Thank you for an enjoyable evening, filled with great speeches and contributions from our delightful post-antediluvian audience of members and guests.
The speeches
On our first meeting since the summer break, we had four of our members present four distinctively different speeches. Fereshteh told us how important her PhD mentor was to her in helping her find her voice in her community. Alice told us how she learnt from her Mysterious Maverick Luca, was supported by Luca, and eventually outgrew Luca. Both of these speeches were from Level 2 ‘Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring’ projects. We got to know both Tatjana and Ishan better through their superb Ice Breakers. Tatjana’s sharing of her core values resonated with us. Receiving a special mention for her natural use of body language when illustrating her nephews and nieces spontaneous ‘Toastmasters’ meeting. Especially as this was an Ice Breaker speech. Ishan’s analogous comparison of the Persian prophet Zarathustra to his own path in developing a ‘startup’ drew some fascinating insights into the teaching of a prophet who had influence on many of the world’s religions including Zionism , Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Zarathustra or Zoroaster is best know after the philosophical work of Nietzsche, “Thus Spake Zarathustra”.
The Evaluations
Evaluations from Michelle, Elias, Anna, and Richard were well-thought-out and to the point. All provided suggestions for improvement for the speakers. Suggestions which each and every one of us can learn from, even if we were not the speakers standing in front of the audience on the night.
The Table Topics
Table Topics challenged the speakers to compare contrasting ideas and present which may be best. Speakers showed that striking a balance between (for example) tradition vs innovation is equally important. And that the one without the other may not be possible. This was a good choice of topics, which speakers, including guests, were able to relate to and construct meaningful speeches.
The rest
Our Toastmaster of the Evening, Nicola, was her usual efficient self, as she conducted the evening, keeping to time, and bringing each participant on stage with a well-thought-out introduction. The Timer (yours truly) became so engrossed in the first speaker’s speech that he forgot to show the green card until nearly 30 seconds had passed. I should add that he did manage after this slip, to show the cards at the right time. Which reminded him how important it is to be fully focused on the task when you are the timer. General Evaluator, Joanna, commented on what was overall a well-run meeting. Despite dinner only being served twenty-five minutes into the break to some of our attendees, which resulted in them still eating when the meeting reconvened. An area where we can definitely seek improvement from the catering staff. Kevin challenged us to use the word ‘bygones’ 15 times in our speeches. He thought he had failed when he was only able to count 13 bygones from speakers. But th en sneakily slipped in one of his own so that we stood at 14… And before long we had our 15… even though Kevin had sat down by this time. Our Ah-Counter Gabrielle, shared some tips on how he is managing to avoid erms and ahs that all of us can learn from.
One area where I think we can improve on is how we conduct our Table Topics sessions. Recently, we’ve developed a habit of asking for volunteers. Which does not always work, and often lead to wasted time. The intention of Table Topics is two-fold: to teach members to speak extemporaneously. Off the cuff. And to give members who do not have a role an opportunity to participate. So the way to conduct it, is to identify members without a role. The topicsmaster call on these members to present a topic. It is okay to ask if any of the guests want to volunteer. But we give our members a first chance to speak. And they do not have an option. See also the Topicsmaster role description on our website: https://zuribergtoastmasters.ch/roles-at-meetings
Awards
Awards went to, Alice for Best Speaker, Anna for Best Evaluator, and Roland for Best Table Topic. Fereshteh received a Level 2 Completion Award and our two Ice Breakers, Tatjana and Ishan received Ice Breaker ribbons!
Next meeting – 27 August: Improv Workshop
Please click here for details of our next club meeting
Harry Loots