Monday, February 15, 2016

Feb 9th 2016 Theme: “Passion”


 “The human animal differs from his lesser primates in his passion for lists.” ~~ H. Allen Smith

Welcome to the second meeting in February blog.


         Amritha was our toastmaster of the day.

The GAT(e) team comprised of: Grammarian – Kathy [enthusiasm], Ah Counter – Jung, Timer – Pauline.

Chizuko was the first speaker of the day. She completed Speech #6 from the CC Manual – Vocal Variety. Title of her talk “The Tsunami” which she completed within 9 mins.

Through her speech, Chizuko shared with us how she and her family faced the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 as a result of a magnitude 9 earthquake. As an English teacher, she was with her students on the 15th floor when they experienced slight tremors which turned into a big swishing motion. She soon realized the gravity of the situation. Suspension of all modes of transport forced everyone to spend the night at school. With no means to contact her children who were 14 and 9 years old, Chizuko was worried. She was later relieved to know that both of them were safe at home.

She explained in detail what the city had gone through in terms of power, food, accommodation etc. The tsunami was followed by a series of aftershocks and everyone were advised to stay away from the ocean. The next day, when transportation was resumed Chizuko reached home to find her children safe and sound. By sharing her experience, Chizuko hopes to remember and remind us about the 20,000 people who lost their lives on that fateful day.


Anisha was her evaluator. She was impressed by Chizuko’s narration by using vivid words which helped paint a clear picture in the audience’s mind. As a suggestion, she was offered to move a bit more bringing in few movements in her hands.



Our second speaker was Jim. He completed Project #3 from the Story Telling Manual – The Moral of the Story. Title of his speech “Not all Elephants are the Same”. Duration of his talk – 5 to 7 mins.

A summary of Jim’s story - A king in India was trying to resolve the conflict between 2 religious groups – the formal priests and ascetics. The king ordered his soldiers to bring 6 blind men and an elephant. Each blind man was made to assess different parts of the elephant and guess what was in front of them. The one who held onto the elephant’s legs guessed that there was a pillar in front of him, the other who touched the tail guessed it was a rope. The other 4 also got their turn. While all 6 men gave different answers, they all were still right. Jim enacted the scene with great gestures and vocal variety.

In today’s world, while there are many discussions going on among family, friends, in politics – there are always agreements and disagreements. Jim suggests – the next time you are in an argument, step back and think – Which part of the elephant are you holding?


Warren was his evaluator. Warren was impressed by the way Jim started, how he created a clear picture of the story by his gestures and vocal variety. He appreciated Jim on his well-presented story with a moral which is very appropriate for today’s world.  



Jing was our third speaker of the day. She completed Speech #1 from the CC Manual – Ice Breaker. Title of her talk “Pursuit of Flexibility” which she completed within 6 mins.

Through her Ice Breaker, Zing shared with us how she came to US 16 years ago as a foreign graduate student to pursue a PhD. n Chemistry. After school, she became a 9-5 researcher in NY. After he daughter was born, she found it hard to balance between work, home and daycare.
With the desire to spend more time with her daughter, she chose to quit her job and became an entrepreneur. Though the decision was tough, with the help of her family in China and her Chemistry background, she started a company that removed heavy metals from drinking water and supplied clean, pure water to schools and villages of China. Today, she enjoys the time that she gets to spend with her daughter. In a hope to make new friends, meet people and have casual conversations, Jing joined our club.

Jing was voted the best speaker.
 
Jean was her evaluator. Jean greatly appreciated Jing forher clear, logical and organized Ice Breaker. Her clear, audible voice and good eye contact was very impressive. As a suggestion, Jean offered Jing to move around a little.
Jean was voted the best evaluator.




               Our Table topics master was Robert.



Anisha was the first table topics speaker. She spoke about launching her latest book which addresses how to avoid the mysterious events that are happening in the state of Nevada.





Naser was the second table topics speaker. He spoke about how his life evolved in stages with different themes during the various phases.

Anisha was voted the best table topics speaker.


Members who attended the meeting numbered to 16 along with 1 guest (Sarah C.).

The attendees were: Amritha, Anisha, Chizuko, Jean, Jim, Jing Z., Julie, Jung, Kathy, Lynne, Nancy L., Naser, Pauline, RB, Robert and Warren. 
Our active membership total currently is at 31.
Respectfully Submitted,

Amritha Imandi, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406

4 comments:

  1. Another great meeting. Thank you, Amritha, for the detailed summary of the meeting.

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  2. Another great blog--caught the spirit and content of the meeting.

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  3. Loved your accounting of our meeting, Amritha. Your efforts reveal an enthusiastic, hard-working, and dynamic secretary. We are so fortunate to have you.

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  4. I am so sorry that I missed this meeting. It sounds like the speeches were wonderful and I enjoy looking at the pictures. I feel warm inside when I see all these dear faces. Thanks for doing the blog.

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