The Thriller on Pender

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

Why contests?

Because most of us find our best selves when the stakes are raised.

This week, we departed from our usual format and devoted the meeting to a Table Topics competition – with the winner to advance and represent VanCore in the Area Competition on Oct. 3. It couldn’t have been scripted any better.

In the red trunks, Carla. Poised and polished veteran (she has represented VanCore at area Evaluation Contests) with masterful rhetorical skills.

In the green trunks, Ray. A member so new he has yet to do his Icebreaker, but loaded with charm and deploying an irresistible Irish accent.

The topic: “Imagine your first day as the opposite sex.”

The results were as you’d imagine: hilarious, thought-provoking an at times startling.

The judges were divided, but the veteran took the prize.

But wait! Carla cannot appear at the Area Contest! So Ray will bring the blarney as VanCore’s rep. The winner of THAT context competes in the division. And from there it’s the district, and ultimately the world championships.

For now we wish Ray luck. We need a good nickname for him.

Watch for the results new week!

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Funny Strange or Funny Ha-Ha?

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

Have you noticed nobody tells jokes anymore? Maybe it’s because they’re so dangerous. What one person finds hilarious another may find grossly offensive (and it’s hard to predict these things in advance.) Plus which, they’re hard to tell well. Get the timing wrong and your otherwise impeccably conceived gag can fall flat.

But the daily joke has long been a part of the VanCore weekly agenda. It loosens things up early and greases the skids for the more thoughtful and challenging stuff to come.

Today, past-president Susan Chew told a genuinely funny one. It went something like this:

A little girl with her mom in the toy store comes upon the display of Barbie dolls. The girl looks at all the different Barbies and the mom takes note of the prices. There’s Malibu Barbie ($19.95), Princess Barbie ($19.95), Equestrian Barbie ($19.95), Mod Barbie ($19.95). And Divorce Barbie: $249.99.

The mother turns to the clerk. “Wow. Why’s Divorce Barbie so expensive?”

The clerk leans close. “Oh, that’s because she comes with Ken’s car, his furniture, half of his house, and one of his boyfriends.”

See? Pretty funny. And I don’t’ think anyone was offended. That’s a fine line to walk.

Nobody was more relieved to hear that joke than Bruce. It saved him from telling the inappropriate one he had in his back pocket.

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What’s the Good Word?

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

Not every Toastmasters club features a “Word of the Day,” but VanCore does.

Each week, one member floats a relatively uncommon but useful word, with a view to building everybody’s working vocabulary. The challenge is then for people to use that word sometime during the meeting. It can require quite the mental gymnastics to work it in. But it’s worth the trouble, because only with use do new words get burned in to your brain.

Past-president Jonathan is invariably the man to beat in this endeavor; Jonathan’s unofficial record, marked a few months ago, is NINE deployments of the word “penultimate.” (Meaning: “Second-to-last.”)

With this week’s word, “peregrinations” (Meaning: Travels or wanderings), Jonathan again ran up the score, summoning the word six times. He used it figuratively (noting that several speeches had arrived at their points after lengthy, time-burning peregrinations). And he used it literally, noting that a speech about travel traced the peregrinations of its author.

For what it’s worth, Bruce was thrilled at today’s word — he and his wife came THIS close to naming their oldest daughter Peregrine. But he still forgot to use it during the meeting.

Words are what we work with, folks. You can never have enough of them in the bag.

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House Beautiful

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

When you throw an “Open House” there are usually mixed feelings. A new phase of life is nigh! But a stream of strangers just questioned your taste in wallpaper, and now you have to get your carpet cleaned.

Fortunately, there were no mixed feelings at all as VanCore staged its first-ever Open House, on the Coal Harbour waterfront. It was all good. Better than good: Out-of-the-park great.

The idea was to celebrate the club, and to introduce prospective new members to Toastmasters in general and VanCore in particular. Because there’s no subsitute for being there. We think we’re a winning group, but hey: you wouldn’t marry or even date someone you had never met.

Let’s not debate who gets credit for the huge turnout. (Connie for her organizing efforts? Carla for the dazzling design work on the invitations?) There were as many guests as members. The wine flowed. There was yummy food and a great view of the North Shore mountains.

The newbies were treated to a great presentation by Connie on “openings,” from the Better Speakers series. And guest-speaker Gene Vickers, a Distinguished Toastmaster and outstanding community volunteer, beguiled with a story of “Coming back to life” on his bicycle. So THIS is what Toastmasters is all about. In the end it was hard to empty the room.

 

 

Thanks to all involved for making this happen. Was super-fun.

And not a speck of dirt was left on the carpet.

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Laying Out the Welcome Mat

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

We at VanCore love it when new people drop by. Guests, walk-ins, friends-of-friends, lost people trying to find their gastroenterologist’s office: all are welcome.

But we feel especially privileged when a TM governor attends a meeting. This week, Area Governor Venie Dettmers came bearing news (of the up-coming Humour Speech and Table Topics Contests) and gentle encouragement (to sign up for same).

When the Area Governor drops by, you really want to be showing the club in its best light. And we did, with veterans bringing their ‘A’ game to key roles.

Loa Fridfinnson, our stalwart VP of Public Relations and Webmaster, chaired with grace.

President Connie Hubbs gave an amazing presentation on speech writing–from the Better Speakers Series.  Her techniques included humour, anecdotes, clarity, timeliness, and the injunction that THOU SHALT NOT BORE. Jonathan Buchanan, himself a past president, evaluated eloquently.

Only one prepared speech left plenty of time for Table Topics, and Victor beguiled with questions designed to reveal a bit more than we already knew about our tablemates. Ray, an Irish lad, reminisced about Guinness beer. Jonathan admitted his favourite metal is gold. Renee allowed that her season is Spring. Alison spoke about her affinity to the prayer plant.

A couple of guests gamely stepped up. Ali spoke of lions. Serena had us feeling the lovely freedom of scootering.

So impressed was Ms. Dettmers (we like to think) that she couldn’t resist wading in herself. She volunteered to evaluate Table Topics.

See y’all at next week’s Open House.

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You’re Invited! Vancore Open House, Aug 29th at Coal Harbour Community Centre

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

Feel free to come alone, or with a friend.

Image

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Sand in your Hair, Sand in your Swimsuit

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

Sometimes we think Toastmasters should be called TableTopicsMasters. After all, toasts are a pretty small part of most TM meetings, and a small slice of the public-speaking spectrum. But Table Topics! This no-time-to-prep segment is the pumping heart of the matter. Everyone agrees it’s the most fun, most surprising, most usefully sweaty-palm inducing and, ultimately, most productive part of the TM experience.

VanCore chair Connie, who ran today’s Table Topics session, underscored why it’s such a valuable skill to hone. She’d recently been at a function to mark the 60th birthday of a friend. Well into the night the host said, “Does anyone have anything they’d like to say about our guest of honour?”

“And you know what happens the moment anyone says that,” Connie noted. “Everyone looks at their feet.”

No one was coming forward. So Connie did. And spun a lovely tribute, off the cuff. That’s the way it works. Get good at skating in TM, and you can skate out in the world, whatever the occasion.

Connie’s own Table Topics questions invited us to spin memories or reflections of summer. Getting up on water skis that first time. Walking the beach at sunset. Paddling upstream. Getting sand … everywhere.

Everyone stepped up. Victor, ably chairing his first meeting ever, anted in a story about the beachwalk of his dreams. Veterans Borzo and Cory each offered a stemwinder from summers past. And visitor Ray, with his buttery Irish accent, described hiking in the high alpine, with hundred-mile views from every ridge and glacier-fed lakes spread below.

It was enough to leave us speechless.

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Higher, Faster, More Eloquent

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

Raise a glass to the Canadian Olympians!

This week’s meeting of VanCore toastmasters began with a toast to the Olympic ethic: perseverance, courage, and extremely low body fat.

That’s Toastmasters’ credo, too, of course. (Minus the body-fat part.)

Cory, our VP of Education and the closest thing VanCore has to an Olympian, chaired. He fired the starting gun at 3:15 sharp. Whereupon Susan told a joke. (A brave thing to do in these jokeless times. Have you noticed hardly anyone tells “jokes” anymore?)

Word of the Day: “Rendez-vous.” Connie ran with it, telling a tale of lost-in-translation set in Montreal.

Victor elevated the discourse, as usual, with a speech on the impossibility of love. He invoked Greek philosophy, Buddhism, and Christian tradition, exploring the meaning of Eros vs Agape. No one is quite sure whether to genuflect before Victor or give him a hug.

Angela weighed in with a thoughtful and insightful evaluation.

Today was bittersweet as we said farewell to Cal, who has landed a job in Langley. Appropriately, he spun a Table Topic speech on work life and home life: the preparation he makes for clients and the words of discipline he reserves for his young son.

VanCore regulars and prospective guests take note: our Open House at Coal Harbour Community Centre will take place Aug. 22, between 3:30 and 4:30 pm.

Note also that we need to find an alternate meeting place for Aug 29, as the CMEC boardroom, our usual digs, is booked that day. Any ideas of where we can rendez-vous, please let Connie or one of the executive know ASAP. Perhaps an Olympic venue from 2010?

Prospective guests are invited to join our downtown Vancouver Vancore Toastmaster’s Club Wednesdays at 3:15pm-4:30pm.  Location is at the AME office, Ste 800 – 889 W Pender St. at Hornby St.

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Lessons From A World Champion Public Speaker

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

In 2001, Darren LaCroix outspoke 25,000 contestants from 14 countries to become the World Champion of Public Speaking. Since that victory, Darren has traveled the world demystifying the process of creating a powerful speech.

“When you humorize, you humanize,” he stated in his ‘Good to Great’ presentation on Saturday, July 28 in Richmond BC.   Two of Vancore Toastmasters dedicated executive and club members Connie and Susan had the pleasure of attending his talk and share some of his tips below.

Must Haves

Include dialogue
Use reflective pauses
Have ‘you focused’ questions
Tap into your audiences memories and emotions and transport them to another place

Must Avoids

Too much blah, blah, blah
Too much narration
Stepping on laughs (Start talking while the audience is laughing)
And the big takeaway…’Stage time, stage time, stage time’

Start working on your next speech today and keep honing your best ones!

Darren LaCroix at the 2001 Toastmaster’s world speech contest:

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Hitting the Sweet Spot

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

VanCore is like those (increasingly few) doctors who still accept new patients. We’re still accepting new members. If enthusiastic newbies keep showing up and dazzling with their charm and laying down membership fees, we might have to cap it.

But not yet!

Guests — five of ’em — were big contributors again at this week’s meeting, which Angela chaired. Renee’s and Alison both tore into the CC manuals with their  icebreaker speeches. Past-president Susan, who could sell cane toads to Australians, inveigled every guest into participating in her table-topics session on inventions.

Our President, Connie, is encouraging everyone to complete their leadership manuals. Leading by example, she herself managed to tick two boxes by evaluating Renee and acting as grammarian. While juggling fire.

Welcome all the new members who have hit ground running so quickly.  VanCore is a very supportive and inclusive group.  Thanks everyone for coming. Hope to see you all next week.

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