Peace Speakers gathered for their second meeting in January with their president, Betsy, referring to the topic of love. She informed us that January is slated as the "month of love" despite its often bone-chilling temperatures. She added that love is the only practical way of salvation, and that love's simple potency is exemplified by our actions.
Delivered artfully by Perry, our Invocation embodied Jesus' plain statement of fact, that love is the way and the only way that human and divine reconciliation can be realized. Activating love's regenerative power through the simple act of giving calls on us to offer encouragement and genuine care to others. Unlike fear, which leads to failure, hatred and destruction, love leads to life!
Both Betsy's and Perry's beneficial words were revitalizing! They remind us to keep loving thoughts and actions where they belong...in the forefront at all times.
Betsy introduced our Toastmaster for the day, Eva (pictured above), who has been a charter member of our Peace Speakers club since 2005. One of the reasons our organization continues to thrive today is because of her love and diligence. It's obvious to me that the members of this club care deeply about it and work attentively to keep it successful.
One of the jobs of the Toastmaster is to introduce the people who have agreed to take on various roles for each meeting. Since our Executive Committee recently approved the idea of adding a Joke Master to the meeting's agenda, we initiated that new role today. Eva introduced me (Kay) as Joke Master in her usual polite and thoughtful way.
Imagine Eva's surprise when I stood up and exclaimed, "Madame Toastmaster, surely YOU must be joking! I'm here to present some timely tips for Todd!" (Todd, a new member, was giving his first speech on this day.) In the picture above, I feigned outrage at taking on the Joke Master's role, pointing out that "This Peace Speaker is all about supporting others!" With an affected voice of prodigious importance and ridiculously exaggerated body language, I gave Todd "3 timely tips" for his Ice Breaker Speech:
- Use the words "I" and "me" hundreds of times in your speech, excluding everyone else in your life, as this is an opportunity to be totally ego-maniacal.
- Try to break out into a sweat, even if you have to splash a little water on your face beforehand. Pity and sympathy from your audience will have us clapping louder and longer for you.
- Lastly, I've always found that discreetly slipping a five dollar bill inside my manual before handing it to my speech evaluator guarantees me a rave evaluation.
I insisted afterwards that there was no need to profusely thank me for these timely tips, as they were just standard, mentoring magic from a seasoned Toastmaster of nearly 2 remarkable years. (Thank goodness my mentor, Perry, never filled my brain with such foolishness!)
I admit, I've never done any stand up comedy, and I don't do Charades or Karaoke. This was a huge experiment for me! The point is, the environment at Peace Speakers is so safe and supportive, that I felt I could experiment with my humor. I wish I'd been able to snap photos of the startled looks on many faces and the ensuing smiles. Being in this club is truly an excellent platform for experimentation and growth.
Our Ice Breaker speech today was delivered by our newest member, Todd. This is the first speech in a series of 10 that is outlined in our Competent Communication Manual. It allows the speaker to share what he wants about himself or his life with the rest of the club. Todd's speech, titled "Bumps and Blessings," talked about how life is a bumpy ride, but many times blessings follow those bumps.
Todd began his speech with the odds being stacked against him at birth. Despite being hooked up to all kinds of machines and barely thriving, he did survive! The living evidence stood before us today. He referred to other bumps in his journey where he waited tables and used his communication skills to move himself along in life. Holding a janitorial job at night lead to a day job that opened all kinds of opportunities, like schooling and meeting his future bride.
After marrying his sweetheart and later having a child, their boy spent many critical days in the hospital. Here was another bump, but today his son is a strapping, healthy young man! In another instance, Todd confronted a supervisor and felt the need to leave that job. He had stood up for his values, and luckily, was given a great severance package. But another bump emerged when a job search produced nothing and the monies were running out. Eventually, he received 3 job offers, and now he and his wife are thriving here in Louisville. Leaving us with the poignant reminder, "Hang on. It'll be a bumpy ride. Look for the blessings," Todd gracefully ended his first speech.
At every Peace Speakers meeting, there comes a time when we face the Table Topics master and the real possibility of having to speak extemporaneously for 1-2 minutes. It can be a brain-rattling experience but is usually fun and informative. Above, Rhonda shared a little gold sled filled with an assortment of lovely quotes about winter, which were followed by a question.
Ken responded to a question about how Jack Frost would tend to his winter. He reflected, and with a joyful smile, relayed that he would make it snow so everyone could enjoy activities like sledding, snow skiing, and snowmobiling with family and friends.
Robin's quote about winter ended with the question, "If you were a snowflake, what would you look like?" She chose to answer the question metaphorically, relating the snowflake to the loving relationship she has with her husband and her close-knit family.
Perry's question asked him to choose a winter sport and tell why it was his favorite. He shared a fun experience he had with his son who had learned how to snowboard.
Members reflected on the numerous short talks they'd just heard and voted for the one that was most notable to them. Votes were tallied by Ken, and the winner was...
Becki!!!!! Her Table Topics question asked her to ponder on how she would prepare for wintery hibernation if she was a bear. She indicated she'd stock up on energy in advance by eating a lot of nutritious foods and would seek a warm cave for protection from the elements. Being chosen as the best Table Topics speaker means she gets to keep the trophy until our next meeting, February 1st, so place it in a prominent place for bragging rights, Becki!
Joelle was our Timer today, and she kept track of the speaking times for our newest speaker, Todd (4-6 minutes for the first speech), the Table Topics speakers (1-2 minutes each), and the Speech Evaluator (2-3 minutes). The green, yellow and red light bulbs that Joelle flashed individually provided all speakers with an awareness of time as it passed, which encouraged them to bring their talks to a close within the time allotted.
Ada was our Speech Evaluator today, and you can see by her expression that she loathed Todd's speech and tore him to pieces. In all honesty, she was quite impressed with his delivery and the fact that he used no notes throughout his first speech. He didn't seem nervous and shared intriguing aspects that kept his audience interested. A well-organized and detailed speech, her only criticism was that Todd ran a few minutes over the suggested time for his Ice Breaker speech. (So many interesting details; so little time!!!!!!)
Okay, so how does a newcomer join our club and within a week give his first speech without any notes? (Of course, it's just the "standard mentoring magic this superlative speechifyer, moi," gave to Todd before his speech today!!) In reality, he admits he has been an active member of Toastmasters in another city. He joined our club because wants to continue to grow his communication and leadership abilities. Obviously, the work he has done previously in Toastmasters has paid off considerably!
OUR NEXT PEACE SPEAKERS MEETING
Open to the public!
Presbyterian Center
100 Witherspoon St.
Louisville, KY (Downtown)
Meetings held 1st and 3rd Wednesdays
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
If you are a visitor to this blog, come join us for one of our Wednesday hour-long meetings! We are friendly and open to the public, always welcoming those who wish to expand themselves personally and professionally. What do you have to lose, except some old baggage or stories you have told yourself that really aren't serving you.
Hope to see you at our next meeting on Wednesday, February 1st!
Respectfully submitted,
Kay Chambers
VP of Public Relations for Peace Speakers
