Category: Special Events

Our special guest speaker on April 15, 2021 was Mark Picus, EdD. Mark currently serves in the Educational Services wing of the Research Medical Library, where he designs and delivers classes for the Scientific English program.

Lucas started the meeting, introducing the Toastmaster, Usamah. The word of the day was gallant: spirited, brave, splendid, stately.

The speech topic was “Lies My English Teacher Told Me.” Mark started with a quiz, showing 8 sentences for us to decide if it was good English or bad English. No right or wrong answers. Mark explained what made us choose, for many of us, was our 3rd grade teacher who told us to never use a double negative, or our 5th grade teacher who told us to never end a sentence with a preposition or split an infinitive. He explained these are lies, made for an arbitrary standard.

Mark took us on a historical tour starting in 1492 in Spain, where a language was needed with which to colonize the lands. In 1588 the powerful Spanish armada was defeated by a small English fleet. Under Queen Elizabeth I, England began a long ascendency as the world power. In 1607 Jamestown was established, the beginning of the English empire. Someone wrote a grammar of English that would be used to spread around the world. In 1762 an English clergyman and Biblical commentator published prescribed rules for English grammar. Many rules in the book were not followed by English speakers and were not even necessary for good English.

All languages are always changing, and those changes are not wrong. A language's rules are decided by everybody who uses the language. They are not determined by your 3rd grade teacher or your 5th grade textbook. If you're chatting with a friend, talking to your boss, as long as you're understood, you're using the language correctly.

The second part of the meeting, Table Topics, was led by Loni. Brittany was timer. The questions were lively and Joann started off with answering, “Do you think it's true that you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs?”

Lucas as General Evaluator and Speech Evaluator reflected back on the meeting. Overall the speech was fantastic, subject matter was interesting, the way it was presented was done well. Mark kept on going after an interruption like it never happened. Slides were one image after another that reemphasized the spoken points and flowed perfectly.

Everyone took something away from Mark's polished, engaging speech. Thank you to all who attended and participated!

Thanks to everyone who attended our first meeting of the Spirited Speaker Series 2021! On January 14 we hosted guest speaker Lindsey Wohlford, the Employee Wellness Dietician here at MD Anderson. Sara served as Toastmaster.

Lindsey presented on Reprioritizing Health and Nutrition in 2021.

Photo by Allison

Lindsey explained that this January more than ever, it is not the typical year. Find small, achievable steps for change. Real change requires purpose, so know your why.

In addition to behavioral recommendations, Lindsey gave practical nutritional advice such as eat the rainbow, cook at home more, and eat whole, unprocessed foods. There are no phytonutrients in a milkshake! Move more -- 300 minutes a week if you're working on weight loss -- and prioritize sleeping 7-9 hours.

Loni evaluated Lindsey's speech, noting a number of areas she excelled at, such as tying in information the audience can relate to and having great vocal variety.

We are so fortunate to have had Lindsey point us in the right direction on wellness! For more information, see her presentation files below.

As promised, here are the files from today's guest speaker, Lindsey Wohlford. Event summary coming soon!

• Refresh 2021- Reprioritizing Your Nutrition & Health (PDF) (2.09 MB pdf)
• Refresh 2021- Reprioritizing Your Nutrition & Health (Outline) (0.01 MB docx)

On November 5 we hosted a special guest speaker, David Carr, who spoke about WordPress for Toastmasters, an addon he developed for the WordPress blogging platform that allows users to sign up for meeting roles each week. In addition to being a self-taught software developer, David is also a writer, speaker, and a student of business. Sally served as Toastmaster.

David explained that the WordPress for Toastmasters plugin is available for self-hosted WordPress users to download and customize. That means that anyone who can set up a WordPress website can install the software for free. Alternately, for a small fee, club leaders can create a site with the required software preinstalled through toastmost.org, a service managed by David’s company, Carr Communications, Inc.

WordPress for Toastmasters has calendar functionality, enabling RSVPs and signups, with tracking features of the club’s activity by members. There are a variety of Toastmasters branded themes that users can choose. David complimented Loni on the customizations she has made to the program and called for volunteers to help with documentation, design/themes, and software development. We were glad to have had David join us!

Follow David on Twitter @davidfcarr, connect on LinkedIn, or like the Carr Communications Facebook page.

* Loni Huff and Allison Powers contributed to this article.

Excitement for our program was stirred in the cauldron of our Halloween-themed open house event! We gathered virtually on October 29. Loni – aka “Ghost” – acted as Toastmaster of the Day, describing what makes Spirited Speech Masters special. Allison took photos and shared a Word of the Day, spectral.

Sally related her tale of lost and found in the woods on Caddo Lake, looking for Big Foot, with Luke providing a speech evaluation. Sara encouraged participation in a round of Table Topics on theme, with Brittany tackling 2 topics with pizzazz. Previous President Joann gave closing remarks on how to enroll in the Spirited Speech Masters program and speak more confidently.

Thanks to all who attended and to all who took on roles! The costumes were a real treat. I hope you enjoy some of the photographs Allison and I captured, with gallery by Loni: