Meeting Minutes

April 12, 2022

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters 

Members in Attendance: Amy, Barb, Jean, Jim, , Kate, Kelly, Kristin, Lynn C, Lynne D, Mara, Maria, Meera, Warren

No Guests

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

Opening Comments by our President, Lynn C

The meeting theme was:  “April Showers”

The word of the day was “pluvious,” relating to or characterized by rainfall.

Our Toastmaster was Nancy, who gave us MANY interesting tidbits on humans showering, the largest group of people who showered, typical length of showers for men and women, in what countries people shower most frequently, etc.

Our Gate Team was:

Grammarian –Maria          

Ah Counter – Maria.

Timer – Lynne D

General Evaluator – Kate

Speaker #1 was Amy, with her speech, “A Universal Symbol of Hope,” 5-7 minutes.  Amy engaged us immediately with the picture she described of a one-horned, white animal, and then she surprised us by saying that the animal was a rhinoceros.  Then she gave us the history of unicorns, the symbolism, and how the unicorn has been spoken about over the years.

Speaker #2 was Jim , with his speech, “You Choose.”  Jim told us a brief history of Demosthenes and the evaluator who told him that he was a terrible speaker.  Jim told us that his toastmaster’s goal this year was keeping his speeches to 5-7 minutes. Then he explained the many ways that he had been working to attain that goal.  Then he challenged us, “What important difference do you want to make? How do you plan to do it? Choose to take it or leave it.”

Evaluator #1 was Warren, who complimented Amy on her word choice, use of adjectives, and the phenomenal pictures she created with description. He suggested that she not read her speech, but use bullet points to improve eye contact.  

 

Evaluator #2 was Mara, who said that Jim was a better speaker than most.  She added that she had not been able to suss out the structure of this speech, and that he had been relaxed and engaging. 

Table Topics

Kelly had apparently spent a lot of time creating pictures of famous people alongside club members wearing similar outfits. She asked members to comment on the fashions as if we were Joan Rivers. 

Maria was shown a picture of herself next to Diane Keaton in top hats. She commented on the appropriateness of the pose.

Kristin was asked to comment on the picture of Warren and President Bush.

Mara commented on the picture of Nancy and Diane Lane.

Barb talked about the picture of herself and Robert, back to back, wearing plaid.

Jean commented on the picture of Jim and Johnny Carson.General Evaluator, Kate, commented on Barb’s use of the phrase, “Let me see,” as a good way to avoid crutch words, said it had been a great topic, and appreciated seeing speeches from a relative newcomer and a veteran speaker.  Kate complimented the Evaluators on use of the sandwich method, and Kelly on the fantastic table topics.

Nancy provided some humorous riddles.

The meeting ended on time.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Katz, Secretary

 

Meeting Minutes

April 5, 2022

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

What a glorious meeting! It was so wonderful to see and hug each other, old friends, and past members.  There was so much energy and laughter throughout the meeting.  The room was a perfect size and nicely arranged.

Announcements 

1.    Kudos to Lynne D and Mara for all the work that they did making this happen!

2.    Next in-person meeting is May 3, 2022.

Members in Attendance: Barb, Jean, Jim, Jutta, Kate, Kelly, Lynn C, Lynne D, Mara, Maria, Warren

Guests in Attendance: Dianna (friend of Lynn C.), Giri, Julie Hutton, Randy Barber, and Tobias.

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

Opening Comments by our President, Lynn C

The meeting theme was:  “Welcome Back”

The word of the day was “Live,” rhyming with strive. The other pronunciation of the word, rhyming with give, was not allowed.

Our Toastmaster was Mara, who explained the conventions of an in-person meeting that differ from an online meeting.

Our Gate Team was:

Grammarian –Jean            

Ah Counter – Lynn C.

Timer – Jutta

General Evaluator – Warren

Speaker #1 was Kelly, with her speech, “BreakTHROUGH the Bondage,” 5-7 minutes.  Kelly had a very well-organized, well-delivered, and dynamic speech about body language. She described some of the standard poses, gave hilarious examples, and told us about her breakthrough: using the gestures that come naturally to us; gestures don’t have to be “orchestrated.”

Speaker #2 was Maria, with her speech, “My Pet Poops Breakfast.”  Maria explained how her husband wanted to have a homestead – while they were living in Anaheim, ½ mile from Disneyland.  In Washington, they now have chickens and she is known as the “crazy chicken lady.” Very humorously and vividly, Maria described the first steps in becoming a chicken owner, some of the ordinances, tips on coops, chicken predators, and the different types of chickens. She ended by telling us the advantages of being a chicken owner.

Evaluator #1 was Barb, who complimented Kelly on the organization of her speech, the energy she put into it, and her wonderful use of body language. Barb suggested that Kelly talk more slowly and ask the Toastmaster for 6-8 minutes so that she didn’t have to rush when delivering all her content.

Evaluator #2 was Jim, who complimented Maria on her well-organized and funny speech. He mentioned the many puns that Maria had in her speech and said it was very humorous.

Table Topics

Kate led Table Topics, and said that her questions were simple, like min-icebreakers. 

Julie Hutton volunteered, answering the question why she came to Toastmasters and why she came back.  Julie said that she came for big smiles and explained how much she is enjoying (addicted to) South Korean Ramkan, which I think is a TV series.

Tobias was unanimously “voluntold.” He talked about car commercials that he enjoyed and driving a ladder truck for the fire department.  He explained how he enjoys skirting around conventions, for example, wearing his hair in a mullet and a rat-tail, and wearing a half-mesh t-shirt instead of his uniform.

General Evaluator was Warren, who said that it had been an unbelievably good meeting to kick off in-person meetings. He praised the organization, the emails, how well the Toastmaster explained the in-person rituals, the Table Topics master for picking good people to respond, how both evaluators offered specific, concrete ways to improve, how Jim used the sandwich method and summary.  Warren concluded with calling this a very positive meeting.

Our guest Dianna said said that she had fun, liked the various roles which to her meant accountability, and asked a few questions.

Guest Randy said it had been fun and lively, with laughter and familiar faces. We ran out of time for feedback from the other guests, but stayed afterwards to chat.

The meeting adjourned at 1:04 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Katz, Secretary

 

Meeting Minutes

March 29, 2022

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters 

Announcements  

1.    In Person meeting next week.

2.    Meera is our newest member.

3.    Dues are due by March 31. See emails from Jinxin and Nancy.

Members in Attendance: Amy, Barb, Jim, Jutta, Kate, Kelly, Kristin, Lynn C, Lynne D, Mara, Maria, Meera, Nancy, Nguyet, Warren

Guests in Attendance: Guy K (fiancé of Amy) and Joshua Reeves, colleague of Lynn C.

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

Opening Comments by our President, Lynn C

The meeting theme was: “Step Out of Your Comfort Zone”

The word of the day was “Ameliorate,” meaning to make something better

Our Toastmaster was Kate, who kept us on time and shared some thoughts about expanding our horizons by being willing to take small risks.

Our Gate Team was:

Grammarian –Nguyet        

Ah Counter – Nguyet

Timer – Maria

General Evaluator – Kristin

Speaker #1 was Amy, with her speech, “Like a Deer in the Headlights,” 4-6 minutes.  Amy told us symptoms of her stage fright and how she has learned to reduce it. One symptom of her stage fright she was “incomprehensible word vomit,” in other words, babbling.  She said that singing karaoke had helped her a lot with stage fright.

Speaker #2 was Mara, with her speech, “Learn Big with Little Books.”  April is financial literacy month. She described the basic communication styles that she had incorporated into her big books: 1) Direct (short and sweet); 2) Supportive (calm and steady); 3) Initiating; and 4) Analytical (lots of data)

Evaluator #1 was Warren, who complimented Amy on the research she had done, her narrative style and use of dialogue. He suggested more direct eye contact with the camera. He concluded with praise for her clarity, vocal variety, organization, and delivery.  Warren called it a very good “kick-off” speech.

Evaluator #2 was Nancy, who complimented Mara for weaving the four communication styles into her books as well as using her books as samples of the styles. Nancy noted the natural (not virtual) background, allowing Mara to keep her face and the books in the frame.  She suggested watching out for the glare on her glasses and the book covers.  Finally, Nancy reminded us not to say “thank you” at the end of the speech, because the audience should thank the speaker.

Table Topics

Lynn C lead another session of fun and lively Table Topics.  She proposed that we be game show contestants and asked us to speak in various styles.

Jim took on a gangsta role, to describe his first or best concert. Since rock concerts weren’t invented when he was a child, he described watching the presidential debates on the television, jumping up and down and doing other “motion stuff.” Jim concluded by fading away as he moved his chair further and further from the camera.

Guy followed directions to act like a statue as he described his first concert, “Boys Like Girls.” He held perfectly still and with no facial expressions.  Excellent job.

Lynne D was asked to act like a 5-year old girl at her first concert.  She talked about watching the Beatles on TV.  From the young girl’s perspective, their hair styles were weird, and the girls in the show were screaming so much that Lynne couldn’t hear the music.  In her little girl persona, Lynne ended her speech perfectly by saying, “How stupid is that!”

General Evaluator was Kristin, who mentioned that table topics was full of energy, Warren’s evaluation was positive, Nancy’s evaluation was constructive and specific, and praised Kate for managing the schedule so that we ended on time.

Guest Comments: Our guest Josh commented at the end of the meeting that he was impressed with how comfortable we were with each other and how much fun the meeting was. Guest Guy was impressed with how candid and personal the members were.

The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Katz, Secretary

 

Meeting Minutes

March 22, 2022

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

 

Announcements 

1.    We will have an Open House meeting on March 29.  This is an IMPORTANT MEETING. BRING GUESTS.

2.    First in-person meeting on April 5.

3.    Dues are due by March 31. See emails from Jinxin and Nancy.

 

Members in Attendance: Amy, Barb, Jean, Jim, Jutta, Kate, Kelly, Kristin, Lynne D, Maria, Nancy, Nguyet, Robert

 

Guests in Attendance: Meera

 

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

 

Opening Comments by president pro temp, Nancy.

 

The meeting theme was:  “Welcome Spring”

 

The word of the day was “Revive,” meaning come back to life

 

Our Toastmaster was Mara. She suggested that we “embrace the energy of spring,” prune our Pathways, and sign up for meeting roles in advance, so that our endeavors bear fruit.

 

Our Gate Team was:

Grammarian –Nancy        

Ah Counter – Nancy

Timer – Kate

General Evaluator – Kelly

 

Speaker #1 was Barb, with her speech “A Special Place,” 6-8 minutes.  Barb told us about a daytrip that she had taken about ten years ago, during which she discovered a special place called Toastmasters.  This was a reminder to pay our dues.

 

Evaluator #1 was Maria, who said that she loved Barb’s story, the props, gestures, and sound of pennies dropping. Maria suggested that Barb watch the cursor position when she is sharing a screen and explain in the beginning that this is a fable. She also suggested asking a rhetorical question to involve the audience more.

 

Table Topics

Amy lead table topics, based on the Greek goddess of Persephone who returns to the earth from Hades in the spring.

 

Kristin talked about what is needed to tend her rose garden.

Kate planned a party to celebrate Persephone’s return, including flowers, music, and dance.

Meera talked about spring in Nepal, with bananas, pomegranates, grapes, pears and jack fruit.

Nguyet talked about taking Servus, Persephone’s huge 3-headed dog, on a walk.

Jim explained that Persephone should not change a goat back into the farmer that he was previously because of his “underlying pathology.”

Lynne suggested that someone be turned into basil, so that he could return to the “basics” rather than “peripheral ideas.”

 

General Evaluator was Kelly, who complimented many of the people in the meeting, including Barb, Amy, Nguyet, and Kristin.  Kelly also had several helpful suggestions for members, including getting free photos from Creative Commons for our presentations, and putting wax paper over a light bulb to create diffused light.

 

Humorists were Nancy and Robert.

 

The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Katz, Secretary

 

Meeting Minutes

March 15, 2022

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

 

Announcements 

1.    We will have an Open House meeting on March 29.  This is an IMPORTANT MEETING. BRING GUESTS.

2.    First in-person meeting on April 5.

3.    Dues are due by March 31. See email from Jinxin.

4.    We have a new member: Divya!

 

For our Area Contest on March 11, Jim wrote a new speech in two days.  He didn’t win, but he gave an excellent speech.

 

Members in Attendance: Amy, Barb, Divya ,Jean, Jim, Kate, Kelly, Kristin, Lynne D, Maria, Nancy, Robert

 

Guests in Attendance: Meera

 

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

 

Opening Comments by president pro temp, Nancy.

 

The meeting theme was:  “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

 

The word of the day was “Galore,” meaning “in abundance.”

 

Our Toastmaster was Kelly. She produced a colorful agenda and celebrated St. Patrick’s day with us. She also held a raffle and people who wore green had two chances to win.  The winner was Kristin.  Kelly said that she would send the prize by email to Kristin.

 

Our Gate Team was:

Grammarian –Amy

Ah Counter – Amy

Timer – Lynne D

General Evaluator – Maria

 

Speaker #1 was Nancy, with her speech “Wrapping It Up,” 6-8 minutes.  She told us that she had finished two Paths, and focused on the second Path, the Better Speaker Series.  Nancy described all the elements in the series, Controlling Fear, Selecting a Topic, Organizing the Speech, Creating an Introduction, Using Body Language, Charisma, Know Your Audience, Preparation, and Practice Ideas, Not Words.

 

Speaker # 2 was Barb, with her speech, “Wives in History,” 6-8 minutes. Because today is the Ides of March, Barb told us a lot about Julius Caesar by making it a story and focusing on his wives to a certain extent.  She changed the names and challenged the audience to guess who the main figure was (Julius Caesar).

 

Evaluator #1 was Kate, who praised Nancy’s speech, the organization, and the amount of information included.  Kate congratulated Nancy on her “speeches galore,” and how well the speech fit in with her role as VPE. Kate said that Nancy’s eye contact was great.

 

Evaluator #2 was Kristin, who gave Barb high marks for delivery and the story format. She appreciated the introduction and the hand gestures. The speech kept everyone interested and the audience felt included. She said that the title misled her somewhat, because she expected to hear about many wives, not just the wives of one person.  She suggested more focus on the wives, not just the famous man.

 

Table Topics

Jim lead table topics, with a series of questions related to the color green.

 

Meera talked about how the color green means peace in her country.

Amy talked about the green traffic light being on the bottom.

Robert said that Grumpy was the greenest dwarf in the story of Snow White and the 7 Dwarves.

 

General Evaluator was Maria.  She gave a thorough evaluation of the meeting, commenting on all of the roles.  She noted that this was the first time that Kelly had been Toastmaster, and she had done an excellent job.  Maria had a few suggestions: 1) People could schedule their roles in advance, so that we don’t have to spend so much time in the meeting doing that. 2) Maria suggested that Jim give more information with his questions, so that speakers would understand the questions a little better.

 

The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Katz, Secretary

 

Meeting Minutes

March 8, 2022

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

 

Announcements 

We will have an Open House meeting on March 29.  This is an IMPORTANT MEETING. BRING GUESTS.

 

Jim will be our representative at our Area Contest, Saturday March 12, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Use this link to register to attend the contest: https://d2tm.org/event/areas-51-52-53-54-55-contest/

 

Members in Attendance: Amy, Barb, Jean, Jim, Jutta, Kate, Lynn C, Lynne D, Maria, , Nancy, Nguyet, Warren

 

Guests in Attendance: Meera Basnet

 

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

 

Opening Comments by president pro temp, Nancy.

 

The meeting theme was:  “Spring Forward”

 

The word of the day was “polyhistor,” meaning “a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning.”

 

Our Toastmaster was Lynne D. She talked about the history of Daylight Savings Time (DST) , and the reasons for it. In the 1700’s, Benjamin Franklin suggested it to the French court, to save on candles.  In 1907 it was suggested to prevent “waste of daylight.”  In WW 1, Germany ordered it to save on fuel. The U.S. has been through different stages in adopting DST.  At present, there is a bill in Congress to change permanently to DST, but it is held up.  Lynne also talked about standardizing “time.” It wasn’t until 1918, in the administration of Teddy Roosevelt, that standard time and time zones were created.  Before that, time was based on the clock of each town, individually.

 

Our Gate Team was:

Grammarian –Jutta           

Ah Counter – Amy

Timer – Nguyet

General Evaluator – Nancy

 

Speaker #1 was Maria, with her speech “Unlock Your Potential,” 5-7 minutes.  She described the work of psychiatrist Donald Clifton, focused on people’s strengths, and teaching them how to build on them, rather than focusing on mental disease and distress.  Maria gave us a reference to explore further, Clifton Strengths 2.0.

 

Evaluator #1 was Barb, who praised Maria’s speech very strongly, and suggested adding humor where possible, and providing more info on the primary strengths.

 

Table Topics

Instead of Table Topics, we had a round robin for Jim and his speech. There was much praise and a few helpful suggestions.

 

General Evaluator was Kate.  She complimented all roles on the excellent job that they did.  Nancy closed by urging us to attend the Speech Competion.

 

The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m. exactly.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Katz, Secretary