AWARDS are they worth it?
Brian Hentschel
the award for the best speaker and evaluator? Have any clubs out
there tried their meetings without the awards does it "take
away" from the meeting at all.
DaveF27
good thing, NOT bad!
David
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David S. Freedman, ATM
President Patroon Toastmasters #3863; District 53
Past District Chief Judge; 1993-1995
Past Division Governor; 1993-94
Albany, NY
<dav...@aol.com> , <free...@crisny.org> or
<75673,13...@compuserve.com>
Life is an attitude, remember that the glass is half full.
"New experiences lead to new questions and new solutions!
Change forces us to experiment and adopt! That's how we
learn and grow! - Calvin & Hobbes
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Alice Schubach
We vote for best Table Topics responder only, not best speaker or
evaluator. Also, we do not give an actual reward. The Table Topics
Master tallies the votes and when asked, announces the winner towards
the end of the meeting.
This seems to work fine.
Alice
Joel K. Furr
My club hands out ribbons to the winners at the end of the meeting and
people do seem to appreciate them. Unlike some clubs, we seem to have the
concept of voting not for the experience level of the speaker but rather
for the effort of the speaker down pat, so new members often win "best
speaker."
--
<a href="http://www.danger.com/index.html">Joel Furr home page</a>
<a href="http://www.dupc.org/adopt.html">Adopt A Lemur This Christmas!</a>
James W. Revak
wrote:
>We are currently going through a big debate at our club on keeping
>the award for the best speaker and evaluator? Have any clubs out
>there tried their meetings without the awards does it "take
>away" from the meeting at all.
There is a downside to awards, i.e. it can create an atmosphere of
excessive competition in a club. However, the plus side is that it
motivates many individuals, and gives them a sense of pride when they
win Best Speaker, or any other award. All in all, I personally
believe that the pluses far outweight the negatives. I honestly think
that abolishing some or all of the awards in the club to which I
belong would be a big mistake.
===================================================
JAMES W. REVAK - San Deigo, CA - jre...@cts.com
===================================================
Jeff Bechdol
Awards that can be taken home or to the workplace (even travelling awards)
help spur conversations about Toastmasters. Awards can be conversation
pieces and through the conversation, give us opportunity to invite
someone to come to the next meeting as a guest.
We've had several of these guests become members.
--
Cheers,
Jeffery A. Bechdol
"Don't build your house out of glass.
Don't build your business out of Windows." --bechdol '95
<a href=http://www.research.att.com/~rhb/bechdol/>Personal Page</a>
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Disclaimer: These are my opinions, not necessarily the service provider's
RRD1
don't receive any awards you may not be inclined to renew your membership.
We give an award for Best Table Topic only. We've talked about
increasing the number of awards, but it has always come back to awarding
best TT.
An evaluation of Table Topics? I've never heard of such a thing.
-Rick Davis, CTM
Western Division Governor, District
40
Cincinnati NIOSH Toastmasters
Mike Steineck
>The down side to awards is if you are a member for 6 months or a year and
>don't receive any awards you may not be inclined to renew your membership.
> We give an award for Best Table Topic only. We've talked about
>increasing the number of awards, but it has always come back to awarding
>best TT.
>An evaluation of Table Topics? I've never heard of such a thing.
> -Rick Davis, CTM, Western Division Governor, District 40
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Rick - I've visited all five of the clubs that make up our area (the
southside of Indianapolis and all of Greenwood, Indiana), and four of
the clubs have table topics that include table topics evaluations.
One club doesn't do table topics at all.
I find it interesting that TT evaluation isn't done. People react
differently under the stress of answering a table topics question,
than from doing a rehearsed speech. The table topics evaluation can
reveal distracting nervous habits (I rub my palms together),
and also show strengths from thinking on one's feet.
The Table Topics Evaluator looks at the approach to the lectern,
greeting the group, pauses, if the question was answered
with an opening/body/close, eye contact, and returning control to topics
master. The evaluation takes four minutes for approx 6-7 people evaluated.
The table topics evaluation is a value added part of our toastmaster
meetings. If you want more specifics, email me and I'll be glad to
tell you what I can.
Now I'm curious, who does and doesn't do evaluations for table topics???
Mike Steineck, CTM, VP of Education
Greater Greenwood Toastmasters 4081-11
Greenwood, Indiana
Daniel Rex
all speeches available from the Supply Catalog) and award a best table
topics. The best table topics often seems to be most improved table
topics. The upside to a ribbon for everyone is obvious, in addition to
award presentation and receiving practice.
Daniel Rex
Club 9113-F
RRD1 wrote:
>
> The down side to awards is if you are a member for 6 months or a year and
> don't receive any awards you may not be inclined to renew your membership.
> We give an award for Best Table Topic only. We've talked about
> increasing the number of awards, but it has always come back to awarding
> best TT. -Rick Davis, CTM
C. J. Taberski
objectives, stayed within time limits, made vast improvements
from their last speech, and didn't win the award... especially
when only two speeches were given so "came in last!" What kind
of motivation is that?
C. J. Taberski
About evaluations for table topics, I belong to two clubs. One
does not evaluate TT. The other does, probably because the club
is new and small. Seems to work well for both groups. It's
really a matter of what works for you.
Steve Driscoll
: We are currently going through a big debate at our club on keeping
: the award for the best speaker and evaluator? Have any clubs out
: there tried their meetings without the awards does it "take
: away" from the meeting at all.
The Greater Columbus Toastmasters Club "loans" a trophy to
the best speaker, evaluator and table topic speaker. We
also give a ribbon to each. You keep the trophy until the
end of the meeting (usually about 5 minutes after the award)
but you keep the ribbon.
The advantages? We get practice at accepting awards!
Remember, if you're in TM, your a success oriented person
and receiving awards could very well become a frequent event.
When it happens, you don't want to look like you've never
got an award before.
Motivation is secondary (in my opinion) because our members
are internally motivated for self improvement. Of course
the awards do have an impact on new members and visitors.
- Steve Driscoll
John Perkins
>We are currently going through a big debate at our club on keeping
>the award for the best speaker and evaluator? Have any clubs out
>there tried their meetings without the awards does it "take
>away" from the meeting at all.
I have been to several clubs which do not give awards and they seem to think
it works just fine. However, coming from a club where awards are given, I find
that something seems to be missing. I know in our club members who receive an
award for the first time are always anxious to take it home or to work to show
it off.
Heather
Rob Tristani
: We are currently going through a big debate at our club on keeping
: there tried their meetings without the awards does it "take
: away" from the meeting at all.
I would hate to attend a club where no awards were given out. My club
(Mason-Dixon, Huntsville AL) just hands out the little plastic trophies.
You give them back after the meeting, and they are used again next week.
Getting, or not getting, an award does not necessarily mean that you are
or are not an excellent speaker. Awards do serve as a concrete benchmark
of how well you did that day compared to other speakers. I beleive that
it would be hard to learn without that benchmark comparison. I beleive
that it would indeed "take away" to not have them.
Best of luck to all!!
Rob
James Dwyer
are voted by the members and guests:
Best Speech
Best Table Topic
Best Assignment
Best Evaluation, and
Best use of the English Language
We also have a Timers Award which the timer selects someone who
he/she feels stuck best to the alloted time, or it can be given
as a joke to someone who totally went over or under time.
The last award is the Stirrers Award this is given out by the
Chairman for the evening to any one they choose.
All the awards are small old trophies (an old clock for the
timer, and a wooden spoon for the stirrer). Peolpe do NOT
normally take them home.
I can not imagine our club without awards as it adds an element
of joviality to the end of our meetings, and also provide
recognition of the members input.
James Dwyer - Vice President Education
Kings Langley Toastmasters Club (4875)
District 70 - Australia.
Carolyn Hendricks
As an Area Governor, I visited some clubs that did, but their speeches
were not necessarily better than ours.
Once I received a purple ribbon for something from the district, and when
I noticed it said "50 cents" on the back, the thrill evaporated.
ClarkBrown
not want to have the competition of awards. They presented *each* speaker
with an inhouse certificate for a job well done and *each* evaluator the
same type of recognition. At their largest, they had 60 members and 5
speakers at each meeting. They did not see TM as competition internally,
but also saw the need to recognize and praise folks for completion of a
task. Interesting concept, me thought.
samuel hernandez
<7654...@CompuServe.COM> writes:
>
>We are currently going through a big debate at our club on keeping
>the award for the best speaker and evaluator? Have any clubs out
>there tried their meetings without the awards does it "take
>away" from the meeting at all.
Awards are a terrific tool for the new members especially. I have
seen new members (newbies ? ;-)) get really emotional (relatively)
over been awarded -- the result: one individual became even more
encouraged to do his best.
Simple awards do have a way of providing short term goals, and they
definitely add to the festivities of the meeting. Our club really
enjoy the occasion to hand out awards. Its traditional, and we try to
have as much fun with it. They just seem to add to the meeting :-)
While we havn't actually attempted to do wihtout awards, I know that
when we do not have enough members present, it seems like the meeting
isn't quite the same when we do not hand out awards!
I vote in favor of awards.
Samuel Hernandez, ATM
John Perkins
we seem to have the
>concept of voting not for the experience level of the speaker but rather
>for the effort of the speaker
I agree with this. In our club for best speaker, we try to remind people to
vote for the person who best met the objectives of the project. Someone may
give an excellent speech but did not do a good job of meeting the objectives
so that person would be unlikely to win best speaker. This helps to give
inexperienced speakers as much opportunity to win as the more experienced
speakers.
Heather Perkins
John Perkins
>Now I'm curious, who does and doesn't do evaluations for table topics???
When my club first started about 17 years ago we used to have a Table Topics
evaluator as one of the duties. When we ran into some membership problems, the
duty was dropped and it was supposed to be part of the job of the General
Evaluator. Over the years though, an evaluation of Table Topics seems to have
been dropped from the overall evaluation. Recently, we have been trying to
remind the General Evaluator that part of the role is to do a brief evaluation
of Table Topics. The members have found this helpful when it has been done.
Heather Perkins
Mal Lawrence
one another? Is that a good thing? Does that take away from a "mutually
supportive atmosphere"?
We don't hand out awards at our meetings, but it seems to work out well with
some of your clubs.
Michael Alexander
>Does the handing out of awards encourage speakers to compare themselves to
>one another? Is that a good thing? Does that take away from a "mutually
>supportive atmosphere"?
I see nothing wrong in speakers comparing themselves to one another. It
helps them learn from one another. And learning from one another is part
of a mutually supportive atmosphere.
Michael Alexander (A.K.A. Rednaxela)
Web page: http://solutions.solon.com/~mal
PfizerJVT
do a brief evaluations of Table Topics.
Jim Tosone
VP Education
Valley Toastmasters
Michael Alexander
>Now I'm curious, who does and doesn't do evaluations for table topics???
We sometimes evaluate them and sometimes don't. We always evaluate the
topic itself and discuss the responses to it. We occationally evaluate
individual responses, but since people often are building off of previous
responses, we usually don't.
RRD1
(John Perkins) writes:
> Recently, we have been trying to
>remind the General Evaluator that part of the role is to do a brief
>evaluation
>of Table Topics. The members have found this helpful when it has been
done.
>
>
I can certainly see evaluating the Table Topicsmaster. If he/she asks
completely off-the-wall questions, I think the GE should bring that to the
attention of the club.
-Rick Davis,CTM
Western Division Gov, Dist. 40
Cincinnati NIOSH Toastmasters
Alice Schubach
In a previous article, alex...@gold.tc.umn.edu (Michael Alexander) says:
>We sometimes evaluate them and sometimes don't. We always evaluate the
>topic itself and discuss the responses to it. We occationally evaluate
>individual responses, but since people often are building off of previous
>responses, we usually don't.
Please clarify ... You don't give everybody the same topic, do you? This
would take away the whole challenge of impromptu speaking, with a topic
assigned on the spot, with only seconds to prepare an answer.
Alice
Alice Schubach
In a previous article, rr...@aol.com (RRD1) says:
>I can certainly see evaluating the Table Topicsmaster.
Certainly! It's an integral part of the meeting ... but ...
> If he/she asks
>completely off-the-wall questions, I think the GE should bring that to the
>attention of the club.
We love off-the-wall questions and encourage them. They're much more
educational in learning to "think on your feet," as we say. They're also
a lot more fun!
Alice
RRD1
(Alice Schubach) writes:
>> If he/she asks
>>completely off-the-wall questions, I think the GE should bring that to
the
>>attention of the club.
>
>We love off-the-wall questions and encourage them. They're much more
>educational in learning to "think on your feet," as we say. They're also
>a lot more fun!
>
>Alice
>
>
"Off the wall" wasn't the best phrasing--"inappropriate or requiring
inside information or overly simple" might be a better phrase. I agree
that out of the ordinary Table Topics are fun. Politics, religion and OJ
Simpson are probably not appropriate for the average Table Topics session
(unless handled with great diplomacy.)
-Rick Davis, CTM-
Western Division Gov., Dist. 40
Cincinnati NIOSH Toastmasters
bcric...@hotmail.com
> : We are currently going through a big debate at our club on keeping
> : the award for the best speaker and evaluator? Have any clubs out
> : there tried their meetings without the awards does it "take
> : away" from the meeting at all.
>
> (Mason-Dixon, Huntsville AL) just hands out the little plastic trophies.
> You give them back after the meeting, and they are used again next week.
> Getting, or not getting, an award does not necessarily mean that you are
> or are not an excellent speaker. Awards do serve as a concrete benchmark
> of how well you did that day compared to other speakers. I beleive that
> it would be hard to learn without that benchmark comparison. I beleive
> that it would indeed "take away" to not have them.
>
> Best of luck to all!!
>
> Rob
Mr. Rob Tristani you need to delete your post; you are not a member of Mason Dixon from 2010 to present and you are trashing Mason Dixon for no reason at all. You must not put your heart into the club or you would not say negating words about your club.
Mason Dixon Toastmasters Club is still alive and doing well!! We have grown from leaps and bond.
Brenda Rice
VP of Education, VP of Public Relations
justin...@gmail.com
> We are currently going through a big debate at our club on keeping
> the award for the best speaker and evaluator? Have any clubs out
> there tried their meetings without the awards does it "take
> away" from the meeting at all.
might do for best Evaluator or Speaker of the Month or the year,