Our Grammarian Chris introduced us to two 'words of the evening'; Pleasurable and Bearable. Speakers did find it challenging to use these during presentations, perhaps we have reached our mental limit with one word a night….?
Ashley presented the Table Topics session in a creative fashion, rolling out his wheeled suitcase for each victim. He then drew out an item of interest, which was generally familiar to most of us and of course requiring a response. Various degrees of excitement ensued: Wayne with his car polish, Amy with a donut maker, Christine with a fire extinguisher and Sarah who excelled at the use of a drain plunger! Well done to all.
| Ashley - Table Topics Master |
The first of the evenings three prepared speeches was presented by Paul; his assignment being ‘vocal variety’. The challenging learning and particularly the pronunciation of Te Reo gave the audience an excellent insight into the complexities of the Maori language.
| Paul - Conveying his Te Reo knowledge |
Fiona presented her Ice Breaker speech using an innovative approach - three hats, each signifying a different part of her life. This was a great technique for those of us in the audience who respond to visual as well as audio presentations. This one was especially colourful!
| Fiona - Ice Breaker Speech |
Our third speech was also an Ice Breaker. Sally spoke about the trials and tribulations of her family immigrating to New Zealand and the compelling reasons for their move. She gave a professional presentation with a story that will easily be remembered by the audience.
| Sally - Ice Breaker Speech (and yes, there are two main islands to New Zealand) |
Kate and Graeme faultlessly evaluated the Table Topics speakers and Ashley. They both showed that it is possible to give a CRC evaluation, even for a 1:30min speech – no easy task though.
Who would have come to Toastmasters with their leotards and trainers if they had known that Sarah's educational session on 'controlling your fear' was going to be so interactive? Yes – that’s right, exercises no less, can be used as one method to control your fear of speaking in public (usually prior to the event)! Sarah has a very helpful hand out available if you missed the meeting.
| Sarah - How NOT to fear doing public speaking |
Prepared speech evaluations were given by Wayne for Paul, Craig for Fiona and Amy for Sally. All three evaluators are very experienced and provided valuable feedback for the speakers.
A short business session was led by Craig, where The Tracey Webster Memorial Award was presented to Kate for her Toastmasters spirits to-date. This is then followed by the Timekeepers report from James, Grammarians report. Then the General Evaluator, Peter acknowledged Toastmaster Steve who kept the meeting to time and showed his expertise linking presenters and filling the gaps. He also noted that all the evaluators had done their jobs very well, especially the sensitive and encouraging feedback provided to new speakers.
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| Kate - The Tracey Webster Memorial Award holder for 2016 |
Awards presented:
- Best Table Topic: Amy
- Best Speaker: Sally
- Best Evaluator: Amy
- Best Contribution: Chris
Great report, Peter and an excellent meeting, long may they continue. BIG congratulations to Kate on her well deserved award.(Next Club President-no pressure!)
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