Friday, March 29, 2019 3 Brooklin Town Crier How To Have A Winning Smile Savaughn Goubourne, pictured on our front page on the left with fellow member Al De Wachter, was picked for the Table Topic entitled, "If you could have someone else's smile, which person would you choose." In just under two minutes, Goubourne cleverly described how he'd want actor Will Smith's. The result was an entertaining talk that afforded him first prize in the weekly Toastmaster agenda item. A Special BTC Feature Where Ums And Ahs Go To Die By Richard Bercuson Every Tuesday evening at 7:25, upstairs at the Brooklin Community Centre, a group of people gather to listen, speak, and learn not to use um or ah. An eclectic lot with a mix of ages and backgrounds, they are but one small sample of the over 300,000 others in 14,000-plus clubs in 126 countries who joined Toastmasters International, an organization with the stated mission to help people find their voices. Toastmasters International is 95 years old and includes members from every class of society, all of whom share one goal: to improve their ability to communicate. A Toastmasters brochure quotes former minor league pro baseball player Byron Embry. "Baseball gave me the confidence to stand in front of huge crowds. Toastmasters afforded me the confidence to speak to those crowds." Exact timing It's no trivial matter to note the exactness of a meeting's start time and, for that matter, the planned closing of 8:58 pm. Because time, the one commodity we don't have an endless supply of, is held in high esteem by membership, so much so that most everything is put to the clock. Each person who speaks, whether it be a formal speech, meeting overview, evaluation, or the spontaneously fun table topic presentations, is timed. The timer - members all fulfill roles in a meeting - is equipped with green, amber and red lights which turn on once the speaker hits a certain time. So, for instance, the evening's first speaker, Kris Nelson, talking about "Convenience," was timed at 8 minutes and 19 seconds. She began by saying, "You're going to eat what I'm talking about." At 5 minutes, the green light went on. It became amber at 6 then red at 7, indicating she'd gone a bit long. She could have been excused on this night though as she adroitly multi-tasked by actually baking a tray of Rice Krispies squares at the same time. Afterward, everyone had some. They were good; she was brilliant. Open house The Brooklin chapter opened its doors to visitors on March 12, although in reality, any meeting is sort of an open one. "We welcome anyone who comes in the door," they state. The meetings just don't all feature explanations of agenda items and tasty goodies like fruit trays and brownies. Sitting in on a Toastmasters event, let alone participating in one (more about that later), was a surprisingly enjoyable experience. I envisioned stale talks by rank amateurs while critics armed with clipboards and checklists dissected every word. This was not the case at all. For one thing, each speaker seemed to enjoy the experience. The audience was warm and receptive, obviously tuned in to how difficult it is for most individuals to address a group. For another, the commentary presented later in the evening by another member focused more on what was good than less so. It quickly became easy to see how those who lack confidence, especially with regard to speaking in front of others, learn skills which had been completely foreign to them, let alone terrifying. The March Open House, where attendees included a smattering of newbies and recent newbies, took everyone through a typical agenda. Packed agenda This included the loyal and royal toasts, introductions, overviews of what will happen and then the joke and word of the day, which was 'epitome.' One member, the Grammarian, was tasked with choosing the word and was also responsible for tracking who used it (just two) along with counting every speaker's ums and ahs, a nasty speaking habit Toastmasters tries to teach people to eliminate. The highlight though was the Table Topics. Another member - on this day it was Al De Wachter - created six topics. He'd pull someone from the membership, give them the topic, and they had mere seconds to prepare to talk about it, either as fact or fiction. What's more, the idea was to finish in under two minutes. These were the topics (total time taken in brackets): What does it mean when a wife says to her husband, "Honey we need to talk?" (1:05) Your car makes a funny chirping sound under the hood. What should you do now? (1:25) What does it typically mean when a husband says to his, "Honey, there's something I need to tell you?" (1:44) In hindsight, what class in school do you wish you had paid more attention to or taken more seriously? (2:58) If you could have someone else's smile, which person would you choose? (1:58) More than any other, what skill do you wish you could do better? (3:18) Uh-oh: My turn As the lone member of the press corps, I was happy to sit at the back with my brownie and watch how the evening unfolded. Till Mr. De Wachter reached the final Table Topic and called me up. I admit I wasn't fearful since I've made hundreds of presentations and given a great many talks over the years. As a retired teacher, being in front of a group never really fazed me. So off I launched into an improvised meandering diatribe about not being able to fix anything at all, the one skill I wished I had. I talked too long (3:18), too much, too fast, and just tried too hard to be entertaining rather than informative. I slunk back to my seat and was told later I'd been guilty of two ums and ahs. Whatever my objective might have been, I'm quite certain I didn't achieve it. Still, it was fun. As De Wachter said later, "If you're going to join any club, this is the one to come to. We have fun. It's not always serious business." About self-improvement He would know. A member for three years, he says, "Self improvement is the bottom line. I've been in management for years and have done a lot of talks in front of people. There's a difference between knowing how to do that a little bit and being good at it. I always enjoyed it but wasn't necessarily good at it. Here, you get to sharpen your knife basically." He adds, "The big thing is the self confidence to get in front of people and make sense in what you say. You can think on your feet. That's really what you learn. "The point is that anyone can learn to speak in front of other people. It's not something you're born with. Some are better than others. There's mechanics, there are techniques you can learn. It has to do with eye contact and get to the point where you're comfortable. In my mind, there are three phases. The new person who gets up is thinking about himself. What am I doing with my hands and that sort of thing. The second is you focus on the people in front of you. Why are they doing what they're doing. How come they're not paying attention. Finally you get to the point where you're paying attention to your message. The rest falls into place. You're never perfect." And, as Toastmasters boasts, you can learn to say anything better in a positive supportive environment, yummy snacks notwithstanding. Most Durham Transit Fares Won't Rise The Durham Region Transit Executive Committee recently discussed the 2019 Durham Region Transit (DRT) Business Plan and Budget. Highlights of the 2019 operating and capital projects include the following customer-focused service priorities: Transit services increased by nearly 8,000 net additional service hours over a 12-month period spanning 2019-2020, including more service on DRT's busier routes and expansion of DRT's OnDemand service in north Durham. Effective May 1, 2019, all DRT fares to remain the same for the second year running, except for adult and youth single trips paid either with PRESTO or a paper ticket, which would see a nominal increase of five cents. At a recent Durham Region Finance meeting, it was passed that Durham Region Transit implement a pilot this year that all riders 12 and under ride for free when accompanied by a fare payer. Details will be announced at a later date. "DRT's 2019 budget reflects Durham Region's commitment to improving transit services for residents while ensuring affordability," says Shaun Collier, Chair of the Transit Executive Committee and Mayor of Ajax. "The action items included in this year's budget support DRT's strategic objectives endorsed by the Transit Executive Committee," adds Vincent Patterson, General Manager of DRT. Members of the public are invited to attend upcoming Public Information Centres (PICs) held in all municipalities throughout Durham Region. These well-attended sessions are part of DRT's continued commitment to engage with our customers and solicit meaningful feedback to help shape transit services in Durham for 2020 and beyond. PICs start April 1. Visit durhamregiontransit.com for more information.