President Dave E. opened the meeting by greeting all guests (Ben, Mary and Nagisa) and having all present introduce themselves. He then introduced the meeting emcee (“Toastmaster”) Lisa L.
First-time Toastmaster Lisa launched the program with remarks on her favorite pastime of world travel. She then introduced the Timer (John N.) and Ah Counter/Word of Day person (Diane B.) to explain their roles. Our Word of the Day was “ubiquitous.”
SPEECHES

Joel’s body language wows them!

1. Speaker 1. Ray R., “Do Us a Favor.” Project No. 10 from the Competent Communication manual, Inspire Your Audience. Ray urged members to help the club continue its membership-building program by taking everyday opportunities to spread the word.
2. Speaker 2. Joel H, “Important Rules for the World Traveler.” Project No. 5 from the CC manual, Your Body Speaks. Joel worked on body language with a tongue-in-cheek primer on world travel. Advice included this helpful tidbit: “If a cab driver starts walking away with your backpack, do not be alarmed.”

TABLE TOPICS
Amara D. led the spontaneous-speaking practice session with queries on world travel. The winner of Best Table Topics was John, who described his ideal road trip: rambling from baseball stadium to baseball stadium in an RV with his son.

EVALUATIONS
Nicole B. and Dave E. gave supportive suggestions for improvement to Ray and Joel, respectively. General Evaluator Scott C. pointed out how the speech evaluators might give better feedback and commented on the meeting as a whole.

GRADUATION
John was recognized for his completion of the recent Speechcraft course.

President Dave presents certificate to John

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1.  Ben and Mary both joined the club! A hearty welcome to you both!
2. The big spring conference of Puget Sound Toastmasters is coming up on April 30th. A great time and lots of learning are guaranteed, so see this link for more info.
3. Next meeting’s roles:

Our closing meeting of Speechcraft kicked off at 7:45 AM. Toastmaster Dave brought Beth to the lectern to practice introducing a speaker.
SPEECHES

• Beth introduced Diane, who gave a speech on the Be in Earnest theme. Diane gave an animated talk on a movie she feels passionate about — Jaws, the 1975 aquatic thriller. Diane’s enthusiasm for this blockbuster was very evident!
• Dave then introduced regular member Beth, who spoke on the Organize Your Speech theme about something she clearly felt just as passionately about: voice mail! As in, please don’t! Voice mail, explained Beth, is a relic of a bygone era in asynchronous communication, so reliance on it is not recommended for important messages. Thanks for the wake-up call, Beth!
• Diane then introduced Nicole, who delivered her Be in Earnest speech on a topic she feels strongly about: organic produce. We were introduced to when and why to go organic. Thanks, Nicole!

TABLE TOPICS

• Spontaneous speaking practice followed. Topic master Ray lobbed questions on the theme of “A Good Start.” Several too questions, including guest Ben. The show-stealer was guest Norma, who used her 1-minute answer to share the secret of a marriage getting off to a good start: have a good fight! Go Norma.

EVALUATIONS

• Our three speakers received 1-2 minutes of feedback, including suggestions for improvement.
• Guest General Evaluator Norma gave helpful suggestions to speech evaluators and our guest speaker Jerry.

SPECIAL APPEARANCE

• Special guest Jerry W. spoke to Speechcraft participants about how the Speechcraft process begins the process of learning better listening, thinking and speaking skills, which continues in the regular meetings of a Toastmasters club. He used concrete examples of how Toastmasters builds competence, which leads to confidence. Thank you, Jerry!

CONGRATULATIONS!

• Two Speechcrafters who completed the course, Nicole and Diane, were presented certificates from Toastmasters International marking their achievement. Good going!
  

NEXT MEETING

• We meet again on 4/16 at 8:00 AM. Speechcrafters Raj and Dan are expected to finish up their final speeches and receive their graduation certificates along with John, who returns from an absence. Please check our TurboBase.com page for scheduling.

Dave E. led the meeting as coordinator of our Speechcraft. Five speeches included:

1. John N., Be in Earnest project speech: “Who Makes a Better Pet, a Teenager or a Lap Dog?” John used a tongue-in-cheek comparison to comment on the tribulations of raising a teenager.
2. Ray R.,  Ice Breaker speech: “What am I Doing Here?” Ray talked about what he enjoys about Toastmasters after all these years.
3. Raj N., Organize Your Speech project speech: “Balanced Life” Raj offered suggestions for work/life balance.
4. Diane B., Organize Your Speech project speech: “Is My Teen Using Alcohol or Drugs? I Don’t Wanna Know!” Diane provided advice for parents on how to relate to teenagers so they stay away from drugs and alcohol.
5. Nicole B,  Organize Your Speech project speech: “When the Clients Come to Town” Nicole related how she handled a visit by out-of-town clients.

Joel H. provided spontaneous speaking opportunities in Table Topics with questions on travel, since he had just returned from a brief vacation. The award for Best Table Topics went to John.
Evaluations followed. Nicole, Diane, John, Raj and Ray gave supportive feedback to the five speakers respectively. Timer Beth G. kept track of all times for speeches, table topics and evaluations. General Evaluator Amara D. observed each speech and evaluation, then gave suggestions for improvement to each evaluator.
Before the closing, Dave explained the preparations for next week and Ray gave a brief explanation of how to hand  control of the lectern to the next speaker during transitions.
Next Meeting: Speechcraft finishes! We will have a special guest speaker, so don’t miss it!

We had a busy and fun Speechcraft meeting today!
Coordinator Dave E led off by introducing guest speaker Valerie T, who told us how to introduce a speaker in her talk, “Plan for a Smooth Flight.” Thank you, Valerie.
Next came three Ice Breaker (introductory) speeches from Speechcrafters Raj N., Diane B. and Nicole B. In talks titled “Me in a Nutshell, “Who I Am” and “The West Coast is the Best Coast,” our newcomers introduced themselves respectively and got started down the path to better speaking . Good job!
Tom led a brief Table Topics session, in which Scott C won the Best Table Topics ribbon.
John N. and Dan G. then gave their second speeches, from the Organize Your Speech project. We learned a lot about John’s passion for the game in “Why I Love Baseball” and heard harrowing personal stories in Dan’s “Early Morning Phone Calls & Text Messages.”
Speechcraft advisors Dave E., Lisa L. and Amara D. evaluated the Ice Breaker speeches; then Dan and John gave their first speech evaluations by evaluating each other’s speeches.
Dave led a discussion on speaking with conviction in a prelude to the third speech project, Be in Earnest, which Dan and John will tackle next week.
Each segment of the meeting was timed by Area 23 Governor Jerry W. Thanks for pitching in, Jerry.
Scott C. provided helpful feedback to the five speech evaluators in the general evaluation.