Meeting 1137 - Table Topics & Humorous Speech Contest

It was the meeting where brave contestants would battle in the impromptu speech as well as the Humorous Speech contest.

Preparation is everything when it comes to contests: Chief Judge Jenny was getting the final touches on our certificates.

Stand-in Sergeant at Arms Marlene called the meeting to order with humour about the facilities. She also read us the mission statement.

President Gail H opened the meeting and welcomed our first-time guests George, Lara and Hayley.

It was time to hand over control to Contest Chair Jonathon who conducted the Table Topics contest.

How would you have replied to: "My day started off badly when..."?

TT contestants and placegetters

Our contestants were John, Arun, Christiane, Paul and Shaun who in turn gave us an impromptu minispeech to above topic.

Timekeepers Carmy and Gail H kept the contestants well timed, so that we didn't have any disqualifications.

Sergeant at Arms Elizabeth and Marlene ensured that the contestants didn't hear the answer of the previous contestant(s), so that it was a fair game for all.

Tallycounters Gail W and Rosie ensured that the right placegetters were calculated.

The placegetters were:

1. John
2. Shaun
3. Christiane

After the first exciting contest, it was time for Paul to introduce the raffle with such humour (since he doesn't have such a close connection as another member of the club, his bottle of spirit was a bit smaller) that we all bought a lot of tickets in the supper break.

Supper was provided by Gail H and John.

We used the break to catch up with the visitors to our club as well as among members.

The second half of the meeting started off with an impromptu Round Robin by Liz We answering the question: What was your shortest, yet longest journey?

Humorous Speech contestants and placegetters

As Contest Chair for the Humorous Speech Contest, Liz We then called on the contestants:

1. Christiane - "On The Throne"
   
2. John - "Shopping strife with my wife"
   
3. Arun - "One day I will be old enough"
   
4. Gail W - "Puppy Love"
   
5. Jonathon - "You'r never too old..."
   

The timing lights were manned again by Carmy and Gail H.

Marlene was Sergeant at Arms positioning the contestants' props. 

Tallycounters were Rosie and Elizabeth.

The placegetters were:

1. Gail W
2. Christiane
3. John
   

To finish the meeting, Paul asked Shaun to draw the raffle (since Moreton Bay Division Director Suresh didn't feel right to pick his own raffle). Irony had it that Shaun draw Suresh' ticket.

In closing, President Gail H thanked the judges by offering a small token of appreciation. Visiting judges were Jenny, Suresh & Chris.

 

John (for Table Topics contest) and Gail W (for Humorous Speech contest) will represent Sandgate Toastmasters on November 5 at the Area 8 Conference in North Lakes. Mark this day into your calendar!

Meeting 1136 - "Cats or Dogs"

There are exceptions to any rule, but Paul gave us ample examples of his comrades at home: a dog and a cat. We also learnt why you should set an alarm clock when patting a cat and how loud a dog can snore.

 

 

The meeting was called to order by Sergeant at Arms Helen, who not only gave us the mission statement, but also a circus joke.

President Gail H opened the meeting and was honoured to induct our three new cronies to the gang: Will, Liz A and Shaun. Their mentors will be Paul, Liz We and Arun, respectively.

Toastmaster of the evening Paul welcomed us to the meeting by describing a nightly routine at his house.

When he called on Vice President Education Liz We, she was happy to report that we shouldn't have any changes (unfortunately we had to cut one speech in the end).

The toast to "Cats or Dogs" was delivered by John who gave us a choice to toast to just one. There were some loud voices toasting only to one of them, but the majority liked both.

Our new comrade Liz A was up next being the Word Master. The word of the evening was "companion" which Liz A explained was a suitable word since pets can be chums, mates and pals.

Round Robin Master Will posted the question to us: Cats or dogs - what is your preference and why? 

This brought out striking replies with the majority voting for dogs (eight to one), although it must be said that Trish, Helen, Liz A, Gail H and Liz We have no clear preference and had both types as friends in their household. The mob went wild when Trish did use the word of the evening a dozen times.

It was time for our prepared projects:

1. As part of her Question-and-Answer Session (Innovative Planning path, Level 4, elective project), Gail H presented first a speech titled "Making a Project Linus Quilt". After giving us background information about the society, she presented some of her own work and then let us ask her questions about the presentation and topic. It was a highly engaged Q&A with Gail being relaxed while answering. The project and speech were evaluated by Christiane.
2. Trish's speech "Biggest Communication Myth" (Motivational Strategies path, Level 2, project 2: Understanding your Communication Style) made us all think about how we address certain cliques at boardroom meetings. She commented that there is no wrong communication style, but some might work better with the differences between the sexes. (It was taken on by Toastmaster Paul later in the meeting when he gave us the explanation why he prefered dogs over cats because of his cat)
   Shaun evaluated her speech.
3. Marlene presented her speech "Don't Look at the Dog" (Engaging Humour, Level 3, project 1: Engage Your Audience with Humour) with a twist in the story: Her neighbour got her good. Not only did the story fit perfect into the theme of the evening, but made us all laugh when Marlene impersonated her neighbour's dog. We were all amazed on the flip card Marlene used to remind her of the next segment of her story. It was evaluated by Helen.

Since our fourth speaker was stuck at work, Liz We was ready to step in as Table Topic Master to call on:

1. 
   Crony Carmy - Would you spent the money to bring your pet to Australia? Carmy gave us a clear negation, but told us about a time she brought a puppy to Thursday Island for her son. She concluded her story with the sad Good-Bye: when they left Thursday Island three years later, she left the dog behind because of the associated travel cost.
   
2. Ally Will - Would you dress up your animal? Will gave us the suggestion of having a parade of Linus quilt dressed up dogs and cats, but decided that his favourite on his dog was a super-hero outfit.
3. Accomplice John - Which animal would you like to be? After going through options and pros and cons, he arrived as a childhood memory, so settled for golden retriever.
4. Playmate Trish - Which kind of cat would you like to be? Trish expanding our thinking when we hear cat and settled on panther or cheetah.
   
5. Aide Helen - Tell us about a camping holiday with a pet of yours which caused disruption. Helen took her dog to cold Lithgow. Her protector only had to sleep the first night outside the tent.
   

Paul called on Timer Rosie for the Table Topic evaluations and stumped her. He was after the timing.

Afterwards, Carmy presented her raffle: making us laugh by regifting Toastmasters' gifts on the theme of "Tea or Coffee".

 

We used the supper break to purchase tickets (note the notes to see how popular the raffle was), write our well-wishes for Chris (he is currently in hospital with a compound fracture after a motorbike accident), sample some goodies provided by Liz We and exchange news.

The second half was a shorter part with us voting for our awards while Paul told us about his vet sagas (differences between his cat and dog), Liz A reporting on eight associates using the word (with Trish being the winner), Rosie giving us her final timing report and Carmy asking John to draw the raffle (with Trish being the winner).

 

 

 

 

To conclude the meeting of our fraternity, Gail reminded us about the next meeting being contest night as well as handing awards to:

Best Speech - Marlene

Best Evaluation - Shaun

Best Table Topic - John

Most Improved - Will

 

 

Our next meeting on September 12 will be our Humourous Speech and Table Topic contest night.

Meeting 1135 - "Showtime"

The Royal Brisbane Show, affectionately known as "The Ekka", was on last week, so dazzling Toastmaster Liz grandly took the opportunity to give us impressive statistics about its wondrous beginnings and the remarkable journey onwards.

Extraordinary Sergeant at Arms Helen called the meeting to order before reading the mission statement. She then told us a conspicuous Dad joke (or should that be a Mum joke?).

Prominent President Gail H opened the meeting.

Stunning Toastmaster Liz We firstly called on Vice President Education to find out about any changes to the meeting order. For those members who printed the program after 3pm, there were no changes.

The Toast "To our speakers tonight" was held by charming Carmy.

Wonderful Wordmaster Michael gave us "Striking" with a handicap for dynamite Trish to give us all a fair chance.

Afterwards, compelling Gail H introduced us to the fascinating topic of the Round Robin: Which is your most favourite (or worst) ride at a show?

Can you tell, that some members had the same favourite ride?

What was also noteworthy, is the laughs that some responses got when we were reminded of rides long in the past.

It was then time for the impressive prepared speeches:

1. Arun presented his Icebreaker speech titled "I am not there yet" (Strategic Relationships path, Level 1, project 1: Icebreaker) eminently telling us about his journey within Toastmasters and what it meant for his career change. Jonathon evaluated the speech in detail.
   
2. Trish spoke about "Facebook Live Challenge" (Motivational Strategies path, Level 1, project 4: Researching and Presenting) and gave us exceptional tips to re-purpose and leverage knowledge/ words we already have. The presentation was earnestly evaluated by Jonathon.
   
3. Chris introduced us to a medical innovation with his speech "Anti-D" (Innovative Planning path, Level 3, elective project: Using Descriptive Language) by evidently utilising descriptive words. It was carefully evaluated by Christiane.
   

What better raffle price than your own show bag to take home? Liz We enticed us through and through with abundant chocolate selections and a bottle of wine to wash it down.

Telling Timer Helen kept us on time throughout the meeting, so we were able to go into supper ahead of time.

 

This gave us ample time to purchase raffle tickets as well as sample the fascinating goodies provided by Carmy and Trish. 

 

To Reply or Reply all, this is the question: In her soapbox segment, Christiane tremendously made us aware of her two biggest annoyances when it comes to email etiquette: subject line should match the body of the email plus when to use reply (to thank an officer for their report) or reply all (when asked for volunteers for a task).

Gail W ran the Table Topics segment stunningly. She called on:

1. Arrestive Arun - What is the silliest purchase you have ever made? Face cream, but not realising for what it was.
   
2. Telling Trish - What Family Tradition do you still follow? She is intensely focused on Christmas: a different T-shirt on every day in December, full turkey feast on Christmas Day.
   
3. Lofty Liz We - What was the most scary amusement ride you’ve been on? She meticulously told us about a roller coaster ride as well as running after special needs children up the Helter skelter ride (and needing to come back down)
   
4. Compelling Carmy - What is the worst junk food experience you’ve had? Her sister gave her fruit fritters, not realising that it had pineapple in it. Because of her food allergy, she had to assiduously suffer the consequences.
   
5. Jazzy Jonathon - What is your opinion of fireworks and the costs associated with them? Don't allow the magic of fireworks be stopped.
   
6. Memorable Michael - What is your favourite breed of dog and why? After tossing options around reputably, he surprisingly took a raincheck on the decision.
    

The responses were efficiently evaluated by Christiane and Gail H.

Handsome Wordmaster Michael reported that his "right hand was kept busy" during the meeting noting the excessive usage of "striking". Due to the handicap awarded to Trish, Liz We just took the lead by a insignificant margin.

Marlene was our General Evaluator and summarised the meeting prominently, giving outstanding suggestions to various roles.

When it came time for the raffle draw, Raffle Master Liz We asked our guest Daniel (who attended the second half) to draw the winner: Beautiful Helen.

 

In her closing remarks, cogent President Gail H reminded us of the Speak-a-thon next Tuesday as well as of the upcoming contests.

She also asked guest Daniel for feedback, before she awarded:

Best Speech - Arun

Best Evaluation - Jonathon

Best Table Topic - Liz We & Jonathon

Most Improved - Michael

Sandgate Toastmasters is meeting on August 29 (fifth Tuesday) for a Speak-a-thon.

Meeting 1134 - "Change or be Changed"

Learn to transform within an ever-evolving world or you might be "forced to be changed" were the opening words of Toastmaster Arun when he first explained the topic to Sandgate Toastmasters and its guests.

The meeting was called to order by Sergeant at Arms Helen with a slight alteration: she welcomed our first-time guests Liz and Amit as well as our returning guests Will and Shaun.

Upon popular request, she cited half an explanation (leaving us in suspense until after supper) of railway gauges.

Helen then read the mission statement before handing to President Gail H to open the meeting.

Gail H thanked all members who participated at the Einbunpin Festival and was glad to see guests from the stall.

Toastmaster Arun first called on Vice President Liz for the program changes who was overjoyed that there were no mutation necessary.

Next, Rosie gave us the toast "To Courage" which is the second line of the serendipity prayer.

Subsequently, Chris presented a challenging word of the evening with metamorphosis meaning a profound change of form or structure.

In the Round Robin led by Carmy, we were encouraged to answer the question: "What positive changes have you made in your life?" It shows that the question brought a lot of interest, since all of our guests also spoke on the topic with answers ranging from health (activity level and diet) over household chores and changing taps to marriage and career changes.

In our speech segment, we were treated to an Icebreaker, followed by two speeches.

1. Michael told us an emotional snippet about his own life in his speech "The highs and lows of horse racing" (Presentation Mastery path, Level 1, project 1: Icebreaker) with a few open ends to be closed in his future speeches. The speech was evaluated by Paul.
   
2. Helen finished her speech titled "Humble Beginnings" (Presentation Mastery path, Level 1, project 2: Writing a Speech with Purpose) about the tulip with a question to us all: "How can we idolise a thing?" Rosie evaluated the informative speech by encouraging to spend more emphasis on the opening and conclusion to help the audience remember a speech.
   
3. Christiane's speech "Attracting more... (Fill in the blank)" (Persuasive Influence path, Level 4, elective project: Public Relations Strategies) was a reflection on her public relations plan for Sandgate Toastmasters' social media campaign. It was evaluated by Gokul who was referencing back to his opening segment of which purpose Christiane's speech should fulfill.
   

Arun presentation of his raffle was a very short variation, but he took it with humour when his transfiguration was pointed out.

Throughout the evening, Gail W kept us running smoothly by using the timing lights and giving us brief timing reports.

At the supper break with supper provided by Jonathon and Christiane, we were able to eat, drink, catch up and laugh together.

The second half of our meeting started with the promised completion of the railroad gauges by Helen before it was time for Table Topics.

Table Topic Master Jonathon called on:

1. Gokul - "The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude." Does it strike a chord with you? - Yes, especially for him when it comes to electric cars.
   
2. Narelle - Can you share a time in your life when you chose to change something about yourself? What inspired that change, and what did you learn from the experience? - Cutting six-weekly hairdo expenses for functions helped her to save a deposit for a house.
   
3. Chris - Leaders often are agents of change. Can you speak to a time when you've influenced others to change their thought or behaviours? Or, conversely, when someone has profoundly changed you? - He spoke of his retired work colleague and how Chris has learnt that the fun stuff at work also entails paperwork.
   
4. Rosie - Our tastes in food, music, or hobbies can change as we grow. Can you tell us about something you used to dislike but now enjoy, or vice versa? What prompted this change? - She used to love eating pork (even with poo), but now dislikes it because it doesn't agree with her tummy. She used to dislike oysters, but her husband has introduced her to a delicious version.
   
5. Christiane - Can you tell us about a time when you moved to a new city or country? How did you adapt to the change, and what were the most memorable experiences? - Coming to Australia, firstly standing corrected by her coordinator, then not being able to distinguish between acceptable phrases and trade language.
   
6. Liz A (guest) - Have you ever taken up a new hobby or learned a new skill that changed your daily routine? Can you share your journey and how it made you feel? - Growing up, she wasn't allowed to do sport, because she had to learn how to run a household. With her move to Brisbane, she has taken up Crossfit and loving it.
   
7. Shaun (guest) - Technology is often a driver of change in our lives. Can you share your thoughts on how technology has changed your life, either positively or negatively, and how you've adapted to those changes? - Although he built his own computer when he was 14 years old, he can't keep up with technology. Others made triple his income by sitting in front of a ring light.
   
8. Michael - Have you ever tried to change a habit, either by breaking a bad one or forming a new one? Can you share your struggles and successes with this change? - Changing to a dairy- and gluten-free diet made him feel overall better, but is a challenge when going to fast food eateries with his kids.

The above Table Topics were evaluated by Liz We and Marlene who focussed on the use of descriptive language and personal stories, respectively.

Sergeant at Arms Helen collected the votes while Arun gave us more examples what is required to keep up with the amendments.

The business session chaired by Liz We resulted in a moved motion.

Chris reported on the perceived difficulty to pronounce the word of the evening and declared revamped Rosie as the winner.

In her general evaluation, Gail H pointed out the participation of all members in meetings.

Following this, Arun asked guest Liz to draw the raffle winner and brought a smile to Rosie being able to take a gift card home.

President Gail H closed the meeting by asking our guests for feedback with Will, Shaun and Liz announcing to become members. (No pressure for Amit being very welcome to come back and observe as a guest for another time).

Finally she awarded:

• Best Speech to Michael
• Best Table Topic to Narelle
• Best Evaluation to Marlene
• Most Improved to Michael

Our next meeting is on August 22 with a third meeting in August being on August 29.

Einbunpin Festival

As every year, we also had a stall this year.

The sun was shining when the stall was built and the bunting hung up.

Here are some impression of the day.

We attracted several visitors - some with stories of how natural Toastmaster slang is to us. (A reminder that we don't assume everybody knows what Toastmasters is and all those acronyms).

We are looking forward to many visitors at our next meeting on August 8.

Thank you to all members helping out - volunteering on the day as well as pulling strings in the background by signing us up etc.

Meeting 1133 - "Toastmasters"

You might wonder why Marlene chose the theme of Toastmasters at a Toastmasters meeting. She was very thoughtful: She explained that she wanted us to think about how we will answer the question "What is Toastmasters?" on this coming Sunday at the Einbunpin festival. We had ample opportunity to reflect why we came to Toastmasters and why we stayed - ready to be grilled by the festival visitors to find out more about Toastmasters.

For the first time, Sergeant at Arms Helen called the meeting to order and read us the mission statement.

President Gail H was on fire with her to-do list:

• Opening meeting 

• Report on Club Officer Training
  

• Welcoming first-time guests Daniel & Shaun (have you ever seen anybody be so excited as Rosie to introduce our guest?) as well as returning guest Will
  

• Presenting member badges to Gail W and Helen
  

• Presenting the secretary certificate to Chris
  

• Inducting Michael officially into our club

 

 

 

Marlene introduced us to the theme with the explanation above.

She called on Liz We for program changes - just one small change.

Hazel cross-examined Toastmasters core values of integrity, respect, service and excellence. She toasted to "Toastmasters Core Values and especially Integrity".

It was time for Narelle to present the word of the evening: Toast. Not sure if she was aware, but every time we handed back to Madame Toastmaster, she had to add a tally for each person...

Gokul led us in the Round Robin with "The one thing you love most about Toastmasters" - bringing toasty responses from hype to confidence to learning while having fun. Even our guests were fired up to give their opinion.

 

The three speeches of the evening were presented by:

1. 

   Arun - "What got me here" (Dynamic Leadership path, Level 5, project 1: Reflect on Your Path) received a standing ovation because Arun has completed a path. His take home message was to get out of your comfort zone and put up your hand. The speech was evaluated by Helen.
   
2. Trish - "Meetings - What, Why, How" (Motivational Strategies path, Level 1, project 4 - Researching and Presenting) took us on a journey where meetings originated and how not to hold them. In her evaluation, Christiane pointed out the humour which was used to convey the preparation into setting up a successful meeting.
   
3. Liz We - "Easy: Easy speak as a club management tool" (Visionary Communication path, level 4, project 1 - Communicate Change) which introduced the club to the new program scheduling and how to request roles. Paul commented in his evaluation that although it might be a challenging software, Liz We presented the advantages.

Trying to persuade us to buy raffle tickets, Gail W presented the perfect dinner for two prepared: her secret Bolognese sauce with fresh pasta, parmesan cheese, garlic bread and red wine. Our taste buds were sizzling.

We learnt from Timer Michael that we were running slightly overtime, so the supper break was shortened.

We still managed to buy raffle tickets, prepare a hot drink, stuff our faces with non-toasted items provided by Paul and Liz We as well as catch up with members and guests.

 

 

 

After the break, we went into Table Topics (those impromptu sparks were flying). Gail H asked:

1. Michael - What made you decide to join Sandgate Toastmasters? Improve in speaking to media on daily basis.
2. Rosie - What made you decide to come back to Sandgate Toastmasters? Good place, great people, good training
   
3. Narelle - What have you found to be the most useful about being in Toastmasters? Giving me the confidence that it is ok to make a mistake
   
4. Christiane - Do you really enjoy being in Speech contests? YES, bring them on (since they let you grow)
   

The Table Topics were evaluated by Chris and Hazel commenting on reviewing structure to bring the Table Topic to the next level.

During the collection of our votes by Helen, Marlene was able to impart some more knowledge of her nearly 30 years with Toastmasters.

Narelle gave her summary report of how we used the word "toast" not only within Toastmasters, but also toasty, being toast and having no burned bread within a meeting. The winner was Trish, closely followed by Arun and Helen.

General Evaluator Jonathon commented about the vibe, especially pointing out the double sell strategy by Gail W and the executive call by Gail H to cut down Table Topic questions before he moved into commenting about the evaluations and how to redefine parameters to suit our listening skills.

Rosie kept us on our toes with the Listening Quiz' questions about what we heard and seen tonight. We passed with flying colours - the amount collected was very minimal.

Gail W asked our guest Daniel to draw the winner which was a very happy Paul.

In closing, Gail H asked the visitors for feedback, reminded us of upcoming events (contests, August 29 meeting and Area conference) as well as presenting the awards:

Best Speech - Arun

Best Table Topic - Rosie

Best Evaluation - Paul

Most Improved - Michael

Our next meeting will be on August 8.

Change-Over Dinner - "Moving Forward"

Celebrating the year which was and welcoming the year to improve in communication and leadership, was the purpose of the Change-Over Dinner.

Incoming President Gail H had selected “Moving Forward” and John even found a fitting quote which he presented (see in picture).

The evening was opened by none other than our outgoing Sergeant at Arms Gokul who changed his script for the venue change. We celebrated at The Sands Social.

Outgoing President Paul welcomed us to the meeting before welcoming our visitors outgoing Area Director Suresh and Area Director Suzanne as well as guests Brian, Colin and Peter S. It was followed by his outgoing speech which included acknowledging the newest members (and their achievements) as well as congratulating all Sandgate members for reaching President's Distinguished Club.

Toastmaster of the evening was John Topping who started with a joke, then a quote and moved into the Warm Up/Round Robin segment. 

 

The topic was supplied by Jonathon who was sadly absent: "Tell us about a difficult decision you had to make to be able to move forward." We listen to stories about job changes and moving to a new country, but also the decision to go to university as well as accepting all the suggestions from the future in-laws for the upcoming wedding.

Christiane gave us the invocation for the meal to follow shortly. 

Prior though, Trish was able to see if we had been paying attention (and/or reading the blog) to answer her 10 questions (with 2 bonus points). Gail H was the winner with knowing all the answers.

Dan presented the toast to "Sandgate Toastmasters Club and Toastmasters International".

We were then served with alternating options of steak or chicken parmigiana.

 

 

 

 

Before we were treated to dessert (carrot slice or cherry ripe slice), Table Topics masters Narelle and Helen called on:

1. Peter - If you're not moving forward, you are...
   
2. Arun - Moving is challenging, tell us about your challenging experience moving. - He gave us loads of examples.
   
3. Gail W - How do you know when it's time to move on? - You just know.
   
4. Gokul - What rules would you like to change at school, work or home? - He gave us many.
   
5. Michael - What are a few fun ways to answer the boring question of "What do you do for work?"? - Chirades.
   
6. Trish - If you could only wear one colour of clothing forever, what would it be? - We were not surprised! (If you don't know, look at her photo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we entered the official part were Outgoing Area Director Suresh thanked the 2022/2023 officers before dismissing them.

Subsequently, our Area Director for 2023/2024 Suzanne inducted the 2023/2024 officers before presenting her Area Director speech. She invited us to Save the Date: November 5 for the Area 8 conference.

 

Immediate Past President Paul had the honour to present three awards:

• 100% attendance - Marlene 

(with Gail H receiving an honourable mention since she only missed 2 meetings due to a holiday trip, but made up for those by visiting the Area (for 2 areas), Division and District conference as well as judging at club level)

• Most Improved - Arun (this award is voted on by the combined officers - outgoing and incoming)

• Toastmaster of the Year - John (this award is allocated using a point system for roles, level completion, contest participation etc.)

Thereupon we heard from President Gail and her outlook on the year ahead especially pointing out the 50th year of chartering Sandgate Toastmasters Club in May 2024, but also contests, officer training and encouragement to new members.

The raffle draw followed which was organised and run by Marlene and Gail W. Lucky winners were Christiane (three times!), Michael, Marlene, Liz We and Suzanne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, all attendees were encouraged to pick a book (or two) from the book swap table which had been overflowing with choices.

President Gail thanked all attendees in her close and reminded us of our next meeting on July 25.