Category:Toastmasters

Toastmasters International

The Toastmasters Special Interest Group is a group of DMS members who are interested in public speaking, specifically:

Enhancing their live oral presentation skills
Increasing vocabulary
Improving extemporaneous speech, thinking on their feet
Learning leadership and conflict resolution techniques

Formation & Milestones

First Event - August 1st, 2019 This SIG is under the umbrella of the Education committee, which helps to enable the SIG's activities.

Adopted into Education Committee - September 7th, 2019

Vote action to adjust schedule into biweekly meetings, and alternate weeks are workshops - September 25th, 2019

Proposition to Education Committee: presented and voted, minutes [Education_Committee_Meeting_20190907]

It is currently headed by Neil Lemons [@neil_lemons on Talk], since he has spearheaded making this SIG.

Projects

Hold bi-weekly classes under the Toastmasters International format
Provide bi-weekly opportunities for critique of speeches
TBD (hosting contests, symposiums, generally lecture series)

Starting in October, the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month will be the Toastmaster's Meeting format. The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Wednesday of each month will be sit-in workshops, where anyone can come in to

create / edit their presentations for the next meeting
critically review the prior weeks presentation
review their material for an upcoming DMS class

The First Ten Speeches

The Ice Breaker — The first speech of the Toastmasters program is about introducing yourself to your peers, providing a benchmark for your current skill level, and standing and speaking without falling over.
Organize Your Speech — Introduces the basic concepts of organizing a speech around a speech outline.
Get to the Point — Clearly state your speech goal, and make sure that every element of your speech focuses on that goal.
How to Say It — Examines word choice, sentence structure, and rhetorical devices.
Your Body Speaks — Shows how to complement words with posture, stance, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.
Vocal Variety — Guides you to add life to your voice with variations in pitch, pace, power, and pauses.
Research Your Topic — Addresses the importance of backing up your arguments with evidence, and touches on the types of evidence to use.
Get Comfortable With Visual Aids — Examines the use of slides, transparencies, flip charts, whiteboards, or props.
Persuade With Power — Discusses audience analysis and the different forms of persuasion available to a speaker.
Inspire Your Audience — The last of ten speeches, this project challenges the speaker to draw all their skills together to deliver a powerful inspirational message.

Communication Channels

DMS discord: https://chat.dallasmakerspace.org
Talk Interest groups: [SIG section]

SIG Members

(These are people who expressed an interest in the Kickoff Meeting and/or the thread on Talk, or attended a weekly meeting and said yes)

Neil Lemons (@neil_lemons) - Acting President, Treasurer
Jasmine Rana
Ashley Turner (@aaturner0077) - Acting Secretary
Doug Emes (@dougemes) - Acting VP Education
David Hartley (@davsolo)
Nathaniel Roberts (@nathaniel_roberts)
Andy Wong (@andywong)
Kelly Baggett
Brady Pamplin (@bpamplin)
Rafael Rincón (@raffi)

How To Join

Come to our next meeting, introduce yourself to the group and then add your name, to the "Members" section of this wiki page. You may also join the official international Toastmasters organization, see Neil for more information.