Peace Speakers Enjoy an Ice Breaker & Share Extemporaneously

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, the president of Peace Speakers, opens our meeting on a usual high note.  Relaxed and engaging, he greets members warmly.  

During a brief business meeting, Perry initiates discussion and a vote for Malinda to replace Kathryn as our VP of Public Relations. (Kathryn changed jobs and unfortunately can't attend our meetings any longer.)  Today's special election to fill this role is quick and easy with Malinda offering to serve in this capacity.  Peace Speakers certainly appreciate her willingness to embark on this important officer's role! 

Catherine, our Toastmaster for the day, shares that the theme for our meeting relates to change.  She references the work of 12-step programs and those in recovery who observe the Serenity Prayer:  "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  After all, we do not know what tomorrow will bring, yet we still strive as Peace Speakers to engage others genuinely and with peaceful hearts.

Anne Marie, our prepared speaker for the day, is giving her Ice Breaker speech today.  This is the first speech a member gives, choosing to share whatever one wants to reveal about themselves. Using the Competent Communication Manual as a guide for creating this first talk, it's an opportunity to deliver a short speech in front of others (4-6 minutes). It's one of my favorite speeches to hear, as you never know what focus a person will take or what you'll learn.  

Here is the gist of Anne Marie's speech (below in purple).  Part of it is organized by bullets, where she chose to speak extemporaneously, expanding on the notes she referred to in front of her.



I’ve obviously been giving a lot of thought to names recently... (pointing to her belly).  Yes.  I am indeed pregnant!

You all know me by my actual, given name:  Anne Marie. Having a double name has been a mixed blessing, but more than anything it makes me aware of names and the importance attached to their subtleties. So today for my Ice Breaker Speech, I want to introduce you to some aspects of my life according to the various names that I’ve answered to. They include:  Anne Marie, Anne, Wu Yuxi, Ana Maria, and, most recently, Mama. I’ll start with Anne Marie.

ANNE MARIE – my family name   

• Used always by my family (parents and younger sister, extended family).

• Has no hyphen with the two words; Anne is spelled with an E (like Anne of Green Gables).

• Likes the cadence with my last name Vaughn.  That double name is really important for it to sound good:  Anne Marie Vaughn.

• How I introduce & think about myself.
  
  

ANNE – my childhood name

• Grew up in Berea, KY; idyllic, college town; foothills of Appalachia.

• Was called “Anne” to virtually everyone in town, despite my best efforts at correcting them. Sometimes it even had two syllables: “A-yen”

• Even today when I see childhood friends, they call me Anne. Takes me back to small town life, my high school self – makes me feel nostalgic, humble, slightly claustrophobic – like I’m still the person I was in 2005.
  
  

WU YUXI – my name in China & graduate school

• Started studying Chinese during college.

• Moved to Changsha, China after college & got this Chinese name from my tutor, Daisy.

• Wu meant to sound like Vaughn, my maiden name; Yuxi = Rain & Hope, but more importantly it’s “haoting”, which is good-sounding.

• Learning Chinese and trying to make friends, assimilate as much as possible into daily life there, it helped to have this separate element of myself, kind of like my China identity. (You enjoy different personalities, perspectives of yourself when you speak another language.)

• The name Wu Yuxi came with me to graduate school at UK; studying Diplomacy and maintaining Chinese language study.

ANA MARIA – my name working with refugees in Lexington

• Working for Kentucky Refuge Ministries in Lexington - families from Cuba, Iraq, Congo, Bhutan - this version of my name was easier to say for many speakers of other languages.

• A time of learning about social work, refugee resettlement, different countries; getting to know refugee families & make connections with them.

MAMA – my motherhood name

• Francis was born August 4, 2016.

• Mama is also the same in Chinese.

• This phase of life: getting to know my husband in a whole new way and getting to know MYSELF in a whole new way as well. 

So, in conclusion, Anne, Anne Marie, Wu Yuxi, or Mama are all different hats or “name tags” I can put on depending on the situation. I can put Anne back on for a few hours when I go back to Berea to visit. I get to be Wu Yuxi at the Chinese conversation group here in Louisville. And I look forward to going home and being Mama at the end of the day. Now that you know all of my names, I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you better, too, over the next weeks and months. Thank you for listening!

Our Toastmaster, Catherine, expresses her pleasure upon the conclusion of Anne Marie's Ice Breaker speech.  It's obvious that the experiences she shared denote a lot of change over time, all of which Anne Marie has managed good-naturedly.

Our Peace Speakers meeting shifts to the first of two Check-in Educational activities, which Kay conducts.  She's the VP of Education and is sharing a True/False quiz about the role of the Toastmaster.  The idea is to inform and encourage members to volunteer for this role at our meetings, which is quite enjoyable.  Some of the informational tidbits from this quiz are as follows:

As the Toastmaster, it's a good idea to start planning for the next club meeting early on (like a week in advance).  There's an agenda to make and an introduction to create for a speaker giving a speech.

The Toastmaster may singularly choose the theme for a meeting, but the President or the Table Topics Master may have a timely or even better idea to consider.

About a week in advance, send a notice to club members of the meeting date and note some of the meeting's highlights.  

A draft of the agenda should be sent out 1 or 2 days in advance to members of the club. Sometimes adjustments need to be made, and this gives the Toastmaster time to make updates.

Agenda making is easy if you use a previous document (template).  Just change the image to reflect the new theme and alter the names and dates as needed. 



Malinda, our new VP of Public Relations, deftly encourages members to extemporize in response to her prompts.  She's eager to raise the profile of our club to attract new members and invites us to respond to her prompts with a few sentences.  (Extemporaneous is the Word of the Day, and those speaking are encouraged to use it.  It means spontaneous or uttered at the spur of the moment.)


Malinda opens the floor to anyone who wants to share about why they joined Peace Speakers.  Members give her an assortment of reasons:

1. Katie knew that she wanted to improve her communication skills.  Her boss encouraged her to join Toastmasters.  She read this blog to learn more about it and ended up joining Peace Speakers.
2. Anne Marie admits that she wanted to be more comfortable in all kinds of speaking roles, so she did a Google search and found this blog.  Reading it, the members seemed approachable, which made the idea of joining Peace Speakers more appealing.
3. Megan read the book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Won't Stop Talking" where the author mentioned Toastmasters as a good choice for introverts.  Reading in one of my blogs a nice narrative about a Peace Speakers meeting helped her find the impetus to join our club.
4. Perry recalled struggling some as a classroom teacher, so a colleague suggested he join Toastmasters. Perry's dad had been a Toastmaster, and when he moved to this area, HR at the Presbyterian Center helped him start the Peace Speakers club.
5. Kay (your blogger) admitted she didn't feel like she was enough and couldn't handle speaking in small groups or in public.  After attending personal development seminars out West for a number of months, people repeatedly told her to consider Toastmasters in order to gain confidence and poise when speaking. 
6. Eva admitted being petrified of public speaking even in smaller settings.  It made her nervous and self-conscious, and she wanted to change that.  She was a part of Peace Speakers when it first formed.
7. George said he was bullied and needed a way to defend himself and help other people.  A 1984 speech by Mario Cuomo greatly moved him, and he wanted to be able to inspire people like that.

Malinda asks what our first impressions were visiting Peace Speakers.  One remembers Ada, a previous member, welcomed her warmly.  Others chime in that their first experiences in the club were just as welcoming.  One member was actually enticed to come to a meeting after meeting Megan in a library.  I recall being affirmed by one member that I was "a natural" after participating in Table Topics (an extemporaneous activity at a Toastmasters meeting where you answer a prompt in 1-2 minutes).  That inspired my self-conscious but hopeful soul to join Peace Speakers.  

 So what about our visitors?  Do they come back?  We guess it's about a 50/50 shot.  We're not always a good fit for every individual, and others come because they have time that week but cannot continue coming on our Wednesdays or our 1 o'clock hour. Malinda wants us to explore the obstacles to bringing in visitors and new members so that we can reach more people and empower them. 

Towards the end of our meeting, Eva shares her evaluation of Anne Marie's prepared speech.  She follows the guidelines in the Competent Communication Manual to give her opinion on what she heard.  Eva begins by expressing what a wonderful Ice Breaker speech Anne Marie gave!  She's a natural and already has a lot of strong points in her ability to express herself.  During her speech, she seemed comfortable, didn't rely on her notes, and it all flowed naturally with a strong conclusion.   Eva liked how she used different names to organize her speech - a great tool - and she learned a lot in the process.  Anne Marie also used visual aids and lots of hand gestures, which are not expected for an Ice Breaker speech.  Her generous use of smiles put everyone at ease.  Finally, Eva made the suggestion of using more volume, as Anne Marie's voice is sometimes too soft-spoken.

Our Toastmaster, Catherine, concludes the educational portion of our meeting sharing a Mahatma Gandhi quote that recently came across her radar:  "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."  Knowing that we really only have control over ourselves, that is the best way to inspire others.  And that's what we hope to do in Toastmasters:  inspire others to join us as we work together to grow our skills in communication and leadership.  It's fun, exciting and life-changing!

President Perry returns to the lectern to close our 1-hour Peace Speakers meeting.  He admits that he loved every bit of our gathering...and the room, too...which is not our usual location.  He pulls out a quote from the song "Cool Change" by The Little River Band:  

Time for a cool change

I know that it's time for a cool change
Now that my life is so prearranged
I know that it's time for a cool change

Our club meeting concludes with smiles and conversations that ensue between members. We know that change is what makes for improvement.  

 

George engages Perry after our club meeting.

By the way, with no visitors today, we took the liberty of taking care of a little more business-oriented sharing, but normally we conduct a Table Topics session that visitors can easily join and enjoy.  

If you're a visitor to this blog, let me encourage you to visit us soon at one of our Peace Speakers meetings.  Change is in the air, and it means good things at Toastmasters meetings.  Whether you're overcoming a phobia of public speaking, or polishing up your speaking skills, or want to become a better leader, we're a safe place to practice.  Come and experience the support and educational materials that will set you on sound footing.

OUR NEXT 2017 MEETINGS:

Wed., Oct. 4 - Conference Room B

Wed., Oct. 18- Conference Room B

Wed., Nov. 1 - Conference Room B

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