The Alabang Community Toastmasters Club

Congratulations!

2010-03-16T15:25:00.002+08:00

Dear ACT Club friends,

It is with pleasure and so much pride that I announce to you the winners of

2010 District 75, Division H Public Speaking Contest Champions:

Evaluation: James Butial
Humorous: Mike Unson
International Prepared: Viviene Vargas

Congratulations to the three of you, you make us so proud!!! Bohol here we come!!!

Your super proud club president,

Trish

Congratulations to Division H Contestants!

2010-02-03T18:15:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to Viviene Vargas, James Butial and Mike Unson! They will be representing Area 73 in the Division H Contest on 13 March 2010. You guys make The ACT Club proud :-)

January 14, 2009 Meeting

2010-01-24T16:08:00.006+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
Theme	Comedy Night
TM of the Evening	Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Table Topics Master	Michael Andrews
Table Topics Respondents	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Martin Ang, Leslee Natividad, Saine, Joch
Prepared Speakers	Brian Donato
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Speech Evaluators	Ebb Ryan Magtuba
Timer	Ebb Ryan Magtuba
Grammarian	James Ross Butial
Ah Counter	Atty. Rommer Alojado

For the 'Anything Goes' portion of the evening, we had a special guest, Comedian Mike Unson who did a 15 minute stand up comedy set.

Mike Unson is a Filipino comedian, who began his career in 2003. Mike holds two degrees in Production design and Technical theatre from the College of St. Benilde, and has done guest lectures on stand-up comedy, at the De La Salle University and the Ateneo De Manila Professional Schools in Rockwell.

It was a really fun night, thanks to Mike Unson for being there.

December 17, 2009 Meeting

2009-12-11T07:35:00.003+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Table Topics Master	Brian Donato
Table Topics Speakers	Everyone
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Anything Goes	Martin Ang

Head on over to Facebook for the meeting pics.

December 10, 2009 Meeting

2009-12-11T07:34:00.003+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	James Ross Butial
Invocation / Pledge	James Ross Butial
Table Topics Master	Andre Marcelo-Tanner
Table Topics Speakers	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Andrew Alaron, Mike Leano, Atty. Rommero Alojado, Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Prepared Speakers	Isabel Plaza, Viviene Vargas CC
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Speech Evaluators	Atty. Trish De Guia CC, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Timer	Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Grammarian	Viviene Vargas CC
Ah Counter	Rommero Alojado

Thanks to our guests and first timers for attending: Andrew Alaron, Mike Leano and Joshua De La Llana.

Head on over to Facebook for the December 10, 2009 meeting pictures.

December 5, 2009 - Slash Party

2009-12-06T06:33:00.003+08:00

The Alabang Community Toastmaster Club Slash Party (Speech Marathon / Christmas Party) took place at the ViewFort Terrace Hill in Carmona, Laguna. Lots attended. The pictures have been posted on Facebook thanks to Michael Andrews. Go here to view the pictures.

November 19, 2009 Meeting

2009-12-06T06:11:00.003+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	James Ross Butial
Invocation	James Ross Butial
Table Topics Master	Michael Andrews
Table Topics Speakers	Ebb Ryan Magtuba, Trish Fernandez, Lynn Rodio
Prepared Speakers	Brian Donato, James Ross Butial, Ebb Ryan Magtuba
General Evaluator	Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Speech Evaluators	Ebb Ryan Magtuba, Lolet Gabay DTM, Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Timer	Brian Donato
Grammarian	James Ross Butial
Ah Counter	Rommer Alojado

Pictures for this meeting were uploaded by our new VP-PR James, to the private Facebook Group page, so if you have access there please view the pictures by clicking on this link.

December 3 - Flyer of the Week

2009-12-03T07:48:00.002+08:00

November 12, 2009 Meeting

2009-11-12T18:56:00.005+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Viviene Vargas CC
Invocation	Viviene Vargas CC
Table Topics Master	Andre Marcelo-Tanner
Table Topics Speakers	Annabel Valdes, Sofia Strive, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Prepared Speakers	Brian Donato - Failure to Launch, Michael Ela - Firepower
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Table Topics Evaluator	Michael Andrews
Speech Evaluators	Michael Andrews, Viviene Vargas CC
Timer	Annabel Valdes
Grammarian	Muvien Amponin
Ah Counter	Andre Marcelo-Tanner

Pictures this time were taken using the webcam. Quick summary, TM Brian Donato gave his Icebreaker speech and quite a fun one it was. TM Michael Ela gave his prepared speech #4 about the upcoming fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. James also announced the newly elected officers and the upcoming SLASH / party :) It was a great meeting and we had 6 fantastic guests tonight. Thank you all for coming and we hope to see you again at our meeting next Thursday November 19, 2009.

Click here to view the pictures from the November 12, 2009 Meeting.

ACT Election

2009-11-08T22:47:00.001+08:00

Here's a message from James regarding the recent club election that was held:
----------------------
Dear Fellow TM,

I would like to update everyone on the result of the elections.

For the position of Sergeant-at-Arms, Ebbryan Magtuba accepted the nomination and since there are no other nominees, he is now the officer for that said position. Congratulations Ebb!

For the position of Secretary, besides Annabel Valdez, Viviene Vargas was also nominated. The two accepted the nomination. This means that the members of ACT should vote for either contenders. Kindly email me your preferred candidate on or before November 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm.

Thanks a bunch!

Regards,

James
----------------

So e-mail in your votes to the club e-mail.

October 29, 2009 Meeting

2009-11-05T19:30:00.001+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Table Topics Master	Michael Ela
Prepared Speakers	Kathleen Bautista - Bucket List, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB - Never Give Up
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Speech Evaluators	James Ross Butial, Everyone
Timer	James Ross Butial
Grammarian	Isabel Plaza
Ah Counter	Isabel Plaza

Since it's a bit redundant, I'll be posting all pictures on our Facebook Fanpage and will just link to it from the blog post. So here's the link to the album of pictures for this meeting. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119169&id=133065708175

November 5 - Cartoon of the Week

2009-11-05T06:58:00.002+08:00

October 10 - Flyer of the Week

2009-10-10T07:36:00.002+08:00

September 24, 2009 Meeting

2009-10-05T16:03:00.011+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Invocation	Violeta Imperial CC
Table Topics Master	Viviene Vargas CC
Prepared Speakers	Andre Marcelo-Tanner - SEO, Michael Andrews - Europe: One Big Museum, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB - Murle: The Tricycle Driver, Lolet Gabay DTM
General Evaluator	Gov. Malou Ranario ACB
Table Topics Evaluator	Norie Recinto ACS
Speech Evaluators	Dr. Neil Caranto ACB, Viviene Vargas CC, Dr. Norma Blanco ACS, Norie Recinto ACS
Timer	Dayle Feliciano
Grammarian	Isabel Plaza
Ah Counter	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB

Pictures after the break....

Facebook Fan Page

2009-09-19T09:15:00.006+08:00

In an effort to increase our presence on Facebook, I have created a Fan Page for the club. Also all the pictures from the last 4 meetings are there and its viewable by the public so you can go ahead and tag people you know. The Facebook Group will still exist and be limited to club members and club private discussions but the Fan Page, think of it more as our 'public' Facebook page. Not yet a fan? Just add yourself below:

The Alabang Community Toastmasters Club on Facebook

September 17, 2009 Meeting

2009-09-18T08:33:00.009+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Atty. Trish De Guia CC, Dayle Feliciano
Invocation	Violeta Imperial CC
Table Topics Master	Michael Andrews
Prepared Speakers	Isabel Plaza, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Dayle Feliciano, Michael Ela
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Table Topics Evaluator	Andre Marcelo-Tanner
Speech Evaluators	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Alfred Ocon CCm Ebb Ryan Magtuba, Violet Imperial CC
Timer	Ryan Hernandez
Grammarian	James Ross Butial
Ah Counter	Anabel Valdez

The second meeting of September, 2009 was again full and this time another new venue, Jollibee! View all the pics after the break and note to all, there will be another meeting next Thursday so people can give more speeches so please come on September 24, 2009.

Michael Ela and everyone else introduces themselves. The venue is nice and well lighted. Guest Bobby Defensor is also there wearing the brown striped shirt.

TM of the Evening and our new Club President: Atty. Trish de Guia, CC.

Co-Toastmaster of the Evening: TM Dayle Feliciano.

Table Topics Respondents:
Violeta Imperial CC - The Most Exciting Vacation Place in the Philippines.
James Ross Butial - If you could live in another country.
Ebb Ryan Magtuba - If you could learn another profession or skill.

Violet challenges us all to try Mt Banahaw.

James talks about wanting to live in France.

Ebb tells us about his desire to learn sales & entrepreneurship

James, Michael and Alfred listen in to the speeches.

Violet smiles for the camera, Michael listens in and Ryan checks the time.

Solo pic, someone has to take a picture of the photographer.

The camera setup on the tripod in the middle of the room. Dr. Larry in the background.

Ebb, Annabel, Dayle and partial picture of guest Bobby Defensor.

Isa giving her speech: "In Regressions We Trust". Very good and very complex topic but I'm sure she loves it.

Dr. Larry Gamboa giving his advanced speech from the Story Telling Manual and some more rain dancing.

Dayle Feliciano giving his speech project #2 entitled: Millionaire.

Michael Ela giving his 3rd speech letting us all know the "Impact of Change".

Dr. Larry was the General Evaluator for the night and also evaluated Isa's speech.

Alfred evaluates Dr. Larry's speech.

Ebb giving Dayle his evaluation.

Ryan, about to become a member, gives in his timer's report.

James giving his very helpful and detailed Grammarian's report. Only 1 page this time :)

Former Division Governor and ACT Member Dr. Niel Caranto gives his thoughts about the meeting.

September 10, 2009 Meeting

2009-09-11T02:06:00.019+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Atty. Trish De Guia CC
Invocation	Kathleen Bautista
Table Topics Master	Isabel Plaza
Prepared Speakers	Annabel Valdes, Don Riñen, Ebb Ryan Magtuba, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Andre Marcelo-Tanner
General Evaluator	Dr. Neil Caranto ACB ALB
Table Topics Evaluator	Ebb Ryan Magtuba
Speech Evaluators	Atty. Trish De Guia CC, Violet Imperial CC, Lolet Gabay DTM, Engr. Les Aquino ACS CL, Dr. Neil Caranto ACB ALB
Timer	Violet Imperial CC
Grammarian	Isabel Plaza
Ah Counter	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB

The first meeting for the month of September was jam packed meeting with lots of people and lots of speeches. Read on for the rest of the pictures, and this time lots of video was taken also.

There was an awarding also and President Les Aquino received his Competent Leadership pin.

Don: The Ice Breaker entitled 'Patawid'.

Toastmaster of the Evening: Atty. Trish de Guia

Ebb Magtauba giving his 9th basic speech which is Project #10.

A new venue, next door to Henlin. The Samurai.

Dr. Larry Gamboa giving his Advanced Speech #7: Folk Story Telling with the title 'Personal Story'.

Quick intermission, its a full meeting.

Look, the tripod :)

Ebb, Annabel and Don.

Ebb evaluates the Table Topics respondents.

Atty. Trish evaluates Annabel's Ice Breaker entitled 'Career Woman'.

Violet Imperial CC giving her evaluation of Don's Icebreaker.

DTM Lolet Gabay giving her evaluation of Ebb's speech. Notice the eyes.

Pres. Les Aquino giving a very thorough evaluation of Dr. Larry's speech.

President Les Aquino recieves his Competent Leader pin. Congrats!

Violet giving the timer's report.

Isa, the grammarian, lets everyone know how their words went and how well the 'word of the evening' was used.

Dr. Neil Caranto giving his overall summaries on the evaluations and the events of the evening.

A little meeting held after to discuss some other club issues. Did anyone try the sushi?

August 20, 2009 Meeting

2009-09-04T17:14:00.008+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Les Aquino ACS CL
Invocation	Christine Dinglasan
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial CC
Prepared Speakers	Isabel Plaza, Allan Dinglasan, Violet Imperial CC, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Educational Talks	Les Aquino ACS CL
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Speech Evaluators	Violet Imperial CC, Atty. Trish de Guia CC, Viviene Vargas CC, Les Aquino ACS CL
Timer	Michael Andrews
Ah Counter	Atty. Trish de Guia CC

Apologies for the delayed post, and on we go. The 2nd meeting of August was a fun filled and full meeting with 4 prepared speeches and 4 guests.

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“Long Weekend Plan” – Atty. Trish de Guia CC
“What do you pray for” – Ryan John Hernandez
“What did you learn from Ninoy Aquino” – Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB

Violet starts us off with the Table Topics portion.Trish and Violet listen in to the speakers while Michael Andrews logs the time.Couple Allan and Christine having a meal while Ryan listens in. Remember, the price of the venue is the cost of the food, so eat up :)First time guest Ryan tells us what he prays for as he takes on one of the Table Topics.Isabel Plaza going for her Speech Project #2 with her speech entitled: "What Do You Do?"Mr. Allan Dinglasan tells us about his hobby in his prepared speech #4: "Chess Fan"Ebb and guest Annabel are present also.Who's that with the video camera? Look for that soon if only I can find some time to edit.Club President Engr. Les Aquino gives a educational talk entitled: "Education Goals of Members". He shows us the different tracks since there is a both a Leadership and a Speaker track and members can be credits for participating in the various roles of a meeting.Dr. Gamboa finished off the night with his general evaluations and lets each evaluator give his and her evaluation of the prepared speakers.That was it for the night, no group picture as the meeting carried on, but look forward to the video of some of the speeches as I will post it soon here.Next meeting is Thursday September 10, 2009. Cheers!

September 3 - Cartoon of the Week

2009-09-03T21:48:00.002+08:00

August 13, 2009 Meeting

2009-08-19T17:26:00.013+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Andre Marcelo-Tanner
Invocation	Viviene Vargas CC
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial CC
Prepared Speakers	Christine Dinglasan
General Evaluator	Les Aquino ACS CL
Table Topics Evaluator	Atty. Trish de Guia CC
Speech Evaluators	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Grammarian	Viviene Vargas CC
Timer	Les Aquino ACS CL
Ah Counter	Ebb Magtuba

It was a cozy night back at the Tomato&Cheese Henlin 2nd Floor after a long 5 week break since the last meeting was cancelled due to bad weather. The new officers ready and roaring to get things going.

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“My X-Factor” – Vivienne Vargas CC
“Cory Aquino's X-Factor” – Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
“Cory Aquino: Hero or Saint?” – Allan Dinglasan

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

Christine Dinglasan - "Marriage Encounter"

Christine gives her well rehearsed speech project entitled 'Marriage Encounter', including use of props such as a plant and signs.

Hubby Allan (in white) was also there to give his support.

Trish, Ebb and his 2nd time guest, all enjoying the speeches.

President & General Evaluator Les gives his introduction to the Evaluation portion of the night.

Atty. Trish gives her evaluations of the Table Topic speakers.

Dr. Larry giving his evaluation of Christine's prepared speech.

Ebb, letting us know the Ahs and Umms of the night.

Vivienne lets us know her gems and germs from the speeches as part of her role as Grammarian.

Miss Lolet Gabay DTM talking about various Toastmaster rules, regulations and club related matters.

The infamous group pic.

After-wards, the officers got together downstairs for their EXECOM (Executive Committee) meeting. Treasurer Isa showed up just in time. Food was plenty :)

Look forward to the next meeting tomorrow 6PM, August 20, 2009.

Timing those Speeches

2009-08-18T04:55:00.017+08:00

Here's a guide that can help you time speeches, evaluations and table topics.

The following are suggested times from Toastmasters International. Simply use a stop watch to time the speeches, and raise the color at the appropriate times:

Item	Time
Speech*
Green	5 minutes
Yellow	6 minutes
Red	7 minutes
Evaluation
Green	2 minutes
Yellow	2 ½ minutes
Red	3 minutes
Table Topics
Green	1 minute
Yellow	1 ½ minute
Red	2 minutes

As a general rule:

The green color is flashed at the minimum time of the speech, e.g., 5 minutes for a 5-7 minute speech.
The yellow color is flashed MIDWAY between the minimum and maximum, e.g., 6 minutes for a 5-7 minute speech.
The red color is flashed at the maximum time of the speech, e.g., 7 minutes for a 5-7 minute speech.

* - Most basic speeches in the Competent Communicator are 5-7 minutes long. For an Icebreaker speech, duration is 4-6 minutes. So for Icebreaker, Green is at 4 minutes, Yellow at 5 minutes and Red at 6 minutes.

New Timing Device

2009-08-17T21:02:00.008+08:00

After the club's old timing lights device (shown encircled below) got out of commission, the club now has a new ultra low-tech but highly effective timing (no-lights) device.

Shown below is the new timing device.

It is deemed more effective than the previous high-tech device for the following reasons:

It's cheap. The plastic fans were bought for Php10 each in Divisoria. Colors were added by pasting art paper.
There are no switches or wires to fumble with. Just pick up the right color and you're good.
No batteries needed. Just a little elbow grease to raise the fan with your hand.

But the best reason for its effectiveness is its visibility.

For some strange reasons, some speakers do not (or pretend not to?) see the old timing lights device and simply go on and on with their speeches. This is probably because the old timing light device was typically set low on the table and the lights go unnoticed.

With the fans, the assigned timer can make sure the speaker sees the right color by raising the appropriate fan. It's like catching a teacher's attention by raising your hand in class. The assigned timer can now sit anywhere in the audience and still make sure the speaker sees the "light". Neat, huh?

August 6 - Flyer of the Week

2009-08-06T07:29:00.002+08:00

Browsing this Blog

2009-07-21T18:18:00.006+08:00

From recent developments, I realized that this blog is best viewed using a browser OTHER than Internet Explorer Version 8. Version 8 is the latest version of IE (Internet Explorer) as of this writing. You will not receive any errors when using IE8 to view this blog but you will not see the blog displayed correctly. The blog's sidebars don't appear on the main page and the posts are incomplete when browsing with IE8.

I've used Mozilla Firefox and have never had problems with it thus far. There are other browsers like Apple Safari and Google Chrome which I haven't tried. But for now, I would strongly suggest to avoid using Internet Explorer when viewing this blog.

If you're unsure, shown below are the icons of the above mentioned browsers:

Officers Training - July 18, 2009

2009-07-18T19:55:00.009+08:00

The first round Officers Training session for 2009-2010 was held today at the Old Makati Stock Exchange Building in Makati at 1pm. This was a joint training session for Divisions B and H although some clubs from Divisions A and K also attended. Officers representing the ACT Club were Lolet Gabay (Sgt-at-Arms), Les Aquino (President), Violet Imperial (Secretary) and Larry Gamboa (VP-Membership).

Here's Lolet, Les and Violet with an overly enthusiastic Toastmaster Rosan behind them.

The training session was very well attended with the ACT officers seated at the front row.

Incumbent District Governor Nolie Espina giving his talk.

Spotted at the second row were Past District Governor Gina Mapua, Area Governor Norma Blanco and Division H Governor Malou Ranario.

After the training sessions given by Wilson and Khris, the officers went into breakout sessions by officer groups and discussed club strategies that were later presented to the audience.

July 9, 2009 Meeting

2009-07-10T18:06:00.010+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Lolet Gabay DTM
Invocation	Alfred Ocon CC
Table Topics Master	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Prepared Speakers	Andre Marcelo-Tanner, Marge dela Fuente, Michael Andrews, Ebb Magtuba CC, Alfred Ocon CC
General Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM
Speech Evaluators	Alfred Ocon CC, Les Aquino ACS CL, Atty. Trish de Guia CC, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Lolet Gabay DTM
Grammarian	Andre Marcelo-Tanner
Timer	Alfred Ocon CC
Ah Counter	James Butial
Theme	”The water’s fine, jump in!”

Even with a new "trial" venue over at the Coffee Shop in Bellevue Hotel, we still had a big attendance with five members raring to give their prepared speeches. Lolet led the proceedings as Toastmaster of the Evening.

The venue took a little while to get used to largely because of the limited space. There wasn't enough to move around with, shake hands Toastmasters-style and generally to make a stage presence.

Here, guest Puring and Lolet listen to the customary round of introductions.

A pair of happy campers: Marge and Violet.

Trish was late but managed to introduce herself to the newbies.

Another guest, Victor, gave an impromptu speech at Table Topics. He's the son of Larry.

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“If you had 30 days to live, what would be your priority?” – Trish de Guia CC
“If you had more than 30 years to live and want to leave a business, what would it be?” – Violet Imperial CC
“What is the first real estate investment would you make?” – Victor Gamboa

Andre kicked off the Prepared Speeches Portion with his speech on caring for cats and dogs entitled "My PetS" (with a capital "S").

With a couple of visits already to the club, Marge finally gave her Icebreaker speech entitled "My Three M's".

Michael delivers an interesting speech on accents, pronunciation and language while evaluator Trish listens and takes ~~orders~~ notes.

An advanced speech delivered by Ebb tackled on Leadership as its subject matter. Another guest, Ada, looks on.

Here, Alfred gives his best to humor the audience with a speech about his rickety old car.

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

Andre Marcelo-Tanner – “My PetS”
Marge dela Fuente – “My Three M’s”
Michael Andrews – “Knowing a People through their Language”
Ebb Magtuba – “Leadership”
Alfred Ocon – “Can’t Complain”

With a quaint old Italian village behind us - oh wait, it's just a mural, Larry gives his evaluation.

Other members listen to the rest of the evaluation team.

James wrapped up the evaluation portion with a very comprehensive Ah-Counter's report.

5th Anniversary and Induction of New Members

2009-07-05T13:36:00.002+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Michael Andrews
Invocation	Kathleen Bautista
Table Topics Master	Gene delos Reyes Jr.
Prepared Speakers	Michael Ela, Violet Imperial CC, Les Aquino ACS CL
Speech Evaluators	Gene delos Reyes Jr., Les Aquino ACS CL, Lolet Gabay DTM
Theme	”Induction of New Members”

ACT's 5th Anniversary and Induction ceremonies were held at the Alabang Room of the Bellevue Hotel last July 4, 2009. Emceeing for the night as Toastmaster of the Evening was Michael Andrews. Dinner was immediately served while waiting for other attendees caught up in traffic.

The group deemed to make the event a regular meeting as well and so a Table Topics Portion pushed through with Gene delos Reyes Jr. leading it.

Dayle Feliciano speaks impromptu as he answers the first Table Topic question.

Trish and Michael sharing a light moment during Table Topics.

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“Who among the X-Men is your favorite?” – Dayle Feliciano
“Why do you think is your generation (X or Y) better than the other generation?” – Michael Andrews

The next item on the program was the Valedictory Address delivered by Immediate Past President Larry Gamboa where he summarized highlights that transpired in the previous year.

Next on the agenda was the Prepared Speeches Portion and first on the list was Violet who gave a demonstration speech. Everyone burst into a ruckus when TME Michael misread the speech title as "Pole Dancing" instead of "Poi Dancing".

Here's Violet showcasing one of her talents, Poi Dancing, with the use of improvised materials: stockings and tennis balls.

Michael Ela delivered his prepared speech entitled "The Key to Happiness".

Next and one of the highlights of the evening was the Induction of New Members. Present for the Induction were Kathleen Bautista, Michael Ela, Isa Plaza, Michael Andrews, Dayle Feliciano and James Butial.

We also had a couple of guests from the Metro Manila Toastmasters Club. They are Josephine (club president) and Marlon.

As part of the induction, the mentors stood behind the mentees.

And then a face-off! Both mentors and mentees gave their pledges to support the mentoring process in order to facilitate the learning of new Toastmasters.

Face-off, this time from the other side.

Congratulations!

Les delivered the Inaugural Speech to the club as President.

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

Violet Imperial – “Poi Dancing”
Michael Ela – “The Key to Happiness”
Les Aquino – “Focus on your Goals”

Finally, the slide show (embedded below) to celebrate 5 years of ACT success was presented.

And a night of fellowship ensued.

Trip Down Memory Lane

2009-07-04T07:49:00.002+08:00

Let's take a trip down memory lane as we celebrate Alabang Community Toastmasters Club 5th Anniversary with this slide show presented at the ACT 5th Anniversary and Induction Ceremonies at Bellevue Hotel Alabang. Turn on your speakers and enjoy! (Can you identify all the past and present members?)

5th Anniversary Invitation

2009-07-03T13:18:00.000+08:00

(card courtesy of Lolet and Andre)

July 2 - Cartoon of the Week

2009-07-02T21:40:00.002+08:00

ACT 5th Anniversary Announcement

2009-06-22T22:20:00.001+08:00

Announcement from Div Gov. Lolet Gabay:

Dear All,

It's final! We shall celebrate our 5th year anniversary as a toastmasters club on Saturday, July 4, 2009 at the Bellevue Hotel from 6 pm to 10 pm. Fee is P650 --- per person. Let me know if you need assistance.

- We'll have the usual TM meeting with Table Topics.
- We will still be delivering speeches as assigned last meeting.
- We shall install new officers and induct new members
- We'll be inviting the new area governor Dr. Norma Blanco of La Salle Lipa, Batangas.

I'll send out the program as soon as we have our theme so please text, email your suggestion.For example : Chicago, etc. Our attire will be based on the theme.

Do confirm your attendance no later than June 30 as I shall make a deposit to Bellevue by then.

All good.

Cheers.

Lolet

June 18, 2009 Meeting

2009-06-20T15:55:00.027+08:00

As previously announced, the election of officers for year 2009-2010 pushed through. We had a guest, Donnie, who came in with Ebb.

Lolet discussed the club and member goals...

... and proceeded to discuss the mechanics of election process.

Here, Lolet leads the election of officers while Violet searches for her handy-dandy notebook.

The election results were swift with each position virtually unopposed. In her acceptance speech, Trisha de Guia CC thanks the ~~academy~~ club and accepts the position of VP-Education with open arms.

Outgoing Club President Larry Gamboa ACB is reinstated as a club officer, this time as VP-Membership.

One of the club's energetic newbies, Andre Marcelo-Tanner is now VP-Public Relations.

Violet Imperial CC is a virtual shoo-in for this year's Club Secretary.

Another charming young lady, Isabel Plaza, fills the shoes of the position of Treasurer.

Rounding up the officers list are Lolet Gabay DTM as Sergeant-at-Arms and Les Aquino ACS as Club President.

There you have it - the results of the Election of Officers for Toastmasters Year 2009-2010. Here's a brief rundown:

Officer	Outgoing	Incoming
President	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB	Les Aquino ACS CL
VP Education	Lolet Gabay DTM	Atty. Trisha de Guia CC
VP Membership	Alfred Ocon CC	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
VP Public Relations	Les Aquino ACS CL	Andre Marcelo-Tanner
Secretary	Viviene Vargas CC CL	Violet Imperial CC
Treasurer	Gia Garcia	Isa Plaza
Sergeant at Arms	Ed Bolesa	Lolet Gabay DTM

Congratulations to all elected officers, and may you bring the club performance level to greater heights!

In the Educational portion, we had another de Guia, Robby, who gave his Icebreaker, "How to Pickup Hot Girls" which sort of embarassed some of the ladies, sister included.

Robby demonstrates to the club's eligible bachelors a ~~Jiujitsu arm-lock~~ underhand dance turn with Dayle.

Here, Larry delivers an advanced speech on the "Beyond the Club" series and featured a book entitled "The Black Swan".

Finally, Gene gave a thorough evaluation on Robby's "shocking" Icebreaker speech.

In the Business Matters portion, there was a discussion on the upcoming induction ceremonies either on June 27 or July 4 (both Saturdays). Venue is tentatively set at nearby Bellevue Hotel. There were also some discussions on the possible change of regular meeting venue. More on that will be finalized in the next meetings and will be announced in this blog.

Announcement for June 18 Meeting

2009-06-16T20:05:00.003+08:00

Announcement from VP Ed Lolet Gabay:

Team,

No speeches this time. Our agenda will be as follows:

Election of Officers 2009-2010
Educational Session
Individual goals of members
Ten goals of the club
Moments of Truth
Commitment
Speech Matrix/Assignment

Please be there.

Cheers.

Lolet

June 11, 2009 Meeting

2009-06-12T15:37:00.004+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Ebb Magtuba CC
Table Topics Master	Christine Dinglasan
Prepared Speakers	Ebb Magtuba, Andre Marcelo-Tanner, Dayle Feliciano, Christine Dinglasan
Grammarian	James Butial
Timer	Andre Marcelo-Tanner
Ah Counter	Dayle Feliciano
Theme	- none -

(Photos courtesy of Andre)

June 4 - Flyer of the Week

2009-06-04T07:14:00.003+08:00

Photos from Davao Discon 2009

2009-05-25T15:20:00.002+08:00

Here are some pictures from the recently concluded District Convention in Davao, May 22-24.

Gov. Lolet with Past District Gov. Allan Olmilla and Past International President Johnny Pawe Uy.

Youth Speech Contestants

Youth Speech Contestant Marvin Ryan D. Santiago.

Past Division H Governor Gles and Beacon's VP Education.

Marvin and Mom Ressie with Bro. Bo Sanchez.

Lolet with Bo Sanchez and another toastmaster.

Lolet with 2008 International Speech 3rd Placer Mike del Rosario.

Division H Governor Lolet Gabay.

Division H delegates from Abojeb, Fluor Daniel, Beacon and Villamor.

(Photos and captions courtesy of Lolet Gabay)

May 21, 2009 Meeting

2009-05-22T21:34:00.008+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Invocation	Viviene Vargas
Table Topics Master	Michael Andrews
Prepared Speakers	James Butial, Dr. Neil Caranto ACB ALB
General Evaluator	Les Aquino ACS CL
Speech Evaluators	Violet Imperial CC, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Grammarian	Lolet Gabay DTM
Timer	Viviene Vargas CC
Ah Counter	Michael Andrews
Theme	- none -

Pres. Larry leads the meeting as Toastmaster of the Evening.

In the Table Topics portion, Table Topics Master Michael Andrews posed a series of "What- if's" questions to all the respondents. Here's a light moment during Table Topics.

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“If you were an athlete, what would be your sport?” – Michael Ela
“If you were a teacher, what subject would you teach?” – James Butial
“If you could learn another language, what would it be?” – Larry Gamboa

James, an English Teacher from the Asia Pacific College, delivers his Icebreaker in his first visit to the club.

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

James Butial – “My Icebreaker”
Neil Caranto – “Breathe in, War within”

Viviene as the Timer gives the Timer's report.

Michael tells all the ah's he counted amidst some grumbling from the audience.

At the business matters segment, there were discussions in the upcoming club elections.

Demo Meeting at Proctor and Gamble, Makati City

2009-05-16T20:22:00.010+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Day	Lolet Gabay DTM
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial CC
Prepared Speakers	Duchess Cruz-Munsayac, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Table Topics Evaluator	Les Aquino ACS CL
Speech Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM
Timer	P & G Guest
Ah Counter	P & G Guest

Still fresh from a regular Toastmasters meeting the night before, The ACT Club once again convened but this time at the G-12 Training Room of Proctor and Gamble at the 6750 Building in Makati City. Present and representing ACT were Lolet, Larry, Violet, Les, Andre and Dayle.

Former ACT member Duchess Cruz Munsayac invited ACT to give a demo meeting with the intent of setting up Proctor & Gamble Makati's own Toastmasters Club. So at 9:30am on a rainy Friday morning (May15), we were ready to rollout a demo meeting.

Here's Div Gov. Lolet explaining a bit about Toastmasters International to an enthusiastic P & G audience. The audience was a mixed group from IT and Finance.

The common table topics patterns PREP, SMG and PPF were discussed to prepare the group for the Table Topics Portion where they took part.

Here's Violet facilitating the Table Topics portion which the audience found interesting and enjoyable.

Table Topics and the Respondents from P & G:

“Love is a Blessing” – Joy
“Things you want to do before you die that's wild?” – Irene
“Dream (Audit) Vacation” – JR
“How will your thinking change if you had a million dollars?” – Dennis

The demo meeting had 2 prepared speakers. Duchess delivered a very candid Icebreaker speech.

Larry delivered an advanced speech on Manny Pacquiao that motivated and inspired the audience.

In the evaluation part, we had a couple of P & G folks who volunteered to take on a couple of the traditional Toastmasters roles like the Ah-Counter...

... and Timer. Here's Ces giving the Timer's Report.

After viewing sample speech videos and Lolet explaining the financial aspects of club membership, Queen gave the closing remarks.

Another Toastmasters Demo courtesy of the Alabang Toastmasters Club!

May 14 Meeting

2009-05-15T20:26:00.019+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Les Aquino ACS CL
Invocation	Ebb Magtuba
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial
Prepared Speakers	Isa Plaza, Michael Ela, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Speech Evaluators	Ebb Magtuba, Violet Imperial CC, Lolet Gabay DTM
Grammarian	Atty. Trish de Guia CC
Timer	Ebb Magtuba
Ah Counter	Les Aquino ACS CL
Theme	- none -

It's becoming apparent that this blog and the website have been attracting visitors through the internet. Yeah! Tonight we had 4 guests gracing our Toastmasters meeting.

Without the benefit of a prepared program, Club President Larry led the Pledge of Allegiance which although a bit improvised still managed to embody the intent and spirit.

The ever reliable Violet once again facilitated the Table Topics Portion.

Here, Trisha becomes the first respondent and spoke on the topic: "Summer or Rainy Season?".

Ebb volunteered for the second Table Topic: "Actions you can do during summer".

Christine was "volunteered" and gamely accepted to tackle the topic: "Dream Travel Vacation".

Finally, guest Andre volunteered to voice his strong opinions on the topic: "Manny Pacquiao for President".

Everyone was impressed with the spirit of volunteerism in the Table Topics portion as the respondents stood to deliver their impromptu speeches.

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“Summer or Rainy Season” – Trish de Guia
“Actions you can do during the summer season?” – Ebb Magtuba
“Dream Travel Vacation” – Christine Dinglasan
“Manny Pacquiao for President” – Andre Marcelo-Tanner

In the Prepared Speeches portion, newcomer Isa Plaza gave her Icebreaker entitled "I'm Shy".

Another Icebreaker speech and this time from Michael who's been a regular visitor for several meetings now.

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

Isa Plaza – “I’m Shy”
Michael Ela – “About Myself”
Larry Gamboa – “Victor M. Ordonez, Mentor Par Excellence”

We had attendees all the way at the back.

Lolet in the Business Matters portion where she called for a division cheer in the upcoming district convention in Davao.

Our cheerful (and still awake!) attendees from the back

Our guests gave their own honest feedback regarding their impression on our Toastmasters club and meeting. Here's Andre and Dayle.

And finally, here's Marge and Magoo.

Here's a group picture for posterity. Do I look Boracay-tanned or what?

May 7 - Cartoon of the Week

2009-05-07T21:25:00.002+08:00

April 23 Meeting

2009-04-24T16:25:00.006+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Dr. Neil Caranto ACB ALB
Invocation	Michael Andrews
Table Topics Master	Lolet Gabay DTM
Prepared Speakers	Abbey de Guia, Michael Andrews, Alfred Ocon CC, Gerald Daway, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Table Topics Evaluator	Les Aquino ACS
Speech Evaluators (emailed evaluation)	Leonides Dumlao, Ebb Magtuba, Dr. Neil Caranto ACB ALB, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Lolet Gabay DTM
Grammarian	- none -
Timer	- none -
Ah Counter	- none -
Theme	- none -

Apart from the regular meeting, last night also showcased talents and this time from Fluor Daniel's champion speakers. We also had a couple of guests brought in by Trisha.

Area Gov Neil set the ball rolling as Toastmaster of the Evening. He challenged everyone to go ahead and volunteer for the Table Topics portion.

Div Gov. Lolet as Table Topics Master explaining the various patterns of the Table Topics portion.

Guest Leonides from Fluor Daniel giving his impromptu speech in the Table Topics portion.

Trisha with guests, Abbey and Christie, listen intently as the rest of the volunteer Table Topics speakers followed suit.

After Table Topics, it was time for the Prepared Speeches and the first speaker was guest Abbey with her Icebreaker Speech. Below, Christine and Div Gov. Lolet applaud at the prepared speakers while enjoying dinner.

The rest of the gang enjoyed the prepared speeches as well.

Alfred was impassioned as he delivered his advanced speech entitled "The Strangest Secret".

Guest Gerald from Fluor Daniel freezes as he posed ala "deer in headlights" much to the amusement of attendees. His humorous speech was highly entertaining.

The club welcomed a much deserved 2-minute recess.

The last prepared speaker was Larry Gamboa who was also General Evaluator.

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“Burdens strengthen us.” – Leonides Dumlao
“Given the chance to change just one thing, what would it be?” – Ebb Magtuba
“Masters were once disasters.” – Neil Caranto

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

Abbey de Guia – “Meet Abbey”
Michael Andrews – “Another Look at Success”
Alfred Ocon – “The Strangest Secret”
Gerald Daway – “Are You a Fool?”
Larry Gamboa – “Internet Marketing Versus Real Estate Investing”

As usual, guests and observers were asked to give feedback on the club meeting. Here, Christie gives her comments to the group.

Alfred and Violet listen to the business portion Div Gov. Lolet announced the upcoming District Convention in Davao as well as future demo meetings for the club.

Upcoming demo meetings are as follows:

Proctor and Gamble in Makati - May 14, 9 - 11 am.
Dell Call Center in Libis
Omron in Cavite

April 16 Meeting

2009-04-17T07:56:00.014+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Lolet Gabay DTM
Invocation	Lolet Gabay DTM
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial
Prepared Speakers	Marvin Ryan Santiago, Michael Andrews
General Evaluator	Les Aquino ACS
Table Topics Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Speech Evaluators	Alfred Ocon, Atty. Trisha de Guia
Grammarian	Jean Dayao CC
Timer	Les Aquino ACS
Ah Counter	Amiebelle Naval
Theme	- none -

Back from the Holy Week vacation, the club met with renewed vigor. And with new and old (meaning familiar, okay?) guests gracing the occasion, the meeting became even more interesting. Here's Lolet gesturing as Toastmaster of the Evening.

We had a couple of charming guests: Alma and Isa.

We also had a couple of young 'uns, Marvin Ryan and Amiebelle, both from Joseph and Mary Academy (JAMA) accompanied by their coach Jean Dayao CC, a former ACT member.

Asked to give a repeat of her contest speech, Trish blushes and kicks the fire extinguisher. Unmindful of it all, Violet checks for the expiration date on her snack.

Eb ~~asks for water~~ gives a toast while Alfred concentrates(?)

Marvin Ryan delivers his contest speech, "Philippines, My Country My Home". Good luck in Davao, Marvin!

Michael Andrews (no relation to Julie Andrews) finally delivers his Icebreaker. Evaluator Trish listens intently.

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“Responsibility of a Winner” – Larry Gamboa
“Benefits of Competing” – Jean Dayao
“My Beachiest Experience” – Lolet Gabay

Prepared Speakers:

Marvin Ryan Santiago – “Philippines, My Country My Home”
Michael Andrews – “Michael”

In the evaluation portion, Larry started the ball rolling as Table Topics Evaluator.

At the tail end of the meeting, Viviene (Trisha's coach in the recent Division Contest) recounted her old contest speech from 3 years ago.

A couple of awardees! Violet receives her Competent Communicator pin from Prez Larry and Div Gov. Lolet. Lolet points to Violet's pin so you know where it is.

It's Trish's turn to receive the Competent Communicator pin and the requisite photo-op.

Congratulations Violet and Trish! May you find enjoyment and more fulfillment in your Toastmasters journey as you tackle the exciting challenges of the Advanced Manuals.

In the business portion, Gov. Lolet handed out tickets as part of Toastmasters District 75's Fund Raising Activity for the benefit of Boystown Davao.

April 2 - Flyer of the Week

2009-04-02T07:06:00.002+08:00

Division H Contest Winners

2009-03-29T20:51:00.004+08:00

Announcement from Div. H Governor Lolet Gabay:

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING WINNERS:

YOUTH SPEECH CONTEST:
MARVIN SANTIAGO - JOSEPH AND MARY ACADEMY - CHAMPION
STORVIKEN PIMENTEL - LA SALLE LIPA - 1ST RUNNER UP

IMPROMPTU:
LEONIDES DUMLAO - FLUOR - CHAMPION
VICTOR GAMBOA - ACT - 1ST RUNNER UP
PAULA CASTRO - KIMBERLY - 2ND RUNNER UP

HUMOROUS:
GERALD DAWAY - FLUOR - CHAMPION
ARACELI DE GUZMAN - ABOJEB - 1ST RUNNER UP
RAUL DE LA VEGA - SUTHERLAND - 2ND RUNNER UP

PREPARED:
MARY GRACE BARTOLATA - ABOJEB - CHAMPION
PATRICIA DE GUIA - ACT - 1ST RUNNER UP
RAUL DE LA VEGA - SUTHERLAND - 2ND RUNNER UP

Division H Elimination Announcement

2009-03-25T21:11:00.002+08:00

Announcement from Div. H Governor Lolet Gabay:

Team,

Let's all be there on March 28 to support our contestants.

Regards.

Lolet

Club Elimination for Discon 2009

2009-03-19T22:52:00.003+08:00

Tonight’s meeting was a little out of the ordinary. It was club elimination night to determine the contestants to represent the club in the upcoming Division H Competition. Sitting as judges for the night were Les and guest Jess Mariano.

Before the elimination, Violet delivered her 10th basic speech entitled “One Billion Euro Dream”. She was evaluated by Larry.

The first paired contestants was for Impromptu Speaking. Here, Michael and Larry face-off “ala Pacquiao-Hatton” in a pompyang match to determine who speaks first.

Lolet gives the Table Topic Question for Michael: "If you will be reincarnated, who/what would you prefer to be?"

Michael Carlos delivering his humorous speech “Is Marriage Fun?”

This time it’s Trisha and Ebbryan turn to play pompyang and determine who goes first in the International Prepared Speech Category

Toastmasters and guests at the back.

Table Topics and the Contestants:

“If you will be reincarnated who/what would you prefer to be?” – Michael Andrews
”Which is more important: Arts or Sciences?” – Larry Gamboa

International Prepared Speech Contestants:

Trisha de Guia – “Redemption”
Eb Bryan Magtuba – “Let’s Get Smart with our Wealth”

Here are the club’s contestants who gamely spoke tonight (less Larry). In the end, the judges were unanimous with the results and it was ~~age~~ experience that won over. Thank you, contestants!

March 5 - Cartoon of the Week

2009-03-05T10:14:00.002+08:00

March 3 - Flyer of the Week

2009-03-03T10:00:00.002+08:00

Membership Renewals

2009-02-20T22:00:00.002+08:00

Announcement from VP-Education, Lolet Gabay DTM:

Dear Toastmasters,

Membership renewals are upon us. Please renew, reinstate or register by Thursday, March 12, 2009 during our meeting. It's $27 (P1,350) per member. Send me text or email for concerns.

Best regards.

Lolet

February 19 Meeting

2009-02-19T23:22:00.004+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Lolet Gabay DTM
Invocation	Kathlyn Bautista
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial
Prepared Speakers	Robert de Guia, Allan Dinglasan, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Cristine Dinglasan, Atty. Trisha de Guia
General Evaluator	Les Aquino ACS
Speech Evaluators	Violet Imperial, Ebb Ryan Magtuba, Les Aquino ACS, Atty. Trisha de Guia, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Grammarian	Lolet Gabay DTM
Timer	Kathlyn Bautista
Ah Counter	Michael Andrews
Theme	”Hearts of Gold 2”

Table Topics and the Respondents:

“Beach or Mountain?” – Les Aquino
”Favorite Food and Why?” – Robert de Guia

Guest Robert gives his Icebreaker.

Allan delivers his speech entitled "Crisis" (a frequently recurring theme recently).

With her ready list of table topics, Violet was the impromptu Table Topicsmaster (replacing Neil) while guest Michael was the Ah Counter.

Other guests during the evening were Muvien and July. Guests came to know of the club through the club's website and this blog!

Cristine, with new found confidence, in delivering her third speech. Great background props, by the way!

Trisha shares a personal story in her speech "Redemption".

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

Robert de Guia – “Meet Robert”
Allan Dinglasan – “Crisis”
Larry Gamboa – “Building Wealth during Times of Chaos”
Cristine Dinglasan – “Dilzem”
Trisha de Guia – “Redemption”

From the evaluation team, Trisha evaluates Cristine.

And finally, the Ah Counter's report from a first-time guest, Michael.

February 12 Meeting

2009-02-12T23:18:00.002+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Les Aquino ACS
Invocation	Kathlyn Bautista
Table Topics Master	Gene delos Reyes
Prepared Speakers	Ebb Ryan Magtuba, Michael Carlos, Atty. Trisha de Guia, Violet Imperial, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Felix Vergara
General Evaluator	Dr. Neil Caranto ACB
Table Topics Evaluator	Terry de Guia
Speech Evaluators	Gene delos Reyes, Lolet Gabay DTM, Mariz Jocson, Felix Vergara, Michael Carlos
Grammarian	Lolet Gabay DTM
Timer	Les Aquino ACS
Ah Counter	- none -
Theme	”Hearts of Gold”

It was another jampacked night as the club had guests and visitors from the 1 Corinthians 13 Unida Toastmasters Club. Hosting as the Toastmaster of the Evening was Les Aquino.

Gene delos Reyes took on the Table Topicsmaster role with the meeting theme “Hearts of Gold” in observance of Valentines Day. These were the Table Topics for the night and the respondents:

“The ultimate test of a relationship is not to disagree but to hold hands.” – Violet Imperial
”Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.” – Dinah Rose Pizarro
”In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing.” – Felix Vergara

Guests and members were enthralled by the evening’s set of speakers.

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

Ebb Ryan Magtuba – “My True Wealth”
Michael Carlos – “What’s Wrong about Writing Silly Love Songs”
Trisha de Guia – “Yes, Yes, Yo!”
Violet Imperial – “Dream Board in Focus”
Larry Gamboa – “Crisis Management”
Felix Vergara – “Amidst Crisis”

Larry addresses the audience from behind in his speech (uhmm, to face the camera???).

Neil leads the Evaluation Portion as General Evaluator.

Terry evaluates Table Topics.

Gene evaluates Ebb Ryan.

Lolet evaluates Michael and Felix.

Mariz, President of 1 Corinthians 13 Unida TM Club, evaluates Trisha.

Felix evaluates Violet.

Michael evaluates Larry.

O, break muna!

At meeting’s end, a photo-op on the left side of the crowd...

On the right side…

Altogether now… smile!

Demo Meeting at the Blue Sapphire Hotel, Lipa City, Batangas

2009-01-30T11:44:00.003+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Day	Malou Ranario ACB
Invocation	Dr. Norma Blanco
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial
Prepared Speakers	Norie Recinto ACB
General Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM
Speech Evaluator	Les Aquino ACS
Ah Counter	Dinah Pizarro

Malou Ranario as the Toastmaster of the Day addresses the seminar group composed of LGU’s and Rotarians.

Violet Imperial was the Table Topics Master with Les Aquino discussing the common Table Topic Patterns: PREP, SMG and PPF. Two impromptu speakers were asked from each table in the seminar room. Everybody enjoyed the mini speeches given by the particpants themselves. Ah Counter of the day was Violet’s guest, Dinah.

For the Educational Portion, Norie Recinto delivered a demo Icebreaker Speech. She was evaluated by Les Aquino.

After an interesting viewing of Toastmasters promotional video, Villamor Club President, Dr. Norma Blanco addresses and congratulates the batch of seminar attendees and participants.

Dr. Norma Blanco presents Gov. Lolet Gabay a certificate of appreciation for conducting the speech seminar as well as the Toastmasters demo meeting.

January 15 Meeting

2009-01-15T23:37:00.007+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Lolet Gabay DTM
Invocation	Michael Carlos
Table Topics Master	Eb Bryan Magtuba
Prepared Speakers	Christine Dinglasan, Michael Carlos
General Evaluator	Les Aquino ACS
Speech Evaluators	Michael Carlos, Dr. Neil Caranto ACB
Timer	Les Aquino ACS
Ah Counter	Kathlyn Bautista

Lolet was the Toastmaster of the Evening

Christine ~~sings~~ delivers her speech, entitled “A Tribute to Dad”

Michael evaluates Christine.

Neil reads his evaluation of Michael’s speech, entitled “Maintenance Free”

Eb Bryan was the impromptu Table Topics Master while Kathlyn was the Ah-counter.

Viviene, who’s been “in absentia” for some time, gives a few words.

January 1 - Cartoon of the Week

2009-01-01T21:51:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year !!!

December 25 - Flyer of the Week

2008-12-25T21:49:00.002+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone !!!

Division H Christmas Party 2008

2008-12-13T23:12:00.003+08:00

Role	Toastmasters
TM of the Evening	Violet Imperial, Les Aquino ACS
Invocation	Christine Dinglasan
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial
Prepared Speakers	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
General Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM

The Division Christmas Party was held last Dec.13, 5pm at the Bellevue Hotel.

Guests during the evening:

Les and Violet were the Toastmasters of the Evening.

Here, Gov. Lolet gives the Opening Remarks as son Nathaniel takes a picture.

Doc Larry gives his speech on Manny Pacquiao which was very well appreciated.

Lolet checks the program, Eb checks the dessert, and Gia checks her nails.

Charry (Villamor Club) and Violet (ACT Club) ~~wrestle~~ try to outdo each other in the “Bandana” game.

Dr. Norma Blanco of Villamor Club detailing her plans for the club for 2009.

Gia shares her wishes for the coming year.

Other pics:

Dr. Neil gives the Closing Remarks.

Finally, a couple of group shots:

December 4 - Cartoon of the Week

2008-12-04T21:48:00.002+08:00

November 27 - Flyer of the Week

2008-11-27T21:47:00.002+08:00

November 20 Meeting

2008-11-21T14:02:00.010+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
Toastmaster of the Evening	Les Aquino ACS
Invocation	Christine Dinglasan
Table Topics Master	Alfred Ocon CC
Prepared Speakers	Allan Dinglasan, Christine Dinglasan, Michael Carlos, Terry de Guia, Ebb Bryan Magtuba
General Evaluator	Dr. Neil Caranto ACB
Table Topics Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM
Speech Evaluators	Atty. Trisha de Guia, Jean Dayao, Bernard Marquez, Dr. Neil Caranto ACB, Violet Imperial
Grammarian	Les Aquino ACS
Timer	Gene delos Reyes
Ah Counter	Gene delos Reyes
Word of the Day	"Steadfast"

It was another jam-packed night at the club with Les leading the meeting as Toastmaster of the Evening.

Here, Gia enjoys the Table Topics as Larry tries to figure out the program. Alfred was the Table Topics Master.

Other guests in the evening were Ira (in yellow) and Myles Bernal (in red).

Table Topics:

"Source of Joy" - Gia
"Strive for Excellence, not Perfection" - Marla
"If you could acquire a skill by just asking, what will it be?" - Myles

Husband-and-wife Allan and Christine started the prepared speeches with their Icebreakers. Here, Christine dons a sash and tiara as she impersonates a beauty queen in her speech entitled “Binibining Pilipinas-World”. Wow, how imaginative! That quickly put the audience in a beauty pageant mood.

The guys at the back row were thoroughly amused with Christine’s antics in her impersonation.

Terry delivers her second basic speech project.

Prepared Speeches:

Allan – “Role of the Medical Representative in the Pharmaceutical Industry”
Christine – “Binibining Pilipinas World”
Michael – “It’s our Ship”
Terry – “Learning to Live with Death”
Ebb Bryan – “Security or Freedom”

In the Evaluation Portion, Neil started it off as the General Evaluator.

Lolet evaluates Table Topics.

Trish looks at Allan as she evaluates his Icebreaker speech.

Teacher Jean evaluates “Beauty Contestant” Christine.

In his evaluation, Bernard was visibly impressed with Michael’s second speech project.

Finally, Violet evaluates Ebb Bryan.

Gene doubles up as Timer and Ah counter, or in his own words, "Tie-Ah-Uhm-er".

In the business portion, everyone was invited to the Division H’s Christmas Party at Bellevue Hotel, Alabang on December 13.

Christmas Party Invitation

2008-11-20T16:15:00.001+08:00

November 13 Meeting

2008-11-15T20:19:00.030+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Lolet Gabay DTM
Invocation	Hershey Ceralde
Table Topics Master	Jean Dayao
Prepared Speakers	Hershey Ceralde, Gene delos Reyes, Violet Imperial, Alfred Ocon, Michael Carlos
General Evaluator	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Speech Evaluators	Les Aquino ACS, Lolet Gabay DTM, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Grammarian	Allan Dinglasan
Timer	Violet Imperial
Ah Counter	Christine Dinglasan
Theme	"Courage to Commit"

The avenue at Northgate has burst with Christmas lights galore! With parols (Pinoy Christmas lanterns) on several lamp posts, you know Christmas is just around that proverbial corner. And no, the pic below isn’t about the planets of the Solar System. That blue ball in front kind of looks like Jupiter, doesn't it? Somehow, Ayala Filinvest has this penchant for giant Christmas balls. Here’s an assemblage in front of The Plaza. The Plaza is where some of Alabang’s call centers are situated.

It was the first time for me to see all of our club’s ribbons pinned to our club banner. After I taped the banner to the wall, Larry took the picture below. Here’s me giving the thumbs-up sign for the club awards. Yeah!

During the fun and fellowship right before the club meeting, here are three of the club’s eligible(?) ladies.

Lolet welcomes a couple of guests to the club, Allan and Christine, and gives them a brief orientation.

Guest Christine gives a hearty laugh as she introduces herself to the group.

Ernest, Alfred, Gene and Eb prefer to sit at the back.

Guest Marla introduces herself to the group just in time right after coming in the meeting.

Teacher Jean became the impromptu Table Topics Master of the Evening as she readily tackled the theme for the night: “Courage to Commit”.

Table Topics for the Evening:

“Responsibility to Commitment” – Eb
“Is commitment important to you?” – Gene
“How do you show commitment?” – Allan

Eb Bryan taking on the Table Topics as the first respondent.

Hershey leads the line of speakers for the night as she delivered her second speech project. Entitled “Chances”, the speech intimated her brush with an illness.

The second speaker, Gene, shared his experiences as a driver.

Just as he was sneaking quietly into the club meeting, guest Michael Carlos was asked to introduce himself.

And later, he gave an impressive icebreaker speech in his first-time visit to the club!

Prepared Speakers of the Evening:

Hershey – “Chances”
Gene – “Patience: A Driver’s Virtue?”
Violet – “Ecotourism”
Alfred – “Puruntong”
Michael – “Powerhouse”

Larry “homeboy” Gamboa sans shoes feels right at home while giving his comments as the General Evaluator of the evening.

The meeting’s speech timer, Violet, with a couple of guests: Marla and Kathlyn on the front row:

No, it isn’t exam time. Members were encouraged to fill up evaluation sheets handed out by Lolet. This gave them the opportunity to evaluate a speaker on their own and see if their own evaluations matched with that of the designated evaluator. Many found the exercise useful and educational. Hershey smiles through it all.

The team of evaluators capped the Evaluation portion of the meeting. Here, husband and wife team of Allan and Christine give the Grammarian’s and Ah Counter reports, respectively.

November 6 - Cartoon of the Week

2008-11-06T21:46:00.003+08:00

Halloween Meeting 2008

2008-10-31T13:17:00.018+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Les Aquino ACS
Invocation	Violet Imperial
Table Topics Master	Gene delos Reyes
Prepared Speakers	Terri de Guia, Gene delos Reyes, Trisha de Guia, Alfred Ocon CC, Lolet Gabay DTM
General Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM
Speech Evaluators	Alfred Ocon CC, Gia Garcia, Lolet Gabay DTM, Les Aquino ACS
Grammarian	Gia Garcia
Timer	Violet Imperial
Ah Counter	Terri de Guia
Theme	Trick or Treat!

Les, as Toastmaster of the Evening had a captive audience in the Halloween Meeting last night.

Gene taking the bull by the horns as Table Topics Master. Gene was well-prepared, complete with an audio-visual presentation of the topics. The topics were flashed on the screen and the scary sound effects promptly set the mood for a ghostly Table Topics segment. Superb job, Gene!

Table Topics for the Night:

“Life after Death: Fact or Fiction?” – Trisha
“Ghosts: for Real or Reel?” – Les
“Where there is no imagination, there is no horror” – Gia
“Clothes make a statement, costumes tell a story” - Violet

The Educational Portion was started off by a first-timer to the club, Terri de Guia, Trisha’s (younger?) sister. Her prepared Icebreaker Speech, entitled “Delusions of Grandeur”, was evaluated by Alfred.

In his speech entitled “Proof: Giving 101 Percent”, Gene describes the big ~~tilapia he had for lunch~~ effort required to accomplish something worthwile. He was evaluated by Gia.

Trish, now more than halfway on her journey towards being a Competent Communicator tackles Vocal Variety for her speech entitled “Living in the Moment” which was evaluated by Lolet.

Alfred starts his speech entitled “Death and Life” by ~~bribing the audience~~ asking a question with a 500 peso bill. He was evaluated by Les.

Lolet had plenty of gestures, props and body movement for her speech - and rightly so. Her speech was entitled “The Art of Communicating… with the Deaf” and was evaluated by Les.

Lolet proceeded to lead the evaluation team as General Evaluator in the Evaluation Portion. Here, Gia delivers the Grammarian’s Report.

Business Matters Portion:

Suggestions for a planned Christmas Party for Division H. It might be at Bellevue. The original option of having it on a docked Super Ferry may not be possible since the boat arrives late.
Officers’ Training on the 3rd week of January at the Meralco Theater.
Call for 100% Renewal of Club Dues.
Forthcoming Davao Conference.

Halloween Ladies of the Night.

Happy Halloween!

October 30 - Cartoon of the Week

2008-10-30T21:44:00.002+08:00

Halloween Meeting Announcement

2008-10-28T06:28:00.002+08:00

Announcement from VP-Education Lolet Gabay:

Dear Toastmasters,
We are inviting you to the club meeting on October 30, 2008 at 6:30 with the theme: "TRICK OR TREAT"
Let's have fun with the prepared Table Topics of our toastmaster researcher.
Learn from Ms. Trisha's wisdom as she delivers her Basic Speech Project# 4.
Uncover mysteries of life and death with the help of Alfred Ocon's second advanced speech.
Do not miss the Advanced Speech Project (second round) of our one and only DTM Lolet Gabay.
...and more...............
Come in your scariest costume. See you there!!!

Youth Leadership Programs

2008-10-27T16:58:00.005+08:00

Announcement from VP-Education Lolet Gabay:

In line with District Governor Deling Royo's thrust of developing young public speakers, Division H's Alabang Community Toastmasters Club has started conducting Youth Leadership Programs:

Joseph and Mary Academy, Pacita Complex, San Pedro, Laguna
Coordinator : Lolet Gabay, DTM
Asst Coordinators: Jean Dayao, Toastmaster; Ed Bolesa, Toastmaster, SAA ACT

El Cielito Foundation, Bacoor Cavite
Coordinator: Lolet Gabay, DTM

We encourage other Division H clubs and toastmasters to underwrite such projects to promote effective oral communication.

October 23 - Special Meeting

2008-10-24T19:50:00.014+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Invocation	Alfred Ocon CC
Table Topics Master	Lolet Gabay DTM
Prepared Speakers	Violet Imperial, Gia Garcia
General Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM
Speech Evaluators	Les Aquino ACB, Lolet Gabay DTM

The special meeting last night was called to give members the chance to progress through their norms quickly. An idea that floated was whether to hold weekly meetings rather than the current twice-a-month meetings.

Lolet was the Master of Table Topics as she posed 3 questions to 3 willing impromptu speakers:

“Know where you are, you’ll know where to go” - Alfred
“Who would you choose: Obama or McCain?” - Gene
“Where would you rather be lost: in a desert, or at sea?” - Hershey

For the prepared speeches, Violet started off with her 2nd basic speech entitled “My First” where she narrated her experience in the recently concluded Midyear Conference in Bacolod City. She concluded her speech by giving Piaya to everyone! Thanx Violet!

Here, Gia delivers her basic speech entitled “The Language of Love”

Trisha sharing with the group what transpired in her recent TV interview. Naks!

Here’s Larry passing the stage to Hershey who delivered the Grammarian’s report.

Alfred giving the Ah-Counter’s report with the aid of his ah-counting gadget?

Gene ably giving the Timer’s report.

Topics discussed in the business matters portion were: the forthcoming Davao Conference and the opportunity for young ones (3rd and 4th year highschoolers) to join a public speaking contest with a prepared speech entitled "Philippines: My Country My Home".

Finally, a “family-style” picture to cap the evening.

October 23 - Flyer of the Week

2008-10-23T21:43:00.002+08:00

Video on Effective Evaluation

2008-10-22T20:43:00.010+08:00

Announcement from VP-Public Relations Les Aquino:

Dear ACT Club members,

I’ve uploaded a video (wmv file) on Effective Evaluation to our website http://theactclub.freetoasthost.biz. You may access or download the video through the “Members Only” portion of the site in “Available Downloads”.

It is an old video that the former club president (Dr. Noy) in my old club gave me. It was originally on VHS tape and I had it converted. The conversion results on the audio wasn’t too good though.

Anyway, I compressed it from the original size of 100 meg down to 20 meg and now uploaded it to the site. Enjoy!

October 16 Meeting

2008-10-17T06:37:00.003+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Lolet Gabay DTM
Invocation	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Prepared Speakers	Les Aquino ACB, Jean Dayao
General Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM
Speech Evaluators	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB

It was a rather lean night as most attendees from the recently concluded Midyear Conference were still out. Lolet was there though to lend a helping hand as she took the role of Toastmaster of the Evening. Notice Larry's Masskara-inspired trophy on the table.

Les completed his 2 speeches from the Successful Club Series namely: “Finding New Members for Your Club” and “Closing the Sale.” (Thanx Doc Larry for the use of the projector!)

Jean is on a mission to quickly finish her Competent Communicator norm. Here, she's ~~dancing the cha-cha~~ sashaying as she delivers her 5th basic speech – Your Body Speaks. Entitled “The World in a Jeepney”, she explained the personalities and characters she encounters on the day-to-day transport in a jeepney. How imaginative!

With the night still young, Larry as Jean’s evaluator, gave plenty of tips on body movement and gesturing. Everybody chimed in the discussion. Here, Jean animatedly explains a point in gesturing while EbbBryan appears to be ~~musing what's for dinner~~ relishing the thought.

Later in the meeting, Larry gave his own recap on the Bacolod Conference and everybody was all ears as they imagined how exciting the competition/conference was. To those who didn’t go, well, you missed a lot! No worries though, next year’s venue will be Davao!

District 75 Midyear Conference at Bacolod City 2008

2008-10-15T23:04:00.003+08:00

The Toastmaster’s International 6th Midyear District Conference was held last October 11 and 12, 2008 at the Sugarland Hotel in Bacolod City – the “City of Smiles”. Representing the Alabang Community Toastmasters (ACT) club were: Division H Governor Lolet Gabay, ACT Club President Victor “Larry” Gamboa, TM Violet Imperial and TM Gia Garcia.

Giving the keynote address was DTM Johnny “Pawee” Uy, Past International President, entitled “Simply Amazing!” It was an excellent speech and he received a standing ovation from the crowd. Below is he group’s picture with him:

After lunch, there was an education session given by DTM Greg Vallejera Jr. where he talked about “Humour, Life Giving Force”. He talked about using humor in Toastmasters speeches, its importance, but most of all, he made the audience really laugh! It was a very entertaining speech and he told so many jokes and gave tips on effective humor.

Next came the contest proper: The Triathlon! Larry Gamboa was competing and represented the Alabang Community Toastmasters (ACT) Club. The first category of the contest was the “Impromptu Speaking”. When the first contestant got on stage, the other nine contestants were led out of the hall. It was like the Miss Universe contest! The contestants weren’t allowed in the room until it was their turn because they were all given the same question. They were only given less than a minute to prepare and they had to deliver a short (about 2 mintues) yet excellent speech.

Larry was the second contestant and the topic was “Know where you stand, you’ll know where to go”. He gave an excellent speech about how two books changed his life and direction. Later, he won 3rd place for his speech! Congratulations Larry!

After the impromptu speech contest came the “Prepared Speech”. This time, the contestants were allowed to be in the hall and listen to the other speeches. Silence filled the air as the Contest Chairperson briefed everyone with the rules. One by one the contestants were called to come up on stage. All of them had to give an entertaining speech. The winning speech was by Leonor Tebelin, the only lady among the contestants. Entitled “The Art of Kissing”, not only was it entertaining, it was captivating! She had everyone intently listening and got a loud applause from the audience. And she won the heart of the judges!

Night time fell and the last speech contest was held in another venue – at the Garden Royale in the nearby Goldenfields Commercial Complex. It was more like a big party rather than a contest and the Masskara Festival was the theme. Dancers in their masks entertained the crowd and there was free flowing food and drinks. The third speech contest was the Singing Contest! The crowed cheered, clapped and danced as the contestants performed. Larry sang a love-themed version of “Leron Leron Sinta”.

There were other “entertainers” from the different divisions after the contest then shortly after, the winners were announced. The over-all champion was Meliton Sillador from Division H, Bacolod’s very own!

On the second day of the conference, it was back at Sugarland Hotel for the Evaluation Speech Contest. There were still 9 contestants, but some changes in the line-up. Larry Gamboa didn’t compete in the Evaluation Speech Contest. Shortly after the contest and some announcements, the winner was announced and it was Meliton Sillador again! The crowd cheered especially the ones from Bacolod as it was such a great victory for them.

Indeed, the festive mood carried out until the end of the conference. The conference was a resounding success and the delegates are now looking forward to the next one which will be held on May 22-24, 2009 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City. See you there!

(Special thanx to Gia Garcia for the pics and writeup.)

October 9 Meeting

2008-10-10T06:47:00.005+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Invocation	Dr. Jenny Andrade
Table Topics Master	Violet Imperial
Prepared Speakers	Dr. Jenny Andrade, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB (contest piece)
General Evaluator	Dr. Neil Caranto ACB ALB
Speech Evaluators	Dr. Neil Caranto ACB ALB, All (for contest piece)

Violet takes center stage as Table Topics Master with topics so light, it wasn’t difficult to entice members to volunteer and give their impromptu speeches.

These were the Table Topics for the night:

What is your wildest (yet wholesome) fantasy?
1. Jean Dayao – Wear a 1-piece swimsuit
2. Alfred Ocon – A fat bank account with all the world’s currencies
What do you want to do (or desires) before you die?
1. Lolet Gabay – To make peace with everybody
2. Neil Caranto – Fly like a bird

Early on, we had a couple of guests who came to observe the night’s proceedings. Here, guests Kris and Chit join Ernest at the back. Welcome, Kris and Chit.

Jenny flashing that “Dentist’s Smile” at the camera. Ryan Ancheta (with his back to the camera), club-hopping from the UPS Toastmasters Club, joined us and had the opportunity to evaluate Table Topics. Welcome Ryan!

A couple of the night’s highlights were the demo delivery of Larry’s contest speech entitled “Vision, Focus, Action” and the rendition of his contest song “Leron Leron Sinta”. Everyone took turns giving Larry some really good feedback.

Good luck Doc Larry. And to those going to Bacolod for the Midyear District Conference, have a safe and happy trip! Enjoy the conference!

Freebies for First-Time Club Visitors

2008-10-06T06:13:00.005+08:00

Announcement from VP - Public Relations Les Aquino:

Dear ACT club members,

As part of the plan to attract new members, I’ll be giving away a free copy (past issue) of the Toastmasters magazine to any first-time visitor to the club. A first-time visitor can take this free magazine issue home, read it and hopefully have a better understanding of what we have and do at Toastmasters. So bring your friends as guests to the club!

Supply is limited and so this is strictly for first-time visitors. Offer good while supply lasts.

2008 Division H Midyear Conference Pictures

2008-10-02T07:37:00.002+08:00

Here are a few pictures of the recently held Midyear Conference for Division H:

Dr. Neil Caranto awarding the Certificate of Participation to Dr. Larry Gamboa

Picture below, from left to right: Area 73 Governor Dr. Neil Caranto, ACB (ACT), Division H Governor Lolet Gabay,DTM (ACT), Area 74 Governor Rizza Valdez,ACB (Wingfoot), Evaluator Champion Raul de la Vega, DTM (The Beacon), 2nd Runner up Evaluation Grace Bartolata, ACB (Aboitiz Jebsen), 1st Runner up Evaluation James Marc Publico,CC (Fluor Global Communicators), Area 71 Governor Marissa Falvo, ACG (Fluor Daniel)

Picture below, from left to right: Neil Caranto, Marissa Falvo, Rizza Valdez, Singing Category 1st Runner up Ma. Roxanne Danza, CC (Aboitiz Jebsen), Marissa Jonson, Lolet, Larry.

Again, congratulations to all the winners! See you in Bacolod City for the District Conference!

October 2 - Cartoon of the Week

2008-10-02T06:42:00.002+08:00

September 25 - Flyer of the Week

2008-09-25T21:32:00.002+08:00

Victor "Larry" Gamboa is Division H Triathlon Overall Champion!

2008-09-22T07:21:00.003+08:00

Here's the announcement from Division Governor Lolet Gabay:

OVERALL TRIATHLON CHAMPION: VICTOR GAMBOA - ALABANG COMMUNITY TOASTMASTERS

Singing

1st : Victor Gamboa - Alabang Community Toastmasters
2nd: Roxanne Danza - Aboitiz Jebsen
3rd: Marissa Jonson - 1 Corinthians 13

Impromptu

1st: Victor Gamboa, ACT
2nd: Florinda Casilag - UPS
3rd: Marissa Jonson - 1 Corinthians 13

Prepared

1st: Marissa Jonson - 1 Corinthians 13
2nd: Victor Gamboa - ACT
3rd: Florinda Casilag - UPS

OVERALL CHAMPION EVALUATION: RAUL DE LA VEGA - THE BEACON TOASTMASTERS

1st: Raul de la Vega - The Beacon Toastmasters
2nd: James Marc Publico - Fluor Global Communicators
3rd: Ace Bartolata - Aboitiz Jebsens

Congratulations to all the winners and our very own, Dr. Larry Gamboa!

More pictures on the Triathlon will follow.

September 18 Meeting

2008-09-18T22:08:00.007+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Invocation	Gia Garcia
Table Topics Master	- none -
Prepared Speakers	Rox Rabajante, Ed Bolesa, Jean Dayao, Dr. Jenelyn Andarade, Les Aquino ACB
General Evaluator	Viviene Vargas CC
Speech Evaluators	Gia Garcia, Jean Dayao, Les Aquino ACB, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Timer	Les Aquino ACB
Grammarian	Dr. Jenelyn Andrade
Ah Counter	Jean Dayao
Theme	- none -

Larry starts off as the Toastmaster of the Evening while Gia stares ~~menacingly~~ quizzically at the camera.

Before the speeches, Les handed each member a business card to help promote the club’s website and blog. Folks, keep the cards in your purse, wallet or bags and give them to your friends or acquaintances who might be interested in joining the club. The card shows the club's website and blog. The club blog's a nifty way of telling other folks how you spend 2 Thursday nights of the month :) Shown below are both sides of the business cards.

Due to the number of prepared speakers for the night, the club dispensed with Table Topics. Here’s Rox delivering his second speech project.

Gia, Ed, Viviene and Jean get a good laugh from Rox’s speech.

Jenelyn flashes a big smile while explaining the “Benefits of Smiling”. She vehemently denies those women with bad teeth in the pictures were her patients.

Jenelyn has a captive audience while Gia evaluates her.

Les gives his ~~blessings~~ Oratorical Speech in the Interpretive Reading Manual while pretending to be Ninoy Aquino. Those big rimmed fake eyeglasses didn’t fool anyone though.

Gia, superexcited with her double evaluation of Rox and Jean.

Viviene wows everyone with her first-time stint as General Evaluator. Good job, Vivs!

In the business matters portion, Larry enjoined everyone to settle their club dues. Gia as Treasurer happily accepted the payments. Club dues for the next 6 months is Php1,300. To those who haven't settled yet, please do so as soon as possible!

Here's an emailed message from Area Gov. Neil Caranto:

Kindly support our contestants who will be competing for the slot to represent our division to the Midyear Conference. Not only will you learn from the best each area offers, you will also have fun cheering our area contestants! kaya ba, lets give area 73 contestants the largest cheers!!!!

Our contestants are:
Norie Recinto (Villamor)
Dr Larry Gamboa (ACT)
Maris Jonson (1st Corinthians 13 UNIDA)

The contest itself is next Sat Sept 20, 8am-5pm at Aboitiz Jebsen (near Manila Hotel)

Kindly prepare too P200 for the food expenses.
Please find attached the direction to the contest venue.

See you all at the contest grounds and lets have fun!!!!!

September 11 Meeting

2008-09-11T23:54:00.007+08:00

It was a wet Thursday for the meeting as typhoon Marce grazed Metro Manila. Who moved my parking slot? The Northgate Avenue became clear of vehicles as ropes cordoned off what used to be space for parking. Fortunately there’s available free parking right behind The Plaza and APAC. Access to this parking lot is through Crescent Drive (see Directions in the main website or click here to go directly to the map.)

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Invocation	Rox Rabajante
Prepared Speakers	Violet Imperial, Jean Dayao
General Evaluator	Lolet Gabay DTM
Speech Evaluators	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB, Les Aquino ACB
Timer	Les Aquino ACB
Grammarian	Jean Dayao
Ah Counter	Ernest Demoy

Everybody’s all ears

Lolet Gabay ~~admonishing~~ evaluating Larry Gamboa.

Everybody's serious as Doc Larry gets a ~~beating~~ good evaluation.

Jean Dayao joked while giving the Grammarian report which amused Lolet, Rox and Vince.

Neil Caranto giving an update on the forthcoming Midyear Conference as well as the upcoming Club dues.(groan!)

Jean, Hershey, Annie (Hershey’s friend) and Arlene

September 4 - Cartoon of the Week

2008-09-04T21:30:00.002+08:00

August 28 - Flyer of the Week

2008-08-28T21:28:00.002+08:00

August 21 Meeting - Living Every Day

2008-08-21T21:54:00.008+08:00

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Alfred Ocon CC
Table Topics Master	Lolet Gabay ACG AL
Prepared Speakers	Ed Bolesa, Ebb Magtuba, Atty. Trish de Guia, Les Aquino ACB, Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
General Evaluator	Les Aquino ACB
Timer	Dr. Jenny Andrade
Grammarian	Jean Dayao
Ah Counter	Violet Imperial
Theme	”Living Every Day”

After the speeches, everyone's ready to ~~stretch and relax~~ listen to the evaluation.

August 14 Meeting - Taking Humor Seriously

2008-08-15T06:44:00.011+08:00

Another fun-filled meeting happened last night with theme “Taking Humor Seriously”.

Role	Toastmaster
TM of the Evening	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
Table Topics Master	Gia Garcia
Prepared Speakers	Jean Dayao, Gene delos Reyes, Dr. Neil Caranto ACB CL
General Evaluator	Alfred Ocon CC
Timer	Ed Bolesa
Grammarian	Les Aquino ACB
Ah Counter	Alfred Ocon CC
Theme	”Taking Humor Seriously”

Larry as Toastmaster of the evening emphasizing a point while Trisha appears to be ~~daydreaming~~ contemplating on this point.

Audience at the back part of the room listening attentively to the speakers while Gia scans the dinner menu.

A couple of guests (Donna and Marj) finding something hilarious. Can you figure out what that thin vertical line is? It appears to be "dividing" them.

Violet and Jean listening intently while Sir Ed, the Meeting Timer is ~~guarding~~ watching the timing lights device.

Alfred, the General Evaluator of the evening finally received his long delayed CC pin.

Lolet gave an update on the President's Distinguished award that the club recieved and Neil announced specifics on the upcoming triathlon and evaluation contests in Bacolod City on October 11-12.

August 7 - Cartoon of the Week

2008-08-07T21:16:00.002+08:00

July 17 Meeting, Induction of New Members

2008-07-18T22:10:00.003+08:00

We had a well attended meeting last night and even had a couple of visitors from the TOPS club. There were a few prepared speeches and we had to form the tables into a U-shaped pattern.

Prepared Speakers: Gia Garcia, Dr. Jenny Andrade, Alfred Ocon, Dr. Larry Gamboa

Here's Viviene as the vivacious Toastmaster of the Evening.

Lolet gave an inspiring speech prior to the club's turnover.

Then it was time to induct the new members of the club. Inducting the new members was Dr. Neil Caranto, the new Area 73 Governor.

Here's Lolet turning over the club presidency to Dr. Larry Gamboa symbolized by the handing over of the Toastmasters gavel.

Finally, some group pictures with everyone (especially the new members) smiling.

July 10 - Cartoon of the Week

2008-07-10T23:24:00.002+08:00

Inauguration and Division Turnover

2008-07-06T22:08:00.006+08:00

The Inauguration of Officers and the turnover of Division H was held July 5 at the Bellevue Hotel. Shown below are some of the officers with Gina Mapua on the foreground. Officers attending for the ACT Club were: Larry Gamboa – President, Lolet Gabay – VP Education, Viviene Vargas – Secretary. Dr. Neil Caranto was there as incoming Area Governor for Area 73 while Lolet was incoming Division Governor for Division H.

Gles Fuerte and Lolet Gabay during the turnover ceremonies with the Division H banner at the background.

Here are the new set of Club Officers for the Alabang Community Toastmasters Club for 2008-2009:

Club Officer	Toastmaster
President	Dr. Larry Gamboa ACB
VP Education	Lolet Gabay ACG AL
VP Membership	Alfred Ocon CC
VP Public Relations	Les Aquino ACB
Secretary	Viviene Vargas CC CL
Treasurer	Gia Garcia TM
Sergeant at Arms	Ed Bolesa TM

Officer Training at Aplaya Resto Bar

2008-07-06T17:18:00.004+08:00

An Officers Training session was held yesterday, July 5, 2008, at the Aplaya Resto Bar at the Greens and Grills section of the Festival mall. Gracing the occasion was Adeling Royo.

The training itself was conducted by Adeling Royo, Nolie Espina, and Wilson Lee

A brief respite during the workshop was this mini-photo op at the Alabang Community Toastmasters table. Shown are Dr. Neil, Dr. Larry, Les, Viviene and faculty from Joseph and Mary School with Adeling Royo.

Also present in the training was Gina Mapua. Here's Lolet with officers from other clubs.

Meeting Role: Ah-Counter

2008-07-03T00:10:00.000+08:00

Helping members off their crutches

The purpose of the Ah-Counter is to note any word or sound used as a crutch by anyone who speaks during the meeting. Words may be inappropriate interjections, such as and, well, but, so and you know. Sounds may be ah, um or er. You should also note when a speaker repeats a word or phrase such as “I, I” or “This means, this means.” These words and sounds can be annoying to listeners. The Ah-Counter role is an excellent opportunity to practice your listening skills.

Several days before the meeting, use the information in A Toastmaster Wears Many Hats or in the appendix of the Competent Communication manual to prepare a brief explanation of the duties of the Ah-Counter for the benefit of guests.

When you arrive at the meeting, bring a pen and blank piece of paper for notes, or locate a blank copy of the Ah-Counter’s log, if your club has one, from the sergeant at arms.

The president will call the meeting to order and introduce the Toastmaster who will, in turn, introduce you and the other meeting participants. When you’re introduced, explain the role of the Ah-Counter. Some clubs levy small fines on members who do or do not do certain things. (For example, members are fined who use filler words or are not wearing their Toastmasters pin to the meeting. A fine is usually about five cents, acting more as a friendly reminder than a punishment.) If your club levies fines, explain the fine schedule.

Throughout the meeting, listen to everyone for sounds and long pauses used as fillers and not as a necessary part of sentence structure. Write down how many filler sounds or words each person used during all portions of the meeting.
When you’re called on by the general evaluator during the evaluation segment, stand by your chair and give your report.

After the meeting is adjourned, give your completed report to the treasurer for collection of fines if this tradition applies to your club.

Meeting Role: Timer

2008-07-03T00:09:00.001+08:00

Do you have the time?

One of the skills Toastmasters practice is expressing a thought within a specific time. As timer you are responsible for monitoring time for each meeting segment and each speaker. You’ll also operate the timing signal, indicating to each speaker how long he or she has been talking. Serving as timer is an excellent opportunity to practice giving instructions and time management – something we do every day.

Here’s how to succeed as timer:

Before the meeting, contact the Toastmaster and general evaluator to confirm which members are scheduled program participants. Then contact each speaker to confirm the time they’ll need for their prepared speech.
You’ll also need to write an explanation of your duties, emphasizing timing rules and how timing signals will be given. For the benefit of guests and new members, be sure to use the clearest possible language and rehearse your presentation.
On meeting day, retrieve the timing equipment from the sergeant at arms. Be sure you understand how to operate the stopwatch and signal device, make certain the timing equipment works and sit where the signal device can be seen by all.
The Toastmaster of the meeting will usually call on you to explain the timing rules and demonstrate the signal device. Stand by your chair to do so and then be seated.
Throughout the meeting, listen carefully to each program participant and signal them. Generally Table Topics speakers should be +/- 15 seconds of allowed time; prepared speakers must be +/- 30 seconds. However, these times may vary from club to club. In addition, signal the chairman, Toastmaster and Table Topics Master with red when they have reached their allotted or agreed-upon time. Use the timer’s report or a blank piece of paper to record each participant’s name and time used.
When you’re called to report by the Table Topics Master, Toastmaster or general evaluator, stand by your chair, announce the speaker’s name and the time taken. Mention those members who are eligible for awards if your club issues awards.
After the meeting, return the stopwatch and timing signal device to the sergeant at arms. Give the completed timer’s report to the secretary so he or she can record it in the minutes (if this is done in your club).

Take on this role and the new habits formed will serve you well in your private life and your career. People appreciate a speaker, friend or employee who is mindful of time frames and deadlines.

Meeting Role: Grammarian

2008-07-03T00:08:00.000+08:00

The syntax sentinel

Before the Meeting

One benefit of Toastmasters is that it helps people improve their grammar and word use. Being grammarian also provides an exercise in expanding listening skills. You have several responsibilities: to introduce new words to members, to comment on language usage during the course of the meeting, and to provide examples of eloquence.

Several days before the meeting, select a word of the day (if this is done in your club):

It should be one that will help members increase their vocabulary – a word that can be incorporated easily into everyday conversation but is different from the way people usually express themselves.
Adjectives and adverbs are more adaptable than nouns or verbs, but feel free to select your own special word.
Print your word, its part of speech (adjective, adverb, noun, verb) and a brief definition in letters large enough to be seen from the back of the room.
Prepare a sentence showing how the word is used.

Also, prepare a brief explanation of the duties of the grammarian for the benefit of the guests.
At the Meeting

Before the meeting begins, place your visual aid at the front of the room where everyone can see it. Also get a blank piece of paper and pen ready to make notes, or get a copy of the grammarian’s log, if your club has one, from the sergeant at arms.

When introduced:

Announce the word of the day, state its part of speech, define it, use it in a sentence and ask that anyone speaking during any part of the meeting use it.
Briefly explain the role of the grammarian.

Throughout the meeting, listen to everyone’s word usage. Write down any awkward use or misuse of the language (incomplete sentences, sentences that change direction in midstream, incorrect grammar or malapropisms) with a note of who erred. For example, point out if someone used a singular verb with a plural subject. “One in five children wear glasses” should be “one in five children wears glasses.” Note when a pronoun is misused. “No one in the choir sings better than her” should be “No one in the choir sings better than she.”

Write down who used the word of the day (or a derivative of it) and note those who used it correctly or incorrectly.

When called on by the general evaluator during the evaluation segment:

Stand by your chair and give your report.
Try to offer the correct usage in every instance of misuse (instead of merely announcing that something was wrong).
Report on creative language usage and announce who used the word of the day (or a derivative of it) correctly or incorrectly.

After the meeting, give your completed report to the treasurer for collection of fines, if your club does this.

Meeting Role: Speech Evaluator

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Evaluate to motivate!

People join Toastmasters to improve their speaking and leadership skills, and these skills are improved with the help of evaluations. Members complete projects in the Competent Communication and Competent Leadership manuals and you may be asked to evaluate their work. At some point, everyone is asked to participate by providing an evaluation. You will provide both verbal and written evaluations for speakers using the guide in the manual. You’ll always give a written evaluation for leadership roles, though verbal evaluations for leaders are handled differently from club to club. Sometimes verbal evaluations are given during the meeting and sometimes they are given privately, after the meeting. Check with your vice president education (VPE) or the Toastmaster if you’re not sure of your club’s method.

Several days before the meeting, review the Effective Evaluation manual you received in your New Member Kit. Talk with the speaker or leader you’ve been assigned to evaluate and find out which manual project they will present. Review the project goals and what the speaker or leader hopes to achieve.

Evaluation requires careful preparation if the speaker or leader is to benefit. Study the project objectives as well as the evaluation guide in the manual. Remember, the purpose of evaluation is to help people develop their speaking or leadership skills in various situations. By actively listening, providing reinforcement for their strengths and gently offering useful advice, you motivate members to work hard and improve. When you show the way to improvement, you’ve opened the door to strengthening their ability.

When you arrive at the meeting, speak briefly with the general evaluator to confirm the evaluation session format. Then retrieve the manual from the speaker or leader and ask one last time if he or she has any specific goals in mind.

Record your impressions in the manual, along with your answers to the evaluation questions. Be as objective as possible. Remember that good evaluations may give new life to discouraged members and poor evaluations may dishearten members who tried their best. Always provide specific methods for improving and present them in a positive manner.

If you’re giving a verbal evaluation, stand and speak when introduced. Though you may have written lengthy responses to manual evaluation questions, don’t read the questions or your responses. Your verbal evaluation time is limited. Don’t try to cover too much in your talk; two or three points is plenty.

Begin and end your evaluation with a note of encouragement or praise. Commend a successful speech or leadership assignment and describe specifically how it was successful. Don’t allow the speaker or leader to remain unaware of a valuable asset such as a smile or a sense of humor. Likewise, don’t permit the speaker or leader to remain ignorant of a serious fault: if it is personal, write it but don’t mention it aloud. Give the speaker or leader deserved praise and tactful suggestions in the manner you would like to receive them.

After the meeting, return the manual to the speaker or leader. Add another word of encouragement and answer any questions the member may have.

By giving feedback, you are personally contributing to your fellow members’ improvement. Preparing and presenting evaluations is also an opportunity for you to practice your listening, critical thinking, feedback and motivation skills. And when the time comes to receive feedback, you’ll have a better understanding of the process.

Meeting Role: General Evaluator

2008-07-03T00:06:00.000+08:00

Improving the process while overseeing the execution.

Don’t worry; there’s no capital punishment during Toastmasters meetings. Unless, of course, the grammarian is in a bad mood.

If you think of a club meeting as a project, then you can see the general evaluator as a kind of project manager. As GE, your responsibilities include:

Ensuring the speech and leadership project evaluators know their responsibilities
Supervising the timer, grammarian and Ah-Counter
Evaluating everything that takes place during the club meeting
Making sure each activity is performed correctly

Several days before the meeting, contact the person who will be Toastmaster of the meeting and confirm the meeting program. You should also develop a checklist to follow during the meeting so you don’t have to keep all the details in your head. Some clubs have a prepared checklist. If your club doesn’t have one, ask the Toastmaster to help you create your own checklist.

When discussing the meeting program with the Toastmaster, ask what evaluation format to use. Typically, an evaluator is assigned to an individual, but sometimes evaluations are done by panels. The general evaluator may set up any evaluation procedure he or she chooses, but it should fit into the meeting program. Remember, too, that every evaluation must be brief and complete. Review the Effective Evaluation manual for different evaluation formats.

You’ll also need to contact members serving as:

Timer
Grammarian
Ah-Counter
Individual evaluators

Remind them of their assignments, and brief evaluators on their responsibilities, the members they will evaluate and the evaluation format to use. Make sure the evaluators understand that evaluation is a positive, helping act that enables fellow Toastmasters to develop their skills. Point out that an evaluation should enhance the speaker’s self-esteem and encourage evaluators to prepare thoroughly for their role. Recommend that they call the member they’ve been assigned to evaluate to discuss specific project objectives.

Your final task before the meeting is to prepare a brief verbal explanation detailing:

The purpose, techniques and benefits of evaluation so guests and new members will better understand the function of evaluations.
How evaluation is a positive experience designed to help people overcome flaws and reinforce good habits in their presentations.

On meeting day:

Arrive early.
Make sure all evaluators are present and that they have the appropriate speaker or leader’s manual.
If an evaluator is absent, consult with the vice president education and arrange for a substitute.
Ask each evaluator if he or she has any questions about the project objectives to be evaluated, verify each speaker’s time and notify the timer if there are any changes.
Take your seat near the back of the room. This will ensure you have a good view of the meeting and all its participants.

The Toastmaster of the meeting usually introduces the general evaluator before the Table Topics portion of the meeting. But your club may have a different order for introductions, so check with the Toastmaster or VPE before the meeting if you’re not sure when you’ll be introduced.

When you’re introduced:

Stand by your chair and deliver the explanation you prepared.
Identify the grammarian, Ah-Counter and timer and have these members briefly state the purpose of their jobs.
Request the word of the day, if your club has one, from the grammarian and then be seated.

During the meeting, use your checklist and take notes on everything that happens (or doesn’t, but should). For example: Is the club’s property (e.g. trophies, banner, educational material) properly displayed? Were there unnecessary distractions that could have been avoided? Did the meeting, and each segment of it, begin and end on time?

Study each participant on the program, from the person giving the invocation or thought for the day to the last report by the timer. Look for good and less than desirable examples of preparation, organization, delivery, enthusiasm, observation and general performance of duties. When it’s time to begin the evaluation portion of the meeting, the Toastmaster will introduce you, again. This time, you’ll go to the lectern and introduce each evaluator. After each recitation, thank the evaluator for his or her efforts.

Finally, give your general evaluation of the meeting:

Use your checklist and the notes you took during the meeting.
Phrase your evaluation so it is helpful, encouraging and motivates club members to implement the suggestions.
You may wish to comment on the quality of evaluations. Were they positive, upbeat, helpful? Did they point the way to improvement?
When you’ve completed your evaluation, return control of the meeting to the Toastmaster.

Being general evaluator is a big responsibility and it is integral to the success of every single club member. People join Toastmasters because they have a goal – they want to learn something. The club is where they learn. If the learning environment isn’t focused and fun, members won’t learn what they joined to learn. Your observations and suggestions help ensure the club is meeting the goals and needs of each member.

And what do you get out of the deal? You get the chance to practice and improve your skills in critical thinking, planning, preparation and organization, time management, motivation and team building!

Meeting Role: Prepared Speaker

2008-07-03T00:05:00.000+08:00

Show your vocal verve!

No doubt you’ve guessed that the speaking program is the center of every Toastmasters meeting. After all, what’s Toastmasters without the talking? But members don’t just stand up and start yakking. They use the guidelines in the Competent Communication (CC) manual and the Advanced Communication Series (ACS) manuals to fully prepare their presentations.

The CC manual speeches usually last 5-7 minutes. ACS manual project speeches are 5-7 minutes or longer depending upon the assignment.

Every speaker is a role model and club members learn from one another’s speeches. Prepare and rehearse to ensure you present the best speech possible. Don’t insult your fellow club members by delivering a poorly prepared speech. However, it’s also true that no speech is perfect. So, get out there and try! Here’s what to do:

Check your club’s meeting schedule regularly to find out when you’re assigned to speak. Begin working on the speech at least a week in advance. That way, you have enough time to devote to research, organization and rehearsal.
If you don’t write your own speech introduction, make sure the Toastmaster of the meeting prepares a good one for you.
Several days before the meeting, ask the general evaluator for your evaluator’s name. Talk with your evaluator about the speech you’ll give. Discuss your speech goals and personal concerns. Let your evaluator know where you believe your speech ability needs strengthening, so he or she can pay special attention to those aspects of your presentation. Remember to bring your manual to the meeting.
You should arrive at the meeting early to check the microphone, lighting and anything else that could malfunction and ruin your talk. Give your manual to your evaluator before the meeting starts and discuss any last-minute issues with him or her. Sit near the front of the room and carefully plan your approach to the lectern and your speech opening.
During the meeting, give your full attention to the speakers at the lectern. Don’t study your speech notes while someone else is talking. When you’re introduced, smoothly and confidently leave your chair and walk to the lectern. After your speech, wait for the Toastmaster to return to the lectern, then return to your seat. Listen intently during your evaluation for helpful hints that will assist in building better future talks.
After the meeting, reclaim your manual from your evaluator. Discuss any questions you may have concerning your evaluation to clarify and avoid any misinterpretations.
Finally, have the vice president education (VPE) initial the Project Completion Record in the back of your manual.

You’ll enjoy a growing sense of confidence as you repeat these steps with new speech projects. Don’t be afraid to do the work, enjoy the applause and reap the educational benefits. Your courage will be rewarded!

Meeting Role: Table Topics Speaker

2008-07-03T00:04:00.000+08:00

The articulate ad-libber

Most of the talking we do every day – simple conversation – is impromptu speaking. Yet for some members, Table Topics is the most challenging part of a Toastmasters meeting.

Table Topics continues a long-standing Toastmasters tradition – every member speaks at a meeting. But it’s about more than just carrying on an anxiety-ridden tradition. Table Topics is about developing your ability to organize your thoughts quickly and respond to an impromptu question or topic.

Table Topics usually begins after the prepared speech presentations. The Toastmaster of the meeting will introduce the Table Topics Master who will walk to the lectern and assume control of the meeting. The Table Topics Master will give a brief description of the purpose of Table Topics and mention if the topics will carry a theme.

The Table Topics Master will state the question or topic briefly and then call on a respondent. Each speaker receives a different topic or question and participants are called on at random.

When you’re asked to respond to a topic, stand next to your chair and give your response. Your response should last one to two minutes.

Now, take a deep breath and get ready to be remarkable!

Meeting Role: Table Topics Master

2008-07-03T00:03:00.000+08:00

The extemporaneous educator

With Table Topics, the Table Topics Master gives members who aren’t assigned a speaking role the opportunity to speak during the meeting. The Table Topics Master challenges each member with a subject, and the speaker responds with a one- to two-minute impromptu talk.

Some people underestimate the Table Topics Master role’s importance. Not only does it provide you with an opportunity to practice planning, preparation, organization, time management and facilitation skills; your preparation and topic selection help train members to quickly organize and express their thoughts in an impromptu setting.

Preparation is the key to leading a successful Table Topics session:

Several days before the meeting, check with the Toastmaster to find out if a theme meeting is scheduled. If so, prepare topics reflecting that theme.
Confirm who the prepared speakers, evaluators and general evaluator will be so you can call on other members at the meeting to respond first. You can call on program participants (speakers last) at the end of the topics session if time allows.
Select subjects and questions that allow speakers to offer opinions. Don’t make the questions too long or complicated and make sure they don’t require specialized knowledge.
Phrase questions so the speakers clearly understand what you want them to talk about.

Remember, too, that your job is to give others a chance to speak, so keep your own comments short.

Table Topics usually begins after the prepared speech presentations, but there are variations from club to club. Ask the Toastmaster or vice president education if you’re unsure of when your portion of the meeting begins.

When the Toastmaster introduces you, walk to the lectern and assume control of the meeting:

Briefly state the purpose of Table Topics and mention any theme.
If your club has a word of the day, encourage speakers to use that word in their response.
Be certain everyone understands the maximum time they have for their response and how the timing device works (if the timer hasn’t already done so).

Then begin the program:

Give each speaker a different topic or question and call on speakers at random.
Avoid going around the room in the order in which people are sitting.
Don’t ask two people the same thing unless you specify that each must give opposing viewpoints.
State the question briefly – then call on a respondent.
You may wish to invite visitors and guests to participate after they have seen one or two members’ responses. But let visitors know they are free to decline if they feel uncomfortable.

Watch your total time. You may need to adjust the number of questions so your segment ends on time. Even if your portion started late, try to end on time to avoid the total meeting running overtime.

If your club presents a best Table Topics speaker award:

Ask the timer at the end of the Table Topics session to report those eligible for the award. Though the times vary among clubs, generally a participant is disqualified for stopping 15 seconds prior to the allowed time or speaking 15 seconds beyond the allowed limit.
Ask members to vote for best Table Topics speaker and pass their votes to the sergeant at arms or vote counter.

If your club has a Table Topics evaluator, ask for his or her report and then return control of the meeting to the Toastmaster.