Ken B. was our Toastmaster this week. It was his first time and he did a great job. He said that taking on the role was in its own way a rite of passage because while he’s a comfortable, confident speaker, it was something scary and new. Welcome to the echelon of past Toastmasters, Ken! It gets easier each time.
Our first speaker was one of our newest members, Yanyan B., who gave her CC Project 1 Icebreaker, “Childhood in a Rural Village.” She gave a vivid description of her upbringing on a peasant farm in the village of Golden Star in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province in Southern China. She talked about the hardships she suffered as a young child, such as having to hand carry 30 containers of water from a distant river to irrigate her family’s fields. She then told of how she eventually was able to leave it behind for university and eventual emigration to the United States, closing with a touching remembrance of those in her family she regretted having to leave behind. A wonderful speech, Yanyan, and, as I said, a tough one to follow.
Which is what I did with my Storytelling advanced communication Project 3 speech, “Ugly Americans.” I described a trip I took with my best friend in 2003 to Southeast Asia, seven months after the invasion of Iraq and a week after the CIA announced what most of the world seemed to already know: that Iraq had no WMDs and thus the pretense for the war had been founded on lies and misinformation from the start. Despite travel advisories for Americans going abroad, we went and were the best ambassadors we could be, and also typically we made many errors in judgment. Adventures were had and my speech discussed some of our experiences over our 10-day stay. (FYI, if anyone is interested in reading it, I can send you the full travelogue I wrote during the trip.)
Our next speaker was Aanya L, with her CC Project 10 speech, “The Seat You’re Sitting In.” This speech marks Aanya’s completion of her CC manual, and she used the time to discuss the things she’s learned since joining our club and starting on the CC journey. She emphasized that even more than giving speeches, she has improved her speaking and leadership from sitting in the seats we were sitting in, listening to others. She reflected on several of the speeches and evaluations by other members, such as Peter F., Marti M., and Nicole S., that inspired her, impressed her, and taught her how to be a better speaker. Congratulations Aanya and thanks for the inspiring speech!
Our last speaker was Dave E. who gave his Project 1 speech from the Humorously Speaking advanced manual, “Living with Presentation Anxiety.” Dave talked about a subject common to everyone in the room: the anxiety we feel when we get up in front of a group of people to speak or otherwise perform. He said that anxiety is normal and it can be either positive or negative. It is what you do about anxiety or with it that matters. He told of how Barbara Streisand’s performance contract requires a bucket to be placed on the stairs to the stage so that she can throw up before each performance. Clearly she accepts anxiety as part of her career and keeps on doing it anyway. Dave said that he himself sets aside about an hour before a presentation to freak out. It gets all his anxiety out and allows him to then give the confident, natural speeches he so typically delivers, including this one. Great, funny speech, Dave!
Peter F. was our Topicsmaster for the week and he called on Marti M., Nicole S., and Andrew H. to finish prompts he’d written about rites of passage. Andrew won Best Table Topics for his story about snorkeling off the coast of Australia and having an encounter with a Great White shark. Nice going, Andrew!
Our evaluators were Mary L, Andrea S., Neva C., and Paula L., and our General Evaluator was Kiki N. Mary won Best Evaluator for her comments about Yanyan’s speech. Congratulations, Mary!
Vince H. was our Grammarian, volunteering boldly at the very last second to jump in. Nice going, Vince! The Word of the Day, Copacetic, was used several times.
Makoto was our Timer and kept us right on the clock. Thanks, Makoto!
Peter F. then took the podium as President for the last time to hold our officer elections.
The officers elected were as follows:
- President: Tom B.
- Vice President of Education: Andy K.
- Vice President of Membership: Nicole S.
- Vice President of Public Relations: Marti M.
- Secretaries: Preston K. and Vince H.
- Treasurer: Steve W.
- Sergeants-At-Arms: Andrew H., Jung K., and Yanyan B.
The officer changeover happens next week. Our June 25 meeting will be themed “Road Trip” and the Toastmaster will be Mark W.
Hope to see you then!
I'm a writer, editor, sit-down comedian, and keeper of many hobbies.
