Christmas Poem

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
I searched for the tools to hand to my spouse.
Instructions were studied and we were inspired,
In hopes we could manage "Some Assembly Required." The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds,
While Dad and I faced the evening with dread:
A kitchen, two bikes, Barbie's town house to boot!
And, thanks to Grandpa, a train with a toot! We opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat....
Let no parts be missing or parts incomplete!
Too late for last-minute returns or replacement;
If we can't get it right, it goes in the basement! When what to my worrying eyes should appear,
But 50 sheets of directions, concise, but not clear,
With each part numbered and every slot named,
So if we failed, only we could be blamed. More rapid than eagles the parts then fell out,
All over the carpet they were scattered about.
"Now bolt it! Now twist it! Attach it right there!
Slide on the seats, and staple the stair!
Hammer the shelves, and nail to the stand."
"Honey," said hubby, "you just glued my hand." And then in a twinkling, I knew for a fact
That all the toy dealers had indeed made a pact
To keep parents busy all Christmas Eve night
With "assembly required" till morning's first light. We spoke not a word, but kept bent at our work,
Till our eyes, they went bleary; our fingers all hurt.
The coffee went cold and the night, it wore thin
Before we attached the last rod and last pin. Then laying the tools away in the chest,
We fell into bed for a well-deserved rest.
But I said to my husband just before I passed out,
"This will be the best Christmas, without any doubt. Tomorrow we'll cheer, let the holiday ring,
And not have to run to the store for a thing!
We did it! We did it! The toys are all set
For the perfect, most perfect, Christmas, I bet!" Then off to dreamland and sweet repose I gratefully went,
Though I suppose there's something to say for those self-deluded...
I'd forgotten that BATTERIES are never included!

Unknown Author

Meeting Notes - 18 December 2008

Fellow Toastmasters:

The meeting today was lead by yours truly. Don graced us with Speech 4 which he titled "The Super Power of Social Proof." In it, he explored the various means by which we, as social beings, influence and are influenced.

Speech two was an impromptu speech. Gary filled in for Linda, who was pulled away at the last moment. Gary delivered an uplifting speech about finding love and acceptance amidst family and faith.

The illustrious Dan Pratt provided the word of the day, "Indolent", and lead a stout storytelling round of table topics.

Our guest today was Shaw engineer Christina Nowarita. Christina hails from the East bloc and Poland specifically. It was a special treat to have her among us.

Included herein is a Christmas poem I thought you might enjoy. Roles for the upcoming meetings are shown below.

As we close out the year let me say as President, 2008 was great. Membership continues to flourish. We draw speakers from all walks of life and all experience levels. Meetings are healthy, happy and fun. We continue to meet the ever present challenges of educating ourselves and each other.

Every journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step. The roles we take in meetings are the small steps we all take to becoming accomplished speakers. I have watched everyone grow as orators. It is a pleasure. Thanks to your support I too continue to grow as a member and as a leader. Toastmasters is truly a "win-win".

January 8, 2008
Toastmaster - Eric
Word of the Day - Open
Speaker 1 - Julie
Speaker 2 - Linda
General Evaluator
Dan - Evaluator
Don Lyman - Evaluator
Table Topics - Connie



Jan 15
Speaker 1 - Carolyn
Speaker 2 - Don Lindgren

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Mike
Pres.

Meeting Notes - 11 December 2008

It's the week of Pearl Habor Day, so let's review President Roosevelt's Infamy Speech from a Toastmaster's perspective.

• At just six and a half minutes it would fit perfectly into a typical Toastmaster's speech.
• Roosevelt captures our attention with his first sentence: "yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."
• He imparts a strong emotional impact and inspires twice as many people to volunteer for service than Woodrow Wilson's speech for WWI
• He uses short sentences and groupings of three: "Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger."
• Roosevelt uses rhetorical devices. It's poetic how he lists the Japanese attacks.

Dave kicked off our speeches with an informative speech on sales persuasion. He recruited Dan to role play in order to demonstrate how it works. Connie gave a very entertaining speech about a family road trip to the Texas Panhandle involving calf fries, skunks, and practical jokes with snakes.

Julie hit us with some tough situational questions for Table Topics. Jason won best table topic speaker by adroitly handling the "What would you do if..." problem.

Linda brought the word of the day: indelible - 1. making marks that cannot be erased, 2. that cannot be eliminated, forgotten, changed.

Our last meeting of 2008 will include:

• Toastmaster: Mike Angel
• Speaker: Linda Holm
  
• Speaker: Don Lyman
  
• General Evaluator: Gary Fuller

Our first meeting of 2009 will feature:

• Speaker: Julie Williams
  
• Speaker: Cindy Castilow
  

Meeting Notes - 4 December 2008

The Holiday Season is in full swing. That means much partying and roistering about.

The Triskelion Toastmaster's meeting on the 4th was no exception. We were all treated to speeches by Mike Angel and Brendan McMillan. Mike gave an advanced speech on how to be a Distinguished Toastmaster. Brendan gave his Ice-Breaker speech. Both speeches were very enjoyable and well presented.

The theme of the evening was "Holiday Parties" and Table Topics followed on that thread. Our members acquitted themselves well in answering question such as: "How do you politely decline a Holiday Party invitation from your boss?"; Or, "How do you include people of various religious traditions?; Or, "How do you handle a situation where your bosses wife is a little too friendly with you? The answers were clever, enlightening, and entertaining.

Up next week we have a near full slate of speaking engagements and a few openings for others to step into:

Toastmaster: Don Lyman
General Evaluator: Deron White

Word of the Day: Linda Holm

Speakers:
Dave Trzupek
Connie Pshigoda

Evaluators:
Mike Angel
TBD

Table Topics: Julie Williams

Ah Counter/Grammarian: Dan Pratt
Timer: TBD

Triskelion Toastmasters 11-20-2008

The Word of the day was appreciativeness

Toastmaster Eric lead the way today. Speaker one was the Notorious Dan Pratt who shared with us holiday laughs and witty thanksgiving puns. Thanks a Lot, Dan.

Speaker two was new member Jim Stephens. Jim regaled with Thanksgiving stories of Food, Family and Football. After emphasizing the true meaning of the holiday, including historical and spiritual perspectives, Jim left us with a call to action - watch football!

Evaluators were Linda, Connie and Mike respectively. Gary tackled table topics with his Thackerayan enthusiasm.

Reminder: No meeting next week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday!

Roles for December 4th are as follows:

Toastmaster: Deron
WOD: open
Speaker 1: Mike
Speaker 2: Brendan
GE: Connie
Eval 1: Julie
Eval 2: Gary
Table Topics: Carolyn
Ah Counter/Grammarian Eric
timer: open

Please sign up for a role. If you signed up for a role and I missed it, please let me know.

Triskelion Toastmasters 11-13-2008

Triskelion Toastmasters
Meeting Summary
11-13-08

---

Today's meeting was lead by yours truly. Our word of the day was Imperativeness, a noun that means urgently demanding attention.

We were blessed with two ice breakers today.

First, new member Carolyn told us about her life and times as a corporate attorney. She has also spent a great deal of time managing non-profits and fundraising. In response to her glowing speech, out next meeting is scheduled to be a black tie event at Del Frisco's. Bring your spouses. Silent auction to follow table topics. Just kidding.

Second, new member Jim Stephens told about his life beginning in Alabama. Jim is a journeyman that worked with NASA. He personally had a hand in putting the Saturn C5 rocket into orbit. Rumor has it Jim has political ambitions. Perhaps he and Nate can compare notes. Jim won best speaker.

Speeches were evaluated by Brendan and Ed respectively. Brendan won best evaluator. Ed countered with a win as Best Table Topic speaker. Table Topics were lead by the illustrious (notorious?) Dan Pratt.

Our guest today was Eric's cubicle neighbor, Suzanne.

Roles for next week:

Toastmaster: Eric
Speech 1 - Julie
Speech 2 - Dan
General Eval - Linda
Eval 1 - Mike
Eval 2 - Open
Table Topics - Cindy
Timer - Open
Ah Counter - Open
Grammarian - Open
Word of the Day - Connie

Good meeting everyone.

Reminder: No meeting Thanksgiving day. Although you are free to dazzle your family with a speech before carving the turkey.

~Mike

Toastmasters 11-06-2008

Meeting Notes from November 6, 2008

Meeting Theme: Post Election Blues (or Reds)

Word of the Day: Resolution

Toastmaster was David Trzupek and he opened with his thoughts about the election by borrowing lyrics from J Giels Band “I’ve had the blues, the reds and the pinks and as a Republican, this past election stinks!”

Dave did congratulate Barack Obama but he still wonders why if a black man from Chicago can become President of the US then why can’t the Chicago Cubs get into the World Series?

Our first speaker for the meeting were Jason Carty who gave his ice-breaker by starting out with the bold statement of “I have failed” which was not quite like Martin Luther King Jr “I have a dream” but got our attention.

Our second speaker was our club President, Mike Angell. Who inspired us all to volunteer to speak and be active in TM. He used colorful sports analogies and makes me want to run out and give a bunch of speeches.

Karen Lang and John Wierzba provided insightful, helpful and sound evaluations.

Table Topics were provided by Linda Holm and she did a great job of getting us to provide our off the cuff responses to her questions to describe the meaning of common metaphors and phrases.

Our best speaker was Mike Angell, our best evaluator was Karen Lang and our table topics best was Eric Peterson.

Thanks for a great meeting!

Toastmasters 10-30-2008

Change: It’s A Constant

Toastmaster Connie Pshigoda opened today’s meeting with nine members and two guests. The theme for the day was Change. It’s all around us but often we fail to acknowledge or appreciate it.

Gary Fuller stepped up as Speaker informing us of the traits of a Spokesperson. He opened by asking his audience to recall a memorable spokesperson. His speech project came from the Advanced Speaker Manual on Leadership.

Eric Peterson effectively evaluated Gary’s speech.

Linda Holm opened the way for all kinds of crazy Table Topic tales from our Halloween memories. Don Lyman took the award for the best tale of his 15 minutes of fame as a “rock-star-turned-clown.”

Todd Rys challenged us with the Word of the Day: Perfunctory.

Welcome visitors, Robert and Jason! Please visit us again.

Next week’s roles:

GE-Eric Peterson

Speaker #1 – Mike Angel

Evaluator #1 – Karen Lang

The meeting closed with encouraging lyrics from Jimmy Buffett’s song: Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude: Keep laughing! Keep changing!

Toastmasters 10-23-2008

Toastmasters was held in our spacious and comfortable new meeting room. For all who felt cramped in the old room you will be much more relaxed in the new setting.

Dave Trzupek showed us the way to survive these turbulent economic times with an informative speech. His five steps of action gave us all a way to take some control of our future.

Dave was evaluated by Ed Johnson.

Next, Karen Lang gave the 10th speech from the CC book focused on inspiring your audience. Congratulations to Karen for completing her Competent Communication manual. She now plans to focus on helping each of us reach our goals in her role as VP of Education.

Karen was evaluated by Connie Pshigoda.

During Table Topics each person talked about a time in their childhood when they got into trouble. Gary Fuller told us of a time when his brothers, friends, and he were playing army and launching grenades (rock) at each other. Gary's rock found its mark and sealed his fate.

For next week’s meeting, Connie will be our Toastmaster and Linda will be our Table Topics Master. All other roles are open. See you then!

Best Regards,
Don Lyman

Triskelion Toastmasters Thursday 10-2-2008

Here are the meeting notes from Triskelion Toastmasters Thursday 10-2-2008 meeting,

Toastmaster was Eric Peterson

Speaker today was Todd Rys who did his icebreaker and told us of fun childhood memories of family vacations that stretched from “90 minutes north of Mexico to 90 minutes south of Canada” and wound up at a ranch in Montana with plenty of outdoor fun.

Todd was evaluated by Julie Williams.

Table Topics were hosted by Dan Pratt who had tell stories of head games, sports games or table games. Gary Fuller won best table topic for a story of tackling his opponent in football, a play that ultimately caused a 30 yard gain for the other team. J

Mike Angell was General Evaluator.

Roles for next week include:

TM Julie Williams

Sp 1 Dan Pratt

Ev1 open

Snacks and Chicago Restaurants

We had snacks and soda for the food themed meeting so no one would get too hungry learning about Chicago Restaurants.

TM Eric Peterson entertained us with anecdotes about legendary Chicago Restaurants White Castle, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, and the Billy Goat Tavern (cheeseburger cheeseburger!!!).

Karen Lang gave the 9th speech from the CC book about “Change”. She showed how the brain’s neural system makes a new pathway when you do something differently including thinking in a new direction and encouraged a “21 day plan” to make positive personal changes in your life.

Karen was evaluated by Dan Pratt.

Next, Dave Trzupek gave an engaging talk about the Jay’s potato chip company in Chicago where his mother once worked and the joy of getting free samples from the factory. As they say on the package, “ya’ can’t stop eatin’ ‘em”.

Dave was evaluated by Gary Fuller.

During Table Topics each person talked about their favorite restaurant, including Linda Holm, our guest from Shaw, enjoyed her first toastmasters meeting and I am happy to report that she has decided to join our club.

We were excited to hear that Eric Wales, our general evaluator for today, is taking a 2 year trip around the country and won’t be back any time soon. The trip would’ve taken a month, but due to the high price of gas Eric will only be driving 8 miles an hour. To clarify, the excitement is for his excitement, not for his leaving us.

For next week’s meeting, Todd Rys will give his Ice breaker speech, all other roles are open, see you then!

Best Regards,
Eric Peterson

The Last Rose of Summer

Triskelion Toastmasters
Meeting Minutes
9-18-08
________________________________________

After a great turnout last week, attendance was down again. Only five members and one guest showed up. Our guest was Suzanne. She recently returned to work for Shaw and wanted to see what Toastmasters was all about. It turned out to be a great little meeting as witnessed here:

Our Toastmaster, Don Lyman, kicked things off with a poem recital:

The Last Rose of Summer

'Tis the last rose of summer

Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
To give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
From Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit,
This bleak world alone?
Thomas Moore

Speaker
Eric Wales gave his fifth speech from the CC manual -- Your Body Speaks. Eric is a full time commercial real estate investor who began his career nearly 10 years ago. He began investing in single family homes, and roughly 4 years ago transitioned into commercial properties. Each day he become more passionate about this new found love and enjoys the hunt.

Eric's speech was titled "How to Identify A Commercial Real Estate Opportunity." He gave us some great advice:

• Locate a mentor
• Get educated
• Surround yourself with who know more than you
• Tell everyone you are a commercial real estate investor
• Meet every real estate agent you can
• Learn how to evaluate properties
• Have at least one lawyer on the team
• After following these steps, do it all again

Evaluator
Gary Fuller evaluated Eric's speech. In keeping with the goal of this speech, he observed that Eric's eye contact engaged everyone in the audience and Eric's use of hand gestures was excellent. Gary advised us that a speaker should move around and not be tied to the lectern. He also stated that in order to enunciate in the English language one should loosen the mouth.

Gary's general evaluation of the meeting was that attendance was low. It is the Toastmaster's job to do the best he can to encourage participation in the meeting. To that end, please bring a guest to the meeting next week!

Word of the Day
Our word of the day was "sublime".

1. Not to be excelled; supreme; majestic.
2. Causing deep emotions and feelings of wonder or joy
3. Of great moral, artistic, or spiritual value

Usage: Starting in 1980 Gary Larson became known the world over for giving us glimpses into sublime genius, with a liberal sprinkling of cows.

Quote: One step above the sublime, makes the ridiculous; and one step above the ridiculous, makes the sublime again. —Paine,Thomas

Table Topics
Our Table Topic Master for this week was Eric Peterson. His question for each of us: "Tell us about an amusing or interesting story from your school days."

Dan Pratt won table topics with a funny story about the time he tried to take ice to school for show-and-tell. As the ice sat in his sack lunch, he wished that it would have sublimated rather than what it did do in the warm classroom.

Roles for September 25, 2008
ToastMaster - Eric Peterson
Speaker 1 - Open
Speaker 2 - Open
Evaluator 1 - Dan Pratt*
Evaluator 2 - Open
General Evalutor - Open
Table Topics - Dan Pratt*
Timer - Open
Grammarian/Ah Counter - Open

Please sign up for a role by sending email to Eric!
Good meeting.
See you next week.

Where Were You On Sept 11, 2001?

Triskelion Toastmasters
Meeting Minutes
9-11-08
________________________________________

We had outstanding attendance on Thursday. Thank you for everyone who came. It was almost "standing room only". The meeting unfolded as follows.

Speaker 1 - Connie
Connie wowed us with a speech about "The agony of de feet". A wellness expert, Connie explained how the feet function as a major nerve center for the entire body. Massaging and caring for the feet can actually help your entire body! Thinking about wearing those uncomfortable shoes, ladies? Connie says think again. Wearing 3 inch heels consistently over time reconditions your muscles and tendons, causing problems later. Guys, are you fond of dress shoes or Cowboy boots? Beware of shortened achilles tendons if you overuse them! Take care of yourselves. Be sure to start each day off on, well.... the right foot!

Speaker 2 - Nick
On a day of solemn remembrance for our country, Nick shared a story of national security from his homeland. A Russian immigrant that hails from the Ukraine, Nick talked about his first hand experience during the frightening hours of the 1990 Communist Coup. In reaction to Gorbechev's numerous reforms, Communist hardliners seized the premier, deployed troops and attempted to restore the "Old Regime." The hours were tense. Nick's tale was gripping. Tanks waited outside town and no one knew exactly what would happen. In the end, Boris Yeltsin declared, as President of Russia, he had the authority to order all the troops back home. The day was saved!

Nick shared that Yeltsin's men were able to foil the coup with lightning speed because the CIA, in an unprecedented act of friendship, shared major communications intelligence with Yeltsin. Nothing was held back. Through the CIA, Yeltsin and the Russian people were able to monitor all coup communications and bring a swift end to the oppression.

Nick is writing an entire book on his experiences. We fellow Toastmasters look forward to hosting his first book signing.

Table Topics - Mike A.
The meeting was capped by Table Topics a' la Bill Walsh. Bill Walsh passed away not long ago. However he is remembered as one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. He, and he alone, has 5 Superbowls to his name. Additionally, his students like Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden, Dick Vermiel, Brian Billick and many, many others won Superbowls using his philosophy. Even Hall of Fame players like Denver Broncos Safety John Lynch can thank Walsh for his instruction.

Walsh was special not only for his knowledge of football, but his knowledge of leadership. Table topic-ers commented on leadership quotes from his book "Finding the Winning Edge."

Julie came armed with the word of the day, "exacerbate". Don and Dan headed up the evaluation team.

Announcements:
1. Club dues of $33 are due at the end of the month. Please get your dues to Eric or Mike at your earliest convenience.
2. Officer's meeting, going forward, will be held on the last Thursday of every month
3. Don't forget to bring a guest. We have strong numbers, but we can always be better. Now is a great time to join because we are starting a new cycle.
4. Are you due for a "speech check up?" How are you progressing on your manuals? Are you a Distinguished Toastmaster yet? Are you knocking them dead at your business meetings? If not, get with VP of Education, Karen, or Mike (yours truly). We'll book some time on the calendar for you. Keep your speaking skills sharp and your wit sharper.

Roles for September 18, 2008
ToastMaster - Don Lyman
Speaker 1 - Mike Roth
Speaker 2 - Eric Wales
Evaluator 1 - Mike Angell
Evaluator 2 - Gary Fuller
General Evalutor - Julie Williams
Table Topics - Eric Peterson
Timer - Dan Pratt
Grammarian/Ah Counter - Open

Good meeting.
See you next week.

Mike Angell
President

Friends—You need them. But first you have to be a friend.

What political candidate greets his audience with “My Friends,” (perhaps more than he should)? John McCain. He knows that we can never have too many friends. But we can be parsimonious and have too few, or worse yet, none at all!

Did you know that this is National Friendship Week? In it’s honor, we extolled our friends today, because they are important in our lives. A good friend is indispensable. Friends inspire, support and encourage us—they enrich our lives. As Emerson said, "The only way to have a friend is to be one." Make yourself available for friendships...that way you’ll be there for each other in high and low times.

Program highlights
*Welcome new members Brendan McMillan and Todd Rys who joined today!

*Our word of the day: - par·si·mo·ni·ous. Frugal to the point of stinginess; sparingly.

*Don Lyman, our solo speaker, gave his second CL manual speech, Organize it, titled Everyday ethical conundrums. As an "integrity leader" for his company, InsureMe, Don spoke about the integrity poll, a key tool he uses to champion the virtue.

*Gary Fuller adeptly evaluated Don's speech with praise and helpful tips for next time.

*Eric Peterson carried out the theme with his Table Topics questions about friendship.

*Our general evaluator/toastmaster Janet sized up the meeting with her keen observations. We need to start using the ah-buzzer and give award certificates to winners. Janet gave herself and her TM crew excellent marks for a well-organized and executed meeting.

Awards--Congrats to:
Best speaker: Don Lyman
Best evaluator: Gary Fuller
Best table topics: Brendan McMillian

Roles for next week, Aug. 28, 2008 Note: next week is the officers' meeting.
Toastmaster - Mike Angel
Speaker 1- Dave Trzupek
Speaker 2 - OPEN
Evaluator 1- Don Lyman
Evaluator 2- OPEN
General Evaluator - Cary Bradley
Table Topics - Ed Johnson
Word of the day - Mike Angel
Ah counter - OPEN
Grammarian - OPEN
Timer - OPEN
Contact Toastmaster Mike Angel promptly to fill and open role.

"Life is a great chronicle of friendship. Friends create the world anew each day." Helen Keller

Have a great week, my friends. :)

Sportsmanship On and Off the Field -- Does it Still Exist?

In the spirit of the Olympics which are well underway, we discussed sports and sportsmanship in our meeting today. Good sportsmanship plays a role on and off the field, and in our Toastmasters meetings. We are all here to grow and learn and become better speakers. Sometimes we win the "best speech" award and sometimes we don't. It's important in Toastmasters and in life to win with class as well as learn to lose (and learn from the loss) with class.

We had a couple of great speeches today from Karen Lang who taught us all about being a good sport through her story about "Mrs. Low" -- the founder of the Girls Scouts of America (we are all still waiting for our cookies, Karen!). And Don Lindgren taught us about a sport, mountain climbing, in his speech, "Rising to New Heights in Boulder." Informative and great props, Don!

Thanks to our guest, Todd who visited us today. We hope you enjoyed yourself and come back and see us again -- you have to keep us updated on the Women's Volleyball!

Today's awards went to:

• Best Speech -- Don Lindgren
• Best Evaluator -- Cary Bradly
• Best Table Topics -- Don Lyman

Next Week's Meeting: Thursday, August 21st

We have most of the roles filled for next week, but there are a few remaining. Janet Reese is our Toastmaster for next week so please contact her at janetbreese@comcast.net if you can pick up an open role.

• Toastmaster -- Janet Reese
• General Evaluator -- OPEN
• Speech #1 -- Don Lyman
• Evaluator #1 -- Gary Fuller
• Speech #2 -- OPEN
• Evaluator #2 -- OPEN
• Table Topics -- Eric Peterson
• Grammarian -- OPEN
• Timer -- Karen Lang
• Ah Counter -- Don Lindgren

Looking ahead to our August 28th meeting we have two "pre-reserved" roles as follows:

• General Evaluator -- Cary Bradly
• Speech #1 -- Dave Trzupek

Thanks to everyone for another great meeting!

Eye on China

All eyes are on China with the beginning of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Beijing Olympics start at 8pm on the 8th day of the 8th month in 2008. In case you didn't get it, China has a thing for the number 8 which represents a lucky number for wealth in their culture. I hope you are able to watch the opening ceremonies on Friday, August 8, 2008.

Our Olympic Gold Medal Awards go to Mike Angell for winning the Best Speaker of the Day, Janet Reese earned Best Evaluator and Julie Williams earned best Table Topic Speaker. Congratulations to all our Olympic Gold Medal Award winners.

Please send an e-mail to Julie Williams at julie@sherpamarketing.com to volunteer for an open role for next week’s meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 14, 2008

ToastMaster – Julie Williams
Word of the Day – Janet Reese
Speaker 1 – Karen Lang – Speech #7
Speaker 2 – Don Lindgren – Speech #4
Evaluator 1 – Cary Bradley
Evaluator 2 – Eric Peterson
Table Topics - Open
General Evaluator – Open
Grammarian – Open
Timer – Open
Ah Counter – Open

Announcements: Connie Pshigoda’s daughter is getting married tomorrow, Eric Wales is off to sail Lake Powell, and we have a tentative Club Officer’s Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 28 following the club meeting.

Keep your Eye on China by watching the Olympics and check out the special series Wild China on the Travel Channel to learn more about the people and animals from that part of the world.

Sports Broadcaster & ToastMaster

Karen Lang

Meeting Summary, July 31, 2008

Eric Peterson presided as Toastmaster with his theme “Labor Day” (we’re a little early, but thinking a month ahead). He entertained us with the history and trivia surrounding this last summer holiday.

Our guest, Jim, said he enjoyed the meeting; he even participated in table topics. We hope Jim returns and joins our club.

We welcomed back--to Toastmasters and the Shaw Group--Ed Johnson, aka., Albert Einstein, who started out as our Lt. Col. Evaluator, and was later promoted to General Evaluator.

Word of the day, by Julie Williams: parvenu - One that has recently or suddenly risen to an unaccustomed position of wealth or power and has not yet gained the prestige, dignity, or manner associated with it.

Janet Reese, our first speaker, presented a 20-minute speech from the Professional Speaker advanced manual with the objective to entertain and inform. Her topic: How to get along with mixed generations: Gen Y, Gen X, Boomer, and Traditionalist aka. Veteran. She recruited a few volunteers who added some levity to the speech by acting out their generational roles. Eric P. was a Veteran; Julie, a Boomer; Don Lindgren, a Gen Xer; and Mike Angel, a Gen Yer.

Our second speaker Mikael Roth gave his 2nd manual speech with the objective to “organize your speech.” He talked about how music plays an important role in all our lives, and especially his. The only thing missing was a solo singing performance.

Dave T. evaluated Janet’s speech and Eric W. evaluated Mikael.

Our Table Topics master Mike A. asked thought provoking (more than usual) and fun questions such as: “What do they pack styrofoam in when they ship it?,” and “If a parsley farmer gets sued, can they garnish his wages?” We asked Mike how in the heck he came up with such “heady” questions. We still don’t know.

Awards
Best Table Topics: Ed Johnson
Best Evaluator: Dave Trzupek
Best Speaker: Janet Reese

Volunteer for an open role for August 7, 2008:
TM – Cary Bradley
WOD - open
GE – Janet Reese
SP1 – Don Lindgren
SP2 – Mike Angell
EV1 – Julie Williams
EV2 – Ed Johnson
TT – Eric Wales
Gram – open
Ah – open
Timer – open
Until next week…speak well fellow toastmasters!

Club Party July 27, 2008 -- an outstanding event!

Thanks again to Connie and her husband Willie for hosting Sunday's summer club party. We enjoyed socializing, eating BBQ and listening to Dan play his 12-string guitar. Connie's yard provided the perfect backdrop of flowers, patios (yes, more than one!) and cool breezes. We didn't give any speeches, but we shared a lot of fun personal stories. Did you know...

July 24 meeting summary/Tour de America

Did you know the Tour de France is a bike race that is 2,200+ miles long? Getting on a bike makes you feel like a kid again. Have you jumped on a bike lately to ride to the grocery store, bookstore or Tour de America? If not, you may start this new adventure by renting a bike from your local bike store, and then take off riding as there are hundred's and hundred's of bike paths right in your own Colorado backyard. Don't worry about someone trying to pass you as you will hear them say, "on your left" as they pass you by. It is fun to learn the lingo when you try any new sport.

Our bike rider awards today go to Eric Wales for winning the Best Speaker of the Day, Tracy Goodman earned Best Evaluator and Connie Pshigoda earned the Best Table Topics Speaker for the Day. To earn one of these weekly awards you need to continue to practice improving your speaking skills by attending our weekly ToastMaster meetings. You know the saying "practice makes perfect." Again, congratulations to our club award winners today!

July 31, 2008 meeing roles:

ToastMaster - Cary Bradley
1st Speaker - Janet Reese (15 minute speech)
2nd Speaker - Mike Roth
General Evaluator - Open
1st Evaluator - Dave T.
2nd Evaluator - Eric Wales
Table Topics - Mike Angel
Word of the Day - Help! we need one
Timer - Open
Grammarian - Open

Please volunteer for any open roles for next week's meeting by e-mailing Cary directly at cary.bradley@hilton.com

Cycle away!
Karen Lang

Cool Summer Day

On a cool summer day
Toastmasters convened
To speak and announce
to see and be seen

Today Speaker One
was new member Julie
Icebreaker speech
of her travels unruly

Then Speaker Two
was filled by yours truly
a tale of Chocolate
a precious commodity

Impromptu topics
by the Cary Bradley
Election time blues
It didn't go badly

Sign up for roles
they soon can be yours
practice you skills
with orations galore

Meeting Notes - June 26th 2008

Gardening was Connie's theme for today's meeting.  The meeting was short yet constructive, with ample opportunity for all to speak.

 

Eric Wales shared his views on the power of referrals in business.  Eric noted how many people treat referrals as a cheap commodity, when in fact an hortative referral is a strong statement of trust that should be handled with appropriate care.

 

Karen Lang followed the speech and Dave Trzupek's evaluation with table topics.  All attendees participated and shared with the group a personal "WOW" moment they have experienced.

 

If you did not make today's meeting, but have a WOW moment to share, type it into the comments below.

Fwd: Humor and announcements

Just for laughs
A lady dropped her handbag in the bustle of weekend shopping. An honest, little boy noticed her drop the handbag, so he picked it up and returned it to her.

The lady looked into her handbag and commented, "Hmm.... That's funny. When I lost my bag there was a $20 bill in it. Now there are twenty $1 bills."

The boy quickly replied, "That's right, lady. The last time I found a purse, the owner didn't have any change for a reward."

Announcements

1. Club Social
Dont' forget about the upcoming club social!
Club Pot Luck
Connie Pshigoda is hosting.  Come one, come all! 
Sunday
July 27
6 p.m.

Please RSVP.

2.  Officers Meeting
Just a reminder that our first 2008 officer's meeting will be held after the regular club meeting on July 3rd.

3.  Roles
Roles are filled for next week.  However if you want to sign up in advance for one of the following weeks please let me know and we'll get you on the books.

Thankyousomuch!

~Mike

Meeing summary 6-19-08

Today's meeting "Economize & Thrive" was fun and dynamic as everyone creatively brainstormed ways of economizing in order to thrive with the rising cost of living.

Table topics master Eric P. challenged us with theme-related questions. Dave T. won Table Topics for his "lights out" answer, speaker Gary Fuller told us how to be a coach-leader and Don Lindgren spoke on gratitude. Both speeches were winners, but Gary walked away with the hardware.

Ms. Pshigoda ever so adeptly oversaw evaluations and sized up the meeting, while Mike A. and Deron W. offered their pearls of wisdom tips to speakers. Mike A. won best evaluator. Connie and Janet color-coordinated their pink colored tops...now that's meeing planning at its best. Our word of the day "penurious" matched the theme perfectly, thanks to Jullie Williams.

Toastmaster Janet Reese was grateful to everyone who participated and planned the program. We laughed, learned and economized today...what more can you ask for? See you next week!

June 26 meeting roles:

Toastmaster - Connie Pshigoda
Speaker 1 - Eric Wales
Speaker 2 - Eric Peterson
Evaluator 1 - Dave T.
Evaluator 2 - Julie Williams
Table topics - Karen Lang
General Evaluator - Mike Roth
Word of the Day - Dan Pratt
Timer - Mike Angel
Ah-counter - Janet Reese
Grammarian - open (contact Connie to fill)

Meeting notes

Meeting Notes

A guy walks in a bar, and buys a huge beer. Then he sees someone he knows, and decides to go and say Hi ! to them, but he does not want to take his beer mug with him. So he keeps it on a table, along with a note "I spit in this beer" thinking that no one will drink it.

Upon return, he sees another note saying "Me too!"


Roles for next week:
Toastmaster:  Janet
Word of the Day:  Julie
Speaker 1: Gary
Speaker 2:  Don Lindgren
GE - Connie
Eval 1:  Mike Angell
Eval 2:  Deron
Table Topics: Eric Peterson
Grammarian: Dan
Ah Counter: Dave
Timer: Mike Roth

Now accepting volunteers for roles on June 26th too!

Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes
June 5, 2008

---

Thursday, June Fifth
a cool, foggy day
rain droplets were pouring
along our path way

Misty gray skies
excited, charged air
as luminous feelings
floated through air

Toastmaster today
was Eric the Red
He lead our grand meeting
As speeches were read

And with a keen wit
Gary Fuller arose
to address leadership
in eloquent prose

Followed soon after
by Dave Trzupek's word
"Strive to be better"
was the message we heard

Janet and I
gave evaluations,
tips and suggestions,
for loud ovations

Table Topics were next
Janet lead us with force
with humor and fun
yes, par for the course

Roles are all filled
for the coming week
We can't wait to hear
Some more Toastmasters speak

~M

Thursday June 5, 2008 Triskelion Toastmasters Meeting Notes

Thursday June 5, 2008 Triskelion Toastmasters Meeting Notes

 

Toastmaster Eric Peterson tried to raise our batting average with some baseball trivia.  Janet Reese gave us the word “timeraiser” which I thought would mean that if you can do something in one minute, I’ll tell you I can do it in five.  We welcomed our newest member, Julie, who filled in as timer.

 

Two excellent speeches were given today.  Former club president Gary Fuller improved our “vision” with a lesson on leadership, and Dave Tzrupek gave us room for improvement in his speech “Becoming Better.”  With that speech, he completed his first manual.  Congratulations, Dave!

 

President-elect Mike Angell said he would make no decision tonight regarding his candidacy, except that he spuriously offered Gary honorarium (a.k.a, payola or bribe) for Gary’s shameless promotion of Mike’s mission statement.  The president-elect said that ultimately, he would do whatever is best for the party (or club).  Gary won best speaker.  (There were rumors circulating that some money may have exchanged hands for that to occur – I’m just saying.  Eric, our current president counted the votes.)

 

Janet presented table topics on the theme of “summer” and we got various “summeries” of how members would spend their time.  Congrats to Mikael Roth for winning the trophy with his description of his involvement in a wedding last week (not his).

 

Worth noting: Janet filled three roles – TT Master, Evaluator (voted best), and WOD presenter – Thank you!  As a result, she will get three times as much money as if she had only filled one role.  Way to step up to the plate and raise your time!

 

Now, tell me this – if Gary gets offered $20 for a little speech, why does Mike Angell’s dad only get a cheap (he didn’t necessarily say it would be new) razor for Father’s Day?  His dad only spent half a day repairing Mike’s hot water heater.  It shows you the value of Toastmasters.

 

Thanks to all for an inspiring meeting, and not a timewaster.  Next meeting, we may have to discuss corruption in government.  (Just kidding!)

 

 

Dan Pratt
I&C Designer
Shaw Stone & Webster
9201 E. Dry Creek Road
Centennial, CO  80112

303-741-7269 direct
303-741-7586 fax
dan.pratt@shawgrp.com

 

Meeting Notes - May 29th

Eric Wales was our toastmaster for the first time and did a wonderful inaugural run at leading us in our meeting last Thursday. Eric entertained us with anecdotes about Wind Power Generation in between other roles taking front and center. 

Nick Samoylov was our first speaker and used songs as examples for his speech, quite a difference between marching songs and jazz. Nick was evaluated by Dan Pratt our Sergeant At Arms. 

Karen Lang was our second speakers and wove an imaginative yarn about her visit to China and Chinese manufacturing. Karen was evaluated by Janet Reese who told Karen the story made Janet want to go visit China. 

Tables Topics were conducted by Don Lyman and were a variety of questions such as "What was the most memorable thing you did in a summer?"

General Evaluator was Eric Peterson. 

Grammarian was Connie Pshigoda, who comforted Nick Samoylov about his "English as a second language", saying that his grammatical imperfections, while normally a no-no with Toastmasters, in Nick's case should be forgiven and considered part of his character and charm.

WOD was intercoastal waterway buoy, which no one could figure out how to put in a sentence during table topics.

Over all a fun and interesting meeting with a new Guest who wants to join soon.

 

Meeting Notes: May 22nd, 2008

Connie Pshigoda was our sole speaker for today's meeting.  Connie gave us an entertaining speech on "Hank the Cowdog".   Connie's pan-handle accent helped bring the story to life.  Her delivery was, as ever, very polished.

We did not have a second speech, but instead had elections.  We elected a slate of officers, see Mike's address below.  I am pleased to see the leadership spread to Don Lyman, Cary Bradley, Tracy Goodman, Nathan Wilkes, and Dan Pratt.  We have a good mix of veteran officers and new officers.  I expect that this will keep the club on course to achieving our goals, and keep the club membership healthy.

Next weeks roles were as follows....

Eric Wales	Toastmaster
Open	General Evaluator
Mike Angell	Speaker #1
Karen Lang	Speaker #2
Dan Pratt	Evaluator #1
Janet Reese	Evaluator #2
Don Lyman	Table Topics
Mikael Roth	Timer
Connie Pshigoda	Grammarian
Open	Word of the Day

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Inaugural Address

Fellow Toastmasters

Greetings!

We had elections today.  I offer a warm thanks to all our outgoing officers who did a good job in getting us where we are today.  A special thanks to Eric for guiding the ship this past year.  We would not be here today without their dedication and work.  I extend a special welcome to the new club officers.  Here is your line up:

Mike Angell - President
Nick Samoylov - VP Membership
Karen Lang - VP Education
Nate Wilkes - VP Public Relations
Don Lyman - Webmaster
Secretary - Cary Bradley
Treasurer - Tracy Goodman
Sergeant at Arms - Dan "The enforcer" Pratt

It is an honor and privilege to serve as your president elect.  Here's my personal mission statement:

1.  Service Leadership
"Let he who would be the greatest among you serve the rest."  Good leaders do not come to be served, but to serve.  My duty is to serve the best interests of the club and its members. 

2.  Develop Membership
My goal is to promote personal development by helping club members reach their individual goals.

3.  Have Fun
All work and no play makes for a dull club.  We're a fun club now.  Let's continue to support that!

4.  Nurture
Toastmasters should be a safe, nurturing, supportive environment where people feel as though they are among friends.  My goal is to build the confidence of each members, whatever their level of skill

I encourage all of you to send me ideas about how we can improve the club this year.  At the end of the day, I'm only the leader.  It's your club.  Let's strive for excellence in the coming year. 

Best regards

Mike Angell
President-elect

Meeting Ode

The Ides of May

---

The Ides of May
Are upon us
Spring is here
And New life dawns

A little sunshine
a little rain
both received
this glorious day

Karen Lang
was the Toastmaster
Bluebirds sang
from alabaster

Speaker One
Mister Don
gave his icebreaker
with dance and song

Speaker two
Cary Bradley
spoke of her mum
we hearkened gladly

Evaluator
General
was Mister Gary
What a pal

Eval one
and Eval two
were Miss Connie
and you know who

Table Topics
by The John Wierzba
he spun his tales
and received loud cheers.  Ya!

That's all for now
See you next week
We all excel
as each one speaks

~MPA
5/15/08

May Showers

May Showers

---

May Showers are here
Snow coming down
Old Man Winter
Is still in town

Slick Roads, yes
and icy streets
turn on those fog lights!
and turn up the heat!

Toasty Toastmasters
warm in their room
Did give eloquent speeches
their voices did boom

Come on there now
give us a grin
t'will soon be springtime
and flowers begin

To bloom and unfold
with quaint butterflies
emerge from cocoons
and take to the skies

Bees and their honey
sweeten our palate
kids and vacations
lighten our wallet!

Springtime in Colorado
Is but a moment away
So keep on, Toastmasters
plugging away

~MPA 05-01-08

Meeting Notes - MAY DAY

"If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to witness it does it make a sound?"

Does the observer alter the event?  Does an event occur if it is not observed?  Is observation of the results of an event justification for the assertion that it occurred?

Nick gave an interesting speech on Physics and the mis-application of Quantum Mechanics.  If I got it right, Quantum Mechanics is made up of a group of math formulas that describe events in the microscopic world.  These events behave in some strange ways when interpolated to our macroscopic world.  All x-scopic worlds are based upon the perception of the perceiver.  As a result of these dizzying perceptions many pop science, and pop psychologists have misused the strange interpretations to describe experiences that we create from our own perceptions .  We make our own reality, and justify it with the best explanations physicists provide at cocktail parties.  Nick suggested that they all should, STOP!, because they are just anamorphising a bunch of mathematical formulas.

I think I just made up a bunch of new words, and perhaps a theory or two while misrepresenting what Nick said.

After that I continued my run of stumping people with Table Topic questions.  Apparently, my mind just works differently than others.  My wife reminds me of this from time to time. 

---

Next week....

Deron is Toastmaster

Eric Wales will give his Ice-Breaker

Eric Peterson will Evaluate Eric

We need lots of volunteers to fill....
General Evaluator
Speech #2
Evaluator #2

Table Topics

Word of the Day

Ah, Grammarian, Timer, Joke of the Day, Applause Captain, and Hookman.


D.

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Meeting Ode 04-24-08

April o' April

April o' April
your end does draw nigh
Springtime is here
with relief we do sigh

April showers thou didst
pour forth to renew
the spring flowers that fled
from cold storms that we knew

Today our first speaker
and only one, its true
Was the Deron White
with historical views

Samson, yes Samson
strong man of yore
through Deron's spun tale
did live yet once more

Evaluation
done by yours truly
t'was simple fare, really
t'was only my duty

Table Topics were lead
by Mrs. Connie Pshigoda
eloquent speeches, Earth Day
and our friendly "green" quotas

April o' April
We will miss you so
with your gentle spring days
and cool breezes that blow

MPA
04-24-08

---

Leadership

Leadership
What's in it for me
~By: Mike Angell

---

Fellow Toastmasters:

What is leadership?  Leadership is setting the course.  Leadership is putting others ahead of yourself.  Leaders do not come to be served, but to serve. 

Let he who would be the greatest among you serve the rest.

Leadership is not easy.  It requires time.  It requires talent.  It requires your brain.  Most of all it requires love.  You have to love the work.  You have to love what you do.  You have to care about the people that you are doing it for.

Empowerment?  Strategy?  Proactive?  All those things are tertiary.  They flow as a natural consequence of strong leadership. 

Do you have what it takes?  Are you interested in being a leader?  Invariably the question arises - "What's in it for me?"

1.  Personal development - You joined Toastmasters, at least in part, to develop your own speaking skills.  Consider weightlifting.  Do you get strong lifting itty, bitty weights, or do you get strong lifting heavy weights?  Is there pain?  You betcha.  In the end, you will find that you have grown and exceeded your own expectations.

2.  Friendships - Few things in life bring people together more than struggling for a common goal.  Think on your own life.  Are your closest friends born when things were good and comfortable for you?  Or was that friendship born in adversity? 

3.  Career Developement - Yes, that's right folks, at the end of the day each and every last one of us is in business for ourselves.  Some of us are entrepreneurs.  Some of us are wage earners.  Some of us are managers.  Regardless, everyone brings home a paycheck for their families.  Do you know what separates you from the field?  Do you know what makes the difference in an interview?  in the eyes of a potential employer?  a potential customer or client - COMMUNICATION SKILLS!!!!

Fellow Toastmasters I tell you in all sincerity empires have arisen and fallen based on their leaders communication skills.  No one here is trying to found an empire (except maybe John, just kidding)    None the less, you WILL notice a difference in your career.

Do you want to be a leader?  Do you have what it takes?  I encourage you to ask not only "What's in it for me?" but rather to ask "What's in it for the people near and dear to you?"

What's in it for them? The answer, fellow Toastmasters is......
 
A BETTER YOU!

See me if you're ready to step up.  Elections are in June.

Peace
~Mike

April 17, 2008 meeting notes

Our first-time off-site meeting location at EMC2, Dave Trzupek's office, was successful. Don L. gave his ice breaker so aptly for a TM newbie, and Dave T. represented his company's product--online storage services--with a persuasive speech that won us over.

Table topics evolved around change, the operative word today. "Docile" was the WOD and used by everyone. Best speaker went to Dave T., best evaluator, Deron, and TT, Janet.

Roles for next week, April 24,2008:
TM: Don Lymon
Speaker #1: Eric Wales (ice breaker)
Speaker #2: Deron White
Evaluator #1: Nathan will evaluate Eric W's speech
Evaluator #2: Open
Table topics: Open
General Evaluator: Open
Ah counter, grammarian, timer--all open

See you next week!

Ahs, Ums, hems and haws

Here's a couple of stories on on "ahs and ums."


First the scientific...

&
An Appreciation

Speaker Exchange...

Nick Samoylov is managing this page for the D26 website.

I am curious what club members think about the idea of inviting a speaker from this list on a periodic basis. 

I think it could be a good learning experience for us to hear a few people who speak at other clubs.

Send me your thoughts.

D.

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Meeting Ode

April Showers

April Showers
Our theme today
Hearts of joy
though skies of gray

We had a guest
Lyman by name
and to elation
a member became

Nathan spoke
of childhood tales
of boyish antics
and guards on his trail

Eric was
a CEO
for Rogaine no less
T'was quite a show!

Table Topics
By Dan gov'nator
Of springtime muses
both now and later

Evaluations
by Janet and Aaron
constructive critique
and laughter were sharin'

Roles for next week
Yes, they are set.
That's all for now
I gotta jet.

:)

MPA
4-3-08

Roles 4-10-08
Toastmaster Eric
Speech 1 Nick
Speech 2 Don Lymman - Icebreaker!  New Member!
General Evaluatot - Janet
Evaluator 1 - Dan
Evaluator 2 - Deron
Table Topics - Aaron
Wizard of Ahs - Nate
Timer - Open
Grammarian - Open

An Ode to the Meeting

Toastmaster Meeting
Janet B. Reese
Assumed today's reins
and lead us
with ease

We had a new guest
yes it is true
Welcome.  Come join
us!
We're so glad to meet you!


Eric the Red
Speaker and
Seeker
Gave ode to benefits
restructures and tweaks here

Mister
Mike Angell
was speaker two
Far South Pole tales
dog sleds and
igloos

Evaluators
Connie and Dan
Connie? sheer grace!
Dan? A
wild man!

Table Topics were primed
Our own Tracy Goodman
flourished
in Springtime
and gave us a grin.

To wrap up Miss Janet
Evaluated
....herself!
a bit strange but true
and all in good health

Next
meeting is set
with speakers galore
Until then, Toastmasters
We'll see
you once more


03-27-08
MPA

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Why compete? March 27, 2008

Roles for next week April 3:
TM: Mike A.
Speakers: Don Lindgren (ice breaker) & Nathan Wilkes
Evaluators: Janet for Don, Eric P. for Nathan
Table Topics: Dan Pratt
Fill a role -- your choice: General evaluator, word of the day, grammarian, ah-counter, timer.

Today's meeting summary

We had a fun and full program today as our guest Dave Bovard observed. Eric Peterson won best speaker for his "company reorganization" briefing, Connie Pshigoda won best evaluator for her insights on Mike Angel's speech, and Mike A. won best tabletopics.

Toastmaster Janet Reese added her speech contest commentary:

Have you ever competed in a speech contest? If so, congratulations! If not, consider the challenge.

I competed in our area M5 contest last Saturday and was happy to win. Joyce Feustel of the Mid Day club won the speech contest and our own Mike Angel placed second.

Competing is a valuable experience--you speak before a larger audience in a competitive setting. Entering a contest, you help to make it more competitive by increasing the number of contestants from your club and area.

The time to prepare is now. Here's how:

The winning formula: Tell a story about an event, person or experience that impacted or changed your life. Motivate and inspire the audience with the lesson you learned that they could take away.

Tell us in 5-7 minutes (without using notes): The story, how you were you impacted, the lesson(s) you learned or the moral of the story.

Start now so you have a speech in your hip pocket by fall when another contest rolls around.

word of the day--- • egregious • ê-gree-jês • adjective
Flagrantly bad, outrageously offensive.
Rev. Wright’s sermons were egregious.

See you next week!

The Open House Meeting - March 20, 2008

Much thanks to the organizers, the open house meeting was fantastic.  There were lots of people, lots of food, and the meeting went well.

Nick Samoylov ran the meeting as our Toastmaster.  The theme was, "What has Toastmasters done for you?" 

I did not answer this question in the meeting, but I'll add this note today:

For me there were a string of events all of which screamed, "You need to learn to speak in front of a crowd."  The one that sticks out most in my memory was a presentation I gave for a graduate level class in accounting.  I was the last speaker in a string of speakers.  I was speaking on an analysis I had performed on State Street Bank and Trust financial statements.  I was bored.  The other speeches were boring.  My speech was going to be boring.  The information was boring.  There just was not much to get excited about.  

As I said, I was last to speak, and so I got up in front of a lecture hall full of sleepy people who looked as bored by it all as I was.  My expectation was that not one of them cared what I said.  There was nothing I could say that would make it interesting.  The well was so poisoned by previous presenters that I could not possibly enliven the crowd. I looked up at the group, and I froze.  All I could think was, "don't look at me."  I pulled my self together and went through the motions.  It was painful.

The next class was a continuation of this one, and we listened to several more presentations that were just as exciting as the last.  Finally, the last guy to speak gave a presentation on the financial statements of Coors.  He used a Power Point presentation as many other had done, but unlike the others he didn't use it as a crutch.  He used it to lighten the mood.  Choosing to use pictures rather than bullet point lists.  The images ended up being a visual tour of Coors operation with him providing a financial tour to go along with it.  It was brilliant.  It was the only presentation that I can recall from the two days of listening to presentations. 

It was quite some time after that class that I actually joined a Toastmasters group.  Here's what I have learned that addresses the issue I had back in that classroom.  The problem I had was that I didn't think anybody wanted to listen to me, I couldn't think why they would, and it didn't occur to me that I could try to overcome this problem.  Toastmasters has helped me address that outlook.  Practice helps, it gives confidence, it helps build your expectation of how the audience will react.  Preparation helps.  Thinking about your audience and how you will engage them is something that you can't wait until the last minute to address.  Practice and preparation are part of an equation that ends with confidence.  With practice and preparation I'm confident, at least more than I ever was, that I can provide a reasonably good speech.  At least I don't want to run for the door anymore.  That's what Toastmasters has done for me.

Our visitors were treated to two very good speeches.  Connie Pshigoda gave an entertaining speech about, "Making Your Own Tracks," which had a very good message about not just following the ruts laid down by others.  Eric Peterson gave a motivational speech entitled "Why Are You Not a Toastmaster Yet?"  Which is a good question, if you're reading this and you aren't one, that's a sure sign you should join up.  Everyone improves with practice.

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Table topics or speech

To all,

I can do either table topics or my ice breaker speech.

Regards,

Eric Wales

---

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

Open House Invitation Thurs March 20

Triskelion Toastmaster Open House
March Madness
Phonetics, Food & Fun!
Thursday, March 20th, 2008
11:45 a.m.

---

Triskelion Toastmasters is pleased to invite you to our Open House on Thursday, March 20, 2008, located at the Shaw building, 9201 E. Dry Creek Rd.  Meet in the lobby (west entrance) at 11:30 a.m. where you'll be greeted by a Toastmaster. Our meeting is held from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. 

Please join us for orations, quotations and conversation. Come for the free food.  Come for the fun.  Come learn what being a Toastmaster is all about.  We're a non-profit group dedicated to improving our public speaking skills in the personal and professional arenas.  Speakers of ALL levels are welcome.  

Please RVSP via email to our Club Secretary at Mikeangco@aol.com or contact our club President, Eric Peterson at 303-741-7239 for more details.  If you cannot attend our Open House on March 20th, you are most welcome to attend a future meeting, we meet every week, on Thursday from 11:45 to 12:45.


See you there!

Triskelion Toastmasters

 

Thursday - February 28th - Meeting Notes & things to come

"Well, here's another nice mess you've got me into!"

• Nathan Wilkes commanded the meeting. Leading us onward with an Oscar's theme. In honor of the oscars, extra points were given for the use of movie quotes.
• Dan Pratt gave his second speech from the CC manual. It was very interesting, introducing us to the disign work that Dan does. The material was techinical, but delivered with Dan's excellent humor, and a visit from the Governator.
• Deron told a touching story, that contained no movie quotes.
• Eric Wales, took on the roll of Table Topics Master, doing an excellent job giving questions that gave the participants plenty of material to speak on.

The next two week we are having a contests. Members interested in the speech contest should start working on their speeches now. You have two weeks. Next week will be the Table Topics Contest.

We have room for one speech, and rumor has it Karen Lang had expressed an interest.

I invite would-be contestants to submit their names by Monday.

I'll be the Toastmaster for the meeting.

We shall also need an evaluator, a general evaluator, and several people to act as judges.

Good luck

Meeting Notes - February 21st.

Nathan Wilkes, jumped out of a plane.  He did so on purpose.  He landed safely, which I am sure, was a great relief to him, and it made for a great speech.

 

We like dedication in Toastmasters.  The clubs purpose is to help improve communication and leadership skills.  We do this through the practice of setting goals, acting upon those goals, working hard to write, prepare, and deliver speeches, and helping each other by providing feedback.   Sometimes it is difficult to think of something to write.  I discourage others from performing dangerous acts in order to obtain material.  Jumping out of planes is taking the dedication too far.  It did make for an excellent speech, though.

 

Mike Angel followed Nate's jumping story with a humorous missive on the true value of money.  Mike's speech was from the "Humorously Speaking" manual, and his goal was to open the speech with a humorous story, and end the speech with a humorous story, both stories were to support a theme.  His stories did, and a good laugh was had at the expense of Lucky Jack his protagonist.

 

Eric Peterson challenged us all with Table Topics that were very entertaining.  Nick, it turns out, is, or was, every bit the dare devil as Nate is. 

 

Next week...

 

Toastmaster: Nathan Wilkes

General Evaluator: Eric Peterson

 

Speakers:

Deron White

Dan Pratt

Evaluators:

John Wierzba

We need a second evaluator.

Table Topics: Eric Wales

 

We also need:

Timer, Ah-Counter, Grammarian, and a Word du Jour.

 

E-mail myself, and Nate with changes, conflicts, worries, funny stories, and roles you would like to fill.

Happy Valentine's Day Meeting

Have you ever wanted to create your own Valentine's Day card? We had the chance today. Table Topics master Connie Pshigoda asked us to create a message inspired by eclectic objects in her grab bag. We gave Hallmark card company some stiff competition. Our poet literaute Mike Angel won for his impromptou poem inspired by a hammer. Yes, that's the tool used to pound nails!

We welcomed guests Brendon McMillian and Don Lindgren. Our red-sweater clad Toastmaster Dave T. tempted and inspired us with Valentine's chocolate kisses and trivia. Speaker Karen Lang challenged us to consider why we attend Toastmasters using the "Emergenetics" model while Mike Angel told us the legend of the infamous scout aviator Red Baron. Mike won best speaker.

Evaluators John Wierzba and Gary Fuller offered constructive tips to our speakers and also pointed out their strengths. Gary won best evaluator.

General evaluator Janet Reese connoted (the word of the day) a few suggestions for next time--fill all the roles in advance and save interpersonal discussions for post meeting. Speaking of next time, consider an open job below or prepare for the one you have.

Lineup for Feb. 21:
Toastmaster: Nick S.
Speakers: Nathan Wilkes and Mike Angel
Evaluators: Dave T. and Deron White.
Table Topics: Eric Peterson
General Evaluator: John W.
Grammarian/ah-counter: Connie P.
Timer: you?
Word of the day: you?

See you next week!

General Evaluators Notes from February 7, 2008

Winter Wonders

It's a little known fact that birds flying low is a harbinger of a storm, and that a breast bone from a goose may indicate what kind of winter we're in for.  Don't believe me?   You should ask Connie Pshigoda.  Connie our Cordon Bleu source of plains wisdom lead the Triskelion Club's meeting today.  She kept us on task and moving through the meeting, while filling the spaces with information from the theme she chose for today, Winter Weather Oddities and Other Folklore.

 

Speeches

 

We listened to speeches by Dave Trupek and Mike Angel. 

 

Dave spoke on Stagflation "lite" using a chart Dave demonstrated that while the economy is experiencing mild inflation, and a slow down, it hasn't quite hit stagflation.  Certainly, not the stagflation the US experienced during the 70's.  Nick noted, and this is a lesson to other Toastmasters, that Dave dressed the part of a professional.  Appearance is not an item we often criticize, but it can't be ignored how effective dressing the part can be when delivering a speech.

 

Mike Angel shared the story of his incarceration with us.  A blue streak of a tale that began with the purchase of a puppy, followed by losing the puppy, to finding the puppy at the shelter, to discovering an unpaid fine, to visiting the Grey Bar Hotel, and back home to his puppy.  What wouldn't you do for "Man's Best Friend."

 

Definitions

 

Gary Fuller treated us to a different sort of Table Topics today.  We played a game.  We had to give a definition for suderific, or psuedorific, or sudorific, or sederific; we didn't know which, but we had to give a definition in any case.  Then we were to guess who gave the proper definition.  Dave Trzupek was the man on the inside, providing the proper definition for sudorific, which sounded implausible at the time. 

 

Guests

 

We were pleased to be joined by Mr. Steve Gollob.  Steve bravely joined in with the Table Topics.  We look forward to seeing Steve again.

 

Next Week - Roles and Needs:

• Dave Truzpek may be Toastmaster, if anyone would be so kind as to understudy for him it would be appreciated.
• Nick will be the General Evaluator
• Karen Lang is scheduled to speak.
• Nathan Wilkes will be giving his 4th speech
• John Wierzba will evaluate
• Gary Fuller will as well.
• Connie Pshigoda will provide the table topics
• Dan Pratt will utilize his engineers training to provide timing accurate to within .000001 second.
• The Grammarian Role is available
• As is Ah Counter
• As is Word of the Day

D.

More notes from TLI, Jan. 19, 2008

Deron and I (Janet) presented a workshop at Saturday's TLI held at Johnson and Whales culinary school campus near Stapleton. I'll give you my handout at the next meeting.

I felt like we should have given a food demo, but we didn't. I saw our fearless president Eric Peterson there as well as PR VP Dave Truzpek and membership VP Nick Samoylov. I would estimate that several hundered TMs were in attendance despite the snowy holiday weekend.

At the plenary session, a guest TM honcho stressed "friends never let friends give non-manual speeches." In other words, everyone is required to give manual speeches at Toastmasters meetings. That should be easy to do given the wide variety of speech manuals available to those who have completed their first 10 speeches.

TM merchandise like manuals, books, ribbons, etc., was available for sale. I found an interesting advanced manual that I plan to tackle. I have to involve fellow TMs, and you may be one of them!

I highly recommend TLI, especially for officers' training. But any member can gain new insights about running meetings, recruiting and retaining members and speaking eloquently.

Notes from TLI

Competent Leader Program Termination:June 30th, 2008 is the deadline for "grandfathered" Toastmasters who are working under the old Competent Leader program. Member's who have not completed the Competent Leader under the old program will have to complete the new program to obtain the Competent Leader.

Advanced Leader Bronze Members who have their Competent Leader are considered to be equivalent to having obtained the new designation of Advanced Leader Bronze, and may begin working on the Advanced Leader Silver Award.

Assigned Roles This is a hotly debated topic in the VP of Education class. Some clubs do it, others don't, the ones who do it like it, because it increases efficiency. Others say it drives members away. Triskelion's have talked about this from time to time, and will continue to. Feedback on this subject is requested.

Meeting Notes - January 17

Nick Samoylov commanded today's meeting as Toastmaster. January 17th is the birth date of Benjamin Franklin, and he served as the theme for today's meeting. Nick filled the dead air with interesting facts about Ben, and even brought in an omnibus containing all of Mr. Franklin's Almanac's for members and guests to peruse.

A little known event, that was omitted, is that Ben liked to wear a towel on his head, as seen in the picture to the left. No one knows why. It is suspected that Ben, a constant experimenter, had an accident with a new hair dye he had been developing utilizing some left over ink from the presses. Always ready to announce his successes, but contumacious about his failures, Ben chose to wear a towel without explanation. When asked about it, he'd respond contemptuously, "Well, what are you hiding under that wig buster?"

Mike Angel did the heavy lifting today providing our one prepared speech. With this speech Mike completed his first Advanced Manual, the Interpretive Reading Manual. The assignment was to present a famous speech. Mike presented Patrick Henry's, "Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death, a speech that Patrick Henry delivered to Virginia's House of Burgesses. It was a pleasure hearing the speech in it's entirety. The catchphrase is no shibboleth, but the culmination of a well reasoned and well argued position. Mike did a very good job presenting the speech stepping outside of his soft spoken style to project the force and passion of the words.

Eric Peterson was our Table Topics master, and in the spirit of Ben's birthday provided us with questions based on facts about Ben Franklin.

As General Evaluator I, Deron White, did my summing up. Nick did an excellent job running the meeting. My main critique is that we have fallen into the habit of running past 12:45. As a lunch club of professionals this is critical: starting on time is human; finishing on time is divine.

Next week:

We will be treated to a speech by Dave Trzupek with Janet Reese evaluating. Mike Angel has stepped forward to ply us with Table Topics. Deron White will be Toastmaster. That leave the following roles to be filled:

• General Evaluator
• Speaker #2
  
• Word of the Day - or even Joke of the Day
• Ah-Dinger (counter)
  
• Grammarian
• Timer

Please e-mail me as Toastmaster if you wish to fulfill a role.

First Impressions

Last weeks theme was on impressions, the kind you do, not the kind that you give. I miss understood this and instead focused the table topics on impressions, the ones you give.

Here's a video about First Impressions that Triskelion's might enjoy.

January 10, 2008 Impressions/Caricatures

Elvis left the building before he arrived and actor-turned California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (aka Dan Pratt) filled in as today's Toastmaster. Hilarious! best describes today's caricature theme antics pulled off skillfully by "Arnold." Our two guests, Seth and his coworker friend, might have been surprised by our laughter-exploding meeting. We hope they return.

Mike Angel, our first and only speaker, voice-acted a play in his well-executed interpretive reading. Karen Lang evaluated Mike's performance, taking into account Mike's unique objectives.

In table topics, each of us answered Deron White's "personal impression" related questions with special in-character voice inflections and accents. Eric took TT prize with his Andy Rooney and weather guy--yes, 2 turns--caricatures. The other's were well-done, too. There was Napoleon (Nick), Aunt Bee from Mayberry (Karen), and some good southern accents mixed in between. Some folks acted like themselves. Imagine that! We applaud our guest Seth for stepping up to give us his wonderful impressions.

General Evaluator Oprah--do you believe it??? Yes, Oprah--aka Janet Reese provided useful tips like not interrupting during a meeting and setting up beforehand.

Everyone roared with laughter, a sign that the meeting was one of our best. Thanks to Arnold (Dan) for setting the stage for a creative and funny meeting. Just goes to show you, there's a comedian in all of us.

Thanks to John for providing a bell to "ding" the ahs right out of our speech.

Now we're looking for a toastmaster for next week's meeting. If you haven't been to a meeting lately or served as TM, here's your opportunity. As a reminder, the TM ensures that all the roles are filled for his or her meeting. Volunteer for a role -- complete the program and practice your speaking skills!

See you next week, Jan. 17!