Sunday, April 28, 2013

Simply Speaking Minutes
Colorado Community Church
April 25, 2013
Our meeting at Colorado Community Church began with Margaret Seyers  leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance before introducing our Toastmaster for the evening, Pete Hazlet.
Our theme was “Celebrate”, very fitting with the all stars we have in our club.   The word of the day was “epitome”  - a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type.
Inspirator Deborah Frauenfelder got us moving and singing with the final chorus of “Celebrate” by 3 Dog Night.  Again, very fitting with all the winners among us.
First speaker Concetta Palmieri gave a speech entitled “We are Family” talking about the differences between hers and her fiance's families.  Neither family has ever met.  His is quiet, soft spoken.  They don’t shout unless someone is in mortal danger.  Hers, on the other hand, is not quiet.  It’s quite normal to have a conversation with someone in a different room, sometimes even on different floors.  We need a follow up speech to see how things turn out.
Second speaker, Will Osagiede asked “ What is the Price of Beauty”  in his speech.  He told us that beauty is constantly being defined and that only 4% of the women worldwide consider themselves beautiful.  In the part of Nigeria where he is from a woman must put on a lot of weight to be considered pretty, where as in the U.S. a woman must be very thin to be considered pretty.  He ended by saying his view is that it’s what’s on the inside that makes a person beautiful.
Third speaker, Margaret Seyer earned her Advanced Leadership Bronze with her presentation from the Successful Club Series.  It was an educational speech covering the physical and the relational climates and how they create a welcome atmosphere for members and guests.  She also covered what makes a club move smoothly like volunteering, help with set up and resetting the room when we are done.  Congratulations, Margaret!
Table Topics master Gigi De Gala called on several people to participate.  Using an edition of The Aurora Sentinel as her inspiration, she called on Will Osagiede, Darryle Brown, guests (and now a new member) Matt Dudzick, and Xiao Lang.
Sherry Thomas was our General Evaluator. Sherry defined success as not being perfect, but facing one’s fears and she told Margaret she did that with her speech tonight. She has come a long way and should be proud of her self.  She reported that our meeting started on time.  Sherry congratulated Deborah on some good moves in her inspirational moment.  
In her evaluation of Concetta, first evaluator Connie Akins thanked her for being in the club.  Her topic was the perfect yin and yang of quiet and noisy in describing the two families.  Concetta’s use if voice and acting out scenarios were great.  Connie told Concetta this was a beautifully funny speech that would be great for a speech contest.  Connie also suggested Concetta use her evaluator to assist her if she decides to use this in a contest.
Second evaluator Darryle Brown told Will that his speech title was a great way to open the speech.  Pointing out the stark contrast between the Nigerian culture’s and the U.S culture’s idea of beauty was very poignant.
Time Keeper Kelli Malcom reported that all Table Topics participants were in time.  Will and Concetta were in time, as well as the evaluators.
Ah Counter Darryle Brown reported that there were few uh’s and ah’s.
Grammarian David Bounds said he was not the epitome of a grammarian, but he did hear the word of the day used.  He noted some great phrases, including “emotional stuffers” used by Concetta.
Our Quizmaster Monica Alvidrez did a great job testing our listening skills.
Awards went to
Best Speaker: Will Osagiede
Best Table Topic: Matt Dudzick
Best Evaluator: Darryle Brown
Present at the meeting:Monica Alvidrez, Darryle Brown, David Bounds, Margaret Seyer, Pete Hazlet, Will Osagiede, Deborah Frauenfelder, Xiao Lang, Kelli Malcom, Gigi De Gala, Concetta Palmieri, Sherry Thomas, Connie Akins.
Our guests for the evening were Matt Dudzick and Margaret Seyer Sr.
Simply Speaking is invited to the May 29 Aurorators meeting at Empire Beauty School.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Toastmasters song

Enjoy this fun Toastmasters song written by George Peele (son of Alan Swartz)

(to the tune of "Riders in the Sky" as recorded by Johnny Cash & others)

Some people when they're asked to speak
in front of a big group
their throats go dry, their knees get weak
they don't know what to do
but there's somewhere that they can turn
where they can get some help 
my dad's a prominent member
by his license plate frame, you can tell

Public speaking's a ginormous fear
up there with death
but super friends are always near
don't turn to Coke or meth
don't be a yellow belly
just log onto Yellow Pages
and call them on the tele
you'll thank me for ages

Yippee Yi yea
Yippee Yi yo
Toastmasters slay stage fright

You'll overcome your nervous ticks
and master gestures too
and then there is Table Topics
talking off the cuff's cool
your sweaty palms will dry up
you will surely fidget less
and it won't even cost that much
much less than you might guess

music: Stan Lee, lyrics: George Peele

CustomSingingTelegrams.com
(303) 931.8466

Friday, April 19, 2013



Simply Speaking Minutes
Colorado Community Church
April 4, 2013
Our meeting at Colorado Community Church began with Margaret Seyer  leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance before introducing our Toastmaster for the evening Will Osagiede.
Our theme was “Finish the Race”.  The word of the day was the very fitting “perseverance” (n) steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
Inspirator  Sherry Thomas gave us some inspiration by reading from a poem about a boy who had fallen for the third time in a race.  He was about to give up, but he thought of his dad.  The boy finished the race and even though he came in last he received the biggest cheer for his perseverance and finishing the race.
Due to time constraints we had two speakers for the evening.
First speaker Alan Swartz presented a speech concerning sexual assault in the military.  Titled “The Invisible War”, told in the format of a press conference, he told of a film that documented the sexual assaults and what was needed to be done to deal with the aftermath of the assaults.  He then had a question and answer period with some very poignant questions from the audience.
Second speaker, Darryle Brown presented “Rock the Interview Win the Job/Promotion Part 8”.  With a recap of the first seven speeches, Darryle brought us up to date and reminded us of what we need to do to win the job or promotion.  He also told us that several people have been successful with the techniques he has outlined so far.
Table Topics Master Maura Thompson called for volunteers.  If we didn’t, she was going to volunteerr us.  Participants included Lee Johnson, Alan Swartz, Elinora Reynolds, Joy Davidson, and Kathy Fortune.
Margaret Seyer was our General Evaluator.  She reported that our meeting started on time.  The meeting and agenda were great, as well as the speeches.  She thanked Maura for some great table topics and welcomed Alan back.  It was also great to see Elinora, Lee, and Tom again.
In her evaluation of Alan, first evaluator Joy Davidson congratulated Alan on a very professional speech.  He was on point and offered a strong presentation of actions being taken.   He also interacted well with questions concerning the problems of sexual assault in the military.
Second evaluator Tom Marrs told Darryle he did an overall great job in bringing us up to date.  He was professional, glib, and very smooth in his presentation.
Time Keeper Deborah Frauenfelder reported that all speakers, evaluators, and Table Topics participants were in time.
Ah Counter Diane Nuss caught a few double clutches.  She also noted that there was some restarting of sentences and some fillers words.
Grammarian Cybele Antonow reported on how many times the word of the day was used.  She also noted some great lines used by people.
Our Quizmaster Kelli Malcom tested our listening skills.

Awards went to:
Best Evaluator: Joy Davidson
Best Table Topics: Kathy Fortune

Best Speaker: Alan Swartz

Present at the meeting: Cybele Antonow, Monica Alvidrez, Darryle Brown, David Bounds, Joy Davidson, Margaret Seyer, Pete Hazlet, Will Osagiede, Deborah Frauenfelder, Diane Nuss, Maura Thompson, Xiao Leong, Alan Swartz , Lee Johnson Kelli Malcolm, Tom Marrs, Kathy Fortune, and Sherry Thomas.
Guests:  Elinora Reynolds and Margaret Seyer Sr.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013