Petra introduces a guest to the club
Toastmasters learn by pushing the boundaries of their comfort-zone in a safe & positive learning environment. Nothing exemplifies this more than when members present their first speech at the club. Today we had two!
10 members and 3 guests(!) made their way to Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters this morning to see our first meeting of March. Our Toastmaster was Steve.
Steve kicked-off the meeting by reading a poem from his daughter’s children’s book. He then reasoned that a toastmaster should a least have a toast-maker at the meeting. He held a toaster for all to see, demonstrating that he came prepared.
Andrea introduces the word of the day
All three of our speakers presented their first speech at the club. Patrick described what it was like growing up with a father who was in the Navy. He further cited his move to Washington as the reason he couldn’t get a skateboard. The reason? A lack of sidewalks in Oak Harbor, Washington.
Jun Lei incorporates visual aids in her speech
Our second speaker, Petra, described how a series of lucky events brought her from Prague to Seattle. Petra revealed that she is less shy than she once was and credits her daughter’s curiosity for the change. Her daughter is five and repeatedly approaches strangers asking them questions. Petra joins the conversation as a responsible parent.
Our final speaker was Jun Lei. Jun Lei joined Seattle Sunrise after leaving another Toastmasters club and presented speech 8 from the Competent Communicator manual. Her focus was on effective use of visual aids and she spoke on the topic of home foreclosure. Jun Lei impressed us all when she revealed midway through her speech that her visual aids were more than met the eye! The element of surprise amused everyone.
Guest, Michelle, wins “best table topics”
Our table topics master was Mary who stepped in to the role at the last-minute. She crafted questions around the theme of being “caught off-guard” and did a masterful job of eliciting a battery of interesting replies. Our table topics winner was our guest Michelle who revealed that she elected to leave an all-girls high school in favor of a mixed-gender alternative. She was caught off-guard when the principal of the all-girls school later called her at home (yikes!) to ask if she’d consider coming back!
Our evaluators were Janell, Nicole, and Johan. Each gave constructive feedback to the speakers. Janell was a first-time evaluator and surprised many members with her well-considered feedback for Patrick. She included feedback that included deep breathing and relaxation techniques that will help minimize the “fight-or-flight” instinct. At the end of the meeting, Janell won best evaluator.
Johan illustrates why Jun Lei’s visual aids worked
At the conclusion of the meeting, two members shared a “Toastmasters moment” with the club. Nicole revealed Toastmasters gave her confidence to deliver constructive feedback to her coworkers recently. Janell revealed that she used eye-contact to “lasso” her audience with an open line of communication.
Our next meeting will be held on March 23. Our Toastmaster will be Madeleine!
First-time evaluator, Janell, wins “best evaluator”
