Who are you gonna' call?.. Toastmasters!

Meeting report, Hawke’s Bay Toastmasters: 9 September 2019

We had a diminished turnout for our 9 September meeting, which was supplemented by Brian the Area Director and a variety of guests, including all the way from Wellington. 

‘Honk! Honk!’ Graeme our Sergeant-at-Arms ‘called’ us to order and created a relaxed atmosphere with his always present humour, as he read the Mission Statement.

Our Toastmaster, Jane continued the humorous air throughout the night, with witty comments and segues after each speaker, highlighted by her thoughtfulness and consideration for others.

Jan, third in line for the Grammarian throne, gave us the catchy word ‘contagious’ which was used regularly throughout the night. A very apt choice at this time in our history.

Our timer, Jenny (initially supported by James), gave us a speed-dating run down of the timekeeper’s role, backed up with the times for each speaker at the end of the night. Well done.

Speaker one, Roz, asked us to think seriously about how serious we take our everyday sayings. She used effective word-play, such as ‘minute’ and ‘minute’ to get us thinking. Steve, Roz’s evaluator, gave a well-considered response with natural humour and clear objectives, as well the required timeframe. Well done to you both.

Speaker two, Kerry, outlined a variety of options for how to include more speakers into our meetings: reading poetry or sharing jokes. It gave us pause for thought and what other ‘outside the box’ ideas could we possible use? A very pertinent topic with our current growth in numbers. Brenda, Kerry’s evaluator, showed her professionalism, both in her unfailing support for Kerry and in her clear commendations/recommendations for, and summary of, Kerry. A definite power couple!

Brian, our Area Director, spoke next, outlining the structure of Toastmasters. He presented a passionate speech about ‘Vulnerability leadership’ (For those interested, look for Renee Brown – The Power of Vulnerability), asking the audience to consider their roles and how they could further help Toastmasters in other ways.

Table topics was led by James K, who managed to spontaneously create a list of ideas whilst helping out as a timekeeper. Each one was based on a unique holiday: left-handers, husbands, IT support to name a few. ‘Volunteers’ responded well to James’ ideas and the audience shared plenty of laughs. Great effort everyone, especially James.

Speaker three, Peter M, gave us an impassioned speech regarding water, water quality and what we really should be thinking about. Much of this speech was delivered within a water drop, full of numerous impurities. Peter expressed a depth of knowledge, and coupled with his obvious passion for this topic, audience attention was easily maintained. Graeme, Peter’s evaluator, gave another comfortable, yet informative, evaluation, outlining the objectives that were met whilst also sharing a bit of Toastmaster history. He ended with a nice personal touch, ‘I learnt a lot.’ Thank you both for sharing your knowledge.

Speaker four, Daniel, gave his 10^th and last speech, literally. After completing his Competent Communicator achievement, Daniel announced he was leaving Toastmasters, for now. It was a moment of mixed emotions as he had just finished singing to us, Toastmasters, whilst playing a vacuum cleaner, which had the audience singing and tapping along, too. This will definitely be one of those long-lasting memories.











Craig, Daniel’s evaluator, also showed his depth of experience whilst evaluating Daniel, outlining the role of the evaluator and making a point of emphasising Daniel’s achievement. Well done gentlemen on your contributions tonight.

Photos of Dan, playing his vacuum cleaner guitar.

Our business session was primarily about voting for the preferred time for future meetings. Jane, Brenda and Craig voiced their opinions for the three options, and the eventual winner was a return to our 7-9 timeslot.

Our table topics evaluators, Ian and Carol, worked well together, providing thoughtful and personal responses for each speaker. They too emphasised James’ contribution as well as providing both recommendations and commendations for all involved. Thank you to you both.

Finally, thank you very much to everyone who contributed to a very successful night.

Awards for the night:

Best speaker – Kerry. Best evaluator – Graeme. Best table topic – Marc. Best contribution – Jenny.

Our very proper looking group of Toastmasters dressing to the theme of "Business smart dress".