la salle ou de la hauteur de la tribune mais plus de la manière dont nous nous exprimons.
Le trac
Devoir d’adresser à un public est un puissant générateur de trac et cela n’est pas forcément un handicap. C’est la prise de conscience de l’enjeu qui engendre le trac : il faut convaincre, s’exprimer clairement, séduire, sans quoi le propos, aussi intéressant soit-il, n’atteindra pas l’auditoire. Le trac peut être aussi une source d’énergie et de punch dont on doit user à bon escient : un trac bien négocié est un trac utile. Il mobilise l’énergie dont on a besoin pour faire face à une situation inhabituelle ou déstabilisante, il permet le passage à l’acte de la prise de parole qui, lui-même, fait disparaître le trac.
La respiration
Les deux temps important de la respiration sont l’inspiration et l’expiration. Il existe trois types de respiration, soit claviculaire, thoracique et abdominale, mais toutefois seule cette dernière, celle qui sollicite les muscles abdominaux, est adaptée à l’expression orale. Cette respiration par le ventre est la première que nous avons connue car elle est innée. Toutefois, au fil des années, nous perdons tous les techniques de cette respiration apaisante. Alors il suffit de la travailler régulièrement et sans précipitation et vous parviendrez à respirer de cette façon à volonté. Il faut vous rééduquer à vous calmer dans les moments de trac afin justement d’en faire un allié. Petit exercise pratique : allongé sur le dos avec une main sur le ventre, inspirez profondément et ensuite relâchez progressivement la tension abdominale. À répéter à plusieurs reprises pour décompresser tout en douceur.
La décontraction
Les tensions parasites entravent votre expression et votre liberté de mouvement. Votre attitude physique générale, vos mains, ou d’éventuels tics nerveux, sont autant de signaux que perçoit votre interlocuteur et qui le renseignent à votre insu.
Plus votre corps sera libre, plus votre parole coulera avec aisance.
Comme un sportif, travaillez la détente du corps pour le rendre disponible et plus fort. Une méthode simple : contractez une partie du corps puis relâchez progressivement la tension, faites-le pour les muscles du visage et jusqu’au bout des orteils, petit bout par petit bout. Plus forte sera la tension, plus forte sera la détente !
La préparation
Trois approches pour se préparer à des événements importants : la visualisation, l’automotivation et le corps starter de l’émotion
1) La visualisation
Elle s’utilise de deux manières :
Premièrement, se visualiser en train de faire une prise de parole brillante, dans le lieu et face au public et deuxièmement : visualiser des images personnelles qui vous mettent dans un état positif, agréable et disponible.
2) L’automotivation :
La pensée positive a fait ses preuves. N’en minimisez pas les résultats et dites-vous que tout ira bien.
3) Le corps starter de l’émotion
Développée par le Studio Pygmalion, cette approche a fait ses preuves : vous pouvez par le corps créer des émotions positives pour aborder la prise de parole. L’utilisation des gestes, des postures et de la respiration vont vous aider à exprimer par le corps vos émotions.
L’articulation
L’articulation est la puissance de la diction, qui est quant à elle un élément fondamental de l’expression orale, qui se décompose en articulation et prononciation.
Dans un premier temps, c’est le minimum de la politesse que d’articuler pour bien se faire comprendre. Au-delà de ce premier constat, articuler c’est aussi se donner les moyens d’être plus fort et plus efficace.
L’appui sur les voyelles et les diphtongues donne de l’amplitude et renforce la notion de plaisir et de ” gourmandise ” des mots. En s’appuyant sur les consonnes, vous donnerez du poids aux mots et vous consoliderez votre impact et votre conviction. Entraînez-vous régulièrement avant une prise de parole.
Quelques phrases à prononcer et à articuler :
* Dis-moi gros gras grand grain d’orge quand te dégros gras grand grain d’orgeras-tu ? Je me dégros gras grand grain d’orgerai, quand tous les gros gras grand grain d’orge se seront dégros gras grand grain d’orgés.
* Le fisc fixe exprès chaque taxe fixe excessive exclusivement au luxe et à l’exquis.
* Qui crut croquer une crevette crue croqua une croquette croquante.
* L’huile de huit huiliers huile sans bruit les huis de huit huissiers.
Le silence
On dit souvent que la parole est d’argent et le silence est d’or. Dicton qui se révèle exact surtout lors d’un discours car le silence est alors un bon moyen de reprendre sa respiration et de ménager ses effets. Faites des silences, des respirations et laissez respirer votre public. Le silence est aussi un outil pour être à l’écoute du public, s’il y a des réactions par rapport à ce que vous venez de dire.
Le sourire
Devant votre public, n’oubliez pas de sourire car c’est un signe d’ouverture qui représente une certaine disponibilité. N’oubliez pas que l’humeur de votre auditoire dépend de votre humeur à vous. Si vous choisissez d’être joyeux et ouvert, vous vous retrouverez en face d’un public positivement réactif. L’humeur possède la particularité de déteindre sur votre interlocuteur, vous l’avez sûrement constaté, et cela s’appelle l’empathie. Profitez-en au maximum pour rendre l’audience plus disposée à votre égard !
(Source : Internet)
How do you make it possible for ordinary people to accomplish the extra-ordinary? How do you get people to follow you to places they’ve never been before? How do you get other people with free will and choice to move forward together on a common purpose? Just how do you get others to want to do things that matter and make a difference?
In helping the Toastmasters club to start in Mauritius, in a sense I have with my Toastmasters friends attempted to answer the above questions or least created a practising ground to hone our skills in a friendly atmosphere. I rejoice to learn that the Port Louis Toastmasters club is growing from strength to strength. I am invigorated. I like to make more contributions to see the sprouting of the latent leadership talents of my fellow Toastmasters. I have in mind those who are working on the leadership track.
JAMES KOUZES & BARRY POSNER have studied the performance of great leaders and have been able to single out the five practices that enable them to get extraordinary things done. I would recommend you to read their books on leadership to sharpen your personal skills.
I like to call this KOUZES & POSNER’s piece of work: the five practices of Leadership.
1. Challenge the process.
Leaders venture out. Those who lead others to greatness seek and accept challenge. Although some people attribute their success to “being in the right place at the right time”or even to “luck,” none merely sit idly by waiting for fate to smile on them. Every single personal best leadership case involves some challenge—perhaps an innovative new product, a cutting-edge service, groundbreaking legislation, an invigorating campaign, a revolutionary turnaround, or the start-up of a new business.
No Leaders are pioneers—people who step out into the unknown. They take risks, innovate, and experiment to find new and better ways of doing things. But leaders need not always be the creators or originators of new products, services, or processes. Product and service innovations tend to come from customers, clients, vendors, people in the labs, and people on the front lines.
The leader´s primary contribution is in recognizing good ideas, supporting those ideas, and challenging the system to get new products, processes, services, and systems adopted. They know that innovation and change involve risk and potential failure. The key that unlocks the door to opportunity is learning in the face of obstacles. As weather shapes mountains, problems shape leaders. Leaders are learners. They learn from their mistakes as well as their successes.one achieves a personal best by keeping things the same.
2. Inspiring a shared vision.
When people describe their personal-best leadership experiences, they tell of times when they imagine exciting futures. They have visions and dreams of what could be. They have absolute belief in these visions, and they are confident in their abilities to make extraordinary things happen. Every organization begins with a dream. The vision is the force that invents the future.
Leaders inspire a shared vision. They gaze across the horizon of time, imagining the attractive opportunities that are in store. Leaders desire to make something happen, to change the way things are, to create something new.
In some ways, leaders live their lives backwards. They see pictures in their mind of the results even before they start their projects. Their clear image of the future pulls them forward. Yet, visions seen only by leaders are insufficient to create an organized movement or a significant change. A person with no constituents is not a leader, and people will not follow until they accept a vision as their own. Leaders cannot command commitment; they can only inspire it.
To enlist people in a vision, leaders must know their constituents and speak their language. People must believe that leaders understand their needs and have their interests at heart. Only by knowing their dreams, hopes, aspirations, visions, and values can the leaders enlist support. Leadership is a dialogue, not a monologue. Breathing life into the hopes and dreams of others enables them to see exciting possibilities. Leaders forge a unity of purpose by showing constituents how the dream is for the common good.
Leaders communicate their passion through vivid language and an expressive style. The leader´s own belief in and enthusiasm for the vision are the sparks that ignite the flame of inspiration.
3. Enabling others to act.
Grand dreams do not become significant realities through the actions of a single leader. Leadership is a team effort. We developed a simple one-word test to detect whether people are becoming leaders—the frequency of their use of the word we. Exemplary leaders enlist the support of all who must make the project work. In today´s virtual organization, cooperation is not just within a small group of loyalists. It includes peers, managers, customers, clients, suppliers, citizens—all those who have a stake in the vision. Leaders involve those who must live with the results, and enable others to do good work. People do not do their best when they feel weak, incompetent, and alienated. Those who must produce the results must feel a sense of ownership.
The work of leaders is making people feel strong, capable, informed, and connected. Leaders enable others to act, not by hoarding power, but by giving it away. When people have more discretion, authority, and information, they are more likely to use their energies to produce extraordinary results.
Leaders know that teamwork, trust, and empowerment are essential. Leaders turn their followers into leaders themselves. This requires leadership to be a relationship, founded on trust and confidence. Without trust and confidence, people do not take risks. Without risks, there is no change. Without change, organizations and movements die.
4.Modeling the way.
Titles are granted, but leadership is earned. Your behavior earns you respect. Leaders don´t ask others to do things they are unwilling to do first. Leaders go first. They set an example and build commitment through simple, daily acts that create progress and build momentum.
Leaders must first be clear about their guiding principles. Leaders are supposed to stand up for their beliefs, so they had better have beliefs. Eloquent speeches about common values are not enough. Leaders´ deeds are far more important than their words and must be consistent with them. New tomorrows are not realized without hard work and persistence. Personal-best projects require relentless effort, steadfastness, competence, and attention to detail.
Leaders need operational plans. They must steer projects along the course, measure performance, give feedback, meet budgets and schedules, and take corrective action. Concentrating on producing small wins, leaders build confidence that even the biggest challenges can be met. They strengthen commitment to the long-term future.
5. Encouraging the heart.
The climb to the top is arduous and long. People become exhausted, frustrated, and disenchanted. They are tempted to give up. Leaders encourage their constituents to carry on. If people sense a charlatan making noisy pretenses, they will turn away. But genuine acts of caring uplift the spirits and draw people forward.
It is part of the leader´s job to show people that they can win. Encouragement can come from dramatic gestures or simple actions, individual recognition or group celebration. Encouragement is serious business. It is how leaders link rewards with performance. When striving to raise quality, recover from disaster, start a new service, or make a change, leaders make sure people benefit when behavior is aligned with cherished values. Caring is at the heart of leadership.
Leaders also give themselves encouragement. They love what they are doing. Love—of their products, their services, their constituents, their clients and customers, and their work—may just be the best-kept leadership secret of all.
The self-confidence required to lead comes from learning about ourselves—our skills, prejudices, talents, and shortcomings. Self-confidence develops as we build on strengths and overcome weaknesses. The best leaders take advantage of the broadest possible range of opportunities. They try, fail, and learn from their mistakes.
Last Friday, I attended the Port Louis Toastmasters annual dinner at the Caudan Water front Ocean restaurant. It is traditional at each business year end for the out going president to close his year with a sum up of the activities during his tenure and for the newly elected president to present his team and to share his or her focused objectives for the coming year.
We thus saw outgoing president Eddy Tong Sam remitting symbolical the gavel to the in coming president Wairimu Kanja-Ristic. Wai, as she is called by most of the members, has committed this year’s team to give non members of Toastmasters the taste of learning and growing through playfulness by organising public targeted events.
This being the direction taken by the Port Louis Toastmaster club, I thought that I had to comment on Toastmasters to my blog readers and to raise your level of awareness in possibilities that are offered to each one of you , where ever you may be in Mauritius or else where in the world to join in a Toastmasters club.
Do find out: how Toastmasters can enhance your people skills: both communications and leadership skills? Discover: How fun it can be to be part of a world wide well structured self-development club? Enjoy the fellowship of friends, value the uniqueness of each person, and be cross pollinated by the difference in style, thinking, upbringing and cultures.
I for one have gained a lot from Toastmasters. My biggest wins were: 1. to become more structured in my thinking, 2.to become a better communicator by being a better listener, 3. and to deliver in a sequence that is optimum to my audience’s receptivity.
Last night for the first night,we got a night off from our golden den. They are so caring here in IVAC when the Medical Doctor heard that we are eating out, he immediately wanted to make sure that the food that we were eating would be compatible with the diet prescribed. He also made recommendations on the type of food we should keep away from.
Through the Administrative Manager,Pramilla I got the phone number of the owner of the Chinese restaurant. I was told that they served Hakka noodles and it was ran by Indian born Chinese. I try my luck and got Mr.Yung on the telephone.I struck gold, Mr. Yung spoken Moyen hak, my mother tongue. He immediately told me that he would prepare food for home Hakka eating. Yoopi! that made my day. He had red rice(tsao) ginger chicken soup, followed by a pork dish, fish , Hakka crispy chicken and Pipangaille stir fried with chicken breast and tung choy. A feast it was!
The Indian couple who accompanied us for the occasion said that they had eaten several times at the same restaurant but never ever before they had such dishes.
I was told that the owner’s wife also ran a beauty saloon. As it is the case in India, most chinese mostly hakka oirigin were, in the past, only allowed to open businesses in leather, more precisely in cowhide and allied industries, restaurants and Beauty Saloons.
Well I would sum up and say that I felt great to have eaten this meal in Mysore and be connected to a brother of the Hakka Diaspora.
It was also to thank Pramilla for the kindness she extended to us, to meet her husband and finally to fete Marie Anne’s departure today to Mumbai on her way to Canada.
You will recall that I did mention in my previous blog The Three legs of Persuasion the wonderful works and writings of Chris Widener. Today I just finished reading his e-book “Up to speed Leadership. 52 Lessons and Actions to Get You Up to Speed and Make You an Extraordinary Leader”. Easy reading as many e books can be, of only 100 pages; this book focuses on the essence of the subject and gives very practical, hands on advices and action points. I would consider the book more as a work book. It took me hardly more than one hour to read through the book. I love these types of books: to the point and a minimum of blablabla and fillers. Then it is then up to you to note, reflect and action on the points raised.One of my teachers, my physics teacher, a jesuit seminarist, Bro. Thomas, with a wierd indian accent, from my days in Form I (1958) use to sound in my ear drums: Hindsight reflexion is the (v)Way to (v)Wisdom.
More over it is possible to obtain a copy of the e-book free of charge!
An extract of 2 chapters might well excite and motivate you to get your copy:
1. Establish Your Goals
The key to any achievement is goal setting. You have to know what it
is that you want and how soon you want to have it. Whether you want to
save a certain amount of money, lose a certain amount of weight, or yes,
even become a certain kind of leader.
Let’s face it, “I want to become a better leader,” is relatively
ambiguous, isn’t it? Who wouldn’t want to become a better leader? If you
were to ask almost anyone whether or not they would like to become a better
leader and have more influence on those around them, they would almost all
say, “Yes!”
The question is: What does that mean in actuality? What does a
“better leader” look like?
Action Point: Spend some time answering for yourself the following
questions, then setting goals according to your answers:
Q. What does becoming a better leader look like to me?
Q. In what specific ways do I want to grow as a leader?
Q. What specific areas do I need to grow in?
Q. How much time am I willing to put in each day or week to grow in
my leadership?
Q. What resources do I need to take advantage of in order to increase
my leadership skills?
Q. What specific things can I do today and this week to begin my
leadership growth process?
Q. What time frames am I looking at when I think of becoming a
better leader?
Q. What people would I like to spend more time with who would
challenge me to grow as a leader?
10. Skills – Part IV - Communication: Writing
If you are going to lead you are going to have to write. Only when you
get to be the CEO of a huge company can you even begin to think about
pushing that off onto someone else and even then you would be wise to keep
writing yourself!
So how can you use writing to increase your influence? Here are some
tips:
Become a good writer. There are lots of ways to do this, but the top ways
are to write often, get feedback through a class or writers club, and to write
in various venues.
Write often. Write often so that the law of repetition takes over and people
begin to get the message. This doesn’t mean the same thing every time. You
have to change it up a bit or people will just stop reading.
Let your writing support what you are saying. If you are communicating
effectively through speaking, then your writing becomes something that
supports what you are saying. It says it in a different way, it says it at a
different time, and it says it through a different venue. All of this will help
you get the message across and support your vision.
Write through different venues. Write a book. Write a newsletter. Write an
article. Write a memo. Write an email. Write a PowerPoint presentation.
Send them at various times.
Write the same message using different words. Try writing a sentence out
and then rewriting it in three different ways changing the words and
structure. You have to change it up or they will stop listening.
Write using stories and examples. This was one of the best lessons I
learned as a leader and as a professional speaker. People like stories and
examples. I am more of a facts and figures guy, but stories and examples
move people!
Action Point: Sit down and write as soon as you can. Try to write the same
thing in three different ways. Try to write it for three different venues. Try to
use a story or example for each one.
Enjoy!The content which is not mine but Chris Widener’s!to whom I am very grateful.
Now you understand the reason of my blog writing. The more, I write, the better I shall become! Wishful thinking may be! Feedbacks from others could possibly enhance my writing skills,provided I use the feedbacks and comments to hone my writing. Dear readers, I thus invite you to comment on my blogs not only on the content but also on the style. Hopefully I shall improve:Thank you.
In almost all work situations, there are some office politics. When there are humans involved there is politics. This happens even in families. The game of influencing, threatening, pressuring, convincing, and yielding or complying be it soft or hard are always present in human interactions. Some years ago, I had the chance of attending an enlightening lecture by a Belgian author, Jean Jacques Creve Coeur who wrote “Relations & jeux de pouvoir”.
I have traveled fairly well in this path in my work career. As a junior, I yielded more easily, sometimes I gave in unconsciously. At the start, I was often a door mat: I would not react either out of fear or timidity or out of not wanting to create waves. As I grew older and when I acquired more experience and responsibilities in the working environment, my level of awareness of “office politics” also increased. I have learned how to discern the office politics and how to be saved from situation before it gets out of hand.
In the nutshell, I learned when and how to play with the sharks without being eaten by them. I practiced the art of turning an unavoidable evil into a source of information for better understanding and better informed actions. Just like rumors, one needs to know which part of it is false (intoxication) and which part has a base of truth. Who are the guys spreading the rumors and for what purpose is the propaganda? Who are the initiators, designers and who are the unconscious carriers of the rumors?
I always thought that if I was made aware of the intricacies of “office politics” well ahead, I would have acted in some cases better. “Un homme avisé en vaut deux”. Can one attend a seminar on the subject?
As a matter of interest, at least those who might be swimming with some sharks now, I like to share with you a power point presentation on the theme. May the PowerPoint get you to think and be warned ahead?
In my last blog I promised my Rotarians friends, average age population of the Rotary club: 53.222, that I shall share with them the small budding knowledge I have about Blogging. By the way, I have well passed the average age.I have decided to start blogging to understand the E-volution of today’s world.
How I got hooked?
Indeed I was kicked off by my son who shared with me his experiences coming from a WEB 2.0 symposium some time ago. He was talking to me in a vocabulary which was beyond my understanding. I had to choose to die stupid or carry on living on today’s world and be part of the E-volution to stay wired & connected. I have chosen.
I found existance in the virtual world. My son gave birth to me in this newfound world by setting me up as a blogger. Through “FTP” (sorry for the jargon) he took over control of my computer whilst sitting in his apartment Toronto, Canada. Like magic, I watched my mouse and computer cursor zapping all over my screen. In a few minutes, his voice came back to me over SKYPE to tell me that I am done, ready to be in the Blogosphere. I am now enjoying my new existence. Everyday is now filled with new discoveries and new thrills; I have acquired a new mobility in spite of my recent physical handicap.
My latest thrill is Naked Conversation. Robert Scoble & Shel Israel who prophetize an E-volution of communication through blogging.
“Today’s consumer craves human contact. We’re sick to death of voicemail.
Menus of options that never offer the option we need. A deluge of
carefully spun “information” designed not to answer our concerns, but to
influence our decisions. Mechanical voices telling us our call is important
to them even as they refuse to answer it.
We’re frustrated in our attempts to reach a live human being, and when
we finally do, all too often it’s someone who barely speaks our language
and only reads from a script.
Is it so surprising that the consumer distrusts the corporation?
Into this charged atmosphere comes a phenomenon called blogging. It’s
interactive. It’s informal. It’s peppered with misspellings, grammatical
errors and an occasional forbidden word.
It comes from a real person. And it allows the consumer to talk back. The experts believe blogging is
already changing the face of business.
The experts show readers of their book, how employee
bloggers altered the public’s perception of Microsoft, how company leaders
use blogs to connect with customers, how small businesses and Fortune 500
companies alike can benefit from blogging and how failing to use it properly
can be disastrous.
The Six Pillars of Blogging
1. Publishable. Anyone can publish a blog. You
can do it cheaply and post often. Each posting is
instantly available worldwide.
2. Findable. Through search engines, people will
find blogs by subject, by author or both. The more
you post, the more findable you become.
3. Social. The blogosphere is one big conversation.
Interesting topical conversations move from
site to site, linking to each other.
4. Viral. Information often spreads faster through
blogs than via a news service. No form of viral marketing
matches the speed and efficiency of a blog.
5. Syndicatable. By clicking on an icon, you can get
free “home delivery” of RSS-enabled blogs. RSS lets
you know when a blog you subscribe to is updated.
6. Linkable. Because each blog can link to all others,
every blogger has access to millions of other bloggers.
Everything Never Changes
The birth of the blog was a little-noted incident. A brilliant,
curmudgeonly technology pioneer — Dave Winer —
was fiddling with a project and organized a series of entries
in a new way. He looked at it, thought “Wow, that’s cool,”
and circled back to expand on it later. He added a variation
on an emerging technology and created a syndication feature
that would eventually emerge into Really Simple
Syndication (RSS). Other people — such as Ben and Mena
Trott, who founded Six Apart Inc., and Evan Williams, who
co-founded Blogger — would make blogging tools easier
so a great number of people could use them. The number of
users has gone through the roof ever since.
Do you want to live or die stupid? It is your choice!
For the last few hours today and last night, I have been reading Guy Kawasaki. I find his writing sensible and his various tips on presenting really worthwhile. A true marketer or Evangelist he could call himself sometimes. It is a pity, because of the speed of our internet service available in Mauritius, it is almost impossible to watch his video pod casted. Hope that the upgrade of the Mauritius Internet service is coming soon.
I immediately borrowed an extract of his writing to share with my net work of Toastmasters.
I recommend you to visit his blogs: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/
I have read him before in The Art of Start and am very pleased now to share with you an audio Pod cast.
May you enjoy discovering Guy Kawasaki! Do give me your feedback soon as you have enjoyed the audio document.
TheArtoftheStart-lofi.mp3
[audio:http://www.josephyiptong.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/TheArtoftheStart-lofi.mp3]