Brinker Toastmasters Makes Its Mark

Brinker Toastmasters waited until the last meeting in January before it made its mark on the new year, but what a mark it made: four new members joined our club today. Veteran Toastmaster Rick Eshbach became a member today and made an Icebreaker presentation that used stories from his past and an example from A Beautiful Mind to teach us all a few things. Brand-new Toastmaster Sisan Kipp told us about her career as a Registered Nurse. We’re still waiting for the first speeches from Choupel Lhundup and Tenzin Namgyal, but they participated in our meeting as Timer and Ah Counter and answered Topicmaster Liz Honnol’s question about what they were doing in a specific year and what it meant to them. And, for the record, Mike Schultz delivered another overtime evaluation and captured Wizard of Ahs honors with a healthy count of 15. Rick Eshbach snapped this picture after the meeting.

Our next meeting is February 14, and planning is well underway. Liz Honnoll will make her Icebreaker presentation, Mary Anne Westover will close in on her Competent Communicator award with a presentation on Toastmaster protocol, and Margaret Farchtchi promises a speech about her recent trip to Saudi Arabia. Adam Liu will be Toastmaster of the Day, and Viki seems anxious to be Topicmaster for Valentine’s Day.

SpeakeasyDC

Warning: this a marketing email I received, but it sounds as if it may be interesting and valuable. If you check it out, leave your impression in the comments.

I am the director of a local non-profit performing arts organization, SpeakeasyDC, dedicated to helping people create and perform true, autobiographical stories. I have been meaning to connect with Toastmasters for years. My father is a Toastmaster so I know what a wonderful organization it is. The reason I wanted to make contact is because I think your members might be interested in performing at our monthly open mic event and in attending our classes at a discount. 
Every 2nd Tuesday of the month, we welcome 8-10 performers to our stage who tell a true story on the night’s theme. Last month’s theme, for instance, was “Good Intentions: Stories about resolution, promises, and interventions”. The event takes place at a local lounge/restaurant on U St. and we get a fantastic crowd. The last two months were standing-room-only with almost 200 people in the house. To tell a story on the open mic, performers need to see at least one show, then go to our website and sign up for the theme they prefer. They will then get a call from our coach who will let them know if there is room in the line up and set up a time to run through their story over the phone. This is a complementary service and is required before anyone gets on our stage. 

In addition, we have two classes coming up that I’d like to offer Toastmasters members for discount of over 10%. The first is a one-day (6-hour) Storytelling Boot Camp on January 24th, which we can offer for $75, The next is a comprehensive Storytelling 101 course which takes place over four consecutive Wednesday evenings (3 hrs a night) ending in a student showcase starting on Feb. 18. We can offer this class at a reduced rate of $165. 

I’m confident that SpeakeasyDC’s courses complement the work that goes on in Toastmasters. While Toastmasters focuses on presentation, SpeakeasyDC focuses on content development – crafting cohesive and compelling content that will capture the attention of your audience and promote retention of information.  Once people have great content, Toastmasters helps them deliver that content with polish and confidence.

Spring Contest Date Set

At our meeting this morning, members set March14 as the date of our spring contest. Sharpen your pencils and start rehearsing! The winners of our International Speech and Evaluation contests will advance to the area contest on March 31.

Spring Contest Needs to be Scheduled

We need to plan our spring contest so that every member who wishes to participate in the Evaluation and the International Speech Contests has a chance to prepare. The area contest is at the end of March; why not schedule our contest for our first meeting date in March, March 14?