We meet 2 times a month at RESTAURANT BRIUNI, Blumauergasse 2, 1020 Vienna.
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/Q47gJeNP4bLFTZKF6
We are not obsessed by best practices or role models. The goal is not to become anyone else by copying others. We just want everyone to be able to express exactly what they want to express.
Unfortunately, we don't always notice for ourselves whether what we say is understandable. We can't see ourselves, so we don't know if we're appearing convincing or perhaps unnecessarily nervous. And even if we think we're very humorous, that doesn't mean that we're actually perceived that way.
Therefore, our concept is simply to speak as often as possible and then to get as much feedback as possible (whether your message was understandable, how you made an impact, what you could do differently, ...). And then we repeat that, over and over again. And every time it works better because we learn something new every time.
Can feedback be stupid? Yes absolutely! Feedback can sometimes be contradictory, superficial or just plain stupid. Of course we try very hard to avoid all of that.
The important thing is: You are not the student and the others are not the teachers. Feedback is always an individual view on how you actually came across or how your speech was understood. The trick is to take exactly what helps you from every feedback.
Sounds complicated? Sometimes it is. Welcome to the club ;-)
Every feedback should not only be appreciative, but it should contain at least one very specific tip on what the speaker could do differently!
This requires the person who is supposed to give feedback to listen very carefully: What would I do differently? What do I find successful, what could be improved and how exactly? A challenging task ...
Because each of us gives regular feedback, we practice listening carefully. And that is exactly what makes us not only better listeners, but also better speakers. And we're improving the ability to provide valuable feedback.
For us, trying to become a better communicator is not about being better than others. Everyone has their own pace, their own goals, their own talents, their own motivation, their own capabilities, their own weaknesses.
So what? Life is not a competition. Life is diversity.
A "normal" communication training takes 2 days. Our meeting lasts only 2 hours. But we do it twice a month!
We think this way our learning experience is more efficient. And it is always a lot of fun too! Every evening has a fixed agenda - uncomplicated but well structured. The members choose the roles for the evening (speaker, evaluator, …) in advance. We have our own app for that. And if there are too few people (e.g. before a holiday), then the evening will be canceled. No problem, no pressure.
We meet in a good restaurant, so we also eat and drink well, of course. After the official part, many remain seated and find time to chat.
Finally, an important note from the package insert:
If you join our meeting, you are not booking a full service package. We organize everything ourselves, for us and for everyone.
It is NOT the case that others organize a nice evening for you. Each participant is equally responsible for the success of the evening. You are both organizer and participant.
Everyone can join us, no matter if you are a beginner or an advanced speaker - that doesn't matter at all. It is crucial that you understand the concept and actively support it: give appreciative feedback and learn to speak by active listening.
And you should have no problem with these basic rules:
It is not required to "register" prior to your visit as a guest. Just visit us! You are warmly welcome.
Please subscribe to our mailing list. We will keep you up to date on all events. It may happen that an event has to be canceled on short notice. You will then be informed as soon as possible beforehand.
You can unsubscribe at any time. There is a link at the bottom of each email to do this.
In this workshop we will practice some basic tricks for giving a speech.
registRATION
No, this is not required. Guests are welcome and are invited to take part actively.
For legal reasons (Vereinsgesetz) we are organized as an officially registered "Verein". Anyone can become an official member, but that's not a requirement at all to attend a club meeting or a workshop.
Our club started as an official Toastmaster Club, but after the Corona Pandemic and a reassessment of all the pros and cons, we decided to go our own way without being associated with Toastmasters.
As one result of being independant, we don't need to pay a membership fee to Toastmasters International. We do not use the Toastmasters "Pathways" e-learning platform. And we are more flexible how to organize ourselves. That's basically it :-)
We still think Toastmasters is a great thing and don't see ourselves as a better choice. Some of our members are also active Toastmasters in parallel.
People who take part in our meetings should be able to understand a speech given in English and German. For active speaking, however, everyone can decide for themselves in any situation which of the two languages should be used.
We deliberately want to keep our setup as simple as possible - and that's why we even don't have email. Our members communicate through an internal channel. Anyone else please just visit our club meeting and we can talk in person. To find out where and when, go here.
