walking to school

Primary Students:

* Confirm what time school will start on the first day.

* If your children are going to a new school, check with the school to see what information or identification will be required on registration day.

* Get your children used to the back-to-school routine before the first day of school by having them shift to their school bedtime and wake-up

routine a week before school begins.

* Have your children choose their outfits the night before the first day to help start the morning calmly and efficiently.

* Find out how your child’s teacher communicates with parents and take advantage of the opportunities available.

* Get involved in the school community. Contact your local board of education or the Parent Advisory Council at your child’s school for volunteer opportunities.

Intermediate/Middle Students:

* Review your children’s class schedules with them to ensure all of their classes are correct.

* Help your children figure out a plan for getting to class on time, especially if classes are at opposite ends of the building.

* If your children are going to a new school, encourage them to check out the school before their first day. Have them locate the gym, library,

cafeteria and their classrooms to get them acquainted with the facilities.

* Talk to your children about the upcoming school year; be positive and remind them of the friends they will meet, the new things they will learn

and the fun they will have.

* Continue to be involved in the school community as this is a great way to get to know your children’s teachers and other parents.

Secondary Students:

* If your teenagers are going to a new school, have them arrange a visit to learn where to find their classrooms, the gym, the library and the cafeteria so they will feel more comfortable on their first day.

* Encourage your teenagers to review their schedules and make an appointment with a school counsellor if there are any conflicts or mistakes.

* Have them practise the combination on their locks to ensure they know the combination and that the locks work properly.

* Work with your child, their teacher and principal to ensure courses, programs and graduation requirements are being met.

* Continue to be involved in the school community.

Public Affairs Bureau
Ministry of Education

Drive Smart Tips For Back To School

Make smart driving decisions to keep kids safe

As a new school year begins, ICBC and police throughout the province are asking drivers to make smart decisions: plan ahead, drive with extra caution and watch out for children. Every year in B.C., there’s an average of 16,655 crashes, 5350 injuries and 36 deaths involving children.

“The most important thing to remember is that these crashes are preventable, which means we can all play a role in making our roads safer,” said Nicolas Jimenez, ICBC’s director of road safety.

“Back to school is an exciting time for kids,” adds Jimenez. “As parents, we can help by reviewing our kids’ daily routes, the rules of the road and how they can make smart decisions.”

Jamie Chung, RCMP media relations officer agrees, “We really need drivers to do their part, slow down and watch out for kids. Police will be out in full force, monitoring the 30 km/h school zones throughout the province to make sure that kids get off to a safe start this school year.”

Drivers should also be aware that starting Sept. 20, new changes to the Motor Vehicle Act will trigger a seven day impoundment of their vehicle if they are caught speeding 40 km or more over the posted speed limit.

Teachers have also been contributing to road safety awareness – last year more than 1,600 teachers in B.C. ordered ICBC’s free school-based curriculum materials for students in kindergarten to grade 12. ICBC has invested in road safety education for the past 30 years, and this year all school materials have been updated.

“We’re excited about the new materials – teachers can order these free materials which provide age-appropriate, fun and interactive road safety lessons,” said Jimenez. “We focus on pedestrian and bike safety for children and incorporate more hard-hitting messages about the risks of impaired or distracted driving for teens.”

In addition, ICBC has designed a new youth contest, ”YOUR AD HERE”, enabling high school students and schools to get involved by designing a road safety ad to be featured on next year’s high school agendas.

Here are ICBC’s smart driving tips for drivers and parents:

Tips for parents and students

Consider posting these safety tips somewhere in your home and review them with your kids – even older children need to be reminded about road safety.

No. 1: Remove your headphones; put away your phone, MP3 player or other gadgets when crossing a street. Focus your full attention on the road so you can see, hear and respond safely.

No. 2: Use designated crossing points and follow pedestrian traffic signs and signals. Make eye contact with drivers, so you both know you see each other. The most common road safety error made by kids is not finding a safe place to cross. Teach your child to cross at intersections that have a pedestrian crossing light or a marked crosswalk whenever possible.

No. 3: Dress to be seen. Wear bright or light coloured clothing. In dark or bad weather, wear reflective material on clothes or accessories.

No. 4: Always walk on the inside edge of the sidewalk – away from the road. This way, you’re further away from the traffic. If there is no sidewalk, always walk facing traffic so you can see oncoming vehicles and drivers can see you.

No. 5: Be aware of parked vehicles in parking lots and on the road. Drivers may not see you between parked vehicles and you may not see them moving. Before crossing or walking through a parking lot, stop and look left-right-left around the parked vehicle and avoid taking unnecessary shortcuts through parking lots.

Tips for drivers

When school is in session, a 30 km/h school zone speed limit is in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every school day, unless otherwise posted. Also, remember that vehicles approaching from both directions must stop for school buses when their lights are flashing.

No. 1: Plan ahead and be alert. Driving routes with less traffic in the summer may now face congestion, so give yourself extra time to get to your destination. Take your time and don’t rush – especially through intersections. Look for children especially near or around crosswalks and intersections.

No. 2: Always yield to pedestrians – it’s the law.

No. 3: When dropping off children in a school zone, stop and allow them to exit on the side of the car closest to the sidewalk. Never allow a child to cross mid-block.

No. 4: If a vehicle is stopped in front of you or in the lane next to you, they may be yielding for a pedestrian, so be prepared to stop.

No. 5: Always watch for pedestrians when you’re backing up. Before you get into your vehicle, make it a habit to walk around your vehicle to ensure no small kids are behind it. And remember, children notice your driving behaviour, so set an example and drive smart.

For more road safety tips, visit icbc.com

Back To School Tips

Advice for all parents:

* Be interested in what your children are learning. Help relate what they are learning to the real world.

* Stay involved. Be sure that your children are meeting their requirements.

* Know your child’s school, the principal and especially your child’s teachers.

Primary Students:

* Let your children see you read, and set aside time each day for family reading.

* Read street signs.

* Ask your children to read to you while you prepare a meal.

* Get your children excited about reading by taking turns reading pages or acting out characters.

* Talk to your children about what they read. Ask them questions that require them to read between the lines and think about what they have just read.

This will help improve their reading comprehension.

* Introduce your children to a variety of literary styles and see which one they most enjoy.

* Help your children get a library card and take weekly trips with them to the library.

Intermediate/Middle Students:

* Set up a daily homework routine. Designate a homework area away from distractions like the television and Internet, and with adequate lighting and supplies.

* When it is time for your children to do their homework, reinforce strong study habits by also doing yours: balance your chequebook, pay

your bills or immerse yourself in a book.

* Let your children read comic books in their spare time because comics can encourage positive reading habits and can play a role in improving literacy.

* Help your children identify difficult and easy homework tasks and get them to tackle the most difficult subjects first.

* Make yourself available to answer questions and offer help, but do not do your children’s homework for them.

* Ask your children questions and have them explain what they have just read or studied.

* Encourage your children to write stories and poetry.

Secondary Students:

* Continue with an established homework routine. Make adjustments as needed, such as after-school or weekend time set aside for working on

big projects.

* Encourage your teenagers to take 20 minutes each night to read over their notes from that day, or rewrite them using colours to highlight

important information so they retain it longer.

* Have your children take regular breaks to help alleviate eye, neck and brain fatigue while studying. This will help them be more productive and retain more of what they read and study.

* Encourage your teenagers to explore magazines or appropriate websites on subjects that interest them to keep them reading. Most local libraries carry selections of magazines on a variety of topics, including sports, science, mechanics and politics.

* Keep an assignment calendar on the fridge for quick reference of due dates, exams and how they fit with other activities.

Ministry of Education

Regaining control over your health - eat vegetables

By Diane Dutchin The Afro News Vancouver

We live in a world where it is easier to blame others for either our screw ups, lack of achievements, discipline, success and if we’re unhappy with where we are we won’t need to look far to find someone to blame. The color of our skin, our upbringing, our parents, our boss, our partner, our government, struggles with our lack of weight gain or loss, and the list goes on.

Being a part of the ever growing fitness industry I hear of and see the continual battle of the “bulge” which becomes a war within ourselves and can feel at times like we’re like a gerbil locked in a cage spinning our wheels without reaching the goal we have set before us.

We’re live in a world of over excessiveness both in fat and overwhelmed with too much information on what is required and what it takes to get healthier, aka lose that excess body fat.

Let’s get real here, no one is to blame for the excess fat we may carry around and no one can get us healthier but us. If I find myself unhappy and unhealthy as a result of my weight, then I am responsible for making changes in my life to get the results I desire. No there are no quick fixes, only temporary bandages that give you a superficial sense of accomplishment, but I know it’s not the solution we’re seeking right?

The most important piece of information you need to know is this

• First it is up to you and no one else

• You must be mentally ready to make changes to ensure your success so get mentally ready.

• keep a journal worth of 1 week of eating and exercising this will show you what changes you must make to get the results you desire

• set a start and end date with realistic and challenging goals

• clean up your eating and drinking – more fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein, complex and fibrous carbohydrates, and drink more water

• consume smaller meals 4-6 per day and do not skip breakfast

• Find an activity you enjoy and move intensely for at least 5 days a week for 30min minimum.

• surround yourself with people who will be a positive support – at least one person you’ll be accountable to

In a nutshell you now have enough ammunition to be successful at regaining control and improving your health.

Don’t put off regaining control over your health; make the decision to start now you’ll be healthier for it.

Diane Dutchin

CFT Fitness Trainer

keeps the communication channels open Photo by KMG -TAN :The Afro News

Not fluent in the local language? Shy? This doesn’t prevent you from understanding or transmitting messages. As humans, we can not, NOT communicate and we desire communication.

When you don’t have the advantage of the local language, or the ability to use a common language, however, it is useful to be aware of non-verbal messages. It is generally accepted that only 7% of communication is through the words we choose. A full 93% relies on tone and body language.

Here are a few of our tools for interpersonal communication without words. See if you have already naturally used them to interpret messages in your own language or another:

Face. In North America we expect direct eye contact. It establishes a sense of trust and we feel we can detect untruths or lack of sincerity because we believe the face reveals what is really being said.

Covering the face with fingers while listening or speaking might indicate something is being hidden. Making faces or supporting the face with hands might indicate impatience or doubt about the message being heard. We like visible faces to gauge the many muscles messages.

What needs to be considered are colleagues for whom direct eye contact is not culturally comfortable or sometimes permitted. As facial muscles tell their own story, we are generally most confident when the face and eyes match each other as well as the message. Otherwise, we don’t feel that we are on the same ‘page of intent’. The message may be suspect.

Voice components such as tone; convey interest, attention, sincerity or other emotions. An unnaturally high voice or one that quavers or cracks, no eye contact, and no matching face do not support confidence in a person’s message. Ever noticed how your level of trust in a person’s ability or sincerity the more their voice goes up at the end of a sentence?

This thinning of the voice and higher note at the end of a sentence gives an impression of insecurity or lack of conviction of the speaker. Young people and women in particular have this challenge. Listen for the rise at the end of a sentence. Doesn’t it signal a question to you? The tendency is to rule out the speaker as a ‘light weight’ who seems to be asking permission or for some validation, rather than delivering a statement of fact.

Speed of speech, should be adjusted to convey focus and attention on the person being spoken to. Clear, unrushed speech allows a person to absorb your phrases. It shows an interest as well as respect to the effort of communication. Given the many possible cultural and geographic origins of people speaking even one language, steady and attentive is the way to the most successful sending and receiving of a message that is mutually understood!

Silence can speak volumes. Giving a person enough time to formulate a response and express themselves affirms that you are experiencing the other person. New Canadians often say people ask how they are but don’t really wait for the answer and therefore appear as if they don’t really care.

You may have noticed that North Americans might simply respond, “I’m great” or, “Fine thanks” to the question, “Hey, how are you?” Culturally, they offer the greeting and question but are not likely to give, nor do they want, a long answer. Deeper connections naturally, warrant deeper communications.

Gestures somehow paint a picture and ‘punctuate’ the message. Facial expressions and the tone you use help build rapport. People gesture with their hands in a variety of ways or may do so in combination with shoulders that shrug or sink or move along with twisted lips, or puckered ones, or ones that allow sounds of joy or exasperation to escape.

Even a subtle movement of an eyebrow can indicate a great deal of information, such as; doubt, surprise or a happy response. Closing the eyes, rolling them may emphasize relief, frustration or dread.  Read carefully. If you are confused, ASK. Clear communication is the goal no matter what the mode. Right?

VIP: Your very important point to wrap up with is that, ultimately, rapport is a strong measure of success in communication. It means you are working for mutual understanding. When you are in rapport, each party feels understood, or accepted. At the very least they feel heard and that keeps the communication channels open.

Helena works with new Canadians and established professionals, entrepreneurs and service providers to define their message so that it makes them money and helps them get the results they want.   http://helenakaufman.com Twitter, Face Book or invite her on LinkedIn  @HelenaKaufman

katharine-Hepburn Academy Awards to receive the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in On Golden Pond.

THE UN-COMFORT ZONE : By Robert Wilson The Afro News International

During the 1996 Summer Olympics, I saw a young athlete with his brand new silver medal around his neck and a massive smile on his face. He was so thrilled with his achievement that he was mixing and mingling with everyone he met on the sidewalk. Perfect strangers were shaking his hand, slapping him on the back, and having their picture taken with him. I did not know who he was, but it was clear that he was relishing the highest point of his life to date.

On March 29, 1982, amid thunderous applause, Katherine Hepburn stepped onto the stage at the Academy Awards to receive the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in On Golden Pond. Was she as thrilled as the Olympic athlete that I saw? Probably not. It was her fourth. Been there, done that, the mantle is getting crowded.

In my column titled Pack Mentality, I wrote that human beings are highly motivated by status and its symbols. A reader contacted me and said she had grown beyond that. She told me how, after 20 years of financial success, she put the corporate world and materialism behind her. She now works at a fraction of her previous earnings for a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of babies.

I agreed that she had put status and its symbols behind her, but only in one area of her life. I then asked her what level of comfort was she seeking to achieve in her new career?

Abraham Maslow, in his Theory of Human Motivation, identified five levels of need that people strive to satisfy (in order, they are: Survival, Safety, Social, Esteem, and Fulfillment). I have found that we work through those five levels separately in each area of our lives: work, relationships, parenting, hobbies, sports, volunteering, etc. With each new endeavor, we attempt to pass all the mileposts until we reach our comfort zone.

There is a joke about parenthood that illustrates this: When the first baby drops her pacifier on the ground, the parents sterilize it before giving it back; with the second baby, the pacifier gets wiped off; and with number three, it just gets popped back into his mouth. I used to think the humor referred to how harried the parent was from handling the needs of three kids, but now I realize it refers to the parent’s comfort level with raising children.

Status is an esteem need, and the symbols that accompany it are recognition for our achievements. However, as long as those status symbols remain important to us, then we haven’t mastered that area of our lives. It is when we are in our comfort zone that the achievement is secure. At that point, the symbols are no longer important and we are ready to move on to the highest level: fulfillment. You will know you have reached the peak when you freely share your expertise with people who are levels below you.

Many years ago, I heard an interview with a professional football quarterback. The reporter asked him if he ever taught his secrets of success to younger up and coming players. He replied, “What, and lose my job to one of them? Hell no! Let them learn it on their own the way I did.” Clearly, he was not yet in his comfort zone.

All of us have reached a comfort zone in one or more areas of our lives. I spent six years as a member of the public speaking organization, Toastmasters International. For the first four years, I was fully focused on learning and achieving. In that time, I completed two educational levels and won 13 speaking contests. During my last two years in Toastmasters, I became a professional speaker and was no longer interested in entering the contests. The shine of those “amateur” trophies had worn off a bit, and I found my joy was in sharing what I already knew with those who were just beginning.

You will know you have reached the highest level, when sharing your expertise is as satisfying as achievement.

Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is a motivational speaker and humorist. He works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. For more information on Robert’s programs please visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com.

Effective Email

Manage Your Signature Block and Reap the Benefits

 Part 3 of 3 on Effective Email

 The signature block at the bottom of your mail can seal the deal you have set up in the content of the body above it and in the magnetic message your subject line carries. All this should have gotten your mail opened and read and that brings us to the signature space.

The signature block alone won’t sell your readers on your product, service or idea. It does, however, tell the world how you want to be identified and contacted. As it sits just below your last paragraph, which likely has something to move your readers to action, it might be the clincher.

The action you request of your readers may be to buy, sign up, call, learn more, ask for a brochure, set up an appointment… I think you see where this leads. Your duty then is to make it easy for them to follow through. Make it easily to see how to contact you.

WHAT you need to create an effective email signature:

●    Your name

●    Your company name

●    The telephone and if applicable fax number

●    Your email address with ‘clickable’ or active hyperlink

●    Your website address if you have one, again with ‘clickable’, active hyperlink

●    And an active hyperlink to the signup page of my newsletter

●    Optional and an opportunity is to put in a line promoting one of your services, a special offer, a link to your newsletter, or anything your readers might want to know about. Perhaps even a good quotation!

Do provide the information that will make it easy for your readers to say YES and to act. Don’t make them hunt for the way to get in touch with you, ask questions or place orders.

WHY it’s important for you to have a standardized signature block:

●    Your potential and current clients and friends will know exactly how to contact you

●    It’s a no cost, good marketing tool

●    You can promote special offers

●    It can drive traffic to your website

●    It tells people who you are and what you do

●    It’s fun and useful as a modern day ‘calling card’ for social or business courtesy culture

HOW to make it readable:

●   Select from fairly standard fonts. Colours and fancy fonts may not translate well from one mail                 system to another. You may have noticed North Americans favour ‘Times New Roman’ and Europeans seem to favour Arial. You can be creative and interesting. Test it out and see what happens.

●   You may want to use your official logo or colours. This reinforces your image and identity. Ensure that the block is a fixed graphic, designed and permanently installed so that it always appears without variation.

READY to set up your signature?

Get set up for the first time or revisit and adjust your signature. I’ll share the steps in my system. Others are similar.

In MS Outlook

1. Drop down the Tools menu.

2. Open Options

3. Select Mail Format

4. Select Signature Picker

5. Then, click on ‘New’ and then enter a name for your signature i.e. Business

6. Click on ‘Next’ and design your signature in the blank box. You can control the font, font size, and text color

7. When done, click ‘Finish’. Check your signature in the preview window. You can always edit by going back.

8. Satisfied? Click OK.

9. Make sure that ‘Use this signature by default’ box has the name of your new signature in it.

10. Click OK! And Send away securely.

VIP Your very important point on signatures in email is ‘make it automatic’. Every original, reply or forward email will carry your identity and relevant information. One caution: keep the length to six or seven lines so it does not distract from your actual mail, or seem longer than your message! Be consistent, interesting and complete in your signature. It alone sends a message about who you are!

Helena works with executives, service providers and business owners who want to define their message so that it makes them money and gets them the results they desire in print, in person and online.  http://helenakaufman.com Twitter, Face Book @HelenaKaufman Invite her on LinkedIn and take advantage of an active business network.

By Diane Dutchin The Afro News Vancouver

I am always in awe at the timing of words in ones’ life. We should never, ever take for granted the power we have within us to lift or pull someone down by simply activating the use of our mouths to release words, or the use of our hands to pen words, and we should always choose to use our words to lift others up. In saying that, I do acknowledge that there will be times when based on the circumstances, we don’t. In moments of anger or hurt we sometimes say or write the wrong thing, that we usually regret to some degree later, and that is understandably so.

However, we can all relate to those moments in our lives when we read or hear certain words that lift us, and gives us hope. Those are timely moments that touch us deeply and encourage us during the rough patches of life to keep strong, to keep hope alive and to never quit.

Sometime ago I was fortunate enough to have such a wonderful experience – I was getting tired about doing a certain task, when I opened a piece of mail and read the words “hang in there”. I instantly realized that those words came at the opportune time, and it was in connection to my present situation.

Those words still replay in my thoughts when I find myself getting mentally, physically, or emotionally tired. Hang in there! Obviously there are times when we need to do the opposite; let go of destructive relationships that are going no where, and are keeping us stagnant. So to you out there wherever you’re at and whatever you’re going through, may these words bring you some sense of hope and peace as it did me; if you know it is worth the fight “Hang in there”!

Helena Kaufman Writer of The Afro News Photo By KMG

By Doug Krentzlin

Helena Kaufman, writer and communications trainer, provides a customized communication service that meets today’s need for speed and clarity.

She helps diverse clients who need to get their message out to various stakeholders – media, customers and even effective internal communications. Helena operates as a one-person service with team members called in as needed on projects. Her firm, Helena Kaufman & Associates, provides original writing, editing and teaching of the same to small groups and individuals. It offers experience with many mindsets, vocabularies and cultural variations, which can include age, linguistic, religious or geographic diversity. “We work with what clients have and where they are now and help them move to where they want and need to be,” says Helena, “I’m now most interested in editing, writing, inspiring confidence and coaching others to communicate well, in person, on the page or online.”

The events that led to the creation of Helena Kaufman & Associates are a story in itself. “I graduated with a degree in Political Science (Dean’s Honour Roll) from the University of Winnipeg, in Canada. I began a retail floral business, sold my interest after a year and took a job from 1978-82 as Sales Coordinator at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, then Canada’s flagship meeting, trade show and convention facility,” Helena explains, “My meeting and events planning expertise led to my one-woman firm as PR strategist, marketing maven, sole founder and producer of two trade shows. Twenty-five years later, I was still publicist for my very first client and writing award-winning marketing materials for others. All along, I continued my education on media technology, promotional materials distribution, literacy tutor training, and various writing courses from business to performing arts. With training to teach adult education, I ultimately transformed a quarter-century career in creating communications strategies into teaching entrepreneurs how to access such success for themselves.”

“At all times I have been a writer first, inspired to help others shine and succeed in their efforts to inform, persuade, sell or to influence their audience to act for a good and worthy cause,” she adds. “There is skill and honor in all types of good writing, even though at times I didn’t fit in with other ‘real writers’ of fiction and poetry. Now they have names for us. We are technical writers. Copy writers. I called myself a business writer from the beginning. It differentiated me and by instinct I knew it roused curiosity and further inquiry. It is also where I got my first and very real start. Writing from age 12 or so on until today where I use my versatility in and love of the English language to help others express themselves in business and in life. I’ve come full circle.”

Helena credits her parents and life circumstance as being major influences for her line of work. “Necessity has often been the mother of both my creative invention and my attention to action,” she says, “In terms of my skills and inclinations, they appeared very early. As the youngest in a family of European immigrants to Canada, I was thrust into the role of translator and interpreter of cultural nuance as well as language in administrative, business and government details and documents for my parents and in the family business. They modeled a strong work ethic and I saw first hand the cross-cultural challenges of people from another country, or even region, and the value of language and adaptation to communication. This influences and informs everything I do or the messages I frame for clients.”

As for plans for the future, “I have launched 2 new websites, www.helenakaufman.com and www.hospitalityambassador.com,” Helena details, “Until now they have functioned as my testing ground. I’ve tried out various messages, learned about programming and design to understood the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of content and layout. This has helped me help my clients and now I’ll have the real designers take over for it to showcase my services. Both sites will actively feature regular posts, packages of services dealing with writing or in person communication. It will synthesize a cross cultural emphasis, communication must-haves and new media as this is both the global and local reality.”

“They say ‘there is nothing new under the sun’,” Helena says in conclusion, “I believe the creative process is the limitless human energy and imagination that takes existing colors, concepts and language and communicates them as new ideas and perspectives by reordering and reinterpreting elements others might not even have been aware of. It is the portal to discovery by doing. As a writer, I know it to be very physical experiences that begins in the mind yet calls on all my senses and insists I affect them in others.”

http://ofteninspired.com

——————————————————————————–

Doug Krentzlin is a professional freelance writer, guest lecturer and actor living in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his cats, Buffy and Angel. He writes an entertainment blog for Examiner.com (Classic TV Examiner) and has had articles published in the New York Post and Movie Maker Magazine. Doug can be reached at dkrentzlin@hotmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Motivational Speaker and Humorist

By Robert Wilson The Afro News International

Seventeen years ago, I became the president of my community association. It was a lively organization with scores of activist members who were busy gentrifying an inner city neighborhood. One of my responsibilities was to deliver a monthly speech and conduct a formal meeting with a loud and raucous crowd.

Over the course of my two year stint, I always spoke from behind the lectern with my hands firmly attached to the sides in a white knuckle grip as I read from my notes. When my term ended, I felt that I might have been a more effective leader if I had some real speaking skills, and if I wasn’t so afraid of being in front of an audience.

So, I joined a Toastmaster’s club and began my training as a public speaker. A year later, I had completed ten speeches and the basic program, but I was still firmly attached to both the lectern and my notes. My mentors encouraged me to work without notes and to move away from the lectern. “At least stand to one side of it!” they cajoled. But I was not about to leave my comfort zone. I was plenty uncomfortable just giving a speech. Besides no one could see my legs shaking behind the lectern.

Then the club held a speech contest. A humorous speaking contest. Now, I can tell jokes, so I was game! Four of us entered the competition, and I managed to win the third place ribbon without venturing an inch beyond the safety of the lectern. I can’t recall who placed second, but I’ll never forget the winner. Les Satterfield talked about an airplane flight and he soared about the room with his arms spread wide and the audience roared in laughter at his comic yarn. Later on, as I watched him receive his shiny gold statuette for First Place, I knew I had to have one. I was motivated… but not quite enough.

The next contest was for a motivational speech. Once again, I sought refuge behind the lectern. I managed to win the second place ribbon, but the gold went to Doris Posey who moved about the room and interacted with the audience.

I finally took First Place with the Tall Tales contest. I wrote my speech then practiced, practiced, practiced. On the day of the competition — I did it — I stepped out from behind the lectern! I told how I would pretend to be Tom Hank’s younger brother whenever I flew first class, and how much fun it was to fool my fellow passengers, that was until the time I sat next to his mother.

I loved the recognition that came with that First Place trophy. It motivated me to go further; and forced me to get better. In order to win at higher levels within Toastmasters, I had to develop excellent speaking and speech-writing skills.

I went on to win 13 contests. Years later, when I was hired to give my first professional speech, I wondered whether or not I was truly worthy of getting paid to speak. As I began to have doubts, I looked at those 13 gold trophies in my office bookcase. They represented the acknowledgment that I was indeed worthy.

A few years ago, I visited successful professional speaker, David Greenberg, in his home. I smiled in understanding as I saw, prominently displayed in his living room, several Toastmaster contest trophies.

Recognition doesn’t have to be tangible to be effective. A clap on the back, a verbal “Good Job!” in front of peers and co-workers, or a blurb in the company newsletter works too. Even so, nothing works quite as long or as powerfully as something hard and shiny with a name engraved on it. However, you don’t want someone resting on their laurels; to keep them motivated, put a date on those plaques and trophies. Then encourage them to renew it every year.

Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is a motivational speaker and humorist. He works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. For more information on Robert’s programs please visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com