July 5th, 2016 - Theme: Unleashing the Creative Flow Within

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams (Dilbert)

Welcome to our First Meeting in July! Jan was the Toastmaster of the day. Her GAT(e) team was comprised of the Grammarian, Kathy (Empower); Ah-Counter, Nancy; and Timer, Warren.

  

Jung was the first speaker of the day, speaking from the Competent Communicator manual – How to Say It. The title of her talk was “Simplify, Simplify, Simplify” which she completed within 7 minutes. She took us to Walden Pond in Massachusetts, where her and her husband had visited some years ago, and which inspired many of Henry David Thoreau’s works. She explained the serenity that comes with living a simpler life, and even provided us pictures from her trip!

Evaluating Jung’s speech was Jim. He prided Jung on her overall progress, as well as her distinctly enunciated words. For his engaging evaluation, Jim was awarded Best Evaluator.

 

Jessica was the second speaker of the day, speaking from the Competent Communicator manual – Research Your Topic. The title of her talk was “Unrefined” which she completed within 7 minutes. Jessica shared her story of how she gave up refined sugars to lose 17 lbs in less than 3 months. She provided a mountain of evidence to support her claim that less sugar will make for a healthier diet for all, and called the audience to action by encouraging them to try going without refined sugars for 90 days

Grace evaluated Jessica’s speech. She attentively listened to the statistics, and was shocked by what she heard, assuring that the research was pivotal to driving Jessica's point home. Her constructive feedback was to add more fun by showing off and giving a twirl!

 

The third speaker of the day was Nancy, speaking from the Competent Communicator manual – Get to The Point. The title of her talk was “Intentional Volunteering – 10 Steps to a Volunteer Experience that Could Change Your Life” which she completed within 7 minutes. Nancy thoroughly explained how to go about selecting a volunteer position that is right for you, how to be engaged, and when to move on, if necessary. Her confidence and speaking skills shined through – and won her Best Speaker!

Evaluating Nancy’s speech was Jean. She complimented Nancy’s simple, yet effective, PowerPoint presentation and naturally good public speaking skills. Her feedback was that a shorter speech title (under 7 words) would best grab the audience's attention.

  

In the Table Topics section led by Julie, anyone who didn’t have a speaking role was put on the spot! The speakers were Dan, Pauline, and Steve. Steve, our honored guest, ended up taking Best Table Topics speaker!

There were 17 Members in attendance, including  Barb, Dan, Grace, Jan, Jean, Jessica, Jim, Julie, Jung, Kathy, Nancy, Pauline, Robert and Warren, as well as one guest, Steve. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on July 12, 2016!

Respectfully Submitted,

Jessica DiPietro, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406