Thursday, 21 December 2006
December 21st 2006
We are happy to announce that Prestigious Speakers Barcelona will sponsor a new TM club in Valencia inaugurating March 20th 2007. More info to come soon...
Friday, 24 November 2006
November 24th, 2006
Last night we had a star performance by Kim Page as the guest speaker at the American Society Thanksgiving Dinner. There were over 80 people who attended, she had no microphone nor podium (although she preferred that set-up). Kim shared the importance of giving thanks and also the importance of giving.
She first took us back to 1621 the first Thanksgiving feast in Plymouth with a description which made you feel you were right there with the pilgrims and Indians. She also shared personal family experiences of an elderly woman "Maria" who said "thank you, thank you very much" everyday for the basic repetitive services she received in a nursing home. Kim's depiction of Maria was extraordinary as she hunched-over, moved and spoke like a 102 year woman. I was way off to the side, but Kim's facial expressions were so vivid it was like a real transformation. Not to mention the "queen" of body language as her arms naturally flowed throughout her speech.
So a "10" for body language and also vocal variety!! Her props were few but punctual and complete attention gettters. Her long list of things to be thankful for (a banner paper of at least 2 meters long) was a surprise and humorous, but the suspense of sharing which one, of all the things on her list, was the most important (with great pauses) had everyone in suspense. Her response..... the most basic and fundamental- the act of "giving". With emotional grabbers of real examples of giving, I believe made everyone reflect and I saw so many heads nodding up and down in affirmation. The audience was completely captivated- she had complete control and attention of everyone in the room. It was very emotional!
Then her finale included a brief description of the movie the "Secret" and the symbolism of the stone that is carried in the pocket to touch everyday to remember to be thankful or to give thanks. At that moment nearly 100 stones were poured into a metal bucket by Kim, which made a extremely large noice (almost like a long thunder). With her strong close which included how grateful she was to have been the guest speaker at such an important holiday event and after a large round of applause, Kim proceeded to offer stones from her bucket to everyone in the audience going from one table to the next, allowing each of us to pick one out. ¡¡Que detalle!!
Kim, for the few of us that were there last night from Prestigious Speakers, Angela, Birgitte and myself, we were all so proud to be a fellow Toastmaster of yours and I know all other Prestigious Speakers' members who weren't there, would have been equally as proud!!
CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT PERFORMANCE!!!
Belinda
She first took us back to 1621 the first Thanksgiving feast in Plymouth with a description which made you feel you were right there with the pilgrims and Indians. She also shared personal family experiences of an elderly woman "Maria" who said "thank you, thank you very much" everyday for the basic repetitive services she received in a nursing home. Kim's depiction of Maria was extraordinary as she hunched-over, moved and spoke like a 102 year woman. I was way off to the side, but Kim's facial expressions were so vivid it was like a real transformation. Not to mention the "queen" of body language as her arms naturally flowed throughout her speech.
So a "10" for body language and also vocal variety!! Her props were few but punctual and complete attention gettters. Her long list of things to be thankful for (a banner paper of at least 2 meters long) was a surprise and humorous, but the suspense of sharing which one, of all the things on her list, was the most important (with great pauses) had everyone in suspense. Her response..... the most basic and fundamental- the act of "giving". With emotional grabbers of real examples of giving, I believe made everyone reflect and I saw so many heads nodding up and down in affirmation. The audience was completely captivated- she had complete control and attention of everyone in the room. It was very emotional!
Then her finale included a brief description of the movie the "Secret" and the symbolism of the stone that is carried in the pocket to touch everyday to remember to be thankful or to give thanks. At that moment nearly 100 stones were poured into a metal bucket by Kim, which made a extremely large noice (almost like a long thunder). With her strong close which included how grateful she was to have been the guest speaker at such an important holiday event and after a large round of applause, Kim proceeded to offer stones from her bucket to everyone in the audience going from one table to the next, allowing each of us to pick one out. ¡¡Que detalle!!
Kim, for the few of us that were there last night from Prestigious Speakers, Angela, Birgitte and myself, we were all so proud to be a fellow Toastmaster of yours and I know all other Prestigious Speakers' members who weren't there, would have been equally as proud!!
CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT PERFORMANCE!!!
Belinda
Saturday, 18 November 2006
November 18th, 2006
the attack
it's saturday, november 18, 2006, 5:20 pm. the humorous speech contest of this year's district 59's autumn conference is about to kick off. the highlight of a day full of great performances. 250 toastmasters from all over the place have made it to nuremberg, the host town. anibar, the humorous speech contest master gives final instructions to a crowd of nine winners. they all proceeded to higher levels; first the club level, then the area, then the division. today it's district 59, the european zone of an ever growing organization.
the four ladies and five guys look tense. deep in thoughts, they all go through their speeches again and again. do not forget to say this, do not leave out that. should i still include the other part? what if they don't laugh? what if i forget the order? what if i fail?
all day long i've been trying to figure out how to get together my beamer presentation, the props and the stage scenario. two thirds of my ten meter stage are cut of due to the beamer. how can i stay on stage and click forward down there? i go for the option number 3: begin onstage and step down for the first click. then i have to present the props anyway, which i'm going to position right in the center, in front of that isle that cuts the huge conference room into two equal pieces.
in the draw i picked number one. great... we all are waiting backstage in that hardly illuminated hallway. everybody's walking around nervously. it's amazing. whatever you feel like; calm, relaxed, self-confident... when showtime knocks on the door, stage fright is your closest friend.
i can hear anibar presenting the instructions and rules. then he says: "...the first contestant florian mück..." - showtime!
i'm walking out there. i try to avoid looking at this wall of people. 250 people is something different from 18 tm's at the bbc... i can hear first giggling. this means, my outfit works at least. i used dark blue makeup from edith for my eyes. i look so tired now. my shirt is lolling on one side. one sleeve is rolled up. the tie is hanging loose.
one last click on the laptop and the title "the attack" appears on the screen. i'm getting up onstage. anibar says what he has to say... "florian mück, the attack - the attack, florian mück"... i position myself at the edge of the stage, rise my right arm, point with the finger to the ceiling, look up there and say with a firm voice: "at the peak of the fifth century, attila the hun attacked two thirds of europe..."
from the start, the speech flows smoothly. first laughter fills the room quickly. and that's not the last one. actually, they are laughing all the time. what a great feeling. immense laughter when i shoot the highlights at them; the milk pump, the crying, the fatigue facial expressions. i go to the left wing, i go to the right wing, slowly, not hesitating. eye contact. keep the eye contact. i learned my lessons from the earlier levels. when i demonstrate the milk pump i shout out: "sorry guys in the last rows, that is something for first rowers only!" i interact with that lady who's laughing like a maniac when i say: "even if i have to wear shades on a foggy day..." i see their entertained faces. happy faces. they enjoy my speech. what a feeling. better then sex, almost.
i say my final words "and we... surrendered!" then i get what i earned hard: a long and lasting applause...
fm
it's saturday, november 18, 2006, 5:20 pm. the humorous speech contest of this year's district 59's autumn conference is about to kick off. the highlight of a day full of great performances. 250 toastmasters from all over the place have made it to nuremberg, the host town. anibar, the humorous speech contest master gives final instructions to a crowd of nine winners. they all proceeded to higher levels; first the club level, then the area, then the division. today it's district 59, the european zone of an ever growing organization.
the four ladies and five guys look tense. deep in thoughts, they all go through their speeches again and again. do not forget to say this, do not leave out that. should i still include the other part? what if they don't laugh? what if i forget the order? what if i fail?
all day long i've been trying to figure out how to get together my beamer presentation, the props and the stage scenario. two thirds of my ten meter stage are cut of due to the beamer. how can i stay on stage and click forward down there? i go for the option number 3: begin onstage and step down for the first click. then i have to present the props anyway, which i'm going to position right in the center, in front of that isle that cuts the huge conference room into two equal pieces.
in the draw i picked number one. great... we all are waiting backstage in that hardly illuminated hallway. everybody's walking around nervously. it's amazing. whatever you feel like; calm, relaxed, self-confident... when showtime knocks on the door, stage fright is your closest friend.
i can hear anibar presenting the instructions and rules. then he says: "...the first contestant florian mück..." - showtime!
i'm walking out there. i try to avoid looking at this wall of people. 250 people is something different from 18 tm's at the bbc... i can hear first giggling. this means, my outfit works at least. i used dark blue makeup from edith for my eyes. i look so tired now. my shirt is lolling on one side. one sleeve is rolled up. the tie is hanging loose.
one last click on the laptop and the title "the attack" appears on the screen. i'm getting up onstage. anibar says what he has to say... "florian mück, the attack - the attack, florian mück"... i position myself at the edge of the stage, rise my right arm, point with the finger to the ceiling, look up there and say with a firm voice: "at the peak of the fifth century, attila the hun attacked two thirds of europe..."
from the start, the speech flows smoothly. first laughter fills the room quickly. and that's not the last one. actually, they are laughing all the time. what a great feeling. immense laughter when i shoot the highlights at them; the milk pump, the crying, the fatigue facial expressions. i go to the left wing, i go to the right wing, slowly, not hesitating. eye contact. keep the eye contact. i learned my lessons from the earlier levels. when i demonstrate the milk pump i shout out: "sorry guys in the last rows, that is something for first rowers only!" i interact with that lady who's laughing like a maniac when i say: "even if i have to wear shades on a foggy day..." i see their entertained faces. happy faces. they enjoy my speech. what a feeling. better then sex, almost.
i say my final words "and we... surrendered!" then i get what i earned hard: a long and lasting applause...
fm
Monday, 9 October 2006
October 9th, 2006
Dear Fellow Toastmasters,
First Congratulations to Florian for taking 1st place in the Area Humorous Speech Contest with his hilarious "Baby Attack" performance with a breast pump demonstration included! Our dual club member, Marie Gomes, representing Barcelona Toastmasters came in 2nd place, who actually had me in tears from laughter, sharing her experience with her Spanish colleagues in the workplace.
Peter Simons pulled a 2nd place right out of his pocket for the Table Topics Contest, lucky for him he had a string in his pocket that was converted into weather forecasting detector.
Jane Cronin, President of Mil Palmeras Toastmaster Club and only participant and attendee from Alicante took first place in Table Topics - and well deserved. Her response was so vivid and convincing, many of us believed it to be a true personal experience.
We were the most represented club at the contest in contestants and attendees, so thank you to all of those who were there and special thanks to those of you who helped out; Melinda, Brenda, Angela, Eduardo and Sioux.
Those of you who didn't attend missed a great morning. We also had two very useful and captivating educational trainings by Edith and Kim. Edith's speaking on "English across borders" really warmed us up for the humorous speeches as we saw how easily it is to be misunderstood (and how comical it is) when you don't consider your listeners level of the English language. Kim's "Voice" training session opened our ears (and hearts) to incredible sounds and tones where she demonstrated how to put them into practical use.
Best of luck to the 1st and 2nd place winners that will go onto to Madrid on October 21st to compete in the Division Speech Contest. Remember you can also attend even if you are not participating. Please let me know if you are interested and I can send you the information.
See you all at our next meeting on the 17th!
Cheers,
Belinda
First Congratulations to Florian for taking 1st place in the Area Humorous Speech Contest with his hilarious "Baby Attack" performance with a breast pump demonstration included! Our dual club member, Marie Gomes, representing Barcelona Toastmasters came in 2nd place, who actually had me in tears from laughter, sharing her experience with her Spanish colleagues in the workplace.
Peter Simons pulled a 2nd place right out of his pocket for the Table Topics Contest, lucky for him he had a string in his pocket that was converted into weather forecasting detector.
Jane Cronin, President of Mil Palmeras Toastmaster Club and only participant and attendee from Alicante took first place in Table Topics - and well deserved. Her response was so vivid and convincing, many of us believed it to be a true personal experience.
We were the most represented club at the contest in contestants and attendees, so thank you to all of those who were there and special thanks to those of you who helped out; Melinda, Brenda, Angela, Eduardo and Sioux.
Those of you who didn't attend missed a great morning. We also had two very useful and captivating educational trainings by Edith and Kim. Edith's speaking on "English across borders" really warmed us up for the humorous speeches as we saw how easily it is to be misunderstood (and how comical it is) when you don't consider your listeners level of the English language. Kim's "Voice" training session opened our ears (and hearts) to incredible sounds and tones where she demonstrated how to put them into practical use.
Best of luck to the 1st and 2nd place winners that will go onto to Madrid on October 21st to compete in the Division Speech Contest. Remember you can also attend even if you are not participating. Please let me know if you are interested and I can send you the information.
See you all at our next meeting on the 17th!
Cheers,
Belinda
Tuesday, 5 September 2006
September 5th, 2006
We had our first PS meeting after the summer break. And what a change... First and foremost, the location. BBC is a big step towards professionalization of our club and our meetings. Tony, one of our two guests, really liked the new setup.
Belinda and Angela did a great job guiding the group through the meeting, as "Madame President" and Toastmaster of the Day, respectively. In the course of the evening, we got to know insights into cyber love - a wonderful, funny and entertaining speech performed by Rebecca. Yes, Rebecca is actually back! Just like Jordi who later had the pleasure to evaluate her. The second and last speech of the meeting by Peter. Body language its focus, Peter explained four types of characters in terms of body language and communication attitude. Rebecca, his evaluator, acknowledged what everybody in the meeting room thought: Peter is a great presenter!
Belinda dedicated some 15 minutes on a TM training session titled "Moments of truth", and our two guests were apparently quite interested in the topic. Well, of course, the presentation was about how to attract and retain new members...
All in all, a great start into our new season. For 09/19 we expect a full house. See you at our new facilities...
FM
Belinda and Angela did a great job guiding the group through the meeting, as "Madame President" and Toastmaster of the Day, respectively. In the course of the evening, we got to know insights into cyber love - a wonderful, funny and entertaining speech performed by Rebecca. Yes, Rebecca is actually back! Just like Jordi who later had the pleasure to evaluate her. The second and last speech of the meeting by Peter. Body language its focus, Peter explained four types of characters in terms of body language and communication attitude. Rebecca, his evaluator, acknowledged what everybody in the meeting room thought: Peter is a great presenter!
Belinda dedicated some 15 minutes on a TM training session titled "Moments of truth", and our two guests were apparently quite interested in the topic. Well, of course, the presentation was about how to attract and retain new members...
All in all, a great start into our new season. For 09/19 we expect a full house. See you at our new facilities...
FM
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
July 19th, 2006
What a great party at Birgitte's place. Thanks to Jonathan's sort of spontanious speech - he actually was informed about this just hours before - we could experience a vast variety of characters defending, opposing, supporting and challenging the G8 Sankt Petersburg summit's outcome. Great extemporaneous performances!
Plus, we went deep into society's fantasies when Brenda introduced quite a triple x'ed topic. Being a neglected pro, she provided innocent people with toilet paper, a toothbrush and a mysterious address book, then left into the shadows of the young night. We then witnessed an incredible amount of spontaneity...
Thanks to the party bunch, to our honerable guest, and, of course, to our host Birgitte!
Plus, we went deep into society's fantasies when Brenda introduced quite a triple x'ed topic. Being a neglected pro, she provided innocent people with toilet paper, a toothbrush and a mysterious address book, then left into the shadows of the young night. We then witnessed an incredible amount of spontaneity...
Thanks to the party bunch, to our honerable guest, and, of course, to our host Birgitte!
Tuesday, 20 June 2006
June 20th, 2006 Summer Party
PRESTIGIOUS SPEAKERS 2006 SUMMER PARTY
Here comes THE party this summer, hosted by none other than our charming member Birgitte Knaus.
Keep July 18th free. Since we have a top limit of 30 for this party, preference will be given to members. If you don’t plan to attend just advise Frank so your place can be offered to partners and or guests.
The menu has been kept to a minimum price (18 Euros all inclusive plus a waiter); since it will be a pica pica dinner I have volunteered to bring in an extra dish. Maybe someone else would like to share their favourite dish too (sweet or savoury) - please mention it when registering. Extra wine bottles particularly welcome - need good material for toasting with, right? To increase seating capacity a couple of folding chairs could come in handy if someone has them.
My special wish, at this stage, is to see some familiar faces again- those who skipped meetings these last few months. Having you attend will make this event just perfect.
To our outgoing Division Governor Deborah Cameron and to our Area Governor/Incoming Division Governor Ralph Arroyo: your support was priceless. Our “baby” has grown and is extending this party invitation to you both.
Edith
Here comes THE party this summer, hosted by none other than our charming member Birgitte Knaus.
Keep July 18th free. Since we have a top limit of 30 for this party, preference will be given to members. If you don’t plan to attend just advise Frank so your place can be offered to partners and or guests.
The menu has been kept to a minimum price (18 Euros all inclusive plus a waiter); since it will be a pica pica dinner I have volunteered to bring in an extra dish. Maybe someone else would like to share their favourite dish too (sweet or savoury) - please mention it when registering. Extra wine bottles particularly welcome - need good material for toasting with, right? To increase seating capacity a couple of folding chairs could come in handy if someone has them.
My special wish, at this stage, is to see some familiar faces again- those who skipped meetings these last few months. Having you attend will make this event just perfect.
To our outgoing Division Governor Deborah Cameron and to our Area Governor/Incoming Division Governor Ralph Arroyo: your support was priceless. Our “baby” has grown and is extending this party invitation to you both.
Edith
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