Give something back - 26 August

Give something back . . . . . . and see what you get in return.

My initial involvement with Toastmasters, which has endured for the best part of fifteen years, was a selfish quest. I had to be able to take school assemblies, but I feared (what I perceived to be) the critical comments of the staff behind me on the stage. The five hundred or more pupils in the hall in front of me were not the problem. I had seen the transforming benefits of the Toastmasters Youth Leadership courses at our school, for so many of our pupils. I figured that if they could make such a difference to the pupils, they would surely be able to help me. The rest, as they say, is history.

I had been teaching then for almost fifteen years, but I recall as if it were yesterday, my anxiety when I stepped up to do my Ice-Breaker speech, entitled No Man is an Island. Dry mouth, clammy hands, cue cards clutched desperately like a lifeline for a drowning (wo)man, I stumbled and stuttered my way through it. Then came the adrenalin rush afterwards – and I was hooked.

I am sure, at this moment, many of you have been transported back through time to your own first speech. I know you identify with how I felt. But, I am sure you also feel the benefits of what Toastmasters has done for you. So, what happened next? I became involved in the running of Youth Leadership courses at my school, and in assisting at other schools. Two years ago I decided to get involved in the running of Speechcraft courses that are run on the same basis – 8 weekly sessions of fairly intense Toastmasters training encompassing learning the skills of meeting procedure; doing impromptu speeches; finding out about the intricacies of vocal variety, gestures and body language; learning about the value of organisation and planning and a host of other skills that one assimilates along the way.

Fourteen Youth Leadership courses and three Speechcraft courses and I still can’t get over the ‘kick’ it gives me to see the metamorphosis – literally lives are changed by the experience. I shouldn’t be surprised. I have experienced it in my own life. So have you. My challenge to all Algoa members is to get involved. I know you are all busy people, but giving back what you have gained to the community – at any level – will give you much more satisfaction than if you had kept it to yourself. Clearly not everyone wants to run a course, but you can offer to help. Speak to VPEd, Alison Immelman, to find out where your help might be needed.

I must tell you about our Speech contest, which was held on 28 August. Both competitions yielded high quality speeches. Firstly, the Impromptu Contest saw members; Alison Immelman, Nicholas Mitchell, Mariannah Lourens and Trevor Wells wax lyrical about the word FLAT. From buying their first flat, to feeling flat at the end of the day, our competitors managed to rise to the occasion. Congratulations to Nicholas for winning the contest and to Alison for her second place! Then it was the Humorous Contest. Mariannah Lourens entertained us with her views on Road rage in an aptly named speech, Roadrageous. After that Nicholas Mitchell had us chuckling with his thought-provoking speech on the joys of large families, Why Four? Finally, Trevor Wells had us experiencing his pain on being dumped by a wave in his speech, Washing Machine. Our congratulations (once again) go to Nicholas on winning this contest – and on the announcement about Number Five! Also to Mariannah on her second place – and on the announcement about the birth of another grandbaby, born in Hawaii! Now it’s up to us to support the winners as they compete in the next rounds: Area Contest - (8 September, at VP Grey – 10 am). Then the Division Contest (15 September, also at VP Grey at 10 am). I am sure Colleen Love (Area Governor, E1) and Glenis Whitehead (Division Governor) would be most grateful for your assistance. Think about the benefits of giving back.

Until next time.

Ricky Woods

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Conference . . .

                     

On clubs and competitions and other curious things

 

Do you do stand up?

No, I prefer to sit when I tell jokes.  

What is it about the world that has made comedy such a sought after thing? Wherever one goes people are flocking to listen to stand-up comedians. The recent Grahamstown National Arts Festival saw a glut of comedy shows and television is awash with programmes like The Last Comic Standing.  After giving the matter some thought I have come to the conclusion that our lives are probably pretty ordinary. In fact, in many cases they are downright boring. All we ever face on television news is murder and mayhem, so it stands to reason that we want to escape from reality with a good dose of laughter. Psychological studies abound with reports about the curative powers of laughter. In fact, some have described laughter as 'massage for your innards'.

Toastmasters has a strong tradition of encouraging humorous speeches, especially in our annual Humorous Speech Contest and Algoa is proud to say that we have a past National winner in our midst - Marlene van Wyk/Vosloo.  

If you have not worked it out yet, I am trying to encourage you to enter our club competition, which, if I have it right is on 28 August. You can't say 'I am not funny' if you have not tried it. Who knows, we may have a budding Trevor Noah among you.  How do you enter?  Just get hold of Alison at alistaude@yahoo.com or on 0845150110 and she will slot you in.  Remember, the other competition battle that is to be fought is the Impromptu Speech Contest.

Congratulations are in order this month:

• Quinton Jacobs and his bride, Karien have tied the knot! A lovely ceremony and reception were attended by a number of our club members who reported that Quinton was truly overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment.  Well done, you two.
• Alan Hunter, who has been working furiously at it for the past number of years, has emerged with an LLB degree. Congratulations, Alan. We are very proud of you.
• Glenis Whitehead, who is not only our many-times past President and past Area Governor, and current Division Governor of Division E, celebrated a very special  and significant birthday on Sunday 12 August. I am not allowed to mention the number, but she tells me she is now officially allowed to think about retirement.  
• New member, Mike Brosnahan, proved last night what they say about beginner's luck. Not only was he newly installed, but he also won the award for Best Table Topics speech. Michael Warren, eat your heart out!

Women's Month featured as the theme of the evening at the meeting on 14 August, presided over by Toastmaster Belita von Steiger, new CC.  " The whole point of getting things done is to know what to leave undone"  That could only have been said by a woman!   During the Table Topics session presented by Deborah Stevenson, members were encouraged to speak around the idea of What do women really want? There were many offers, but my favourite was 'to eat chocolate and not get fat' 

The prepared speeches were varied and interesting. Glenis Whitehead ( re-doing her CC manual) completed a CC6 speech (using vocal variety) with the interesting title Don't be surprised by my red hat. After this she was presented with her club pin for having completed five speeches.

Thereafter, Angie Kivido, in a well-researched CC7 speech paid homage to a South African great in a speech called The SA Agulhas and her part in the Arctic Research Project.

Louise Solomons did a practice run of a speech which she had to deliver to middle management students, entitled The Lion and the Mouse. 

Even the Toast of the evening, presented by Mariannah Lourens, was an advanced level project speech To the Missionvale care Centre and Sister Ethel.

As General  Evaluator, Colleen Love summed it up, the speeches provided everything: entertainment by Glenis, information by Angie and motivation by Louise.

I know that a number of you have been reading the blog, which makes it all worthwhile. We are experiencing problems with the feature that allows you to comment, but Belita assures me that it can and will be fixed.  In the meantime, brush off your sense of humour and see if it still works. then pick up the phone and tell Alison that you want to be part of the Humorous Speech contest on 28th.

Until next time.

Ricky Woods

Mike - with Table Topics cup - kindly donated by Belita - her father's Impromptu Cup 1963!

New Year's Resolutions?

30 July 2012
Yes, I know it's nearly August, but since Toastmasters is an international organization with its headquarters in the United States, we are obliged to start our year in July. That said, it is time for all members to have a look at their goals - both with regard to the educational track and to the leadership track.  If you are not sure what this means, do take some time to speak to the VPEd, Alison Immelman or to any of the other members of your Exec.  You will also be receiving an email from her which will help you to focus you on those goals.

   Some bits of news that will be of interest to members :

• We welcomed Tom Horne back after he had spent some time in hospital. He gave us quite a scare, but bounced straight back to the meeting out of his hospital bed.  May you continue to be the blessing to our club that you are, Tom.
• We want to wish Quinton well as he goes off to get married in August - and then to a magical honeymoon , in Russia, no less! ( At least it is summer there.)
• Club Officer Training took place on Saturday, 28 July at VP Grey and was attended by 27 executive members from most of the clubs in Area E1. Grateful thanks to Glenis, Marlene, Nicholas, Yvonne and Megan  who undertook the training.  Attendance at this training also ensures us of Club points in the Distinguished Club Programme.

Our last meeting was varied and interesting - as always.

After a fascinating stint of Table Topics during  which time we were asked to explore the fascinating world of phobias - including the fear of washing, ghosts and even of food! - we went on to a range of prepared speeches from both the Competent Communicator and the Advanced manuals.

Anton Barkhuizen started off with his CC2 (Organize your Speech). We learned about Your Secret Weapon, our unique style of communicating with others : visual,aural,tactile.

Then, Trevor Wells had us rolling as he regaled us with his tale of a body surfing experience gone wrong with the Washing Machine(CC4 Ho to say it).

In her first advanced speech from the Public Relations manual, Louise Erasmus sold us all over on the benefits of Toastmasters with her speech entitled So, You want to be a Public Speaker? 

Finally, Nicholas Mitchell demonstrated once again how he has competed and won at national level with his AC27 speech from the Professional Speaker manual, Why Four? in which he expounded on the joys of having a large family

The level of humour evident in some of these speeches serves as a reminder that our annual Humorous Speech Contest is coming up very shortly, as is the Impromptu Speech Contest. Both of these contests are in preparation for the National Contest which will take place at MiniCon at Kirstenbosch Gardens on 13 October.  We are hoping to take a really representative group from Area E1 to support our competitors.  If you are keen, speak to an Exec member, or visit the District 74 website at www.toastmasters74.org for details. The sooner you book, the cheaper the rates - and flights!

It is my sincere attempt to make this blog an interactive site for Algoa members - and for visitors.  Last time I asked members to give others tips on how they get to finding a topic to speak on. I think there were some gremlins at work then, so I am extending the same invitation to you this week.  Just click on the Post a Comment link and then let's see what happens.

Until next time.

Ricky Woods

May I Propose...............? 10 July 2012

There is a saying about death and taxes – they are the only certainties we have in life. I would like to suggest that the inexorable passing of time is also inevitable. It feels as if it was just a month or so ago that we saw Colleen Love being installed as Club President – and had Annette Lovemore regale us with her humorous first-hand accounts of life in Parliament. Then, we blink our eyes and another Toastmasters year is behind us!

We enjoyed a wonderful Induction Dinner on 20 June at the PE Women’s Club in Summerstrand. Good food and good company in very pleasant surroundings culminated in a presentation by Tim Marshall on Generation Y. It was most entertaining and for those of us involved with teenagers in any way, very insightful.

Denise Pudney was installed as the Club President for 2012/2013 and we are certainly in for a great year with her and our new Executive at our helm. Congratulations to those hard-working members who won our annual awards.

Algoa continues to take the lead in Toastmasters: Did you know? • Having gained 9 of the possible 10 points in the Distinguished Club Programme, Algoa has once again achieved Select Presidents Distinguished Club status. By meeting the needs of our members, we have managed to achieve those goals too. • According to our new VP Membership, Antoinette Baatjes Algoa is officially the largest club in District 74, with a start-up for this Toastmasters year of 40 members! At least another two visitors have indicated their intention to sign up, and we had no fewer than four very keen visitors at the first meeting of the new year. • Our Immediate Past President, Colleen Love, has taken office as the new Area Governor for Area A1 in Division E • Our past Area Governor, Glenis Whitehead, is the new Division Governor for Division E (the Eastern Cape). Well done, Algoa! May the year ahead be filled with many exciting and fulfilling challenges. The first meeting of the year, despite being in the school holidays and so having quite a number of folk away, was as always a learning experience. Michael Warren most ably performed the role of Toastmaster and challenged all participants to think about how they would ideally like to be known – instead of the usual introductions which relate us to what we do. There were some delightful responses ranging from ‘I do my best’ to ‘I do what I like’ to ‘I am fantastic!’ Our Sergeant-at-Arms, Angie Kivido also had us thinking outside the box as she encouraged us to put ourselves into the minds and lives of others. It was a challenge which we all enjoyed meeting. Mimi Makupula gave an enthusiastic account of a day in the life of a car guard and Antoinette Baatjes revealed some of the mysteries of the day to day experiences of Bra Sipho, the taxi driver, but Jessame Kromhout won the day with her convincing portrayal of the oh, so wild Mr Oscar Wilde! We were then treated to three very different prepared speeches: Deon Basson started off by explaining the mysteries and challenges that surrounded naval navigation with his CC2 speech (Organize Your Speech) entitled Longitude. Then DTM Glenis Whitehead showed us the ropes of using body language while entertaining us with her amusing and embarrassing accounts in her second round CC5 (Your Body Speaks) speech entitled My Sister and other Embarrassments. Finally, Mimi Makupula pulled out all the stops in her AC4 speech (The Dramatic Speech) entitled Toe to Toe from the Advanced Manual: The Entertaining Speaker. Drawing on her childhood of being raised by a father who was passionate about dogs and boxing, Mimi gave a passionate and hilarious account of two encounters she had with ferocious dogs. She is definitely someone to have in your corner when you face opposition. A toast was proposed by Trevor Wells ‘To Life’; Mark Barry gave the General Evaluation and Michael Warren won the Top Toastie award. So, another successful Toastmasters meeting was concluded. It is my hope that these fortnightly blogs will become more than just a replay of the meetings. Instead, it would be good to make them a forum for our members to ask and answer questions; make suggestions and offer advice. Remember, we learn by doing and it would be good if we could share our experiences so that other members can learn too. Let me start by asking members to offer suggestions on how they go about deciding on a speech once they have read the objectives. I know that I have often sat for months before the inspiration has come. It can be really frustrating. Can anyone help? If you have suggestions, questions or comments, just Reply to All. Remember the next meeting is 24 July. If you want to be on the programme, speak to Alison. You can get hold of her on 0845150110 or alistaude@yahoo.com Until next time. Ricky Woods

The Success Edition

We had a good turnout with 25 at the meeting, including 3 guests. How lovely it was to see some old friends that we’ve missed recently. We were delighted to welcome Dxy Madikizela as a member at long last. Really, she is part of the family already.
Happy birthday to the following members who will be having birthdays in the next two weeks: Belita von Steiger, Ricky Woods, Johann Harmse, Nicholas Mitchell, Rhona Murchie, Liandra Scoltz and Michael Warren.
Get ready to don your pirate gear. It’s high time we retrieved Andrew the Travelling Gavel. Keep your ears to the grapevine so that we have a good sprinkling of members when we visit Cheshire homes (soon) to claim him back. Let’s take up the challenge!
Divisional Speech Contest
This is scheduled for Saturday 14 April and our hat trick winner – Nicholas Mitchell – will be competing for Area E2. Let’s be there to egg him on so that he goes all the way to Hillcrest.
(BTW - Congrats must go to Gareth Woods (Ricky Woods’ son) who won the English prepared and impromptu sections at club level – lends truth to the apple and tree!)

We also congratulate the winner of the Masthead competition, Leann Roos (did you notice her winning entry at the top?) Remember to look for it on the website – just Google Algoa Toastmasters.
Toastmaster for the evening was the one and only Antoinette Baatjies – who will ever forget her speech entitled “Scotty, beam me up – I need some sacks...”? We always learn from and are entertained by this committed Toastmaster. Her theme for the evening was “Success”, and her advice? Find something you are passionate about. Then you will never have to work a single day in your lives because you are enjoying yourself so much.
Timekeeper for the evening was Angie Kivido, and the Grammarian was Alison Immelman. The Word of the Day was exuberant (adjective; full of enthusiasm; abundant; lavish or elaborate, often to the point of being excessive), which at least 13 members used, Marianah thrice and Marlene quadruply (the over-achiever!) Some verbal gems included Michael’s “Fellow refugees from 1987”, and Mark’s suggestion that “women are like spaghetti”, as well as Jessamy’s plea for a fluidity of identity.
Only Michael Warren can make the introduction to the duties of the um and ah counter into a mini humorous speech! He recently heard a speech in which the speaker had used “like” 43 times! We have been warned that eagle ears is on the alert!
Table Topics Table Topics Master for the evening was Marlene Vosloo, a previous winner of the national impromptu speech competition. Her theme was “a penny of your thoughts”. She offered us a selection of coins (and yes they had been scrubbed). The task for each speaker was to speak about the date on the coin, and what it signified to us. Everyone spoke, and the shortest speech was 56 seconds, true mark of an excellent theme.
Prep speeches – as always we were treated to a diverse selection of topics
Deborah Stevenson – CC3 (Get to the point) showed us how “Blood is thicker than water”. Only 1% of adult SAs donate blood. She told us about the time 3000 Students came together and formed a blood drop – a strong message to donate. It takes just 13 minutes every 56 days. One unit can save three lives. Just one thing – no sex, drugs or rock n roll lifestyles, please
Jessamy Kromhout – CC4 (How you say it) shared with us a “Redefinition of women”, which suggested that a feminist doesn’t have to be a man-hating, bra burning militant! Jessamy expressed a desire for men and women to be who they want to be, with a “jumbled, messy sense of self“.
Belita von Steiger – CC7 (Research your Topic) asked us if we are “Active or passive?” – with regard to our financial fitness. She warned us that only 3 – 5% of SAs will retire financially independently (that’s one in the room). If we want to be that one, all we need to do is earn an income, spend less than we earn and invest wisely. There are three kinds of investors: the Marathoners who invest in the stock market; Middle distance runners who prefer unit trusts; and the “Flicking thro the sports channel” kind of investor who will stick to exchange traded funds. Let’s get physical!
Rhona Murchie – CC8 (Get comfortable with visual aids) told us “How to be a hummingbird” – which means putting out a fire one water drop at a time. Rhona conveyed her passion for the Kenyan tree lady Professor Wangari Maathai, who was proof that even if we start small, we can end big
Reinhardt Botha – AC2 – (Resources for Entertainment) who “Really” entertained us with some classic urban legends. And, although he kept us on the edge of our seats until the denouement, he advised us, when people tell us something as a fact, to say “really?” Good story-telling advice can be summarised with the following mnemonic: aim for SUCCES(S) by telling Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotion-grabbing Stories.
The toast of the day was elegantly offered by Nicholas who embraced the theme of the day eloquently
Evaluations As always our senior members gave us invaluable advice, and reminded us that we grow through doing and through receiving feedback. Great tips included that we should aim to sound comfortable and not too rehearsed and that we should make and hold eye-contact. Be aware of the more unusual verbal crutches (basically anything you use repetitively) – such as “I guess”. Avoid terminology – or define the term – so that the whole audience can be with you. When using visual aids, consider visibility; aim to use pause – especially in story-telling. Be careful of nervous gestures and make sure to end on a bang – like a good Guy Fawkes Day; and finally that understatement can be funny too.
General evaluator for the evening was Area Governor Glenis Whitehead who was as warmly encouraging as always – we are so lucky to have such a knowledgeable, generous, distinguished Toastmaster among us.
Table Topics winner was Louise Erasmus – at last we have a Table Topics queen!
Top Toastie was Deborah Stevenson who epitomises our club motto – “The Courage to Conquer”.
All in all, it was an “exuberant” evening!
They say that those who keep an entirely tidy desk will never know the joy of finding something they thought was lost forever – which brings me to the following photo – of the two grand old men of our club – Geoff Coomb-Davis and Tom Horne. We take our hats off to you (you can keep yours on – with apologies to Joe Cocker)

Valentine Edition - 14 February

We few – we very few – met on this auspicious romantic occasion: only 13 members, and 7 guests. Methinks the love bug must be biting. A most interesting guest was Chris Callahan, current president of the Pretoria East Toastmasters, and erstwhile governor in the Western Cape. He tells us that he went to his 1st Toastmasters meeting when he was just 16, and he has been friends with Tom Horne for some 40 years.
On a social note, we wish member Denise and old friend Linsley Pudney a very happy wedding anniversary.
Business Matters
We have a winner in our Blog Header competition!! Leann Roos has designed the new blog header with a little help from President Colleen Love and her inspirational motto “The Courage to Conquer”. All will be revealed at the next meeting.
Don’t forget to enter the club Speech competition which is scheduled for 28 February. There are 3 sections: The Table topics and evaluation contests which anyone can enter, and the English speech competition for which you need to have reached your CC6. Let Colleen Love or Quinton Jacobs know if you have the courage to conquer!
Tom Horne will be compiling the programme in March as Quinton will be away. Please contact Tom (082 601 9131 or thomashorne@telkomsa.net) for any of your speaking needs.
Toastmaster for the evening was Quinton Jacobs who, naturally, (being a man in love) chose Love and Romance as his theme. He told us that the first celebration of romantic love was recorded in the 5th century. The original St Valentine was beheaded by the Roman Emperor, Claudius the Goth in 269AD. His head was buried in Winchester and venerated by Christian pilgrims for centuries. His saint day was deleted from the Christian calendar in 1969 – but the worship goes on!!
Timekeeper Plaxcedes put us through our punctual paces (it seems that it’s been a long holiday, and many of us have forgotten the value of watching the clock...), and practised what she preached by speaking for exactly a minute on her table topic (as did Um and ah counter Rhona Murchie).
Rhona complimented scheduled speakers on the obvious level of preparation as no verbal crutches were recognised during the prepared speeches, although the rest of us amassed some 20 hesitations between us.
Grammarian Louise Erasmus offered “ubiquitous” (omnipresent, everywhere – as Valentine
Cards are in February) as the Word of the Day, which was used by 7 members.
Some particularly picturesque language included Louise’s describing herself as a
“pedantic dinosaur”, the notion of an “aggressive volcano”, and a child saying to
Antoinette Baatjes that, without her, her life was like a “broken pencil”.
Table Topics
Colleen Love chose a most appropriate theme for the Table Topics session – heart words. Most people participated – always a mark of a good topic area. And here are some of the suggestions that speakers raised:Girls are more easily alone on Valentine’s Day because they do not need to radio the control tower for permission to land; the weirdest Valentine caper must be bringing your mother along on a Valentine date; heart break was being told by a teacher that you’ll never amount to anything; spending Friday afternoon in detention learning “I wandered lonely as a cloud...” off by heart; and how heart-warming it is to spend in the company of friends at Algoa and to “share the love”.

Speakers - Our first speaker for the evening was our guest, Chris Callaghan, who presented his CC7 (research your topic) – again. In his speech, “Dream Mountain”, he shared his geological passion about a fascinating mountain in the rift valley section of Central Africa – which he plans to climb sooner, rather than later. Mimi Makapula delivered her 2nd Speech (AC) from the Entertaining Speaker manual, in which she had to choose a story from outside of her personal experience. In her speech, “Waiting in anticipation”, she taught us
lessons for life courtesy of an eccentric principal at Kwa Magxaki High – such as don’t drop your books, else you will drop the rest – and babies will follow!
Antoinette Baatjes, also working on her AC programme, chose a project from the Entertaining Speaker, which illustrated speaking after dinner on a theme, extemporaneously. In her speech “Call me Zuma, Jacob Zuma”, she told us that she can outdo the Pres any day. After all, Zuma only has 20 children while Antoinette has 143 – who find it “Fantastic to be a Lawsonion” – real goosebump stuff. She ended her speech by suggesting that February should be the month of spreading the love – to your teacher!
Continuing to grow the love, Roger Ah Kun offered the Toast of the Day to “all our loved ones” – a Happy Valentine’s Day indeed.
Evaluations
More useful advice from some of our senior members:
Start with control – quite a marked silence helps to focus your and the audience’s attention. Don’t thank the floor at the end of a speech – after all, it is a privilege to listen to our members taking up the challenge to conquer.
The mark of an easy speaker who enjoys speaking is when the audience is riveted from the moment you take the floor, but the downside is the tendency not to plan . Remember the page and a ½ guideline when you write your speech. Work out what you can leave out and still make the speech enthralling and entertaining and avoid going way over time. Remember to link your speech throughout to your theme/title/topic. Offer the audience crutches to work through your speech.
General Evaluation
A maiden general evaluation was delivered by Angie Kivido – well done on being capable, prepared and warmly appreciative of our members.
Chris Callahan stated that we are one of the better clubs that he has seen (even among the 9 that he visited often in while Area Governor in Cape Town – eat your heart out Mother City!)
The award for the Best Table Topic was shared by Rhona Murchie and Belita von Steiger.
The Top Toastie was our always entertaining speaker, Antoinette Baatjies.