Chadstone Oaks Toastmasters

Are you new to social media and unclear how to get started? Do you want to use social media to build or extend your presence online but don’t know how? Do you need help defining your goals, identifying the right channels and how to position yourself? Or is your job to help an executive build a presence online?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, this article is for you.

Don’t be intimidated. In the end, the recipe to your success comes down to three key ingredients: clear objectives, good content, and consistency. As Woody Allen said, “80% of success is showing up”, and don’t forget to listen first before engaging!

Start thinking of yourself as a brand

What do you wish for people to associate with you when they think of your name? Is there a certain subject matter in which you want to be perceived as an expert or are there general qualities you want linked to your brand? Once you understand how you wish your brand to be perceived, you can start to be much more strategic about your personal brand. This doesn’t mean you can’t be human. On the contrary, as Michael Simmons writes, authenticity is key in the digital age. A strong personal brand can yield tremendous ROI whether you are working with an organization or leading one. Here are some examples of individuals who have built up authentic and powerful personal brands: Michael Port, John Bates, Mike Michalowicz, Dave Kerpen, David Meerman Scott, John Jantsch, Dave Carroll, and Barry Moltz.

Audit your online presence

You can’t mold perception without first understanding the current status. In other words, Google yourself and setup alerts for your name on a regular basis. Have a fairly common name? Consider using your middle initial or middle name to differentiate. Cultivating a strong personal brand is just as much about being responsive to what is being said as it is about creating intellectual property.

Secure a personal website

Having a personal website for yourself is one of the best ways to rank for your name on the search engines. It doesn’t need to be robust. It can be a simple two to three page site with your resume, link to your social platforms, and a brief bio. You can always expand on the website with time.

Find ways to produce value

We’ve all been there. Someone in your network posts something utterly mundane or ridiculous, and you wonder what compelled them to do so? A medium is not a substitute for a message. Find ways to add value to your audience by creating or curating content that’s in line with your brand.

Be purposeful in what you share

Every tweet you send, every status update you make, every picture you share, contributes to your personal brand. It is an amalgamation of multiple daily actions. Once you understand how you wish your brand to be perceived, you can start to be much more strategic about your personal brand.

Associate with other strong brands

Your personal brand is strengthened or weakened by your connection to other brands. Find and leverage strong brands which can elevate your own personal brand. Start with the three C’s: company, college, colleagues. Which school did you attend? Are there groups you can join? An alumni newsletter you can contribute to? What hidden opportunities are available within your company which you have yet to tap? Consider submitting a guest post to the company blog or look at other digital assets you can connect to your brand.

Reinvent

A strong personal brand is dependent on a strong narrative. In other words, what’s your story? Take a second to think of celebrities you know who have a strong personal brand. Mark. Martha Stewart. Richard Branson. They are all have a very clear story and a consistent brand. If you have multiple passions or areas of interest, a narrative becomes even more crucial so there can be unified theme. If you need help defining your story, I highly recommend reading Reinventing You by Dorie Clark.

Most importantly, remember that a strong personal brand should be ubiquitous and ever evolving.

Table Topics Contest Winners

First Place – Helen Bolger-Harris

Second Place – Beng Tan

Third Place – Daniel Brami

Humorous Contest

First Place – Beng

Second Place – Ansuman

Third Place – Daniel

International Contest Winners

 First Place – Ansuman Roy

Second Place – Eunice Shao

Evaluation Contest Winners

 First Place – Beng Tan

Second Place – Helen Bolger-Harris

Third Place – Ansuman Roy

What is Mindfulness?

• Our attention is hijacked by our thoughts and emotions, by our concerns, by our worries for the future, and our regrets and memories of the past.
• Mindfulness is awareness of the present moment. It is about learning to pay attention, in the present moment, and without judgment.
• It can be trained like a muscle – training attention to be where you want it to be.
• Be director of your life: mindfulness reduces your tendency to react on autopilot, it is about allowing you to choose how you respond.

Why care?

In a complex, fast moving environment it becomes more and more important to consciously navigate yourself and your teams. Mindfulness builds the core emotional intelligence skills needed to increase well-being and become an effective self-leader as well as a leader of others.

It‘s scientifically validated that practicing mindfulness has various beneficial effects on our well-being, e.g.:

• Increased emotional intelligence
• Regulated emotions, reduced stress
• Act and react adequately to situations
• Increased focus and attention

Get started with Mindfulness

To get started, watch this short video.

Initially, I joined Toastmasters for work purposes.  At the time, I needed to chair a meeting for senior management.  It was very intimidating because I lacked the experience of speaking in front of group of people.  I was also a junior team leader at the time and I felt I lacked the connection with the team.  So I had two big questions; 1. Can I be a good leader? 2. How do I communicate effectively with the company’s executives?  I came to Toastmasters seeking for solutions.

I initially joined two clubs, Monash Toastmasters and Chadstone Oaks Toastmasters.  They are both great clubs. However, due to time constraints, I could only remain in Chadstone Oaks. You see, despite being a new member at the time, I was given the chance to be a part of Chadstone Oak’s executive committee and I took it with both hands! This shows you that in Chadstone Oaks, anyone can take up leadership positions, regardless of experience.

What I have learnt so far?

Confidence to talk in front of people. It applies to both work and personal life.

Connections with the audience. They say that to be a good speaker, you also need to be a good listener. I started to notice that since joining Toastmasters, I have become a good listener.  I give credit to the Hark master and Evaluator roles that I have been participating.  Being a good listener also makes conversations with friends/colleagues more enjoyable!

Good with time in all occasions.  I started to be better at estimating time when approaching someone for a conversation; it is not hard to estimate how the long conversations have gone on for when I have prepared so many speeches!

Read more/gain knowledge since I have to collect topics for the next speech. I noticed that I started to collect news items and things that happens to me on a day-to-day basis. I then try to compose them into little stories in a structured way. In addition to that, I tend to read more these days as I need more materials for my speeches.  When reading, I started to pay attention to how the writer picked the title for the article in order to grab the reader’s attention.

Improved management/organizational skills.  As one of the committee members, I have improved so much in my management skills. It is down on me that if I attend an event these days, I will start to notice things like: do they have people there to greet the guests, is the MC doing a good job, do they have good presentations on display etc.  In addition to that, by participating as one of the committee members, it empowers you to be the best of what you can be without the stress of being judged by your peers (which is what I feel all the time at my workplace!). You cannot find anywhere else that will provide you with a stress-free environment for you to practice your management skills.

Self-awareness Start to be more aware of my own behaviors.  It really helps to learn how you behave when you are in a certain mood (e.g. Happy, excited, upset, and angry).  That is because previously, when I was stressed, I tend to make others feel like they have become my personal punching bag, even when I don’t intend to make them feel that way. However, now that I’m more self-aware, I don’t do that anymore. Toastmasters has helped stop me unintentionally passing on misleading messages to others.

In summary, Toastmaster is a great place for you to unlock your speaking potential and to improve your management/organizing skills, with positive support.  I have never looked back since I joined Toastmasters nearly 3 years ago.