Newsletter

April 2005 - Division Contest Recap
By Vanessa Au

Just wanted to collect a round of virtual applause for Mike for a great performance at the Division Table Topics Contest. Though he didn't place in the top 3, he answered the question with poise, confidence, excellent use of space, great vocal variety, appropriate gestures and beautifully delivered content.

What was the question you ask? Well, I can't remember word for word, but it was something like this, "Many people believe that diversity is wealth. Give an example of the 'wealth' in your life"

The winner of the International Speech Contest, Ray Simon from San Francisco, beat out several very dramatic and serious speeches with a very comedic desciption of the lessons learned from trying to divide a 25 lb Hershey Crackle bar into equal sized portions to share with coworkers. I always thought that only the emotional, moving, inspiring speeches tend to make it far, but I learned that that is not necessarily the case. An audience can be just as moved by a funny but cleverly crafted and flawlessly executed speech. I know I was!

Thanks to Cora, Sheldon and Yan Hong for coming out to cheer on Mike!

March 2005 - Focus on Evaluations
By Vanessa Au

How to prepare to evaluate

Read the speech's objectives and list of criteria in the manual

Talk to the speaker beforehand about special things they want you to look for

Review the feedback from the speaker's last speech so you can comment on progress/improvements made since then

Make time for a 1:1 discussion after the meeting

Parts of a speech to critique

Delivery - clarity, vocal variety, pacing, volume, body language, humor, drama, effective use of pauses

Preparation - ideas, grammar, organization, research, knowledge on the subject

Closing - summary of objectives, summary of key ideas, prescribed actions

Tips

Do not repeat or summarize the speech; we all heard it already, use the time for the evaluation

Be positive and constructive but be honest too; don't say it was an amazing speech if it wasn't; focus on a few things they did well and offer suggestions for improvement

Start off with personal impressions, thoughts and visual perceptions e.g. "I was immediately struck by your depth of knowledge on this subject and your use of space on the floor"

For beginners, focus on just a few key areas and elaborate on them; do not deliver a laundry list of improvements needed as that is demotivating for new speakers

Speak for yourself; do not say "we", say "I"

Avoid judgement words e.g. "if you want to do it right, you must...", "good speakers don't..."

Don't say "but" as it negates all the positive things preceding it; instead use 2 sentences or "and" e.g. "the introduction was captivating BUT the body didn't support it" vs. "the introduction was captivating. I would have loved to see more supporting examples in the body"

Avoid words like "never" or "always" (exaggerations detract from the message)

Once you've made a point, don't repeat it or it sounds like nagging

Be specific e.g. "The intro was weak" vs. "The introduction could benefit from a more attention-getting first sentence and a clearer outline of all the interesting topics you discussed in the body"

Give specific suggestions for improvement e.g. "instead of wringing your hands, try keeping them at your sides"

Note areas of potential e.g. " you have a lot of enthusiasm for sheep farming. I would have loved to hear more personal anecdotes"

Try to give a unique ending, not just "I look forward to your next speech"

End on a positive note by pointing out what you liked most or how it affected you emotionally or behaviorally e.g. "your research was thorough and interesting and has inspired me to learn more about the rights of animals"
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Newsletter April 2004

1. Just About 4 Years Ago by Nitin Barve
2. Nitin and Godvin Place 2nd in Area Contest
3. Toastmaster For The First Time?

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1. Just About 4 Years Ago by Nitin Barve, Club President

Just about 4 years ago, I was a total "nervous wreck" when it came to speaking in front of an audience. But, now I enjoy speaking in front of public and in fact, am always on a lookout for such an opportunity. What changed? Yes, I joined Toastmasters about 4 years ago.

A unique aspect of the TM organization is that it trains members in a supportive environment to do something that is very challenging but very valuable in their lives. I took my own time to visit several clubs before I stumbled upon the Foster City Toastmasters club. The most striking thing about our club is its diversity. We have members from at least 10 different ethnicities, at least 6 different professions and all kinds of political inclinations. Where else would I get a chance to mingle with such a group and, especially, to hear their well-crafted speeches! I decided to join instantly and since then, have enjoyed every moment of it.

True to the promise, I got an opportunity to practice my public speaking skills in a supportive but constructive environment. No one laughed when I made mistakes but still, they did point out even the slightest of my goof-ups.

When I look back, I realize that I have not only become a better speaker but more importantly, a better listener and most importantly, a better person in the last four years.

I have tried my best to give back to the club. As a mentor, I offer guidance to newer members. As an evaluator, I try to provide critical feedback to speakers. As an officer, I am responsible for the success of each meeting.

Our club had several veteran members but now we are full of mostly "new" members. I see a lot of energy in our newly joined members. This energy and the diversity is what still makes me look forward to being with this great organization for a long time.

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2. Nitin and Godvin Place 2nd in Area Contest

Congratulations to Nitin and Godvin for taking 2nd place in the area Tall Tales and International Speech contests, respectively. Thanks to Amanda and others for helping out and cheerleading at the event.

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3. Toastmaster For The First Time? by Vanessa Au

Have no fear! Being the Toastmaster of a meeting involves a lot of preparation and detail but follow this sample agenda and transfer the red notes to your own agenda and you'll do just fine!

Foster City Toastmasters - Halloween Edition October 15th, 2003

- 1 week before meeting, confirm attendance of everyone who has a role
- come up with the theme and topics of discussion, write out/print agendas

7.30 Call to Order Manpreet Singh, Sergeant-at-Arms
7.31 Welcome Nitin Barve, President
7.40 Opening and Introduction Vanessa Au, Toastmaster

- talk about theme, go over the agenda if there are guests, then introduce the people below to describe their roles

Toastmaster Vanessa Au
Master Evaluator Godvin Vaz
Timer Nitin Barve
Ah Counter Nitin Barve
Table Topics & Word Master Samuel Rajasingh
Vote Counter Daniel Li
Snack Master Godvin Vaz

7.50 Speeches - introduce first speaker, say a little something about him/her, call their evaluator to outline their objectives, then call up the speaker (repeat for each speaker)

Eva Chiu "What you Need to Succeed (speech #3)
Mahesh Gandhe "Economy or Ecology" (speech #2)
Sharon Xie "Lost Generation" (speech #2)

Ask for Timer's report Vote for best speaker, vote counter collects votes

8.15 15-Minute Break - hit the gavel for break, after 15 min call meeting to order, hit gavel, have a short discussion about the theme, then move on and call up the master evaluator to host evaluations section

8.30 Evaluations

John De La Cruz evaluating Eva Chiu
Manpreet Singh evaluating Mahesh Gandhe
Rosie Chin evaluating Sharon Xie

- Ask for Timer's report Vote for best evaluator, vote counter collects votes
- call up the TT master

8.45 Table Topics Table Topics & Word Master Samuel Rajasingh

Table Topics, 1-2 min. per person

Ask for Timer's reports Vote for best table topics, vote counter collects votes

9.05 Meeting Evaluation, Awards, Business Meeting and Announcements
- call up master evaluator Meeting Evaluation Godvin Vaz
- call up president Business Meeting, Awards, Annc. Nitin Barve

9.30 Post Toasties