Meeting Recap: Thursday, March 10, 2016 (March Forward)

Dear APS Members and Guests,

Are you ready to boldly “March Forward” into your future - to ameliorate the deficiencies of the present? Toastmaster of the Day Manuel Saldana will soon be doing just that, but the seasonal theme also reminded him of springing forward into daylight savings time. Intrepid guest Toastmasters at this meeting were Ruimin Pan and Marcy Einhorn. “Ameliorate” was the Word of the Day tracked by Grammarian Kadisha Currie.

Marcia Berry got us wondering “Are You Hormonal?” Hormones are chemical messengers that control our body, but most of us don’t realize that we can control our hormones through the food we eat. The food we choose can empower us to a healthful life of our own creation. Speech evaluator Kadisha Currie liked the universal topic, the vivid descriptions and the way Marcia used questions throughout. Kadisha suggested including a handout with summary information so that listeners could more easily conduct further research.

“When it is so Hard to Find Mr. Right” is the humorous situation for Ruimin Pan. There are lots of fish in the pool but not everyone wants to be hooked, including Ruimin. Now that Ruimin’s Mother is also dating, that may lessen the maternal pressure just a little. Evaluator Pam Burke thought that Ruimin succeeded with humor and storytelling, and liked how the speech ending recalled the opening. Pam suggested increasing listener engagement with more focused individual eye contact and mimicking the voice of her Mother.

What was it that allowed Steve Jobs and Walt Disney to change the world? According to Neerja Purang it was Vision, and its enablers - hard work and persistence - that guided them on their “Road Map to Success.” Neerja used a slide show and examples from her own life to illustrate how each person can construct such a road map. Todd McKinney liked the motivational topic, the examples provided and Neerja’s dynamic hand gestures, but suggested better integration of the slide show, touching on a wider range of motivational emotions and ending with a clear, concise call to action.

Table Topics Master Pam Burke had questions based on motivational quotes that she offered. Georgia Jones thinks she needs to be brave enough to leave behind fear – especially fear of interviews where she has had nothing but success so far. Manuel Saldana is about to write a new chapter in his life but expects that it will include Toastmasters, one of the best things from his recent past. Marcy Einhorn does not want to stay in the same place, and is ready to roll with the changes life will bring. Thanks to a new client opportunity Todd McKinney will be adding book editing to his resume. Neerja Purang is looking forward to her challenges and expects to meet good people everywhere.

Grammarian Kadisha Currie noticed that everyone was able to follow her advice to ameliorate the use of filler words by substituting a pause, but noted that no one was able to use the Word of the Day. General Evaluator Georgia Jones ran a tight ship, praising Pam Burke’s outstanding Table Topic questions and her uplifting speech evaluation. Georgia challenged the Toastmaster of the Day to have better speech introductions and the speech evaluators to create more audience inclusive evaluations by referring to the speaker with pronouns other than “you.” A few logistical imperfections may have prevented guests from seeing APS shine in every detail, but Georgia summed up the meeting as another win for APS.

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Todd McKinney

Secretary, Advanced Public Speakers