Poorana, as our presiding officer, opened the meeting and greeted all. He welcomed our guests and ask them to introduce themselves and tell what brought them to the meeting tonight. Gaby and Shruthi were returning guests, and Elena and Patrick were here for the first time. Shruthi was asked to be timer, and Gaby to take the role of Ah-counter; they both showed the Toastmaster spirit and jumped right in to help us have a successful meeting.
Poorana also was our Toastmaster this evening, and he brought along a number of quotes about how precious time really is.
Poorana also gave us the word of the day: “jiffy”. Jiffy is used as an adjective: “I’ll be back in a jiffy”, which means quickly or fast.
I told a joke demonstrating how time is relative, and JP gave us a lovely and wise quote as our thought of the evening:
“Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.”― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
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Uli led the Table Topics. In a jiffy she explained the goal of spontanious speeches and the time limits.
- Gaby talked of “what was her most precious childhood memory”. She vividly recalled times with her parents, especially camping and hiking.
- JP was asked “why does time fly?” He gave examples from his life where time went really fast, but also that time can sometimes be sooo slow.
- Patrick talked about “what he would change in the past?” He told how he stands by most of the important decisions he made in his life.
- “How do you kill time?” When given this question, Elena movingly explained that time is our life and that what we waste, can’t be gotten back. For her time is for being with people who are important to her.
- Lastly, Craig talked about “what is the right time to do something you don’t like?”. He beautifully told about what was “the right time” and gave some clear images of a time when he learned to enjoy flying.
Craig was voted best Table Topics speaker.
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Our sole speaker tonight was Oliver, who delivered an excellent speech with the title: Turning empty reeds to torches. (Strategic Relationships #1-1 – Icebreaker). In his speech Oliver told of how he was drawn to the field of science, how he experienced teachers who often just provided information but little inspiration. Near the end of the speech he quoted a Greek philosopher who said that education was not akin to filling an empty vessel but rather lighting a fire of passion for knowledge (reeds to torches).
As Oliver’s Evaluator, JP praised Oliver’s technical set-up, the entertaining “cascade of stories” he used, and in general the strong delivery and message of his presentation. JP suggested that the speech might have been even stronger if Oliver had helped the audience understand where he was taking them at the start of the speech, maybe with questions such as “what do you think makes for a great teacher”.
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Please join us for our next meeting on the 9th of August.
Best wishes, Jeff
Mannheim Int. Toastmasters
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Here is a photo of the evening:
