March 2008

South Main Monthly Vol. 3 No. 3

South Main Speakers, District 56, Club 8609

March 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 • Milestones Jeanne Jacob South Main featured in newspapers

• Calendar of Events Survivor Membership Contest Begins Area-level level International Speech and Evaluation Contest

• Features “For Charles & Thomas, Love Mom” by Erika Parrish “How did I start a new Toastmasters Club" by Brenda Thorne “Life Strategy 20/20” by Ernie Hermano “10 Ways to Protect the Environment” by Jane Shen

• Ask the Master Good PowerPoint Design

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 send them to [email protected]. Thank you for reading! -Vivek Rajan, Editor

President’s Corner It Pays to be a Toastmaster By Vivian Li, CC Congratulations to all who participated in the Evaluations and International Speech Contests last month! We had a good number of contestants for each one and were able to learn from each others’ evaluation and speaking strengths. Please support our representatives Jian Wang and alternate Francis Athappily at the area level for the Evaluation Contest and Michael Plaks, me and alternate Brian Zhang for the International Speech Contest. Come out and wish us u all good luck! We all know that being a Toastmaster has numerous benefits—the the opportunities for improving our speaking and leadership skills, learning how to be a team player and motivate others, learning how to think on your feet, feet and meeting great people and have a fun time with them every week! Starting this month though, South Main Speakers is adding another incentive to o being an active Toastmaster: CASH. In order to thank those who participate in our club, to build camaraderie, and to encourage new members to join over the next 3 months, our “Survivor”--themed Spring Membership Contest will reward $100 to the winner, $30 to the runner-up, runner and $15 to the third place winner. If you are interested and would like to find out more details, email Madame Contest Chair Erika Parrish at [email protected]. [email protected]

Milestones Congratulations to Jeanne Jacob on earning her Competent Communicator award! She finished her ten speech projects from the CC manual last month to achieve this award. Our club was featured in two Chinese Newspapers! One was a local newspaper and the other one is the Southern Daily Newspaper. You can find a copy of the articles at: http://groups.msn.com/SouthMainSpeakers/south erndailynewsarticle.msnw.

New Member Spotlight Last month we have had two new members join our club! Please give a warm welcome to our newest members – Francis Athappilly pilly and Steffan Golt. And a brief introduction of Steffan in his own words:

March 1: Survivor Membership Contest Begins Win over $100 in CASH by participating in the membership contest! The contest is based on the reality TV show, Survivor. First place winner will receive $100,, second place winner will receive $30, and third place winner will receive $15. If you are interested in participating, please contact the contest organizer – Erika Parrish ([email protected]). March 29: Area Level International Speech and Evaluation Contest

“II was born in Belgrade, Serbia in 1961. I immigrated to Canada in 1992 and as a Canadian moved to Houston in 1997. I currently use my Mechanical Engineering degreee as a vehicle to change countries and obtain different citizenships. But my passion is helping people to help themselves to be more effective in being happier as the Option ® Process Certified Mentor-Counselor. Counselor. I am not a shrink, but I am an expert on beliefs efs and belief systems. I love to teach and facilitate groups by using basic and advanced polling techniques as a way to allow a group to grow and teach themselves.”

A big congratulations to Jian Wang and Michael Plaks for winning the evaluation and international speech contest respectively at our club! As Michael won at another club and will ill be representing them at the area contest the runner-up, up, Vivian Li, will be representing South Main Speakers at the Area-Q50 Area contest. Please come and support Jian and Vivian as they advance to the area-level! The details for the Area-Q50 Area contest are as follows: 30 p.m. on March 29th When: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 Where: University of Houston Farish Hall Building 587 - Room 101 4800 Calhoun Rd Houston, TX South Main Monthly 2

For Charles and Thomas Love, Mom By Erika Parrish Mommy is having a baby, not just one, but two! This news was more than we could chew! This is such a special gift sent from the good Lord above I feel so unworthy of He will give us strength for the longest day And He will always be there to show us the way. At last the big day had arrived 37 weeks I survived I couldn’t wait to meet you both Finally my tummy can stop its rapid growth Twenty fingers and twenty toes Two pair of eyes and a set of cute little noses There’s two to kiss Two to wash Two to dry Two to cry And best of all, There’s two to love So much work and so little sleep I am so behind in my housekeep One needs changing and the other to be fed, The laundry to be done while you’re in bed Double the bottles Double the toys Double the diapers Double the joys Each passing day is better than the day before Maybe it’s because I am able to snore So much alike, forever linked, And yet you’re very quite distinct You share a birthday and a name, But moods and tempers aren’t the same Some days seem endless My patience grows thin Why was I chosen to be a mother of twins? The answer is clear at the end of the day I’m able to laugh it all away And when people ask, “How do you cope?” I simply answer, “God sent a blessing and lots of hope.”

South Main Monthly 3

How Did I Start a New Toastmasters Club? By Brenda Thorne, DTM As you progress through the Toastmasters program, you are asked to accomplish certain things in order to achieve a particular award. For the Competent Communicator (CC) award, you have to deliver 10 speeches from the Basic Competent Communication Manual. For the Advanced Leader Silver (ALS) award, you have to serve 1) as a district officer (area governor, division governor, etc.) 2) as a club mentor, sponsor or coach among other things. I served as an area governor overnor for Toastmaster year July 2004- June 2005 under the leadership of District 56 Governor, Max Rasquinha (currently running for International Director of Region 3). I was the servant leader of 6 clubs, which included South Main Speakers. Just as we ha have a Distinguished Club Program (DCP), we also have a Distinguished Area Program (DAP). To be a President’s Distinguished area, one must have a net gain of one club. I gave a speech in early 2004 on “How to Dance the Rumba in 12 Minutes.” It was a demonstration project in the Speaking to Inform advanced manual. The members of South Main Speakers wanted to stay after the Toastmaster meeting in order to learn rumba. We had a ball! They wanted me to give them dance lessons from time to time. It was also at this point in time that my dance instructor, who previously owned the Fred Astaire Dance Studio franchise in Houston, encouraged me to form a dance club. He thought I had organizational skills.

He promised to throw in free dance lessons from time to time. August 2004, the club decided to participate in the District 56 celebration at Golden Corral at Loop 610 at 5:00 p.m. that Sunday. District 56, our district, ranked number 11 in the world in the Distinguished District Program (DDP) for its accomplishments accomplishment during Toastmaster year 2003-2004 2003 (during which I served as assistant area governor). What will the club members do from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.? Grace Hu suggested that Brenda and Renay teach us dance. Our Division Q governor, Eddie Merla, visited the club ub that day. I asked him if he thought having a dance and Toastmaster combination for a club was a possibility. He said “yes.” Hence, the formation of a new advanced Toastmaster club started. The group liked the name, Dance and Toast Masters, proposed by Bob Hu. South Main Speakers and Dining Out Toastmasters were the sponsoring clubs. Carol Hsu and Renay Jacob served as club sponsors while Brenda Thorne and Steve Siegal served as club mentors. See How to Build a Club manual for administrative details. Steve teve Siegel (South Main Speakers president, who led South Main on its first 10 for 10 President’s Distinguished club status), Renay Jacob, Grace & Bob Hu and I (all from South Main Speakers) together with sixteen Toastmasters from various clubs became charter ter members, December 2004. The birth of Dance and Toast Masters helped my area, Q-50 50 become a President’s Distinguished area. My President’s Distinguished Q-50 50 area contributed to Division Q becoming a President’s Distinguished division, which in turn contributed ntributed to District 56’s achievements. District 56 became a Select Distinguished District, the 7th highest ranking district in the world for Toastmaster year 2004-2005. 2004

South Main Monthly 4

In summary, the decision to start a new Toastmaster club is driven by both achieving a goal in the Toastmasters program and the interest of a core group of persons to form one. The mission of the District is to enhance the performance and extend the networks ks of clubs, thereby offering greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from the Toastmasters educational program.

•

• •

• •

Life Strategy 20/20 By Ernie Hermano

*

It is said that life is fragile, full of challenges, uncertainties, worries and the like. And most people say that life is relatively short, and that we need to make the most out of it. Given this realization, I thought of coming up with a kind of roadmap or plan on how I intend to manage my life productively. ively. To create a spark for myself, self, I came up with a title for this purpose and dubbed it as "Life Strategy 20/20". There are three words here here: "life" is understandable, ble, and the word "strat "strategy" gives more substance to it— a "planned life." "20/20," is a borrowed rrowed term in the field of optometry, then simply making the phrase mean "a life in proper perspective" or a focused life so to speak. Related to this subject, I'm quite sure most of us have somehow come across words of affirmation or wisdom m similar to those found in the so-called DESIDERATA (Latin: something desired as essential) by Max Ehrmann rmann circa 1927. Some of its interesting lines are as follow:

• •

•

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence." "If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter..." "Exercise caution in your business bu affairs, for the world is full of trickery." "Keep interested in your own career, however humble..." "Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of the youth." "You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and an the stars..." "With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, (God forbid) it is still a beautiful world." "Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."

Again, may this sort of overview of what life is, reinforces or establishes relevance to the following details of my piece "Life Strategy 20/20". It has five key areas or dimensions as far as my personal vision, mission and interest in life are concerned. Life Strategy #1: Physical or Health Concern There is need to give importance to our health because after all, "Health "He is Wealth.” If we don't take care of our health, health then how can we be productive, happy and enjoy our bits of success? Even though it's quite hard to be a vegetarian, a little awareness and discipline of what we take are still worth considering. In most food labels, labels for example, in grocery stores, it pays to check how much a processed item got in terms of saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, holesterol, and sodium odium among others. Of all these, cholesterol, which is most likely a "bad cholesterol," is the most harmful of all in the long run. Sweets, eets, artificial ingredients, and

* Disclaimer: Due to editor’ss misplacement of Ernie Hermano’s actual picture, picture courtesy of Jim Henson Company

South Main Monthly 5

soda among others should be part of the watch list.

we carry ourselves with proper posture, poise and the like.

Exercise pays a lot, as what Jeanne Jacob shared with us in her latest speech. A person can be 10 years younger "biologically" than his/her "chronological" age. Healthy food, food supplements, healthy lifestyle, and clean environment complemented with mind-conditioning or some forms of meditation help a lot for sure.

Thus, the following steps should make sense:

Life Strategy #2: Mental and Mindset Enhancement This has something to do with sustaining the level of our sanity and soundness of mind in any situation. Yes, may it be on a day-to-day basis or in times of stressful situations. Or, simply enhancing our way of thinking and mental condition at all times. Thus, we may consider the following points: • • • •

Nurture the power of "positive mental attitude and positive outlook" Do away with any negative or unhealthy thoughts. Nurture mindset and practices of economic, attitudinal and time value. Inculcate helpful slogans and proverbs like—"We don't always need what we want (luxuries for example) and "Forgive and Prosper," among others.

Life Strategy #3: Emotional Intelligence and Well-Being This has something to do with our emotional quotient (EQ) so to speak, or the way we respond to any stimulus that touches our emotion. Most often irritants, stressful conditions, pressures, pains and failures are the most common ones. Or, simply the way

•

•

•

•

Nurture the power and wonder of Patience, Self-Control, SelfConfidence, Self-reliance, Good Courage, Handling Pressures, and Frustrations. Identify and pursue noble Vision, Mission, and Goals in life with persistence. Establish and sustain Strong Family Ties, Quality Circle, True Friendship and Lasting Relationships. Enhance Sense of Humor, Happy Spirit and Harmony in any situation.

Life Strategy #4: Business/Professional Undertaking We need to choose wisely business or professional undertakings that would somehow, "bring out the best" in us, and at the same time, satisfy whatever vision, mission and goals we have. So that at the end of the day, we can say before man and God that, "we did our best" whatever is the outcome! Personally, I want to engage in a socially responsible business as part of my Life Strategy #5. Right Attitude, Skills, Knowledge and Mindset are all part of equipping efforts in this regard. Life Strategy #5: Humanitarian and Community Service This makes all of the strategies complete and/or holistic in its totality. This is especially true or imperative as far as I'm concerned, when you have enough to give

South Main Monthly 6

back to the community in need. The reason why this key area is closely ly linked to life strategy #4—as as part of my motivation or objective to excel in my business undertaking. Thus, depending on one's level of success, establishment of a charity foundation, involvement with humanitarian organizations as well as supporting ministry initiatives, are all part of that noble and holistic endeavor. Best wishes to ev everyone's journey in life!

10 Ways to Protect the Environment By Jane Shen I think a lot of people know that in early February a heavy snow storm slammed southern China and stranded millions illions of people at stations during Chinese New Year. Later,, snow storm happened at other places all over the world. Ecologists cologists said the snow disaster disasters more or less are the impact of environmental pollution on human behavior. Nowadays, owadays, environmental pollution and global warming have become more and more serious problems and they draw attention all over the world. In facing these problems, what can we do to protect our earth? T There are 10 things we can do to protect the environment:

4. Unplug electronic devices as they may use electricity even when turned off. off 5. Use compact fluorescent bulbs and LED display lights instead of regular bulbs. bulbs 6. Change your home air filter as recommended by the manufacturer. manufacturer 7. Only run your dishwasher when it is full. 8. Use less hot water by installing a lowl flow shower head and wash clothes in cold water. 9. Minimize packaging and recycle more of your household waste. 10. Plant a tree to help absorb carbon dioxide. Probably, for some reasons we may not do everything listed above,, but at least we can try our best to do some of them and affect other people’s behaviors to make our world clean and beautiful.

Ask the Master Dear Master, I have heard that using PowerPoint is a crutch for presentations. But it is mandatory that I use it at my workplace, so I would like to know if there is anything that is called a good PowerPoint presentation. prese — Awful PowerPointer

1. Use a cloth bag instead of a plastic bag to carry home your groceries.. 2. Adjust your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter. 3. Keep your water heater at no higher than 120℉.

Dear Awful PowerPointer, Occasionally, I'm asked by friends to send samples of "great slides" or "good PowerPoint." I usually hesitate to send examples of slides since my answer to the

South Main Monthly 7

question, "what does a great PowerPoint slide look like?" is "...it depends." In a world which often thinks in terms of absolutes — "this is good, that is bad" — "it depends" is not the most popular answer. Context matters However, as far as design is concerned, it is useful not to think (judge) in terms of "right or wrong," but rather in terms of what is "appropriate or inappropriate." That is, is it appropriate or inappropriate for a particular context? "Good" and "bad" are indeed terms we use when talking about design — including PowerPoint slides — but I'm personally cautious of this dualistic thinking, especially when judging a design without its full context available. So much depends on how the visual is placed within the context of the presentation, and the content and objectives of that particular presentation are of paramount concern. Without a good knowledge of the place and circumstance, and the content and context of a presentation, it is impossible to say this is "appropriate" and that is "inappropriate." Simple but not simplistic If there is one important precept worth following, it is the idea of simplicity. The best visuals are often ones designed with an eye toward simplicity. Yet, this says nothing about the specifics of a visual presentation. That will depend on the content and context. For example, even the best visuals used in support of a presentation for one audience on, say, quantum mechanics, may appear complicated and confusing to a different audience. Simplicity is often used as a means to greater clarity. However, simplicity can also be viewed as a consequence. A consequence, that is, of our careful efforts to craft a story and create supporting visuals that focus on our audience's needs in a clear and

meaningful way. Ok, simplicity is great you say, but how simple? What is the formula for simplicity? If you can't give me concrete examples, you might say, at least give me a formula for making powerful, simple visuals. But do static formulas for achieving simplicity exist? In the book Living Zen, author Robert Linsen (in speaking on the simplification of needs in everyday life) says that a "simplification of existence" is a consequence of an "effective experience of Zen." In other words, as one discovers their true nature, "needs" such as possessions or status are reduced or seen for what they are: superfluous. This begs the question then: "What are the minimum or maximum needs for an individual?" To this the author responds "No one can define them or draw up a system around them. That is where we should exercise our judgment....Use depends for each one of us on the place and circumstances. If we were to codify the laws concerning it they might soon become a great bondage for us." Here the author is not necessarily speaking of design and presentation visuals, of course, but we can see how we can apply Zen principles to everyday life including design, even the design of slides and other visuals. Simplicity is an important design principle. But simplicity in design is as much art (small "a") as science. It is, therefore, quite difficult to offer up prescriptions or "rules" for appropriate design. Without full knowledge of the context and circumstances, such rules could become "a great bondage," so to speak, leading to inappropriate design choices or recommendations. Visual makeover Having said all of that, below are a few

South Main Monthly 8

slides demonstrating different visual treatments in support of a single message. The context is a presentation on gender and labor issues in Japan. The purpose of the slide is to visually support the claim that "72% of the part-time workers in Japan are women." This statistic is from the Japanese Ministry of Labor. The figure "72%" is something the presenter said she wanted the audience to remember as it is discussed again as the presentation progresses. So how to design a slide that is subtle, simple, memorable, and fits into a theme that is appealing and attractive?

BEFORE. Top slide is the original slide. The problem with the slide on the top is that the clip-art used does not reinforce the statistic, nor does it even fit the theme of women in the Japanese labor market. The background is a tired, overused PowerPoint template. The text is difficult to read. And as one trainee commented: "it's ugly."

The slide on the bottom was an effort to display the same information in a pie chart. Besides using an overused template, the visual displays the pie chart in a distorted and inelegant fashion. For the sake of clarity, it is usually best to avoid 3-D effects. Also, rather than giving the slide a title, a declarative sentence that states the point directly may be more appropriate.

AFTER: All the slides were redesigned to match the theme above. The slide on the top was the one used for the presentation. But the one at the bottom could also be used effectively. Notice that either slide (especially the slide without any text) would be virtually meaningless without the presenter's narration. The handout that followed the presentation expanded on the relevance of the statistic and gave it context. The five-page handout proved to be a good reference for those who attended the presentation and for those who did not.

South Main Monthly 9

Using a pie chart is also a good way to represent this simple statistic. Here (top) the large text at the top can be easily seen. The text reads more like a headline — a declarative sentence — rather than just a title or category. The slide on the bottom is another possible way to support the message. In this case a completely different template was used.

presentation, embracing simplicity of design and striving for the greatest clarity possible should still be the objective. How you do that will depend on a great many things. In the future I will show a design makeover featuring more technical content. In the meantime, if you have good examples of visual support for very technical presentation content, please feel free to share it with me. I'd love to see your examples.

Wouldn’t it be GREAT ...if you could just take a pill, and no longer be terrified to Should you design your slides to look like this? The design choices are many. The examples above are just a few attempts at improving the look & feel, impact, and effectiveness of the original slides. Should you design your slides to look like this? That's your call and depends on your specific circumstance. Also, this particular example does not deal with a technical presentation. If your presentation is on a less technical topic such as leadership, HRM, marketing, etc. then simple slides like these may be very effective. If you are giving a very technical presentation to a technical audience hungry for data, then your slides may look quite different. But even for a very technical

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