March 2, 2009 Minutes

From Austin Toastmasters (Balcones, Club #3407)

Megan Morris embraced the challenge of being Toastmaster with the theme of “who or what influenced who you are.”

• Bruce Solberg led Prayer & Pledge giving us pause about the changes we are facing.
• Mike Carr was our humorous Timekeeper, his first official role with Balcones Toastmasters.
• Sylvester Levario was first time Grammarian picking “consternation” (sudden dread) as the word of the day. It was used by Jon, Mark and Sonny… maybe others as my notes are incomplete. Sylvester used the new Grammarian spreadsheet created by Laura Ivy-Schultz.
• Mike Prentice, our One Minute Toastmaster, challenged seasoned Toastmasters to stretch by doing different kinds of speeches.

Table Topic Master Jon Beall doled out questions on influence.

• Mary Buker – 1:06 - learned from the man who wrote the software about which she trains lawyers. He has mentored not only on the software but on billing and travelling.
• Glenn Nielsen – 1:26 - has been befriended by Jerry Lacone (sp). He sees more in Glenn that Glenn does not see himself. They share quotes from “Bits and Pieces” magazine that Jerry bought for Glenn.
• Jane Sanford – Best Table Topic – 1:38 - Jane didn’t want to become president or even famous. However when she was a secretary, a photographer discovered her and convinced her to go to New York where she had a career in modeling and acting.
• Jim Comer - 1:04 – Jim helps others by teaching them to be themselves when they speak. Be authentic and real.
• Laura Ivy Schultz – 0:56 – Laura learned from Jim to move around when speaking. She also learned from her boss that you open doors for yourself when you make cold calls.

Peter Ryon – Conflict Resolution – Peter explained you have a self image and a public image that are part of how you respond to criticism. There are several ways to respond. 1) Withdraw, 2) rationalize, 3) counter attack, 4) non-defensive –agree with the truth and suggest possible solutions. Then he and Anne enacted a confrontation of her being unhappy with a software purchase. She complained, he acknowledged that the sale could have been better and suggested giving her money back. Peter then opened the floor for comments on the demonstration. Peter did not criticize Anne but his solution left her no better off than before she came to the store.

Fred Maynard – Most Improved – My Secret Life as Superman – Fred built a description of his job around an analogy of Clark Kent and Superman. The Clark Kent persona supports the salespeople by listening to customers to understand their process, what they already have in place, their vision for the long term, and their budget. With this information, he crafts the process details for their automated conveyor solution. Clark finds their problems before they come up. Superman must also swoop in when things go wrong, diagnose and fix the problems, and then leave without a trace. This is Fred’s livelihood.

Mark Hicks – Best Speaker – Lessons Learned on a Bad Day – Mark was having an “interesting” day, one plagued with problems with his car, marriage, baby and computer… all when he had a big presentation to prepare for. So alas a day later he had done nothing, went into work completely defeated. He paused to think, what is the worst that could happen… he could be fired. He accepted that possibility and came up with a list of actions to prevent this. He prioritized them, got to work and started checking them off. By lunch, he accomplished half and took time to relax. He looked at a photo album and saw a picture of his wife, little munchkins, and his brother. He called his brother who was sympathetic but offered only moral support. Later in the day a friend of his brothers called Mark back and provided insight into solutions for Mark. By the end of the workday, Mark was ready and felt like a Phoenix risen from the ashes.

Anne Child was General Evaluator. She commended Megan for being enthusiastic and noted that many of the roles were filled by first timers.

• Priscilla Oehlert evaluated Table Topics – Priscilla noted that Jon tried to squeeze in too many participants. Mary knew her response immediately and was passionate about it. She stayed in one place as she concentrated on the content. Glenn answered the first question but really connected with the audience. Jane gave an icebreaker in less than two minutes and showed her confidence. Jim gave great advice and we learned about him too. Laura segued from Jim’s Table Topic but had her hands on her thighs as she thought of what to say.
• Guoen Wang evaluated Peter. Guoen learned a lot about responding to criticism. Peter’s presentation was well prepared.
• Gordon Baker evaluated Fred. Fred’s project was on gestures which he did well when he of spoke expanding and of Superman swooping in. When he was referencing his notes, he lost eye contact with the audience and brought his hands together. Fred could have shorted the introductory reference to Dugg’s elevator speech theme.
• Karen Bondy evaluated Mark – Best Evaluator – Mark started with a good title but should not have mentioned his cell phone. Mark has good voice inflection, a velvety voice and is a good storyteller. He exudes empathy. He had endearing phrases like “little munchkins.” He had good gestures but used his right hand a lot and played with a rubber band such that Karen thought he’d tie it into the story but he didn’t.

Other attendees:

• Sonny Sonntag used the word of the day when saying he enjoyed the meeting.
• Charlie Cole enjoyed receiving the encouragement in the speeches.
• Dugg Tankersley suggested we do this again soon.
• Jason Boehle was reminded of Dale Carnegie principles.
• Dan Naden felt like he was doing a pledge drive when he reminded us that dues of $45 are due.
• Alan Jones – visitor – was impressed by our commradery.
• David Gaddy – visitor - “Change only happens on a platform of risk”
• Adaryll Jordan – visitor - was impressed by the speakers and comradery too and all the thought that went into our preparation.

Business:

• Dues are due - $45
• President Mary Buker announced Area contest is next Saturday with Jim Comer competing.