Preston Persuaders

It was another fantastic meeting of Preston Persuaders with a spooky twist! This week's theme was Halloween, led by the Toastmaster of the Day, Dean. Did you know that the word Halloween is a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"? You can read more about the history and meaning of Halloween here. 

Our first speaker, Susan, gave a speech about living with passion and courage. She received praise from her evaluator for engaging her audience and her use of visual aids to support her speech.

In Lisa's speech, we learned tips for speaking with assertiveness. She did an informative and entertaining role-playing scenario with Patrick. Patrick played a clerk at a hotel that had cancelled Lisa's reservation. Lisa was confronting him while teaching us all about being assertive in a way that is respectful to everyone involved. One of her tips is to begin statements with "I" instead of "you". For example, instead of saying, "You're wrong," say, "I disagree."

Shiny enchanted us (word of the day) as Table Topics Master, and we all got involved with creating a fun Halloween story together. Our General Evaluator, Janak, reminded us to check that our cell phones are on silent before the meeting.

We are so excited to welcome Amar as a new member!!!! Big congratulations to first-time role-keepers Eileen, Autumn, and Don! It can be a little nerve-wracking to jump into a role, but you all did a stellar job! We also welcomed Danielle as a returning guest and look forward to seeing her again next week!

Thank you all for making this Halloween meeting spooktacular! Your presence makes a difference! Join us next week for another great opportunity to practice being a superstar speaker at Preston Persuaders!

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker - Lisa
Best Evaluator -Ed
Best of Big 3 - Shiny
Best Table Topics - Mark
5-Star Helper - Don (new member!)
Sparkplug - Don (new member!)

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)