Freedom Fighters

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Vancore Toastmasters

There are many teachers among the VanCore member pool, and Kate’s one of them. Lately Kate has been teaching the British philosopher John Stuart Mill, who has strong opinions on liberty. Mill raises fascinating questions about how much freedom the individual in our culture ought to enjoy. Just the stuff of a great Table Topics Session.

Item: It’s illegal not to wear a bike helmet in Vancouver (if you’re riding a bike, that is. Nobody has yet to be issued a summons for sitting and drinking coffee while lidless.) Is this a gross violation of individual rights? Or… Renee argued no. Head injuries are a burden on all of us, through high health care costs and the shared indignity of trauma.

Item: In the winter, when the temperature drops below a fresh-freezing -25 C, the homeless are brought in off the streets and taken to heated shelters – whether they want to go or not. Outrageous breach of individual liberty. Or… Actually, that’s the welfare state doing what it does best – taking care of its citizens. Especially those who, like many street people with mental-health issues, may not be in a position to make good decisions for themselves. That was the position of newcomer Dylan, and he argued it well.

Should food like soda pop be banned like tobacco because it is just so bad for our health?

Should liquor be allowed to be sold 24/7?

Should heroin be legalized?

There are no right or wrong answers to questions like this, of course, which is what makes them so great. Rarely in life are we asked to take a position on things that are clear cut.

After her TT session, Kate was asked to weigh in herself on Mill’s big question of individual freedom. She craftily avoided showing her hand, but did show Mill’s hand.

“Mill would argue that it’s the individual’s right to destroy their own life.”

When the state, bit by bit, is allowed control over the lives of its citizens, the people are kind of … homogenized. “What’s at stake here is our freedom to be different.”

A reminder that next week we meet away from our usual digs again. We will be at 1055 Hastings, Second Floor, in the Eclipse Boardroom.

Of course, VanCore members and guests are free to exert their individual liberty to go to our usual meeting place at 889 West Pender. But no one will be there.

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Note: This Week We Meet Down the Street

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Vancore Toastmasters

VanCore members, guests and assorted curious looky-loos are reminded that we’re meeting in a temporary location this week. It’s the Eclipse Boardroom, on the 2nd floor of 1055 W. Hastings Street. That’s about two blocks northwest of our usual digs.

Got that? Wed, Jan 23, 3:15pm, 1055 Hastings.

Change is good. Also, there are new food carts around there. Look for the historic art deco Marine Building, which is sometimes passed off as the Empire State Building in feature films.

Next week we return to our familiar 8th floor, 889 West Pender.

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2013: Year of Conquering the Fear

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Vancore Toastmasters

 

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while the fear of public speaking kept them there.

That was last year.

Time to deploy the New Year’s Resolutions, folks! If fear of public speaking is one of yours – and studies keep saying people rank it ahead of actually dying – the first step is to tackle it, baby step by baby step, in a supportive environment. Come to a Toastmasters meeting.

That’s the PSA part of today’s blog.

VanCore members don’t need reminding. They know how important it is to get up there, on something like a regular basis, and just be … exposed. You can practice in a mirror all you want, but a mirror’s not going to give you much feedback. (Unless it’s one of those circus mirrors that makes you look skinny – in which case that’s feedback you can’t really trust.)

This week’s meeting, first of the new year, saw a big turnout of familiar faces. Members who had drifted away for a few months (Kate, Ray) were back with bells on. They aired jokes they had heard over the holidays, inspirations they had been quietly crafting.

Club president Connie’s recent working holiday to Brazil gave her fodder for an evocative, count-your-blessings speech on the slums there — truly some of the world’s most dire.

If John’s “impromptu” speech seemed unusually polished, well, that’s because he has been working on it for eight years. Eventually it will be a book. There’s no title yet but there is a theme. Never. Give. Up.

John’s whole life has followed that script. There have been devastating losses, but John always found a way to ride them out, re-up, and carry on better than before. That’s how “character” is made.

Let it be a lesson for all of us this year.

Shalom.

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L’chaim! (“To life!”)

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

We all have our crutches — all of us, no matter how experienced a speaker we are. Past-president Susan’s crutch is a sometimes overdependence on notes.

But Susan didn’t look at her notes even once during this week’s great speech. She didn’t need them.

It was a speech about … the scarf. Item of apparel. Wardrobe completer. If you think that isn’t a weighty enough topic to hang a great speech on, think again.

duncan0Because it wasn’t really a speech about scarves. It was – like all good stories –about people. We would meet the woman who lived by the scarf and sadly died by it – the flamboyant dancer Isadora Duncan, who was strangled when her flowing scarf got caught in the spokes as she blasted down the highway on her motorcycle.

We would meet Susan’s mother, a great wearer of scarves herself, who bequeathed to Susan the yellow knit number that she put on, with great care, a simple loose knot in front. (Is there a more intimate act than putting on a piece of clothing your Mom or Dad wore? Certainly, there can’t be many more powerful gestures to include in a speech.)

Susan owns around sixty scarves, and she’d brought at least a dozen of them. One by one she produced them, like a magician, and put them on with quiet theatrical flourish. Scarves of silk, of cotton, of pashmina wool – a great thing to bring on an airplane, by the way, far better than those crappy thin blankets you could read the emergency-landing card through.

The meeting was held on 12/12/12, possibly some ominous date on the Mayan calendar. Also the fifth day of Hanukah, supposedly the “darkest day” during that eight-day ritual of enduring light. Henceforth, at VanCore— we’re saying right now — it will be a day to toss away your crutch. President Connie proposed the toast that held the meeting together:

“L’Chaim!”

To life.

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Next Meeting at Murchie’s: Coffee’s On Us

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

A great speech often just boils down to “show and tell.”

show-and-tellRemember this great tradition from elementary school? Every day one kid brought something from home and gave a short presentation about it. (Four to six minutes, red light at six, watch yer ‘um’s and ‘ah’s.) It was always a highlight of the morning, whether the item under study was the kid’s mom’s priceless brooch or something the cat coughed up. Because whatever the thing was, the kid found it fascinating. And because the kid found it fascinating, so did the listeners. The enthusiasm built the connection.

Toastmasters works that way, too. At this week’s meeting, Jonathan, former VanCore president and one of the most experienced members, schlepped in his own “show and tell” prop. It looked like a wooden fence post. Or maybe a small totem poll. It was, in fact, an authentic “claim stake.” This is what miners in British Columbia used to pound in the ground to mark the territory they planned, and had the legal right, to dig.

These days prospectors don’t use claim sticks; rather their legally purchased territory is duly recorded by GPS and marked on a map. But the moment Jonathon plunked that hunk of wood on the table, his listeners were in his hands. He had staked his claim on their imagination, and from this historical touchstone he expertly led everyone up through time to the present day in a fascinating overview of how nature’s underground spoils are divvied up now.

Please note that next week only we have a different meeting place. Please DON’T come to 889 Pender as usual. We will be meeting at Murchie’s coffee house, a couple of doors east, same side of the road. Address is 825 W. Pender. That’s the north side between Hornby and Howe. VanCore will treat for warm drinks and goodies.

See you there!

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Tide Coming In

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

“Imagine yourself,” said Alison, “on your favorite ocean beach.” Be there now, in your mind. Feel the warm sand. You’re watching the waves lap up. The waves keep coming, one direction only. But what about the tide? Is it coming in or going out?”

There’s a tide in your own body, too, Alison said. In your own cells. It’s called aging. After around age 30 our tide is sadly going out. But there’s something we can do to turn the tide. A simple thing. It’s all explained in this book she will be giving away today to the lucky winner of a free draw.

How many great things did Alison do in her persuasive speech at this week’s meeting? She got us all involved right away in her imaginary scene. She used a strong metaphor to help us understand how aging does its relentless work on our cells. She asked provocative questions. And the prize? Well, that’s always a bonus to keep people awake and alert out there.

There is powerfully understated salesmanship in just about all of Alison’s speeches. And really, isn’t that the name of the game? All public speakers are in sales. We’re not selling books or cars or real-estate, usually. We’re selling ideas.

The idea Angela was selling, in her own speech this week, was the value of social media. It’s a field she has thrown herself into just recently to grow her business. Of ten clients who have found their way to her just in the past few months, all of them followed the breadcrumbs of social media. Some came all the way from Shanghai to meet with her face-to-face. Two more are on their way. A worthwhile investment? Oh yeah. Social media is one of those things in life that pays out more than you put in. It’s undervalued. Like Toastmasters itself.

This week’s meeting saw the return of our peripatetic president, Connie, who had been away for six weeks on business. She was full of youthful vigor and showed no hint of rust. Possibly she has turned the tide.

By the way, newcomer Niki won the book in Alison’s draw. See, this is how we get the tire-kickers to come back to Vancore. 😉

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To Auntie Em

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

“In our world of big names, curiously, our true heroes tend to be anonymous.”

That’s from the historian Daniel Boorstin. It could have been the theme of this week’s meeting. No one planned it, but member after member weighed in with a little sketch of somebody in their life who inspires them.

Mary Lou announced she had to leave early. That’s because there was a party for her awesome and beloved “Auntie Em.” Auntie Em is a “giver.” She’s the kind of person who, when she comes over, immediately starts loading the dishwasher. Auntie Em has inspired Mary Lou to develop the Auntie Em reflex in herself. Now when she meets people, she looks at them and asks herself, What is it you need? And then she gives it to them.

Alison came up next to salute her own “Auntie Em,” who was not actually an auntie, or a relative or even a friend. He’s a former Microsoft coder named Ed Barsano who invented something that’s turning her life around. Alison, like all of us, got killed in the recession and is trying to recover her retirement savings. Barsano hatched a “robotic trading” engine that you install in your computer and let its algorithms run while you sleep, buying and selling on its own. Sounds scary, but apparently it’s working. For now there is a rosy glow around Ed Barsano, and his contribution to her life, and Alison raised a glass to Ed.

Finally, Zohra, in her icebreaker speech, gave a hat-tip to her martial-arts teacher. Her sensei. A guy who has turned her not just into a lean, mean machine, but a wiser individual.

Week in, week out, we’re reminded that what matters in life is people. Not things, trends, apps, renos or statutory holidays. People.

To all of our Auntie Ems. Cheers.

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Scare and Scare Alike

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

We all ask ourselves, as we are preparing our speeches: what’s my main objective? To entertain? To inform? To inspire? All are worthy, and a speech can push more than one button. But once a year at VanCore we aim for something completely different: To scare.

This week’s spooktacular meeting fell on October 31. Anyone who had forgotten what day it was was jogged when past-president Jonathan strode in under a pumpkin head, which he tipped up during introductions, like Galahad before Arthur, to reveal his face.

Jonathan led table topics down the Halloween wormhole. How much shiver can you get into a two-minute speech? Turns out, quite a bit. To scare someone — as distinct from startling them (Boo!) — is tricky. You have to engage attention from the get go, and then slowly change the temperature. It’s a kind of twisted seduction. And as with a seduction, it helps if your bloodcurdling story is a little bit funny, too.

We learned that Mary Lou inherited her black cat, Ebony, via re-gifting. We delved into the history of Halloween traditions like witches and jack o’ lanterns. We heard of encounters with real ghosts and genuinely haunted homes. Was it all true? Was any of it true? Hey, Halloween is not a time for fact-checkers. On this night, the heart knows what it knows.

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Say it Like You Mean It: Eunoia

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

Not all Toastmasters clubs include a “Word of the Day” on their weekly agendas, but VanCore does, and it’s hard now to imagine a meeting without it.

There have been some obvious words, some silly ones, and some crazily obscure ones — like fingerspitzengefuhl, meaning “as sensitive as a sandpapered fingertip.”

This week’s word, offered up by Ray, was “Eunoia.”

Some recognized it as the title of a book by the experimental Canadian poet Christian Bok. But it turns out to be an absolutely perfect word for Toastmasters.

Eunoia means, literally, “beautiful thinking,” or a mind humming on all cylinders, (as distinct from one burdened by mental illness; this is the context that mental-health professionals sometimes use it.)

It also means “the connection a speaker develops between him or herself and the audience.” Remember that, dear reader.

Eunoia is so apt a word for a Toastmasters that it could easily be the name of a club. (The Peoria Eunoia Club.) Or it could be the name of the entire movement. Honestly, isn’t it better than “Toastmasters”? Because really: toasts are no longer that big a part of public life, but connecting with your audience is what it’s all about.

(Oh: Eunioa is a cool word in one other way, too: it’s the shortest word in the English Language to contain all five vowels.)

Anyhoo, the eunoia was crackling in the room this week.

In Table Topics, people riffed on lines from Robert Frost poems. Frost was obsessed with roads, and the particular routes we choose to get from here to there. These are nice subjects for personal speeches, and newcomer Zohra particularly spoke memorably of her “road less travelled by,” one leading from Afghanistan to Vancouver.

Later, past-president Jonathan outlined the “Life cycle of a mine.” And Victor let the border collie of his own beautiful mind out to run in a speech about … well, we’re not sure. The border collie never came back.

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This is Where I Live (Honest)

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Vancore Toastmasters

Quick: in two minutes or less, explain and defend your home province. Easy enough, right? But what if you were asked, on the spot, to explain a different province? Maybe one that you’re not that familiar with or, gulp, never visited.

That was the ingenious Table Topics theme hatched this week by club past-president Susan. Ingenious because it’s the kind of thing that could well happen out in the real world. Say you find yourself having dinner with a gentleman from Toulouse whose nephew is planning to study in Charlottetown.

“Dis province of yours, L’Isle Prince Edward. What is it like?”

You: “P.E.I.? Oh, well, it’s … you know. Very pretty. Lots and lots of cows. And historic. A famous document was signed there by number of Founding Fathers and, um, one woman, named Anne of Green Gables.”

Susan’s lively table-topics session anchored a fantastic meeting in which every chair in the room was filled. (Good veteran-to-newbie ratio, too: 13 members and three guests.) Tai did his Ice-Breaker on his life philosophy, which is strongly influenced by his Buddhist philosophy. And everybody gave relative newcomer Ray Horan big props for representing Vancore in last week’s area contest, in a field of seasoned pros, and placing third.

Vancore president Connie is now away till the end of February. Cory steps up as club leader.

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