We’re back and better than ever! After a refreshing summer break, our Toastmasters club is excited to resume meetings in hybrid mode—alternating between online and in-person sessions. This format offers the best of both worlds, making it easier for everyone to stay connected and engaged.
Whether you’re joining us from the comfort of your home or experiencing the thrill of in-person speeches, it’s time to bring your energy, ideas, and enthusiasm to the table. Let’s make 2024-25 a year of growth, connection, and powerful storytelling. Get ready, roll up your sleeves, and let’s inspire one another!
The Honorable Anita Anand, MP for the riding that Glen Abbey Toastmasters (GATM) calls home, has recognised us for our 30+ years of communication and leadership training.
Over the past three decades, we’ve helped countless members transform from nervous to confident speakers.
Thank you to every member, past and present.
Here’s to many more years of growth, learning, and success together!
Our club is proud to announce that Toastmaster Connor Grist, our immediate past President, won first place in the Area 83 Evaluation contest… And, Toastmaster Bahareh Tehrani, our past-part president, placed second in the Area 83 international speech contest.
It’s Monday morning. You just got back from your exciting weekend and are about to begin your work week. And right then dreading going to work with the following thoughts crossing your mind:
“Oh man I really don’t want to do this”
“Okay here we go another week, [insert your name] brace for impact”
“Its just same stuff different day”
“Can someone get me out of this situation”
And perhaps, if you are like many Canadians who buy the lottery and had missed the Friday night draw, you are probably thinking, “I wish I will win the lottery someday”.
First off, you are not alone. Specifically, on Monday, workers are only 30% productive, 50% of people are late to work according to the FactSite. In fact, there is a scientific term for this phenomenon known as “Monday blues”.
Most importantly, lets talk about how you can win the Friday night jackpot aka “lottery” so you don’t have to think about “I wish I will win the lottery someday”. That someday is today. You are probably thinking how is that possible. So, buckle up and hear me out on this.
1. Your odds of winning the lottery
Your chance of getting all the 7/7 numbers on the OLG Lotto Max Main draw are 1 in 33,294,800. And your chance of getting all the 6/6 numbers on the OLG Lotto 6/49 Main draw are 1 in 13,983,816. So in simpler terms if you buy a $5 Lotto Max ticket, you have a 0.000003% chance that you will get all the 7 numbers. And if you buy a $3 Lotto 6/49 ticket, you have 0.000007% chance of getting all the 6 numbers.
2. You are already lucky
By the time you are reading this blog, you are 1 in 8,013,662,236 (and counting) lucky individual who is still alive on this planet Earth. And chances are you may or may not have contracted COVID-19 virus but are still fortunate to be NOT one of the 6,804,491 who passed away due to COVID-19 virus. And also you are NOT one of the 124,018 (and counting) who passed away today alone. May their soul rest in peace and may your soul feels lucky. You may not realize but you have already won the bigger lottery. From a macroscopic perspective, your odds of winning the OLG lottery are much higher then your odds of surviving today. So if you woke up today and are alive you won the lottery with higher odds and therefore you should celebrate. Congratulations on the big win!
3. You are already rich
I know some of you, as you are reading it, are probably rolling their eyes and thinking well “duh everyone survives”. I want the money jackpot so that I can be on the cloud 9. If you are reading this blog by now, the chances are you have roof over your head, food on the table and clothes to cover your body. And more importantly if you have more the $6.85 in your pocket today you are part of the lucky 53% of worlds population who does NOT live below $6.85 per day poverty line. In fact, 84% of worlds population lives on less then $30 per day, so if you have more then $30 today you are part of the elite club of 16% worlds population that is already wealthy and have their basic needs met. Congratulations, in case you didn’t know, you are rich. About half of worlds population is struggling to have their basic necessities covered, and yet we are still upset when our barista messes up our coffee order.
You have already won the big lottery, you are already rich and have good health. So what more do you need? I suggest you be happy as you have a reason to not to. If you wake up tomorrow, smile and be grateful for everything you have when half of the worlds population is struggling to have their ends meet. And in case you happened to have a bad day, don’t forget you have already won the biggest lottery you possibly could.
An incredibly fun evening tonight as we celebrated two important things:
Theme: Our World
The theme tonight chosen by Chair Reema Duggal focused on what makes Glen Abbey Toastmasters so special. The culture, the respect, and the diversity of our global experiences that we share with each other every single week. Members were asked come to the meeting dressed in their home country’s traditional dress and share what makes the country they were born in so special. And they did.
With a twist, spurred on by Table Topics Master Gordon Vuong – we held a bilingual Table topics. Members spoke their answers in their native tongue and in English. Really inspiring to hear speakers in many languages tonight – followed by English translations. And then Toastmaster Krista Rowan shared her own language that she spoke with her mother! And finally, General Evaluator Loye Fagbemi spoke about the language his hat speaks (marital status) based on what side it is folded on.
30 Years
It was 30 years ago today that Glen Abbey Toastmasters had their first meeting at Glen Abbey Community Center. The club chartered shortly thereafter. We spoke about the great things that Glen Abbey Toastmasters does for people.
Kathy Bullock spoke about her Pathways project to write 8 blog posts in a month – and what she learned.
Jeethan Tellis spoke about his Toastmasters Journey from his first meeting to today as GATM Vice President Education.
——-
While it was 30 years since our first meeting, the plan is to celebrate at our Charter Party later in May/June. Hopefully it will be in person!
You’ve watched every episode, eyes riveted on the television. Finally, the real killer is about to be caught by the detective. He is shut behind bars. The camera zooms in on a slanted grin breaking out on his face. The scene cuts to a dusky close up on another figure, and you see him hiding the murder weapon under the doghouse in the backyard. Oh! They’ve captured the wrong person. Then the credits roll. Yikes! What will happen next? You worry and wonder.
This kind of ending is known as a cliff-hanger – leaving us in suspense for what will happen next. If this is the end of episode 11 in a 12-episode show, you will spend the week speculating what will happen, but you are assured you’ll find out in the finale. But what if that was how the finale ended? Likely you’d feel peeved. Bring on season two, you hope.
Audiences enjoy closure because it makes us feel satisfied the story reached where it should reach. The central premise of the show is answered. Did the detective catch the killer? Did she say yes to her first love? Did the family resolve their differences?1 Movies, films and fiction offer diverse kinds of endings: happy, sad, tragic. 2 Some clever authors know how to wrap up the plot, but still end, if not on a cliff-hanger, at least on a question that hints at a sequel.
Endings are so important that fans will ditch a series if they are dissatisfied with it, and many won’t even begin to watch if others have reassured them the ending was terrible.
So, endings matter.
And no less to Toastmasters.
A speech has a different responsibility than the movies, tv series and novels I’ve referred to above. A speaker needs to give the audience closure. There is no cliff-hanger moment for a good speech.
Toastmaster’s Best Speakers Series advice on endings is that they are crucial because they are the last thing the audience remembers about your speech. 3
Suggesting a signal that you are to end, with phrases such as “in conclusion,” or “to sum up,” the manual gives six different options for ending a speech:
Use a quotation that dramatizes your main points
Tell a short story or anecdote related to your main message
Call for action
Ask a rhetorical question
Refer to the beginning of your speech
Summarise your main points.
Now that you understand that a speech can’t trail off into the distance, that it needs to be tied up in a bow, let’s hear Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s adage: “Great is the art of the beginning, but greater is the art of the ending.”
This week’s word of the day has exposed how behind schedule I am with my alleged twice-weekly blog posts. I’d appreciate it if someone would hit the pause button on life, so my yen for blogging can be satisfied.
Do I get an award for three week’s worth of words of the day in two sentences?
This week our grammarian proposed “exposed” as the word of the day, to match the meeting theme, which was about how showing one’s vulnerability is a strength for leaders, in spite of it typically being seen as a weakness.
This idea reminded me of one of my favourite stories about a famous Muslim scholar named Malik ibn Anas, known as Imam Malik. He was born in Medina, now in Saudi Arabia, in 711, and passed away in 795. Imam Malik founded a school of law whose rulings became widespread throughout North Africa, Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), Egypt, and parts of Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Iraq. The school of law takes his name, Maliki law, and is still in use today.
The story goes like this: Once a man travelled a long distance to ask Imam Malik some questions. More specifically, he asked Imam Malik forty questions. Imam Malik answered four of these questions. And what about the other 36? To these he replied, “I don’t know.”
The man was taken aback, ““What should I tell people about these 36 questions for which you said, ‘I don’t know’?” Imam Malik replied that the man should tell the people that Malik says: “I don’t know,” “I don’t know,” “I don’t know.”
I wonder if Imam Malik said that with a straight face. The latent comedy hides the wisdom of not being afraid to be vulnerable, or exposed, in public. The insight is that only an arrogant person, or one lacking self-esteem, will claim to know everything. Not things we seek, nor need, from a leader.
Imam Malik used to say, “It is from the insight of a man of knowledge that he says: ‘I don’t know’.”
How would a Toastmaster feel about answering “I don’t know” to a series of questions posed by the audience? Stupid, embarrassed, undermining my authority or status – these come to mind. But wise?
Considering that a scholar, who lived as long ago as did Imam Malik, was teaching and demonstrating to his followers that it was part of wisdom to say, “I don’t know,” considering his stature as legal thinker, considering his leadership in the Muslim community, we can appreciate that the issue of vulnerability and leadership is connected to a problem endemic to human nature.
Saying “I don’t know,” showing vulnerability, exposing our lack of understanding – this takes courage.
For that, we all yen for, and I wish us all good luck.
How Can We Incorporate Land Acknowledgements into Our Speeches?
Did you hear the one about the Toastmaster who walked up to the podium and…. A new custom emerged recently that challenges speakers in their attention-getting openings: the land acknowledgement.
I am not advocating a land acknowledgement as a must. Not everyone feels that it is important or necessary. Not everyone will feel comfortable with doing one.
For those of us who want to do a land acknowledgement, how do we, without sapping our sensational openings?
I digress briefly to explain what a land acknowledgement is, and why I believe in them. A land acknowledgement is a short statement to recognize that we live on land that was conquered from indigenous peoples or “purchased” in dubious and insincere colonial treaties. People and city governments across Canada, such as the City of Oakville, adopt a land acknowledgement to recognize past injustices, and as part of reconciliation and good relations to move forward.1
Land acknowledgements typically include naming the treaty and/or indigenous peoples on whose land we live and work. They mention the importance of the land, and finish by thanking the indigenous peoples for sharing the land with us.
Treaty Land Number 14 – The Head of the Lake Purchase
Glen Abbey Toastmasters sits on Treaty Land Number 14, the Head of the Lake Purchase. Signed in 1806, the Mississaugas of the Credit were given £1000 of trade goods and fishing rights along some creeks. 2
Parts of Burlington, Oakville, and Mississauga are in Treaty Land Number 14.
None of us were there in 1806, at this signing. But all of us are beneficiaries of this treaty’s provisions, except the Mississaugas of the Credit. This is why I believe a Land Acknowledgement can be an important step in reconciliation between those of us who are born, or arrived, here recently, and the descendants of those who signed.
Which brings us back full circle to the original challenge: including a land acknowledgement as part of a Toastmaster’s speech.
When Is The Right Time?
Should it be done at the beginning, as is the norm? Should it be done at the end? Can it be part of the speech in the middle?
My spotty practice so far is to give a very short land acknowledgment at the beginning of my speech. I recognize the Chair, our fellow toastmasters, and guests. I tell them that “I begin by acknowledging this land on which I live and work.” I complete a short land acknowledgment by recognizing the Indigenous peoples from here and express my gratitude for being able to be on this land.
I pause for a few seconds, and then launch into the speech, as if I am beginning anew – with the hook, the grabber, the question or quotation to bring the audience to me.
“You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto,” croons Louis Armstrong in his duet with Ella Fitzgerald.
As an Australian moving to Canada, with its dual British/American heritage, I spent many years learning the cause of confused looks people would give me.
“Here is my jumper,” I say to my friend, who expects to see a dress and sees instead, a sweater.
“The boxes are in the boot,” I say to my friend, who looks at the shoe rack, puzzled.
“What’s the boot?” you ask. The trunk of the car.
These memories seeped in as the grammarian of this week’s toastmaster’s meeting explained how confused she was with the word of the day. “I have been mis-understanding the meaning of this word my whole life,” she grieved. “I thought it meant ‘intentional,’ like the opposite of ‘inadvertent’, which means ‘unintentional.’” But apparently, she continued, the word meant “heedful or giving attention.”
I also thought the word meant “intentional”. My spidey sense was out. Our toastmaster also has a British colonial heritage – was this a potato/potahto example?
I pulled up the American Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the Cambridge Dictionary and the Oxford English dictionary, typed in the word “advertent”, and Bingo!
Both the Cambridge and Oxford English dictionaries give “intentional” as a meaning of the word “advertent”. Merriam-Webster says this is not “entirely off base”. They continue: “We have seen some evidence of this use [of the word as ‘intentional’], but it’s not yet well enough established to be entered in our dictionaries.”
Have you ever come across a piece of advice that seems weird at first, but as time passes, you find it meaningful and useful?
This for me, is the advice to speakers to keep a “success diary.” Write down the times that things went well. I used to connect a “success diary” to vainglory. No-one likes an arrogant boaster. How do you record your good talks without becoming the person who lords it over others?
Naysayers are all around us. Why are you doing that? We know you can’t do it that way. Mr X is already doing that, better than you ever could. Your efforts are not necessary, Ms Y has already done it. Like a ton of bricks, we are crushed before we even stand up.
One of the worst negative voices, chipping away at our self-esteem, is our own selves. From a whisper to a roar, we ask ourselves those same questions. You don’t know how to use humour in a speech, why even try it? You always smile awkwardly in the wrong place in your speech.
Remember that time you dropped your notes walking up to the podium?
Rehearsing all the times things went wrong, as we prepare a speech, can be suppressed in the writing and practicing phase. But as the hour draws near, the little unenthusiastic voice becomes destructive, a movie screen of disasters played on fast motion.
The Success Diary
Enter, the “success diary.” The Wonder Woman of enthusiasm, the Hulk of power, the Iron Man of mastery. The little voice rehearses the successes. Yes, there was that time you forgot where you were, and skipped a whole section, but remember that time you stayed on point and had the whole audience clapping loudly at the end? Yes, you did speak monotonously in front of the VP of Management, but remember that time you spoke to a small group of start-up CEOs who appreciated your business acumen.
We have to write down the good times because writing solidifies thought. The naysayer in your head is loud enough to drown out your little enthusiastic voice – the unarrogant voice of achievement. Consolidate your positive voice of experience in a success diary and empower that voice to have the upper hand as you approach the podium. The act of writing pins it in the memory and you can recall it with each step.
“Madame Chair, Fellow Toastmasters, Have you ever wondered why speakers are advised to keep a success diary?”
Harmony is what musicians, families, peace advocates, and speakers all wish for. For what is harmony? It is the “pleasing arrangement of parts,” as Merriam-Websters puts it.
The flute, oboe, trumpet, and violin, their different mechanics of making sounds, blending together to carry us along a smooth journey of sound – unless it’s a heavy metal concert, with discordant sounds, meant to shake us up.
The parents pleasantly, but firmly guiding their kids; their children happily doing what their told, attending classes, and doing their homework on time. Let’s not mention the heavy metal version of dissonance of family life.
Countries trading with each other fairly, respecting borders, and giving their citizens equal access to societies resources. War, police brutality, elite wealth, what are those?
And what about us? The toastmasters? A speech with a catchy opening, clearly defined introduction, three good points with statistics and evidence when needed, humour, anecdotes, wrapping it up with a punchy conclusion and clear recommendations. Deftly delivered by a resonant, harmonious voice. I’ll let you fill in the non-harmonious version of the speech. We’ve all experienced that, no?
Harmony was a gangly girl with feet too big for her legs, elephant ears and hair that wouldn’t lay flat. She was warm, helpful, and people felt inspired after spending time with her. How harmonious was Harmony then?
The meeting Chair introduces your name and speech title, you unmute, anxiousness rising on your sweaty palms in anticipation. You have practiced, you will be fine, your inner voice soothes. You open with a catchy quote, and then stumble over the last few words, your tongue and lips as heavy as treacle. “Huh?” your inner voice, caught unaware, exclaims.
One of the things we often forget to do just before speaking is warm up. Would a sprinter change into her running clothes, walk out of the locker room into the stadium, and dash down the track? Would a swimmer change into his bathing clothes, walk out of the locker room, dive into the pool, and barrel down to the other end? They would not. They warm up before the real event, stretch, breathe, light movements, and the like.
Think about all the muscles used in speaking – the tongue, lips, cheeks, jaws, vocal cords, neck, shoulders – all these need to be warm, loose, pliable and flexible, ready to enunciate those vowel-consonant combinations that are words. So, for a speaker, the need to warm up the muscles is the same as an athlete.
Youtube is full of speech warm up exercises. Anna, from Verba Vocals, has one of my favourite quick warmups https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb1Cv7aDXmk]: Mouth and face stretches; lip rolls; tongue routines; chest relaxers; vocal cord warmups; and diaphragm breathing. The finale – tongue twisters: Peter Piper picked a pick of pickled peppers.
If you want your tongue and lips to dance lightly over your words next time you speak, so that the audience is not caught up in deciphering, instead of understanding, the words’ meaning, try warming up before you begin.
Was Glen Abbey Toastmasters rash in holding a regular meeting on Wednesday night? Not at all! It was a deliberate decision made after deliberation. Can you guess what the word of the day was at our meeting? Deliberate carefully before you answer, don’t rush.
If you had to underline different versions of the word of the day, and you underlined “deliberate” and “deliberation,” you would be right! Our grammarian introduced several variations of the word “deliberate,” in its verb, adjectival and adverb forms. Dictionary.com defines the verb “deliberate” in slightly different ways, depending if it is to be used with or without an object.
A. to weigh in the mind; consider (with an object):
to deliberate a question
B. to think carefully or attentively; reflect (used without object):
She deliberated for a long time before giving her decision.
to consult or confer formally:
The jury deliberated for three hours.
As an adjective dictionary.com offers three nuances:
A. carefully weighed or considered; studied; intentional:
a deliberate lie.
B. characterized by deliberation or cautious consideration; careful or slow in deciding:
Moving away from the city and all its advantages required a deliberate decision.
C. leisurely and steady in movement or action; slow and even; unhurried:
moving with a deliberate step.
As an adverb, “deliberately” is connected to the central idea here, which revolves around the idea of doing something slowly, carefully, and on purpose:
A. on purpose; with clear intent:
Is this just bad journalism, or an attempt to deliberately mislead the public?
B. with careful thought or consideration:
The board is committed to moving deliberately on this important initiative.
C. in a calm and unhurried way:
He was careful to move slowly and deliberately so as not to scare them off.
We can see in all these subtle distinctions the connections between being “unhurried” and “intentional.” But unless you knew the meaning of the word in advance, you might be confused by these various uses: What can we see connecting: “She moved the Queen to check the King after deliberating for 15 minutes” to “She walked deliberately into the cold river”?
Unfortunately, there is no method to the madness of English, but if we deliberately memorise the meanings of words, we may deliberate well in our word choices for our speeches.
Glen Abbey Toastmasters is proud to have earned President’s Distinguished Club status for the 22nd year in a row.
What is President’s Distinguished Club status?
It is the highest level Toastmasters Club can achieve in a given year based on the Distinguished Club Program scorecard
What is the Distinguished Club Program?
The Distinguished Club Program includes 10 goals that every Toastmasters club in the world strives to achieve each year. The 10 goals are grouped into four areas:
Education: How many members completed various Toastmasters Pathways Education Levels
Membership: How many new, dual, and reinstating members were brought into the club
Training: How many Club Officers attend twice yearly Club Officer Training
Administration: Whether our club submitted dues / renewals on time twice yearly
Understanding The Scoreboard
Glen Abbey Toastmasters achieved 10 goals. Each checkmark on the right counts for one goal / one point.
Why Does It Matter?
Achieving President’s Distinguished status means:
Our club is strong – and has been for a long time
Our members are engaged – and make meetings interesting and memorable
We have a great mix of experienced and new members
Our members are achieving their education goals through a great program and strong club mentorship
Our Club Officers are committed to helping you on your Toastmasters journey.
If you’d like to become a great public speaker – visit our club any time.
Oakville Mayor Rob Burton is proclaiming April as Toastmasters Month for the Town of Oakville. This is a great honour for all Toastmasters clubs in Oakville including:
Glen Abbey Toastmasters won the Membership Leadership at the District level in 2019/2020!
The Membership Leadership Award is given to the club with the highest number of points in the Membership Leadership category – clubs who have successfully grown their membership base.
In 2019/2020,18 new members have joined our club despite the challenges that all the clubs because of the pandemic.
Congratulations to GlenAbbey Toastmasters and the 2019/2020 executive team!
On May 8th, 2019, Glen Abbey Toastmasters had the pleasure of welcoming guest speaker Roger Caesar to our club.
Roger Caesar is a 4-time District 86 Speech Champion, a 3-time international award winning speaker and a 3 time semi finalist at the World Championships of Public Speaking. He is also a motivational speaker who helps others to develop their speaking skills and maximize their greatness. In 2018, he was the recipient of the City of Brampton Volunteer Award for helping start up entrepreneurs.
Roger wowed our club with his inspirational message in a speech titled “Didn’t See it Coming!”. He talked about the personal struggles he has gone through, and how we all need to look past the “small picture” failures and focus on the “big picture” – what we truly want out of our lives – in order to keep pushing forward and succeeding.
President – Krista Rowan VP Education – Rose Ford VP Membership – Muraad Shah VP Public Relations – Tamur Shah Treasurer – Janet Newcombe Secretary – Bahareh Tehrani Sergeant At Arms – Zehra Raza Past President – Gordon Vuong
