CLUB SPiRIT: The CA-CHING! Primer

Get a sneak peek of the 2005 World's Public Speaking Champion and of the topic he will talk about on May 17.

by Perps Poblador CC/CL

So who's Lance?

During the club officers training around two years ago, the then-Lieutenant Governor for Marketing (now Lt. Govr. for Education), Gina Mapua DTM facilitated an interesting activity with the audience. Everyone was asked to evaluate the selected speech contestants from the 2005 International Public Speaking Competition that was held in Toronto and later on pick our third, second and first placers. I was able to get all 3, most especially Lance, who's obviously was the best of all. That was the first time I met Lance however; just on screen.

I never thought that I'd really meet this man in person, whom I had put a bet on as the champ during that exercise two years ago. Apparently I wasn't alone in this haze. The day after I sent an e-mail invite to our co-members outside of SPi, some of those we invited even asked us if the rumor is true. We proudly said yes and then they registered right away.

Toastmaster Melissa Lim, who is one of a few we corresponded early on, gave us a brief idea who Lance is. Having met him before in one of his engagements, she attests that Lance is indeed, a highly effective and entertaining speaker yet he has always remained humble and sincere. Melissa is currently in California and she's planning to join Lance's club soon.


Lance Miller has been a Toastmaster since 1992, and for over the last 15 years he has already appeared on over a hundred television and radio programs and delivered more than a thousand speeches in over 20 countries. He has this unique skill of applying learning, persuasion and entertainment to his talks, while consistently conveying messages about integrity, responsibility and honesty.

A native of Indiana and a graduate of Michigan State University, Lance has a wide business experience, having held sales and management posts in companies like Nestle, Anheuser Bush and Katz Media Group and having served as spokesperson to numerous organizations such as the Citizens for an Alternative Tax System, International Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance, Equita Financial, Loan ToolBox, Robotic Parking, Foundations of Brilliance and Hubbard College of Administration. Currently he's the former Vice President of International Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance and the President of The Way to Happiness Foundation in Glendale, California.

Lance also seems adventurous. He has already sat atop peaks of 14 thousand feet, rafted roughest waters, sailed transatlantic, piloted his own aircraft, dived through icy lakes during winter, hitchhiked Europe, and organized marathons for 10 thousand miles in 15 countries already.

I am pretty excited, and anxious at the same time, of meeting him at last!

Why Ca-ching? Why Humor?

We just found out recently that it is not Ca-ching, but rather spelled (or even, pronounced) as cha-chink. We stood corrected by a past news release from NBC that tells about a man from Glendale who won the public speaking championship title. Who else mentioned there? It's no other than Lance Miller!

Ca-ching, cha-chink or ching-ching (whatever), this catchphrase popularized by Lance has not only left funny thoughts about his speech, but he has also passed on his message well. He spoke about the importance of validating others with sincere compliments. His repetition of that catchphrase helped him to drive home the notion of validation on his speech. Amidst all other 9 contestants, Lance showed his natural, witty humor as his striking ace that eventually made him without question, the public speaking champion. His humor skill helped him convey his message and left a good impression to his audience. Using humor effectively in all of our interactions will be the focus of Lance's talk in his visit to SPi.


According to the recent poll reported by Newsweek, 64% of the respondents claimed that poor communication with management is amongst the biggest work-related complaints that in effect impedes work. For Dr. Paul McPhee, author of Health, Healing and the Amuse System: Humor as Survival Training who is also internationally known for his humor research, the important value that humor partakes at work is its ability to lubricate channels of communication. Obviously humor brings many health benefits like stronger immune system, improved cardiovascular health, more sense of control, reduced stress hormones and pain, lesser feelings of stress, anger and anxiety, increased feelings of joy and aliveness and increased emotional intelligence. Yet even at work in particular, humor improves productivity, team building, communication skills, employees' morale and job satisfaction, creativity and problem solving, resilience, and managing conflicts and stress.

As what Dr. Allan Filipowicz, a doctorate graduate in Organizational Behavior from Harvard Business School, emphasized to his dissertation on humor's influence in task-based interaction, humor can be a valuable leadership tool that does not only apply to charismatic leaders for winning over an audience by giving clever remarks and witty anecdotes, but also in small group interactions. Based on observational studies on the use of humor in interactions, humor is highly useful in facilitating communication in interpersonally difficult situations, in relieving stress and in shedding light on underlying group processes. Furthermore, recent research shows that humor is done on interactions using a combination of the following means-humor to conveying information, to generating affect and to drawing attention.

On the other side, it is also important to take note that every culture has its own form of humor in such a way that what finds it humorous in one country is not funny to another. Worse even, it is offensive or discriminating.

Let's see how you can use humor in the workplace. Let's listen to Lance himself!


Special Thanks To

Alan Olmilla DTM, District 75 Governor
We thank him for accepting the proposal of bringing Lance to Manila through SPi TMC, before Lance goes to Cebu for the district's annual convention. His utmost generosity and kindness are just among the few qualities he has shown as a district leader of Toastmasters in the Philippines.

Gina Mapua DTM, Lieutenant Governor for Education We thank her for spreading the news about Lance Miller's visit to SPi through the district's e-newsletter. No question about the integrity of that press release of course! It just came directly from TM Gina herself! She's been ever supportive to SPi TMC, no matter how busy she also is. Her boundless energy and enthusiasm are unparalleled.

Lolet Gabay ATM-S, Area 75 Governor
We thank her for bringing in El Cielito Inn to us! We are highly grateful for her undying support, loyalty and love she gave to our club since the time we met her. She's so much like a mother to us, who would always extend her hands when we need them so. We are still looking forward to having you around in our future endeavors, Madame Lolet!


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