Toastmasters has invented a lot of goals to which it's members can aspire. You might be working towards your competent communicator or an advanced communicator award. Your club might be on its way to becoming Presidential Distinguished. I'll be you think that makes you hot stuff. But you aren't a true proponent of gab geekery until you've claimed the Travelling Gavel. It's easy to do.
On August 4th, I had the pleasure of attending a session of the District 31 Toastmasters Leadership Institute. I know you're all impressed by the jolly name, but TLI is nothing more than a few enlightening hours in which club officers can acquire training for their positions and socialize with officers from other clubs in the district. One item this summer's TLI promoted was the Traveling Gavel, a trophy fostering interaction among clubs. The idea is simple. At this moment the Gavel is in the possession of one club in the district. To find out which one, you must go to the District 31 website and look it up. Then send three or more members from your club to a meeting of the other club and claim the prize. Brag about your victory in the little book that comes with the Gavel. Use the district website to announce it to all who care. Sit back and await another club's invasion and pillage of the precious Gavel. All of this is more than just a good time, it's an attempt to break isolation among the clubs. It gives us a chance to meet other Toastmasters from around the district and exchange ideas.
Another highlight of the August 4 TLI was the presence of our own Yvette Moquin. Yvette has been a member of Twincity Toastmasters for over a year and half and in that time she's become one of our superstars. She's participated in speech contests, inspired students at a Fitchburg State College speaking seminar, and founded a Toastmasters club for prisoners. On the evening of the TLI, she shared her wisdom on fear. The title of her speech was "You Have Every Right To Be Fearful". As public speakers, we're most concerned with fear of standing in the front of a room full of eyeballs, but I think that Yvette's talk covered many aspects of fear in our daily lives. While she did cover methods by which we might conquer our fears, she also taught us to be comfortable with this very human emotion. It's not silly to be afraid, but a natural response that our brains and bodies are built to manufacture. Realizing this may be the first step on the way to accomplishing our goals despite our fears. I think everyone in the audience was impressed, and the audience pitched Yvette more than a few questions afterward.
The TLI was an uplifting experience for all and I'm glad I was there.
- Toastmaster Peter Sargent
