Getting the most out of your Toastmasters Experience

Our weekly meeting was once again on the road, this time in the Gateway Conference Room (south side of the third floor). That didn’t exclude those in attendance from enjoying another interesting gathering; we were sure to include all in attendance; and we definitely did not help want to occlude (Word of the Day provided by Gayle Anderson, Secretary) anyone from our proceedings, so we began in earnest…

Gene Hargreaves (Vice President of Membership, Treasurer) delivered an informative and challenging presentation entitled, “Getting the Most Out of Your Toastmasters Experience.” Many of the current attendees have joined the club within the past twelve months and Gene painted in broad strokes how each one of us can maximize our personal goals.

Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! was his battle cry on the simplest way to get better at getting comfortable in front of an audience. Simply by speaking or participating in one of the functionaries (Word of the Day, Timer, Ballot Counter, etc) you get valuable practice at using your voice.

Cynthia Jimerson provided her wonderfully thought-provoking Table Topics – Has technology confused things? Were John Kerry’s recent comments off-base? If you could change one thing in your history, what would it be? How do you feel morally about a little white lie? Have you stopped dreaming? Who in your family history would you like to meet? Although everyone responded in a variety of interesting ways, Kathy Hendry (Sergeant at Arms) was our winner.

The meeting finished with a recap of this past weekend’s Humorous Speech contest. Club President Falan Guan and Kathy Hendry gave account of the happenings at the Glendale Public Library this past Saturday. If you haven’t attended an event such as this, it is a must according to these two. Our guest last week, Ivan Gerson actually one the contest! In my opinion, just watching his level of expertise in winning our Table Topics during our last meeting I am not surprised – he is AWESOME! Congratulations, Ivan!

See you next week.

Humorous Contest Dress Rehearsal

This past Tuesday’s meeting was a change of pace for our Toastmasters club. In addition to the meeting being in a different physical location (Sierra Madre Conference Room on the 16th Floor), we welcomed guests from the Public Works Pioneers Clubs. Dominic Buenaventura and Ivan Gerson joined us to solicit feedback for a presentation to be entered in the Humorous Speech Contest held at the Glendale Public Library on November 11.

Dominic’s speech took a funny look at driving in Los Angeles. Very physical in delivery and complete with siren and motor vehicle sounds, the speech started out with a big bang of laughter. Props like a “shaver” and mirror helped set up punch lines that wove his tale wonderfully. Upon completion the group gave him a number of useful tips to help tighten up an already excellent presentation. I’d definitely like to find out how he did in the contest.

The meeting started with invocation and pledge of allegiance; our word of the day was Moniker which was used by Joe Simpson (Vice President of Public Relations) prior to his eighth speech presentation; Our Table Topics Master, Paul Burke used Tuesday’s election for inspiration. Members had to nominate speakers to talk about something relation to the voting process.

Kathy Hendry (Sergeant at Arms) talked about making choices during Metro’s Open Enrollment period that start last Monday; Cynthia Jimerson and our guest (and Table Topics winner) talked about the pros and cons of Proposition 85; and Gayle Anderson urged us to vote early and vote often.

Note: Plans for the Toastmasters @ Metro’s Holiday Party are in the works and we’d like to urge all members (past and present) to plan on attending to share in the spirit of the season. See you on next Tuesday!

Treats but no tricks!

Attendance - 10 (1 Guests, 1 Distinguished and 8 Regulars)
Meeting Duration – 12pm-12:55pm
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Halloween tends to bring out the kid in everyone. Perfectly sane grown ups show up in the workplace in costume, candy magically appears on desks (to my chagrin) and the holiday season officially begins.

This week’s meeting was a treat for those in attendance. Our Word of the Day was in fact Halloween and our Table Topics Master Jay Fisgus continued the spooky trend. Members and guests were asked to speak about the favorite costume or memory of the holiday growing up.

After invocation and the pledge, today’s Toastmaster Joe Simpson, began the program with a plea to let kids be kids and enjoy the candy holiday. Afterwards he presented a gift bag of treats to everyone in attendance.

Gene Hargreaves (Vice President of Membership) told a tale of Halloween mischief and the ensuing trouble of homemade fireworks; our guest Jiceri White talked about the holiday growing up in Mississippi; Falan Guan (Club President) talked about her son’s costume; Joe Simpson (Vice President of Public Relations) described his successful attempt to win a community center costume content as a kid; returning member Marilyn Lucea reflected on a bumble bee costume; and our winner was Bertha Bruner’s (Vice President of Education) recollection of her daughter’s costume, a forgotten driver’s license and a checkpoint stop on Halloween. Very funny and cute!

Our featured speech was presented by new member Paul Burke. His second speech (Organize Your Speech) was about why we shouldn’t vote in the upcoming election. Witty and humorous as is his trademark style, Paul will continue to develop into one of our club’s best assets. Members provide some of the most useful and constructive tips on how to improve your delivery via the roundtable format. This in addition to the CTM official project evaluations are excellent learning tools for budding communicators.

Note: Mark your calendars as the club is planning a holiday party. We’re eager to have the entire Toastmasters at Metro family in attendance to relax, mingle and enjoy the holiday spirit. Look for more information in upcoming articles or around the office.