Hutchinson Toastmasters II

Political rhetoric in an election year, rich vs. poor, straight vs. gay, pro-choice vs. pro-life – these subjects and many more divide us into camps of thought and belief.  There are more Hot Button Issues around than ever before and social media makes it easy to make it known where we stand.  It is the rare person of diplomacy who can defend his or her position without setting off the hot button alarms of those they are speaking to.  Come prepared to tiptoe your way through verbal minefields.

The Tic-Talkers club meets this Saturday morning at 9:00 in the Plymouth City Hall – 3400 Plymouth Blvd.  Saturday Morning Live has six captures as does our club.  It’s only fitting that the Hutch II club has the honor of the 7th capture rather than the honor falling to some club from St. Paul.

(Left) Our very own Kay DeSmith presented with the 2010-2011 Area Governor award by Kim Windingland. Kay did a great job helping surrounding clubs be their very best.

(Right) President Bill Haas presented Raymond Norton with a certificate of participation of the District 6 Speech Contest in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Emails, texting and FaceBook have made writing a letter antiquated. The post office is complaining because of the reduced revenue coming from first-class letters. There’s still a few places that letter writing works best.  For example, would you get a “Dear John” email? How about a “pink slip” tweet? Attend ready to discuss those opportunities where letter writing is still the best option.

This Fall’s Prairie Division Speech Contest was held October 1st. in Marshall, MN. A bit of a drive for some, but what a beautiful day to travel. The trip paid big dividends for Raymond Norton, as he placed 1st in the Humorous category with his speech titled “First Day of School”. Raymond’s win earns him a spot to represent his club in Thunder Bay, Ontario,  Canada for the District 6 Speech Contest October 14th and 15th.

Yeah for another well represented Area speech contest. This Fall’s contest included original material from contestants for the Tall Tales and Humorous categories. K.J. McDonald (left center) from the Watertown club and Raymond Norton(right center) from Hutchinson, placed 1st in Tall Tales and Humorous, respectively. Bob Lea (left) from Hutchinson placed 2nd in Tall Tales, and Gary Simmons (right) from Willmar placed 2nd in Humorous. Thank you everyone for putting on a great contest. (The food was yummy)

Participating in a Toastmasters speech contest is a great opportunity to work toward your goal of becoming a highly competent communicator. Contests are always a fun, festive and rewarding experience . Win or lose, doing our personal best during each speaking opportunity is important. Preparing a dynamic speech that the judges will  love starts even before penning the first letter , by being aware of the rules and what is on the ballot that the judges are using to score your speech.

Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the material below and you will be on your way to writing that award winning speech!

Humorous Speech Time : 5-7 minutes

View Humorous ballot here

Tall Tales Time: 3-5 minutes

View Tall Tales Ballot here

View all rules here

When Kenny Ray Morgan visited our club not too long ago, you may remember that he said that he bought 17 years worth of recordings of the International Speech contest and studied them carefully. When listening to great speakers, it’s easy to get caught up emotionally in what they are saying and miss the techniques they use to make the speech great. Watching a speaker give a speech for a second or third time allows you to disconnect from the message and really hone in on the techniques they use. A series of techniques, like those presented in your Competent Communicator’s Manual, skillfully delivered make an ordinary story exceptional! Be a student of speaking techniques and your speeches will improve.

2001 World Champion of Public Speaking, Darren LaCroix, passed along this tip that I’ve successfully put into practice.  Before the event starts (during a sound check is a good time), take control of the space into where you’ll be giving your speech.  Stand at the front of the stage area and look to the back wall. All that space is yours to control!  People in that space will enjoy and appreciate your presentation! Anything that happens in that space will not affect you – cell phones ringing, dropped objects, or loud talkers – they have no power. See yourself as literally owning the space – you’re in command!  Repeat for the left side and the right side.  You’ll speak with more confidence when you know that you control the space!

Join us for an exciting Toastmasters meeting Thursday, July 14th, as we host International Speech Contestant Kenny Ray Morgan! Kenny is on his way to compete in Las Vegas and will be stopping in Hutchinson to present his award winning speech.

As a Speaker, Kenny Ray humbly uses his unique style and talents to help empower, motivate and inspire individuals from all walks of life.

Kenny Ray’s speech is entitled, “Mama Said”, “Mama Said” Kenny Ray Morgan

You can learn more about Kenny Ray here: http://www.kennyraymorgan.com/default.html

This is gonna be some fun!!