Am I a Devil or a Demon?

This was an extremely pleasant evening of high calibre speeches and exceptional chairmanship by Richard.

Before the meeting, I was called by Richard, to check that I was still able to complete my role for the evening and I was comfortable with my responsibilities. This was followed up by a personal greeting by Richard as I walked in the door, with a well set out room behind him and the heaters on. Graeme was busy in the kitchen preparing for the supper. What a fabulous way to arrive to a toastmasters meeting on a cold and dark evening.

Richard started the evening early, as all expected attendees had arrived. He welcomed everyone and mentioned the large amount of apologies (Sarah L, Tom A, Sarah H, Nicola H, Sheryl M, Hannah M, Paul M, Ian W). Richard invited Wayne to read the club mission statement which ensures everyone knows our objectives for the evening and club as a whole.

Graeme as General Evaluator introduced his team, with Rebecca the Grammarian introducing the word of the day as “Vivaciously” and Peter describing the role of the timekeepers.

Tony was the Table Topics leader for the evening and provided a humorous approach. Two people were dragged up to the stage at a time. One person was nominated as the speaker but was not allowed to move. The other person was not allowed to speak, but had to provide the gestures for the speech.

Kane (speaker) and Christine (gestures) told us about Kanes first sky dive, while Christine was trembling with fear at 14,000 feet.

Dee (speaker) and Graeme (gestures) told us about the trials and tribulations of cross country skiing, and how daunting it can be riding the chair lift for the first time. Graeme provided particularly humorous gestures around the efforts involved getting ski boots on and off.

Cross Country Skiers Dee & Graeme

Jen (Speaker, Visitor from Pania) and Richard (gestures) starting off describing what’s involved in speed skating, but seemed to escalate into an instructional procedure on how to make Richard a pretzel.

Speed Skaters Richard & Jen

Steve (Speaker) and Colin (gestures) took us on a downhill mountain bike journey. Colin took some liberties and requested that Steve hurry up and describe the great crash in the hole which Colin then acted out with great gusto.

Craig (Speaker) and Chris (gestures) took us paddle boarding. Again this became an instructional procedure which got Chris pumping his arms faster and faster like an Olympic rower, and had him spinning in circles while seated on the carpet as he got dizzy and continually paddled into an island. Craig and Chris were later jointly awarded the people’s choice of best table topics speaker.

Amy provided evaluations for all the table topics, with a personal note to all participants, with comments such as “stand up chris so we can see your gorgeous face” and a cheeky comment to Graeme that it was his best table topics ever – silent.

Our first formal speech of the evening was by Kim S, delivering a speech to fulfil the requirements of project #2 in the Competent Communicator Manual. Kim’s speech was titled “from Egypt to Arkene” and told us of the development of Arkene back in the days when her grandfather won a ballot for one of eighteen farm lots in Arkene, and the later years through the depression. Kim concluded the speech by describing how a commeritive plaque was recently laid in Arkene, which had been cast in Egypt as a link back to where the solders had battled.

Steve evaluated Kim's speech using the CRC formula. He commended Kim on her audience capture at the start with the rhetorical question and recommended that some of the information be skipped in preference for some more details.

Christine presented the second formal speech of the evening, working towards completion of an Advanced Communicator Manual – Interpretive reading (Project 3). Christine started with an explanation of what a Monodrama is, and an introduction to the poem (Yentl) she was reading from as she was only reading an exert. There were many catchy phrases in this poem, including “am I a devil or a demon, and “am I a woman or a man” colourful phrases This was an impressive and mesmerising speech by Christine which had the audience carefully listening and not daring to make a sound.

Christine - Interpretive Reading

Craig evaluated Christine’s speech, and severely congratulated Christine in her performance. He noted that the scene setting was a bit complicated but necessary, recommended that Christine uses notes less, and commended Christine on her use of pace to convey emotion.

Kane was the third formal speaker of the evening, who was completing project #3 in the Competent Communicator Manual. Kane started with a poll to find out how much the audience knew about the Ruataniwha dam proposal. Kane then proceeded to inform the audience about the pros and cons of the dam from the various parties' perspectives. On completion Kane took another poll by show of hands and discovered that a majority were in favour of the dam, but there were still a large number opposing the dam.

Dee evaluated Kane's speech and started with a commendation on the use of a poll at the start of the speech to capture audience attention. Dee then followed up with a recommendation to slow down the pace, and a commendation about his choice of topic as his passion was conveyed during his speech delivery.

Netta was the fourth and final speaker of the evening, and was completing project #8 in the Competent Communicator Manual. Netta delivered a motivational speech that convinced us that birthday celebrations in the latter years of our lives are an achievement that should be viewed with pride as we have achieved longevity. Netta then spoke of friendship and demonstrated the tools required for friendship such as the tissue to wipe away a tear, and a rubber band to remind us to be flexible. Netta then wrapped up with Family, and unconditional acceptance.

Netta - The Importance of Friendship

Colin evaluated Netta, and made particular note that it was great how Netta made use of props right from the start. Colin recommended that Netta should have used someone else to set the stage, and commended Netta on her topic, particularly noting that the use of good values gave credence to the speech.

A short business session was delivered by Craig

1. Exec meeting – next Monday night
2. An Area Governor is being sought.
3. Awards dinner will be on the 4^th August, with an election being held at the next club meeting to determine the venue.
4. U3A speeches were Judged by some of our members, with over 100 people in the audience for the competition.
5. Toni Sharp was awarded a QSM for services to the blind. Toni also works with toastmasters at the area level.
6. Christine and Steve were recognised for their commitment to toastmasters, by manning the 0800 toastmasters phone number, for the whole of New Zealand!

Graeme gave an general evaluation of the evaluators, chairperson, and table topics master which generally confirmed that the evaluators were hitting the right aspects to give feedback on.

Richard presented the awards for the evening as follows, and thanked our guests (Jenn and Sarah) for their attendance.

Best Table Topics: Craig and Chris
Best Evaluation: Craig
Best Speech: Christine and Netta
Best Contribution: Jenn (visiting from Pania).

Wayne Bickers