COT TRAINING AND PATHWAYS

At COT training in Singapore, Saturday afternoon 2019, Jan 12.
Venue ITE.

Anand showed us the old system and the New Pathways.
He showed the advantages and disadvantages of both systems at each level. Then he asked us to vote.

Later we had Q and A.

It emerged that older members were unable or unwilling to transfer to the new Pathways.

Younger newer members were left without guidance and evaluators.

I was shocked to learn that
1 Toastmasters international knows that older members will leave.

2 This does not bother them. They have invested millions in the new system. Every other business from banking to tax is going online. Toastmasters is keeping up with the trend and expects its leaders and members to do the same.

The solution seems to be for the older and younger members to pair up for what I call mutual mentoring. The youngsters help with the tehcnical online website matters. The oldtimers evaluate creation of speeches and performances of speeches.

Venue
Buses stop outside, about 3 stops from the MRT station, not Am Mo Kio but Yio Chu Kang. First you see the bus station outside the MRT you leave, then the tower of the Grassroots Community club. Then the large building of Nanyang college, with ads all over the front.  Then the futuristi curved white ITE building. I went to get off but the driver told me to stay on to the next stop which was outside the ITE front door.

Leaving you have to cross the overhead bridge to the other side of the road.

Food
Inside are a food court (mosts stall not open on Sunday before lunch time). I got chicken rice. Signs said two prices, for ITE people, or visitors.

Usual food. I looked at sandwiches in the convenience store.

Supermarket next door had pineapple tarts and Yusheng for Chinese New Year.

Timing
I had arrived early.

The Toastmaster was late. He phoned to say so.

The ITE has two campuses so the directions systems might send you to the wrong one.

This delayed me.
Luckily I was still one of the first to arrive.

Timer
I was timer, jointly with a senior person.

Gave me time to ask for the lights - none - and cards.

The chairs have pull-out ledges, no adjustable, crush you in and papers slide off.

I needed clipboard (I left mine at home - too much weight to carry.).

Learned locals say clip-bod and don't understand board.

Organizers should bring a box of bits including the cards, clipboards and pencils. HOD in London meets in a room with a cupboard, in which these are easily to hand.

I asked about using meetup for several groups at the same venue, or same Area. The responder suggested joint meetings, of all clubs in area (as done at area contests) which then share the advertising on Meetup.

Afterwards I chatted to my mentor. He pointed out that I was moving from giving speeches to training. Although training can be one to three hours, instead of just 7 minutes to 30 minutes or at most an hours, training is not necessarily more tiring because you are getting the audience to be involved which is how they learn better, They could be in pairs or groups. You must give them questionnaires, or quizzes as well as acting out activities and discussions.

What I learned from the contest Saturday October 14th 2017 London Business School

Arriving Early
I was lucky to be in the contest. I had been placed third and the first place winner was unable to attend so I was one of the two contestants from Harrovians Speakers' club. As Woody Allen is often quoted as saying, turning up is half the battle. I could have gone from London to Singapore, but chose to stay. If I had not been a contestant I could have been a helper such as a ballot counter, timer or judge.

I had arrived in good time for the afternoon contest last year and found our division's event overlapped with another region's morning contest. So this year I ordered free tickets for both events through online Eventbrite.

I seemed to spend hours of preparation the night before as well as on the mornings. Selecting the right underwear, clothes, shoes, emptying my bag, collecting my props, printing the tickets, revising the speech and re-printing it, collecting food for a snack lunch (boiled eggs), bread, tomatoes.

Boiled eggs, shelled, and small tomatoes.

Plums cut in half to fit in the box.

The route

Coming up the Baker Street escalator I was entranced by the moving advertisements. (When I came home later down a different staircase the ads were static.)

At Baker Street station I asked the way at the station.  (Not the front entrance passing the Sherlock Holmes statue.) 

The exit was via the passage out passing Boots Chemist onto Baker Street.

So, Landmark one is Boots Chemist.

I recalled the landmarks from last time.

Landmark 2 is the London Transport Lost Property Office.

Landmark 3 seen from a distance on the left is the tower of the former Abbey Building. Art Deco, pre-War, before the war, as my parents used to say, meaning pre-WWII.

I regretted not having time or permission to go insides. However, later I read about it in Wikipedia and found nothing had been preserved from the old days except the facade.

Landmark 4 on the right a shop selling London souvenirs.

Landmark 5 on the right as you walk north, a shop selling Sherlock Holmes clothing. 

Landmark 6 a small, simple Sherlock Homes café with pictures of Sherlock Holmes on the walls.

Opposite is landmark 7 across the road, the Sherlock Holmes shop and museum with a queue of people, outside on the pavement (Americans say sidewalk). 

Then the Victory pub on the corner.

A sign points to Lord's Cricket Ground. The London Business school is to the left.

I arrived early, with food in my bag.

Before the speech, we received advice on speeches from a previous winner. She told us:

1 Practise
1 She rehearsed her speech many times, four times a day.

I had done that too, but often ended up adding irrelevant off the point daydreaming side stories. I suppose you have to be prepared for the fact that 9 out of 10 revisions are not an improvement, in order to gain 1 time in ten an improved line, or more succinct or alliterative way of saying the same thing.

2 Colours
She said she wore a bright colour. She was in green. (Yes, I was already in red.) She pointed out that men in black disappeared into the black curtain backdrop at finals. A white suit would disappear into a white background.

She was right that you need to see the venue in advance of the day, either on video or in person.

Stage Size Area and Visibility
My speech, Wear the right shoes, depended on my putting on a man's size eleven shoes. I found a man in the front row of the audience who agreed to let me wear his shoes. However, the seats were desktop seats, so nobody could see my shoes.

The area was small, so no room for pacing up and down, only two or three paces in each direction.

The moral - if  your speech depends on shoes and your lower half can't be seen, lift up the shoe and limp along.

Accents and Characters
Another of the winners had very distinctive accents. You need to work on two or three sets of contrasting couples you can bring out in an impromptu speech. If you don't have anybody else, an exaggeration of yourself contrasting your husband and mother and father or childen.

Props
Who had the best props? Warren, the winner, used the board at the back for a diagram he had drawn in advance.

London Business School Club
Warren is a member of the Business School club. He says it's the cheapest club. It also meets twice a week on Tuesday and Wednesday. That makes it easier to get a speaking slot.

Engaging With Audience
I engaged with the audience. Be positive.

The Humorous Speech Contest

The Impromptu Speech Contest (Table Topics)
The winner went through childhood, teenager and adult. She had once been advised that by a previous speaker. It gave shape to her mini-speech.

I and several others started well but ran out of steam. You need to plan your conclusion and summarise your speech and end decisively, ideally with something amusing.

Angela Lansbury, humorous speaker, CL, ACG.

Subjects For A Demonstration Speech?

Problem
Where do I find props for a Demonstration speech? The demonstration speech is one project in a manual.

Props to add to a speech or props for demonstrations - the same objects can be used. Think food, sport, safety, household items.

Food
Members of Harrovians (Harrovian Speakers' Club in Harrow, London) have demonstrated how to make a trifle, and how to make and cook croissants. Anything you can eat is sure to be a success. 

Sport
A Shanghai speaker demonstrated tennis. A Harrovians speaker demonstrated playing frisbee and organising Scout competitions. Another showed tai chi.

Teaching and Health
At HOD in London a speaker who trains dental nurses showed slides on how to brush your teeth, plus of course toothbrush, paste and floss. Choose something useful to your audience. How to teach children to swim. Checking a smoke alarm. Why, where and how to learn CPR.

Serious - or humorous?
Serious and Humorous As an author I have demonstrated self-publishing books of different sizes such as A4 and A5, with spines wide enough for titles; and amusing book disasters, such as upside down covers.

Author
Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. 

Christmas Customs and New Year's Resolutions at Harrovian Speakers' Christmas Party

Mince pies, a traditional English Christmas food, were on the table when we arrived, but each member brought something new to the pot luck Christmas party. We started with the savouries and vegetarian dishes and delicacies before moving onto the seasonal speeches.

President Seema was away in India, and we hoped she would bring back Indian food to share. Indra Sikdar, acting president or former president, introduced toastmaster of the evening, Sushil.

Timekeeper Sarda, remained calm despite the fact that the rest of the members idea of the evening seemed to be run by watches set to India.

I liked the way Sushil said to topics master, Jayanthiny, 'the stage is yours'.

Jayanthiny's topics were based on items drawn from a bag (should have been a Santa's sack). Amparo  started with an onion. She described how to make Spanish omelette.

Ruby, Indra's relative, received a potato, which seems to English, yet was originally brought to England from South America - and Africa.

Trevor had an apple. He talked about the cultivation of apples and grapes and that each new plant grown from a pip or seed was a new variety. By now it was clear that all the items would be food.

Jesus had a banana. He talked about big bananas, small bananas and Banana Republics. Later somebody said the most dangerous fruit was the banana - because you can slip on it.

Ruth received a pear. She began with a joke about having 'only one'. She paused, as various members of the audience understood the pun on pair, and laughed.

Sushil had a pomegranate. He explained how you cut it around the equator and tap out the seeds.

Jay had garlic. She likes eating garlic, both as a flavouring and whole cooked garlic.

Angela's speech on Christmas Customs
Angela was dressed in red with a Santa jacket. She spoke about: The First Day of Christmas, the partridge and the pear tree; the Christmas tree and panettone, Luther, Prince Albert, Norway Spruce; Christmas crackers, bonbons, concertina hat, motto, Tom Smith; Santa arriving on sleigh drawn by the reindeer Rudolph (Disney) or arriving on a red London bus.

Her props included a fabric green Christmas tree, a red Christmas cracker and fabric reindeer antlers. She ended humorously with the Australian version of the 12 Days of Christmas, which starts and with 'a gum tree'.

Evaluator Jesus won the ribbon for best evaluator


Thulasi's Speech on New Year's Resolutions
Tulsa told us about a book which revealed that most people break their New Year's Resolutions. More importantly, ways of keeping the resolutions include small changes, involving incorporating them into existing routes, such as flossing one tooth when you clean your teeth.

In the interval we enjoyed more of the savouries and Italian Pandoro cake, meaning golden cake.

Indra closed by reminding members and guests that Harrovian Speakers' Club's first meeting of the new year will be on Monday Jan 4th 2016.

Angela Lansbury ACG, CL