Yanyan Z., Toastmaster of the day reflected of instances where a moment is caught in art, books, stand up comedy or even in front of an Toastmaster audience.

Kiki N. and Bill S. officiated as Grammarian and Timer respectively.

The word of the day was, fittingly, ” Ephemeral”, which means ” fleeting, for a short time.”

Zhou B. , in his speech titled” Don’t wait to be ready.” expounded on the main attribute of successful CEOs. Surprisingly, the ability to make quick decisions ranked higher than caution and accuracy. He used Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, as an example of a decisive and successful leader who is able to make decisions and take action to commit to these decisions.  Zhou presented Project #5 – ” Your body speaks” from the CC manual.

Lara G. presented ” Do you need a brand?”, a speech about personal branding. In the age of social media, if you are active on social media, you should be aware anything you post on social media will live on forever and may be used against you, especially by job recruiters. That’s why you should be aware of your brand online and be very deliberate in your profile and postings.

Aswini H. presented project #5-“Your body speaks”  from the CC manual. In her speech titled “Time Management skills- a five minute overview.“, she shared the main concepts of Steve Davidson’s book on time management. To improve your time management skills, try the following  :1. organize your tasks each day in order of high to low value activity.  2. Eliminate distractions- close your email, applications, cell phone and 3. Increase your productivity by exercising at least 30 minutes a day and  taking a break every two hours. Switching activity will help you pull back and refocus on the bigger picture. The goal is always to work less to become more efficient.

Marti M. presented project #3 from the Speaking to Inform Manual: The Demonstration Talk. The title of her speech was : “It’s all in your energy.” Did you know that when we stand in a circle and hold hands, we conduct enough electricity to make a doll talk?  If the circle is broken, the doll loses her voice. What an an eye opening demonstration that  we are sources of energy!   Using some pre-selected volunteers, Marti went on to demonstrate how intention channels our energy into action and also how different actions can support or disrupt our energy flows.

Folks, the machines were right: we are but mere batteries!

Our table topics master, Rodrigo R. posed a series of questions pertaining to moments and people we wished we could recapture. Kiki was voted  Best Table Topic with her recollection of two generations of women life smoking on the porch on  a languid summer evening.

Scott C. was voted  Best Evaluator.

Yanyan B. stepped down as the VP of Education and Zhou B. was approved as the new VP of Education.

Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters  Humorous and Table Topics competition will be held on August 26,2017.

Toastmaster of the day, Cara S. opened the meeting with a story of a business trip to West Chester, PA. Although this business trip was not a vacation, Cara noted that some of her fellow travelers were definitely flying to and from their vacations. By traveling with them, she felt she was also  a part of their vacation.  She reminded us that at, Toastmasters, we get to learn and live vicariously through each other’s speeches.

The word of the day was : Gratitude”. Aswini H was the Grammarian and Julie S, Timer.

Isabella Z. presented CC project #2- Organize your Speech.  In her speech titled: “ How to edit the home video” she explained the four steps to creating a home video: storyboarding and shooting, editing, adding music and publishing. Thanks for the tips, Isabella! Now we know how to create all those cat videos we see on You tube!

Dilip G, presenting “ Unemployment Rate? Fake News!”  energized the audience with his introduction: “ All right , I quit to go home and jump into the pool …of hurt and of unemployment.” Dilip went on to educate the audience on the different methods used to calculate the unemployment rate and how these numbers can be misleading.

Dilip was presenting project #3- Get to the Point, from the CC manual.

In his speech titled “ Two more essential tools for woodworking” ,Scott C. an avid wood worker described the steps and the tools necessary to successful tabletop making. Using precise language and wood boards and projections of  a biscuit joiner and a wide sand belter, Scott taught the audience how to glue boards together and how to effectively sand and level the resulting tabletop. This gave us all an appreciation for the work that goes into making the tables we use in our daily lives.
Scott was presenting Project #2- Resources for informing from the  Speaking to Inform Manual.

Aleli M. presented “ Time + Distance= Opportunities” , a speech about safety and self defense.  Knowing the  distance from an aggressor will help in assessing the best way to defend one’s life. Awareness of one’s surrounding at all times can also save lives. Aleli concluded with an open invitation to the audience to attend self- defense training.

Aleli was presenting project #1 of the Humorously Speaking manual.

Brett S. led the Table Topics.

Zhou B. was voted “Best table topics”  and ”Best Evaluator”.

Our next meeting is August 19.

Ken B. was the Toastmaster of the Day, Cara S. , Grammarian and Lidia S., Timer.
The word of the day was “ alacrity”, meaning “ brisk and cheerful readiness”.

Our first speaker of the day, Aswini H., presented “  Extended family vacation”.  When Aswini’s relatives decided to visit her  she wasted no time in organizing a tour of her new city, Seattle. She  secured City Passes to the most popular sites and engaged in elaborate space planning to fit four adults and two children in her 550 square feet apartment. As the gang toured Seattle, Aswini realized that family vacations do not always go as planned and that, with a little flexibility and a good sense of humor, a good time can be had! Aswini was presenting Project #4 : How to say it.

Traci M presented “ Path of Totality”, which refers to the cities  from which a  full eclipse of the sun will be visible on August 21st, 2017. For many, this is a once in a lifetime kind of event. Unsurprisingly, large crowds are expected at all the cities in the path of totality. One can sense that Traci got more excited about this upcoming eclipse while researching this speech. Traci gave a full presentation, with props such as a baseball helmet, a ball and paper cones, to explain what happens during an eclipse. She also showed off her eclipse gear: cool shirt and essential eclipse viewing glasses. Traci and her family plan to join the crowds of eclipse viewers  heading  to Madras, in Oregon. See if you can spot them in their path of totality shirts. They’ll also  be munching on special snacks such as  sunflower seeds and moon pies! The rest of us will be watching the eclipse live on the NASA website, sans glasses. Traci completed project #2: Organize your speech.

Daniel B. presented his icebreaker. As a true native of Washington State, Daniel was initiated to  the great outdoors early on. As a result, he developed fond memories and a life long passion for fishing , hiking  and gazing a the spectacular sunsets on the water.

Our last speaker of the day, Rodrigo R, presented his ice breaker, titled ” Hometown”.  What brings this   6’8” tall, former basket ball player from El Paso to Seattle via Miami? What’s El Paso like in people’s imagination and for real? What does it feel like to live in El Paso, Miami and  Seattle?  Rodrigo answered all of these questions with a unique mix of humor, visual aids and a unique set of metrics that he applies to his growing set of home towns. Well done, Rodrigo!
Isabella Z.  led the Table Topics part of the meeting where she asked  various audience members to share instances of Action and Inaction.

Dilip G was voted “ Best Table Topic” and Marti M, “ Best Evaluator”.

Our next meeting is August 12.

Andy K. was our Toastmaster, with Lidia S. acting as the Grammarian and Daniel B. officiating as the Timer.
The word of the day was “ Multitasking”

Speaker #1 , Dilip G., presented his icebreaker about procrastination.  “ To do or not to do, that is the question”, he proclaimed. In the case of procrastination, not to do was the answer. Dilip shared the causes and solutions to procrastination in a very lively and humorous speech.

Speaker #2, Kathy M, presented a very effective speech titled “ Hypertension”, also known as the “ Silent Killer”.Kathy’s speech was very effective; she used strong imagery such as “smooth path “ and  ” tumultuous river” to convey the difference between normal and high blood pressure.  The audience learnt the dangers of hypertension and how to combat it.

Speaker #3, Zhou B., presented “ The Last Words”, a joke about translations that came too late for a patient.

Our last speaker, Michael R., presented his ice breaker titled: Coming of Age, insights I’ve learned”. Michael ,who will be 19 soon, shared his realization that he can do anything if he sets his mind to it. Your life is like clay, you are the sculptor and you get to make it into a piece of art.

Well done Michael!

Justin K led the Table Topics. Aswini H. was voted Best Table Topic and Marti M., Best Evaluator.

Congrats to Marti…

…and Aswini