Oct 6th 2015 Theme: Oct 6th.

“The ideal man doesn't exist. A husband is easier to find." ~~ Britt Ekland (10/6/1942- )

Welcome to the first meeting in October blog.

                   Robert was our toastmaster today.

The GAT(e) team comprised of: Grammarian – Anisha, Ah Counter – Woo Yun, Timer – Jung.

Devi was our first speaker of the day. She completed her Speech #2 from the Competent Communicator Manual – Organize your speech. Her speech was titled “A Harmonious Art of Handloom Weaving”. Duration of her speech - 5-7 mins.

Through her speech, Devi shared with us how a saree, the traditional ethnic wear of Indian women is made. Since making sarees was her dad’s business, she grew up witnessing the extensive amount of effort, time and dedication that goes into making one single saree. She explained in detail the 4 important steps involved, namely – warping, sizing, weft winding and weaving.

Weaving a saree demands a high level of hand, eye and mind coordination, involving 15,000 movements. It usually takes at least 2-3 days to finish making one saree. Such is the amount of work that goes into this ancient art. With the arrival of power looms and machinery, Devi says this ancient art is almost at the brink of extinction.

By the beginning of the 21^st century, her dad’s business almost came to an end. Instead of pursuing the family traditional business, she and her siblings pursued a degree in BTech. Towards the end of her talk, Devi encouraged each of us to find our art and pass it on to our younger generations.

 

Kathy was her evaluator. She congratulated Devi on her clear organized speech which met all the objectives. As a suggestion, she recommended bringing swatches of the fabric so that the club members could feel the fabric.

Our second speaker was Julie. She completed her Speech #1 from the Competent Communicator Manual - Ice Breaker. The title of her speech “Julie’s Dirty Little Secret – Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll.” Duration –4 to 6 mins.

Julie’s speech was accompanied by a power point presentation which conveyed the message of her talk well. Pointing to her first slide which showed a 72 year old man on the cover of a famous magazine, travelling across the world, playing rock and roll; she questioned when was the last time one saw a 72 year old woman like that? Through her talk, she expressed her desire to have freedom of expression. Instead of living a regimented life, she aspires to have freedom of expression through fun, play, laughter and creation.

She gave many meaningful quotes by many great leaders and also a statistics of a survey conducted on people on death beds titled “The top 5 Regrets of Dying.” Through her speech Julie encourages us to find our true expression thus living a life of authenticity and freedom.

Amritha was her evaluator. She recognized the speaking and presentation skills that Julie already possessed. As a suggestion, she offered Julie to reduce the number of slides which would have allowed her to stay within time limits.

Liz was our third speaker. She gave her 1^st speech from the CC Manual - Ice Breaker. Her speech was titled “A Story of Love”. Duration – 4 to 6 mins.

Liz shared with us how a science experiment in grade school led her to fall in love with the science. In college, she majored in Biology learning about nature, from there she transitioned to the field of neuroscience. Soon, she found herself doing internship working day and night in labs. She missed hanging out with family and friends.

Her search for new opportunities led her to Seattle’s Bastyr University. With a degree in Nutrition science, today she loves to work with people helping them achieve their individual goals of better health. Mr. Mac her science teacher in grade school, by instilling a love of science, paved the path which led Liz all the way to Seattle.

Jean was her evaluator. She recognized that Liz had attained the speech objectives through her talk. She looked very confident with minimal use of notes.

Jim gave the meeting a funny ending by sharing a joke which was based on loss of memory among an elderly couple.

We had 19 members 4 guests attend the meeting.

Members who attended were:   Amritha, Andrew, Anisha, Chizuko, Dan, Dandan, Diana, Devi, Jan, Jean, Jessica, Jim, Julie, Jung, Kathy, Lynne, Liz, Robert, WooYun.

Our 4 guests were: Bob, Jing, Nick and Vicky Lu

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Our active membership total currently is at 38.

Respectfully Submitted,

Amritha Imandi, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406