Greetings fellow Toastmasters and honored guests!
President Steve opened the meeting by welcoming our fellow members and guest Tom. Tom is a Toastmaster Veteran from Oregon. He holds the prestigious role as VPE for his club. Tom was invited by our very own VPPR Lou. Coincidence? I think not.
And finally, dues are due! Dues for the next term (6 months through March 31) will be only $60.00. Just $60.00 for what we call The Best Buy in Self-Improvement! Dues can be paid to our interim club Treasurer, me, Steve Evans with cash, check or other electronic payment methods including the following:
- Paypal – steveevans123@gmail.com
- Venmo – @Steven-Evans-92
If you are a guest and would like to become a member, click on Become a Member on the Silicon Speech website – https://siliconspeech.org/ Fill out and scan the Membership Application then send it to our VP of Membership, Blake Bolger at Blakebolger@gmail.com You will then need to pay your dues and the one-time set-up fee to our interim club Treasurer, me, Steve Evans with cash, check or the other electronic payment methods mentioned above.
The Thought of the Day was by Steve. “Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things”. By George Carlin. Good one Steve!
I was the Joke Master. A book of things I should be doing in my life? ought-to-biography.
VPPR Lou was our Timer. We were timed accordingly.
The Grammarian was Matthew. He chose the word of the day, which was “Piffle”. It means nonsense.
The Ah Counter was Kenzii. No ah’s or um’s left behind.
Speaker one was Hema. Hema reminds us to take a second before we click on that hyperlink for your next business zoom meeting. There are three things to remember. Set the stage, proper posture and learn from your mistakes. The old days of reading physical social cues are gone. From shaking hands to stance position in order to get a gage of your audience. Now it’s all in the Zoom presents. Picture yourself in a 3D bubble and try not to over step that boundary. Great tips Hema! Valuable information for our current virtual world.
Speaker two was Blake. The title of her speech was “Just Don’t Call it a Headache”. Blake discussed the various stages of her unfortunate affliction. A Migraine has many stages and all the symptoms leading up to and after are not pleasant. She’s tried changing up her diet to various medications. Some things work better than others, but sadly, there is no cure. She hopes people who suffer from this can find something that works for them and reach out to support groups. You are not alone. Thank you Blake! Very insightful topic.
The Chief Evaluator was yours truly. Believe it or not, everyone is awesome!
Evaluator for Hema was Li. Articulate, clear and great hand gestures. We agree!
Evaluator for Blake was Steve. Vulnerable and great detail of the affliction. That makes a great speech.
The Table Topics Speaker was Karan. The topic he chose was “Speech-making”.
What makes Obama a great speaker? Kenzii thinks it’s a show of emotion. Kenzii recalled a speech where Obama teared up and showed that sympathy is powerful.
Compared to Obama, what makes Trump’s speech great? Matthew thinks it’s confidence even when he’s not sure of the topic.
What makes you nervous about speaking? Tom said, he’s going to have to give a eulogy someday. He wants to make sure he gives justice to their lives when speaking. Great answer!
Optimal prep for speech? Lou thinks it’s preparing till you get excited. Energy transfer. Instead of being nervous, think of excitement.
How to fix a speech fumble? I mentioned how Obama would take long pauses to let the room breathe. One can also use it to recall their thoughts and cause suspense versus, admitting defeat. Fake it till you make it!
What attracts you to view a speech? Ananta believes it’s something you’re interested in. If you’re looking for that information, you will be interested in learning more about it.
What makes you turn off listening/viewing speeches? Li said, if it’s from something he can’t learn from. Or a subject he doesn’t care for.
That’s all from me! Big thank you to Tom for dropping by. Yes, Steve’s voice is the jam! Thank you Blake for your touching and personal speech. Hema’s awesome speech about proper Zoom etiquette. We had another guest drop in later in the meeting. Her name is Chalanda. We’d love to see you again. You’re welcomed back as well Tom. Don’t be a stranger! Karan had the perfect topic for Table Topics. Excellent job!
The weather is cooling down, but Silicon Speech is heating up!
See you next time!