Monday, September 27, 2021
Best Table Topic on Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud
I won best table topic speaker jointly on Friday September 24th 2021 in a Singapore Online Dynamic speakers' meeting. My topic was be a rainbow in someone else's cloud. I said:
We all want to be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud. And we'd all like somebody to be a rainbow in our cloud. Unfortunately, some people are clouds in our rainbow. My rule is three rains and you are out. I can't be a rainbow when somebody else is a perpetual cloud. Now the weather in the UK is variable. Cloud rain, cloud rain. But how do you distinguish a friend from an enemy? A friend is more rainbow than cloud. If somebody is a rainbow all your life, and you are their rainbow, then one day a cloud falls, you are ready to go to help. If they are a double cloud, they blot out your rainbow and you are no use to anybody. If you are one rainbow, you brighten one day. the next day they are in the cloud again. If you give a little extra, a double rainbow, enough is left over to brighten their tomorrow.
Sometimes complete strangers step in to help. I'd rather be a rainbow with somebody else's rainbow and make a double rainbow.
Wouldn't that be gorgeous. I hope my speech is more rainbow than cloud, so I'll say the word rainbow twice, rainbow, rainbow, double rainbow.
Labels: cloud, double rainbow, Dynamic, help, rain, rainbow, Singapore Online, stranger, table topic, tomorrow
Sunday, September 26, 2021
Humorous ideas of the week
I considered starting a speech with. This is not me. I am a hologram. Or I am really a robot.
A travel section of a newspaper included an account of a self-flying plane. I had heard of autopilot. I am familiar with the monorail to the World Travel Market in London having no driver. (Saves strikes, trains not running because drivers are sick, and demands for more money.) I know planes can fly on autopilot. But imagine being in a plane with no pilot when something goes wrong and the automatic message keeps repeating or talking nonsense.
Imagine hearing the message: This the automatic pilot speaking speaking. We have not been granted permission to land land land. We are flying on to south North Korea. Correction, correction, correction. North Korea.
In a UK synagogue magazine I found a list of amusing errors from schoolchildren.
In case you are too tired to see the origin or English is not your first language I include in brackets afterwards what the child meant or confused.
The more memorable ones include:
King Solomon had many wives and porcupines.
(concubines.)
Having one wife is called monotony. (monogamy. )
About the Author
Angela Lansbury, is a semi-retired travel writer still researching bucket list countries and seeking out the special, unusual, people, places, landmarks, hotels, museums and trails, fabulous foods, recipes, clothes and online souvenir shopping.
Angela Lansbury is a member of Toastmasters International.
Angela Lansbury B A Hons is the author of ten books by regular publishers plus another ten self-published books.
About Angela The Speaker & Trainer
Angela Lansbury is a teacher of English and other languages to Toastmasters clubs and businesses.
Angela has several blogs speeches, comedy and song writing and organizing, writing intermittently, but writes almost daily on these three:
Please share links to your favourite posts.
Labels: autopilot, King Solomon, monogamy, monotony, schoolchildren
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
London Underground
Monday, September 20, 2021
Going Overtime - how the speaker and meeting host can prevent this
Speakers On Radio Programmed Must Keep Time
I often go out of time at meetings. I have not pinned the timer.
At a meeting of a club outside Toastmasters it is up to the chairman to tell the speaker the allocated time and when they should wind up. The speaker needs to have a quick final line.
When I used to speak on radio, they would stop on the hour for the news.
At every something o'clock I had to stop. No chance of going over time. The news was on the hour. My microphone was switched off and they went on to the news.
I learned to ask for a signal from the interviewer, and to have my final remarks ready. I also learned to give out my message, such as the contact details of the museum or restaurant I was promoting, well in advance of the end. Or to mention it at the start, and ask the interviewer to ask me for it again just before the end.
Contest Speaker Over Time
In a recent contest as a speaker I went over time.
I was not asked to pin the timer.
I told the Contest Chair that he should have asked all the contestants to pin the timer.
The Contest Chair who was new to the role, argued, 'It is not in the rule book.'
I did not pin the timer. I tried to.
My husband says, "If you practised your speech enough, you would not go over time".
In District 80, Singapore, the contest chairs are meticulous about asking everybody, 'are you ready?' Then the contest chair asks each contestant to pin the timer.
There are two ways to pin the timer. You can go into gallery view and select the three dots on the person listed as timer.
Or look in the participants for the timer. (And pin them?)
The meeting host can also pin the timer. The SAA should make sure the timer is labelled, listed on the program, or everyone is informed of the timer's name, so it is known to the contestants.
In the breakout room you cannot see the timer. Then you go into the contest and are introduced immediately to do table topics. If the timer is away during the break, you cannot do anything as a speaker unless the contest chair tells you who is the timer, which may have changed to timer 2 at half time.
The VPE or Contest Organizer should pin the timer for everybody. Also known as spotlighting the timer.
SAA and TImer
What should the contest SAA do? Pin the timer for everybody.
Useful Websites
Labels: Contest Chair, OVER TIME, time
My winning answer to table topics question: which one sense would you rather keep if you had to lose all but one?
At Harrovians Speakers' club in London (on Zoom on the internet), September 20th 2021 I replied:
Sight, definitely. Because I am clumsy, and inclined to fall over, too, I need my sight to see where I am walking, outdoors and indoors.
Also on Zoom at Toastmasters meeting I can follow what is going on with the ticker tape speech to sound at the bottom of the screen. If I have to speak the same can happen.
I admire Helen Keller. She was able to give speeches when she was both deaf and blind. People tend to hear and see less well as they get older. /Most people lose some of their sight or hearing as they get older.
My parents both lost some of their hearing when they got older. So did my beloved uncle, but he was able to play the violin.
I use some sight now to understand what people are saying. You know that if you put me on mute or if I simply mouthed thank you, you could see what I was saying. The same applies (offline) when driving. You can see if another driver mouths thank you. Or another two word message, when I shall describe as get lost as families may be watching.
So, to sum up, sight is what I would rather keep.
Labels: blind, deaf, driving, get lost, Harrovian Speakers' Club, Helen Keller, lip-reading, lost hearing, mouthing, mute, parents, play the violin, September, thank you, uncle, Zoom
