What a Day for Top of Texas!

March 29th was quite eventful for Top of Texas!  Our weekly meeting was low in attendance, but still fun and interesting as always.  A few of us even doubled our duties!  Sandra gave a speech on the changes she has made through her journey with Toastmasters and how she motivates herself to make changes in her life.  I spoke about my trip to Europe and gave some tips on how to make the best of your visit.

The Area 14 Tall Tales and International Speech Contests were held in the afternoon.  Many of us were there to support our club's contestants, Aparna Valluri and DeAnna Wolf.  Both ladies took first place!  Aparna won the International Speech contest and DeAnna won the Tall Tales contest.  Both will go on to compete this Saturday in the Division A contest at the Fort Worth Arts Center!  For more information on the Division A contest, please click here.

On top of to our first place contest winners, our club also won three Outstanding Officers Awards: DeAnna Wolf for Outstanding President, Jeff Wright for Outstanding VP Public Relations, and Aparna Valluri for Outstanding VP Education.

Lina Choun, TM

Photo credit: Sandra Price

Spring Challenge

Spring represents yet the beginning of another baseball season in the Lehr household. The new season brings with it a couple things, fatigue and friendships. Fatigue because it’s difficult to get each child to their practices and games and juggle the everyday issues of parenthood. More importantly the new season brings the resurgence of relationships that grow dormant during the off season.

I’ve enjoyed seeing the parents, who I count as friends, over the last couple weekends. The downtime between games, hotel stays, and team dinners are just as enjoyable as the competition itself. This got me thinking about all the past relationships that have grown stagnant.

In our current social media culture, relationships seem to be deteriorating to a remnant of what they once were. It seems liking a person’s photos on Facebook constitutes friendship nowadays. Let me be clear, I’m a proponent of social media; in fact I have made social media engagement a goal for 2014. It’s just that a social media friendship is not enough.

This past week I made a conscious effort to revive some relationships I’ve neglected over the past several months and, in some cases, years. I’ve called a number of friends that I’ve lost contact with including my original Toastmasters Mentor, a shipmate, and a supplier from my purchasing days. To my surprise one of my former coworkers was worried I was mad at him.

It’s been a rewarding experience reviving these neglected friendships and my challenge for you is to pick up the phone and reach out to three to five people you have lost touch with.

There is a line from a book that always stood out to me that loosely applies here. Annette Simmons, in her book The Story Factor, said “the alchemy of influencing emotions is primarily based on one secret ingredient: human attention.” When I first read her book it stood out to me because I realized how scarce human attention is becoming.

Let me leave you with one more quote.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” - C. S. Lewis

Marshall Lehr, CC, ALB

Photo credit: Jamie Wendell

A Trip To The Library

Do you know that there are "bookless" libraries? Do you know there is one of these e-book only libraries was in San Antonio? Do you know that there are a number of free or low cost services for acquiring books for your e-reader? If you were in the Top of Texas meeting on March 22nd, you do.

Ana Ortega took us on a trip to through all things library related in the Top of Texas meeting held on March 22nd. We heard stories about trips to Fort Worth Central Library. We heard fun facts about the e-book era. We even had a silly moment comparing the smell of a book verses an iPad. 

This was also a contest preparation day with round robin evaluations given to both of our club representatives. DeAnna entertained us with her hilarious Tall Tale speech Attack! Attack! and received the clubs feed back on how to make it even stronger. Likewise Aparna delivered her International Speech telling an engaging story while teaching us an important life lesson. They will do well in the Area 14 contest on March 29th. Hopefully we will see them advance to the Division A contest in April.

Top of Texas meetings area always fun and informative, and this one was no exception!

Jeff Wright, CC

Photo Credit: Christopher Chan via Compfight cc

Rejuvenate Yourself!

According to my home page, Google.com, today is the first day of spring. I have noticed that trees and shrubs in my neighborhood are beginning to come back from their winter dormancy. Swelling buds and even tiny glimpses of green leaves are appearing on the tips of the branches.

We are used to the seasonal cycle of nature, when plants and even some animals take time out to rest during the winter and come back rejuvenated in the spring. Even though we aren’t trees or hibernating bears, sometimes a bit of rest can be beneficial for us, too.

How do you feel you are progressing in Toastmasters? Are you moving along from one project or manual to the next at a comfortable pace for you? Or do you feel dormant — can’t seem to get past a particular project or even find time to speak as often as you’d like?

Don’t worry! Everyone goes through those periods where energy and creativity seem to wane, you don’t feel inspired, or you just can’t think of a good topic. It is not unusual to have one or two of these times as you are working on your first CC, but it also happens to experienced Toastmasters as well — even DTMs.

Here’s my suggestion: Ask someone to be your mentor! This can be someone more (or less) experienced than you. Get together for lunch or coffee. Bring your manuals, talk about your goals. You don’t have to be a brand-new Toastmaster to have a mentor. Project 9 in the Competent Leadership manual offers the option of mentoring “an existing member with his or her next three speaking and/or leadership projects.” The person you ask to mentor you will be benefiting, too, by developing their own skills.

Both of you will come back rejuvenated in the spring!

Jodie Sanders, DTM

Photo Credit: Βethan via Compfight cc

Area 14 Speakin' Safari! - March 29th

Drop in March 29th on our Area 14 Speakin' Safari for some Totally Trippin' Tall Tales and Intense International Speeches!

Top of Texas always has a strong showing in the Area Contest and has done very well in the last several. However competition will be stiff with great speakers from each of the area clubs making this a tough competition.

Why Should You Attend?

Besides the entrainment factor, which is reason enough by itself, there are three reasons you should attend the Area 14 Speakin' Safari.

Opportunity To Support 

Our competing Toastmasters are encouraged by having strong support from their fellow club members. Come out and cheer on your favorite speaker and support them with positive feedback.

Opportunity to Learn

Often we get used to the speaking styles of the members of our club. Listening to other Toastmasters provides a opportunity to learn different styles and perspectives.

Opportunity to Serve

Area and Division contests also provide an opportunity to serve. These events could not be held without individuals from each club pitching in to help as judges, timers, ballot counters, and timers. (Hint, Hint...This means you!)

Speakin' Safari Location

This years Speakin' Safari will be in the wilderness area commonly known a Benbrook, Texas. The fun starts at high noon in the Benbrook Public Library.  Click on this link for more details about time and contest location.

The Story of the March 8th Meeting

Story was the theme of our most recent Top of Texas Toastmasters meeting. Well, let me tell you the story of our meeting on Saturday the 8th of March.

It was an overcast Saturday morning and a small group of six toastmasters gathered for our weekly meeting. Marshall Lehr served as our toastmaster of the day with the theme of Story. But what does that mean? It means that in this day and age of instant information and information overload, the art of the story, in many ways, has been lost. But if we hear the story, by allowing yourself to hear the story, you create an emotional connection. Marshall cited how during the recent Winter Olympics, he felt invested in the athlete’s success once he learned that athlete’s story. Marshall found himself rooting for an athlete he had never heard of because he had learned that person’s personal story, learned about what the athlete had gone through to get to compete in the Olympics.

Next, we learned from Regina Clay about making the perfect lunch, specifically th
e perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As part of her Demonstration project speech, Regina had a number of props that she used to demonstrate the art of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and she made many recommendations on creating the perfect sandwich. One important takeaway: refrigerate your bread prior to making the sandwich, thereby preventing the bread from falling apart when you spread the peanut butter!

While we only had one formal speech, everyone had a chance to participate in Table Topics, which John East facilitated. John prepared a number of questions around the theme of story, and each person had the chance to practice extemporaneous speaking.

Even though our meeting was light in attendance, we had a great meeting, and we each had the opportunity to practice our flexibility by doubling our meeting roles. Because like in show business, the Toastmasters meeting must go on!

Ana Ortega, ACB, ALB

Photo Credit: sullen_snowflakes via Compfight cc

Daylight Saving Time

As many of us know, or not, this Sunday is Daylight Saving Time, where, in the middle of the night while we sleep, time "springs" forward an hour.  Regardless of how we're divided on the necessity of it, I'm welcoming it.

Why do we do it?  How are we "saving" daylight?

Daylight Saving (note: NOT Savings) time was actually conceived by Benjamin Franklin so we can all take advantage of the daylight.  I enjoy Daylight Saving because when I arrive home in the evening, I still have hours of daylight left in the evening to play with my son.  It also allows for soccer and baseball practices to bask in more daylight.  See?  It's not all that bad to lose that one hour!

Daylight Saving also has an effect on your energy usage.  While this is currently being debated, the simple idea is that your energy usage is determined by your sleep patterns.  Most people, in this theory, stay up past sunset.  If you stay up later than sunset, you'll leave your on lights and small appliances.  With more sun in your windows, you won't begin running those appliances so early.

If you're still not convinced of the benefits you can take with Daylight Saving, remember this quote:

"An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn is all that we ask in return for dazzling gifts. We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later." - Winston Churchill

If Daylight Saving still bothers you, come to Top of Texas and tell us in a speech!

DeAnna

Photo Credit: Clint Gardner via Compfight cc

March Madness!

Top of Texas kicked off March with an informative and entertaining meeting!  Our Toastmaster, Anne, moved the meeting along with spring themed tidbits.

The first speaker for the meeting was Aparna.  She spoke to us about an abstract topic, “Success,” from the Speaking to Inform Manual.  She shared expert opinions on how success is defined, compared professional versus personal success, and encouraged us to have a meaningful list of achievements that would contribute to our own successes.                                                                                                                    
Ana entertained us with her Project #5 speech from the Entertaining Speaker manual, “You and the Whole 30.”  She told us about the 30-day nutritional eating challenge she recently embarked on where she went from wanting to “kill all things” to having boundless amounts of cooped up energy at work.

Regina, Thomas, and John participated in the table topics section of the meeting.  They answered questions about sports madness, St. Patrick’s Day, and spring!  John won the Best Table Topics ribbon.

Best Evaluator went to Marshall for his evaluation of Aparna’s speech.  We are looking forward to awarding more Best Evaluator and Best Speaker ribbons since we’ve started to incorporate these awards into our meetings!

Lina Choun

Photo Credit: Virginia Lin Photography via Compfight cc