"THE MEETING WENT AHEAD ANYWAY!!"

Our Thursday meeting was ably chaired by Cheryl who found herself in the unenviable situation of a speaker pulling out and having to fill a fairly long spot in the programme, however as we all knew she could/would Cheryl put together an alternative programme at fairly short notice.

"MOTHERHOOD- MAKE IT HAPPEN"

 These were just two of the intriguing titles of our FIVE entrants in the Pania Toastmaster's Humorous Speech Contest held on Thursday 20th August. What a marvelous turnout for what is traditionally a contest few in numbers!

'ASSERTIVELY HUMOROUS"

This weeks meeting was a combination of an educational session on how to give a humorous speech and a project speech on being assertive.  As a result we all left with a confident smile on our faces.  Though that is a common result of attending the Pania Toastmasters meeting.

The meeting was well run by Toastmaster of the day Graeme.  We also had some guests who were potential new members just immigrated from Christchurch, Alan and Varna.  They were introduced by Helen who has also brought along her husband, Ian, another fellow Toastmaster.

First up was the education session by Helen.  With the upcoming humorous speech contest she provided some techniques and inspiration for creating humorous speeches.  She began by saying that a humorous speech needs to have the standard speech structure of opening, body and conclusion.  In addition it needs to have a purpose.  With this in place the humour is “sprinkled on top” using vocal variety and pauses to add emphasis.  (As they say, the secret to good comedy is … timing).  Helen suggested making our humorous references - short, simple and special.  Finally, Helen rounded off by recommending we allow time in our speech for the expected audience laughter, guffawing, and chortling.

Next was Carol.  She was presenting a project from her Advanced Communication book - Interpersonal Communications.  This was project 5 about “Asserting Yourself”.  Carol provided a good structure for asserting ones needs - stating the problem, telling feelings, specifying the solution and the describing the consequences.  In addition Carol had a few good tips - speak up immediately, be direct, be pleasant, and be calm (all tough in stressful situations, I’d say).  To demonstrate these suggestions Carol performed a role-play with Barbara where Carol tried to use her assertiveness techniques to get her plumber (played by Barbara) to repair some faulty work performed in the past.  Well done Carol for coming up with such a real-life situation, and well done to Barbara for being such a formidable subject.  (I hope the real situation with your plumber went well Carol!).  Mike evaluated Carol’s presentation with his usual thoroughness.

Table Topics was run by David who asked people to provide a one minute introduction of themselves.  Always a good skill to have in this world of networking and social interactions.  Our guest Ian ably presented his life in three key points - the “Nui”, grandmother and the sergeant major.  All which influenced how it is today.  Jen told a tale of wayward girl made good with a variety of careers around the world.  Finally Linda left the Hawkes Bay to become “lost” overseas only to discover herself in Iran teaching English and now finding herself back in the Bay - quite an adventure.

In the general business session we were warned about the humorous speech the following week (this week now!).  And Barbara was awarded her Advanced Communicator Gold (AC(G) certificate - well done Barbara! 

Finally, Darryl presented the General Evaluation session, awarding Carol as Best Speaker; Mike as Best Evaluator and Ian as Best Table Topics.=

Thanks to Darryl for this week's report.

"DECISION TIME; IT'S NEARLY SPRING!!!"

SPRING FEVER IS UPON US!!

Toastmaster Craig welcomed us to the Pania meeting on 6th August and a very energised meeting it was!
Darryl the grammarian for the day introduced us to a Finnish word, "kalsarikannit'. Luckily he suggested that we didn't have to use the word as it meant "drinking at home alone in one's underwear". He did not offer an explanation as to how this word had come into his vocabulary!!

"INSPIRING LANGUAGE TALES"

It was a chilly Napier day as we all arrived at the meeting room for the weekly lunchtime meeting of Pania Toastmasters. Inside the greeting was like the room temperature- warm and inviting. Unlike all other weeks that I can recall, Ian was not present to perform his role as greeter and that did feel a bit odd. We look forward to your return Ian!

Toastmaster of the day was Jen who started the meeting on time. There were a few changes to the program and the roles but these were quickly explained.

Cheryl introduced Linda who was presenting the first speech entitled "Inspiring Language Tales". Linda has been quickly progressing through the Competent Communicator manual this year and was on Speech Six, Vocal Variety.Her subject about her adventures with language in a very different culture to ours was very interesting as well as entertaining. The topic allowed for many options for vocal variety- whispering, shouting, and phrases in an assortment of foreign tongues. In her evaluation Cheryl commended Linda for her interesting subject and suggested that more exaggeration could have been used for emphasis and entertainment.

Next up was David introducing a reading from Helen, who had been scheduled to make a speech but as sometimes happens life- got in the way! Helen read an inspiring article from a recent Toastmaster's magazine, about a person who was interested in wildlife photography and who joined Toastmasters to become better at public speaking to enhance her presentations on her photographs. As a result Toastmasters provided further opportunities and other paths in her career have come about. It was interesting to hear how we all need to see opportunities and then take them; both steps are required. While David did not need to evaluate Helen's 'bard' reading he did comment favourably on her speaking style but lamented that she was unable to make a speech, even if it was not the one planned.

Our Table Topic's master at the meeting was Carol who challenged us to recall TV shows from many years ago. Those who were 'lucky' were given a phrase from an old TV show and asked to incorporate it into our one minute speech. First up was David with "Sit on it" from the comedy "Happy Days". Initially David couldn't recall the show but then it all came flooding back to him until he saw the red light and decided to go back to his seat and 'sit on it!' Helen was also called up and provided a brief and to the point response to her phrase'(that I cannot recall-that was not the phrase he just could not remember what it was!!) but it probably raised more questions than answers. Carol the asked Mike to recall the 'Ministry of silly walks' from Monty Python. He obliged with some enthusiasm and a great amount of energy. Finally Barbara was asked to include the phrase 'this tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds' from "Mission Impossible" into her short speech. She came up with a tall tale (I suspect) of her wanting to keep secret her computer work by pressing a button that will cause it to self-destruct (warning her with the phrase in question). Very creative Barbara.

The business session covered a number of topics including the next meeting's agenda, discussion about the plan for the raffles at up coming meetings and the activities of the committee.
Finally Darryl coordinated the evaluation portion of the meeting calling on Table Topic's evaluator (Mike being awarded the "Best Table Topics") the timekeeper's report and then his own General Evaluation. In it, Darryl commended Cheryl's well structured evaluation of Linda's speech but suggested that the introduction could have been shorter. He also made a suggestion about having the Club President or Toastmasters of the day manage the business session to ensure it runs to time and flows well.

A good meeting, food for thought and always entertaining.

Thanks Darryl for your very full report!