Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thursday, November 18, 2010


Jessica Ledbetter is Toastmaster of the Year!
Hello Toastmasters Family and Friends, 

          Time certainly flies by! It was our last meeting before Thanksgiving and we have two more meetings before the year 2010 is over. It will be time again to start fresh and set new goals. At this meeting we had 15 members in attendance and 2 guests - Kristene Skalicky and Lanette Kelly. Christy Gardner was Toastmaster of the Evening. Stacey Wallace was General Evaluator. Stan Dalziel performed Call to Order and Pledge. The word of the day was "effusive", which means "unrestrained or excessive in emotional expression; overflowing, profuse", e.g. "effusive praise".
          First speaker was John Harman, evaluated by Nancy Hogg. Over the years, John  has delivered over 100 speeches. This was his final speech towards achieving his (yet another) Advanced Communicator Bronze level. The title of his speech was "Toastmaster's Job is Easy!". In his presentation, John reminisced on the 15 years with Toastmasters and spoke about both fun and challenges he faced in his various roles in the organization.
          Second Speaker was Danita Fox, evaluated by Adam Gold. Danita delivered a sales training speech from the Professional Speaker manual. Danita has been a Toastmaster since September 2007. In her speech, she trained her sales force (the audience played this role very well!) on two sales techniques. These two techniques vary, dependent on the category. The categories were "colorology" and "generations". Danita informed us that the science of colorology can tell us about the person's character and preferences based on the colors they wear and favor. The category of "generations", i.e. how old a person is and which generation they grew up in, will reveal even more clues to how most effectively sell to them. For example: "Veterans" are practical and frugal because they grew up during the Great Depression. "Boomers" are focused on goals and dreams. "Generation X" emphasize personal image and want instant gratification. "Generation Y" are civic- and environment-oriented. Knowing these broad characteristics can help salespeople determine how to best fill the need of their customers and communicate with them most effectively.
          Third speaker was Jean Smith with her very first Icebreaker speech. Jean's speech was evaluated by Stan Dalziel. Jean faced many challenges that day (she almost didn't make it to the meeting) but decided to give her speech despite them. In her Icebreaker she spoke about her background and where she came from. She shared the memory of her mother who taught her to represent the family well and be proud of her heritage. Jean reminded the audience how important it is to believe in oneself. Jean has a book coming out in two weeks! We will let you know the details soon.
          Speeches were followed by Thanksgiving-theme Table Topics. Juan Martinez was Table Topics Master. Participants included Adam Gold, Rick Boyer, Frank Connelly, Christy Gardner, and Stacey Wallace. Even our two guests, Kristene and Lanette, volunteered to participate in this activity. Kudos for courage! Rick Boyer presented the Professional Tip of the Day segment. Rick spoke about what motivates people to do great work. Club President, Stan Dalziel, conducted New Member Induction. We are happy to announce that Jean Smith is now an official member of Oyster Point Speakers Club. Welcome!

The meeting was wrapped up with awards. 


RIBBON WINNERS:

Nancy Hogg: BEST EVALUATOR
Rick Boyer: BEST TABLE TOPICS
Danita Fox: BEST SPEAKER

CONGRATULATIONS!



Danita Fox received an award for Distinguished Club Leadership for 2009-2010!

Jessica Ledbetter was recognized as TOASTMASTER OF THE YEAR!


Photos: http://www.radiantharvest.com/TM/photos/

Thank you and see you soon!
Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary


Saturday, November 6, 2010

Thursday, November 4, 2010

"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."  - Jerry Seinfeld

 Hello Toastmasters and Guests,

          As you read in the above quote, for most people the fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of death.  Shall I let you in on a secret? Even most Toastmasters fear public speaking and still get nervous before getting up to speak. What makes the difference is that those who participate in Toastmasters meetings are the ones facing and conquering that fear. If you're reading this blog and are thinking of coming to one of our meetings, don't hesitate. Come. 
          We had twenty in attendance at our last meeting, including six guests. It's always such a pleasure to host visitors. Lauren and Jon,  Jen and Jonathan, Christina, Michael - thank you all for coming. We hope you will visit us again.
Rick Boyer was Toastmaster of the Evening. Nancy Hogg was General Evaluator. Magda Brugos was Table Topics Master.
           We had two speeches. Danita Fox presented "The Moments of Truth" from Successful Club Series manual. Her speech was evaluated by Christy Gardner. Danita spoke about ways to gain and retain new members, and to improve members' experience. Even though her presentation focused on ways to improve a Toastmasters club, it could easily be applied to any other organization or corporation. 68% of people leave an organization because their needs are neglected. It's important to keep that in mind. Any club, organization or corporation has to remember that its members or employees are crucial to its overall success. "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."
          Magda Brugos presented speech # 5 from Competent Communication manual. Her speech was evaluated by Tim Tonkovic. Magda gave a brief introduction to personality types. The four main personality types are: Popular Sanguine, Perfect Melancholy, Powerful Choleric, and Peaceful Phlegmatic. They are driven by different things. Popular Sanguine's basic desire is to have fun. Powerful Choleric wants to have control. Perfect Melancholy strives to have perfection. Peaceful Phlegmatic wants to have peace. One of the secrets to improving relationships with others is knowing what makes other people tick and what drives them to behave in certain ways. When you're able to identify someone's personality, you will be able to better relate to them and adjust your message accordingly. If you learn the primary characteristics of personalities you will improve relationships and avoid  conflict with others.
Since both speakers exceeded their allotted speech time, the Best Speaker award was not presented.
          Table Topics participants were: Matt Philips, Juan Martinez, Tim Tonkovic, Lori Hobson and guest Lauren White. Remember, participation in table topics is the best "off the cuff" speaking practice. All the partcipants did exceedingly well with their topics.

Ribbon Winners:

Tim Tonkovic: BEST TABLE TOPICS
Christy Gardner:  BEST EVALUATOR

Congratulations!


Thank you, 
Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary