Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 1
To our new members: Welcome to Canning Vale Toastmasters and congratulations on
taking that first step in your Toastmasters journey. Every
member is willing to help you at any time and we will all support
you with your progress towards your goals.
To make the most of your membership, be sure to read page 2
in your Competent Communicator Manual, especially A
Toastmasters Promise. We all look forward to watching you
become the speaker and leader you want to be.
IN THIS ISSUE:
President’s Message
Roll of Honour
Entering a Speech Contest
Tip of the Month
Events & Reminders
MEET OUR NEW MEMBERS
Fred Ravandi Massy Vahedzadeh
Kishor Adhikari
REMINDER: Upcoming
Contests at CVTM
CANNING VALE TOASTMASTERS CLUB
NEWSLETTER August 2016
We meet every Tuesday @ 6.30pm
Canning Vale College Library
Dumbarton Road
Phone: 0417 915 464
Email: [email protected]
Canning Vale Toastmasters
@CVTMPerth
Find us on
Facebook & Twitter
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 2
CVTM President’s Message
Hi everyone,
It is an honour to be the incoming president for
Canning Vale during 2016/2017.
I have been a member at Canning Vale for three
years now and it feels great to give back to the club.
Canning Vale Toastmasters has helped me a lot with
my confidence in speaking in front of people but
most of all it has been a fun way to spend Tuesday
nights.
We are lucky enough to have great energy at Canning Vale with people from all different walks
of life, friendly attitudes and fascinating stories to tell. I would like to say thank you to all our
members for making Canning Vale one of the top clubs in our District.
We have great formal and informal mentoring going on at toastmasters so all our members can
reach their potential. At the moment our committee is working on the up coming speech
contests, but also hopefully some social events in the future.
-Dennis Foo
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 3
Roll of Honour
AWARD ACHIEVED BY
Leadership Excellence Award (HPL) (LDREX) Andre Sequeira
Advanced Leadership Bronze (ALB) Robyn Richards
Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB) Vanessa Chang
Competent Communicator (CC) - his 10th! Mark Richards
Competent Leader (CL) Phyll Lightbody
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 4
Let’s Shed Some Intense Light on Toastmasters Contests
Canning Vale Club Contests
CVTM will be holding our club contests in September.
We will be hosting a Table Topics and Humorous Contest on the
20th and 27th of September respectively.
If you’d like to compete, please contact our VPE, Eloyise Braskic and she’ll put you down on
the agenda! Email [email protected] or call 0400 214 586.
Interested in entering a Toastmaster Contest but not sure what’s involved?
Get to know the ins and outs of contests with the brief backgrounder below.
WA Toastmasters runs four different speech competitions each year:
International Speech Contest
Humorous Speech Contest
Evaluation Contest
Table Topics (Impromptu Speaking)
There are preliminary contests at three different levels:
Club (usually about 15-25 members), winner goes through to the Area Final (CVTM is in Area31).
Area (4-6 Clubs), winner goes through to the Division Final (we are part of Southern Division).
Division (4-5 Areas), first and second placegetters go through to compete at the District Convention.
The International winner goes on to compete at the semi-final against 9 -10 other Districts.
There are nine semi-finals among all Toastmasters International Regions (there are 14 regions in total) with ONE speaker going forward from each final.
At last, there is the International Final where the winner is the year’s World Champion of Public Speaking!
For more information, visit the District 17 website Toastmasters Contests page here: http://toastmastersd17.org/resources/club-officers/contests/
Australia, New
Zealand and
Papua New
Guinea are
REGION 12
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 5
Meeting 405
Santosh performed
outstandingly as first-time
Toastmaster, while Eloyise
encouraged us to “Take time to
stay sharp” for tonight’s
Inspiration.
Farah delivered a hilarious Tonic
around why all fairies are
female, while our Table Topics
master, Andre F, followed an
Olympics theme.
Peter J highlighted the
importance of body language
and movement on stage during
his speech, I Like to Move It,
Move It.
Colin transported all members
to a deserted island in his
speech, Matters of Protocol and
decided which members would
go on misadventures, get eaten
first, and survive the longest
when food became scarce.
Rena asked “What Makes You
Happy?” during her CC9
speech, and persuaded us to
Find Happiness in the Ordinary.
Enjoying a family dinner through
Skype, receiving an email from
loved ones, and watching the
sunset were a few of Rena’s
favourite ‘ordinary’ moments
which brought her joy.
Peter tested everyone’s listening
skills with Highlights & Phrases.
Meeting 405 ended with awards
being given to Vanessa (ACB),
Mark (CC) and Phyll (CL) on
their individual Toastmasters
accomplishments.
Congratulations to all three!
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 6
Meeting 406
Members were treated to a full
agenda of personal reflections
during tonight's meeting.
Santosh spoke retrospectively
about Lessons in Failure for his
CC2 speech, and retold moments
in his life where he “sobered up”
about his obsession with climbing
the corporate ladder after
relationships with his
colleagues and family members
began to falter as a consequence.
New member Fred delivered his
Icebreaker speech, and told us
about the time he broke his hand at
a very young age yet still achieved
top marks in his math test. From
this experience, he continued to
study mathematics, settled on
electrical engineering as a career,
was able to travel the world
because of work, and found his
lovely wife Massy along the way.
Shree recited a poem by Dylan
Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle Into
That Good Night, which conveys
the struggles of a son, forced to
confront the terminal death of his
father. Following this, Shree
encouraged us to keep living each
day like it was our last , and to fight
against whatever life threw at us.
(You can read Thomas’ poem in full
on the following page.)
Finally Sheldon spoke about the
“What Ifs” in his life, relaying how
a potential job promotion at work
stirred him to take action and talk
to his boss about filling the role. A
fantastic, personal demonstration
of grabbing life’s opportunities
with both hands—good luck
Sheldon!
To round out the night, we heard
Highlights & Phrases from Colin.
VIEW MORE IMAGES ON OUR
FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE!
@CANNING VALE TOASTMASTERS
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 7
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Do not go gentle into that good night
Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953
From The Poems of Dylan Thomas, published by New Directions. Copyright © 1952, 1953 Dylan Thomas. Copyright © 1937, 1945, 1955, 1962, 1966, 1967 the Trustees for the Copyrights of Dylan Thomas. Copyright © 1938, 1939, 1943, 1946, 1971 New Directions Publishing Corp. For educational purposes only.
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 8
Meeting 407
Gareth exuded great confidence
while undertaking his role as
Toastmaster for the night. Rena
Inspired us to live in the moment .
Kym introduced us to Aristotle’s
Modes of Persuasion as she led
Table Topics for the night.
Members were asked to respond to
questions using either Ethos
(persuading with authority/
credibility), Pathos (appealing to
emotions), or Logos (using logic/
facts and figures). It was a great
challenge to all TT participants.
Frank described a Fight or Flight
experience for his Icebreaker
speech tonight - he was
confronted with an emergency
situation at work which left him
momentarily frozen at his desk!
Andre F educated us on “fixed”
versus “growth” personality types
during his CC2 speech Success
Over Failure and included personal
anecdotes about his achievements
in soccer and at Toastmasters
throughout his presentation.
Michelle told us about her
involvement with the Sycamore
Tree Project and how hardened
prisoners are often hiding
childhood scars and trauma
beneath their scary physical
exteriors.
Finally, for her advanced
Storytelling project, Eloyise left us
with an emotional lesson about
Integrity and Leadership. She
retold a tale about a Chinese
Emperor and his quest to find a
new leader by giving every child in
the country a seed to grow. The
story ended with a hefty moral that
as leaders, it is more important to
do the right thing than to always
be perfect at everything we do.
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 9
Meeting 408
Cycling enthusiast Frank survived
his 150km ride over the weekend
and kept everyone on time as
Toastmaster tonight while Jenny
gave an important reminder to
contact mentors for help before
pulling out of a speech or role!
Nafisa led a ‘secret envelope’
Table Topics round which was a
lot of fun. Guest Edwin spoke
about nail clippers, new member
Kishor informed us that Berocca
contains all the B group vitamins
which help us with memory, Massy
eagerly told us how Windex made
everything germ free, and Peter D
told us how coconut oil made his
rice smell and taste great.
Fred had us trapped inside
someone's heart for tonight’s
Tonic.
Kym’s Icebreaker revolved around
the Certainty vs Uncertainty in her
life at the moment. She is giving
up her secure job and trying out
commission work for a while.
Vanessa evaluated Kym’s speech
and couldn’t wait to see if Kym
would be dining on noodles or
caviar in the near future!
Peter J had everyone laughing
during his Who Am I Icebreaker
and revealed he was called “Little
Dick” as a kid.
Esthel taught us about play-based
learning and how to use it at home.
Dennis recounted how he survived
Mt Perisher on his snowboard, and
used his gluteus maximus in
various ways.
Karen gave Highlights & Phrases
and told us some “Bad Grandma”
tips.
VIEW MORE IMAGES ON OUR
FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE!
@CANNING VALE TOASTMASTERS
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 10
Tip of the Month
Classic Storytelling Techniques for Engaging
Presentations Part 6
Continuing on from previous months, here is the next technique to help engage your audience.
Technique 6. Converging Ideas Converging ideas is a speech structure that shows the
audience how different strands of thinking came
together to form one product or idea.
It can be used to show the birth of a movement. Or
explain how a single idea was the culmination of
several great minds working towards one goal.
Converging ideas is similar to the nested loops structure, but rather than framing one story with
complementary stories, it can show how several equally important stories came to a single strong
conclusion.
This technique could be used to tell the stories of some of the world’s greatest partnerships – for
example, web developers Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Larry and Sergey met at Stanford’s PhD program in 1995, but they didn’t like each other at first. They
both had great ideas, but found working together hard. Eventually they found themselves working on a
research project together. A research project that became Google.
Good for: Showing how great minds came together Demonstrating how a development occurred at a certain point in history Showing how symbiotic relationships have formed
See also: Steven Johnson’s TED talk, where he explains how collaboration has fuelled some of
history’s best ideas (www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU)
John Bohannon and the Black Label Movement explain (verbally
and through dance) how scientists and dancers came together to
form an exciting, dynamic alternative to boring presentations.
Watch John’s presentation here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlDWRZ7IYqw
http://www.sparkol.com/engage/8-classic-storytelling-techniques-for-engaging-presentations/
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 11
CVTM Table Topics
CVTM Humorous Contest
If you’d like to compete in either CVTM contest, please contact our VPE,
Eloyise Braskic and she’ll put you down on the agenda.
Email [email protected] or call 0400 214 586.
District 17: A Toast to Laughs
Hosted by Victoria Park Toastmasters Club
Watch 10 amateur comedians try their hand (and mouth) at stand-up comedy for the first (or second) time!
Entry only $5
District 17 Annual Quiz Night
Karrinyup Community Centre
Tickets are $15 per head or $100 for a table of eight.
View more information about this event on the following page.
CANNING VALE TOASTMASTERS CLUB
EVENTS & REMINDERS Make the most of your Toastmasters journey!
20 SEPTEMBER
TUESDAY
27 SEPTEMBER
TUESDAY
20 OCTOBER
THURSDAY
29 OCTOBER
SATURDAY
Canning Vale Toastmasters Club Newsletter | www.toastmasterscv.net | 13
We meet every Tuesday @ 6.30pm
Canning Vale College Library
Dumbarton Road
Phone: 0417 915 464
Email: [email protected]
Canning Vale Toastmasters
@CVTMPerth
Find us on
Facebook & Twitter
Member Musings
So, here I am, standing at Melbourne airport waiting for a Taxi to arrive… I
was feeling thrilled in opening the next chapter of my life. I don’t know what to
expect, but no worries - A Toastmaster can make anything possible if she
wants! ;-)
My decision to move to Victoria for work was really hard to make indeed. I
was so comfortable with the life I had built during the past 11 years in Perth
and I’ve been enjoying my “Comfort Zone”. Having said that, there is part of
me that was so curious about what the rest of the world is like, so I did what I
learnt from being a Toastmaster– I got out of my comfort zone! I took that job
offer and moved here!
Melbourne is very cold and it has been raining a lot since I arrived. That’s what people say - “don’t
come here for weather!” The food and coffee are definitely top class with huge variety to choose
from, as you probably already know.
I wish all the best to our Canning Vale Toastmasters Club
and each of you on your journey. I hope to see you soon
when I’m in Perth next time, or maybe we’ll catch up in
Melbourne.
Take Care.
Kind Regards,
Hazel Tang