What would you do with $50 million and a motor home?! This question is one of the reasons that I enjoy Toastmasters meetings…you never know what someone is going to say next whether it’s in a speech, during their introductions or in an evaluation! There is always something to make you think, shift your perspective or delight your imagination.
The June 15th meeting of UM Masters did not disappoint and how could it with the theme of Energy? Our Winnipeg Toastmaster, Dianne Boulay, modeled the theme with her enthusiasm, stories and excellent bridging between speakers. There was nothing enervating about Dianne’s leadership as she encouraged each of us to introduce ourselves and talk about what gives us energy while also including the word of the day. Cathy chose the word enervate which means to weaken or deprive of force and strength. This word was a great choice as it really helped us to explore all aspects of our theme.
The energy of the room was ramped up with Andrea’s humor and my only suggestion for improvement, Andrea, is to work on your bird calls!! I have to say that Andrea is becoming a very confident speaker and is a testament to the effectiveness of the Toastmaster program.
Each week we are privileged to witness prepared speeches where members are encouraged to talk about something that has meaning and interest for them. Tiffany and Bev created a unique presentation by doing a talk show radio interview. Bev was masterful at answering Tiffany’s questions about the benefits of the Toastmaster’s Program. Together they created interest, entertainment and energy around the topic and left me feeling validated about my decision to continue in the Toastmasters program in Winnipeg.
“One hundred dollars and a canoe doesn’t get you much of a vacation,” Marc commented as he stepped up to the Table Topics challenge of planning a vacation with the budget and mode of transportation that he drew from two envelopes prepared by Andrea. As Table Topics Master, it was Andrea’s role to come up with ideas or questions that we could talk about for 2 minutes. I thought her idea for this meeting was brilliant! She introduced the topic with a brief summary of summer vacations and very clear instructions for each of the participants. She explained the timing and was very encouraging of each participant to go the distance. Anna very humorously explained what she would do and where she would go with $50 million and a motor home and Cathy volunteered to take her motorcycle, best friend and $3000 to the east coast to listen to some Celtic music and go antiquing!
Evaluations are a very valuable part of the Toastmaster meeting and Deb gave an excellent evaluation of Bev’s project! She noted key points where Bev used her strengths as a speaker and then challenged Bev with a suggestion to take the presentation to the next level. Deb can challenge herself by using her hands for specific gestures and then resting them quietly by her sides between gestures. She was very encouraging of Bev and offered several useful observations while still staying within the time limit for evaluations!
Marc was very clear and concise in his evaluation of Table Topics. He used the sandwich method very well. While Marc was one of the people chosen for table topics, I would encourage him to still give a short evaluation of his performance. It’s always helpful to be able to reflect on our performance to notice what we do well and what we can improve. This is also an opportunity for additional humor (which Marc does well, always adding humor to his observations)!
Congratulations to all the speakers and evaluators – this meeting was anything but enervating! I left feeling positive and energized and looking forward to next weeks meeting in UM Masters, our Toastmasters club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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 Tiffany Lui at tpylui@hotmail.com
The June 15th meeting of UM Masters did not disappoint and how could it with the theme of Energy? Our Winnipeg Toastmaster, Dianne Boulay, modeled the theme with her enthusiasm, stories and excellent bridging between speakers. There was nothing enervating about Dianne’s leadership as she encouraged each of us to introduce ourselves and talk about what gives us energy while also including the word of the day. Cathy chose the word enervate which means to weaken or deprive of force and strength. This word was a great choice as it really helped us to explore all aspects of our theme.
The energy of the room was ramped up with Andrea’s humor and my only suggestion for improvement, Andrea, is to work on your bird calls!! I have to say that Andrea is becoming a very confident speaker and is a testament to the effectiveness of the Toastmaster program.
Each week we are privileged to witness prepared speeches where members are encouraged to talk about something that has meaning and interest for them. Tiffany and Bev created a unique presentation by doing a talk show radio interview. Bev was masterful at answering Tiffany’s questions about the benefits of the Toastmaster’s Program. Together they created interest, entertainment and energy around the topic and left me feeling validated about my decision to continue in the Toastmasters program in Winnipeg.
“One hundred dollars and a canoe doesn’t get you much of a vacation,” Marc commented as he stepped up to the Table Topics challenge of planning a vacation with the budget and mode of transportation that he drew from two envelopes prepared by Andrea. As Table Topics Master, it was Andrea’s role to come up with ideas or questions that we could talk about for 2 minutes. I thought her idea for this meeting was brilliant! She introduced the topic with a brief summary of summer vacations and very clear instructions for each of the participants. She explained the timing and was very encouraging of each participant to go the distance. Anna very humorously explained what she would do and where she would go with $50 million and a motor home and Cathy volunteered to take her motorcycle, best friend and $3000 to the east coast to listen to some Celtic music and go antiquing!
Evaluations are a very valuable part of the Toastmaster meeting and Deb gave an excellent evaluation of Bev’s project! She noted key points where Bev used her strengths as a speaker and then challenged Bev with a suggestion to take the presentation to the next level. Deb can challenge herself by using her hands for specific gestures and then resting them quietly by her sides between gestures. She was very encouraging of Bev and offered several useful observations while still staying within the time limit for evaluations!
Marc was very clear and concise in his evaluation of Table Topics. He used the sandwich method very well. While Marc was one of the people chosen for table topics, I would encourage him to still give a short evaluation of his performance. It’s always helpful to be able to reflect on our performance to notice what we do well and what we can improve. This is also an opportunity for additional humor (which Marc does well, always adding humor to his observations)!
Congratulations to all the speakers and evaluators – this meeting was anything but enervating! I left feeling positive and energized and looking forward to next weeks meeting in UM Masters, our Toastmasters club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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 Tiffany Lui at tpylui@hotmail.com
