After a long holiday of gluttonous indulgence, shameless consumerism, and joyful celebrations, the cold hard reality of January finally hits: you have a few extra pounds to lose, the credit card bills are mounting, and zero holidays or festivities to look forward to in the near future.
It is a difficult time for all of us. We need a ray of light to blast through the winter gloom. The theme for tomorrow’s meeting, hosted by our Toastmaster, Bing, is “Blasting through the Winter Blues.” Everyone is encouraged to come to the meeting prepared with a suggestion / tip on a small piece of paper to share with everyone else on how you survived the winter gloom. All the suggestions will be read throughout the meeting.
It will also be an exciting time for many of our new members. Julian, along with our newest member, Keith, will be giving their Ice Breaker speeches. Vivienne will Get to the Point with her third speech, “Give yourself a competitive edge: How to market yourself as a brand.” Finally, Arvind will strive to use body language to enhance his fifth speech. In addition to the prepared speeches, we also have several votes that will be held – members, do your best to attend.
Made your New Year’s resolution yet? Why not challenge yourself to speak, share, and grow as a public speaker by becoming a member of Liberty Village Toastmasters!
What: Liberty Village Toastmasters Public-Speaking Group When: Every Wednesday, from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm (NOTE: our first meeting of 2011 is on Jan. 12) Where: Harbourfront Community Centre, Assembly Room C (627 Queens Quay West, Toronto, ON; near Queens Quay & Bathurst)
2011 is a new year, which means new beginnings and a fresh start. But aiming for greater success over the next 12 months is also about growth: growth as an individual, as a professional, and as an effective member of society. What better way to achieve these goals than by growing as a public speaker?
If this sounds like a challenge that you’d be interested in taking on in 2011, then you’ve come to the right place. Liberty Village Toastmasters is one of Toronto’s premier public-speaking groups. With our unique mix of members from industries like marketing, finance, and even show business, there will always be someone interesting to connect with. Here’s what some of our members have to say about the club:
“[It’s] a forum to share [my] enthusiasm for public speaking, leadership endeavors, and social interaction.” – Eric, member since Aug. 2008
“[it’s] a haven for opportunities to present with other entrepreneurs.” – Valerie, member since July 2007
“[I] add something new to [my] knowledge bank each Toastmaster session by watching different speaking techniques and listening in on new topics.” – Navita, member since Mar. 2010
The Liberty Village Toastmasters Holiday Party 2010 has come and gone, and through all of the drinks, socializing, awards, and dancing, one thing is definitely clear: it was a night to remember…
The theme of the party was the “Academy Awards: Dinner & Ceremony”, and the members (or shall we call them “stars”) of the club did not disappoint. Everyone arrived at the event venue – Supermarket Restaurant & Bar – in style, wearing their sharpest suits and most glamorous dresses. We spent the first part of the evening socializing, all while helping ourselves to a delicious selection of Asian-inspired tapas plates (not to mention a drink or two…).
***RED CARPET EXCLUSIVE!!!***
Amazingly, Liberty Village Toastmasters’ red carpet correspondent (and current club President) Eric was able to secure a series of exclusive, impromptu red carpet interviews with some of the most sought-after stars of the public-speaking circuit. In the never-before-seen footage below, the members of LVTM skillfully dodge questions and self-promote in an uncanny display of improvised public speaking!
Click here to view this exclusive footage on YouTube.
It’s an honour just to be nominated, but..
The highlight of the night was, of course, the highly-anticipated “Academy Awards” Ceremony. Priya, our Master of Ceremonies, gave an excellent demonstration of impromptu public speaking as she guided an eclectic line-up of Award Presenters. Each of the Presenters was challenged with introducing each of our Award Winners, who in turn were each challenged to give an improvised “acceptance speech” in front a live audience. Needless to say, it was an impressive display of public speaking from everyone involved. Congratulations to all of our Award Winners!
2010 Academy Award Winners
“Newest Member” Award: This member is so new that they have yet to be sworn in! Nevertheless, the ceremony was kicked-off by paying homage to our newest member. Winner: Patty
The “Longest Guest-to-Member Transition” Award: It is our guests that keep us going as a club. Their fresh faces keep speakers on their toes, and more importantly they give the Table Topics Master someone to pick on when no one raises their hand. At times, however, these faces are not so fresh, as they appear again, and again and again before signing up! Winner: Vivienne
“Most Gung-ho New Member” Award: Every year we have someone join our club who embraces Toastmasters whole-heartedly. They give their speech within the first week, volunteer to time meetings, count ahs, or check up on our grammar. They even make it out to the bar afterward! Winner: Lily
“Most Ahs in the Shortest Amount of Time” Award: Ah, the life of a, ah, Toastmaster. Whether we’re giving ah, a prepared speech or, ah, improvising our speech during Table Topics (or even just introducing our role), sometimes, we, ah, wish that the Ah Counter didn’t exist! Winner: Julian
“Most Encouraging Audience Member” Award: Let’s face it, getting up to speak in front of people can be scary. Nothing warms the heart and provides that extra boost of confidence, however, like a nodding head and an energetic smile! Winners: Bing & Ian
The “Houdini” Award: Have you ever come to a meeting and met some lovely members, only to never see them again? Schedules get busy and as a result some members are scarcely seen. But there’s no doubt that we miss them! Winner: Ayfer
The “Coveted Seat” Award: Have you ever walked into an exam room, only to leap toward a special seat that you feel will bring you good luck? Well, at Toastmasters, certain people seem to have their favourite seat as well! Winner: John Kj
“Most Committed Member” Award: Some of us make a number of arrangements so that we can come to our Wednesday meetings. We rearrange schedules, we take the streetcars, subways and buses, we trudge through rain, snow and sleet. But one member drives in all the way from Milton! Winner: Bill
The “Mr. Congeniality” Award: If every person you met was like the recipient of this award, life would be easy. This award goes to the person who is nice to be around, easy to talk to and someone to look up to. Winner: Ted
The “Biggest Moment” Award: No one can deny that we hear a variety of very interesting speeches during our Wednesday meetings, but this award is for the person who shared their biggest moment with us. Winner: Hazel
The “Think on Your Feet” Award: I think it’s safe to say that we all wish we had the following talent. This person is cool as a cucumber, they have the ability to react quickly and speak when called upon. Winner: Arvind
The “Best Dressed” Award: Ever wanted to dress like a Prom King or Queen? The winners of this award tend to grace us with their suavest and most glamorous attire almost every meeting! Winners: Simon & Alena
“Most Ambitious Member” Award: We have certain members that consistently go above and beyond. In short, they are admired by far and inspire others to work harder. Winner: Valerie
“Most Valued Member” Award: There is no other way to put it than to say that this member is something special – not only as a speaker, but as a person, too. Winner: Ram
“Speaker of the Year” Award: Who spoke with poise and grace? Who kept the audience enthralled and eager to hear their next speech? Who said it best? Who is the Speaker of the Year? Winner: Priya
Once the Award Winners were all accounted for, the real party began: the event venue was transformed into a dance floor. Our members made sure to celebrate each of the awards by dancing the night away to the beats of the Supermarket’s Large Marge Holiday DJ Jam.
If that weren’t enough, the paparazzi were out in full-force the whole night, taking enough photos to fill all of the latest celebrity gossip magazines – and then some. To view the full gallery of Holiday Party pics, visit our Facebook Group and click on the Photos Tab.
After having so much fun celebrating all of the great Liberty Village Toastmasters accomplishments from 2010, we can now look forward to 2011 – to a new year of improving on our public speaking!
-Liberty Village Toastmasters
What a very piquant (word of the day) meeting this evening! A perfect way to warm up on a snowy day and to close the last meeting of 2010.
The theme of the evening was sex – more specifically, how to communicate with the opposite gender.
Eric, as Toastmaster, educated us on how to communicate better with the opposite sex.
Men can improve their listening skills by recognizing that women are not always looking for answers and sometimes simply want to share their thoughts, feelings and emotions. Men can better their speaking skills by being more descriptive and making connections between topics.
Women can aid their listening skills by paying attention to the facts and figures men list and understanding why those are important. Women can increase their speaking skills by stating their conclusion first followed by details after.
Ram gave us a lesson in politics with his speech “Framing”. Like a picture, your communication needs to be ‘framed’ when presenting it to certain audiences such as politicians. Ram described how he did this in his recent endeavors with the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Vivienne got us in the holiday spirit with a Christmas themed Table Topics session. Congratulations to Arvind for his winning speech describing the delicious treats he likes to cook over the holidays.
Today’s meeting ends our season for 2010 and we will start back up on Jan 12 2011.
Over the holidays, take this time to prepare a speech ahead of time so you are ready for the new year. As we are half-way through our Toastmasters year – reflect back on the goals you have set. Are you on track to achieve them? If not, what do you need to change to get back on track to accomplishing your goals? Contact your mentor and discuss your plan – even if you are doing well.
Liberty Village Toastmasters Toronto 