Another smallish attendance for meeting 797, but it was wonderful to see long term member and Past-President Elena M.
We also welcomed 1st time Guests Sam and Subha and returning Guests Arun and Ardeena.
Topic for the night was ‘Rewards’
During the Business segment (capably Chaired for the 1st time by Peter K) Wendy P announced a successful meeting with Point Cook Senior College’s Bryce F. The intention is to introduce some of the College’s under-performing students to the benefits of Toastmasters. Should the programme be accepted by the College’s Board, it will earn valuable income for Werribee Toastmasters.
Peter also reminded us that the six month membership subscriptions are due.
Toastmaster for the night was President Udana who commenced the Educational segment by asking me to announce the Word Of The Day.
I feel my choice ‘Control’ failed to gain the meetings imagination, because I was the only person to include it in a presentation. But to be fair I did provide the word on very short notice.
Mental Note: Do better next time Paul!!!
Next Udana introduced Round Robin Master, Chih.
We’ve become used to Chih’s well-conceived thinking and he did not disappoint with questions related to the Rewards theme.
• He asked Peter K: Are today’s kids more spoilt than in the past?
• David Garrick was asked: Are we in an age where we over-reward ourselves?
• Guest Ardeena was asked: Do you shop just for the Reward Points, or are you loyal to companied you’ve made past purchases from?
• Arun was asked: Do you feel businesses are now-a-days less compassionate?
As Table Topics Evaluator I departed from the format of providing equal evaluation to each of the respondees, because I felt both Ardeena and Arun deserved special mention on their efforts on what is a daunting experience for Guests. I felt especially so, because both Guests acquitted themselves so well, with confident and animated deliveries.
Another Mental Note: Stick to the script, Paul.
Speaker # 1, David G spoke on short notice and delivered yet another eloquent and unscripted speech based on a Sales presentation. We all felt for David, because he was suffering from a heavy cold and was obviously quite unwell. Never-the-less he manfully soldiered-on. Well done David.
Speaker # 2 was Yours Truly. My speech was titled Professional Speaking and was my first after achieving Competent Communicator status. My speech time duration was scheduled for 15 to 20 minutes, for me a huge leap from the 5-7 minutes I’d got used to. I felt my speech was competent although I had to rely heavily on notes.
Mental Note: Don’t be scared of failing from time to time. Extending yourself leads to improvement.
Speaker # 3 was Jacqueline B who expounded on the ‘Me Too’ social phenomenon with a speech titled “Jumping on the Bandwagon”
Jacqueline transfixed her audience with a powerful and convincing argument which questioned if men are now becoming the disadvantaged sex, and if sometimes unprovable allegations can in fact set-back the female fight for equality.
A brave and challenging speech from Jaqueline. Well done.
Jaqueline and I were jointly awarded Best Speaker, although I thought David’s sufferings made the competition less than equal, (hope Jaqueline agrees!!).
For myself, I felt that Jacqueline’s effort trumped mine on the night and was amongst the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing at Toastmasters.
Speech Evaluators Chih, Elena and Wendy, all gave excellent observations and advice.
Elena delivered a concise (and precise) Timekeepers Report.
Toastmaster Udana closed the meeting a little over the target of 9.30pm, but I don’t think anyone minded the over-run because it was such a good meeting.
Time flies when you are having fun!! Well, done everyone
Paul
V.P. Membership
Rewards
Membership of Werribee Toastmasters is not a destination, it is a journey to be enjoyed.