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
Friday, 24 November 2006
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
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