April Showers

Cindy, our Toastmaster for last Saturday, quickly moved us into our meeting with the theme “April Showers Bring May Flowers”. Our Grammarian, Eileen, was so well prepared and her enthusiasm was so enjoyable! She outdid herself by researching beforehand and choosing verdant (green with vegetation) as the Word of the Day to fit the meeting theme. She was right on when she complimented Dudley for using the word piscatory.

Table Topics questions continued on with the theme. We heard a lot about the Perfect Storm in the answers! I especially liked it that Marshall, as Table Topicsmaster, chose members who did not have much opportunity to speak in another role during the meeting.

I get a great feeling seeing club members get past their heebie-jeebies when they speak in front of our group. I get to share in their enthusiasm when they take on a new role or experience. I learn so much from them as they share their experiences through their speeches.

We got to take a walk down memory lane when Anne gave her speech about movies and moments we remember from them. Her speech which included a monologue from the Hoover Dam tour guide in Vegas Vacation had us in stitches.

Then we got to go deep-sea fishing with Lina as she talked about her experience of hooking 5 sharks in one trip! She talked us through the reeling in with her body language and colorful descriptions. And, when you’re asked if you want to take a shark’s head home with you, it may not mean exactly what you think.

We had ribbons to award at the end: Best Table Topics - Ana, Best Speech - Anne, and Best Evaluator - Jeff

Here’s a puzzle for those of you who were at the meeting: Which Toastmaster had their shirt on backwards at the meeting?

Sandra

World Penguin Day!

I'm quite excited to see that there are two days in a year dedicated to my favorite animal - penguins! Penguin Awareness Day is January 20th and World Penguin Day is tomorrow, April 25th. Based on some research I've done, World Penguin Day is a day to celebrate penguins and their quirkiness. It also marks the day the Adelie penguins migrate north from Antarctica so they can continue to hunt for food because the days in Antarctica become darker during this time. Many people celebrate this day by learning more about penguins, dressing in black and white, visiting penguins at a local zoo or aquarium, or even waddling for a bit!

During my research of World Penguin Day, I remembered a recent article calling for knitters to make pullovers for penguins in rehab after being caught in oil spills. These pullovers, or sweaters, were to keep penguins "warm and to stop them from trying to clean the toxic oil off with their beaks." A friend had posted a link to this article on my Facebook wall and a few ladies in a Facebook crafting group talked about getting together to knit or crochet some sweaters for the penguins.

At first I was excited to use my crochet skills to help out the penguins in need! But then, another friend followed up with a post pointing me to another article, "The Great Penguin Sweater Fiasco." This article explained that the hundreds of sweaters sent in by knitters and crocheters were not being used because there was an overabundance, and the penguins "were being kept in warm water and recovering under heat lamps, [which is] much less stressful for wild birds than dressing them in a cute knitted sweater." The stockpile of sweaters were being sold in gift shops as a fundraising effort. While these sweaters were in a way helping the organization with their rescue efforts, the penguins were not walking around with cute little knitted sweaters and bow ties.

What have I learned from the great penguin sweater fiasco? I learned that it's important to do your research! Project #7 in the Competent Communication Manual is Research Your Topic. I'll be keeping the sweater fiasco in mind as I use different resources to gather the facts for my speech!

Lina

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Baseball Season!

Just this past Saturday I was very fortunate to go to the Texas Rangers baseball game against the Houston Astros (spoiler: they lost).  Baseball is a very new interest for me, so I struggle with players' names and some of the terminology they use.

When I say "new" interest, I mean that I never understood why anyone would sit and watch such a long game, especially when most of the game is spent watching the pitcher throw the ball, all for a play that can last a second.  As a matter of fact, The Wall Street Journal published an article about a year ago saying that only 18 minutes of a game is actually gameplay.  "Why would people sit and watch this?" I thought -  until recently.

Sometime last year, a coworker of mine eased me into the sport and showed me why baseball is captivating.  He wouldn't force his interest on me, but he would always talk about unique plays.  I have an extremely open mind, so I listened, and that open mind introduced me to, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating sports to watch.  Have you ever seen a triple play?  It's breathtaking.  Have you ever seen a team, down by four runs in the bottom of the ninth, hitting four home runs in the row, later winning in the extra inning?  It's the stuff the edge of your seat was made for.

Baseball is the sport where anything can happen.  It's the sport of strategy, it's the sport of spontaneity, it's the sport of team spirit!  If you're not into baseball now, talk to someone who is.  Their enthusiasm will have you hooked.  As an added benefit, it's the perfect time to gain a new interest because opening day was less than a month ago.  You'll have so much fun until fall.

DeAnna Wolf

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Science Fiction!

Saturday's meeting was definitely an interesting one, with Sandra taking on the role as Toastmaster with the theme, "Science Fiction."  Science Fiction, Sandra noted, is where the "impossible becomes possible," much like with Toastmasters.  Many of us who join Toastmasters, including myself, join to overcome the fear of speaking in public or to make leaders out of ourselves when we feel those skills may not be present.  Those who make the leap out of their comfort zone do in fact make the impossible, possible.

Jeff held everyone's attention with his interpretive reading of Five-Star US Army General Douglas MacArthur's speech, "Duty, Honor, Country."  I was so pulled into his reading I almost didn't make any notes!  Certain sentences still reside in my mind, the way he read that the Soldier is the "noblest development of mankind" and "the leaven that binds the system of our nation's defense."  Jeff had, to me, fantastic tonality, and this speech was a great fit for him.

On to Table Topics!  Dudley led the questions with his own unique twist.  I rambled my way through the question, "What planet would you like to visit and why?"  I love his questions, but my favorite question of them all was, "What would be your tools to battle evil?"  The questions are more interesting than the responses!  [The answer to the first question is "Jupiter" and the second is "my own wit."]

To recapitulate, the meeting was entertaining thanks to all of our speakers and Sandra, and we had two guests.  I hope they come back because there's more where that came from! Thanks to all for attending.

DeAnna Wolf

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Write Your Story

Back in November 2011 I received yet another rejection. It was a unique time in my life where I received an unusual number of employment inquiries. I wasn’t actively seeking other employment, but I received many calls in a short amount of time. Some I had no interest in but a few got my attention - and one much more than the others. 

While browsing Facebook one day I came across a link that said the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) was looking for trainers. I am a huge fan of the PCA. PCA is an organization with the mission of transforming the culture of youth sports, to ensure kids are having a positive, character-building experience. I felt I was a perfect fit as I had been fully invested in youth sports for several years.  I had also been a member of Toastmasters for a few years, so I felt comfortable speaking to crowds. 

I sent my resume and anxiously awaited their response. That response came one Wednesday evening as I was leaving church. When I heard my phone make that email tone I quickly pulled it out to see if it was the email I had been waiting for. It was, however, the answer was not the one I wanted. In the moment I became oblivious to everything else going on around me. There was a car behind me that ended up driving around me and hopping the curb because I was sitting in the driveway reading my email, unaware of everything else.    

I was terribly disappointed yet after a few moments I pulled off to the side, opened a blank email draft, and started typing an email to myself. I wanted to capture the emotion of the moment. Though I was extremely disappointed, my thought was, this makes my story even better. In the midst of that disappointment I knew the story was not over and I wanted to remember that moment as vividly as possible. 

I tell you all this to make a simple point. Contest season is filled with a few winners and many others who came up short. While we are all chasing the win, whether it’s a job or a contest, the true value is in the journey. Enjoy it. Take the losses with the wins. To borrow the lyrics of a Matthew West song, “this is the story of your life and you decide how the rest is going to read.” 

Let me conclude with a quote from John C. Maxwell. “The difference between average and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”

Marshall Lehr


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Top of Texas Sweeps Division!

In a Top of Texas Toastmasters first, Aparna Valluri and I, DeAnna Wolf, both won first place in the Division A contest for International Speech and Tall Tales!

With incredibly talented competitors in both competitions, Aparna inspired the audience with "Strange Gifts," while I, her ToTT mentee, had the audience in stitches during "Attack! Attack!"

With a mentor/partner like Aparna and a club like Top of Texas, the journey is far more rewarding than the destination.

It was also a big day for Jeff Wright, who earned the Division award for Outstanding VP Public Relations.  With his tremendous work on bringing the Top of Texas website and blog to having an even larger presence, let's all wish him luck for the District award as well.

Come support us at District, May 2-3, at the DFW Sheraton!

Botanic Gardens

Saturday's meeting theme, picked by our Toastmaster of the day, Judy, was the Botanical Gardens. Judy shared some interesting facts about the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens with us. Did you know the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens is the oldest botanic garden in Texas? Or that it has over 2,500 species of native and exotic plants?  The Gardens is available for weddings and also offers gardening classes for those of us with a not-so-green thumb!

At this meeting, I got to experience a Toastmasters first... a meeting dedicated to Table Topics!  We had three Table Topics Masters -- John, Sandra, and myself -- and everyone at the meeting had a chance to practice our impromptu speaking.  Table Topics questions ranged from "What attractions do you enjoy in Fort Worth?" to "Would you choose to build an opulent garden or a shopping mall?" to "When was your last museum trip?"  We heard one Toastmaster's opinion of the pros and cons of taking a date to the botanical gardens during the summer and another spoke about favorite childhood hiding spaces.

This was an entertaining meeting and a great way for us all to think on our feet!  I enjoyed learning interesting tidbits about everyone and look forward to more chances to practice impromptu speaking.

Lina Choun


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Resources For Improving Your Public Speaking

We live in an age where it is easier to learn than ever before. The Internet provides at your fingertips information on just about any subject you would like to research. I don't need to look further than my own house for examples of this. My 16 year old son learned to play guitar by watching YouTube videos. One of my other kids has been teaching himself advanced Adobe Photoshop skills, also off of YouTube.

Great public speaking tips and examples are also only a Google search away. Test me on this. Pull up your favorite search engine and type in "Public Speaking Tips". Better yet, do that same search in YouTube if you really want to find interesting video clips to watch.

I've found that listening to speakers outside of club meetings is a great aid for improving my speaking ability and confidence. In the comfort of my own living room I can practice speech evaluation techniques by making notes about what went well, what didn't go so well, and how I would change the presentation for more impact. These notes can then be applied to my next Toastmasters presentation.

Below you will find a small sampling of the many resources available. Review them at your leisure for ideas about your next speaking project.

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

TED is an organization dedicated to the spreading of ideas through the spoken word. It's sister organization, TEDx, holds local and regional conferences where you can apply to speak on any number of topics.

Toastmasters International - YouTube Channel

The Toastmasters International YouTube channel has a number of teaching videos as well as competition speeches for review.  In case you weren't aware, District 25 also has it's own YouTube channel.

Toastmasters International - Podcast

Toastmasters International hosts a regular podcast that can be found here online or via iTunes. 

Public Speaking Blogs

Prefer to read about public speaking? This blog post contains a list of over 100 blogs being written on the topic of public speaking. I haven't exhausted the entire list, but there are several with good material.

P.S. Don't forget to congratulate Shannon and Ana for achieving their latest education milestones!

Jeff Wright, CC