Preston Persuaders

We had another great meeting led by our Toastmaster of the Day, Wen! The theme was "Rebirth", and we learned about different religious and world views about reincarnation, the spirit (word of the day), and what happens when we die. 

We began the prepared speeches with an Icebreaker Speech from Eileen about the challenges and triumphs of her decision to relocate from Canada to Texas. The Icebreaker Speech is the first speech project in the Toastmasters manual, and the goal is to speak about yourself in front of the group to assess your current strengths and things to work on for future speeches. Way to go, Eileen!

Sofia practiced using visual aids with her speech about the importance of exercise in the reduction of stress and anxiety. Doctors recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise five times per week, and Sofia's exercise of choice is Zumba! For more information, check out this article from the American Heart Association, Physical Activity Improves Quality of Life.

Preston Persuaders is like a family, and we love celebrating the milestones in each other's lives. Tonight we celebrated with Max, who did a speech about his 51st wedding anniversary! In his speech, Max shared that during his recent bout with malaria, he thought that if he were reincarnated, his only wish would be to live another lifetime with his wonderful wife. Happy anniversary Max!!!

We welcomed back Mike and Larry, enjoyed the company of 8 guests, and inducted 3 new members - Don, Ann, and Jonas. Welcome to Preston Persuaders! We are so excited to have you with us! Join us next week for another great meeting!

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker - Eileen
Best Evaluator -Jyo
Best of Big 3 - Mickey
Best Table Topics - Mike
5-Star Helper - Patrick
Sparkplug - Max

"When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor." Mark started the meeting with this quote by Elon Musk, one of Mark's favorite modern-day big dreamers.

Lisa, our Toastmaster of the Day, took the “Big Dreams” theme further with anecdotes from big dreamers like Steve Jobs. One of her tips was to keep your big dreams concise, so it is easy to recall them and remind yourself continually about what it is you want to focus on.

Patrick intrepidly (WOTD) ventured into the Professional Speaker advanced manual with his first 15-20 minute speech. We learned that we only experience FEAR when we Forget Every Available Resource. His ABC’s of Killing Fears was packed with entertaining stories and practical tips. A is for Taking Action, B is for Breathing, and C is for Changing Your Thinking.

Jeff from a Fort Worth Toastmasters club joined us as a guest speaker last night. He was practicing his humorous speech for an upcoming division contest. He had everyone in stitches as he shared the escapades of his pet chinchilla.  

Our Table Topics Master, Durai, General Evaluator, Jyo, and all of our helpers carried out their roles with aplomb! Brian lead our new member initiation for Autumn, who is excited about getting started on her Toastmasters journey.

Wow! 10 guests joined us at last night’s meeting. We also had one new member join and at least two guests planning on joining next week. This is in addition to our six guests from last week! Where are all these guests coming from? Preston Persuaders’ Meetup.com Page! Visit our page and join to see all the action happening there. You can even say “I’m Going” to each of the upcoming meetings to help increase the visibility of our group!

Get speaking tips and updates throughout the week on our facebook page! "Like" the Preston Persuaders’ Facebook Page to stay in the loop.

Be sure to join us next week for Eileen’s Icebreaker Speech! 

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker - Patrick
Best Evaluator - Mickey
Best of Big 3 - Jyo
Best Table Topics Speaker - Don (guest)
5-Star Helper - Wen
Sparkplug - Jeff (guest)

 

Have you ever done a speech, presentation or any other important event and felt like you bombed? That was the theme for this week's meeting, led by Toastmaster of the Day, Hugh. Hugh reminded us that every experience can be a learning experience. Even if you feel like you bombed, ask yourself, "What went well? What can I learn?" Many years ago, Hugh bombed during an important work presentation, but that experience led him to join Toastmasters! 

Our speakers didn't bomb this evening! Durai did a speech about Dr. Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats using visual aids. The Six Thinking Hats is a systematic way of discovering all sides of a situation in order to solve a problem or make a decision. Durai put on different colored hats as he demonstrated the process using an important decision in his life: whether to move his family from India to the US or not. I'm happy to report that Durai is planning to be reunited with his family in the near future.

Patrick told us the story of the many trials Theodore Roosevelt overcame throughout his life. His speech ended with these inspiring words from Roosevelt's "Citizenship in a Republic" speech: "It is not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming...who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly..." Patrick said that when we speak at Toastmasters, we are putting ourselves into the arena. There are a million reasons why we could not speak or not come to a meeting, but it's when we are present despite those reasons, striving for greatness, that we are the bold, daring souls that Roosevelt refers to.

In Jyo's speech, we learned three primary reasons why great companies succeed. She said they focus on the most important things: 1) Making small innovations continually, striving to create the best experience for their consumers; 2) Setting high expectations for their products, workers, and customers; and 3) They keep examining and simplifying their process. Jyo invited us to consider how those points relate to our club. Are we serving or members to the best of our ability? Do we hold high expectations for each other? Do we keep examining and simplifying our processes? It's time to renew your dues, and if you have suggestions for the club to help it better meet your needs, please write to the officers as soon as possible. We welcome your contribution! This is your club, and it is what you make it to be. We want you and everyone else to get the most out of every interaction and every meeting.

Hugh finished the meeting with a reminder that even the best can have an off day. If you've bombed, know that you can rise like the Phoenix (Word of the Day!), learn from your experience, and be even better next time.

We're looking forward to seeing you and all the friends you invite to our next meeting!

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker - Patrick
Best Evaluator - Mickey
Best Table Topics - Eileen
Best of Big 3 - Hugh
Sparkplug - Patrick
5-Star Helper - Melanie

We had a room full of STARS at our Sept. 8th Meeting! With the many actors (WOTD) playing their roles, we pulled off yet another wonderful Preston Persuaders production!

Toastmaster of the Day Durai took us on a journey through the history of movies. He reminded us all to “get busy living or get busy dying” (a favorite quote of his from the movie Shawshank Redemption).

Mickey stepped up to the bat with an inspiring pocket speech! Mickey shared the speech he gives each morning to the man in the mirror. His morning ritual came from his reading the book As a Man Thinketh. Mickey IS, amongst many other things, a phenomenal speaker, getting better and better with every speech!

We invited back many members that have been away for varying lengths of time, including Patrick, Munzer, Jyo, Shiny, Doug, Susan, Ed, Jeff, and Sarah. It was SO WONDERFUL to have you all at the meeting! And we look forward to welcoming back our other members that have been on break!

Because we had extra time for table topics, our Table Topics Master Mark experimented with a new format. We had six table topics speakers that each had an impromptu 1-2 minute evaluation. It worked out great and everyone appreciated the helpful feedback and encouragement.

Our 5-star helper for the evening Posture Monitor Allison told us about what was drilled into her back when she was in band at school - Up, Back, Down! This was a great reminder to us all for what to do with our shoulders to achieve excellent posture with our heads held high.

We were happy to have Eileen, Tim, and Munzer as our guests and look forward to having them back! Join us next week for our club contest, beginning at 7pm!

 

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker - Mickey
Best Evaluator - Sarah
Best Table Topics - Eileen
Best of Big 3 - Mark
Sparkplug - Dean
5-Star Helper - Allison

"Make success a habit." That was the message Toastmaster Chris shared with us at Monday's meeting. The theme was "Self-Motivation," and it was inspired by the book, The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. Chris told the story of when he first became a children's soccer coach. It felt like a chore at first and didn't get easier until it became a habit, part of his weekly routine. Then, it became something he looked forward to. Anything new can feel challenging or take extra effort until it becomes a habit, even attending weekly (awesome) meetings of Toastmasters.

Bahman was our first speaker, and he encouraged us to be aware of our credit score and take steps to make it better. One of his tips? Don't open new lines of credit or make large purchases just before getting a loan. You can read more in his book, Credit Score: Tips and Tricks.

Susan's speech was about doing all that you can. Her 4 suggestions for this were

1. Man the Plan - Get clear on what your plan is.
2. Squawk the Talk - Tell others what your plan is so they can hold you accountable.
3. Clock the Walk - Take time to follow your plan and to enjoy life.
4. Love the Dove - Spread peace and encouragement along the way.

Our third speaker, Brian, kept us laughing throughout his speech about his attempts to upgrade his DVD player. He follows the "buy and hold" philosophy, hanging onto outdated electronics as long as they still work. When verring from his usual tactics and going to buy a new BlueRay player, his hours of "analysis paralysis" were wasted when he realized he couldn't plug his new BlueRay player into his outdated television. Better luck next time, Brian!

Thank you to our Area Governor, Dell, and his assistant, Tanya, for visiting our club this week! We loved having Marie and Kaylee visit us as well!

Start prepping for the club contest September 15th! You can contact Mickey to sign up for the Evaluation or Humorous Speech Contests. Let this contest actuate (word of the day) you to improve your speaking skills!

Remember to make success a habit by joining us for the next Preston Persuaders meeting!

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker: Bahman
Best Evaluator: Durai
Best of the Big 3: Chris
Best Table Topics Speaker: Mickey
5-Star Helper: Stephanie
Sparkplug: Brian

What are you grateful for? Gratitude was the theme of this Monday's meeting, led by Sarah. She began the meeting with several inspirational quotes, thoughtful personal stories, and the message that expressing gratitude helps improve our overall sense of well-being. 

Our first speaker, Melanie, reminded us to release daily worries by focusing on reality. Instead of getting sidetracked by imagining a horrible outcome, focus on the reality of each situation to stay peaceful and experience more joy.

Allison did an advanced manual speech with the objective of praising someone. She shared her love for her husband and the positive qualities he brings to his new business, Blair Automotive. He is honest, dependable, and a shining light in an industry that's not known for its integrity.

Our third speaker, Hugh, gave us a sneak peek into the history of "Motorcycle Hooliganism." He shared how WWII led to the creation of riding a motorcycle as a passtime for many retired pilots. We're looking forward to hearing his follow-up speeches for more information! In the meantime, you can follow this link for more motorcycle history.

With the theme of gratitude, this meeting re-cap wouldn't be complete without finding out what some of our members are most thankful for:

Durai - "I'm thankful for my life, my parents, my school teachers, and people who are supportive."

Stephanie - "My new grandbaby. He's SO cute!"

Chris - "I'm thankful for all the beautiful people in the world who are committed to each other."

Bahman - "I'm thankful for my health. Good health is so important."

Susan - "I'm thankful for my life and my love."

Mickey - "I'm thankful for having Preston Persuaders every Monday. It's always entertaining and keeps me out of trouble!"

Thank you to all who attended and made this meeting uplifting and fun! Your commitment (Word of the Day) to improving your speaking and leadership skills makes a difference in all our lives! Join us next Monday for another great meeting of Preston Persuaders!

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker: Melanie
Best Evaluator: Mark
Best of the Big 3: Sarah
Best Table Topics Speaker: Daniel
5-Star Helper: Doug
Sparkplug: Dean

 

Travel was the theme from last night's meeting, led by Toastmaster Janak. Our invocator, Durai, reminded us that sometimes we have to face our fears in order to venture into the world and achieve our goals. Most of us have to face fears around public speaking in Toastmasters, too, and the effort is worth it! The fun and learning gained through travel, achieving goals, and Toastmasters is enhanced by great company. At Preston Persuaders, you're always in great company! Here's a pic from before the meeting last night...

Chris and Bahman were our featured speakers. Chris talked about the Law of Connection, inspired by the book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. He explained that just like we are connected through social networks and business networks, events in our lives may also be interconnected. Have you ever found connections like that - fate? coincidence? synchronicity? 

After your first 10 speeches, you choose your advanced speaking manuals, which cover many different specialty areas of public speaking. Bahman is currently working out of the Facilitating Discussion manual, and last night he led the club in a discussion about cloud storage. His speech objectives were to overcome behavioral problems from audience members. Members were assigned to be chatty, to argue, to interrupt, and to withdrawl from the discussion so that Bahman could practice dealing with those distractions in a way that continued to encourage discussion. 

We welcomed Jay, Marie, and Marevi as guests to our meeting last night, and we loved their participation in the Table Topics (impromptu speaking) portion of our meeting, led by Mark.

We ended our meeting with a thoughtful story by Janak, and the message, "When you travel, you not only enrich your own life, you enrich the lives of others as well." Kudos to Janak for serving as Toastmaster for the first time! Great job! 

Special congrats goes to Chris for being awarded the Toastmaster of the Month award for June! Way to go Chris!!!

See you next week for another great Preston Persuaders meeting!

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker: Neither qualified
Best Evaluator: Melanie
Best of the Big 3: Janak
Best Table Topics Speaker: Marevi
5-Star Helper: Max
Sparkplug: Ed

 

Tonight, Toastmaster Mike made us consider dilemmas in life, and Chris chose the perfect word of the day, quandary. Here's what we learned from our 4 speakers:

Mark encouraged us to make the most of our web experience by making sure our web browser (chrome, explorere, firefox, etc.) stays updated. This will also help safeguard us against hackers because we'll have the latest security fixes. Mark (a web designer) highly recommends the Google Chrome browser. You can check your browser and update it at WhatBrowser.com. 

Sanju gave us a fascinating history of Bollywood, the film industry of India. They are known for their song and dance numbers, but did you know early themes centered around religion? 

Brian led us all to consider those key moments in life when we choose to make the best of a situation...or not. One of his life-changing moments happened in college when his family moved to Nebraska, leaving him to stay in New Jersey. His living situation and level of comfort changed, but he decided to make the best of an unexpected situation. We all have those moments when we can choose - look on the bright side, or wallow?

Shiny shared the entertaining and meaningful story of how her relationship with her mom is changing as they grow older. She encouraged us all to savor the time with our parents. If they require more care and attention as they age, remember how they cared for you as a child. We wish you well on your trip to Taiwan to see your mom, Shiny!

We were pleased to have 9 guests tonight! Thank you to Mare vi, Marie, and all the members of the ESL meetup group! We loved having you join us, and you're welcome back anytime! We also want to wish Mike's nephew, Rahul, a fun and enjoyable college adventure in Phoenix! 

Kudos to Sofia for performing the role of General Evaluator for the first time! Great job!!!!

Join us next week for another great meeting of Preston Persuaders! Guests are always welcome.

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker: Shiny
Best Evaluator: Hugh
Best of the Big 3: Mike
Best Table Topics Speaker: Ed
5-Star Helper: Sarah
Sparkplug: Shiny

This week's theme was U.S. Immigration, and Toastmaster Rick shared informative statistics to give us another side of the issue than we may typically see in the media. Our Taple Topics participants found creative ways to incorporate the word of the day, repatriation, into their speed-dating question topics (thanks for that fun topic, Mickey!), and we learned yogic breathing, win-win negotiation skills, and how to use a microphone like a pro from the scheduled speakers. 

Durai demonstrated several yogic breathing techniques to reduce stress and improve health. You can learn more about some of the techniques Durai mentioned at DoYogaWithMe.com.

Lisa taught us how to prepare for and execute a win-win negotiation. Her tips were to know what you want ahead of time, know what the other person wants and some objections they may have so you can be prepared to address their concerns and offer compromises, and know at what point you will withdrawl from the negotiation - know your bottom line. 

Melanie shared the proper way to adjust a microphone stand, how to hold the microphone, and some additional things to consider when you're speaking using a mic. Some of her helpful hints are to hold the mic with your fingertips, at an angle as if it is an extension of your chin, and from 1 to 3 finger-widths away from your face. You can practice your mic technique by videotaping your speech while holding a hairbrush. Notice if you drop the mic down at any point or forget to hold it in front of your mouth when you turn your head.

Congratulations to Chris J. for serving as General Evaluator for the first time! You did an awesome job! And of course, thank you to all of our members and guests who helped make the meeting fun, friendly, and informative. It's always a great way to spend Monday evening!

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker: Melanie
Best Evaluator: Brian
Best of the Big 3: Mickey
Best Table Topics Speaker: Janak
5-Star Helper: Susan
Sparkplug: Janak

What's your B.H.A.G. (be-hag)? This week's theme was goal-setting. Allison taught us about setting Big Hairy Audacious Goals, inspired by the book Built to Last, by Jim Collins. A goal needs to have four qualities to be considered a B.H.A.G.:

Aligned - It's true to your values and who you are
Audacious - Initially, it seems impossible
Articulate - The stated goal should be easy to understand
Arduous - It requires a different thought pattern to accomplish

To prevent feeling overwhelmed, focus on one tiny step at a time, and celebrate your smaller accomplishments along the way.

In other news, kudos to Susan (Invocator), Durai (General Evaluator), and Chris (Table Topics Master), who were first-timers in their roles and did an awesome job!

Our Area Governor, Dell, joined us to perform our officer induction ceremony. Congratulations to our new officers, and thank you for stepping up to serve our club!

It was another great meeting at Preston Persuaders! I hope you have the conation (Word of the Day) to make Preston Persuaders a bright spot in every week!

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker: Allison
Best Evaluator: Sanju
Best of the Big 3: Mark
Best Table Topics Speaker: Shiny
5-Star Helper: Mickey
Sparkplug: Melanie