Saturday, August 23, 2014

August 18, 2014 Club Meeting

Chamber Speakers Circle Toastmasters

August 18, 2014

Attendees: David Nazzaro, Kira, Lara, Fernando, Brenda, Sharon, Samya, Aditi, Terri, Suzanne

Guests: Gabriel from Brazil, Gustavo (TM from Switzerland), Manthan Kothari (TM from LA), Shiyu Tan (TM from LA), Yanira, Caroline (San Mateo Toastmasters Club)

Theme of the day: Automobiles

Word of the day: elegant

Glenn was the Toastmaster; Brenda was the General Evaluator; David K. was the Grammarian, Samya was the Ah Counter, and Lara was the Timer.

Samya started the meeting, announcing that we are now a Selected Distinguished Club 2013 - 2014. Samya congratulated all the officers on attending/completing trainings. All the officers Stood up and spoke about their roles.

Aditi told everyone about the upcoming Evaluation and Humor Speech Contests. The club’s contest will be held next week. The winners of the contests will represent the club in the Area contest. The Area contest will be on 9/15 at the College of San Mateo at 6:30 p.m. Samya moved to have the club hold its Monday meeting on 9/15 at the contest so we be able to support our club representatives.

Suzanne reminded everyone dues $46 are coming up in September.

Speaker: Aditi: Speech Lessons from a Speech Coach, Project #4, How to Say it

David N. gave the objectives of Aditi’s’s speech project and Glenn gave an introduction.

Aditi shared her experience hearing Patricia Fripp’s speech about being a good speaker. She shared the Fripp Speech Model diagram with the group. Three important ingredients to a good speech:

· Content: The content should be interesting to the audience. If it isn’t, how do you make people care about the content? One way is to give stories. Aditi says stories help the audience relate when a story is shared. Aditi said people should build a repertoire of stories.

· Structure: Determines how the audience perceives what you have to say. The premise should be one sentence. Strong closings are important.

· Delivery: How do you present what you have to say? Speeches are better when you are conversational. “Specificity builds credibility.” Being concise helps people understand better.

Aditi emphasized practice makes permanent. Aditi encouraged everyone to speak more here at Toastmasters.

Speaker: Terri: Speech Project #1, Icebreaker

Suzanne listed the objectives of Terri’s speech project.

Terri spoke about running. Terri shared experiences from PE class in school and how her sinuses impacted her respiration. In 2011 Terri had an impulse to run. She recalled being exhausted and sore, but delighted at the same time, enjoying the colors of Autumn. She set a goal to go farther for the next day, and continued to set more goals to move farther each day, crossing streets and increasing her distance.

Terri fell in love with running. Terri thought she was incapable of running but now she realizes it is all possible. Terri encourages everyone to run or to do what they love to be happy. Running also inspired Terri to join Toastmasters, to overcome another obstacle. Terri reminded us in both cases, to “breathe and go forth”.

Table Topics: Fernando was the Table Topics Master. Fernando asked questions about quick change, an improv game inspired by “Whose Line is it Anyway”.

Fernando selected a High School scenario:

· Girls night Out: Samya, Aditi and Sharon

Brenda called on her team of evaluators.

Evaluator #1: David N. on Aditi’s speech: Speech Lessons from a Speech Coach

David N. liked Aditi’s speech, he thought Aditi had great eye contact, voice projection and noted how much Aditi has improved. David N. commented on Aditi’s handout stating that the content on the handout could be a source for multiple speeches. David liked the wise quotes Aditi used and how Aditi reminded everyone to use this club as a resource for practice..

Evaluator #2: Suzanne on Terri’s speech: Breathe and Go Forth

Suzanne enjoyed Terri’s speech about running and how small journeys can help people reach a larger goal. Suzanne said it was a wonderful speech about perseverance. Terri’s story ended with inspiration on how to do what we love. Suzanne thinks as Terri becomes more comfortable, that she will use more of the space.

Due to the format of the Table Topics, there was no winner.

The meeting ended late: 7:23

August 11, 2014 Club Meeting

Chamber Speakers Circle Toastmasters

August 11, 2014

Attendees: David N, Fernando, Lara, Leif, Brenda, David K., Suzanne, Glenn, Vishal, Aditi, Terri

Guest: Donovan, Kira

Theme of the day: the dog days of summer

Word of the day: lexicon

Roles:

· Toastmaster: David K.

· Table Topics: Aditi

· Speaker #1: Leif

· Speaker #2: Glenn

· Grammarian: Lara

· Timer: Suzanne

· Ah Counter: Fernando

· Vote Counter: Brenda

· Evaluator #1: David

· Evaluator #2: Aditi

· General Evaluator: Vishal

Speaker#1: Leif: Global Navigation Best Practices and Recreations, Speech Project #2, Organize Your Speech

David N introduced the objectives.

Leif explained his presentation for work, based on research. Leif showed the audience the hamburger line icon that helps people navigate on a site, sharing handouts on how the "cells" work, showing lists that lead to other lists, and how the carrot icon indicates another list, and darker cells at the top show the trail called "breadcrumbs". Darker colors were used to indicate previous menus. Test users found the darker colors for previous steps and lighter colors for the current step easy to understand.

Speaker#2: Glenn: Story, Speech Project #5, How Your Body Speaks

Aditi introduced the objectives.

Glenn started his speech discussing using body language to tell a story and then decided to tell a story like telling a story to children. Glenn read a short story called “The man and the dandelion”; Glenn walked around and gestured with his free hand, and also waved his hand when saying "I'm a weed!". Glenn then shared a story about love and sacrifice, the "Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. Glenn ended the story with "and the tree was happy".

Table Topics: Aditi led an impromptu Table Topics session, mentioning training's suggestion is to practice table topics. David N. shared a story about his friend (guest) Donovan. Lara, Ruth, Donovan, Suzanne and Brenda spoke.

Vishal called on David to evaluate Leif.

Evaluator #1: David on Leif’s speech: Global Navigation Best Practices and Recreations

David acknowledged how well Leif has developed as a speaker, noting Leif's organization, not needing notes, and the handouts were nice. Leif’s cough was distracting, maybe bring water next time. Leif personalized his speech by acknowledging Glenn in the audience.

Evaluator #2: Aditi evaluated Glenn. Glenn was much more expressive, explained the purpose, and used the space and had more tonality. Aditi recommended that Glenn tie experiences back to his life and indicate the relevance. Tonality and body movement were good.

Round Table Evaluations:

· Lara thought Leif showed no fear, communicates well on subjects he's knowledgeable on.

· Fernando appreciated the handouts.

· Aditi mentioned Leif looked confident as well, he may want to add more relevance for the audience,

· Donovan mentioned Leif could have brought up the "purpose “more, to add clarity.

· Vishal appreciated the handouts (his plan B) and noted Leif could move around more, improve body language.

· David K thought Glenn's gestures were well done, it had good flow.

· Terri really appreciated the Giving Tree story and thought it was touching, that Glenn could have used a larger variety of words.

· Suzanne loved Glenn's expressions, and thought it was well-done. Suzanne suggested Glenn could have a prop book as a story teller.

· Brenda video-taped the speech.

· David N. appreciated that Glenn used his notes, and did his speech even though he had a tough week. David N. noted Glenn's pacing has improved and could improve his eye contact.

· Vishal thought Glenn looked professional and serious, but he could’ve taken a risk.

Vishal’s overall evaluation: David K. did a wonderful job as toastmaster, appreciated Lara's lexicon, and thanked Donovan, the guest.

Donovan won the Table Topics contest.

Suzanne reminded people the dues are being collected $46 for all of the members, starting next week.

Adjourned early at 7:14

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

August 4, 2014 Club Meeting

Chamber Speakers Circle Toastmasters

August 4, 2014

Attendees: Ruth, Vishal, Lara, Fernando, Glenn, Suzanne, Martin, David N., Aditi and David K.

Guest(s): Kira

Theme of the day: Accomplishment

Word of the day: Preparation

Suzanne was the Toastmaster and Grammarian; Ruth was the General Evaluator and Vote Counter, Glenn was the Ah Counter, and David K. was the Timer.

Suzanne started the meeting, Samya will return 8/18 meeting.

Suzanne reminded everyone about upcoming contests, the qualifying speech contest in the club will be on 8/25. Officer training at Genentech is on 8/9.

Speaker: David: Causes of Childhood Obesity, Advanced Speech Project #4, A Fact-Finding Report

Lara listed the objectives of David’s speech project.

David started with some percentages of how many children are obese in America, a new generation may die younger than their parents

Causes:

· Economic & Geographic

· Energy Imbalance: Eating too much, exercising too little

· MSNBC – reports 49% of parents do not have time to cook a meal on a daily basis

§ They are going out to restaurants where meals are loaded with things that aren’t healthy

§ Fast food is loaded with saturated fat and low in nutrients

· CBS New 1 out of 3 children is eating a meal from a fast food restaurant every day

· On average they are 6 pounds heavier

· Parents’ roles: Parents ask their children to clean their plates, even if the portions are oversized

· Soda sizes are much higher and have unlimited refills

· Children are exercising too little

§ They do not play outdoors

· David does note there is a moderate decline in obesity of 19 sates – the broadest positive trend

Addressed in Q&A:

· Geographical – areas of LA—only fast food restaurants – In lower income areas

· Overfed and malnourished at the same time

· Ruth asked if there is someone to make nutritious food that is tasty in schools (citing Michelle Obama’s program)

· David said Berkeley introduced a program where one chef is producing healthy tasty food.

· David noted that most schools don’t cook on site and having cheap food shipped and they are also unhealthy.

Speaker: Aditi: GEOENGINEERING: A Solution to Climate Change, Project #3 Get to the Point

Martin listed the objectives of Adyta’s speech project.

Aditi referenced her previous speech, reviewing global warming issues. Aditi introduced her idea of manipulating the climate with some examples previously used:

Greenhouse gases absorbing radiation
Putting giant mirrors in orbit to reflect
Pumping iron into the ocean that will encourage algae to grow—but iron would cause fish to die
Planting trees, but they take too long to grow

Aditi then gave an overview of the Aerosol-based methods:

Volcanoes
Desert Dust
Anthropogenic Aerosols (black carbon)
Aditi noted clouds are good reflectors
Simulate Volcanoes
Artificial Clouds

Aditi reviewed pros:

· Only a 3 % increase in cloud reflectivity would offset the human contribution to climate change.

Aditi reviewed cons: cost, time, international policy.

Aditi ended her presentation with an Oscar Wilde quote:

“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”

Table Topics: Vishal was the Table Topics Master. Vishal used quotes from Abraham Lincoln and William Shakespeare, two Chinese proverbs, and two Polish proverbs, to ask people what they thought each quote meant. Lara, David K., Martin, Kira, Glenn and Suzanne provided responses.

Ruth called on her team of evaluators.

Evaluator #1: Lara on David’s speech: Causes of Childhood Obesity

Lara noted how David outlined his speech and his indication of society’s role as a major contributor to obesity in the US. Lara noted David handled the Question and Answer period very well, providing more information. David was very well-informed on the topic.

Evaluator #2: Martin on Aditi

Martin liked how the introduction was provided and that the presentation was “non-engineer” friendly. Martin said Aditi made her presentation very tangible, noting that having a definition of a Geo-engineering would be helpful.

Martin noted the images were very helpful as well. Martin shared a story about a visit to China and how they pumped air into the clouds to help with the pollution issue.

Lara won the best speaker ribbon for her Table Topics story.

Meeting ended at 7:15

July 28, 2014 Club Meeting

Chamber Speakers Circle Toastmasters

July 28, 2014

Attendees: Ruth, Glenn, Suzanne, David N., Leif, and David K.

Guest(s): Kira

David was the Toastmaster, Ruth was the General Evaluator, and the Timer.

Suzanne started the meeting, as Samya was out of town. She welcomed the guest and asked her to tell us why she came to Toastmasters.

Speaker #1: David K.: “Crutches”, Project #1, “Ice Breaker”

Leif listed the objectives of David’s speech project.

David began his speech by giving us an overview of “crutches” and how they are used both physically and psychologically. He then described himself as a shy and introverted young student who began using the camera as his “crutch”. He was able to get out of his shell by taking pictures of others when he joined the “Year Book Club” in high school. He continued taking photos and in college, created albums for people.

David described his next crutch, which was using emails. It was a way of communicating that did not involve personal interaction. He also used email instead of phone calls and it was a way of remembering what was said. David used his i-phone as a way of remembering names and numbers through his contact list.

David concluded his speech with the question, "What is your crutch?"

Evaluator #1: Leif evaluated David K.’s speech.

Leif began by commenting on the interesting use of the prompts. They were quite effective. David made a very good comparison on his use of crutches. He spoke clearly and slow enough for us to follow along. David had a good beginning and ending to his speech. He used his notes at the beginning and became a little lost on the time line of his past, but overall a great ice breaker speech. David also "owned the stage".

Speaker #2: Glenn: “Lessons From the GMAT”, Project #4

Suzanne listed the objectives of Glenn’s speech project.

Glenn began by describing the graduate exam, GMAT, that needs to be passed for entry into a graduate admissions program. He then went into the lessons that can be learned from the English portion of this exam.

Sentence Corrections
Reading Comprehension
Critical Reasoning - What is being argued?

Glenn used a very good visual that assisted in the understanding of his presentation. This paper gave examples of sentence correction questions and how to analyze them to find the correct response. The second page referred to an extract from the Competent Communication Manual pp.24. Glenn effectively brought a Toastmasters training manual into the educational process of getting through the GMAT exam.

Evaluator #2: Suzanne evaluated Genn’s speech.

Suzanne began the evaluation by stating that Glenn gave us a good reminder of the value of being in Toastmasters and how the education that we are receiving can effect a wide variety of tasks that we face in everyday life. Glenn is getting more confident and becoming a better speaker. He looked like he felt comfortable in front of an audience. He was well prepared and offered good information.

A suggestion for Glenn would be to slow the pace a little. He was a little fast at
the beginning of his speech. Glenn slowed down after he gained confidence. The information was valuable and it is important to give the audience time absorb the facts. Overall, it was an excellent speech.

Table Topics: Since we did not have a Table Topics Master, the Toastmaster, David N., challenged the members and guest to each give a spontaneous ice breaker speech. He put the format on the board and began by giving his own ice breaker speech. Then each one gave a speech and called the next one to speak.

This was an exiting surprise for the members and a great way to have us learn to think on our feet. Our first time guest, Kira, also participated and did a wonderful speech.

Suzanne asked for feedback from the guest and then closed the meeting at 7:15 p.m.

July 21, 2014 Club Meeting

Chamber Speakers Circle Toastmasters

July 21, 2014

Attendees: Ruth, Vishal, Glenn, Suzanne, Martin, David N., Aditi, and David K.

Guest(s): Judy

Theme of the day: Summertime

Word of the day: Solstice

Suzanne was the Toastmaster and Grammarian; David was the General Evaluator and Vote Counter, Glenn was the Ah Counter, and Martin was the Timer.

Suzanne started the meeting, as Samya was out of town. She welcomed the guest and asked her to tell us why she came to Toastmasters.

Speaker #1: Vishal: “What’s In a Name?”, Project #2, “Organize Your Speech”

David listed the objectives of Vishal’s speech project.

Vishal began his speech with the question, “How are people named?” He went on to explain that children were usually name by their parents, sometimes a favorite name, a family member, or someone famous that they admire. We also honor people by naming buildings, schools, etc. after them.

Sometimes people are given names such as “King Maker”, as was the case for the person who was behind F. D. Roosevelt’s campaign wins for the presidency. Vishal brought out that this person became famous because he could remember people’s names. It has been a well-known fact that people like to be remembered by their names and feel honored when their names are recognized.

Vishal described key ways to remember names:

· Repeat the name several times until you can recall it.

· Write it down so that you can recall it later.

· Make a connection that would make it easier for you to recall the name.

Remembering people’s names will enhance any business or relationships.

Evaluator #1: David evaluated Vishal’s speech.

David began by commenting on the opening of Vishal’s speech. It was a “good example of someone who dives right in”. Vishal also had an excellent body and conclusion to his speech and he made good eye contact. He looked at his audience throughout and walking up and using several members personal names were very effective and made his point. The concepts were interesting and Vishal brought them to life with the example of the “King Maker”. It was a very professional speech.

Speaker #2: Leif: “Ice Breaker Speech”, Project #1

Martin listed the objectives of Leif’s speech project.

Leif went through the important highlights of his life. He was born in San Jose, went to Sweden, moved back to San Jose, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Washington State, Reno, and San Carlos. The one consistent that stayed with him through all of these moves was his love for music and art. In high school, Leif, was really involved in his music. He and his friends took a bus to San Francisco and listened to punk rock. They then started their own band, which lasted for several years.

After high school Vishal described his entering the Academy of Art and then going from one job to another. He found photo shop and then feel in love with graphic design. Leif currently has a job with Gap, Inc., and is now using his gift for artistic design and creating web designs for many corporations.

Evaluator #2: Martin evaluated Leif’s speech.

Martin began by stating that he felt Leif’s creative spirit. Leif had good enunciation, and use of space. He also went through the highlights of his life in chronological order so it was easy to follow.

The one suggestion that Martin made was for Leif to look at his audience more. He had a tendency to look down. It was a really good icebreaker speech and we all had a chance to really know Leif better. He definitely indicated his love for music and art and how it is now a part of his life.

Table Topics: David was the Table Topics Master.

The theme of the meeting was “summertime” and the word of the day was “solstice”. Those that spoke were Ruth, Vishal, David K., Suzanne, Martin, Leif, Glenn, and the guest.

Suzanne asked for feedback from the guest and then closed the meeting at 7:15 p.m.

Monday, August 11, 2014

July 14, 2014 Club Meeting

Chamber Speakers Circle Toastmasters

July 14, 2014

Attendees: David N., Suzanne, Lara, Glenn, Randy, Leif, Martin, Vishal

Guest: Shashi, David Kuwaye

Theme of the day: July 4th

Word of the day: Tyranny

Roles:

· Toastmaster: David

· Table Topics: Lara

· Speaker #1: Glenn

· Speaker #2: Shashi

· Grammarian: Randy

· Timer: Martin

· Ah Counter: Vishal

· Vote Counter: Vishal

· Evaluator #1: Leif

· Evaluator #2: Lara

· General Evaluator: Suzanne

Speaker: Glenn: "Is Programming doe everybody?", Speech Project #3, Get to the Point

Glenn’s speech was about programming and living in Silicon Valley, surrounded by technology. Glenn went on to explain that “Code programming literacy” (learning to program) would improve cognitive abilities. Like learning a new language, the construction of sentences, by learning to program (and do it well) you can earn a lot of money and improve cognitive skills and abilities.

Glenn spoke about how different people are experts in different fields, citing club members (two in the room) as examples. Glenn said learning how to program is not a survival skill, but it is helpful in building other skills.

Evaluator #1: Leif re: Glenn’s speech: Is Programming doe everybody?

Leif evaluated Glenn’s speech, saying that Glenn’s speech supported the purpose and the contributing material. The beginning body and conclusion supported the topic. Leif said Glenn appeared confident and noted Glenn only had to use notes once. Leif encouraged Glenn to keep practicing with motions and speech patterns.

Round Table Evaluation:

· Martin noted Glenn could improve eye contact, and that code programming could be tied to more personal connections, relating it to more common activities.

· Lara noted Glenn’s pacing has gotten much better. Suzanne agreed that programming is very useful, noting Samya as an example with linguistics and programming giving her an advantage in the job market.

· David K. liked Glenn’s confidence and the opening, how Glenn made it relate to others. David indicated that when Glenn pointed out people in the audience, which was really nice (like Randy did in a previous presentation).

· David N. also liked Glenn’s use of names from the audience, noted an improvement in confidence and how well Glenn used the stage, that the speech was well-structured and that Glenn probably didn’t need to use his notes, indicating that Glenn could use an outline rather than a written draft (harder to see).

· Vishal noted Glenn’s confidence, and thought that Glenn taking his time was a good thing, eye contact and smiling could have been better, less serious, maybe a reference to a nerd. Vishal empathisized with Glenn speaking about a lingo that others aren’t familiar with.

· Suzanne also mentioned a personal story would bring in the audience more when making presentations. Vishal suggested everyone share their tips for “Best Practices”

·
Lara recommends turning a draft from an outline to an acronym (letters)

· Randy advised really knowing your subject so that notes aren’t needed

· Martin advised talking about subjects you are invested in, passionate about

· Suzanne uses stories to connect to the audience, so that she can relate to them and give them a way to access the content.

·
Glenn read that memorizing the opening and conclusion and have an outline for the middle. Vishal shared his memory of Steve Job’s Stanford commencement speech and that Jobs used stories, knowing your audience is, what they are interested in and prepare for the questions.

·
David K. noted that speakers should try to make eye contact with each and every person in the audience (if possible). David N. recommends watching great speakers on Youtube and reiterated that stories and emotion help people remember speech and an audience connect. David also recommended developing time management skills and video recording your speech and watching it without sound. David also recommended the book the Excellent Presenter.

Table Topics: Lara ran Table Topics, asking questions about fireworks and Independence day and vacation day activities. Vishal announced Martin won best topics speaker.

Suzanne commended the group on jumping in when major roles were vacant due to absences.