End the Long, Cold Winter With a Hot Toastmasters Meeting
How Are You Doing?
One of the best things about Toastmasters is that it presents many, structured ways to improve your speaking abilities and then to gauge your performance. The basic and advanced manuals provide a very good outline of speech types that gradually allow you to flex and expand your proficiency in certain aspects of speech preparation and presentation: gestures, organization, use of visual aids, etc. The immediate feedback we get from the oral and written evaluations is also a vital key to cultivating our speaking abilities.
Beyond the manuals, the club also offers other opportunities for members to gain knowledge and experience. For instance, we hold two speech contests each year (Humorous and International Speech Contests). These contests give you a chance to test your skills in a more competitive way than we usually do, but also, if you advance beyond the club level, there is the opportunity to speak in front of an audience other than our own club. Evaluation and Table Topics contests also offer a similar chance.
This coming quarter we will be offering a club meeting devoted to the Success Leadership Module "Effective Listening" which will help us to work on a skill we use every day. Also in consideration for an upcoming meeting is a debate. This was once an annual event in our club, and there is some interest in bringing it back.
These are just some of the programs Goddard Toastmasters offers its membership. As VP-E, however, it's my job to determine how well the club is meeting its educational goals. That's where I need help from you. Our progress charts for the club are a bit out-of-date. These are charts that let us know whether you're working on a CTM, ATM, or beyond and what speech you're currently up to. At the end of the newsletter is a form for you to fill out. Pleas e return the form to me either by mail, fax, or e-mail the information. These results will let the club know how we're doing in serving your educational needs.
Announcements
Congratulations to:
Editors Note:
Due to the combined effects of the government furlough, the severe winter weather, and my general laziness (OK, so it's mostly the last one) this issue of "The Oracle" will cover five months instead of the usual three. Your understanding is appreciated.
Jeff Bolognese, "The Oracle" editor
Sergeant-at-Arms Report
Serving as Sgt. at Arms for the past two years has been a very rewarding experience. The discipline of starting meetings on time and the confidence gained from participating in each meeting has given me the strength to tackle even more challenging tasks. Other Sgt. at Arms duties include setting up the room before the meeting, greeting visitors and giving out information. I encourage any member of our club to volunteer to run for the office of Sgt. at Arms. The experience will be a rewarding one. There are many alternates to help make this boy easy (Chris Scherer, Tex Baird, Michael Parrish, and myself). This position is an excellent starting point for any member who has not yet served on the executive committee. Remember, the basic manual is called the Communication and Leadership Program, most members of Toastmasters tend to concentrate primarily on speeches, serving as Sgt. at Arms will be a chance to concentrate on improving your leadership skills.
Some Recent Visitors:
Thanks for coming, and come back soon!
Treasurer's Report
Toastmasters Int.: $745.95 credit
NASA Federal Credit Union:
Cash Expenditures:
Dues to be collected from 6 members
Words From the Wordsmith
More portmanteau words! These are words formed by fusing the sounds and meanings of two other words.
rur.ban - aj [blend of rural and urban] : of, relating to, or constituting an area which is chiefly residential but where some farming is carried on
1. meld - vb [G melden to announce, fr. OHG meldo-n; akin to OE meldian] to announce, OSlav moliti to ask for : to declare or announce for a score in a card game
2. meld n : a card or combination of cards that is or can be melded in a card game
3. meld vb [blend of melt and weld] : MERGE
slim.sy or slimp.sy - aj [blend of slim and flimsy] : FLIMSY, FRAIL
1. squig.gle - vb or squig.gling [blend of squirm and wriggle] 1: SQUIRM, WRIGGLE 2: to write or paint hastily : SCRIBBLE 1: SCRIBBLE 2: to form or cause to form in squiggles
2. squiggle n : a short wavy twist or line : CURLICUE; esp : an illegible scrawl
wee.ny - aj [wee + tiny] : exceptionally small
guess.ti.mate - vt [blend of guess and estimate] slang : to estimate without adequate information - guess.ti.mate n
con.trap.tion - n [perh. blend of contrivance, trap, and invention] : CONTRIVANCE, GADGET
How to Deliver a Winning Speech
Maryland University Speech Professor E. Thomas Starcher offers some suggestions on delivering a winning speech. He points out the importance of body language and posture--right down to your feet (toes in or toes out will affect your delivery). Your hands are important--they appear enlarged to your audience. If they are not being used for gesturing, leave your hands at your side. Don't put them in your pants or coat pockets--they won't be freely available for gesturing if you do.
Over the years, Professor Starcher says he has classified speakers by type and offers a few examples:
Stratosphere Speaker: Uses ponderous language to express a simple idea. Have a good vocabulary but don't abuse it. In this regard, also, avoid jargon, those specialized words, phrases, and even worse, acronyms that are not recognized by everyone.
Fidgiter: Continually changes posture, especially hand positions not related to speech. A few are:
Pogo Stick: Bounces up and down. There's a relationship between rate of bounce and position in the hierarchical scale.
Professor sums it all up by recommending that a speaker do everything he can do to accomplish his goal and do nothing to distract from it.
New Members:
Welcome to the Club!
Secretary's Report
This is the second year I have been with the Goddard Toastmasters, and the fist year I've served as one of the officers. I really learn a lot based on the criticism and encouragement other people give me, and also from other people's speeches given within the club. I often use what I've learned from the club to evaluate other people's presentations outside the club. This year, I would like to reach out to more people and invite them to join the Toastmasters, and enjoy all the benefits from the club.
VP Membership Report
As my year of serving as VP of Membership comes to an end, I find myself asking "What have I done to make our club more responsive to the members needs?" An article from the December 1995 Toastmaster magazine talked about the "Moments of Truth" for a Toastmasters club. The article described six areas of service that all clubs should monitor on a continuing basis, these areas are:
On the form attached at the end of the newsletter, place a star next the area you feel our club performs best, and circle the area which you feel our club could use the most improvement. Also, list at least one way our club could improve on this area of service (if you have more than one suggestion, don't be shy - list them all).
Send your response to Martha O'Bryan, Code 691, or e-mail to xrmvo@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov. All responses will be kept confidential. A summary will be presented at an upcoming Toastmaster's meeting and the membership will vote on the suggestions. As VP of Membership, I will incorporate into every meeting any suggestion that the membership approves. Remember, you are the Goddard Toastmasters Club, your participation in our club is what makes our club strong.
Fall/Winter Quarter Meetings Summary
October 11, 1995. Our first meeting in the new quarter started out with a BANG! Paul McCeney served as TMOD, and again showed us by example how this job is accomplished Having Paul as unofficial mentor to our club always adds to the quality of our meetings.
We had three great speeches today. Jane Liu (I Can't RIP) spoke on eliminating the words "I can't" from our vocabulary. These words are the largest stumbling blocks in our getting things accomplished. This inspiring speech completed Jane's ten required assignments in the Basic Manual and gained her the coveted title "CTM". Congratulations, Jane, on this significant accomplishment! Jeff Bolognese (Finite Element Analysis) described his topic as solving problems more easily by first breaking them into smaller elements and then getting the cumulative effect of the subdivisions. Jeff used this same approach in presenting this highly technical speech in an understandable way to his largely non technical toastmaster audience. Clever approach to a challenging assignment, Jeff. Solomon Evangelista (How Money Works) discussed three ways money can be made to effectively work for us: Mutual Funds, Tax deferred IRA/401K accounts and insurance company variable annuity accounts. Solomon's convincing sales presentation on the latter had us all ready to hear more. Jim McLean evaluated Jane, while Martha O'Bryan and Pat McHale assessed Jeff and Solomon respectively. This was Pat's first attempt at evaluation and he did such an excellent job that he was voted best evaluator for the day. Great accomplishment, Pat. Solomon was voted most effective speaker for the day and Margaret Pavlinic best Table Topic respondent.
October 25. In the introduction of Jane Liu as TMOD, President Michael Parish presented her with the CTM pin she earned last week. Congratulations again, Jane. This was Jane's first assignment as TMOD and she did an excellent job. Liz Saniga was our only speaker, and she did a super job. with her speech "What's in a Name?" ; we were told of the complexity of selecting an appropriate name for a baby --- a task in which Liz is now actively engaged for her first baby, due on Valentine's Day. Congratulations Liz on both the baby and a great speech. Maureen Armbruster evaluated Liz and provided many constructive comments.
Today we had one of our most extensive Table Topics sessions ever. Don Moore came out with a pile of questions and nearly all of us at the meeting had the opportunity to participate. Jan Gervin was voted the best Table Topic speaker. This was quite an accomplishment considering all of the competition.
November 8. Jeff Bolognese served as TMOD today. Jan Gervin (Name that Plant) told of the process of giving Latin names to describe and standardize the nomenclature of plants. In her specific descriptions, Jan provided many very interesting folk tales to go along with individual plants. Jan's speech assignment today was "Working With Words", and she certainly picked an A-1 topic. Jan was evaluated by George Griffin. Welcome back, George, from the routine of retirement.
Michael Parrish was Table Topics Master today, and selected topics related to the upcoming Veteran's Day holiday. Nearly everyone was able to participate in this excellent TT session. Jeff Bolognese provided the best Table Topic response.
November 22. Pat McHale served as TMOD for the first time and an admirable job he did. This day before the Thanksgiving Holiday apparently scared off the speakers, so Pat had himself a real challenge. To start with, we had an award ceremony. President Michael Parrish presented the Competent Toast Master certificate that had been awarded at the District level, to Jane Liu. We then had an extended Table Topics session developed by Chris Scherer. Jeff Bolognese was voted best respondent for the second meeting in a row. Good work, Jeff.
December 13. The annual Goddard TM Christmas party was held and, as usual, was a great success. Special thanks to Martha O'Bryan, and all the others who help make it such an enjoyable experience. The "Sneaky Santa" portion of the program was particularly successful, and sure to become an annual tradition.
January 24, 1996. The first meeting of the new year was delayed from January 10th to the 24th due to the "Blizzard of 96". Margarette Pavlinic was TMOD of a meeting that was highlighted by Dan Mandl delivering his 10th speech from the basic manual and achieving his CTM. The speech was titled "Paving Cowpaths", and inspired us to consider the paths we choose and to not get bogged down in pessimism. Yvette Brown-Conwell gave a timely speech entitled "The Budget Process". This was speech 9 from the basic manual and Evette "spoke with knowledge" about how the US budget process works; a subject that has weighed on all of our minds over the past several months. Tom Riley also gave a very appropriate speech 7 from the basic manual. His speech, "Gagaringrad - Commitment From a Word" talked about using a series of stories about a fictitious space colony as a focus for generating enthusiasm for human expansion into space: a very appropriate speech for our club! Dan was voted most effective speaker.
February 14. Valentines Day was also the day for the club International Speech and Evaluation Contest. Jeff Bolognese served as contest master for the event. Three members competed in the speech contest and two in the evaluation contest. Michael Parrish was the first speaker with "The Choice I Never Made", discussing his decision not to start smoking, despite the influences around him while growing up. Jane Liu was next with "Confusing English" in which she related how confusing the English language is when compared to her native language, Chinese. The third and final speech contestant was Dan Mandl with "Little Steps", a reworking of his final speech from the basic manual presented at the previous meeting. For the evaluation contest, Maureen Armbruster and Regina Cody took turns evaluating our guest speaker, Aero Toastmasters' Ron Block, as he gave his speech "Overcoming Obstacles with Optimism". Our appreciation to Ron for helping us out with the program. Maureen and Dan were chosen by the club to represent us at the area contest. Good luck, guys!
February 28. Chris Scherer led the meeting as TMOD. The first speech of the day was given by Regina Cody. This was an advanced manual speech, in which Regina presented herself as a representative of a bio-tech company talking to the community about the companies plan to expand into the area of genetically engineered animal organs for human transplants. The speech was followed by a question and answer period. It was a very interesting speech on a topic that has been debated in the news recently. Carol Bleil gave the second speech of the day. This was also an advanced manual speech entitled "Coaching is Not an Art". In this speech Carol instructed us on the proper way to motivate and improve employee performance. The final speech of the day was given by Paul McCeney. In his advance manual speech, "Gamesmanship in Marriage", he related his philosophy on the keys to a successful marriage. In his view, a little bit of salt can add just the right spice to keep things interesting. Paul was voted most effective speaker, and his evaluator, Barry Sherman, was voted most effective evaluator.
FunStuff: Riddle Time
Riddles have probably been around as long as humans have had language. This issue of "The Oracle" devotes the "Fun Stuff" section to a sampling of riddles designed to give your brain a good workout. The answers are at the bottom of the page. We start off with perhaps one of the most famous riddles: The Riddle of the Sphinx:
What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?
I never was, am always to be,
I am the black child of a white father;
And lastly, a few from the JRR Tolkien classic, "The Hobbit":
Alive without breath,
A box without hinges, key, or lid,
This thing all things devours:
Membership Survey
place a star next the area you feel our club performs best, and circle the area which you feel our club could use the most improvement:
list at least one way our club could improve on this area of service (if you have more than one suggestion, don't be shy - list them all).
Suggestion (a): _________________________________________________________________________________
Suggestion (b): _________________________________________________________________________________
Suggestion (c): _________________________________________________________________________________
Send your response to Martha O'Bryan, Code 691, or e-mail to xrmvo@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov. All responses will be kept confidential.
Toastmasters Progress Survey
1. Name
2. Code and Phone #
3. Do you have phone mail? No Yes
4. Do you have an e-mail address? No Yes (address)_________________________________________
5. What certificate are you working on? CTM ATM ATM-B ATM-S DTM
6. If you're working on CTM, please indicate the dates of your completed speeches:
1.______2.______3.______4.______5.______6.______7.______8.______9.______10.
7. For ATM and above, please indicate the manuals your working on, and completed speech dates.
Manual 1._________________________________ 1.______2.______3.______4.______5.
Manual 2._________________________________ 1.______2.______3.______4.______5.
Manual 3._________________________________ 1.______2.______3.______4.______5.
Others 4._________________________________ 1.______2.______3.______4.______5.
Return this form to Jeff Bolognese, Code 721.1, or fax to (301)286-0204, or e-mail your replies to: jeff@apollo.gsfc.nasa.gov