VPE Weekly Spot 2-3-2010

I am John Schneyer, your Vice President of Education (VPE). I have decided to do a weekly posting here on our blog focusing on an education, leadership, or club topic.

This week's topic is for all members, not just new members.

Bring both your Speech Manual and your Leadership Manual to all meetings.

Speeches given at our club come from a project in one of the official Toastmaster Speech Manuals. To get credit and, more importantly, a valuable evaluation, you need to have your speech manual with you. Go over the speech project requirements with your evaluator before the meeting starts (you could do this days before the meeting if you want to) and discuss what you would like the evaluator to focus on, if anything, outside the speech objectives.

After the meeting, get your manual back from your evaluator, discuss anything they may have said or written in your manual to make sure you are clear.

See the Vice President of Education (or another officer in the VPE's absence) and have them sign-off in the back of your manual. Once all the projects in the manual are done, see the VPE again to gain appropriate recognition and advancement.

Leadership - Many meeting roles satisfy projects in the Competent Leadership Manual. To get proper credit and feedback, you need to bring your manual.

Step 1 - Use the manual to decide which meeting role you will perform. Sign up for the role by going to our online roster here
Step 2 - Read up on the role requirements in the manual and at http://www.bocaratontoastmasters.org/ (scroll down, it's near the bottom)
Step 3 - When you arrive at the meeting, ask another Toastmaster to evaluate your performance in the role you are performing and give them the manual opened to the appropriate project page.
Step 4 - perform your role
Step 5 - retrieve your manual after the meeting and ask for feedback. Read the comments and make sure you understand them.
Step 6 - after completing all the requirements for a project, see the VPE to have the project signed off.
Step 7 - after completing all the projects, the VPE will submit the paperwork so you receive recognition

Note: You may go through the Competent Leadership Manual in any order that works for you. You go through the Competent Communicator and other speech manual in sequential order.

Discuss your objectives and progress regularly with your Mentor. If you do not have a mentor or if you can offer your services as a mentor, please let me know.

-John