Happenings in the world of City Speech Toastmasters Volume 3, Number 4 — April 2021 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meetings: Tuesdays @ 7:00pm. Virtual, Fremont Contact: info@CitySpeechToastmasters.org — 510-270-5517
2020 CLUB OFFICERS President Luz Flores, PM3 VP Education Tony Zhang, DL1 VP Membership Venkat Raman, DTM VP Public Relations Abhishek Chaturvedi, CC, CL, PM4 Secretary Michael Gwinner, PI4 Treasurer: Venkat Raman, DTM Sergeant at Arms Praveena Raman, EC4, SR1
APPOINTED CLUB OFFICERS VP Pathways Praveena Raman, EC4, SR1 Mentorship Chair Michael Gwinner, PI4 Newsletter Editor Praveena Raman, EC4, SR1
EDITOR'S NOTE Recently, as I was reading selections from Ralph Smedley's writings, I found him referring to the Toastmasters club as a laboratory (Smedley, RC. The Toastmaster. June 1955, p13-14) where we can experiment, learn and grow in our communication and leadership skills. We also have opportunities to go outside our personal laboratory and test the waters and continue our learning in our areas, division, district and globally in the organization. During this Toastmasters journey we not only develop our technical abilities but also learn to strengthen our emotional intelligence for a balanced growth.
The articles in this issue cover a variety of topics and tips from building vocabulary, having fun with grammar, addressing fear, gracefully accepting criticism to building relationships. At the D57 Evaluation Contest, the test speaker Toastmaster Keith Cumiskey, DTM, had one clear message in his speech, we need each other. Our club has a great mentor program. Make use of your mentors and path buddies and also consider becoming a mentor and/or a path buddy to help other City Speech Toastmasters.
We hope you find the thoughts, tips and experiences highlighted in this and previous issues help support you as you have new advancements and accomplishments.
Here in this issue we have also highlighted your many achievements this month. Let's savor the moment and celebrate together.
President's Corner Dear Members, I am very proud of the progress every member has made and of what we are achieving as a club. Members have participated in contests at the Club, Area and Divsion levels. Additionally this month we had scheduled two Open Houses, on April 13 and April 27!! Both Open Houses were a success! (read more in the Club News section) Thanks Amit and Narendra for leading these events.
Thank you to those members who have shown an interest in a club officer role for the next Toastmaster year, 2021-2022. Please note that all 7 positions are for a one year term starting in July 2021. Additionally officers have to attend a monthly Club Officers meeting and two officer trainings, Toastmasters Leadership Institutes (TLIs), which is arranged by District 57 in the beginning and the middle of the Toastmasters year.
The District 57 Conference is on Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Read more in the District News section). Hope to see you all there! Looking forward for finishing this Toastmasters year really strong!!! All members please keep doing your best!
Luz Flores, PM5 President, City Speech TM
CLUB NEWS
Open House My Experience as Chair of City Speech Open House By Amit Kamble. When it was announced that our club was going to have its first Open House for 2021, I was curious and excited to find out what it was all about. I thought that the best way to find out would be to volunteer to coordinate the Open House. I am so grateful to City Speech President Luz Flores forgenerously accepting my offer even though I'm a new member. Read here about Amit's experience coordinating his first Open House.
Editor's Note: Both Open House events, on April 13 and April 27, were well attended with 17 attendees each. The Open house on April 13 had 7 guests while the one on April 27 had 5 guests. Special thanks to Sally Philbin D57 Open House Chair (April 13) and Jeff Young, Area I33 director for atttending and supporting the events. Applause to Amit Kamble (4/13) and Narendra Patel (4/27) for the successful coordinationtion of the Open Houses. Well done!
Member Spotlight Kudos By Luz Flores, President Special kudos to Abhishek Chaturvedi for the excellent panel on Toastmasters Club officer's roles! Very interesting information for all our members!
I also want to recognizeKristian Widjaja (City Speech TM), Abhishek Chaturvedi (City Speech TM), Jeff Young (Area I33 Director) and Yaser Reyes (Toluca Word Warriors, Mexico) for participating in the panel on the Toastmasters program, which was my elective Level 5 Project. I could not have done it without them. We learned a lot on Toastmasters possibilities, growth, and activities that we can all do and pursue! Kudos to all of you!
Big recognition to Praveena Raman for her support of all the Club Members on Pathways! And I want to thank her for the help and direction in my projects!
Pathways Level completions: by Tony Zhang, VPE A huge shoutout to the following members for having completed their Pathways levels this month:
Anjum Zishan - Level 4, Dynamic Leadership
Kamala Tyagarajan - Level 1 Visionary Communication
TIP: If you would like to spotlight any City Speech TM member, please send a few lines containing the member's name and what they are commended for to City Speech News Editor at news@cityspeechtoastmasters.orgby May15, 2021.
Division and Area News
Area I33: Area Realignment: The final decision of the realignment project will be announced on May 1 at the D57 conference business meeting. We will then know the area to which City Speech TM will belong.
D57 International Speech Contest: Congratulations to ToastmasterJustin Paras (CBC) for placing in 3rd place out of 9 contestants in D57 International Speech Contest. You may remember Justin speaking at our club when he was trying out this new aprroach for virtual presentation. It was very nice seeing him at the Area I33/I35 contest, advance to the Division I contest and finally at the D57 contest. Well done and best wishes from City Speech.
Division I: Division I sparkles at theD57 Evaluation contest with Minnie Wang(Fantastic Toastmasters Area I13) winning the first place. All the best to Minnie as she continues her journey.
District News
Did you read your D57 Newsletter that was delivered to your inbox on Thursday, April 22, 2021, with the subject line 100th Birthday, Contest Results, Conference, Newsletter Contest, and more!
D57 Speakers Bureau has achieved a significant milestone. Speakers Bureau: Speak to Make a Difference (published in D57 Newsletter) outlines the story of this program, why it is important and next steps. This program has been spotlighted on the District website. City Speech ToastmastersAbhishek Chaturvedi and Praveena Raman are founding members of the D57 Speakers Bureau.
The following articles are identified to help you keep up with your reading. This is as important as preparing for a speech or other projects as you advance on your path.
TIP: D57 Conference on Saturday May 1 has a break out session on Hybrid Meetings. Suggest reading the article by David Carr and then attend that session. This will be useful when City Speech returns to having in-person meetings.
Pathways
Confidence is unique because it cannot be taught but is gained in every path.
Path Spotlight By Praveena Raman, VP Pathways
An integral part of the Toastmasters program is learning to build and manage valuable connections and relationships, skills which we can apply in other aspects of our life. The Pathways program is designed to help us in exploring many aspects of building relationships such as cultural understanding, networking, team building and so forth.
The Strategic Relationships path helps us gain an understanding of how to network, connect and communicate with diverse groups of people, and develop skills to lead in a volunteer organization. The article, The Path to Strategic Relationships (Berg. Toastmasters June 2019), gives readers a good understanding of what outcome they can expect by taking that path.
Speaking of mentors, all eleven paths have Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring as a level 2 project. Apart from that there is an optional Pathways Mentor program from which members can benefit. Harness the Power of Mentoring (Bawden-Davis, J. Toastmaster. May 2014:p16) gives an overview of the process of mentoring and also has a mentoring checklist.
City Speech Mentor program: Michael Gwinner has developed a really robust mentor program at City Speech. You can start building your circle of mentors by reaching to one or all mentors listed below. You can also consider being a mentor yourself, once you have finished level 2 of your path. Mentors – Venkat Raman, Abhishek Chaturvedi, Michael Gwinner, Kristian Widjaja, Pravesh Kumar, Luz Flores and Praveena Raman.
TIP: If you have questions about your Path or the Pathways program please schedule a half hour 1:1 with me by sending me an emailatvpp@cityspeechtoastmasters.org.
Vocabulary Builder:
Words are poetry Words are music Words are pictures Words are concentrated crystallized history But fundamentally, words are grunts. ---Ralph C. Smedley. Toastmaster. 1950 March:p1-2
Words for Ever: by Amit Kamble WOD - April 2021
Nimbus: (noun) cloud, aura, atmosphere, etc., surrounding a person or thing. e.g. "It is curious how certain words accumulate a nimbus of positive associations"
Conventional: (adj) Based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed. e.g. "a conventional morality had dictated behavior"
Auspicious: (adj) Showing or suggesting that future success is likely. Conducive to success; favorable. e.g. "it was not the most auspicious moment to hold an election" giving or being a sign of future success. e.g. "they said it was an auspicious moon—it was rising" characterized by success; prosperous. "he was respectful to his auspicious customers"
Persistent: (adj) continuing to exist or endure over a prolonged period
Club Roles
Grammarian Article Shared by Amit Kamble: Have you chosen to serve as a Grammarian for the next Club Meeting? Or Do you avoid the Grammarian role because it reminds you of the nightmare of Grammar Class in school? I'm sure this article will help you get over your fear about this role: The Grammarian's Gift (McClare, K. Toastmaster, October 2020, p13)
Smooch and Sin By Praveena Raman The following statement made by author McClare in the previous article, "our job is to listen like any other audience member, not like a linguistics professor. Listen for limp words weakening the message…" reminded me of a workshop I had taken not too long ago from author and journalist Constance Hale. The workshop was on the Power of Verbs, during which I went through exercises that showed how to make your writing powerful by using vibrant verbs. I would recommend her book Vex, Hex, Smash and Smooch if you would like to learn how to make your speech powerful using the right verbs. In this book she divides each chapter into the following sections: Vex deals with "language syntax and verbs that are confusing"; Hex focuses on the correct pronouncements of words; in Smash, Hale, brings to our attention blunders made by prominent and disreputable authors while Smooch showcases the gems in writing.
A companion to Vex, Hex, Smash and Smooch is Hale'sSin and Syntax, where you can see how much fun grammar can be when it is delivered in the context of Cardinal Sins and Carnal Pleasures. Hale devotes a page and half to Indian English mentioning the usage of echo words such as rumble-tumble and partysharty.
Throughout the workshop my one thought was I wish Constance Hale had been my grammar teacher at school!
Articles - Food for Thought:
If you have a growth mindset, you tend to view feedback as data, or pieces of information that you take into consideration to help you grow, learn and improve. --- Kristen Hamling, PhD.
Feature: FIRE and Grow As we learn how to give valuable evaluations we should also pay attention to how to accept constructive criticism, which is equally important for our learning and growth.
How to Grow from Your Toastmasters Evaluations(Hamling, K. Toastmaster. July 2017, p22) is a gem of an article, where Hamling shares 3 tools that can help us in accepting the feedback we receive:
Believe that you can change. This helps us have a learning mentality and accept feedback as a data point.
Learn to tolerate discomfort. We need to be mindful of the emotions we will experience and teach ourselves not to focus on our reactions to the fact in the feedback.
Listen to feedback withFacts, Interpretation, Reactions and Ends (FIRE).
"Ability to take criticisms gracefully and apply it effectively is one of the marks of a truly great man." (Smedley, RC. The Toastmaster. September 1964, p10-11)
To be a successful speaker, you must learn to read the crowd with your eyes as you speak.
In doing so, you take responsibility for the reception as well as the transmission of your speech ----Mike Lundrum, 2009.
Old is Gold By Praveena Raman A powerful way to bond with your audience Recently as I was reading through some old City Speech Blog posts, I came across A powerful way to bond with your audience, written by Venkat Raman in 2018. The post starts with Venkat telling us the song "Yesterday" by Paul McCartney achieved immense popularity and success because McCartney touched the heart of each listener and through music bonded with his fans. Similarly, Venkat says, we can effectively convey our ideas to our audience, through our speech if we bond with them; and a simple most powerful way to bond is to use our eyes. Read the post to find out the most effective way of building this relationship.
In his article Speaking Eye to Eye (Toastmaster, December 2009, p28), author Mike Landrum discusses the value of a true eye contact and says "The human eye is extremely expressive. There's a lot to be learned by looking into the eyes of your audience." When we speak we should read our audience with our eyes, get to know them, meet our mind with theirs, and receive feedback from them. By doing this we are both the transmitter and receiver. We are now closer to being heard and understood by the audience.
TIP:Toastmasters International has archived Magazines from 1930 onwards available to the public. There is a plethora of information to use as we improve our communication and leadership skills.
DID YOU KNOW?
Distinguished Club Program (DCP) Every year Toastmasters clubs compete for the coveted President's Distiguished Club Award. There are 10 goals for the club to achieve in a year. To be a President's Distinguished Club, the members have to achieve at least 9 of the 10 goals. If a club achieves 7 or 8 of its goals then it is designated Select Distinguished Club. With 5 or 6 goals achieved, a club can be Distinguished.
City Speech Toastmasters has been in existence since June 2014. In the past 6 years the club has been President's Distinguished for 3 years and Select Distinguished for 1 year. The ribbons received are in the picture. This year we have achieved 7 goals so far and are currently a Select Distinguished Club. If we get 2 more goals by the end of June we can once again achieve President's Distinguished status. It depends on each and every one of us! Read here to learn about the goals and what we need to complete by the end of June.
Call For Articles
We seek articles from members touching upon various issues and tips that would benefit our fellow Toastmasters. These timeless messages will find a home on our website for durable use. You can be proud of making a difference in many lives.
Please email your article ideas to Editor at news@cityspeechtoastmasters.org. After defining the scope, you will be able to write and submit them.
I look forward to your ideas to strengthen our website and newsletter with relevant content.
If you are submitting for inclusion in the next issue of City Speech News, final articles should be sent to me (news@cityspeechtoastmasters.org) by May15, 2021.
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