September 20, 2016 - Theme "September Song"

Lynne

"Oh, it's a long, long while
From May to December
But the days grow short,
When you reach September.
When the autumn weather
Turn leaves to flame
One hasn't got time
For the waiting game."
"September Song" - Songwriters: Kurt Weill / Maxwell AndersonSeptember Song lyrics © T.R.O. Inc.


Lynne was the Toastmaster for the day and gets us started with our September Song themed meeting!
________________

Randy

Our first speaker was Randy. His speech was entitled, "Dear Younger Me," and he drew us into a heartfelt letter to his younger self with all its wisdom and experience to share.  
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Our second speaker was Jung. Her speech was entitled, "This Summer," and she told the story of her summer experience of visiting friends and relatives and how her efforts to provide a wonderful time for them resulted in her gratitude for the simple gift of her hands. Jung won Best Speaker of the day.

Jung

__________________

Our final speaker was Julie. Her speech was entitled, "How to Get Over Most Any Fear," and using the analogy of a spider web, Julie shared information and ideas on how we can all move through things that scare us.

Julie

Table Topics is always a favorite activity of our club! Jean led us in a fun challenge of answering humorous questions. Grace, Warren, Jim, Uliana, Janet and Nancy participated. The winner was Jim.

Jean

Our Evaluators for the day were: Warren, Amritha and Nancy. Nancy won as Best Evaluator.
Robert was our Humorist and Jim was our General Evaluator. 

In attendance were Amritha, Barb, Grace, Janet, Jean, Jim, Julie, Jung, Lynne, Nancy, Pauline, Randy, Robert, Uliana and Warren.

Respectfully submitted,
Nancy LaJambe, Secretary
Public Speaking Northwest #9406

August 9,2016 Theme - Demagogues

“Better the rule of One, whom all obey, than to let clamorous demagogues betray our freedom with the kiss of anarchy.”~~ Oscar Wilde

Welcome to our second meeting in August!

Barb was the toastmaster of the day. Her GAT(e) team comprised of the Grammarian – Robert (pithy); Ah-Counter - Pauline; and Timer - Diana.

 

 Jung was the first speaker of the day, speaking from the CC Manual – Your Body Speaks. The title of her talk was “Perspective” which she completed within 7 minutes.

Through her talk, Jung shed light on the fact that a person's perspective makes a huge difference in his/her life. While one may view a circumstance as disempowering or feel that they are being taken advantage of, another with a positive perspective views the bright side of the same situation. Jung reinforced her point by enacting 2 stories in a very engaging manner. For her inspiring talk, Jung was voted the best speaker!

Evaluating Jung's speech was Tobias. He was especially impressed by Jung's speech delivery style and the ease with which she presented herself being a non-native English speaker. With excellent body gestures teamed up with humor and props, Tobias felt inspired by Jung's speech and her message. 

Our second speaker of the day was Jim. He spoke from the Advanced Communication Manual "Humorously Speaking" Project 1 - Warm up the Audience. Through his talk entitled "Aging is Funny", Jim walked us through the 3 different dictionary meanings of the word funny and how it relates to aging in his opinion. His talk was continuously woven with humor also taking into account how the world views aging today.

Evaluating Jim's speech was Warren. With effective organization, Warren thought Jim’s speech was humorous and entertaining throughout. His great body gestures and especially excellent facial expressions added an additional pizzaz to the speech. Warren was voted the best evaluator.

Our Table Topics master was our Linda. This was her last meeting before she moves to California where she will be taking up her new job. OUR BEST WISHES TO YOU LINDA!

As the topics master, she brought some items very dear to her in a box. She had the topics speaker pick up one item and sell it to the audience. Speakers included Tobias, Warren, Dan and Jean. Each of them had a unique way of selling which filled the room with laughter. For his funny and interactive selling campaign, Tobias was voted the best in this category.

As the humorist, Diana shared with us few humorous 

instances from her life revolving around her family.

After the meeting was officially dismissed, members and guests sat down to listen to Amritha’s 9-year-old daughter, Shreya present her prepared speech. She was given this opportunity since she was inspired by members of our club and expressed interest to speak. Since technically she cannot be a member (due to age restrictions), the club officers came up with a work-around – they listened to her talk after the meeting concluded.

Shreya spoke for about 3 minutes about all the fun she has been having this summer vacation. From her narration, we could make out that the neighborhood she lives in is a really fun place to be with lots of kids to play. In addition, all families come together to celebrate Independence Day and have special movie nights every once in a while. It was a delight to hear her speak!

If you are looking for a safe and supportive place to allow your children to explore the world of public speaking, please know that there are Gavel clubs. They are a part of Toastmasters Youth program. These clubs follow a similar structure as Toastmaster club and is specifically for young children below 17 years of age. For those of you interested, you can find more details here: http://d2.toastmastersdistricts.org/Youth_Programs___Gavel_Clubs_.html. Shreya has plans to visit one with her mom soon!

There were ­­14 members in attendance, including Amritha, Barb, Dan, Diana, Jean, Jim, Julie, Jung, Kathy, Linda, Pauline, Robert, Tobias and Warren.

Our 4 guests of the day were: Elijah, Frances Ann, Shreya K. and Yash K.

Respectfully Submitted,

Amritha Imandi, Acting Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406

August 9,2016 Theme - Demagogues

“Better the rule of One, whom all obey, than to let clamorous demagogues betray our freedom with the kiss of anarchy.”~~ Oscar Wilde

Welcome to our second meeting in August!

Barb was the toastmaster of the day. Her GAT(e) team comprised of the Grammarian – Robert (pithy); Ah-Counter - Pauline; and Timer - Diana.

 

 Jung was the first speaker of the day, speaking from the CC Manual – Your Body Speaks. The title of her talk was “Perspective” which she completed within 7 minutes.

Through her talk, Jung shed light on the fact that a person's perspective makes a huge difference in his/her life. While one may view a circumstance as disempowering or feel that they are being taken advantage of, another with a positive perspective views the bright side of the same situation. Jung reinforced her point by enacting 2 stories in a very engaging manner. For her inspiring talk, Jung was voted the best speaker!

Evaluating Jung's speech was Tobias. He was especially impressed by Jung's speech delivery style and the ease with which she presented herself being a non-native English speaker. With excellent body gestures teamed up with humor and props, Tobias felt inspired by Jung's speech and her message. 

Our second speaker of the day was Jim. He spoke from the Advanced Communication Manual "Humorously Speaking" Project 1 - Warm up the Audience. Through his talk entitled "Aging is Funny", Jim walked us through the 3 different dictionary meanings of the word funny and how it relates to aging in his opinion. His talk was continuously woven with humor also taking into account how the world views aging today.

Evaluating Jim's speech was Warren. With effective organization, Warren thought Jim’s speech was humorous and entertaining throughout. His great body gestures and especially excellent facial expressions added an additional pizzaz to the speech. Warren was voted the best evaluator.

Our Table Topics master was our Linda. This was her last meeting before she moves to California where she will be taking up her new job. OUR BEST WISHES TO YOU LINDA!

As the topics master, she brought some items very dear to her in a box. She had the topics speaker pick up one item and sell it to the audience. Speakers included Tobias, Warren, Dan and Jean. Each of them had a unique way of selling which filled the room with laughter. For his funny and interactive selling campaign, Tobias was voted the best in this category.

As the humorist, Diana shared with us few humorous 

instances from her life revolving around her family.

After the meeting was officially dismissed, members and guests sat down to listen to Amritha’s 9-year-old daughter, Shreya present her prepared speech. She was given this opportunity since she was inspired by members of our club and expressed interest to speak. Since technically she cannot be a member (due to age restrictions), the club officers came up with a work-around – they listened to her talk after the meeting concluded.

Shreya spoke for about 3 minutes about all the fun she has been having this summer vacation. From her narration, we could make out that the neighborhood she lives in is a really fun place to be with lots of kids to play. In addition, all families come together to celebrate Independence Day and have special movie nights every once in a while. It was a delight to hear her speak!

If you are looking for a safe and supportive place to allow your children to explore the world of public speaking, please know that there are Gavel clubs. They are a part of Toastmasters Youth program. These clubs follow a similar structure as Toastmaster club and is specifically for young children below 17 years of age. For those of you interested, you can find more details here: http://d2.toastmastersdistricts.org/Youth_Programs___Gavel_Clubs_.html. Shreya has plans to visit one with her mom soon!

There were ­­14 members in attendance, including Amritha, Barb, Dan, Diana, Jean, Jim, Julie, Jung, Kathy, Linda, Pauline, Robert, Tobias and Warren.

Our 4 guests of the day were: Elijah, Frances Ann, Shreya K. and Yash K.

Respectfully Submitted,

Amritha Imandi, Acting Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406

August 2, 2016 - Theme: The Great Debate!

"You know what 'DOUBT' stands for?  It stands for 'Debate On Understanding Bewildersome Thoughts.'" - Gary Busey

Welcome to Public Speaking Northwest’s first meeting in August! Jessica was the Toastmaster of the day, introducing the theme of “The Great Debate” by telling stories of famous debates throughout American History. 

Her GATE team was comprised of the Grammarian, Pauline (Insidious); Ah-Counter, Julie; and Timer, Jung.

 

Nancy was the first speaker of the day, speaking from the Competent Communicator manual, project #4 – How To Say It. The title of her talk was “Adventures in Activism,” which she completed within 7 minutes. Nancy gave us a riveting speech about how she helped champion a movement to turn a dangerous highway into a safer place for drivers. Her passion during her speech and her campaign to help transform the road, convinced us that we are each capable of making a difference. For her emotional speech, Nancy was awarded Best Speaker!

Evaluating Nancy’s speech was Linda. As Linda had missed the first part of her speech, she had the great idea of turning to the audience to do a round robin, where all Toastmasters and guests alike were available to give Nancy feedback – all of which was positive!

 

Amritha was the second speaker of the day, speaking from the Storytelling manual, project #3 – The Moral of The Story. The title of her talk was “Dangers of Instantaneous Reaction,” which she completed within 7 minutes. Amritha told us a folktale about a couple who trusted their baby with a mongoose. The mongoose protected the baby in a dangerous altercation, but was mistakenly believed to have been the perpetrator and immediately kicked out, never to return. The moral of the story is that making a snap judgment could shut someone out who was only trying to help, and that we should all take a minute to stop and think before having an instantaneous reaction.

Barb evaluated Amritha’s speech. She commended Amritha on a job well done, especially with her dramatic pauses, tone, and inflection. She did suggest that more preparation, and a bit more clarity in translation between Indian and English jargon would help to elucidate the story.

 

The third speaker of the day was Randy, speaking from the Competent Communicator manual, project #2 – Organize Your Speech. Randy gave a speech entitled “Diffuse to Develop – Three Steps to Develop Solutions to Client Complaints,” which he completed within 7 minutes. He supplied us with three solid steps for how to appease upset customers: Acknowledge, Align, and Assure. Randy showed us how using these three simple steps is a way that many companies promote healthy customer service. In his presentation, he provided both a handout and a visual aid to assist in his speech.

Evaluating Randy’s speech was Jean. Jean commended Randy on a job well done, and encouraged him to keep going! One suggestion she had was to use the floor space with purpose.

    

Jim was the Table Topics host for the day. He made various expressions and gestures for speakers to elaborate upon. Participants were Linda, Uliana, and Grace. Linda took home the Best Table Topics speaker award!

Finally, our meeting concluded with a general evaluation by Warren and a humorous joke from Robert. There were 15 Members in attendance, including Amritha, Barb, Diana, Grace, Jean, Jessica, Jim, Julie, Jung, Linda, Nancy, Pauline, Randy, Robert, and Warren, as well as 4 guests: John, Uliana, Yash, and Shreya. Hope you join us again next week!

Respectfully Submitted,

Jessica DiPietro, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406

July 26, 2016 - Awards Party!

"Awards are lovely and always welcome." - Max Von Sydow

Welcome to a very special meeting of Public Speaking Northwest – our annual Awards celebration and potluck! We started off the meeting with some refreshments and lively conversation. Then, Jean Tracy, our emcee for the day, called the meeting to order.

Our club President, Julie Hutton, gave an inspiring speech which included about 15 distinctions that make our club successful and unique. She presented this 8-10 minute speech entitled, “We’re Going for Even More” from the Competent Communicator Manual, Speech #10 – Inspire Your Audience. Julie showered us with gratitude, explaining how our club has fostered a culture of love, communication, and friendship. It was the perfect speech to lead into the main part of this special meeting: the awards!

Jean personally introduced and recognized our members for their hard work this past year. Our Toastmasters Club is a President’s Distinguished Club. In order to achieve this high honor, we only needed 10 club points throughout the past year. Points are gained for completing speech manuals, leadership manuals, high-level projects, and taking leadership roles in the club while completing manuals.

 

While we only needed 10, we ended up getting 17 points! This is due to our active membership as well as the leadership of Barb Katz, Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), who alone earned 5 points! For her hard work, she was awarded the Star Achiever award! Another amazing member, and former secretary of our club, Amritha Imandi, was recognized for her leadership not only in the club, but beyond. She is the new Area Director, and for her dedication, hard work, and high achievements in such a short period of time, she received the Spark Plug award! Below are our members who were recognized for contributing points to our club over the past year.

• Chizuko Yokota, CC
• Warren Lewis, CC
• Amritha Imandi, CC, ALB
• Linda Yunjie Li, ALB
• Abdul Naser Kutty, ACB
• Kathy Nishihara, CC
• Robert Katz, CC
• Kathy Nishihara, CC
• Jean Tracy, CC, CL
• Barb Katz, CC, CL ALS, ACG, CC, LDREXC, DTM

We also said a very heartfelt farewell to Linda Li, former President of our club. Linda, a recent graduate of the University of Washington, has accepted a marketing position in California and will no longer be able to join us. We wish her much success in the future and in whichever new Toastmasters group she chooses next. She has a very bright future ahead of her!

 

After the presentation of awards, we held a Table Topics session lead by Amritha. She had contestants draw questions from paper bags, in which they had to enact situations in non-human form. This exercise really stretched our imaginations. The Table Topic speakers for the day were Warren, Nancy, and Randy.

  

Every week, those who bring their leadership manual are entered into a drawing that is held once per month. This month, the drawing was for a book on Ted Talks. Julie drew Jim Tracy’s name out of the bag – he was our proud winner for the day!

Finally, the meeting adjourned . . . but it was not over! People lingered for several minutes afterwards to chat, take photos, and of course, enjoy some more food!

 

  

We had 14 members in attendance at our last meeting, including Amritha, Barb, Jean, Jessica, Jim, Julie, Jung, Linda, Lynne, Nancy, Pauline, Randy, Robert and Warren, as well as 4 guests: Dana, Uliana, Yash and Shreya. We hope to see you again next week!

Respectfully Submitted,

Jessica DiPietro, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406

July 19, 2016 - Theme: Purpose

"Our purpose is to educate as well as to entertain." - Curtis Mayfield

Welcome to our third meeting in July! Randy was the Toastmaster of the day, and it was his first time in the Toastmaster role. His GAT(e) team was comprised of the Grammarian, Amritha (Pretentious); Ah-Counter, Jessica; and Timer, Jean.

Jim was the first speaker of the day, speaking from the Advanced Communicator manual - Storytelling: Bringing History to Life. The title of his talk was “A Founding Father of the US Comes Alive” which he completed within 9 minutes. Jim took us back in time, playing the role of Benjamin Franklin. In the live interview, “Mr. Franklin” told us about his life, his experiences in Britain, and all of his inventions. For his creative, fun, and entertaining story, Jim was awarded Best Speaker! 

Evaluating Jim’s speech was Grace. She highlighted the best parts of Jim’s speech, including is larger than life presence, his effectiveness in transitioning roles, and his delicate use of props. It was hard to think of anything critical to say about this speech!

 

Barb was the second speaker of the day, speaking from the Competent Communicator manual - Get to the Point. The title of her talk was “Fridays at the Pentagon” which she completed within 7 minutes. Barb explained how her views of the Pentagon were unfavorable – until she attended a tour. She painted a patriotic scene: a grateful crowd clapping for a parade of wounded heroes. Little did she know that was just another Friday at the Pentagon. She moved everyone in the room with her story

Nancy evaluated Barb’s speech. She pointed out many of Barb’s strengths, including her vocal variety and her achievements in truly “getting to the point.” Nancy’s one suggestion was to have body movements be more smooth and natural.

 

The third speaker of the day was Julie, speaking from the Competent Communicator manual - Get to the Point. Her speech was over 7 minutes long. Julie provided us with a view of her two conflicting selves. There is one that is bold, sparky, and unique. The other is fearful of judgment and has a desire to conform. She identified with Richard Branson, Jackson Pollock, and other free spirits who were successful because of their creativity. She encouraged us to let our inner light shine, for it is indeed a gift to the world. 

Evaluating Julie’s speech was Robert. He complimented Julie’s comfortable use of PowerPoint presentations and her natural movements and abilities on stage. He noted that more cohesiveness throughout would make it a stronger speech. For his humorous evaluation, Robert was awarded the Best Evaluator!

 

Warren led the Table Topics Session, in which he blindfolded the participants and asked them to sell an unknown item to the audience, which was to be pulled randomly out of a bag. Hilarity ensued. The speakers were Nancy, Amritha, Jessica, and Grace. Jessica took home the Best Table Topics speaker award!

    

There were 14 Members in attendance at our July 19th meeting, including Amritha, Barb, Grace, Jean, Jessica, Jim, Julie, Nancy, Randy, Robert and Warren, as well as two guests: Mike and Annie. 

Next Tuesday is our Awards meeting and open house! As always, we will be meeting at 11:45am at 19119 North Creek Parkway in Bothell, WA. All are welcome to come and bring guests. We will be celebrating our accomplishments over the past year and enjoying a potluck-style lunch together. Hope you can join us!

Respectfully Submitted,

Jessica DiPietro, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406