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.
It's exciting being president of a Toastmasters club that works together closely to assure today's Open House is meaningful. Kay announces today's theme: Toastmasters: Find Your Voice, and members of Peace Speakers have been in the throes of this since the onset. We all value the guaranteed practice in communication and leadership at our monthly meetings. Nonetheless, members do have individual goals, some personal and some professional.
All Peace Speakers work to improve their grammar and delivery, to overcome the uhs and ums, and figure out how to add effective pauses. We have fun with short spontaneous talks and practice giving and receiving feedback after prepared speeches. You never know what will unfold in Toastmasters until you personally investigate it!
Today's Toastmaster, Perry, is one of our charter members and a past president. He's held all of the officers' roles, and we are deeply appreciative of his ongoing leadership. His job is to lead the educational segment of our program.
Perry's created an agenda that reflects our theme, with an image of his puppy treading water as he learns to swim. Perry likens that to "finding your voice"...a metaphor for the process of the struggle that ensues when one is trying something new. Perry adds, "With some coaching and a life jackets - which is similar to our club offering support, training, and guidance - our dog was eventually able to swim without the coach guiding him." Then he includes another story about a different dog literally finding her voice. His family howled like wolves with her until she did it herself. After all, if dogs can "find their voice" - so can we - with some help and gentle prodding from Toastmasters.
Perry shares that 3 Toastmasters are giving brief testimonials as to what their involvement has meant to them. We begin with Kay, the current president of Peace Speakers:
Perry's created an agenda that reflects our theme, with an image of his puppy treading water as he learns to swim. Perry likens that to "finding your voice"...a metaphor for the process of the struggle that ensues when one is trying something new. Perry adds, "With some coaching and a life jackets - which is similar to our club offering support, training, and guidance - our dog was eventually able to swim without the coach guiding him." Then he includes another story about a different dog literally finding her voice. His family howled like wolves with her until she did it herself. After all, if dogs can "find their voice" - so can we - with some help and gentle prodding from Toastmasters.
Perry shares that 3 Toastmasters are giving brief testimonials as to what their involvement has meant to them. We begin with Kay, the current president of Peace Speakers:
Kay admits that a lifetime of dodging every opportunity to speak or lead made her feel curtailed, embarrassed and discouraged. A low self-esteem and high fear-level prevailed until she joined Peace Speakers. Now she speaks regularly as a leader in front of her church's congregation, gave a rousing speech to graduates one year, and communication with her family is more equitable, fun and engaging. Furthermore, she was poised and confident delivering her dad's eulogy, which would have been impossible without her involvement in Peace Speakers. |
| Visitors reacting to the speeches given. |
What made the difference? Consistent participation in monthly meetings, trying out new roles and tasks, and getting support from growth-minded Peace Speakers. Kay knows she'll always be a work in progress, which is why she remains a Toastmaster. This is a safe place to practice and address your concerns or fears. It's also a way to surprise and delight yourself, if you're willing to get out of your comfort zone.
Our 2nd testimonial is from Betsy, who's a charter member of Peace Speakers and currently our VP of Membership.
Betsy was one of the first members of Peace Speakers in 2005 and remembers being nervous for her first speech, the Ice Breaker. However, she admits it was still fun to give. She continued her club involvement after she retired and moved to Lanesville, IN, in 2008.
Becoming active in monthly town council meetings in Lanesville, Betsy vied for a town council seat. This required her to speak publicly to a group of 60, explaining why she'd be a good council member and summarizing her past experiences. That was her first public speech in front of a large group of people. Peace Speakers helped her prepare for
that presentation, and it resulted in her appointment as a council member and many more opportunities to speak in front of groups.
Then in July 2014, Betsy was appointed as Clerk-Treasurer for the Town of Lanesville. Again….Peace Speakers helped her prepare to speak professionally in front of multiple-sized groups.
Peace
Speakers meetings helped Betsy progress as a better speaker and leader. Getting help with her speech preparation benefited her at the club meetings and town meetings. She thought about her words, choosing them carefully while eliminating her uhs and ums. Impromptu Table Topics sessions helped her “think on her feet” and improved her thinking skills. Taking on different roles and responsibilities in club meetings built speaking skills as well.
Our 3rd testimonial is from Vicki, who's our Club Coach and member of the Legendary Communicators Club. She's a past president and past Area 66 Director, to name a few.
Vicki claims that walking through the door of a Toastmasters club vastly changed her life. However, at first she was reluctant when invited to attend. She went to several meetings until it finally clicked. She got it!
Inspired to become active in her own club, she became an officer, and this opened the door to become the Area 66 Director. Being exposed to multiple clubs gave her the opportunity to meet
an individual who eventually bestowed on her the honor of becoming the Lead Event
Organizer for a yearly kids’ cancer fundraiser. Asked to emcee an event that might go on for 9 hours, she balked at first. She'd never done anything like that! But the faith someone had in her ability to pull this off was strong. He had witnessed her talents and strengths at a Toastmasters club, and this is what made it unfold.
Vicki noted that it’s been quite humbling to carry on
this meaningful charity work. She choked back tears talking about raising $250,000 for the kids' fundraiser. She reminded us that Toastmasters didn’t click with her at first, but she stuck with it nonetheless. Admittedly, the journey she's enjoyed is the path she's glad she's traveled.
The next segment of our educational program involves Table Topics. Octavia shares prompts she created to get people talking spontaneously for 1-2 minutes. Her first volunteer is Effie, who is a visitor today. We love it when our guests dive into the experience!
NOTE: Answers are snippets of what people shared during Table Topics.
If you could not work for a year, what would you do?
Effie knows that she'd travel the world, spending three times a year in another country. She'd take her mom and perhaps her husband (if he's acting right) with her. Assuming money was not an issue, she'd map out the whole year and find herself a beach to enjoy right away.
At what point do you come alive: Before you walk on, when you walk on, or 3 minutes after you start?
Destini notes that being a person who speaks often, she comes alive after the 3 minute mark. She makes decisions that support everyone and gets lots of questions. The more she engages and gets feedback like smiles and affirmations, she comes alive. Admittedly, sometimes she doesn't want to shut up. (And she didn't! She continued her rapid and entertaining discourse while we all listened and laughed, but I failed to get it written down!)
What happened the last few times you had to speak off the top of your head?
Angie admits that she's the quiet one in groups. People scream past her while she waits for a pause. She spoke at a Vegas talk for 10-20 minutes, and when the buzzer went off, she stopped in the middle of her talk. Perhaps that time keeper was out to get her! Was he bored? She added, "Speaking off the top of my head, I lose the topic and start talking about my cats or my kids or whatever."
How do your friends describe you?
Monique says her work friends might say she comes and she's not that late (implying they don't know her very well). However, her non-work friends, many of whom are long distant, describe her as fun, a true homebody, and not into the club action. She sends screen text messages to stay in contact and says that how friends describe her depends on the day. Depending on what part of the journey she's on, she notes, "I'm always a new person!"
Everyone at today's Open House thinks about the Table Topics talk that inspires them the most and votes for their favorite. Names are written on pieces of paper and are passed to the Vote Counter, who later announces that Destini has won their favor. She earns a dark chocolate bar and bragging rights for the best Table Topics speech!
Angie admits that she's the quiet one in groups. People scream past her while she waits for a pause. She spoke at a Vegas talk for 10-20 minutes, and when the buzzer went off, she stopped in the middle of her talk. Perhaps that time keeper was out to get her! Was he bored? She added, "Speaking off the top of my head, I lose the topic and start talking about my cats or my kids or whatever."
Monique says her work friends might say she comes and she's not that late (implying they don't know her very well). However, her non-work friends, many of whom are long distant, describe her as fun, a true homebody, and not into the club action. She sends screen text messages to stay in contact and says that how friends describe her depends on the day. Depending on what part of the journey she's on, she notes, "I'm always a new person!"
And now let's draw for the 4 door prizes, a Heine Bros. gift card, a Mary Kay gift card, and 2 Texas Roadhouse gift cards! They go to these lucky winners:
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| Effie |
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| Sharon |
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| Bridgett |
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| Beatrice |
Other photos taken by Catherine during our Open House today include:
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| Peace Speakers enjoy the company and energy of 11 esteemed guests at their Open House! |
And finally, here stands Catherine, who had the role of Timer today but took on the job of photographer as well. This isn't a current shot because she kept my camera busy the entire Open House and chose not to be included in the group shot. Just want to give her accolades as well.
OUR NEXT 2018 MEETINGS:
Wed., Dec. 5 - Room 5000
Wed., Dec. 19 - Conference Room B
OUR UPCOMING 2019 MEETINGS:
Wed., Jan. 2 - Conference Room B
Wed., Jan. 16 - 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
President and Blogger for Peace Speakers
