[OSList] Openspace and Toastmasters - A Taster

Mark Pixley mjpixley at gmail.com
Sun Jan 1 02:02:51 PST 2012


Tim,

Thanks for the mention and it was fun working with your project management
club in October.

I have not used OST in a regular meeting, but have used it for a TM
regional planning meeting.

 It was probably about 12 years ago in Taiwan and the District Public
Relations officer decided to have a meeting specifically about public
relations.  Club PR officers and other interested Toastmasters were invited
to participate for this one day event.  It was very effective in sharing
experiences and developing relationships between clubs.

Best Regards,

Mark

On Sun, Jan 1, 2012 at 5:52 PM, Koos de Heer <koos at auryn.nl> wrote:

>
> Dear Tim,
>
> Interesting combination. I am an active member of Utrecht Toastmasters and
> an experienced Open Space facilitator. The two are very different but at
> the same time there are striking similarities. E.g. the fact that both
> provide a safe garden in which many different topics can blossom. Both
> value diversity, passion and responsibility.
>
> I have been thinking what it would be like to organize an Open Space
> meeting for ToastMasters. I think it would work very well and I even think
> it is not necessary to outline the differences in the beginning. Just as
> long as you make it clear beforehand that this is not a regular TM meeting
> but something different. I think people need to know ahead of time that
> this is not a meeting where they can practice their speaking skills, but
> rather a meeting about leadership and about sharing ideas and visions.
> Outlining the differences at the start of the meeting would only confuse
> people. Just explaining how Open Space works seems adequate to me.
>
> As far as reporting back is concerned, I hardlly ever do that in Open
> Space meetings. I think one can rightfully assume that people have taken
> part in those sessions that they were most interested in. I would not be
> interested in reports from sessions that I did not go to because I did not
> find them interesting. And if I missed a session that I really did want to
> go to, a report back is not going to make up for that. Reports usually make
> the end a drag, and I think you'd rather want the end to be energizing.
>
> About the theme: I think it is important to have a theme that sparks the
> passion of the attendants. It is difficult to say anything about that from
> here. Why not create a small planning group from your TM club and discuss
> the theme there? That way you can find out what kind of things matter most
> to the members. The next step would then be to turn that into a short
> inspiring and positive sentence or question.
>
> Good luck with it and keep us posted!
>
> Koos
>
> Tim Lam <timkylam at yahoo.com>schreef:
>
>
>  Thanks Michelle,
>
> Happy New Year all!
>
> TM primarily uses prepared speeches and table topics (impromptu speech) to
> promote public speaking skills.  In order to be certified at the first
> level (CC - Competent Communicator) one has to give 10 speeches (project)
> whereby each speech has a different objective e.g (1. ice breaker, 2.
> organize your speech, 3. get to the point, 5. your body speaks..) and the
> evaluation of each has a different checklist e.g. Evaluation to organise
> your speech would include:
>
> Speech value -  interesting, meaningful
> Preparation - research, rehearsal
> Organization -  logical, clear
> Opening - attention-getting, led into topic
> Body - flowed smoothly
> Conclusion - effective
> Transitions - appropriate, helpful
>
> The rigid format of TM means that each evaluator is given a checklist
> according to the CC guide, ie role in session, and speech they may be
> evaluating:
>
> http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/MemberExperience/MeetingRoles/Evaluator.aspx
>
>  A typical meeting agenda could be:
>
>    19:00******
>  Get Together****
>  19:15****
>  Welcome and Opening Remarks ****
>  19:19****
>  Toastmaster of the Evening Opening
>  19:25****
>  Table Topics (Impromptu Speech)****
>  19:36****
>  Speaker 1: (Prepared Speech)****
>  19:43****
>  Speaker 2: (Prepared Speech)****
>  19:51****
>  Speaker 3: (Prepared Speech)****
>  19:59****
>  Speaker 4: (Prepared Speech)****
>  20:10****
>  Introduction of New Guests**
>  20:13****
>  *BREAK*
>  20:24****
>  Evaluation – Table Topics **
>  20:30****
>  Evaluation – For Speaker 1****
>  20:34****
>  Evaluation – For Speaker 2****
>  20:38****
>  Evaluation – For Speaker 3****
>  20:42****
>  Evaluation – For Speaker 4****
>  20:46****
>  Time Keeper Report****
>  20:49****
>  Ah Counter Report****
>  20:52****
>  Language Evaluation****
>  20:56****
>  General Evaluation****
>  21:05****
>  Voting****
>  21:08****
>  Closing Remarks and Announcement****
>
> As far as previous OS sessions are concerned, the agenda would be
> approximately:
>
>    19:00-
>  Opening Cirle, the theme, the principles, the law,
> Creating the agenda
>  19:30-
>  First round of group discussion
>  20:00-
>  Second round of group discussion
>  20:30-21:00
>  Closing Circle
>
> I was considering to change the format slightly:
>
>    19:00-19:10
> 19:10-19:30
>  Opening welcome by TM, introducing the changes in this "joined up" format
> Opening Cirle, the theme, the principles, the law, Creating the agenda
>  19:30-
>  First round of group discussion
>  20:00-
>  Second round of group discussion
>  20:30-21:50
> 20:50-21:00
>  Convenor / Group discussion "report-back"
> Closing Circle / Remarks
>
> The time for the group discussions may need to be reduced accordingly and
> I was thinking the thinking the closing circle may be changed to focus on a
> report-back format.  The report back may be from the group convenor or just
> anyone who attended the group.  As for voting maybe just a show or hands,
> use of sticky dots to vote on topic, and present 'prize' to topic
> convenor?  TM usually present ribbons to the best speaker, table topic
> speech... at the end of each session. (
> http://www.toastmasters.org/MainMenuCategories/Shop/Awards/BESTSPEAKERRIBBONSETSETOF10534.aspx
> )
>
> As for theme, probably somewhere along the lines: "How can we best become
> competent leaders?  What are the issues and how can they be best addressed?"
>
> Regards,
>
> Tim.
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> *From:* Michele Frankel <frankelmichele at gmail.com>
> *To:* Tim Lam <timkylam at yahoo.com>; World wide Open Space Technology
> email list <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> *Sent:* Saturday, December 31, 2011 11:18 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] Openspace and Toastmasters - A Taster
>
>   No suggestions, but I would love to attend.
>
> On second thoughts , I have one suggestion , a far more detailed ckeck
> list to consult with , for evaluation.
>
> Best wishes for the New Year.
>
> Michele
>
> On Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 1:42 PM, Tim Lam <timkylam at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>  Warm wishes to all and the best of health this festive season!
>
> As a distant spacer and located within the corporate (no names mentioned)
> world, we recently ran a 2 hour OS taster, faciliated by our dear friend
> Mark Pixley (Thanks again Mark!).  It was really well received and the
> feedback extremely positive given the 'short' time period and the session
> being held after normal office hours.
>
> It is great to see more discussions and fantastic advice
> on 'mini-sessions', however I am planning to run a joint session with a
> Toastmasters (TM) club!  Without going into too much details about the TM
> 'philosophy' and hopefully not to offend any TM'ers.  TM aims to improve
> speaking and leadership skills by running 'speech projects' which are timed
> and evaluated.
>
> What are ones thoughts on how a balance can be made between the 'chaos' of
> OS and the 'rigidity' of TM?
>
> Although the session may not be run for a few months (their time is booked
> for the next two) I thought it may be interesting to see ones points of
> view.  The main question is still brewing but I'm thinking about
> a 'Leadership', as TM run 'Competent Communication' and 'Competent
> Leadership' certifications.  Any suggestions for 'the' question?
>
> Good Health !
>
> Tim.
>
>
>
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-- 
Mark Pixley

LEADERSHIP INC
86-755-82111366
86-13068445641
skype: mjpixley
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