Club meeting turned into area award ceremony

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Tradition of Excellence
RDU Toastmasters continues its strong tradition of developing club members into leaders for Toastmasters International beyond the club level. Part of that tradition is using that achievement and experience to motivate and inspire members in the home club at RDU Toastmasters. One example is the meeting on Dec-15, 2009 which featured an award ceremony for the President Distinguished Area Award presented to Sue Breitsprecher, RDU Toastmasters Member, Toastmasters District 37, Area 52 Governor. Success continues to breed success at RDU Toastmasters, and represented areas.

Award presented by Kimberly Langley, RDU Toastmasters Member, Toastmasters District 37, Division E Governor

Comments from Sue in accepting award

“I enjoyed being an Area Governor for the 2008-2009 Toastmasters year. I learned a lot about the different clubs and met many interesting people while serving in that role. I organized Speech Contests and watched a number of superb Toastmasters compete in the Humorous and International Speech contests.
One of the requirements of AG is to visit the clubs and make sure they are following the Distinguished Club Plan. Attending other clubs’ meetings helped me learn new ways to conduct meetings and Table Topics that I have shared with our club to add some variety. I hope the things I have learned have not just benefited myself but also helped OUR club to learn and grow. Visiting clubs also gave me insight to ‘club personalities’ which are very unique. Some clubs are more serious, one club I had was funny. It seemed all their members delivered their table topics and speeches with a funny flair even the role of Toastmaster interjects a well timed zing or two.

The people that I met through my role as AG will be friends for a long time and was one of the best aspects of that position. Toastmasters is all about helping others and fellow AG’s and the Division Governor helped with achieve this award. Their support at different times during my service were invaluable to me. Reminds me of a saying that Frank Andrassy often refers to…’You can have everything you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.’”

Special thanks to Kevin for bringing in lunch, Jeannie for the chocolate treat, Sylvia’s son for the home-made cookies, Kimberly for presenting the award; and to all members who attended and helped organize the event.

Entertaining Table Topic Ideas to Try

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Contributed by VP of Public Relations, 2009

Table Topics Idea
This week’s Table Topics Idea focuses around Non Verbal Communication. Remember, non-verbal communication is 80% of all communication! Participants are expected to communicate the topic to the audience without speaking actual words. The purpose is to practice and focus on using effective body language, sounds, facial gestures and expressions. Participants will be given an option to speak on an alternative topic.

Instructions
You will be given a topic to express for 1-2 minutes. DO NOT read the topic aloud until you have finished your table topic.

1. Pretend you are Santa on Xmas Eve. Get dressed, ready the sled, and travel all the way down to North Carolina to the first house on your route. Land on the roof and go down the chimney to deliver some VERY large presents, and enjoy the cookies waiting for you.

2. Describe eating a holiday meal consisting of the following:
STEAMING HOT Pumpkin soup
SOFT dinner rolls
UNDER-COOKED turkey breast
SALTY Green Beans
SWEET cup cake
STRONG alcoholic beverage

3. Describe opening the following presents on Xmas morning and your reactions:
MEDIUM SOFT BOX wrapped in newspaper contains Socks
TINY BOX that makes no sound when shaking contains an iPod MP3 Player
LARGE COLORFUL BOX that makes loud clanging sounds when shaking contains a Tool Box
ENORMOUS BOX that cannot be lifted contains a 52 inch flat screen Sony Television
CLOTHING BOX that contains a Hot Pink Sweater 3 sizes too large.

4. You have been dropped off at the airport with two LARGE pieces of luggage that you need to check-in, and then catch a flight that you are late for.

5. Describe your morning routine to get ready for work after waking up.

6. Describe what you would be doing on your ideal vacation.

7. Give us a walking tour of your home.

8. You’re on your way home from work, and realize that you have forgotten your significant other’s birthday!!! Describe how you might make things right.

9. Describe waiting in line at the DMV for 4 hours to renew your driver’s license.

10. You are trying to convince a suicidal woman not to jump off a highway over pass onto I-40.

Summary
The session turned out to be a lot of fun; and participants were very animated in conveying each topic. This exercise is great practice for anyone working on non-verbal communication, which is a key part of the overall Toastmasters Education. If you try this exercise in your club, please drop a comment and share your experiences.

RDU Toastmasters International Humorous Speech Contest, September 22, 2009

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Contribution by VP of Public Relations, 2009

RDU Toastmasters has a storied tradition of success in speech competitions, and the speakers participating in today’s club contest delivered entertaining speeches you expect to hear in a division, or area contest.  I have been in Toastmasters for 4 years; and have never been more proud of the speeches and evaluations delivered today.

The value of a Toastmaster’s education is put on display during competition, and it’s a rewarding experience for everyone.  The participants gave some of their best performances and used the tools learned through active club participation.  The speeches were to be judged independent of each other on various criterea including speech development, effectiveness, speech value, audience response, physical language, voice, manner, appropriateness, and correctness.

The Speeches

The first speech was by Silvia who shared the big sister perspective on having a younger sibling, a baby brother.  While Silvia is classified as a “grown-up”, her antics and story of being a bratty big sister were wildly entertaining, and all of us with siblings (older and younger) could relate.  The highlight to me was the image she painted of how she hoped to treat this new born baby brother like a rag doll, and it reminded me of the Tiny Toon’s character El Mira.

The second speech was by Jeannie about the challenges of learning English as a second language.  Her special brand of humor through observation had all of us laughing at ourselves, as english speakers.  The highlight to me was the story of interpreting the eastern north carolinian pronunciation of the name “Jim” for whom an acquantance said he worked.  Though he said “Jim”, she heard “GM” and went on and on about working for General Motors while her US-born daughters had a good laugh.

The third speech by Tom was quite a performance, using imagery, nostalgia, singing, and impersonations.  Tom somehow related a brilliant sunset to drinking the night away with an Irish man at a bar.  The highlight was his Irish impersonation of a gentlemen who challenged him in a toast-off to the greatest gameshow hosts of their time.  This is a challenge you just don’t win; until you tell the story years later to the laughter of the crowd.

Behind the Scenes

Before the speech, Jeannie shared her concern that she might go blank during her speech.  And after delivering a flawless speech, she briefly forgot her closing statement.  It took less than a couple seconds to recall the line, however the question remains whether this was a self-fulfilling prophecy by stating the concern aloud?  We may never know for sure, but from my experience; sharing concerns aloud prior to a speech can be a calming device for some including myself.  Even seasoned speakers like President Obama take long pauses to collect thoughts and sometimes it’s unavoidable, and is a scenario Toastmasters helps overcome by transforming into a dramatic pause adding further value to the coming statement!

At the conclusion, there were interviews given by the contest master.  Sue, the evaluation contest winner, shared the challenge of not being able to prepare.  Jennie shared with us that words of foreign origin can be some of the hardest to learn in a new language; Silvia shared that her “slow” and “clumsy” brother turned out to be an engineer!; and Tom shared that this speech was on such a profound experience, he did not even have to write it down!

Top finishers will go on to compete in the division level next week September 30 at 6:30pm at Cameron Village Library in Raleigh, NC.

Special thanks to all participants, club members in attendance, the contest master Frank, Chief Judge Jeri, Ballot counter Kevin, and Timer Margeret.

Inspirationational #10 yields CC for Jeannie

1. Award(s) from Toastmasters International to date

Competent Communicator

2. Most challenging speech or project

Project 8 Get comfortable with visual aids requires the speaker to be familiar with the equipment set up in the room as well as coordinating with the person assisting in the advancement of the slides, etc. I thought was most challenging in terms of delivery.

3. Most memorable speech or project

I was told by my evaluator that my last speech, Project 10 Inspire your audience, was the best he had heard of all my speeches.  I hope that was also the most memorable speech I’ve given.

4. Where do you feel you have most improved leading up to your award(s)

My public speaking skill certainly has improved but also the confidence, the careful choosing of words, and avoidance of filler words such as “ahs”, “ums”, etc. have also carried over to teleconferences, meetings, etc.

5. What advice do you have for members of rdu-toastmasters working towards similar recognition

Set a target date for completing the required speeches in the manual and have a mentor who will prod you to achieve your goal.

Sylvia completes CC including an R-rated rendition of Goldilocks

1. Award(s) from Toastmasters International to date
Just Competent Communicator

2. Most challenging speech or project
The first one – Ice Breaker.  It was had to talk about myself to complete strangers, strive to not make it too boring, and just in general get over the fear of speaking in front of people.

3. Most memorable speech or project
Project 5 – Your Body Speaks

I used the traditional children’s tale of Goldilocks but gave it a very twisted ending that surprised everyone in the room.  I had a lot of fun practicing for that speech, especially in front of my son, who warned me the speech was a bit too violent and maybe my friends would be scared.

4. Where do you feel you have most improved leading up to your award(s)
I have gained a lot of confidence.  I’m more willing to speak up in group settings other than Toastmasters whereas before I would just have kept quiet.  I still get butterflies before a speech, but I’m not frozen by them.

5. What advice do you have for members of rdu-toastmasters working towards similar recognition
Just keep on going, practice, practice, practice.  I like to practice my speeches aloud in the car while driving to and from work, the clock in the car acts as my timer.  Practicing out loud lets me play with voice levels and change out words that look good on paper but just don’t flow when speaking.

Interview with Michelle Y on her new CC

1. Award(s) from Toastmasters International to date:

Competent Communicator (CC)

2. Most challenging speech or project:

The last one “All about Chocolate” – I knew I was so close but I was struggling with finding a speech topic. It took me a while to realize that a speech is simply telling a group of people about something you are interested in. Finally, I came up with a fun speech about chocolate using the resources I got from a special chocolate exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

3. Most memorable speech or project:

The speech “Best Lecture” for the “Speak to Inspire” project

It’s about the last lecture given by Randy Pausch, a computer sciences professor at the Carnegie Mellon University who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given 6 months to live (he passed always last July). It was the most inspiring speech I ever heard. I really wanted to share it and felt that I can connect it to our Toastmasters experience. It was a speech about overcoming obstacles. We all have obstacles to overcome obstacles, no matter it’s the fear of public speaking, or ems and ahs in our speeches, or other obstacles that keep you becoming a better speaker.

4. Where do you feel you have most improved leading up to your award(s):

Confidence – I still get nervous from time to time, but now I know how to calm myself down and quickly get back to the track before the audience notice it.

5. What advice do you have for members of rdu-toastmasters working towards similar recognition

At first, we are all eager to learn and grow. After the second or third speech, finding something to talk about could be challenging and tend to hold us back. Again, it took me a while to realize that a speech is simply telling a group of people about something you are interested in, and what to tell and how to tell are the elements of developing a speech. Virtually any topic can be interesting, narrow the focus to a particular aspect, and convey the message in a memorable way – then you’ve done another great speech and are closer towards CC.

You Are Beautiful

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Below is the transcript of a speech given by Michelle Y on 6/3/2009.

“A journey to self-acceptance is never-ending, but definitely worth the trip.”

Speech Title: You Are Beautiful

When I was a teenager, at about your age, look, there were lots of parts of my body I didn’t like during my teen years：my nose, legs, upper arms, etc and etc. You name it, and I hated it.

I thought a certain lip gloss, weight loss and a pretty pair of shoes would make me feel beautiful, or lift my spirit. But, in the end, it still rises and falls with compliment or criticism.

At lunch so many girls talked about how they dropped a size. It’s not only at lunch. It’s everywhere, on TV, radio, internet, magazine, people spent so much time talking, and thinking about weight loss, body and clothes. So I learnt from them and only ate so little. I spent a lot of time looking to others to build up who I am. When I broke up with my 1^st boyfriend, I thought it’s because I was not tall enough or I was not pretty enough. But, in the end, I found it was actually up to me to decide my level of satisfaction and worth.

As I grew up, life stays interesting…. I graduated from high school and went to college. I traveled overseas and met so many great people who gave me inspiration. I work hard and make my colleagues and my company proud of me. My focus switched from what my body look like to what I do, because what I do, not how I look, really says who I am.

I got married, and now I’m expecting my first child. I gained a lot of weight, but personally, I felt even more confident in my body and myself. Everywhere I go, people would look at my pregnant body and instantly smile. I don’t know if I remind them of something else or if the mere image has such a positive effect on people. Either way, somehow I felt that it made their day a little bit brighter, and I felt beautiful. See? I do not need to look like a runway model to be beautiful. My curves that support life and allow me to give birth are beautiful. My strength to push through discomfort for the sake of another life is beautiful. Women are capable of bringing new life into this world, and our bodies, of all shapes and sizes, make that miracle happen.

What you do reveals who you are. What’s the best way to really change the self-esteem? Do something that uplifts your spirit. It’s not that we do each of the things perfectly; it’s that we did them at all that matters. Live your life out loud. Live it truly and put yourself out there. Not everyone will like you. Nor should they. But if you like yourself and design for yourself a life worth living then that’s what really matters.

I want to tell you another story, the story about my high school best girlfriend. We grew up together complaining about our body flaws. She used to be ashamed of her big thighs. As she grew, she became smarter b/c she learnt to focus on something she was good at: she became a terrific basketball player, softball player and dancer. Those flabby thighs she once complained became strong and toned. They carried her through dancing and playing sports, and even more, they carried her though life and made her a confident and beautiful woman.

As I speak, you might be thinking, “I’m not sure if anything you said could change my mind.” Friends, not me, were the most influential people in your life, at least at this moment. Their opinions outweighed mine. Only friends, not me, know what you are feeling, right? I know what you are talking about. Because I was just like you. When Mom or big sister taught me about self-confidence, most of the time I went back to girlfriends. Because they were the ones sharing body flaws with me. They knew my pain and complained as much as I did.

It took me a while to see the wrong with that. What good did it do any of us to sit and bash ourselves? It only helped us feel worse. We hated ourselves more and more, and we helped each other do it. Then it hit me: the way to feel good about ourselves had to be the opposite!

Next time when girls at lunch eat lettuce and talk about how they dropped a size, change the conservation. Remind yourself not to get caught up in that and talk about more positive topics. I wish I could go back in time to do this myself. You don’t know this now, but you will be a positive influence on others in your class. Don’t obsess over your weight or the size label on your jeans. Stay positive and let the little things go.

Don’t stress about the little things, like losing your 1^st boyfriend or friends who say mean things to  you. There will be more boyfriends and better friends.

And, please, please stop comparing yourself to others. Stop looking at your friend’s bodies and wishing you looked like them. You are a beautiful girl with a beautiful body. You might think your bodies are not thin enough, your arms or thighs are too big, but they are strong. Start embracing your body now. It’s healthy and strong, and you are beautiful.

Common sense to financial freedom

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Below is the transcript of a speech given by the current VP of Membership given on 6/3/2009.

COMMON SENSE TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Have you heard the news? The economy is in the tank! If you’re not worried about your finances now, you’re worried that you’re going to have to worry about your finances pretty soon! I’ve attended many Continuing Education classes on financial management, but never have I had these basic financial principles put to me so clearly. I’d like to share with you the five secrets to financial freedom. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme, more like a lifestyle change. These are five simple things you must do to see a tremendous difference in your financial status. You’ll be much better prepared the next time the economy takes a downturn, and you know it will.

1. Keep good records
Ignorance + easy credit = disaster, wouldn’t you agree? That’s part of the reason we’re in the mess we are in.

There are four things you must keep good records on:
1. what you owe
2. what you own
3. what you earn
4. where it goes

You might be tempted to say “I don’t have time to do all that”. But I say to you: If you have time to worry about it, you have time to write it down, key them into a spreadsheet, use Quicken, whatever feels comfortable for you, but do it.
You have to know where your money really is.
Remember, money does have a way of talking when you’re not paying attention, it gets up and says bye-bye.

2. Plan your spending, yes, this means budgeting!
“Plan carefully and you will have plenty, if you act too quickly you will never have enough” Impulse shopping anyone? Did you know that the average American spends 6 hours a week in shopping related activities. That’s more than some of us exercise!
Here’s a mental trick to help you overcome impulse buying: if you’re tempted to buy something less than $100, wait & think about it for a day. If you’re tempted to buy something less than $1000, wait & think about it for a week. If you’re tempted to buy something over $1000, wait & think about it for two weeks to a month. You’re not telling yourself “No”, but disciplining yourself to resist the impulse.
As a borrower you are a slave to the lender. You’re not working for yourself, you’re working to pay off your debts.
Financial freedom is not determined by how much you make, it’s determined by how you spend what you have. You have to plan the spending so you can get out of debt.

3. Save for the future
It is a fact that we spend more than we make. The Chinese save an average of 30% of their take home pay, and before this economic crisis we saved an average of about 0%. According to Money magazine, we’re up to 4% now, so there’s some progress there.
You need to have saving goals. If this economic crisis has taught us anything is that we are not ready for the future, we are not saving for hard times, we are not ready for retirement. Get into the habit of saving. Start with 1% of your take home pay, set it aside the same day you get paid, and keep working your way up every few months until you get to at least10%.

4. Enjoy what you already have
Indulging in luxury will never make you wealthy, why? Because you’re spending all your money!
Things do not buy happiness, we all know it, but we still buy into the notion that the next gadget will make us happy
We are working longer hours than our parents did. Why? So we can make more money. Why? So we can buy more stuff.
Spend time with your family/children, doing something you truly enjoy. Make memories money can’t buy.
Think about this, if things made us happy, then the richest people in the world would be the happiest, but we know they are not.

5. Give tithe to God.
The Christian faith teaches us to bring back to God, 10% of what we make.
Ever wonder why? Because God is a banker? A loan shark? No, it’s a matter of obedience. The purpose is to put God first in our lives. But this command comes with a promise, in the book of Malachi we are told that if we bring back the 10% God will open up the windows of heaven for us and pour out all the blessings we need. It goes on to say to TEST God on this one, see if it isn’t true! Personally, I’ve been testing God on this one for over 20 years and I have always had my needs met. Try it out, TEST IT OUT. Hey! God wants you to test it out! It says so in the Bible!

What I have outlined to you is the 80-10-10 financial principle. Learn to live on 80% of what you make, pay God 10%, pay yourself 10% (for the future).

You really can’t pick and choose which principles to follow, you have to do all five principles to make it work. It’s simple, a bit painful at first, but I guarantee that it works. If you don’t manage your finances they’ll end up managing you.

Breaking the ice at the grocery store

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Below is the transcript from an ice breaker speech given by the current VP of public relations back in 11/2006.  The grocery store list approach is something we can all relate to; and it gives a personal glimpse into one’s life which is ideal for an introductory speech…

Toastmaster’s Speech #1: The Ice Breaker

Mr. or Mrs Toastmaster … Fellow Toastmasters and welcomed guests.  I truly appreciate the warm and supportive welcome into your club.  Today, I will be breaking the ice with my first speech and sharing some things about myself through a medium that everyone in this room can relate to … a grocery list!!

I thought it would be good to bridge the unknown (that being myself) with something that we can all relate to (a grocery list).

This grocery store this past weekend.

My list includes:
Jacob’s Creek Shiraz
Frozen Box of Sugar Snap Peas
2 lbs of Frozen Mahi Mahi Fillets ($3.99 lb VIC Special)
2 boxes of Special K Cereal
1 box of Lucky Charms
Sugar Free Raspberry Jam
Bag of Carrots
Fresh Ginger Root
Clove of Garlic
White Onion
Tahini

From the list, you can probably tell some obvious things about me.  I shop for a small family (my wife and I), and I go to the store more frequently (1 or 2 times a week).

1. How this list changed since I got married?
a. The list itself is a big change.
Meaning that I * actually * use a grocery list now.  Prior to getting married, I would walk up and down every aisle of the grocery store (skipping produce) and buying whatever I felt like.  I ended up buying things I already had at home, or end up with mismatched items (peanut butter / no jelly or cereal / no milk).  So coming up with a grocery list was a positive change.

b. The list also reflects a healthier lifestyle.
In particular, the absence of sugary treats.  When I was little and tagging along in the grocery store with my mother, I would always negotiate a piece of candy out of the deal.  That habit followed me into adulthood with my new found buying power and freedom.  Thankfully, my wife helped revoke that freedom, and I’ve cut out all those empty calories with healthier alternatives like the bag of carrots from the list.

c. In marriage, I’ve learned the art of compromise.
As discussed, I have a sweet tooth from my pre marriage days.  Since my wife and I eat almost every meal together, we have to find compromises from time to time.  For example, I really like sugary breakfast cereals, and my wife eats anything healthy.  On the list, we bought one box of lucky charms, and 2 boxes of Special K.  So, every morning, she will mix 1/3 part Lucky Charms and 2/3 parts Special K to help dilute the sugar content of my breakfast.  It did not seem normal at first, but I’ve grown accustomed to the concoction.  So, through compromise (and essentially learning a key to marriage), I get to eat lucky charms still … sort of.

d. Fresh vs Frozen foods

2. The next major point to share are the foreign influences (albeit subtle) in this list from my family, and our travels.
a. Foreign influences from Family
Half of my in-laws are Chinese and a lot of the culture has been perpetuated into my life today.  The more authentic Chinese diet (not so much the $4.95 lunch specials you’ll find around RTP) consists of mostly vegetables, and fish.  This diet is reflected in the list including carrots, and sugar snap peas for vegetables; and mahi mahi as a fish, along with fresh ginger and garlic for sauces used in preparation.  A lot of the Chinese and South Asian culture has been passed down from both sides of our family.

b. Foreign influences from Traveling
My wife and I enjoy traveling, and last summer we went on a Mediterranean cruise. Among the many cultural experiences, we picked up a couple of culinary tidbits reflected here in the list.  First, we now enjoy having a glass of wine with our dinner from time to time. In Europe, we were surprised to see most people having wine with every meal in moderation.  Although, the Jacob’s Creek Shiraz from the list is not necessarily a European wine, it’s the custom that we brought back with us.  Further, we found Mediterranean / Middle Eastern food to be very pleasing.  The Tahini (which is sesame paste) that we picked up is a key ingredient in many dishes.  So, we like to prepare things like Hummus and Baba Ghanouj at home using that and it reminds us of our travels overseas.

3. List illustrates organization and planning.
a. Planning Strategies
My superior planning and organization skills may not be obvious from a couple items on a grocery list. But let me go into more detail into my methods … essentially, I have not purchased large quantities of perishable items that may spoil or become stale.  The exception is the 2 lbs of fish is more than we generally eat in a week, however it can be frozen and consumed several months later.  Everything else will be used up until the next weekly trip.  This shows my ability to plan ahead with great efficiency to avoid midweek trips to the grocery store and not wasting what we buy.

In summary, from the list, I’ve shared various aspects about myself that transcend a simple trip to the grocery store.  Some things you may have learned about me include that I try to be organized, lead a healthy life, and that my wife is a big part of my life now.  Also, my family’s cultural background plays a role in my life today, and we enjoy traveling the world.

Rachel Ray and Toastmasters Cook Together

On this morning Rachel Ray’s show a
young lady needed some help in public
speaking and one of the items that she
was given to do was participate in
Toastmasters.