“Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” Alan Cohen
As Presiding Officer, our VP-Ed. Oliver welcomed everyone, and especially our two guests; Caroline, who has visited the club once in-person, and Hadi, who is a newcomer to Toastmasters. Both live presently in or near Mannheim.
I had the pleasure to be the Toastmaster of the Evening, and as such I had the support of the following roles: Gabi gave the word of the day (“invigorating”), as well as an quote fitting to the them of new beginnings as the Thought of the Day; Uli jumped in spontaneously to do the Timer job (well done!); Oliver gave a funny story for the Joke; Nadine was grammarian, and Poorana took the role of General Evaluator.
Oliver also brought some great and challenging questions for Table Topics.
- Nadine talked about “starting a new chapter in her life” She movingly told how she left a steady and safe job to follow her heart, a move she never regretted.
- Gabi took the question: “which chapter in you life would like to close.” She shared with us the different work fields she had learned which took her afar in the world, and how she landed back at an older occupation that suits her today.
- Caroline took the challenge and talked about “when it was time to say farewell for her own good.” She shared a very personal and moving story about having to take distance from a close family member, and how this was the best for her and the family.
- JP talked about “a life chapter that was closed, which he only later realized”. He talked about his moving from the great city of Mannheim to the smaller and more peaceful town of Walldorf. There are always trade-offs in changes we make.
Nadine was voted best Table Topics Speaker. Congrats, Nadine!
We had two prepared speeches. Shruthi gave her Ice-Breaker with the title: Life is not what it is, but how you take it . He Evaluator JP praised her storytelling, and gave some concrete tips on improving, i.e., making sure she is easily seen by getting better lighting.The second speaker was Alexya who was working on the project: Visionary Communication #3-1 – Develop a Communication Plan. I gave Alexya the evaluation, underlying the strength of her message that both content and form are important in communication. The title of her speech said it all: Plan your work and work your plan.
Poorana led us through the evaluation part of the meeting and gave everyone who didn’t have one an evaluation. As he said, the meeting went smoothly and was a again a fun learning time together.
Hope you enjoyed this recap. Join us on the 13th of December for our last (in-person) meeting of the year.
Best Toastmaster wishes, Jeff
Mannheim Int. Toastmasters
Here a photo of the meeting:
