The club members and guests met for an enjoyable evening at the Fickling Centre for an array of interesting speeches and self-improvement activities with the theme ‘Setting Sail’.
The meeting was chaired by Richard who opened with a welcome to all the members and guests. This was followed by a short speech by the interim president, Magda as the president Kevin B had to return to live and work in Australia.
The chairman then introduced Kuldeep (Ah Counter), Sayilakshmi (Time Keeper) and Theresa (Grammarian). The word of the evening was “stern” which was introduced by the Grammarian, Theresa. Anji introduced the guests and Chris told the smile story in which he explained the circumstances for the word “comfortable” to be used for conveying a telegraphic message “come for the bull”.
There were six prepared speeches which were introduced by the toastmaster, Jillian.
The first speaker was Hazel who gave her PR1 speech on the topic of “Honeymoon”. She amused the audience with the meaning and purpose of honeymoon of newlywed couples and how the term is widely used for the initial period of a new job or a new government. She also introduced her company in her speech and recommended that the honey wine that her company (MEAD in New Zealand) is producing is an ideal complement to all happy occasions including wedding ceremonies and honeymoon periods.
The second speaker was Jeet who gave her CC5 speech on the topic of “Sometimes you have to pick the gun up to put the gun down”. Jeet shared an emotional account of her personal story and her suffering and abuse by her husband and his family. Surprisingly, the abuse stopped when her body could not take it anymore and reacted like a loaded gun. She took the courage to confront her husband and treated him with a tit for tat reaction. Being free from violence is like putting the gun down. Others should follow her example in case anyone was being abused.
The third speaker was Linda who gave her CC7 speech on the topic “Lessons we learn from Weaver Birds”. Linda eloquently talked about the efforts and hard work of Weaver Birds for building fascinating nests with limited recourses. She explained how she could overcome the fact of limited recourses and how she could help others to follow the same path. She reminded the audience of the famous quote “if you really want something you will find a way to get it but if you do not, you will find an excuse for it”.
The fourth speaker was Supriya who gave her PS1 speech on the topic “To Sell”. Supriya used “SELL” as an excellent acronym for four key points namely Smile, Energy, Listen and Lock It In as an effective strategy for salespersons to persuade customers to buy a more expensive products. Following her speech, she demonstrated the SELL strategy with a role play and got feedback for her performance from the audience through questions and answers.
The 5th speaker, Magda, spoke on ‘Quo Vadis’ which is Latin for “where are you going?” She gave an insight to the workings of the emotional brain and how important it is for us as Toastmasters. She explained how essential it is for members to have a sense of safety… to limit uncertainties, to create space where we can try new things or old things in a new way. She asked for a show of hands who would like to function in such and environment and more than 90% of the club members raised their hands in agreement. She thanked them and told them they each have the responsibility towards other members to also provide the safe environment, a sense of belonging and that every single person matter.
The 6th and last speaker was Zainab who talked on the importance of meditation. She explained the types and levels of meditations and the health benefits that they offer to those who regularly practice them.
At the end of prepared speeches, the guests and members were entertained with a variety of delicious and healthy choices of food, fruits and beverages painstakingly organised by the club catering in charge, Kevin P.
After the break Raymond, Anji, Liz, Grant and Ivo gave their evaluations of the prepared speeches. This was followed by the business session which was conducted by Kevin, Anji and Magda.
Kevin P explained the need for electing new club executives due to the departure of the club president Kevin B. This was possible due to the presence of sufficient number of members for a quorate meeting. The new executives elected are:
President: Magda
VP Education: Liz
VP Membership: Kevin P
VP Publicity: Jeet
Treasurer: Anji
Sgt at Arms: Richard
Due to the absence of any nomination, the position of Secretary could not be filled. Consequently, it was decided that this position will be filled later when a suitable nomination is received for it.
Kevin also reminded the audience of ‘Humour Galore’ on Saturday 29 July 2017 and the availability of some tickets at a discounted price.
Following the business session, the audience were introduced to a variety of Table Topics by the table topic master Jim. Steve and Ted evaluated each odd and even table topic speaker respectively.
Finally, the General Evaluator, Rik, gave a comprehensive review of the meeting with an excellent evaluation of the chairman, toastmaster, the speech evaluators, Ah Counter, Grammarian, and Time keeper.
Magda, the President, closed the meeting with a word of thanks to everyone.
