For a recap of last night’s meeting, the event was fun as always and brought a lot of laughs. We had three and a half guests, one of which being Angie who has decided to join the club (yeah!) Welcome Angie. The finale of tango lessons was not the least bit unappreciated. I only wish I could have stayed around till the end.
Our TOM for the evening was Sri, who ran a warm gathering with a lot of energy. She is improving consistently and will certainly become a very proficient speaker as she continues down the TM path.
Theo presented a thought provoking table topics, asking profound questions about happiness. What is happiness? Can happiness be measured? And when was the happiest moment of our lives? Doris, one of our guests, braved a go at a question. This is always inspiring, as the point of table topics is to be able to learn to think on our feet and handle situations which are unrehearsed … an important skill for any speaker. We hope you are soon a member Doris.
The three speeches of the evening were given by Budi, Theo and Richard (speaking for myself in third person, lol). Budi delivered speech number three, Get To The Point, recounting an embarrassing gastro-intestinal moment that happened to a ‘friend’. Theo dazzled us with his theatrical skills and pyromaniac past with speech number four. Finally Richard introduced himself in his ice breaker while taking a subtle, yet ever deserving jab at ex American president George W. Bush.
The evaluations were handled with class and encouragement. As always, the meal was excellent and the meeting finished on time.
A couple of points discussed were the option to serve the meal after the meeting. Eating first tends to rush the affair lessening the pleasure of the feast. Point taken. However waiting till the end posses a problem for our members living in Ubud and Sanur who still have the long road in front of them. Discussion to be continued.
A small clicker device was suggested to call attention to the speaker when Ahs, Ums and filler words are used. The advantage being that we are reminded in the moment when it is most relevant, not at the end of all the speeches when we our out of context and changing the habit is less effective than when it is happening. Also the role of the ah counter will be easier.
Finally, the suggestion of turning the red light off at the end of the final allotted time will provide an additional signal. This will tell the speaker if they have in fact gone over time, or are still within the allowed limit.
As this is a new club, and membership is of utmost importance. I would like to encourage everyone to invite at least one friend to each meeting. Toastmasters is a marvelous tool, and all of us know colleagues, friends or family members who could benefit. If everyone invites someone, the meeting instantly doubles in size.
Lastly, because we don’t ask additional financial contributions like the other clubs, beyond the normal membership fees, we need to think of ways to raise a small treasury. The club has expenses, such as marketing and promotional, training and tools, and sending members to competitions and other regional events as some examples. A standing account will help things run more smoothly. We should think of ways to raise money for the club. I suggest a raffle. We can sell tickets to win prizes. It is fun and easy, and a great way to promote the club. Please give it some thought, and we can discuss it as a group in the next meeting on June 10th.
Ok, I’ll wrap this up with a link for a nice synopsis from Toastmasters.org, 10 Tips For Public Speaking http://www.toastmasters.org/ti
Sounds like a fun meeting... a free Tango lesson for those who attend? Well, that's a Toastmasters new....
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