Galway Toastmasters - 17th September 2025 - Open House

The meeting on the 17th  September was also an open house and around ten potential members attended. Warren,  our President, hosted the evening. He explained that a Toastmasters meeting is a place where one is encouraged to develop public speaking skills in a safe and supportive way. 

The different roles were explained by their takers.

The Tabletopics were introduced by Pat. He asked members to consider a world without some modern items we take for granted. Martin, Michael, Maud, Helen, Frances and Paul spoke of a world without passports, flushing toilets, GPS, ready meals and AI/robots  in an entertaining way.

Frances gave the first speech which told of her Toastmasters journey. A journey where saying YES brought her friendship, confidence, responsibility and much more.

Martin was the second speaker. He asked us to consider what we can do for Toastmasters. By bringing our stories and experiences, by listening  to others and engaging with them we all gain. We learn how to speak to our contemporaries, our teachers and to speak at weddings and to give presentations. 

After a convivial break the second half of the meeting where the evaluations are given started.

 Frances speech was evaluated by Mark. He thought it a speech full of humour and that her little stories captured the essence of Toastmasters as she took us through her Toastmaster's journey. A journey that encourages us to ask of ourselves. Why not accept a challenge.

Michael, a man who thinks his evaluations egregious, gave an excellent evaluation of Martin's speech.  He spoke of how it expressed the essence of being a toastmaster in a humorous and engaging way through language, eye contact and movement. 

Maud(General  Evaluator)and Helen(Grammarian)summed up the meeting commenting on the its themes of encouragement and  humour.  Bea(Creative Corner) read a poem on gratitude, a reminder to us of life's blessings and the hope that is always with us. 

Galway Toastmasters – 3rd September 2025 – Breaking the Ice, a medical device and what coaching is (and isn’t)

Galway Toastmasters held its first meeting following the summer in SCCUL Enterprise Centre at 8.00PM. September is always an exciting month in a club as members return from holidays and meet up not just to learn public speaking and leadership skills but also to swap stories of their summer.

Our meeting was opened by our President, Warren, in his usual warm and welcoming style. He quickly introduced Martin as our Toastmaster for the evening. Martin was double jobbing as the General Evaluator at this meeting which meant he would host the first and second half of the meetings. This was how Galway Toastmasters traditionally ran meetings up to about 5 years ago with one person running the meeting. IN more recent years that has been split between the Toastmaster and General Evaluator roles to allow more members the experience of helping to guide our meetings.

Martin introduced our officers for the meeting. Ciaran, Maud and Niamh took on the Ah-counter, Grammarian and Timekeeper roles respectively. Both Ciaran and Niamh as relatively new members so it was wonderful to see them getting involved so quickly. Niamh also took on the role of Creative Corner for the evening. Each of them introduced their role to the audience to benefit particularly guests and newer members. Martin then introduced Jekin who gave us a wide ranging and accessible range of unprepared Topics that members responded to. This really helps members develop on the spot thinking and is a wonderful part of our meetings.

Next came the prepared speeches. First Ian gave us his Icebreaker speech, the first prepared speech a member gives to the club. These speeches are always very interesting as they give us a sense of our, generally newer members.  This was followed by Pat’s speech “Galway's Medical Device Industry” which a fascinating insight into the impact that medical device companies have on Galway and on patients around the world. Pat had obviously put time and effort into researching what was an excellent, entertaining and educational speech. Finally, Kathy spoke on the theme of “The Coaching Experience - what it is and what it definitely isn't”. As an experienced Life Coach was able to set out what coaching is designed to do and what it isn’t. It was a well prepared, interesting and informative speech. We then had our break for tea, biscuits and a chat.

Following the break, Martin welcomed us back and introduced the evaluators for the three speeches before the break. Frances, Warren and Connie evaluated Ian, Pat and Kathy’s speeches from the first half. They all praised the positives that they found in the speeches and made one or two suggestions in each case where they felt slight changes may help the impact of the speech. Importantly, these suggestions are never delivered as criticisms but rather challenges to all of us to help us improve, try a different speaking technique or style. Perhaps more importantly, they highlight members support of each other and faith in our ability to grow, adapt and thrive.

Martin then introduced the officers who had to report back, namely the Ah-Counter and Grammarian. Once again, these roles make us aware both of areas that we might want to work on but also the wonderful language and imagery created in every meeting by the words and phrases members use. This was followed by Niamh’s wonderful creative corner.

The General Evaluator then evaluated the speech evaluators and the over all meeting before Martin filled as many roles as possible for the next meeting on 17^th September before handing back to Warren, our club President who closed the meeting. It was a wonderful, enjoyable meeting.

Galway Toastmasters - 20th August 2025 - Panicked yells, wedding bells and bluebells

Our meeting was opened by our Club President Warren who welcomed everyone to the last of Galway Toastmasters first ever set of Summer meetings. He handed over to our Toastmaster Brian who displayed all the skills he's developed in becoming an experienced Toastmaster to keep us on time even when we had a longer timed, though fantastic speech. He introduced the officers for the meeting being:

Pat, Bea and Michael as Ah-Counter, Grammarian and Timekeeper. Jekin and Warren introduced their roles as Creative Corner and General Evaluator before Frances ran the topics session as Topicsmaster. The topics she asked were about when the member she picked felt most comfortable with cosy blankets and nights tucked up in bed getting mentioned. She also enquired about our favourite gift as a child and our favourite Aunt or Uncle growing up. It is a sign of the accessibility of the topics that besides the initial speaker there were add-ons for each question.

We were then treated to three wonderful prepared speeches:

Dion's speech entitled "Every Cloud has a Silver lining" showed us that even in the darkest of situations there can still be a something to be grateful for. In a speech full of humour, wonderful body language and with a hugely engaging story we heard about an eventful flight. 

This was followed by Steven who gave us an insight into his thoughts on how he has broken down preparing for speaking at his upcoming wedding. Given the amount of thought that has gone into it, it will be well worth listening to on the day.

Our final speaker was Kathy with a longer project, which was a question and answer session. In a speech entitled "Why to plant anything - is it worth it?" she led even the most sceptical of us on a journey towards gardening. With great passion and energy she explained how fancy books, expertise, expensive equipment or hours of backbreaking work are not needed. Instead, a willingness to try, experiment and see what works is essential. Even if our plantings don't make it to Bloom or the Chelsea Flower show we will learn something and can try a different approach the next time. Anyone for some Lasagne planting? She also gave us ample opportunity to ask questions and she delivered her responses.

Following the break, Warren took over hosting the meeting as General Evaluator. He called on the evaluators, Martin, Mark and Martin (again!) to provide their feedback on the three speeches heard in the first half of the meeting. They both provided their insights on the wonderful speeches and made some suggestions for each speaker to work on.

Our Ah-counter, Pat gave us feedback on the amount of filler words such as ah, um etc. that he noticed during the meeting. He was followed by Bea who gave her Grammarians report on the usage of the word of the meeting, which was "resilient". Displaying her impressive listening skills she reminded us of some of the wonderful phrases we had heard in the speeches and topics during the meeting.

Jekin provided us with a different style of Creative Corner where he brought in a bag of objects and we picked one from the bag  and spoke very briefly about it. Everyone was engaged and we discovered the impact that tin whistles had in many a household.   

Warren in his role as General Evaluator evaluated the evaluators and the overall meeting highlighting what had been done well and pointing out elements that help us all evaluate effectively.

Martin filled roles for our net meeting which will be on the 3rd of September.

We will have an open night of 17th of September when guests will be able to attend for free which is always a great night. 

Warren closed the meeting by thanking all for attending. 

Galway Toastmasters - 6th August 2025 - Leading and the possible dangers of AI

 Galway Toastmasters held its third ever summer meeting on 6th August 2025. It was opened by Warren who welcomed everyone before handing over to Shahd as Toastmaster. She introduced the officers for the evening - Stephen as Ah counter, Cormac as Grammarian and Kathy double jobbed as Timekeeper and Creative Corner with Frances as General Evaluator. Bea rounded out the meeting officers as Topicsmaster and introduced the topics session portion of the meeting, which was as engaging and thought provoking as ever in our club.

There were two prepared speeches. Brian spoke from the Dynamic Leadership pathway on the theme of Leading in any situation. That was followed by Avril whose speech, "Deepfake" looked at the potential hazards of Artificial Intelligence if misused. 

Following the break Frances introduced the evaluators for the two speeches, Michael and Warren who gave positive feedback and suggestions to the speakers. Stephen and Cormac then fed back their officer reports before Kathy delivered an excellent Creative Corner. Frances then evaluated the evaluators and the overall meeting.

Warren, deputising for Martin filled the roles for the next meeting before closing the meeting.

Galway Toastmasters - 23rd July 2025 - Discussing the good the bad and the not so pleasant!

 Warren, Toastmaster’s President welcomed all in attendance to the second meeting of the Summer (the first time that Galway Toastmasters have held summer meetings) and gave a brief outline of the nights activities and encouraged all to ask questions.

In his opening presentation Martin spoke about the Club Website and gave all present an opportunity to look at Galway Toastmasters website and at the Toastmasters International website. This was a valuable speech for all and was followed by an introduction the role holders.

The grammarian introduced the word of the evening which was ‘intuition’.

The following topics were discussed under the watchful eye of our Topics master. Topics discussed tonight were.

-        What is next on your bucket list? A topic that brought many down memory lane and reminded them of what they really would like to do.

-        Our views were sought on what the UK labour party is reflecting on giving the right to vote to 16-year-old plus. Views were diverse and interesting

-        Assisted dying Bill has been passed in the UK what were our thoughts on this

-        What is a live skill everyone should learn? Dancing and Cooking were popular with a suggestion that to listen is one of the most important skills as toastmasters we should all learn.

The one speech this evening was from Frances from the presentation mastery – a level 3 speech entitled ‘Heros’. This speech gave us an insight into the work of the RNLI and it was a plea to all to support all their work. It drove home the importance of their work but again a reminder to us all to respect and make good use of this vital service.

The second part of the meeting was chaired by the General Evaluator. Brian evaluated Frances’s speech, and his comprehensive feedback focused on what we all can learn from such an exemplary speaker. The challenge for the next speech focused on the eye contact with the audience.

The Ah counter was disappointed with how redundant he was as there were very little crutch and praised all who spoke so eloquently. The grammarian was pleased with the use of the word of the evening and outlined turns of phrase that appealed to her.

Creative corner was introduced by Warren with a twist – all members were allotted numbers, and a question posed and align it with a number selected to speak. What a wine glass would say? What flag would you ware if you had to? If your mobile phone could talk, what would it say about you? Imagine if you were a straw what would you share at the end of the week?

Galway Toastmasters 09 July 2025 - Authenticity at the Heart of the Meeting

 

The theme of our recent Toastmasters meeting was “authenticity” — and it couldn’t have been more fitting. From powerful prepared speeches to heartfelt impromptu responses, authenticity was present in every voice.

Our three prepared speakers shared very different, but equally impactful talks.
Krishna, in his Level 2 speech Sport as an Allegory, used the world of tennis to illustrate inner growth. Drawing on the strengths of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, he reminded us to double down on what makes us unique, to show up with a great attitude, and to focus on what we can control. He ended with a call to embrace challenges — and those who challenge us.

Michael, giving the second speech of the evening, entertained and challenged us with his usual mix of insight and humour. He spoke without notes and painted vivid scenes in a speech titled Would You Walk the Way. Comparing our behaviour behind the wheel with how we respond to others while walking, he encouraged us to slow down and show empathy rather than react in frustration.

Brian offered a deeply personal and courageous speech titled Brick by Brick from Level 3 of the Dynamic Leadership Pathway. He spoke of collapse, rebuilding, and the choice to begin again. His words — “time to design my own story” — left a powerful impression.

In Creative Corner, Ali shared two Aesop’s fables, offering timeless wisdom: “It’s easy to be brave when there’s no danger” and “Act in haste, repent at leisure.”

A gentle reminder from General Evaluator Mark encouraged us to slow down our role explanations, especially for the benefit of new members and guests — an invitation to be more present and inclusive.

It was an evening of real connection — a room full of voices showing up as they are. Authentic, wholehearted, and inspiring.

Galway Toastmasters - 25th June 2025 - Summer Party Night and Summer Meetings

 The club meeting on 25th of June was a Summer Celebration of the club members' achievements, their contributions and the hard work of the outgoing club committee. It was a lovely evening, enjoyed by all those who attended. 

The coming year will be historic as it will the first time in Galway Toastmasters Club's over 30 year history that it will not close for the summer.Members and guests will have the opportunity to continue to learn and enjoy each others company in July and August. It will hopefully prove to be a wonderful start to a wonderful year.