Galway Toastmasters - 14 May 2025 - Chemicals, Galway in 1983 and F Bombs!

 

Galway Toastmasters meeting on Wednesday  14^th May was both instructive and entertaining. Brian acting as president opened the meeting with positive words and our Toastmaster for the evening, Kathy, took over and got the officers to explain their roles.  We got a lovely word of the night Serendipity and a challenge to use it. Then came a very lively Topics session conducted by Brian. Topics ranged from sharing your lotto millions with Brian to the effect of the new Pope. There was serious thought plus much humour.

Then we were treated to three very diverse speeches.

Pat with a speech “Forever Chemicals” took us on a journey of the development of plastics and the slow realisation of the negative spin off for both humans and the environment.

Michael with a speech “A look back at Galway Life” took us back to Galway in 1983 with vivid images and much humour.

Cormac with a Prepare to Speak Professionally speech “F Bombs to Remember” gave great insight on how  to move from people pleaser to self-direction  Then how to focus from a million things down to specifics with great acronyms.  Good  luck Cormac when presenting this excellent speech in London.

A lively break followed and then Christine took over as General Evaluator. We had  three very good speech evaluations by Bea for Pat, Stephen for Michael and Maud for Cormac.  All gave excellent feed back including points for improving.

Then came the officer reports and finally a lovely poem "Immortality" by Clare Harner, was read by Avril for Creative Corner.

“Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there  I do not sleep – I am the  thousand winds that blow, I am  the diamond glints in snow………

The Agenda for the next meeting was filled and a reminder that it is also the AGM and election of officers for the coming year.   People who hadn’t spoken were given a chance and our new guest did.

Another very enjoyable evening.

Galway Toastmasters - 30 April 2025 - An Ineffable Evening

Our meeting began with Brian welcoming us all and introducing the roles for the evening. Our Grammarian for the evening was Niall who introduced ‘ineffable’, meaning too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words, as our word of the evening. Martin had the role of ‘Timekeeper’, Brian was our ‘Toastmaster’ and Ali had the role of ‘Creative Corner’.

Avril took the role of ‘Topicsmaster’ and topics included various political issues such as Trump, the issue of homelessness and discussing whether women should become priests.

First speech of the evening was Dion who gave a very confident, engaging speech about travelling and how this can lead to contemplation of self. He regaled us all with his adventures in Panama and how he took the trip in order “to have stories to tell”.

Helen was up next with her speech about why she joined Toastmasters. Helen gave a very eloquent, confident speech about what led her to joining the group and she took us on a journey from her past to now.

Mark was up next with his speech which was based on dealing with a difficult audience! Certain members had been instructed to heckle Mark throughout his speech but Mark remained stoic and solid and could not be thrown off course! He gave a very dynamic and confident speech about genealogy and successfully mastered the art of dealing with a difficult audience!!

Then it was time to break for tea and biscuits.

The evaluators gave their evaluations in the second part of the evening.

Niamh provided feedback on her role as the ‘Ah-Counter’.

Niall gave us the total number for the amount of times ‘ineffable’ was used and mentioned several members who used descriptive language throughout the evening.

Ali read a poem for his role as ‘Creative Corner’.

A great time was had by all!

Do join us next time! All welcome!

Galway Toastmasters - 16 April 2025 - Presenting, Pathways and Practice

 Brian took over President Rob’s role for the evening. He told of how since joining Toastmasters his ability to present architectural projects to clients in a more informative and inclusive manner has improved. A cheerful Bea had her first time as Toastmaster. She gave an overview of the meeting and confirmed that Toastmasters had also improved her communication in groups. Niamh, a new member was Timekeeper.

After the officers for the evening introduced their roles, Helen as Topics-master presented her Topics. We had talks on sibling Rivalry, Travel, Friendship, Memorable jobs, Camping and Parties. All were entertaining and told with good humour.

The first Speech was by Brian. He gave a speech on the Toastmasters Pathways Program encouraging all members to follow one of them. The pathways have much in common but following a pathway that suits your personality, your life ambitions, job aspiration etc. helps focus your learning experience.

The second speech was by Paul who gave a speech on how Toastmasters helps one gain the confidence to speak. He talked about how speaking should be about connection and not performance or control. For him it is about knowing our shortcomings and building up the resilience to talk in public. He encouraged us to take on any role, an officer, a speaker or an evaluator and to do so frequently.  Constant practice and celebration of each little step will see incremental improvement. This, for Paul, is what Toastmasters is all about.

Christine gave an educational speech and explained what a Sargent at Arms does and Warren spoke about what the VP of Membership does.

After a convivial tea break the two speeches were evaluated. Dion evaluated Brian’s speech commenting on how well presented the very informative speech on the Pathways program was. Pat in evaluating Paul’s speech showed the dangers of overreliance on reading a printed speech that did no justice to Paul’s ability to communicate.

The meeting concluded soon afterwards

Galway Toastmasters - 5th March 2025 - Contest Night

 

Last night’s Galway Toastmasters International Speech and Evaluation Contests meeting was a delightful mix of inspiration, encouragement and fun.  Acting President Brian warmly welcomed everyone, including our guests, setting the tone for a fantastic evening.

The speech contest featured two outstanding speeches: The Strange Little Boy by Cormac and Ask by Frances. Both delivered heartfelt messages that truly resonated with the audience. Whether thought-provoking or deeply moving, these speeches were winners in every sense.

In the evaluation contest, Kathy captivated us with her passionate speech, A Place to Be. By the end, we were all rooting for her vision to become reality. Our brave contestants-Pat, Brian, Shahd, Cormac, and Stephen-stepped up to the challenge, delivering insightful and encouraging feedback. Their evaluations were not only constructive but also showcased their confidence and keen listening skills.

Adding to the evening’s energy, Topics master Amelia kept everyone engaged with stimulating and thought-provoking impromptu topics. Laughter, curiosity, and enthusiasm filled the room as participants shared their experiences.

Overall, it was a night of skillful speeches, supportive evaluations, and lively conversations-a true reflection of what makes Toastmasters so special!

Galway Toastmasters 05 February 2025 - Storms, Life Support and Struggle

 It was the first Galway Toastmaster meeting after storm Eowyn. While some of the regular attendees were absent there were a few new faces.  Club President Rob spoke highly of the support East Galway Toastmasters offered to each other in clearing storm debris.  It had been a time of no electricity, water or internet and damage to many people’s homes.

He also asked if the Club would hold an evaluation contest which was voted on and approved later in the meeting. Martin Foran was elected as Vice President Public Relations.

Frances ran an entertaining Topics session.

Peter spoke about how a kind poem his uncle wrote for him during his childhood had great meaning. Mike spoke about how he would include forks, a tribute to his parent’s life of subsistence farming, in his family crest if he were designing it. For Maud the fairy tale of childhood prepared children of a life of bumps and scares as did Peter Rabbit(Bea) and Gangsta Granny(Jarlath). Christine talked of St Brigid and the changing seasons and Rob, the vegetarian, gave his thoughts on hunting.

There were two speeches.

Peter gave an icebreaker speech, which outlined a program he had developed call Le Cheile which through a four-step program hoped to lessen the impact of loneliness and develop resilience when living in life’s ‘dark forest’. The program steps are:

1 Holothropic Breathing

2 Talking

3 Search for meaning

4 Ice bath

Rob gave a well-prepared speech which he was also delivering to a larger audience in the UK the following week. It was a tale of his struggle to gain acceptance for his life as a gay man. Rob told of how from family, to society, to social media, to government obstacles to coping with your sexuality exist. Particularly worrying are decisions by social media platforms for reduced responsibility of social media content. The unforeseen consequences of Section 28 of the UK local governments act which sought to ’limit’ the awareness of homosexual development was also mentioned.

The tea-room was not available for a break which somewhat diminished the social aspect of the evening. Following a short break the were two evaluations:

Rob evaluated Peter’s seeing it as a competently delivered speech, far above the standard one would expect of an icebreaker speech and suggested possible improvements in the physical interaction with the audience.

Michael evaluated Rob’s speech. He commented on Rob’s flawless delivery and admired Rob’s honesty in talking about his sexuality in a life lived in the present time.

Concluding the evening Warren used creative corner to read out ‘well known’ speech fragments and ask us if we could name who made them.

Galway Toastmasters - 30th October 2024 - Joy, Winter and Learning

 

Despite a delayed start, our Toastmasters meeting began on a high note with Maud’s warm welcome and encouraging words. Role holders efficiently outlined their responsibilities, and Shahd introduced the word of the day, Ritual encouraging members to incorporate it into their speaking to elevate their use of language.

Eoin, our Topics Master, delivered a set of impromptu topics that were both varied and engaging. His selection kept with the season’s themes, inspiring lively and entertaining Table Topics discussions.

Three diverse speeches followed: Michael’s Joy, Steven’s Winter is Coming, and Kathy’s Time to Learn as part of Level 2 of the Effective Coaching Pathway.

After a short coffee break, evaluators gave constructive and supportive feedback on the speeches.

Frances then transformed the Creative Corner into a serene, candle-lit setting, reading a beautiful piece in keeping with the season.

Our General Evaluator, Mark, delivered a thorough and uplifting evaluation of the meeting. He acknowledged that, despite the initial delay, we managed to catch up smoothly, and the evening never felt rushed. He also commended Eoin’s well-chosen Table Topics, which culminated in a thought-provoking question: “What are you grateful for?” — a fitting and reflective end that felt like a true blessing. Overall, the evening was marked by wonderful cooperation, inspiring speeches, and a sense of community and gratitude.

Photo (Unchanged): Felix Wong felixwong.com under creative commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

New Committee

15^th May 2024 – New Committee

Our Annual General Meeting was held on this beautiful summer evening to elect a new committee for the upcoming year commencing on July 1^st. Our President Kathy opened up the meeting, greeting members and guests. Martin then chaired the AGM, calling on the ongoing committee to read their reports on how the club did overall during the year, and what they learned and accomplished from their roles. Afterwards, a short election was held to determine the new committee which are as follows and congratulations to everyone:

 President – Rob

·         Past-President - Kathy

·         Vice President of Education – Brian

·         Vice President of Membership – Warren

·         Vice President of PR – Mona

·         Treasurer – Pat

·         Sergeant at Arms – Christine

·         Secretary – Husnain

Motions were then put forward by club members such as:

1.    All contests to be over and done by the end of November.

2.    Perform a dance with each report.

3.    Continue to use café for main meetings.

4.    Summer party to be held at our venue for meetings.

We then moved to the usual meeting. Pat did a great job as ToastMaster, calling on the various officers to come up and explain their roles. The Grammarian was Mark, who gave the word of the day Temerity, which means the quality of being confident and unafraid of danger or punishment. Stephen put a unique twist on the Table Topics session by handing out lollipop sticks with numbers written on them to member.

There were two speakers for this evening, Mona and Connie. Mona presented her speech on her time as secretary for the club, including what she had and what ideas she brought to the committee. She especially emphasises that without the committee and the work they do, the club would simply not function. Connie’s speech was on different learning styles that people use to learn, and they are different for each person. Even though the projector wasn’t working, and she couldn’t show the presentation she had made, it was a great speech because she knew exactly what she wanted to say.

After the break, Frances gave her general evaluation on how the meeting when, including what went very well and could be improved upon. The officers read out each of their reports and the evaluators gave their feedback on how each of the speakers did. Bea read out a beautiful poem entitled “Hokusai Says” by Roger Keyes for her Creative Corner piece. Kathy then closed the meeting and the roles for the next meeting were filled.