March 28, 2012: Meeting Recap

Post date: Jul 29, 2012 11:37:33 PM

Fellow Toastmasters,

Once again, our meeting on March 28 was packed with energy.  Thanks to our dynamic Toastmasters of the Day Georgia Jones, the meeting ran smoothly from beginning to end.  More importantly, Georgia placed the meeting under the theme of "spring", which influenced speeches and table topics questions.

Speaking of, Todd McKinney led a wonderful table topics sessions.  He relied on famous people's quotes to ask though-provoking questions.  For example:

• Are we held back by our experiences?  Can we really change?

• Before taking a first step, do you believe you need to see the whole staircase or simple take a leap of faith?

• Do you need to shed the old skin in order to become your real self?

This  continues the trend of table topics that really make you think.  I am eagerly waiting to see if the next Table Topics master is going to do as well or better.

Our first speaker was Christine Navigante.  Believe it or not, she told ... a childhood Disney story.  Even more amazing are the life lessons that she was able to draw from it.  Intrigued?  Speak to Christine and she'll tell you more.

The second speaker, Kimberly Taylor, gave us a griping account of a dire situation at St. Vincent Hospital.  Playing the role of an SVP at a press conference, she even led a QA session with the audience.  And she nailed it!

Jose Garcia spoke third, and challenged us to put ourselves in front of others; to rely on our Toastmasters skills to excel in uncontrolled environment (unlike Toastmasters meetings).

We were honored to have with us Raoul Yacinthe, our Division B Governor.  He officially presented the Club Charter to the club.

The word of the day was "zest", and was (over?)used several times during the meeting.  Thanks to Eloise Johnny the meeting stayed on time, and Michelle Edery as our Grammarian/Ah Counter helped us polish our public speaking abilities.

This recap wouldn't be complete without thanking our evaluators Raoul, Gouri, and Ivana.  They emphasized what speakers did well, without shying away from providing actionable suggestions for improvement.

Finally, our next meeting is on April 25, and the Nominating Committee will present the list of candidates for the next team of club officers.

Best,

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

Francois-Xavier Charpentier de Beauville

President, Advanced Public Speakers