Thanks to all the contestants, who participated despite the fear (as Thomas Bowman put it in his prepared speech “Step into Action”).

Our intrepid contestants: Tom, Gerda, Tim and Vanessa

The contest was smoothly run and well organized by Evajdne Kortje, our experienced and, as Lois Strachan put it (Peninsula’s secretary and much more) “someone who makes things happen”.

It was a clear case of practice makes perfect as the contestants have greatly improved from previous presentations, not just in their normal club prepared speeches but in previous contests. So well done!

Congratulations to our winner, Tim Wagner, who won the International Prepared part of the competition with his Think Bike and who will be representing Peninsula on the Area D3 competition on the 8^th of April, Thomas Bowman was second with his Step Into Action speech, a personal tale of courage despite the fear and Vanessa Clark followed in a third position with her You can change your Stars and.

Tim Wagner is congratulated by Evadne Kortje

The Impromptu part of the contest was a tie… yes, all the contestants actually won! (Did I say they had greatly improved?). As it is required in an instance such as this, the Tiebreaker judge’s ballot was counted and the winner was Vanessa Clark, who will be representing us on the 8^th April in the Area D3 competition.

Under the word Revolution, Thomas decided to throw caution to the wind and asked a lady in a bus out. To his surprise she said yes and the encounter revolutionized his reality for ever. Then we had Vanessa Clark in second position, who explained to us that you can revolve your thinking about potentially chaotic events and regard them instead as positive and live changing. The choice is yours! Finally, Gerda van der Merwe was third and she told us about her current exciting 3-week celebration of this voluntarily-retrenched, 30-year-old-to-be lady, who is more-than-grateful to life for bringing a challenge she silently has been wishing for… in the form of chaos and revolution!

Vanessa being congratulated by Evadne

And the contest continued… Did you know that the Titanic was one of three sister ships? (I thought it was one of its kind!) And did you know that indeed it was not thought to be unsinkable? (I did!).

If you wanted to know these and numerous other details about the Titanic true story, you would have been in the right place at the Evaluation part of the contest, which was headed by Francois Rossouw with his demo speech: putting the story straight of the 15^th April 1912, The sinking of the Titanic.

The evaluators said it: captivating (Tim Wagner, winner), enthralling (Thomas Bowman, 2nd), informative and funny (Gerda van der Merwe) although Vanessa Clark (3rd) had a sinking feeling when the speech started… but considered Francois’ remark “what went down that day” an unforgivable pun!

And if you really wanted to know: yes, everything that happened in the Titanic movie did indeed happen that day! (Including the steamy scene in the car? We’ll never know!) But if you want to know why they chose the wrong steel to make the ship, steel that instead of becoming malleable in the cold, frozen sea waters, would become brittle, please ask Francois. I am sure he will be more than happy to repeat his speech!

Finally, thank you to the newest Peninsula members, Diana Kraak for being our Tally Counter and to Sandra Arendse for being one of our judges (together with Francois and Lois), roles that they took on courageously for the first time and at a really short notice.

And this is what makes our club meetings a success: everyone contributions… despite the fear.

Thanks to Ana Garcia for the review and Craig Strachan for the photos.

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.

Gerda delivers her winning speech

Toastmasters welcomed guests, potential members. I say potential for you could smell their interest in the reason for visiting the club.

Solveig McCormick shared how chose the Peninsula club specifically because of the good reputation it has. At the end of the evening, asking for her review she said “…From the second I walked into the room…I have not been received as warmly as tonight for so long it moved me very deeply…”.

To Karen du Preez it seemed, it sounded like wonderful memories of high school toastmasters gave her a calling to rekindle the interest, as well as to support a member participating in one of the great events of the year…the humour competition.

No I’m not done, we had a few guests, Hans Pleysier heard about the club this morning and was so impressed he spontaneously decided to check out the club tonight …I’d love to hear what he thought about it, guess we’ll see if he returns.

Humour Contest 2009

There were competitors.

1. Kirsten
2. Tim
3. Vanessa
4. Gerda
5. Tom

Kirsten had an inspiring presentation on tips on how to discover and let out the Speakerman inside of every man. Very useful, practical hilarious tips on how to set Speakerman into action.

Tim, such a wonderful start …”The highest reason for most divorces….is marriage…”. A sweet humour, affectionate stories on marriage and his wife.

Vanessa, I wonder if it was intentional or whether I’m thinking too much on the theme of the presentation, I found it raised questions on challenging stereotypical minds on the new Mzansi, classifications of people into boxes filled with presumptions, how silly and ridiculous these assumptions can be.

Gerda with, a modern version of little red riding hood. I cannot even begin to paint the picture of the story and the events. Just some of the highlights “Red rode her Vuka scooter…surviving the mean Scorpion Choppy traffic officer in his blue uniform…vomit in the tumbledryer…to the woodchopper who whipped out his AK47. The most fragmented fairytale ever that flowed better than the alphabet.

It was interesting how humour was presented in such diverse styles; light hearted, sweet, hilarious, wit, thought-provoking, silly, and mostly filled with the kind of entertainment that leaves the smile on your face throughout.

The Club is growing with with new fresh blood; Ana inducted five new members

1. Vanessa Clark
2. Mapaseka Vryman
3. Kirsten Pearson
4. Puleng Molahlehi
5. Thomas Bowman

Ana (far left) with the new Peninsula Club members: Tom, Kirsten, Mapaseka, Puleng and Vanessa

The newlings pledged their commitment to participate and engage in the activities of the club and the current member welcomed and promised to continue their dedication as well as provide support to the freshers and each other.

Vision for the Year

Ana encouraged the members to view the participation in the club as more than just protocol and structure, to study and learn to enter a process of healing and transformation. To learn and understand how one’s energy affects others, ultimately to find one’s voice in others.  To become a beacon of light.

Table topics

Thomas shared a story on not giving up. No matter what, just don’t stop. Including when you are on your ski lessons and you realize you missed the instructions on how to slow down and stop because you were busy eyeing a beautiful lady across a distance. Once you have slid down the slope…

‘Products that are what they are not’

Kirsten Pearson, improvised on the Aerosol: it smells like whatever you want it to smell like

Trevor Poyo, nachos for a special price.

Craig Strachan, the peppermint anti-terrorist device will save you from a hijack.

Tim as Fines Master had nil fault to pick on, instead he thanked Gerda van der Merwe for her excellent organizing and coordination skills demonstrated on the evening.

Well done to

Gerda  for winning the Humour contest,

Thomas for attaining second place,

Tim for third place.

Craig for the animated imagination on the table-topics.

- For more photos of the event, visit our Facebook page here.
- Thanks to Mapaseka Vryman for the meeting review.