February 2008

South Main Monthly Vol. 3 No. 2

South Main Speakers, District 56, Club 8609

February 2008

The mission of the Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self self-confidence confidence and personal growth.

In This Issue • President's Corner • Anniversaries & Milestones Annie Ballatore, Judy Yan, Jazon Samillano

President’s Corner

• Calendar of Events Learn to think on your feet – Educational Session Chinese New Year Celebrations International Speech and Evaluation Contest

• Features “Champions’ Lessons – part II” by Michael Plaks “Presidential Primaries 101" by Renay Jacob “A Weekend in San Francisco” by Annie Ballatore “A Reason may not be the Reason” by Brian Zhang

• Ask the Master How to win an evaluation contest?

The South Main Monthly is a monthly publication of the South Main Speakers Toastmasters club. We meet every Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in 10305 South Main Street (Houston Chinese Church), Room 411. For more information, please visit our website at: http://groups.msn.com/southmainspeakers If you have any comments, contributions, or suggestions concerning this or future issues, please sendd them to [email protected]. Thank you for reading! -Vivek Rajan, Editor

Contests ‘R for You by Vivian Li, Li CC BIG PAT ON THE BACK to everyone! We W are the current leaders in our whole division for having havi the greatest membership increase over our July 2007 base, base and we have the second largest membership increase in the entire district (our district is made up of all the TM clubs in Houston and Galveston, which adds up to more than 150 clubs!)!!! If we get eight more members, we will have a 75% jump! We will have a membership drive soon to help achieve this momentous goal, so stay tuned. Also, the spring contest season is upon us—the us Evaluations and International Speech Contests. Sign up with VPVP Education, Jian Wang, at [email protected] if you are interested. I know many of you, especially the newer members, might feel too unqualified or inexperienced to compete. But frankly you have nothing to lose and much to gain from the contest experience. Toastmasters holds contests because it is a proven fact that the competitive edge forces people to improve quickly. So turn t your fear of unworthiness and inadequacy into a recommitment re to improve your public speaking skills and jump into the contests!

Anniversaries & Milestones •

South Main Speakers is leading Division Q in the District 56 Shoot Out Membership Contest with a 36% increase in membership! And we are second in our whole district!

•

Annie Ballatore, ACB, CL, celebrates her three-year anniversary with South Main Speakers this month!

• Judy Yan celebrates her first anniversary with South Main Speakers this month!

February 3: Learn to think on your feet An educational session on Table Topics by awardwinning speaker – Archie Webster Archie Webster won the second place in the 2007 District 56 Table Topics contest by answering the question, “What What is your next greatest role in life?” life? In this educational session, she will be teaching us on how to think on our feet and deliver an impromptu speech in a clear and concise manner. manner February 3: Chinese New Year Celebration

•

Jazon Samillano, CC, celebrates his two-year anniversary with Toastmasters this month!

Come celebrate the Chinese New Year Toastmasters style! We’ll learn about the Year of the Rat and the holiday through speeches and table topics. Invite friends, family,, and even strangers to the South Main Speakers Chinese New Year themed meeting! February 17: International Speech Contest and Evaluation Contest

ccent Did you miss the Turn Your Acc into an Asset presentation by Ola Joseph last month? If you missed it, don’t worry, wee got it all on tape! You can download the video and handout from: http://www.atmajnana.org/SouthMainSpea www.atmajnana.org/SouthMainSpea kers/Videos/January13-2008/

Sharpen your evaluation skills and bring out your best speech! Evaluation contests are open to any member who is in good standing, and the evaluations have to be 2-3 3 minutes. Members in good standing who have completed at least 6 manual speeches are eligible to compete in the International Speech Contest. The speech has to be 5-7 7 minutes. Winners from South Main Speakers will represent our club at the area level.

South Main Monthly 2

New Member Spotlight South Main Speakers has been growing tremendously in the last few months. And this month we have had four new members join our club! Please give a warm welcome to our newest members - Ellen Xu, Valerie Coleman, Ernie Hermano, and Xin Mao. And a brief introduction of Ernie in his own words: “Ernie Hermano migrated to the U.S. few years back -and is looking forward to interact well with the diverse culture in what he perceived as a land of opportunity! He has worked for a number of government and private organizations until 2005 both in his country of ori origin and in Houston as well. With his desire to make a career shift in the area of entrepreneurship, he started equipping himself more since then. Part of Ernie's integral goal in doing a socially responsible business, is to continue his humanitarian outrea outreach involvements.”

Champions' Lessons Part II Your Own Story by Michael Plaks, ATM-B What should I talk about? Many of us faced this question while preparing for the next speech. If this will be an informational speech - no problem. But how to select inspirational material for the International speech contest? You do not want to create yet another variation of "follow your dream, and you will succeed" theme, do you? How can you be fresh and interesting?

Part of the answer comes from TV. Whether or not you share the same religious beliefs, watch a few sermons from Joel Osteen, the nationally-celebrated celebrated pastor of the Lakewood Church. He constantly addresses conventional topics: family, success, relationships - and he is never boring! His secret, I believe, is that he exemplifies the great advice of the World Champions: tell your own story.. You will hear Joel Osteen talking about his family, his travels, and his memories. And this is what makes his stories so engaging: we never heard these stories from rom anybody else. Why? Because they are his, and his only.

South Main Monthly 3

Find a message that you want to share with your audience. Then dig into your memory (or, even better, into your "story file" which is yet another lesson from the Champions). I can guarantee you that you can find some relevant stories from YOUR life and YOUR circle of people.. Are these stories important and interesting to you? Then, chances are - they will be interesting and important for us too. You may think that you do not have really interesting sting stories, that your life is rather ordinary and uneventful. Think again. Or listen to Joel Osteen's stories. These are not the stories of climbing Mount Everest, overcoming cancer, or saving a drowning child. I remember Joel's story of him and his wifee getting lost driving in Houston. What can be more trivial? Yet, he used his story to illustrate some serious point. I must admit: I do not remember what point he was making - but I remember his story nevertheless. And the reason, according to the Champio Champions, is very simple: we can easily identify with such simple stories, because something similar has happened to us or to people we know. HIS personal story connects with OUR personal stories. Once you have a connection, you have attention of your audience, and your speech becomes a success. Try to recall some speeches and even table topics we heard at the club. I'm sure you can remember our friends' vacations and little funny stories. You too have dozens of such stories waiting to be told. And who can tell them, if not you? So, my friends, take the Champs' advice and tell your own stories. We want to hear them. Who knows, one day you may be telling them on national TV.

Presidential Primaries 101 by Renay Jacob, ACS Some of you may know that Jeanne and I spent the first part of January in India. While there, we came across an article in the Times of India about the U.S. Presidential primary process. I did not expect Indians to be interested in our political process and an it made me wonder how many Americans know about our own political process. Reading the excerpts below will help you understand why Hillary shed tears, Mitt accused John of not being conservative enough, and why John E. spent $400 on his haircut … well, maybe not. But, it will make you seem smarter at the next social gathering. How do parties choose presidential candidates? In the summer of the presidential year, the political parties, Republicans and Democrats, conduct national conventions to choose the t presidential candidates by delegates from each state. The first candidate to receive a preset majority becomes the party’s presidential candidate. The delegates who go to the party’s national convention are selected at the state level in tune with the rules ules and formula of each party’s state committee. While these vary from state to state and year to year, the two main methods are called caucuses and primaries. What is a caucus? Caucuses are meetings run by the parties themselves and are open to all registered reg voters of the party. The rules of the caucus

South Main Monthly 4

differ from state to state. This year, for instance, there were almost 1,800 meetings by each party across Iowa. The virtue of caucuses ses is that they involve grassroots organizational activity. The drawba drawback is that only the party faithful can be organized. At the end of the caucus, delegates from a state are allocated to different candidates. Depending on the rules, the caucus process can produce “pledged” or “unpledged” delegates. That is, delegates could be bound to vote for a candidate at the national convention or they could be free to vote for any candidate. Since 1972, the Iowa caucus has been the first major event in the run run-up to the presidential elections. Although only about 1% of the total amount of national delegates are chosen this way, it is supposed to give an early indication of which candidate might win the nomination at the party’s national convention. What is a primary? Presidential primary elections are open to registered voters. Just like ike in general elections, voting is done through a secret ballot. There are three types of primaries: closed, semi-open open and open. In a closed primary, only people registered as voters of a particular party can vote. Most states hold closed primaries. Closedd primaries have the advantage of revealing the choice of the party faithful, but not of independent voters. In a semi-open open primary, people registered as independent can also vote. This enables feedback from non-committed committed voters as well. In an open primary,, the whole electorate can vote, though each voter can vote in only the primary of any one party. The primary process can produce both pledged and unpledged delegates.

Why is the New Hampshire primary so important? The New Hampshire primary is the first firs of a number of primaries held by the two parties. Since 1952, this has been a major testing ground for candidates. Candidates who do poorly usually drop out, while lesser known candidates who do well could suddenly become contenders. What are the problems ems with this system? One criticism of the current primary election schedule is that it gives undue weight to the few states with early primaries. Those states often build momentum for some candidates and rule out others before the rest of the country has a chance. To tackle this problem, many traditionally late-voting voting states have advanced their primaries this year, with 22 expected to have ave their primaries on February 5th, Super Tuesday.

A Weekend in San Francisco by Annie Ballatore, ACB, CL The first weekend of the New Year I traveled to San Francisco, California, to visit my daughter Emmanuelle. What a great opportunity to check out the city of my dreams, so often portrayed in the songs and the novels of my youth! As luck would have it, the th city saw some of the worst weather of the year that weekend, but even in the rain, San Francisco provided wonderful attractions which I recommend exploring. Come with us on our brief tour of San Francisco, the City by the Bay.

South Main Monthly 5

On Saturday, we explore the he multitude of piers which line the western edge of the San Francisco Bay. In the morning, we visit the Ferry Building, a central pier whose weekly Farmers’ Market offers unique experiences. Outside, surrounding the Building, dozens of stalls display fresh esh fruit and vegetables, local products such as honey, yogurt, old oldfashioned fudge and peanut brittle... The friendly farmers entice us to taste their produce: delicious, golden, juicy oranges, crimson and tangy slices of vine ripe tomatoes, heavy and sweet eet grapes from the valley… From inside the Ferry Building Building, the appetizing aroma of freshly baked bread wafts in along with the opportunity of a heavenly lunch of a piece of bread dipped in fruity olive oil, honey yogurt and ripe melon! After lunch, we visit the popular tourist attraction Fisherman’s Wharf. As we walk along this pier, we hear curious noises. What is that hoarse barking echoing the screeches of the seagulls? It’s dozens of sea lions, sunbathing on Pier 39. After the Loma Prieta earthquake quake of 1989, these California sea lions started arriving in droves to camp out on the docks. Though most migrate during the summer months, many remain year-round, round, enjoying the plentiful herring supply in the bay. They are fun to watch as they laze aboutt comfortably, impervious to the chilly ocean water

In the distance across from Pier 39, we spy the fabled Alcatraz which, over the course of 150 years, has transitioned from a light house to a military fortification, to a prison and now, to a crowded tourist attraction. I cannot help but think that the Rock may have preferred to stay a beacon in the night and to still guide ships to safety.

Alcatraz

San Francisco is known for its fog which frequently engulfs the Golden Gate Bridge. By the late afternoon, however, the rain has ceased, the mist has lifted and we can admire the legendary beauty of this suspension bridge. Named after the straight it spans that serves as the mouth of the San Francisco Bay, when it was built in 1937, the bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Painted its signature orange vermillion color, the bridge blends organically with the brown hills behind it, while still standing out even in the foggiest weather. Though today seven other ot bridges have surpassed its span length, the Golden Gate Bridge remains an internationally famous icon, representing San Francisco and the United States. Emmanuelle and I plan to cross it on a future adventure to the wine country. For now, I am content conten to imagine the creativity, the labor and the love that went into its concept and its construction.

The sea lions on Pier 39

South Main Monthly 6

One ne weekend is just not enough time to get to know San Francisco. On my next trip, I plan to visit the Haight-Ashbury Ashbury District and reconnect with my inner flower child. I will dream of peace, love and beauty until that happy time comes. In the meantime, I hope you too will find your way to beautiful San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco is rich in parks and we spend our Sunday visiting a couple of them. In Presidio Park,, we walk among the towering eucalyptus trees and enjoy their inebriating scent, which brings back memories of my native Provence. We visit the Botanical Garden of Golden Gate Park which has one of the most extensive collections of plants and trees on the west coast of the US – home to over 7,500 different varieties of plants. It is a wonderful treat to follow its winding paths, admiring the exotic shrubbery and learning their botanical names. My favorite, though, is the Hagiwara Japanese Tea Garden with its peaceful atmosphere and elegant landscaping. Originally built in 1894, it is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States. We spend over an hour enjoying the tranquility of this garden.

The Moon Bridge at the Hagiwara Japanese Garden

A Reason May Not Be the Reason by Brian Zhang We usually meet some phenomenon hard to explain. Recently I read an article about an interesting statistics. In Germany, most youth soccer players were born in the first three months of the year, while very few were born in the last three months. Isn't it interesting? If I were asked to explain it, it would be very easy to run into such a reasoning that people born in the first three months of a year may have more talent in soccer. However, the article from the authors of the book Freakonomics gave me a different angle. The youth soccer players are elected based on age brackets, and the cutoff date is December 31st of each year. Assessed in the same age bracket, a January born boy usually looks stronger than the December one. So the first boy has a better chance to be elected and trained. Once he gets better training, he will have more growth space as well. I like the book very much. It offers many different angles to explore the truth hiding behind common sense, which is simple but easy to ignore. If we learn to stop and jump South Main Monthly 7

out of our regular thinking pattern sometimes, we may find the naughty boy of truth playing under the eye lids of us.

Ask the Master Dear Master, Our club evaluation contest is coming up in two weeks, and I want to prepare for it. Could you please share some of your wisdom to help me win the evaluation contest? — Wannabe Contest Winner Dear Wannabe Contest Winner, The sandwich approach to evaluation is a great way to learn the basic tenets of evaluating a fellow Toastmaster's speech. It also does the job of providing the speaker with an encouraging yet useful speech critique. However, if you want to take evaluations to the next level, you'll need to go beyond the sandwich approach. This article will show you how to kick it up a few notches - enough to win at evaluation contests, or at least a few ribbons at club meetings. If your goal is to win evaluation contests, realize this: winning a con-test test means that you can't do what everyone is doing; you have to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack, and that means using a slightly different evaluating approach. Also, one of the "magic" ingredients to winning a contest is to entertain or captivate the audience.

Since contests are judged by people, even if they have evaluation forms listing areas they need to judge you on, it helps to sway them emotionally too - and humorr is often the best approach. There are two areas that your evaluation needs to cover: the content and the delivery of the speech. The content of the speech is handled primarily during the introduction and conclusion, while the effectiveness of the speech delivery (e.g. vocal variety) is dealt with during the body of your evaluation. Step 1: Preparation - Before the speech starts On a sheet of paper, prepare the categories to look out for when listening to a speech. This should loosely follow the judge's speech sp evaluation form (appearance, vocal variety, facial expression, gestures, etc.) and also include space for "strengths" and "improvement suggestion." Leave lots of space so you can write legibly. Step 2: What to do during the speech Jot down, in the prepared epared categories, notes that you feel are pertinent. Remember, your evaluation speech is only two to three minutes long, so you only need to jot down at most three major points each for strengths and improvement suggestions. There is no need to spend the entire time distracted by scribbling down too many notes that you can't use - you can and should take in the speech and enjoy listening to it! All the while, start thinking about how the speech connects to you personally, in a manner in which the judges and an audience can relate to or engage in. This is the main fodder for your introduction and conclusion.

South Main Monthly 8

Step 3: What to do after the speech •

• •

•

•

Craft an introduction that ties you and/or the audience directly to the speaker's speech by saying how the content of his speech relates or pertains to you and the audience (for example, how the speech reminds you of a story or experience you had). This needs to be engaging but short (no more than 30 seconds long). Loosely decide on a conclusion that ties back to the introduction. Pick speech delivery points, written down in step 2, that flow well with your introduction and conclusion; weave in humor where appropriate. Firm up your conclusion (no more than 20 seconds long) - work specifically on a memorable punch line for the end! Word of advice: don't use the hackneyed "I look forward to your next speech" as your closing line. It's lame - not punchy or memorable at all! Decide exactly what gestures you will use for specific points or words in your speech. Choose no more than three' dramatic gestures that punctuate, and pick one or two words that emphasize or even pun the title of the speech or key point.

Step 4: Delivering your evaluation At the contest level, anyone who hides behind the lectern or uses notes is significantly penalized for doing so. So memorize your key points! When you get up to make your evaluation, there are usually two opening approaches: •

Start with the "Mr. Contest Chair, Judges, Fellow Toastmasters, Guests, and especially Joe Schmoe (speechmaker)" - wear a pleas-ant smile and

•

try your best to make appropriate eye contact here, as it demonstrates confidence at the outset of your evaluation speech. This is your first impression and it goes a long way toward establishing perceived confidence. Start with a brief, engaging or dramatic introductory story to capture the audience's attention, then pause for a moment and use the greeting mentioned above).

For example, "It was past midnight and I was surrounded by blazing fire every direction I turned. But the only thing I could think about was where my children were in my burning house, and not about my own safe escape. Fear engulfed my mind as my heart pounded in panic - I was frozen and did not know what to do (pause). We have all experienced fear, but Joe's speech about fear tonight really highlighted something I could identify with (pause). Mr. Contest Chair...." Throughout your speech, work the room with eye contact. If you notice anyone writing something down, chances are that she or he is a judge. Make it a point to maintain eye contact with him or her for at least a phrase or a full sentence. Make sure no section of the room is left "unattended" with your eye con-tact. It also helps to smile and maintain a friendly persona during the evaluation rather than come across as overly serious or austere. For the body of your evaluation, you could make it seem very organized, memorable and easy-to-follow by using numbers to guide the audience through your points. For example, "Joe demonstrated three strong suits throughout his speech (then

South Main Monthly 9

elaborate). Joe, I have two suggestions for improvement for you: (elaborate)." If you have time, you can do a quick recap of the numbered points - without further elaboration - just before you embark on your conclusion. This also helps to signal the audience that a conclusion is coming up. Avoid ending with "in conclusion," as it's too contrived. When you close, always try to round back to your introductory story, as that never fails to give the audience a feeling that your evaluation was really polished, replete with a nicely packaged conclusion - it's the icing on the cake that creates a lasting impression. For example, to use the story mentioned earlier, you could conclude by saying, "During that night of the fire in my home, if not for the firefighter's quick arrival, my family and I might have perished. If I had learned earlier of some of the tools to combat and manage fear that you had outlined in your speech, I might have been able to help myself and my family better during that frightful night. Listening to your speech tonight might just save a life down the road! (quick pause) Mr. Contest Chair." The way to indicate that your speech is over is to say "Mr. Contest Chair." (You could extend your arm in his general direction to shake his hand. Don't forget to smile! Do not end your speech with "Thank you.") Finally, don't leave the speaking area until the Contest Chair or Toastmaster has shaken your hand; otherwise it looks as though you're nervously running off the stage. Then confidently walk offstage to your seat to await the news that you have won Best Evaluator for that meeting or contest.

Wouldn’t it be GREAT ...if you could just take a pill, and no longer be terrified to speak in front of groups?

Come to South Main Speakers Toastmasters Club, we supply them!* It costs nothing to visit our club, and there is no obligation to join

Visitors are ALWAYS welcome! We meet every Sunday, 1:30-3 p.m. 10305 South Main Street @ I-610 For information visit http://groups.msn.com/SouthMainSpeakers * Disclaimer: Quantities are limited. First come, first serve.

South Main Monthly 10