Our July 20th meeting commemorated the day that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Armstrong walked on the Moon 54 years ago on July 20, 1969. A moonshot is defined by Merriam Webster as a monumental effort and a lofty goal—in other words, a “giant leap.” While most of us will never set foot on the moon, we do have our own personal moonshots and lofty but achievable goals. Perhaps your moonshot is finishing a Pathway level in Toastmasters, giving a speech at a friend’s wedding, or organizing a panel discussion at a major conference. My moonshot is launching this Toastmasters club to provide a community for members to share our love of travel in our prepared speeches and impromptu responses and become better speakers in the process.
Stephen Andert was our speaker this week and he gave us some great tips in his speech, “Networking for Introverts.” He dispelled the myth that we should memorize an elevator pitch all about ourselves as the best networking strategy. Instead he suggested that we need to learn about the other person in the conversation to determine areas of common interest and perhaps niche “uncommon” interests that we both enjoy. This will lead to long lasting relationships and friendships. He recommend that we use a tool to manage our list of new contacts with the goal of following up with them on a regular basis. He also recommend the book “The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World,” by Dorie Clark. This book gave him ideas for how to do small things over time to achieve his goals. He encouraged us to build relationships, meet new people, practice talking to strangers, and to create our own personal networking goals. He reminded us that networking is the act of making connections for the purpose of expanding our ability to do good by building relationships.
Our second speaker was Deanna Mcinroy. Deanna presented an Ice Breaker speech about her work as a volunteer secretary at Participation House Project in Durham, Ontario, a center for youth and adults with physical and developmental disabilities. She shared the recognition she received from her colleagues and her desire to continue serving in this volunteer role. Deanna is from Canada and joins our meeting to participate in travel topics and frequently takes the role of Ah Counter.
Kit Myers was the Destination Master. The facts and food-related clues for the mystery country were:
- This country is one of the 27 schengen countries in the Northern Hemisphere (one of the largest visa-free zones).
- The current Prime Minister is a woman.
- Roma is a cultural group, a type of tomato, and the name of a city.
- One famous city is known for Neapolitan dessert.
- Prosciutto, salt cured ham, is from San Daniele.
- The capital city is known as “The Eternal City” and has seven hills.
- The steak dish, Bistecca alla Fiorentina, is named for a famous city.
If you guessed Italy, you are correct!
The Travel Topics session was lead by Vernitta Brown. Everyone participated in the questions about our memories of the moon landing, television shows about astronauts, and our personal impressions of the moon. The word of the day was monumental. A great adjective to use while discussing moonshots.
Join us for our next meeting on July 27 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Hawaiian Adventures.” We will also be welcoming 5 new members into the club and conducting club business. If you would like to join the club, please contact Helen Josephine for an application form.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
Travel Talkers Toastmasters 
Leave a comment