07-07-05 Meeting Summary

Theme: Absenteeism

Word of the day: Absenteeism (noun)
1.Habitual failure to appear, especially for work or
other regular duty.

2.The rate of occurrence of habitual absence from work
or duty.

Kelly T. filled in as toastmaster today as Mike
Cahn practiced absenteeism. After a rushed start Kelly
introduced our first speech by Eddie K. Eddie’s
speech was entitled” Marathon Training for
Toastmasters” and was inspired by the Competent Leader
Speech format. Eddie described the ten points which
make up a toastmaster’s promise and relayed the ways
these points also could be used when training for a
marathon. He informed us that just as Toastmasters
should attend meetings regularly to improve on their
speaking skills, marathon trainees also need to
practice running regularly in order to improve their
speed and distance. He went through the ten points,
ending on the promise to maintain honest and ethical
standards during Toastmasters activities and running.
(I envisioned tripping someone during the marathon as
NOT being ethical.)

Lori G. was our next speaker, describing a
child’s entry into a candy store in her speech “Candy
Store.” This was Lori’s fourth speech from the CM
manual, “How to Say It.” After her wonderful
descriptions of what the child Ellen discovered row
after row in her journey through the candy store, I
had to stop for Tootsie Rolls on my way back to
Hamline. Lori detailed each row’s delights- from
PopRocks and LemonHeads to velvety smooth chocolates.
Lori ended her speech with Ellen’s final discovery in
the candy store—the one candy she had been searching
for. Pink peppermint discs. Ellen’s grandmother used
to give her these mints while Ellen spent summers with
her grandparents on the big lake. The pink peppermints
were given during church- and Grandma never seemed to
run out. Ellen realized that any time she couldn’t
remember her grandparents, she could simply hop on her
bike and head to the candy store for these pink
perfections.

Dave B. was our Topics Master today.
His first question:
“You get back to your desk after Toastmasters to find
your manager waiting.... and he/she tells you to go
ahead and take the afternoon off. What do you do with
this newly found free time?” Jerry answered that he
would go home and watch the three movies that he
rented from McDonald’s Red Box earlier this week.

Dave’s second question:
“What do you do when someone is absent for a duty and
you are left in the lurch?” Betsy answered that
whenever someone doesn’t show she will jump in and
take over that person’s duty, or get another team
member to take over. She had this experience recently
at a church function.

Mark H. was our Inspiration/Humorist today. In “Be
Careful What You Don’t Say,” he informed us that
60-80% of what we say is communicated through non
verbal communication. He gave the following points:
1. Eye contact: maintain good eye contact. In the UK,
60-70% eye contact rate is considered appropriate
2. Posture: keep your shoulders back and your head
high and you convey confidence
3. Head position: keep your head and chin up to convey
confidence. To show you are listening, slightly tilt
your head (although not too much or you will look like
a bobble head)
4. Arms: open arms with palms up signals you are open
while crossed arms held close to the body display you
are closed-off
5. Legs: be careful in the way you cross your legs-
resting one leg over the other at the knee is
considered a defensive gesture

Kathy J. was our first evaluator. She appreciated
the way Eddie customized his CL speech. She thought he
had good eye contact. She commented that his gestures
were good also, except for when he put his hand in his
pocket. She suggested he not wear pants next time....
and recovered with adding to her suggestion that he
wear running shorts.

Bill S. evaluated “Candy Store” by Lori G.
He commented on her great use of descriptive words and
said she picked a good topic that people could relate
too. He mentioned her good use of language, noting her
statement, “eyes as big as saucers.” He thought she
could ease the audience into her speech a little
clearer next time. He also thought she could expand on
one or two sections of the speech next time.

Kim C. was our General Evaluator. She thought it
was a good meeting and gave the following times (she
was also the timer, in someone else’s absenteeism):
Eddie: 10:12, Lori: 6:08, Jerry (table topics #1):
0.39, Betsy (table topics #2): 0.49, Kathy: 3.06,
Bill: 3:18, Mark: 3:57.

The Spirit Award went to Lori.

That’s it for this week’s meeting. See you all next
week-
Mary Ellen