How would you like to take something ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary? Toastmaster Lara shared how we can do that through today’s theme, Artistry. The key to creativity is imagination.

The quote of the day, provided by President Moises, “You don’t think yourself into a new way of acting, you act yourself into a new way of thinking.” Jorgen vig Knudstorp

Steven was our Grammarian and Traci was our Timer.

Our vivid imaginations can get too creative at times if we don’t keep them in check. Our first speaker Ahmad told us of his “home-alone” adventure when he was a kid, in his speech titled “The Art of Imagination.” At the time his favorite movie was Home Alone. He used this entertaining film as an inspirational warning guide to protect himself from kidnappers. He created a plan of what to do when the opportunity knocked for him to be kidnapped. After watching and waiting for this opportunity to avoid the inevitable, the day to put his plan into action arrived. He had been observing a suspicious character for a while, he knew the time had come for his kidnapping to unfold. He saw the character, ran, screamed, and then frantically told his neighbor. The neighbor surprised Ahmad by confronting the kidnapper. As it turns out, the kidnapper wasn’t a kidnapper after all. He was simply another neighbor.  A child’s imagination can easily change perspective from ordinary to extraordinary.

Vivi was our next speaker. James Clear says if you really want to master something, teach it. Vivi used this speech opportunity to help her on an upcoming test and the audience benefited from her study work. The title of her speech was “Medicine in 5 minutes: Stomach Physiology.” We learned about chemical, not mechanical, digestion. She used colorful slides displaying the stomach and the chemical reactions taking place. She then displayed a few different Kirkland Brand medicines to counter the uncomfortable chemical reactions happening inside the stomach. You mastered this subject Vivi and deserve an A+!

“What makes Christiano Ronaldo the best soccer player?” Our last speaker, Weihu, will tell you -dedication to the game of soccer. Weihu used a fun story from Ronaldo’s former teammate Patrice Evra to illustrate Ronaldo’s dedication to soccer. Ronaldo invited Evra over for lunch. Evra expected a social event with an impressive satisfying lunch. To Evra’s disappointment, Ronaldo provided a light healthy lunch and the opportunity to train, train, train. Ronaldo transforms his talent for soccer from ordinary to extraordinary with his hard work ethic, unmatched confidence, and strong desire.

Cris, our Table Topics Master hosted an art auction for today’s impromptu fun. She had lovely art objects for the auctioneers. Tamsen auctioned a planer dog, Moises auctioned a stuffed animal donkey trophy head, Steven auctioned a precious mineral (a rock), Jovica auctioned crown jewels and Lonnie auctioned a wedding favor.

Our General Evaluator was Isabella. The Evaluators were Bill, Jovica and Jong.

Carpe diem. Seize the day to make your life extraordinary!

Keep sharpening your sword with Toastmasters!

Our next meeting is on  October 23^rd.

For the eleventh meeting of the Toastmaster year 2021-22, Toastmaster Sarah chose the topic of All American.

Sergeant at Arms Bill Scott shared with us zoom etiquette rules. Quote of the day was:

A teacher affects eternity; she can never tell where her influence stops.

Toastmaster of the day, our resident high school U.S. History teacher, talked about everything American. From liberty sandwiches to American football, a celebration of those unique things that make US America!

Word of the day, presented by the last minute Grammarian Paula:

gumption, common sense, horse sense.
Example:  It took a lot of gumption to speak up for yourself like that .

Jinendra was in charge of timing speakers, impromptu speeches and evaluators.

Our two speakers for the day were:

Affan presenting his icebreaker titled precisely: “Icebreaker”, the first speech of Affan in our club, he talked about the three bucket theory: Bucket 1 – things you control, Bucket 2 things you influence, Bucket 3 – things you neither influence nor control. A great speech to get to know Affan.

Isabella presenting a Presentation Mastery project: “Introduce the basic knowledge of Chinese traditional normal dress”, a speech with great pictures of Isabella and her family wearing traditional Chinese outfits.

Impromptu Table topics master of the day Steven asked members to give a speech about why they were passionate about some strange laws.

– Moises – you passed the law to make it illegal for people to drive blindfolded in Alabama, why were you so passionate about this law?
– Bill – in Arkansas it was illegal to honk your horn near a sandwich shop after 9pm, why were you so passionate about this law?
– Cris – in Connecticut it was illegal to sell pickles unless they were able to bounce, why were you so passionate about this law?
– Affan – in Delaware it was illegal to sell doghair, why were you so passionate about this law?
– Lara – in Indiana it was illegal to ride a horse above 10 miles per hour.
– Jovica – in Kentucky it was illegal to remarry the same man 4 times, what is the story there?
– Sarah – in Massachusetts it was illegal to tell fortunes without certification, what did that certification process look like?
– Ahmad – in New Mexico it was illegal for idiots to vote. How did you set the standard ?

Evaluators Petar and Ahmad evaluated our speakers following the sandwich approach: what you did well, areas of improvement, what you did well.

Come join us and meet interesting Sunrisers in Seattle here at Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters!

Our next meeting is October 16th.

For the tenth meeting of the fiscal year 2021-22, Toastmaster Traci chose the topic of Indiana Jones.

Sergeant at Arms Bill Scott shared with us zoom etiquette rules. Quote of the day was:

Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.

Toastmaster of the day continued with the theme of the meeting, inspired by having watched the Indiana Jones’ Raiders of the Lost Ark movie few months before. Traci noticed that there weren’t a lot of dialogs in the film, which might be the reason why there’s not a lot of quotable lines we can take from it, some of the scenes can last up to 10 minutes without dialogs.

Word of the day, presented by the Grammarian Bill:

intrepid, meaning characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance.
Example: an intrepid explorer.

Steven was in charge of timing speakers, impromptu speeches and evaluators.

Our three speakers for the day were:

Saurabh presenting: “Effective Speaking”, a speech describing elements that make our message, well, as the title suggests, effective. Like understanding the audience, e.g. a child at home vs a work colleague; using short sentences because they are more powerful and using simple words because, if you can keep your message simple the chances of your message being understood and acted upon are much higher.

Moises presenting a Storytelling project: “I bought a horse, its name is Hip Replacement“, a story with a surprising arc that goes very well with the title, it described Moises original plan to buy a horse that ended on a 10h trip to Guadalajara to meet the so called Hip Replacement horse.

Sarah presenting a Researching & Presenting project: “The Progressive Era”, a speech about US history between 1900 and 1920, a time in which the US saw a lot of immigration from Europe, specially to cities like New York.

Impromptu Table topics master of the day Jovica told members what gift they had received from a relative that is frequently off base, then impromptu speakers had to come up with a speech about how grateful they were to receive that gift and how they are going to use it.

– Jamie –  how would you name the 5th and latest movie of Indiana Jones to be released in 2022?
– Jinendra – what is Indiana Jones’ most effective weapon and why?
– Tamsen – who would be the perfect actor to play Indiana Jones in the next movie? Leonardo DiCaprio, Antonio Banderas or Milos Bikovic?
– Paula – what exotic food or drink would you bring to a reunion at Traci’s house?

Evaluators Petar, Ketan and Jinendra evaluated our speakers following the sandwich approach: what you did well, areas of improvement, what you did well.

Like the two guests in our meeting, Joseph and Mohammed, come join us and listen to inspiring speeches here at Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters!

Our next meeting is October 9th.

For the ninth meeting of the fiscal year 2021-22, Toastmaster and User Experience Designer Isabella chose the topic of Birthday.

Sergeant at Arms Bill Scott shared with us zoom etiquette rules. Quote of the day was:

Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.

Toastmaster of the day continued with the theme of the meeting, starting with the surprising reason why she chose the theme: her birthday is this month!

Word of the day, presented by the Grammarian Moises:

elicit, meaning to call forth or draw out something, such as information or a response.
Example: her remarks elicited cheers.

Judy was in charge of timing speakers, impromptu speeches and evaluators.

Our two speakers for the day were:

Steven presenting: “Mega Date Day 2021”, a speech about the events that took place in Steven and his wife’s all day Mega Date, starting at 5:38am on a Saturday 9/4 with a stop at Tacoma’s Le Donuts for the best egg roles. This was the 4th Mega Date© , it made some members jelous of his wife 🙂. Steven is happy to have his itinerary inspire your very own Mega Date!

Bill presenting a Storytelling project: “Learn to look at and see color in new ways“, a very personal point of view about racial responsibility, that talked about color, going from photography, to a pool and contrasting feet ending well crafted closing remarks. A speech with a fantabulous use of backgrounds taking advantage of Zoom’s advanced settings to have the speaker share the stage with the presentation.

Impromptu Table topics master of the day Steven told members what gift they had received from a relative that is frequently off base, then impromptu speakers had to come up with a speech about how grateful they were to receive that gift and how they are going to use it.

– Judy received a hunting knife
– Jovica received a dog that doesn’t get along with other dogs
– Tamsen reiceved galvanized nails
– Cris received a can of Rainier
– Moises received a used notebook
– Saurabh received half a box of bullets

Evaluators Ahmad and Jovica gave feedbacks as presents to our speakers following the sandwich approach: what you did well, areas of improvement, what you did well.

We had two guests in the meeting, Tamsen and Cris who are becoming new members of our club! Come join us and listen to their icebreaker speeches here at Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters!

Our next meeting is September 25th.