Meeting Recap: July 11, 2013 (Happy New Toastmasters Year!)

With President Gouri still vacationing in South America, VPE Todd McKinney, presided. He congratulated Gouri on achieving her DTM, announced the APS club contest on Wednesday, August 28, and stated the August 8 meeting will be our first themed meeting of the year--on the topic of personal finance and debt.  Speeches should conform to that topic.Toastmaster-of-the-evening Harry Aneziris announced that he had just returned from a trip to China, where he visited 2 Toastmasters clubs in Beijing.  The meetings were conducted in English, and Harry had no problem understanding the Chinese Toastmasters, although theyhad a hard time understanding his English(!)  Rafay and Georgia had just returned from visiting Gouri in Columbia, and reported that Gouri may end up founding the very first Toastmasters club in Bogata*.  

Word Master Georgia Jones introduced the word of the day:  Quest.  Harry then broke into song:  “This is my quest, to follow that star...” from Man of La Mancha.  Georgia deliberately brought only a few word sheets, encouraging members to share their sheets in a quest to make new friends.

Table Topics Master Todd McKinney then asked a series of quest... ions that competitors might encounter during the upcoming table topics competitions.             

Derek Chen delivered an inspirational talk entitled “Change” from the Speeches by Management manual.  He exhorted his audience to shun complacency and prepare for change, which is an inevitable part of life.  Evaluator Marcia Berry praised Derek’s professional delivery and motivational message, but suggested that a few tips about how to prepare for change might be welcome.

Brian Robinson told the group how negative experiences are often “A Blessing in Disguise,” his speech from The Entertaining Speaker manual.  He opened with a riveting quote about how being homeless and on crack led one writer to become a better person, and told several spellbinding stories that further illustrated his point.  Evaluator Rafay Khalid praised his storytelling prowess, but suggested he use more of the stage, pause longer at dramatic moments, and clench then release his hands in order to relax them for some big gestures.

Guest Mary Cropsey served as the meeting’s general evaluator, then decided to get more involved by joining the club.  Welcome Mary!

Our next meeting will take place Wednesday, July 24.  Speaking slots are full, but we still have plenty of meeting roles available.  District 46 International Speech Contest winner Mark Goldberg will speak, so come get a preview of the speech that may capture the 2013 World Championship of Public Speaking for District 46!

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Marcia Berry

Secretary, Advanced Public Speakers

*Disclaimer: Aclub exists in Bogota. When I had checked back in March there were no clubs in all of Colombia. Last month, I found one listed on the TI website - in Bogota. They are brand new - chartered in April. I am visiting them this Tuesday and promised to help them out in any way possible after returning to NYC. 

Gouri Seetharam

President, Advanced Public Speakers