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.
Catherine, our president of Peace Speakers, is ready and raring to go today. She decisively declares, "Let's get started! We have a full program today!" and hands the podium over to the invocation leader. With only an hour to conduct our meeting, it's essential to forge ahead dynamically. There's a lot to be enjoyed today!
Eva, our invocation leader, admits that she expressed many "wows" during her recent trip to Turkey. For today's invocation, she read excerpts from the book Help, Thanks, Wow - the Three Essential Prayers:
Wow is often offered with a gasp, a sharp intake of breath, when we can't think of another way to capture the sight of shocking beauty or destruction, of a sudden unbidden insight or an unexpected flash of grace. "Wow" means we are not dulled to wonder. We click into being fully present when we're stunned into that gasp, by the sight of a birth, or images of the World Trade Center towers falling, or the experience of being in a fjord (a long, narrow inlet with steep cliffs), at dawn for the first time. "Wow" is about having one's mind blown by the mesmerizing or the miraculous: the veins in a leaf, birdsong; volcanoes. When all is said and done, spring is the main reason for Wow. Spring is crazy, being all hope and beauty and glory. She is the resurrection. As a tiny little control freak, I want to understand the power of Wow, so I can organize and control it, and up its rate and frequency. But I can't. I can only feel it, and acknowledge that it is here once again. Wow.
Catherine, our president, welcomes our guest, who just happens to share the same-sounding name. The visiting Kathryn tells us that she works at the Kentucky Derby Museum and wants to improve her public speaking skills. Peace Speakers are more than eager to help her achieve this goal!
Our president also follows decorum and invites Peace Speakers to vote in three new members to our club: Jewel, Linda and George. With an enthusiastic vote, all three are officially welcomed into our Toastmasters club as new members. All with gifts differing, we look forward to the talents they'll share and helping them build their skills in leadership and communication.
BE AWARE: Peace Speakers will not meet on Wednesday, Nov. 4! Instead, our regularly held meeting will take place on Thursday, Nov. 5 during the Open House at the Presbyterian Center. More to come on the time of this meeting and the roles we'll need to fill for it.
Megan, VP of Education, announces that several "meet-ups" outside of our club meetings have been fun. She's welcoming suggestions for places and times for the next ones. She's also seeking someone to organize the next meet-up because she's getting married the first week in November and is understandably overwhelmed.
Please contact Megan if you can orchestrate the next "meet-up" for our members to enjoy some casual coffee/tea time together (or maybe some other enjoyable event!
Lynn, our Joke Master for the day, shares the following yarn:
An old man went to the doctor complaining that his wife could barely hear. The doctor suggested a test to find out the
Now it's time for our prepared speaker of the day. Jewel introduces Ada, who is working from the Advanced Manual on Project #4, Speaking to Inform. Her speech is titled "Neocortex, Limbic or Cerebellulm; Creating Balance."
 |
| Ada, our prepared speaker |
Do you know
77% of our thoughts are negative? Do you know our brain has three zones?
The purpose
for my speech is to share some recent information that was helpful to me when I
recently attended a Career Track Seminar and learned about my brain. It got my attention to the point that I have
continued to research by way of the Internet to understand the functions of my
brain. It is intriguing, so I will share about the zones of the brain, give
some smart heart elements and close with food for thought.
Zones of our
brains -
Neocortex
zone - creation zone
·
Center of our learning and thinking
·
Distinguishes
us from animals
Limbic/Midbrain - action zone
·
Chemicals help create emotions, like
the flight or fight emotion
·
Feelings of the heart take place here
Cerebellum –
habit zone
·
Once learned, we do things
automatically/unconsciously), like driving an auto or typing
·
Who we are naturally?
Did you know
we can retrain our brain? Start by
observing your thoughts for just two weeks without analyzing them. You will be amazed!! As I mentioned earlier, 77% of our thoughts
are negative, and that is not good, so don’t listen to that little voice. It is not your friend!! Practice rejecting those negative thoughts. Clean out
your mind clutter on a regular basis with a mind sweep. Make it a habit to write everything down
versus carrying it in your mind.
A good rule
is - if you think it – ink it.
There is a
way to create balance in our daily life.
It starts with the heart and it involves being smart. Let’s take each
letter and find out how to find that balance. These relate to whatever you do on a daily basis:
Heart
Smart
H – Have a why to what you are doing
E – Exciting and challenging should be at your core
A – Being adjustable and adaptable
is an asset
R – Related to value - your beliefs and convictions that drive and
direct your behavior
T – True - be true to yourself
Smart
S – Specific – as being specific will trim
off dead weight
M – Measurable should be whatever you are trying to do
A – Attainable what you are trying to do
R – Relevant; realistic
T – Timely – everything will fall into place
1) One
of the reasons we don’t accomplish our life goals is that we are wired for
failure, but it is the small action
steps we take everyday that move us forward.
2)
If
we aim for nothing, we will hit it every time – Chuck Blakeman
3)
The
greatest habit we can ever break is the habit of being ourselves - Dr. Joe Dispenza
In my speech
I have shared about the zones of our brain, the heart smart way to bring
balance and concluded with food for thought to give simple insight on how to
bring balance into our lives. Once that the
mind and heart line up, we are on our way to living a life full of balance.
Ada concluded her speech with a call for questions, and three rolled in, which she handled with grace. I think many in the audience were surprised to learn about the relentless negativity of our minds, but having said that, we can all be more mindful of our thoughts and shift them. We have a brain. Let's use it productively!!!!!
George gave me the first prompt, and because I forgot to have someone take my pic, here's one I did in the back yard after I got home this evening:
You are in the lead role of an epic blockbuster movie about a famous historic figure. Who would you play and why? Who would you choose to be your co-stars?
Kay shares that what comes to mind immediately is the movie Schindler's List. She would want the male role of Schindler, the owner of the German factory who protected and saved the lives of hundreds of Jews working for him during the Holocaust. She chose this role because of the humanitarian actions that Schindler took. Not recalling names of actors besides the lead, Liam Neeson, she's not sure who she'd choose as co-stars.
Having a background as a news reporter, Perry said he'd like to be on TV as a newscaster. He actually previously investigated an official to see if she was really in his district. He would hope that his experience writing about the news and being a Toastmaster would help him transition easily to the job of an investigative reporter.
Obviously reflecting thoughtfully, Denise shares that she would like to interview Joan of Arc. She's intrigued by what's she's heard about her and what she said. She knows that Joan of Arc posed as a man and acted on behalf of Christ and God. She would have many questions for Joan of Arc because she doesn't know enough about her.
Megan really likes Grey's Anatomy, but she's right-brained, so that's not her at all. She might choose Madmen because she wouldn't mind drinking bourbon all day long on the couch and having all kinds of love triangles. However, she might be depressed as an alcoholic, so she thinks she'll just stick with her own life and live vicariously.
This gets Kristi waving her arms and speaking definitively. She absolutely hates the KIA car commercials. She can't stand his voice and the way he hollers. She insists, "Don't yell - just tell me." Kristi vows that she'll never buy a KIA, even though she does like riding in her friend's KIA car. However, those commercials make her feel grouchy and negative, and she turns into a pumpkin. (Not really, but she added this because pumpkin is the Word of the Day).
If you were the host of a game show, would it be pure chance/luck, trivia, or various contests? What themes and features would you game show have? Explain.
First of all, Megan, who is behind our guest, Kathryn, hasn't turned her back on her while she speaks. I couldn't get her picture until after the meeting.
Kathryn says that her parents are from a large family of 7 kids. Her uncle used to pretend to be a game show host and they'd play Family Feud. If she was the host of a show now, though, she'd choose Wheel of Fortune. It's a game of chance, but you do have to have a little knowledge to win.
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| George, Table Topicsmaster |
These were interesting questions presented by George, and
it's always fun to hear answers from individuals. Members reflect on
the impromptu Table Topics speeches they heard and which one they liked
the most. A paper vote is taken.
And the winner of Table Topics is Kristi! It seems that her demonstrative stance and clearly spoken loathing about KIA commercials garnered the most attention from listeners. Enjoy that trophy until we meet again, Kristi!
Ada's evaluator for the speech she gave today is Eric. He surveys the advanced manual, which outlines the components essential for Ada's speech. He shares that he didn't notice her depending too much on her notes. He found the facts she shared to be helpful and interesting. He also liked the premise and found her speech to be logically presented and well-organized. He notes that she handled the questions well that were posed at the end and that she seemed to enjoy answering them. One suggestion he offers is being able to see the acronym of SMART HEART visually to help listeners absorb more information.
Jewel returns to the podium to conclude the educational part of our meeting. She admits loving the smell of pumpkin pie, so she brought some pumpkin muffins to share with everyone today. Thanks, Jewel!!!!
Catherine, our president, closes our Peace Speakers meeting reminding us to go out and be WOWed by the beauty and presence of the world in which we live. Let us resist the tendency to think negative thoughts (ones that Ada warned us about) and focus our minds on what's good and on what we can make better!
Speaking of making things better, consider joining us at one or more of our Toastmasters meetings. If you're a visitor to this blog and you're curious, join us for some fun and growth. You have only some bad habits (perhaps) to lose!
Speaking of making things better, consider joining us at one or more of our Toastmasters meetings. If you're a visitor to this blog and you're curious, join us for some fun and growth. You have only some bad habits (perhaps) to lose!
OUR NEXT FEW 2015 MEETINGS:
Wed., Oct. 21 - Conference Room B
Thur., Nov. 5- Room & Time TBA
(Special Open House Toastmasters Meeting)
Peace Speakers Toastmasters Club
1st and 3rd Wednesdays (usually)
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
100 Witherspoon Street
Downtown Louisville, KY
Respectfully submitted,
Kay Chambers
Blogger for Peace Speakers
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