New Year Speech-A-Thon Highlights

We at Cottonwood Toastmasters started our year off with a BANG!  Having a Speech-A-Thon is a great way to jump start your club's new year with doing more than your normal club speeches. Here is a review of the several excellent speeches we enjoyed tonight:

The first speech was by myself. I started my speech with several stories of precious moments and sayings from a few of my grandchildren. I ended with an embarrassing moment where my bottom end came crashing through a rotted canvas chair. Stuck like a pretzel in between the frame, my grand daughter rescued me and came to my aid.

Our next speech was by Lou Rangel who taught us some valuable information about the Habitat for Humanity organization. We need the Habitat for Humanity  to assist the world with it's global  housing crisis and provide clean and descent housing which provides more than just a roof over someone's head. To learn more about the Verde Valley Habitat for Humanity, visit their website at www.vvhabitat.org.

Merle taught us about dutch oven cooking and the difference in pot sizes, lids, and companies, along with some interesting history. Laurie talked to us about acceptable changes, and Sally taught us five ways to cultivate an authentic and calming stage presence. In a nut shell, the five methods are: 1. Put your awareness in your power center 2. Ground yourself by being "in" your body 3. Bring your heart into it! 4.Feel the energetic space around you 5. Occupy your vocal chords by putting your attention there.

After a short break and some yummy food, we began round two. Allen spoke to us about a humorous moment during a sad time and loss of a loved one, reminding us that there are always funny moments that we can look back on in life. Melody gave an intriguing speech about her travel to Currie Nevada, a small town of maybe seven, and the special lady that she met who influenced her life. Then Laurie shared her feelings on our reasons to grown. Being a member of Toastmasters isn't just about our learning and doing for personal reasons, it's also about the things that you can learn from others.

Lou shared with us some important guidelines for "Taking the Terror out of the Talk". Three things to remember when facing the terror shakes is to first, remember that the more experience you can get in public speaking, the better. Secondly, go through a mental rehearsal before speaking by picturing the beginning and end just as you would like it to be. Lastly, learn some breathing techniques. Deep and focused breathing can calm and relax, easing those feelings of anxiety.

And last but not least was Leo, the brain of the bunch. He loves to read science fiction and has the ability to comprehend it! His speech title was "Cheated by Nature". Mentioning that we are at the bottom of change and experiences, he gave the example of humans only being able to go as fast as our fastest machines can take us. We are a long way from the speed of light, and many other things in nature. But, in the end when we realize that we have the ability to comprehend, maybe we were not cheated by nature after all.

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

Read Those Manuals!

When I first joined Toastmasters I was absolutely positively overwhelmed by the new terms and acronyms that I was hearing. I thought, "My goodness, I have entered another culture with a completely new language! No one told me it would be THIS difficult!"  And so began my journey, with a HUGE learning curve. Then I found my two best friends, The Competent Leadership Manual and the Competent Communicator Manual. Yes, I CAN do this, I THINK I CAN,  I THINK CAN!!

Fellow Toastmasters, are you taking the time to read your manuals? Be honest  now, are you really? Have you began at the beginning of your manuals and then do you read your instructions as you prepare for each project? Are you keeping good records of your accomplishments and having them signed by your club's Vice President of Education? Did you know that you were suppose to do that? Ah ha! I thought so. You were as confused as myself when I first started. Okay then, now that we are being honest with each other, here is a little help for the weary and possibly overwhelmed new Toasty.

A simple guide to assist you on your learning journey:

1. Get out your Competent Leadership Manual and turn to page three. Here you should find the Table of Contents. Listed first is the Introduction, then the ALL IMPORTANT Project Completion page. Go there! 

2.The Project Completion page is very important to pay attention to. Please note that EACH project has certain roles that need to be completed in order to get your CL, Competent Leadership Award, and each project needs to be signed by your VP of ED, Vice President of Education, for this award to be given to you. NOT all roles need to be done in each project. For example, in Project One you only need to complete 3 out of 4 to finish that project, Yay!! Of course you can do them all if you like, but that is not necessary. I have more than one CL manual that I work out of so that I can get credit for all the roles I fill. Good advise right? Yep, a great mentor suggested that to me and I am more than happy to pass this advice along to you!

3. Turn to your first Project. Read how to be a good listener. Take the exercise and see how you feel about your listening skills. Each project has suggestions and guidelines to assist you in fulfilling these roles in an effective way. Remember, the Leadership projects do NOT have to be done in order. In my CL manual I have all projects done except for 4, 6 and 9. Once these are completed, I will have earned my third CL award. Cool  huh? You can too, there are limitless opportunities for you to lead and grow!

4. Get out you Competent Communicator Manual. Again, you will have a Contents page. Go there! In the book I am currently using, my Project Completion Record is in the back of the book. 

5. The Project Completion page is important to pay attention to in this manual as well. Remember, make sure that all your speeches get evaluated and you record them on this page. Get credit for all that you do in Toastmasters. They want to honor you with your job well done and so do the rest of us! Keep good records, have your Vice President of Education sign this, and help your club achieve their goals too. It's a win win situation for everyone. 

6. Now, turn to your first speech "The Ice Breaker". Read how to do this, know your objectives. The objectives are listed in the blue box to the right on the first page. They are to: 1. Begin speaking before and audience, 2. Discover speaking skills you already have and skills that need some attention. That's it. But that is good enough. Not only is there valuable information for you in this project, but at the end of the project there is a Speaker's Checklist  telling you what to do and reminding you to have the VP of ED initial the Project Completion Record. Easy as pie, right?

Okay fellow Toasties, now you know the important stuff and it's time to go forth and accomplish our mission! What is our mission? It is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which EVERY individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth. Yes, we can do this! I KNOW WE CAN!!

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

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

How to Be a Successful Mentor

In Toastmasters we have mentors. What is a mentor? A mentor is someone already familiar with and an active member in a Toastmaster club, who is assisting a new member. When a new member joins, lets admit it, they are usually scared. I know I was. I was completely overwhelmed with the acronyms, functionary roles, and the "clicker"! Then you add to that fearful feeling the fact that you somehow agreed to do a speech in front of a group of people you barely know! Are you kidding?

New members need someone to lead, guide and direct them. They need direction in learning about how the meetings are run, and help in becoming familiar with the Competent Communicator and Leadership Manuals. So, how do you mentor someone? Here are a few ideas: 

1. Make sure they are welcomed and you introduce yourself as their club mentor. Explain to them that you are there to assist them with all their questions and anything they need concerning their assignments and goals.

2. Sit by them at the meetings and keep in contact with them either by email or by phone. Whenever they have an assigned role, explain to them what that commitment involves. When I get a new person to mentor, I recommend that they start easy with doing a thought or a joke. Then, the next step would be to participate in a Table Topics. I let them know that they can say no at anytime and it's okay!

3. After they perform a role or give a speech, celebrate! They have broken through a wall of fear! This is one of the most exciting things a person can accomplish! I wish I could jump up and down when I see this happen. It takes a lot of self control for me to not hoot and holler! Oh, okay, lets let them know how we really feel, hoot and holler away! They need it. The applause in Toastmasters is one of my favorite things to do. I love the look on peoples faces when we do this. What a fantastic way to show our support.

4. Next, guide your person into setting some goals. Help them know that the Vice President of Education is a person that they can go to with getting their goals fulfilled. This officer's role is to make sure they get on the agenda. Communicate well with the VP of ED. I send my VP of ED an email each month outlining my desired goals and I let him know how close I am to achieving those goals. He always gets excited for me and does everything he can to get me on the agenda.  

5. Send your person links to the international web site. Send links that may interest them, or assist them in an upcoming assignment. Also, urge them to read the magazine. Each month I browse through to see what grabs me. I don't always have time to read the whole magazine, but there is almost always something that grabs my attention. 

6. Be their friend. My mentors, I have two, are both now my dearest friends. I love their suggestions, appreciate their support, and want to serve them as they serve me. Our club is one of laughter, support, and friendship. Wouldn't you want to make sure your people feel welcome and free to express themselves while learning? I sure do.  

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

A Mentoring Moment

We have had an exciting week with our Toastmaster duties. One of our club members has assisted a group of people in the Cottonwood City government to start their own Toastmasters club. This is always exciting! Today we held our first demo meeting with this new club. A demo meeting is one in which we go through all the functionary roles, describing each responsibility while assisting the new members to fill those roles. We had two very brave first time speakers, and two new club members do the impromptu table topics. I must say, the meeting was a success and we all had a lot of fun! 

Learning public speaking skills and developing leadership abilities is a great asset to a person. I have seen people change from stammering speakers to speakers with confidence and passion. I have witnessed timid leaders rise in power to fill their functionary roles, leaders who once were afraid but who now fear nothing! If you are struggling with your confidence and need a little helpful and friendly support, find a local Toastmasters near you and JOIN in the fun, be the one!

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

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

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

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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 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.

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