Interpretive Reading

The Interpretive Reading Manual is part of the Advanced Series in Toastmasters. Once you have completed your Competent Communicator Manual you can go on to choose from a variety of other manuals. In the Interpretive Reading Manual you have the following projects:
1. Read a Story: Your goal as reader is to enthrall your audience with a story that the audience isn't even aware of the reader.
2. Interpreting Poetry: Share a poem that people will enjoy hearing as you read it aloud.
3. The Monodrama: This project is where the speaker appears to be talking to an unseen person or perhaps only to their self. This should be a highly emotional presentation.
4. The Play: This is a project where you read parts of all the characters distinguishing them by different voices and actions.
5. The Oratorical Speech: In this project you select, rehearse and present a famous speech.

In my last project I did project number two, Interpreting Poetry. I decided that I wanted to have a little fun while bragging on my husband. He is an author and a poet. Whenever he reads a book he writes down key words or phrases that impressed him the most, puts these words or phrases into poem form, then sings them to a song. His favorite song to do remembering poetry with is "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". Here is one of his song poems that he made after listening to a recent Wayne Dyer PBS presentation. We all had fun singing this in our club. I hope you enjoy it too!

I feel extremely confident, good, healthy, strong and free.
I feel energetic, masterful and grateful to be me.
And it's all because I'm naturally connected, like the sea,
Fused with Divinity.


I can do it if I see it.
Focus energy and free it.
Make my mind up and I'll be it.
Fused with Divinity. 

Enjoy your day and remember, you too are "fused with Divinity"!
Thanks for reading,
Laina

We meet every Monday 12:00 to 1:15 at the Cottonwood Village, 201 E Mingus Ave. Guests are welcome. For more information call Laurie Rangel at 928-300-1130 or Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638

Tips for avoiding GM crops

I love it when our Toastmaster speakers share information that helps in creating a better life. This past Monday we had part two of our last weeks part one speech on Genetically Modified foods. Our speaker, Merle, handed out a little pamphlet, which I will now take with me everywhere I go, titled "True Food Shoppers Guide" by the Center for Food Safety. They have an excellent web site if you would like to learn more about them.

In the booklet we are given a few tips:
1. Buy Certified Organic foods
2. Look for "Non-GMO" labels
3. Avoid at risk ingredients: corn, soy, canola, cotton
4. Buy products listed in the shoppers guide


For his speech, Merle brought information in the form of pamphlets, fliers and web links to help us on our learning journey.  A little Toastmaster's tip is to have any handouts on the chairs ahead of time or have a helper pass them out during a speech. This will assist in a good speech presentation and be less distracting. Then your audience can stay focused on your topic. After all, you do want to be the center of attention when giving a presentation. I personally don't want to miss a thing! Especially when Merle speaks to us. 


Thank you Merle, you are awesome!


Laina

This picture was taken from the "Center for Food Safety" site at

www.centerforfoodsafety.org

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Cottonwood Toastmasters meets every Monday 12:00 to 1:15 at the Cottonwood Village, 201 E Mingus Ave. Guests are welcome. For more information call Laurie Rangel at 928-300-1130 or Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638

Signs and GMO's???

What an education it is belonging to a Toastmaster's club! This past week we learned about "Signs, Signs, Signs" and "Genetically Modified Organisms" or what we all know as GMO's. Attending a Toastmasters club is certainly an education. Not only do we learn and gain skills in leadership and public speaking, but we are also enriched by the speeches that are given.

This week we learned the following:

Merle, our Master Gardener, taught us that a genetically modified organism is created in the lab, not a natural occurring organism. GMO's contain artificial gene units from viruses, bacteria, plants and animals.

We learned that the main goal in creating these organisms was to help better the environment, reduce uses of herbicides and insecticides, increase crop yields, and that they would be safe to eat and more nutritious.

Research has shown that the original indications of such claims fail to live up to their desired effects. Instead we are finding out that the GMO's can be toxic, allergenic or less nutritious than their natural counterparts, they disrupt the ecosystem, damage vulnerable wild plant and animal populations, increase chemical inputs over long term, deliver yields that are often worse than conventional crops, and cannot be recalled from the environment.

This was part one of a three part speech by Merle. I am already upset with the information he presented to us Monday. I will probably be up in arms by the time he is done. Urgh!

You see this picture of the sign suggesting we buy GMO free foods? Good message, right? Well our next speaker, Lou Rangel,  inspired and taught us about a few other signs, signs that are a benefit to all of us, whether we are from English speaking countries or countries of other languages. With all the ease of travel and the internet, our world has become a much smaller place. We need to learn to communicate and respect each other. He taught us that through the use of signs we can learn about one another, share and respect each other. He even told us that there is an international sign for marriage! I am not sure which sign he was referring to but I found a few on the internet that were amusing. Thank you cyber space!

There is this one

or this one

And my favorite is this one

We hope you can join us and enjoy the learning moments that make our lives richer and definitely more interesting!

From your Toastie Laina

Cottonwood Toastmasters meets every Monday 12:00 to 1:15 at the Cottonwood Village

 201 E Mingus Ave. Guests are welcome

 For more information call Laurie Rangel at 928-300-1130 or Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638

Cottonwood Toastmaster's New Officers for 2012-2013 Year

We just had our club installments this past Monday and would like to congratulate those who are the new officers for the 2012-2013 year. First we would like to thank the outgoing officers for their service! Everyone has busy lives and taking the time to serve in our club means a lot to all of us! Thank you!

Our new officers for this Toastmaster year are:
President Laurie Rangel
Vice President Education Dave Ellison
Vice President Membership Laina Lloyd
Vice President Public Relations Pam Miller (absent)
Secretary Lou Rangel
Treasurer Denise Gaff
Sergeant at Arms Merle Herrick

Cottonwood Toastmasters meets every Monday 12:00 to 1:15 at the 

Cottonwood Village  201 E Mingus Ave. 

Guests are welcome. 

For more information call Laurie Rangel at 928-300-1130  

or

 Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638