'PRESENTS FROM THOSE PRESENT!"

Pania Toastmasters today held their  last meeting for 2016 and while different to our 'normal' meeting its was a tremendous way to finish a very successful year for the Club.

Helen ran the meeting and as usual at our last meeting of the year everyone was to bring a gift(generally valued under $5), which they would talk about in Table Topics and then they are delivered by our two "Santas" (Graeme & Ian) to the Hawkes Bay Today office for the Christmas Cheer Appeal. This is something the Club has done for a number of years now and the folk at HB Today wait in anticipation for our "Santa's" arrival!. A good number of members attended and some brought more than one gift so approx 40 gifts were delivered to HB Today.

All members were given the opportunity to speak about their gift for 1 minute (like a prepared Table Topic!) and most did themselves proud. While not really wanting to sort out individuals, I felt that Marc gave a wonderful Table Topic about his gift and Rebecca spoke confidently about her fear of spiders, hence her Note Pad gift with the picture of a spider on it. Jen, Wendy and  Graeme had multiple gifts and so did Helen who took the opportunity to recycle some unwanted items from her past (all new!). Well done everyone on your gifts and the Table Topics presented.

The meeting opened with the presentation of the Certificates for the Evaluation Contest held last week, won by Mike, 2nd Barbara and 3rd Graeme and a very special presentation to Wendy, who has just completed 25 years as a Toastmasters and as a member of Pania Club. Her lovely wooden plaque is apparently 'still in the mail'. Well done Wendy, you are a real  living advertisement as to what Toastmasters can do to assist a person to improve and better their lot in life. You also continue to be a tremendous and dedicated member of our Club.
This gives Pania Toastmasters no less than seven members who have been Toastmasters for over 25 years, great experience for the newer members to feed off.

After Table Topics we has an excellent Christmas poem written and read by Laurel. This was based loosely on the poem "The Night before Christmas" with some magnificent twists and extremely well read by Laurel. You should get this published Laurel, I believe that it has excellent potential providing it does not impinge any copyright laws!

We then had time for a chat and some nibbles to round off a very successful year for the Club. I am sure that next year will be even better.

Merry Christmas everyone and a very prosperous New Year, we will meet again on 19th January, put it in your 2017 Diaries NOW.

"HOW DO YOU THINK BEFORE YOU PAINT?"

"How do you think before you paint?", this was the intriguing topic of our 'Test' speaker's speech for Pania's Evaluation Contest today. The speech was presented by Fiona, from Napier Toastmasters Club, and proved to be an excellent speech for our Evaluators to discuss and dissect.

"SMALL TALK ABOUT 'CLEAN' EATING HABITS!"

Two Terrific Talks – Thursday 24^th of November

Highlight of last week’s meeting were the exceptional speeches.  It was a real privilege to listen to them. Sandy and Rebecca are both new members who were both doing project two form the Competent  Communicator’s manual.  They both put in considerable effort.  They were well crafted and structured and gave us a real insight into their passions and a fascinating perspective into their lives.  They were also effective as they both told a story and made a point.

"THE DOGS ARE BARKING"

Anna was our lovely toastmaster this week and started our meeting on time having provided all participants with a well laid out agenda. Helen read our mission statement with great eye contact.

Marc introduced Craig with his usual thorough research – this being Craig’s 10^th time he had completed his manual – that’s dedication.

"SOMETHING DIFFERENT!"

Pania Club met today at a different venue due to the usual rooms being required for a two day Conference by the Blind Foundation.

"WHAT IS HAPPINESS?-TURKEYS DO IT!"

An excellent meeting of Pania Toastmasters today attended by 16 members and one guest, Liz who all enjoyed a great and varied program overseen by the Toastmaster of the Day, Jen, who controlled the ajenda (agenda) well and allowed the meeting to flow smoothly with pertinent comments between each item.

"ICE BREAKERS- PLUS!"

The Pania Toastmasters Club met on 27^th September 2016 with a good turn out and not a spare seat. Russell was our Toastmaster and he led a meeting that started on time and finished promptly at 1300.

"BREAK THE ICE- TWICE!!"

Laurel was our Toastmaster on Thursday 20 October and what a fantastic job she did of organising and running the meeting with a Hawke’s Bay theme.  She was very professional in every way and although the meeting started 2 minutes late, from then on it ran to schedule, finishing spot on 1.00pm. 

"WHAT IF YOU HAD A MENTOR?"

Another excellent meeting with quality presentations, evaluations, and chairmanship by Mike

The meeting started with a clear agenda, room well laid out, the usual introductions efficiently performed and the mission statement read by Stephanie.

Linda positively introduced Laurel, our new Table Topics  Champion for Division D, who presented an educational on mentoring. This was something new for many attending who we are sure to have found it most helpful. Mentoring is to help toastmasters to grow and develop. Laurel described the differences between mentoring, coaching and instructing and so demonstrated the value and benefits of mentoring, especially when done correctly.

Linda’s evaluation commented on how well Laurel had been able to squeeze a longer educational in 5 to 7 minutes (well almost!) and she commended in detail with reasons for her comments. She even managed to find two recommendations for what had been an excellent presentation.

Graeme introduced his long term colleague Craig with some very glowing but well deserved observations. This speech was to demonstrate vocal variety and Graeme gave his own examples so the audience knew what to look for.

Craig started very boldly and then went on to give three “What if” examples from a relatively short period of his life.  If that is typical of the rest of his life we are indeed fortunate to see him regularly at Toastmasters. He did conclude by wisely commenting we should not dwell on what could have happened to us.

Graeme’s evaluation repeated the objectives and very positively commended Craig’s presentation and gave three constructive recommendations.

Helen introduced Table Topics with the theme of Mother in Law visiting at short notice. By limiting speakers to no more than1 minute she succeeded in fitting in 5 speakers who all responded to their queries very well.

Patrick evaluated the Table Topics speakers and commended each very well and also had a recommendation for most.

Darryl provided a very professional timekeeper’s report.

Toastmaster Mike linked the various sections of the meeting very well including general business, and so did not stray over time.

And so we were left with Mike’s quote from Dr Seuss about fantasy ringing in our ears "I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living"

See you all next week.

"SATURDAY AFTERNOON ANTICS!"

While we had a number of apologies, there was still an excellent turnout for Pania's meeting on Thursday 6th October under the capable Chairmanship of Helen.Two interesting presentations and a action-packed Table Topics session filled the programme.

'A TOUCHING STORY!!'

Well what a excellent meeting this was on Thursday 29th September!  Barbara quickly set the tone by greeting everyone in a warm and friendly manner.  Rebecca (our newest member) was asked to read the mission statement which she handled very well indeed.

"TURNING 90 and CHUNKING!"

I think you know when the Toastmaster is going to be someone of the experience of Graeme , that you’re going to be in for a treat for our meeting on Thursday 22nd September.

And Graeme certainly did not disappoint, with a meeting that ran as smooth as clockwork.

Our first speaker was Jen, who spoke about turning 90. It was a wonderful lead-in for her speech, as we all knew it wasn’t her age (or should know!). Jen then informed us of her successful weight loss programme, the importance of having a mentor and avoiding sugars at breakfast time. With plenty of humour that Jen has become synonymous for, she also won the award for best speech.

Helen introduced Jen and did an excellent job. One thing I particularly liked was her repeating the objectives, by saying “what we’ll be looking for…”

Anna presented a speech about learning “how to chunk”, which essentially means breaking a reading into “chunks” of phrases. I thought some of Anna’s phrases were brilliant; especially “lift the words off the page”. By reading a passage to us from Lord of the Rings we were able to hear its effectiveness in action. An extremely useful speech for any of us wanting to do a bard at some stage.

Noel did a great job of introducing her, using lovely phrases like “real treasure” and “welcome her presence”, making Anna feel really valued.

Darryl ran our table topics session, with the theme of tattoos, certainly an interesting concept and not surprising from someone with his devilish sense of humour.

Linda was asked if she had to choose a Chinese character what it would be, to which the answer was Lucky Linda! A wonderful topic by Linda, showing great use of pause.

One of our newer members, Sandy, was next. She did a fantastic job talking about latitude and longitude coordinates and how they relate to her journey so far. We found that besides Germany, she’s also been to Spain and the US.

Our final table topic was presented by Stephanie. She spoke about which cartoon character she would choose. We found out she is a Roadrunner fan and that she is also good at table topics, winning the best table topic award.

Helen’s and Noel’s evaluations were both top class. I thought both of them provided a thorough analysis of their respective speeches and their use of gestures was something we could all learn from.

Patrick was our table topics evaluator and he was enthusiastic in his appraisal of our three speakers. He presented some good perspectives on their speeches, in one case speaking longer than the table topic itself! As we know, feedback when first starting is so important.

That left Mike to present his extremely vigilant timekeepers report, with not a second out of place.

I kept my General Evaluators report brief, so that Graeme was quite relieved when we actually finished before the clock was reading 1pm.

'TITANIC,MOTHER THERESA, ROALD DAHL, 9/11 & BATTLE OF BRITAIN!"

Another bright, cheery meeting began with a bright, cheerful agenda prepared by Toastmaster Wendy, whose bright, cheerful attitude provided a bright, cheerful stage on which all role holders performed to their bright and cheerful best – well done everyone!

"SHAKEN OR STIRRED-THOSE WERE THE DAYS!"

September 8^th meeting was chaired by Carol in a very cheerful and ‘spring’ like manner.

Our first speech of the meeting was called, “Those were the Days” and was presented by Graeme who was dressed in a pink jacket and cap just as he may well have done in his youth. He gave us several amusing accounts about his family and the infamous pink motorcycle. Laurel introduced and evaluated Graeme’s speech in a humorous, professional and helpful manner. She turned the speech objectives into questions which she then answered to show that Graeme had in fact achieved these objectives. Cleverly done!

Patrick was our second speaker and Marc introduced and evaluated him very well. Marc is a very experienced toastmaster who recently came to our club from Christchurch and he was able to explain exactly what is going on in Patrick’s life as a toastmaster. Marc said Patrick was, “brave, honest and contrite”. This certainly showed in Patrick’s speech, entitled, “Do you like it shaken or stirred?” Hats off to both Patrick and Marc.

The Table Topic session was conducted by Wendy who had each speaker choose various unknown topics from a bag and talk about them. The idea was to link each topic together and this was done very aptly by the six speakers, David, Jen, Craig, Noel, Darryl and Anna.

Table Topics is a chance to practice impromptu speaking and with six speakers this was a great example of how differently each person handles the opportunity.

Mike was responsible for the evaluation of each speaker. This can be done as a joint evaluation or as individual evaluations. Mike chose to evaluate individually.

Other highlights of the meeting were;

·        Sandy our scientist visitor joined the club, welcome Sandy.

·        And recently relocated Stephanie also visited again and said she was going to join too. Brilliant to have two more members.

·        Our club Table Topic award was back from the engravers so Craig presented it to our contest winner, Laurel. He also congratulated Laurel for her win of the Area contest and Helen for achieving the Area Toastmaster of the Year award.

As General Evaluator Helen completed the meeting by evaluating the evaluators and presenting the meeting awards.

Best speaker; Graeme     Best Evaluator; Marc       Best Table Topics; Darryl

"SPRING SPRANG A GREAT MEETING!"

Our meeting last Thursday , the very first day of Spring, was as warm and welcoming as the day .

Kerry our Toastmaster welcomed us all warmly.

AREA COUNCIL MEETING 2nd September 2016

Around 30 local Toastmasters (plus one from Rotorua) attended an excellent evening of entertainment at the Area D2 meeting on Friday evening 2nd September held at the Greenmeadows Community Centre in Napier.

"TABLE TOPICS CONTEST- A MID LIFE CRISIS!"

Pania's meeting today involved the Table Topics Contest and this was hotly contested by five members under the Chairmanship of Helen.

"GEERT HOFSTEDE-THE SUCCESSFUL NERD?"

Another successful Pania meeting on Thursday 18th August.

Patrick was the Toastmaster, for the first time and he handled the role extremely well. As the TM’s table was pushed back (to allow room for Noel’s video), he made a point of moving away from the table, each time he spoke, to where he could be easily seen by the audience. He also produced a well designed meeting programme.

In Graeme’s introduction and evaluation of Emma, he read and re-read the objectives, which included the use of triads. For those, like me, who did not know what a triad is in this context, the following is the Wikipedia explanation:

The rule of three or power of three is a writing principle that suggests that things that come in threes are funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader or audience of this form of text is also thereby more likely to remember the information. This is because having three entities combines both brevity and rhythm with having the smallest amount of information to create a pattern. It makes the author or speaker appear knowledgeable while being both simple and catchy.

Emma gave an excellent presentation entitled The Successful Nerd. She told us about being a contestant on a British TV game show, complete with role play, (ably assisted by Darryl) and consequently winning a trip to Hong Kong.

Graeme gave a very good evaluation of Emma’s speech with three suggestions: Slow down, use pause and don’t stand too close to the audience.

Noel made use of a projector to give a very interesting Power Point presentation to explain the difficulties of communicating with workplaces in different countries.

Noel used data from Professor Geert Hofstede who has studied the cultural and behavioural differences of many countries, in this case New Zealand and Malaysia and used graphs to show the differences.

Noel was very well evaluated by Wendy, with the recommendation to use a pointer. Although, Wendy spoke directly to Noel, rather than speaking in the third person.

Table Topics was conducted by Marc with the topics being very current affairs.

The speakers and subjects were:

Linda - H N water quality. Should heads roll?

Anna - Should we care about Auckland’s housing crisis?

Laurel – US election. Should we care?

Jane – Olympics. Are our expectations too high?

All the speakers spoke well and to the subject.

Table Topics was evaluated by Darryl, who gave good feedback to each speaker.

Russell kept the lights and Mike gave a full and proficient General Evaluation to wind up the meeting.

Best speaker – Emma.

Best Evaluator – Graeme.

Best Table Topics – Linda.

NEXT WEEK WE HAVE THE TABLE TOPICS CONTEST- Be in- to win!!

'ASK A BUSY PERSON and get PAYBACK!"

Meeting 11 August

After last week's meeting could we be as good? Yes we can! Another great meeting with positive vibes crackling through the room.

"MONKEY DUNG and THE GREAT REVEAL!"

What a fantastic meeting, on the 4^th of August, with two stunning, very personal speeches, which were unforgettable!

" A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ......!"

Pania Toastmaster's Club today held its Humorous Speech Contest and five intrepid and 'funny' members stepped up to accept the challenge to entertain and humour us!

The Contest was chaired by Craig and visiting judges from Napier Club, Chris, Ian and our own Laurel decided on the winners. The times were ably kept by David and Helen.Guests included,Jan,James K (from Napier Club),Karen(David's daughter) and a big welcome back to ...... Jeanette!

First up was Russell, with "Our Super Club" relating tales of this fictitious! sports club 'Wanderers' ,the members of which were there for the Social occasions , not playing soccer! They were never going to win the FA Cup (because they were not in England) or the World Cup (because they were not a Nation!!) 

Next was Barbara with "Communication Breakdown",Barbara, as we know from past experience is a talented speaker and this showed with plenty of 'typos' that have occurred in her role as a PA related to us, some of which left her in most embarrassing situations! "there will be insufficient room for the staff to shit on the stage"
Then followed Carol with "The White Warrior", this was an amusing account of her security system , a small white fluffy dog, and the great things that dogs can and cannot get up to, like did you know that dogs are not smooth talkers-they go rough, rough, rough! and there were many more!

Jane was next with "Eccentric Teaching Colleagues", Jane shared with us some of the colleagues she taught with in Brisbane, an amusing account of a few of her teacher colleagues-but thank goodness they were not all eccentric! an alcoholic music teacher that would not be a sobering note!

Last but not least we had Anna with "Stroppy Old Woman's Online Adventures" an intriguing title that lived up to it! Anna told us about 'her' adventures with internet dating and how it used to be soooo good in the past when you went to "the pub' and could study the talent!!.He is out there Anna-you just have to find him!

A great contest, where everyone who entered was a winner! but at the end there can be only one who goes onto the next level at the Area Meeting on 2nd September and that was Barbara (for the seventh time in a row in this Contest -a tremendous effort!!!) 2nd place went to Anna and Carol was third.
Thanks to all involved- next week we revert back to an 'ordinary' meeting where the Toastmaster is Marc- see you all there!!

"TO THE MOON AND BACK"

David opened our meeting on time and told us we could guess the theme of the meeting by referencing the slogan at the bottom of our programme…. “That’s One Small Step for Man…..”

Jane read our Mission Statement and Russell told us our word of the day was QUALM.  Obviously from that point on nobody had any qualms or queries with using that great word in their speeches. 

"GREAT EXPECTATIONS FROM THE MANAGEMENT!"

Winter has certainly arrived in Napier, but it was a warm welcome at the Pania Toastmasters meeting on Thursday lunchtime.  It always amazes me how much we can pack into a meeting that only lasts 50 minutes.

Our Toastmaster Linda provided up with a well organised program and ensured we were all prepared for the journey ahead.  Our guest, Ian, was welcomed, the Toastmaster's mission statement read, and apologies read and accepted all efficiently.

First up was Russell with a speech from the Presentations for Management advanced book.  This involved all the audience being his employees at a Napier shop where business had not been so good.  Russell’s presentation involved advising us of the situation and proposing changes to how we work.  Then it was a chance for us (the employees) to ask questions which Russell handled well.  Laurel evaluated Russell’s speech and provided good feedback on how to better present such important information.

Next was Mike who was presenting a bard.  For this he read the opening of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.  This is where the main character, Pip, met a convict in the cemetery.  This provided a great opportunity for Mike to use vocal variety and his enthusiasm for the story to engage us all and make the story and come alive.  Usually a bard is not evaluated but Graeme provided compliments and some recommendations to Mike.

Table topics was led by Helen who used the topic of food.  Barbara made up a recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie on the spot; Noel told us where the best Custard Squares could be found; and Emma gave us an interesting recipe for Ice-cream.  By the end we were all entertained as well as hungry!  Patrick provided an entertaining and well organised evaluation of Table Topics - well done for his first time evaluating.

Craig gave a quick Education session (assisted by Graeme) on the Humorous Speech Contest funnily enough coming up on 28th July, and Darryl provided an excellent general Evaluation (initially in rhyme-but he could not keep that up right through)(Ed) and was assisted by Timekeeper Ian.
See you all on 21st July, when the Toastmaster is David, start thinking funny thoughts!!

Finally awards were presented
- Best Table Topics - Emma
- Best Speech - Russell
- Best Evaluation - Laurel

"NGHS: THAT'S THE TOPIC CHOSEN!"

A very good meeting was held 7 July 2016 held at the Blind Foundation building, Thackeray Street, Napier. The scene was set from the outset; the banner was displayed and had ‘pride of place’ hanging on the back wall, reminding us we were attending a toastmaster meeting.

We were greeted by our Sargent at arms as we arrived. There was a buzz in the air with general chatter by members and guests before we were called to attention by the Toastmaster of the day Anna, where we were welcomed warmly, (as it was Maori language week: Ki Ora) was utilized. Guests were welcomed: Stephanie and Gerrard. The programme was clear and precise, the transition between presentations was handled with confidence, no hesitation.

As Anna introduced those that were presenting, she shook their hands a sign of welcome and makes the presenter feel at ease.

Timekeeper Patrick knew the time requirements of the tasks, accurately timed and signalled appropriately. A novel idea of delivering the feedback to the audience of the time the speaker,s spoke.

An educational by Russell – he had notes on the rostrum, but only scanned them at the beginning of his presentation. He did not rely on his notes at all. An informative educational was cherished by his attentive audience where he offered good scope for Topics when searching for speeches.    He had good gestures and eye contact. No hesitation in his presentation and very good use of pause.

Helen's introduction of Barbara was hearty, would have made Barbara feel comfortable and confident presenting her speech, Helen shared the objectives and the time of the presentation.

Barbara’s presentation of her beloved school NGHS was appreciated by all,   she explained her connection with the school being 50 years and her mother 85 years.  Barbara shared with us details of the founder of the school. Various pictures were shown to us and the school motto -  Ad Lucem:  'towards the light' was revealed. Barbara proudly explained that the now Principal Mary Nixon is moving on to new beginnings in Auckland and that Mary was vivacious and forward thinking she had upgraded the school attendance and increased the scholarships the school earned.

Helen offered Barbara brilliant feedback (excellent listening skills). Helen advised it was a superb motivational, interesting and informative presentation.

Mike the Table Topic Master challenged us, questions posed with vim and vigour, made us think on our feet, Mike had questions where you imagine yourself:  his topics, A vegetarian, Richie McCaw, First colonise on Mars and a Base Jumper, his victims Carol, Marcus, Darryl and Laurel all answered without hesitation and appeared to enjoy themselves (it is the fun part of the programme)!  The Table Topic Evaluator Noel  offered positive feedback and was encouraging to all.

General business was to the point; members were reminded to bring their Competent Leader Manuals so in turn members could get their assignments evaluated.  Members were reminded of their tasks for next week’s meeting.

In general a happy, entertaining and informative meeting that was relished by all. 

Thanks for the report Wendy.

"WHAT'S COOKING?"

It may have been a cold, wet day outside, but it was a warm, well-attended meeting that greeted our two guests – Stephanie and Kelly.

Jane was our Toastmaster and a very efficient one at that, she was assisted by David in his role as timekeeper. With General Business soon out of the way, Barbara gave a warm introduction to Patrick. This was Patrick’s fourth speech and he is developing a very confident style. ‘Plate up Like a Pro,’ took us on an experience of fine dining tips and tricks which anyone can use to make their meals more pleasurable and excite the taste buds. He introduced five basic rules to a successful food arrangement.1) have a key ingredient - which is often, but not always, meat, 2) rule of 3rds - so that the proportions remain balanced, 3) use odd numbers of items, 4) choose a focal point – this draws the eye, 5) use positive as well as negative space, it is not necessary to cover the plate completely. Accompanying these points were diagrams and pictures. Apparently plastic squeeze bottles are the ultimate foodies trick and Patrick is now armed and ready to go forth into a new era of gastronomy. Barbara’s evaluation was full of well-deserved praise for a job well-done and several pertinent recommendations.

Armed with hair net (no hairs in this soup) and pinny our very own Julia Child was up next. Jen’s speech was titled ‘Peeling Back the Layers’ and it was ably introduced by Anna. We were taken on a nostalgic tour from 1971, through 45 years of married bliss to the present day, on the back of an assortment of vegetable peelers. This very clever presentation was from an advanced manual and required the speaker to use a piece of equipment, who would of thought of a peeler in this context? Starting with the honeymoon stage of marriage, Jen told us she sought to please her man in the kitchen, but risked losing digits and criticism from peeling her veg to thickly with a sharp knife. Her thoughtful husband bought her a basic peeler, but it still cut too thick, this was followed by a more update version with similar problems. Finally she was won over by the efficiency, both in ease of use, and lack of extra waste by a state of the art peeler bought from the Show. Anna started her evaluation with the comment, ‘What a treat’ and emphasized the humour threaded throughout the speech. She also gave good recommendations for future speeches.

There is always much anticipation over Table Topics with its ‘seat of the pants’ delivery mode. Laurel was on a DIY journey and asked for help with some unfinished projects. Darryl was first up with drawers that wouldn’t slide into place. He had three suggestions, but ultimately concluded that it was better to buy a new one rather than continue battling with the problem. Mike was given the task of fitting venetian blinds with a missing drill bit, ever resourceful he had options for using smaller and larger drill bits, substituting a nail or buying a new bit. However, in the end he also thought it would be better to give the job away and get a professional to finish the job. Our last speaker, who doesn’t like to get her hands dirty if she can find someone else to do the job, used praise and cunning to get her husband to move a heavy table into an upright position. Her ingenuity and good use of descriptive words earned her a well-deserved award.

The meeting ran to time despite a packed schedule and I am sure that everyone is looking forward to more great speeches at our next meeting.

Best Speaker: Jen

Best Evaluator: Anna

Best Table Topic: Helen

General Evaluator: Linda

"Take a risk with the Sexist Present Ever!"

Darryl was our Toastmasters of the day on Thursday 23rd June and he ran a very smooth and jovial programme. We had a full house with many members in attendance and one guest, Jan a former member and friend! It was lovely to see her again.

"1,2,3 OFF THE BEATEN PATH WE GO!"

"1,2,3,Go!" "Off the beaten path" these were the titles of two very interesting speeches at Pania's meeting today. Great turn out & so good to have Ian back again.  Two guest's as well!   Marc and Kerry, Toastmasters recently moved from Christchurch.

'ARE YOU PRESENT IN EACH MOMENT?"

Are you present in each moment?

This question can be answered by any of the sixteen members who attended Pania’s meeting on June 9 – that is if they were paying attention to Noel’s speech!

"THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ANIMAL FARM's GUT and the MIND!"

Another large attendance for Pania' meeting on Thursday 2nd June ensured a lively and enjoyable meeting.An innovative layout gave more room for the speakers to move forward and fully utilised the large meeting room.

' A TOAST TO BIDCOM & BLOCKCHAIN"

The Meeting commenced on time and was competently conducted by Craig  who presented us with a very well prepared Agenda, with the names of the participants in bold type.

We welcomed three guests,(Liam, Helen's grandson, Marc, a Toastmaster from Christchurch who has just moved to the 'Bay' and Anne (for about the 3rd time) and recorded three absentees.

"50 SLICK MINUTES"

50 Slick Minutes

Humorous speeches and Committee Elections led to a very ‘slick’ meeting, well that’s how Carol, our outgoing secretary / incoming treasurer described our 50 minute Pania Toastmasters meeting.

'A DEFINITION FOR LISTENING!"

A bumper turn out on Thursday , 21 keen Toastmasters showed up for an excellent meeting.

 

Barbara was our Toastmaster , and a great job she did.

 

After all the usual housekeeping arrangements were complete we heard Laurel's Icebreaker speech , which whetted our appetite for more Laurel speeches . Ably introduced by Craig and then evaluated , Craig admitted that he was struggling to find recommendation's for Laurel , but offered one suggestion ....on the back of several commendations.

 

Jane , presented  an educational session , on the art of listening , a great skill which is able to be learned , and Jane got us working to develop those skills, a great workshop , with active participation , enjoyed by us all.

 

Table Topics , was great fun, presented by Emma , she presented a novel table topics, in which she asked participants to talk about their “chosen career “. Come  along some time and get Graeme to show you his moves as  a ballet dancer .Such hidden talents.! It was lots of fun , our participants were very good sports.Linda evaluated the table Topics, but like all of us was lost in the mirth and forgot to offer any recommendations !

 

After all that hilarity we were running a little over time, and our General Evaluator, Jen gave her report , almost excluding the time keeper .Neat save there .Thanks Graeme.

 

It was a day of firsts , Laurel's Icebreaker ( though not her first ever )Emma's first table topic session and Patrick's first timekeeper role .Everyone handled their role very well , another successful Pania meeting .

 

Thanks everyone .

 

 

"25 years of Tea & Tales"

Pania Toastmasters met today and what a tremendous meeting it was! 22 people attended including three guests, two excellent speeches,great evaluations and some quick-fire Table Topics all squeezed into 50 minutes of entertainment and enjoyment!

"A F.I.G. for THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS"

A TYPICAL PANIA TOASTMASTERS MEETING

When you read the title of this meeting report you may think of the meeting as being a little ‘ordinary’, or ‘mundane’.  However last weeks meeting was far from it.  It was interesting, informative, entertaining, and full of accomplishment.  Yes, just a typical Pania Toastmasters meeting.

Appropriate to the upcoming celebrations, Toastmaster Carol has produced a programme that remembered our ANZAC troops.  Carol then proceeded to run the meeting in an efficient manner with the the scheduled items interspersed with facts about the ANZAC efforts and her previous experience of organising the annual celebrations.

This week we had two wonderful speeches.  First up was Patrick, one of our newest members who was on to his second Competent Communicator speech - “Organise your speech”.  And, in a twist, his speech was a well organised speech about organising speeches.  He introduced us to his FIG method - File, Improve, Great view - which he used to increase his Toastmasters skills and repertoire.  A very entertaining speech and with no notes!  Noel provided an excellent evaluation providing Patrick with some challenges for his next speech.

The second speech was from one of our more senior members, Russell, who was presenting an advanced speech discussing an abstract concept.  Russell talked about the erosion of the Freedom of the Press, where big business, advertisers and fear of litigation result in major issues not being reported as thoroughly as they could be.  It was certainly a challenging talk about an important issue.  Wendy evaluated Russell complimenting his talk and suggesting that he speak a bit louder.

Table Topics was run by David who took the theme of ‘sup (with the head nod included).  In other words he asked various members to keep us in the loop about some aspect of their life.  Laurel talked about her move home to the Bay, Emma talked about working in Auckland, Helen talked about her recent medical adventure, and Jane talked about spring cleaning around home.  Jen evaluated Table Topics with her usual expertise and insight.

Darryl led the General Evaluation session complementing the two speech evaluators and noting how good the meeting was.  With more people at each meeting these days a third row of seats have been added.  How wonderful is that?

Speaker of the day went to Patrick for his entertaining speech about organising your speech.  Evaluator of the day went to Noel for his encouraging words and keen observations.  And Table Topics Speaker of the day was Laurel (welcome back!).

Yes, just another typical Pania Toastmasters meeting … entertaining, informative and full of accomplishment.
—

"AQUATIC ADVENTURES create A FULL CIRCLE!"

Silver was the colour theme for the program to recognise that one of our members, Noel, has been a Toastmaster for 25 years.

"LISTEN UP!-FEARLESSNESS,FRIEND or FOE?"

Thursday 7^th April 2016

Pania Toastmasters Club weekly Thursday lunch time meeting was opened by Toastmaster of the day, Darryl. He had put together a very attractive autumn themed agenda and advised us in his usual humorous manner that, “I’m the Toastmaster so I’m in charge!”.

"HAPPINESS IS A GLOW AHEAD"

"Happiness" is "Glow Ahead"
These were the intriguing titles from our two speeches today but before elaborating I want to mention the excellent effort made by our Toastmaster Wendy.  Wendy not only had a special program clear, concise, colourful but also a theme relating to what has happened during the month of March. Read more.

"SUNDAY BLUES"

Pania Toastmasters Easter meeting had Helen in the Chair and  she welcomed everyone warmly BUT no sign of a shout with hotcross buns or chocolate easter eggs. Demerit point there thinks General Evaluator David.

"St Patrick's Day Creates a 'SeaWave'"

Thursday 17^th March 2016 St Patrick’s Day:

This St Patrick’s Day themed meeting was led by Mike. It was well organised and was punctuated with humour. Much to the amusement of two members who wore green in honour of the day, they were both referred to as Leprechauns.

"SYNCHRONICITIES"

Area Director’s Visit 10th March 2016;

The meeting began with the Toastmaster of the day, Helen, saying that on March 10^th 1915 a little boy named, Lloyd George Doel, was born and now 101 years later his daughter was the Pania Clubs President and Toastmaster of the day. (aka herself) Helen offered other history facts throughout the meeting.

"MEET ART DECO @ PANIA"

Napier's famous Art Deco week, what a great theme this was for our February 25th meeting of Pania Toastmasters, hosted by Carol who had the agenda all styled as if it was straight from the 1930'3, bravo!

'GYM BUNNY & THE INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST'

Meeting report from 18th February. This was a meeting with a difference !
The title "Gym Bunny" alludes to one of the four speeches given during the course of Pania's International Speech Contest. Read more

We were fortunate to have Christine, Steve and Chris come to our meeting and help judge this very important contest. Thanks guy's !
The International Speech is the show case of Toastmaster talent and provides not only a speaking opportunity, but also gives speakers the chance to maybe compete at the World Championship of Public speaking in America. Imagine that !

"LIVING WILLS"

Another hot day.

Thank goodness for air conditioning while we found out all about 'Living Wills'.

The Toastmaster , Barbara , opened the meeting and welcomed members and visitor Ian (from Hastings Club). He gave as good a rendition of the Mission Statement as heard for a long time.

'WAITANGI DAY with PETER RABBIT"

Waitangi Day with Peter Rabbit.
These were the subjects of Table Topics, conducted by Linda and a bard reading from Helen.
There were 12 members at the meeting, plus a guest, Anna who is a Toastmaster and has recently moved to Napier from Auckland.

'"DRINK RAW JUICE AND FEEL ALIVE"

This was the title given by Helen for her "Research your topic" speech today & what a speech it was!

It came from a book by Dr Sandra Cabot and was all about eating the right food, more specifically, raw

juices. Excellent information that was told with enthusiasm. Helen has lost weight already!

read more.

WELCOME TO 2016!

Today, Pania Toastmasters commenced their 2016 programme with an 'Impromptu' meeting arranged and chaired in very efficient style by Graeme. While this was called an 'impromptu' meeting major participants had been forewarned of their tasks, which made for an entertaining and extremely worthwhile meeting.