UM Masters Meeting 17th December 2014 - Happy Holidays

The theme of the Dec 17th UM Master Toastmasters meeting was Happy Holidays. Cathy was our Toastmaster for the day and she did a wonderful job of not only hosting the meeting but also organized a mini-holiday party during our meeting. Everybody enjoyed snacking on the cheese, fresh fruit and vegetable trays that were served. We had two speakers for the meeting. Agnes spoke about three steps required to get rid of body fat. Mohsin did his last project from the Competent communications manual, the ice-breaker called life changing moments. After the speech portion of the meeting, we played a shortened version of Table Topic where people wrote 'secrets' about themselves on a piece of paper and put them in a box which was then shuffled. The Table Topic participants picked out the pieces of paper from a box and had 30 seconds to speak about which member of the club they thought the secret belonged to. It was a lot of fun and everybody had a good laugh. Venkat, our district area governor also joined us for our meeting and presented Mohsin with a pin for completing the Competent Communications manual.

Blog by Mohsin Khan

VP - Education

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 12th November 2014 - Snow

Our Toastmasters meeting for Nov. 12 was great. Charith was our Toastmaster for the day and he did a great job organizing and conducting the meeting. Charith was very proficient in filling roles at the last minute. The theme of our meeting was Snow and the word of the day was Huburistic. Kesab filled the humor role. Due to absence of our initial speaker, we had two members from our club step up to take the speaker role. Maimouna did a speech on the elements of culture shock and Mohsin did a speech on skills kids should be taught in school. Cathy and Nicole evaluated Maimouna and Mohsin's speech respectively. We did not have a Table topics session because of the two speeches. We also had a new guest who complemented our meeting for it's proficient organization. Overall, the meeting went well and ended on time.

 

Blog by Mohsin Khan

VP - Education

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 5th November 2014 – Remembering

We had a great meeting today. The call to order and introduction of Toastmaster of the day, June was done by Nicole. June’s theme for the day was “Remembering” which is quite timely, as this is the month of remembrance in Canada.

 

She did the welcome speech and introduced the Grammarian of the day, Heidi. Heidi word of the day was “Honesty” which goes well with the theme.

 

June shared a humorous story with us and then it was time to introduce ourselves while incorporating the theme “Remembering and the word for the day ‘Honesty” in our introduction. We had 13 people in attendance including 1 guest.

 

We had a speech and two table topics. The speech was by Mohsin and his topic was ‘Percutaneous Coronary Intervention” which is quite technical but he did an excellent job delivering it in the simplest way everyone will understand using visual aid. The table topics was coordinated by Nicole and she asked questions based on the theme “Remembering”, Anna and Keisha were selected for the table topics and they both did a good job.

 

The speech evaluation was done by Charith and he pointed out good points, growth points and ended with good points. The table topics and general evaluations were given by Wayne and Sunday respectively using the same style as above.

 

The Ah count was done by Anna and our timer was John. Our guest was asked to comment on the meeting. The meeting was closed by Nicole.

Blog by Abiodun Ojo

Member

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 22nd October 2014 – TV Shows

 



Today’s meeting went very well even if there are only a few people who attended the meeting. Moshin did a very good job on his first time as Toastmaster of the Day. He picked the theme TV shows. Everybody shared their thoughts about the theme; some used to watch shows on TV before they were very busy in school, and some are not really fond of watching TV. Our grammarian is Keshab, who selected the word “endurance.” There were a few missing roles for the day but members Keshab, June, Charith, and Abiodun were very happy to fill in these roles.

 

Dinesh delivered his a speech in his Competent Communicator handbook focusing on visual aids. He presented the topic “Salmon Run” and used great pictures and slides to illustrate the story of salmons going back to their place of birth to breed and reproduce a new generation of salmons. Charith, who is also our time keeper, did a very good job both on evaluating Dinesh’s speech and keeping note of the time.

 

June filled in the role of Table Topics and picked Heidi and John to talk about topics relating to TV shows and their lives. Both did a great job thinking on their feet and talking about their thoughts on the question. We did not have a General Evaluator so the group went on to do a round table evaluation.

 

Charith also explained to the group the sandwich method of giving feedback. Anna delivered a very detailed Ah-Counter report. After a few announcements from the club president Charith, June closed the meeting.

 

All in all, this meeting was a success.

 

Blog by John Leric Merin

 

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 - 24th September 2014 - Human Rights

This was my last official meeting with UM Masters after 17 years and I know in my heart that I am leaving the club in good hands and that it will excel.  Mouna was our Toastmaster for the day and it was her first time, although you wouldn’t have known it as she did a superb job.  She chose the theme “Human Rights” which was very appropriate with the opening of the new Human Rights Museum here in Winnipeg.

 

Cathy was our Grammarian and she picked the word Liberty which fit in well with the theme.  Mouna asked us to introduce ourselves and speak on Human Rights while incorporating the word of the day “Liberty”.  We had 19 people in attendance (5 of them were guests).  This was our last meeting of the month so we had 2 speakers and no Table Topics.  Our first speaker was Nora (a fairly new member) who gave a well organized Ice Breaker speech.  We definitely had a better idea of who Nora was after listening to her ambitions and accomplishments. 

 

Our second speaker was Dinesh who spoke on Acid Rain.  A very well delivered speech and very well researched.  I loved his art work which he put on the podium showing us how acid rain is produced. 

 

Amy and Danielle gave great evaluations using the sandwich method to point out good points, growth points and ending with good points once again.

 

Our guests were given an opportunity to comment on the meeting and our SAA – Nicole closed the meeting. The quote on the bottom of the agenda read “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”

 

Blog by Dianne Winser

Past President.

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 - 3rd September 2014 - Back to School

 

Today’s meeting was great. Not only was there a good handful of familiar faces, but an abundance of new ones as well who sat in as guests. Today’s theme was “Back to School”—how fitting! Our club president, Charith, was today’s toastmaster and filled in as the Sgt. At Arms and ah-counter as well.
 

Nora took on the role of grammarian, choosing the word “frenzy”, which was fitting for the day’s theme and was well used among club members as well as guests.
 

Colin provided the day’s humour as well as stepping up to be the Table Topics evaluator. He did a great job in both positions.

 

Mouna was today’s Table Topics Master and asked thoughtful questions relating to the day’s theme, including whether it is preferable to provide a strict teaching method or a friendlier one. Two of our guests volunteered to speak during the table topics session and provided great responses. Great job!

 

Dinesh completed speech #9 in his Competent Communicator handbook.  Although we found out he may not be the best singer, he sure makes a great violin player! Danielle stepped up and filled in as the speech evaluator and provided great feedback using the sandwich method.
 

Mohsin was today’s general evaluator and Amy provided the timer report. It was another successful meeting, see you next week!

Blog by Nora Grieve

 

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 - 20th August 2014 - Play it by Ear

 

Today's meeting was excellent. The theme of our meeting was 'Play it by ear'. Our club president extraordinaire, Charith filled in last minute toastmaster and grammarian and did a wonderful job. Our members (Laura, Nicole, Trisha, Amy and Ali) also stepped up and filled in roles which shows the leadership potential of the members of our club. Our speaker was Mohsin who completed project 2 from the communication and leadership manual about how Megastores through deceptive marketing strategies promote gluttony, which is harming society. Laura was the speech evaluator. Amy was our Table Topic Master and the topics were related to our theme of impromptu planning. Our guest Laura stepped-up for one of the table topic sessions and did a great job. We had a round-table General Evaluator session in which everybody suggested ways to enhance our meetings.

 

Blog by Mohsin Khan

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 - 30th July 2014 - Birthdays

 

Nicole was our Toastmaster today and chose “birthdays” as the theme of the meeting, due to her recent birthday.  Happy birthday Nicole!  Because she was Toastmaster today, June reprised her role as Sergeant-at-Arms to open and close the meeting.

 

Nora took on the role of grammarian for the first time.  Her choice for word of the day was “hubristic,” which was well-received and well-used.  She did an excellent job, noting not just the use of her chosen word but also commenting upon other word use she liked.

 

Some last-minute schedule shuffling was in order as one of the scheduled speaking slots was left open, with Mouna stepping up to give a speech with only twenty minutes or less to prepare.  Despite this, she spoke clearly and knowledgably about how best to manage your money for a mortgage.  For having taken on the challenge of delivering a speech with no prep time for the second time in a row, Mouna was awarded the gold star for the meeting.  Charith evaluated her speech.

 

Dinesh completed his fifth speech, and is now halfway to getting his Competent Communicator.  Congratulations, Dinesh!  He spoke on the topic of money, telling a great story about the anxiety of losing his debit card.  Dianne was Dinesh’s evaluator, offering constructive feedback.

 

Bev provided a thorough ah-counter report, tailored to each member individually, and Chiamaka kept time for us today.

 

Blog by Amy Whitmore

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 - 2nd July 2014 - FIFA World Cup

For our UM Master Toastmaster meeting on July 2 2014. The meeting had a lot less people than anticipated however, our members showed great initiative and took on multiple roles during the meeting. The theme of our meeting was FIFA World Cup 2014 taking place in Brasil. Mohsin was the Toastmaster for the meeting, (his first time fulfilling the role) and the Grammarian. The Word of the day was Stalwart, which means someone that is loyal and dedicated or physically strong. Bev filled in for humor and told a great joke about a group of friends on a hot air balloon trip. Maimouna showed great leadership skills and filled in as a speaker at the last minute and spoke about her initial reluctance to move to Canada. Bev was her evaluator. Bev also conducted the Table Topic session and designed as a debate between Amy and Mohsin arguing for and against the FIFA Wrold Cup. Maimouna evaluated the Table Topic session. Amy was the General evaluator for the meeting. Overall, the meeting was a lot of fun. We added a new member Nora to our club and we looking forward to seeing her in our future meetings.


Blog by Mohsin 

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- 25th June 2014 - Year End Party

Today was our last Toastmaster meeting of the year! Dianne, as our Toastmaster for the day, presented several awards to our executive board and introduced our speaker for the day. Bev presented a speech titled “A Salute to the Tinman,” which turned out to be about Dianne and how she has been a pillar in UM Toastmasters since the club was founded.  Bev wrapped up her speech by leading us in a salute to Dianne’s positivity, perseverance, and friendship. We concluded our Toastmaster year by celebrating with food and good conversation.

We’ll miss you Dianne!

Blog by:  Danielle 

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