UM Masters Meeting - 14th Aug 2013

Summer fun was the theme for this week’s UM Masters Toastmaster meeting.  June started off the meeting with her usual energy and enthusiasm, encouraging all of us to share our summer fun experiences throughout the meeting.  Bev was our grammarian for the day and introduced us to the word fervid which means intensely enthusiastic or passionate.  Using this word took our meeting up a notch as we all became fervid about using the word of the day.  With the addition of some great humor by Teegan, we were off to an excellent start to the meeting. 

We were treated to a different type of meeting today because instead of having prepared speeches, the rest of the speaking portion of the meeting was devoted to table topics.  Dianne Winser was the Table Topics Master and she proposed Alphabet Soup for the table topics.  As a group, we created a story by each member contributing one or two sentences.  The trick was that we each had to start our sentence with a specific letter of the alphabet.  Using alphabet soup as a table topics technique not only challenged us to think on our feet but it also gave everyone more than one chance to speak during the meeting. 

The meeting wrapped up with our reports and a round table evaluation.  Then the meeting was adjourned with the encouragement to go out and create more summer fun! 

Blogged by Deb





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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 - August 7th, 2013

Summer meetings are fun and this was what we had at this week’s meeting with Friends of UM Masters.   The low attendance did not hamper the spirits of those who attended.

Our guess David enjoyed the meeting and promised to return to experience a meeting with a full house and Table Topics Session.  We had  2 very enjoyable speeches. 

Teagan set his imagination wild with a farfetched  cartoon story. Iriina gave her Ice Breaker with her life story from childhood to adulthood.  A very emotional and descriptive scene from one phase to the next with a much happy ending.    Irina  stood tall and was calm in her delivery.   Kudos to both Teagan and Irina for a job well done.

Toastmaster Charith   did an excellent job in running a smooth meeting with only 4 members.  Congratulations to Charith for standing tall and using humor to bridge the gaps and keep the meeting afloat very nicely.

It was a great meeting.

Blog by June LaRonde

Practice Makes Perfect - UM Masters Meeting on July 31st, 2013

From the time I walked into my first meeting a few years back to just this past one, the support and fun atmosphere I felt from the members has never wavered.  Their genuine care in helping members grow into better speakers, including myself has been done in degrees I would not have achieved on my own. 

Today, Bev as our toastmaster has shared with us the key.  She reminded us that in order to achieve something, it often entails the well known saying, “Practice Makes Perfect.”  During the introductions, people talked about practicing patience with children and pets, practicing their favourite hobbies and practicing to speak in toastmasters. 

Following the introductions, we had to speeches to listen to today.  It started with a very special guest Jenny Gates on her speech on “Nothing”.  It was an inspirational story which we all hope she has a chance to share with everyone on the next contest stage.

Dianne also gave a speech on “Be Open to Opportunity” encouraging us to expand our horizons and say yes to a new opportunity. 

Everything tied up so neatly with the theme of the day, and it was a wonderful theme for me to take away as I myself head out to a new opportunity.  The success in the things you do, the goals we set up for ourselves, all can be reached when we practice.

Blogged by Tiffany