Tuesday, May 28, 2019

May 22 Meeting

Hello all, we hope that everyone has been enjoying the weather and getting outside a bit this past week! Our latest meeting was a good one and we thank all who came out and added to our session.

Dumindra served as Toastmaster for the first time today, and she did a good job of being welcoming and encouraging while leading the meeting. Congratulations Dumindra and we look forward to seeing more from you! Table Topics Master Sam asked questions such as "what is the biggest thing you learned that you didn't know when you were younger?" that got participants to practice impromptu speaking and share a little bit about themselves with the group. Guest Pardeep provided an evaluation that included helpful points and insights. Congrats on your first evaluation man! Laura gave a great analysis including points for improvement as the Table Topics Evaluator. General Evaluator June provided feedback for all of us to learn from.

We thank all who were able to come out to our meeting this past week. We look forward to our next meeting and welcome all members and guests to join us. Public speaking is a valuable skill for everyone and practice is always a good thing!

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

May 8 Meeting

Hey everyone! As the weather finally starts warming up and it starts to feel like we're close to summer, we hope everyone had a great week. We enjoyed our last meeting and thank all that came out and contributed!

Toastmaster Sam got the meeting started with the theme of "important job skills", and we shared skills that we think are key during our introductions. Speaker June gave a speech about our awesome club President Charith. She talked about qualities we all appreciate in him as a leader and a friend, and she engaged us with a great speech. Congratulations June! Table Topics Master Stella provided an interesting question during the session, which was "what would you do if you only had 1 day left to live?" June gave an intriguing and multifaceted answer to that one! Speech Evaluator Heather gave insightful points during her evaluation, while Norman also provided a very good analysis. Chi Chi was very encouraging and helpful during her Table Topics Evaluation.

We had a good time together at our past meeting this week. Thanks to all who came out, and we welcome members and guests to join us for our next meeting this Wednesday!

Sunday, May 5, 2019

May 1 Meeting

Hello all! We congratulate all students on finishing up the school year and wish everyone a great beginning to their summers. UM Masters will be running meetings all summer at the usual time (every Wednesday from 12-1), and we hope that you will join us over the next few months! We enjoyed our time together at this past meeting, and thank all who came out and contributed as we begin the month of May.

Toastmaster Jasmine provided meaningful transitions between speakers and made speakers feel welcome when coming to the podium. Congrats to Jasmine on her first time in the role! Speaker Norman gave a speech which included material about education and STEM fields of expertise. He provided good detail on the topics and spoke articulately and confidently. Dumindra was our second Speaker and she gave her icebreaker speech which included topics related to her life, such as work, traveling as well as personal experiences she wanted to share with us. She had an engaging stage presence and gave a strong speech, and we look forward to seeing more from her in the future! Speech Evaluator Laura provided good points and was clear in her delivery, while General Evaluator Heather was thorough and gave practical feedback for members to learn from.

Overall we had a productive meeting and thank all that came out! We welcome members and guests to join us this Wednesday at our next meeting and improve their speaking skills!

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

April 3 Meeting

Hello all, I hope everyone is doing well as classes end and we get into exam season. Our last meeting went well, and we thank everyone who was able to come out!

This meeting's Toastmaster Heather got us started with a theme that's on all of our minds, which is the Spring season. During introductions we shared what things we like most about Spring, including the anticipation built up over the Winter and the beginning of being able to enjoy the outdoors and warm weather again. Heather also provided good bridging between speakers to keep up the flow of the meeting. Chi Chi was our Speaker, and she spoke about a topic that's been at the centre of a lot of debate and media attention lately, which was the carbon tax. She did a great job of picking a topic that was relevant and caught the interest of her audience, and explained different sides of the issue effectively and with enthusiasm. Table Topics Evaluator Charith was thorough and gave solid and specific feedback to participants. General Evaluator Norman evaluated those that hadn't been evaluated yet, and brought up good points about speakers and how the meeting went.

We thank all who joined us for our first meeting in April. We welcome all members and guests to join us for our next meeting this Wednesday!

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

March 27 Meeting

Hello all! We wish everyone the best as we head into April and the last month of the school year for students. The club got back to our regular style of meetings after our contests the last couple of weeks, and we thank all who were able to come out!

The Toastmaster of the day was Sam, and his theme of the meeting was "instinct". This brought about some interesting discussion during introductions about when we should trust our instincts and how we can mix taking them into account with thought and analysis. Our Table Topics Session included discussion about Toastmasters and what our opinions were about various aspects of it, which gave us all the opportunity to analyze Toastmasters in a compelling way. Speech Evaluator Charith gave a concise evaluation while providing relevant feedback, and Table Topics Evaluator Seongtaek was thorough in his analysis of the session. General Evaluator Heather gave a well structured evaluation of the day's meeting, and provided insightful observations to the club.

It was good to get back to our normal routines and hear everyone's contributions to the meeting. We had a good time and thank all members and guests for coming out. We welcome all who are interested to come join us for our upcoming meeting this Wednesday!

Sunday, March 24, 2019

March 20 Meeting

Hey everyone, hope you are all doing well! This week we held our second speech contest of the year, the international contest, where participants were welcome to speak about any topic. We enjoyed the meeting and thank all participants and guests that made it possible!

Heather started the contest off, with a speech discussing ways we can deal with stress and anxiety. She provided examples, and was articulate as she delivered a well structured speech, so we thank her for doing a great job! Our second speaker was Sam, and he talked about the importance of keeping an open mind. He did a good job of explaining each reason, and maintained effective eye contact when speaking. Our last participant was Norman, and his speech focused on if smart phones really have a positive overall effect on society. He provided examples including the social impact that they have, and his pacing was very even throughout his speech. 

Each speaker delivered a strong and thought provoking speech, and we thank them all for stepping up and providing their own unique perspectives. Next week, we return to our usual meetings, where all are welcome to participate! We invite all members and guests to join us this Wednesday, have a great week!

Sunday, March 17, 2019

March 13 Meeting

Hello all, hope everyone has had a great past week. It was a special meeting this week, as it was our Humorous speech contest, and we commend our 3 members who participated for stepping up to the challenge and all bringing something different to the stage!

Shakti was our first speaker, and she discussed her experiences in Canada while making comparisons to life in her home country. Shakti has a natural sense of humour, and her personality shined through as she engaged the audience with very funny observations. Chi Chi spoke second, and she talked about the different ways people can communicate and show love to one another. She offered a really good variety of examples, and found moments of humour within the ways some people communicate which the audience enjoyed. Our final speaker was Thomas, and he described what going to the gym is like when you are new to it. He acted out funny moments many of us have likely found ourselves in, and he had great timing in his delivery.

We can definitely say that all of our speakers entertained us, and thank you to them for participating! Next week we will have our second speech contest, which will be the international contest where participants can talk about any topic. Guests are welcome to come in and watch, so feel free to come and join us this Wednesday!