We often talk about how to be a good evaluator in Toastmasters, I rarely have I heard the discussion about how to receive feedback. 

 An article in this months leader letter lead me to this thought and I would like to present to you a few points on how to receive feedback. This can of course apply to a speech in toastmasters but honestly this will apply to other areas of life as well. 

1.  I would start by referring to one of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

 This quote would be sound advice to evaluators but How does this apply to the one being evaluated? 

 Many think of evaluation as criticism which comes from the greek word for judgement which can be perceived with negative connotations. I would encourage us to reframe that and think about it as analysis. Which means to break things down into simple components. With this outlook on the feedback may help to be more open to it. 

2.  Evaluate the evaluator

   I remember one of my earliest times as an evaluator I was evaluating a speech by Patti Koop,  one of the more advanced members of the club.  I remember struggling for something constructive to give her to work on.  I said something that was very general and probably did not add much for her to improve with.  She was very gracious and accepting of what I said and I would guess she just took it in stride that I was a new toastmaster and would get better at evaluations. I think the idea here is we are all here to learn to be better. None of us has “arrived” and can always improve. 

3. Prepare!   How does prepare to receive evaluation?   I would say you need to evaluate your speech yourself. Use the techniques we have been taught like standing oil front of a mirror, using video or audio recordings and evaluate ourselves and our speeches through and evaluators eyes. I have done this and when my evaluator stated things I already had observed myself it just affirmed to me those were area I perhaps needed to work a little more on. 

 This discussion about receiving evaluations could go much deeper than my educational moment. I think the bottom line idea for me is my evaluator is there to encourage me and wishes me success. I know some have had bad experiences with this but myself I think this has been true in experience in Toastmasters.  We are a team and each of us in on the side of the speaker!  

  Which frankly is a beautiful thing!   

https://toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2025/november/make-friends-with-feedback

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Selecting a Compelling Speech Title

  I have noticed that many times the speech title is almost an after thought.  I have been guilty as much as anyone of not really giving my Speech title much thought and just putting something quick and easy as a title. 

 I would encourage all of us to think a little bit more and put some effort into the speech title.   There are many ideas about how to craft a title for your speech and I will address some of the basics. 

 

  The title usually should only be at most 3 to 5 words.   

Short clear and compelling is the idea for a speech title.  Some speeches have had effective one word titles, but the majority are 3 to 5 words. 

 The title should give some insight into what your ill be speaking about. It should be compelling enough that the audience will desire to see what the speech is about.    

 There are Titles like “How to  do something”.  For an informational speech.  

  Perhaps Try to match your title to the type of speech. If it is a humorous speech maybe do a play now words in your title? IE “The mystery of the missing socks”. How to get a toddler to go to sleep in 383 easy steps” or “My most embarrassing Moment” 

 I trust that you are getting the idea. There is a lot of great information out there about how to create great speech titles. I would encourage us all pioneer toastmasters too give some effort sand thought to our speech titles. 

https://theaccidentalcommunicator.com/organize/the-art-of-matching-your-speech-title-to-your-speech

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2021/april/titles-that-talk

Overcoming Embarrassing Moments Onstage.

I was on the Toastmasters International Website and was looking at some articles in the Section of the website that has the Toastmasters magazine. They have articles and resources from many years of past magazines. It is a great place to find some things to read.  

  One such article I was reading was from August 2022 titled: “Overcoming Embarrassing Moments Onstage” written by Caren Schnur Neile, PhD

  The article is very entertaining and talk about how the author tripped and fell onstage one time. She goes into naming some famous celebrities who have also fallen on or off the stage. Some very famous names included in that list. The biggest take away form this was the suggestion of just owning it! You’re human and fell! While embarrassing it can be endearing to your audience and they see the humanity of making such an error. You can endear yourself to them by perhaps making a joke about it and just moving on. 

  Another  take away that I liked was that of preparing and thinking ahead to avoid such bloopers. They shared an example of a speech contest and the contest chair had asked someone to secure a test speaker for an evaluation contest. When it was time for the test speaker the Contest chair reminded him he had asked him to secure a test speaker he realized he had completely forgotten to do it.  In this moment he volunteered to be the test speaker and he used a speech he had used in the past and was able to fill this need on the spot. “World Champion [of Public Speaking] Craig Valentine’s famous advice: ‘You don’t get ready, you stay ready!”   Point beeping prepare for every thing and anything you can think of.  This will help you avoid embarrassing situations on stage.   It si greta article and can be found here:  https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2022/aug/oops

Tips for Toastmasters

 The toastmasters international website has a section called 90 tips for toastmasters which is actually very good tips. I would like to periodically in my educational moments cover some of those tips. 

I would like to share and talk about three tips from that list today. 

1.  Know your material. Speak about a topic you’re interested in and know a lot about. Reinforce your message with facts and statistics, if possible.

 Perhaps an obvious tip. Speak about things you know, especially when starting out as a new speaker. Certainly one can learn about new things and speak about them but do your due diligence in your research and use references when possible to support your points. 

2.  Use humor, personal anecdotes and conversational language to make your speech engaging.

  This to me really empowers a speech. When you share something form your personal experience it just makes the speech very compelling. You are an interesting individual nd your audile loves hearing about your experiences. 

3. Rehearse your speech aloud using any equipment and/or visual aids you’ll use during your presentation. Rehearse as often as you can.

 This is wear the rubber meets the road. I think it is fair to say you can not practice enough.  I saw the famous Zig Zigler speak years ago and he said in his presentation that he practiced that day before he came to speak at this event.  I am guessing he probably gave what he presented that day thousands of times, but he still believed it was a good idea to practice. 

https://www.toastmasters.org/about/90th-anniversary/90-tips

Pathways Enhancements 2025

   Toastmasters World Headquarters has made some changes to the pathways requirements.  There will be more info to come, but I will cover some of the highlights that they have sent out at this time. These changes will be implemented starting October 2025. 

   There is now a requirement at each level to complete meetings roles. These will be documented on your profile in the TI website. IF you go to your profile near the bottom there is a section titled "Meeting Roles" I would just encourage you whenever you go into the website update what roles you have done recently so it is always current. I am not sure is this part of the website will be connected to the pathway directly ro not. IE: won't let a person sign off level until these are entered. I have little to no concern for our club at this time as we are all very active in the roles of the meetings. This could be a little more involved as we grow in membership as there will be less roles to go around so to speak.  This would be an excellent problem to have! 

  There is also going to be a requirement for club members to present from the Successful Club Series, The Better Speaker Series and the Leadership Excellence Series presentations.  While this will be more effort and work, I think this will be a positive thing. It will help us all to practice presentation skills from the already drafted materials. It will also allow us to make it our own presentation even though it is sourced from the material given.  There are requirements at levels 3.  4 and 5. 

  There is more info including a "Pathways Enhancements by Level" chart. Follow this link to review this information.   

Pathways Enhancements Club Officer Guide

  I have said it before,  inside of me when changes come I have a tendency to resist and frankly I need to check my attitude!  :).    I think these changes if we approach with a positive attitude will be great! Let's get after it this year fellow toastmasters. Let's achieve some things and improve ourselves together!   

Pathways Mentorship Program

The Toastmasters Pathways Mentor Program is an optional, structured program within the Pathways education system that allows experienced members who have completed Level 2 to mentor newer members. The program, accessible through Toastmasters Base Camp, provides training and resources for mentors and involves completing two mentoring projects to build and reinforce mentoring skills. Mentors offer general support and guidance, while mentees (or protégés) take action to achieve personal and club goals. 

How the Pathways Mentor Program Works

1. Eligibility: Members must complete Level 2 of any Pathways path and be a member in good standing for at least six months to begin the program.
2. Accessing the Program: Log in to Toastmasters.org, go to "my home" and then "Base Camp" to find the "Pathways Mentor Program".
3. Curriculum: The program includes an optional curriculum divided into three sections: Prepare to Mentor, Mentoring, and Advanced Mentoring.
4. Mentoring Projects: The core of the program involves completing two mentoring projects: one short-term and one longer-term project, often lasting about six months.
5. Role of the Mentor: Mentors provide general feedback, encouragement, and personal support, helping mentees develop their own plans to reach their goals.
6. Role of the Mentee (Protégé): Mentees are often new members who receive guidance with their speeches and overall progress in Toastmasters, according to YouTube.
7. Completion: Upon completion, a certificate is available, and members can become a designated Pathways Mentor. 

Benefits of the Program

• For Mentors:It helps members build and reinforce their own mentoring and leadership skills. 
• For Mentees:New members gain valuable support and guidance, helping them achieve their speaking and leadership goals. 
• For Clubs:The program fosters a supportive environment and helps members grow within the club. 

Don't leave the speaking area unoccupied

   I have noticed that we have gotten a little remiss on "handing over control of the meeting". As toastmaster you will begin the meeting and take control of what is happening. During the meeting you will give control over to various others: like the  Inspirational quote person, Prepared speakers, Table Topics Master. etc.    Traditionally when you hand over control to these various people you will shake hands, bump fists or forearms, Bow...  whatever gesture you deem appropriate.    This in the past was  primarily hand shake but covid changed that for a time and we have done various things since then. 

The point is you are handing over control of the meeting at those time and when they are complete you are taking it back.    Never should the speaking area be unoccupied.   We practice these things and I can't tell you for sure they this is a written rule but it is certainly an expectation in speech contests for example.  This shows a certain professionalism and continuity to things as well as avoiding awkward transitions.  This is what we could call a Best Practice.