Tuesday, April 24, 2012

 
Leadership Quote for Public Speaking Northwest:

"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." - Vince Lombardi

The members of our club are not born leaders, they are made with the help of each other and our Toastmaster program. 

Barb, Ken, Prema, Jan, Emery, Yanhong, Pierce, Cary, Lynne, Jean, and guest, Kim, were ready to start the meeting.



Prema, our toastmaster of the meeting, came prepared with an agenda set   at each member's place. With a glance each member checked the agenda and confirmed their role. Prema's theme was "Green." Throughout the meeting she gave wonderful suggestions for recycling.



Our grammarian, Pierce, offered "Abhorrent" as the word of the day. When anyone had a chance to talk they needed to use the word or be fined. This helps build our vocabulary and our treasury. Pierce defined it, used it in a sentence, and posted it for all to see.

Emery, our first speaker, presented, "Evaluate to Motivate." With a power point presentation he educated us on how to make positive evaluations that motivate our speakers. He made the following points:
1. Talk to the presenter beforehand to find out the speech objectives.
2. Personalize comments with phrases like, "I suggest." and  "In my opinion."
3. Be positive.
4. Build the speaker's self-esteem by noting the good parts of his talk.
5. Evaluate the presentation truthfully and kindly so the speaker will say to himself, "That was fun. I want to speak again."

Like the pro that he is, when there was difficulty with the equipment, Emery calmly continued without it. 

Ken, as Emery's evaluator, gave at least 7 compliments. He praised Emery's style and his use of power point. Ken felt that Emery was quite successful in pointing out the importance of building the speaker's self-esteem.

Lynne gave her second speech entitled, "Fog, Fish Nets and Grace."  Lynne told us about her boating adventure from Friday Harbor to La Conner. She showed us the route with a large framed map. 

Lynne's gestures matched her words as she told us her story about fog and fish nets. As she and her husband Don were traveling through heavy fog and were anxiously avoiding other boats, Lynne called out, "Net!" The boat was caught up in a fishing net and, after much effort, they finally needed to cut the net. In the process Don cut his hand deeply. The open gash needed stitches. 

The rest of the journey was spent looking for a doctor. When they found one after walking for miles and waiting a long time, the Doctor said he couldn't help because of liability. On the way back to their boat, Don stopped to help a fellow having trouble with his truck. Lynne's only concern was for Don's hand. But Don went out of his way to help the stranger anyway. 

Lynne told the man's wife about Don's wound. As Grace would have it, the woman was an emergency room nurse. She sewed it together beautifully. To this day Don's scar is hard to see. In the end, Grace prevailed over fog, fish nets, and deep cuts. Lynne believes it's because Don turned outward in his moment of need to help others.

Yanhong gave her first evaluation ever and did a fine job. She showed how well she listened to Lynne's story by pointing out the many parts she enjoyed. Yanhong told Lynne that she  listened with anticipation throughout the adventure.

Jean, as table topics master, tricked Pierce. Since "abhorrent" was Pierce's word for the day, she asked, "If you won the lottery, what's the first abhorrent thing you would buy. Pierce didn't miss a beat. He picked up his Starbucks coffee cup and said he buy a franchise and drink coffee all day. 

By the end of the meeting, it was easy to see that Vince Lombardi was right. Our leaders did work hard to make our time together educational, fun, and rewarding. We supported each other and used our Toastmaster program successfully.

*******
If you'd like to join us for polishing your presentations, developing leadership skills, and making friends, we welcome you. 

We meet every Tuesday from noon to 1:00 PM. You'll find us at the Seattle Times Building in Bothell ~ 19200 120th Avenue NE. Feel free to bring your lunch.

To find out more contact: Emery Jordan at: gejordan9@comcast.net  (206) 235-1356

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Tracy, DTM
Secretary




3 comments:

  1. Public Speaking Northwest's Blue Ribbon Winners include:

    Best Speaker: Lynne
    Best Evaluator: Yanhong
    Best Table Topic Speaker: Pierce

    Congratulations to the winners!

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  2. Toastmasters always strive to excel in their presentation skills and to encourage their fellow learners. Today was no exception. Well done to all!

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  3. I love these meetings. I brought my neighbor, and she enjoyed it also, but not ready for it yet.

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