How is Your Attire?

Recently in our Cottonwood Toastmasters club we had an evaluator tell the speaker that he liked  her state of presence, it drew him to her. Concerning this comment, he was referring to her attire. Have you considered that the way you dress, the jewelry you wear, and the way you present yourself have an effect on others?

One of the things my mentor told me when I first began my speaking moments in Toastmasters was to leave my name badge off  because it would distract from my speech. She also mentioned to avoid wearing loud jewelry and distracting clothing, clothing that would be too busy and colorful, or too immodest. 

In an article titled "Who Am I Now" by Karen Hudson CL, Karen states the following:

How Do You Choose the Garments?
Always consider three important guidelines when choosing what to wear for a presentation:

1. The clothes should not take focus from you, the speaker.
2. You need to be able to perform comfortably and effectively in the costume and accessories.
3. The costume should not tell more story than you have time to present.

Karen states that there are many ways your clothing and jewelry choices affect your presentations. She challenges us to look in the mirror and ask "Who am I now...What is my story? Am I projecting the image of a person who is qualified to speak on this subject...Do I convey the story I want to tell?"

This is a great article and worth taking the time to read. Karen is the founder of the Mindful Communicators Club in Woodland Hills, California. She is a retired costumer in the film and TV industry.

Have fun and remember who you are!

Laina Lloyd ACB, CL
VP PR
Area Governor N5

+++

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 Laina at 928-300-8638 or Dave at 634-6540

The Three Sisters of Agriculture

One of the things I enjoy about attending Toastmasters is the knowledge you gain from the speeches given. The learning is priceless. For example, this past Monday in our Cottonwood Toastmaster's club  Merle spoke to us about "The Three Sisters" which are "Corn, Beans, and Squash". Who would have guessed those plants are sisters! From the web site titled "Bird Clan of East Central Alabama" Merle shared with us the story of the three beautiful sisters who lived together in a field. These sisters were different from each other in size and dressing. The little sister was young and could only crawl at first. She was dressed in green. The second sister wore bright yellows and had a way of running off by herself when the sun shone and the wind blew in her face. The third sister was the oldest and always stood very straight and had long yellow hair. The three sisters were the "Corn, Beans, and Squash".

We learned that when these three crops are planted close together the corn creates poles for the beans to crawl up, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide nitrogen to the soil that the other plants utilize, and the squash spreads along the ground blocking the sunlight which helps prevent the growth of weeds. 

The following is taken from the web site "Bird Clan of East Central Alabama" 

The Iroquois Legend of the Three Sisters

Erney, Diana. 1996. Long live the Three Sisters. Organic Gardening. November. p. 37-40.The term “Three Sisters” emerged from the Iroquois creation myth. It was said that the earth began when “Sky Woman” who lived in the upper world peered through a hole in the sky and fell through to an endless sea. The animals saw her coming, so they took the soil from the bottom of the sea and spread it onto the back of a giant turtle to provide a safe place for her to land. This “Turtle Island” is now what we call North America.

Sky woman had become pregnant before she fell. When she landed, she gave birth to a daughter. When the daughter grew into a young woman, she also became pregnant (by the West wind). She died while giving birth to twin boys. Sky Woman buried her daughter in the “new earth.” From her grave grew three sacred plants—corn, beans, and squash. These plants provided food for her sons, and later, for all of humanity. These special gifts ensured the survival of the Iroquois people.

+++++

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 Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638 or Dave Ellison at 634-6540

Our Club's First Speech-A-Thon

One of our amazing club members, Laurie Rangel DTM, organized a "Speech-A-Thon" for our Cottonwood Toastmasters members who wanted to get a few speeches accomplished FAST. At our event we did the following:

Opening remarks by Speech-A-Thon Chair person Laurie
First speech introduced by their evaluator
Speech
Next!

It was so fast, easy, and FUN!! We had refreshments to nibble on while we listened, then we had a short break half way through the meeting. Our meeting lasted for two hours. Were we bored? Not in the least. And here is why:

1. We have a supportive group
2. We have respect for each other
3. We have amazing talent and speakers who teach us as they grow and learn
4. We enjoy being together and have become friends

Some of the things we learned about from the speakers were:

1. The importance of alkaline foods and Kangen water
2. Things we don't know that we don't know! Great speech about learning from topics speakers speak about, and acquiring leadership skills.
3. Things seem big when we are small and small when we are big!
4. Rainbow herbicide and the Vietnam war: fascinating speech by one of our own Cottonwood Toastmasters Veterans. We applaud and honor you Merle!
5. Animals, their fears and need for loving care.
6. Walmart through the years
7. Healing after 35 years: the healing process and return to Vietnam.

Applause, Applause, Applause! 

Well done Cottonwood Toastmasters!

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 Laina at 928-300-8638 or Dave at 634-6540

Five Basic Public Speaking Tips

New to Toastmasters? Long time member to Toastmasters? Check out this video on "Five Basic Public Speaking Tips" and learn or freshen up on your public speaking skills:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AykYRO5d_lI



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 Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638 or Dave Ellison at 634-6540

The Distinguished Toastmaster

Did you know that the highest honor Toastmasters awards is that of Distinguished Toastmaster, commonly known as the DTM? Members who have achieved both the Advanced Communication Gold and Advanced Leader Silver awards are given this recognition. To achieve this award usually takes five to eight years of dedicated service and leadership! Of the 4 million past and present members of Toastmasters fewer than 12,000 members have achieved this elite DTM status. Members who have earned their DTM are usually honored and presented with a medal at a district conference following their achievement.

 At Cottonwood Toastmasters we have two members who have achieved DTM status. Our most recent DTM is Laurie Rangel who  received her medal at the past conference. Laurie, we congratulate you and honor you as one of our clubs DTM's and say, "Way to go Laurie. You make us proud!"

In a recent email I received from Laurie she says "Becoming a DTM was a long road, however I did not take that road alone. I could not have achieved this without help from all of you." At our last meeting Laurie shared with us how it felt to receive this Distinguished Toastmaster award, encouraged us all to do the same, and told us her next goal is to get a second DTM. And she will too!

Here you see a surprised Laurie at our Toastmasters meeting.

We surprised her and dedicated the entire meeting to her!

This is Laurie, Denise our "ah"counter, and Dave our timer

 Laurie, serving as our General Evaluator, shared with

us how she feels about accomplishing this award and what her future goals are

Paula, our current VP of ED

and

Laurie

Laurie cutting her cake. YUM!

This is Lou, Laurie's husband. He created his speech around Laurie 

and her amazing accomplishments and growth from being 

a Toastmaster

This is me and Laurie, Merle is in the background. He is a valued

new member of our Cottonwood Toastmasters club!

To view pictures of the recent District 3 Conference go to: 

 http://toastmastersdistrict3.shutterfly.com/

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 Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638 or Dave Ellison at 634-6540

Earthworms and Public Speaking

In our Cottonwood Toastmasters Club we are fortunate to have a Master Gardener. He recently gave us a speech on "Earthworms the Living Soil". He even brought some of the little wiggly creatures for us to see. Did you know that earthworms are major decomposers of dead and decomposing organic matter and get their nutrition from the bacteria and fungi that grow upon these decaying materials? Did you also know that there are over 7,000 species of these little creatures?

Charles Darwin calculated that earthworms can move large amounts of soil from the lower strata to the surface and also carry organic matter down into deeper soil layers. A large portion of soil passes through the guts of earthworms, and they turn over the top 6 inches of soil in 10 to 20 years. The channels made by deep burrowing earthworms, lined with readily available nutrients, make it easier for roots to penetrate deep into the soil. 

As a child I was always fascinated with worms. After a rainstorm I would run outside to watch them wiggle in puddles of water. I remember touching their slimy bodies, yuck, running in the house to wash my hands, then running back outside to touch them again. Holding an earthworm in my hand was a little too gross, but as I got older I grew to appreciate them and often got excited when I found some in my garden. To me this was a sign of healthy soil. 

So next time you see an earthworm, think of Cottonwood Toastmasters! The place where we provide channels and nurturing for deep personal growth!

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 Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638 or Dave Ellison at 634-6540

Mentor Moments - Ah Counter

The following was taken from:

http://www.aztoastmasters.org/ah-counter

Mentor Moments - Ah Counter

District 3 Toastmasters Mentor Moment
Category	Functionaries
Title	Bold 'AH' Counters
Contributor	Nancy Starr, DTM
When you are assigned to serve as the Ah Counter, your job includes counting ahs, ums, and ers. The goal is to make each of us aware that we use these distracting words.   However, just knowing about it after the fact is not very helpful. It's more effective if you provide a signal the moment a person says "ah" or "um."     Whether it's a bell, a clicker or some other noise-making device, the instant feedback trains us to avoid the practice.   Except for prepared speeches, be bold and ding the speaker (including your Mentor) every time you hear the dreaded "ah" words.    You aren't being rude; it's your job!

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 Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638 or Dave Ellison at 634-6540

A Welcome To Our Student Guests

We are always excited when we have guests visit our Cottonwood Toastmaster's Club! This past Monday we had the pleasure of enjoying four new guests, what fun! Two of our guests were visitors from a local college business class assigned to speak at our club, and who came even with their nervousness and shakes! Hooray to this teacher who gave the assignment for the students to participate in a Toastmaster Club Table Topics.

For those of you readers who are not familiar with Toastmasters, each week at our meetings we have a fun segment where the Table Topics Master calls on an unsuspecting participant to give a 90 second impromptu speech. The topic in our club is taken from the theme of the day. Our theme for this meeting was "Traffic". I happened to be the Table Topics Master deciding to have some fun with this topic!

 One of my questions was "If you were a stop light in a busy city, what would your thoughts be at rush hour?" To assist our guests, especially our very nervous student guests, I asked one of our best speakers, long time member, and DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster) to go first. She set a great example for the following two speakers.

Question number two was:

"Some towns are so small that the only traffic guide for the entire town is a four way stop sign at the only intersection in town. One day you experience four cars at the same time at your intersection, quite an unusual event. As a four way stop sign, what are you thoughts while experiencing this unusual moment?"

And question number three was:

"On occasion there are reasons for the freeway to shut down. Have you ever been stuck on the freeway in a traffic jam? What did you do and how did you handle your delay?"

I loved question number three because as I was contemplating what questions to ask our participants about "Traffic", I remembered the day my husband, daughter and I were stuck in very slow traffic at crawling speed, coming down Oak Creek Canyon. After a few minutes of this slow speed crawl, my husband jumped out of the car and said "I'll see you at the bottom of the hill! I'm going visiting." and off he jogged, stopping along the way to visit and have a laugh with whom ever would lend him an ear! He is so fun to be married to. I guess in a way, I was  hoping our speaker would relate a similar story, but since he was just a young college boy, he was modest in his answer. I am proud to say that he won the Table Topics Best Speaker award for the day!

I say to you all "Welcome to our Cottonwood Arizona Toastmasters Club where we have a lot of fun! Bring yourself and a guest anytime. You are more than welcome!"

To public speaking and the fun of overcoming your fears, happy day to you and CONGRATULATIONS for getting out of your comfort zone!

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 Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638 or Dave Ellison at 634-6540

Member Roles and Agenda In a Toastmasters Club

We have a few new members in our Cottonwood Toastmaster's club which is always wonderful! There are many things that go on during a meeting that I thought it appropriate to do a little post about it to assist our new members and curious readers in their learning.

The first thing that happens when you attend a Toastmasters meeting is to sign in at the front door. If you are a member, wear your name badge. If a guest, get a name tag and sign the guest book. In our club we have a guest packet that we give to our visitors. I love this because our guest packet is full of information that teaches more about what Toastmasters is and how you can benefit from the program. We also have information in our packet about our club web site (http://cottonwoodaztoastmasters.toastmastersclubs.org) and blog (www.cottonwoodtoastmasters.blogspot.com).

After you get signed in and meet some of the members, at the scheduled time the club president stands at the podium and opens the meeting, welcoming members and guests. He/she then turns the meeting over to the designated Toastmaster. The Toastmaster and other roles are preassigned. In our group this is done on a monthly calendar which is very helpful for it gives each club member time to prepare, call other members and remind them of their roles, and also assists with a smooth functioning club.

The Toastmaster then introduces the theme and then each of the following, leading with applause:
Joke Master: who starts our meeting with a joke or humorous story
CL (Competent Leader) Evaluator: who is there to sign any books for leadership roles being fulfilled
General Evaluator: who will give a general meeting evaluation at the end of the meeting

Then the Toastmaster turns the time over to the General Evaluator who introduces his/her team:
Grammarian: Gives a report of their responsibilities and word of the day
Ah Counter: listens for "ah's" ums, you knows, etc..., rings bell when "ahs, or ums" are used
Timer: runs the timer for speeches and evaluations, also Table Topics participants
Speech Evaluators: Evaluates the speakers

The General Evaluator then turns the time back to the Toastmaster who introduces the speakers. After the speakers we hear from the speaker evaluators. Then the Toastmaster turns the time over to the Table Topics Master. The Table Topics master introduces the questions following the assigned theme of the day and calls on club members at random to stand and give a 90 second impromptu speech. After all the Table Topics speeches are done, the Table Topics master turns the time back over to the Toastmaster who then invites the General Evaluator to give their summary including reports from their functionaries. Finally the Toastmaster announces the winners of the day which include the Best Speaker, Best Evaluator, and Best Table Topics Speaker. The thought of the day is then introduced followed by the release of the meeting by the Toastmaster to the Club President who does final announcements and adjourns the meeting until the following week.

All in all, the meeting should only last one hour. There is a degree of protocol to be followed, including the turning of the podium over to the next person in charge, never leaving it unattended; applause after each functionary or speaker is introduced; and the presiding authority of the club president. Each club may do their agenda a little differently, but the basic structure is the same. Toastmasters learn speaking and leadership skills that may assist them in their lives, jobs, and other leadership opportunities they may encounter.

****

Mondays theme was "colors" and here was our thought for the day:

"A friend is like a rainbow, they are always there after a storm."

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 Laina at 928-300-8638 or Dave at 634-6540

Tragedy of the Five Sullivan Brothers

This past Monday we had an informative speech presented by one of our members, Laurie Rangel. She did an excellent job on her presentation of a "Touching Story" and the tragedy of the five Sullivan brothers. Laurie taught us about brothers who were inseparable. These brothers, whose names were George Thomas, Francis "Frank" Henry, Jose Eugene, Madison "Matt" Able, and Albert Leo, lived in their home with their sister Guinevere and their parents Thomas and Alleta Sullivan. Growing up these brothers stuck together no matter what! If one got into a fight, they all did. If one got into trouble, they all got into trouble. So it was no surprise that when they  heard the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the death of several of their dear friends, they all enlisted in the Navy, requesting to be stationed on the same ship so they could serve together. Then on November 13, 1942, off the shores of Guadalcanal, the ship sank and all five brothers were killed. 

In a letter sent to Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan by Franklin D. Roosevelt, these brothers were acknowledged as "gallant" men and offered a heartfelt message of condolence and gratitude for their service. He quotes one of the brothers who said "We will make a team together that can't be beat." Mr. Roosevelt stated that it is in this spirit which in the end we must triumph. 

This post is dedicated to all those who have served and are currently serving in the military for the United States of America. We salute you and quote President Roosevelt by saying that you too are "gallant" and we gratefully thank you for your sacrifice and service for our lives and our country. 

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 Laina Lloyd at 928-300-8638 or Dave Ellison at 634-6540