“There were so many people present tonight!” “It is so wonderful
to watch people grow in their talents!” Tonight was a
“professionally delivered meeting. Everybody carried out their
roles creatively, confidently and with great poise.” “[It’s]
always encouraging to have a semi-continuous stream of guests!”
“One of the best meetings! Perhaps we drew on the energy of a
full house!”
The meeting began with “a warm welcome” to our “ever dynamic and
enthusiastic Chairman, Li-Ying.” “Li-Ying is always an
encouraging Chair!” “Thanks for your leadership and mentorship,
Li-Ying!” “Li-Ying perfectly demonstrates awesome physical
humour: she throws great gestures into her jokes and bridging,
and makes us laugh with her whole body.” “I loved Li-Ying’s
antics while describing multi-tasking in the car.” Wordsmith
Michelle picked a word that was well-used this evening,
“transcend”. “Michelle provided excellent examples and
definitions of her word, which may be one reason so many of us
found it so easy to work into our speeches and bridging.” She is
“an appreciative listener”, and caught many wonderful word
images throughout the speech-filled evening. Jill was lauded for
her “hysterical” “tasteful dirty joke!” about a mud-coverd
child.
Wizard of Ahs Diane’s “humour blasted us away tonight!” Members
especially appreciated her “honourable mention of not only ‘ahs’
and ‘ums’, but also one ‘honorable ‘em’’!” Jan F’s inspiration
was a highlight for several: “his inspiration was right on: it
introduced us to another inspirator who will be on Bowen Island
in March.” “His speech about an inspiring woman who organizes a
‘Pan African Film and Art Festival’ around North America was
truly inspiring.” Jan F. was lauded by General Evaluator Jim for
delivering an inspiration that “really had it all: from Africa,
to meeting a beautiful woman, to concluding with a message of
love and peace.” Karen “demonstrated excellent control of the
meeting as Timer, and kept a jam-packed meeting running on
time.” “Her explanation was clear and informative for anyone who
was new.” She was lauded by Jim in the General Evaluation for
her fearlessness in ringing the bell when someone went overtime.
Table Topics Master Dave S. received kudos this evening for “his
excellent Table Topics.” “They were great! Every speaker had fun
with the topics!” “Dave’s bridging was terrific” and “his manner
is so relaxed that when he invites you to the lectern, you’re
not really that nervous. -- Well, not as nervous as you could
be.” “I liked Dave S’s exploration of the linked definitions of
‘leap’ and ‘bound’.” [Tonight’s theme was Leaps and Bounds.] “I
liked Dave’s two suggestions to the audience for doing a Table
Topics speech: 1) ‘find a story’ and 2) ‘it doesn’t have to be a
true story. Get up here and lie!’” Dave S. also asked for
volunteers prior to selecting “victims” – and volunteers he got!
Hilary “had a relaxed demeanor and calm voice” in describing her
impending escape from the growing city. Guest John demonstrated
great courage in accepting the topic about growing housing
prices, and “made great use of the word of the day.” Delene had
“great gestures and delivered a thoughtful and well-structured
speech” on the growth of communication technology. “I share
Delene’s hope that ‘we can stay pragmatic as technology
transcends…’” Diane, who won the ribbon for Best Table Topic of
the evening, “impressed us all with her superwoman image.” “I
loved Diane’s ‘encounter with kryptonite’ and especially her use
of her crutch as a prop.” Members highlighted Diane’s word
images: ‘I often felt, growing up with 2 older brothers, that I
was Wonder Girl’; and [of Wonder Woman’s super-heroine costume]:
‘Who doesn’t want to look good in really tiny underwear?’
Michelle had an instant reply to the question of whether
vitamins are the answer to boundless energy: “They’re bottling
the wrong thing. They need to look at my two kids, see the
energy they have and put it in a pill!” “I loved Michelle’s
encouraging us to go back to what works for her kids in order to
reclaim our youthful energy: ‘candy bars and peanut butter.’”
“Jan K’s Table Topics evaluation was warm and appreciative.”
“Her evaluation was a good example of using the sandwich
technique.” “I really liked Jan K’s observation that repeating
the topic you’ve been given in a TT is often a great way to
clarify your thoughts while you warm up your brain.” “She had
great humour – especially when she commented that Diane tended
to lean a little to the right!”
“I loved [Toastmaster] Kate’s toast to ‘Just Leap.’” And leap we
did – into one ice-breaker and two CTM #3 speeches, which
spanned both time and geography.
“All three speeches tonight were especially beautifully
delivered, and all contained poetic or catchy phrases.” “The
speakers tonight raised the bar for the rest of us.” “I loved
all three speeches!”
Susan’s icebreaker, ‘Susan – The Early Years’, was “filled with
marvelous childhood imagery”, and had us imagining ‘rallying
like a pirate through the streets’, as she described growing up
as ‘a country mouse.’ “Susan, you made me smile with the line:
‘I was so proud at the age of 10 when I could beat up every boy
on my block!’ – It seems we have several Wonder Women among us!”
“I loved the hysterically funny moments Susan described as the
‘country mouse’ lost her naiveté and became a ‘city rat’.” “Have
to ask myself: ‘Did my childhood seem ‘like a passage from Lord
of the Flies’?!’”
Christina’s speech, ‘A Different Kind of Theft’, took us on a
“fascinating tour of history, map-making, map-guarding and
map-stealing.” “Loved the modern-day connection.” “This speech
absolutely captivated me: I had no idea about black market maps
in the Age of Discovery!” “I loved Christina’s objective
description of Christopher Columbus, with his ‘sticky fingers
and hot maps.’” “Puts things into perspective when you hear
someone say that ‘at that time, a map was worth more than
gold!’”
“Jane’s cat speech [‘Mr. Got-to-Go, The Cat Who Wouldn’t Leave’]
was a highlight for me!” “Wonderful to have a bit of local
history from the Sylvia Hotel.” “I loved Jane’s description of
how the vet ‘stitched him up in so many places, he looked like a
patchwork cat.’” “Great storytelling technique. Way to go,
Jane!” “Were there wonderful word images? – Jane’s whole
speech!”
“Great evaluators to evaluate three great speeches.” Delene was
our first speech evaluator, as she congratulated Susan on her
icebreaker. “Delene evaluates with such warmth.” “Some good word
catches from Delene in [her] evaluation of Susan’s speech.” “I
liked Delene’s gestures to emphasize her points.” “Very good
constructive feedback from Delene.” “I like Delene’s sincerity.”
Dave A. gave “a thorough evaluation” of Christina’s speech.
“Good sandwiching by Dave A.” “I liked Dave A.’s humour and his
excellent observation about a speaker’s physical positioning:
whether to be closer to the audience or farther away.” In
evaluating Jane’s speech, “Diane gave some good advice to all of
us: ‘Let the Toastmaster do some of the physical (lectern)
set-up for you.’” “I liked how Diane addressed Jane’s progress
from previous speeches, and Jane’s personal goal to not use
notes.” Diane won the ribbon for Best Evaluator of the evening.
Jim was “energetic and direct” in his General Evaluation, using
“good humour and pauses to punctuate his comments.” “As always,
quick with a quip in his advice to [injured] Diane: ‘Give up
rugby and take up something less dangerous like skydiving.’” “I
liked Jim’s appreciation of the positive atmosphere at the
meeting tonight.”
Everyone is welcome to join us next Monday, February 25th, 2008
in our usual spot at the usual time for a positively
entertaining Speech and Evaluation Contest. We will be back to
regular meetings the following week, on March 3rd. Come join us
in “Learning Through Fun and Friendship”. We look forward to
seeing many familiar faces and some new ones!
Club 1085
Wizard of Ahs Diane’s “humour blasted us away tonight!” Members
especially appreciated her “honourable mention of not only ‘ahs’
and ‘ums’, but also one ‘honorable ‘em’’!” Jan F’s inspiration
was a highlight for several: “his inspiration was right on: it
introduced us to another inspirator who will be on Bowen Island
in March.” “His speech about an inspiring woman who organizes a
‘Pan African Film and Art Festival’ around North America was
truly inspiring.” Jan F. was lauded by General Evaluator Jim for
delivering an inspiration that “really had it all: from Africa,
to meeting a beautiful woman, to concluding with a message of
love and peace.” Karen “demonstrated excellent control of the
meeting as Timer, and kept a jam-packed meeting running on
time.” “Her explanation was clear and informative for anyone who
was new.” She was lauded by Jim in the General Evaluation for
her fearlessness in ringing the bell when someone went overtime.
