UM Masters Toastmasters Meeting- December 4, 2013

Our December 4, meeting was another interesting meeting  with Toastmaster Nicole Moran taking the Stage. Although our group was a small one it did not deter members to having a meeting with enthusiasm, much fun and laughter.  Nicole stood tall at the podium and directed the meeting with confidence and keenness, bridging was smooth.  The meeting was conducted without any struggle. 

It was an exciting Table Topics Session with table topics Master Irina who directed her questions around many personal stories and incidences  from getting stuck in the snow for seven hours to stupid questions from the Manitoba Citizenship exam. Congratulations to Irina for conducting an exciting Table Topics Session.  Zenon, as TT  Evaluator used the sandwich method giving Irina many glow points, with a specific point to grow and ended on a positive note.  Zenon gave a well rounded evaluation.

June gave a speech from the competent communicator manual Titled "Twice in a Life Time".  Members were left with the message  that the only guarantee in life is change. Life is moving very fast and it is of utmost important to take care of oneself in the hope that one is prepared to cope and adjust to the changes that life will bring. Keeping in shape, lots of exercise, diet and health.  It is not just getting to the end of one's life but is important in what condition you get there.  It is never too early to start.  Speech evaluator Irina also used the sandwich method in evaluating June's speech giving many glow points and ended on a positive note.  Irina was reminded it is good practice to always try and  find a point to grow for the speaker.

Overall an enjoyable meeting for all those who attended.

Blog by June LaRonde


Try Toastmasters – the proven way to grow your communication and leadership skills.

If you would like to take part in a UM Masters meeting, we’re located in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. Our meetings are held every Wednesday from 12:05 –12:50 PM in Room 111 at St. John’s College (which is part of the University of Manitoba).

If you're in Winnipeg and interested in sitting in on a club meeting to see if Toastmasters is right for you, please feel free to contact Catherine Plouffe at Catharine.Plouffe@umanitoba.ca

UM Masters Toastmasters Blog for November 6, 2013 - Remembrance

Our Toastmaster was Dianne and our Theme was Remembrance.

Zenon was our Grammarian and challenged us to use the word Reflective throughout the meeting. He provided 3 different uses of the word.

During introductions Dianne asked that we speak about Remembrance and in particular what Remembrance Day means to us.  We were all reflective as we spoke about our Family and Friends that were in the war or are at war today and how we are all grateful for our freedom and pursuit of world peace.

Randy gave an interesting speech,  and drew many laughs, titled “Diplomas, Dawdlers and Dropouts” which explained how the University is a business and depends on student growth, (numbers and knowledge). This was Randy’s 8^th speech and he was successful in his delivery looking quite comfortable using his visual aids. Way to go Randy!

Cathy (moi) was our Table Topics master and asked Irina to discuss Victory in her life.  Irina spoke of her Grandparents and their many victories after surviving the war. Then Ru got up to speak about how she “pays it forward” with small kindnesses and their importance to peace.

Cathy presented 2 new TM pins to our newest members Ru and Graham (MIA) but we’ll get Graham his pin next week!

We welcomed 3 guests, Michael,  first Toastmasters meeting ever  and Amy who joined us for a second time, and then there was  Tiernen, my fourteen year old son, who accompanied his mother om “Take your kid to work day”.

Congratulations again to Charith who placed 2^nd in the Humour Speech Contest.

Have a wonderful long weekend everyone and take time to reflect on the peace we share in Canada and  remember those that are fighting for theirs.

Blogged by Cathy

Try Toastmasters – the proven way to grow your communication and leadership skills.

If you would like to take part in a UM Masters meeting, we’re located in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. Our meetings are held every Wednesday from 12:05 –12:50 PM in Room 111 at St. John’s College (which is part of the University of Manitoba).

If you're in Winnipeg and interested in sitting in on a club meeting to see if Toastmasters is right for you, please feel free to contact Catherine Plouffe at Catharine.Plouffe@umanitoba.ca

UM Masters Meeting– October 30th

Danielle was Toastmaster for her first time and did a fabulous job.  Her theme for the meeting was “Nonsense” having us think about making sense of nonsense.  “Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves.” – The Mock Turtle.  It was so interesting to listen to our members and guests give their impressions of the theme.  We welcomed 4 guests to our meeting – Amy, Chris, Ru and Graham.  Welcome to Ru and Graham who joined our club at this meeting.

Pegah (our newest member before this meeting) spoke on “Saving Lives One at a Time, or Not”.  She was inspired to apply to Medicine through both her love of animals and people – to make a difference in people’s lives.

Dianne shared the consequences of consuming too much Red Meat – heart disease, cancer and type 2 Diabetes in her AC (Competent Communicator) Gold speech which challenged her to speak on a controversial topic.

Our Area Governor attended our meeting and presented a District pin to Dianne for completing her CL (Competent Leader) award.

Jennifer (our Area Governor) was also the General Evaluator and presented the Gold Star award to Danielle for her excellent job as Toastmaster.

It was another great meeting.

Blogged by Dianne.

Try Toastmasters – the proven way to grow your communication and leadership skills.

If you would like to take part in a UM Masters meeting, we’re located in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. Our meetings are held every Wednesday from 12:05 –12:50 PM in Room 111 at St. John’s College (which is part of the University of Manitoba).

If you're in Winnipeg and interested in sitting in on a club meeting to see if Toastmasters is right for you, please feel free to contact Catherine Plouffe at Catharine.Plouffe@umanitoba.ca

UM Masters Meeting– October 16, 2013

How would you define optimism?

Having a positive outlook? Making a deliberate choice? Choosing an attitude of gratitude? These were some of the ways members and guests described optimism - the theme of the October 16^th UM Masters meeting. 

The word of the day “amicable” fit the theme and was both well used and demonstrated by members and guests during the introductions.

Bev Doern gave a persuasive presentation on the Person’s Act and why we should be Standing Proud this week. She shared the impact the Famous Five made for Canadian women 84 years ago and compared that to the impact Malala Yousafzai is making today in her fight for equality.  Randy in his evaluation shared the club’s appreciation for the history lesson.

Charith led an interesting impromptu speaking session – showing why his evaluator June has labelled him the “King” of Table Topics.  With the possibility of a strike by the professors at the University of Manitoba, Charith asked Selena to play the part of the President’s secretary answering questions on the strike. Pegha was then asked to justify which term would be better for the strike.  The consensus by both speakers was for the university and its professors to come to an amicable agreement.

Danielle as General Evaluator paid our Toastmaster Dianne the ultimate compliment, “Your words on optimism really stuck with me. I wanted to post them as my Face book status!”

This club never fails to be amicable in supporting each other to develop their voices and skill in communication and leadership. We are optimistic that we are creating the world we want to live in!

Blogged by Bev

Try Toastmasters – the proven way to grow your communication and leadership skills.

If you would like to take part in a UM Masters meeting, we’re located in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. Our meetings are held every Wednesday from 12:05 –12:50 PM in Room 111 at St. John’s College (which is part of the University of Manitoba).

If you're in Winnipeg and interested in sitting in on a club meeting to see if Toastmasters is right for you, please feel free to contact Catherine Plouffe at Catharine.Plouffe@umanitoba.ca

Time to be Fascinating - UM Masters Meeting October 02, 2013

Thank you to Bev for a wonderful meeting! “Time to be Fascinating” was our theme and we went around the room during introductions and shared what we found to be fascinating.

Word of the day was ABSORB and I really liked Ashley’s description.  She encouraged us to use the word in our introductions which paired quite nicely with Fascinating as what fascinates us we find absorbing as well!

Randy’s second speech was very well done, his audience remained captivated as he shared how he deals with his OFT disorder. His somber beginning quickly turned to humour as he explained that OFT actually stands for Obsessive Fascination with Technology..hey there’s that Fascinating word again.

Charith escorted us through an energetic Table Topics and asked Myself J and Pegah to explain what we would do if our government shut down for a year! We both had fun with this challenging question and spoke about it for approximately 2 minutes each. Yay us!

Nicole was our General Evaluator and completed her daunting task of evaluating everyone that was not yet evaluated in a positive, thorough manner. Congratulations to Nicole for providing  growth points too!

While Dianne was announcing that next Wednesday is our Humour Speech Contest she cajoled Randy to possibly enter his speech….we didn’t hear a definite no, so it’s probably a yes??

We’ll find out next Wednesday, October 9^th when we meet again in room 111 St. John’s College.

Until then have a wonderful week and remember to spend some time outside, enjoy our beautiful fall foliage……. as it really is FASCINATING!

UMMasters Meeting September 25th, 2013

Our Toastmaster Charith opened the meeting with humour, a great strength of Charith.  He was quick to incorporate  and made the meeting theme word as   
the word of the day "Attitude".   Dinish did his ice breaker speech where he introduced himself in a dynamite way, revealing that he does not know if his name
is really who he is, but since his parents named him Dinish, then he must be Dinish and that he started out as a small molecule in a large world.  He  demonstrated
many strong points as a speaker, he was fluent, smooth flow and with humour.   The Table Topics Session reflected the meeting theme, it was effective and full of humour.
Table Topics participant Cathy was given the challenging question, "How would she compare attitude to a flat tire".  Cathy was quick and to the point with her reply.  

We had 3 guests at the meeting and both had positive comments about the meeting.  Another meeting with all members full of excitement to be present.  

 Blog by June LaRonde


Try Toastmasters – the proven way to grow your communication and leadership skills.

If you would like to take part in a UM Masters meeting, we’re located in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. Our meetings are held every Wednesday from 12:05 –12:50 PM in Room 111 at St. John’s College (which is part of the University of Manitoba).

If you're in Winnipeg and interested in sitting in on a club meeting to see if Toastmasters is right for you, please feel free to contact Catherine Plouffe at Catharine.Plouffe@umanitoba.ca

UM Masters Meeting - September 18th, 2013

Another great meeting today. Toastmaster Dianne opened with enthusiasm and gave a  detailed explanation of the word of the day "Support" based on  her experience a couple of days before.  Roles and clapping were explained for the benefit of guests.  We were fortunate to have 2 guests at the meeting.  Nicole as grammarian  demonstrated her good listening skill by giving a thorough  report on the word of the day - Initiate.   Zenon for the first time  took up the role of Table Topics Evaluator and did an awesome job  by giving  TT master Randy and participants a great evaluation, using the sandwich method.  

The highlight of the meeting  went to Danielle with a power point presentation on wolfs and deers in different  areas in Manitoba. Bev evaluated Danielle's speech with vigor and vitality, she made great reference to the overall charts displayed with specific points to grow and suggestions for improvement.

Horah for members of UMMasters for another wonderful meeting.

Blog by June LaRonde


Try Toastmasters – the proven way to grow your communication and leadership skills.

If you would like to take part in a UM Masters meeting, we’re located in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. Our meetings are held every Wednesday from 12:05 –12:50 PM in Room 111 at St. John’s College (which is part of the University of Manitoba).

If you're in Winnipeg and interested in sitting in on a club meeting to see if Toastmasters is right for you, please feel free to contact Catherine Plouffe at Catharine.Plouffe@umanitoba.ca