June 10, 2013 Club Meeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our June 10th meeting.

Meeting Location:   The Hillsdale Mall, San Mateo, CA     6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.

Attendees:

Present at the meeting were: Samya Boxberger-Oberoi, Eric Jones, Ron Kasper, Randy Lee, Lara Miller, Suzanne Mulcahy, Emily Panos, Venkat Senapati, Jim Spath, Ruth Wadsworth, and Eric Yan.  There were three guests:  Tom, Nancy, and Neville. 

Ruth was the Toastmaster; Randy was the General Evaluator; Samya was the Grammarian; Eric Y. was the Ah Counter; Ron was the Vote Counter, and Lara was the Timer.

Speaker #1:  Venkat

Manuel:  #3   “Getting to the Point”

Speech:  “Why Fear is a Good Thing?”

Venkat began his speech by describing fear.  He mentioned the common belief that “fear is related to weakness”. Venkat went on to say that fear is a real feeling and it is important to evaluate and find the purpose of the fear. 

Venkat gave two basic reasons we have fear.

       1.    Fear is for our survival, a basic instinct that keeps us safe.

       2.    Fear can also be a motivator, brings new meaning to our lives. 

Venkat gave an example from his own life.  He jumped, tethered to a cord, 50 feet above grand.  He went through the terror of his first jump to an “enlightening” experience after doing many jumps.  He also gave his experience giving speeches at Toastmasters.

Venkat ended his speech by stating that fear comes from our thoughts, which lead to our emotions.  They are not permanent.  “Try not to escape the fear, but use it.

Evaluation:  Suzanne gave the evaluation for Venkat.  She stated that his speech was well organized and the purpose was very clear and he used a good topic with which we could all easily identify. 

The opening gave us the topic purpose right away.  Venkat stated two basic reasons for fear and also gave us two excellent examples from his own experiences that brought these to life. 

The suggestions to improve his speaking were to slow down a bit and provide pauses when he gave his main points, which would allow the audience to take in the information.  Venkat ended the speech with a quote that brought it all together and gave it an excellent closure.  

  

Speaker #2:  Jim

Manuel:  #1   “Ice Breaker”

Speech:   “Traveling Around the USA”

Jim began his speech by describing his childhood home and the close relationships he had developed there, in northern New York .  He talked about attending a local college in order to maintain these close ties.

At the graduate level, Jim decided to venture out and attended the University of Arizona.  After graduation, he took a job in Texas where he met his wife.  Jim relocated to Los Angeles and then after a few years went back to New York.  He ended up moving to Seattle to complete raising his children.

Jim and his wife are now living in the Bay Area with his children located in various locations on the west coast.  He ended his speech by giving us the positive and negative aspects of traveling with his family around the USA.  

Evvaluation:    Emily was the evaluator for Jim’s speech.  She began by stating that Jim was well prepared for his speech and did not use any notes.  He had a clear opening, body, and conclusion to his speech.  We were able to really get an experience of who Jim was. 

Emily suggested that he could improve by moving about the room a little more and slowing down and pausing at key points in his speech.  She also stated that she loved his use of humor, and that he had a great ending to his speech by giving the positive and negative aspects of moving his family around to the different areas in the U.S. 

Eric J. was the Table Topics Master. The theme of the meeting was: “fathers”; the word of the day was: “gift”.  Tom won the Table Topics ribbon.

  

Samya asked for the guests remarks and then closed the meeting. 

Meeting was adjourned at 7:20

June 3, 2013 Club Meeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our June 3rd meeting.

Meeting Location:   The Hillsdale Mall, San Mateo, CA     6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.

Attendees:

Present at the meeting were: Cheryl Angeles, Samya Boxberger-Oberoi, Eric Jones, Randy Lee, Lara Miller, Suzanne Mulcahy, Emily Panos, Sharon Pappos, Venkat Senapati, Jim Spath, and Ruth Wadsworth.  There were four guests:  Greg Mahusay, Shivani, Mike, and Mary.

Samya was the Toastmaster; Jim was the General Evaluator; Lara was the Grammarian; Randy was the Ah Counter; Emily was the Vote Counter, and Venkat was the Timer.

Speaker: Cheryl Angeles

Manuel:  #1  Her speech was given as an “Ice Breaker”.

Speech:  “The San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce”

Cheryl gave an overview of the Chamber of Commerce, for what the local Chamber was established, and what it currently has been doing.  She described the local BRN groups and how they function.  Cheryl further described her role as president of the Chamber.  She stated that she appreciated the ways that Toastmasters and the Chamber of Commerce work together now and in the future.  The Chamber is the proud sponsor of this Toastmaster’s club.   

Speaker: Suzanne

Manuel #6:  “Vocal Variety”  

Speech:   “Our Actions Have Significance”

Suzanne began her speech with a Zen Story:  “Cop Wood, Carry Water”.  To illustrate the point of the story, she provided an experience of taking incoming ninth grade students to a retreat for the weekend with other psychologists. 

The students started the retreat reluctantly but after a small act of kindness during the night, everything changed and the weekend was a success. 

Speech Evaluator #2:  Eric Jones gave an evaluation of Suzanne's speech.  He said that the introduction to the speech, the Zen Story, was difficult for him to understand.  Once the experience was shared, it all came together, with a “hidden surprise”, and he became engaged with the speech.  It is important to remember that when using a story with a moral message, that the moral is clarified so that the audience can more easily follow the speech.   

Eric further stated that the speech was well organized and that the objectives had definitely been achieved.  He suggested that Suzanne use pauses to enhance the messages and humor in the speech.  He concluded by saying, “Suzanne had excellent volume, rate, pitch, quality, and expressions.”  She used vivid word usage and natural body language. 

Sharon was the Table Topics Master. The theme of the meeting was: “artwork”; The word of the day was: “aesthetic”.  Lara won the Table Topics ribbon.  

Samya asked for the guests remarks and then closed the meeting. 

Meeting was adjourned at 7:20

May 20, 2013 Club Meeting

Present at the meeting were: Samya Boxberger-Oberoi, Eric Jones, Randy Lee, Lara Miller, Suzanne Mulcahy, and Sharon Pappos.  There were four guests:  Bill Sexton, Tom Zucchelli, Neville Menta, and Jim Spath. 

Samya was the Toastmaster; Suzanne was the General Evaluator; Suzanne was the Grammarian; Randy was the Ah Counter; the Vote Counter, and the Timer.

Speaker: Lara Miller

Manuel:  #1  “Ice ”Breaker"

Speech:  “Clumsy”

Lara gave a wonderful speech about some the events in her life when she felt that she was, "clumsy".  She told us delightful tales from her adventures at the age of five, climbing to the highest point in the play structure, to breaking her arm doing back flips and roller skating.  

Lara had an amazing way of weaving her story with compassion and humor and a flawless delivery.

Speech Evaluator #1:  Randy gave an evaluation of Lara's speech.  He was very impressed by how polished her delivery was, "well above average for an 'Ice Breaker'".  Lara did not use any notes and her body language was very impressive.  Her speech was well organized and her communication was articulate.   

Speaker: Samya

Advanced Speaker Manuel:  

Speech:   “Story of Toastmasters”

Samya gave an excellent presentation about the benefits of being in Toastmasters.  She gave the history and evolution of the organization beginning in 1924 up to the present day.  Toastmasters provides the feedback on what you do well and what you need to learn.  "Better communicators are better leaders and better leaders are better communicators."

Samya gave her own personal experiences in Toastmasters and what she has gained from being a part of the organization. 

Speech Evaluator #2:  Eric Jones gave an evaluation of Samya's speech.  He said that she gave a great introduction on the history of Toastmasters and it helped us understand their purpose and their growth.  She interjected her own person experiences.

Eric gave the suggestion that when giving the presentation to an audience not familiar with Toastmasters, that Samya explain terms like "Ah Counter" and "Timer", etc.  He loved how Samya let us know how we can utilize and appreciate "constructive criticism".  She gave excellent eye contact, was very articulate, and well organized. 

Sharon  was the Table Topics Master. The theme of the meeting was: “Spring Time Energy”; The word of the day was: “Aesthetic”.  

Samya asked for the guests remarks and then closed the meeting. 

Meeting was adjourned at 7:10