Our meetings really are going well. The proof of this is in the
spontaneous feedback we are now receiving after each meeting.
Read on and you will see what this means. Here are the
Highlighted gems you have contributed this week:
“I really liked Neville’s (Chairman’s) opening. It was a good
reminder to slow down and smell the roses.”
Also appreciated in his opening was the mini-educational
reminder he slipped in, on Protocol:
“Excellent reminder from Neville re striding to lectern, waiting
till your introducer sits down – greeting him / her, etc.”
“The theme (adversity) is relevant and everyone responded to it
well. We had a wonderful guest – she was a great speaker!” Yes,
she spoke so well that the club voted for her as the Best Table
Topic Speaker at the end of the session
Both speeches were appreciably Highlighted:
“The two speeches tonight are really critical and helpful to all
of us as Toastmaster members, to assist us to achieve our
personal goals and keep moving forward in Toastmaster
activities.”
“Tonight’s Quotable Quote was from Ruth’s speech: ‘A great
speech is in the eye and in the ear of the beholder.’”
“Ruth gave an excellent speech.” “Ruth’s speech was great!”
“Ruth’s speech about the benefits of Toastmasters was a
Highlight for me.”
“Ruth’s speech had excellent organization. For a newbie like me,
I particularly appreciated the overview she gave of the speeches
I hope to do this year in Toastmasters. The passion with which
she described the content of each speech made all ten of them
sound interesting!”
Another Quotable Quote was from Elma: “If you fail to plan –
your plan will fail.”
“‘You need a plan.’ Elma’s practical reminder hit home, as I,
too, am a very lazy person at heart. It was an excellent,
well-organized, and concise speech. A superb role model for
those of us who are too wordy! I, for one, will definitely take
her up on her challenge to make a plan and meet an objective in
the New Year ”
The evaluations came in for their share of praise as well:
“Again, I enjoy the evaluations the most.”
For this meeting, instead of having one experienced member give
the General Evaluation for everyone, the General Evaluation
section was shared by many members. At the beginning of the
meeting these members were given one or two
roles to watch closely, and to verbally evaluate during the
General Evaluation session at the end of the meeting.
“I really liked doing the General Evaluation this way. It’s
great to change things up and get everyone learning how to
evaluate.”
“A smooth transition to a different format for General
Evaluations.”
“Pam’s Table Topic evaluation was a Highlight – really good
suggestions.”
“Very lively Table Topics evaluation with suggestions we can all
apply.”
“Jill’s observation in her evaluation of Parvaneh’s ‘preparing a
good variety of Table Topics on a difficult theme’ was very
apt.”
Speaking of Parvaneh’s mastery of her role as Table Topics
Master:
“Parvaneh is a master of the pause – she was superb at timing
her comments!”
Here are even more Highlights from other roles this evening:
“Omar’s Toast was well researched and meaningful.”
“I liked Omar’s very specific explanation and introduction to
Elma’s speech. Also: wonderful use of emphasis and pauses, as
well as careful enunciation in his introduction to Ruth’s
speech.”
“Elena did a great job telling her joke – I’m impressed!”
“I liked Louise’s humour in catching Ruth’s ‘soft um’s’.”
“A Highlight for me was Dave Ferris’s use and appreciation, as
usual, of humour. A good capture (as Wordsmith) of his fellow
Toastmasters’ language.”
To an observer, the only obvious ‘adversity’ in this meeting was
the theme itself. For most of us, every meeting brings a new
challenge to overcome, or new lesson learned. It doesn’t seem to
matter how long we have belonged to a Toastmaster Club, we are
continually learning and growing – and in this club this all
happens in a positively focused, motivating atmosphere of fun
and friendship.
Next Monday – November 20, our theme will be ‘humility’. We look
forward to seeing everyone then, and of course we are hoping
some guests will be inspired to come check us out.
Club 1085
