Marti M. was the Toastmaster of the day, Andy K., Grammarian and Isabella Z., Timer.
The word of the day was “ Homonym.”
If we are what we read and Marti what she reads. Judging from her selection of books, our talented Toastmaster is intensely interested in people; what makes them tick, what makes them buy and how they adjust to technology. She also is an aspiring song writer.
Speaker #1, Brett S, presented project #3, “Defusing Verbal Criticism” from the Advanced Interpersonal Communication Manual. Nobody is perfect, we are all humans and bound to make mistakes. Instead of taking criticism negatively, we should learn from it and improve ourselves. In this three-part speech, Brett explained the do’s and don’ts of handling verbal criticism, followed by a demonstration of how to handle verbal criticism and a final Q& A section. Kudos to Brett for so adeptly defusing my criticism of his shoddy installation of crown molding in an improvised conversation. Brett’s advice works! My experience as the unsatisfied customer was that listening, acknowledgment and apology go a long way towards defusing verbal criticism.
Speaker #2, Aswini H,. presented project #7- Research your topic from the CC Manual. In her speech titled “ Origin and evolution of startups”, Aswini explained what startups are and why, despite the high failure rate, some are more successful than others. Key takeaways: be creative in your approach to problem solving, insist on impeccable execution and be flexible and tweak ready.
Speaker #3, Lidia S., presented CC project #3- Get to the Point. In her speech titled “ Why reading Literary Fiction is So Important”, Lidia made a compelling case for why reading literary fiction make people better citizens who not only have more rewarding jobs, but also are more civically minded and active. According to research, reading literary fiction activates the part of the brain controlling cognitive function and boosts empathy. Literary fiction presents situations of moral complexity, which in my interpretation, take the reader out of the box and expands and enriches his/her world beyond that of non fiction. Similarly, poetry activates the self analysis and memory functions . In conclusion, she encouraged the audience to read more literary fiction to become better citizens.
Our last speaker of the day was Matt K. presenting his ice breaker titled “ Everyone Has A Plan Until They Get Punched in the Face.” Matt started and ended his speech with a punch. In his introduction, he told the story how a surprise defeat of his favorite football team ended in him smashing his tv and he concluded with how he chose to make the best of being figuratively punched in the face when he was laid off. Matt’s trajectory from his home state of Georgia to the oil fields of Wyoming, Western Colorado, Alaska to Seattle is a testament to the flexibility and the creativity and humor of an oil engineer turned salesman.
I think that we can all agree that, by choosing to join Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters , Matt truly is making the very best of “being punched in the face.” Well done and welcome to the club, Matt!
Welcome to our new Sunriser
Saher A. was the Table Topics Master. Members of the audience answered questions about books in their lives. Some notable quotes: “ I like to be proven wrong” – Lidia S. , “ Half of these books have to go.”- Andy K., “ Suzzalo reminds me of Harry Potter.” – Kathy M. and “ My father was an editor for childrens’ books. He only read me one story when I was a child.” – Zhou.
Zhou and Andy K. tied for Best Table Topic. Tom B. and Paula L. tied for Best Evaluator.
Our next meeting is October 28, 2017.
What do Mauritius Island, fashion design, Vaclav Havel, Poutine and the Emerald City have in common? Me! All these ways have led me to ( drum roll...) the Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters where friends and great speakers are made! I look forward to sharing my stories with you!
