Demons Among Us

A speech from the Katy Toastmasters Halloween Meeting.

Presented by Andy Paultanis, CC on October 17, 2013

Advanced Communication Series: Humorously Speaking Manual
Project 4: Make Them Laugh
Time: Five to Seven Minutes
Evaluator: Peter Higginbotham
Video Time: Eight minutes, ten seconds



Posted by Andy Paultanis

Christmas 1914

Phil Sutton once again shares his passion for history, belief in the human spirit and the dignity of all people with Katy Toastmasters.  Phil always gives 200% effort in everything he does.  (Normally speakers don’t dress up for their speeches.)     

Presented by Phil Sutton, ACB on July 25, 2013

Advanced Communication Series: The Entertaining Speaker
Project 4: A Dramatic Talk
Time: Seven to Nine Minutes
Evaluator: Andy Paultanis

(Below is a direct Link to YouTube with embedded video below, run time eight minutes and thirty three seconds should the embedded video freeze:)

Christmas 1914 - YouTube Direct Link





Speech Evaluation Video Time:  

 Below is the speech evaluation by Andy Paultanis with a direct link to YouTube should the embedded video freeze.  Run time three minutes and fifty three seconds. 

Speech Evaluation - YouTube Direct Link

Special thanks to Jim Harrington for all his video recording efforts.

CC Project # 9: Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

Competent Communicator/Project 9: Persuade with Power                           
Objectives: Persuade listeners to adopt your viewpoint or ideas or to take some action; Appeal to the audience’s interests; Use logic and emotion to support your position; avoid using notes.
Time: Five to seven minutes
Presenter: Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

Today is the 150^th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.  This is considered one of the greatest speeches ever written.  A little historical perspective. 

It could be argued Abraham Lincoln was the most hated President in United States history during the Spring of 1863.  The people of southern states (the Confederacy, the gray ) despised him. Many people of the northern states (the Union, the blue) hated him for the horrendous casualties and lack of Union military victories in the first two  years of the American Civil War.

The war began in April 1861 and by 1863, people of the North began to question if the war being fought to preserve the Union and abolish slavery was worth their human cost and suffering.  More Americans soldiers were killed in the American Civil War than almost all the combined wars ever fought by the United States.  It was a bloodbath.  Most of those who were wounded usually endured amputation of limbs. For example, after the war in 1866, half of the state budget of Mississippi was to provide artificial prosthetic limbs for veterans.

General Robert E. Lee of the South continually “bitch slapped” the armies of the North. In the summer of 1863 he invaded the North in hope of drawing out the Union armies where he could once and for all destroy them.  The South was so confident of victory,  Robert E. Lee  carried with him a letter for the terms of peace to be delivered to President Lincoln once Lee captured Washington, D.C.

In July 1863, the Northern and Southern armies engaged for three days in the greatest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere at a sleepy little farm town in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg. 

On the third day of the battle, General Lee threw the dice when he ordered the Army of Northern Virginia to attack the center Union line across a mile of open fields which became known as “Pickett’s Charge.”  The Confederates were slaughtered.  It was the first significant victory for the North that marked the beginning of the end of the Confederacy.

On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln travelled to Gettysburg to dedicate a military cemetery for the Union soldiers killed in the battle.  Lincoln was still dealing with draft riots, men angry at being called to serve in the army, throughout the North.  He wanted to persuade the people of the North not to despair and to continue fighting for just causes: Freedom and the American Ideal.

Lincoln wrote a speech he thought few would remember but wanted the Northern people to always to honor the men who gave their lives at Gettysburg.  The Gettysburg Address is considered one of the most eloquent speeches in history.

Lincoln spoke for about two minutes and would not qualify for a Toastmaster International Speech of five to seven minutes.  His speech teaches us  the quality of a speech is far more important than its length. 

Below is a link to a excellent YouTube video of Gettysburg Address narrated by the actor Jeff Daniels that runs for about two and a half minutes. He speaks very slowly and clearly using pauses to emphasize the ideas of the speech. Note the subtle vocal variety in the speech.

The Gettysburg Address

\

Below is bonus video link for the historically deranged members of the club (i.e. Phil S, Heleane S, Andy P, et al) of Pickett's Charge which is almost thirty minutes from the movie of Gettysburg.  My sons and I walked across the same fields at Gettysburg to the point where General Armistead was killed at the Union Wall.  Warning: graphic violence.

Pickett's Charge

 

Below is a photo of my sons at the tree line which began Pickett's Charge.

 

 

Posted by Andy Paultanis

Totally Like Whatever, You Know, the Ah Counter Role

There is a biological reason why we have only one mouth but two ears.  Survival.

 Listening is a critical survival skill necessary to develop personal and professional relationships.  It is a necessary skill for intellectual growth.

 At Katy Toastmasters, we probably listen more than we speak.  Members listen to speeches, evaluators listen closely to speak about  positives and improvements.  Grammarians listen for  grammar usage and the world of the day.  The Listen Master challenges the members at the end of the meeting with questions to see how well members listened.

LET'S SEE, one of the most unique Toastmasters roles is, UM-AH, YOU KNOW, the Ah Counter Role, WELL, this member listens to everyone who speaks and records any filler words and I MEAN, it’s a dangerous role because, ER, once a member does this role, THEY LIKE, become auditory sensitive to others and begin to count filler words when others are speaking, SO NOW, at church I find myself as an Ah Counter counting the UM’s and AH's of whoever is speaking BUT I have become a better listener.

Dr. Alex Byelashov shared with me a link to a speech by Taylor Mali who is you know, a slam poetry performer, as he has fun with modern speech in the YouTube video below. This video runs for three minutes and four seconds. (There are numerous humorous and interesting Taylor Mali videos on YouTube.)

 

Everyday Leadership

A thank you to Michael Masek, DTM for sharing this video on “Everyday Leadership.” 

 

Leadership is not changing the world.  Leadership is “Lollipop Moments.”  Our simple acts of concern and kindness can change a person’s life for the better.

Below is a short but powerful YouTube video that runs six minutes and twenty one seconds.  On the TEDx website there has been over 1,100,000 views.  I think this is worth six minutes of you time.

 

Posted by Andy Paultanis

Information Security Tips To Protect Your Information

 

Presented by Vimit Gupta

Competent Communicator Manual
Project 2: Organize Your Speech
Time: Five to Seven Minutes

Below is a summary of key points from the speech:

1) Antivirus: Running antivirus does not slow your computer down nearly as much as a virus does.

2) Not all web sites are safe. Always ensure that the source you are browsing or downloading from is legitimate. Use extreme caution if you are referred to a site by an email message. If you're uncertain, don't click or download.

3) Be especially wary of emails sent from individuals or businesses you do not recognize. You should never download attachments from unrecognized senders, as they are likely to contain viruses or malicious software that can take over your computer and/or harvest your personal information.

4) On mobile devices your personal information is more likely to be compromised via device theft or loss. Take appropriate precautions.

5) Minimize personal information sharing. If you don’t trust the website with your personal information there is no need to enter more information which is required to use the website or signup for an account.

6) Ensuring your computer has up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software is an important part of protecting your personal information online. Trojans and keystroke logging software can steal personal information from your computer when you use the Internet.

7) Think before you click. Change your Internet habits when you surf. Always think before you click. It’s one of the best ways to protect yourself online.

8) Don’t click links in emails, Instant Messages (IMs), and pop-up advertisements. Be cautious about clicking links and downloading from people’s social networking site profiles.

9) Even if you know better than to click links in those “phishy” emails, make sure your family members do, too.

10) Social networking sites are a common place for people to share pictures of their families, but if you're one of the 40 percent of users who don't restrict access to your profile, then those pictures are there for everyone to see. Sharing your social plans for everybody to see isn't a good idea.

Be Sincere and Be Safe

- Vimit Gupta

(Editor’s Note:  Vimit is an IT professional with plus eight years of experience working with global organizations.  He is a Microsoft, Oracle and ITIL Certified Professional with vast experience in IT management and consulting.  He has helped in IT management, overall infrastructure setup and maintenance for small scale businesses to big multi-national companies.)

 

 

Katy Toastmasters Game Film

During the Army-Navy football game on December 7, 1963, for the first time, sports fans saw an Instant replay.  (For Katy Toastmaster football fans, Roger Staubach was the quarterback for Navy in the game.)  It was replayed at the original speed prompting the sports commentator to tell viewers “Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again.”

Today it is hard to imagine watching a sports event without instant replays.  I believe the rise of popularity in NFL football is due in part to the use of instant replays to review the action. American Tackle football a chess match of the fastest and most complex team sport in the world.  Slow motion instant replays help fans understand the complex interactions of players in any given play.  Oddly, no one watches game film of chess matches.   

Football coaches and players spend hours reviewing game film.  What went right, what went wrong but more importantly, what can we learn by reviewing game film to improve our performance. 

Toastmasters also uses the instant replay during meetings.  The instant replay in Toastmaster is called “Evaluations.”  All prepared speeches are “instantly” evaluated during the meeting with positive and constructive comments to the speech presenter.  These evaluations are usually civil.

In Katy Toastmasters, we have evaluations that are far from civil.  In fact, some evaluations are brutal, merciless, savage and extremely critical. Sometime the evaluators are just disgusted with  performances.  Those evaluators are ourselves as individuals while we watch ourselves on Katy Toastmaster Game Film.

For many individuals, it is difficult to view themselves in still photos much less watching themselves  presenting a speech.  Seeing yourself on “film” is another dimension in evaluations.  A picture is worth a thousand words but a video is worth a million of words.

Those of us in Katy Toastmasters are grateful to Jim Harrington, DTM, for his tireless work in video recording speeches and evaluations.  Not only does he film, he also takes his personal time  to create individual CD’s for members to review their presentation.  As someone who was the film guy for my son’s youth football team, I can tell you it is an effort to create these CD’s.  Yet week after week, Jim creates member CD’s as he sincerely tries to help individuals become better speakers and evaluators.  Jim Harrington’s unselfish service to Katy Toastmasters is an inspiration in leadership for those of us in the club.  We can’t thank him enough for all his efforts and service to the club.

Below is a video clip Jim Harrington created for my speech on “The Big Bang” and it is Jim who was the Toastmaster that night who introduced my speech:

“The Tale of The Big Bang”

Presented by Andy Paultanis on June 6, 2013
Advanced Communication Series: Storytelling

Project 4: The Folk Tale  
Time: Five to Seven Minutes
Evaluator: Sherry Han

                           

The Sun Never Sets on Katy Toastmasters

It was once said “the sun never sets on the British Empire because the sun was always shinning somewhere on British territory”. 

In 1821, a Scottish newspaper called the Caledonian Mercury wrote, “On her dominions the sun never sets; before his evening rays leave the sires of Quebec, his morning beams have shone three hours on Port Jackson [Australia]  and while sinking from the waters of Lake Superior [Ontario], his eye opens upon the Mouth of the Ganges [India].”

 

The British Empire was at the height of its power during the early part of the twentieth Century which ruled a quarter of the earth’s surface and over twenty percent of the world’s population. The British dominated the seas as fifty percent of the world’s merchant marine shipping was British.  The British Royal Navy was the largest and most powerful on the seas.  It was the largest empire of all time.

It could be said the sun never sets on Katy Toastmasters. We are not an imperial Toastmaster Club.  We can argue the sun is always shinning on our member’s family and friends somewhere in the world at any time during the day.  

We are a diverse group of individuals representing every continent (excluding Antarctica) on earth.  We have members from North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Our members share with other members the richness and diversity of their cultures in their various speeches.

One unusual member has claimed there could even be extraterrestrial aliens from far away galaxies in the club although this has not been substantiated. This could stem from the fact that so many members present fantastic speeches that are out of this world.

A legacy of the British Empire was the spread of English as the primary business language throughout the world.  Reviewing the Katy Toastmaster membership, one would estimate over forty percent of our members would claim English as a second language.  There is support and great admiration in the club for members whose second language is English who work to develop their public speaking skills.

Despite the great cultural diversity within the club there is a unified camaraderie of the members working and supporting each other to become better public speakers.       

- Posted by Andy Paultanis

 

Glossophobia – School Terror

 

 

Public speaking in school at any grade was a terrorizing experience for most people.  Yes, the  dreaded oral report.

Glossophobia is the fear of speaking in public.

Sadly, grade school is where most people solidify their fear of speaking in public.  Glossophobia is essentially the fear of social rejection while speaking in public.  What could be more threatening and traumatizing than being potentially socially rejected and mocked by your school peer group?

To exacerbate matters, you have one of the most important authority figures in your life, your teacher, judging and grading your performance.

In my personal situation, my public speaking experiences in grade school were not supportive exercises. My experiences did not build my self esteem or self confidence.  They had the exact opposite effect of  making me more fearful of speaking in public.

It is amazing to me that schools do not activity encourage students to develop public speaking skills. Perhaps so many educators themselves do not have strong public speaking skills themselves. 

- Posted by Andy Paultanis

Glossophobia – Social Conditioning

We are taught as little children to fear speaking in public.

Glossophobia is the fear of speaking in public. 

Humans are social beings who place enormous value upon what they think other people think about them.  Human babies immediately begin to assess social situations.

Children are taught to avoid social rejection.  What will your parents say?  What will your mother think?  What will your dad think? What will your teacher think?  What do your friends feel?

We are conditioned early in life to value the opinions of others and avoid any form social rejection. Many children are taught to fear the opinions of others especially those in positions of authority.  There is a difference between respect and fear.

If we fear the opinion of one person then there can be nothing worse than a room full of people who might reject us in a public speaking situation.  They might even laugh at me or make fun of me.     

For many people, the thought of this is worse than death.  Numerous statistical studies support this observation.

Glossophobia can be a high cost for any society.  The fear of speaking in public can translate into a fear of failure and risk avoidance.  Innovation, creativity and personal growth require risk taking and willingness to accept failure.

It’s okay to wonder what other people may think but never at the cost of our personal growth.    

- Posted by Andy Paultanis

Glossophobia – Evolutionary Theory

If you believe in the Theory of Evolution then it is interesting to try to speculate why modern humans are afraid of public speaking.

Glossophobia is the fear of speaking in public. 

I personally believe human evolution is a social phenomena not a biological process. Biological evolution is the process of natural selection sometimes termed the survival of the strongest and fittest. Human evolution has been the survival of the most sociable.  Humans are the most social beings of all living species on earth.

Humans have lost animalistic traits such as a keen sense of smell, night vision and enormous physical strength compared to other animals because these traits were culled out of early human societies in favor of more desirable social traits.  Every living organism on earth fears and runs from fire except humans. Humans trying to harness fire was a social phenomena not a biological event.

Early humans depended upon each other for survival and social ostracism of the clan was certain death.  Social rejection meant death.  Today, solitary confinement  is a stern form of punishment in modern societies.

The root public speaking fear is the fear of social rejection which began hundreds of thousands or years ago on the savannahs of East Africa and the plains of Western Europe.  It seems modern humans have an innate fear of social rejection which becomes magnified in public speaking situations.   
 

An interesting article “The Thing We Fear More Than Death” by Dr. Glenn Croston, Ph.D. can be found at the link below:

Public Speaking Death for Cavepeople 

- Posted by Andy Paultanis

 

Glossophobia

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that seem right? That means to the average person, if you have to go

to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” – Jerry Seinfeld

Gloassophobia is the fear of speaking in public.

Speaking in public ranks number one and far behind is the fear of heights, insects and bugs, financial problems, deep water, sickness, death, flying, loneliness, dogs, driving/riding in a car, darkness, elevators and escalators.  Where’s the snakes and lizards, rats, lice and bubonic plague?

So why are people afraid of speaking in public?

REJECTION.

My personal belief is the primary reason why people are afraid to speak in public is the fear of rejection, ridicule and mocking from other people.

People are afraid of speaking in public because of what other people might think.

 

In Toastmasters, people are supported by members for trying to develop their self confidence to speak in public. 

 

- Posted by Andy Paultanis

Houston Traffic

Presented by Andy Paultanis on August 1, 2013
Advanced Communication Series: Humorously Speaking

Project 4: Keep Them Laughing 

Time: Five to Seven Minutes

 

Houston…we have a problem.  It’s the auto traffic.  Houston is in the top five of the worst cities in the United States to drive in.
 

I am from Michigan so Houston traffic is a cultural shock.  I really don’t understand traffic road design in Houston.

For example, I going to go out on a limb and predict the population around Katy will greatly expand within the next five years to ten years.  Why is new Highway 99 only two lanes? Why not three? Why not four?

I believe the new bridge at I-10 and Highway 99, will be inadequate to handle the huge future traffic flow.  I tell my kids, this intersection will become known as the Malfunction Junction.

Houston suffers from arteriosclerosis roaditis, the clogging of roads.  Where I lived we had higher population density than Katy but half the traffic congestion.  There is no fluid traffic flow or few road alternatives in Houston.

Did you ever heard of bridges to nowhere, how about roads to nowhere.  There are few roads in Houston that go really anywhere for any distance.  Just look my home area.  West Little York dead ends, Keith Harlow dead ends, Clay Road dead ends, Morton Road dead ends, Barker Cypress dead ends, Greenhouse dead ends, West Green dead ends, Fry Road dead ends. Kingsland dead ends.  It seems the majority of  roads go for a short distance only to dead end into a Venus flytrap of humanity, the Houston subdivision.

 

People have been known to drive into a Houston subdivison, never to to be seen again. 

There’s no going around the block in Houston.  Either you know where you’re going or you don’t.  If a road doesn’t dead end it changes direction.  On some Houston roads, you can travel for eighty three miles and end exactly where you started. Consider the Beltway 8 Loop.  It seems we drive in circles in Houston.

 

There is only one viable road from Katy to downtown, I-10.  No wonder it’s clogged and congested all the time.

One of the biggest issues with Houston traffic are the Yes, No, Maybe, I don’t know, left turn lanes.  In Michigan, when a person is in the left turn lane, there is a 99.999% chance they will turn left.  In Houston, there is a 95% chance they will turn left.  I’ve constantly see drivers veer right at the last second crossing two or three lanes to do a right turn.  A few days ago someone cut me off, without signaling or looking, veering right out of a left turn lane.

In Livonia, most left turn lanes also serve as fire lanes.  An emergency vehicle in Livonia could drive a hundred miles an hour down a fire lane because we don’t plant trees in middle of the left turn zones. The boulevards are beautiful but they result in very short left turn lanes which clog rush hour traffic. The boulevards are a public safety hazard.  

Not too long ago, on West Little York,  I watched as an ambulance could  not go with the flow of traffic so he climbed the curb, drove down the middle boulevard, then stopped at the trees. Then he drove off the boulevard into flow of on-coming traffic because it there was much less traffic than the direction he intended to follow.  It was like watching a Hollywood action movie.

The irony of Houston is that there are great medical centers here but don't have an emergency during rush hours.  If the disease doesn’t kill you, the traffic will.

When I first moved to Houston three years ago, I was amazed there were almost no adult traffic signals. An adult traffic signal is where you have the option to turn left on a flashing red turn arrow. You make an adult decision, if traffic is clear then you can make a safe turn.  After seeing how people drive in Houston, I understand why there are no adult traffic signals.  I’ve been driving for over forty years and I’ve never seen driving as in Houston anywhere in the United States

 

Another reason for traffic congestions is that people in Houston are the slowest drivers in the United States that I’ve seen.  I can’t believe how slow people drive in Houston.

Maybe one reason why people drive so slow is that Houston is home to a diverse population of many people who have immigrated, legally or illegally, or come from other planets to the city.  Sometimes I think that there are Klingons driving in front me they are so slow.  I’m no different in a strange city, I drive slow and cautious.  Maybe it’s the southern culture of taking life slow and easy. 

"What… [I receive a cell phone call].  I am in the middle of a speech, this better be very important. This is so embarrassing. It’s one of my  sons. You’re only to call me if it’s an emergency.  Got it.  Six plain chicken sandwiches, no pickle, no butter and two eight piece chicken nuggets, two large waffle fries, a large Coke and Sprite."

"Oh, I’m in the middle of a Toastmaster speech. They don’t care because they know I am multi-tasking.  I can talk on the phone and give a speech at the same time just as I can drive and text at the same time. It’s not like I am going to kill anybody in Toastmasters if I become too distracted."

One of the first times I saw someone on a cell phone multitasking was in the 1990s when a woman went multi-tasking through a red light then t-boned another car.  Had the other car had a passenger, that passenger would have been killed instantly. It only takes a second to make a fatal mistake.

Probably the biggest reason there is so much traffic congestion is that too many people are using electronic devices who don't devote their full attention to driving.  People who drive the speed limit or below the speed limit scare me.  The vast majority are talking or texting who just happen to be driving. They may be driving slow but they aren’t driving safely.   

 

Talking and texting to me is no different than as alcoholic consumption. Some people handle it better than others but in the interest of public safety we ban and discriminate against drinking and driving.  I am as guilty as the next person. 

I believe if we banned electronic devices, traffic flow in Houston would improve 25%. 

 

This is no joke, please drive safely and minimize your use of electronic devices. It takes only a second of being distracted to destroy your life.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…

The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson who subsequently became  the 3^rd American President.  He was an eloquent writer, writing:

"Nothing can stop a person with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help a person with the wrong mental attitude."

I think one of Jefferson’s goals was to learn everything there was to learn.  Beyond any doubt, he was the most intelligent and educated American President.  In 1962, President John F. Kennedy was hosting a White House dinner party honoring numerous, about twenty  Nobel Prize winners and some of the brightest minds in the United States.  President Kennedy quipped,

 

“I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

In today’s world of sound bites, Thomas Jefferson wouldn’t  be able to get elected as a dog catcher, even in conservative Texas.

President Jefferson was terrified of public speaking.  I mean terrified!

In eight years as president of the Untied States, he gave public two speeches.

He may have had some type of speed impediment.  I think the real reason was that they didn’t have Toastmasters in 1776.  Jefferson was an enlightened individual and I’m sure he would have joined Toastmasters. 

In 2013, we do have Toastmasters.  It’s an opportunity for us to overcome our fear of public speaking and improve our communication skills. 

It’s all about mental attitude.  

Shoot for the Moon

The Eagle has landed, or it did, on the moon forty four years ago on July 20^th, 1969. 

President Kennedy did not have a dream, nor a vision, nor a vague idea, or a hope to get to the moon.  He had a goal.

President Kennedy told the country in May 25, 1961,

 “…this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

President Kennedy set a tangible, achievable goal and the country responded.

 

If you own any type of computing device, you are a beneficiary of the 1960’s space race to the moon.

The country carefully measured and observed President Kennedy’s goal through the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. 

The Katy Toastmasters club theme this year is “Measure your progress towards achieving your goals.”

Setting tangible, achievable goals and measuring progress towards those goals helps us reach them whether in Toastmasters, professional or personal.  Shoot for the moon.   

 

2013 Fall Club Contest

By Andy Paultanis

 

Competition.

The Olympics.  The  World Cup, the Stanley Cup, the Ryder Cup, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals and the NCAA National Championships.

Competition isn’t limited to athletics.  Turn on any cable television and most reality shows are predicated on competition from Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, Survivor, Toddlers and Tiaras, to cook-offs, fashion design competitions to MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge).

Who can forget their spelling bees in grade school?  Several members of Katy Toastmasters help score high school academic decathlons and speech debates. 

Competition is important because it brings out the best in those who chose to compete.  Participants compete because it is fun.

Each year Katy Toastmasters has two speech contests in the Fall and Spring.  This year our Fall Club Contest will be on Thursday, August 15^th.   We start early because the winner of the club contest then competes against other Toastmaster Clubs at various stages of Area, Division and District levels. The Fall Club Contest will be "Tall Tales."

Everyone seems to have a tall tale about the gigantic fish that got away, the time they climbed Mount Everest with one hand tied behind their back, the time they saw a Big Foot at McDoanlds, their chance encounter with a Mermaid at Galveston or the time Uncle Bob was abducted by Aliens on Highway Six.

 

My Tall Tale would be more cultural, being from Michigan, about how Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe, engaged in a shoving match and created the Grand Canyon in Arizona.  I still believe this to this very day.

 

Below is a link to Toastmasters International with more information about  “Tall Tales”  (thanks Jody White for the link).

Toastmasters Tall Tales

The other venue for the night will be an Evaluation Contest.  One member will give a speech and other members will compete to give the best evaluation of the speech. 

Evaluations of prepared speeches are a critical component to Toastmaster meetings. Prepared speech presentations receive immediate positive and constructive reviews based upon the speech project of a member.

Another component  of the Fall Club Contest is not competition but cooperation.  As with every Katy Toastmaster meeting, it is a team effort of individuals supporting each other by participating in various important roles such as judges, to ballot counter to timers. 

It should be a fun night.  Join us.

 

Dear Prospective Parents

 Presented by Daisy Huang

Competent Communicator Manual
Project 2: Organize Your Speech
Time: Five to Seven Minutes

 





Miss Daisy! Miss Daisy! Look what I did!  Miss Daisy, I need to go to the bathroom! Miss Daisy, my shoes are untied! Miss Daaaaaisy!

Ah, the daily trials of a kindergarten teacher. Such was my life.

Fresh out of college, I joined a program called Teach for America, where I spent my days teaching underprivileged children. I was assigned to teach kindergarten.

I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. What was I thinking? Nothing forces you to mature faster than controlling the chaos created by 30 kindergarteners, all while trying to cram vital information into their brains.

I wore many different hats other than being a teacher. I was part-time parent, when their own parents couldn’t be there for them. Part-time police officer, busting the candy black market on a daily basis. Part-time nutritionist, making sure they didn’t blow their lunch money on doritos. Part-time nurse, bandaging up little booboos and ouchies with spongebob bandaids. And my favorite, part-time janitor, mopping up spills, accidents, and occasionally vomit and pee.

It’s not as bad as I make it sound. Despite my initial fears, I was actually a very good teacher and the kids were adorable.

I don’t have children, and after teaching young children for a few years…I have the strong urge to keep it that way.

But really, even though I don’t have kids of my own, I think I’ve learned a few things about parenting during those years. Today, I would like to reveal some good parenting practices. This is for anyone out there who is planning to spawn, keep this in mind so you don’t drive your child’s future kindergarten teacher up a wall.

Good parenting practice #1: Teach your children how to tie their own shoes. Ah yes, the challenge of tying shoes. Believe it or not, we’re too busy in kindergarten learning how to read, so we don’t have time to teach children the art of lacing up your own shoes. It’s also a huge safety hazard in the busy hallway if kids have their shoes untied. If you can’t teach them how to tie their own shoes, at least get them those cute little Velcro sneakers so they’re not tripping over their own feet all day.

Good parenting practice #2: Teach your children how to wash their hands. As cute as little kids are, let’s face it, they are germ factories. Their hands have more bacteria than you could culture in a petri dish! I can’t even remember the amount of times I observed a kid dig touch the floor and then stick their thumb in their mouths, ick! And then they would get sick. So parents, make it a habit for your kids to wash their hands.

Good parenting practice #3: Teach your children that they are responsible for their own homework. The earlier your kids take responsibility for themselves, the more self-motivated they’ll be and the better they will do in school. Routine is important, set a designated “homework” time. Excellence is the result of developing good habits, and before long, you’ll notice your child automatically doing their own homework without supervision, simply because they are accustomed to the routine.

Good parenting practice #4: Don’t tell your children they’re smart. This goes against everything we know as parents, but praising your child with “Oh Johnny, you’re so smart,” will end up crippling him. And I’ll tell you why. They’ll get it into their heads that they need to appear smart all the time, and thus will go to great lengths to avoid anything that might make them look stupid. They’ll shy away from trying new things, and be more prone to giving up easily. So when Johnny does something correctly, instead of saying, “Wow, Johnny, you’re so smart,” tell him “Wow, Johnny, I liked how you worked hard on that. I like how you didn’t give up until you got the correct solution.” Kids who are told this work harder, have more persistence, and don’t back down when they encounter new problems.  This will set them up for success in life.

So those are my four parenting tips for getting your child ready for kindergarten, for school and life. Follow these and not only will teachers thank you, but your kid will most likely grow up to be well rounded and successful.

 



A Word From Your New Sergeant At Arms

 
By Sherry Han

Members of Katy Toastmasters are great at jumping in at the last minute to fulfill a meeting role when other members are unable to attend a meeting due to unforeseen circumstances.

As many members are working on their Competent Leadership manuals, as a convenience to members, Sherry Han (2013-2014 Sergeant at Arms) will store the CL manuals in the meeting room to help members to be evaluated in their role and receive the credit due them for their participation in the meeting.

(Thanks to getinternetexposure.com for allowing us to embed this video within this post.)

Tale of the Big Bang

 
Presented by Andy Paultanis on June 6, 2013
Advanced Communication Series: Storytelling
Project 1: The Folk Tale
Time: Seven to Nine Minutes

 

Bam….[Andy gets to slam unto a table top the “Cosmos” picture book by Carl Sagan to get everyone’s attention.].

The earth was created….According to the 17^th Century  Bishop James Ussher in the year 4004, BC, October 23rd,  at exactly 9 a.m.

Almost every human culture has their “tale” on the creation of the universe.

I think most people in this room believe in the  “The hypothesis of the primeval atom.”  Most people know it as the “Big Bang Theory.” 

The Big Bang Theory is one of the best known scientific theories of our time.  Just to do a survey, how many people here know the name of the scientist who is the  father of The Big Bang Theory?

If you don’t know, don’t feel bad.  You’re not supposed to know.  When he created the second most watched PBS Series of all time, Cosmos, in the 1980’s, Carl Sagan was extremely careful not to talk about the father of the Big Bang.

His name was George Lemaitre who as a young man served with the Allies in the Belgian army as an artillery officer in World War I.  He was awarded the equivalent medal to the United States Silver Star for bravery.

After the war, Lemaitre earned a doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Louvain in Belgium.  He went on to graduate study in astronomy at Cambridge University in England.  After Cambridge, he spent a year of study at the Harvard College Observatory. In 1927 he earned a PhD in Physics from MIT.  

George Lemaitre was also a Roman Catholic Priest. 

At the beginning of the twentieth century,  actually beginning with Aristotle, Galileo, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein all believed the universe was stable and an eternal universe.  Einstein used a “cosmological constant” to plug his various equations to maintain an eternal view of the universe.      

Lemaitre was intrigued with Einstein’s theories.  The first thing Lemaitre did was to toss out Einstein’s cosmological constant. Then he worked Einstein’s equations backwards.  In 1927, Lemaitre was the first person to publish a paper asserting  the universe was expanding. Lemaitre calculated the rate of expansion of the universe from observations of faint nebulae. This calculation today is known as Hubble’s Law?

 

Einstein didn’t believe the universe could expand and Einstein was not happy with Lemaitre.  In late 1927 when Einstein met Lemaitre at a scientific conference, he told Lemaitre to his face, “Your mathematical computations are correct but your physics is atrocious.”   

In 1929, Edmund Hubble published a paper identical to Lemaitre with additional observational evidence of new galaxies in an expanding universe.

In the early 1930’s,  Lemaitre learned Einstein was going to visit Edmund Hubble and flew to California. According to Stephen Hawking, it was in this meeting of these three great minds, Einstein, Hubble and Lemaitre,  modern Cosmology was born. 

 

Personally, I believe Hubble and Lemaitre slapped Einstein around, knocked some sense into the man, who came out of the meeting convinced the universe was expanding.  Einstein admitted his use of the cosmological constant was “the greatest blunder of his career.”

In 1931, Lemaitre published his paper on the “Hypothesis of the Primeval Atom”. Lemaitre calculated the universe began from a very tiny point where time, space and matter was created.  An event so violent  it would echo background microwave radiation throughout the universe.  As with Albert Einstein, it took a great deal of courage to challenge the existing scientific establishment.

Because Lemaitre was a Roman Catholic priest, many people thought he was trying to prove the story of biblical creation.  Not true.  Lemaitre was an accomplished scientist who had a firewall between his scientific beliefs and his religious beliefs.  Lemaitre became very upset with the Catholic Pope who wanted to use his theory as proof of biblical creation.    

In 1949, Fred Hoyle, a brilliant British scientist was so upset with this obscure theory, went on BBC Radio to argue with the general public against it. Hoyle coined the phrase the “Big Bang Theory.”

When I hear the phrase, “Big Bang Theory”, I hear little children taunting  naa, naa, naa big bang theory. Ha..Ha..Ha!

The term Big Bang was intended to be a put-down and an insult. Fred Hoyle was mocking and tying to make fun of Lemaitre.

In 1964, two radio astronomers by the name of Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson  accidentally and I mean accidentally, because they were never taught as students about the Big Bang, discovered the background microwave radiation of the Big Bang.  This was the smoking gun proving the theory. 

They were given use of a radio telescope just outside New York City and as they were trying to calibrate it, kept hearing a buzzing noise no matter where they pointed the feed horn of the telescope.  They reached a point where they thought the noise was from pigeon droppings on the feed horn.

 

Being nice guys, they trapped the pigeons and set they free a hundred miles away. Soon, the pigeons were back, they were homing pigeons.  In the early 1960’s they did what many American men would do, they took out shotguns and solved the pigeon problem.  It didn’t solve the buzzing noise.

They eventually realized they had discovered the echo of the Big Bang.  They should have won a Noble Prize for cleaning pigeon droppings but instead in 1978 won the Noble Prize in Astronomy. 

Everyone in this room has heard the echo of the Big Bang.  If you ever tuned a radio or television and heard some static, one percent of that noise is from the Big Bang echo.  

In 1966, as George Lemaitre lay dying is a hospital, they told him, “George, they found the background radiation  of the Big Bang.  Your hypothesis of the Primeval Atom is now irrefutable scientific fact."

A few days later George Lemaitre died

[Special Thanks to Jim Harrington for video taping this speech.]



Happy Holidays in July

By Andy Paultanis

My grandmother Rose Haggerty had six children and 28 grandchildren.  She began her December holiday shopping in July.  My grandfather and her lived on a fixed pension so she took advantage of as many sales as she could to buy gifts for her family.  She planned ahead.

 

This year in Katy Toastmasters we are also planning ahead for the Holidays.  The President of the club always hosts the party.  I have taken the liberty to book the clubhouse of my subdivision, Deerfield, for Saturday, December 14, 2013.

Book your calendars now.

This is two weeks after Thanksgiving and two weeks before Christmas, both national holidays.

It is a very pleasant facility with ample space and amenities plus plenty of parking.

(My family tends to host parties at the community clubhouse since we had an incident when I placed my Golden Retriever, Vegas, in the master bedroom, away from guests.  Vegas believes everybody loves her and wants to pet her. She is about one hundred pounds.  She proceeded to rip the door apart trying to get out creating such damage to the door lock she locked herself in and we had to call a locksmith to open the door.)

 

Measure your progress towards achieving your goals.

By Andy Paultanis

Many toastmasters clubs have themes for their fiscal year of which ours run from July 1^st through June 30^th.

In the 2012-2013 year, we had a great club theme of “No action, no results, it’s just that simple.” It was a challenge to our members and guests to initiate  real action to turn dreams and hopes into tangible goals whether it involved toastmasters or issues in our professional or personal lives.

Trying to select a theme for the 2013-2014 was a challenge although it only seemed natural that once we were motivated to do something, began some action, then to achieve our goals we need to measure our progress. Our theme this year is a quote from the motivational speaker, Jerry Bruckner:

“ Measure your progress towards achieving your goals.”

One of my personal goals is to develop and practice my writing skills.  One of my great passions is Katy Toastmasters and there is a great deal to write about the activities of the club.  I am amazed week after week with speeches given by members regardless of their public speaking experience or backgrounds.  Many speeches are emotionally moving, interesting, informative and humorous.  There is little doubt many individuals have done significant research, soul searching and have written, re-written, then re-re-written their speeches. They continually practice the delivery of their speeches.

 

One of my greatest disappointments in Toastmasters are speeches that I have missed because I was unable to attend a meeting.

I am so impressed with so many of the speeches, I hope that many of the speakers will give us permission and allow us to post their written speeches on this blog so members who (for reasons beyond their control) miss a meeting will not miss out on the content of a speech. Unfortunately  they will miss out the public speaking delivery of the speech, table topics and the all important evaluations.  

We hope this blog can be a medium for sharing important, creative and sometimes just fun speeches with members, family, friends, colleagues and potential guests.  We also want to share concepts and ideas involving toastmasters and public speaking in general.

We realize what goes on the Internet, stays on the Internet. It’s understandable some speeches are too personal to be posted on the Internet.

One of my goals in the 2013-2014 toastmaster club year is to post to this blog at least once a week in an effort to share some of the “magic” that occurs at Katy Toastmasters each week. 

 

We’ll measure my progress in achieving this goal.