Baby it’s cold outside!’ crooned Frank Sinatra in the 50’s, and the same could
be said for the meeting today with the winter solstice upon us. While the
meeting theme was wintertime, the welcome from our Toastmaster Craig to our
three guests and members was as warm as ever. Craig also took on the grammarian
role with the word ‘EXTREME’.
First
up was an inspirational speech by Lou, and she was warmly introduced by Carol.
Using the objectives as a guide, Carol prepared the audience by informing them
of what she was looking for and I’m sure this helped our guests to appreciate
that there is much more to speechmaking than just standing in front of an
audience. ‘No Fish’ was the title and the role of plastic in causing the death
of marine life both fish and birds was well-delivered by Lou, as were the steps
we can take to limit the use of these death traps in our own lives. I
particularly liked the way she told us how she walks the talk of creating a
greener, safer world.
Carol
suggested that Lou review her main points at the conclusion of her speech. This
would help the audience retain the information and the useful steps that we can
take to reduce our own environmental footprint. A second recommendation ‘not to
be nervous’ may be harder for her to follow, but this will definitely rectify
itself with continued speech practice.
Marc
introduced our second speaker Laurel with the apt description ‘illustrious’.
‘Feeling SAD’ was the title of her speech. Laurel suffers from Seasonally
Affective Disorder during the drab winter months. Her story of her particularly
difficult first few days of life in the bleak winter of 1946 was a poignant
introduction to why she dislikes the cold so much. This winter affliction
affects many people and I’m sure that members felt warmed and informed by her
well researched information. ‘Brain freeze and low sex drive’ are just some of
the ways our bodies react to the cold.
There
were some difficulties identified by Marc with managing the labels as they were
applied to the whiteboard. But it was an interesting method to illustrate the
myriad of ways that the body is affected by short, cold winter days. I really
appreciate it when members try new ways of delivering
information.
The Table Topics session was very professionally
managed by Tamara. It followed the theme of the Winter Solstice and the natural
rhythms of the earth, and she had excellent topics to challenge the
participants.
First up was Graeme - What types of winter
activities do you enjoy? - For a man who grew up in the bottom of the South
Island, he finds the mildness of Napier a breeze to cope with, so he doesn't
find any problems in winter that he needs to surmount.
Paula - Your favourite celebration? - This took a
little while to get off the ground as she told us about the horrors of
Christmas, but she soon warmed to the theme and chose Easter for relaxation and
family time.
Carol – How do you relax? – She revelled in warm
soapy water, candles and bath salts, followed by clean white sheets in bed with
no children or watching a movie with her husband, ah
bliss….
Mark – What is your vision for the future? – Never
one to let an opportunity pass him by, Marc shared his vision for a stunning TM
conference to be held in Napier in two year’s time. Sounds
great!
The Table Topics session was ably evaluated by
Sandy who executed a skilful commend/recommend format and gave all participants
good feedback.
The meeting was summarised by Linda, The General Evaluator, who in the limited time available aptly gave good feedback to the Evaluators, and said "read the Blog" for more details!! She was assisted by the Timekeeper, Graeme, who it is fair to stay pointed out that we were running close to time part way through the meeting. Toastmaster-take note!!! (Ed)
Best Speaker; Laurel
Best Evaluator; Sandy
Best Table Topic; Paula (our newest member!)
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