Toastmaster Kathy was on fire tonight, running an ultra-smooth meeting right from the punctual start through to the graceful end. In her introduction, Kathy told us a sorrowful story about an impromptu speech she gave recently for a friend with the sorrowful part being what she described as an amateur speech delivery. No-one in the audience believed this was true though!
“My resignation” was the title of David Knight’s bard this evening, a brilliant reflective narrative on the seriousness of adult life juxtaposed against the innocence of childhood. A great reading which set a neat tone for the meeting.
Prepared speech number one came from Dave B who is studying the Speeches by Management advanced communication book. “Change” was an incredibly effective and clever speech which operated on several levels with the aim of effecting change in our own organisation. Beginning with a story about monkeys in a cage to illustrate how easily organisations can easily fall into the trap of “But we’ve always done it like that” mentality, Dave pieced together a strong argument for changing our club’s approach towards the Competent Leadership manual. Congratulations Dave on delivering such a polished and effective speech!
Jennifer was next, with her Competent Communicator speech number 6; “I’ll sing aboot a wee bit toon”. The goal of the speech was to apply vocal variety and as evaluator Gary said, this speech really delivered with expression, the rate of speaking and impressive use of the pause. And what a topic! Who would’ve known our Jennifer was loaded to the hilt with Scottish heritage, and she told her story so well – the Scottish community at Broad Bay, the Hogmanay, collect calls back to Scotland, gifts of coal and food and singing ‘The green oak tree’ on neighbours doorsteps, then she wound it up beautifully with a very fitting acknowledgement of her late grandparents. Thank you for sharing you story with us Jennifer!
Toastmasters was an absolute riot, with Matt at the helm for the first time, leading a really challenging yet hilarious session of ‘Directors from Hollywood’ pitching film interpretation for songs. Tim began with Selena Gomez’s A Year without Rain where dry patches, failed romance, monsoons and hydration were all mashed into one. Jan was next with Katy Perry’s Roar, now involving a massive cast of the rich & famous – Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Bob Geldolf and more George Clooney! Ellie was next with Beyoncé’s Pretty Hurts which Ellie spun to include all members of the audience. We ended on alien slayers in Ariana Grande’s Break Free by Ben!
Another brilliant evening! Congratulations to all involved!