Page 18 - voicesdec2014
P. 18
True Mission of the General Evaluator
By Dr. Shani Fox
On the morning of my 3rd outing as General Evaluator, I received an email from Tom
Cox, my chapter’s terrific VP of Education. Attached was a 4-minute video he had
made, with tips for the General Evaluator. Tom’s points were essentially twofold: The
GE coordinates and evaluates the evaluation team, and, by reinforcing what worked
well during the meeting and noting what didn’t work, helps evolve the culture of the club.
Evolve the culture of the club? With due respect, I never saw anything about that in my Toastmasters
manual! Nevertheless, the idea was intriguing. This was a chance to make a contribution to my club
that wouldn’t be forgotten between this meeting and next. I challenged myself to implement it that
very day.
Helping evolve my club’s culture meant I had to have a good sense of the club culture as it already
was. I observed with renewed interest the interactions of that day’s Toastmaster with club members
in preparation for the meeting, the pre-meeting networking interactions and of course, the events of
the meeting itself. I saw two members offer to fill unfilled roles without being asked, saving the
Toastmaster the trouble of finding volunteers. I saw one of the day’s
speakers do double-duty, opening the meeting warmly and engaging our
guests in place of the absent club President. The Table Topics Master didn’t
have to search for volunteers—four eager participants jumped up one after
the other. By the time it was my turn to speak, the prevailing culture of our
club was as clear as if it had been posted on a sign for all to see.
“What if,” I began, “you lived in a world where everyone around you was
attuned to your needs, and ran to fill those needs before you even had to
ask?” As Tom had for me, I introduced the idea that we had the opportunity to evolve our club culture.
I described what I’d observed that day, watching various members glow as they were acknowledged.
I was glowing too, because I felt proud to be a member of a club whose heretofore unnamed culture
is…GENEROSITY.
I followed this with a challenge: “What’s one thing we can all do today to become an even more
generous club?” As the outset of the meeting, our Toastmaster had discovered to his surprise that a
40-minute chunk was missing from the printed meeting agenda. It was no technical issue; our
speakers had simply forgotten to confirm their roles in Easy Speak. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful,” I said,
“if every meeting role was confirmed a full day in advance, saving the Toastmaster the effort of
contacting individuals? For anyone still challenged by Easy Speak, your act of generosity is taking our
VPE up on his outstanding offer to provide Easy Speak training!”
We’ll see whether the club follows through on this recommendation. But it felt wonderful to offer it
in the context of magnifying our generosity.
Dr. Shani Fox helps cancer survivors who feel alone or overwhelmed create lives of wellness, authenticity and joy. Her unique
background as both holistic physician and life mastery coach powerfully supports survivors in becoming proactive members of their
own wellness teams and CEOs (chief enjoyment officers!) of their own lives. She serves survivors across the nation through live and
innovative virtual programs. You can reach her at drshani@drshanifox.com or via www.wellaftercancer.com. Dr. Shani is a member
of Toastmasters for Speaking Professionals in Tigard, Oregon.
18
By Dr. Shani Fox
On the morning of my 3rd outing as General Evaluator, I received an email from Tom
Cox, my chapter’s terrific VP of Education. Attached was a 4-minute video he had
made, with tips for the General Evaluator. Tom’s points were essentially twofold: The
GE coordinates and evaluates the evaluation team, and, by reinforcing what worked
well during the meeting and noting what didn’t work, helps evolve the culture of the club.
Evolve the culture of the club? With due respect, I never saw anything about that in my Toastmasters
manual! Nevertheless, the idea was intriguing. This was a chance to make a contribution to my club
that wouldn’t be forgotten between this meeting and next. I challenged myself to implement it that
very day.
Helping evolve my club’s culture meant I had to have a good sense of the club culture as it already
was. I observed with renewed interest the interactions of that day’s Toastmaster with club members
in preparation for the meeting, the pre-meeting networking interactions and of course, the events of
the meeting itself. I saw two members offer to fill unfilled roles without being asked, saving the
Toastmaster the trouble of finding volunteers. I saw one of the day’s
speakers do double-duty, opening the meeting warmly and engaging our
guests in place of the absent club President. The Table Topics Master didn’t
have to search for volunteers—four eager participants jumped up one after
the other. By the time it was my turn to speak, the prevailing culture of our
club was as clear as if it had been posted on a sign for all to see.
“What if,” I began, “you lived in a world where everyone around you was
attuned to your needs, and ran to fill those needs before you even had to
ask?” As Tom had for me, I introduced the idea that we had the opportunity to evolve our club culture.
I described what I’d observed that day, watching various members glow as they were acknowledged.
I was glowing too, because I felt proud to be a member of a club whose heretofore unnamed culture
is…GENEROSITY.
I followed this with a challenge: “What’s one thing we can all do today to become an even more
generous club?” As the outset of the meeting, our Toastmaster had discovered to his surprise that a
40-minute chunk was missing from the printed meeting agenda. It was no technical issue; our
speakers had simply forgotten to confirm their roles in Easy Speak. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful,” I said,
“if every meeting role was confirmed a full day in advance, saving the Toastmaster the effort of
contacting individuals? For anyone still challenged by Easy Speak, your act of generosity is taking our
VPE up on his outstanding offer to provide Easy Speak training!”
We’ll see whether the club follows through on this recommendation. But it felt wonderful to offer it
in the context of magnifying our generosity.
Dr. Shani Fox helps cancer survivors who feel alone or overwhelmed create lives of wellness, authenticity and joy. Her unique
background as both holistic physician and life mastery coach powerfully supports survivors in becoming proactive members of their
own wellness teams and CEOs (chief enjoyment officers!) of their own lives. She serves survivors across the nation through live and
innovative virtual programs. You can reach her at drshani@drshanifox.com or via www.wellaftercancer.com. Dr. Shani is a member
of Toastmasters for Speaking Professionals in Tigard, Oregon.
18
