Capital City Toastmasters » TManassian

“Awkward” Meeting Recap – 09/22/10

TManassian — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:55:34 +0000

Awkward, huh? Great theme, Amy. Would have been nice if you could have made the meeting! But don’t worry. Stuart stepped up to fill the last minute vacancy in the Toastmaster role. And turns out, he was a perfect fit. Stuart? Awkward? Noooooooo.

Heather, on the other hand, was not the least bit awkward as table topics master. She was a natural. With fun questions, Heather challenged new member, Russell, to his first table topic. Russell told us about a very awkward experience involving a business deal, a cell phone, and underwear. Yup. Awkward. Heather then smoothly called on a willing visiting Toastmaster, John, who spoke about the awkwardness of gift giving and gift certificates. We hope you’ll join us again, John! Heather asked Taline to tell an awkward dating story. Blank on dating stories, Taline spoke of an awkward swimsuit malfunction from elementary school days. Then Heather called on Robin who told a story about waiting, drinking glasses, and a certain voluptuous waitress. Was it the story or the storyteller that stole the best table topic ribbon? Both.

We also had a major revelation during this meeting. You know sweet, funny Brian? Turns out he’s a beast – a fighting machine. Who knew? Brian spoke of his history in judo and martial arts and demonstrated for us the Rear Naked Choke. By the way, did you know that choking is the cutting off of the air supply, whereas strangulation is the cutting off of the blood supply? Brian knew that and demonstrated that he could both choke or strangle any one of us, if we get out of line. Seriously. Do not get in this guy’s way. Don’t be fooled by the Mr. Nice Guy act.

We then had a major return. Brad, who has been off interning at Apple all summer, came back! He told us about the perks of his internship, some funny stories about Apple, and the nature of the work he did to combat fraud. We all know Brad is a Ph.D student and crazy brilliant. Turns out his brains have some pretty cool practical applications out there in the real world. That’s all well and good, but, Brad, we suggest you think again about leaving us for months at a time. If it happens again, we’ll sick Brian on you.

Awesome meeting. We can try to be awkward, but the truth is that we’re simply awesome. Awesome.

Ribbon Winners:

Best Table Topic: Robin
Best Speaker: Brian
Best Evaluator: Leif
Best Humor: Robin
Most Enthusiastic: Brian

Contest! Contest! – 02/24/10 Meeting Recap

TManassian — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:02:02 +0000

No one does a contest like Capital City Toastmasters. We had a well attended and well conducted meeting that featured some fantastic competition by new and old Toastmasters. Is anyone surprised? With Amy as chair, Corky as Toastmaster, and Rey as Chief Judge, could anything go wrong? Nope. Not a chance.

First up was the Evaluation Contest. Our test speaker was Betty, an area governor and member of Balcones Toastmasters. She delivered a thoughtful and entertaining speech about her venture into her family’s history and her discovery of the home of her great great grandfather, Cornelius, a Confederate soldier, in Burnet, Texas. Five of our members offered evaluations: Lora, Patrick, Robin, Joey and Louis. Betty got lots of great feedback on content, on vocal variety, on her stance, on pacing. Our evaluators were thorough! At the end of the day, Robin placed third, Patrick placed second, and Louis placed first.

Then came the International Speech Contest. We had three contestants: Brad, Erin and Stuart. Brad spoke on the value of delayed gratification and offered tips to help us set ourselves up to make the best choices. Erin spoke of labels – or rather the importance of not living in labels - as she described a time when a label got in the way of a friendship. Stuart asked us, “When is it time to give up on your dreams.” His answer? “Not yet. Not now.” All three were great performances. Scooter Brad placed third, not-so-gumpy-this-time Stuart placed second, and our adorable Erin placed first.

Louis and Erin will represent Capital City Toastmasters at the Area K-52 contest on Monday, March 22. The contest will take place across the hall from our regular meeting room. We hope each of you will come out to support them at the next level of competition.

Thank you to everyone who had a hand in this contest. Thank you to everyone who came as a member of the audience. You made this contest great.

“Those Crazy Things We Do” Meeting Recap – 01/13/10

TManassian — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:43:59 +0000

Today’s meeting began with a consensus among the ladies that the men of Capital City looked extraordinarily handsome. Suits, ties, jackets, slacks. Wow. Many thanks to Brian, Robin, Brad, and Albert, to name a few, for livening things up a bit for us. Feel free to maintain that dress code going forward.

Amy – Miss I Moved to Austin Without Furniture Car AC or a Plan – opened us up with a dig on love. Something about it being lunacy we willingly embrace. She must have still been thinking about our handsome men.

Maria – Miss I Can Eat a Whole Meringue Pie in One Sitting – timed without incident. Oreo Bandit Brad acted as grammarian and forced on us some flibbertigibbet.

Then sweet Brenda – whose craziest act, in her own mind anyway, is leaving a job at Kodak to date a fellow employee – tossed out some creative table topics. Always handsome Albert described his dream of having Austin be the world’s center stage for a gigantic cultural exchange via a jumbo-tron. Grumpy Old Stuart lamented his life without adventure and vowed to forever leave the straight and narrow never to be heard from again. Finally, wild man Corky spoke of his belief in his own immortality and the ridiculous things he did that risked his life before he turned 50 – flying in zero visibility and riding horses without a saddle or reins. Handsome, grumpy and crazy – we love them all.

Then came the speeches. Robin made his arguments as to why radio is unequivocally the best medium. Brian delivered his third of four speeches in preparation for a presentation he’ll be making to some technical types next month. Both speeches were technical in some respects and personable in many.

Maureen, Wendy and Brendan evaluated. Useful tips for all of us: (1) give newer toastmasters the opportunity to tackle table topics, (2) connect the content of the speech to the audience, and (3) use charm, folksy or otherwise, to win over the audience.

Thanks to Rey, our Toastmaster, for a fun theme and a well-guided meeting. The winners:

Table Topics: Stuart
Speaker: Robin
Evaluator: Brendan
Humor: Robin
Enthusiasm: Corky

Don’t forget: the International Speech and Evaluation Contests are coming up. We hope that everyone will consider competing or serving as a role player for one of the contests. And men, feel free to turn up in suits, ties, jackets, and slacks at the contest…and beyond.

“Blind Dates” Meeting Recap – 11/04/09

TManassian — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:41:42 +0000

Rey started off the meeting describing the blind date she went on with a gay married man– tough to get lucky with that setup. Actually, she’d have had better luck with the guy’s wife, who turns out is also gay. The meeting was pretty much a disappointment after this high point.

No! It was an awesome meeting. Robby explained the timer’s role and recalled a date with a cougar who picked him up and dropped him off because he wasn’t old enough to drive at the time. Brad busted out the duct tape and shared the word of the day (carp), which apparently is not just a nasty fish.

Amy was her usual amazing self as she dealt out the table topics like a master card dealer. She reminded us that it is okay to bend the truth or tell a little fib when answering a table topic question. Erin showed up with spades as she told a funny story about a guy who kept asking her bizarre hypothetical questions, never really liking her answers. Robin played the cards he was dealt by sticking to Tennessee Tuxedo as the cartoon character he would most want to date. Carol had us rolling with laughter as she told the story of the guy who nibbled and licked her ear, while she was driving, on a blind date. I bet she took some of Amy’s advice to pull that one off. Neil couldn’t think of any blind dates but shared a story of how his wife hit his truck one time. Hey, it’s table topics! You don’t have to answer the question. Brendan told us of the time he pulled out a banana on a date and how it pretty much guaranteed he was not getting a good night kiss. Now if his date had pulled out the banana, depending upon how she ate it, it might have been a different story.

Then it was time for the speeches. Li gave her icebreaker, and it was amazing! She shared about the cultural and language barriers she struggled with when she moved to the United States. It was well organized, engaging and hilarious. We heard funny stories of how the language you learn in books and class does not necessarily translate to everyday life. “What’s up, Li?”

Albert was next. Let’s face it, after the glee of Li’s speech, Albert’s was a harsh transition. From laughing about how Subway asks too many questions about your sandwich to an 18-year coma. Wham! Albert explained a program that allows you to make plans for your inevitable demise by dealing with 5 major areas of concern. It was useful information. After some technical difficulties and much talk about death and dying, he pulled the plug after going overtime but only 4 minutes.

Between the 5 table topics and the 16 minute PowerPoint of death, we were running behind schedule. As the chief evaluator, Brian introduced the DTM’s Louis and Maureen who in turn evaluated Li and Albert’s speeches. A quick call for votes, timer’s report and grammarian’s report and the meeting was passed right back to Taline, who was sitting in as the presiding officer for our club president, Rey. Taline wrapped up the meeting giving guests and unspoken toastmasters a chance to share, while Lora tallied the votes. The winners were:

Best Table Topic: Carol
Best Speaker: Li
Best Evaluator: Maureen
Most Enthusiastic: Amy
Best Humor: Li

“Unfair!” Meeting Recap – 10/6/09

TManassian — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:30:37 +0000

It was unfair that Rey was off gallivanting, leaving me to open and close the meeting. It was unfair that Patrick, just because he was toastmaster, got to totally mess things up from our usual protocol. Force the timer to introduce the grammarian role, and the grammarian to introduce the timer role? Ridiculous. Allow the table topics master to call on anyone, even role players? That’s bull…crap. And to let Corky run wild as the general evaluator and force other members to evaluate table topics for him? Well, that sounds like a man unwilling to do his job. Patrick should have done something, but did he? Nope. He just sat back and smiled, thoroughly pleased with the mayhem he caused.

Speaking of mayhem, Robin had nine table topics. NINE. And he was pleased with himself for each and every one of them. He asked Patrick to describe a time when someone got the better of him. (Patrick whined about some George guy and an old Santana album. Like we care, given the whole “Unfair!” thing.) He asked Louis to answer one of the three following questions: what did you have for breakfast, who cuts your hair, and what body part do you most identify with? (Louis answered his shoulders and went on and on about how stinkin’ beautifully his body has transformed since he took on the Russian method of working out with kettle bells. Rub it in to us softies, Louis. If Carlos had been there, he would have kicked you in the kettle bells.) He asked Maureen to comment on some long quote about sainthood and how we hate to see good qualities in people we detest. (Maureen vented about an aunt of hers who was so good but never rubbed off on Maureen. Yeah Miss PhD-DTM-I-have-a-cool-winery-and-a-freakin’- smart- PhD husband. So you’re not “good”? So what?) He asked Taline how her cats were doing. (In retrospect, that should have been a layup. Opportunity lost. Dammit.) He asked Stuart which of Taline’s cats sounded the cutest. (Would you believe the grumpy old man didn’t ever try to answer that very meaningful question?) He asked Allison to describe a time she betrayed someone. (Initially proclaiming to be a good person, Allison showed her true vindictive colors in describing a cockroach in the car scenario. Even those of us who are good can whip out our evil when it’s appropriate. That’s fair, right?) He asked Lora to describe the best time she’s ever had at the fair. (Sweet Lora went on about some carnival guy crush and her giddiness at new-found independence. We fully expected some rant about the unfairness of the lack of good pockets in women’s clothing, but once again woman’s interest in man trumped any resolve for a cause. Very unfair.) Robin asked Brenda to comment on when it’s time to complain and when it’s time to acknowledge that there’s nothing to complain about. (She came up all acting like she didn’t know what to say, but then came up with a beautiful answer about gripes about her cooking and how, as a result, she didn’t have to cook again, which was a total win for her. We need to watch this one. She’s got Corky’s spark. Unfair.) Finally, Robin called on Albert to just talk. Really, Robin, what on earth were you thinking? (Pretty boy Albert went on and on about how he could have been Michael Jordan if his body hadn’t failed him. So you want looks, charm AND talent. Is that what you’re saying, Albert? Like that’s fair?)

Finally, after what felt like forever to those of us who hate table topics and/or were sure that Robin would get really unfair and call on a speaker twice, we got to the speeches. Kim educated us on the Four Ps of success in the apartment management world – people, price, product and promotion. She encouraged us to look at our teams and see if we’re heading in the same and correct direction in these areas as they relate to our own industries. We enjoyed Kim and thought Albert was unfair to criticize her choice of black attire. (Women like wearing black. We look good in it. Geez, Albert…)

Then, as if Corky’s forcing the table topic speakers to evaluate one another wasn’t unfair enough, we were given a grammarian’s report in some language that wasn’t English. We would have been irritated with John for this, but honestly, we all thought it was just too funny. Clever, John. We’ll give you a pass this time, but only because we like those crazy shoes you wear. And because we like the stories about the car that thinks for itself. And well, because we like you generally. But try it again, mister, and we’ll lock you into a room with Albert for 24 hours. You can scream “Unfair!” all you like and it’ll land on deaf ears.

What else? We had some winners.

Best table topic: Brenda
Best speaker: Kim
Best evaluator: Albert
Best humor: Robin
Most Enthusiastic: Who knows? I don’t. (It was Patrick, actually. Damn ruckus causer. Who voted for him anyway?)

It’s unfair that I have to remember all this stuff and write a report when the rest of you get to just sit and listen. That’s totally unfair. I’m not even the stinkin’ secretary of this stinkin’ club anymore. In fact, I’m quitting this stinkin’ club.

Wait, did someone say that handsome young Carlos is the toastmaster next week? See ya’ll next week.

“Superheroes and Villians” Meeting Recap – 07/29/09

TManassian — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:14:01 +0000

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Joyous Fergie!

Joyous Fergie came to the rescue in a big way. She’s a new superhero and, as a first time Toastmaster, she trampled all enemies and stood victorious. And we discovered that her greatest superhero talent is being able to function as a Toastmaster without using any notes. What skill! What strength! Wow!

Almost everyone got into the superhero spirit. But not Zahra. (What’s the superhero equivalent of “Bah, humbug?”) Zahra apparently isn’t into superheros. Maybe she’s more into villains? Who knows? Either way, she was a wonderful timer, and we’ll keep her.

John – our Captain Enthusiasm – was our grammarian. He blew us away once again with his energy and booming voice.

Stuart (Invisibility Man) made himself both seen and heard as Table Topics Master. He had Maureen, Carol and Lee doe a little role playing of Dr. Gates, Sergeant Crowley, and President Obama.

Our two speeches were fantastic. Brian practiced the toast he’s planning to deliver at his brother’s wedding, and Louis gave us a workout lesson, complete with visual aids and demonstrations. Both speeches were a little unexpected and a lot of fun.

Rey and Jenny had the difficult task of evaluating these wonderful speeches. They, too, are superheroes and did come up with useful tips to both speakers.

Joyous Fergie left us with a final thought: “We are each the superhero in our own story and, often times, we also play the villian.” Ain’t that the truth? Cute, fun and smart too. Thanks, Joyous Fergie. You made the day.

Best Table Topic: Carol
Best Speaker: Louis
Best Evaluator: Jenny
Best Humor: Brian
Most Enthusiasm: Louis

“Fathers” Meeting Recap – 06/24/09

TManassian — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:44:57 +0000

“Give me one more pullup!” That’s what Brian’s dad said to him to teach him to literally pull the best up out of himself. He learned that even when his arms are tired, and he thinks he’s finished, he still has one more pullup left in him. Dads teach us quite a lot, don’t they? Brian showed us through a “Fathers” themed meeting that they do. Fathers and father-figures teach us to drive, to adapt, and to believe that we are smart enough to do anything we want to do.

We are smart. We saw that clearly through our two speakers, Brad K. and Louis. Brad talked about his lifelong plan to be a medical doctor and how he’s becoming a doctor of another kind by studying artificial intelligence. Louis talked about diversifying his life across other countries by keeping his citizenship, assets, permanent mailing address, businesses, and playgrounds in different countries. Brilliant? Perhaps oddly brilliant?

Brian further demonstrated his brilliance by asking Corky to fill in for Albert – we miss you Albert! – as general evaluator. Corky did a fine job getting Maureen, Bert, and Patrick to evaluate table topics that he apparently didn’t pay much attention to himself. Did it matter that Maureen arrived late and didn’t even see the table topic she evaluated? Nope. Corky apparently didn’t notice, and Maureen did a fine job winging it.

Speaking of table topics, Lora once again handled the Table Topics Master role beautifully. She called on Wendy, who FINALLY is a bona fide member of this club, to describe a time when father really did know best. She called on Carlos, who remains as handsome as ever, to talk about whether dads should be portrayed better on television. She called on Jenny, who recently married and sadly will be leaving us, to talk about what life would be like with Keith and Amy as parents. Great topics, fun answers. Maureen, you should have been there.

Let’s not forget Rey and Lee, who evaluated the speeches. They reminded us all to distinguish the openings, body and closing of each speech and to involve the audience occasionally by asking, “Are you with me?”

Are you with me, folks? Brian did a wonderful job with this meeting. We’ve actually had a bunch of great meetings lately, thanks to the energy of our new members and the continued commitment of our older members. I have had the pleasure of reporting to you on a somewhat regular basis on the goings on of our meetings. Thanks for letting me do this and for taking the time to read them. Robert is taking over the duties of Secretary beginning this week, so I say farewell from this post. I’m hopeful Robert will let me help out with the recaps in the future. I’m pretty sure he will and that he’d let you help out too if you’d like to give it a try. Looking back on our meetings really can be – and has been – a lot of fun.

In the words of our new president, you guys are awesome. Signing off…

Best Table Topic: Jenny
Best Speaker: Brad K.
Best Evaluator: Lee
Best Humor: Maureen
Most Enthusiastic: Corky

“Summer Vacation” Meeting Recap – 06/17/09

TManassian — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:02:12 +0000

Summertime, and the living is easy. With Susana as Toastmaster, we coasted through some sun, fun, and partying.

First, we celebrated Lee’s new job, which he credited to his fine abilities at Table Topics.

Then Louis as Table Topics Master took us on a stroll through vacation packages, vacation problems, and our final days of life. Brad K. described a travel agency he would form that would sell only packages that involved living in historic places and interacting with locals. Zahra, whose antics with her gum we’ll never forget, spoke of the trouble she expects on her upcoming trip to Vegas. Finally, Carol said that, if she had one summer left to live, she’d forget about material things and focus on relationships.

The speeches were our vacation night life. Allison opened our speeches with her hysterical confession of addiction to the television. Allison, we hope you’re surviving your no-tv season. If you need encouragement, call us. Stay strong! Then Nora spoke of the phases of vacations – the planning, the vacation, and the afterglow. Nora, prepare yourself. Every last one of us will be calling on you to plan our next trip. Perhaps you and Brad should go into business together. Finally, Maria did a wild tenth speech, demonstrating her confidence and flair throughout. Maria, though Toastmasters has done much for you, you also have done much for us. Get your sassy self into an advanced manual and speak to us again soon!

Corky, Maureen, Rey and Lora evaluated. We were reminded to explain acronyms, to lift our voices, and to breathe and pause for effect.

Thanks to everyone for a fine, fun meeting.

Best Table Topic: Carol
Best Speaker: Allison
Best Evaluation: Lora
Most Enthusiastic: Maria
Best Humor: Allison

Up next? Fathers. Brian will toastmaster. You won’t want to miss it.

“Positive Attitude” Meeting Recap – 06/10/09

TManassian — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:34:12 +0000

Today’s meeting was filled with positive attitudes and perhaps some adult beverages during the day or possibly some illegal or controlled substances of some kind since there were several Toastmasters who were a little loopy! The loopiness did add humor to the meeting though, so we aren’t complaining.

Rey was our Toastmaster of the day. She started with the story of why she tells people who ask how she’s doing that she’s “AWESOME!” She hope to spread some of that cheer on to everyone in attendance. Our Table Topics Master, Maria, was definitely involved in partaking of the adult beverages or other substances before the meeting, but she had great questions for each of our participants. Allison took the high road of always seeing the positive side of things even during her Moped scooter crash on vacation.  Russell took the low road of always being negative no matter what the situation. Leif advised us of how he would make sure to make his wife or his mistress (not really who he was trying to keep cool) stayed cool if the air conditioner broke at his house.

Our speeches topics today ranged from cooking to bracing a fence postto getting up there because Corky made you feel guilty about backing out of your speech the day you were suppose to give it. Robin gave us a great recipe of Eastern style cooking with all the fixin’s while Brad gave a 5-7 minute impromptu speech. Brad, that took a lot of guts, and you did a wonderful job.  Stuart finished up our speeches with his own on how to brace a corner post with a small model for great visuals!

Our evaluators did very well, but our general evaluator, Brian, may have been partaking in the same adult beverages or other substances that Maria was having. Brendan did a great evaluation of Robin’s cooking speech using his own cooking analogy in his evaluation.  Louis and Corky also gave great suggestions for improvement to their speakers.

Wendy was stunning as always in giving her Timer’s Report. Maureen knows how to correct all our little quirks while still being kind and gentle to not hurt our feelings too much.

We awarded the following ribbons:

Best Table Topic: Leif
Best Speaker: Stuart
Best Evaluator: Brendan
Most Humor: Maria
Most Enthusiastic: Corky

“Cars” Meeting Recap – 06/03/09

TManassian — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:24:23 +0000

Who said women can’t drive? Maria did an awesome job as Toastmaster, and it was all about cars.

Wendy, whose second car was the Blue Roach, called on Lora, Brendan, Susana and John for table topics. Lora charmingly spoke of the driving lessons she took on what was basically a runway. Brendan spoke about the wreck of the 89 Pinto he was supposed to receive from his brother. Susana confirmed her identity as a Prius, though she hinted of a split personality in the form of a truck. John delivered perhaps the most unusual table topic on the various wrongdoings on his car. John, get that car under control before anyone gets hurt!

Then it was speech time. Eric delivered quite possibly his best speech ever on how Toastmasters has benefited him and helped him help a non-profit through fundraising that could only be accomplished with speaking. Then Rey delivered a speech on the state of our club and how we should be evaluating our weekly operations.

Amy and Brian evaluated. Though Eric probably intended to inspire our newer members and visitors, Eric even helped Amy renew her commitment to Toastmasters, though she’s been committed for years and wins all kinds of stuff. Brian did a wonderful job evaluating Rey by encouraging Rey’s energy and enthusiasm and commending her organization and story telling.

Best Table Topic: Brendan
Best Speaker: Eric
Best Evaluator:
Most Enthusiastic:
Best Humor: Eric

Your secretary was so wrapped up in the meeting that she slacked on the job. If you know who the winners were for the ribbons, please let me know!