Feb. 29, 2012: Meeting Recap

Post date: Jul 29, 2012 11:36:45 PM

Fellow Toastmasters,

The next club meeting is on Wed. March 28, and last night was once in a four year meeting (Feb. 29, get it?).  The agenda was expertly led by our TM of the day: Todd.  The word of the day was 'remiss', chosen by Preetam Sirur, the Word Master for the meeting.

We started with Eloise who read us a play: "Day Trip to Agra".  She put life in the play's characters by relying on vocal variety and using the speaking space in unique ways (if you missed it, you'll have to ask someone who attended the meeting).  The play painted vivid images as the characters went to visit the Taj Mahal.  Project #4 from the Interpretive Reading Manual is hard: Eloise showed us how it can be done.

The second speaker, Momodou Sawaneh, told us about arranged marriages. He weaved facts and his personal story very effectively.  His use of long pauses reinforced his points effectively.  In the end the audience learned more about arranged marriages... and about Momodou too.

Dorcia spoke last and lit up the room with a problem solving discussion.  The audience had an opportunity to participate by playing roles.  Dorcia kept the discussion on track by addressing concerns while keeping her composure in front of a frustrated audience.  Along the way we all became more knowledgeable about Child Services in NYC.

Table Topics were led by yours truly.  Questions spanned politics, health, technology, and business.  All speakers managed to answer a random table topic; they were not simple (the questions, not the speakers).  Have fun taking a look at the attachment, it's all in there.

Ivana led the general evaluation, effortlessly moving from one evaluator to the next, and then to the reports.  She capped by pointing out that the room setup was conducive of a productive meeting; yet we should have started on time.  Overall, a clear demonstration of a smooth general evaluation unfolding.

The evaluators Christine, Harry, and Todd had the arduous task of offering feedback to our advanced speakers.  They delivered crisp evaluations by sharing relevant observations and suggested concrete steps for improvement.

Finally the timer (Chetan) and ah counter/grammarian (Michelle) respectively helped us to manage time, and rid our speeches of verbal crutches.  Thank you.

Overall, a very productive meeting with a solid attendance.

Best,

~ - ~ -  ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Francois-Xavier Charpentier de Beauville

President, Advanced Public Speakers