@Toastmasters
… y bueno, ya q’ estamos ‘repotenciando’ el blog, q’ mejor manera de reiterar el “Spanglish Dialect” angle (and highlight a skill or two in the process? #ToolPlay, recently minted!) q’ con este #Icebreaker Speech?…
Tenia fecha según el sistema de “Published on: Sep 17, 2009 @ 8:59” y en @YouTube, encontramos….
[#T2H:
"GOOGLES... "you tube icebreaker speech francisco jose"
"YEAH, IT'S UP, ONLY WIKI AND A FEW OTHER ROGUES ARE 'OBSERVING' #J18...
ME? HAVEN'T TWEETED, NOR PUBLICLY FACEBOOK'D...
THIS? PART OF THE #OwningAJob DEAL POSITED BY #MrSpeaker, RECENTLY!"
CLIPBOARDS & EMBEDS IT... THANKS HEAVENS FOR THOSE TWO WONDROUS TAGS!]
[ADMIRES HANDIWORK... AND WEB'S PACHIDERM-LIKE "Persistence of Memories" SO TO SPEAK!]
Abajo? el “Guión” (Script) that was attempted to follow… Disfruten de esta “Ensalada” Medíatica!
(and notice, how fast a fellow leader came back and commented/edited/feedback’d it that day!… On Top of To-Do: Search & Rejoin, yeah!)
Toastmasters Speech #1
Toastmasters
“The Icebreaker”
By Francisco Palacio
Competent Communicator Manual
Member since October 2008
“Tempest Tos’t”
• As some of you may have already guessed, I am an immigrant
• I have actually attempted it twice, having better luck on my second try.
• First in 1980 thru 1983, when I was shipped off to a Military School (Army JROTC) in Missouri
• And then in 1995, when my wife and I migrated together to Sunny South Florida
Here to Stay…
• Again, even though I was unable to stay in College, having been a dropout for close to eleven years, seems like I never gave up on the dream of living in the U.S.A.
• At that, I must admit, coming back in 1995 was no easy feat, considering that by that point in our lives, both my wife and myself would have been considered to be middle aged.
• And as some of you may know, having to reset and restart your life from scratch at that point in one’s life, requires a complete rebuild of one’s persona, values and other essentials
Here Today…
• Enough about the past, though.
• What I’d like to focus on today, is how that past has brought me closer to my professional dream of becoming an entrepreneur, a business owner.
• As even though I’ve been in transition for the past few months, there’s always the atmosphere of opportunity that pervades this place.
Care for a Limoncello?
• They say to make the best of what life throws your way; so whether Lemonade, Martinis or Lemoncellos, we all have a chance to “innovate ourselves out of” most every situation (quote attributed to Bill Gates about the current recession, BTW)
Making the best of it...
• So today I stand here in front of you, declaring myself to be well on my way to becoming a published author, professional speaker and of course, a DTM.
Distilling and Extracting
• I am able to say that in great part thanks to the training and experiences I’ve lived as a Toastmaster.
• This is an organization where we are able to polish many facets of our lives; in my case, a budding desire to make my writing better, to channel my love of technology into it, and based on your feedback, to take it all upon the stage and spread a message of positive engagement with the current set of technologies.
Flavoring and Seasoning
• So as I was saying, it’s been now, after almost a decade and a half living in the US, that whilst facing a historic Job Market, that I’ve decided to take the reins of my life – once again, as I’ll someday will tell you how I did it back when I was nineteen – and pull myself up by my own bootstraps, gathering all my resources, and starting a business anew.
A Perfect Blend
• The best part? I think that this time I will be able to draw from ALL of my past experiences:
– First, as a successful entrepreneur between 1983-1989
– Second, as an Enterprise-level IT resource between 2005-2008
– Third, as an SMB (Small-Medium Business) IT manager between 1999-2005
– Fourth, as a Junior Art Director at a top hispanic Ad Agency, between 1998-1999
– Fifth, as a Desktop Publishing intern, at a Scuba Diving Certification Company, between 1996-1999
A Perfect Past
• And that was all that happened before coming to America; prior to that, I held positions of responsibility at the following:
– Corporate Sales at Infoven, a Real-Time Financial Quotes company
– Foreign Trade at Banco Maracaibo, Venezuela’s Second Largest Bank
– Corporate Sales at Datatec, an IT hardware VAR in Venezuela
– English Language Instructor at Berlitz Schools in Caracas
– IT Support at StatMark, a leading Market Research Company in Venezuela
• Owner/CTO of Data Realty and Data Advertising, leading MLS provider in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.
Perfectly Aged
Vintage Years
• So today, I stand here, ready to provide local merchants, businesses and professionals in the West Palm Beach market with what I’ve come to call “Social Media Mentoring”
• The idea is to enable my customers to better leveraging of existing social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, YouTube, WordPress and others.
– So much like I took care of all my users, I will now take care of their needs in this emerging business sphere of Social Networking
Perfectly Timed
• In other words, I will give them:
– Personalized Support in the use of the applications they choose for their business.
– Intelligence based on current market trends and breaking news
– The tools they may want to add to their arsenal for added exposure and higher recognition
– A complement to their existing online efforts
• Finally, this is about the ability to do it on their own; or to hire me to do it for them, much like a Concierge takes care of its guests.
Now, in Perfect Tense…
• So Fellow Toastmasters, this is who I am today:
– A person who looks into the near future, sees, recognizes and acts on the tremendous potential of this latest of Technological “Sea Changes”
– An individual who values the opportunities given by the challenges we all face as a society, retooling and innovating our way into better times for all
– A human being grateful to have been able to improve his living conditions, by being accepted and integrated into what amounts, IMHO, to the greatest and most compassionate society known – at least in this corner of the universe.
America
• Sincerely appreciated!
Les gusto el PowerPoint? Did you like ‘em Slides?… Happy to Oblige, One is… Con Muchisimo Gusto, si!
Cool way of sharing it. Thanks for letting me take a peek. A few things come to mind –
• Tell the audience where you are coming from; it makes it more personal. You can add something to the effect of “Venezuela – where the most beautiful women in the world live, at least per the Miss Universe contests”….
• Tell the audience WHY you wanted to come to America and why Florida.
• Don’t forget to address the Toastmaster and audience – you can do it after the first paragraph, it doesn’t have to be at the very beginning, but don’t forget.
• I trust the section headers are for the readers and not for listeners?
• There are some more points further down. IT’S IN CAPTIALS.
“Tempest Tos’t”
• As some of you may have already guessed, I am an immigrant
• I have actually attempted it twice, having better luck on my second try.
• First in 1980 thru 1983, when I was shipped off to a Military School (Army JROTC) in Missouri
• And then in 1995, when my wife and I migrated together to Sunny South Florida
Here to Stay…
• Again, even though I was unable to stay in College, having been a dropout for close to eleven years, seems like I never gave up on the dream of living in the U.S.A.
• At that, I must admit, coming back in 1995 was no easy feat, considering that by that point in our lives, both my wife and myself would have been considered to be middle aged.
• And as some of you may know, having to reset and restart your life from scratch at that point in one’s life, requires a complete rebuild of one’s persona, values and other essentials
Here Today…
• Enough about the past, though.
• What I’d like to focus on today, is how that past has brought me closer to my professional dream of becoming an entrepreneur, a business owner.
• As even though I’ve been in transition for the past few months, there’s always the atmosphere of opportunity that pervades this place.
Care for a Limoncello?
• They say to make the best of what life throws your way; so whether Lemonade, Martinis or Lemoncellos, we all have a chance to “innovate ourselves out of” most every situation (quote attributed to Bill Gates about the current recession, BTW)
DON’T “BTW” THE QUOTE. YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO LIST WHO SAID A QUOTE.
Making the best of it…
• So today I stand here in front of you, declaring myself to be well on my way to becoming a published author, professional speaker and of course, a DTM.
Distilling and Extracting
• I am able to say that in great part thanks to the training and experiences I’ve lived as a Toastmaster. THIS SENTENCE DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.
• This is an organization where we are able to polish many facets of our lives; in my case, a budding desire to make my writing better, to channel my love of technology into it, and based on your feedback, to take it all upon the stage and spread a message of positive engagement with the current set of technologies.
Flavoring and Seasoning
• So as I was saying, it’s been now, after almost a decade and a half living in the US, that whilst facing a historic Job Market, that I’ve decided to take the reins of my life – once again, as I’ll someday will tell you how I did it back when I was nineteen – and pull myself up by my own bootstraps, gathering all my resources, and starting a business anew.
A Perfect Blend
• The best part? I think that this time I will be able to draw from ALL of my past experiences:
– First, as a successful entrepreneur between 1983-1989
– Second, as an Enterprise-level IT resource between 2005-2008
– Third, as an SMB (Small-Medium Business) IT manager between 1999-2005
– Fourth, as a Junior Art Director at a top hispanic Ad Agency, between 1998-1999
– Fifth, as a Desktop Publishing intern, at a Scuba Diving Certification Company, between 1996-1999
I WOULD PUT THESE EXPERIENCES IN DATE ORDER. IF YOU SAY “…FROM 5 PARTICULAR PAST EXPERIENCES” RATHER THAN “ALL”, YOU CAN USE THIS AS A GOOD WAY TO USE BODY LANGUAGE. YOU CAN EITHER MOVE ONE STEP TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT FOR EACH OF THE JOBS, TO SHOW FIVE. OR YOU CAN CLEARLY SHOW BY FINGERS 1, 2, 3 ETC.
A Perfect Past
• And that was all that happened before coming to America; prior to that, I held positions of responsibility at the following:
– Corporate Sales at Infoven, a Real-Time Financial Quotes company
– Foreign Trade at Banco Maracaibo, Venezuela’s Second Largest Bank
– Corporate Sales at Datatec, an IT hardware VAR in Venezuela
– English Language Instructor at Berlitz Schools in Caracas
– IT Support at StatMark, a leading Market Research Company in Venezuela
• Owner/CTO of Data Realty and Data Advertising, leading MLS provider in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.
THE ABOVE SECTION IS NOT RELEVANT. TAKE IT OUT. YOU DON’T WANT TO GIVE THEM MORE INFO THAN NEEDED. IF YOU SHOULD MENTION ANY OTHER JOB, IT WOULD BE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IN THE LAST 14 YEARS. THAT’S MUCH MORE RELEVANT TO WHAT YOU WANT TO TELL THEM IN THE END – SELL YOUR NEW BUSINESS.
Perfectly Aged
Vintage Years
• So today, I stand here, ready to provide local merchants, businesses and professionals in the West Palm Beach market with what I’ve come to call “Social Media Mentoring”
• The idea is to enable my customers to better leveraging of existing social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, YouTube, WordPress and others.
– So much like I took care of all my users, I will now take care of their needs in this emerging business sphere of Social Networking
Perfectly Timed
• In other words, I will give them:
– Personalized Support in the use of the applications they choose for their business.
– Intelligence based on current market trends and breaking news
– The tools they may want to add to their arsenal for added exposure and higher recognition
– A complement to their existing online efforts
• Finally, this is about the ability to do it on their own; or to hire me to do it for them, much like a Concierge takes care of its guests.
Now, in Perfect Tense…
• So Fellow Toastmasters, this is who I am today:
– A person who looks into the near future, sees, recognizes and acts on the tremendous potential of this latest of Technological “Sea Changes”
– An individual who values the opportunities given by the challenges we all face as a society, retooling and innovating our way into better times for all
– A human being grateful to have been able to improve his living conditions, by being accepted and integrated into what amounts, IMHO, to the greatest and most compassionate society known – at least in this corner of the universe.
DON’T START A SENTENCE WITH SO – IT’S A CRUTCH WORD.
IT’S A PERFECTLY CRAFTED SPEECH WITH SOME MINOR SUGGESTED TWEEKS.
WHICH CLUB DID YOU JOIN?
GOOD LUCK!!!!!
KK