Meeting - August 6

Cedar Hill Toastmasters gathered for their first meeting in August last Thursday night. Prior to the meeting, Joyce took a picture of our club's officers to include on the website. We were honored to have a guest, a new member and a returning member in attendance. 

Mike as a Toastmaster of the evening was making sure that the meeting went as planned. Also, he explained some of the meeting rituals for the guest and the newer members to have a better understanding of Toastmasters meeting structure. 

Martha, the Word Master, introduced the word "merriment" and encouraged everyone to use the word during the meeting. Lyn entertained the crowd with the jokes in form of question/answer and she got some good guesses from the audience. 

First speaker, John gave a speech from the Special Occasion speech series, Presenting an Award. He presented the Advanced Communicator Bronze certificate to Kevin, praising Kevin for his accomplishments. Followed by that was Kevin's acceptance speech, in which he inspired everyone to keep working on becoming a better speaker by giving speeches. 

Carolina presented her Ice breaker speech with the minimal use of notes! We learnt a lot about her life and the dreams she holds. 

Then, Prend, our club coach, shared some new tips on how to be a more accomplished Toastmaster - 1) get involved in leadership roles outside the club - area governor or division governor, 2) organize a speech contest to help the club or area, 3) prepare reports for the meetings. 

Joyce put some twist into the Table Topics. The participants were required to act to Joyce's reading of      rhymes and the Cinderella fable. The participants displayed some great acting skills as they played
the role of Cinderella, Little Bo Peep, Humpty Dumpty or Tea pot to name a few. 

Prend evaluated John's speech, Kevin evaluated Carolina's speech. Paula kept track of timing and Larry was keeping track of grammar. Eliot was the General Evaluator who thanked the speakers for presenting the speeches and everyone else for contributing to the success of the meeting. Yes, it was another enjoyable meeting with some innovative ideas, a great environment for learning and improving while having fun. 

Our next meeting is on Thursday, August 20. Club officers will meet at 6pm to discuss the club business. 

Everyone - have a great weekend! 

Martha Danielewicz

Secretary

Cedar Hill Toastmasters

Meeting - July 16

It was another great meeting at Cedar Hill Toastmasters. Prend was the Toastmaster and he also introduced the joke. Paul presented the work of the day "Adjuration". 

During the speaking portion, the speakers presented the prepared speeches. They entertained us with the variety of topics. Elizabeth in her speech "A World Can Be a Better Place" persuaded with power to contribute to the charitable causes. Lyn's speech entitled "Extreme Couponing" was an invitation to become a coupon expert and use this skill wisely. The third speaker, Joel, presented a speech from the project - Research the Topic. Thanks to his speech "Passport to Adventure" we all learnt the steps to expedite a passport - very helpful tips. 

Next, Joel stepped up to perform the Topic Master's role. Inspired by his recent trip to Ireland, he asked challenging questions on topics related to travel. 

Paula was the General Evaluator and introduced the Speech Evaluators. Eliot evaluated Elizabeth's speech, Martha evaluated Lyn's speech and Joyce evaluated Joel's speech. 

Paul served both as Timer and Grammarian. Although members met their timing goals for the most part, the Grammarian report reminded the members to avoid using the filler words. 

Prend, as a Toastmaster and a club's coach concluded the meeting with the some tips - 1) Go outside the club by attending the Toastmasters conferences, speech contests or other events. 2) Give speeches - they will not only help the member grow but also help others in the process. 

3) Fill the meeting roles - involve all members in contributing to the meeting. Give everyone to opportunity to grow and learn. 

Here is a reminder to the officers about the upcoming TLI training. Please be aware that the training is open to all members, not just the officers. It's a perfect opportunity to learn more about Toastmasters. Please visit the district website for more information or to register. 

http://d53.toastmastersdistricts.org/Toastmasters_Leadership_Institute__TLI_.html

Our next meeting is on Thursday, August 6, 2015. Joyce will be taking the photo of the club's officer that evening!

Martha Danielewicz

Secretary

Do you fear public speaking? We can help !

There are many life situations that require public speaking. For example, giving a wedding toast or maybe a presentation at work.  Possibly extending well wishes at a birthday or retirement celebration or even giving a eulogy for a close friend or relative.

Have you ever faced a situation where you have been asked to speak before an audience but refused because you fear public speaking? 

If so, you are not alone. Many individuals feel uncomfortable speaking in public. After all, public speaking is a skill, and, like all skills requires practice.  This is where Toastmasters can help.

Toastmaster clubs provide the opportunity for individuals to present speeches and fill meeting roles within a friendly and supportive environment.  New members are provided instructional manuals for both public speaking and leadership development. 

The public speaking manual contains ten individual assignments. Each is designed to build upon skills learned in previous assignments. For example, you will learn the usage of body language, vocal variety, and other techniques to make you a confident and successful speaker. We can also provide a mentor that will assist you in developing your speeches and speaking skills.

The leadership manual contains information concerning the different meeting roles that new and experienced members volunteer to perform. The assignments contained within this manual help develop leadership skills including listening and team building. 

Have I peaked your interest? 

If so, I invite you to attend one or two of our meetings to see Toastmasters in action for yourself. If you enjoy the meetings, I encourage you to become a member. All members can develop their skills at a pace that is comfortable for them. We are all here to help one another!

I hope to see you at one of our future meetings!

Paul Horvath

Cedar Hill Toastmasters Club

Sergeant at Arms

                                                             Paul preps for the meeting.

July 2 Meeting

This was our first meeting in the new Toastmasters year. Outstanding attendance! We were pleased to have three guests and three new and returning members.

Our Sergeant of Arms, Paul started the meeting with a reminder of the upcoming 4th of July holiday. Martha who was the Toastmaster added to the festive mood by wearing the red, blue and white and asking trivia questions about 4th of July historical facts and celebrations and rewarding the correct answer with a candy.

Lyn presented the word of the day "ineffable" and many members met the challenge of using the word in their speaking assignments. Larry entertained us with a joke.

John delivered the interpretive reading of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" and Joyce acted out the trials and tribulations of Jonathan Seagull, a perfect analogy to Toastmasters' efforts to become better speakers.
Paula presented a speech entitled  "Nurse of the Year", a project from the Special Occasion speeches series. In her speech, she was recognized a nurse for her professional achievements with an award.
Kevin delivered The Icebreaker speech "Mad as Hell" and we got to know Kevin even more and learn about his health struggles and passion for Toastmasters.

Eliot entertained us with the Table Topic questions about the summer activities.
The evaluators provided feedback to the speakers along with the words of encouragement. Paul evaluated John, Prend evaluated Paula and John evaluated Kevin.
Kevin was the General Evaluator, Mike performed the duties of Timer and Joyce was the Grammarian.

John, our new President, reminded the club officers of the upcoming TLI sessions (see below) and the club officers meeting on July 16. 

TLI events are open to all members. The upcoming training sessions are as follows. 

·      July 11 (TLI2) – Hamden County Day School, Hamden, CT

·      August 1 (TLI3) – New Hackensack Reformed Church, Wappinger Falls, NY

·      August 8 (TLI4) – Manchester Church of Christ, Manchester, CT

Our next meeting is on Thursday, July 16. Hope to see you all there.

Happy July 4th! Stay safe!

Martha Danielewicz
Cedar Hill Toastmasters 

Secretary