Today’s theme, introduced by our Toastmaster Judy, was “Summer of ’21.” Judy led us through the treasured benefits of vacation. A few mentioned: it builds memories, provides that kid experience of endless summer days, and it gives us permission to have a free day to just be.
President Moises’s quote of the day was “We might think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.” The word of the day, presented by Grammarian Jovica was “Sultry.” A perfect word for the hot and humid weather he experienced on his Vacation of ‘21.
Lara gave the first speech of the day, titled “Wanna Get Paid for Public Speaking?” She took us on an exciting journey investigating her next move with public speaking. Through this fun and spirited speech, she provided tips from experts on how we can level up our speaking toolbox, and get paid. A few of those takeaways: your speech is your product, narrow in to get specific on a category for speaking, and define your wheelhouse. She closed with a cliffhanger to stay tuned … we will be the first to hear her Keynote Speech! Yes!
Wanna learn more? Check out these three insightful sources that Lara credited in her speech. Michael Port’s book, the Referable Speaker, Brian Rashid’s article in Forbes, “10 Steps to Starting a Speaking Career from Scratch,” and Side Hustle HQ’s article “Starting a Public Speaking Business.”
The next speaker on our itinerary was Bill. He started his thought-provoking speech by proclaiming that he is an Anti-racist. He acknowledged that talking about race is uncomfortable. He chose courage over comfort to inspire us to consider the inequality that still exists and guided us to investigate this injustice further. His authentic and natural speaking style pulled the audience in to listen to his personal story of how he arrived at being an advocate for this cause. He shared alarming data that he learned in Isabel Wilkerson’s New York Times Bestseller, Caste, The Origins of Our Discontents. I’m inspired to read this book, to learn more about systems of human ranking, and to comprehend the price we all pay in a society torn by artificial divisions.
Hola! Our final speaker destination is Mexico City with our tour guide, Moises. Right now marks the 500-year-old anniversary of when Spanish conquistadors, and their friends, seized the city from the Aztec Empire! That’s quite a milestone. In Mexico City, you can visit Zocalo, tour the National Museum of Anthropology, ride roller coasters at 6 Flags, and enjoy local food and drink. Moises introduced a special active drink through a story he experienced with it on a sultry day. This drink, Pulque, is an Aztec brew with origins over 2,000 years old. It would be fun to toast the 500-year-old anniversary with Pulque, but since it’s a challenge to find in Seattle, I will be using its descendent, Tequila, and toast with a Margarita instead. Cheers to the ancient and modern Mexico City!
Judy doubled up on roles today to be our Table Topic Master. She initiated this event with a slide deck of helpful strategies to tackle table topics. Today’s challenge was to talk about a given summer object, such as swim goggles, peach, electric fan, and more.
This meeting was a virtual vacation. Our speakers took us on adventures back to historic roots, they provided action items for us to enjoy right now, and they created a vision of a hopeful destination for the future.
How does your garden grow?
Keep sharpening your sword at Toastmasters!
Our next meeting is on August 21st.
Some ideas....What brought you to Seattle Sunrise? Where are you from? What would you like to learn? What's your proudest accomplishment? What did you want to be when you were small? What would you sing at Karaoke night?
