Napier Toastmasters Club, Club 1542, Area R3, D112

Napier Toastmasters Club, Club 1542, Area R3, D112

Friday, November 24, 2017

Entertaining, educational and encouraging - pretty phenomenal

Our first time chair person and Toastmaster of the evening, Emma, wasted no time in opening the meeting, before dispensing with the apologies, changes to the program and a warm welcome to our guests, Joe, Jackie and Mark.

Table Topics was introduced by none other than our "Dear Amy" who cleverly constructed well written letters as if to a column newspaper for people experiencing difficulties. Topics ranged from giving up smoking, having a nosy neighbour, no girlfriend, to having one but talking about her best friend and finally dealing to the in-laws! It was entertaining just to listen to Amy outline some clever background to the topics, as Amy can only do! Tonight, all Toastmasters responded with both sensible advice and delivered in good humour – certainly, there are some budding psychologists amongst us. As noted by the duo evaluators, Kate and Layeeq, plenty of commendations were provided with the odd tongue in check recommendation.

A very good educational was presented by our experienced TM, Peter, who called on all of his knowledge and guided us through the elements of the upcoming Evaluation Contest. A great outline of where to focus (most marks) as per the scoring sheet, which was also provided. A couple of great tips relating to 3rd person delivery, using CRC and when providing recommendations always back up with an example. Well done Peter, and roll on the contest.

The two speeches of the evening were given by Graeme, a veteran of nearly 40 years verse a recent new member, Heather, of just 4 months and delivering her 2nd speech. Graeme showed the skills he has and cunningly brought together a story which had drama, excitement and yet entertained us. As always, Graeme used great word pictures, self deprecation to illustrate the personal growth that TM has provided over the years.  Steve provided a thoughtful evaluation and complimented Graeme on the great use of gestures (and there were many) and the vocal variety.

Heather on the other hand overcome a more timid start to her speech titled "you are going to be great, keep going" and she did! Heather became more confident as she settled into her speech and rounded it off by re-iterating the opening title. Craig provided a very useful evaluation encouraging Heather to rely less on the notes, and to overcome her natural shyness and be a little more bolder. As re-emphasised by Craig, Heather, you are going to be great.

To close out the evening, we were encouraged by another educational, with the intriguing title of "what motivates you". Sarah smiled, and got us all thinking about what motivates us and why. Her speech developed and led to a great passage from the book (The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg). As always, Sarah took a very pertinent passage from the 371 pages of information and used this to stimulate even further our thinking and yearning to become more motivated. Truly motivational Sarah.

Craig took the opportunity of the Business Session to call on attendees of the Division Conference held in Gisborne. By the sounds of it, great food, even better education sessions and of course the Contests (Humorous and Table Topics). Oh, did I mention the accommodation – tenting, Jane style.

Our Grammarian of the evening, Carol, was kept busy tracking the use of phenomenal; used extensively and appropriately. A great choice Carol. The night ended with the timekeepers report diligently delivered by Jane, although it did look as though it was Delan manning the stopwatch and lights.

Emma chaired the evening like an expert, kept the evening flowing and provided nice comments between speeches - well done.  Emma then presented the Awards

Best Speaker - Heather
Best Evaluator - Craig
Best Table Topic - Joe
Best Contribution - Carol

Another great night, full of entertainment, great educational material, and enthusiasm abound.

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