General Meeting Evaluations

For every Toastmasters meeting, there is a "General Evaluation". The evaluator of the meeting helps the entire club by commenting on things that went well, and things that could be done better at the next meeting. This is something that is unique to the Toastmasters organization, and very helpful for leadership development. At the August 25th meeting last week, Karen Looknanan gave a noteworthy meeting evaluation. It was so good in fact, that I wanted to share some of the tips she gave our group:

• Speakers Should approach the podium, and shake hands with the Toastmaster or previous speaker. This is like passing the baton from one person to the next. It assures an easy flow an helps prevent "dead" time during the meeting.
• When speakers concludes their speech, the best way to indicate completion is to say "Madam or Mr. Toastmaster"
  
• When exiting the stage, all speakers should walk from the same side. This will prevent the appearance of abandoning the stage.

Thank you Karen, for those useful pointers. I look forward to seeing out club strengthen by implementing your tips~

Toastmaster 1702 Member Rena Romano Delivers Key Note Address

Click on the link below, go to Friday September 11, and click on more info. to attend the meeting and hear our own Rena Romano Deliver the Key Note Address at the Gulf Coast Society of Fundraising Executives Fundraising Day.

http://www.gcsfre.org/events.php

Humerous Speech and Evaluator Competition

With so much going on in our everyday lives, it is interesting to see the topics Toastmasters choose for speeches. Topics can range from interests to life experiences, or even professional topics. It was interesting to see what members deemed funny enough to be the topic of a humorous speech.

Check out these Hilarious Speech Topics from Our Last Meeting:

Mike was once excused from a week of school with a note that read "Please excuse Michael's absence; The tides were low."

Mike delivered the winning humorous speech about his childhood growing up on the tiny island of Bokeelia. From pumping his own bath water to using the outhouse, Mike experienced true primitive living. Although he cherishes his memories, rowing over 2 miles across the gulf to get the school makes him appreciate the conveniences of a modern life.

Mary Lou knows the secret to keeping skin soft,even when you are 1,016 years old!

Mary Lou took second place with the not so enchanted tale of Sleeping Beauty and the wicked entrepreneur, Ronald Rump. Who would have thought that after waiting 1,000 years for her prince charming, Beauty would be accosted by a man with the worst comb- over in history? In the end, her superior knowledge of real-estate law allows her to trump the Rump!

Rena knows that a tall tale is even better than a big fish.

Not many people know this, but Rena may have caught the biggest fish in the history of Fort Myers. Unfortunately (according to her speech), the only witnesses were her husband and two large country boys in an ill fated boat. the worst part is that they HAD to throw the fish back, and Rena forgot her camera.Jim may wear many hats, but all we remember is his belt. Jim shared a host of humorous memories revolving around the hats and t-shirts in his life. The best memory however, was of a belt. Jim once told a student's mother that her child needed as belt. He meant it quite literally, as the child's pants were falling down. Mother on the other hand took it to mean a spanking! Things worked out in the end...the child's father agreed on both counts.

Peggy knows the Queen's birthday is in June, no matter when she was born.

We learned all about British customs and values from Peggy. Many of them are different from ours here in America, but one seems to remain the same: we commemorate the birth of our leaders the same day every year. Preferably when that day causes a long weekend.

Gillian is suffering from a case of mistaken identity.

Gillian told us that Erma Bombeck and her hairdresser sealed her fate. Those two women predicted that she would turn into her mother, and then her grandmother. Did they seal her fate, or just see the future?