Social media tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and others allow us to maintain our networks and stay in touch with those that are important (or not-so-important) to us. But, is simply having them as friends/contatcs/etc. enough? What do you do when you need your network?

First, start now – before you need them. If you only maintain frienships (real or virtual) and contacts to use when you need them, your friends will see through that. Better – be their friend when they need one.

Second, know who is who. Some of your on-line contacts are just that, on-line contacts. When you find yourself job-hunting in the fall, they’ll be happy to say, “Good luck!” However, they may not be in a position to do much more.

Third, maintain the relationship! This one is key. Know when their birthday is and be sure to drop them a line. Schedule a regluar lunch with each contact, e.g. every other month. See how things are going and if they need your help for anything.

Finally, keep track! It doesn’t help if you don’t know anything about your friends. It’s okay to write down things like birthdays and anniversaries. People actually did that in the pre-FaceBook era, ya’ know. I like to use contacts in my home MS Outlook program, but there are lots of other options you can use. Yes, even paper works.

Should you manage your network? Yes. Can yoo depend on automated systems to do it for you. Sure, if you’re happy with a network of automated replies from your automated contacts. If you don’t care enough to keep up with them and help when they need you, can you really expect anyone to be there for you? Even if it’s just someone to share a beer with during the big game…

Good question.

I’ve heard and given a number of answers to this question, and here are some that I’ve been told are best:

1. Speak outside of your club more. Take your experience on the road. Offer to speak at non-Toastmaster groups, and also speak at other Toastmaster clubs. If you have a really well put-together presentation on a popular topic like networking, job hunting, social networking, or something else that could draw a crowd, offer to give that presentation at another club’s open house to help them attract guests. If you don’t, then put one together.

2. Keep giving manual speeches. Whether you use idea #1 or not, every speech you give in front of a Toastmaster’s audience should be a manual speech. I keep a CC manual handy all of the time, plus I’m usually working on one or two advanced manuals as well. Also, it’s okay if you give a speech you’ve given before. It will have changed a bit based on what you learned, and should always be a manual speech. Look here for more ideas on repeating CC manuals. Most importantly, others will see you working on the manuals. If it’s good enough for you, it’ll be good enough for them.

3. Take on additional leadership roles. Not just Division Governor or higher roles, but there are plenty of “operation little bit” roles you can take on too. Volunteer to help with registration at a contest or conference, be a contest master, judge, or help find a location for your area contest. Serve as an assistant Area Governor, conference chair, or webmaster. If you haven’t heard of a role you’d like to do, suggest it!

4. Mentor a leader. Help your Club President, Area Governor or District Governor to do a better job. Offer to be on someones HPL (High Performance Leadership) guidance committee.

5. Coach a club. You may have done this for your first DTM, or maybe not. But many clubs still need coaches, and even clubs in the 13-19 member range could use some unofficial coaching. Offer to help with a membership drive, or speak (as in idea #1).

6. Call me. Contact your District Governor if you have questions or ideas. I (they) can refer you to someone who could use your help and expertise. If you don’t want to bug your DG, call your Area or Division Governor first.

Completing your  DTM isn’t the end of the path. It’s the start of your journey as an experienced Toastmaster. Take advantage of your experience and strengths, and help others get the most from their Toastmasters membership.

Recently, I ran a brainstorming session (Facilitating Discussion manual, project #2) at my Toastmasters club. The problem we were discussing was “Toastmasters Training”, and I was looking for input on what they, our club members, were most interested to learn. Toastmasters has a plethora of prepared topics we can use, ranging from 10 minutes sessions to four hour seminars. Plus, we have some experienced members capable of creating some awesome sessions on their own.

As luck would have it, one of those members had just presented a Leadership Excellence Series module on Resolving Conflict, so I had a great example to point to right off the bat.

Did they ask for Team Building, From Speaker to Trainer, or Organizing your Speech? Nope. Nearly every idea in the brainstorming session centered on one theme: helping new members understand (and benefit from) Toastmasters. The topics?

1. Orienting new members to the club
2. How to run special events (contests, open houses and our annual Christmas Party)
3. How to use the club, district and TI websites
4. Toastmasters organizational structure (Area, Division, etc.)
5. How to be a Mentor (for new members)
6. Goal setting for members

Also, they mentioned a need for a more robust welcome packet and some type of display of our member’s progress (see an example here)

Next step: I need to turn this into usable information for my club. That is, how do we meet this need? Goal Setting, Mentoring, and Orienting New Members each have modules that can be downloaded (free). In fact, there’s even supporting articles for some topics, such as mentoring.

Here’s the initial plan I will submit:

1. Split Orienting New Members into multiple sessions
   1. The Toastmasters Education Program (successful club series)
   2. Meeting Roles and Responsibilities (successful club series)
2. Split How to run special events into two sessions
   1. 12-15 minute session on Club Contests – related article here
   2. We  will need to develop a 12-15 minute session on special events (open houses and parties) – there’s a related TI manual called, Put on a Good Show.
3. Split the How to use the club, district and TI websites into three sessions
   1. Using TI’s website to manage your profile, order items and find information
   2. Using the Club website
   3. Using the District website (calendar and resourses)
4. Discuss the Organization structure, including the service chart and WHQ Org Chart. Could be a 5-7 minute speech, including projects 7 or 8 from the CC manual.
5. Deliver the Mentoring module (successful club series)
6. Deliver the Goal Setting and Planning module (leadership excellence series)

We will need to get a volunteer for each session, and work with the VP Education to schedule these periodically, like one per month. I think this is very doable.

Running a brainstorming session with your club can be an eye-opening experience. In a short 21 minute session, I compiled enough information from my club to make the plan above.

Do this at your club, and you can find out what your members have wanted and it may allow you to better support them in their goals.

You may not find the same request in your club. But if you go in with an open mind, you’ll find what your club needs and you can make a plan to support your members. Give it a try! Leave a comment with the results.

Editors note: This has been reprined from the District 22 Blog

1. I don’t believe in resolutions, I set goals.
2. I don’t believe in resolutions, no one keeps them.
3. I don’t believe in resolutions.

Why do you limit yourself?

Let me rephrase, why do so many people consider the word resolution so toxic? Is it really because you don’t want to change anything, improve, or get better at something? I can’t believe that.

Is it because so many resolutions seem to fail? What about goals? Promises? I wonder if there’s a stat to tell us what the best word is for resolution.

What’s the best word for you? That’s the real question. Don’t get stuck “being cool” by not having a resolution. Pick the goal, plan, outcome, resolution, or whatever your favorite word is and do it.

Now’s the time of year when we look at where we are, where we’d like to be, and why did my mother do this to me???

Ok…Freudian issues aside, how can we look forward to a positive 2012?

Start with a look at yourself. Look at these categories and ask yourself, “Where am I?”

1. Education - do you have the degree you want, the skills you need or the abilities that will get you ahead? How can you bridge the gap in 2012?
- Take a class. No you don’t always need a degree to make a difference. Pursuing a degree puts you ahead of your peers, plus as you finish each class, you know new stuff. Yeah, it’s pretty cool.
- Read. Find your pace and bump it up a notch. Read a book once a year? Now read one every three months. If it’s already once every three months, up it to every other month. When you can, go with one a month. Look at “My Favorite Books” on the right side of this page for some ideas, or just browse your local library and/or Barnes & Noble (where I am right now).
- Join Toastmasters. Yeah, you saw it coming. No better way to improve your speaking, leadership and networking skills.

2. Job - I lovw the quote that 20 years of experience is usually just one year repeated 20 times. If you find that you fit into a similar category, what are you going to do about it?
- Take some additional training at work. Online or in person, most companies offer classes that can improve your skills. Take advantage of them.
- Look at the education options above. They apply at work in many ways.

3. Family - If you could make one change that would make your family life better, what would it be?
- Be specific! Don’t say “spend more time with the kids.” Try, “dedicate one hour on Mon/Wed/Fri to teaching my daughter to speak French.” or “Take my family out to a movie at least twice a month.” You get the idea?

2012 doesn’t have to win any awards for “best stresser” if you take a reasonable approach to setting that next resolution. You don’t have to bridge that gap from where you are to where you want to be in just one year. Take a look at wh

As the holiday season really kicks off today, maybe it isn’t a bad idea to look to where you’ll be in just 5 short weeks. What resolutions will be swimming around in your head and what can you do today to get started without “giving up the fun”?

1. Fun – who says food and sitting around is the only way to have a good time? Take a short break between games and walk around the block with the family. Then do it again before dark. Or, play some football in the yard. Do something!

2. Weight/Fitness – Don’t wait for the first of the year! This coming month, the gyms are almost empty. Get started now on a limited basis. Get used to going, get used to a routine, and get used to succeeding. Then in January when all of the 2-month wonders start their program – and get discouraged by the crowds – you’ll be in a routine and you can keep it going for the long hall.

3. Work – Have you read the statistic that for most people, 20 years of experience is really just one year of experience repeated 20 times? Think about it. Do you see that example proven every day? I do. Now is your chance to get a jump on that next year.
- Read a book (you have some spare time over the holidays, right?)
- Look at getting a new certification
- Join Toastmasters (if you’re already a member, schedule a speech and start on your next goal!)

No matter what your resolution may be, getting a jump on it now is a better deal than a $974 45.7″ LQD Panel TV. And! It’s easier than standing in line for 5 hours just to witness the last one snatched right before your eyes.

Happy New Year!

What’s the difference? I think that it is a decision that the club makes. Either A, you choose to treat 20 as a finish line (i.e. “we just need to get to 20 in June to make distinguished”), or B, you treat 20 as a minimum for having a successful club all of the time.

What are the pros and cons? Well, in option A you trade doing less work marketing for doing more work running club meetings and other functions. You may have an easier time getting speaking slots, but fewer folks are getting experience and the pool of great evaluators is small. If a few people miss a meeting, your speaking to a small audience and probably doing double (or triple) duty.

In option B, you do more work publicizing and marketing the club, and also a little more work scheduling. More members means more speakers, more evaluators, and more people having fun. It’s surprising how contagious that can be.

So how do you get from A –> B? There’s a simple (but not easy) process:

1. Decide to do it – it seems to take about four dedicated members to get the group on board.
2. Make a plan – how will you market your club? Website, Company paper, Library bulletin board, etc.)
3. Set the example – give manual speeches and invite guests
4. Hold your members accountable – don’t be harsh, but ask how they are approaching others, and how they are doing on their goals
5. Have fun!

Getting to 20 isn’t the finish line. Treat it like your minimum and you’ll see just how successful and FUN your club can really be!

Conner Cuneen, DTM -Pillars of Marketing Wisdom

Conner looked a little stiff starting out – and gave us 100,000 welcomes (an Irish thing)

All people dream, but not equally – Laurence of Arabia

Clear and compelling vision
- Successful businesses have a clear vision on what success will look like
- Howard Shaw – Starbucks – his vision while visiting Chicago – “in 5 years time, everyone on this street with a Starbucks cup in their hand”
- Starbucks now has over 17,000 units globally

Do you have a clear and compelling vision?
Do your people know the vision?

- in 2003, McDonalds recorded their first ever quarterlyy loss
- the CEO said “wouldn’t it be something if we had clean restrooms and hot, fresh food in all of our restaurants?”
The share price then? $12.50 Now? $87

- one suggested vision – get your staff to start thinking, “I want this customer to say as they are leaving ‘hey, I liked that place, I want to come back.’”

…you must see and feel what you are thinking

genchi genbutsu – go to the source and learn
If you understand your marketplace and your customers – you have a better chance of succeeding in that market

When Toyota decided to launch the Lexus brand – they sent their design engineers to live in Laguna Beech California to observe and understand their target audience.

Toyota wanted to create a child of America

You don’t need a Toyota budget, you just need a searching, inquisitive mind.

- do an online survey
- just call your customers and ask

Brand experience
- your behavior drives what people say about you
- what people say about you is your brand

asked “how many Guinness drinkers in the room”

the perfect pint takes 119 seconds to pour

Don’t just sell a product, sell the experience – Harley Davidson, Starbucks, Apple.

Interesting miss – he discussed the difference between an iPod and a Zune and said “if I offered every one here an iPod or a Zune, I bet 98 percent of you would take the iPod.” Why not make it more powerful and let us see us answering that with 98% or more?

list three words you would like someone to say about you, after you have left the room:

_________      _________      _________

Conclusion was a good wrap-up of the three points. He asked us some points, but again missed an opportunity. He asked us what coffee company he mentioned. we all said Starbucks. Then he asked us how likely it was that we would see one in the next 24 hours. hmmm. he didn’t prompt that earlier, and most of his audience will be in this hotel for the next 24 hours. Although, it turned out well with the same questions about McDonalds and Lexus.

To be honest, this presentation feels very similar to his presentation last year. My three words about Conner – “very good speaker”

editors note: I missed the second speaker

Tammy Miller, DTM, PID - Colors of Life
- imagine a blank canvas – 8 feet high by 8 feet wide – completely white – blank – it represents all of our lives
- is your life like than canvas, like a mural, or like a coloring book?
- what’s in a coloring book? no color, just black lines
- started with blank paper, then coloring books – color inside the lines
- in business, we’re told to think outside the box…color outside the lines
- colors everywhere – even in this hotel
- look at the carpet, she mentioned it’s really quite ugly – so you look up in the casino, not at the carpet
- people bring colors into our lives
- places bring colors into our lives
- hospital operating rooms are green because that is relaxing
- she asked the audience of 200-300 people how many people work out in a gym every day? less than 5 people raised their hands. She said that Gym’s are sometimes painted blue (inside) because research has shown that blue has the effect of making us work out longer and harder
Crayon box
- Red is the color of energy and confidence
- Green is the color of nature
- Yellow is the color of happiness, joy and laughter – Legal pads are yellow because yellow is the color of creativity
- Blue is the color of peace, spirituality and wisdom
(green had as much time devoted to it as the other three together)

When she learned she had cancer
- gather a group of friends to be her humor team
“We cannot always change what happens to us, but we can change how we respond”
- her color changed from gray to pink…hot pink
- we never know what we are being prepared for

The colors of our lives are created by the choices that we make
wrapped up by tying in her opening about the canvas, mural and the coloring book

Last year I was able to accurately predict who would receive the Accredited Speaker designation. This year, I was less accurate. I thought Tammy Miller was the one I’d pay to see, but I might be biased in that I’ve met her and heard her speak at past conventions. As it turns out Conner was the only recepient of the designation this year.

The important question is how does this advice affect you?  Is this where your next speech comes from, where your next project comes from, where your next success comes from?

The notes from the Edge Summit are presented in chronological order. If you have some thoughts I missed, feel free to e-mail me at contact@robchristeson.com and I’ll include them here with attribution and a link (if you want). Please note that links to the Edge site are affiliate links.

Also, I’ve done my best to properly attribute information as I typed it in the session. Most of what you read here comes from World Champions Darren LaCroix, Ed Tate, Craig Valentine or Lance Miller from the Edge event. Mark Brown also participated remotely, and some material comes from the awesome Alan Weiss and the amazing Patricia Fripp. If you do spot any errors or omissions, they are unintentional and I’ll correct them immediately.

Here we go…
“Ya ain’t gonna learn any younger” – Lance Miller quoting advice he received from a story about learning to back up a semi trailer truck.

lightbulb moment – think chandelier moment – Maureen Zapalla

Three questions you should ask about your business
why you?
who will pay?
how will I reach them?

Topics members wanted to discuss (questions in bold)
coaching – developing a multi-session plan (this one didn’t get touched on) 

marketing a seminar - 3 months out – marketing blasts – touch multiple times – research says you can reach out to customers 220 times per year without annoying them – multiple items (e-mail, Facebook, twitter, etc.)

what 3 tips for the 73 people who didn’t make the finals - there were some thoughts later on the finals, read my notes here: http://robchristeson.com/toastmasters-why-you-wont-win-your-contest

Selling from the back of the room - selling without annoying people (SWAP) – sell another’s program before selling your own – Seeding (plant seeds) – weaving () – you aren’t selling products,you’re selling results
Lance – going from zero to moving – change from manipulating your client to helping them – 1. believe in the product, 2. care about the customer, 3. 
Craig – everybody has a story to tell, but rarely do they get to tell it, because (wait for it) everybody has a story to tell. Be the one to listen to other peoples stories.
#1 reason they buy – confidence in you – confidence comes from familiarity – familiarity comes from repeated exposure – sell the results (Craig’s car story) – put the result before the resource – not just for products, but in your speech too
Lance- present and ask for feedback – take the materials that work and use them to make your product

Ed – retention after 48 hours – 10 percent; take notes – 50 percent; notes and discuss – 75 percent; notes, discuss, and teach – 82 percent after one year

Should you have a book first, DVD, or other product?
Craig – never create a product without teaching it several times first – your first product should be an audio CD

Details about being a small business
Ed – this is a business first, you speak second. If you don’t treat it as a business, you won’t get to do either. More will come in the 2-day Get Paid to Speak seminar.

Using YouTube, how much is too much - embrace the concept of abundance – answer the question – 2-3 minutes – give a next step (more below)

Craig – recommended a book – Launch by Michael Stelzner

Maleki (District 71) – Take the Talent to Training and the Treasure will come out – not about the price, it’s about the process

“Be careful not to keep your ego to close to your position, if you lose your position, your ego will go with it” – Colin Powell quoted by Ed

Ed – the word is receiving – 3rd place Scott Pritchard stayed on stage after speaking and saying “mister contest master” (at the finish) and smiled at the audience for about 10 seconds – what’s the word? receiving

Ed – number one job of a speaker is to make an impact – not to be liked

Ed – Talk in Tweets (talk in sound bytes) <–blog topic

Craig – speaking in sound bytes creates a memorable message – what is his focus? two words – touch lives – before you speak, say “please help me forget myself, remember my speech and touch my audience”

Lance – conviction – convict – what happened to become a convict – trial with evidence beyond a reasonable doubt – conviction is having a position you believe beyond a reasonable doubt 
- passion – in dictionary, passion came from ancient word for suffer. 
Practice to execution ratio (pro football)
Passion are those things that we do that we would suffer through without feeling like we are suffering
Sincere – means we have a clean, clear message
Do a raffle for your product- collect business cards and draw one to get a free copy of your product. Be clear “I’m going to email you with an option to opt in” so they know why you’re collecting the cards

Ed – Presentation variety- in order to maintain peoples attention, change your delivery method every 5- 10 minutes (I.e. You talking, asking questions, audience interactions, etc.)

Ed asked a few of us to run the 10 minute review after lunch
Take one minute and review your notes and write down your three favorite tweets or sound bytes of the morning. – you will learn…
Instruct online folks to tweet to hashtag Championsedge 
Take two minutes to turn to your neighbor and choose your best tweet
Next we go one group per row to give their top tweet
Maureen will write them down

general or specialist? – start with what you know – package/title it in what they want Book “how to earn more than a million dollars …”  

“the Psychology of Money” – became  ”the millionaire mindset”
“anatomy of an audience” – “connect with any audience”

Esteem
Do
Gain
Enjoy

Craig – touch all 4 categories to reach your audience
Darren – start with 3 topics, 2 specific and 1 general (or 1 and 2)
Craig – your audience is going to come up and tell you what you are speaking about – “never strike oil by digging an inch deep”
Ed – you can also specialize by delivery methods – be known as “the person who is known as…”

Make three colums – Experience     Delivery     Results

Experience
Specifics about your experience

Delivery
Speech          
Seminar
Book
Process CD

Results
increase profits
decrease costs
decrease turnover

Homework – flesh this list out for yourself

Mine – Experience
Teaching
PM Increase knowledge (anecdotal)
Military
Logistics
Supervision
Evaluations
Speaking
Blogging
Writing

My Delivery
Blog
Speaking
Seminars
Lunch ‘n learn

My Results
Increase productivity
Decrease turnover
hmmmmm….(homework)

 
Focus on results, not experience and delivery – discuss results, leave out experience and delivery – Craig, focus on the pain – ask questions and turn their pain into your promise

Social Media is a hot topic right now – Be careful about speaking about making money with social media when your aren’t making money yourself (credibility)

Marketing a seminar - sign up on edtate.com - special report 
Ed – make sure that you have enough time i.e. three months to market it
Delivery mechanism – e-mail, linkedin, postcards, newspaper, business journal,
Darren – web page – convert them – title – split test to find best conversion method
Shopping cart – all three of them use the same one speaker resources.com

6- minutes to a keynote
Craig – structure – you have 7 seconds before they decide if they like you, 30 seconds before they decide to check out. Open with a question or a story – then make a big promise. i.e “By the time you leave here today, you will have the tools… you will have ideas…etc.” Then the roadmap. “…and these come to you in the form of 4 R’s to remarkable results”
10-1 rule of thumb, 1 story/point to every 10 minutes
Phrase
Anchor – what’s loose is lost – Acronym, anecdote, analogy, activity
Reflection – Take your story and have them reflect on how it affects them
Technique – how do they practice it i.e. “write down your perfect day”
Sale – Push them into the Pull – Push away from what they want to avoid and pull them toward what they want
Use the PAR for newer speakers

Demo video - less than 10 minutes on site (have report, need to have a point, need solid audio) – less than 10 seconds on who you are
YouTube 2-3 minutes (1 minute if you can) – 1 video, 1 purpose, 1 next step. no more than 3 scenes (locations)

you must package your process in order to profit

Ed- what do you want people to Know Feel or Do

Darren – watch the first 5 minutes of a movie – notice how they are introducing characters through dialog
Time management from NSA
Focus day – product, speaking
Administrative day – mundane activities
Free day  - free of everything – phone, e-mail, etc. 
Same model for athletes and entertainers

Darren -every time you speak, build your list – then, touch your list – at least once a month
Do interviews
an a-ha moment is a letting-go of a previous belief 

Charles speech (coached on-site)

longer pause after first “so was I”
pauses

“do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Concluded twice 

too many I’s, My’s and Me’s

My homework:

Work on 52bloggingtips.com – finish creating the tips and start filming videos

Talk to the Human
New tagline – an IT guys perspective on communicating with real people

Affiliate link alert: World Champions EDGE. This link will take you to the Edge website, where you can see some free materials or sign up for just $1 for the first month.

Darren’s opening was fantastic – he started by wearing a bow in his “hair”. Actually in was a “fascinator” that he borrowed from International President Pat Johnson.

His opening story led us through his introduction into the Toastmasters experience, and how he came to the realization that it wasn’t about him, but it’s about the audience.

He asked the audience how many wanted to look good on stage. “Be honest.” Many hands went up. Probably most of the room.

“You can look good if you can let go of wanting to look good.”

Why did you come to Toastmasters?

“To learn”
“Nothing better to do”
“Be a better speaker”
“Learn how to sell”
“Make money”
“Didn’t have self confidence”
“Fear” (not beer)
“Speak Better”

“No one came to Toastmasters to be a better speaker AT Toastmasters.” <--I've said this many times, because I learned it from Darren.

When he hears someone say they can't speak at a TM meeting, he thinks "Shut Up".

This is the greatest place to screw up.

Don't try to climb your mountain (dream) alone. Follow the path of those before you, and build a better railing for those behind you.

Alan's three questions:
1. Why you?
2. Who will pay you?
3. How do you reach them?
(Alan Weiss)

Editor’s note: I had to leave during the Mark Brown story – before the conclusion If anyone has notes from the last 30 minutes, please let me know and I’ll update this blog and give you the credit.