During Table Topics we learned that Leif has a love-hate relationship with the ludicrously pricey real-life Tron car, and therefore may or may not bid on it at an auction.  We learned that Zahra would auction off her own sister, and that Becky thinks the best bargaining strategy is stealing.  Just as auctioneers receive secret signals from bidders, Taline got a signal from a fellow Iron Man triathlete that told her she was meant to be there, in that race, in that place, at that time.    

Heather almost put us to sleep with her speech.  In a good way.  She taught us how to relax, and breathe, and relax…relax……relax……….through meditation.  Heather got buy-in on her mini-lesson on meditation by giving it a Texas twist, and by mentioning beer. As a meditation coach, Heather’s got skills.  As a comedian, Heather’s got skills.  As a speech writer, Heather’s got skills.  Evaluator Corky confessed he can no longer think of her as a ditzy blonde, because he has finally realized that she is neither ditzy nor blonde.

Gina got us thinking creatively in her speech on reducing waste and repurposing.  Repurposing is a euphemism for being extremely cheap — using things again and again rather than throwing them away. A Parmesan cheese container becomes a glitter dispenser, a detergent shaker, a fertilizer sprinkler, a home for fireflies, a place to hide spare keys, a container for golf balls, etc., etc.  Other countries are doing it, why can’t we? Evaluator Brendan gave props to Gina for getting back on track after a rough start.  He encouraged her to use the 3 T’s to give her speech an easy-to-remember structure, which will prevent her from getting overwhelmed, as well as making her speech listener-friendly. “Tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em, Tell ‘em, then Tell ‘em what you told ‘em.”

Brenda, Brenda, Brenda. Yet another new perspective on the topic of inter-personal communication and its elusive facets and ramifications.  Brenda analyzed a set of widely respected skills, which are generally associated with great communicators, and came to the conclusion that sometimes breaking the rules yields the best communication of all.  Evaluator Louis gave Brenda advice about limiting the number of abstract concepts brought into one speech.  Asking the audience to wrap their heads around just one abstract concept can be a challenge (as Brenda did when she wheeled in the imaginary corpse of an accomplished Toastmaster on a gurney as a lead-in to her  autopsy/exploration of what goes on in a speaker’s brain).  Yet it’s always an adventure and a treat when Brenda speaks.

Congratulations to our ribbon winners:  

·         Best Table Topic: Taline

·         Best Speaker: Heather

·         Best Evaluator: Brendan

·         Most Enthusiastic: Corky

·         Best Use of Humor: Corky

·        Most Heroic Recovery: Gina

See you next week at the Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest!

Mr. Albert, our English teacher, started the class by returning everyone’s test papers, with gold stars and comments for everyone.

The word of the day was “matriculate.”

Miss Leeanne, our speech teacher, gave pop quizzes to Robin, Li, and Wendy.

Two new students gave their first reports:  Gina spoke of a wonderful new life, a transformation she is going through, leaving negative energy behind and welcoming new positive forces into her world.  With just a little bit of nervousness showing through (not that there’s anything wrong with that) she reminded us all what it was like to stand in front of the class for the first time. Evaluator Heather was encouraging, and she pointed out the skills that Gina already has that make her an engaging speaker and a winner at life.  It will be easier next time Gina! A  for effort.

Our second new student, Katy, at first seemed unclear on the concept of Toastmasters, declaring her love of actual toast, as in bread toasted in the toaster.  But it turned out to be no joke: Katy is actually a skilled and enthusiastic bread baker and lover of bread recipes and all things bread and toast related.  Clever!  Funny!  Engaging!  Brilliantly crafted!  A+!   Brenda was almost as passionate about bread in her evaluation as Katy was in her speech.  Great work from Brenda on her first evaluation.

And Brian, our honor graduate, delivered a commencement address, earning his Competent Communicator Award for completing his tenth speech.  Brian took us through his journey as a Toastmaster, describing the ways Toastmasters has enriched his personal life, his career, and his worth as a world citizen.  Along the way Brian has learned that courage leads to skill development, which leads to greater confidence, more courage, and greater skill development.  And the payoff has been tremendous. Not just for Brian, but for those of us who know him and are inspired by him.   Brian’s trophy wife Michelle came to the meeting and everything. Evaluator Amy waxed nostalgic about Brian’s very first day at school, the way he showed up with his Spiderman lunchbox and crayons, ready to learn and work and play well with others. 

And then the bell rang and everybody went to the Brick Oven! 

 Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

·         Best Table Topic: Robin

·         Best Speaker: Brian

·         Best Evaluator: Amy

·         Most Enthusiastic: Brenda

·         Best Use of Humor: Katy

See you next week!

Our word for the day was “cleave” – a confusing, undefinable word, rendered clear at last when ended with “age”.

If Lora were a professor, I would be terrified of her final exams – her numerous table topic speakers Katy, Keith, Heather, Gina and Carol did the “Brookover Table Trot” – the delicate art of taking the long way around the table at a slow enough pace to think up an answer, yet fast enough to not be totally obvious.  Robin and Keith, the quick witted men they are, don’t believe in such silliness and took the quick, short route.

Russell delivered a funny speech titled “It’s in my blood”, about the travails of manly bravado, such as what one should do to a box in the road whilst driving your new truck (e.g. flatten it of course!).  The kicker, though, was not listening to your body, when trying out for the football team, when that small, still voice was trying to warn you about the impending tragedy of ripped muscle.

The tiny house was Louis’ topic, this time with pictures and a powerpoint presentation as he demonstrated the goal of this particular speech of “getting to the point.”  Some of the process seems to be a lesson in the best way to do things – such as not getting screws that are a 1/4 inch too long because they are a pain to install.

The house is indeed tiny (for once marketing hyperbole that is ACCURATE!).  It was nice to finally be able to get an idea of what all is meant by a tiny house.  But, alas, where were the Vibram Five Fingers?

The ribbon winners were easy to pick because of going over-time.

• Best Table Topic: Heather
• Best Speaker: Russell
• Best Evaluator: Leeanne
• Most Enthusiastic: Heather
• Best Use of Humor: Heather

Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

Leeanne “The Screamer” Pacatte was our Toastmaster.  She showed us that finally, after more than six years of Toastmasters coaxing and training, she has learned to make her quiet voice heard.   

During Table Topics, led by Li, we heard from Russell, who told us about his mother’s “Failing Forward” philosophy: Go forth and try to succeed even when you suspect you will not be successful; try even when don’t have complete information; try even when you know you’re not the best or the strongest, and learn from the outcome….here I thought that was the definition of stupid, but Russell made it sound noble. Taline talked about her wonderful, generous, caring, guilt-tripping mom, who fits the description of a Jewish Mother to a T, even though she is not Jewish.  New member Katy did an excellent job in her first time up at bat, letting us know that, while her mother discourages the use of salt for health reasons, Katy thinks it is more important, for the sake of spiritual health, to make food taste good!   Amen to that!  Great job, Katy!

Three outstanding speeches today.  Wendy completed her tenth speech and, in doing so, earned her Competent Communicator award. Her funny speech took us through her journey of becoming the new target of office jokes after setting fire to the microwave, and being forced to endure a worksite safety training (totally unrelated to the microwave incident, or so she was told). At the training, Wendy didn’t learn much about safety, but she did realize how much she had learned at Toastmasters: the presenter could have been a lot more effective, and could have shared more pertinent information if he had taken the time to learn more about his audience. Evaluator Lora pointed out that Wendy is a great speaker, because Wendy is a great person we always love to hear from: full of conviction, full of ambition, and full of joy.    

Stuart, ah Stuart.  Who else can turn an off-color story into something artful and witty.  Normally, the act of peeing into a plastic container during a road trip is the act of a lazy bum. But when it’s Stuart in real life, it’s the act of a philospher grappling with a moral dilemma.  Brendan gave props to Stuart for setting up a story that had us thinking all kinds of awkward and inappropriate things, though none were ever stated.  Brendan also provided a psychoanalysis of Stuart that would have made Albert proud.

Keith used a speaking slot to practice 5 to 7 minutes of standup comedy he will be presenting at an actual gig for actual people in real life. Keith, as we know, is a comedy monster.  He was hugely funny when going for the laughs, and, in classic Keith style, was almost even funnier when he hit a brick wall and the jokes weren’t working. Evaluator Heather praised Keith for steady laughter all the way through, and liberal use of physical comedy and self-effacing humor. Keith, we wish you the best of luck tonight.

Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Taline
• Best Speaker: Stuart
• Best Evaluator: Brendan
• Most Enthusiastic: Keith
• Best Use of Humor: Keith

And Congratulations to Wendy on earning her CC

Next week’s theme: Yo Mama.   :-)

During Table Topics we learned that Brendan has a giant head, we learned that Lora’s husband has had a Cat-in-the-Hat- like impact on her life, we learned that Maureen has no need for an impressive hat as long as she has her Toastmasters skills in tow, we learned that Louis needs a hard hat with a soft sponge on top for work on Tiny House, and Albert stands in awe of people who can pull rabbits out of their hats or use other diversionary tactics to dazzle us.

Brenda told a great story about getting tricked into taking motorcycle-riding lessons.  While the speech was a lot of fun, and full of spills and thrills, there was a wonderful message underneath.  Try something new and don’t be afraid.  There were will be obstacles. For sure.  But there will also be laughter, and you will grow, and get wonderful memories as well.  Brenda’s got skills!   And Brian gave her props in his very enthusiastic and spot-on evaluation.   

Robert’s got it all going on when it comes to travel!  His presentation covered all things travel-related including insider tips on planning, saving money, little-known out-of-the-way vacation destinations, cool websites, and more.  Robert is the “Go To” guy if you want to Go To anywhere in the world.  He’s been around.  As Heather, his evaluator, pointed out, Robert has a wealth of knowledge which should have been presented with a wealth of confidence, given all he knows, and perhaps a few more wonderful anecdotes about traveling to engage his audience. It was agreed after the meeting that if Robert had done nothing more than say the word ”Agriturismo” ten times  with finesse and conviction, he would be holding a ribbon in his hand right now.

Congratulations to our Ribbon Winners:

• Best Speaker: No Ribbon awarded, both speakers went overtime
• Best Table Topic: Maureen
• Best Evaluator: Heather
• Most Enthusiasm: Brenda
• Best Humor: Stuart who might be the Funniest General Evaluator of all time

See you next week!

Li’s word of the day was “Savvy,” as in techno-savvy

Brian’s Table Topics gave Amy, Cynthia, Corky, Taline, and Albert a chance to rant about cell phones, iPhones, Facebook, teenagers, texting, and tweeting. Carol Conner was not in the house, so Cynthia channeled Carol and danced and sang, and as we all know, this is the surest way to walk off with the ribbon.

Is it a purse?  Is it a calendar?  Is it a feedbag?  No, it was the visual aid for Brenda’s second speech, a flip-chart on a string, featuring photos of flies.  I have been a Toastmaster for twelve years now and I have never seen anything quite like it.  Each fly represented an aspect of communication, and  Brenda discussed each one as an analogy.  Sort of.  Kind of.  Maybe.  Corky, as Brenda’s evaluator, confessed he couldn’t completely figure it out and prefers to be spoon-fed.  Again, we applaud Brenda for jumping in as a new member, signing up for speeches, trying new things, and confounding Corky.

Heather did it again!  An endearing, touching, informative, thought-provoking speech, thoroughly infused with humor.  This speech was about her realization that her daily thoughts were like annoying bugs buzzing in her brain, taking up her time, and preventing her from living her life fully.  Her casserole of random thoughts was crazy funny and her demonstration of trying to breathe according to the new instructions learned at meditation class while driving the car were priceless. Maria evaluated Heather with praise and suggestions for the future.

And it all wrapped up quite nicely with Stuart’s chuckle: When people meet online and fall in love they become “Tweet-hearts”  

Congratulations to our Ribbon Winners:

• Best Speaker: Heather
• Best Table Topic: Cynthia
• Best Evaluator: Corky
• Most Enthusiasm: Cynthia
• Best Humor: Heather

The Humorous Speech and Table Topics contest was announced for Wednesday Spetember 8. 

I’m in!

See you next week!

Brenda did her Ice Breaker. It was a Magical Mystery Tour, hilarious and meandering and thought-provoking and endearing all at once, with a sweet ending that let us know she is truly on board to learn and grow in her communication skills. Heather, as Brenda’s evaluator, gave Brenda the props she was due, applauding her courage and her humor, and her willingness to share her weaknesses, which helped her make a connection. Heather suggested that Brenda try a formal structure next time, just for variety sake.

Corky also spoke today, without much notice, and pulled together 7 minutes and 30 seconds worth of pure entertainment. You may not want to fly with Corky, but you definitely want to hear (while on solid ground, where it’s possible to laugh about this) his stories of practical jokes played high high up in the air. Could a man really be so devilish? Who knows, and really, who cares, as long as he keeps bringing these speeches. Louis, Corky’s evaluator, liked all the self-effacing humor, and came to a greater understanding of why not all of Corky’s marriages have worked out.

We heard Table Topics from Wendy, Russell, Robert, Zahra, and Taline, who collectively shared their weaknesses for ice cream sandwiches, chocolates, tortillas, fries, peach pie, marshmallows, Oreos, and butter. And I believe McDonald’s and Wendy’s both got an honorable mention today.

Maria was the Topic Master! Brian was the Timer! Carol and Zahra both were the Grammarian! Li did the Chuckle!

Congratulations to our Ribbon Winners:

• Best Speaker: Corky
• Best Table Topic: Taline
• Best Evaluator: Louis
• Most Enthusiasm: Heather
• Best Humor: Corky

Delicious meeting!

See you next week!

When Amber opened with an invocation defining charisma as a state of caring about others, Albert realized he had unwittingly picked a theme that focused on others, rather that on his majestic self!  How did this happen!

(By the way last week’s recap was wrong.  Amber won the Best Table Topics ribbon last week.  Sorry.  Go Amber!)

Stuart was our Topic Master.  Unfortunately no one seemed to want to master his charismatic topics.  Wendy went rogue and talked about her peeing dog,  Robin told jokes he’d heard recently (which were stellar) and Amy spoke not on whether charisma is innate or learned, but rather on how it can be un-learned.  Robert tap danced around an answer, and finally new member Brenda eloquently addressed one of Stuart’s actual topics, and walked away with the ribbon.

If you missed the meeting, this is honestly honestly true, ask anyone who was there – Cynthia did a full-on speech about vomit.  In answer to the searching question, “What’s Up Chuck?” she spoke of vomiting after drinking, vomiting from amusement park rides, and virtual vomiting after no more vomit was left to be vomited.  And what did she do for a finale?  Displayed an actual bag of vomit.  Cynthia.  You have guts!  And we saw them!   Evaluator Heather, undaunted in her first evaluation – delivered a clever, insightful and brilliantly constructive evaluation, cleaning up quite nicely after Cynthia.  Both ladies cleaned up: Cynthia with the Best Speaker ribbon and Heather with two ribbons - Best Evaluator and Most Enthusiastic.

Louis did a speech about Tiny House.  Not the Tiny House or a Tiny House.  Just Tiny House.  He’s building one. He outlined good reasons for doing so, yet never explored Tiny House as a resource for teenager  management. As Evaluator Carol pointed out, the Tiny House speech could have been bigger. More volume, more visuals.

Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Brenda
• Best Speaker: Cynthia
• Best Evaluator: Heather
• Most Enthusiastic: Heather
• Best Use of Humor: Carol

An All Girl Ribbon Sweep!!

See you next week!

Cynthia urged us to eat organic meat rather than meat produced by its evil, money-hungry, not-at-all-animal-friendly, meat industry monopoly counterpart. And other organic food as well.  We will be healthier if we eat organic, and we will not be supporting politically incorrect business practices.  Cynthia was well organized and most enthusiastic.  Her evaluator Amy pointed out that sadly, even when we know the facts, we still have the tendency to continue to eat what we want to eat.

Keith came to the meeting!  And delivered a speech on UFC: Ultimate Fighting Championship. It’s all about guys getting almost pummeled to death while other guys watch on TV, and it rocks! And it all takes place in The Octagon.  Anything can happen.  Arms can break.  Skulls can get fractured.  And guys love it.  It doesn’t cost a lot of money if you partake of this spectacle at Pluckers.   Louis as Keith’s evaluator gave Keith a hard time about not being committed to one purpose, because it seemed Keith could not decide whether it was an informational speech or a humorous speech.  Keith punched Louis in the nose after the meeting.

Carlos did some great Table Topics.  All the speakers where great.

Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Robin
• Best Speaker: Cynthia
• Best Evaluator: Amy
• Most Enthusiastic: Keith
• Best Use of Humor: Keith

It was the end of Rey’s term as president, and her last meeting with us before her move to Washington.  The tears started right away when our Invocator Patrick led us in “You are my sunshine.”  Our theme was Thank You, because Rey has done so very much for our club.  We were blessed to have you as our president.

Corky, our Toastmaster, demonstrated his skill by all at once honoring the sentimental tone of the meeting, keeping it moving at a lively pace, and welcoming guests to make them feel immediately at home.

During Table Topics, Eric did a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Rey, recounting all the ways Rey got on his nerves: her hatred for animals, her history of puppy-kicking, and her draining downbeat attitude.  Taline tried bravely not to cry while describing the ways Rey has been supportive and generous to Taline and Taline’s whole family.  No surprise there, as we have seen that Rey is a loyal friend and advocate to all. Maureen raved about Rey’s ability to bring the positive energy, and the wonderful way she has set the tone for our club, like a … wait for it …Rey of Sunshine.

Wendy did a serious speech today, and quite a thought-provoking one at that. We were asked to ponder the fates of criminals and schizophrenic children – how much sympathy is in order, and what role are we expected to take to be of assistance?  Evaluator Lora applauded Wendy for leaving her comfort zone by confronting a difficult topic, and for responding gracefully to the technical difficulties in the video presentation portion of her speech.

Carlos completed his tenth speech, earning the Competent Communicator certification, giving our club 10 out of 10 goals for the President’s Distinguished Club award.  In our second uncharacteristically serious speech of the day,  Carlos talked about the atrocities of animal cruelty, including seal clubbing, dog fighting, and the oil spill’s tragic impact on wildlife.  Especially fascinating was the section on Michael Vick, who now speaks to kids about how wrong animal cruelty is.  Evaluator Robin pointed out the unintentionally funny aspects of Carlos’ Power Point Presentation, and lightened up the mood in the room, while making some insightful points about maintaining consistency in the tone of a speech.

Stuart did a humorous, witty, self-effacing speech about weddings, taking one last opportunity to poke fun at the ever-good-natured Rey.  Brian did an exemplary evaluation, shining a spotlight on Stuart’s easy charming demeanor, his comfort in front of the group, and the fine job he did on presenting a well-organized speech.  It’s always a challenge for an evaluator to find ways Stuart can improve: Brian suggested that Stuart experiment with moving around more and tapping into his more tender emotions for future speeches.

New officers were installed, and that was that.  We love you Rey!!!
Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Eric
• Best Speaker: Stuart
• Best Evaluator: Brian
• Most Enthusiastic: Rey
• Best Use of Humor: Robin

Looking forward to seeing you all next Wednesday to kick off a new Toastmasters year with our new President Corky!