Public Speaking Northwest Minutes – December 22, 2020

Need Leadership Skills? Learn Them at Toastmasters. 

 

Mission Statement & Flag Salute: Lynne promptly opened the meeting on time.

 

Our President: Nancy, with vigor and warmth stepped in for Barb.

 

Announcements: Our next meeting will be on January 5, 2021.

 

Our Meeting Toastmaster: Mara’s theme was “Holiday Party.”

 

Grammarian and Word of the Day:  Kate’s word for us to use, in keeping with Mara’s theme, was “Festive.”

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Ah Counter: Kate did the difficult task of listening well and counting our filler words.

 

Timer: Lynn kept each speaker on time with green, yellow, and red signs.

 

General Evaluator: Warren listened to the whole meeting to notice what went well and how we could improve.

 

Our 1^st Speaker: Midori gave her very first talk called the ‘ice-breaker.’ Her personal goal was to speak clearly. She said she is, “very comfortable being uncomfortable speaking English.” (She spoke so well.) Midori moved from Tokyo, Japan to the United States several times due to her husband’s job.

 

“Learning a foreign language is very difficult,” she said. She studied English many times throughout her schooling even at the university level. She taught us a Japanese word at the end of her speech. It was her name, Midori, which means “green.”

 

Our 2^nd Speaker: Nancy’s title, “Create an Opening,” used the wise saying for talks and essays:

 

1. Tell them what you’re going to tell them. (Introduction for the talk)

2. Then tell them.(Body of the talk)

3. Tell them what you told them. (Summary of the talk)

 

Nancy shared many examples with different openings that ‘hook’ the audience, like:

 

1.     State something important about the topic.

2.     Make a startling statement.

3.     Arouse curiosity.

4.     Tell a story or anecdote.

5.     Ask a question.

6.     Recite a quotation.

7.     Recognize a special occasion.

8.     Give a demonstration.

9.     Use an historical event.

 

Like the VP of Education, she is, Nancy is teaching us speaking skills from the Better Speaking Series. She ended her talk by saying, “The opening of a talk is the launch pad.” Nancy took off like a rocket and landed her talk perfectly.

 

 

Our Table Topics Master: Jean kept the theme by asking members about their favorite holidays. She asked our guests to speak and they all took the risk.

 

Sara loves attending her family’s Thanksgiving dinner and eating delicious deviled eggs. Her family lives in the Midwest.

 

Kameh is from Iran and described her family’s celebrations.

 

Simbu, from India, said they celebrate the new year somewhat like we celebrate Thanksgiving.

 

Angel, from Puerto Rico, described going from door to door singing and giving the young children presents. He is Lucelly’s brother.

 

Jutta, our member, loves summer holidays because he goes camping with his kids. While camping  they go biking, play sports, and everyone cooks together.

 

Our 1st Evaluator: Jim mentioned Midori’s name and liked knowing it meant, ‘green.’ He complimented her on her:

·       Gestures

·       Excellent pacing which made her talk “very clear.”

·       Her magnetic smile.

·       Her summary in which she mentioned living in the Evergreen State which matches her name.

He suggested she continue to practice pacing at the rate she did today because she was easily understood.

 

Our 2^nd Evaluator: Robert enjoyed Nancy’s “Tell them” advice. He found her anecdotes helpful and good. He complimented her on the variety and amount of her openings. Robert suggested she adjust her camera. Overall, Robert liked Nancy’s holiday halo headdress and her hand gestures.

 

General Evaluator: Warren had praise for everyone. He liked Mara’s agenda and her preparation as toastmaster. He noted that Lynne always starts the meeting on time.

 

Warren liked how Nancy welcomed guests and how Mara explained the GATE team so our guests would understand. He appreciated that the ‘Chat’ feature was also discussed, and that Jean explained the purpose of Table Topics and chose those who didn’t have a speaking role.

 

Our Members in Attendance: Lynne, Lynn, Nancy, Kate, Jim, Glenn, Midori, Lucelly, Robert, Jutta, Warren, Mara, Jean

 

Our Guests in Attendance: Kameh, Simbu, Sara, Angel

 

Motion to Adjourn – Jim   Second – Robert

 

 

Your Secretary,

 

Jean

 

PS. Lynn will be our new secretary in the New Year. We know she will be a terrific officer and wish her the absolute best.

 

Public Speaking Northwest Minutes – December 15, 2020

 

You CAN think clearly as you speak to groups – in Toastmasters

Mission Statement & Flag Salute: Lynne spoke clearly as she opened our meeting.

 

Our President: Nancy, cheerfully helped Barb, our President, by taking charge of the meeting.

 

ELECTION of OFFICERS:

We voted on our slate of officers. Barb Katz will remain our President. Nancy Carpenter will keep her office as Vice-President of Education. Kate Morris will remain our Vice-President of Membership. Mara Williams will replace Nancy Carpenter as Vice-President of Publicity. Lynn Connell will replace Jean Tracy as Secretary. Jim Tracy will retain his role as Treasurer. Lynne Dauenhauer will keep her Sergeant at Arms role. Their officer roles will be from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021.

 

Announcements: Kate completed her level 3 of Pathways and landed us another DCP point. Thanks, Kate.

 

Our Meeting Toastmaster: Kate chose “Good News” as her theme for the day. She filled the meeting with heartwarming events that occurred this last year.

 

Grammarian and Word of the Day:  Jutta chose “Bibelot,” meaning ornament as our word for today.

Ah Counter:  Jean counted each member’s filler words. She heard only 4 which shows how wonderfully aware we are.

Timer: Lynne kept us within our time limits using her color-coded cards.

General Evaluator – Robert paid attention to the meeting from top to bottom noting each member’s role. He focused much of his time on the evaluators.

 

Our 1^st Speaker: Mara’s title, “Mentoring is Like a Box of Chocolates” flowed throughout her talk in clever and curious ways. She compared her mentor, Jim, to an advent calendar with doors opening for her to explore ideas. She praised Jim for the times she felt the advice from an evaluator didn’t fit. Like her personal box of chocolates, Jim told her to take a bite and put it back in the box. Jim also helped her with a deeply felt eulogy. Mara intends to write a book and sees Jim as the right mentor for her since he’s already a published author.

 

Our 2^nd Speaker: Giri’s title, “Reframe to Reclaim Your Power,” used stories to explain reframing. He reminded us that President Reagan was the oldest candidate for president at that time. He knew everyone wanted to hear candidate Mondale use it against him in their debate. Reagan’s reframe won the debate and the presidency. Giri also chose stories from his own life, when people told him not to be offended by what they were about to say. Giri knew it would be an insult and he was ready. He turned their negative words into his asset with an, “I don’t care” response. Both President Raegan and Giri reclaimed their power.

 

Our 1st Evaluator: Warren praised Mara for her well organized speech. He enjoyed her analogy regarding the advent calendar. He felt her talk flowed well and was conversational. He noted that she and Jim find humor difficult but are challenging themselves with the Humorous Pathway. He also commented on her interest in writing a book. He suggested she use some humor.  

 

Our 2^nd Evaluator: Nancy complimented Giri on his well-crafted introduction. She said this was one of her favorite speeches by Giri. She loved the Raegan story, the dive bar and digging holes references. She suggested Giri slow down and pause more to give the audience time to enjoy the visuals he paints with his words.

 

Our Table Topics Master: Midori continued the theme, “Good News” by asking us to share our good news this past year.

Kameh, our guest, said her husband now works from home. She enjoys having lunch with him. She also has more freedom to explore new activities like toastmasters.

Jutta is establishing a new business entitled, Seattle Group Solutions. He’s excited about his new journey.

Lynn mentioned 2 things, her fun trip earlier to Cancun, Mexico, and camping. She has a wonderful new camper that she loves. “It’s like a second home,” she said.

Giri liked watching “Tiger King” on TV. He suggested we all watch it with a large bowl of ice cream.

 

General Evaluator: Robert thought “Good News” was an effective theme. He complimented Warren on his evaluation summary. He liked Nancy’s emphasis on the positive while also sharing some suggestions. He praised Midori for carrying through with the theme for the day.

 

Our Members in Attendance: Lynn, Kate, Nancy, Lynne, Warren, Midori, Mara, Robert, Jutta, Giri, Jean

 

Our Guests in Attendance: Janice, Simbu, and Kameh. Kameh said she’d like to join our club. Terrific!

 

Motion to Adjourn – Kate   Second – Robert

 

 Your Secretary,

 

Jean Tracy, DTM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Public Speaking Northwest Minutes December 8, 2020

This organization is the fun way to practice public speaking – Join Toastmasters

Mission Statement & Flag Salute: Lynne opened the meeting by reading our Mission Statement and leading us in our flag salute.

Our President Pro tem: Nancy, our Vice-President of Education replaced our President, Barb, who was ill.

Announcements: Officers, check our District Newsletter Starburst for our next officer training.

Our Meeting Toastmaster: Lynn C. ran the meeting as Toastmaster for the first time. She was laughing, smiling, and enthusiastic. What a charmer! Her theme was Holiday Traditions.

 Grammarian and Word of the Day – Jean chose ‘Tradition.’ Everyone who had a chance to speak used it.

Ah Counter – To help us avoid filler words like ums, ahs, & ands, Jean was to keep track of who used them and how many times.

Timer – Jinxin showed the timing cards to help our speakers stay within their limits. She kept an excellent record right down to the second each speaker spoke.

General Evaluator – Giri listened intently to the whole meeting so he could deliver kudos and suggestions.

 Our 1^st Speaker – Kate entitled her talk, “The Beautiful Salish Sea.” ‘Salish” is the name of the first native people who lived in the Pacific Northwest. Orcas and salmon are famous here. We learned many species are in danger of extinction due to storm water run-off, overfishing, and marine traffic to name a few. Kate gave many solutions including eliminating dangerous garden chemicals, cleaning up the beaches after yourself, and checking out salishconservation.com for more information.

 Our 2^nd Speaker – Nancy took the speaker’s spot shortly before the meeting and came up with a talk entitled, “My Earliest Memory.” At 3 years and 3 months Nancy remembered being cold in the barn with her dad and going home but couldn’t open the door because she couldn’t push down hard enough to open the latch. Her dad had to stop his work and kindly opened the door for her. Her other two memories dealt with her baby sister. We all laughed.

 Our 1st Evaluator – Warren praised Kate for her pleasant voice, her conversational manner, and her beautiful slide show. He regretted that Zoom prevented us from seeing her face during her slide show.

 Our 2^nd Evaluator – Jim praised Nancy as a great storyteller whose words were so vivid that they brought him right into her story. His comment on her third story about turning her baby sister into a cake brought laughs to everyone. He suggest her title be something like “Coming of Age.”

 Our Table Topics Master – Lucelly asked us to talk about our favorite traditions.

 Warren, whose wife’s heritage is Swedish, celebrates St. Lucia Day on December 13^th. That’s the date Warren and his wife, Roberta, start baking.

 Jutta said in India they wear traditional clothes and enjoy a village food festival.

Lynne’s least favorite tradition from Norway was the preparation, smell in her house, and holiday parties with the traditional Lutefisk. She avoided eating it as much as possible.

 Jean’s mother played Christmas carols as the family gathered around the piano to sing.

 Lucelly loved the upbeat music from Puerto Rico. She would go from door to door singing and people would open their doors to sing with her.

 General Evaluator – Giri said he didn’t just dislike the meeting, “I loved it,” he shouted.  He praised Lynn for her success at running the meeting. This was Lynn’s first time as Toastmaster. He felt the meeting was very enjoyable.

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

Our Guest in Attendance – Kameh, from Iran, said she would come back. Kate will email her our information about joining.

 Motion to Adjourn – Kate  Second – Giri

 See us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Public-Speaking-Northwest-Toastmasters-458883077644200/  In the last 28 days we reached 642 visitors. Our Facebook Live video had 293 views. That’s phenomenal! Go and give it a Like (Thumbs Up) and a comment.

Your Secretary,

 Jean Tracy, DTM

 

Public Speaking Northwest Minutes - December 1, 2020

 

How to Conquer the Jitters When Speaking Before a Group – Join Toastmasters

Open Meeting: Lynne opened our meeting with our mission statement and flag salute.

 

Our President: Barb, welcomed us with a special welcome to Midori, who just joined our club.

 

Announcements:  Barb, announced a need for a new club Secretary.

 

Our Meeting Toastmaster: Barb chose the theme, “The American Who Became a Hero on December 1, 1955.”

 

Grammarian and Word of the Day – Lynne, in keeping with the theme, chose the word, “HEROIC.”

Ah Counter – Lynne counted our ahs and ums and let us know at the end of the meeting.

Timer – Jim kept those who had speaking parts on time with his green, yellow, and red cards.

General Evaluator – Jean, at the end of the meeting, evaluated the meeting for compliments and to offer suggestions for improvements.

 

Our 1^st Speaker – Mara entitled her talk, “Tales from Home.” It was a humorous speech about ‘adulting.’ Her sons, age 20+ are in the process of adulting. Mara enjoys watching how their mistakes successfully lead them into adulthood.

 

Our 2^nd Speaker – Warren entitled his speech, “An Incomplete Discussion About Resumes.” He gave amazing advice on what constitutes good resumes. Many members asked him insightful questions to help them write their own resumes. They even stayed after the meeting to seek more of his expert advice.

 

Our 1st Evaluator – Giri evaluated Mara’s talk. He praised her relaxed pleasant style. He noted how Mara connects with her material and invites the audience into her personal life. He challenged her to add shock and exaggeration to promote more humor in her future talks.

 

Our 2^nd Evaluator – Nancy evaluated Warren’s talk. She complimented his relaxed and balanced style. She admired his competency with teaching how to write good resumes. She suggested he give each of his 5 steps a number with a headline. She gave and example:

1.    First Issue + Headline

2.    Second Issue + Headline

3.    Third Issue + Headline

4.    Etc.

 

Our Table Topics Master – Lynn continued the heroic theme. She told us why her mother was her heroine. Next, she asked us to share a hero in our lives and why. Jutta’s hero is his father. Robert’s hero is his niece.

 

General Evaluator – Jean enjoyed Barb’s attractive agenda and her ”Heroic” theme. She liked the flow of the meeting from top to bottom. Since the talks were already evaluated, Jean’s main job was to evaluate the evaluators. Both Giri and Nancy are experienced toastmasters. Both found wonderful elements to praise and gave at least one suggestion for improvement. Their toastmaster expertise came through like the professionals they are.

 

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

 

 

Your Secretary,

 

Jean Tracy, DTM

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