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.
Our president, Megan, opens our Peace Speakers meeting with a warm welcome to everyone. It's springtime, and cheer is in the air.
On the business end, Megan reminds members to get their dues in to Kerri before the end of March. This is very important!
Also, the District 11 Spring Conference is being held in Indianapolis on April 21-22. For more information, follow this link: District 11 Spring Conference
Furthermore, during our April 5th meeting, officers will briefly share their roles. Recruitment of club officers starts in April, and new officers will begin serving in those positions in July.
Our Toastmaster for the day, Kristi, heads up the educational portion of our meeting. Octavia and she propagated the theme of SPRING IS NEAR, which seemed terrific until that horrible freeze struck us a few days ago. Propagate is the Word of the Day, which generally means to breed/grow or spread/promote. Hopefully, members will try to use it extemporaneously when they speak today.
Our prepared speaker for the day is Kerri, and this is Project #6 from the Competent Communication Manual focusing on Vocal Variety. Her speech is titled "Love is NOT in the Air," and Toastmaster Kristi smiles and says that reminds her of the old Dating Game Show. Let's learn why love was not in the air for Kerri on these first dates. Here is her entire speech as given:
I have to be
honest with y’all. It took me a while to figure out what the topic of my speech
would be today. As I was reading through the description and goals, I felt that
I needed to incorporate stories into my speech but had no idea how. And then,
after several days the light bulb went off - awkward first dates. Yup, I said
it. We’ve all had them – and yes, they were terrible. But my goodness, do they
make for great stories. Today, I’d like to share with you 3 terrible first
dates that I went on. For privacy reasons I’m changing the names of my suitors
but know that everything else actually happened. So sit back, relax and enjoy
as you hear about some of my most uncomfortable moments.
The
first date I want to tell you all about was with Jason. Jason, you all, was a
stud. Well-built, great eyes and a killer smile. I met him through a friend of
a friend at a sporting event, and we quickly exchanged numbers. It wasn’t long
until he asked me on our first date, and I was so excited. I even got a new
shirt to wear for our date. Now Jason was a few years older than me, which I
naively assumed meant he was wiser, smarter and more sophisticated, but man,
was my college-self wrong. He picked me up at the dorms and took me out to
dinner. Admittedly, our conversation was a little strained at times, but I was
willing to chalk it up to nerves. After dinner we planned on going to watch a
movie at his place. We were walking towards the car when he got a text and
asked me, “Do you mind if we stop by a friend’s on the way there?” I replied,
“Not at all.” I always appreciate meeting new people. As we pulled up to the house,
I noticed that there were a ton of cars parked outside of it and white balloons
were on the mailbox.“So where exactly
are we going?” I remember asking. And then he said it, “To meet my parents.
They’re at our friend’s house for an outdoor wedding.” As I’m sure you all can
imagine, I froze. Forget about the whole waiting a 
little bit to meet the
parents. All I could think about was the wedding part. “A wedding? Are you sure
we should go? I’m not even dressed for a wedding.” “Absolutely,” Jason said
nonchalantly. “They texted and asked us to stop by. Plus, it’s a casual
affair.” You all, to this day, I cannot tell you a lot about my first and ONLY
experience crashing a wedding, as I think fear kicked in and blocked the
majority of it out. I really can’t even tell you what his parents looked like.
I do know I shook his Dad’s hand, though, and that I got a hug from his mom. I
also vaguely remember saying “Congratulations” to the bride. Needless to say, I
got us out of the wedding as soon as possible, and despite being in a daze from
what just happened, I was able to tell him that I was feeling tired and that it
might be best if I went home. #Awkward!
(Pronounced “Hashtag awkward!)
Next
up in my collection of terrible first dates was my outing with “Wes.” Now Wes
was again a stud but more in a surfer, California
kind of way. I appreciated that he seemed laid back and that from what I heard
about him that he seemed to be pretty outdoorsy. I met him at the
chiropractor’s office - he was the chiropractor’s stepson and was working there
for the summer. In hind sight, I should of known we were doomed because both of
our parents were hard-core pushing it. I digress though. He asked me if I
wanted to go to the movies and I said yes. When he picked me up, he confessed
that he got tickets for the theater that was closest to his place not mine. Due
to traffic, this theater ended up being over an hour away. So picture me making
small talk in a car for an hour. I know it doesn’t sound terrible, but you all
– it
was rough. We were having a hard time finding things in common, and it
felt like whatever he liked, I preferred the exact opposite. For example, I
told him about my interest in recycling. He told me Global Warming isn’t real.
When we finally got the theater, he then awkwardly stopped and said, “You’re
old enough to see R-Rated movies right?” Now, I know I have a baby face, you
all, but seriously? I remember being so perturbed by his comment, and then
dwelling on it throughout the movie. “Why would you buy a ticket for someone if
you didn’t think they were old enough to see it?” I remember thinking. “Why wouldn’t
you just ask beforehand?” Luckily traffic was lighter on the way home and as
I’m sure you could guess, without having any common ground, there wasn’t a
second date. #OnToTheNextOne!
Lastly,
I’d like to tell you about my first date with Bob. Now Bob was a nerd like me.
He was pretty cute with a touch of hipster in him, and he was super into
politics. I was intrigued by him and agreed to go on a date after meeting him
through a friend at a bar. He took me out to Jack Fry’s. Fancy, right? I had
never been there and always wanted to go. I do have to say, Jack Fry’s was
delicious and the salmon entrée I had was on point. But something was missing
that evening. And that something was called a conversation. Now to clarify, I
don’t mean we sat in silence. I mean “Bob” literally did not stop talking the
ENTIRE time. I know what you’re thinking. Kerri, that can’t be right. But when
I mean he didn’t come up for air, he literally did not come up for air. At one
point I remember thinking, is he ever going to shut up? Bob talked non-stop the
entire meal – from high school stories to his recent outing with his grandma. I
heard it all. And it was so painful! As you can guess, we didn’t go far. #MovingOn!
In
conclusion, first dates can be awkward, really awkward. I hope you enjoyed
hearing about some of my most uncomfortable moments, and if you ever want to
talk about your awful first dates, know that I always love a good story.
Our prepared speaker for the day is Kerri, and this is Project #6 from the Competent Communication Manual focusing on Vocal Variety. Her speech is titled "Love is NOT in the Air," and Toastmaster Kristi smiles and says that reminds her of the old Dating Game Show. Let's learn why love was not in the air for Kerri on these first dates. Here is her entire speech as given:
little bit to meet the
parents. All I could think about was the wedding part. “A wedding? Are you sure
we should go? I’m not even dressed for a wedding.” “Absolutely,” Jason said
nonchalantly. “They texted and asked us to stop by. Plus, it’s a casual
affair.” You all, to this day, I cannot tell you a lot about my first and ONLY
experience crashing a wedding, as I think fear kicked in and blocked the
majority of it out. I really can’t even tell you what his parents looked like.
I do know I shook his Dad’s hand, though, and that I got a hug from his mom. I
also vaguely remember saying “Congratulations” to the bride. Needless to say, I
got us out of the wedding as soon as possible, and despite being in a daze from
what just happened, I was able to tell him that I was feeling tired and that it
might be best if I went home. #Awkward!
(Pronounced “Hashtag awkward!)
In
conclusion, first dates can be awkward, really awkward. I hope you enjoyed
hearing about some of my most uncomfortable moments, and if you ever want to
talk about your awful first dates, know that I always love a good story.  |
| Peace Speakers respond to Kerri's speech. |
Sitting in the audience, Kerri's speech was fun to watch, as she is very animated. Her first date stories were quite entertaining, and I'm glad she doesn't have to suffer through any more of them. Her happy marriage protects her from all of that first date discomfort!
George says that on the opening day of spring, he and a friend will take a walk and sit on a log, looking out onto the landscape. They'll travel to a cozy diner for breakfast, enjoying a big stack of hot pancakes while they talk about life, the president, their fears, and the hope for their future. Next they'll walk through little shops, looking through the spring time clothing. Finally, they'll head home for a hot pizza with all of their favorite toppings.
Spring is a time to bring out the kid in all of us. If you had a magical bicycle, what powers would it have, and where would you go?Betsy claims this makes her think of the movie E.T. about the extraterrestrial who rides off on a flying bicycle. On her flying bike, she'd travel through the back roads of Louisville flying over old buildings, enjoying lots of history, and across the hilly beautiful sights all around the area. Her magical bike would take her where ever she couldn't go otherwise.
What signs tell you when spring has arrived? What do you see, hear, smell, feel, and do?Eva says that the signs that spring has arrived are many. The birds are singing; the doves are cooing. Wow! Something's different! There's evidence of little green shoots, colorful buds, and daffodils and crocuses are sprouting up. Walks are nice with the smells of spring, like the smells of fresh dirt and rain. The 50 to 60 degree weather is enjoyable, and she likes to dig around in the soil and begin putting in her spring garden.
Spring is a time for planting and gardening. If you could only plant one item, what would it be and why?Kay claims her favorite garden item is asparagus. It's so intriguing the way it grows. The big, purple sprouts come up individually (which confused her at first, since they're bunched so neatly in the grocery). Later, a huge wispy bush appears towards the end of the growing season, where the bunnies in her yard love to hide. She'd also choose asparagus because it's so good for you and supposedly cures many ails.
Perry doesn't hesitate. For him, there's no place better than Florida! He'd head to Bradenton Beach on the Gulf of Mexico. He'd rent a dog-friendly cottage so that he could take his pooch. He'd bring lots of books to read and videos to watch. Heading off to a little cafe on the beach, he'd enjoy a slice of key lime pie.
Catherine quickly responds, "Two words - read and sleep!" She admits that she loves rainy days where she can wear her comfy P.J.s and wrap up in a blanket that feels like a seal and a sheep on the sides. She has a reading goal that she's working hard on for 2017, and she's a little ahead of schedule for completing 18 books. So on that rainy day, she's going to continue working on that reading goal.
Katie smiles broadly as she announces her preferred home improvement for her backyard: a chicken coop that she could move around on wheels. She likes the coops that look like little buildings...some like fancy dog homes. She would also construct a chunnel, which is a tunnel for chickens that's made of wire. It would give the chickens a place to run.
At the conclusion of Table Topics, votes are tallied, and Katie's speech is the favorite. She gets to leave with a trophy that exemplifies her expressive offerings.
If you're a visitor to
this blog, allow me to propagate the idea that you'd enjoy our Peace Speakers meetings. Growth and fun is at the core of our gatherings, so drop in some time and see for yourself. You're always welcome!
OUR NEXT 2017 MEETINGS:
Wed., July 19 - Conference Room B
Wed., Aug. 2 - Conference Room B
Wed., Aug. 16 - Conference Room B
Blogger's note: Yes, there's been a lull between my blog posts recently. I unexpectedly sold my home, bought a home, had a mammoth yard sale, totaled my Prelude, and bought a new Honda...all within a month's time. I'll get back on track in July, hopefully!
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
and VP of Education
