san diego toastmasters 7 Archives - San Diego Toastmasters 7

Club VP Education (Officer Blog Series)

*Our current VPE is taking on another term! Thanks Corinna. Here she shares with us her experience as the VP of Education. As you can see, this role has many responsibilities, so if you’re interested in becoming a part of her committee to give her a hand – it would be appreciated!

My name is Corinna Koehler and I am the Vice President of Education (VPE) of our amazing club, San Diego Toastmasters 7. I joined Toastmasters in November 2017 and I am currently starting my second term as VPE. From day one, I was pleasantly surprised by the support and the community that our club provides.

I want to say, it is about now that you might wonder what does this fancy title VPE actually entail…? Well, allow me to make a little more sense out of it.

The Vice President of Education is responsible for the whole educational progress of the club. I know, I know, that is still pretty vague. I’m working on it…

In more detail, I am responsible for scheduling every upcoming meeting throughout the year, that means whenever a name is on the schedule and there are no blank meetings coming up, I already fulfilled part of my job 😊 I also take care of the upcoming agenda and key in the role of toastmaster ahead of time to make sure everything works smoothly.

I also keep track of the educational progress of the members which includes both communication and leadership progress. That means every time a member takes on a speaking role, I keep track of their updates and make sure they progress along their project goals. Communication goals are speaking opportunities, where members present a speech. Leadership goals are roles like functionaries, Toastmaster of the evening, General Evaluator and so on. All of these roles help the members to develop leadership skills since they are responsible for the preparation and execution of a certain part of the meeting.

The next thing I do is when members complete educational goals, I update the trackers and submit them to Toastmasters International in order to receive official credit for their achievements.

Another part of my role is to schedule special events such as speech contests or open houses. For events such as speech contests I am responsible to find the chairing committee that helps put the contest together.

I know, it sounds a lot but once you get a hold of it, it is not as bad as it sounds 😉

From my personal experience I can say it has been very rewarding to serve such a great club since I have learned a lot about interacting with people, steering them into the right direction as well as delegating. The biggest thing that I have learned during this time is that I can always count on my fellow members in times I feel overwhelmed, busy, out of town or simply needed some support.

Being part of the executive committee has allowed me to gain a deeper insight on how a club works, how everything interacts and how much work and dedication it takes to make a club successful. At the end of the day, we always have each other’s back so there might be times when you step up and take on more responsibilities than your role actually entails but as soon as you walk into a meeting and look at all the smiling faces you know that it was well worth it.

About Corinna Koehler:

Corinna joined San Diego Toastmasters 7 in November 2017 because she felt the need to get rid of all her “so’s”,“uhm’s”, “ah’s” and all the other weird noises she makes when she is speaking. Plus, she is trying hard to properly speak her second language, English. All of that and the amazing members of San Diego Toastmasters 7, were the reasons she joined.

She is currently enrolled in an MBA program with a specialization in organizational leadership and international business, basically a perfect fit for toastmasters, wouldn’t you agree?!

In her free time, Corinna loves to spend as much time as possible with her friends but usually she is off traveling and exploring the world to see the many opportunities out there.

For Corinna, San Diego Toastmasters 7 is more than just a club. It is a place to laugh, learn, make new friends, experience the unexpected, develop skills you didn’t know you have and so much more. She highly recommends for you to visit San Diego Toastmasters 7 and experience what this amazing club can do for you!

Corinna has been awarded Competent Communicator, served as the Club Secretary and continuing on as the VP Education for a second term.

The importance of Audience Feedback: The Hype Man and Hype Woman

Public Speaking is almost universally recognized as something that brings great fear and anxiety to most people. It is often listed as one’s biggest fear. Toastmasters is a program designed, in part, to help one overcome that fear. How does one overcome the fear of public speaking? Not in small part due to member enthusiasm.

Toastmasters 7 has many enthusiastic members. Above: Lou Weimann, Toastmaster last week. And a guest, Zak, who won best Table Topics speaker and gave excellent meeting feedback

At the end of our last Toastmasters meeting, one of our guests (pictured above) gave feedback about how enthusiastic our club was. He specifically mentioned how there was a “lot of hootin’ and hollerin’” that added to a very enthusiastic and energetic atmosphere. It was then I realized that I needed to focus some attention on that unrecognized, but valuable member(s) of our club: the hype man and hype woman.

Above is a gif of Flavor Flav who probably brought worldwide acclaim to the importance of the hype man in a hip-hop band. In wikipedia I found this little blurb:

Music writer Mickey Hess expands the term as follows: “a hype man is a figure who plays a central but supporting role within a group, making his own interventions, generally aimed at hyping up the crowd while also drawing attention to the words of the MC.”

That perfectly encapsulates the role of the hype men and women at Toastmaster 7 meetings.

When someone is speaking at our Toastmasters meeting, encouragement plays a huge role in both creating a sense of camaraderie and making the speaker feel appreciated and encouraged to repeat and push themselves within Toastmasters and outside the club.

After the meeting last week, I was talking to one of our members, Sureal Sparx, about some of the other clubs he had visited in the past and he mentioned how one club only offered a polite golf clap after every speaker exited the stage.

Boo to polite golf claps

Now I am not sure about you. But if I am not feeling confident about giving a presentation and I get a polite little golf clap, I’m not sure I’d want to do that again. But on the other hand if I get the equivalent of Flavor Flav hyping up the entire audience to be the most enthusiastic they’ve ever been – I am going to exit the stage feeling pretty good about myself and inspired to push myself further.

Therefore, this post is dedicated to our many hype men and women: The Lynettes and Albertos, the Yesicas and the Sureals, the Corinnas and the Christophs.

I can promise you this: if you come to one of our meetings,

you will leave feeling pumped

and ready to tackle anything life throws at you.

Much appreciation to our creative writer: Sam Ollinger!

The purpose of Table Topics

When you attend a couple of Toastmasters 7 meetings, you will recognize how the meeting is divided into three main sections – Table Topics, Prepared Speeches, and Evaluations. A week ago, Salam Alchi, a seasoned Toastmaster who recently joined our club was the Table Topics Master (TT Master) and his explanation for the purpose of Table Topics was on point:

sdtm7

“The purpose of Table Topics is to help us sharpen our skills in impromptu speaking. Our goal is not just to simply speak for one minute and provide an answer to the question. Rather, it is to perform a miniature well-organized 1 to 2 minute speech addressing the question concisely and articulately.

The response should be given with purpose, whether to teach, inspire, confound, or amuse the audience. Tying the response to the theme is an added bonus.

The reason we are here is to hold space for each other to improve. The most crucial part of Table Topics is to do your best and have fun. Our inner critic is often the harshest one.

As the TT master, I believe it’s important to set up the participants for success by asking thought provoking and understandable questions. This provides participants a better opportunity to develop confidence and improve.”

Salam’s approach, which is a good example on how to conduct a Table Topics session, was to ask the question first then call on a member. This allows everyone to digest the question and start thinking about on how to answer it appropriately. Typically, the TT Master would call on a few members, then give an opportunity for guests to participate.

Here are some of the thought-provoking questions crafted by Salam surrounding the theme and Word of the Week: Satisfaction.

What does it mean to be satisfied?
What should be the goal of humanity?
Is suffering a necessary part of pleasure or satisfaction? Why?
How would you define genius?

If you’d like to take a stab at these questions and share it with us, write in the comment section below! And if this is something that you’re interested in participating, you’re welcome to attend our meetings as a guest. Check out our Meeting Info page for location and time.

About Salam Alchi:

Salam was born in Baghdad in 1988 and immigrated to the US in 1993. His passion in life is to study and understand the nature of our existence, both individually and collectively. When ready, he will apply what he has learned for the betterment of his family, peers, and environment. “

As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul…” – Hermes Trismegistus

A Cathartic Speech – by Tomo Osako

When you lay your emotions out in the open, it becomes a cathartic experience. You feel a huge burden off your shoulders. It’s still a part of you but it’s easier to breathe because you shared it with others. The beauty of showing your vulnerability in a Toastmasters’s speech is that everyone is listening to you and is affected by your experience.

Tomo Osako presented a powerful speech for Project 4 – A Dramatic Talk, of the Advanced Communicator Series. Titled “What is your Legacy?”, Tomo revealed to us the story of her father in his deathbed, the events leading up to it and what he left as his legacy.

I was touched at her courage to take us to a vulnerable part of her life. This made me think about a book I’m currently reading, Rising Strong by Brene Brown when she talked about courage.

“Courage is contagious. Rising strong changes not just you, but also the people around you.”

Not many people are bold enough to be in a vulnerable state, particularly when you’re standing in front of a crowd, some of which are strangers. Yet Tomo stood firm – even in the midst of tears, she kept her composure. I couldn’t help but cry either. In fact, I observed many others in the audience who cried with me. All of us were touched by her story in one way or another. And possibly given us the chance to ease tender emotions we’ve kept far too long inside.

In the past year, I’ve witnessed many courageous acts from fellow members who allowed us to be a part of the darkest days of their lives. It allowed me reflect on my experiences and even made me consider to take a courageous leap in revealing my vulnerable side.

The end of every Toastmaster meeting is dedicated to recognizing the Best Table Topics Speaker, Best Evaluator and the Best Speaker saved for last. It wasn’t a surprise that Tomo Osako received Best Speaker. She truly deserved this recognition.

Did you miss Tomo’s speech? If you’d like to view it, please visit our YouTube page by clicking on the link => Tomo Osako ACS Project 4 Speech

Our meetings are held every Thursday night from 6:30 – 8pm. Meeting start on time therefore please arrive at least 15min early to allow for parking and meet our members.

Written by Elaine Dusetzina, VP Public Relations

Nov, 2018

What you missed during our 11/1/18 Meeting!

Our esteemed Christoph Kubitza concerted the meeting effortlessly with the theme of ‘Superstition’.

Running with this theme is Table Topics Mistress, Linda Hau who presented the audience with engaging questions. She is edging closer to her Competent Leader award!

Those who dared to answer were Sureal Sparx, Elaine Dusetzina, Gerald Eldred and Guests Jamie, Brennan, and Brandy.

Gerald distinguished himself with the best reply in the audience’s eyes.

Best Table Topics -Gerald Eldred

Gerald also passed his 1st Time General Evaluator baptism by fire with flying colors and took home a great evaluation team made up of Omar Ocampo, Elaine Dusetzina, Lou Weimann with functionaries, Ron Morrow, Shadi Abudayyeh, Antonio Garcia, and Joyce Persichilli. Our Sargent-at-Arms and humorous, Lou Weimann distinguished himself as the best evaluator.

Our Functionaries – Shadi, Ron, Antonio, Joyce

First time General Evaluator – Gerald Eldred

Best Evaluator – Lou Weimann

Last but not least, even when serious in filling in the media on a crisis at sea, Jon Berman could not stop making Matt Mounier laugh. Dave Zarella persuaded us why he is the best realtor in San Diego and why we should pick him to sell our home in his Project 9 Persuade with Power speech.

But it is the deep spiritual Ice breaker part II by Salam Alchi that swayed the audience to distinguish Salam Alchi as the best speaker of the night.

Best Speaker – Salam Alchi

Best of all, we welcomed two new members – Teresa Rocha and Jamie Deproso!

Don’t miss our next meeting – every Thursday night from 6:30pm to 8pm at Normal Heights Community Center. Any questions about the meeting, please contact us at vppr@toastmasters7.org.

This brief summary is written by Christoph Kubitza, DTM/Treasurer.

Sep, 2018

What is a Roast?

On August 23^rd 2018, our Toastmasters club had a special event: A Roast of one of our most beloved members, Eric Linder. Eric recently earned the Distinguished Toastmaster designation, also known as a DTM. The DTM is the highest level of educational achievement in Toastmasters. Prerequisites to attain a DTM are substantial, with members generally taking 3-8 years to earn the award. Find out more about Toastmasters International Distinguished Toastmasters program on this link => Distinguished Toastmaster.

In a way of celebrating our members who received the coveted DTM designation, our club has performed roasts to acknowledge their accomplishment by poking a little fun at them.

Did you attend Eric Linder’s Roast?

For those who have not attended a roast before, a roast is an event where someone is being honored. The person honored is subjected to jokes at their expense. Traditionally the roasters, the people making fun of the honoree, are the family and friends of the person being honored. These friends and family members will start off by making jokes towards people in the crowd or their fellow roasters. Then the jokes move to the spotlighted member and finally end on a nice note praising the highlighted member.

Unfortunately for Eric he doesn’t have any friends (this is an example of a roast joke)! A call was made out to members in the Toastmaster club to help roast him while celebrating his accomplishments.

Here’s how the roast went down!

The Roastmaster (also known as the MC of the evening) was Bob Dietrich. Bob is an accomplished speaker who has also achieved his DTM. He did the best he could to keep the roast on schedule and full of laughs. Unfortunately Bob is just not very funny, so he failed at the 2^nd part!

The roasters of the evening were: Shadi Abudayyeh, Matt Mounier, Diane Horton, Sue Linder (Eric’s sister!), Antonio Garcia, Sureal Sparx, Yesica Vazquez, Dave Zarella, Chris Hammell, and finally, Eric Linder himself. Some of the roasters were incredibly hilarious (such as reigning club’s funniest member Shadi Abudayyeh) and some of the roasters were, to put it mildly, not funny (Yesica Vazquez). Many of the jokes at these events are quite rude, risqué, and unbecoming of me listing them here, so I’ve taken the liberty of including some not as adult jokes here that received laughs.

I’m not saying that Antonio has a big forehead, I’m just saying it was a stunt double in the movie Three Billboards.”

There’s an old saying that says nice people can’t be funny. Tonight, Diane Horton will prove that.”

Matt likes to call himself the Mortgage Millennial, which explains why everyone hates him.”

#notmypresident”

Lou Weimann, our Club’s Sergeant-At-Arms commented on his experience of attending this roast:

“There are so many benefits to being a member of Toastmasters 7. One benefit I never knew about was the comradeship the group members share which leads to hilarious events like this ROAST. I never thought I could laugh so hard and almost piss my pants countless times. The jokes were so funny and I am so glad I didn’t miss this event. As if I needed any additional positive reinforcement for joining Toastmasters 7 months ago… but this ROAST is that additional awesomeness. Thank you, Eric Linder, for being a great person, a great sport and most importantly a great mentor to us all! “

Video credit to Bob Dietrich

Check out these photos from the Roast by our awesome photographer, Antonio Garcia – Access only available to SDTM7 members:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bEiLzzkaJo0Mjy95SLk58OnQIwK5LQr2

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