June 7: Summer comes to Afterburners

Summer. What images does the word evoke? Recently, it has meant not having to slow down to 20 mph when traversing school zones. (YAY!) But then finding mobs of kids at the mall. (BOO!) It also heralds the arrival of new movies from Hollywood, and the related buzz about which film will be the “summer blockbuster.”

This evening, LaShawn Carter made her summer debut as Toastmaster, and it’s certain to be a blockbuster. It was, by anyone’s account, a flawless performance, and a textbook example of how one should perform their Toastmaster duties.

Dawn Mercer spoke about “Mass” and all that the word has come to stand for. At the end of her speech, she disclosed that a personal tragedy was narrowly averted. Bill Erwin exuded confidence and poise with “Reorganize.” He told us that he views Toastmasters as a way to re-sharpen speaking abilities that went dull over the years. I (Gary Chiu) delivered “Going Outside the Club,” exhorting members to try their hand at various opportunities. Club contests, emceeing, judging, not to mention formal positions at the District are all available and are in need of participants. I was honored by having members name me Best Speaker.

Pat Quick triumphed with a wonderful Table Topics delivery of bygone summer days. Imagine no central A/C and window units as the only salvation from the heat. She was named Best Table Topics Speaker.

David Thorn rounded out the evening by delivering a superb evaluation of my speech. The Good, the Bad, (minus the Ugly) were all present in his evaluation. He was our Best Evaluator.

Afterburners always strives to consistently provide a quality meeting each Tuesday evening. Looks like we hit another home run!

Gary Chiu (the “silent partner” of Siskel, Ebert, and Chiu)

Courtroom drama and . . . zombies?

Judge Maurice Taitt

I enjoyed the opportunity to attend the REAL Trial of the Century on Tuesday, May 24. It was a civil trial . . . a tragic case of negligence, where the defendants were all members of the "Terrible Toasties" group.

One may say the defendants were also victims, due to their incapacity to see their club's inevitable demise. You see, they didn't have adequate training to fulfill their executive roles, suffered from lack of initiative required to read the manuals, and lacked the knowledge that they could reach out to the district for assistance.

This cautionary tale reminds us not to be complacent with our club's direction and encourages us to keep seeking new and interesting ways to bring in new members, and to balance persistence and change.

The dramatic scene in the courtroom

After the Toasties trial, I was enlightened with a speech on preparing for the impending zombie attack! Ryan Gallagher instructed us all on the different types of zombies, how they came into existence, and the best methods to avoid (or dispose of) them. Interestingly, this provided a good context for discussion of disaster preparedness without the negative thoughts the subject typically provokes.

In fact, the CDC recently used this subject to garner interest in preparation for dealing with the viral category of zombies. Ryan provided everything we needed to be informed. And fortunately for us, the zombies were afraid of the inclement weather that night, so we were spared from the need for Ryan to give a demonstration.

Bill Erwin

Preparation leads to confidence

Steven Thorn

Preparation is a key factor in becoming a good public speaker. Preparation leads to confidence.

In 2009, I competed in the International Speech Competition, winning the Club, Area, and Division rounds before finishing Second at the District level.

To prepare for the International Speech Competition, I wrote out my speech on the computer and continually revised it.

I chose every single word in my speech to make the sentences smooth, understandable, and pleasing to the ear.

Listening to good speakers and observing how they organize their thoughts can help you organize your own thoughts.
Reading quality books, magazines, and newspapers can also give you a model for writing your speeches.

For those of you who hated English class AND hate public speaking, don't give up. All of you who enjoy math, take heart. We're not going to do math right now, but I am going to provide you with a formula:

1) Introduction: Tell the audience what you're going to tell them.
2) Body: Tell them.
3) Conclusion: Tell them what you told them.

This is a classic organizational strategy, like the traditional five paragraph essay from English class.
Typically, your speech (or essay) has a theme, and you support or explain the theme in three main points.
Talk about the theme and the three points in the introduction, flesh out the three points in the body, and recap the three points and how they support the theme in the conclusion.

After you write your speech, you need to practice it. While preparing for the International Speech Competition, I practiced my speech every day in front of the mirror until I was sick of it.
When I didn’t want to practice it anymore, I practiced it one more time.

Give your speech to yourself in front of a mirror to watch your eye contact and gestures. Being in front of a mirror should help you to act naturally. It may reveal distracting habits that you have, like jangling loose change in your pockets or wringing your hands.

If you can, record your speech and listen to (or watch) the recording. This will help you to enunciate correctly and talk at a natural pace.
You must practice your speech out loud before you give it, because the spoken word sounds different than the written word. Some things just don't make sense when you say them out loud. You want to identify the rough spots in your speech before you give it.

I prepared for my speech: wrote, revised, practiced, recorded and listened, watched myself in the mirror — and then I finally gave the speech in the competition.

Did all of that preparation give me confidence when I stepped onto that stage, in front of all those people, to deliver my speech?

Yes, it was SHOW TIME for Steven Thorn!

I wasn't worried about the competition or the judges. Win or lose, I was going to do my best.
I was ready.

While you may never feel the same excitement about "show time," preparation will give you confidence.

Don't focus on your nerves or the urge to throw up. Focus on the fact that you have a message to deliver and you're ready to do it. Let that preparation give you the strength and confidence to do whatever public speaking you have to do.

Preparation leads to confidence.

Plan your speech.

Practice your speech.

Become a confident speaker.

Steven Thorn

May 31: Teresa debuts as Toastmaster

This was an exceptional meeting! The theme was "It Takes Fierce Will to Get Ahead in this World." Our famous Sergeant at Arms, Gary Chiu, in his easygoing style, addressed the challenge of working around (pun intended!) the surprise of finding round tables in our meeting room. He also wore two hats and smoothly transitioned to General Evaluator. 

 

Speakers for the evening were: Bill Erwin, "Bleeding Edge"; Steven Thorn, "Dating"; Holly Trinh, "Health Benefits of Honey" and Linda Coleman, "Meeting Roles & Responsibilities."

 

Tuesday night was my first opportunity as Toastmaster and let me say what a pleasure it was to work with all of you. Special thanks to those who responded to my emails and either confirmed or volunteered in a timely manner. Because of your professionalism and dedication to developing leadership skills and personal growth, the meeting was a great success. Our four visitors were very impressed with the supportive and positive learning environment we have. 

 

Thanks for a great experience.

 

Teresa Wilburn, CC