Kylie's report on Training at Chermside

With three winter training dates on offer, I attended an evening session on Thursday 1 July at Chermside.  An overview of each club officer role was provided to all, rather than breaking into groups - given a Toastmaster Club operates best with teamwork, I found it really useful to learn about all the roles.

In particular for the VPPR role I learned the importance of marketing and public relations to ensure viable club numbers; various ways to promote the club to non-members, members and previous guests; the need for consistency of the message; and where to go for further information and ideas.  One tip I particularly liked was to advertise a "free meeting for guests".

I also really enjoyed meeting other Toastmasters and members of area and district executive.  

This photo is of Kris and Sue from Peninsula Toastmasters,Kylie, and Inga from Queensland Rail Toastmasters (who have one hour lunch meetings). 

Officer Training Day

The first duty of a Toastmasters Executive Officer is to attend the Officer Training Days which are held twice a year. I usually find the day inspiring  and a great opportunity to catch up with old and new friends from other Toastmaster clubs.

The worst part was having to get up early on a very cold morning so we could arrive at St Joseph's College by 8.30 am!

The first session was for the various officer roles. I attended the  Presidents training. I liked the way Trish (who presented it) got those who had previously been club presidents to give their contact details to the first time presidents, so we  could help one another.

The session that I found most fun was "Taking a New Direction." To get our creative juices flowing, we were divided into teams & given a large piece of Alfoil (silver paper) and asked to make  the creature that was printed on a slip of paper that we recieved.

Del from Jacaranda Club put the finishing touches on our team's turtle. It was a miracle that anyone guessed what it was!

One of the teams made an impressive fish that spouted water!

There were a lot of other good sessions to choose from. The one that I found most helpful was "Effective Evaluation." Marilyn D had some really helpful tips, and we had a test speaker to evaluate.

There was an article by Marilyn on evaluation in the last edition of Corroborree Magazine. Page 14. If you haven't seen it, you can download it  from District 69 Website.

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.