AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
NERVES AND WHY WE HAVE THEM
PRESIDENT’S INTRODUCTION
LEARN
TO
NAIL IT
Why do we get butterflies when we know we have to talk in
public? If you are called on to speak on behalf of a group at a
function, perhaps a wedding or a funeral in front of a large group of
strangers, how do you do this without
sobbing through your speech when it
gets to the mushy stuff? You want
your short speech to have an impact
and not make an idiot of yourself, you
UPFRONT
don’t want to bore everybody, but you
don’t know what to say, when to say it and when to shut up? All of these fears are
1 Stand out—
normal and everybody experiences them. The differences I see between those
President’s
situations and speaking at a Toastmasters meeting is that Toastmasters are a group of
introduction
like-minded people who have all been in that situation and probably still are, they will
4 Khorshed’s corner
listen to what you have to say and you will be made to feel confident that what you say
4 Grammarian's
matters. You will receive feedback that is not only constructive but friendly and
challenge
positive.
THIS MONTH
5 Meet a member
OUR CLUB
6 Start thinking ahead
7 News and schedule
SPEAKING
2 Where do you find
speech topics
6 How to say it
JOIN US
8 How to join
Try us out.
Wednesday 7:00-8:30pm.
Wainuiomata Community
Room.
The skills you will learn with us are not only for the
benefit of the Toastmasters community, these are
skills you can take into your home and your work
place as well. Having structure to our speeches
teaches us skills we can use in many situations;
when we are in job interviews, talking in staff
meetings, and even sending emails. We learn
appropriate speech, ways of wording our
frustrations in a way so as it doesn’t cause insult or
conflict. Words like “you did this wrong” can be
worded in another way to say the same thing in a
friendlier way, for example “this information was
left out..” or “just a friendly reminder, don’t forget…
next time” it's a win-win situation. You have said
your piece and the message has reached its target,
everyone is happy. We learn that if we don’t have structure we turn into wafflers and
people fall asleep! When answering questions, we do just that, we don’t waste words,
we know how to “capture” our audience and close the deal!
Remember: We are all at Toastmasters because we want to be. We have a common
goal and if we work together we can all achieve.
1
WHERE DO YOU FIND SPEECH TOPICS
It’s been weeks – months, perhaps – since you last
gave a speech. And now the time has come to talk
of ....well .....something......the question is what?
It has happened to most of us at least once. We know
we need to give a speech, but just can’t decide what to
talk about. Your world is brimming with ideas for
successful speech topics. Talk about what you know.
You will find a great deal of inspiration from personal
experiences.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Think back to your Icebreaker speech –it was all about
you, so it offered a familiar and reassuring approach to
the assignment. The more personal involvement,
interest and enthusiasm you bring to a speech, the
more likely your audience will respond in a positive
fashion.
embarrassing moments as a dentist or reveal
experiences with frightened patients and how you
managed to work around their fears.
Current or past jobs – maybe you are in an unusual
line of work or you have a unique experience on
customer relations
You can continue this trend by crafting speeches
around specific aspects of your life and life
experiences. Everyone has experienced a variety of
events – big and small.
Organisations you have been involved in
Hobbies – demonstrate a hobby, skill or talent – tell us
about your pets; how do you volunteer .
The key to creating a speech from your own
experiences is to extract the fascinating and useful
from the mundane. For example, instead of talking
about your life as a dentist, talk about some of the most
SOME IDEAS
Something you are passionate about – you may have
a strong opinion about Paul Henry; global warming;
bagels.
A success you have had/challenge you have
overcome.
Vacations – do you travel – one toastmaster talked
about his cycling trip around the Scandinavia; with
many amazing adventures he had along the way. Hitch
hiking with his bike; the numerous ice-cream stops and
the relentless rain (with his tent floating away in the
middle of the night) and the fact that they never quite
got out of Denmark (even though they were destined
for Sweden; Norway and Finland!)
Major event in your life – it may be that Donny
Osmond was your first love when you were 7 and you
would like to talk about Donny and his obsession with
purple clothes and teeth.
“...bring personal
involvement, interest and
enthusiasm to the
speech”.
You’ll also discover a great deal of inspiration in books,
magazines and newspapers. Newspapers carry a wide
range of topics – everything from entertainment, sports
and editorial comment to business and economic
trends, not to mention the latest discoveries in science
2
WHERE DO YOU FIND SPEECH TOPICS CONTINUED
and medicine.
the world and how to put
together a suitable itinerary.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Walking trips in Europe
Newspapers are especially likely to
carry human interest stories that
stimulate the imagination.

Here are some themes that are
always popular with all kinds of
audiences.
Many people want to find bargains,
and gain financial security.
HEALTH & LONGEVITY
Almost everyone is concerned with
being fit and healthy.

Good remedies for bad colds

Coping with depression

How to get a good night’s
sleep

How to get fit in 12 weeks
PERSONAL HAPPINESS
How about tips on how to gain or
enhance happiness?
MONEY & SECURITY

How to get a good job

How to get a raise

How to earn $1,000 a month
in your spare time

The fine art of haggling
ADVENTURE
People love adventure stories. It
doesn’t have to be spectacular
deeds, it can deal with more downto-earth drama.

Surviving a fire

Enduring a military boot camp

Confronting a mugger

Immigrating to a new country.

Finding a creative hobby

Ingredients for a happy
relationship
GO EXOTIC

How to win friends

Finding fulfilment through
volunteer work.
Audiences enjoy hearing unusual
facts and theories
RECREATION
How to enjoy leisure activities such
as sports, hobbies, movies and TV
shows, dining out and travel

The best restaurant in town

The best carnivals across

The possibility of life on other
planets

Homemade herbal remedies

The last Tsar of Russia

The search for Atlantis
PERSONALITIES
You don’t have to limit yourself to
famous people. A zany hometown
“character” or an inspiring teacher
or coach would also be interesting:

Martin Luther King Jr

Joan of Arc
Inspiration can be sudden and
elusive – so it’s important to capture
it.
3
CAPTURE THE IDEA...
Sometimes all it takes is a television
programme, a conversation with a
friend, or a quiet early morning
walk.....and suddenly an idea
flashes into your mind. Even the
most mundane of activities can set
the stage. For example, the famous
mystery writer Agatha Christie once
confessed that she got her best
ideas whilst doing the dishes.
Creative speech concepts are often
fleeting – so keep a notepad and
pen handy. And even if you don’t
end up using a particular idea, keep
your notes and clippings in an
organised file to be referenced for
future speeches.
Once you accept that every speech
doesn’t have to be an original
subject, many possibilities open.
What the speech has to be is
personal, human – and this is
important – you. They may not be
new subjects but your personal
interpretation and anecdotes make
them interesting.
You just never know where the
inspiration for your next
presentation will come from, or how
your next life-changing moment can
help others. Live life, love life and
talk about it.
Taken from December 2011 newsletter
Khorshed’s
corner
Today
was the day of days so to say. Our
Club hosted the Area J7 Humorous
Speech and Table Topics Contest.
The venue was the Wainuiomata
Cricket Club and there were a good
many guests. Area Directors Tania
Fraser and Rose Wyse graced the
event.
There were seven contestants vying
for top honours in the Speech
contest. Clarissa Chandrahasen did
her Dad Francis proud with her
winning speech on the fears of
growing old.
Francis is member of our own Club
and his daughter's win was a gift to
him on his birthday today.
Grammarians challenge
Quiz time
1. Which of the following is NOT an article:
a
it
the
2. Chairs _______ don’t have cushions are
uncomfortable to sit on.
semi-auxiliary verb
being verb
myself
whose
I
where
3. Those are all coordinating conjunctions,
except:
me
mine
Answers to last month’s quiz
1. it is
2. fungi / potatoes
3. adjectives
4. who 5. so
6. is
7. attributive and predicative
yet
from
Andrew Rodger was placed third in
intransitive verb
5. This will be just between you and ___ .
which
for
The second place went to Guoying
Yuan, who raised quite a few laughs
Coming in from England where she
was last, she expected New
Zealanders to speak grammatically
correct English. It took her some
time to understand that saying
"Cheers" was more of a greeting
than a toast over wine. We laughed
over how she heard a moderatesized man order 'medium' steak,
and how she ordered 'small' to suit
her own size.
4. Which of the following is NOT a type of
incomplete verb:
auxiliary verb
that
“...Table Topics are a
challenge but always
interesting...”
but
the Contest with his talk on 'Big Toys
for Big Boys.' The other four contestants also raised a good many laughs,
recounting life experiences.
Francis Chandrahesen chaired the Table Topics Contest. The topic he gave
out was "What are the Elements to Effective Communication." Anna Cramp
won the Contest hands down. Neville Isherwood was placed third. Both
Anna and Neville won laurels for our Club. Second place went to Richard
Bridge.
Table Topics are a challenge and always interesting too when each speaker
gives his or her own take on the same given subject. Clarissa and Anna both
go on to compete in their respective Contests at Division level in October.
All in all, the Contest this morning was a 'not to be missed event'. The
weather Gods were benevolent and had the sun shine in all its glory to warm
us up on a cold spring day.
4
MEET A MEMBER—BOIANNA DELTCHEVA
The first hint I had of Toastmasters
was many years ago when one of
my young colleagues at work
mentioned that he attended a
Toastmasters meeting early in the
morning and he had been utterly
terrified throughout his first twominute unscripted speech, a.k.a the
table topics.
My response was – why would you
go through a torture like that,
especially at 7:00am in the
morning?! The thought of doing a
spontaneous speech in the early
hours of the day made me feel
queasy as I was neither much of a
talker or a morning person.
Despite my initial reaction, the
thought of this club, with an very
unusual name lingered on in the
back of my mind. I was definitely
intrigued and I vowed that one day I
will pay Toastmasters a visit. But it
wasn’t until very recently that I kept
this promise to myself and finally
showed up at a Toastmasters
meeting.
As a kid, there are two things that
no one could make me do – one
was to eat what was on my plate,
and the other was to talk to people.
The fact that I was such a verbally
challenged little girl interfered
greatly with my social life in primary
school. I was known as the surly girl
who never uttered a word.
When I grew up I somehow came
out of my shell and became a
rebellious and trouble some
teenager who had difficulty shutting
up.
Fast-forward a few years later after
finishing university, a distressing
event caused me to lose some of
my inner fire and become quieter
and more reserved towards the
world. I became determined more
5
“I decided to finally
keep the promise I
made to myself years
ago ”
than ever to find my voice, express
myself and most importantly find joy
in communicating with the world.
A few months ago I was between
jobs and decided to finally keep the
promise I made to myself years ago
and visit a Toastmasters club. The
fact that I was unemployed was
making me unhappy and restless. I
wanted more than ever to do
something worthwhile that would
stretch my imagination, make my
heart sing and take me out of my
comfort zone.
I was delighted to find a club in
Wainuiomata and despite my initial
nervousness I made a guest
appearance. And the rest as they
say, is history.
I received a warm welcome and a
lot of encouragement from the other
members. I even survived through a
newbie’s worst nightmare - the table
topic. I must admit it was quite a
paradox - I enjoyed it, and found
myself in my element while
speaking in front of an audience,
BOIANNA CONTINUED
despite the fact that I felt paralyzed with fear.
But what really hooked me from day one was the spirit of encouragement
and camaraderie that created such a light-hearted atmosphere for all of us.
Being involved with Wainuiomata Toastmasters has already helped me grow
in confidence. By now I’ve had the experience of completing my first two
project speeches as well as being involved with a number of meeting roles.
I truly appreciate the fact that we all get a role to play in each Toastmasters
meeting and this is helping us polish either our ability to communicate or our
leadership skills.
I have learned so much from listening to more experienced members and I
continue to gain knowledge and make improvements along my journey, while
having a blast and looking forward to the next meeting.
I am truly grateful to Toastmasters Wauinuiomata for being such a friendly
and welcoming bunch. Being involved with Toastmasters has really helped
me to find the joy in talking and communicating, and it has challenged me
and showed me what I am capable of.
HOW TO SAY IT—WORDS THAT ARE OFTEN
MISPRONOUNCED
Some words are immensely tricky to pronounce, and the complicated English spelling does
not give you much help. Here are some commonly mispronounced words.
WORD
DO SAY:
DON'T SAY:
WORD
DO SAY:
DON'T SAY:
Affidavit
Af-fi-da-VIT
Af-fi-da-VID
Minuscule
min-UH-skyool min-IH-skyool
Arctic
ARC-tic
AR-tic
Mischievous
mis-CHE-vus
mis-CHEE-vee-us
Asterisk
as-ter-ISK
as-ter-IK
Nuclear
noo-KLEE-ur
noo-KYU-lur
Athlete
ATH-leet
ath-A-leet
Percolate
perc-O-late
perc-U-late
Candidate
kan-DI-dayt
kan-I-dayt
Prescription
PRIH-skrip-shun PER-skrip-shun
Disastrous
di-zas-TRES
di-zas-TER-es
Realtor
REAL-tor
real-A-tor
Et cetera
ET-set-er-a
EK-set-er-a
Ticklish
tik-LISH t
ik-A-lish
Espresso
ESS-press-oh EX-press-oh
Triathlon
try-ATH-lon
try-ath-A-lon
February
Feb-ROO-air-y Feb-YOO-air-y
Utmost
UT-most
UP-most
WHATS ON
October 2016: Division J & E contests
July 2017: Mid Winter meal
November 2016: District convention
September 2017: Area Contests
January 2017: Annual BBQ
We meet every Wednesday
February 2017: International speech contests
7-8:30pm
May 2017: Oral reading contest
Wainuiomata Community Hall
6
OUR COMMITTEE
President
Kerry Godfery
OUR CLUB NEWS & NOTICES
Communicate with your evaluators and chairs. If you are unable to fill a role please
communicate with chair ASAP so a replacement can be found. If you are unable to fulfil
a speaking role please swap with someone. If you don’t swap then you will lose your
speaking slot, the chair will not automatically find you another slot. If you make a verbal
deal with a member to swap a speech slot, it is best to confirm with an email as these
can be forgotten.
VP Education
Anna Cramp
The schedule that is sent out during GB is copied from the website and this often
changed so please ALWAYS check the schedule if you are uncertain of your role.
VP Public Relations
Neville Isherwood
We endeavour to have 3 speech agendas. If chairs find that only 2 speakers are
available then please email all members and ask if anyone would like the speaking slot.
It would be a shame to lose a speaking slot when we strive to complete our manuals.
Perhaps an experienced member can do an educational?
Last week Fiona was voted in as secretary. Welcome Fiona and thanks for taking on the
challenge.
Division J conference Saturday 15th October. Morning tea at 10 for 10:30 start. To be
held at Kapiti Community Centre.
Rose Wyse was presented with a Mentor award. Congratulation’s Rose!
VP Membership
Ann Swaby
Treasurer
Rose Wyse
NEWSLETTER IMAGES—ATTRIBUTION
Page 1: “Nervous” by Maxwell GS on Flickr [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
All vector images www.freepik.com
Secretary
Fiona Tuffery
OUR SCHEDULE
Number:
439
440
441
442
443
444
Name
5-Oct
TTE
GE
12-Oct
SP2
GR
TTE
SP3
19-Oct
EV1
SP3
TTM
GR
TTE
away
26-Oct
GE
EV2
SP3
TTE
TTM
Chair
SP1
TK
EV3
EV1
away
2-Nov
SP3
SP1
TK
EV2
9-Nov
EV3
TTM
GE
TTE
EV2
SP2
GR
Ann Swaby
Anna Cramp
Boianna Deltcheva
Bruce Roberts
David Coxon
Diane Isherwood
Fiona Tuffery
Francis Chandrahasen
Kelvin Deginder
Kerry Godfrey
Khorshed Irani
Mano Ram
Neville Isherwood
Rose Wyse
May Coxon
EV1
Chair
EV3
SP3
TK
SP1
EV2
GR
SP2
TTM
EV1
GE
Chair
SP1
TTM
away
TK
EV3
EV2
away
EV3
Chair
SP1
away
GE
EV2
TK
SP2
SP2
GR
away
EV1
Chair
GE
TTE
away
SP2
TTM
EV3
GR
TK
SP1
away
We meet every Wednesday
EV1
SP3
7-8:30pm
ChairWainuiomata Community Hall
away
Please note that if you are not available to fulfill a speaking role, try and swap with someone who has a speech the
next week.
Swapping will ensure that you get your speech within that scheduled round; if you just pull out there is no
guarantee that you will be able to get another slot.
7
Remember to bring both your Competent Communicator and Competent Leader manuals.
JOINING TOASTMASTERS
Toastmasters provides the tools that enable you to become
an effective communicator and leader both in business or
professional life, and your personal and community life.
Toastmasters can help you:

develop self-confidence when speaking in public

give effective presentations to all types of audiences

speak off the cuff on a variety of topics

conduct effective meetings.
You'll enjoy the fellowship of
Toastmasters as you learn how
to:
research, prepare and deliver
speeches on a wide variety of
topics

design and use visual aids to
enhance your message

Why Join Toastmasters?
You will learn in a club environment, amongst friends.  host and speak at family and social occasions.

You will receive ongoing feedback and
encouragement.
If you are interested in seeing or joining Wainuiomata
In your working life, you'll be able to:
Toastmasters please fill in the form below. One of our

hone your management skills
customer representatives will contact you to arrange a
visit.

work better with your colleagues and customers


Visit our website:
http://wainuiomata.toastmastersclubs.org
develop and present ideas clearly.
In your personal life, you'll be able to:

offer constructive criticism

accept criticism more objectively
Wainuiomata Toastmaster Club Meetings are held every
Wednesday starting at 7.00pm - Wainuiomata Community
Centre Meeting Room, Queen Street, Wainuiomata
ENQUIRIES FORM
Please circle
Please contact me to arrange a visit to a meeting
I would like to join Wainuiomata Toastmasters
Please email me more information
Last Name / Surname / Family Name First Name / Given Name Middle Initial / Name
____________________________________________________________________________
Home Phone Number Mobile Number Work Phone Number
Please email me more information
____________________________________________________________________________
EMAIL
WEBSITE
Join us on
[email protected]
wainuiomata.toastmastersclubs.org
Facebook
8