With the usual meeting room undergoing renovations, the members of Warner Center Toastmasters packed into a much smaller room on the second floor.  The smaller room combined with a large guest crowd made it a very cozy evening.  Chitra Narayan started off the evening with the inspiration and pledge which was followed by a very serene Table Topics session lead by Alan Reveles.  During the session, Bill Anderson reported that studying helped him maintain his serenity while in school; Lois Coburn related that taking a walk helped her deal with difficult people; and Arnold Arch won best Table Topics by admitting that he could not keep his composure when relationships fail. 

In the first speech of the evening, and his first speech with Warner Center Toastmasters, Scott Blough related the lessons he learned from playing basketball. In Basketball, just like in life, he said, "there isn't a place to hide, eventually you'll be put on the spot."  For Scott, Basketball was a great dream that began after he received a Basketball hoop for Christmas.  Basketball also taught Scott how to be cool under pressure and how to "create opportunities for your team to be successful."  Although he had to endure blisters and raw fingers, the life lessons that Basketball taught Scott have proved invaluable.

In a speech entitled "A Teenager Who Has Lost His Mind," Donna Stewart spoke about the challenges of raising a teenager.  Using humorous stories of her relationship with her son, Donna was able to connect with the audience.  "The hallmark of being a teenager is when they hate everything," she said to roars of laughter.  The cycle of parent/teenager relationships became apparent to Donna when she shared stories of her son's escapades with her parents, whose "smiles said it all.  In the end, she concluded, that we must all let our teenagers break away from us and learn how to live life on their own. 

Our third speech of the evening was given by Don West, who provided the audience with an education in 401K assets allocation.  A financial advisor by day, Don was able to break down his industry's jargon into easy-to-understand tidbits.  One piece of advice was to include international stocks in your portfolio, "you will exclude yourself from 45% of opportunities," he said, if you only focus on domestic institutions.  He also provided the age based formula for selection what percentage of your portfolio should be centered on stocks.  Don's speech was a very informative lecture that packed a variety of important information into only five to seven minutes. 

Marc Cohn, CTM presented a technically savvy speech on how to prepare a Treasurer's Report.  The speech included step-by-step instructions and preparation tips for any individual who finds him or herself the Treasurer or a club or organization.  Marc also provided suggestion on which software programs can assist in the report's creation.  Although the speech was largely technical, Marc was also able to incorporate humorous personal stories.  In addition, while largely aimed organizations, a number of the tips provided by Marc translated well into personal use. 

The final speech of the night was presented by Chick Saffell, ATM Advanced.  Chick's tale began in 1955 when "life was beautiful."  Although Chick had a boat, a home, and a family in those days, he felt that he "was not on the track [he] was looking for."  Chick decided to start a business called Suburban Equipment Rentals and hired a gentleman to help him run it.  Eventually, the stress of working two jobs overwhelmed him, and so Chick decided to sell his business. Unfortunately, the business would not sell, despite a very low asking price.  As a last resort, Chick decided to pray for help.  Sure enough, a buyer soon showed up who offered a reasonable price for the business.  If you were to ask Chick today if prayer works, his answer would surely be, "you bet it does." 

Aside from two great meetings during the month, August also brought three new members to the group.  Warner Center Toastmasters is pleased to welcome Norm Dornfest, Lorena Mendelsohn, and AJ Mohamed.  

Awards for August 25, 2005 Trophy Master: Carolyn Goldman
Arnold Arch Best Table Topic	Scott Blough Icebreaker	Chick Saffell, ATM Advanced Best Speech	John Graves, CTM Best Evaluator

My fellow Toastmasters and friends:

I was raised in a life in music. From an early age, I learned how to play the piano. Music was everything to my family. The melodies of Debussy, Ravel, and Rachmaninoff reverberated through our home as my mother and father both pursued musical careers.

But there’s another kind of music we all share, the human voice. I’m not talking about the powerful projections of opera, nor the hammering power of the rock singer. Within each of us is a beautiful, expressive instrument. We all have a remarkable degree of control over our voices, we have the ability to develop, expand, and be expressive beyond our wildest dreams.

Despite the fact that the visual image is the most powerful form of communication in the media, the disembodied and colorful voiceover still comes back to sell us something, time and time again. The voice comes to us to deliver the intellectual, concrete message that goes with the images, often with feeling and persuasion, with firmness, friendliness, or urgency.

You hear them all the time in television and radio. It could be your favorite newscaster or voiceover artist. There are dozens of great ones. In my work I often deal with voice actors, some of whom earn substantial amounts of money doing their voiceover work. Some of the top names in the business can earn thousands of dollars for even just a few minutes of work.

And it’s not just vocal power that such performers can produce. The best of them can hit their assignment on target the first time. If they have to create an animated character, they know how to produce just the right tonal color and inflection. If it’s a commercial or a trailer, the best VO artists know how to “read” the lines, and hit the words with exactly the right timing, the right pauses, the right energy. The same thing goes for “performers” in the boardroom, and in seminars and trade shows.

Now I want you to think about your voice. What are the most redeeming characteristics of your voice? How much of the power and versatility in your voice are you exploiting everyday? When you give a speech? 10 percent? 50 percent? 80 percent?

Are you delivering all the richness and tonal color that your speech deserves? Your ideas may be compelling, but if you want to command your audience, or keep them from falling asleep, I recommend that you use all the powers that your voice has to offer. Pitch: High and low, Volume: loud and soft, Speed: fast and slow, Sentences and pauses: long and short. Try them all! Toastmasters is the place to go over the top and experiment with your voice and your speaking style. Use tonal color, pauses, and changes in energy, and I guarantee your next speech will be a hit with our audience.  

more power to you


-John Graves, CTM

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Are you thinking of visiting Warner Center Toastmasters?
  
The purpose of Toastmasters is to help you develop your public (and private) speaking skills, improve your self-confidence in business and personal situations, and to help you define yourself to your world more clearly. Why fumble around in the dark with your self-image? You can communicate more effectively than you ever dreamed possible!

If this sounds good to you, then come join us for a light buffet and some great speakers at the Warner Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills. Among the most prestigious and popular Toastmasters meeting locations in greater Los Angeles, the Marriott provides a wide variety of superb meeting rooms for one of Los Angeles' finest Toastmasters organizations.  

Warner Center Toastmasters has been enhancing careers and enriching interpersonal communications for our members for more than two decades. Why leave great speaking skills to politicians and CEO's? You too can speak like a pro, and we'll show you how. 

It all comes together in a clearly defined and well-supported program of speeches and exercises that help you to sharpen your verbal skills, organize your words and gestures, and make you fast on your feet. Lose your fear of speaking in front of a large group, and you'll feel more relaxed speaking to anyone!

The Warner Marriott is located at 21850 Oxnard Street at the corner of Topanga. From Granada Hills to Calabasas, Santa Monica to Chatsworth, we have active members from all over the area.

We DO meet every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month without fail. Meeting begins at 630pm, gavel at 7pm. Meeting concludes approximately 9pm. Guest fee: five dollars.  This site is updated twice a month with forthcoming meeting details, so check back often.  For more information, please contact: