Nov. 25th Theme: Thanksgiving

Pauline was our toastmaster today. She picked "Thanksgiving" as the theme. She shared traditions of Thanksgiving in America and also other similar traditions celebrated in other countries around the world such as Mid-Autumn Day in China and Chuseok in Korea.

The special word for the meeting was "cornucopia" which means abundance and nourishment and our members had much fun integrating it with their talk about Thanksgiving. 

Jean was our speaker. Her "Turkey Talk" involved all the members to improvise and come up with interesting ideas, which we enjoyed a lot. During the speech Jean created three Thanksgiving scenarios, and she called on our imagination to use special items- cards, table cloth and books with open pages- to create interesting holiday memories. 

We also had cornucopia of table topics throughout the meeting, which was hosted by our guest Dave. We had a great time and Dave decided to join our club. Welcome to be part of our group, Dave!  

Nov. 18th Theme: Presidential Firsts

Barb was our toastmaster today. She picked "Presidential Firsts" as the topic. Throughout the meeting Barb shared many facts about presidents establishing traditions, such President Lincoln proclaiming Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. 

Jim was our first speaker today. He gave a talk from the 5th project of the Competent Communication Manual-- "Your Body Speaks". His topic was "What Fires Together, Wires Together". He raised three questions about the physical wiring and activities happening in our brain. He explained the negative emotions such as fear and anger that helped humans survive, and positive emotions that can be enhanced through practice such as mindfulness and meditation. 

Robert was our second speaker. His speech was from the Interpretive Reading Manual. His title was "Address to the Plenary session, Earth Summit, Delivered by Severn Cullis-Suzuki at Rio Centro, Brazil 1992." Severn is an activist and writer who has been speaking out about social justice and environmental issues since she was 12 years old. Robert picked her speech at the Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992 and was able to share environmental issues with us through the power of his voice. 

We had two guests today, Dave Almond and Emery Jordan. Emery is a past member and president of the club. He was happy to visit and see an expanded group since he left. Dave has visited us twice and he liked our organization and a variety of roles that help person improve skills in different ways.

Nov. 11th Theme: Singles' Day

Our toastmaster today was Linda. She picked Singles' Day as the theme. This holiday was originated from Chinese university students who believed the visual connotations of "11.11" look like "bare sticks", Chinese slang for being single. Nov. 11th has become a popular celebration day among Chinese young people and a shopping event cross the country.

Jean was our speaker for today. She gave a talk from the 9th project of the Competent Communication Manual. Her goals were to encourage and persuade the audience to use quotes in a speech. She opened with a quote from Julius Caesar. She followed the quote by telling us she would present 3 stories about people who conquered their fears. This was a demonstration for creating an effective speech opening. Then Jean divided us into two groups and asked each group to craft and present an introduction using a quote. She said, “The results were amazing!”

We did table topics and a round robin evaluation for the rest of the meeting. Members all actively participated. Many commented that this meeting was a great practice for developing their skills. 

Congratulations on Lynne getting her 5th Speech Nickel Award. Linda also got her Competent Leader Award and 10th Speech Competent Communication Award. We're very happy to see the progress made by our members!

Nov. 4th Theme: Election Day

Jim, our toastmaster today, picked the theme "Election Day". Jim shared some interesting facts about elections in the United States and other Countries.

Lynne, our first speaker, finished her 6th talk from the Competent Communication Manual. Her title was “From Pianissimo to Fortissimo, Living Out Loud.” Lynne talked about postponing her speech projects at our toastmasters club. Her “passive procrastination” had delayed her from achieving her goals. In finding a cure for this issue, she was inspired by two opposite modes in music, pianissimo and fortissimo. Lynne described her “pianissimo” style as passive, procrastination, and paralyzed. In music pianissimo is a soft mode. “Fortissimo” means strong and loud. Lynne is choosing to live “fortissimo” and “out loud” by being fruitful, forthright and free in reaching her speaking goals.

Kathy, our second speaker, completed her 4th project from the Competent Communication Manual. Her humorous topic was the “Hot Yoga Experience.” We laughed throughout as Kathy shared exaggerated stories about what she’s learned in 150 degree temperatures.

Linda, our third speaker, accomplished her final project from the Competent Communication Manual, Inspire the Audience. Linda talked about her eight years of learning classical Chinese dancing, watching a MIT physics lecture video, and joining our toastmaster club. She shared how her teachers and mentors, who showed they cared, inspired and challenged her to succeed. Although she struggled in the very beginning, she eventually gained confidence in learning their subjects. She inspired us to not only appreciate the teachers who offer encouraging help, but to pass on this spirit of helpful caring to friends, family, and mentees.

We had one guest, Annath. He enjoyed our meeting very much and said he’d come back. We welcome his second visit!

Oct. 21st Theme: Inventions

Lynne was our toastmaster today. She chose “inventions” as the theme. Lynne brought us stories about inventions that we see and use in daily life. We learned the flexible straw was invented by a father who used a screw and dental floss to bend the paper tube. This made drinking milkshakes easier for his small daughter. Other inventions such as the pop can’s tab opener, the paper bag, and the potato chip not only brought us convenience but significantly improved our enjoyment. Many people with such ingenious ideas have made great fortunes in their businesses.

Alice was our first speaker. She gave her forth speech from the Competent Communication Manual. Her title was “The Adventurous Mom.” Inspired by her friend Yolanda, Alice decided to go skydiving. She chose a day when she could get away from her busy schedule, including work and kids. In the 30 second free fall, she opened her arms and felt the freedom to reveal her true self. Alice felt this adventure helped her release pressure. With renewed energy she was able to embrace her kids with a fresh new feeling when she went back home. 

Thanks to Jean we did a “round robin” evaluation for the speech, "I See Something." It was given by Toastmasters’ world champion, Dananjaya Hettiarachchi. From his speech we learned that techniques such as repetition, groups of three, props, and humor can effectively hold the audience's attention and build a powerful message.

Next week we will have a special Impromptu Halloween Party. Friends and guests are very welcome to join our celebration. Feel free to dress up. The person with the best costume will win a prize. We're looking forward to seeing everyone at our event!

Oct. 14th Theme: Joy

Barb was our toastmaster today and she chose "Joy" as the theme. Throughout the meeting Barb shared quotes that defined joy into different meanings from different countries. River, kissing, and beauty have been compared to joy by many authors.

Robert was our first speaker. He finished his second speech from the Advanced Interpretive Manual. He read an excerpt from the Line, a New York City long-running play. Robert used his voice to interpret five different characters in this drama who were trying to lie and manipulate each other in order to be first in a line. Robert made us laugh and we enjoyed his role playing. 

Pauline was our second speaker. This was her very first Ice Breaker Speech from the Competent Communication Manual. Pauline told us about her dream to ride a horse when she was a little girl. This became true when she took a trip to a horse farm in the fourth grade. She earned money by delivering newspapers to lease her first horse and later to visit her grandmother who owned a 102 acre horse farm in England. 

We had one guest, Roger. He thought our club was very welcoming and well structured. He commented that watching the Ice Breaker speech and advanced speech helped him learn the speaking skill progression at toastmasters. We were very glad to have him and hope he will come back again! 

Oct. 7th Theme: Water

Linda was our toastmaster today. She chose "water" as the theme. From her research Linda shared the facts that water is an essential element of our body and a major constituent of the earth. Despite the fact that water is plentiful on our planet, clean drinkable water is remarkably scarce. Many people are suffering from clean water deficiency due to pollution and waste. 

Barb was our first speaker. She spoke about a new leadership project she is working on. Her title was "Sharing Your Vision". Barb compared leadership in toastmasters to helping a baby learn to walk. As our area governor, Barb used her role to successfully run our Area Contest last month. This month her goal is to find 14 volunteers to help out at the District Contest.

Jim was our second speaker. He completed his forth talk from the Competent Communication Manual. His title was "Take Back Your Mind.” Jim realized his friend, Bill, was suffering from frustrations in life. Jim knew from his own research in psychology and neuro-psychology that people are always thinking but are unaware of all the thinking that goes on in their heads. He told how Bill learned to focus on the present. Jim then showed us how to direct our attention to the present moment through breathing and observing, which he referred to as mindfulness. 

We had one guest, Jewel, She was looking for a place to practice her public speaking and to build up her confidence. She decided to join us after the meeting. We are very happy to have her and to help her achieve her goals!