Capital City Toastmasters Meeting Recap - June 3, 2010

Submitted by Jillian Bowlin

Speech Marathon!

We had a marathon of speeches today; and what a marathon it was!  Instead of following our typical schedule and meeting roles, we had 6 speakers and 6 evaluators. 

Dean DiLillo served as Toastmaster for today’s meeting and did a fantastic job of moving us right along to hear all 6 speakers and evaluators in an hour’s time.  Andrew Soloninka gave us our time parameters and we dove right into the speeches.

Alyssa Mozingo kicked us off with her informational speech, “The ways in which a paralegal and support staff can be an asset to a law clerk.”  Alyssa is taking advantage of toastmasters by practicing a presentation she intends to give in the workplace. Capital City Toastmasters is an excellent way to refine those skills before the true delivery in her upcoming orientation and Alyssa is going to do a great job.

Uzoma Nwosu followed with an entertaining speech entitled, “Losing My Edge.”  Uzoma shared 3 suggestions for “staying fresh” and keeping up with “kids these days.”  He assured us that with a little work, we don’t have to lose our edge.

Kerry Leeburn switched gears in his emotional memoriam to his father, Liam “William” Sean Leeburn.  Kerry gave a wonderful description of his father and what made him a great man.  It was moving to see Kerry’s emotion as he shared the life of a man who made him who he is today. 

Matt Markowitz followed up with his second speech at toastmasters, “Video Game Violence.”  He assured us that video games aren’t all that bad and that children are shaped more by upbringing and mental capacity than this extracurricular activity.

With a speech marathon today, we expected to be without a joke of the day.  To our surprise, Carrie Karcher started off her speech “Laughter is the best medicine” with a very humorous joke about a general and his choice of color in clothing.  Her speech was filled with energy and had the audience captivated and entertained as we learned about the benefits of laughter.  Did you know that children laugh approximately 400 times a day, while adults only 15 times?

Chris Tobin concluded our marathon of speeches with a persuasive speech, “We have met the enemy and he is Powerpoint.” Chris provided a very convincing visual display and read from an article to convince us that Powerpoint is not the best method of conveying our message.

With 6 speeches down, we still had time for 6 evaluations. They were provided by Tracey Gritz, Jillian Bowlin, Chris Richter, David Kiker, Sari Salek and Sonja Person.  Feedback was given on emphasizing points by telling us what you’re going to say, saying it and then telling us what you said.  Speakers were commended on their use of pauses to think and emphasize, rather than filling with words like “um” and “ah.”  A suggestion was made to come in front of the lectern to take the speech to the next level and also to use the floor space to move when transitioning from one point to the next to really emphasize the change in direction.

We had 19 people in attendance today, including Lorenzo King (a former member who renewed his membership), new member Mark Leonard, and Sara Selek's guest, Carly.

Award Winners:

Best Evaluator:  Jillian Bowlin and Sari Salek (tie)
Best Speaker:  Carrie Karcher