“You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto,” croons Louis Armstrong in his duet with Ella Fitzgerald.
As an Australian moving to Canada, with its dual British/American heritage, I spent many years learning the cause of confused looks people would give me.
“Here is my jumper,” I say to my friend, who expects to see a dress and sees instead, a sweater.
“The boxes are in the boot,” I say to my friend, who looks at the shoe rack, puzzled.
“What’s the boot?” you ask. The trunk of the car.
These memories seeped in as the grammarian of this week’s toastmaster’s meeting explained how confused she was with the word of the day. “I have been mis-understanding the meaning of this word my whole life,” she grieved. “I thought it meant ‘intentional,’ like the opposite of ‘inadvertent’, which means ‘unintentional.’” But apparently, she continued, the word meant “heedful or giving attention.”
I also thought the word meant “intentional”. My spidey sense was out. Our toastmaster also has a British colonial heritage – was this a potato/potahto example?
I pulled up the American Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the Cambridge Dictionary and the Oxford English dictionary, typed in the word “advertent”, and Bingo!
Both the Cambridge and Oxford English dictionaries give “intentional” as a meaning of the word “advertent”. Merriam-Webster says this is not “entirely off base”. They continue: “We have seen some evidence of this use [of the word as ‘intentional’], but it’s not yet well enough established to be entered in our dictionaries.”
Have you ever come across a piece of advice that seems weird at first, but as time passes, you find it meaningful and useful?
This for me, is the advice to speakers to keep a “success diary.” Write down the times that things went well. I used to connect a “success diary” to vainglory. No-one likes an arrogant boaster. How do you record your good talks without becoming the person who lords it over others?
Naysayers are all around us. Why are you doing that? We know you can’t do it that way. Mr X is already doing that, better than you ever could. Your efforts are not necessary, Ms Y has already done it. Like a ton of bricks, we are crushed before we even stand up.
One of the worst negative voices, chipping away at our self-esteem, is our own selves. From a whisper to a roar, we ask ourselves those same questions. You don’t know how to use humour in a speech, why even try it? You always smile awkwardly in the wrong place in your speech.
Remember that time you dropped your notes walking up to the podium?
Rehearsing all the times things went wrong, as we prepare a speech, can be suppressed in the writing and practicing phase. But as the hour draws near, the little unenthusiastic voice becomes destructive, a movie screen of disasters played on fast motion.
The Success Diary
Enter, the “success diary.” The Wonder Woman of enthusiasm, the Hulk of power, the Iron Man of mastery. The little voice rehearses the successes. Yes, there was that time you forgot where you were, and skipped a whole section, but remember that time you stayed on point and had the whole audience clapping loudly at the end? Yes, you did speak monotonously in front of the VP of Management, but remember that time you spoke to a small group of start-up CEOs who appreciated your business acumen.
We have to write down the good times because writing solidifies thought. The naysayer in your head is loud enough to drown out your little enthusiastic voice – the unarrogant voice of achievement. Consolidate your positive voice of experience in a success diary and empower that voice to have the upper hand as you approach the podium. The act of writing pins it in the memory and you can recall it with each step.
“Madame Chair, Fellow Toastmasters, Have you ever wondered why speakers are advised to keep a success diary?”
Feast your eyes (above) on our absolutely stunning Glen Abbey Champions: Area 83 Table Topics 2022 Champions are Roger Cogle and Wajiha Sabrani!
Area Table Topics Contest: Facts
There were 5 contestants, from 3 different clubs.
Speakers were given the same topic prompt – the word FREEDOM, and only a few seconds to prep before speaking about it.
Each speaker gave their interpretation on what FREEDOM means to them
GATM’s club-level Table Topics contest in Dec 2021 was the first time either Roger or Wajiha had competed!
Roger joined the club a little over a year ago, while Wajiha joined just 3 months ago in Fall 2021.
Roger will go on to compete at the Division contest in February, but if he cannot attend, Wajiha will compete in his place.
International Speech Contest Snapshot
Feast your eyes (above) on our absolutely stunning Glen Abbey Champions: Area 83 International Speech 2022 Champions are Zehra Raza and Krista Rowan!
Area International Speech Contest: Facts
There were 6 contestants from 3 different clubs
Each speaker had 5-7 minutes to deliver a speech they had prepared in advance
While the speeches were all different, they had common themes – making a difference in people’s lives, being inspirational, and leaving a lasting legacy
This is the SECOND year in a row that Zehra and Krista were the 1st and 2nd place winners in the Area-level contest
In 2021, Zehra won the Division-level contest and went to compete at the District-level (just one level before reaching the World Championship)
Zehra will go on to compete at the Division contest in February, but if she cannot attend, Krista will compete in her place
Zehra has been a member since 2017 and Krista has been a member since 2018
Harmony is what musicians, families, peace advocates, and speakers all wish for. For what is harmony? It is the “pleasing arrangement of parts,” as Merriam-Websters puts it.
The flute, oboe, trumpet, and violin, their different mechanics of making sounds, blending together to carry us along a smooth journey of sound – unless it’s a heavy metal concert, with discordant sounds, meant to shake us up.
The parents pleasantly, but firmly guiding their kids; their children happily doing what their told, attending classes, and doing their homework on time. Let’s not mention the heavy metal version of dissonance of family life.
Countries trading with each other fairly, respecting borders, and giving their citizens equal access to societies resources. War, police brutality, elite wealth, what are those?
And what about us? The toastmasters? A speech with a catchy opening, clearly defined introduction, three good points with statistics and evidence when needed, humour, anecdotes, wrapping it up with a punchy conclusion and clear recommendations. Deftly delivered by a resonant, harmonious voice. I’ll let you fill in the non-harmonious version of the speech. We’ve all experienced that, no?
Harmony was a gangly girl with feet too big for her legs, elephant ears and hair that wouldn’t lay flat. She was warm, helpful, and people felt inspired after spending time with her. How harmonious was Harmony then?
The meeting Chair introduces your name and speech title, you unmute, anxiousness rising on your sweaty palms in anticipation. You have practiced, you will be fine, your inner voice soothes. You open with a catchy quote, and then stumble over the last few words, your tongue and lips as heavy as treacle. “Huh?” your inner voice, caught unaware, exclaims.
One of the things we often forget to do just before speaking is warm up. Would a sprinter change into her running clothes, walk out of the locker room into the stadium, and dash down the track? Would a swimmer change into his bathing clothes, walk out of the locker room, dive into the pool, and barrel down to the other end? They would not. They warm up before the real event, stretch, breathe, light movements, and the like.
Think about all the muscles used in speaking – the tongue, lips, cheeks, jaws, vocal cords, neck, shoulders – all these need to be warm, loose, pliable and flexible, ready to enunciate those vowel-consonant combinations that are words. So, for a speaker, the need to warm up the muscles is the same as an athlete.
Youtube is full of speech warm up exercises. Anna, from Verba Vocals, has one of my favourite quick warmups https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb1Cv7aDXmk]: Mouth and face stretches; lip rolls; tongue routines; chest relaxers; vocal cord warmups; and diaphragm breathing. The finale – tongue twisters: Peter Piper picked a pick of pickled peppers.
If you want your tongue and lips to dance lightly over your words next time you speak, so that the audience is not caught up in deciphering, instead of understanding, the words’ meaning, try warming up before you begin.
Was Glen Abbey Toastmasters rash in holding a regular meeting on Wednesday night? Not at all! It was a deliberate decision made after deliberation. Can you guess what the word of the day was at our meeting? Deliberate carefully before you answer, don’t rush.
If you had to underline different versions of the word of the day, and you underlined “deliberate” and “deliberation,” you would be right! Our grammarian introduced several variations of the word “deliberate,” in its verb, adjectival and adverb forms. Dictionary.com defines the verb “deliberate” in slightly different ways, depending if it is to be used with or without an object.
A. to weigh in the mind; consider (with an object):
to deliberate a question
B. to think carefully or attentively; reflect (used without object):
She deliberated for a long time before giving her decision.
to consult or confer formally:
The jury deliberated for three hours.
As an adjective dictionary.com offers three nuances:
A. carefully weighed or considered; studied; intentional:
a deliberate lie.
B. characterized by deliberation or cautious consideration; careful or slow in deciding:
Moving away from the city and all its advantages required a deliberate decision.
C. leisurely and steady in movement or action; slow and even; unhurried:
moving with a deliberate step.
As an adverb, “deliberately” is connected to the central idea here, which revolves around the idea of doing something slowly, carefully, and on purpose:
A. on purpose; with clear intent:
Is this just bad journalism, or an attempt to deliberately mislead the public?
B. with careful thought or consideration:
The board is committed to moving deliberately on this important initiative.
C. in a calm and unhurried way:
He was careful to move slowly and deliberately so as not to scare them off.
We can see in all these subtle distinctions the connections between being “unhurried” and “intentional.” But unless you knew the meaning of the word in advance, you might be confused by these various uses: What can we see connecting: “She moved the Queen to check the King after deliberating for 15 minutes” to “She walked deliberately into the cold river”?
Unfortunately, there is no method to the madness of English, but if we deliberately memorise the meanings of words, we may deliberate well in our word choices for our speeches.
Glen Abbey Toastmasters will be hosting the Club level Table Topics and International Speech Contests in December 2021
Table Topics Speech Contest
Table Topics are 1-2 minutes long. They are impromptu speeches given on a topic that the speaker has no prior knowledge of. The contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, and District level.
The Table Topics Contest will be held on December 1, 2021
International Speech Contest
International speeches should be original speeches of 5-7 minutes. They can be given on any subject, and can be serious, funny, or inspirational. The International Speech Contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, District, and International level, and as it goes all the way to the International level, it is the most important of all the Toastmaster contests, and where the World Champion of Public Speaking is decided! In order to be a contestant in this contest, a Toastmaster must have completed at least 6 speeches from the Competent Communicator or Pathways Program.
The International Speech Contest will be held on December 15, 2021
We’re looking forward to seeing and hearing Glen Abbey Toastmasters compete!
Did you ever challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone?
We had a great meeting on Sep 29th, 2021, sharing our experience and thoughts about leaving the comfort zone with our Area Director, Ian Horne. Table Topic Master, Nisarg, challenged the audience with thoughtful questions below:
What is your definition of Comfort Zone?
How can someone leave their comfort zone?
Why should someone leave their comfort zone?
Can you give us an example when you had to leave your comfort zone?
Can you give us an example when you decided to not leave your comfort zone?
How do you encourage yourself to take risk(s)?
If you would like to challenge yourself for public speaking, please join our weekly meeting as a guest to hear more.
As Toastmasters International starts a new chapter for the year 2021-2022, in our club meeting on July 14th, 2021, Glen Abbey Toastmasters shared their plans in their Toastmasters’ journey.
We are all looking forward to this new year with a commitment to doing something new and interesting.
What a great meeting on June 23, 2021. In honor of World Music Day on June 21, Chairperson Joan Teri encouraged us to share all our stories about music and what it does to our souls, ears, and more.
Many Glen Abbey Toastmasters shared what music means to them and especially how during COVID – music brought joy and happiness.
Table Topics included a playlist of songs with famous dances, and a number of Toastmasters showed off their dance moves. The list:
What a delectable (word of the day) night we had! Our meeting Chair Gordon Vuong sent this email to all of us five days before the meeting:
What is an Adventure in Food?
They say “variety is the spice of life”.
I say the BEST way to get variety in life is through the literal spices, textures, flavours of yummy food! You can learn a lot about a country, its people, traditions, and culture through its food. Since we cannot really travel now, we can still go on a CULINARY ADVENTURE!
I encourage you to support your local restaurants and order take out from a new place. If you’re feeling even more adventurous, experiment and cook a new recipe you’ve never made before. Not so adventurous? That’s okay, tell us all about your favorite comfort food that gives you warm fuzzy memories when you eat it.
Please come ready to share stories of your own adventures in food!
Bon Appétit! Your food obsessed Chair
Of course the whole club jumped in to participate – because of course we all love to eat!
Glen Abbey Toastmasters is proud to have earned President’s Distinguished Club status for the 22nd year in a row.
What is President’s Distinguished Club status?
It is the highest level Toastmasters Club can achieve in a given year based on the Distinguished Club Program scorecard
What is the Distinguished Club Program?
The Distinguished Club Program includes 10 goals that every Toastmasters club in the world strives to achieve each year. The 10 goals are grouped into four areas:
Education: How many members completed various Toastmasters Pathways Education Levels
Membership: How many new, dual, and reinstating members were brought into the club
Training: How many Club Officers attend twice yearly Club Officer Training
Administration: Whether our club submitted dues / renewals on time twice yearly
Understanding The Scoreboard
Glen Abbey Toastmasters achieved 10 goals. Each checkmark on the right counts for one goal / one point.
Why Does It Matter?
Achieving President’s Distinguished status means:
Our club is strong – and has been for a long time
Our members are engaged – and make meetings interesting and memorable
We have a great mix of experienced and new members
Our members are achieving their education goals through a great program and strong club mentorship
Our Club Officers are committed to helping you on your Toastmasters journey.
If you’d like to become a great public speaker – visit our club any time.
GATM celebrated Earth Day 2021 with a special Earth Day themed meeting.
The Toast to Planet Earth set the stage for our appreciation of the planet.
GATM Toastmasters spoke of how Earth Day impacts them and the many things they do to help the planet. During Table Topics, many spoke of the actions they take in their daily lives – from:
eating more plant based diets
how they are reducing, reusing, and recycling
how they have helped in reforestation
what they do for climate change, and
how they reduce waste when out
Also there were two great speeches on Different Abilities and Communication Styles!
District 86 is hosting it’s Spring Conference from April 10 to April 16, 2021. Over the course of the week, there will be 15 workshops, contests, the business meeting, and lots of fun events.
The conference is online and FREE this year. It is a great opportunity to:
Learn new ideas, strategies, and techniques to help your clubs, areas, and divisions succeed.
Connect face to face and network with like-minded Toastmasters from across Ontario
Spur your personal growth, thinking, creativity, and planning from outstanding workshops
Be Inspired by Distinguished Toastmasters and District Award Winners who are recognized for achieving their goals
Be Amazed by fabulous contest speakers, motivated presenters, and selfless volunteers
Renew Friendships by coming home for a TM Conference – an annual gathering of new & old friends
Re-Energize your passion and regain your focus for your own Toastmasters journey
Oakville Mayor Rob Burton is proclaiming April as Toastmasters Month for the Town of Oakville. This is a great honour for all Toastmasters clubs in Oakville including:
Everything was coming up hearts at the February 11th Valentines Day themed meeting at Glen Abbey Toastmasters.
Chair Gordon Vuong led the theme by sharing: This week, there are three big holidays that celebrate love – Valentine’s Day, Family Day, and Chinese Lunar New Year. The meeting theme was The Love You Give.
And he challenged everyone to wear red or have red in their backgrounds. Of course Glen Abbey Toastmasters delivered. Great meeting!
