Public Speaking Northwest #9406

 

Meeting Minutes

February 22, 2022

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Announcements:  We will resume having in-person meetings one Tuesday a month, on the first Tuesdays of April, May, and June. The first in-person meeting will be April 5, 2022. More information will be provided at future meetings.

Members in Attendance: Amy, Barb, Jessica, Jutta, Kate, Lynn C, Lynne D, Mara, Maria, Nancy, Robert, Warren

Guests in Attendance: Holly Smith, Meera Basnet

Our Sergeant at Arms, Lynne D, opened our meeting at 12:00 p.m.

Opening Comments by President Lynn C.

The meeting theme was:  Twosday

The word of the day was “Entrance” (a homograph: a word that is spelled the same and can be pronounced two ways with two different meanings)

Our Toastmaster was Maria.  In her first time as a toastmaster in our club, Maria entertained us with many instances of “twos.” Maria told us that she herself is the second twin of the second set of twins in her family.  An ambigram is a number that can be flipped upside down and still reads the same; for example, today’s date  (2 22 22).  Today’s date is the birthday of George Washington as well as Ralph Smedley, who founded toastmasters, on October 22.

Our Gate Team was:

Grammarian –Amy 

Ah Counter – Jutta

Timer – Lynne

General Evaluator – Warren

Speaker #1 was Kate with her speech, “A Call to Lead: Public Speaking NW Needs You” 5-7 minutes, Presentation Mastery Pathway, Level 5. Kate began by telling us how unique our club is: our club is almost 20 years old, a charter member still belongs to the club, and we have been President’s Distinguished for 9 out of the last 10 years.  Then she described the value of club leadership and how she will be preparing the next VPM to take on the role.

Speaker #2 was Nancy with her speech, “Connect with Storytelling,” 8-10 minutes, from her Presentation Mastery Pathway.  Nancy described how powerful storytelling can be in connecting the speaker with the audience, and in driving home the message of a speech. In the process, she told several stories herself which drove the point home.

Evaluator #1 was Mara.  Mara complimented Kate for “speaking to the heart of this club,” a strong call to action, and her easy-to-follow pacing.  She suggested that a speaker never apologize to the audience and that the speaker be very clear and specific about calls to action.  Mara ended with praise for Kate’s well managed speech.

Evaluator #2 was Lynn C, giving her first evaluation ever.  Lynn complimented Nancy on her facial expressions, vocal variety, and hand motions.  Lynn said that she would have liked to have been told the purpose of the stories before Nancy told them, and Lynn said that it was an honor to hear Nancy’s speech.

Table Topics Master was Robert

Robert told toastmasters that they could answer each question, or the opposite of the question.

Meera was asked about her most learned or least learned computer application. She responded by talking about things that she had learned on YouTube.

Amy was asked what was the funniest or most serious advice that her mother had given her. She explained that her Mexican mother scolded her in Spanish, which Amy never understood until she took a Spanish class years later.

Jutta was asked about the strangest or most addictive food that he had ever eaten. Jutta spoke about different fish dishes that he had eaten and that his kids enjoy now.

General Evaluator was Warren.  He complimented Maria, the toastmaster, for the research that she had done on the theme. He mentioned the excellent evaluations, and said that he had enjoyed the overall meeting very much.

The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Katz, Secretary