Toastmasters for Health

Great meeting with wonderful speeches from Louis and Leland today. Come join us next Thursday from 3:00PM - 4:00PM for another great meeting and to have some practice with speaking and active listening!

Come on down to Toastmasters for Health if you would like to be a part of a supportive community that helps with your personal and professional development!

Come on down to Toastmasters for Health if you would like to be a part of a supportive community that helps with your personal and professional development!

Attend our online zoom meetings every Thursday at 3pm for lively discussions!

This event is happening in three days

Another great meeting led by toastmaster Erin on this first Tuesday back from the Thanksgiving holidays!

Angela prepared a great speech about Cancer today! Thank you for coming everybody! Next week's topic: Homelessness

Excited for our Open house meeting today! Bring a friend - everybody is welcome!

Recap for Tues, July 16: o Azhra as our Toastmaster shared reflections on a recent article in Toastmaster magazine titled Silence is Golden (here), about how well-placed pauses, in addition to other forms of vocal variety (volume, pitch, tone) can add variety, drama, and clarity to a speech. o Mikel, in the Table Topics Master role, led a robust discussion of the theme of the day, books, by providing provocative prompts such as a video clip of How to Become a Millionaire in T...hree Years (leaders are readers! you become what you study!), yielding impromptu speeches on how technology stops people from reading more; the value of writing to provide a voice for others who might be stuck in similar situations; why the Bible, the writings of Mao Zedong, and Harry Potter are such popular reads; the value of positive visions in science fiction; the everlasting appeal of the printed page; and the benefits of scheduling reading time. o I will lionize no one for using the word of the day, lionize (to treat as an object of great interest or importance), since no one used the word. Sad! I won’t be able to attend tomorrow’s meeting with the theme of Giving Thanks, so please let Erin know if you’re willing and able to take and share notes. (Giving) Thanks, Ben

Another great meeting led by Erin on 7/9 with Mikel's icebreaker speech!

Hi Toasties, It was great to be back after a few weeks away, see familiar and fresh friendly faces, and hear some great planned and impromptu speeches at our packed meeting yesterday: . Carmen shared in her speech about Developing a Competitive Spirit her personal journey from feeling meh about physical activity to her current sporty and competitive football-playing self, including key milestones of her boyfriend’s constant and unwanted explanations of rules and plays and ...a single mindset-altering play where someone knocked a pass out of her waiting hands. . Jessica, the self-described girl who is randomly here (which doesn’t capture her contributions to our club!), provided us in her Beginner’s Guide to Regulatory Affairs a fabulous and informative civics lesson as well as insight into her leadership role and style as a pharmacist and regulatory affairs manager. Leland led a Table Topics session on friendship that not only included him redefining friendship with benefits to refer to saving a few bucks on parking, but prompted impromptu speeches about a friendship story inspired by an image seen the previous day during meditation session, the value of confidence and overcoming fear in making friendships, and how one of our own club members inspired/pushed another to become a homeowner. Leland also cleverly employed something I haven’t seen before but would recommend trying again: he used our word of the day, refractory (resisting control or authority; stubborn, unmanageable), in a Table Topics prompt, which contributed to the word’s high usage day: not only did Carmen, Jessica, and Leland use the word, but Michelle used it at least four times in her Table Topics speech. Finally, congratulations to Jessica and Erin for completing Pathways milestones! On a personal note, thanks to everyone who provided feedback to me on my practice wedding officiant speech. The actual event went very well! See you next week when our theme, coincidentally(?) selected by Carmen, will be football. Thanks, Ben

Hi Toasties, Yesterday’s meeting was a full one, including a couple of very different speeches and a fun table topics session on our theme of the day, pranks: My speech, not-so-interestingly titled Officiant Remarks, was actually a practice run for me as I prepare to officiate a wedding in week and a half. I was very pleased to get a few chuckles and very helpful feedback, especially from Colin as my speech evaluator. Special thanks to Erin and Solange, who stood in as the br...ide and groom, and who I almost hoodwinked into actually getting married since I’m now an ordained minister (you can be too in less than 60 seconds, for free!) Maggie spoke on the Story of My Life and How I got to UCSF (literal answer to the latter: Sparks, NV to SF to Davis to SF, though I may have missed some stops), which included dreams of being an athlete and an entertainer (you entertained us Maggie!), weaving together seemingly disparate job experiences into a personal narrative, and a hint of more to come (sometime I’ll tell you about the second half of my story please do!) Erin masterfully served as our Table Topics master, laying down some knowledge of pranksters in various cultures (shout out to Loki, Maui, and Coyote) and their mischievous feats, and prompting impromptu reflections on the need for tricksters in society (hence Bart Simpson); a prank involving hundreds of mysteriously migrating snails and the deflated ego of a scientist; and a pair of pranks involving mysteriously migrating shoes and a faux abduction (which backfired). Excellent job by Erin and Colin (x2!) for using our word of the day, hoodwink (deceive or trick). Next week’s meeting will be on the theme of future. Please let Solange know what role you’d like to fill; my normal role of note taker and sharer is also free since I sadly won’t be able to join. Thanks, Ben

Hi everyone, Here’s a quick recap of last week’s meeting, which featured Robert’s icebreaker speech on Global Health followed by an array of table topics seamlessly woven by Leland. - Robert’s icebreaker speech on Global Health was clear and impressive. The presentation slides captured audiences attention. In addition to sharing his story about charity, his efforts to bring the discussions and thoughts to fruition is simply inspiring.... - Leland led the Table Topics session on food. His story and interest in food stemmed from his experience at a cooking school to learn vegetarian cooking and his experience at a farmer’s market. Topics included Dim Sum, cooking classes, conflicts while choosing foods at grocery stores, favorite and least favorite foods and leftovers, with the favorite topic amongst members being Dim Sum. - Ben in his opening comments as Toastmaster shared his inspiration for food and proposed ideas for the potluck (savory and sweet items) and we hope to bring that to fruition. Congratulations to those who used the word of the day ‘Delectable’. See you all on Tuesday for topics on the theme Prank Thanks, Mohana.