Public Speaking Northwest Minutes 11.24.2020

 

To Practice Public Speaking and Become Comfortable Leading Groups – Join Toastmasters.

Mission Statement and Flag Salute: Lynne, Our Sergeant at Arms and Zoom host, skillfully opened the meeting.

 

Our President: Barb welcomed us along with our guest, Bharti, who came to us all the way from Connecticut.

 

Announcements: Barb reminded our officers to meet at 11 am next Tuesday on Zoom. She also mentioned that we need to elect officers soon.

Nancy, congratulated Jean on completing the Visionary Communication Pathway.

 

Our Meeting Toastmaster: Jean’s theme was ‘Gratitude.’

 

Grammarian and Word of the Day – Midori chose ‘Satiate’ for increasing our vocabulary.

Ah Counter – Lynne kept track of our unnecessary  ahs, ums, and filler words.

Timer – Lynn kept us on time with our speeches, evaluations, and table topics.

General Evaluator – Kate, paid close attention to the whole meeting, especially the evaluators.

 

Our 1^st Speaker – Jinxin hunted for ways to reduce her pre-diabetic scores in “Numbers Count.” She felt compelled to bring the numbers down in her search for good health. She tried a healthy diet and exercised a lot, but they were not enough. Jinxin is a numbers person, a scientist and she is persistent. Now she is using a special fasting regimen and feels more energetic. Soon she will be tested again and hopes the ‘numbers count’ in her favor.

Let us know the results, Jinxin. We just might follow your path.

 

Our 2^nd Speaker – Giri gave us an easy secret in “Do & Drop -The Most Effective Way to Achieve Your Goals.” Giri got us to admit in his introductory quiz that  we all like ‘easy.’ All we need to “Do It” is connect to a compelling reason for achieving our goals, He used examples like learning to ride a bike, and dieting.

If we feel compelled like, Jinxin, in her search for good health by lowering her numbers, we’ll reach our goals. If we’re not compelled,” he said, “Drop it”  the goal is not compelling enough.

 

Let’s follow Giri’s advice, and like Jinxin, find our compelling reasons to achieving our goals.

 

Our 1st Evaluator – Jim praised Jinxin’s specifics about her goal, her great gestures, and the way she centered herself on Zoom. He suggested she use her facial expressions more because she has a resonant smile.

 

Our 2^nd Evaluator – Robert complimented Giri on his fine preparation, involvement of the audience, good examples, mention of Jinxin, facial expressions, and conversational manner. He suggested a call to action would add to a good summary.

 

Our Table Topics Master – Warren asked us to think of a time when we were satiated with thanks.

Nancy mentioned a beautiful shift inside her when she married Joe. So special!

Kate said she was overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and gifts from family and friends when she had her daughter. Beautiful!

 

General Evaluator – Kate complimented how well everyone did especially her evaluators, Jim and Robert.

 

Our Members in Attendance – Warren, Nancy, Jim, Giri, Kate, Jinxin, Midori, Robert, Lynne, Lynn, Barb, Mara, Jean

 

Our Guests in Attendance – Bharti said she liked the meeting and that she would return. We hope she does.

Motion to Adjourn – Nancy,  Second – Giri

 Your Secretary,

 Jean Tracy, DTM

 

 

 

Public Speaking Northwest Minutes 11.17.2020

 

Are You Afraid to Speak Before a Group? – Join Toastmasters

Announcements: Toastmasters, sign up for your free Pathway and save $20. You have until March 31, 2021.

 

It’s time to prepare for our February Speech and Evaluation Contests .All you need for the speech contest is a good 5-7 minute speech.

 

Our Meeting Toastmaster: Lynne’s theme, “I’m Puzzled…Are You Game?” Such a fun theme for us as next week is “National Game Week.”  

 

Our President: Nancy, our President Protem, filled in for Barb and did a splendid job due to her energetic personality. 

 

Grammarian and Word of the Day – Nancy, our Grammarian, chose  “Flummox”, meaning, puzzled, or confused. Such an excellent fit with Lynne’s theme.

 

Ah Counter – Nancy was on the hunt for filler words and did a super job catching experienced speakers.

 

Timer – Lynn held up the green, yellow, and red cards and kept those with speaking roles within their time limits.

 

Our 1^st Speaker – Jean’s title, “Spice Up Your Seminars,” showed how games can further a speaker’s point and teach the BIC Effect and the 20-Second Rule. This was her last speech in the Visionary Communication Path.

 

Our 2^nd Speaker – Warren’s title, “Pillow Talk That Pays Dividends” fooled us because it ranged from the benefits of volunteering to making friends, which can lessen anxiety and depression while helping others, and increasing a sense of purpose. Warren knows because he and his wife, Roberta, have volunteered for several organizations. He did say he misses it due to the COVID-19 19 virus.

 

Our 1st Evaluator – Mara gave Jean kudos for her preparedness, organization, and gestures. She gave suggestions to define unfamiliar terms and bring in salt and pepper shakers to spice up her talk even more.

 

Our 2^nd Evaluator – Giri liked Warren’s title, great content, and many personal examples. Giri suggested that Warren look into the camera and show more emotions like he did toward the end of his talk.

 

Our Table Topics Master – Kate, had one thought-provoking question for each of us. “What Are Your Favorite Games to Play?”

 

Robert loves chess. He and his childhood friend made up their own rules. They even made up “5 Minute Chess.” Robert did admit it ended up wrecking his regular chess skills.

 

Midori loves to play the Japanese version of chess. She also enjoys watching a Japanese star tennis player.

 

Lucelly likes board games so much that she’s creating a website for parents to play games with their kids because it’s such a great way to teach good sportsmanship, good manners, and have fun together.

 

General Evaluator – Jim listened well and complimented everyone. He focused on the evaluators and liked how they gave twice as many positives as suggestions.

 

Humorist – Robert’s real-life joke included talking to a lady while waiting in line, Purina dog chow, and surgery. Thanks for another belly laugh, Robert.

 

Our Members in Attendance – Lynne, Nancy, Warren, Jim, Robert, Lynn, Midori, Lucelly, Giri, Kate, Mara, Jean

 

Our Guests in Attendance – Caryn Axelrad, Our Area Governor, enjoyed our meeting and reminded us about the free Pathways and the upcoming contest.

 

Motion to Adjourn – Jim,  Second – Robert

 

Your Secretary,

 

Jean Tracy, DTM

Public Speaking Northwest Minutes - November 10, 2020

 

Become the Leader and Speaker You Want to Be – Join Toastmasters

Announcements: Watch our first experiment at using Facebook Live - https://www.facebook.com/458883077644200/videos/396998628003386/ Please share with your social media friends.

 

Our President: Barb may have had some computer troubles so our Vice President of Education, Nancy, got us started and welcomed us like the professional she is.

 

Nancy welcomed our newest member, Midori. She then helped us fill in our schedule for next week.

 

When Barb arrived, she welcomed our toastmaster, Mara.

 

It all happened so smoothly because, as toastmasters, we learn the skills to adjust to glitches with ease.

 

Our Meeting Toastmaster: Mara welcomed us all and told us about her theme – Put Your Best Face Forward. She talked about the importance of lighting on Zoom. We learned another nugget about zoom. Thank you, Mara.

 

Grammarian and Word of the Day – Barb’s word was flammable which means the same as inflammable. Barb encouraged us to build our vocabulary with ’flammable’ when we had a chance to speak during the meeting and the week.

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Ah Counter – As the Wizard of ‘Ahs,’ Barb encouraged us to avoid all filler words.

 

Timer – Warren easily stepped up to the plate and took over the timing since Jim couldn’t make it.

 

Our 1^st Speaker – Giri entitled his talk, “React vs. Respond – The Choice Is Yours.” Giri used stories and anecdotes to further his point that pausing, thinking rationally, and choosing how to respond are better than reacting with anger.

 

He used a road rage situation and a work problem about a supervisor who stole credit for his work. He showed how he decided to pause and think things through in both situations. He avoided a car accident in the first. In the second, his self-control with his supervisor surprisingly ended with his replacing her. As Giri said, “The choice is yours.”

 

Our 1st Evaluator – Kate noted Giri’s presentation began with humor and personal anecdotes. She enjoyed his use of words to paint visual images and felt his tempo was well-paced. Kate complimented Giri for his investment in creating talks that help the audience.

 

Kate suggested that Giri strengthen his conclusion by challenging himself to stay positive about himself and his message to the very end.

 

Our Table Topics Master – Jean received fun answers when she asked members surprise questions.

 

Janice, our guest, told us about a time when she put her best face forward before speaking on stage.

 

Lucelly described how to put her best face forward during a job interview.

 

Nancy shared how to put her best face forward on Zoom.

 

Midori, our newest member, pretended she had a daughter who caused trouble in class. Midori shared the advice she would give her daughter for putting her best face forward.

 

General Evaluator – Nancy evaluated the meeting from top to bottom and told each member the things they did well. We all felt great from her enthusiastic praise.

 

Humorist – Robert, our dependable jokester, spoke about a man, God, a million, a penny, and a minute. So funny.

 

Our Members in Attendance – Lynne, Warren, Kate, Mara, Nancy, Midori, Lucelly, Lynn, Giri, Jean, Barb, Robert

Our Guests in Attendance – Janice

 Motion to Adjourn – Nancy, Second – Jean

 

Your Secretary,

 Jean Tracy, DTM

 

 

 

 

 

Public Speaking Northwest Minutes 11-03-2020

 

 

Want to speak in front of groups feeling confident and comfortable? – Join Toastmasters

Our President: Barb welcomed everyone, especially our guest, Midori.

 

Our Meeting Toastmaster: Barb’s theme – How do they make TP? She sprinkled bits of information including the history of what people used through the centuries and in different countries.

 

Grammarian and Word of the Day – Jim chose ‘ambivalent’ as a word we all needed to use if we had a chance to speak.

 

Ah Counter – Jim was also the wizard of ‘ahs, ums’, filler words like ‘and, so’ etc. His job is to help us avoid these words and become better speakers.

 

Timer –  Lynne kept us on time with the green, yellow, and red cards.

 

General Evaluator – Lucelly evaluated the meeting from top to bottom and shared what we did well and areas where we could improve.

 

Our 1^st Speaker – Kate’s title was, “Low Tech/High Tech: Two Whiteboard Strategies for Zoom Presentations.” She shared ways to use Zoom effectively. She showed us how to find the whiteboard in the Share icon and demonstrated several ways we could use it.

 

Our 2^nd Speaker – Jinxin named four communication styles. She revealed her style as ‘Direct.’ Her style works well with other direct communicators. It can also cause problems with unlike communicators. She shared stories and anecdotes proving her points. Jinxin will try to communicate using each of the other styles when needed.

 

Our 1st Evaluator – Giri raved about Kate’s talk. He liked her interactive introduction. He stated he learned a lot that he will be using. He said her visual aids were clear and that Kate spoke audibly and distinctly. Her conversational style provoked many smiles from her audience. When an error occurred, Giri admired how Kate handled it with ease.

 

Our 2^nd Evaluator – Mara spoke ‘directly’ to Jinxin saying, “You nailed it!” Mara appreciated her organization in which she told us what she was going to speak about, then told us, and, finally, summarized her presentation. Mara praised Jinxin’s pleasant voice as she told interesting stories and anecdotes to explain how her communication style worked with some but not with others. She praised the gardening metaphor at the end recapped her talk well.

  

Our Table Topics Master – Jean, as Topic Master, had Warren tell what he’d do if he saw a black briefcase on the street. Mara had to name a musical instrument that was not music to her ears. Nancy answered what she would like to see evolve 25 years from now. They all had good answers. You needed to be there to hear them.

 

General Evaluator – Lucelly gave a superb positive evaluation of the meeting.

Humorist – Robert shared a joke about an elderly woman, pregnancy, and hiccups. It caused many belly laughs.

 Our Members in Attendance – Lynne, Barb, Warren, Robert, Jim, Nancy, Giri, Kate, Jinxin, Mara, Lucelly, Jean

 Our Guest – Midori says she is joining our club. Yeah, Midori!

 Motion to Adjourn – Jim,  Second – Nancy

 Your Secretary,

 Jean Tracy, DTM