Just as we thought she’d be able to join us again, VPE Joann Heck is out of commission for a while. She’s had a car accident. In her own words:
I was in an auto accident and am very sore. I was the only one in the car – the other driver blew through the red light and blasted me in the right rear quarter panel (passenger side back seat). There are no broken bones (thank goodness) but many bruises and a black eye.
If you have time to drop Joann a word of concern, I’m sure she’d appreciate it.
Jim Heeren won the Evaluation Contest and Terry Schutt won the International Speech Contest in Division H. In Evaluation, Viki’s husband John was second and Brinker’s Mike Schultz was third.
If the need to file a tax return is getting you down, here’s something to be cheerful about instead. To mark the anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci’s birth, it’s the beginning of World Creativity and Innovation Week. What creative ways can you think to spend the day?
I was introduced to The Elements of Style about ten years after it was revised and expanded. I learned to treasure its advice, and I still keep a copy close to my work area. So this article by the Head of Linguistics and English language at the University of Edinburgh seems awfully wrongheaded to me. Maybe the criticism comes because the author speaks British English. When I’m faced with a sticky point of grammar, I still hear the advice of this slim volume, Get the Little Book. Get the Little Book, and reach for my copy of Strunk and White.
This time after the meeting
Brinker Toastmasters scored two firsts at today’s meeting-Liz Honnoll delivered her icebreaker and Rick Eshbach was the first speaker I remember who used two monitors in a presentation-a laptop for his notes and a monitor for slides for the audience. I should have the energy to lug a spare display around!
This time from Twitter:
The human mind is a miracle. It starts working the moment you’re born and doesn’t stop till you stand up to speak to an audience.
I (and other grammarians) always knew I could trust Trader Joe’s.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
Winston Churchill
Thought of the Day at Interlude:
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Hey, remember hearing about SpeakeasyDC, a local open mic for storytelling? I just found a page of video sample sessions. Audio-only samples are available, too. I listened to a couple of presentations this morning and found them all sorts of good things–compelling, interesting, entertaining, fun. If you’re interested in storytelling, this might be a good place to look for inspiration, practice, or technique–the organization has a full calendar of instructional sessions.
District 27 Blog