3 old 1 new path on my board now

 "On my board" I mean still open paths in my basecamp. 

 

Dynamic Leadership is the last path, the free path I have chosen. I will not begin Level 2 projects.

In Dynamic Leadership, the three "old projects of Level 2": Introduction to Toastmaster Mentoring, that is in every path, plus the Understanding Your Leadership and Understanding your Communication.

Leadership style did not change, in three years, still "Innovative" also in fact all but the bureaucratic, in fact, it depends. A good leader changes styles depending of situation. Same with my communication style, in three years the answer did not change. Still "initiating" is on top, whatever it means.

In VC path I just have to give 10 - 12 minutes of Reflect on your path, I am not in rush and it is so important for me, all I want to say about it. It is the second time this path: it was the first finished in 2017.

In IP path alas, I have also to create a new HPL as the old is no more actual. 

And still have to remember, what I did and what not for the printed path, PM (first chosen in 2017 and still not finished, but it was archived - was I right to bring it back?

WSO TableTopics Contest: 6 or us

Witty Storytellers Online club Table Topic Contest with 6 contestants

--- Handicapped, I was surprised to win the 3rd price ---

The contest won by Wendy Smiley, Contestant nr 1 : 

her choice was to participate to the contest!

--- and so well told ---

The Table Topic question for all was "The Choice"

Great Contest Chair, our President, Graham Cairn

Changing places in Gallery view (or speaker view)

Speaker, with Gallery on the left

Speaker with gallery on the top

Another change of places - depending the speaker and the evaluator : one can just slide a video up and down, left and right (of all are allowed, not just those with video on).

 

Zoom : Move people in Gallery view

 I discovered, through a video, and then, experimenting, that In zoom gallery view, I can place each, one by one, higher or lower, even change place in a row. 

But after deciding I want to see only those with their video on, I got this message:

With non-video participants hidden, an option in the Videos, I was not allowed any more to move them. 

Use blue!

 

Blue background is used by many who know, and also good for those with white hair, and white letters on blue are read easier.

It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness.

this is my new background found as I looked for "blue" on Google

And another example of blue, as the "Risk of a second fracture" caught my eyes. White bones on blue. Alas I did got a second fracture on my left feet after I broke left bones and feet, about 2 y later.

Different blue backgrounds different occasions, many shades of blue.

So do use blue, it does works! It also works with blue tea-shirt used, as I do. Or, at least, a blue mask and background with blue sky behind me. 

The next step

A path has about 15 projects, at minimum; a lot more if you add to them more "elective" projects then the minimum required.

That is a lot. Depending our time, availability and interest plus the number of clubs we are member, we can go through them slowly or faster. 

Don't think about it all at once.

Take one Level, one Project and one task at a time.

I love to be able to begin a new path, be again at Level 1, have the same required tasks, do them differently then before. I may begin and try to think again with a beginners mind, but in fact I am no more at the level I was end March 2017 as I first begun, or even last year.

I changed. My knowledge changed, the path opened too, access to path changed.

Each time we got questions in the Pathways Discussion Forum, I measure how much I learned, and as I read answers to them, how well some are able to express themselves to answer.

Beginning, Humor Contest and the two Anaka's stories

Lewisham Speakers club first online contest begins: I was chief judge The Anaka's are new toastmasters, happily married couple from Nigeria and Great Britain. Liked both their stories, even with the timing and hesitations before beginning.

Julie "Free" & Warmups

Alas, 90 seconds hesitation in the middle of my speech. 

I should have:

1. Let the post I wanted to show on screen and verify again it is there

2. I should not have changed its initial title, then found it faster

3. Keep spoking while I was looking...

But perhaps, even so, the almost 8 minutes are not for nothing, and in plus, I left - at the beginning - the meeting opening, Fernando sg arms and Donovan as 4th Nov. president, as Toastmaster of the Day, as Warmup leader : "who inspires you?" answered by all present.

My first paths, VC, PM, LD

This picture posted 3 years ago: it took me 7 month to finish the first two path, Visionary Communication first, then Presentation Mastery. Leadership development was already on the way. 

The Motivational Strategy, begun in 2018 took a lot longer for me, but mostly because I did all Level 3 Elective projects, all but one Level 4 electives too, and more then one from Level 5. 

To this list, of course I add today the Embracing Humor path, also finishing, like the Presentation Mastery with a longer, keynote like speech. It does teach us about the importance of personal storytelling, different beginnings or ends, depending on the audience.

Some other paths, ask for 6 month at least in a committee or some other leadership role in a voluntary organisation: take a bit more time. One of those, I am beginning now, I am Secretary in 2 Toastmasters clubs anyway. One can lead from the top but also from the bottom. Dynamic Leadership, is a great path that I begin now second time. 

Three paths I do not recommend for beginners are those finishing with High Performance Leadership. Those take the most time and work, need a team plus a committee to survey and counseling. 

You can find more detailed prescriptions on my other posts, look between my most read ones... for example the one beginning with Welcome. 

A new beginning!

 Always loved to begin a new school year or a personal diary with a new notebook! 

Almost same feeling now, after I got gift of the Dynamic Leadership path (second time).

Of course, sometimes, beginnings are confusing, here is a page of Glossary TM provides (alas, some definitions are outdated already), so I added only this page.

I still not see the reason we should call, sometimes a Path "Curriculum", and not many of us uses any more the E-portofolio, only we see. Change names and shorten before you upload if you want to do so as each Level has a folder without making difference.

Elective and Required projects descriptions alas not on same page. 

Elected, are projects we select from a range of others, and Required are the project we must do for a specific path. Of course, Level 1 projects all same in all paths, all Required, and at the beginning, most Level 2 were too, but nowadays, only the Introduction to Mentoring is Required in all Level 2. 

180,000 visits to Pathways experience!

Round numbers are beautiful, aren't they? 

I love round numbers and was waiting for a few days already to get here, pass the 180,000 visits to here, to my Https://pathwaysexperience.blogspot.com. Hurrah! 

Thanks you a lot.

Free path, new path: How to choose?

Recommended for all beginners in Toastmasters or Pathways. To learn communication skills, learn about audience and tell personal stories, to persuade, to create smaller then bigger meeting, to learn and tell about change. So much in those path!

Those bellow take longer, need in plus for you to lead minimum 6 month, each are interesting in their way. 

Choose those if you do have already or soon a leadership role, in any capacity: even being a Basecamp manager, VPE, President, Secretary, or any leadership role in or outside Toastmasters, that lasts 6 month at least. I just begun, second time the Dynamic Leadership path, a very good project on Change. The first time around, it also helped me Negotiating.

Only if you like High Performance Leadership and are ready for long time, deep leadership roles, use these. If you are new to Toastmasters, in my opinions, these three are to be avoided.

A free path for us!

 All of us who paid, or will renew till December, get because Coronavirus a free path in plus!

Lettre from our International President 

And here is mine: I have selected Dynamic Leadership. It has a good project about Negotiations in level 3 and an excellent about Change on level 4. And I get to go again through the first levels!

Oups! Wrong Certificate

 

Just finished a story about my vision, required for Level 5 of Visionary Communication. I did know, it is not yet all finished, but bum! here it comes to me Certificate of Completion. 

Look! The wrong date! it is the certificate for Visionary Communication, for Level 5 but, the date is 2017, when I finished the first VC Path. This is my Second time around I did acquire VC and went through the levels ok, till now. I also discovered, opening the Electives, that the Panel Discussion was the old one, not a recent one I still have to do - or a Keynote like speech instead. 

Oups, one thing corrected, more to do still for the Pathways Interface "understand" us.

5 years ago, day by day, I become Pathways Ambassador

 At that time, we called it REP - Revitalized Education Program, it changed names later. 

I had not idea what it was, just something new. Then, our Division Director took the two manuals, CC and CL and let the CL drop... no more CL? all applauded. That manual, relatively new was badly written, confusion, and took time to fill it instead of chatting in pause. Also confusing "did I make enough?" at the end... so we were so happy "no more separate leadership track!" We still did "leadership roles" but because there were needed for a meeting.

As Pat Johnson told once "is Timekeeping" a "leadership role"? Why should we separate them?

Later, in December 2018, I become also Pathways Guide for clubs in Undistricted, was given some of the clubs to go online and speak about pathways. Really liked both roles from the beginning to end. "Guide" was only for six month but I still consider myself Pathways Ambassador - or Pathways Champion.

Last Education Awards: Persistence pays

It was for weeks that I could not open any more my Education Awards folder, and this morning, as usually when I go to TMI web for something, I tried again. "Just in case". It opened! 

I can filter using date, program (path or other), club etc. Here are two shots I have taken about my last declared awards, from last July to now, and the clubs I offered them to.

Innovative Planning 4, finished, is not declared yet. Engaging Humor and Visionary Communication (second time around) still waiting to be finished, as does IP 5 and PM manual not even between Awards. 

All this are from the last year only, the year I did not yet finish, going all the way till June next year.

Here are the awards offered (or taken) to my London club, Lewisham Speakers.

Can not offer any more Level 4 or Level 5 to this club, nor to my Witty Storytellers, or Royal Roads, by the way, at least not so it counts. I have first to finish my Level 5s waiting for me, then the Reflections on my Path. Then decide which path I would like to begin, or begin again.

So happy that I can look at them again instead of getting an error message as I got for weeks!

Coaching, tell more! Zoom background and green screen.

My lights were not all opened here, plus I did screen dump just a small part of my screen. 

Second picture tells a lot more! of course, I added explaining also about backgrounds, green screen and lightening. Even distance between the chair and the wall. All my usual lights open now.

Our time with Miriam, was useful - for both of us - and a pleasure. Looking forward to see her in my toastmaster online club and also, one to one in a different coaching session.

PS.

I still did not find out where is that new feature, someone has to Coach Me, using Slide Presentations with me inside it and changing my place.

Anaka's familly speeches from the spouses

New toastmasters couple, online. Their first ever contest; Lewisham speakers club, London.

Backgrounds are important!

While personally, nowadays, I use blue background with blue tee-shirt, that brings out my face and white hair, sometimes, we need backgrounds that speak and tell something special, help our message in zoom. 

Below, two from a meeting, depending on the speech, Graham Cairn changed his background. Folk tales?

Preparing for a humor keynote, speaking of school and unknown heroes.

Brian Dodd, showing us a background from 3 years ago Toastmasters Convention, with him as Irish, he does live now in Canada, BC, and we see also other times sites and parks and his bike even.

Panel preparation, two show the place they are from, Paris, Brisbane, and me my Help and advice screen.

Svetlana from Uzbekistan, has often wonderful and colourful backgrounds, as she telling her tales.

We will be online and it is good

Able to learn new skills, writes us our new International President.

Reflect on my path: 3 years ago, VIDEO

Lewisham Speakers club, Wednesday 

Reflections on your path

I got 3 commendations, missing, all loving how I told my story, somewhat it got cut out., only the recommendation remains. And yes, it is always useful to... but you will her it.

Path Completion, now

Finished my first Embrace Humor path a year ago, and again yesterday. Since, how to finish a path, changed. 

After login, and Go to Basecamp, we arrive to the new, blue base: Paths and Learning. Active: the Engaging Humor was first and I clicked at Open Curriculum. 

Strange, that Path is still called "curriculum" and we have to click on it and NOT on the path name, of course.

As it is always so, can get used to it.

I went to the Path Completion, as all 5 levels were finished, it did open for me. Then Activated, and Launched the Reflect on Your Path project, as for any project all along the different paths.

I have already read and knew the project, from other paths, before. Have prepared and delivered a story of 10-12 minutes (it was 11.8) title "three years ago".

3 years ago, day to day, I delivered a Reflect to your path, for the Visionary Communication, and learned for my first path a modesty lesson. I will download from zoom, cut and upload to youtube, and show it tomorrow.

After having delivered the story, I clicked on Assess your skills - before every point then on Assess your skills-After, finally submit and I got this signaling to basecamp, the project was finished.

I would be nice to get a "project finished" but instead we get just this. The last page telling "congratulation, you finished your project" is still there, and it still does not signify anything, as you can get to that last page, even when you did not finish and did not answer the Assess your skills-After, alas. One day, this will be changed too I hope, and we will be congratulated only if all is finished in basecamp. 

I looked for the certificate of proficiency, but what happened is the path disappeared from the Active folder. I did know where to look for it, in the Completed folder. Completed, curriculum, and voilà, the path appeared, I could go to "path completion" and see the Print Certificate. 

Well, not immediately. First, I had to ask the President, to approve my Completion request. He was still in our zoom meeting, and I could explain, this time he sharing his screen, how a Basecamp manager approves a level (or a path), by clicking on GREEN not on read. 

While it is Launch written on the button, as before, under the Path Completion (then path name) it is written Status: Pending Completion Approval. Until the Basecamp manager approves it. So, if we look carefully, we can see that we have already asked to be approved.

Had to go to the Completed Paths folder, open, then open the EHumor Curriculum, go all the way down to find, finally the View Certificate! But I found it!

For those who do not know where to find the Certificate of Proficiency, from now on, and it is new, it was the first time for me, we get an email from TMI explaining how to get it and where! Look at the second paragraph which explain it - for the first time ever - almost well, in the email.

Here is the Certificate, I got it the second time, now. Will have to write in another post how important it is to look at the transcript, to know which project you went through in a path, - before buying the same path again. As when we buy again a path, already done, the old path all traces alas disappear. Even if the Award, if declared in Club Central of any club, remains between your awards.