Who Am I Talking to Again?

As leaders in the Masonic Community, we find ourselves in situations in which we will need to prepare a speech. State Officers need to give speeches often to promote the program, speak to sponsoring bodies, and even to run for election at the annual Convention. Master Councilors and chapter members visit lodges and present a program to the group. How does one know what to say? The biggest challenge is knowing who your target audience is. Here are a few tips that can help you the next time you have to prepare a speech.

1. Get to know your audience before the presentation: A lot of Masonic functions have time beforehand that is dedicated to socializing. Talk to as many people as you can. The more you get to know before the presentation, the more people whose attention you have when it comes to time present. 

2. Make your talk fit the needs of your audience: It may help to do some research before you speak. Get to know what the audience will be looking for. It's important to know exactly what it is they sponsored and how it has helped you and your Chapter. For example, a lodge sponsors your Chapter in sending guys to the annual Convention. Tell them about the experience and express words of thank you to the lodge for their contribution. 

3. Create eye contact around the room: You never want to look straight down at your speech if you have it written. Look around the room. By doing this, the audience knows that they should be engaged in what you're presenting. 

4. Speak with conviction: Talk to the people. The tone in your voice can make or break your speech. Say it with meaning. For example, a Flower Talk presentation works best when the room can tell that you mean the words you're saying. It may actually make some of the ladies present cry.     

5. Dress to impress: Dress to fit your presentation. In most of our cases, a suit may be the best answer. 

Now that you've read these tips, you should be prepared to speak to the public. If you need any more tips, feel free to contact a State Officer for some guidance. They've presented plenty of times, and would be more than willing to help you feel comfortable.

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin  

To view some of the information I found on this topic, click on the link below

http://wittcom.com/how-to-connect-with-your-audience-building-rapport/

A Little Help with the Flower Talk

As we prepare for Key Man University, I'm reminded that one of the biggest accomplishments made by DeMolays at the program is the memorization of a new piece of ritual. I went digging through my files and found a copy of the memorization aid for the Flower Talk, one of DeMolay's most beautiful ceremonies. If your Chapter doesn't have someone who knows this Ceremony, now is the time to encourage a Brother to learn it - with the help of this memorization aid!

Flower Talk Memorization Aid

Mb, yhjbp ttuy tnoootw mhkf. Nycs “IaaD.”  Tbd wotp oeitc otgaoy bhaa whdt ttioJD, doc ttfoyp wgyd ithtom.  TbaaaDi, t, ahow aym mbjp.

Ibrior, yhbi itscv otgO.  Whyhbdi wtltt. Tinbf owtbycafl ttpotv. TOoD tmbl, bnimi thatrfw, amefm. Iif, t, tyhbcu tsabtA iafmose utvwhbgfp atjatCoY—FL.

Fmpn, tAidtom wlnf. Ymrtp ogiic, popl, bycnrth oymshfy. Ymsitld oiad bnbtrohl. Tmoiwasyh. Tinm seb, scv, sul thdnhihh assaa ftmohml.

WItdyapold, iwnbto
Asa / Waftifog, / Batat-wm / Wagatf.

Iwym wlybywb—wcyflm cthh aitfot tGhih apttvos tgyl. Iwswcfy dthyoi atsldyoc.  Ayhgld, shdtc, t, t-h, haet wsomstkhtd.  Ymhata molamoc apwcg oaeoya. Yarattil wywbeioym.  Ttww dhbyth mbsaygo, bttom-l cnb.

Tbutyoyl wyhrttom, ymmws itwotp:

“Mbfyb, s, / Bbast, / Ctoaty / Ofywst. / Icnm ymas, / Bmgh hkyw. / Ygh / Bmtl wrb. /
Aaml bap, / Wamd buas / Fyyf ttb, / Tyaawsf. / Tytl cgyp / Wdnsima? / Tytl cgys /
Wdnm mpgl? / Aycdnet / Wsnm wps. / Boa tIhd, / Rmil, Os. / Ktpb faf, / Mlimt. /
Fml mnww, / Fml hnwc, / Asyg nws / Ftdn wywb.”
TfwysooA asotm-l—tw, tlotmwhg—atr, tmwsltbyl.
Fitdr ohh / Waihas / Skas. / ‘Thskip / Wfa lsoluhs. / Hhiffasp. / Alacf, eptw /
Tbtw swa, / Tltrotct.

Wweoy ttafftA. Iymhpottos, ywcawf akiasthm.  Mtsoi aqetmoh asya iyetbw ohhaafy.  Iymil, ywcarf.  Wyght, gitym. Thiior oGbgtam—hml. Thiyaas—”M, Ilaglt. Tchhmrmf hmyrmtm. Igtttsyd hmIa tsyhm atlacygm."

Sdyftf, Iknw, pihBopb ososp, asw twtnhm ttowlfy, hs, ibtc oas. Mb, eoywpt arowf ftA.

Dcanmoy ttysestl atbwoyml.

Misplaced Flower Space

Some of you may be wondering why the Executive Officer's article in the latest Keystone Crusader was called "Dad" Labagh's Article Space. This happens to be a little inside joke. You see, each month the amount of room given to "Dad" Labagh in the Key Cru has gotten smaller and smaller. His space has been shrinking. In response, "Dad" Labagh had me create this blog, in essence, to give him more article space! "Dad" Labagh started an article in this month's Key Cru, and it is now finished here on the blog, where "Dad" Labagh can have all the space he needs! Keep checking back often to see what's on his on mind!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Now, on to the article...

IT STARTED THIS WAY:

May is the month for Mother’s Day, and I hope that you will find an appropriate way to observe this day as an individual, and as a Chapter. Most Chapters will have a Parents Day obligatory observance on or near Mother’s Day, and many of them will have a member present the Flower Talk as a suitable tribute for the day. Recently I was asked, “Why don’t we do the Flower Talk at statewide classes any more?” First, let me say, I love the Flower Talk—I’ve presented it many, many times and I believe I could still deliver it if called upon at a moment’s notice. A Flower Talk used to be given on the night a young man received his DeMolay Degree, as if it was a “3rd Degree” for DeMolay.

AND HERE IS THE CONCLUSION OF "DAD" LABAGH'S ARTICLE:

But ever since Norman Bates uttered the line, “Well, a – a boy’s best friend is his mother” in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1960 movie, “Psycho,” it has been harder for our society to blindly idealize motherhood in prose or in verse. Sarcastically said by this creepy character, it underlines a sad truth about the world—that not every parent loves and cares for his or her children.
,
Thankfully, many more do, than don’t, and in DeMolay we DO pay tribute to Mom with the Flower Talk and Moms and Dads within the context of our First Virtue and Parents’ Day obligatory observance. Which is a long way of dancing around the question, without giving an answer, but here’s the thought: Why make a young man stand for a Flower Talk that might be hurtful or insulting to him if he has no fond thoughts for a mother who has not been a positive part of his life?

I recall several occasions at statewide classes where the presentation of the Flower Talk was a particularly embarrassing experience for a DeMolay member who stood numbly, feeling nothing but hatred and rejection when he was forced to think about his mother. I remember a young DeMolay who was left in tears, not because he had to choose a white flower in memory of his deceased mother, but rather, because there wasn’t a black flower or a dead flower to symbolize the mother who had abandoned him at an early age because of her drug habit.

The Flower Talk is a beautiful and stylish rendering of the "ideal" relationship of a young man to his mother—- it sets up a “perfect” relationship as somehow being normal. There is nothing wrong with trying to impress upon a young man the importance of his mother, and encouraging him to improve his behavior and to express his appreciation. Even a young man who hasn't had the wonderful benefit of a caring and loving mother should know that it is a desired and important relationship, so that he makes it a priority for HIS children in future years. But we should understand that, for a young man who hasn’t shared this experience, it is a much harder concept to grasp if he has to abstractly try to imagine what love is, especially a mother’s love, instead of experiencing it.

The best thing for each Chapter Advisor to do is to get to know all new members (and their family backgrounds) well enough to know if receiving a Flower Talk is a good idea or not. If unsure, a Chapter Advisor can ask a parent or guardian, and can even talk to the DeMolay himself about how he would feel being asked to stand one more time at the altar for a presentation about the ideal of motherhood. Receiving the Flower Talk should be an option—not a requirement—for every young man who crosses the DeMolay threshold. We should sincerely encourage it, but we shouldn't force it.

"Dad" Thomas R. Labagh