Rose Abbott was our Toastmaster, the theme was favorite beaches, Camilla won Best Table Topics, Michelle Bender won Best Evaluator and Reva Kussmaul won Best Speaker.
Congratulations to the New World Champion of Public Speaking
Congratulations to the New World Champion of
Public Speaking!
The 2014 title
was awarded to Dananjaya Hettiarachchi from Nawala Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka, with
his winning speech, "I See Something." Watch video
clips from Mr. Hettiarachchi's speech. Second- and third-place
winners were, respectively, Kwong Yue Yang from Guangzhou, China, with his
speech, "Four Words" and Kelly Sargeant from Houston, Texas, with her
speech, "Good Bye Wi-Fi." View the full list of finalists at www.toastmasters.org/semifinals.Source: Toastmasters International
Club Officers and Members Attend LACE Training
Michelle Bender, Vernon Budinger, Karen Gibson, Kristin Blomstrom and Sterling Wainscott attend Founders District LACE training Saturday June 21st in La Mirada CA. With this type of dedication from its members it is obvious why Parsons is a Presidents Distinguished club.
Toastmasters International LACE Training - Leadership and Communication Experience
Club Officer
Training
Register online for the Leadership and
Communication Experience (LACE) to be held on June 21, 2014 at Holiday Inn, La
Mirada. If you register by this Sunday, June 15th, you'll pay just $12 --
and that includes lunch! If you miss the early registration deadline, the price
increases to $15. Online registration will close at midnight on Wednesday, June
18th; however you may register at the door.Remember LACE is for EVERYONE! Guests are welcome!
Highlights from our last meeting
Highlights from
our last meeting –Special recognition
was given to distinguished club members who were honored at the Founders
District Meeting. Toastmaster Sonja-Sophie gave us fun facts on our theme
International Bird Day and General Evaluator Krystal Rose and her evaluation
team (Pamela, Nutan and Jennifer) gave us valuable feedback on how to improve
our speaking, time management and grammar skills. Karen Gibson gave CC Manual
speech #3 titled “Get CERT (Community
Emergency Response Team) Training” and accomplished the goal of giving a
persuasive speech and getting to the point. Table Topic Master Vernon Budinger
asked members Vardan and Jolene questions relating to birds and guest Lotus won
best Table Topic speaker. Another great meeting everyone!
When are you ready to give a speech?
Good tips from Lance Miller, World Champion of Public Speaking. I also saw his winning
speech from 2005 World Champion on YouTube. If you have 7 minutes, check it out. It talks about
being positive and encouraging to others.
Club 2151 Awards Recognition
On Saturday, May 3rd I attended the Founder’s District 2014
Spring Conference and am pleased to recognize club members who were given
awards at the conference.
A special pin was created for the Distinguished Member
Program award which recognizes the commitment and persistence needed
to earn this award; three members qualified for the DMP designation:
Bill Harmon former club president earned his CC in September and CL award in October of 2013 to become a DMP. In addition Bill earned the Advanced Leader Bronze designation in Feb. of 2014 which earned him the Triple Crown Award!
Rose Abbott earned the CC and ALB designations in 2013-2014
Kim Acedo earned the Advanced Communicator Bronze and Competent Leadership in 2013-2014
Krystal Rose who is our club VP of PR was the rock star of
the conference winning three VPPR achievement awards:
1.
1st Place the Founder’s Film Award
(awarded to our club) production team: Krystal Rose, Vernon Budinger,
Sonja-Sophie and Leslie Shuy
2.
2nd Place VP PR Achievement Award
3.
2nd Place Diamond Web Award
Our club also won a $10 Toastmasters Gift Certificate for
“Beat the Clock” membership contest, and Michelle Bender was recognized for her
contribution to the District newsletter and won best decorated table.
We are proud of our member
achievement which honors our club and distinguishes us over 200 clubs in the
Founders District and over 4,000 members. Please give a virtual round of
applause to our distinguished TM members and club! ~ Rose Abbott VP of Education
Parsons Toastmasters Wins 2014 Founder's Film Award
Parsons Toastmasters Wins 2014 Founder's Film Award
Film produced by Sonja-Sophie, Vernon Budinger , Leslie Suhy and Krystal Rose
Highlights from our last meeting: May 6 2014
Highlights from
our last meeting – We had a full meeting
with two speakers giving their Project #3 speech with the objective of “Getting
to the Point”. Sonja-Sophie presented “When Equations’ Don’t Add Up” with the
purpose of motivating; Nancy Huang presented “Anti Cancer” with the purpose of
informing. Both speakers did a fabulous job using PowerPoint presentations and
left the audience with information on how to live a healthier lifestyle.
Toastmaster Janet Suzuki gave us a history lesson on Cinco de Mayo and General
Evaluator Shannon O’Connell led our team that gave us valuable feedback. Topic
Master Kristin Blomstrom asked questions on our theme and worked in humor to
make it fun. Best Winners: Speech, Sonja-Sophie; Table Topics, Andy Tien
(chimichanga’s anyone?); Evaluator Rose Abbott. We had 4 guests join our
meeting who made the following comments about our meeting: “Professional
setting, good setting to improve skills & confidence”; “Liked the meeting
my best Toastmasters experience yet”; “Surprised at health topics on Cinco de
Mayo enjoyed the meeting”. Please join us next week for a special
recognition & awards ceremony and a visit from our Area B2 Governor
Naga Net!
Meeting Highlights: Oscar Movies Was the Theme 40th Anniversary Committee Was Recognized By the "Academy"
Highlights from
our last meeting – Members were
challenged to use the word of the day disparity: different from each other
1: containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous
elements. Toastmaster Nancy Huang led our meeting and introduced our theme
Oscar Movies, Kristin Blomstrom led our evaluation team: Sonja Sophie, Michelle
Bender, Mary Marasco, Andy Tien and Vardan Gazarian who gave valuable feedback
to our members and guests. Pam Tartaglio presented CC speech #2 “How I Lost
Weight” and met her objective of presenting an organized speech. Shannon
O’Connell presented advanced speech “Do’s & Don’ts of Performance” which
was both entertaining and informative. Table Topic Master Krystal Rose invited
our guests to practice speaking without preparation. Best awards were presented
to: Andrew (guest) Table Topics; Shannon, Speaker; Michelle, Evaluator. In
closing the 40 Year Anniversary Committee were presented with a certificate of
appreciation and flowers.
Kristin Blomstrom, Rose Abbott, Pamela Tartaglio, Krystal Rose, Michelle Bender, and Shannon O'Connell.
We Are In Pasadena Now: Earthquake Expert Dr. Lucy Jones Fêted by the Parsons Toastmasters
Parsons Toastmasters' 40th Anniversary has been reported in Pasadena Now. It was a great turn out, well organized and the guests were exceptional. The guest of honor, Dr. Lucy Jones proved beyond worthy of the award when she delivered a captivating acceptance speech.
For Article go to Pasadena Now's website or click the following link
Pasadena Now » Earthquake Expert Dr. Lucy Jones Fêted by the Parsons Toastmasters | Pasadena California, Hotels,CA Real Estate,Restaurants,City Guide... - Pasadena.com
For Article go to Pasadena Now's website or click the following link
Pasadena Now » Earthquake Expert Dr. Lucy Jones Fêted by the Parsons Toastmasters | Pasadena California, Hotels,CA Real Estate,Restaurants,City Guide... - Pasadena.com
On April 22, 2014, Parsons Toastmasters Celebrated 40 Years and Dr. Lucy Jones
Highlights
from our 40 Year Anniversary Celebration
History was made when Parsons Toastmasters Club 2151 celebrated its 40
year anniversary and presented Toastmasters Communication Achievement Award to
Dr. Lucy Jones who is a US Geological Survey Science Advisor for Risk Reduction. Division B Governor
Ryan Matsunaga presented our club with a certificate to commemorate our
anniversary and honored us by stating that our club ranks best in class
standing among our peers. We enjoyed a speech from Tom Volz one of the founding
members of the club and Janet Suzuki past president and long standing member of
our club. Dignitaries from Parsons and Toastmasters International organization
joined the festivities along with member & non-member guests who thanked us
for inviting them to be part of such a well organized and exciting event. Our
planning committee Kristin Blomstrom, Krystal Rose, Pam Tartaglio &
Michelle Bender deserve special honors for making the event a great success. View all the photos here
Highlights from April 1st Meeting
Word of the day
“thwart” transitive verb \ˈthwȯrt\ : to prevent (someone) from doing
something or to stop (something) from happening. Nothing could thwart our
productive and fun meeting. Our Toastmaster Vernon Budinger explained the
history of April Fool’s Day. Jolene Horn and Nancy Huang both gave speeches
from CC Manual Project 2 “Organize Your Speech”. Sonja-Sophie and
her team of evaluators provided us with feedback on what was done well and
offered tips for improvement. Kim Acedo is no prankster when it comes to being
Table Topics Master who offered up great questions allowing participants to
practice speaking for 1-2 min. with no advance preparation. Best awards went
to: Speaker - Jolene Horn; Table Topics – Andy Tien; Evaluator – Michelle Bender.
Congratulations to Shannon O’Connell who won 2nd place in the Area B2
International Speech contest! Kudos to Michelle Bender and Leslie Suhy who
competed in the Table Topics speech contest and to Vernon, Rose & Karen,
who volunteered and helped to make the area contest last Saturday a successful
one
Great Communicators Don't Leave People Hanging
Found this article in the New Jersey Journal.
Great communicators understand they need to be proactive. They understand that most people on the other end are expecting you to reach out and let them know where things stand without that person having to follow up with you.
The simple concept of "closing the loop" is so significant, not just in terms of client service, but also for professionals who report to their managers and leaders of organizations. Ask yourself this question: If you were the head of a department or division in a company with many people reporting to you dealing with numerous projects, would you rather chase down information about where things stand or have your team members proactively communicate about the status of those projects and the projected completion of them? The answer is obvious.
But in spite of this, too many people are too passive in their communication and wait to be asked, prodded, begged and sometimes pushed very hard by their boss to do what is essentially their job. Simply put, keep your boss in the know. Close the loop. Doing this will reduce your boss' anxiety level, will make you look good and, further, will allow the leader of your team to focus more on the bigger picture rather than micromanaging the information flow.
Even if the project or assignment you are working on is not completed, or you are facing real obstacles or challenges, close the loop by sending an email or communicate via phone or in person to those who need to know about the situation. That way, you can deal with the situation together.
Written by Steve Adubato. View full article http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2014/03/great_communicators_close_the_loop.html
Lance Miller: Speaking With Conviction
Lance Miller, World Champion of Public Speaking recently published a letter on Speaking with Conviction:
The speaking world is filled with clever catch phrases, 6 second
sound bites and speeches written for their political correctness or sensational
impact. But I have found that NOTHING communicates, NOTHING penetrates and
NOTHING motivates more than a speech based on the convictions of the speaker.
"Speaking with conviction" has almost
become a catch phrase of its own.
I have watched people try to speak with
conviction, try to create a little conviction on the spot, like
putting some extra salt on their popcorn.
This is the speaker who is acting like he has
conviction. This all too often ends up with the speaker trying to convince the
audience, that he is convinced, in the rightness or correctness of the subject.
Webster's defines conviction as: "a:
a strong
persuasion or belief",
"b: the state of being convinced."
Webster's also defines conviction as, "the act or
process of finding a person guilty of a crime especially in a court of law."
So we see that we can have conviction, but we can
also get a conviction. To get a conviction, to prove someone
guilty of a crime, the prosecution must prove their case beyond a reasonable
doubt.
When I ask myself, "Do I have conviction?" I am
really asking, by the definition, "I have handled any reasonable
doubts that I have on this subject?"
Having conviction is not about convincing the audience of your
conviction, it is about convincing yourself.
If I have doubts in the correctness of what I am saying, I will
withhold myself from the audience. I will assume a slightly defensive position,
based on the possibility of someone calling me out on my doubts.
To impact an audience, I have to speak without hesitation or
reservation. I cannot do that if I doubt what I say.
Message from The World Champion of Public Speaking
There are numerous theories on how and why stage fright occurs.
But two things are certain:
(1) It is not
caused by fear of a hostile audience, as stage fright occurs with even the
friendliest and sympathetic audiences,
(2) It is
something that occurs on the speaker's side of the equation.
Over the years of speaking and personal coaching, I have been
asked for magic cures and secret solutions to address people's fear of public
speaking.
There is only one solution I know of for stage fright. That
solution is frequent public speaking.
There is no silver bullet, no magic pill or no
self-actualized-mental-exercises that I have found that resolves speaking
jitters and the tongue-tied mental blankness of stage fright.
Speaking is a muscle, you have exercise and strengthen it!
If you don't use it, you will lose it!
Here are some tips that I use to handle speaking nerves:
1. Being nervous about speaking before a group is natural.
Do not feel like it is "only you" and that you should
not feel that way. Just say, "I am nervous, therefore, I am
normal!"
2. Know what you are going to say. Practice and
drill your speech until you know it completely. If you are unsure of what or
how you will say it, you will be unsure when you are speaking.
3. Get excited about your message! Believe its value to the
audience. If you have doubts about your message, if you think that the audience
is not interested or won't like it, that can cause anxiety and nervousness.
I use the analogy of: "If the room was on fire, would
you be able to speak to everyone and tell them to get out!?" That is a
message I would definitely want to deliver! Then I create the same amount of
importance for my message.
4. Get comfortable with the room you are speaking in. Get there
early. Walk the room. Stand in each corner, stand at the front, stand at the
back, sit in the seats. Stand for 5 - 10 minutes where you will be speaking
from, until you are comfortable being in the location. If possible, rehearse
your speech in the room.
Source: Lance Miller, World Champion of Public Speaking
Highlights from Last weeks:
Kristin
Blomstrom induced Alaaddin Mogeem as a new member to club. Toastmaster Krystal
Rose kicked off our meeting by introducing our topic "Membership". General
evaluator Nancy Huang introduced her team who gave feedback on time, grammar
use and filler-word use. Our word of the day “optimal” proved that our club is
best at keeping our meetings running smoothly and on time. Michelle Bender
presented an Advanced Speech, Project 3 from the Storytelling manual titled
“The Moral of the Story” and Nancy Flentie presented CC Speech #2 titled “What
was that Teenager Thinking?” which was informative and well organized. Best
Speaker went to Michelle Bender, Best Evaluator to Kim Acedo and Best Table
Topics to Alaaddin Mogeem. Thanks to everyone who participated in the meeting
and helped to optimize its success by giving us all a chance to practice &
receive valuable feedback in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere. Written
by EVP Rose Abbott, CC, ALB
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