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.

Caroline Kennedy invited to RDU-Toastmasters

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“Caroline Kennedy needs toastmasters”

Contribution by RDU Toastmasters VP of Membership, Silvia Pleasants

Caroline Kennedy gave an interview to the New York Times explaining why she’s ready to enter the political arena and be a part of her family’s legacy.

Unfortunately, her message was lost due to poor delivery. One hundred thirty-eight “You Know”s were counted during the 30 minute interview and publicized all over the media. I listened to a 2:17 minute excerpt found in the link below and counted 26 “you knows” and 13 “uhms”.

If Ms. Kennedy was to attend RDU Toastmasters, we would give her an honest and encouraging evaluation of her speaking techniques and help her improve significantly in a short amount of time.

An evaluation of her interview would be as follows:

“Caroline, your message today is why you would make a good choice for Senator of New York. You pointed out you are not a conventional choice since you don’t have experience in political office, but instead you bring a wealth of life experience into the post from being a mother, a woman, a lawyer, and an education activist. You’ve obviously prepared your points and anticipated some of the questions and objections people might have to your taking the post of Senator from New York. Your message is clear, concise, and well thought out.”

“But of course there are some areas regarding your delivery that need some work. What I would like to see you work on for your next interview is becoming aware of the filler words that we all use, usually without noticing. Words such as “you know”, “um”, “so”, “like”. During the 2:17 minute of interview time I heard 13 “ums”, 26 “you knows”, four “so’s”, and one “like”. The overuse of filler words becomes distracting to your audience and takes away from your message. One technique that might help you is to take a pause when you’re gathering your thoughts rather than trying to use a filler word. Another recommendation for you would be to experiment with your vocal variety. Using different levels of volume and speed of words will help your audience stay connected to your message taking away monotony.”

“Once again, I think you have a good, clear message to convey. And, with just a little bit of work, your delivery will equal the quality of your message. A Toastmasters meeting is the safest place for you to expand your wings, find your speaking style, and excel in public speaking!”

Link to excerpt of interview:

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=249773

RDUTM Toasting in action for NCCwPS

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RDU Toastmasters member, Maryanne, shares her experiences presenting at a NCCwPS event. The NCCWPS is the first non-partisan, statewide organization to address the need for women-specific recruitment, training, and mentoring. The mission is to increase the number of women in appointed and elected office in North Carolina.

Giving motivational and inspirational speeches to young audiences is a challenge to even veteran toastmasters. A great way to succeed is to practice your speaking portion with your toastmasters club which is exactly what Maryanne did.

“I want to thank everyone in Toastmasters for their feedback on the presentation I gave to the Women in Leadership Development, sponsored by NC State and held at Duke University on November 1. Toastmasters helped me refine my presentation and alleviate the nerves that plague me. I want to report that all went well. I was hardly nervous (a shocker for me) with no shaky voice. I really enjoyed presenting and the students were amazing. Thank you again for your feedback and help.”

Here are some select statistics that were shared to engage the audience.

• Number of women in the US Senate/Congress, State Senate, State Congress etc.
Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland), 1987-
Jocelyn Burdick (D-North Dakota), 1992
Dianne Feinstein (D-California), 1992-
Barbara Boxer (D-California), 1993-
Carol Moseley Braun (D-Illinois), 1993-1999
Patty Murray (D-Washington), 1993-
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), 1993-
Olympia Jean Snowe (R-Maine), 1995-
Sheila Frahm (R-Kansas), 1996
Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana), 1997-
Susan Collins (R-Maine), 1997-
Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas), 1999-
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York), 2001-
Deborah Stabenow (D-Michigan), 2001-
Maria E. Cantwell (D-Washington), 2001-
Jean Carnahan (D-Missouri), 2001- 2002
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), 2002-
Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina), 2003-
Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), 2007-
Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), 2007-

• Where does NC ranks among other states for appointed positions? 37th, with 29% of appointed positions being held by women in a state in which women make up 51% of the population.

• Between 1997 and 2007, in North Carolina, women lost over half of the number of leadership posts they held in 1997.

• In NC, what % of office-holders are African-American women? 3% Hispanic & Native American women? .25

• In 2004 over 1/3 of NC counties had no women in taxing and spending authority in county government?

Asked to do an evaluation for an Obama speech?

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Contributed by Public Relations Officer, RDU Toastmasters – 11/13/2008.

No, I was not asked, but I did one anyway. President Elect Barack Obama visited Raleigh, NC for a rally. North Carolina was a swing state and both presidential candidates made several appearances throughout the state. My wife and I were invited on stage and just a couple feet away from the podium. This was an extraordinary opportunity to attend a political event and participate in the democratic process of this great nation. I am an American first, and a toastmaster second. So, the toastmaster in me decided to do an evaluation of the speech, and I will share it in my 2-3 minute allotment. As a disclaimer, this is solely an evaluation as you would find at a regular toastmaster’s meeting (i.e. no political commentary).

We’ll start with the pros. Mr. Obama has great stage presence and is sincere in all communication. He gave the illusion of making eye contact with almost every one of the 30,000 in attendance. To get into more specifics, his use of simple language, hand gestures and repetition was extremely effective with the crowd. And in my opinion, this cadence is what sets Mr. Obama apart from others. The speech in the cc manual on “how to say it” emphasizes using short sentences with common language. The colloquial style is often lost when reading or memorizing a speech verbatim, and this is one of the most important things one can learn in Toastmasters. You don’t have to be a writer to be a speaker, so leave the big words on paper.

Another thing Mr. Obama did very well is handling interruptions. During his rally, people in the audience fainted. He calmly urged the crowd to give them some room and dispatched medical personnel. He even threw some bottles of water that were reserved underneath the podium. For me personally, I would have stopped my speech until that person was confirmed to be ok. However, Mr. Obama seamlessly transitioned back into the points of his speech while appearing genuine in caring for the audience. Handling distractions is always a challenge and difficult to get practice with.

Now the cons. The first thing toastmasters notice in anything we hear are the use of filler words. In Toastmasters, we try to reduce our use of them so as not to distract the audience. Mr. Obama used “you know”, “uh” and “um” in several occasions, however they were not distracting to his message overall.

I also question the connection to North Carolina. He travels all over the country, and I suspect he has an index card he looks down upon to figure out where he is at times. He mentioned North Carolina a couple times, and made a reference to factory jobs declining in the state. However, i did not feel a strong connection to voters of the state on matters related to the state. It would have been nice to hear concerns about Wachovia going under down the street, or more specific numbers affecting our state to really drive home the message on both a national and swing state level.

In summary, evaluating a professional speaker, as most politicians are, is a challenge. And you may think professional speakers know they’re great, and don’t need to hear they’re doing well. However, as toastmasters we’re always looking to improve our communication ability, and someone running for President of the United States must also subscribe to this ideology. Mr. Obama stormed the national stage with his keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2004 that left many (including myself) in awe; and he has not looked back. This should make us all wonder, “what will your next speech do for you”?

NEWS from Tuesday Sept 30 2008 meeting

Yesterday we held the Humorous Speech Contest for RDU Toastmasters

 

We had 3 contestants and they all delivered some very funny speeches.

 

1.       Tom Swanson (Title: I fought the coleslaw and the coleslaw won!)

2.       Kevin Schnatter  (Title: An American vacation  Mishap!)

3.       Abdul Raouf (Title: Stories of a Little Boy!)

 

The winner and representing RDU Toastmasters in the Area 51 contest will be TOM SWANSON.

 

Please congratulate Tom on a very Humorous Speech.

 

Next week we will be back to normal agenda.

 

Thank you.

 

Frank Andrassy

 

Important Dates to Remember:

 

Wednesday Oct 1 2008  : Area 52 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest  at Eva Perry Library , Apex at 7:00pm

 

Thursday Oct 2 2008 : Area 51 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest  at Cameron Village Library in Raleigh

 

Wednesday Oct 15 2008 : Division E Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest  at Nortel in Voice Recognition Theatre

 

North Carolina District 37 Fall Conference Friday and Saturday Nov 7th and 8th

Hilton Hotel at Research Triangle Park
4810 Old Page Road [Page Rd. at I-40]
Durham, North Carolina 27709

November 7 & 8, 2008