President: Jennifer Chan
VPE: Marcia Melendez, Carol Brooks
VPM: Marcia Melendez
VPPR: Gladys Urena
Sec: Julian Hernandez
Treasurer: Brad Shilling
SAA: John Schaffer
Area Governor: Karthik Paladug
Club # 1205208
Area # 23
Division B
District #46
www.toastmasters46.org
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, September 20, 2010
09-13-10 Fiesta Club Meeting Recap
Hola mis companeros de Toastmasters!
Jennifer Chan, our club President (Presidente) opened the meeting and introduced our guests, Noa Bornstein and Liza Tsapenko. Both Noa and Liza gave a nice introduction in Espanol.
By the way, Noa is a talented sculptor. If you would like to see some of her work, log onto: www.sculpturesgallery.com Liza on the other hand, is a seasoned Toastmaster so it was nice to have her visit our club.
For the Spanish Conversation (Conversacion en Espanol) portion we had four groups and this time had more fluent than non-fluent speakers.
Our first speaker (primer orador) was Dale Blagrove. Dale presented his Ice Breaker, Speech #1 from the CC manual. As many of you know, the Ice Breaker is a great way to introduce yourself to the club while gauging your natural speaking ability. Since Dale is a DTM - Distinguished Toastmaster, he’s an old pro. It shows terrific initiative that he’s taking the CC Manual challenge on again in Espanol. By the way, I took a look at his manual I had no idea it was available in Spanish. Feel free to order one from the TM site if you have not done so already. The title of Dale’s speech: “Not lost in translation” I think may make a terrific motto for our Fiesta TM Club.
Dale spoke about how learning English when he was a boy created comical and at times frustrating situations for him and his family. For example, his father’s mispronunciation of English words like saying tree for the number three. The time he got into an argument with his grade school teacher about the correct spelling of the word color, spelled colour in one of his storybooks. The funniest story however was about the first time he visited Spain as a teenager with his Spanish teacher and classmates and was pulled aside by customs because he inadvertently said (si) to all of their questions, including the one about carrying illegal drugs. Nice job, Dale!
Brad Shilling, our club Treasurer, was the first evaluator (primer evaluador). Brad really enjoyed Dale’s speech and he made some terrific suggestions, like that the speech could have been strengthened by having Dale go out on a limb with some additional Spanish words. I agree. Come on Dale, October 19th is right around the corner at Fiesta, we promise you won’t get into trouble for using more than the (si) word.
Our second speaker (segunda oradora) was our very own (Presidente), Jennifer Chan. Jennifer presented speech #3 from the Humorous Speaking manual. The objective of speech # 3 - Make ‘em laugh, is to present a speech that opens and closes with humorous stories. Her speech was titled “A day at the Motor Vehicle Department.” We all looked at each other knowingly, who doesn’t have a DMV story? Jennifer told us about the day her poor husband had to go to various windows and spend countless hours trying to accomplish the seemingly simple task of updating the state on his driver’s license. The conclusion of her speech: a day at the DMV can result in making a smart person feel stupid.
Jennifer’s speech was evaluated by two evaluators, (dos evaluadores) John Schaffer, a Spanish speaker and Tushard Deshpande, a non-Spanish speaker. Why two evaluators? John and Tushar had the terrific idea of sharing the role, in order to cover both the English and Spanish portion of Jennifer’s presentation.
John who has a fairly good mastery of Spanish (Espanol) talked about what a fun topic it was. It’s nice when we speak about topics we can all relate to and Jennifer certainly did that.
Two recommendations for Jennifer and all members:
1) if you are going to read large portions of your speech in Spanish you may want to add in more English. Reading reduces eye contact with the audience and it slows down the presentation which can result in the speaker going over time.
2) Until you become more comfortable with the pronunciation of Spanish words try memorizing just a few lines or use Spanish words through out the presentation instead of in large chunks. It will be easier for speakers and non-speakers to follow along, and more importantly will allow for TM elements like: eye contact, gestures, vocal variety, etc.
Tushar made an excellent point in his evaluation. Since he was unable to understand the Spanish portion of Jennifer’s speech he evaluated her solely on body language and gestures. He compared it to watching t.v. with the volume turned down. Great analogy Tushar! We have to remember that while we are up there sometimes our bodies speak louder than we do. In other words, we need to make sure our words are consistent with our gestures. Jennifer’s body language and gestures were effective despite the reading which reduced her eye contact with us.
Our third speaker (tercera oradora) was our VP, Membership, Marcia Melendez. Marcia presented speech #1 from the Speaking to Inform manual. The objective of this speech assignment is to present information in an organized and easy to learn format.
Did you know that there are just over 20 (veinte) trees that can be planted in NYC? I got that interesting bit of information from the sheet she was kind enough to distribute to all of us. The title of Marcia’s speech was “How to plant a NYC tree.” Marcia did a terrific job of presenting this unusual and interesting topic.
Would you like to have a tree planted in your neighborhood? Talk to Marcia or call the Mayor’s Assistance Line at 212-788-7418. However, before you call have your patience in check since we all had a good laugh when Marcia compared the NYC Parks department with the new Gestapo in town. Apparently, they can be a bit prickly to deal with.
A special thanks (Gracias) to Kenneth Oehlkers for stepping in at the last moment to evaluate Marcia’s speech. I think he spoke for all of us when he noted how fascinating a subject it was. Not many of us have given enough thought to how a tree appears along New York City streets. Kenneth did a great job of picking up on the strengths of Marcia’s presentation. Namely, the forms she brought in and the organized way in which she presented the various steps required.
Since we were running a bit short on time, our Table Topics session was held round robin style. We all created a story by adding in any element from the three speeches presented. We began with “September is the month for... (Septiembre es el mes de...) fill in the blank. It was great fun and everyone in the room had a chance to say whatever came to mind.
Our General Evaluator was John Schaffer, thanks John for doing double duty at the meeting!
A quick note on evaluations, please remember that in addition to stating the strengths of every speech, evaluators need to point out the areas for improvement. A club is only as good as it's evaluations. If we don't point out where we need to improve how can we grow? Continue being kind and supportive, that's a wonderful attribute for us to share with one another, but make sure to point out areas for speakers to work on so they can improve.
For club business, we all need to log onto: www.sandyeast.com This is the easiest and fastest way to sign up for meeting roles and participation. Also, Brad has sent out an email about membership dues so make sure you get yours in before September 30th.
A special thanks to Liza Tsapenko for participating as Ah Counter (contador de muletillas), Camille Dyer for being our Timer and finally to Julian Hernandez, our club Secretary, for being our Grammarian and presenting the word of the day, "excellent" (excelente)! Julian also pointed out a few grammatical errors made during the meeting. He even caught me on one, thanks for that. One additional note Julian made which I was not aware of, if you are using an electronic translation gadget, at times you may not get the translation you intended, so best to check with a fluent speaker before presenting.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you all in future meetings.
Hasta luego,
Marina VP, Education Fiesta TM Club
Jennifer Chan, our club President (Presidente) opened the meeting and introduced our guests, Noa Bornstein and Liza Tsapenko. Both Noa and Liza gave a nice introduction in Espanol.
By the way, Noa is a talented sculptor. If you would like to see some of her work, log onto: www.sculpturesgallery.com Liza on the other hand, is a seasoned Toastmaster so it was nice to have her visit our club.
For the Spanish Conversation (Conversacion en Espanol) portion we had four groups and this time had more fluent than non-fluent speakers.
Our first speaker (primer orador) was Dale Blagrove. Dale presented his Ice Breaker, Speech #1 from the CC manual. As many of you know, the Ice Breaker is a great way to introduce yourself to the club while gauging your natural speaking ability. Since Dale is a DTM - Distinguished Toastmaster, he’s an old pro. It shows terrific initiative that he’s taking the CC Manual challenge on again in Espanol. By the way, I took a look at his manual I had no idea it was available in Spanish. Feel free to order one from the TM site if you have not done so already. The title of Dale’s speech: “Not lost in translation” I think may make a terrific motto for our Fiesta TM Club.
Dale spoke about how learning English when he was a boy created comical and at times frustrating situations for him and his family. For example, his father’s mispronunciation of English words like saying tree for the number three. The time he got into an argument with his grade school teacher about the correct spelling of the word color, spelled colour in one of his storybooks. The funniest story however was about the first time he visited Spain as a teenager with his Spanish teacher and classmates and was pulled aside by customs because he inadvertently said (si) to all of their questions, including the one about carrying illegal drugs. Nice job, Dale!
Brad Shilling, our club Treasurer, was the first evaluator (primer evaluador). Brad really enjoyed Dale’s speech and he made some terrific suggestions, like that the speech could have been strengthened by having Dale go out on a limb with some additional Spanish words. I agree. Come on Dale, October 19th is right around the corner at Fiesta, we promise you won’t get into trouble for using more than the (si) word.
Our second speaker (segunda oradora) was our very own (Presidente), Jennifer Chan. Jennifer presented speech #3 from the Humorous Speaking manual. The objective of speech # 3 - Make ‘em laugh, is to present a speech that opens and closes with humorous stories. Her speech was titled “A day at the Motor Vehicle Department.” We all looked at each other knowingly, who doesn’t have a DMV story? Jennifer told us about the day her poor husband had to go to various windows and spend countless hours trying to accomplish the seemingly simple task of updating the state on his driver’s license. The conclusion of her speech: a day at the DMV can result in making a smart person feel stupid.
Jennifer’s speech was evaluated by two evaluators, (dos evaluadores) John Schaffer, a Spanish speaker and Tushard Deshpande, a non-Spanish speaker. Why two evaluators? John and Tushar had the terrific idea of sharing the role, in order to cover both the English and Spanish portion of Jennifer’s presentation.
John who has a fairly good mastery of Spanish (Espanol) talked about what a fun topic it was. It’s nice when we speak about topics we can all relate to and Jennifer certainly did that.
Two recommendations for Jennifer and all members:
1) if you are going to read large portions of your speech in Spanish you may want to add in more English. Reading reduces eye contact with the audience and it slows down the presentation which can result in the speaker going over time.
2) Until you become more comfortable with the pronunciation of Spanish words try memorizing just a few lines or use Spanish words through out the presentation instead of in large chunks. It will be easier for speakers and non-speakers to follow along, and more importantly will allow for TM elements like: eye contact, gestures, vocal variety, etc.
Tushar made an excellent point in his evaluation. Since he was unable to understand the Spanish portion of Jennifer’s speech he evaluated her solely on body language and gestures. He compared it to watching t.v. with the volume turned down. Great analogy Tushar! We have to remember that while we are up there sometimes our bodies speak louder than we do. In other words, we need to make sure our words are consistent with our gestures. Jennifer’s body language and gestures were effective despite the reading which reduced her eye contact with us.
Our third speaker (tercera oradora) was our VP, Membership, Marcia Melendez. Marcia presented speech #1 from the Speaking to Inform manual. The objective of this speech assignment is to present information in an organized and easy to learn format.
Did you know that there are just over 20 (veinte) trees that can be planted in NYC? I got that interesting bit of information from the sheet she was kind enough to distribute to all of us. The title of Marcia’s speech was “How to plant a NYC tree.” Marcia did a terrific job of presenting this unusual and interesting topic.
Would you like to have a tree planted in your neighborhood? Talk to Marcia or call the Mayor’s Assistance Line at 212-788-7418. However, before you call have your patience in check since we all had a good laugh when Marcia compared the NYC Parks department with the new Gestapo in town. Apparently, they can be a bit prickly to deal with.
A special thanks (Gracias) to Kenneth Oehlkers for stepping in at the last moment to evaluate Marcia’s speech. I think he spoke for all of us when he noted how fascinating a subject it was. Not many of us have given enough thought to how a tree appears along New York City streets. Kenneth did a great job of picking up on the strengths of Marcia’s presentation. Namely, the forms she brought in and the organized way in which she presented the various steps required.
Since we were running a bit short on time, our Table Topics session was held round robin style. We all created a story by adding in any element from the three speeches presented. We began with “September is the month for... (Septiembre es el mes de...) fill in the blank. It was great fun and everyone in the room had a chance to say whatever came to mind.
Our General Evaluator was John Schaffer, thanks John for doing double duty at the meeting!
A quick note on evaluations, please remember that in addition to stating the strengths of every speech, evaluators need to point out the areas for improvement. A club is only as good as it's evaluations. If we don't point out where we need to improve how can we grow? Continue being kind and supportive, that's a wonderful attribute for us to share with one another, but make sure to point out areas for speakers to work on so they can improve.
For club business, we all need to log onto: www.sandyeast.com This is the easiest and fastest way to sign up for meeting roles and participation. Also, Brad has sent out an email about membership dues so make sure you get yours in before September 30th.
A special thanks to Liza Tsapenko for participating as Ah Counter (contador de muletillas), Camille Dyer for being our Timer and finally to Julian Hernandez, our club Secretary, for being our Grammarian and presenting the word of the day, "excellent" (excelente)! Julian also pointed out a few grammatical errors made during the meeting. He even caught me on one, thanks for that. One additional note Julian made which I was not aware of, if you are using an electronic translation gadget, at times you may not get the translation you intended, so best to check with a fluent speaker before presenting.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing you all in future meetings.
Hasta luego,
Marina VP, Education Fiesta TM Club
Thursday, September 2, 2010
08-23-10 Fiesta Club Meeting Recap
Hola mis companeros de Toastmasters!
At our last meeting we held our club Table Topics and Humorous Speech contests and even managed to fit in two entertaining presentations.
Jennifer Chan our club (Presidente) opened the meeting and welcomed both of our guests, Eamonn Shaw and Jeremy Courage.
Jeremy is a member of my home club, Bryant Park Toastmasters and he stopped in to present an advanced speech on interpreting poetry. Jeremy is working towards his Distinguished Toastmaster - DTM designation. He read a poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer titled “The Invitation” (La Invitacion).
The Invitation begins with these beautiful and inspiring words: “It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.”
For both contests, perhaps due to the Summer season we only had 2 contestants, myself and Kenneth Oehlkers.
Humorous Speech Contest:
Contest Chair: Julian Hernandez Chief Judge: John Schaffer
Kenneth was the first contestant. He presented an entertaining speech titled “Days and Nights of the Living Dead” He shared a funny story about receiving a consolation letter from Discover Card services about his recent death. Apparently, there exists a Death Master File where 22,000 people were erroneously listed as deceased within a 2 year period. It took Kenneth lots of patience and the ingenuity of bringing to the Social Security office a recent picture of himself at a Toastmasters event, obviously alive and well. Kenneth summed up his experience by letting us know that it takes about 4-8 weeks to be brought back to life on paper and that his Toastmasters participation literally pulled him back from the grave. Bravo Kenneth! All of us at Fiesta and I’m sure in all the circles you travel, are happy to have you here with us alive and funny.
Yours truly was the 2nd contestant and it is very difficult to be objective about my own contest speech. The title of my presentation was “NY - A State of Minds.” My speech was about the strange/bordering on insane things people sometimes do in the big apple and about how direct we tend to be in our communication. I had a great deal of fun sharing mini vignettes about incidents I witnessed or read about. For instance, while waiting on the check out line at a local CVS, I listened as a disgusted and agitated cashier said or shouted to the only other customer in the store “Mister! I can’t give you Viagra!...No...You have to go to a doctor....I don’t know any doctor! As I mentioned in my speech, it’s sad that the Viagra company slogan is “This is the time for Action!” Clearly at 8pm, on a Friday night, with no prescription, you can count only on - no action! I shared a couple more stories about Steven Slater, the flight attendant hero and a bagel brawl at a Manhattan Starbuck's. I concluded my speech with the realization that NY is a state made up of enthusiastic, direct, often connected and at times not so connected minds.
Table Topics Contest:
Contest Chair: Karthik Paladugu Chief Judge: Julian Hernandez
Kenneth was the first contestant so I did not get a chance to hear his response to the Table Topics question, which was: tell us something we don’t know about where you come from?
Since I can’t add Kenneth’s answer I think it is only fair to leave out my own.
Next up, the ballot counting during which Betty Pickett presented Speech #4 from the Competent Communicator manual.
Betty’s speech was titled “Heat Wave” (Sol de Infierno). It’s always great fun to watch Betty present. She has such a big wonderful smile, that lights up her face and lifts the spirits. Betty made some significant improvements since her last presentation. She introduced us to another character, Rosa and in her speech Rosa was the Spanish speaker so that blended beautifully with our new approach to use both Spanish and English in our presentations. Betty’s speech was about the hot Summer in August of 1866 where 10 days of a heat wave killed 1,300. Although that is a morbid fact, Betty gave us much to enjoy. Bravo Betty!
Next was the speech evaluation which I volunteered to give. I noted all of the strengths in Betty’s speech. The character, the language balance, the energy, enthusiasm, colorful content and solid organization. For improvement, in future speeches we will see Betty give us even more eye contact, perhaps she will try memorizing a few of the Spanish lines so she can feel free to use body gestures to reinforce her message. The last recommendation would be the use of pauses for making effective transitions.
I want to extend a special thanks! (gracias!) to all the members that helped run the contest. Jennifer, Marcia, Brad, Julian, Karthik, John, Jeremy and I hope I’m not missing anyone.
Lastly, I have the honor and pleasure of representing Fiesta Toastmasters club at the Area contest on September 9th at the Goldman Sachs building downtown.
May you all enjoy the long weekend ahead!
Hasta luego,
Marina
VP, Education
Fiesta Toastmasters
At our last meeting we held our club Table Topics and Humorous Speech contests and even managed to fit in two entertaining presentations.
Jennifer Chan our club (Presidente) opened the meeting and welcomed both of our guests, Eamonn Shaw and Jeremy Courage.
Jeremy is a member of my home club, Bryant Park Toastmasters and he stopped in to present an advanced speech on interpreting poetry. Jeremy is working towards his Distinguished Toastmaster - DTM designation. He read a poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer titled “The Invitation” (La Invitacion).
The Invitation begins with these beautiful and inspiring words: “It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.”
For both contests, perhaps due to the Summer season we only had 2 contestants, myself and Kenneth Oehlkers.
Humorous Speech Contest:
Contest Chair: Julian Hernandez Chief Judge: John Schaffer
Kenneth was the first contestant. He presented an entertaining speech titled “Days and Nights of the Living Dead” He shared a funny story about receiving a consolation letter from Discover Card services about his recent death. Apparently, there exists a Death Master File where 22,000 people were erroneously listed as deceased within a 2 year period. It took Kenneth lots of patience and the ingenuity of bringing to the Social Security office a recent picture of himself at a Toastmasters event, obviously alive and well. Kenneth summed up his experience by letting us know that it takes about 4-8 weeks to be brought back to life on paper and that his Toastmasters participation literally pulled him back from the grave. Bravo Kenneth! All of us at Fiesta and I’m sure in all the circles you travel, are happy to have you here with us alive and funny.
Yours truly was the 2nd contestant and it is very difficult to be objective about my own contest speech. The title of my presentation was “NY - A State of Minds.” My speech was about the strange/bordering on insane things people sometimes do in the big apple and about how direct we tend to be in our communication. I had a great deal of fun sharing mini vignettes about incidents I witnessed or read about. For instance, while waiting on the check out line at a local CVS, I listened as a disgusted and agitated cashier said or shouted to the only other customer in the store “Mister! I can’t give you Viagra!...No...You have to go to a doctor....I don’t know any doctor! As I mentioned in my speech, it’s sad that the Viagra company slogan is “This is the time for Action!” Clearly at 8pm, on a Friday night, with no prescription, you can count only on - no action! I shared a couple more stories about Steven Slater, the flight attendant hero and a bagel brawl at a Manhattan Starbuck's. I concluded my speech with the realization that NY is a state made up of enthusiastic, direct, often connected and at times not so connected minds.
Table Topics Contest:
Contest Chair: Karthik Paladugu Chief Judge: Julian Hernandez
Kenneth was the first contestant so I did not get a chance to hear his response to the Table Topics question, which was: tell us something we don’t know about where you come from?
Since I can’t add Kenneth’s answer I think it is only fair to leave out my own.
Next up, the ballot counting during which Betty Pickett presented Speech #4 from the Competent Communicator manual.
Betty’s speech was titled “Heat Wave” (Sol de Infierno). It’s always great fun to watch Betty present. She has such a big wonderful smile, that lights up her face and lifts the spirits. Betty made some significant improvements since her last presentation. She introduced us to another character, Rosa and in her speech Rosa was the Spanish speaker so that blended beautifully with our new approach to use both Spanish and English in our presentations. Betty’s speech was about the hot Summer in August of 1866 where 10 days of a heat wave killed 1,300. Although that is a morbid fact, Betty gave us much to enjoy. Bravo Betty!
Next was the speech evaluation which I volunteered to give. I noted all of the strengths in Betty’s speech. The character, the language balance, the energy, enthusiasm, colorful content and solid organization. For improvement, in future speeches we will see Betty give us even more eye contact, perhaps she will try memorizing a few of the Spanish lines so she can feel free to use body gestures to reinforce her message. The last recommendation would be the use of pauses for making effective transitions.
I want to extend a special thanks! (gracias!) to all the members that helped run the contest. Jennifer, Marcia, Brad, Julian, Karthik, John, Jeremy and I hope I’m not missing anyone.
Lastly, I have the honor and pleasure of representing Fiesta Toastmasters club at the Area contest on September 9th at the Goldman Sachs building downtown.
May you all enjoy the long weekend ahead!
Hasta luego,
Marina
VP, Education
Fiesta Toastmasters
Saturday, August 14, 2010
08-09-10 Fiesta Club Meeting Recap
Hola mis companeros de Toastmasters!
Below is a recap of our 08-09-10 meeting:
Jennifer Chan our club President (Presidente) opened the meeting at our new meeting location at Rockefeller Center. Jennifer welcomed members and our guests: Amelia Abad,the past district Governer who is now serving as our District Club Success Chair in charge of promoting a "Perfect 10 Club". Mark LaVergne who I had the pleasure of meeting at the last competition I participated in when I took home 2nd place also attended. And finally, Pauline Wilson, one of our members brought along her sister (hermana).
Ken Oehlkers was our Toastmaster for the day and the meeting theme he presented was Summer activities (Actividades de Verano)
Jennifer Chan presented our Word of the Day (Palabra del dia): "After" (Despues)
Pauline Wilson was our Ah Counter
Yours truly - The Timer (Reportera Cronografica)
We had 4 groups for the "una conversacion en Espanol" session/Spanish Conversation portion of the meeting. This is when we pair up fluent speakers with those who want to learn Spanish. The conversation is always lively and enjoyable.
Primer Oradora - 1st Speaker (Betty Picket)
Betty presented speech #3 (Get to the Point) from the Competent Communicator manual. The objective of "Get to the Point" is to make sure that every element of your speech focuses on one goal.
Just like last time, Betty gave a thoughtful and enthusiastic presentation. The title of her speech was "My favorite fruit" ("Mi fruta favorita"). The favorite fruit, was an avocado. You may not think there is a lot to say about avocados but Betty gave us a 5 minute 12 second presentation about all the tasty and wonderful things associated with them. The strengths of Betty's speech were: she met the speech objectives, gave a winning smile, which puts her and the audience at ease, had a good pronounciation of the Spanish words she did use, and presented the speech with a nice balance of both Spanish and English.
Evaluador - Evaluator for Betty's Speech (Dale Blagrove)
What an honor to have Dale Blagrove, not only attend the meeting but also step in at the last moment when we were short a Speech Evaluator. Thank you! (Muchas Gracias, Dale!) Dale is an old Toastmasters pro and although he only said about 3 words in Spanish, he did a fine job evaluating Betty.
Segundo Orador - 2nd Speaker (John Schaffer)
John presented speech #1 (Ice Breaker) from the Competent Communicator manual. The objective of the "Ice Breaker" is to introduce yourself to your peers while providing the speaker with a benchmark for their current public speaking skill level. Note: That John has already completed the CC Manual in English at another club. I commend him on going through that manual again in a foreign language.
For those of you that did not know it, John was a boy scout. He gave a thoughtful, charming and funny presentation about his experiences from both then and now. The strengths of John's speech were his: wit, humor, smile and well organized content. Like Betty, John also has a fairly good handle on Spanish language pronounciation. He also followed our new format and incorporated both English and Spanish in his presentation. Areas for improvement include: not forgetting to employ TM skills at all times, such as: maintaining eye contact with the audience. A recommendation for the future would be to memorize the Spanish portion of the speech, if possible, so that the notes don't become a distraction for everyone.
Evaluador - Evaluator for John's Speech (Julian Hernandez)
Julian did a great job evaluating John's presentation. We could see how Julian's experience as a foreign language teacher comes in handy. Some of Julian's strengths as a presenter are: his ability to look comfortable at the lectern, his relaxed pacing and clear articulation. Only recommendation, as Dale pointed out in his general evaluation, fluent speakers can spend a little more time on correcting some of the grammatical or pronounciation errors new speakers can learn from.
Special presentation by Amelia Abad
Amelia, who is from the Philippines took a chance and greeted us with a greeting in (Espanol). Nice job, Ameila! Amelia spoke to us about the importance of building and maintaining a Perfect 10 club. Her energy and enthusiasm was greatly appreciated and from the looks of it, Fiesta Toastmasters is off to a terrific start on building a Perfect 10 club! It's nice to know that we have her support during the year ahead. Muchas gracias, Amelia!
Next up - Temas de Mesa - Table Topics
A special thanks to our Table Topics Master, Marcia Melendez! She was kind enough to accept the role when I called her at 9am that morning (manana). Marcia led us through a terrific Table Topics session, she was well prepared. Even our guest, Mark LaVergne went up to answer one of the questions. Table Topics continues to be the most nerve-wracking, yet enjoyable portion of the meeting. Bravo Marcia!
Finally, our General Evaluator (Evaluador General)(Dale Blagrove)
Dale, as always gave a thorough evaluation including everything from our timing, room set-up to each evaluator and Table Topics participant. The main point that Dale brought to our attention is that all fluent speakers in the club should make sure to help non-speakers improve by noting errors in pronounciation and word usage.
Lastly, since no one used our word of the day (palabra del dia) at the meeting, I will use it now. We're looking forward to the Fall and to increased member attendance after (despues) vacation (las vacaciones). Muchas gracias to all who attended, for making our first meeting at Rockefeller Center, a memorable one.
hasta la proxima - til next time,
Marina Aris
VP, Education - Fiesta Club TM
P.S. I am fluent in Espanol, my door is always open for anyone needing to practice their speech before presenting it to the club. If other fluent members are interested in mentoring or helping non-speakers, please let me
know.
Below is a recap of our 08-09-10 meeting:
Jennifer Chan our club President (Presidente) opened the meeting at our new meeting location at Rockefeller Center. Jennifer welcomed members and our guests: Amelia Abad,the past district Governer who is now serving as our District Club Success Chair in charge of promoting a "Perfect 10 Club". Mark LaVergne who I had the pleasure of meeting at the last competition I participated in when I took home 2nd place also attended. And finally, Pauline Wilson, one of our members brought along her sister (hermana).
Ken Oehlkers was our Toastmaster for the day and the meeting theme he presented was Summer activities (Actividades de Verano)
Jennifer Chan presented our Word of the Day (Palabra del dia): "After" (Despues)
Pauline Wilson was our Ah Counter
Yours truly - The Timer (Reportera Cronografica)
We had 4 groups for the "una conversacion en Espanol" session/Spanish Conversation portion of the meeting. This is when we pair up fluent speakers with those who want to learn Spanish. The conversation is always lively and enjoyable.
Primer Oradora - 1st Speaker (Betty Picket)
Betty presented speech #3 (Get to the Point) from the Competent Communicator manual. The objective of "Get to the Point" is to make sure that every element of your speech focuses on one goal.
Just like last time, Betty gave a thoughtful and enthusiastic presentation. The title of her speech was "My favorite fruit" ("Mi fruta favorita"). The favorite fruit, was an avocado. You may not think there is a lot to say about avocados but Betty gave us a 5 minute 12 second presentation about all the tasty and wonderful things associated with them. The strengths of Betty's speech were: she met the speech objectives, gave a winning smile, which puts her and the audience at ease, had a good pronounciation of the Spanish words she did use, and presented the speech with a nice balance of both Spanish and English.
Evaluador - Evaluator for Betty's Speech (Dale Blagrove)
What an honor to have Dale Blagrove, not only attend the meeting but also step in at the last moment when we were short a Speech Evaluator. Thank you! (Muchas Gracias, Dale!) Dale is an old Toastmasters pro and although he only said about 3 words in Spanish, he did a fine job evaluating Betty.
Segundo Orador - 2nd Speaker (John Schaffer)
John presented speech #1 (Ice Breaker) from the Competent Communicator manual. The objective of the "Ice Breaker" is to introduce yourself to your peers while providing the speaker with a benchmark for their current public speaking skill level. Note: That John has already completed the CC Manual in English at another club. I commend him on going through that manual again in a foreign language.
For those of you that did not know it, John was a boy scout. He gave a thoughtful, charming and funny presentation about his experiences from both then and now. The strengths of John's speech were his: wit, humor, smile and well organized content. Like Betty, John also has a fairly good handle on Spanish language pronounciation. He also followed our new format and incorporated both English and Spanish in his presentation. Areas for improvement include: not forgetting to employ TM skills at all times, such as: maintaining eye contact with the audience. A recommendation for the future would be to memorize the Spanish portion of the speech, if possible, so that the notes don't become a distraction for everyone.
Evaluador - Evaluator for John's Speech (Julian Hernandez)
Julian did a great job evaluating John's presentation. We could see how Julian's experience as a foreign language teacher comes in handy. Some of Julian's strengths as a presenter are: his ability to look comfortable at the lectern, his relaxed pacing and clear articulation. Only recommendation, as Dale pointed out in his general evaluation, fluent speakers can spend a little more time on correcting some of the grammatical or pronounciation errors new speakers can learn from.
Special presentation by Amelia Abad
Amelia, who is from the Philippines took a chance and greeted us with a greeting in (Espanol). Nice job, Ameila! Amelia spoke to us about the importance of building and maintaining a Perfect 10 club. Her energy and enthusiasm was greatly appreciated and from the looks of it, Fiesta Toastmasters is off to a terrific start on building a Perfect 10 club! It's nice to know that we have her support during the year ahead. Muchas gracias, Amelia!
Next up - Temas de Mesa - Table Topics
A special thanks to our Table Topics Master, Marcia Melendez! She was kind enough to accept the role when I called her at 9am that morning (manana). Marcia led us through a terrific Table Topics session, she was well prepared. Even our guest, Mark LaVergne went up to answer one of the questions. Table Topics continues to be the most nerve-wracking, yet enjoyable portion of the meeting. Bravo Marcia!
Finally, our General Evaluator (Evaluador General)(Dale Blagrove)
Dale, as always gave a thorough evaluation including everything from our timing, room set-up to each evaluator and Table Topics participant. The main point that Dale brought to our attention is that all fluent speakers in the club should make sure to help non-speakers improve by noting errors in pronounciation and word usage.
Lastly, since no one used our word of the day (palabra del dia) at the meeting, I will use it now. We're looking forward to the Fall and to increased member attendance after (despues) vacation (las vacaciones). Muchas gracias to all who attended, for making our first meeting at Rockefeller Center, a memorable one.
hasta la proxima - til next time,
Marina Aris
VP, Education - Fiesta Club TM
P.S. I am fluent in Espanol, my door is always open for anyone needing to practice their speech before presenting it to the club. If other fluent members are interested in mentoring or helping non-speakers, please let me
know.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
07-12-10 Fiesta Club Meeting Recap
Hola mis companeros de Toastmasters!
Below is a recap of our 7/12/10 meeting:
Karthik Paladugu stepped in as Toastmaster and did a terrific job!
For those of you that have not seen Karthik host a meeting, he really knows how to make everyone relax and feel welcome. That sets a nice tone for the meeting which is after-all every Toastmaster's responsibility.
Our meeting was a special one because we could only have one presentation in order to make room for our New Officer Induction Ceremony. Join me in congratulating past and new officers in their posts and responsibilities! I know 2010 - 2011 is going to be an amazing year(ano) for Fiesta Toastmasters!
Reportero Conografico (Brad Shilling)
We tried something new where the role participants gave a brief introduction of their role in both English and Spanish. The Spanish words are written and provided on a sheet so that we can all begin learning new words for words we hear at every meeting. "Repetition after all is the mother of skill" I borrowed that quote from one of the world's most accomplished motivational speakers, Anthony Robbins. Back to Brad, he gadelivered a thorough description of his role and I know he will soon add a mastery of colors(colores) to those amazing number (numero) skills.
During una conversacion en Espanol
We split up into two groups. "Z" our guest stopped in to check out our club and I must say for someone who's first language is Russian, second is English, he did an amazing job introducing himself and his interests in Espanol. Hope we will be seeing him again at future meetings. Karthik is at the beginning of his Spanish studies but already he has the ability to pronounce words well and I know with patience he will learn a new vocabulary. I did not get to hear our other team, but Marcia, Jennifer and Brad seemed to be getting on just fine with their conversation (conversacion).
Orador(a) - Speaker (Jennifer Chan)
Our new Presiedent (Presidente) gave a terrific speech from the club series manual on "Organizing Your Speech" For those of you that missed it, here's a quick recap:
Organize your future speeches from the inside out. Meaning, think of an idea, list the key points and then arrange those points in order of priority. Jennifer even suggested use of a mind map, if you wish. Also, when thinking of speech presentation:
"Tell them what you're going to tell them" - "tell them" - "tell them what you've told them"
Your introduction has 120 seconds to catch the audience's attention.
The body of your speech should include: main ideas, facts and explanations
Your summary should have a strong close
Next up: Temas de Mesa - Table Topics (Marcia Melendez)
Marcia did a terrific job! She not only asked her questions in both English and Spanish, she also used creativity by asking participants to discuss their perspective on some good old Irish proverbs.
Since we were a small group, most of us were able to participate. Even our guest went up and gave a thoughtful response. We even learned that Brad's first love is mathematics or (numeros).
Evaluador(a) General - General Evaluator (Yours truly - Marina Aris)
Since it is difficult to evaluate myself, I can only say that I made my best efforts to offer both words of encouragement and suggestions for improvement to each of our meeting participants.
Instead of going through all of my recommendations, I will summarize by reminding everyone that Fiesta Toastmaster members are a special group because we are truly motivated and driven individuals. We are attempting to improve not only our public speaking skills but our ability to communicate in a second language.
That said, I encourage everyone to use both English and Spanish in their speeches, so that those who know fewer words can follow along. And mostly remember, that as Toastmasters we have to maintain a fine balance between Toastmaster skills, i.e. using vocal variety, pausing, eye contact, gesturing, etc. with learning Spanish (Espanol). We can do it, but we need to be mindful of all those things at once which is an interesting but manageable challenge.
Thank you! (Gracias!) everyone for reading this! Although some of us (including myself) will be unable to attend the next meeting, I will make sure to prepare and send out the next meeting agenda to everyone before then.
Lastly, thanks to Brad, Jennifer, Betty, Marcia, Karthik, and our guest Z for making the 7/12 meeting a success!
Hasta la proxima (til next time),
your new VP,Education - Marina Aris
P.S. I am fluent in Espanol, my door is always open for anyone needing to practice their speech before presenting it to the club. If other fluent members are interested in mentoring or helping non-speakers, please let me know.
Below is a recap of our 7/12/10 meeting:
Karthik Paladugu stepped in as Toastmaster and did a terrific job!
For those of you that have not seen Karthik host a meeting, he really knows how to make everyone relax and feel welcome. That sets a nice tone for the meeting which is after-all every Toastmaster's responsibility.
Our meeting was a special one because we could only have one presentation in order to make room for our New Officer Induction Ceremony. Join me in congratulating past and new officers in their posts and responsibilities! I know 2010 - 2011 is going to be an amazing year(ano) for Fiesta Toastmasters!
Reportero Conografico (Brad Shilling)
We tried something new where the role participants gave a brief introduction of their role in both English and Spanish. The Spanish words are written and provided on a sheet so that we can all begin learning new words for words we hear at every meeting. "Repetition after all is the mother of skill" I borrowed that quote from one of the world's most accomplished motivational speakers, Anthony Robbins. Back to Brad, he gadelivered a thorough description of his role and I know he will soon add a mastery of colors(colores) to those amazing number (numero) skills.
During una conversacion en Espanol
We split up into two groups. "Z" our guest stopped in to check out our club and I must say for someone who's first language is Russian, second is English, he did an amazing job introducing himself and his interests in Espanol. Hope we will be seeing him again at future meetings. Karthik is at the beginning of his Spanish studies but already he has the ability to pronounce words well and I know with patience he will learn a new vocabulary. I did not get to hear our other team, but Marcia, Jennifer and Brad seemed to be getting on just fine with their conversation (conversacion).
Orador(a) - Speaker (Jennifer Chan)
Our new Presiedent (Presidente) gave a terrific speech from the club series manual on "Organizing Your Speech" For those of you that missed it, here's a quick recap:
Organize your future speeches from the inside out. Meaning, think of an idea, list the key points and then arrange those points in order of priority. Jennifer even suggested use of a mind map, if you wish. Also, when thinking of speech presentation:
"Tell them what you're going to tell them" - "tell them" - "tell them what you've told them"
Your introduction has 120 seconds to catch the audience's attention.
The body of your speech should include: main ideas, facts and explanations
Your summary should have a strong close
Next up: Temas de Mesa - Table Topics (Marcia Melendez)
Marcia did a terrific job! She not only asked her questions in both English and Spanish, she also used creativity by asking participants to discuss their perspective on some good old Irish proverbs.
Since we were a small group, most of us were able to participate. Even our guest went up and gave a thoughtful response. We even learned that Brad's first love is mathematics or (numeros).
Evaluador(a) General - General Evaluator (Yours truly - Marina Aris)
Since it is difficult to evaluate myself, I can only say that I made my best efforts to offer both words of encouragement and suggestions for improvement to each of our meeting participants.
Instead of going through all of my recommendations, I will summarize by reminding everyone that Fiesta Toastmaster members are a special group because we are truly motivated and driven individuals. We are attempting to improve not only our public speaking skills but our ability to communicate in a second language.
That said, I encourage everyone to use both English and Spanish in their speeches, so that those who know fewer words can follow along. And mostly remember, that as Toastmasters we have to maintain a fine balance between Toastmaster skills, i.e. using vocal variety, pausing, eye contact, gesturing, etc. with learning Spanish (Espanol). We can do it, but we need to be mindful of all those things at once which is an interesting but manageable challenge.
Thank you! (Gracias!) everyone for reading this! Although some of us (including myself) will be unable to attend the next meeting, I will make sure to prepare and send out the next meeting agenda to everyone before then.
Lastly, thanks to Brad, Jennifer, Betty, Marcia, Karthik, and our guest Z for making the 7/12 meeting a success!
Hasta la proxima (til next time),
your new VP,Education - Marina Aris
P.S. I am fluent in Espanol, my door is always open for anyone needing to practice their speech before presenting it to the club. If other fluent members are interested in mentoring or helping non-speakers, please let me know.
06-28-10 Fiesta Club Meeting Recap
Hola mis companeros de Toastmasters!
Below is a recap of our 06/28/10 club meeting.
Hollie Wells our current club Presidente served as Toastmaster
John Schaffer introduced la palabra del dia: Inspiration - Inspiracion
Sadly I missed una conversacion en Espanol but I know it is always a part of the meeting we enjoy
Club Reminders Presentation
Thanks to the floor cleaning staff I made my way into the meeting just in time to give my presentation on Speaking & Leading at Fiesta TM Club. The gist of my speech: Feliz Ano Nuevo! or Happy New Year! Toastmasters is now changing their leadership teams and beginning a new year. As incoming VP Education, I am here to serve all of you as you continue to make progress on both your speaking and leadership skills/manuals. I will reach out to everyone to inquire about your next speech, goals for the year and upcoming schedule.
Primer Orador - 1st Speaker (Betty Picket)
Our first speech was an Ice Breaker and Betty did an outstanding job! Although Betty is already a seasoned TM she gave a terrific presentation, with lots of smiling and laughing and well pronounced words in Espanol.
Segundo Orador - 2nd Speaker (Julian Hernandez)
Our second speech was a great deal of fun. The room exploded in laughter as everyone learned that Julian is "el bebe" He also taught us all new words and phrases, like: "otro nino mas" Julian used bright yellow sheets with Spanish words, phrases and names on them and he spoke in both Spanish and English. All of his efforts made his speech enjoyable and educational. Bravo, Julian!!!
Evaluadora - Evaluator for Betty's Speech (Camille Dyer)
Camille did a fine job evaluating Betty. The evaluation was a bit short and could have used some suggestions for improvement, but all in all, Camille seemed comfortable at the lectern. We all have to remember that every time we are up there - it is an opportunity to practice our speaking skills, so more of Camille would have made the evaluation that much better. By the way, she was wearing a beautiful deep purple top that looked great on her, I forgot to mention it. Appearance is afterall one of the evaluation criteria :)
Evaluadora - Evaluator for Julian's Speech (Jennifer Chan)
Jennifer also did a terrific job with her evaluation. She pointed out the strengths and areas for improvement in Julian's speech. She also referred to specific points in his speech, and that always strengthens evaluations. It is important to be as specific as possible.
Quick Suggestions for future evaluations
We should remember that evaluations are mini speeches. Everything you learn when giving individual speeches: vocal variety, eye contact, gestures, etc. should be attempted during evaluations as well. Most importantly, we need to speak to the audience during evaluations not to the speakers. If you speak directly to speakers during evaluations you are creating an opportunity for conversation. Evaluations are intended to help us "all" learn from each speaker's strengths and areas for improvement. So for example, we would say: "I felt that speaker did the following really well...."
Next up - Temas de Mesa - Table Topics
Ken led us through a creative and enjoyable session of Table Topics. He brought in an envelope filled with daily use items which actually no one knew how to use. Then he asked each participant to tell the audience what the item was and to sell it. The creativity was a real treat both on Ken's part and on the part of each Table Topics participant. Again, more fun and laughter.
Camille, Tushar, Hollie, Karthik and John sold and auctioned off everything from a transformer to a mini personal satellite launcher. Camille managed to sell Hollie a ball for $50,000 (in monthly installments. The funniest idea came from our guest of the evening, Deonne Wallace. He sold a sandpaper sander as a beauty product and did a great job at it too, now there's a promising future Toastmaster member, look out for Deonne!
Evaluador General - General Evaluator (Karthik Paladugu)
Karthik did a fabulous job giving us an overall evaluation. He picked up on the strengths of our meeting and the areas for improvement. He also made great recommendations for our Speech Evaluators. It is important to remember that General Evaluations are meant to evaluate everyone in the meeting who has spoken but has not been evaluated. Good job, Karthik!
Lastly, a special thanks to the Reportera Cronografica (Jennifer Chan).
Wow, this club definitely offers a lot of inspiracion - inspiration.
Hasta la proxima - til next time,
your incoming VP, Education - Marina Aris
P.S. I am fluent in Espanol, my door is always open for anyone needing to practice their speech before presenting it to the club. If other fluent members are interested in mentoring or helping non-speakers, please let me know.
Below is a recap of our 06/28/10 club meeting.
Hollie Wells our current club Presidente served as Toastmaster
John Schaffer introduced la palabra del dia: Inspiration - Inspiracion
Sadly I missed una conversacion en Espanol but I know it is always a part of the meeting we enjoy
Club Reminders Presentation
Thanks to the floor cleaning staff I made my way into the meeting just in time to give my presentation on Speaking & Leading at Fiesta TM Club. The gist of my speech: Feliz Ano Nuevo! or Happy New Year! Toastmasters is now changing their leadership teams and beginning a new year. As incoming VP Education, I am here to serve all of you as you continue to make progress on both your speaking and leadership skills/manuals. I will reach out to everyone to inquire about your next speech, goals for the year and upcoming schedule.
Primer Orador - 1st Speaker (Betty Picket)
Our first speech was an Ice Breaker and Betty did an outstanding job! Although Betty is already a seasoned TM she gave a terrific presentation, with lots of smiling and laughing and well pronounced words in Espanol.
Segundo Orador - 2nd Speaker (Julian Hernandez)
Our second speech was a great deal of fun. The room exploded in laughter as everyone learned that Julian is "el bebe" He also taught us all new words and phrases, like: "otro nino mas" Julian used bright yellow sheets with Spanish words, phrases and names on them and he spoke in both Spanish and English. All of his efforts made his speech enjoyable and educational. Bravo, Julian!!!
Evaluadora - Evaluator for Betty's Speech (Camille Dyer)
Camille did a fine job evaluating Betty. The evaluation was a bit short and could have used some suggestions for improvement, but all in all, Camille seemed comfortable at the lectern. We all have to remember that every time we are up there - it is an opportunity to practice our speaking skills, so more of Camille would have made the evaluation that much better. By the way, she was wearing a beautiful deep purple top that looked great on her, I forgot to mention it. Appearance is afterall one of the evaluation criteria :)
Evaluadora - Evaluator for Julian's Speech (Jennifer Chan)
Jennifer also did a terrific job with her evaluation. She pointed out the strengths and areas for improvement in Julian's speech. She also referred to specific points in his speech, and that always strengthens evaluations. It is important to be as specific as possible.
Quick Suggestions for future evaluations
We should remember that evaluations are mini speeches. Everything you learn when giving individual speeches: vocal variety, eye contact, gestures, etc. should be attempted during evaluations as well. Most importantly, we need to speak to the audience during evaluations not to the speakers. If you speak directly to speakers during evaluations you are creating an opportunity for conversation. Evaluations are intended to help us "all" learn from each speaker's strengths and areas for improvement. So for example, we would say: "I felt that speaker did the following really well...."
Next up - Temas de Mesa - Table Topics
Ken led us through a creative and enjoyable session of Table Topics. He brought in an envelope filled with daily use items which actually no one knew how to use. Then he asked each participant to tell the audience what the item was and to sell it. The creativity was a real treat both on Ken's part and on the part of each Table Topics participant. Again, more fun and laughter.
Camille, Tushar, Hollie, Karthik and John sold and auctioned off everything from a transformer to a mini personal satellite launcher. Camille managed to sell Hollie a ball for $50,000 (in monthly installments. The funniest idea came from our guest of the evening, Deonne Wallace. He sold a sandpaper sander as a beauty product and did a great job at it too, now there's a promising future Toastmaster member, look out for Deonne!
Evaluador General - General Evaluator (Karthik Paladugu)
Karthik did a fabulous job giving us an overall evaluation. He picked up on the strengths of our meeting and the areas for improvement. He also made great recommendations for our Speech Evaluators. It is important to remember that General Evaluations are meant to evaluate everyone in the meeting who has spoken but has not been evaluated. Good job, Karthik!
Lastly, a special thanks to the Reportera Cronografica (Jennifer Chan).
Wow, this club definitely offers a lot of inspiracion - inspiration.
Hasta la proxima - til next time,
your incoming VP, Education - Marina Aris
P.S. I am fluent in Espanol, my door is always open for anyone needing to practice their speech before presenting it to the club. If other fluent members are interested in mentoring or helping non-speakers, please let me know.
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