Meeting on 13th September.

The meeting was opened by our Stand in President for the evening Pat. Pat immediately put everyone at ease with his distinctive brand of humor. After a general introduction he welcomed our Toastmaster for the evening Ellen who subsequently introduced the club officers for the meeting.

Donal got the ball rolling with an Educational speech emphasizing the importance of “Mentoring” It was a strong call to action for experienced members of the club to step forward and mentor our newer members and encourage them at the start of their Toastmasters journey.

Rob was our Topicsmaster for the evening and he provided a wide range of topics that ensured people had to think on their feet.  Interestingly both Pat & Rob did something that all experienced Toastmasters do and that is poke fun at yourself. A great lesson in how not to take ourselves too seriously.

Shane opened with an Icebreaker and a more confident and relaxed Icebreaker would be hard to find.  He gave us an introduction to his career in engineering and the experiences it has provided him with.

Next, Doireann completed a CC4 speech and demonstrated how to speak on a serious and sometimes delicate topic with grace. This was a lesson in how to deliver a speech where the speaker shares their strongly held views without over imposing on an audience.

The final prepared speech was delivered by Frances & this speech was a real gem. There was a real sense of serendipity about this speech. The overriding message was about personal growth. Taking into consideration a small hiccup at the start with some technology issues, Frances could have struggled. However, in contrast, she demonstrated with finesse what all-good Toastmasters should do under unforeseen circumstances, which coincidentally was her closing statement “Keep moving forward”.

After the customary break for some tea & biscuits the evaluators kicked off the second part of the meeting. Martin, Jenny & Donal all provided strong words of encouragement as well as valuable feedback, which is integral in every speakers route to improvement.

Following on from the Evaluators feedback, the Toastmaster for the evening Ellen requested the reports of the Club Officers. Frank provided the creative corner for the meeting with a poem. Pat then provided a thorough General Evaluation for the evening full of positives for the Club in addition to some constructive words in terms of possible improvements. Upon his conclusion of General Evaluation he immediately stepped into his dual role of acting President & concluded the meeting. He finished with an invite for everyone to come attend the next meeting on Wed 28^th Sep.