Connecting the dots

Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Attendence
Meeting Attendees – 13 (2 new, 2 veteran, 9 regulars)
Word of the Day – Habeas corpus
Toastmaster - Pauline Lee (ATMG)
Table Topics Master – Cynthia Jimerson

We’ve all joined Toastmasters with a common cause – to achieve personal and professional goals that include becoming better communicators. Tuesday’s meeting was one such occasion. Joe Simpson (Vice President of Public Relations) presented the tenth and final speech in the Communication and Leadership Program workbook, Inspire Your Audience. Achieving a goal set just over a year ago, Joe has achieved his CTM (Competent Toastmaster) certification.

The goals of the speech were:

To inspire the audience by appealing to noble motives and challenging the audience to achieve a higher level of beliefs or achievement; Appeal to the audience’s needs and emotions, using stories, anecdotes and quotes to add drama; and avoid using notes.

A visual was placed on the board behind the podium containing a partial image with dot and numbers. As the speech evolved, Joe turned and slowly connected the dots which revealed a picture at the conclusion.

The story revolved around ensuring that we do the things in our lives that make us happy, carve time to unplug from our stressful and sometimes mundane daily environments and deeply think and develop plans to succeed in our lives. Citing the inspirational life of founder and CEO of FedEx/Kinkos, Paul Orfalea from his biography, Copy This! : Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic who Turned a Bright Idea Into One of America's Best Companies and how questions about his future were answered, the eight to ten minute speak was a story of hope.

To listen to excerpts of the speech, click one of the links below

• Opening
• Part 1
• Part 2

Evaluator (Kathy Hendry, Sergeant at Arms) and Timekeeper (Gene Hargreaves, Treasurer):

• Stronger opening reference to the title and its purpose; and
  
• Speech went too long; narrow speech down to most vital points during practice

For more information on the various educational tracks available to you, visit Toastmasters.org

Photos by Gayle Anderson, Club Secretary