On the Impact of Storms

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

        Have you ever wondered what a storm is?  …. Or whatever it is that it could do to you?  I ask you because I did once wonder.   And I got answers.    So tonight,   I’d like to share these answers with you. . .   – if only for a little bit of inspiration.

        But first the question: what really is a storm?    Well, a  storm,  by definition,  would be an atmospheric disturbance.  This is  manifested in strong winds accompanied by rain or other precipitation- and often by thunder and lightning.   This was the kind of storm I used to know when then I lived in the Philippines,  a country situated in the Pacific.   I remember how only two weather conditions alternated: the so-called hot and rainy seasons.   And it was  during the rainy season when we would be visited by some  six to eight storms on the average  -one after the other. 

        But it was interesting  how  I enjoyed these storms as I sat by the window.   I watched the rain furiously  race down to meet the ground.   And as it did,  I took pleasure in the way  the  howling,  violent winds  would   take the rains for a ride !  So it was a beautiful sight to watch how synchronized  the tree branches swayed in the same direction as the winds and the  rains went.   Temperatures necessarily went down too but leave it to more of atmospheric phenomena to complement it with thunder and lightning.    Indeed,    I also loved to watch the powerful burst of fire among the dark,  thick clouds as I anticipated the explosive rumble of thunder that followed.   Yes,  it was all there.   The works,   as they say.

        Now the other  storm experience I had  was  in  Germany,  specifically in Cologne,  –  and it was something different to  remember.   As you know,  the  European countries  have the same 4 seasons that the United States have -  spring, summer, autumn and winter.  But well, this was a storm, alright,  but quite peculiarly  bizarre to me.    Because that one  summer morning I woke up and looked up to a dark  sky, I was simply captivated by all that raging whirling and swirling of the heavy and massive clouds above.  What caught my wonder was why there was no rain at all... not one drop.   Really,  I was  amazed by  how the  winds simply raked the skies into the likes of a misguided maelstrom .... with streaks of lightning, with  occasional thunder  blasts, yes, - but there was no rain!   There was just the gloom and the darkness and just  the clouds in  directionless  but frenzied movement.   And it  certainly was  a storm!   But a frighteningly beautiful strange one!

        My dear friends,   I  now  find  myself in the east coast of the United States,   and from my window, I have  watched soft  snow gently fall in  seemingly musical cadence.   But I have also watched  a blizzard manifest itself  in such a way as to have dumped  something like a good 18 to 24 inches of snow in our area.    A third type of storm.  This particular snow storm came  with  powerful gusts of freezing wind  that created snowdrifts seemingly high  as mountains and which lasted for weeks and weeks.    Of those mountains of snow,  - I could run  into them ,  fall,    get buried and get lost to humanity.   And yes, from my window as I watched   this total whiteness envelope my part of the  world,  I also simultaneously sensed the  aftermath of a quiet but sinister violence…. lovely in its cold and disquieting malevolence … enchanting as the snow wickedly,  if you’ll pardon the expression,  wickedly turn to ice.   And you know the implications of this.

        Thus,   I’d had rain storms,  cloud storms,  snow storms…  but whichever way it can be,   my dear friends,  I  liken a storm to whatever it is that blocks the goals that  I set for myself.   As you know, obstacles could be people……. they could be situations, they could be choices to make.    So come in whatever form they may,   I have learned to allow myself to  identity them  as   sinister and quietly violent stuff like snow,  why not.    Problems are like that.   Sometimes they could also come as physically   strange and threatening like dark clouds -   but I don’t die if I  go scared a little bit.    But   in order to make a better job of solving my  problems,  I  make myself enjoy them  like I do rain.  Problems won’t go away if I’m annoyed by them,   so  I sway with the winds,  so to speak.     And  if I feel and think positive,  problem-solving becomes easy.

       So now,  fellow Toastmasters,   are you beset with storms in your speech-making goals?  Well then,   I   suggest you choose one or all of these:   Rain storms?  Cloud storms?  Snow storms?

Mister Toastmaster……

Language in Speech Making

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

 Ladies and Gentlemen:  

        Have you ever thought you could interchange using the words information and communication?  Because if you have, sorry. but  no sir, you can’t.  The journalist Sydney Harris distinguished the terms as:  information is giving out while communication is getting through.  But I would say you could use both as substantives and have them then synonymous.  For instance, you can say “The information he gave was incorrect”, or you can say, “My communication to them was intercepted".  These utterances are both correct.  But try switching them and say: “The communication he gave was incorrect.”  What do you think? Not erroneous, right?  And then say,  “My information was intercepted”.  Not wrong either.  Both are grammatical.  But Ladies ad Gentlemen, you will have to admit with me that your inherent knowledge of appropriate combinations in language makes you hesitate about the acceptability of these last 2 sentences.  They’re okay grammatically but they violate certain semantic constraints.  The structures are good but the meanings go ~ !!  Take this sentence again.  Green ideas sleep furiously.  Good syntax!  But you can’t use green with ideas and you can’t use furiously with sleep.  So what am I trying to say here?  I’m saying that language is a most important aspect to consider in speech making.

       So fellow toastmasters, let me do my task by mentioning just a few of so many ways by which we can achieve effective speeches through language use.

1.  Be Simple.  Use short easily understandable words that convey concrete specific meanings.  Say  ‘learn’ rather than ‘ascertain;.  Say ‘large’ rather than ‘elephantine’.  Say ‘after-dinner speech’  rather than ‘post-prandial discourse’.

2.  Be Accurate.  Your goal as a speaker is precision.  Don’t make it possible that your listeners put another meaning different from the one you want to convey.   ‘Democracy’, for instance, does not mean the same to a citizen of the United States as it is to one from the Soviet Union.  The English Language is rich in subtle variation like for the word ‘shine’, it will give choices from ‘glow’, ‘glimmer’, ‘glitter’, ‘flare’, ‘blaze, ‘glare, ‘shimmer, ‘sparkle’, ‘flash’, ‘beam’.  You would have to choose the exact shade of meaning you wish to communicate.

3.  Use Repetition.  Oral speech is ephemeral – language disappears into the atmosphere as soon as you speak your words, therefore, as a speaker, you need to repeat.  This does not mean saying the same word twice or thrice…. it also means you may rephrase, meaning – you may repeat the idea in phrases or sentences.  ‘Democracy’, for example, can also be ‘government derived from the people’, ‘rule of the majority’, ‘human rights are a central component’, ‘consensus by referendum’.

4.  Use Action Words.  To have your sentences come alive, so to speak, use action words to put across movement.  Use them in such a way as to make your listeners feel like they’re stretching….or feel like they’re tightening their muscles.  An example:  Instead of just saying “We were happy”!, why don’t you say, “We jumped joyously when congress passed the bill”!  Instead of saying, “We watched the water flow”. …. Why not say, “We watched the water rush downstream”!  - to impact imagination.

                                                                                                                             

5.  Use Picture Words.  Adjectives function to give color to words and create pictures in the minds of listeners.  Better still is not only to use adjectives but also words and phrases that appeal to the senses.   For example, instead of just saying, the child was happy, describe the child as having a smile on his face.  Instead of saying the lady was sad, why not describe her as having tears rolling down her cheeks.  Otherwise for the sense of hearing, you might say of her voice,  “Her voice was  the whisper of a child in pain”!  That was a direct comparison. – a figure of speech known as a metaphor. You could also go indirect like saying, “His words cut the air until it bled.”!  This is imagery that has the power to transmit not only images into the mind but feelings as well which heighten the impact of your message.

6.  Use Transitional Devices.  Unlike written material where punctuation marks are used, oral communication needs signposts to enable listeners to follow the movement of ideas.  Transitional devices improve coherence by indicating relationships…. like addition;…. where you can use  ‘besides’, ‘in addition’, ‘one more thing’; contrast; - ‘on the other hand’, ‘in contrast’, ‘however’: cause and effect, - ‘as a consequence’, ‘in effect’, ‘as a result’, … and so on and so forth.

        So dear  Ladies and Gentlemen:   if you can manage to remember all these into your speech making, the non-language thing to describe it will be a ‘thumbs-up’!  But one word I am ready to use for now would be ‘Awesome’!  Your speech will be nothing but ‘Awesome’!  For now then,  why don’t you start examining your language as you communicate to the toastmaster right beside you!  But wait! That’s for after the meeting, of course!

Mister Toastmaster!

        

Anxiety and Speech Delivery

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

        As Toastsmasters and Toastmasters to be,  it goes without saying that we are at least  familiar with aspects that go along with speech-making and speech delivery....you know: - choosing a subject matter, analyzing your audience, writing the speech, rehearsing it  and then delivering it....... together with all the varied aspects that kinda mingle with all those strands.....making that seemingly simple thing called speech  actually complicated.  But not really complicated for you,  fellow Toastmasters.

       Now  let me for my task tonight deal with some aspects of the anxiety that normally go with speech delivery.  The terms 'fear of public speaking',  'nervousness', 'anxiety',  apparently all point to the same thing but this is quite normal and  - even expected - and good, because it stimulates us.  Both beginning and seasoned speakers have experienced anxiety, which only means that you and I may not be exempted from this. Nonetheless, to be a good public speaker, you need to be at ease and to be able to project a sense of calm authority. Then  will your audience be able to relax and come along for the ride. The following you probably already know but I am certain will also be useful to recall and to remember. So let's have them:

           First:  Prepare well – Lack of preparation and organization can cause anxiety.  If you have uncertainties about how carefully you prepared your speech, the thought will make you insecure; - therefore, do your homework well and feel that confidence grow out of the knowledge that you indeed have prepared well.

           Second:  Practice -  There is much value in rehearsing your piece. Do it as much as you can.  Pretend either in the confines of your room or in the company of a friend or friends that this is the real thing.  Pretend you are in front of an audience, listen to how you sound until you like the way you sound and the way you feel as you pretend delivering your piece,  - then try to remember this feeling when you stand in front of your real audience and it will sustain you.

           Third:  Walk briskly to the platform/lectern – Walk directly, exude a sense of confidence and eagerness to impart something significant to your audience.  Don’t shuffle along the way or glance nervously at anybody at all.  And when you reach the lectern,  take a deep breath, smile just a little as you give your listeners a sweeping glance before you start your speech.

            Fourth  Concentrate on the message -  Put your attention on the communication task that is before you rather than on whatever nervousness you feel.  Put priority on the significant message you have to put across rather than on the less significant feeling of anxiety you might have.

            Fifth: Focus on relaxing – As you breathe, tell yourself ‘I am relaxed.’ over and over again as you try to clear your mind of anything else but the message on hand. A trick might be to imagine looking at each and everyone in the audience as naked so that you will feel superior to them. Think that they are naked while you are clothed and so you are in control.

            and Sixth: Use movement to release tension  -  Should you feel any shaking or trembling, walk to another location, use the chalkboard, gesture. You could take a few steps, either side-to-side or toward the audience. If you are speaking from a lectern, you can get down from it and later get back to it.  Allow your muscles to flex by tightening them slowing starting from your feet up to your legs, stomach, chest, shoulders and then release the tension as quietly and as naturally as you can so nobody notices what you are doing.

          And whatever you do, keep your nervousness to yourself.  You never actually look or sound as bad as you think you do so you don’t need to tell your audience about it.  Chances are they will never know you are nervous unless you tell them yourself.

       So what are those few that you might need to  remember? We could have them again:

                Prepare well and feel that confidence grow out of that knowledge that you are prepared.
                Practice until you like the way you sound and feel as you are pretending that you are already
                                    delivering your speech and then remember this feeling as you stand in front of
                                    your real audience.
               Walk briskly to the platform to excude a sense of confidence and an eagerness to impart value.
               Concentrate on the message rather than on the less significant feeling of anxiety.
               Focus on relaxing.  clear your mind of anything but the message - remember the trick...
               Use movement as naturally as you can...

        And that movement, I should start doing right now as I also start to look for our

Mister Toastmaster......

            

           

                           

Tough Assignment

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

        Learning how not to be unhappy: -that was a tough assignment I recently gave myself.   I know that happiness is a natural condition of being a person and happiness is easy.  But you know, learning, however, not to be unhappy can be difficult as I now realize.

        Unhappiness is certainly a self-defeating  behavior so why I ask myself can't I even begin to approach achieving this so-called happiness and with it an appetite for living!  I'm sure I do not need a professional background in counseling or a doctorate in the helping professions to understand the principles of effective living. For sure, I can't blame others for my unhappiness... it must be me myself who is causing it and therefore it is I who should do something about it.  And because  psychologists say, 'you feel what you think, and you can learn to think differently about anything - if you decide to do so'....it follows therefore that because I learned how to be unhappy, and now want to be happy, I can unlearn being unhappy...or learn not to be unhappy?

         But see, learning takes thousands of hours to comfortably get to a new habit... like driving!  I remember I had to put in mind the complex synchronization of clutch, stick, gas pedal, brakes - and more, until it became second nature to me...with great difficulty....with  lots of present-moment thinking and reminding and working.   So okay it was tough, but certainly was not a reason to avoid doing it.  But well, I guess I could then regulate my mind to do a physical task such as driving.   And it might work as well in the emotional world, right?   I also learned the habits I have by having had reinforced them.  I get angry, hurt, frustrated, because I learned to be these a long time ago.  So I should be able to learn to not be angry, not hurt, not frustrated just as I had learned to be all these self-defeating things!

        The issue here then, I guess, is choice.  Like opting for a life of misery rather than taking control.  Or vice-versa.  It's not whether I can control my feelings but rather whether I want to or will.   Because I  'feel what I think, and I can learn to think differently about anything at all  - if I decide to do so.'   So I can decide to treat pain and unhappiness with brain control.   I can  take control of my own mind and then practice feeling and behaving in ways  that I choose....like discarding hurtful emotions that immobilize...like getting in touch with my present moment which they say  is the heart of living.   Henry James, himself , in his The Ambassadors, gives the advice: Live all you can,  it's a mistake not to do so.   Even Tolstoy's Yvan Ilych brings about the notion of  'seizing every second of your life and savor it or you lose them forever'!

         So now, right now - I believe a decision should be made.  I should try to beautifully experience my elusive 'now' by allowing myself  to get lost in it. Then everything will fall into place, as they say.  With it,  I should also be able to find happiness. Which should also correspondingly parallel finding a state of not being unhappy.   And  I  would have my assignment done, don't you think?

Mister Toastmaster......

Be My Mentor?

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

        They say that good mentors let you into their world, sharing both professional and personal triumphs and failures.  Their primary role is actually to provide guidance and support...to help you think through difficult decisions...to lead you by example...to be extremely positive and interested in seeing you succeed.  Good mentors thus possess qualities that allow them to instruct you in a beneficial and informative way.  They are patient, understanding, knowledgeable....and of course, there is no single formula for good mentoring.  Styles are as varied as human relationships because the essence of mentoring is the sustained human relationship.

    
       A historical note to mentoring points to antiquity... to the friend of Odysseus, Mentor, whom he placed in charge of his son Telemachus when he went off for the Trojan War. You remember Homer's Iliad and The Odessey, of course?  Well,   the modern usage of the word now is a personal developmental relationship in diverse knowledge transmission situations.  Mentoring, for example, takes different forms in the organizational setting.  The process of an informal transfer of information, mentoring is relevant to work, career or professional development. While we also have youth mentoring, peer mentoring, employee mentoring, we now also have eMentoring, or mentoring online. An interesting upshot. And right here with us in Toastmasters, mentoring,  you know very well, is part and parcel of the reponsibilities as well as the fun of membership.

        But see, I, too, have had the honor and privilege of being called Mentor. Being with both the Academe and Toastmasters International, I realized that  the task seemed to naturally be a need as well as a delightful source of satisfaction just being there. With all the work experience that go along with being a mentor to students as well as to colleagues, it also happens that some unforgettable spice and thrills do turn up.  Because mentoring is equated with work and discipline over and above positive nurturing, listening, and advising,  I had , for instance,  also been identified  not only as Mentor, but fondly as Tormentor too.  Recalling one particular point in time, one of my mentees was upstage accepting a speech excellence award and then followed it by acknowledging me as his Mentor and Tormentor -to the amusement of the audience.  But after the acceptance, he came down the stage to where I was seated and offered me a rose in gratitude - this time to the admiring reaction of the audience.   And moments like that for a mentor are simply priceless!.....

       ... Which is why I never ever  hesitate to accept requests that go:  Please,  -be my mentor?

Mister Toastmaster....

A Little Bit of Tai Chi

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

        ...did you know that each time I am introduced,   I take pleasure in it because more often than not,  what I expect always happens - which is, people usually look for a Chinese-looking female for the name Sonja Chan but end up disappointed because yes, they see a female... an Asian female... but definitely not a Chinese.  Not like one of those that Steven Spielberg accused of bombing Pearl Harbor! (you remember our old Spielberg joke, of course...him thinking the Japanese, the Chinese and the Burmese are all the same!)

        But I love my name, you know, and it goes back to my college days during my Oriental history classes.  Here we discussed the Chinese revolutionary leader Dr Sun Yat Sen whom you might know played an instrumental role of overthrowing the Qing dynasty - the last Imperial dynasty of China.  And this was in 1912.  He was then made the first provisional president when the Republic of China was founded....and well, that was that.

        Now you must think this is crazy but I loved the euphonic effect of the name Dr Sun Yat Sen... and from there,  I began to love everything Chinese: - food, clothes, song, dance - everything Chinese, I tell you....until my husband came along and made my name Dr Sonja Chan.  Fascinating, don't you think?  So I loved everything Chinese - and that necessarily included my love for Tai Chi.  As you must know, Tai Chi, or Tai Chi Chuan, as it is also known, is an internal Chinese martial art usually practised for health reasons.  Some of the training forms known in the Western world include slow-motion routines that a group of people practise together every morning in the parks around the world and with music.  But as a martial art, it is also recognized as a death tool notwithstanding its slow-motion routines.

        Well,  I'm quite  interested in the health aspect of  Tai Chi as it concentrates on the relief of physical stress from both the body and the mind. - which I need!   And I can only mention a couple of these in a 5 to 7 minute speech.  So basic to Tai Chi we might say is the philosophy of the yin and the yang - the receptive and the active always in cooperative combination.  Like it is said - when there is a violent brute force, Tai Chi meets it with a softness until the brute force exhausts itself.  But in a regular training exercise, well,  the sequence of movement emphasizes a straight spine, abdominal breathing and a fluidity of movement.

       And so as it goes:  Tai Chi philosophy maintains that strength comes from one's communion with the ground thus the spine continues on a straight line to the ground like this.  Then exercises normally begin with abdominal breathing: - left left thumb on the navel,  right hand over the left  and breath deeply -1, 2, 3....  As for the fluidity of motion, this example is my favorite.  Start with the right foot forward. the left one foot apart on a 90 degree position... then raise the left hand and move it slowly to the back as you twist your waistline and bend your left knee, the right hand following the left in a lower level. Now the right hand alternates with the left:  raise the right hand in a circular motion as you lower the left.. moving the right hand to the back and the eyes follow the hands as they express. The body now turns to the right,  the left foot stepping forward with the right taking the  one foot distance this time, the waistline correspondingly twisting and the right knee bended.  In here is a total interaction of the body parts which encourages blood circulation,  joint flexibility, and simple relaxation. Interesting?

        Right!  Spielberg supposedly said that the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Burmese were all the same. But that isn't true, is it?  The Chinese have the Great Wall, - the Japanese and the Burmese do not!  The Chinese have Tai Chi Chuan, - the Japanese and the Burmese do not!  The Chinese have me....!  -by name, at least !  The Japanese and the Burmese do not!!! :)

Mister Toastmaster.....

Invitation to Commitment

(A Toastmaster Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

        Let me tell you the story of a man named Roger who one morning ordered live chickens for his daughter's school project.   You know, for the kind of things kids would do like feed them and monitor their growth and later make reports to submit to the teacher.  The same morning, however, he had to take the family out to meet up with another family and so off they went locking up the house.  After a couple of hours, the delivery man arrived with the chickens and finding no one at home simply left them at the doorstep and left.

        Now when Roger and family came back, they found the chickens all over the place and so the family had no choice but to try and catch them.   You could imagine all the commotion that ensued: the chickens cackling, the children screaming, the running here and there.   The chicken-chasing even went as far into the backyard of the neighbors.   Well, for the children, it definitely was fun.   But for the couple... for the husband and wife, - it certainly was an ordeal, and Roger wasn't a bit happy about it.  After having had gathered all the chickens, thus, he picked up the phone, called the delivery man up and - Hey Johnny, - he complained,  that wasn't very wise what you did.   You shouldn't have left the chickens by the doorstep!  See,  they all got free and we had to run all over the place to gather them back.  And the bad thing was we caught only 11 chickens!   Johnny laughed, however, and to that he replied:  - Man, that wasn't so bad at all! You say you caught only 11? Why I left only 7!!!!

        My dear friends, you might have been entertained by the story, but you know, I'd say it mirror-reflects a value called commitment.  By definition, commitment refers to the state of being bound emotionally and intellectually to a course of action or to a person..... it is a trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose.  Roger and family wanted the chickens... they needed the chickens....and they had to have them back even if they had to chase them far on to the neighbors' backyards.  And nothing stopped them till they got them all.  And as it was, they even got more!

       Commitment, Ladies and Gentleman, surfaces in many aspects of life.  Take marriage, for example. It takes commitment to have it happen as it does to make it stay. A man who has decided to take a particular woman to be his bride will do all he can to achieve his goal.  He'll send her chocolates and flowers, he'll travel half the world if only to be with her, he'll even court her parents until the wedding day.  And when the marriage is already there and both spouses want it to last, it needs both of them to make it work out in terms of unending give and take - till death do them part as it may.

        Yet another example might be Michaelangelo..  Who, among us, Ladies and Gentlemen, wouldn't know him and his famous masterpiece at the Sistine Chapel!  For years and years, he painted the fresco with his back laid on canvas with the paint dripping into his eyes till he was almost blind. And these weren't just up and down strokes of the brush, mind you.  This was a painting of the Creation and of the Last  Judgement.  So you could imagine all those people and all those faces, and in effect- all that detail.  But uncomplainingly, he went on and on until it was done.    And if that wasn't commitment, I don't know what it is.

        But now dear friends, shall we have the limelight on us?    I am sure that after signing up with the West Conn Toastmasters,  you came to know about all the intellectual fun we enjoy in here.  On the other hand, I am  sure you also realize that leadership and communication skills can here be achieved by doing - that is, by listening, by thinking, by speaking.....by trying to climb both the Communication and Leadership tracts-  by trying to deliver our speeches and more so we earn our respective norms.   Of course, it is not easy in itself.  But you'll have to agree with me that what makes it easy is putting alongside with the task the fun and the camaraderie that we have.   Just like living one day at a time, I am sure you can make a commitment to set a goal and move towards it step by step.   And if you do, who knows, - instead of catching only 7 chickens, you might just catch 11!

Mister Toastmaster.....

Showcasing Toastmasters

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

             One of the common questions asked out there goes: - "What's this thing they call Toastmasters?"  Otherwise, if you are already one of them,  one of the so-called Toastmasters, the question would be -"Just what do you do in there?"  And I think that is a good question.

             Do we toast bread?  Do we make toasters?  Or do we raise our wine glasses in celebration and offer someone our best wishes or congratulations?  I'd say we go by the third allusion because in Toastmasters,  we do celebrate.  We celebrate speech, we celebrate oral communication, ... and in Toastmasters, -because we are goal-oriented, we celebrate goals achieved!

             Toastmasters is an international organization geared to help people be competent and comfortable in front of people.  It also addresses people who'd rather die than speak in front of an audience.  But more important, this organization of nearly 250,000 members in more than 12,000 clubs in some 106 countries offers an enjoyable way of practicing communicative and leadership skills.

             Like any normal organization, Toastmasters International has a structure which looks like this.

Here, the Member belongs to Toastmasters International in terms of World Headquarters through a system of governance from the Club he belongs to, to the Area, the Division, and the District.  So starting from the Member, that's you, it takes at least 20 active members to form a club; - 20  individuals interested in being a better listener, a better thinker, a better speaker. Then it takes at least 3 contiguous clubs to form an Area led by an Area Governor; 3 contiguous Areas to form a Division led by a Division Governor, and in turn, at least 3 contiguous Divisions to form a District led by a District Governor;  and finally, - all the Districts all over the world are under the supervision of World Headquarters of Toastmasters International, which by the way, is located at Mission Viejo in California of the USA. The names of the Officers and of the Board of Directors you will find in each copy of  The Toastmaster,  a monthy magazine which you, as a Member,  receive from Headquarters together with your speech manuals.

             Now the Club, like any other club, has Officers from out of the membership to keep it running: A President, The Immediade Past President, 3 Vice-Presidents (one for Education, one for Membership, and one for Public Relations),  a Treasurer,  a Secretary,  a Sgt-at-Arms. These officers are responsible for trying to achieve club goals, one of which is to help its Members achieve their own goals as well. They are further responsible for well-planned regular Club Meetings which identify as the heart of the Toastmasters Club.  It is in these structured meetings where the Members enjoy fun and camaraderie as they gain knowledge by participation... where they gain  self-confidence with each attendance they make.

           Well then, dear Friends,- being in this particular Toastmasters' Meeting right now, you certainly recognize the structured parts. The three major portions point out to The Introductory Portion, The Educational Portion, and The Evaluation Portion.  We had fun of sorts listening to the Joke Master and participating in the Table Topics Session during the Introductory Part.  The Table Topics Session invited some members to speak impromptu for 2 minutes on the theme topics prepared by the Table Topics Master.  As I speak, we are brought to the Educational Portion which calls for members who are ready to deliver prepared manual speeches.. This will then be followed by the Evaluation Portion where the General Evaluator handling this portion will call on the individual Evaluators of each speech to point out the excellent aspects of the speech as well as the aspects where the speaker could improve on. The General Evaluator will also call on the Members assigned to give a report on how we managed our time in speaking, how correct our grammar was, and on how well we tried to avoid uttering linguistic crutches like 'ah', 'umm', 'you know',  and others... after which, he will also comment on how well the meeting as a whole was handled. From there, the Meeting ends. But I must mention the fact that meetings, while following standard parts all over the world, could also be governed by certain cultural differences.

             Time now to return the focus on the Member, dear friends. Because Toastmasters International is goal-oriented, you would understand why goal-achieving starts with the Member. There is what we call the Educational System in Toastmasters.  As a Member, you will get to know the complete picture so that for tonight's purposes, allow me to just go through it briefly.

             This system provides Members with a curriculum to develop both his Communicative and Leadership skills.  By going through both tracts in his own good time and pacing, the ultimate goal would be a norm or award conferred by Toastmasters International on the Member.... that of Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).  The Communication Tract  found on the left has the Member first achieve the Competent Communicator norm, followed by the three levels of Advanced Communicator, namely: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.. Simultaneously with, or one after the other, the Leadership Tract  on the right has the Member achieve the Competent Leader norm,  followed by the two levels of Advanced Leader: Bronze and Silver. After the Member has achieved both the Advanced Communicator and Advanced Leader norms, then  is he conferred the highest norm,  which is Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).

             But see,  what I have given you is just a tip off the iceberg regarding what Toastmasters is all about....just a showcase window.  The next thing for me is now to invite you to come into the store and look closer into the many good things Toastmasters offers you.  To you, our Guests, come join us within the context of intellectual fun and camaraderie that you can experience only in a Toastmasters Meeting such as this.  And having said that, may I invite you further as I propose a toast.  (raise wine glass) Ladies and Gentlemen, here's to excellence in the name of Toastmasters!

Mister Toastmaster......

Thoughts on Temporariness

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

        Has it ever occurred to you that a  raisin could eat up a golden colored orange?  I bet you're

now just thinking that this must be one of those riddles that go around.   And you're right, you 

know.  It is a riddle. And I can even tell you right now what it is all about.  That the raisin eating up

the orange is actually an allusion to the somber darkness of night slowly overcoming the glowing 

brightness of day. This notion is definitely poetic, don't you think?   And it fascinates me to 

realize that it actually triggers one's visualization of change- as in the change from day to night. 

This could also bring about the notion of alternation- as in day comes after night, and then night 

comes after day and so on.  So here we have change and alternation.  And you know, there are

still other relative notions.. ..but of all these what really interests me is the notion of 

temporariness. The fact that day or night does not last forever necessarily bring about the other

fact that both are at best only temporary. And dear friends, my thoughts on these, I'd like to share

with you.

        By definition, temporariness is a quality or property of lasting for only for a short time.  but 

even the word temporariness triggers diverse semantic shades. From the materialistic point of 

view, for instance, the stage is set for temporariness versus ownership.  Ownership is about 

attachment,  dependency,  and possession.  Temporariness induces detachment while 

ownership sustains attachment.   Ownership is no longer the way to experience because these

days we rent.  We rent our cars, we rent our houses, we rent our clothes.... we even rent our 

dates - if you watched that movie, 'The Wedding Date'.  We are seeing the rejection of the 

so-called Accumulation Society as indicated by a recent study.  Here, most Americans use only 

20% of what they own because apparently, they enjoy objects only for purposeful use but not for

holding on to and letting these objects control them.  They will care for and respect these 

objects but they will not become attached to them.  In other words,  rather than ownership, they 

will go for temporariness.

        Another outlook on temporariness that we can identify is philosophical.  Here we look into

the contrast between the temporariness of the world and the eternality of God.  Of course, 

different people have a different name for God  but we all refer to the same supernatural being. Philosophers start with our basic experience which is the experience of time. 'Time', they say, 

is the continuance of  anything in its own being like the rivers running on and on, or the sun 

shinning on and on.  But time is also an essential category to existence - to 'being'.... to being 

alive, if you may.  Like being able to respond to the senses of seeing, of  hearing, of tasting and 

smelling and of touching.  Still, another correlate of time would be 'duration',  which according to 

John Locke, is a common measure of existence wherein  all partake equally.  It refers to the 

length of time a thing would be in actuality...-as how our toastmasters club meeting at the 

moment lasts from 12 noon to 1 pm.   And to push it even further, 'duration' is continued 

existence.....but it also refers to a possibility of existence followed by non-existence. Or in other 

words, the possibility of existence followed by death - the end of existence.  Therefore, as we 

have over-simplified, these aspects of Time, Duration, and Existence all point out to the 

temporariness of this world - where existence stops at an end point. On the other hand, if  we

were to identify an ideal reality where existence is a constant and an unchanging principle of 

order, then this is what we would know as eternity - or foreverness.... the standpoint of God.  

And  temporariness simply negates eternality.

        My dear friends, I do go along with both the materialistic and philosophical views of 

temporariness but you know what - there still is another view which I am inclined to favor and this

is the simple dichotomy of  temporariness and permanence in this world.  You see, I maintain 

two columns in my life: -that of temporariness and that of permanence.  And to each, I delegate

people, objects and facts. Of course, who these people are and what those objects and what 

those facts may be, I will keep a secret from you.  One thing, I can tell you, however,  is about a 

fact that will never be found under the temporariness column - the fact, Ladies and Gentlemen, -

that I am a toastmaster!

Mister Toastmaster.........

The Mom of Ruby

(A Toastmaster Basic Speech)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

        You know, there was a time not very long ago when this little girl named Ruby was way back yet in preschool.  Well, like any normal mother, I was so proud of her every achievement: - in song, in dance, in poetry delivery - everything that a 4-year old girl could do.  You see, each time she'd get an award for any of these activities, people would exclaim, 'Why that's the daughter of Sonja!'  And all eyes would turn to me.....and I would relish all of those impressed looks!

        Well, this 4-year old Ruby is now the 40 something Ruby that some of you here know.  As of now, she's gone through middle school,  through high school,  through graduate school with a doctoral degree in Linguistics - just like her mom.  She is married,  she has four children.  She has lived and worked places in  Asia,  in Europe,  and now, in the States.  And guess what, whenever now it's my turn to achieve some effort recognition, people exclaim, 'Why that's the mom of Ruby!'  And all eyes would now turn to her one hundred impressed!

        Fellow Toastmasters - it's not that I am complaining, even if I do sound like I am. It's just that I simply can't believe how time flies off.  Ruby travels her time line, yes,  with all the blessings the heavens send her. But well, I do have my share of a corner in this world.  In fact, even before she was born, I had already been part of the academe.  While I taught professional education subjects,  I also taught languages like English, Spanish, and some others.  Then I had the chance to be Department Head for Languages in my university - that's the Saint Louis University.  This one's run by Belgian Fathers in the Philippines because the Saint Louis University in Missouri - that one's run by Jesuit Fathers.

        I still remember how I had enjoyed my earlier academic life even if I used to be overworked.  You see, I was also properly paid.  But no, not overpaid.  I'd be given extra teaching assignments in the Graduate School as well as consultation hours both for masteral and doctoral dissertation writers.  Then - as if these were not  yet enough, I joined Toastmasters International too.  Now,  in Toastmasters there is no money - that,  you all know!  But believe me, it is here where I enjoyed myself even more.  So much so that I got the chance to serve three terms as Area Governor and a term of Division Governor.  That's Area 61, Division G, in District 

75 - in the Philippines.  That's how I got to earn my DTM norm, by the way.

        Now I mustn't miss telling you, my dear friends,  that I was also happily married to a military man by the name of Antonio.  Not Antonio Banderas, of course.  But if you like him a lot, I do, too.   I watch his every movie, you know.  But my Antonio, he used to be an officer of the Philippine Army.  Funny thing though is that he didn't give up his life in battle...he lost it to pneumonia instead...and that was a couple of years ago. This, in fact, is the reason I find myself here with you tonight - as the tables have been overturned, so to speak.  My son and my daughter have now become my parents...taking care of me....and telling me what todo as well.  The one says, 'Mom, you can't stay alone back home anymore! Either you stay with me here in

Malaysia, or you stay with Ruby out there in the States.'  And the other one says, 'I totally agree!'

        So Ladies and Gentlemen, - you're guessing right that I have allowed myself to be cut off from my academic life. But that is going to be just temporarily, I assure you.   On the other hand, I'm sure you can also see that I have not allowed myself to be cut off from my Toastmasters' life.  But the overall important thing is this: - because I can sincerely say that both my family and my career have been most fulfilled segments in my life,  I really don't  mind now being known as The Mom of Ruby.

Mister Toastmaster......