All kinds of Everything

 

Galway Toastmasters Meeting

Wednesday 3 April 2024

All kinds of Everything

This evening’s meetings ran smoothly despite many unavoidable changes in personal in charge at the last moment.

A thoroughly enjoyable meeting is best described by the following adjectives – serious, thought provoking, humorous, colourful, emotional, informative, and educational.

Kathy, our President welcomed members and guests and placed great emphasis on her admiration of all the people who each week stands up to contribute to the meeting. Mark, (toast master), also acknowledged the courage it takes to take the first step and participates but assured it is always a rewarding experience. All role holders were introduced, and each gave an outline of their roles. This evening’s work from our Grammarian, Christine, was ‘Aficionado’.

Warren (topics master) challenged all assembled with six different topics beginning with a reflection on our Favourite time of Year to our experience of working from home, from our use of Chat GPD to our thoughts on motivation and how we deal with it. We were asked to speak or reflect on Ireland as a welcoming state and again on Irish music and its role in our culture. To ensure that participants have to speak ‘off the cuff” the toastmaster insisted on only one addition to each topic which kept this section lively and energetic.

We had three speeches, which included one icebreaker. Ali’s emotive icebreaker paid homage to his deceased father in a speech entitled ‘Two years on’. Frances gave us an insight into her long involvement with Toastmasters in Galway in her speech entitled ‘Now and Then’ where we learned how this group has evolved and developed over the years, some aspects for the better and others not. Kathy, focusing on the Effective Coaching Pathway, spoke about Affirming Learning, a project and company idea which has the potential to affirm learning for so many students with four simple interventions.

Each of the three evaluations, following the tea break, were comprehensive and forwarded worthwhile advice to all speakers and all speakers and evaluators gave their presentations within acceptable times.  Each role holder reported on their observations of the meeting with some interesting points made. Michael, as part of the creative corner, gave a rendition of WB Yeats’s The Ballad of Fr Gilligan giving a context to the poem before he read it. Jenny (General Evaluator) gave a comprehensive summary of her views on how the meeting was organised. The President brought the meeting to a close with what has become customary at this stage – an opportunity for anyone who did not speak to do so now. It became evident that only one person had not spoken which all were delighted with.

Roles for the next meeting were filled.

Every day is a school day

Our president Kathy opened the meeting punctually with a talk on how beneficial Toastmasters is to our public speaking skills.

This evening’s toastmaster, Warren, introduced the various rolls after giving us a brief history of Toastmasters International.

Roll holders gave a comprehensive outline of their roles and this evening’s word by the Grammarian was ‘Mettle.’

The topics master, Ali, kept all in attendance both challenged and entertained with topics ranging from ‘What would you do as Taoiseach of this country’ which was discussed with quite seriously while the topic on ‘a reflection on your first car or bike’ brought many back on memory lane.  Interesting insights into members’ perceptions on where they saw themselves in 5 years’ time also entertained us.

There were three speeches which brought diverse topics ranging from ‘Selling a Castle’ to ‘Feeling the Fear and do it anyway’ to an interesting insight into the work of the Cadettes Achievements in the Order of Malta.

Following the atmospheric Coffee Break the meeting continued with evaluators feedback on the speeches which were complementary but also constructive in nature. The General Evaluator, Frances,  was happy with the proceedings with some noteworthy suggestions for good practice.  Attendees were brought through a challenging and enjoyable Creative Corner by Paul where he challenged us to find the hidden messages in famous Logos. A lesson for us all.

Another enjoyable and successful meeting, with a few new people joining,  which is always welcomed and who also contributed to the evenings discussions.

Mirror-Mirror on the Wall who’s the Favourite of Them All?

 Galway Toastmasters Meeting 21 Feb 2024 

The President of the meeting (Kathy) opened the meeting with thanks to everyone who stepped in the vacant roles last minute. This was followed by the Toastmaster (Mark Flynn) introducing all the roles and in turns inviting the Ah-Counter, the Grammarian, the Timekeeper, the Creative corner person, the Scribe and the General Evaluator to explain their roles. 

The word of the meeting was ‘AGOG’ – which can be used in the context of ‘easy’, ‘enthusiastic’. 

The Topicsmaster (Connie) who acquired the role quite at the last minute has nonetheless brought something new and fresh to the table! She pulled out a big black bag and invited volunteers to come out, take one book out and speak the thoughts the title of the book would have triggered. This experience was quite versatile with books on languages, on loving the gut, on study. It was an entertaining way of the impromptu speaking.  

The FIRST speech of the evening was presented by Mark himself and was titled ‘Mirror-Mirror on the Wall who’s the Favourite of Them All….how narcissist saw his reflection and died on a spot’. A great allegorical intro that led into appreciation that outside beauty is only a skin deep. No need to focus on the images, air-brushed, imitated, faked…let’s look deeper and appreciate internal beauty. 

 The SECOND speech was presented by Frances on the Australian author Banjo Patterson with his immeasurable love for horses. We all had a chance to delve into the details of his life. 

The THIRD speech was presented by Brian on ‘Stepping Stones of Success’ and provided us all with his insightful contemplation on whether it is ok to fail and does it define our path to success. Tough times are part of our growth and it is through those times we learn and grow. 

The 2nd part of the meeting 

Started with speech evaluations   -Pat ended up evaluated both Mark’s and Frances speeches. He poignantly noted how Frances like to share with us a good story and it is always welcomed and for Mark’s speech he added that ‘the last person we look at is ourselves’, because in fact ‘everyone is a reflection of themselves’. 

Connie provided an evaluation of Frances speech and commented on her improved eye contact, clarity and vocal variety and gestures that were aligned with the content.  

Kathy provided evaluation for Brian’s speech commenting on the fact that having props in speech does add an additional challenge and Brian has worked very well with them. She commented that he brought his amiable nature in the speech and ‘excited for him to do more’! 

 

The meeting proceeded with the Officer’s reports and just before the meeting was called to an end Alison has brought us onto a brief literature trip by reading the Yeats poem ‘the Lake Isle of Innisfree’. 

Valentine’s Day, American Presidency and Contests

 

7^th February 2024 

Our club President Kathy opens the meeting, welcoming members and new guests, and making a few announcements about the oncoming contest and the Area Division.

The Toastmaster for the evening was Frances who introduced the various officers to give a brief explanation of their roles, as well as the speakers with their prepared speeches.

Brian held a entertaining and interesting topics session asking the following questions:

1.    If I(Brian) was running for the American Presidency, would you vote for me or for Trump and why?

2.    Do you think Valentine’s Day is overrated or is it a wonderful chance to express love?

3.    What do you think makes someone successful in life?

4.    How do you treat yourself?

There were many add-ons which illustrated a great interest in the topics. Brian won the vote by a small margin.

The Grammarian was Stephen who gave the word of the day: Superfluous, meaning unnecessary, especially through being more than enough.

Ali did a great job as Timekeeper, keeping track of the allotted time for each speaker using the “traffic light” system.

The Ah-Counter Paul noted that there were quite a few filter words used throughout the meeting.

The first speech was given by Pat Ryan as his ice breaker speech entitled “Does the world need philosophers?”. It was a very interesting speech with a good history on philosophy and how it came about. One phrase he uses that stood out was “the Earth is only a speck in the vast expanse of the Universe”.

Our next speaker Eanna also gave his ice breaker which was called “The Domino Effect”. It was a very moving speech with Eanna describing how living with cerebral palsy had impacted his life. While he says that his disability has brought many life challenges, it has also made him very empathic and compassionate to others and given him the ability and patience to do things differently.

Our final speaker was Mona who stepped in at the last minute to give a very lively speech entitled “Yoga on and off the mat”. She reveals that she is a yoga instructor and that anyone can do yoga if they make a commitment to consistently show up to improve and get better. It’s about enjoying the journey to obtaining that goal.

Each of the evaluators gave their evaluations, praising each of the speakers for their wonderful speeches, and gave feedback on what they can improve on.

The Creative Corner was given by Kathy with a fun and challenging game called the “Gibberish Dictionary”. This is where someone had to make up a word on the spot and then tell everyone exactly what the word means like they knew what they were talking about.

The roles were filled for the contest on 21^st February and the regular meeting in two weeks. Jenny, our Area Division Manager, praised the club committee for their hard work in keeping the Galway Club running as well as it does.

The Importance of Voice

 Kathy extended a warm welcome, kicking off the first meeting of 2024 on Wednesday, January 10th. She graciously greeted the new attendees and those embarking on fresh goals for the year. Mark assumed the role of Toastmaster for the evening, feeling more confident in his second attempt at this responsibility.

Connie, acting as the Grammarian, introduced the word of the day: "recombobulate," the inverse of "discombobulate." It was defined as pulling oneself together, causing clear thinking, reorienting, and restoring to working order.

Avril, fulfilling the role of Topics Master, presented thought-provoking and stirring questions. The first topics addressed the issue of homeless children in Ireland, emphasizing the need to protect them from drug and alcohol abuse. The ensuing discussion delved into the seriousness of the topic, the differentiation between a home and accommodation, and challenges in the current housing climate. Avril's second topic addressed incidents of setting fire to asylum centers. Responses emphasized the importance of open-mindedness, viewing each other as human beings, and recognizing that fear stems from a lack of information.

Mark delivered the first speech of the evening titled "First Impression the Importance of Voice," for level 3 on the presentation mastery pathway. Mark focused on the uniqueness of one's voice, and the impact of tone, pitch, and pacing. He enlightened the audience about the three components of communication: verbal (7% content), vocal (38% tone pacing) and visual nonverbal (55%). This speech lasted 9 minutes 37 seconds and was evaluated by Brian who awarded it full marks.

Kathy, in her level 2 speech on the Effective Coaching pathway, titled "That's What I Said: Discovering Your Communication Style," explored the four communication styles using the acronym SAID—Supportive, Analytical, Initiating, and Direct. She likened each style to trying on different jackets and gave a demonstration of each style.  Descriptions of the communication styles were as follows: Supportive - engaging in active listening,  Analytical - factual, numerical, data-driven, Initiating – emotive, socially outgoing, excited, Direct - motivational and connected with every individual in the present. Kathy concluded that a diverse range of communication styles, akin to a full wardrobe, is essential. This speech was evaluated by Warren and he awarded it full marks and it had duration of 6 minutes 5 seconds.

In the latter part of the evening, Mona fulfilled eh role of general evaluator. The AHH counter reported 30 filler words, and the Grammarian noted 7 uses of the word "recombobulate" throughout the evening. The meeting concluded with a creative corner game using everyone's names.

Overall, the meeting was insightful and engaging, with valuable discussions and impressive speeches, leaving a lasting impression on the group

What are you going to MANIFEST?

Wednesday 23rd October in our new venue we were treated to a very uplifting meeting. 

Our President Kathy introduced the meeting very positively and then took on the role as Toastmaster. 

The various officers explained their roles and we had the word of the night MANIFEST with the chalange to include it when talking. 

Then followed a very lively TOPICS session. Topics ranged from is there life elsewhere to mistakes. There were plenty of addons including one giving  praise for a member who struggled with his words. Every try is a step on the road to speaking proficiency.  

Then came the prepared speeches.  

With a speech entitled Self-empowerment Connie gave a method of changing negative feelings into positive 

Then  Jane using the word Naglalambing as her title told us of a caring friend who introduced her to the word and its meaning of caring. This friend has sadly passed away but has left a lovely impression of caring and its importance on Jane 

 Just one more- how to reach your full potential. Ivika told the moving  story of Chris Nikiic the first Downs Syndrome person to do an Ironman challenge in the allotted time.  

A theme of caring ran through the speeches which sometimes happens 

The came a welcome break and quality biscuits.  Also, a time for evaluators to talk to the speakers. 

The second half of the meeting was chaired by Eugene.  The Evaluators gave their take on the speeches. Then came the reports from the Gramarian who commented on the use of the word and phrases he liked during the meeting.  The ah counter gave a good report explaining that it was to help members not punish. 

Our Creative corner gave us the treat of a story written and spoken by Dion. A very impressive use of imagination. 

Eugene commented on the Evaluators and gave a brief opinion of the meeting and handed over to our VP of Education Brian to fill the next agenda. 

Kathy closed the meeting with a show of hands for the Christmas Party in Scull. A positive end to a very positive meeting