The mission of a Toastmasters club
is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in
which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral
communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster
self-confidence and personal growth.
Perry, our Treasurer, opens our Peace Speakers meeting on this particular afternoon. Always in cheerful form, he welcomes us all. Special attention is given to our 4 visitors Kristi, Lynn, Zed, and Beatriz, who he welcomes enthusiastically.
With a few members out of town right now, Perry also delivers the invocation for the day. He shares an excerpt from the David Bowie song called "Changes":
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Perry notes that Peace Speakers are engaged in the process of change as well. Being willing to stretch ourselves and try different roles and approaches, growth is guaranteed. With the support of other Peace Speakers, each member can set their own pace using excellent Toastmaster materials that have been scrupulously prepared. (Scrupulous is the Word of the Day and means 1) careful, meticulous and thorough 2) right and proper, having moral integrity.)
JOKE MASTER REMEMBERS A FALLEN COMEDIAN
Kay notes the loss of Robin Williams recently, who brought joy to us with his humor and inspired us with his acting. So in honor of this great comedian and actor, Kay shares some of Robin's more scrupulous or proper jokes.
"You know, you get that tattoo of barbed wire when you're 18, but by the time you're 80, it's a picket fence."
"Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?"
"When you create, you get a little endorphin rush. Why do you think Einstein looked like that?"
"Do you think God gets stoned? I think so. Just look at the platypus!"
"The 2nd Amendment says we have the right to bear arms, not to bear artillery!"
Defining the word politics: "Poli, a Latin word meaning many and tics meaning bloodsucking creatures."
"Politicians are a lot like diapers. They should be changed frequently...and for the same reasons."
"If women ran the world we wouldn't have wars, just intense negotiations every 28 days."
TOASTMASTER OPENS THE EDUCATIONAL PART OF OUR PROGRAM
Ada, our Toastmaster for the day, prepared an agenda for us that has an image of Madonna with the words of one of her famous songs underneath it: "Express Yourself". This sets the tone for our Toastmasters meeting. She asks each person to give a brief description of the role they've agreed to take. Members accept these roles in advance, giving them an opportunity to practice leadership, verbal expression, and in many instances creativity. This is one way we grow our skills in Toastmasters.
Today, one of our newest members, Tanja (pronounced like Tanya), is giving her Ice Breaker speech. This is the first one in her Competent Communication Manual, and it allows her to share what she wants about herself to the rest of the club. (Because she delivered her speech just using bullet points, I have paraphrased what she said for readers of this blog.)
PREPARED SPEAKER GIVES HER VERY FIRST SPEECH
Tanja came to the podium, thanked us for witnessing her Ice Breaker speech, and admitted she’d rather do the Ice Bucket Challenge than do this. Great way to start…with a little humor.
Tanja shares that people she
meets for the first time usually ask her a lot of questions due to her
interesting accent. First of all, they
want to know where she’s from, and then they ask her, “Which flag do you pledge
your allegiance?”
She replies, “My passport
suggests I am Dutch. But really, I am a mutt. I was born in Spain,
grew up in Holland, was raised and educated in
the Netherlands,
and come from mixed blood. Her first
year of life was in Spain,
but her parents moved to Holland
after a year because they didn’t want to raise their child under a
dictator.
Tanja spent a gap year in Israel and France. She was educated at Leiden
University in the Netherlands. After she left Leiden,
she moved to Amsterdam,
and her first job in the international arena was with the Dutch Red Cross.
Three years later, Tanja’s
husband secured a position at the Law School in Louisville,
and not wanting to stay in Alabama
any longer, she asked, “Do we pack first or move immediately?” She and her husband lived in Louisville for 6 years, but the marriage
didn’t last. Fast forward 27 years, and Tanja’s
still living here. Originally, she had
never heard of Louisville,
but it’s a city she’s learned to love.
Yes, Tanja admits her passport still says she is Dutch, and under American law she’s an alien. She ponders whether to go Dutch and pledge her allegiance to all of the flags of the world. After all, she is a citizen of the globe.
After people hear Tanja’s story,
often their next question is, “How did you get to the United States?” She met her first husband in Geneva, and was married within 8 months. Then she moved from Amsterdam
to Tuscaloosa, Alabama with her husband. Yes, that move was from the most liberal city
in the world to the Bible Belt. Not a
very good fit!!!!
Her husband took her to her
very first American football game, and she was bored to death. He coaxed her into staying until the halftime
show ended. She thought it was an
amazing display of patriotism, and it reminded her of the Soviet
Union. This was not a good
observation for Tanja to share with her new Tuscaloosa community!!!!
Three years later, Tanja’s
husband secured a position at the Law School in Louisville,
and not wanting to stay in Alabama
any longer, she asked, “Do we pack first or move immediately?” She and her husband lived in Louisville for 6 years, but the marriage
didn’t last. Fast forward 27 years, and Tanja’s
still living here. Originally, she had
never heard of Louisville,
but it’s a city she’s learned to love.Yes, Tanja admits her passport still says she is Dutch, and under American law she’s an alien. She ponders whether to go Dutch and pledge her allegiance to all of the flags of the world. After all, she is a citizen of the globe.
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Tanja’s speech and learning more about this mysterious and interesting new member. The last paragraph of her speech reminds me of a favorite quote of mine by Thomas Paine: “The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
TABLE TOPICS SESSION GETS PEOPLE SHARING
CONNIE, our Table Topics Master for the day, asks for volunteers to answer her prompts that focus on the heart of a purposeful life. (Let it be known that Connie is one of our newest members, and she is putting herself out there in a significant way by taking on this role today. Her prompts are in bold print below.)
Please, share an
experience when you were growing up and thinking what to study/to be in
life.
Betsy shares that in high school she was an animal lover. She wrote a paper about becoming a veterinarian and got an A+ on it. That inspired her, however, she didn't become a vet. Later she thought she'd become a pharmacist but changed her mind after taking Latin. Instead, she got into the world of banking and enjoyed that, even though it wasn't algebra that inspired her to go that professional route.
When you start your day, when do you find yourself being a leader/toastmaster throughout the day?
Ada tells us that one of ways she leads at work is to make sure there is a chapel leader for the Wednesday service. With busy schedules and traveling among staff, she schedules leaders many months in advance. As a Peace Speaker, she finds it easier and second nature to meet and greet people, carry on conversations with ease, and be comfortable in that role. Prior to joining Toastmasters, she struggled with that.
Please share an
experience where you found that your actions were full of value
and meaning.
Krista shares that at one time she was in another Toastmasters club and was more scrupulous about being on time. (She came in late today, and apologized profusely.) This club she belonged to celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2009, and Krista got through 7 or 8 of her speeches. She found more and more wants and desired to hone her skills. She will be making proposals to business owners and needs to get proficient at presenting.
Please share an experience where you were doing an
activity; then, when you finished it, you realized that you did not remember the
process of doing it.
Zed admits that in 1996, he was more than 80 pounds overweight. At that time he didn't exercise. One day he joined a friend who ran in the morning, and the activity made Zed throw up. But he began to learn from that day onward. Running made him sore, things burned, and it was painful. But he took it slowly and has run ever since despite the initial difficulty. Now there's no thinking and no effort when he runs. Zed believes it's the same with anything you're learning. It's difficult when you start, but if you stay with it, it becomes second nature. That's a metaphor for life.
AND THE WINNER OF TABLE TOPICS IS...
EVALUATOR SHARES HER OPINION
Tanja's Ice Breaker speech is evaluated by Betsy, who has much to say that is positive. She notes Tanja's strong points like her good tone of voice and variation, her body language, and her humor. Her eye contact was good, and she didn't read her notes or refer much to them at all. This is unusual for a first speech! And even though Tanja acted a little uneasy at the onset, she didn't appear uncomfortable throughout her speech. Overall, she did well, and we were lucky to learn more about her in the meantime.
Peace Speakers enjoyed their 4 visitors today. Each came with a curiosity about the growth process in Toastmasters and with a desire to learn. Maybe you've wondered what goes on at a Toastmasters meeting. Wonder no more! Check us out! You can just come and observe or participate if you choose. Maybe you'll find a niche and end up growing your communication and leadership skills in the meantime. Members of Peace Speakers can certainly attest to this!!!!
We are an open Toastmasters club,
so please pay us a visit!
OUR NEXT FEW 2014 MEETINGS:
Sept. 3 - Conference Room B
Sept. 17 - Conference Room B
Peace Speakers Toastmasters Club
Presbyterian Center
1st and 3rd Wednesdays (usually)
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
100 Witherspoon Street
Downtown Louisville, KY
Respectfully and scrupulously submitted,
Kay Chambers
Blogger for Peace Speakers
To access our previous blogs, here are the links:
(We kept running out of space and needed to start new ones!)
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