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.