Distinguished Club Program Goals Status

Here is the latest on our Distinguished Club Goals. Looking real good, keep going. 

 

Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for speech preparation and practice.

 I want to briefly just mention something that probably the younger folks will perhaps view as just commons sense to them.  Many of them are probably fully embracing this technology while some of the, shall we say,  more seasoned folks are not. 

  My youngest son is in college now and he was sharing with me, that one of his classes actually requires him to us AI for assistance in writing a draft for a paper he has to submit.   I found that at first glance strange maybe. However it make some sense in that I think AI is here to stay!  So Learning how to make the most of this tool is a good thing.

   As for use in preparing a speech?  After our club speech contest recently when we were discussing some thing one of the contestants answered a question about how he prepared his speech. He said how he used AI to do certain things to help him prepare.

 I have also used AI for ideas about speech ideas and potential outline points etc… I of course tailored its suggestions to make it my own and to make it better! 

 A couple years,  ago a program called Yoodli ,  was demonstrated for our club  and it basically takes a video recording of a speech and will do many things. It will make a transcript of the speech. It will analyze many aspects like how many word per minute were spoken and suggest more or less words. It  will pick out filler words.    And so forth.  At one time we as toastmasters member had free access to yodlii but Think that is no longer true I will check on that and let you all know in a future Educational Moment 

Making the Most of your Toastmasters Membership

    I read the Toastmasters magazine among other things not only for my own edification but for ideas to share during the Educational Moment. 

 In this month's issue there is a good article titled : 10 Tips for making the most of Membership. By Bill Brown 

 I would like to share a few of these tips today and talk briefly to them. 

• "Take the time to learn new skills. Public speaking is more than just opening your mouth and talking."

  It involves planning, organization, word selection, and delivery. And there are many subcategories under each of these. If you want to be an effective speaker and accomplish an objective, then dedicate yourself to learning new skills and becoming excellent in each of these categories

• Use the resources Toastmasters provides.

  There is a wealth of information in the Toastmasters Resource Library. Some of it relates to the education program and some pertains to the officers. But there are also a lot of resources that can help you grow your speaking skills. Take time to learn what the organization offers.

• Challenge yourself to try new things.

  From time to time, you may be asked to take on a project that is outside of your comfort zone. For example, years ago I was asked to write an article for the Toastmaster magazine. I did not view myself as a writer, but I said “yes” anyway. That ultimately resulted in me writing this monthly column. What hidden skills can you discover?

• Expand your network.

  Toastmasters offers many opportunities to meet and interact with others you may not otherwise have met. Don’t be reluctant to get involved in Area, Division, and District activities. Those who attend are leaders. They are good people to know and to learn from, and who knows where these connections may lead.

 These were just a. few of the tips that were offered. I would recommend you check out this article and consider what it has to say. 

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2024/dec/toolbox