The meeting started right on time with an introduction from
Paul, our Sergeant at Arms.
Flavia, our President, welcomed us all, including a number of
new guests, with an overview of what Toastmasters is all about. She told us
about Ralph Smedley and how he started Toastmasters 90 years ago, about the
Competent Communicator pathway and Competent Leadership and she highlighted the
value of feedback.
Our Toastmaster for the evening was our outgoing President
and a natural leader and speaker, Jason. He chose the theme of ‘Freedom’ in
honour of Black History Month and reminded us of some great orators: Nelson
Mandela, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King.
Sharon lead the warm up, asking us how we escape from the
stresses of modern life. Some of us were
pretty predictable with our long baths, lying in bed, walking, running, playing
sport. Some less so with eating a Kit-Kat – or not trying to escape at all.
David was our timekeeper and explained why the role is
important and how the light system works. Lukas was out grammarian and gave us
the word ‘convoluted’ to try to include in our speeches.
And then there were the three speeches ...
John took us to Bermuda for his 7th speech in the
Competent Communicator Manual. He had to go there for work and became
interested in the Bermuda Triangle stories of ship and aircraft disappearances,
so he did his research. He discovered that
the area is prone to hurricanes and many of the suspicious disappearances
weren’t actually in the area. He also found out that a book written in the 70s
about 5 aircraft disappearing perpetuated the myth, even though in later years
the real reason for the disappearances was discovered and it was navigation
equipment failure. He concluded that extraordinary conclusions need
extraordinary explanations.
“Twelve Miles” was Sharon’s Icebreaker Speech. Where she
grew up was about 12 miles from anything useful, apart from 2 pubs and a
library van - although living in a close knit community had its benefits. When
she broke her wrists and spent around 3 hour in Accident & Emergency, there
were 28 get well cards waiting for her when she got home. She didn’t want a
quiet life so she left to go to university and work in the music industry,
which isn’t as glamorous as we might think. But, even though London was lonely
to start with, she’s found a new close knit community here.
Verna told us about her big Jamaican family and how, so
often, she’d meet someone new and be told ‘that’s your cousin’. She took us
with her on her first trip to Jamaica, painting a picture in words and gestures
of the heat, the sounds and smells, the trees blowing in the breeze and we
relaxed with her drinking rum punch by the sea with Bob Marley playing in the
background. She went to visit the area where Bob Marley comes from, having been
a big fan all of her life. She discovered that the family hosting the visitors
were related to her and heard that phrase again when talking about Bob Marley –
‘that’s your cousin!’
The evaluators where Philip, Jenny and Julie. Philip praised
John for his good research and the evidence he cited - and that he set the
scene for us before launching into talking about the Bermuda Triangle, letting
us know how his interest was first provoked. Jenny said what we were all
thinking about Sharon’s speech – what a great first speech. She noted the use
of threes for impact and clarity and great rhythm of Sharon’s story. Julie
started by asking us a question about whether or not we would remember Verna’s
trip to Jamaica. Of course we all will because she made is so picturesque for
us. Julie praised Verna for not talking too fast, her vocal variety and not
using notes.
The award for best speaker of the evening went to Verna for
taking us to Jamaica.
Julie, spoke to us as an Ambassador for Toastmaster and
highlighted the changes both past and future relating to the manuals and awards
system. She showed us the original, small manual used 90 years ago and
highlighted how so many of us are moving to reading and recording everything on
our smart phones or computers.
Anne lead the Table Topics and our guests, along with a few
experienced members, spoke about freedoms they appreciate, freedoms they would
miss if they lost them and what they would do if they had the freedom of money
being no object.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday, 21st October where we'll be celebrating 90 years of Toastmasters.
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