It's All About Me!

Thanks to Grammarian Wayne, the word of the night “selfie” and what it stood for became a recurring theme throughout the meeting. A selfie is a photo of oneself, taken from a cell phone (or similar device).

Selfie Photographer: Amy  |  Shoulder Surfer: Colin

Toastmaster Sarah kicked the meeting off at 7 p.m. with the welcoming of guest Nick, the reading of the mission statement by Craig, and a small string of apologies from Tom, Dee, Sarah Lee, Ian, the two Pauls and James.

General Evaluator Netta introduced her fine team of time keepers (Sheryl and Nichola), and it’s at this point Wayne introduced his word of the evening.

Colin latched onto the word of the evening and for table topics he put forward the moot: “People who take selfies are vain”. Each table topic speaker took turns speaking for or against the moot.

Craig questioned why would you do it. Is it to see what other people see?

Amy said people who take selfies aren’t vain,  they are just desperate for attention.  hmmm...

Amy and Colin

Sheryl thought they were vain and asked us if we really wanted an “all about me” generation.

Wayne thought it was okay to take selfies under some circumstances, e.g., when travelling the globe. They are useful for recording where you have been.

Our guest Nick agreed with Wayne, unless you are taking selfies all of the time.

Speeches

Craig introduced Richard and his icebreaker “Family, Farming, Forestry and Foreign Experiences.” Taranaki born Richard told us about growing up and admiring his Dad’s ability to speak publicly. Good speakers often become natural leaders.

Hannah’s speech was the number four speech from the Competent Communicator manual and was a rallying cry for all of us to conserve our native forests, in particular the one near Clevedon that is under threat from a proposed rubbish tip nearby.

Agilan gave us an icebreaker about his unforgettable and joyous memories. For an icebreaker, Agilan appeared very relaxed.

The last icebreaker came from Paul (Dutch) Sandkuijl (from Zeeland). Paul has had a passion for anything that flys ever since he was a kid. Now he is setting up makeplace for anyone with an entrepreneurial mind to meet, learn and build almost anything.

The speeches were evaluated by Craig, Chris, Steve and Lana from commendations on, for example, the use of questions to engage the audience, vivid word pictures, to recommendations about speech structure and the need to rehearse.

Business

Craig ran the business section with some announcements on changes to the roster for next year. Volunteers will be rostered as meeting reporters, and any member may be rostered as a host. The host will be expected to arrive early and greet any guests.

If you are interested in writing the occasional blog post, let Chris know and I'll set you up with access to the blog. If you have thought of starting your own blog to share your selfies, this is a good place to start!

Netta was presented with her Spirit of Success award. This is an award that is unique to New Zealand and is awarded to members when they finish the first five speeches from the Competent Communicators manual.

General Evaluation

Netta soon followed with her first ever general evaluation of a meeting. You’d think that Netta had done before. Sarah was commended on the chocolates she handed out to members, and commented that this was the winning factor in keeping the meeting running smoothly.

Timekeeper Nichola gave us a thorough report on how long each of us took to perform our roles, and soon after, Sarah closed the meeting.  Oops, I forgot to mention the winners...

Winners

Sarah awarded the following people with certificates and trophies:

Best Contribution: Nick (Our Guest)

Best Speaker: Richard James Cook

Best Evaluator: Steve Tutbury

Best Table Topic: Sheryl Mackie

Next Meeting

Remember that the next meeting is the last one for the year and it has a Christmas theme. So remember to dress up. Have a great fortnight everyone.

Selfie: Chris & Shoulder Surfers: Peter & Craig

You just can't take a good selfie without others trying to muscle their way into the photo!