Fun Night

Because of the Changeover Dinner on Monday night, we didn't have our regular meeting this week, but we had an informal "Fun Night" for those who wished to come.

It's just as well it wasn't a regular meeting, because when we arrived, we found that our room was being used by another organisation and we had been delegated to the much smaller boardroom upstairs. There were only 13 of us, so we fitted comfortably around the large table.

It was good to have our previous, guests Liz, Leonie and Nicoholas back again, as well as Inge who came for the first time.

Liz started us off with a Round Robin, then Del presented a speech from the Interpretive Reading manual, which we evaluated as a group.

After tea and coffee and chocolate biscuits, we divided into 3 teams for a challenging fast-talking game of Articulate.

Some of the clues required deep concentration.

Raider & Nicholas

But the overall game was hilarious!

Rose & Del

Leesa & Leonie

Don't forget, there are three Tuesdays in this month, so it will be three weeks till our next meeting on the 13th July.

Change Over Night

It was Peninsula Toastmasters turn to host the Change Over  this year. We joined them for dinner at the Redefined Restuarant at Redcliffe.

The theme was "You're a Star." Some people wore shiny dress, some dressed as movie or TV stars, some wore something to represent their star sign, and others just came as themselves.

Area Governor Asoki inducted our new Executive officers for the coming year. Outgoing president Meriel presented us with our new officer manuals.

Trophies were presented to John -Toastmaster of the Year (in centre), Sharyn - Most Improved, and Dave - 100% Attendance. (on left.)

A good time was had by all.

Monica, Rose, Dave

Monica, Marlene (incoming president,) Del

Movie star Sharyn

John as "Wilson" from "Tim the Toolman"

Meeting 834 Theme - "Winter"

Rhys was voted best speaker last meeting, with his speech "Train Trips and Reality." It was a very clever speech inspired by the title of a book a fellow passenger was reading on a recent train trip.

Dave brought along one of his model planes and explained the principles of flight. Dave is working from the "Speaking to Inform " manual.

Sharyn presented a helpful educational session on "How to conclude a speech."

Del has come back from her trip and she competently performed the role of Toastmaster.

The business session was chaired by Tony. It was his first time as Chairman and he handled it well, with a bit of advice from John.

Another first timer was Jacqui, in her role of General Evaluator. 

It was good to see past member Nicholas again, as well as several other visitors. 

There will be no regular meeting next time, because the Change Over Dinner is on the night before. However, we will have an informal night with games & maybe a speech or two for anyone who wants to come along. 

Table Topics Made Simple

by Liz 

Why are so many Toastmasters terrified of Table Topics?

Perhaps it’s because they do not see it as an impromptu “mini speech”. Whilst you cannot be prepared for the actual topic, you can follow simple some guidelines.

One method of presenting a Table Topic is to use P R E P.

That is – POINT, REASON, EXAMPLES, POINT.

P – Make a point. If the topic was “who do you think is a great achiever? You would open the Table Topic by stating who you would call a great achiever.

R – Give the reason/reasons you have made that point. Why this person in your opinion deserves that title, or explain who the person is if not as well know.

E – Give an example (or two) – what did this person do – what have they achieved, and how.

P – End by reiterating your point in summary format. For example – that is why I feel XYZ stands out as a great achiever.

This method also gives you an Opening, Body and Conclusion, so is indeed a “mini speech”.

Another approach could be chronological format, that is PAST PRESENT & FUTURE.

On the same Table Topic you could answer:

When I was young, I admired and looked up to XYZ (expand as to why) (PAST)

But as I have matured, I find my heros are everyday people who have achieved great things (expand with some names and achievements) (PRESENT)

I imagine in the future, my heros will change again, because I will have a different perspective of what is a great achiever (FUTURE).

So, maybe next time you are offered the opportunity to participate in Table Topics, try using one of these methods to put your ideas into a format that will be less terrifying.

It's a Girl!!

STOP PRESS

Damian and his wife Colleen have a new little daughter, Amika Alana. Congratulations Damian and Colleen!

A future Toastmaster?

Meeting 833 "Great Achievers"

The most thrilling moment last meeting was when we heard that Jonathon's little girl Sophia had improved enough to go home from hospital. Sophia had been critically ill since Easter and we had all been anxiously following her progress. Sophia and her Mum and Dad are truly "Great Achievers"

New member June presented the word for the evening  "Dexterity." It was used by quite a few people during the evening.

Asoki, our Area Governor attended the meeting and presented a most inspiring address.

President Meriel with Area Governor Asoki.

Meriel, Kylie & Tony

Tony was Toastmaster for the first time, and handled the job with dexterity.

Kylie presented her 3rd Speech. "What I learnt, I learnt in Kindergarten."

Jacqui's speech was cleverly presented like a debate. "To be busy at home is to be Queen of the House." It was her 9th speech.

For his Soapbox segment, Robert gave a very interesting talk about Braille and the man who invented it. He even had samples for us to feel.

I remembered the camera this time & took photos of the award winners at the end of the meeting.

Kylie & Sharyn tied for Best Table Topic

Best Evaluator- Rose

Best Speech - Kylie

Best Contribution - Liz

Encouragement Award - June

Meeting 832 Stepping out of your Comfort Zone

 All three of our scheduled speakers had dropped out last meeting. John and Jacqui saved the day (or evening) by each stepping out of their comfort zone to deliver a great impromptu speech. John was given the quote, "He that plants a tree loves others beside himself." and turned it into an amazing well crafted speech.
Jacqui rushed home to get a couple of props and spoke about "Secret Baskets" which is a product of her mobile beauty business "Pink Pampers."
We also had an educational on "Selecting a Topic."


This was also our Election of Club Officers meeting. The results were:
President: Marlene
Vice President Education: Sharyn
Vice President Membership: Trish
Vice President Public Relations: Kylie
Secretary: Jacqui
Treasurer: Tony
Sergeant at Arms: Rhys
Parliamentarian: John
Bulletin Editor: Kylie
Website: Marlene 

I forgot to get a photo of the new executive, but managed to take one of Monica speaking during the Round Robin. That's Jacqui's "Secret Basket"  in the foreground.

District 69 Convention

John, Trish, Meriel and Leesa attended the District 69 Convention which was held at Caloundra during the May Day weekend.

 Meriel, our club president was proud to carry our banner in the banner parade.

They all had a wonderful time.

Meeting 830 "Anzacs"

Anzac Day is not far away (25th April) so our theme last meeting was "Anzacs."  A special guest was Rose's "Digger" bear, who proudly stood at attention throughout the meeting.

New member Damian was inducted.

Toastmaster Trish presented us with information about Anzac Day and handed out  the recipe for Anzac biscuits.

 ANZAC BISCUITS

• 50g Plain Flour
• 75g Sugar
• 50g Dessicated Coconut
• 50g Rolled Oats
• 50g Butter
• 1Tablespoon Golden Syrup
• 1/2 Teaspoon Bread Soda (Bicarb)
• 2 Tablespoons Boiling Water

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix flour, sugar coconut & oats together. Melt butter & golden syrup together. Dissolve soda in boiling water & add to the melted butter & syrup. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients & add the liquids, mixing well. Roll teaspoonsful of the mixture into balls & place on a well greased baking tray. Flatten slightly with a fork dipped in water. Bake 15-20 minutes until brown. Allow to cool slightly on tray before transferring to wire cooling rack.

SPEECHES

In his speech titled "Terra not so Firma" Dave showed us how land masses are formed and why earthquakes occur.

John spoke about "Poor Performance." The reasons for poor performance, he said were often:

• Poor selection (of employee, etc)
• People who don't know what the job is
• People who don't know how to do the job
• Someone or something preventing them from doing the job.

 -  all of which are results of poor performance of the boss.

NEXT MEETING  will be close to Mother's day, so our theme will be "All in the Family." We are looking forward to a visit from Asoki our Area Governor, and hearing speeches by Damian and Kylie and Asoki and an Educational Session by Sharyn.

Combined Meeting - Easter theme

Happy Easter Everyone!

Easter was the theme for our extra meeting last week. (There were 5 Tuesdays this month, so we took advantage of the extra Tuesday.) Our friends from Peninsula Toastmasters joined with us for a fun filled meeting.

There were plenty of Table Topics, with even our guest Damian joining in.

Chris and Hayden from Peninsula Club each presented inspiring speeches. Chris spoke about "Being a Friend" while Hayden's speech was "Roses and Marshmallows."

In his speech "Show Me," our own member Michael told how he enjoys his role as Sergeant at Arms.

It is time for everyone to start thinking what role they might take on for the coming Toastmasters year. Elections will be held at our first meeting in May. I'll send out a nomination form soon.