Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Public Speaking Northwest Presents with Passion!


Public Speaking Northwest Supports the words of Cicero, “A good orator is pointed and impassioned.” Today we had two outstanding speakers who demonstrated the words of Cicero!

Ken, our VP of Education, led the meeting in place of our President, Barb, who wasn’t feeling well. Ken welcomed our Area Governor, Tammy Preuss, along with Mihaela, Cary, , Prema, Jerry, Lynne, Pierce, Casey, Kyle, Jamie, Emery, Jean, Yanhong, her daughter, Jenny, and our special guest who became a member today, Kate.

Cary, for the first time, acted as toastmaster, presented the meeting agenda, and chose “Ego” as his theme. 

Cary’s wisdom shown when he stated that we need ego but it must be balanced. People with too much ego tend to brag and turn people off.

Casey, our grammarian, chose “Fructuous” as our word of the day. He gave its meaning, which is to be fruitful. Good job, Casey!






Ken, our first speaker, chose his title well, “Seattle 62.” Ken began with a prophetic quote from The Tale of Two Cities, “It was the worst of times. It was the best of times.”  Ken spoke with passion, as he reminded us that in 1962 Seattle held the World’s Fair. It was a time of celebration - the best of times. It was also the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis when President Kennedy had his finger on the nuclear button in case the Soviets didn’t remove the missiles from Cuba. It was also a time when federal troops went to Mississippi to ensure school integration.

Ken shared the “Duck and Cover” slogan when school children, at that time, practiced ducking under their desks in case of a nuclear attack. He didn’t think “Duck and Cover” would have helped them much.

Ken was 11-years-old when the Seattle Space Needle was built. He told us the foundation was deep because it took 467 cement trucks hauling 5,700 tons of cement to fill it. It was built to withstand 200 mile winds.

The Seattle Center had a computer that didn’t work very well but it prophesied that someday we would communicate face to face via the computer. It was the first time for touch tone phones and the Seattle monorail. 

Jean gave the evaluation for Ken’s speech. She noted how effectively Ken began with a quote. Ken’s voice kept the audience interested as it went from loud to soft and fast to slow. Ken moved about the room with confidence and ease. His gestures were natural and spontaneous. Jean praised Ken’s memory for numbers in describing the building of the Space Needle. Such a fine presentation!

Kyle gave his first speech and it was terrific! Kyle grew up in the Seattle area and returned from South Dakota last year. When he was asked where he was from while in South Dakota, he’d answer, “Microsoft, Washington.”

Things have changed in the Northwest since Kyle was a boy. There was no 520 bridge crossing Lake Washington, and not as many large shopping areas, or golf courses. As a kid he watched new areas being bulldozed, enjoyed riding his bike in the ruts they left behind, and Kyle built go-carts too.

At 11-years-old he delivered the Seattle Times. That was when Operation Desert Storm began. He enjoyed trading baseball cards. He also learned how to muck horse stalls. Kyle noted that as a child he was bullied, moved from school to school, and was home schooled too.

Kyle worked for TCI, AT&T and Comcast as a salesman. He was good at it and doubled his salaries. He also worked for Merit Financial as a telemarketer. He knew how to keep customers engaged. He had one rule for himself, “I wanted to be able to look myself in the mirror.”

After working at a Turkey Processing Plant in South Dakota, Kyle and his wife returned to Washington. We are fortunate and happy that they did. Great speech, Kyle!

Emery gave the evaluation for Kyle’s presentation. Emery mentioned Kyle’s considerable skills as a speaker. He noted Kyle’s vocal variety, his ability to look around the room, straight posture, occasional smile, and his speech organization. Emery encouraged Kyle to increase his storytelling abilities too.

Pierce presented the topics for impromptu speaking. Prema spoke about sunglasses. Jamie spoke about his swimming trophy as a 6-year-old. Yanhong talked about Starbucks, and Jerry talked about cell phones today.



The Blue Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker – Ken
Best Evaluator – Tie between Emery and Jean
Best Table Topics – Jerry

Congratulations to all!
 
Special Event
Our Area Governor, Tammy Preuss, inducted Lynne as our Sergeant-at-Arms.

New Member
Katherine Grosvenor (Kate) joined our club today. Welcome Kate!

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, Washington ~ 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

8 comments:

  1. It was a great meeting and very fructuous with two interesting speeches!!

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  2. Congratulations on becoming our Sergeant-at-Arms, Lynne!

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  3. I enjoy the enthusiasm in the club and the continued particiaption at all levels. Thank you Jean for an excellent summary of our meeting. Missed you Barb...hope you are felling better.

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    1. Hi Ken,

      You add so much to each meeting. What a wonderful talk you gave!

      Jean

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  4. Jean,
    If I was a stranger just checking out our blog I would schedule a time to come to one of our meetings. Tammy Preuss, Area Director said it best, "our club has a certain energy/spirit", that is interesting.

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  5. Whenever I miss a meeting, I read the blog, and then I realize how MUCH I missed. I'm doing better now, and can't wait till Tuesday!

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  6. It was a great meeting indeed! Barb, I am glad you feel better!

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