A very interesting and varied hour

Members were nearly out-numbered by guests last week — what a wonderful position to be in!

All guests took part in Table Topics, tackling the tricky questions thrown at us by Ann. For instance, Robyn tried to get her head around unconditional love, Ianon had to think about suicidal flute players, Peter L (Peter the Third) talked of urban infill (and he cut back to single numbers in the Um-Ah count — woohoo!). Yuyu and Nicky talked of supermarkets and choice, Niki (Niki the First) talked of public transport, Tom spoke about speed limits and finally Claudia grappled with the necessity of Sudokos.

Our newest guests showed great spirit in getting up and giving Table Topics a go, and they did brilliantly. I want to specially mention Niki the First who, having been at a couple of previous meetings, now has much more confidence. We got to hear her deep voice, see her (surely) award-winning smile, and listen to a well-crafted impromptu speech lasting 1.32 minutes. I think she must have been secretly planning this during those weeks where she said she wasn’t quite ready to have a go. A great start!

Julio gave an incredibly confident Ice-breaker speech (the first in the Toastmaster’s manual) taking us from his hometown in Chile, through failed health and psychological exams (hard to believe given how fit and smart he seems to be!), all the way to taking up his doctoral studies in Canberra.
Ianon evaluated Julio’s speech and said what we all had felt — Julio is a confident and highly competent public speaker already!

Peter the First (Peter H) gave us the ‘Project 10’ speech from the manual, the fifth time he has done this project, titled 'Hobbies'. Despite Peter’s admission that he was a private man but as deep as the deep blue sea, we heard that Peter is an avid cyclist, having done very very well in his earlier years. He suggested he is a bit more conservative these days with his bike choice and terrain. This Distinguished Toastmaster entertained us and reminded us of the value of a hobby — for our bodies, our souls and our overall health. Yuyu later gave a warm and thoughtful evaluation of Peter’s speech.

Claudia played the Toastmaster role with her usual style and aplomb. One of our newest guests took up the Um-Ah counting role with good grace, and it was just as well given the appalling job done by someone (who I wonder?) last week. Counts of Ums and Ahs are very valuable to speakers.

All in all, a great meeting and we hope to see all our guests back next time.

Welcome too, to our newest member Dat, who though unable to be at Friday’s meeting arrived later and joined the club.

Robyn

22 April 2012

Small can be great!

Our fortnightly meetings at UC were out of kilter because of the previous Good Friday, so we were a small but talkative group last Friday, 13 April.

Peter H brought his speech skills to the fore with a combined President’s report/ impromptu speech/ Project 7 speech about Toastmasters, concluding that “If we get out of Toastmasters what he has got out of Toastmasters, we will never get out of Toastmasters”… It took the rest of us a minute to get it, but we were with him – great sentiment Peter!

Yuyu gave her Speech (Manual Project 6 – Vocal Variety) about Migrants, which Robyn evaluated. Yuyu has a wonderfully relaxed presentation stance – her body is relaxed as are her hands when she speaks. Her vocal variety was excellent – with wonderful imagery, a wide vocabulary range and changes in her style of speech – from formal to conversational. Her speech had a theme of ‘bravery’ running through it and, as always, Yuyu brought together not only a range of sources that she researched for her speech but we got to know her personal take on the issues she raised. Yuyu’s progress in her speeches is a model to which the rest of the Benjamin Toastmasters should aspire.

Peter H also spoke about the change in the executive which is coming up in May – all roles are up for grabs – so make sure you put your nominations in (even for yourself).
The positions are:
President
Vice President – Membership
Vice President – Education
Vice President – Public Relations
Treasurer
Secretary
Sergeant at Arms
and … surely there room also for a Social Organiser!

One of our newer members, Peter I, conducted a high class Table Topics session, with speakers  champing at the bit to have a go at his topics. Ann had her topic served on a platter – droughts and flooding rains – her knowledge in this area was on display for all to enjoy; Yuyu enlightened us on why her nose would never make her rich; Robyn tried to convince us that, until education privileges all groups and classes, perhaps Universities should lower their entrance scores; and Peter H told us his thoughts on whether Anzac Day is the real Australia day. Peter I, as TT master, was not allowed any leeway in having to give an impromptu speech. He was asked by Ann to give a candidate’s speech for an executive position! He chose Sergeant at Arms, and his speech was short but to the point. I have a feeling the job has his name written all over it!

Despite the ums and ahs not being counted (who was in charge of that I wonder?!) the meeting went without a hitch and was a special one because of the intimacy afforded by such a small group.

That said, we look forward to a full complement next week as we get back onto our normal fortnightly schedule.

Robyn, 14 April 2012

Unruly? Certainly not!

A group that should be measured by its quality, rather than its quantity, met on Friday March 23 for the club's 29th meeting at UC. We were not an unruly lot - despite the number of times we heard the word mentioned during the meeting. That was thanks to our Grammarian Claudia. As always, Claudia wrapped 'us in her arms', as Keiko described it, with her calm, measured and highly personable style. Claudia also stepped in and did a fine job of timing.

Keiko managed to be all things to all toastmasters, because several people could not make it to the meeting - and of course all things were done with great style. Her evaluation of the Table Topic speakers was not to be missed, with all of us laughing at her ability to deliver critique and praise with the very same words! With Keiko as Toastmaster we all had confidence all things would be accomplished by all people on time.

Our Area Governor Jenny Power gave us some fabulous tips on how NOT to use the lectern when we speak - both practical and humorous, Jenny's advice was well received. Jenny also, um, gave the, er, y'know, counting for all of our ums and ahs.

Robyn delivered a speech about the delights of family history in disguise as a speech from the Manual (Project 2). Everyone at the meeting evaluated the speech, offering fine recommendations to improve Robyn's next attempt.

Then Yuyu delivered an extraordinary range of things to talk about throughout 'Table Topics'. The questions she posed wove local news with problems of parenthood and decisions about careers. Yuyu's topics are always well thought through, and delivered with a winning smile, that makes it difficult not to get up and talk. Yuyu also smiled her way through reminding us about payment of our fees in club business!

Of most interest to those who were at the meeting was the willingness of two new guests to take part in Table Topics. Did I say 'new'? - they both seemed like old hands. Dat argued that it was very sensible to allow students to live on a boat at the local Lake so that they could concentrate on their studies and ensure that they could make more money in the future. Speaking with insight and confidence, Dat had us all convinced. Peter (yes another one!) also spoke with confidence and constructed a speech whose length put the rest of us to shame. I hope Dat will join our Club and we also hope that we will see 'Peter the third' at future meetings.

No one could have said that our meeting was 'unruly' - it was lots of fun as always.

Written by Robyn.