SPOTLIGHT - A Public Toastmasters Blog

Combination Comedy by Darren Lacroix

noreply@blogger.com (VIJAI) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:59:00 +0000

Many comedians often write jokes about their ethnic back- ground. This technique does, unfortunately, play into stereotypes. Whereas it is acceptable in the stand-up comedy world, it is usually not appropriate for corporate presentations. I will show you how you can bring the idea into a more digestible format.

It is always good to make light of yourself at the beginning of a presentation (or comedy set) because it can help endear you to the audience. Comics will take a humorous view of their own ethnicity. They will actually make light of their own upbringing (Like Jeff Foxworthy talking about being a redneck) or even using the stereotypes of their heritage. If their mother and father are of different background this can be a lot of fun. They are actually a “combination” of two different backgrounds.

They then play what if? What if these two stereotypes forged together and became you? What would that be like? What kind of problems would this cause?

Remember this can be offensive to some people. I do not condone it, but feel it will help you learn how some humor is created. This is usually acceptable in a comedy club environment, especially when comedians talk about themselves. It gives them permission to make fun of it. Ironically, others with a similar background usually enjoy it the most (because they can relate).

Here is one of my first jokes. My mom is Polish and my dad is French. What did I do with that? Back in 1992 I tried several things, but ended up using:

“I’m ½ French and ½ Polish which means I have a very romantic love life, but it’s a joke.”

It worked, though it really did not make logical sense. I used the romance of the French, and the over abundance of Polish jokes out there.

Another example: If your mother is Irish and your father is Italian, what would that mean? In Boston there were many comedians of this ethnic combination. A common joke used by them was:

The comedian would say, “I’m ½ Irish and ½ Italian which means I used to get drunk and beat myself up.”

Combining the Irish “drinking” and the aggressiveness of an Italian. Notice that they said “beat themselves up” and not someone else. At the beginning of your presentation you want to be liked, and you do not want to be perceived as mean. Beating up others would not be good.

What could you do with that idea?

An Interesting Conversation

noreply@blogger.com (VIJAI) — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 23:18:00 +0000

I came across this nice conversation which I never seen it before about the existence of God and connection with science. It has good logic points which might be of interest to us and can be used in speeches. I thought it will be good to share it.

AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class
on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He
asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof : So you believe in God?
Student : Absolutely, sir.

Prof : Is God good?
Student : Sure.

Prof : Is God all-powerful?
Student : Yes.

Prof : My brother died of cancer even though he
prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to
help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this
God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)

Prof : You can't answer, can you? Let's start
again, young fellow. Is God good?
Student : Yes.

Prof : Is Satan good?
Student : No.

Prof : Where does Satan come from?
Student : From...God.. .

Prof : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil
in this world?
Student : Yes.

Prof : Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did
make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.

Prof : So who created evil?
Student does not answer.

Prof : Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred?
Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the
world, don't they?
Student : Yes, sir.

Prof : So, who created them?
Student has no answer.

Prof : Science says you have 5 senses you use to
identify and observe the world around you. Tell me,
son...Have you ever seen God?
Student : No, sir.

Prof : Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student : No, sir.

Prof : Have you ever felt your God, tasted your
God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory
perception of God for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof : Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.

Prof : According to empirical, testable,
demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't
exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof : Yes. Faith. And that is the problem
science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof : Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof : Yes.

Student : No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn
of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more
heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat
or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We
can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but
we can't go any further after that. There is no such
thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe
the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is
energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just
the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there
such a thing as darkness?
Prof : Yes. What is night if there isn't
darkness?

Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the
absence of something. You can have low light, normal
light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have
no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called
darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it
were you would be able to make darkness darker,
wouldn't you?

Prof : So what is the point you are making, young
man?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise
is flawed.

Prof : Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of
duality. You argue there is life and then there is
death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the
concept of God as something finite, something we can
measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It
uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen,
much less fully understood either one. To view death
as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact
that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death
is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students
that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof : If you are referring to the natural
evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your
own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning
to realize where the argument is going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process
of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this
process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching
your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a
preacher?
(The class is in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever
seen the Professor's brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the
Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No
one appears to have done so. So, according to the
established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable
protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your
lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the
student, his face unfathomable. )

Prof : I guess you'll have to take them on faith,
son.
Student : That is it sir... The link between man & god
is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving &
alive.

Favorite Catchy Slogans...

noreply@blogger.com (VIJAI) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:21:00 +0000

I always wondered about the catchy phrases/slogans which are used by companies, teams, websites, movies and what not. Sometimes I really like them if they have real good sense of usage.

Everything nowdays comes with a catchy phrase. Whether they are using it for marketing or to crab the attention but they sometimes used for the real purpose to transform the vision of the product or a company. So I thought it would be good interest to talk about it. Why here ? Because it can be a life saver as Table topics in your meetings..

We always see few slogans in the TV or on road every day of our life. Like,
"Think outside the Bun" - Taco Bell

"Live in your world. Play in ours" - Playstation 2

"I'M LOVIN' IT!" - McDonalds

"It's fun to play together" - xbox live

"The real thing" - Coca Cola

"Be all you can be." - US Army

"You’ll love the way we fly" - Delta Airlines

"You’re in good hands." - Allstate Insurance

"Just like you, it never quits." - Mennen

"Cool, Crisp, Clear. Obey your thirst." - Sprite

"Quality is Job 1" - Ford

"It’s everywhere you want to be." - Visa

"Solutions for a small planet." - IBM

"We try harder." - AVIS

"I love what you do for me." - Toyota

"Just slightly ahead of our time." - Panasonic

"Human Energy" - Cheveron

"Human Network" - Cisco

"INVENT" - HP

These are just few samples of a very big list.

My fav. being "Think outside the Box". I think a company used it to market it but I have seen used in professional presentations and I used them a lot. I started to invent few slogans for this stagetime blogs and forum. I came up with few of them like,

"Speak Easy to Speak Right",

"Practice to be Perfect"

"Speak out loud to be Proud"

Each of them try to transform certain importance of being a communicator.. I hope it does what it suppose to do..

Communite to Capture...

noreply@blogger.com (VIJAI) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:20:00 +0000

You can easily find Jobs!
You can keep your Current Job by implementing some quick and dirty tips !!
You can express your thoughts and ideas vividly and clearly in the meetings and lot more!!!

Answers to most of your Puzzles in regard to job interviews, meetings, speeches, leadership skills and communication - all can be solved with the help of TOASTMASTERS!! WHAT ? WHY? HOW?! You will find answers to all the questions at the end.

To get started, let me ask you this,

Are you worried about how to face your next interview ?
Are you not getting accepted in the interviews and need referrals ?
Are you one among the people who go blank when you are asked to speak in front of people ?
Are you ready to face your manager with proper updates when called out of blue ?
Do you have Stage Fear but need to address big audience ?
Do you want help on how to do a Toast in a wedding or talk during award ceremony ?

Guess what ?! At least 8 out of 10 will raise their hand to say "YES". I would have raised my hand too if at all I didn't join the Toastmasters.

Yep, I was in the boat as many of you few years back. For most of us, first and foremost problem is Speaking in English and expressing thoughts vividly and clearly so other people can understand since we don't speak English in our day-today life and its not our Mother tongue. We have to think in our mother language and try to convert to English and speak out. Its not an easy task to get it all right at the same speaking in front of big audience. Don't even go there, at least in front of few people. Adding to it, thinking on your toes to answer question instantaneously on certain situations or aggravates the problem.

I used to speak OK English being studied in a government school. Lot of us would agree(at least some, ok its me) with me that we don't basically listen to English Grammar classes during our school days because it didn't matter that time except the marks during the exams. But thanks to Vivekananda English Courses which helped me to get through some CAMPUS interviews and and helped little bit when I was working in India. But that's won't mean much if I gotta survive in the English whiz crowd coming to America.

After landing America, we gotta first get use to their slang which is entirely different from ours. We speak in British + India + Mother language combined slang , its Tanglish for me. Then we gotta to get their Accent. We have to first understand what they are telling first and then try to answer their questions. Its going to hell a lot tougher. Its gets worsen when we gotta to talk managers and co-workers all in English to share technical . That can also be tackled but when I have to give presentations and attended conference calls. That's nerve wracking right?!

I was successfully able to overcome all the hurdles and get good recognition around people only because I am a TOASTMASTERS. I am proud to say it.

Alright, I been telling lot about TOASTMASTERS and TOASTMASTERS will help. What exactly is it ?!

WHAT ?

Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization which gives its members the opportunity to develop and improve their public speaking abilities through local club meetings, training seminars and speech contests. Toastmasters International includes more than 199,000 men and women in more than 9,300 clubs in more than 70 countries.

WHY ?

Experienced professionals and beginning speakers alike can benefit from our practical, face-to-face learning program. Whether you're speaking to the board of directors, your customers, your co-workers or your kids, Toastmasters can help you do it better. You'll learn and practice in a friendly, comfortable environment with people who are there for the same reason you are—to become better communicators. You also get to meet different people which might even help you to find a good job.

HOW ?

At Toastmasters club, members learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a supportive environment. A typical Toastmasters club is made up of 20 to 30 people who meet once a week for about an hour. Each meeting gives everyone an opportunity to practice conducting meetings, giving impromptu speeches, presenting prepared speeches, and offering constructive evaluation.

You don't have to be a member first to attend the meeting. You can sneak in as Guest any time if the club is open to public. You can attend the meeting as many time you can make a decision to join the club whenever you are ready.

What is this Blog all about ?

I am a Toastmaster for the past 6 years and attained CTM(Competent Toastmaster) & ATM-Bronze(Advance Toastmasters) credentials. I am aiming to do my ATM-Silver. Each Credential needs 10 speeches. I delivered more than 20 prepared speeches and got evaluated which fine tuned me to attain those credentials. On the way with the association of knowledgeable people I learnt and gained a whole lot things and I am ready to share my experience to others.

I like to share some of my experiences which might help others to reach their goal. Through this Blog I will try to post various topics,

To motivate people to become better communicators
Help people to join Toastmasters by sharing experience
To help with Quick and Easy Tips on Preparing Speeches, presentations, Toasts etc.,
Help them to successfully get through their Interviews and bag jobs

and much more..

Keep checking the blog.. I will back with more topics to help you.. Drop in your comments..