Date: 23 February 2017
Meeting at Moo G. Moon Education Center
Greetings Fellow Toastmasters,
Acting President was Phillip Poplawski,
3 words to describe Colorado.
Best response Robin McIntosh - Planes, Trains, Automobiles.
Leaderless Meeting ran by Dirk Kittredge.
Table Topics Palloza. How to be better at Table Topics.
Timer was Russ Agnew
Grammarian was Lori High. Word of the Day was ONEROUS - meaning heavy
obligation, burdensome, causing hardship.
Purpose of any contest is to do better. Win or lose, we all gain from
making the effort. Pushing ourselves a little harder. Prepare a little
harder and we become better communicators. Everyone is encouraged to
participate in upcoming contest on 09 March 2017. Dirk had handouts made
for everyone.
Concept 1. Material preparation. Be more versed in world events and
current events. The questions in table topics are not specific questions.
Questions will be more generalized. Questions are of general knowledge.
Revisit personal history before contest. Think about your life. What have
you learned? Where have you taken a vacation? Pets you own or have had in
the past? Family? Draw your answers from personal opinions. Purpose is
to refresh yourself before the contest.
Concept 2. What are judges looking for? Reviewed Table Topics Contest
judge's guide and ballot. Speech development and effectiveness makes up
55% of the score. Have a logical sequence. Have an opening, body, and
conclusion. Dirk had tidbits from past toastmaster magazines. Dictionary
exercise. Thoughts - Opinion - Message.
Dirk handed out a paper on Strategies, Openings, and Phrases. Having an
opening buys some time for the mind to prepare an opening. Use a prop?
Some strategies. Timeline. Have an Opinion. Have a Cause and effect.
Increasing details - General to specific. Example of an Opening: "I am
soooo glad you asked me that question because . . . . "
During the 2nd hour of the meeting, I was the one to ask the table topics
questions. Everyone in attendance got to answer a table topics question.
1. Lori High got the most difficult question: "If life is so short, why
do we do so many things we don't like and like so many things we don't do?
Her answer - uplifting people in you life. Friends and family are
important.
2. Jennifer Dunn got the most interesting question: If you were forced to
eliminate every physical possession from your life with the exception of
what could fit into a single backpack, what would you put in it? Answer:
Personal photos and memories.
3. And Robin McIntosh got the most rewarding question. "If I could grant
you one wish what would you wish for"? He answered to beat me in
everything we do together. He makes it out that I beat him in everything
which is absolutely NOT true. I personally would have wished for world
peace.
4. What does "The American Dream" mean to you? Russ Agnew answered
Happiness, Joy and lots of money.
5. What are you most grateful for? Jonathan Kolber answered to be able to
serve. (What a great answer).
Everyone was able to utilize what we learned in the first hour. The
different strategies and openings were evident from what Dirk taught us.
Shirley Eaves was the General Evaluator. Journey hones the skills we
learn. Applying what Dirk was teaching us. Dirk had cookies for all us
during the break and they were delicious. Packet that Dirk put together
was very helpful and obviously took some time to organize. The meeting
transitioned well from one segment to another. Shirley's feedback was well
received Little steps toward bigger steps. Small bites to eat an
elephant. Shirley described the group as AMAZING.
Lori High recorded four members used the word of the day. Since Ray Pezolt
wrote the word of the day, half a point goes out to Ray. 4.5 points for
the word ONEROUS
Dirk choose Shirley and I to be a part of the meeting because he knew it
was out of our comfort zone and he knew we had never been in this situation
before. We followed anyways. Magic happens when we step out of our
comfortable space.
There are many different ways to describe LEADERS. One of my favorite is a
leader is someone you follow into war knowing that you don't have any
bullets in you gun. And you follow anyways. That is Dirk. Shirley and I
had no bullets (no experience). Dirk guided not just Shirley and I but the
entire group. We all followed. The meeting was dubbed leaderless. It was
anything BUT.
Despite the freezing ice rink in the parking lot and very cold evening, we
still had 14 members total and one guest. It was an enjoyable evening.
Very educational and very helpful. I loved it.
Everyone that has a role each week takes the time to prepare for that
role. We do it because we learn from it. We do it because we grow from
it. Taking a role regardless of the role and being a leader makes everyone
else around us better. It's what Toastmasters is all about. Thank you
everyone for making this toastmasters group, the best Toastmasters of all
Toastmasters.
Till next week. I am your humble secretary.
Alan Wong
