Vida Toastmasters

"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” - Anonymous We communicate at every moment with our co-workers, family, and friends, to almost everyone at any time. The way we transmit our emotions, opinions and wishes are using some means of communication, and it can be oral or written. But we do not always know how to correctly structure the message to be transmitted, which is why we sometimes unconsciously hinder our own message, by not being clear and precise or by not providing it with elements that clarify or enrich the message. Fortunately, we have the possibility to use rhetoric that can easily help in delivering a better message. Rhetoric is a discipline that provides the tools and techniques to express oneself in the best possible way, so that both language and message are sufficiently effective to delight, persuade or invite to action. The language is very rich in tools and allows us to accurately communicate the thoughts ...

Let’s take Pathways Challenge The Guadalupe-Reyes “ puente ” is over and we must not postpone anymore the moment of joining the Pathways program, which Toastmasters has brought us. A program that will allow us to enter more into a more comprehensive and modern skills development era. But it turns out that we have to start from the basics? Many people have been shocked to know that you have to start by presenting an icebreaker and register basic leadership activities. For advanced speakers who no longer present speeches so frequently, it has been difficult to decide to start again. It will be hard for us to start a trip at the same level as the newcomers and we must leave the pride aside to roll up the shirt and start doing work from basics. The advantage for experienced Toastmasters is that the cumulative stage hours can make the process fun, enriching and even therapeutic, since it will allow us to get out of a routine established more than 90 years ago to face a ne...

To infinity and beyond. One of the buzzwords today is to be resilient. Resilience 1: the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after  deformation  caused especially by compressive stress 2: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to  misfortune  or change Merriam -webster dictionary Resilience has been defined by the ability of human beings to confront adversity and adapt to the bad results, failures, tragedies, traumas or stress that can generate us. Acting in a resilient way does not mean that we are insensitive or that we do not experience difficulties, knowing that at some point in our lives we have all felt sadness, uncertainty, discomfort or pain, whether physical or emotional; but despite all the obstacles and difficulties that arise, even so, most of us are able to overcome and adapt over time. In Toastmasters we consciously face situations that cause us nervousness and worry. We pr...

January 16th, 2017 How to overcome the fear of public speaking: Control your anxiety. One of the certain things in life I found is that we all will end up spending most of our time as a salesman. If you applying for a position as an employee you are selling yourself on that interview, you will try to convince the employer that you are the best option to hire. If you are an entrepreneur there is no option but becoming the salesman for your product or service. You might say that if you are a doctor, dentist or similar you are not a salesman, but the competition is tough and of course, you need to have the best technical preparation but also you need the confidence to present interesting proposals and if you use other supporting elements the probability of success will be higher. We are all whether you like it or not on sales.   One of the most common characteristics in humankind is that we have a condition identified as, Glossophobia (unusual fear or anxiety of speak...

The title at first glance seems not right, "improvisation" and "preparation." However, the idea of improvising that we handle in Toastmasters sessions gives the impression that ideas flow easily through the mind of the speaker in turn. There are even times that you might think that the speaker is only pretending to give an improvised talk. One of the sections that we like most in a Toastmasters session is the Tabletop Topics ™ or Improvised talks. The Toastmaster in charge invites some assistants to answer a question, which has no previous idea of what it will consist of. You will then have only a few seconds to analyze the question, structure the answer and deliver the speech in a time of 2 minutes. In everyday life, our casual conversations, the so-called elevator talks, are improvised topics. When we meet unexpectedly with someone, friend, client or supplier, we can ignore them or take advantage of the training we had and strengthen our relationship. We c...

The word “procrastinate” means; to defer action or decision about something. It is an action that falls on what is differed or postponed: a trip, or a speech, for example. It is a very common word that we can find a lot of places lately. The financial struggles we are living now are causing a lot of stress on everyone and our mind sometimes is not very clear on what to do first. When we face some task we do not want to do, either because we do not like it, or because of the fear of the unknown results that might come, it seems that we turn on pain zones in our brain. In an act of protection or justification, we seek unconsciously, the way to stop this negative feeling by directing attention to something else, (this is what we expect). The mechanisms to protect ourselves from these situations of insecurity and discomfort are very different, we are finding the way to avoid that pain doing something else. All around the internet we found a big number of so-called "gurus" t...

One of the activities we do every day is an exercise in communicating with others. Sometimes communication becomes a two-way street and it is a valuable and productive one, but sometimes, there is no communication at all, is an only one-way street. At this moment is just a lecture, conference or a one-man show. I was recently asked to be an evaluator of a speech and I was overwhelmed by the speaker's presentation, at the end I congratulated her for the interesting and well-delivered topic, to the point that at that moment I had many ideas to search and apply in my life. My friend was pleased with the reaction I had in the speech. Moments later, containing all sorts of regrets and trying to be very cautious, I approached her and said; "The truth is that in this case, I do not care what you said”, her reaction was of astonishment and annoyance, since minutes before she had heard comments in another sense. I know that when you are invited to evaluate a Toastmasters project...

Each day is the beginning of another window of opportunities. It can be the beginning of an adventure or the opportunity to continue some other that you left in the past and need to conclude. It can also be the preamble to the best adventure of your life. Starting a project will always have the uncertainty of knowing if we will have enough time in our lives to finish it. Who knows if tomorrow we will be here to continue? Maybe I am very philosophical with this questions on the course that our life is going. But with faith and hope, we continue trying to achieve our dreams. The scenario offered to anyone at a Toastmaster club can give challenges in which, voluntarily and supported by other members equally eager for growth, we will take the leadership roles that we often hesitate to take. Regardless of the leadership role you take in a session, I assure you that it will eventually be reflected in your family, professional life and any activity you are performing. The gym that beco...

Every session I end with something new in my mind to think about. Maybe a speech, an expression or a word. This week I found chutzpah. That word was one that made me think about a lot on my way home. As we said in another article, the wings of the butterfly are still moving and creating that continuous movement and is moving on to unknown places. It is the opportunity to acquire that needed fuel that can ignite your energy every day. There are times that if you stay too much in your comfort zone, time will pass away and also opportunities would not visible for you and never be back again. Staying out of that zone will bring different ideas and results and you might correct, confirm or change your point of view. Speak in front of an audience and don’t let the fear of criticism control you. Sometimes when you stand in front of an audience it is the most feared thing in life. It is known as, Glossophobia, fear of public speaking. At those situations, we try to do our best and improve...

I’ve learned that whatever you do in a Toastmaster session like leading the session, helping on a role, advising a guest or giving feedback. Will be like the butterfly effect, which is the origin of the chaos theory, you throw a stone into a lake and create waves without ever thinking where they will have some impact. On the sessions, we have people from different parts of the world, USA, Canada, Venezuela, England, South Africa, Peru, and Colombia. Also people from different parts of the country and our own city. Where else you have that opportunity to meet such interesting people. Different points of view, experiences level of education and knowledge. Entrepreneurs, students, accountants, engineers, lawyers, human resources experts, and a lot other more. Everyone has an opinion and even we don’t evaluate what is said, we focus on how it is said. Every message can make a greater change in some’s life. Every person has its own story and a particular point of view, so the same s...

You just gave your fourth speech and you’re still using notes. Maybe it was a great speech; you might have even received a ribbon for “Most Improved” or “Best Speaker.” Could it have been better? Absolutely! If you review the instructions in your Toastmasters manuals, they encourage you to deliver your speeches without referring to notes. Why is that so important? There are several reasons. Eye contact, rhythm, confidence, and connection with the audience are all affected when you read your speech. And you’re probably not going to get far in speech contests if you have to rely on written notes. Is memorization the answer? No. It is much harder than you might think to memorize a seven-minute speech. I have given 53 speeches without notes, and only one was memorized—and that was the worst speech I have ever delivered. I should not have even tried. I delivered it with so many awkward pauses as I fumbled, and tried to recover, that I failed to notice that the red timing light had come...

I have found that part of the scenic fear we have in speaking to an audience is derived from the fact that words do not come to mind in a timely manner and we are left thinking,  “I have the word on the tip of my tongue." Our mind works like a muscle that will work faster when it is demanded. And in the same way, we must exercise it. We had previously talked about existing rhetorical resources that would embellish what was said, but when we speak it does not come at the right time. I recently read an article in Forbes magazine that explained how to improve the ability to make more successful business communications. And what this article is based on is that everyone from the powerful businessmen to the newly hired employee who is about to start his career and is doing his internship must be able to write intelligently. Using a very simple, clear language with precise language and using other basic rules for writing. You will be able to become a better communicator and you w...

Recently I had an argument with a friend because after having exchanged emails, short messages (SMS) and WhatsApp messages for a long time, we were in a dead end. It turns out that at some point the tone of the comments began to rise, eventually, stopping any communication. Feeling offended by the behavior and response of the other. To such a degree that we even avoided talking in meetings. On one occasion we agreed to clear out the situation, he told me how uncomfortable we felt at the moment, caused by the attitude I had been showing in the emails and messages we had. My attitude? I felt that the problem was by his attitude. After speaking for a while, we found out that the perception we had of the comments we made on the emails were far from being the sense we were really trying to convey. When you speak, you express opinions and feelings. On the other hand, when you write, you express opinions but without emotions if it was not well written. Currently, our impersonal comm...

On our daily life, we experience situations that cause us great nervousness, especially those when we know that we were required to give a talk or a presentation in front of an audience, a client or friends. If we are not used to be in those situations, sometimes we just try to postpone the preparation of the material thinking that we can get over using our natural skills to get out of the situation. Procrastinating to dedicate the required time to make it better, but our fear stops us start. The butterflies we feel in our stomach appears constantly and keep on coming from the moment we have the notification for the presentation, during the preparation and even remain after the presentation is over. Sorry to tell this, but it is a fact that the nervousness we feel when we are in front of the audience will never be eliminated at all. You just get used to it and control and sometimes enjoy it. The methodical and constant practice will help you reduce that sensation and allow to co...

Something that I am convinced is that we are all salesmen. And in the constant search to find ways to improve our professional activity, I remembered some of the recommendations I have heard from several successful experts on the subject. 1. What does it take to sell an idea? Many people are unable to sell because we sell products, services or ideas that we do not believe in. The first thing we are told is to feel passion for that idea. If you feel the passion you will inspire confidence and security. But will it be enough with only enthusiasm and passion? Selling is also a method, and it is a form, a concrete way of acting and doing when we are with a client. 2. What do I need to know about a prospect before I try to sell him something? Preparing the sale is important, knowing who my client is and what he is looking for, will make you spend less energy on what is not worth it. Before visiting a client try to get to know him more widely. 3. Do you have a strategy when presen...