August 5, 2013 Club Meeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our August 5th 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, Lara Miller, Suzanne Mulcahy, Sharon Pappos, Venkat Senapati, Ruth Wadsworth, and Eric Yan.  There were five guests;  Jennifer, Zora, Will, Miles, Mandy, and Xin.

Samya was the Toastmaster; Eric Y. was the General Evaluator; Mandy was the Grammarian; Sharon was the Ah Counter and the Vote Counter; and Lara was the Timer.

Speaker #1:  Ruth:  “Informal Speaking”

Advanced Better Speaker Series:  “Interpersonal Skills”

Ruth spoke about the value of knowing how to answer spontaneous questions and how often it can come up in our lives.  She acknowledged the importance of having the Table Topic questions at our meetings.  Ruth gave us some tips for responding to these types of questions.

·         LISTEN:  Make sure that you hear the question correctly.  When you listen closely, it shows respect for the person asking the questions and says that they are important.  You can often hear the answer in their words.

·         PAUSE:  This gives you a few more seconds to get your thoughts together.

·         TELL THEM:  You can use a cause/effect type of response, give opinions, put the topic into components, or change the topic using a related topic, and don’t apologize in your answer.

·         STOP:  Be sure to speak only 1 to 2 minutes.  Do not go on and on with your answer.

     Evaluation:    Suzanne evaluated Ruth’s speech.  She said that Ruth was very clear about the subject she was discussing.  Ruth referred to her notes only once and used humor to transition over to the table.  She organized her speech into “tips” and made it easy to follow.  It was suggested that she could have used a visual as an outline for her key topics and would not have had to refer to her notes.

Ruth used good vocal variety,and used personal experiences to allow us to understand the topic better and what to do and not do.

Speaker #2:  Venkat:  “Eureka Moments”

Manual Project #4:  “How To Say It”

Venkat gave a very humorous speech describing the process that he underwent to find a topic for his speech.  He followed methods he had heard from experienced speakers as well as those suggested in the manual.  Venkat went through the following methods:

·         Know your audience.  Venkat knew his audience liked hearing personal experiences, but could not think of any.

·         Take long walks.  He took long walks, but did not get an inspired idea.

·         Socialize more and ideas will come.  Venkat socialized and came in at 2:00 a.m., but did not come up with an idea.

·         Look at anything, like magazines, books, or the internet.  He tried these, but did not get an idea.

·         Try mind-numbing tasks.  Venkat watched “zombie” movies and still did not get an idea.

·         Travel.  He tried traveling and broke his pattern of traveling with others and went alone.  He did not get any ideas for his speech.

Venkat ended his speech by saying to be persistent and not give up.  His “Eureka” moment was right in front of him.  He simply had to follow his thoughts and his speech was written.

Evaluation:   Eric J. evaluated Venkat’s speech.  Eric stated that Venkat was very humorous and gave good examples for all of the attempts to find an idea for his speech.  He even envied some of the experiences.  Venkat made it personable and gave vivid verbal pictures for us, like watching “zombie” movies.  “The audience was hanging on to the next story.”

Eric suggested that he might have given us the structure of his speech in the introduction but not to give away the story surprises.  Venkat met his goal of connecting with the audience.  

Miles gave a final practice of his best man speech and sang his song.  He has really improved his speaking in just the three times he has rehearsed it.  Miles appeared more confident and gave an excellent performance.  

The theme of the meeting was: “Back to School”; The word of the day was: “Schedule”.   Table Topics were not presented as the meeting had three speakers.    

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

Meeting was adjourned at 7:35

July 22, 2013 Club Meeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our July 22 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, Suzanne Mulcahy, Sharon Pappos, Venkat Senapati, Ruth Wadsworth, and Eric Yan.  There were two guests; Miles Simpson, and Michael Kjar.

Venkat was the Toastmaster; Samya was the General Evaluator; Eric J. was the Grammarian;  Venkat was the Ah Counter; and Sharon was the Timer.

Speaker #1:  Eric Yan:  “Optimizing Cholesterol”

Manuel Project #4:  “How To Say It” 

Eric began his speech by sharing his doctor’s comments on the results of his cholesterol levels.  He said that Eric had the best results he had seen and wanted to know how he did it.  Eric told us to follow, the “HACK” principle in developing healthy habits. 

1. Don’t shun the facts.

·         We need healthy fats, butter from grass fed cows, almonds, olive oil, etc.

·         Eat a lot of eggs, local farm eggs.

2.  Exercise on a regular basis, 20–30 minutes per day.

3.  Stress management.  Get enough sleep to be well rested and meditate at least 5 minutes per day.

“Common sense is not that common any more but the knowledge is abundant.”  “You are in the driver’s seat; if you want good results, it is up to you.”   

Evaluation:    Suzanne evaluated Eric’s speech.  She said that it was a very good speech and Eric knew his topic well.  He outlined the speech, which made it easy to for the audience to follow.  Eric used many examples from his own life, which kept us interested in his subject.  He has definitely inspired me to spend more time exercising and lowering my stress levels. 

Our guest Miles requested that he be allowed to practice his speech that he was giving as best man for his brother’s wedding.  He gave his speech as well as playing his guitar.  Miles wrote a very heartfelt speech including a quote from his mother. 

The theme of the meeting was: “Ice-Cream Day”; The word of the day was: “sundae”.  Sharon won the ribbon for the best table topics speaker.

    

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

Meeting was adjourned at 7:20 

July 15, 2013 Club Meeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our July 15th 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, Suzanne Mulcahy, Sharon Pappos, Venkat Senapati, Jim Spath, Ruth Wadsworth, and Eric Yan.  There were three guests; Jill, Miles, and Wendell. 

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

Speaker #1:  Eric Yan:  “Hack Your Way to Success”

Manuel Project #3:  “Get to the Point” 

Eric began his speech by reminding us of his prior speech when he used the anachronism GAS, which stood for goals, authenticity, and start.  He gave us another anachronism, HACK, and proceeded to deliver his speech about the meaning of HACK.

·         (H) - Focus on our habits.  Goals can take a long time to complete, so it is important to form good habits to help us attain our goals.  After doing something for 21 days, it usually becomes a habit and therefore easier to do on a routine basis.

·         (A) – Accept that “Life is hard”.  Knowing this allows us to get through life’s everyday events, so we don’t get disappointed when the difficult things arise.

·         (CK) – Practice using “Kaizen”, which means continuous improvement to “close the gap”.  Become more and more like your ideal self.

Evaluation:    Sharon evaluated Eric’s speech.  She stated that Eric gave a very impressive speech.  He had a clear purpose from the beginning.  Eric began with “habits” and the benefits of creating habits to reach our goals.  Sharon stated that his speech was clear and well organized.  She remembered the line, “Be tenacious and you can HACK your way through anything.”  Sharon suggested that Eric could slow down during his transitions.  She further stated that he had excellent gestures, and voice enunciation, and did not use any notes. 

Speaker #2:  Jim  “Multi-tasking is Fun”

Manuel:  #2   “ Organize Your Speech”

Jim gave a speech about the pros and cons of multi-tasking.  He stated that he enjoyed this and was really good at it.  Some of the advantages of multi-tasking are:

·         Eliminates boredom.

·         Love the job variety.

·         Deal with many different people.

·         Gives you a variety of skills.

Jim talked about his occupation as a project manager.  No two days were the same and you are always learning a variety of skills.  Multi-tasking does, however, create some problems.

·         You can over commit.   You run out of time.

·         “Thrashing” – You can start one project, then another and finish none of them.

Jim concluded his speech by stating what we can avoid.

·         Don’t over commit.  Know when to say “no”.

·         Find your tolerance for multi-tasking.

·         Allocate time for specific projects.

·         “Time box things”.

Evaluation:  Samya evaluated Jim’s speech.  She really liked his points, advantages, and the ways we could get into trouble.  His speech was well organized, clear, and he defined it properly.  Jim used his visuals well and gave good examples. 

Samya suggested that he could put more pauses during his transitions.  His conclusion was very strong and she suggested that he could have made the introduction as strong and it would have been an even more powerful speech.

The theme of the meeting was: “Summer Holiday”; The word of the day was: “Leisure”.  Eric won the ribbon for the best table topics speaker.

    

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

Meeting was adjourned at 7:15

July 8, 2013 Club Meeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our July 8th 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, Suzanne Mulcahy, Sharon Pappos, Venkat Senapati, Jim Spath, Eric Yan, and Tom Zucchelli.  There was one guest; Wendell. 

Jim was the Toastmaster; Eric was the General Evaluator; Suzanne was the Grammarian; Eric was the Ah Counter; Tom was the Vote Counter; and Sharon was the Timer.

Speaker #1:  Samya:  “Timeless Wisdom”

Advanced Speaker Manuel:  “Story Telling”  Project # 3

Samya talked about stories that were morally based, had a lesson, and were timeless.  She gave three examples that had a specific moral and lesson to impart; The Farmer and the Donkey; The Hare and the Turtle; and The Mice and the Council.

Samya told the stories and gave us the specific lessons involved.  Her presentation was very powerful and effective. 

Evaluation:  Venkat gave the evaluation for Samya’s speech.  He stated that Samya stayed on purpose and followed the objectives of “story telling”.  She used simple fables with valuable lessons, and were easy stories to follow.  Samya used good techniques of story telling, used a feeling of live action, where we could experience the events, and had good vocal variety.  Her stories captured our attention. 

Venkat suggested that Samya could perhaps use new stories that would be unfamiliar to us.  Overall her approach to story telling was excellent.  Samya stood up at times and sat down at other times, giving us the sense of the story telling experience. 

The theme of the meeting was: “Flight”; The word of the day was: “miracle”.  Sharon won the ribbon for the best table topics speaker.

    

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

Meeting was adjourned at 7:15

June 24, 2013 Club Meeeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our June 24th 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, Ron Kasper, Lara Miller, Suzanne Mulcahy, Sharon Pappos, Venkat Senapati, Jim Spath, Ruth Wadsworth, Eric Yan, and Tom Zucchelli.  There were three guests; Paula, Kannappan, and Wendell.

 

Venkat was the Toastmaster; Suzanne was the General Evaluator; Sharon was the Grammarian; Ron was the Ah Counter and the Vote Counter; and Jim was the Timer.

Speaker #1:  Kannappan:  “How to Prepare for a Contest”

Guest Speaker: 

Kannappan shared the three phases of preparing for your speech.

1.    Incubator Phase – Nurture your mind, body, and soul.  Think outside of the box.  Take a walk, pause, breathe, relax and the ideas will come.  Choose a topic you know, a topic you love, and a topic the audience cares about.

2.    Developmental Phase – Use the tools you have. For example; 52 speaking tips, look at youtube for prior winners, etc.

3.    Delivery Phase – Tighten your speech, not more than 720 words.

Kannappan’s speech not only told us how to prepare for a contest but how to prepare for any speech or presentation.

Evaluation:  A group evaluation was given for Kannappan’s speech.  He received many compliments regarding his speaking.  He was well organized, used great vocal variety, had good beginning and concluding comments, and the body was articulated well and concise.

Speaker #2:  Eric .Y:  “High Octane Gas for the Ultra Life”

Manuel:  #2   “ Organize Your Speech”

Eric gave a inspiring speech about how running 100 mile marathons gave him lessons that he applied to his life.  He used the anachronism GAS, which stood for goals, authenticity, and start.

Goals:  Clearly define our goals.  Give deadlines and write down our goals, monthly, weekly, and daily.  We choose our goals and we can choose to make the commitment to complete them.

Authenticity:  Be authentic.  Love ourselves and follow our own needs.  What works for other people may not work for you.  Listen to yourself.

Start:  Take action.  Just do it.  We learn by doing.

Evaluation:    Ruth evaluated Eric’s speech.  She said that it was a great speech and Eric knew his topic well.  He was able to bring out the humanness of running so we could all relate to the topic.  Ruth loved the term GAS and how it was used in the speech.  It is something we can all remember and apply to our own lives. 

Ruth suggested that the beginning was a little weak but after about 30 seconds, Eric tightened his speaking up very well and captured our full attention.

The theme of the meeting was: “Independence Day”; The word of the day was: “prosperity”.  Lara won the ribbon for the best table topics speaker.

    

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

Meeting was adjourned at 7:20 

June 17, 2013 Club Meeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our June 17th 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, Suzanne Mulcahy, Emily Panos, Sharon Pappos, Venkat Senapati, Jim Spath, Ruth Wadsworth, Eric Yan, and Tom Zucchelli.  There were no guests.

 Ron was the Toastmaster; Venkat was the General Evaluator; Eric was the Grammarian; Jim was the Ah Counter; Suzanne was the Vote Counter, and Emily was the Timer.

Speaker #1:  Sharon:  “Mystic Traveler”

Manuel:  #2   “Organize Your Speech”

Sharon began by introducing her version of the “Mystic Traveler”, which was the “Breath of Life” and “Transformation”.  She further stated that it was a journey of self-exploration.  Sharon used the symbol from the Tarot cards, called “The Fool”.  She passed the card around and described the meaning of each color and symbol used on the card. 

Her speech further explained how she interpreted the card, “We are all here for a purpose.  Life is our education; knowledge is the key; and experience is    .  Sharon ended her speech with the message, “Life is not a problem to be solved; life is a mystery to be lived and loved.”

Evaluation:  Suzanne gave the evaluation for Sharon.  She stated that her speech had a strong opening and we could all feel her passion for this subject.  Sharon let us know right away what the topic was about and the importance of our journey of self-discovery.

It was suggested that Sharon could slow down her speech a little and add some pauses after making a meaningful statement.  Her speech was well organized and as she described the meaning of the colors and the symbols, she gave us all a personal experience of the “fool”.  Sharon also gave a strong ending to her speech.

Speaker #2:  Ruth:  “What the Bleep is that?”

Advanced Manuel:  #2  

Ruth gave a speech as a mentoring for the club members by walking us through the agenda.  She opened with her personal experience as she went through the various levels of the first ten speeches and what she had learned at each level.  Ruth led back to the developing of her leadership skills as she went through each level.

Ruth then gave an overview of the roles in the Competent Communicator and each role through the agenda.  She mentioned how we can learn from each of these roles.

Ruth ended with her current experience in the Advanced Communicator and the specific leadership roles she has had.

Evaluation:    Samya was the evaluator for Ruth’s speech.  She began by stating that Ruth was well prepared for her speech.  She used her personal experience to enlighten us on how we could improve by using the Toastmaster roles.

Ruth had good body language, showed confidence, and spoke in a relaxed manner.  She spent time taking a look at the dos and don’ts  of the agenda roles.

The theme of the meeting was: “cartoon characters”; The word of the day was: “animation”.  Jim and Emily tied for the best table topics speakers.

    

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

Meeting was adjourned at 7:20