Already three years! Named Amassador

Already three years!

It seems to me as if it was yesterday. 

Three years ago, I really needed the Think Positive Project. I was deeply down. I was not named as Pathway Guide, as I requested and was almost sure I will get. 

After all, in my district I was the only one with experience in Pathways, having gone remote access to District 27, Pilot then, to learn it.


was this three or two years ago? Last year, I got in December Europe first Pathways Distinguished Toastmaster. 

So many clubs visited as Ambassador and later, for undistricted clubs, as Guide. A lot of work that gave meaning to my life. Lots of Toastmasters met, advices, stories told. I did not feel so old any more. 

what will 2020 bring? 

if We want to repeat a path we liked

I tried the new way to choose a Path: the only path I was allowed is the 11th path, the one I did not have yet.

i refused of course that path, and yet could not have any other.

this time, it was only a test...

Other problem: a few month ago, I was not only allowed to take the second time Visionnary Communication that I did begin and finish in 2017, but Level 1 went without problems. I got my certificate a few month ago. Level 2, oups! my certificate was suddenly the old one, from May 2017!

Of course, I still could repeat any path or project completed if I do not carry at all of awards.

Select a path changed

More guided and options better explained.


This above comes only after you selected.

Here is how it is Compared the Web and the Printed path. It is clearly now expressed, NO ELECTION but only preselected, projects for the printed.

Communication Plan

Very well explained project   I will try now. 

I have two different projects ixN mind, just have to decide, which now.


it is indeed, very imtportant to be specific

Onboarding: for first timers choice

When you join Toastmasters now, you got this before the Assesment, we got directly. Or, after the *joining is like 1 2 3* before letter. 

Recommending Presentation Mastery. A fairly good path.
Recommending to research the different paths. Perhaps the best choice.
Recommending to pass through assessment. Not bad choice either.

Later when we buy another path, we do not see those but even then, we can take or skip the assessment. Or even the recommended 3 choices the assessment offers. 

Paths and core competencies 11 paths

Just got these, with 11 pages in plus, one for each path from Toastmasters International. Bellow, the Engaging Humor, The last added path. As can be seen, with Required Projects in left, Electives grouped at right.

You can see how many projects you miss, if you choose Printed path, when you get only 4 electives, and even those preselected for you, instead of 25 possibles to choose from.

All same for all 5 possible printed path.

Only exception is PM which gets at level 5 managing a panel discussion instead of Lessons Learned for all others. I do not see why.










And here for PM I begun second time now. Third time, if you count the one printed but abandoned before finishing Level 3 and Archieved.

Tutorials

There are lots of tutorials available: short videos that explain a thing or other. Most of them I have never looked or seen. Are they new or where they always available and it was just me who did not see?

--- post from 1/5/18 --- still needed now

There have at left Home, at right Compatibility Check, so probably I believed that once the compatibility check is done... 

First, I was unhappy, because you can not click on the title and go to them: we have to hover under the title, then go down to the gray letters under them and click on them! 

What kind of interface is that? 

Perhaps it was the reason I neglected to observe how interesting those Tutorials and Resources were! They are answering to many questions I posed and still pose! 

For example, this one "Accessing your path" tells me that I can open it clicking on the Tile named My Educational Tutorials, or go down and click inside the rectangle to my path(s). While each takes me to my path and from there to my levels and projects, the experience is not exactly the same. One of the options lets me easy access also completed path or those I did archive for some reasons. The reason was that I have looked then did not want to be there to disturb. Like a clean Tile when I am working or showing them. 

Here some tutorials waiting for me to look at. I will see what each of them says and I am sure I will learn something, if not else then how to speak about them. I did not know to use the word "Tile" till now for example! I just used "rectangle".

If I want to see only Paths and Projects, I have to chose only "Curriculum" and not "All". This are only a few on the top, as they are arranged. And yes! 

Looking at left, I see there are also Project Descriptions! Interesting!!! Have to open and see how far those go. 

I can launch Storytelling and I get a few sentences what I will have to do. Find a story or stories, then tell it in a meeting. It does take time, to craft a good story, but not so long finally. 
It is a Level 3 elective project.

And now, I opened this which is a level 5 required project for the Dynamic Leadership. It seems to be a whole different "game of ball". Is it how one is expressed? 

As you see, it ask you to lead a team for 6 month. While serving, ask your peers to complete a 360 degree evaluation: 6 pages full of telling how they see you! 

Then only 'go and speak for 8 to 10 minutes about your experience as leader'. 

And yes, you do not have to tell what they did write about you! Your speech can be humorous, informative or any style and NOT a report on the content of the project. More, your reflection of your experience and / or the impact of the evaluation on you. So the speech itself as well your role as leader inside or outside Toastmasters is up to you. But it has to last 6 whole month! Not the same amount for one project then "tell a story". 

So how long is a project? It all depends! 

And of course, farther we go in levels, usually longer it takes to complete a project. Better study them before choosing which Path you take. If your are a leader in the club for example, it comes natural, but you still have to wait six month. Even if it does not tell when the 'take a role for six month' has to begin. Can you take it at the beginning of the Path? Or when you arrive at level 5 at this project? When you ask to be evaluated for your role? All along or just at the end? I believe, all that is left for you to decide.

Both projects are interesting and very different. You can choose a path that has or not the last one, Storytelling is an elective in every path at level 3, you do it or not. I already did it in two of my path. But I told stories all along another "any style" they say usually.

Researching the Tutorials, I learned now for this post, what awaits for me at the end of my last path, that I have taken because I wanted to learn and speak about Negotiating.

Discover your style, again

Again and again, after I answer the questions, the Innovative leadership style comes to the top, the bureaucratic style at bottom. The others, in between, vary. 

True, storytelling IS my best style, one to one or to audiences. True for communication and for leadership too. 

In fact, we have in us many different styles to use each when needed most.

May you live in interesting times

May you live in interesting times, is a Chinese way of wishing bad to someone.

Is it really bad?

Not always.

Pathways may seem bad to some, to me it was and still is godsend. It gave me something new I needed. It offered what to learn and also to teach.

Pathways is here to stay, even if it may still change a bit - or for sure.

I am open to see what and how.

May 2017: Level 1 VC - first

5 May 2017, first time I finished Level 1.
15 May 2017, finally I got it approved

Why did it take so long? 10 days. Because no one in the club needed an approval, none knew yet how to do it. I was the first in the club to finish a Level. The VPE could not figure it out, finally the President did.

I was so proud of myself, I got my first ever Pathways Award! At my old age, I proved I can still do something new. I still remember the joy!

From that time on, I proved, proved proved.

This toastmasters year, here are my awards. Yesterday, my last was approved and got it in club central in 10 minutes, or less. So far, 8 Level awards for this TM year.

Level Completion - did it change?

Completed the Evaluation, the third task of Project 2 of Level 1.

I finished my last Project - the Evaluation and Feedback third task, and did Evaluate a Toastmaster, it was my last Project of Level 1 as I did before the Research and also the Icebreaker, and of course, the two speeches from the Project Evaluation.

The Activate Level 1 Completion suddenly available, I clicked immediate "Mark completed" arrived without the page that I had before to dismiss.

What was my surprise also that View Certificate was available, without a BCM having had time to mark it approved in the Basecamp. What happened?

I will have to go to one of my clubs where I am BCM to see if the approval is still waiting...