Table topics award

Peter getting the award from Christa

Table topics was based off of stories, lead by Christa. She asked Brian if he would like to see the dinosaurs. He told her that he would like to visit the dinosaurs and see all of the different creatures, but then would be happy to come back home. Lee was asked if he could have one free ride in a time machine, when would he visit. He replied that he would not take the ride because of the butterfly effect, and would not want to upset history. Peter was asked whether he would rather be a vampire or a werewolf. He said he would be a vampire, and played off of the drink a bloody mary. During his tale, he said that hide from the people in town, but other than that it would be preferable than being a werewolf. Peter won the table topics award today!

Tell A Tale Day Review

The Toastmaster of the day was Dave Coffman, who highlighted different tall tales from his life as his theme. One tale he told was how he jumped off a bridge because he was dared to. Later in his life he skated down a dangerous hill, when he broke his arm. The hospital, being very familiar with him, called his mom, who exclaimed if someone dared... Then stop. Yes he had been dared to jump off a bridge, and jumped.The general evaluator of the day was Peter, who complimented the club on their ability to adapt and have fun. He also complimented Christa on her impromptu reading. Her first time doing so I might add. One thing he mentioned to do in the future is to announce specific roles beforehand.
The first speaker of the day was Dave, who gave a speech on what he never wanted to talk to his mother about- childbirth. He talked about taking a lifeguarding class where they had to learn how to perform emergency childbirth. Later in his life, in his late teenage years, he was on a bus that had a woman go into labor. The bus driver shouted if anyone knew how to help, and he groggily raised his hand. He then went on to deliver a beautiful baby girl. Lee was his evaluator and complimented Dave incorporating humor into his speeches.  One thing he suggested was that Dave put more tenderness at the end of the story like he has done before.
Christa was the second speaker of the day who read the story They're Made Out Of Meat by Terry Bisson. This story talks of encountering a strange alien race that is vastly different than the main race, or anything they have experienced before. The decision of the main race was to ignore the race different than they were. At the end of the story, the theme of being ignored came to head by saying how cold the universe would be if we were alone. Lee was Christa's impromptu evaluator as well. He told Christa that he was really impressed with her gestures and different voices for each character. She spoke nice and slow throughout the story, and said he loved that she had fun with the content.
Table topics was based off of stories, lead by Christa. She asked Brian if he would like to see the dinosaurs. He told her that he would like to visit the dinosaurs and see all of the different creatures, but then would be happy to come back home. Lee was asked if he could have one free ride in a time machine, when would he visit. He replied that he would not take the ride because of the butterfly effect, and would not want to upset history. Peter was asked whether he would rather be a vampire or a werewolf. He said he would be a vampire, and played off of the drink a bloody mary. During his tale, he said that hide from the people in town, but other than that it would be preferable than being a werewolf. Peter won the table topics award today!
Lauralee was timer of the day, and Brian was grammarian of the day with the word stupify.

Off the cuff

Table Topics video

Fun At Toastmasters

A Year of Pictures

Come join us!

Come join us at Pig 'N Pancake for Tell a Tale Day! It is located at 810 SW Alder st, Newport Oregon. We will be starting at 7:00 AM and be done in time for work, 7:50 AM.

Tell A Tale Day

Dave will be the first speaker of the day, evaluated by Lee. Dave will also be the Toastmaster of the day, evaluated by Peter. Christa will be in charge of table topics. Laurie will be the grammarian of the day, and Lauralee will be the timer.

Tell A Tale Day

Pictures of the princesses

Left to right is Brian, Galilea, Sydney, Chelsea, Laura and Dave

Left to right is Lee, Christa, Galilea, Sydney, Chelsea, Laura and Avital

Princess Galilea's speech

The last princess to speak was Galilea, who highlighted the subject of immigration. To talk about the subject, she focused on how America was built by immigrants who came from across the world to be free. Galilea said that they showed great courage by coming to a new world they did not know. To bring the story back to Newport, she talked about how Sam Case came from the East Coast to Newport and built the first post office here. Christa evaluated Galilea for her speech. She complemented her courage in giving a speech to an unknown audience. To help her with the speech, Christa suggested to have the whole introduction and conclusion written out and then the rest of the paper written in an outline. The other suggestion she gave Galilea was to look at the top of the audience's head to give a more personal feeling to the speech.

Princess Sydney's speech

Sydney spoke thrid about her take on valor. She spoke on an experience that she had recently where she had the opportunity to go to Portland and serve the homeless there. It was on that night that Sydney said she was able to look the homeless people in the eye and hear their stories. In her speech, said talked about how over 40,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. She said that those soldiers are valorous, and it is our duty to care for them when they get home. Lee was Sydney's evaluator for her first speech. He said that she should say 40,000 veterans instead of the very specific statistic she used that was hard to remember. One of the compliments Lee gave to Sydney was that she used personal experiences to convey her message on the importance of valuing valor.

Princess Chelsea's speech

Chelsea was the second speaker who talked about how immigrants are brave coming to a new place, or without knowing anyone there. She talked about her parents who came here from a different country to provide a better life for their family. They came over when they were in their twenties, and together they had two daughters. As she talked about her family, she emphasized that valor does not have to be a single act, but it can be a lifestyle based on facing new challenges and serving your family. Avital was Chelsea's evaluator, and complimented her on projecting her voice so the room could hear. She suggested to Chelsea that she slow down while speaking because her speech felt a bit rushed.

Princess Laura's speech

Laura was the first speaker of the day. Her speech started off with a story of a girl who was ostracized during recess, and turned to running to combat the loneliness. The beginning of her speech built suspense through seemingly starting off in the middle of a story. She talked about how valor is not just soldiers fighting for their country or fire fighters running into a burning building, but courage can be seen in everyday life. She also reminded us to live in the moment, because we do not know which breath with be our last. Laurie suggested that Laura use an outline and put her paper on the lectern. While evaluating her, she complimented Laura on building suspense and reigning in the audience with her introduction. Dave mentioned when giving his general evaluation to Laura that, since she is in drama, to remember to project. He said to focus on projecting enough so the people in the "cheap seats" can hear.

Loyalty Days first event

Today was the Loyalty Day Princesses' speeches! The Toastmaster of the day was Brian, and he lead the meeting directing the changes between each of the princesses and all four evaluations. Dave was the general evaluator, who both showed his appreciation for the Loyalty Day's court, sharing his story about coming home from Vietnam and having people sneer at him. When he came to Newport, Oregon and went to Loyalty Day's he felt like people appreciated his service. He complimented Brian on being a good host, and the Loyalty Day's Princesses for their poise.
Laura was the first speaker of the day. Her speech started off with a story of a girl who was ostracized during recess, and turned to running to combat the loneliness. The beginning of her speech built suspense through seemingly starting off in the middle of a story. She talked about how valor is not just soldiers fighting for their country or fire fighters running into a burning building, but courage can be seen in everyday life. She also reminded us to live in the moment, because we do not know which breath with be our last. Laurie suggested that Laura use an outline and put her paper on the lectern. While evaluating her, she complimented Laura on building suspense and reigning in the audience with her introduction.
Chelsea was the second speaker who talked about how immigrants are brave coming to a new place, or without knowing anyone there. She talked about her parents who came here from a different country to provide a better life for their family. They came over when they were in their twenties, and together they had two daughters. As she talked about her family, she emphasized that valor does not have to be a single act, but it can be a lifestyle based on facing new challenges and serving your family. Avital was Chelsea's evaluator, and complimented her on projecting her voice so the room could hear. She suggested to Chelsea that she slow down while speaking because her speech felt a bit rushed.
Sydney spoke thrid about her take on valor. She spoke on an experience that she had recently where she had the opportunity to go to Portland and serve the homeless there. It was on that night that Sydney said she was able to look the homeless people in the eye and hear their stories. In her speech, said talked about how over 40,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. She said that those soldiers are valorous, and it is our duty to care for them when they get home. Lee was Sydney's evaluator for her first speech. He said that she should say 40,000 veterans instead of the very specific statistic she used that was hard to remember. One of the compliments Lee gave to Sydney was that she used personal experiences to convey her message on the importance of valuing valor.
The last princess to speak was Galilea, who highlighted the subject of immigration. To talk about the subject, she focused on how America was built by immigrants who came from across the world to be free. Galilea said that they showed great courage by coming to a new world they did not know. To bring the story back to Newport, she talked about how Sam Case came from the East Coast to Newport and built the first post office here. Christa evaluated Galilea for her speech. She complemented her courage in giving a speech to an unknown audience. To help her with the speech, Christa suggested to have the whole introduction and conclusion written out and then the rest of the paper written in an outline. The other suggestion she gave Galilea was to look at the top of the audience's head to give a more personal feeling to the speech.
The word of the day was valor, chosen by Lauralee the grammarian. Laurie was the timer of the day. Peter was in charge of table topics, but the speeches and evaluations took longer than expected. In lieu of the table topics winner, the winner for most used word of the day was Sydney who used the word 15 times.

The Loyalty Day's Princesses were here!!!

Roles for Tuesday's Loyalty Day's Court meeting

The Toastmaster of the day is Brian being evaluated by Dave, the general evaluator. The speakers will be the Loyalty Day's Court. There will be four evaluators assigned to the princesses the day of. Peter will be the table topics master of the day. Laurie will be the timer of the day.

What will be normal for the Loyalty Day's court

There will be a word of the day, presented from the grammarian like usual. Like normal, there will be a timer, and a Toastmaster of the day. Table topics will still happen like normal, and there will be a general evaluator.
The only thing that will be different is that there will be four speakers, instead of two, and four evaluators.

Next meeting

For the Loyalty Day's princesses, each of the four princesses will be introduced, then give a short speech on Acts of Valor. They will be given the option of participating in Table Topics. After that, each of the princesses will be given an evaluation by members of Newport Toastmasters.

Upcoming dates

Loyalty Day's Court- February 21st
Tell a Tale Day- February 28th
Business meeting- March 7th
Loyalty Day's Court- March 21st

Come visit us

If you would like to visit, and get some information about Newport Toastmasters, please come to one of our meetings on Tuesday at 7AM at Pig 'N Pancake on highway 101 in Newport.

February 14th meeting

Paul was the Toastmaster of the day, very fitting after his speech about the forms of love last week. The theme celebrated the holiday Valentine's day.  Viki was the general evaluator stand in for the day. We would like to welcome her back to Toastmasters! We are very happy to have her with us.
Dave was the first speaker of the day. He gave his speech on how he is the half the man he used to be. It is a success story on how he has been able to lose weight over the last few years, trimming down from over 400 pounds to just below 200 pound for the first time in forty years. He talks about how he was able to achieve such a drastic change, through diet and exercise. Peter was his evaluator, and told him that he did a great job on his speech. One of his suggestion was to have more props to fully show his transformation.
Lee was the second speaker of the day, evaluated by Avital, her first role as a member of our club. His focus on the speech was to give a technical speech to inform an audience. The goal of the speech was to be able to be understood even when talking about complex information. Lee spoke about the beaver creek water lifts. He talked about how our terrain impacts how many lifts we have, which is 25, that supports our population, and contrasted their production to California. Avital was the evaluator for speech, and she said that it would be nice to have maps for the audience to help explain what and where he is talking about.

Brian was the Table Topics Master of the day, and he asked Christa about the legend of saint valentine. She said the legend involved three characters including love, and these three characters formed the basis of the holiday, Valentine's Day. Since then the day has evolved into what we called Valentine's day. Christa was the winner of table topics today. Laimons told his love story of 48 years. He said that like a owning a car for a long time, there are a lot of miles in their relationship, and they have had some problems along the way, but he loves his wife, and would not ever want to be with someone else. Peter talked about whether love at first sight existed, which he says does not, but infatuation does. Avital that she does not care about whether it is chocolates or flowers as long as it comes from the heart.

The word of the day was unrequited, chosen by Lauralee. The timer of the day was Christa.
Have a great day everyone!

Table topics

Brian was the Table Topics Master of the day, and he asked Christa about the legend of saint valentine. She said the legend involved three characters including love, and these three characters formed the basis of the holiday, Valentine's Day. Since then the day has evolved into what we called Valentine's day. Christa was the winner of table topics today.

 Laimons told his love story of 48 years. He said that like a owning a car for a long time, there are a lot of miles in their relationship, and they have had some problems along the way, but he loves his wife, and would not ever want to be with someone else. Peter talked about whether love at first sight existed, which he says does not, but infatuation does. Avital that she does not care about whether it is chocolates or flowers as long as it comes from the heart.

Meet the Loyalty Day's princesses

Left to right the princesses are Galilea, Sydney, Chelsea and Laura. They will be joining us for their first speech February 21st!!

Brian got his Competent Communicator

Today, Brian received his Competent Communicator award from Dave. Congratulations!!

Table Topics

Table topics today was inspired by Facebook memes or pictures. There was a three way tie for table topics today! Christa was given the situation of a mascot playing musical chair with children, and they kept stealing the chairs out from under them. If she was a participant, how would she win against the cheating mascot. She said that this was similar to a David and Goliath situation. In order to win, Christa would either trip the mascot and him tie up, or kick the mascot to keep him away from her chair.
Laurie was asked what could go wrong if two scientists dressed up as zebras in an African country to try to study them. First she said that the flies there bite you and so not only would the zebra costume be incredibly hot, but the flies would bite all over the scientists. The other big danger is the fake zebra would not run near as fast as real ones so if a lion was there, they could become lunch.
Brian was the last table topics participant. One person had sent their loved one to the funeral home with popcorn, so it would pop when they were cremated. Dave asked Brian to tell a situation where something unexpected happened during a cremation. He told the story of the person who had a loaded pistol in a pocket when they went into the crematory, and so rounds started going off. Worse yet, the person had a pen with a bullet on it, and a bullet on their keys, which were not taken off their person before being cremated. The malformed gun now hangs by the door of the crematory as a reminder to check a person for personal items before cremating them.

Speaker of the day

There was one speaker today. Paul spoke on how to love as a research based informational speech. He talked about when you are a baby you are selfish so you can get what you need and believe that you are the center of the world. As we progress through life, Paul explained that your ability for love also grows, so that you can love a friend, then become a partner with another for life, putting their needs as if they were your own. Eventually we can grow to love others like we do ourselves, even if we do not know them, and want the best for them. His evaluator was Christa, who talked about the fact that she appreciated his extensive research on his topic of love. It got her thinking about why do we love, and what is love. One thing she suggested is to list the types of love on a poster, and maybe follow a person growing up as they progress through the different types of love, gaining the ability to love another more deeply than before.

Toastmaster of the day

The Toastmaster of the day was Laurie, whose theme was Where would you rather be? The theme was based on the best weather around the nation. Places like Death Valley California and Miami Florida were in the mid seventies today, and sunny, which she thought was better than the gray skies we have today.Lee was the general evaluator, who said that Laurie forgot to introduce his role at the beginning. He found the meeting a happy and fun filled meeting. He complimented Christa's mini-speech, and commented on her tendency to giggle at what she is explaining during table topics. During Laurie's table topics, Lee mentioned that he whispered to Paul "What about the lions?" which she then talked about. He also complimented the word of the day, Kibitzer which means a person who offers unwanted advice, chosen by Peter.

Updated Calendar Dates

Dates to remember!
Princesses are coming on February 21st, 2017.
Our open house will be on February 28th for Tell a Tale day.
There will be a club contest on March 14th, 2017. 
Princesses will be returning on March 21st, 2017

February 7th meeting

Business meeting:
To start off the meeting, Brian received his Competent Communicator award. There will be a club contest on March 14th, 2017. Our open house will be on February 28th for Tell a Tale day.
The Toastmaster of the day was Laurie, whose theme was Where would you rather be? The theme was based on the best weather around the nation. Places like Death Valley California and Miami Florida were in the mid seventies today, and sunny, which she thought was better than the gray skies we have today.
There was one speaker today. Paul spoke on how to love as a research based informational speech. He talked about when you are a baby you are selfish so you can get what you need and believe that you are the center of the world. As we progress through life, Paul explained that your ability for love also grows, so that you can love a friend, then become a partner with another for life, putting their needs as if they were your own. Eventually we can grow to love others like we do ourselves, even if we do not know them, and want the best for them. His evaluator was Christa, who talked about the fact that she appreciated his extensive research on his topic of love. It got her thinking about why do we love, and what is love. One thing she suggested is to list the types of love on a poster, and maybe follow a person growing up as they progress through the different types of love, gaining the ability to love another more deeply than before.
Table topics today was inspired by Facebook memes or pictures. There was a three way tie for table topics today! Christa was given the situation of a mascot playing musical chair with children, and they kept stealing the chairs out from under them. If she was a participant, how would she win against the cheating mascot. She said that this was similar to a David and Goliath situation. In order to win, Christa would either trip the mascot and him tie up, or kick the mascot to keep him away from her chair.
Laurie was asked what could go wrong if two scientists dressed up as zebras in an African country to try to study them. First she said that the flies there bite you and so not only would the zebra costume be incredibly hot, but the flies would bite all over the scientists. The other big danger is the fake zebra would not run near as fast as real ones so if a lion was there, they could become lunch.
Brian was the last table topics participant. One person had sent their loved one to the funeral home with popcorn, so it would pop when they were cremated. Dave asked Brian to tell a situation where something unexpected happened during a cremation. He told the story of the person who had a loaded pistol in a pocket when they went into the crematory, and so rounds started going off. Worse yet, the person had a pen with a bullet on it, and a bullet on their keys, which were not taken off their person before being cremated. The malformed gun now hangs by the door of the crematory as a reminder to check a person for personal items before cremating them.
Lee was the general evaluator, who said that Laurie forgot to introduce his role at the beginning. He found the meeting a happy and fun filled meeting. He complimented Christa's mini-speech, and commented on her tendency to giggle at what she is explaining during table topics. During Laurie's table topics, Lee mentioned that he whispered to Paul "What about the lions?" which she then talked about. He also complimented the word of the day, Kibitzer which means a person who offers unwanted advice, chosen by Peter.
Have a great day!

Facebook

We have a Facebook page! Newport Toastmasters is our Facebook page which you can find here. If you are on Facebook please like and follow our page!

Mark Your Calendar

Upcoming dates to remember:
Loyalty Days Court is coming February 21st, 2017 for their first speech!
Tell a Tale Day is on February 28th, 2017
Loyalty Days Court will be returning March 21st, 2017

The Toastmaster Competent Leadership

Toastmasters International offers two beginning manuals, the Competent Communicator and the Competent Leadership. The Competent Leadership manual contains ten projects to help develop comprehensive leadership skills.
Leadership skills are learned in every meeting role, however you choose which roles you complete to finish the different projects. There are requirements for marking off a role for a project. Each meeting that you fill a role can only count for one project. Example: Critical thinking and giving feedback require the same roles, however if you are grammarian on August 9th you can only count that for one project not both.
Projects include skills such as listening, motivation, and time management. Some projects require meeting roles, such as being timer for time management. Others require you to help lead a extra role such as organizing a contest speech. Others, such as Mentoring, require you to help other members complete speeches or complete leadership projects.
Just like the Competent Communicator, once you have completed the ten projects Toastmasters International can send your employer a letter with your accomplishment. From there, Toastmasters has more manuals tracks that you can continue building your leadership skills. The Advanced Leadership Bronze and Silver. At the end of these manuals, including the communication series, you will receive the Distinguished Toastmaster award.

The Toastmasters Competent Communicator

The Toastmasters program helps you through manuals such as the Competent Communicator, but is not a formal course such as Communications 111. There are no grades or tests, but instead you have Table Topics and the Ice Breaker Speech. Club meetings help you to work together to study and practice your communication and leadership skills.

You can work with introductions, perform roles during club meetings, and work on projects, such as the ten speech projects in the Competent Communicator. In this manual you build speaking skills with each new project. Most of the speeches are five to seven minutes focusing on a single skill. It works on everything from organization, to body language, to researching a topic. This will help you learn to speak with clarity and confidence.

With each speech you give, you will be evaluated to help you grow and learn. They will point out strengths and offer suggestions on how to improve the speech. This manual focuses on the basics of public speaking, and your evaluator will focus on the basics as well. If you are working on vocal variety for your speech, they will also focus on it when giving your evaluation. The manual will help you gain the skills through it's ten projects, then you will receive the Competent Communicator Award.

Want to learn more than just the basics? There are plenty more manuals for communication that you can work on, ranging from storytelling, to career related learning. After you have finished the manual, Toastmasters International will send a letter to your employer if you wish them to, notifying them of your achievement. This is especially nice if your work has a program to pay for you to be in Toastmasters.

Throwback Table Topics

Throwback to last February! On February 23rd, the Table Topics Master was Paul Brookhyser, who asked Brian Norris whether he would want to be considered a bridge or a tower. The coveted Table Topics Trophy was awarded to Brian Norris as he extolled the virtues of being a bridge as opposed to being a tower.

Laimons was the Table Topics Master on Tuesday October 4thh, 2016. He awarded the Table Topics Trophy to Laurie who he asked about blobs in Hawaii. She spoke about how there are a variety of "blobs" in Hawaii, ranging from the one in the ocean, to the lava that could destroy your house.

Paul was the table topics master of the day on November 29th, 2016. Lauralee was the winner of table topics and talked about the electoral college, which she had just written a five page paper on. She proposed that instead of the mysterious electoral college, that can override popular vote, that we use a more representative group of people.