Word of the Week Wednesday: exquisite

This Wednesday’s Word of the Week is: exquisite.

Exquisite means especially charming or beautiful or of rare excellence.

The word is a little precious, but I like it because it gives a little extra.

Rather than simply calling something beautiful, you can call it exquisite.  I find its rarity adds a bit extra to the sentiment.

It comes from Latin meaning sought out.

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Word of the Week Wednesday: histrionics

This Wednesday’s Word of the Week is: histrionics.

Histrionics are speech or actions portraying exaggerated and often insincere emotion.

It comes from the Latin word histrio meaning actor.

Surprisingly, it is unrelated to the word hysterical (although somewhat similar in meaning).  That comes from Greek word hystera meaning womb from the old belief that it was a condition specific to women that was caused by  a dysfunction of the uterus.

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High Performance Leadership Part V: Analyzing and Presenting Your Results

The fifth and final part of the High Performance Leadership is Analyzing and Presenting Your Results.

The purpose of this step is to review the results of the project and present a five to seven minute speech to your club describing the learning process of running the project and the end results.

I began my presentation with a brief overview of the various steps of the High Performance Leadership and then moved on to the specifics of my project to improve Attendance and Participation at our club meetings.

I described the challenges I faced and needed to overcome and what I learned about leadership by leading the project.

What I learned in particular was the importance of flexibility, because nothing will go exactly as planned and to rely on the support of a well-chosen action team.

I ended my presentation by thanking my action team and my guidance committee and reminded the club that the benefits of the project: a fully functional mentoring program, well-oriented members and an active individual outreach to our members will continue beyond the lifespan of this project.

Related articles

• Leading By Example (ivythesis.typepad.com)
• Principles of Growing Leadership (gregorypratt.net)
• High-Performance Leadership (terrymckenna.typepad.com)

Word of the Week Wednesday: armamentarium

This Wednesday’s Word of the Week is: armamentarium.

Armamentarium is the equipment, methods and techniques used to perform one’s duties.

It comes from the Latin for little arsenal.

Despite having a military sound to it, the word is often used in reference to a physician’s equipment and methods.

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Word of the Week Wednesday: amanuensis

This Wednesday’s Word of the Week is: amanuensis.

An amanuensis is a person hired to take dictation or to copy what someone else has written.

The word always reminds me of older, writers like Poe or Hawthorne or Lovecraft.  The kind of writers you want to have a dictionary hand while reading.

It comes from the Latin phrase servus a manu meaning servant from the hand.

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Humorously Speaking: Make Them Laugh.

The third project  of the Humorously Speaking manual is: Make Them Laugh.

This is a five to seven-minute speech that begins and ends with a humorous story and is interspersed with jokes throughout.

My speech’s tile was: “Dare To Be Stupid“, after the Weird Al Yankovic song.

My opening story was about a presentation I had seen by Darren LaCriox at a recent District Conference.  I talked about his taking a pratfall during his World Champion of Public Speaking speech and the importance of not letting the fear of failure or looking stupid prevent you from reaching towards achievement.

I used that as a springboard to discuss how a Toastmasters meeting is a safe, encouraging place where we don’t need to be afraid of looking silly so we can build up our skills and confidence to speech outside of the club setting.

I then mentioned that my biggest fear in public speaking is drawing a blank.  This let into me closing story about my last speech, which was presented outside of the club.  I did, in fact, draw a blank during that speech but was able to draw upon my Toastmasters training to recover and continue with my speech.

Related articles

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Word of the Week Wednesday: haimish

This Wednesday’s Word of the Week is: haimish.

Haimish as a slang word that comes from Yiddish and ultimately from Old High German.  It means homey or cozy and unpretentious.

Being from Brooklyn, I’ve always been quite fond of Yiddish words and love the concept of hominess.