Meeting Summary – February 22nd, 2012

Written by Maria Lalla

Toastmaster Julian kicked off the meeting with a personal story revolving around surveillance. His personal story on surveillance came about from a recent visit he had while looking into Montessori schools for his son and how instructors and students were on constant watch from behind a two-way mirror.

Some people believe in a god who is always looking down on them, and also alot of people think that this is just what modern society does online today. That everyone is watching everyone else, through mediums such as facebook and you tube. Julian stated that people often filter what they post online. That being news which is in a more positive and not negative light. As toastmasters we understand that we are being watched when speaking at meetings and we accept this as we understand that we are in a friendly and supportive environment. Tonight new member Vlad was also inducted into our club Liberty Village – Welcome Vlad to the team!

First Speaker: Francisco Speech #10
Title: The Evil Truth is Revealed

Francisco’s comedic twist on his final inspirational speech truly grabbed listeners attention. He showed his progression through his speeches by stating the meanings behind each speech and how each speech affected the audience. Francisco stated how toastmasters slogan is that they create leaders. Realizing that every misstep through his speech projects and speech contest only made him stronger.

Three very important and tough lessons Francisco learned through public speaking with toastmasters –
1- If the crowd hates your topic then you should just stop it.
2- Rehearse till it hurts.
3- If you do not know your crowd then the snoring will be loud.

Second Speaker: Andrew
Title: Hair: What is it good for?

Andrew’s humorous speech about how hair is a useless feature, had the audience bursting out in laughter. Andrew held the audiences attention with a flashback story to when he was a younger boy and discovering his mother in the kitchen waxing her legs. Going onto express the lengths women and men go through to rid our bodies of unwanted hair. Ultimately realizing how much we really don’t like hair exhibited through the time and money we spend on getting rid of hair on a daily basis. Andrew captured the audiences imagination leaving an impact on all listeners, having us looking forward to his next speech.

Table Topics by Jay

The speeches where followed by a table topics session lead by Jay. Following the theme of surveillance there was a variety of questions to challenge speakers ability to think on the spot. Table topics winner was guest Hala with her speech on what she thought about being able to videotape people anywhere at anytime. Cameras and technology have revolutionized the way we think and do business.

The meeting was concluded with a great evaluation session including weekly reports on grammar, filler words, John’s quizmaster questions regarding the content of presentations and meeting timing. Overall beneficial evaluations were delivered by Ted and Ian which focused on encouraging the speakers and offering advice for future improvement.

Speakers, guests and evaluators truly showed they were going for it tonight!

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Upcoming Meeting February 29th – International Speech and Evaluation Speech Contest

Interested in seeing where toastmasters can take you? and what is possible with strong public speaking skills? Then join us on February 29th for the International Speech and Evaluation Speech Contest!

Our club’s contest will take place on February 29th and the following week, Liberty Village Toastmasters will host the Area 26 Contest at our club on March 7th.

We hope to see you there new and returning guests…all are welcome!!

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Come out and join us for our February 22nd meeting on Surveillance

Is surveillance going too far? What should or shouldn’t be monitored? This week our toastmaster Julian will reflect on how being watched by others effects who we are. Come out to this weeks meeting and see some great advanced speakers put on a show. We look forward to seeing new and returning guests!

The Liberty Village Toastmasters Group is one of Toronto’s premier public-speaking groups. Join us as a guest at our next meeting! Guests are always welcome and no appointment is necessary.

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CBC-The Current-Interviews Liberty Village Toastmaster members

Written by Maria Lalla

Recent insightful interview on CBC radio program The Current with Susan Cain author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking”. Listen to selected club-Liberty Village Toastmasters members Arvind K., Maria Lalla, and Francisco A. being interviewed and commenting on how Toastmasters has been a powerful indispensable tool for personal and professional development. Toastmasters greatly helps you stretch out and develop healthy communication skills.

CBC The Current Interviews Liberty Village Toastmasters Members

Special thanks to:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts – By Susan Cain
Pacinthe Mattar, the Associate Producer for The Current

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Meeting Summary – February 15th, 2012

Written by Maria Lalla

Sincerity being the theme of the meeting was introduced by Toastmaster Andrew Valinskas. Andrew shared a interesting personal story from his youth related to his fondness for Star Wars figurines while at the department store with a childhood friend.

He spoke about some of the reasons why it’s so hard to be sincere sometimes, such as wanting to avoid conflict or being afraid of the consequences. He pointed out that sincerity helps build stronger relationships with the people that matter to you most; this applies also to the relationships businesses have with their customers. Sincerity also helps build stronger relationships with the audience when we are delivering a speech.

First Speaker: Maria Lalla Speech #4
Title: Finding Inspiration

Maria shared a personal story in finding inspiration through her photography work and a reflective period of when she overcame the sense of feeling uninspired. She also related it to how difficult it can be for us all in our work lives as some days you can run with an idea and other days you are frozen and can’t seem to move forward.

She left the audience with three take away points she used that day and which anyone can use in future to overcome feeling uninspired – 1 – Be open to new experiences – Taking the power back by making a choice to being open to new experiences by keeping yourself moving, 2 – Be Prepared – Use your skills to capture the moment when it happens, and 3 – Cease the moment – think of new fresh ideas always and cease the moment when it happens.

Second Speaker: Arvind Karir
Title: No Alternative

Arvind gave an inspirational story related to an experience he had while in Tel Aviv for a work trip. While out at a basketball game in Tel Aviv a colleague stated that there is “No Alternative” when it comes to winning, as the team was not doing well in the first few rounds and ultimately won the game in the end. Arvind reflected this onto his own life at work and is his motto on conquering situations in which there is high stakes and obstacles to overcome. He inspired all toastmasters to think there is “No Alternative” in our work and personal lives, anything is possible if you tell yourself there is “No Alternative!”

Table Topics by Andrew

The speeches where followed by a very creative table topics session lead by Andrew MacDonald. His topics for the session were drawn from top headlines including the Huffington Post and CBC. Table topic winner was John Krissilas with his entertaining speech related to Shakira being attacked by sea lions.

The meeting concluded with a great evaluation session including weekly reports on grammar, filler words, Ian’s quizmaster questions regarding the content of presentations and meeting timing. Helpful and insightful speech evaluations were delivered by Rose and Julian and focused on encouraging the speakers and offering special suggestions for improvement. Evaluations are what help us grow and learn as great speakers and listeners, thanks for all your hard work!

The meeting concluded at 8:00pm

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