EFFECTIVE MEETING TIPS________________________________________

The identity and character of a Club depends on the way the meetings are

 conducted. Here are some tips:

Installation  Meeting

• Ensure good attendance-ring up the members a day before the meeting to remind them, requesting them to bring their spouses and to arrive at least an hour before the meeting.

• Check all logistics personally well  before the start of the meeting.•  Start and end meeting on time.

• The meeting at any point of time should not exceed 1 hour 15 minutes.

• Be organized and restrict unnecessary movement on the dais.

• Cut down on unnecessary bouquet offerings and organize the presentation.

• As the DG, DGN and the IPDG will be speaking, do not invite too many other speakers.

• In case the meetings gets too lengthy  avoid rituals like presentation to 100% -ers.

• Ensure that the speakers maintain time.

• Cut down on protocol to avoid monotony.

Regular Weekly Meeting

• Consult with the Secretary a day before the meeting. Clearly define your roles and go through mail to avoid repetition.

• Ensure good attendance by ringing up those members who need a reminder to come to the meeting.

• Check logistics personally well before the meeting.

• Start and end the meeting on time.

• The meeting should not exceed one hour.

• Limit the guest speaker introduction   to not more than 3 minutes.

• Ensure that the vote of thanks is brief  and respectful.

• Organize announcements before hand.

• Ensure all members put their cell phones on a silent mode or switch them off.

• Sergeant At Arms should be active during the meeting.

Board of Directors Meeting

• Circulate the agenda well before the meeting.

• Make personal phone calls to the Board members at least 2 days prior to the Board Meeting.

• Maintain the attendance register of the Board of Directors meetings.

• Maintain time.

• Note important points discussed and important decisions taken as it is easier to compile the minutes later on.

• In order to increase fellowship try to organize the Board of Directors meetings in the members residents.

• Never start fellowship while the meeting is in progress.

Annual Meeting

• This meeting should be held not later than 31st December.

• Notice should be sent 21 days prior to the meeting.

• Audited accounts should be circulated well in advance preferably with the notice for the Annual Meeting.

• Ensure that the Annual Meeting is not clubbed with the Regular Weekly Meeting.
  Agenda for the Annual Meeting should be:

1. Election of the Office bearers for the forthcoming Rotary year.

2. Adoption of audited accounts for the Rotary year just concluded.

3. Appointment of auditors for the current Rotary year.

NB:- It is mandatory to convene the Annual Meeting by 31st December.

Committee Meeting

• The President and the Club Secretary are the ex officio members of all the Club Committees.

• Ensure that the Directors motivate Chairman to convene meetings.

• Ensure maintenance of time at these meetings - they should be short and effective.

• Allow the Chairman and the Committee members to speak first, do not impose your views on them.

• Do not reduce committee meetings to mere paper work but make them productive.

• Request Chairman to maintain minutes and circulate them within 15 days of the meeting.

Remember

•  A good Installation Meeting earns respect from all.

• An effective Regular Weekly Meeting increases attendance.

• A good Board of Directors' Meeting    leads to healthy decisions.

• Effective Committee meetings lead to a fruitful Club Assembly.

• An effective meeting is well planned   and professionally executed within a reasonable period of time.

TIPS ON MAKING SPEECHES______________________________________

As a Rotary Club President, the next 36.5 days are going to be speeches and more speeches. A speaker can communicate a wealth of information in 12 or 15 minutes. If you exceed 15 minutes, your information may be lost. Please remember that your audience consists of volunteers who are knowledgeable and updated. When one speaks to volunteers, one ought to be polite and brief.

As a speaker, have a central theme and emphasize it from different perspectives. Believe in your message and speak with conviction. A speech should not fill the minds of the audience and make them disinterested but should rather, stimulate them. A speech in the Rotary forum should touch the hearts of the audience. As late PRIP Richard L. Evans said, "Don't worry about telling them everything you know, you never can do that anyway."  Leave your audience with a final thought that they can remember.

 

TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING_____________________________

Know your subject matter and focus on what you want to say Organize and present your points clearly

Make use of easy to read and understand visual aids if possible• Maintain good posture, maintain eye contact and know  your speech well enough to speak with just a few notes Vary the pitch, volume and tone of voice and speak clearly Create verbal images.

Summarize, reiterate the importance of key elements of your address as a motivational call to action Speak to the point and be brief Do not overshoot the time limit.

 

BASIC FIRST AID_______________________________________________

         Every year many accidents occur. With some care, they can be prevented. In case an accident does happen you can be of help if you know first aid. Read each of the following carefully. You will be able to give vital first aid if needed. Remember always to seek help from an adult IMMEDIATELY. Do not move the casualty unnecessarily. Keep him warm. Make a diagnosis, decide the treatment and treat. Remember the ABC of First Aid. See if his airways are clear, that he is breathing, and hid blood circulation is patent.

1. RESPIRATION: If it is failing, give artificial respiration- MOUTH to MOUTH or MOUTH to NOSE.

2. BLEEDING: Arrest the bleeding and protect the wound. Apply direct or indirect pressure. Cover with a dressing, apply a pad and firm bandage. Elevate. Keep at rest.

3. FRACTURES: IMMOBILISE it with a well padded stiff support reaching the joints on either side. Apply bandages on either side of the site and at the joints on either side support.

4. BURNS AND SCALDS: A burn is caused by dry heat and a scald by moist heat like steam, very hot water or oil. IMMEDIATELY cool the area with cold water – for 15 mins. Till pain subsides. DO NOT break blisters, or apply anything on the burns. Cover with a sterile or clean cloth, pad and bandage. Give fluids.

5. NOSE BLEEDING: Set him up facing the breeze and the head slightly forward. Ask him to breath through the mouth and Not to blow the nose. Apply a cold compress over the nose. The soft part of the nose may be pinched close with the fingers for 10 mins. Cold application on the back of the neck and forehead may help.

6. BEE STING: Do not press the bag (of the sting). Use foreceps and remove the sting. Apply cold or weak ammonia.

7. ANIMAL BITES: Wash with soap and plenty of water. Loose bandage may be applied. Get quick medical aid.

8. SNAKE BITES: Keep patient calm. Wash with plenty of water and soap. DO NOT RUB hard. First apply a constrictive bandage on the geart side of the bite. (Not to be applied continuously for more than 20 mins.). Do not incise of attempt to suck the wound. Get aid quickly. Try to identify the snake.

9. FAINTING: Lay him down and loosen the clothing around chest and waist. Turn head to one side. The legs may be raised a little. DO NOT attempt to hive any solids or liquids. On recovery a small quantity of a drink may be given and allowed to sit up and move after rest.

10. GENERAL: If you are in doubt the treatment DO NOT DO anything. You may do more harm.

These are only hints. To be a good FIRST AIDER you can do the first aid course conducted regularly by the st. John Ambulance Association in all the states. Contact your state centre for details. Also join the Ambulance Brigade in your state.

THE 7 KEYS TO MANAGE YOUR MOODS_______________________________

Sometimes we get so fixated on the details of employee performance and leadership enhancement that we miss the larger view entirely. We spend a great amount of HR money training for specific mental functions and performance factors. Yet, how much do we spend on core consciousness-management training? To what extent do we still assume that the tail wags the dog?

The cognitive truth is that every element of performance at work is based firmly on the core level and quality of consciousness that an employee maintains, moment to moment, throughout each day. When general awareness drops down, all performance factors drop along with it. Yet, to what extent do we train employees and leaders alike in consciousness management? Working with Oxford University business lecturer Paul Hannam and others during the last decade, I’ve been focused on this driving issue: how can we pull back from over-fixation on detail and deal instead with the general level and quality of consciousness being manifested by all members of our workforce? More specifically, what are the key psychological variables that we can actively train and improve, to boost general mental and emotive performance?

In the new book Take Charge Of Your Mind, Paul and I have now presented a breakthrough method in awareness augmentation at work. Rather than remaining victimized by random mood swings and sporadic mental and creative performance, a company can train all its employees in a basic method for regaining and maintaining optimum alertness, present-moment responsiveness, empathic interaction and mental clarity.

Our method is based solidly on new cognitive-science insights into consciousness management, integrated into tried-and-true meditation/mindfulness procedures. The training is rapid, inexpensive and delivered online in 5-minute modules. We have identified the seven following awareness variables that our method directly augments:

Variable 1: Become More Alert: Using basic focus-phrase technology from cognitive psychology, we’ve developed a rapid-shift method for expanding into whole-body awareness and heightened mental clarity at work. This is the Wake Up phase.

Variable 2: Stop Worrying -- Augment Confidence: This mind-mood management trains employees to rapidly silence worried stressor thoughts and employ elicitor phrases to boost confidence.

Variable 3: Communicate With Empathy: Effective consciousness management includes learning how to shift from chronic thought-fixation to empathic heart-fixation, in order to directly stimulate positive emotions and effective customer-bonding.

Variable 4: Positive Self-Image: Again using insights from cognitive science, our method on an hourly basis employs focus phrases to actively reinforce attitudes that boost self-esteem.

Variable 5: Activate Intuitive Insight: Creative breakthroughs are what drive company success. As part of an employee’s daily or even hourly routine, we teach a cognitive-shifting process for quieting mental chatter and activating the integrative-intuitive, problem-solving function of the mind.

Variable 6: Tap Visionary Wisdom: Consciousness management nurtures the mental process of stepping back to perceive the whole picture, think strategically, and make wise decisions from a deeper perspective than just clever scheming.

Variable 7: Act With Integrity: The sum result of this seven-step mental process is to enable employees at all levels to state their underlying purpose -- and then act with courage and integrity to accomplish that purpose.

The methodological breakthrough that enables employees to master and practice this seven-step method right in the heat of a busy workday is based on cognitive-shifting techniques, in which short memorized focus-phrases act as instant cues to elicit trained mental responses. After a 3-week, 10-minute-a-day online training program, employees can move through the entire Take Charge process in less than 2 minutes -- so that quick consciousness refresher breaks throughout the day maintain optimum mental and emotional fitness.

Focus Phrase Power: As an example, the first focus phrase of this method is, “I feel the air flowing in and out of my nose.” Say this to yourself -- and notice that the words instantly turn your mind’s attention exactly where the focus phrase suggests. Immediately, your consciousness expands to include your breathing. This expanded awareness in turn triggers a general awakening of whole-body awareness, which in turn (with a little training) wakes up good feelings. This stimulates empathic feelings and a general clarity of mind.

Each of the seven Take Charge focus phrases impacts a person’s mental functioning and emotive state immediately. Each focus phrase also builds on the previous ones, so that by simply saying the seven focus phrases one after the other, a potent response is generated in a very short time. After a bit of training, this response becomes predictable and greatly valued at work.

In summary, consciousness management is all about taking conscious control over where you direct your power of attention each moment at work, and applying focus phrases that instantly aim your mind’s attention in the most rewarding directions. Pragmatically, that’s what the Take Charge Of Your Mind method accomplishes. We’ve structured and delivered our online training so that you can readily afford to train your entire workforce in this essential method. And, because practicing this at-work method makes employees feel better, they’ll be thankful for the training.