Meeting Recap: July 14, 2016 (Stand Your Ground)

Dear APS Members, 

When you are an advanced speaker, you sometimes need to “Stand Your Ground.” Whether there are external challenges like an inhospitable speaking area or an indifferent audience, or internal issues like nervousness, or lack of self-confidence, a successful speaker always needs to face the challenge. Toastmaster of the Day Lisa Qu was suitably resolute. Guests at this meeting were Toastmasters World Champion Finalist Mario Lewis, Regina Bain, Lingshuang Zhang, Peter Bossio and Crystal Han along with her co-workers from iBeehub; Zi Wang, Fusha Tu, Yujia Liao, Xinyue Lu and Jia Wei. “Resolute” was the Word of the Day presented by Grammarian Marcia Berry.

“When I Grow Up” was the Icebreaker by newest APS member Ivan Farkas. After escaping communist Hungary, Ivan knew he wanted to be a renaissance man like his hero Leonardo Da Vinci. A true “left brainer,” Ivan is still a work in progress, but he has become a Toastmasters Icon. Speech evaluator Mario Lewis liked Ivan’s masterful pace, passion and energy. Mario then recommended physical positioning and placement in lieu of hand gestures, and using a shorter, pithier quote.  

After giving two workshop presentations at Toastmasters conferences Marcia Berry has become an expert.  In “Rock Your Talk - Great Workshops” Marcia offered these tips; 1) Accounting for latecomers and Q&A, one hour ends up being just 25 minutes so use “four little speeches.” 2) Use S.P.A; stories to illustrate the point and application.  3) Include, but don’t end with Q&A. - finish with a recap of your powerful message. Evaluator Kelvin Davis thought Marcia was the Bruce Lee of speakers, someone with devastating substance but who never shows off.

What was your first romantic moment? For Manuel Saldana, soccer was his “Love as Not Seen on TV.” After being injured in a “twist and turn” play, Manuel developed a crush on his nurse but at that time he simply could not speak to girls. Peter Bossio liked the twist and the humorous misdirection, but suggested a stronger, more personal conclusion.

“Getting out of My Comfort Zone” has been the goal for Derek Chen since he joined Toastmasters in 2009. Public speaking has been a monkey on Derek’s back, but it forces him to confront his defects, including difficulty with the English language. Jinquan Liang praised Derek’s openness and honesty in his Icebreaker, but asked for more specific stories to illustrate.

Table Topics Master Todd McKinney wanted to know who has stood their ground. After competing in the World Championship, Mario Lewis has learned that not every speech needs to be perfect, and “it’s OK to just be OK.” Kelvin Davis deals mostly with internal opposition because he is an introvert, but Regina Bain’s main fear is that she won’t be her best. Forgetting lines was the most challenging situation for Jin Liang, while Lingshuang Zhang’s solution for that problem was to repeat what she already said. Peter Bossio once upset his audience with humor that they took seriously. If you need to persuade, Crystal Han believes that smiling a lot and dressing the part will make the sale.

General Evaluator Len Lubarsky recently joined APS after having been an informal member since the very beginning. Len praised the meeting, but does prefer a format where evaluations come directly after the speeches. 

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Todd McKinney

Secretary, Advanced Public Speakers