13th January 2021 - Zero to Hero in a 12-Week Yearo

 

The meeting was opened by our President, Martin.

Pat was Toastmaster for the evening and he welcomed the members, returning members and guests.

As Meeting Housekeeper, Jenny explained the layout of the meeting and the different post-holders explained their roles -

Christoffer, Grammarian for the evening, gave our word of week, which was sirenic, meaning melodious, tempting or alluring.

Margaret was Ah Counter for the night; Frances was Timekeeper; Aisling C was to present the Creative Corner; Martin was General Evaluator; Máire was Scribe and Eugene was Topicsmaster...

With a lovely backdrop of Nenagh, Eugene, introduced topics as varied as graffiti, Murphy's Law, 3 bottles of wine versus 10 bottles of beer, and what to do when feeling bored. Members spoke wittily and entertainingly on the topics, especially on what we like to do when bored - something we know a lot about with no travel or nights out on the agenda these days, thanks to tighter Covid restrictions since the new year!

SPEAKER #1, Maria, gave an inspiring ice-breaker speech entitled GOAL FOR GROWTH, which drew on the book 'Strengths Finder' by Tom Rath, which enables one to identify and develop their own strengths. Maria's speech was for PATHWAYS - Innovative Planning (L1).

SPEAKER #2 was Aisling N, who captivated us with her PATHWAYS - Innovative Planning (L3 elective) Connect With Storytelling speech. This speech, entitled FROM ZERO TO BECOMING MY OWN HERO, included the speaker's own life experiences, with some Michael Flatley thrown in.

SPEAKER #3 was Christoffer, who gave a PATHWAYS - Persuasive Influence (L1) Evaluation and Feedback #1 speech, entitled THE 12 WEEK YEAR. Christoffer's persuasive speech has ensured that all Galway Toastmasters members have since then managed to fit four times the work into the same time-frame.....

After a short break, Molly Aisling C, and Jenny gave their valued and helpful feedback on the above speeches.

Grammarian Christoffer told us that the word "sirenic" had been used 13 times during the course of the meeting, and by 44.5% of those present.

Ah-Counter Margaret told her that there were 32 "ahs" used during the evening.

Aisling C gave an entertaining Creative Corner, which introduced us to some fascinating content from the book "Funny You Should Ask". We all learnt some interesting new facts such as who is the most isolated person in the world, can animals get sunburnt and why buttons are traditionally on opposite sides of an opening for men and for women.

President Martin evaluated the night's meeting, then brought the meeting to a close. The next meeting is scheduled for 8-10pm Wednesday 27 January 2021.