“It might be cold outside, but it’s definitely warm in here” began Toastmaster Dave Y in a truly figurative sense. It was a great evening – well organised with great speeches, completely entertaining and packed with learning.
Serving his last role at Cathedral City was our favourite Frenchman Ben, our Grammarian for the evening. Introducing ‘sustain’ and its derivatives to the group, Ben set about listening for uses of the word, ums & ahs as well as great use of language. Ben nailed this role tonight and we applauded him for his progress and contribution to the club.
“Shiver me timbers” was David K’s 5th Competent Communicator project based around incorporating body language into a speech. Dressed to match the occasion (See below!), David retold the fascinating history of three real life cases of buried or lost treasure and the escapades of treasure hunters, desperate to recover the gold! There was Captain Kidd with his treasure maps and his attempts to bargain with the British Government which only lead to his hanging. Montezuma’s famous Aztech treasure which is believed to have ended up buried in Utah, and the sunken Nazi treasure of Lake Toplitz, high in the Austrian Alps. Evaluator Dave B praised David K for his excellent use of facial expressions and level of research involved in this speech.
Giving her first ‘Ice breaker’ speech at Cathedral City was our newest member Vida. “The trifecta” began completely in theme, in horse-racing style commentary, introducing the main structure of the speech. There were times tables in the cowshed, getting lost while training in Hamilton and an over-ambitious tramping trip to Blue Lake. Evaluator Ellie commended Vida on making this ‘great first step for woman-kind’ and daring to use the racing commentary introduction! Congratulations Vida, we’re thrilled to have you in the club.
Sam’s tabletopics were so clever, involving audience participation to fire questions at the speaker on a topic of their choice. Jennifer spoke about the Christchurch Earthquakes and David B2 the benefits of comfort food. Sam answered questions about the cricket world cup then Vida was quizzed on University Education. Jane spoke about easy-care-gardening and our guest Steve gave a great introduction.
Thanks to all who contributed to this great evening.