| Page 9 | Volume 38, Issue 5 |
Why Go to a Conference?
Shortly after I joined Toastmasters, I attended my first conference. It was in Fort Collins and the visiting International Director was Bob Barnhill (who went on to become an International President). He gave the keynote address for the conference. It was a powerful, inspiring presentation that got us all involved and enthusiastic. At the time I had never heard a speech with such passion and such stirring message. I was hooked, and I’ve been a regular attendee and participant ever since.
Now, I grant that not all of our conferences have such dynamic and motivational keynotes, but from my experience with listening to International Speech contest participants, I suspect that the keynoter for this upcoming conference is going to be close. If you don't know anything about Albert Mensah, go to his website <http://www.albertmensah.com/> and check him out.
Over the years I’ve been a Toastmaster, I have met and become friends with a lot of people at the district conferences. I’ve watched, enjoyed, and learned from some really solid contest performances. I’ve also participated in the humorous speech contest (I mention that for those of you who think you can’t be funny) and the evaluation contest — didn’t win, but I learned. I’ve attended some powerful educational sessions. I’ve watched several past district governors get their turn on the spit. I even presented at one of the roasts. Overall, they have been terrific experiences, and I’m looking forward to the fall conference.
If you haven’t signed up for the fall conference, I encourage you to come. As of this writing you only have a few days to sign up at the reduced rate, but whether you pay $40 or $50, you’ll be glad you attended. See you there!
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Sniglets* Words that don't appear in the dictionary, but should. 110 At The Equator (won' ten at the ek way' tawr) - n. Any burning sensation experienced directly below the navel when putting on a pair of jeans straight from the dryer. Accordionated (ah kor' de on ay tid) - adj. Being able to drive and refold a road map at the same time. Adam 69: n. : Two police cars, parked next to each other, facing opposite directions, in such a way that the drivers side doors are only inches from each other, allowing the officers to chat with each other while waiting for a traffic violation to happen. Aeroma (ayr oh' ma) - n. The odor emanating from an exercise room after an aerobics workout. Aeropalmics (ayr o palm' iks) - n. The study of wind resistance conducted by holding a cupped hand out the car window. Airdirt (ayr' dirt) - n. A hanging plant that's been ignored for three weeks or more. Anaception (an a sep' shun) - n. The body's ability to actually affect television reception by moving about the room. Animalanche: When you kick your stuffed animals in your sleep and they fall all over you or the floor. (from Kaffit, age 9) |
Anticiparcellate (an ti si par' sel ate) - v. Waiting until the mailman is several houses down the street before picking up the mail, so as not too appear too anxious. Aquadextrous - adj. Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off with your toes. Aqualibrium (ak wa lib' re um) - n. The point where the stream of drinking fountain water is at its perfect height, thus relieving the drinker from (a) having to suck the nozzle, or (b) squirting himself in the eye. Arachnidiot (ar ak ni' di ot) - n. A person, who, having wandered into an "invisible" spider web, begins gyrating and flailing about wildly. Attrinyl (a try' nil) - n. (chemical symbol: At) A black, bulletproof, totally inflexible type of plastic, used primarily in covers of pay phone directories. * A sniglet is a word that should be in the dictionary but isn't. Sniglets are the brainchild of comedian Rich Hall who, with a little help from his friends, wrote a series of books containing sniglets in the mid-eighties. While Rich Hall invented the word "sniglet" itself, sniglets are actually a long-running popular joke in which people make up their own humorous words to define things or concepts that have no "official" definitions. More information can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniglet |