Meeting review: Just say thanks
Peninsula Toastmasters, Meeting review - 26 November: It’s a lovely Thursday evening. I am attending the meeting as a panelist on Ana Garcia’s assignment. The meeting can be described as intimate, yet productive. I think I count around ten people in the room, which bodes well for the recess as there would be food for more than that and I am starving!
The barman recognises my silhouette as I walk in through the bar. He reaches for a tall beer glass and three Cokes, bypassing the ice bucket. In a blur of hands as I walk by him R30 is exhanged for this heavenly mother’s milk (at least my Coke habit isn’t likely to kill me anytime soon…). I am set for the loyal toast.
I shouldn’t be too surprised to be greeted by a blue-eyed, blonde lady speaking German to me as I sit down. This is the German club, after all… But no, this is none other than Jazzmin Hecht from Germany, visiting South Africa for a few months for the n-th time. I think she must be psychic; how can she know I speak German? Simple, really. I am still wearing my Lufthansa ID tag. German club, German airline. Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, must be a duck…
Evadne comes running around the table to give me her usual warm welcome, and I go down on one knee so that I can hug her properly. Such a friendly and happy club, this…
Donna Maclagan and her Triple Crown Award
As I’m chatting to Jazzmin I spot my vic… I mean, evaluee, Donna Mclagan walking in. What is it that people find so intimidating about having their assignments evaluated by the Division Governor? If you prick me, do I not bleed? Donna is doing her “Accepting an Award” speech from the Special Occassions Speeches manual. She has her Triple Crown Award which she will be accepting, but no one to present it! Never fear, the Division Governor is near! After a quick huddle with Evadne, doubling up the Sergeant at Arms role with that of Toastmaster Of The Evening, I organise a slot to present Donna with her Triple Crown Award. Nothing like throwing a bit of realism into the mix.
During her opening, Ana says she is looking for a volunteer to do the meeting review. In a flash of I-don’t-know-what-the-hell-I’m-getting-myself-into-but-it-sounds-like-it-could-be-cool my seemingly springloaded sucker-hand shoots up. I start taking some notes so that I can remember all of this for later.
Craig gives us the word of the day – Thanks, in the spirit of Thanksgiving (why do we care about American holidays when we have enough of our own…?). He makes a valid point, that we don’t say thanks often enough.
Lois starts the C&L proceedings with a CC7 presentation called Awakened With a Kiss. It’s about the story of the story of sleeping beauty (no typo!). She also tells us the original version of the story. “The prince went into the castle, found Sleeping Beauty, fell in love, and …” HE DID WHAT?!? I don’t shock easily, but Lois sure manages it. I now know where Tarantino gets it from.
Funny guy Thomas Bowman
Thomas Bowman is up next. He’s speaking from the Humorously Speaking manual. He’s a good lad, is Thomas. His mother told him not to jump out of an aeroplane in New Zealand. She never said anything about throwing himself off a bridge with a rubber band attached to his ankles. He listens to her. Afterwards he phones her to tell her all about it. What a guy! He says he’s not funny. I beg to differ.
La Presidenta Ana Garcia (who is getting married as I type this! You read it here first…) brings out the big guns to be her panelists for her panel discussion assignment from the Facilitating Discussion manual. Lois Strachan, Immediate Past District Governor, Distinguished Toastmaster, soon to be Distinguished Toastmaster Times Two. Craig Strachan, District Governor, Distinguished Toastmaster, hot on his wife’s heels. And me, Division Governor and a mere Advanced Communicator Silver. I am successful because I surround myself with successful people, I remind myself. The topic is starting multiple new clubs in Area D3. The outcome: There’s a lot of potential for new Clubs in the City Bowl area, which will fit in with the District’s goal of growth, but let’s not just start clubs for the sake of starting clubs. Quality, rather than quantity.
The panelists: Lois Strachan, Craig Strachan and the author, Francois Rossouw
The snack break ensues, and there is a marked inprovement in the offering from the month before. Again, I thank the gods for a small meeting. More for me. I give a good account of myself.
Table Topics is presented by Frau Hecht, nothing like jumping in there with both feet, Jazz! Tonight’s is interesting. Everybody writes down one of their secrets with their name on the top. Jazzmin randomly picks speakers and tells him or her that, for example, someone in the audience wants to be a rock star. The speaker has to tell us who and why. No one gets the person right. Everyone’s secrets remain safe. PS, I’m the one who wants to be the aerobatics pilot! Gut gemacht, Jazzmin!
Jazzmin Hecht puts Mapaseka Vryman through her impromptu speaking paces
The evaluations are of a good quality, as much as the speeches were of a high standard. As the Division Governor this pleases me. People are meeting their goals and Peninsula signs up another member. They have a conversion rate that is right up there.
How do they do it?
Champagne appears as if by magic, and we drink a toast to Ana Garcia who is getting married on Sunday, 29 November. Felicitaciones por el gran día, Ana. Que todos tus días juntos se llena de alegría, felicidad y amor! Para siempre!
Chalk up another successful meeting. Thanks, Peninsula ROCKS!
Thanks to Francois Rossouw for this review.
Toastmasters Division D3 and Talking Heads Club invites you!
The expert, the truculent, the traveller, the teacher, the toastmaster, the non-toastmaster, the saturnine, the ambivert, the quixotic, the introvert and the extrovert, the egocentric and the rest of you! You! And you!
TO THE “ABC OF SELF-CONFIDENCE”
Talking Heads Club is hosting this event, with special guests, Playing Mantis presenting:
The ABC of Self-Confidence *FUN *FUN*FUN
Can self-confidence be learned? Is there a set of skills you can master and once you have them, you will be self-confident? When you have self-confidence, do you also automatically have good self-esteem?
Learning the skills of looking self confident from outside, is a great way of starting to build your self esteem. You start outside and work inward using the ABC of self-confidence.
Playing Mantis will be using improvisation, so there is bound to be plenty of voluntary audience involvement!
This session will give you:
1. A quick 6 point check list from A to F to help you appear confident even if you are still shaking.
2. A tool for ‘faking it until you make it’ – and making it is guaranteed if you follow the ABC
3. Insight into the link between outward confidence and inward self-esteem.
Playing Mantis uses storytelling and improvisation to customise leadership, team building and personal development workshops for individuals and groups who want to be more motivated, more effective, more innovative and more connected to themselves, their passion and the people around them.
This will be followed by Toastmasters delivering speeches as they would at a normal meeting.
Join us!
WHEN: Thursday, 3rd December 2009
WHERE: Tafelberg Tavern (6 Roodehek Terrace, Off Hope Street, Gardens)
TIME: 18:00 for 18:30 until 21:30
COST: R50.00 per person (Includes light snacks)
E-mail Ana Garcia – anataggy@yahoo.co.uk if you would like to attend as a guest.
Meeting review: November speakathon fun
Area D3 has been busy achieving goals with another speakathon taking place last week. Thanks to our Area Governor for arranging another successful event, to all the participants for making it such an energy-filled evening, and to our international guests from Germany and the US for bringing some new ideas to the clubs.
For a change, Ana and I decided to do a photo review of the evening. Enjoy!
Pre-meeting pow-wow. Mike is scratching his head already!
Sergeant-at-Arms, Kirsten Pearson, makes sure we all know where the bar is at the Tafelberg Tavern.
Toastmaster of the evening, Vanessa Clark, gets to grips with the podium.
Angela Rothbert of Table Bay Toastmasters completes her CC10 - an inspirational message to the residents of Mitchell's Plain. Congratulations!
Peninsula Toastmaster Abdul Kamaldien demonstrates his cold calling skills with guest Helene Booysen for his AC3.
Lindsay Meiheizen, from Pinelands Toastmasters, speaks off the cuff about the Sunshine House for his AC24.
Good Hope Toastmaster, Mike Fawcett had the audience gasping (with laughter and horror) during the next in his series of Upham tales, "Small boys can't fly" for his CC4.
Mavis Fawcett, timekeeper extraordinaire, tests out Peninsula Toastmasters new set of lights.
Peninsula Toastmasters' President and Area Governor, Ana Garcia, evaluates Angela's CC10.
Evadne Kortje, from Peninsula Toastmasters, capably does a double evaluation after Ana Garcia and Richard Perkins's TV interview entitled "Youth leadership in Southern Africa".
Our visitor from Phoenix, Arizona, Elaine confidently steps up to the challenge of a Table Topic slot, and explains just how she ended up waking up on Paarl Rock (in Richard's fictitious scenario.)
Evadne looking quite happy at Richard Perkins, from Grove Toastmasters, choice of Table Topics.
All still paying attention after dinner! Here are Kirsten, Jazzmin (our visitor from Germany), Elaine and Abdul.
Ah - Richard delivering his Ah report.
What a team. From left to right: Richard Perkins, Evadne Kortje, Helene, Lindsay Meiheizen, Mavis Fawcett, Angela Rothbart, Ana Garcia, Jazzmin Hecht, Vanessa Clark, Abdul Kamaldien, Kirsten Pearson, Mike Fawcett, Elaine.
Thanks for making the meeting such a fun and successful one. Between speaking and leadership credits achieved for the various clubs, as well as meeting Toastmasters from other clubs, and countries (!), this event was a huge success.
Meeting review by Ana Garcia and Vanessa Clark.
Special meeting date: 17 November 2009
It seems that our President and Area Manager has got us on some secret training schedule. We have another speakathon coming up on 17 November. If you have no idea what a Toastmaster’s Speakathon is and if it sounds like hard work, read about it here and also enjoy the review of the previous speakathon hosted by Peninsula.
The details of the next one are:
Date: Tuesday 17 November 2009
Time: 18.00 – 20.45
Place: Tafelberg Tavern (directions)
Cost: R50 for snacks (yes the price has gone up, but it’s worth it) + cash bar
RSVP to Ana Garcia. There are still slots available so please volunteer – remember those CL credits!
Food, glorious food
As well as regaling us with tales of diet water at the last meeting, Craig also mentioned that for the first time in a long time, Peninsula was going to up the price of the tasty snacks we eat during our meetings. From R40 to a massive R50 per person per meeting!!! If the last meeting’s platters at the Tafelberg Tavern were anything to go by, this will be money well spent.
Bon appetite!
PENINSULA OCTOBER 2009 – WEIVER GNITEEM
If you would like to break the inertia in your club, you could try what we did in Peninsula for our October’s meeting: a Back-to-Front meeting.
Yes, it is as insane as it sounds!
I should have run home when I was asked to stand up to open the meeting by saying: “I hope that you have enjoyed this meeting …” or was it the look on the faces of our brand new guests which was making me think “how on earth are we going to put this right!?”. But the human mind is an incredible tool: very soon into the madness, we all knew what to expect, what to say…and the fun really started! (Don’t take my word for it; you have to experience it yourself!).
But stay with me…
It all started with Gerda van der Merwe’s (club’s VPE) magnificent idea of doing a “Lucky Draw” for those individuals whose names were mentioned and had their CL books with them. Craig Strachan was the winner (for the second time running!?… this smells fishy…) and then Gerda went on to challenge all the club members to bring their manuals to all meetings. Way to go!
Then Evadne Kortje created a “Talk Backwards” Table Topics theme; we only had time for two speakers, and Craig Strachan and Francois Rossouw were them. According to Francois, he “was going to miss a party because he was going to develop a headache after eating cheese and other snacks” and Craig confused us all by “ordering diet water because he was dirty, and double whisky because he was thirsty”. Yes, I know it was a Backwards meeting but surely, Craig, a little help here!?
Lois Strachan, Toastmaster of the Evening, masterfully confused the pants out of all of us by just about the middle of the meeting. She clearly knew what she was saying and how she was saying it! But I did point out to Craig that if she could keep that cross-wired train of thought so impeccably (un)clear during the whole duration of the meeting, I felt sorry for him whenever he needed to get into a discussion or debate with her, which I am sure it must happen on a regular basis!
But it was only when I lifted my head, turned round (I was busy writing evaluations and this review, among other things) and saw Thomas Bowman wearing his jacket backwards when I realized that there was no escape. We had done it. The mad-house was in full bloom… and it was nothing to do with a Full Moon!
The Evaluations were not any better: Richard Perkins talked a fuzzy, fizzy, watered message within a lot of gibberish… with a great imagination. Ana Garcia spoke a crazy, crossed-wired evaluation where she got to the conclusion that since Vanessa was a CC07 and almost an advanced speaker, surely her speech was going to be very good, and in the end all that mattered was to get her CC and half point for the club, and we were all looking forward very much to getting totally lost by the end of her speech.
We both won Best Evaluator for the evening. I am glad to see that people have a sense of humor in our club!
Gerda van der Merwe could have fooled us as her evaluation made perfect sense (or was my mind gone by then and I couldn’t tell the difference?). Kirsten Pearson started with a clever “In conclusion” statement and Craig Strachan spoke totally backwards, just in the spirit of the evening.
Sergeant at Arms, Evadne Kortje, asked us all not to return to the meeting, or was it to switch our cell phones off in the middle of the meeting? I don’t know any more; my brain was on overload by then!
Then into the Speeches: Vanessa Clark’s CC07 “The Seventh Mass Media” was very interesting. Hard to believe that in 7 billion in the planet, there are 4 billion mobile phone users… some of whom sleep with their precious gadgets! (Not me… yet!). Well done on winning Best Prepared Speech of the evening! (Or was it the least insane one?)
Thomas Bowman gave us in his AC01 the 2nd chapter of his previous (and very funny) “The Reluctant Chef” true story: To debone a chicken. I thought he was actually telling us an epic story, he was so immersed in it all!
Andries Viljoen did his CC06 with “Brave Enough to Start” and he showed a great leap in confidence and an array of speaking skills in his conversational, story-telling tale. But next time he stands up to speak I will hide under the table, just in case he decides to ask me more questions I can hardly think the answer for! And by the way, someone get those door hinges oiled! Well done Andries for ignoring the creaking noises… twice! during your speech.
Puleng Molahlehi spoke to us about “Journey with Inspiration” by the end of which we were totally sold on the idea. “We are thirsty for inspiration, but we don’t really know how much we are until we drink of it”. She insists that inspiration is something you work on and she gave us several tips, among which were keeping a journal and listening to inspiring music and words. She maintains that “being a living dead is cheap as you save in funeral costs” but that living with inspiration creates opportunities and opens up your life. It’s worth the try, don’t you think?
Hans Pleysier did his Icebreaker. Born and raised in Belgium, he came to Cape Town in 1997 and fell in love with it. He extended his holidays of 2 weeks up to 6 months until Home Affairs had to kick him off the country… only joking! He decided to come back and stay. He set up a restaurant in Kloof street (and sold it a couple of years ago – shame, I was going to pop in for a free coffee!) but then he sold the restaurant and went to Business School in Los Angeles. However, his aching heart brought him back here after only 5 months and he is currently busy setting up an import-export business. He quoted Forrest Gump – I am not sure if it is because life is always unexpected or because he likes chocolate! If you want to keep updated of Hans’ new ventures, visit www.2xist.co.za
Thank you and well done to our new member and Timekeeper for the evening, Jaco Strydom. Not easy to give a timing on a 7 to 5 minute speech, is it?
By now I had the headache of the century and as President of the club, had to close the meeting. “Have we all gone mad?” I asked “No, this meeting is not going to be the result of insanity, but an exercise on cross-wired thinking. And it comes to show how much cac (lots of laughs here…) one must come up with when one has to address an audience and is challenged to make some sense; or worse, still, not make sense at all! Really, I don’t drink alcohol, but I think I should have one tonight!”
Thanks to Peninsula’s President, Ana Garcia, for this review.