Turnout at the Nov.12 MSC meeting was again well over 20, and all were treated to an entertaining evening of varied speeches and evaluations. Area Director Bret Freemen came to participate and hopefully was impressed with the organisation, attention to detail and camaraderie amongst the members.
Doreen, our steadfast Sargent at Arms, opened the meeting and led from the start with her enthusiasm and humour. Chairing the first half of the meeting was first time Toastmaster of the Evening Kathleen, who set the scene.
Lorraine then followed with Table Topics under the theme of ‘The Toastmasters Promise’ and the members called up impressed us with their impromptu speaking ability, including new members Alex and Leanne. Tony came away with the Best Table Topic award with his humorous view on the merits (or lack thereof) on speech preparation.
Speeches
Prepared speech topics included an Ice Breaker on the subject of tasting a fine wine, a foray into the world of mnemonics, the value of education, and the fall of Troy.
Best Speaker Award went to James on only his second speech, delving into the mysteries of memory techniques.
Evaluation
In the evaluation section of the meeting, evaluators assigned to each speaker are given 2 minutes to provide a scintillating, detailed and thorough assessment of the speech, while another member evaluates the Table Topics speakers.
While seemingly a daunting challenge, all 5 were clearly up to the task, with Chris, who evaluated Table Topics, winning the award for Best Evaluator by appealing to each speakers’ unique characteristics while providing valuable feedback.
Closing the evening with the awards, all members were then reminded to RSVP Tom on the Dec. 8 Christmas ‘do’ and that the second half of the December 10 meeting will be social hour with food and drinks.
Tom
Maidenhead Speakers Club 