Smedley Saturday!

A unique Toastmaster's Club problem required a unique solution. What does a club do that does not have enough slots to match speakers? You add one two-hour speakathon to the club schedule and dub it "Smedley Saturday!"

If pictures are worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand words to complement the two-hour meeting today.

Angi Anderson "T-Moded" the club's first Smedley Saturday, with husband and Sergeant at Arms Brian setting up the room as well as delivering two exceptional speeches from the basic manual (Your Body Speaks, Research Your Topic.) Brian's mastery of body language and explanation of geosynchronous satellite orbits garnered a well-deserved "Best Speaker" ribbon.

Elizabeth Sussex (an adriot timer and evaluator) provided Brian enlightening notes and commended him on his ability to demonstrate everything from the YMCA song to a child's overwhelming need to go to the bathroom!

Karen Woodson evaluated Brian's second speech, providing constructive feedback on improving the visibility of visual aids.

Shenequa Mitchell covered her #3 "Get to the Point" speech with a polished presentation on the ethnic conflict between the Russians and the Chechens. Glenn Tolle evaluated Shenequa's well-prepared speech, remarking on the quantum leap in confidence Shenequa has demonstrated over the last few months.

Glenn Tolle's entries for Smedley Saturday, "Chess Openings" and "Uncle Sam Still Wants You" demonstrated enthusiasm and conviction, yet proved weak sequels to Friday's "Trip to the Dentist." The club president's public speaking benefited significantly from gloves-off reviews by VP Education Robin Walker and resident DTM Carl Thormeyer!

Many thanks to those who participated in the club's first Smedley Saturday Speakathon. This event is slated to be a monthly fixture for the club. For those who missed this event, be sure to claim a seat at the next one!

You can also view more photos from "Smedley Saturday I" here.

Sadler's Triple Header

At the 12:10 gavel, Fred Sadler treated club members and guests to a well-organized meeting with the theme of “Mentorship.” Shenequa Mitchell providing opening remarks, Peter Blouin issued the Word of the Day (Mentor). Shahid Abrar-ul-Hassan, John Looney and new member Eric Timmerman shared their extemporaneous thoughts on mentorship, with John Looney winning the day’s ribbon.

The three speakers of the day treated widely different topics, with Glenn Tolle mimicking a dentist drill, Arnie Buss inspiring the brilliant artist latent in all of us, and Robin Walker recounting with energized nostalgia the adventures and state funeral of “supervan.”. The Sergeant at Arms, Brian Anderson, evaluated GT’s “Vocal Variety” speech, Angi Anderson evaluated Arnie’s “How to Say It” entry and Arnie in turn evaluated Robin Walker’s Advanced Manual speech (The Entertaining Speaker).

Carl Thormeyer performed admirably as the general evaluator, rendering a bird’s-eye-view synopsis of the meeting, and awarding Arnie Buss “Best Evaluator.” GT’s semi-confessional Dentophobic Speech garnered him a “Best Speaker” ribbon.

The meeting’s grande finale was the official induction of Karen Woodson and Eric Timmerman into the club, bringing our paid membership back up to 39 with 23 new members since July 1st. Congratulations fellow NPS Toastmasters!

Three well-prepared speeches and new member inductons made this Friday lunch hour a worthwhile experience for all. The guests of the day—Monica-April and Kira from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Ryan and Mish from NPS and Karen Woodson’s twin sister Sharon provided the club valuable and encouraging comments.

Up Next: Smedley Saturday!

Icebreakers and Basic Manual Progress

Another worthwhile expenditure of a valuable Friday lunch hour! In spite of numerous de-confirmations and re-confirmations (spoken at great risk in the presence of Fred "Grammar Guillotine" Sadler), the club rallied in fine order when Brian Anderson brought down the gavel at 12:10 sharp.

Glenn Tolle presided as Toastmaster of the Day (Robin Walker coined the handy acronym "Tee-Mod" which has fell into favorable usage among the military members). GT chose "Dreams" as the theme of the day, paying homage to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Juggling of the schedule throughout the week (producing Roman Numeraled emails reaching a dizzying XII) resulted in a unique opportunity for Karen Woodson to serve as Wordmaster. She deftly presented "Interpret" as the Word of the Day. Glenn Woodson tag teamed with his wife as Table Topics Master, calling on Elie Eshag, Pete Blouin and Warner Howser to offer their impromptu remarks on dreams and their impact on their lives. Pete won the table topics shootout, proving that each day he "plays like a champion" (Go Notre Dame!).

The Club enjoyed two Icebreakers from newly joined members. First up was Shahid Abrar from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. His Icebreaker, entitled "Variety is the Spice of Life," provided the club a valuable insight into Shahid's upbringing and view of family, community and the world. An elegant and well-prepared first entry for Shahid! Mary Lineburger did fellow MIIS student Shahid justice with a well-considered evaluation.

Luke Lazzari treated the club to his Icebreaker, entitled "A Little Bit About Luke Lazzari." Luke shared with the club the fact that he (1) is pestered at least twice a day with sophmoric Star Wars references to "The Force" and (2) his given name is Louigi, a fact that did not dawn on him until he called his mother to verify his ID card information! An enjoyable first entry for Luke. Warner Howser evaluated Luke with the confidence of an old pro, and gave Luke numerous positive points for his delivery.

Our own Shenequa Mitchell delivered her second speech out of the basic manual entitled, "Where is the Human Touch?" Shenequa aspires to be a motivational speaker, and if this speech is any indication, she is well on her way to achieving that goal. Shenequa's 7-minute call for less electronics and Internet and more human interaction was not lost on the tech-savvy members of Club #2032. Shenequa's preparation and confident delivery garnished her the week's "Best Speaker" award. Angi Anderson rendered a fine evaluation of Shenequa's second basic speech, proving herself an astute observer of fellow public speakers.

Congratulations Shenequa, and to our two newest members Shahid and Luke for embarking on their Toastmasters experience. Congratulations also to Karen Woodson and Eric Timmerman for signing up right after the meeting!

--- Glenn Tolle

Public Speaking Opportunities

The theme of the second NPS Toastmasters Club meeting of 2007 resonated well with the 26 present (19 club members and 7 guests). Robin Walker, after an over-the-top introduction as Toastmaster of the Day, pursued the theme of “Speaking Opportunities” with Shenequa Mitchell providing opening remarks. Cathy Lee performed admirably in her first foray into Table Topics, using fortune cookies to punctuate her questions on Opportunity and Chance. Mary Ann Klein and Shahid Abrar stepped up to the challenge—Mary Ann opting for Chance (taking a fortune cookie) while Shahid spoke on Opportunity. Mary Ann's chance paid off, and she was awarded "Best Table Topics."

Robin offered a number of creative, "out-of-the box" ways to find speaking opportunities beyond the club meetings, including class presentations or speaking to a group of colleagues at work. The important thing, he reminded us, was to find an appropriate manual project for the speech and to get a Toastmaster to give a written evaluation of the speech. He also used the opportunity to announce to the club the "Speak-a-Thon" that will be held on January 27^th at the La Mesa Community Center. This event is open to all members of the club to give a speech and get credit. More details will be forthcoming in the next two weeks.

The club listened to three prepared speeches on widely different subjects: Peter Blouin’s #2 speech, “The Ugly, the Bad and the Good” demonstrated an expert grasp of college Division 1 football and the argument for a playoff system; Ned Powley’s #2 speech title "Community"revisited the strong themes of family and community, making excellent use of references to psychology (Abraham Maslow) and classical music (Beethoven); and Glenn Tolle’s #6 speech entitled “An Invitation to Chess” gave the club an insight into the club president’s passion for cognitive combat, garnishing him a “Best Speaker” award. The “Most Improved” award went to Ned Powley.

If a “Most Guests Invited” ribbon were awarded, it would have been presented with aplomb to Glenn Woodson, who brought three guests to the meeting, who also represented three generations of Woodsons: wife Karen (a perennial guest who declared her intent to join), new member of the Woodson Clan, Sterling, and Glenn’s mother, Frances

The crowning achievement of the meeting was the induction of the club’s newest member, Shahid Abrar ul Hassan, a graduate student at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and for several weeks a persistent guest of the club. Congratulations, and welcome Shahid!

For better listening, thinking, and speaking!