January 25, 2007 Meeting Summary

Toastmaster, Laura B, skillfully navigated the unexpected at our meeting last Thursday. She began by introducing Jeff’s guest, Rob, who works with Jeff as an internal wholesaler. The theme of the day—live theater—spurred Laura to ask duty holders to tell us about their favorite live performance. Her favorite was recently at the History Theater, which specializes in real life, Minnesota stories.

Laura G stepped in as timer for the day. She has many favorite performances, but told the group about the latest performance she attended. While in London, they had the opportunity to see “We Will Rock You”, which, she explained, is comparable to Mama Mia! in that they wove together a group’s music to create a story, but the music was from Queen rather than Abba. While the story was weak, the performance more than made up for it!

Jeff S was the Wordmaster/Grammarian, and chose antagonist for the word. Antagonist means 1) A person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary. 2) The adversary of the hero or protagonist of a drama or other literary work; Iago is the antagonist of Othello. Jeff’s memorable performance was a performance of Hamlet that he saw for a Shakespeare class in London. They were “groundlings” at the Globe Theater, so had to stand for the entire performance—that’s 3 ½ hours for Hamlet!

Speaker #1, Roxie N, recently saw “White Christmas” at The Ordway. Once she got over that it’s not the same story as the video (which she has), she thought the show was phenomenal! Roxie presented “Unprepared” for her Organizing Your Speech project in the Competent Communicator manual. She grabbed our attention by reading her introduction from a script, then explained that were she truly unprepared, she would continue reading. However, being prepared is all about being organized and Roxie has found websites that have ideas about how to be organized—she shared ideas from www.flylady.net and gave us handouts of “The Welcome Letter” and “Today is January 25th”. Roxie said that she prepares for her speeches and her life in the same way—in 15 minute increments. The Fly Lady calls these 15 minute increments your Fly Zones and your Morning/Afternoon/Evening Routines. When you begin the program, you’re a Fly Baby, which means that you’re basically clueless, your life is in complete chaos, you have “Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome”. Once you begin working with The Fly Lady, you begin by learning how to do an evening routine, which makes your morning better. Roxie’s evening routine consists of making phone calls, shining her sink, laying out her clothes, zone cleaning, hot spot cleaning, brushing her teeth, and doing the dishes. Shining your sink gives you a fresh start to a fresh day, and the dishwasher is full so you can begin the day by emptying it. The Fly Lady also introduces the 27 Fling Boogie, where you go through your house and throw away 27 things, and Hot Spots, which teach you to keep your paperwork put away. In conclusion, Roxie quotes, “Slow and steady is what gets our home and our lives in order.” (Time - 7:26 minutes)

Speaker #2, Lori G, earned her CL by giving her second speech from the Successful Club Series, “Finding New Members For Our Club”. Lori explained that many factors affect the membership of the club, including: a mobile, changing society; two working people in a household; and changing priorities. When people leave, we can’t sustain a vibrant club. Toastmasters International requires that clubs have 20 members in order to charter. They know that 20 members will create a healthy club, members won’t get burned out, and members won’t have too many duties. Mutual Voices is currently down to 17 members! For an existing club, new members provide: new ideas, a larger pool of leaders, more fun (“the more the merrier!”), and more revenue from dues which can be used for advertising, parties, brochures, and supplies. Lori asked everyone to help us get new members for our club. The VP of Membership (currently Mark Haugh) can’t do it by himself, his role is to be a coordinator. We all need to talk to friends, relatives, co-workers; wear our Toastmaster pins every day; display “The Toastmaster” magazine at our desk; distribute brochures and flyers; and conduct Speechcraft. When guests do visit, we need to greet them at the door, introduce ourselves, sit with them during the meeting, answer questions, speak with them after the meeting, introduce them to the VP of Membership, and even invite them for coffee to get to know them better. Finally, we need to ask them to come again! (Time – 8:00 minutes)

Keri O provided us with one Table Topics question so that Rob could experience an entire meeting. Keri’s favorite live performances were the ones that she participated in! In high school and college, Keri’s was a member of the pit orchestra, so participated in “Annie Get Your Gun”, “Guys & Dolls”, and many more shows. Her favorite part was getting to know the words, and noticing changes to them! Keri asked Marian to share a time when she read a book, then saw a performance of that book (either on stage or in a movie).

Marian was an English major in college, but couldn’t remember a story that she’d read and seen, so she shared a story of the ticket duel that some friends of her’s have given her front row seats to! Marian’s friends have shared their Gutherie tickets with her and her husband for years. They go to Sunday shows with the “older crowd”. After many years, the other couple has announced their divorce and the four tickets are at the center of it! They’ve decided to split the tickets—Marian was lucky to be invited to an upcoming performance of “The Glass Menagerie”. (Time – 2:21 minutes)

Evaluator #1 was Sarah J, who evaluated Roxie’s speech. Sarah liked the way that Roxie defined her goals, grabbed our attention with her introduction, and her natural speaking style. She suggested that Roxie provide more information about what she will be covering in her speech during the introduction and thanked Roxie for the good ideas that she provided. (Time – 1:45 minutes)

Evaluator #2 was Mary W, who evaluated Lori’s speech. Lori asked Mary to evaluate her using the suggestions from the visual aids project in the Competent Communicator manual, even though this was a Successful Club Series speech. Mary appreciated Lori’s use of visual aids for the message she was delivering; they helped to make the message clear, were not too busy, and helped us to remember where Lori was in her agenda. Lori, too, was commended for her good ideas and her organization. Mary suggested that Lori come earlier to prepare the room for her PowerPoint presentation and that she incorporate more movement into her speech. (Time – 2:51 minutes)

Reports

Wordmaster/Grammarian – No one used the word antagonist during the meeting. There were some ahs/ums. Jeff’s favorite sayings were: “Fly Baby”, “Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome”, and Keri calling on Marian as her “victim”.

See the times listed in parenthesis following each speech.

General Evaluator, Mike C, took his role seriously as he antagonized anyone who hadn’t already been evaluated. Mike commended Laura B. for keeping the meeting flowing without taking too long; he would have liked her to provide more of an introduction for Lori’s speech. Mike thought the other duties were performed well, but suggested that no one cut themselves down before they begin. If we just start with our speech and link back to the points at the end, no one will know that we’re new or uncomfortable.

Spirit Award – Roxie N.

January 18, 2007 Meeting Summary

Marian started the party... I mean, the meeting... right on time, askingour guests to introduce themselves. Theresa B. is currently working inSecurian Financial Services and was a guest of Laura B. DeannaH introduced herself as Mark's wife and our "perpetual guest".

Marian invited everyone to get lunch at the food table. We enjoyed anassortment of delicious pizzas, Caesar salad, and soft drinks. There weremouth-watering mini cream puffs and a wonderful mix of cookies for dessert.

Mark was the Wordmaster/Grammarian and provided the word "sanguine" as theword of the day. It means cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or positive.

We had one speaker, Laura G. Her speech was #2 in the CompetentCommunicator manual. It was titled "So You've Gone Digital - Now What?"Laura gave us four options for keeping photos, other than stored in yourhard drive or on the original digital media, rarely to be looked at again.Print the photosYou can use the kiosks at ProEx, Walgreens, etc. to print your favoritephotos. Four by six prints are 19 to 29 cents each. A cheaper method is touse proex.com, walgreens.com, walmart.com, etc. Download and order yourprints on line and prepay. All you'll need to do is stop in at the storeand pick them up.Create a PhotoshowYou can add text, etc. using an on-line photoshow (Google it!) Laura'ssister sent a DVD of the family's favorite photos from last year, completewith text and music.Create a Digital ScrapbookLaura displayed a 20-page scrapbook that she made digitally. It took herabout six hours to create through shutterfly.com. After applying a discountand with free shipping, it cost her around $60. Again, you can Googledigital scrapbooking for other sources.Create a Hand-Made ScrapbookLaura displayed a small scrapbook containing just pictures, that she madefor around $15. She also showed us an impressive large scrapbook she hadput together. She was able to include "trinkets" like ticket stubs,brochures, etc. in this larger scrapbook.If nothing else, at least print your digital photos in case your computercrashes!Betsy provided humor that she found after "Googling" Toastmasters humor.They were great plays on words that had us all laughing.

Marian asked for a volunteer to start table topics, and Roxie stepped in.Roxie asked Mary Ellen what she does to keep a positive attitude. MaryEllen is happy most of the time, but when she does get in a funk she goesrunning or exercises in other ways. As she's exercising she thinks of thegood things she has in her life, and that always pulls her out of a funk.

After this topics question, assigned topics master Lori G took over.Lori asked Mary how she keeps a positive attitude when she's in a hurry andgets stuck behind a slow driver. Mary admitted that she's a fast driver.She tries to relax and remember the three-second rule, maintaining a safedistance. She tries to appreciate that the slower driver might be savingher from an accident or being pulled over for speeding.

Lori asked Sarah where she would go internationally for any celebration ifshe had the chance. Without hesitation, Sarah said she would go to Ghana.The people there are always happy and smiling, always celebrating. Herprofessor took a sabbatical in Ghana and she has met many people fromthere. She would love to go to Ghana some day.

Before starting his evaluation of Laura's speech, Mike asked Sarah "Are youGhana go?" What a wit. Mike gave a well organized evaluation of Laura'sspeech. Her speech had four very clear points which made it easy to follow.It was a great reality check thinking about the possibilities if one'scomputer crashed with all the photos stored there. Laura had good vocalvariety, subject flow, and eye contact. Laura's speech was organizedperfectly, so he suggested she organize her props differently. Put them outfirst, rather than dig in the bag for each one during the speech.

No one used the word of the day, although there were plenty ofopportunities. Participants in the meeting did well with the numbers ofahs and ums, but Mark noted there were lots of sentence connectors used during the meeting.

Dave was our General Evaluator. He praised Marian for how she performed herToastmaster role, Dan did a fine job as timer, and Mark provided a greatword for the day. Dave told Betsy he highly benefitted from the fun humorshe had shared. The topics questions were good and everyone appearedcomfortable in answering. They spoke smoothly with confidence andarticulation. Mike's evaluation was very thorough and well organized likea mini speech.

The Spirit Award went to Laura G for her speech. Congratulations,Laura!

January 11, 2007 Meeting Summary

Our Toastmaster, Dan B, called the meeting to order and announced thetheme of the day - overcoming the winter blahs. He also shared theactivities his family enjoyed over the holiday break to beat the winterblahs.

Lori G was our Wordmaster/Grammarian. For the word of the day, shechose Exhort - to incite by words or advice; to urge strongly; hence, toadvise warn or caution. Her sample sentence was "I exhort you to overcomethe winter blahs by getting outside for a daily walk." Her family recentlywent snow tubing to beat the winter blahs. They make snow at the skihills, such as Afton Alps, so you can snow tube this winter.

Mark H was our Timer. To overcome the winter blahs, he and his wife extend the holiday celebrations into January and they take a mini vacation at the St. Paul Hotel.

Mary W was our speaker and did speech #4 from the Competent Communicator manual. It was titled "A perfect spot in my life" and she told us abouther two wonderful children, Tad and Maria.

Jeff S was our Topicsmaster. He first asked Sarah to explain how she beats the winter blahs. She responded that she loves winter sports, soshe's taking a vacation in Colorado soon to enjoy time in the snow and cold.

Keri responded to the second question - If you could go on vacation any where in the world next week, where would you go? She told us a funnystory about the impromptu vacation she and her husband are actually takingnext week to the Upper Peninsula to go snowmobiling on their new snowmobiles (that she didn't really want).

Marian was asked why the time between Christmas and Ground Hog Day was the best. She likes the fact that she doesn't need to mow the grass, which gives her more free time, and she enjoys walking to work from her outlying parking lot in the cold weather.

Mark chose to share a counter perspective to Marian's response instead ofanswering his question. He is responsible for snowblowing, not mowing, at their home so he usually has less free time. He also does not like the cold. It makes him achy and lazy, and it leads to higher heating bills.

Marian J was our Humorist. She shared a funny story about when leaving voicemail messages to make sure you leave a concise message. This deletes what you've recorded so far and let's you redo it.

Kathy J was Mary's evaluator. Speech #4 is "How you say it" andMary's goal was to use vivid, descriptive language. Kathy complimented herword choices - they helped to paint a good mental picture of her children. She used good organization and humor, and tied her conclusion to heropening. Areas to work on include limiting ums and ahs and enunciating more clearly. It may also enhance her speech to share pictures of herchildren.

Lori reported that there were more ums and ahs early in the meeting. Noone used the word of the day. Fun uses of the English language included"reap it for all its worth" and "slap in the face".

Mark gave the timer's report: Mary's speech was 8:41. Sarah's topic was1:47. Kari's was 2:03. Marian's was 2:11. Mark's was 2:30. Marian'shumor was 2:33. Kathy's evaluation was 2:14.

Keri gave the general evaluation. She thought the theme was very timely,the word of the day was good, the timing was excellent, and the table topicquestions and answers were good.

Marian shared 2 business items. The winter party is next week. We will have pizza, Caesar salad, beverages, and desserts. Please bring guests andRSVP to Marian. Our group is responsible for the Spring session of Speechcraft. Please contact Marian to volunteer.

December 28, 2006 Meeting Summary

Our meeting today was an all table topics meeting. Our Wordmaster Grammarian was Mike and he chose Abundance for the word ofthe day. Abundance is the state in which there is more than enough."During the Holidays, there is an abundance of food and good will to goaround"Our Timer was Roxie.

Our Toastmaster was Laura B. Laura had an envelope with pictures in itthat she printed off e-bay. Each person was to pick out a picture anddescribe to the group why that item was the most wonderful gift that theyhad ever received.Mary picked out a dog with mange. There were a couple of reasons why this dog was the most wonderful gift for Mary. First of all it was cute and second Mary needed a companion because she is a single parent who has herkids half time so she gets lonely. Mary states that dogs are easier totrain and they are always waiting for you at the door wagging their tailswhen you come home. (1.37)

Jeff picked out a Porsche 911. Jeff's current car is not a sports car byany means. He currently drives a Saturn SL2 which does not accelerate veryquickly. In fact the grandma who lives down the street can beat Jeff eventhough she rides a bicycle. Jeff would also get to park the new car in thegarage and not in the driveway as he currently has to. (1.35)

Roxie picked a pile of African Rosewood. Roxie loved this gift because itis so unique. You can make any thing you want with it, but she does notrecommend burning it as it comes from Africa and is very expensive to shipover here. Roxie is going to make a beautiful box with her wood to keepall her treasures in. (1.05)

Lori picked out a wood burner. Lori is going to use the wood burner toburn the names of all her family and friends into all the wood items shehas around the house so when she passes away everyone will know what shehad left them. (59)

Mike chose colored jars of wax. Mike couldn't believe that he received thenumber one choice on his Christmas list as a gift. Wax is great to use incase there is a terrorist attack - you have light. You can use wax on yourhands to keep them smooth. You can polish your car with it. You can traina dog with it. The light will last a long time. (1.22)

Laura B received a hot tub. Laura loves the hot tub because they are sorelaxing. The hot water is good, but the pulsating bubbles adds to thepleasure. You can forget about all your cares while soaking in the tub.Plus the person who gave her the gift needs to put an extension on herhouse to accommodate the new hot tub. (1.35)

The meeting was adjourned early. Have a wonderful New Year!!