D59 virtual realities I: April and May webinars

Five years ago, I was attending a series of professional workshops called “Tools of Change” intended for publishers right before the Frankfurter Buchmesse (the largest book fair in the world). The biggest firms in the place were fearing to go digital: is it possible that people will forget about the pleasure of holding such brilliant hardcover piece, the pleasure of turning pages, writing notes on the sides, etc.?

Only Google books and a series of specialized start ups, including myself, were happily surfing on the wave, thinking that soon these very basic features would not only be perfectly replicated but that e-books will enhance the experience of reading substantially. I tweeted (of course!):

to be or not to be digital?
to be or not to be digital/virtual?

 

digital we already are
digital/virtual we already are

Similarly today, I have the impression that some of us are still reluctant to use virtual tools to engage with their audience because there is nothing like the real thing. To help you explore the potential of the virtual, our district has recently decided to invest in a gotomeeting account that not only supports the organization of virtual meetings but also the one of webinars.

There is a series of webinars coming up to help you either familiarize yourselves with the mainstream virtual tools either to keep your members hooked to Toastmasters and reach to new ones with some “specific content” presentations (see series A in the list below).

You are welcome to register and share these according these invitations to our webinars according to your interest. By attending these webinars, we hope to receive many suggestions to develop meeting, event and webinar concepts tailored to your club, area, division needs with a virtual support.

 
Series A (intended for all members): Learn how to maximize the power of your speech with your voice:
The voice of success I: early morning voice training with Olivia Schofield on Apr 3, 2014 8:00 AM CESTRegister now: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6030218003538771457The voice of success II: early morning voice training with Olivia Schofield on Apr 17, 2014 8:00 AM CESTat:Register now: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7058617617276790785
Details: During these webinars, Olivia Schofield (world champion finalist 2011) will give some tips and tricks to help you prepare for your upcoming competitions and presentations. She will tell you about working with the musicality of your voice, warming it up and articulating. These tips are specifically intended for an audience of non native speakers or for native speakers addressing an audience of non-natives. After the event, the webinars will be available on the district website (www.district59.org) – to know more about Olivia http://blog.district59.org/?p=145After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Series B (intended for officers): gain new members by using social media

I. How to use GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar (over lunchtime) on Apr 9, 2014 11:30 AM CEST at: Register now: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3285993111629240578D59 promotes the use of a series of virtual tools to enhance its areas and divisions internal and external communication. One of these tools is GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar. If you are not yet familiar with the use of this tool and its potential to help you promote your club, please join us. (Format: 20 min. demo and 30 min. Q&A. Have any powerpoint doc ready to test how to present it online under guidance.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
II. Toastmasters branding and membership on Apr 29, 2014 8:00 PM CESTRegister now: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8790821221416865282

Based on a presentation given at the TLI in Lodz, we will examine the real life and social media mechanisms to attract new members and their relation to the branding of Toastmasters. This webinar is based on the most recent social media literature, among others Jonah Berger’s “Contagious”.
Let’s make some progress together! (40 min presentation and 40 min. Q&A and simulations)After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
 
III. Twitter symphony on May 5, 2014 8:00 PM CEST 

Register now: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4457676682677107457

In this webinar, we will briefly review some basics about Twitter and practise techniques to amplify our messages. The objective: have our Toastmasters activities (esp. to the occasion of our Krakow conference 16-18 May) become a trending topic locally – a very efficient way to promote Toastmasters. 
To join the fun, just open a Twitter account if you do not have one yet and follow @Toastmasters59 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

I am happy to receive your suggestions and feedback at pro@district59-toastmasters.org . 

In our next post, this week, we will tell you about clubs using videoconferencing at their meetings or for some specific events.