Participation
This meeting’s 23 participants included 7 guests, some of them new and some familiar, as our guests are inspired to come back for a second or third time. We also had visitors from other local clubs, enthusiastic to join in and benefit from our dynamic meetings.
Communication
Jörg ran the meeting, his very first time as Toastmaster. The Toastmaster of the Evening roll is the major meeting roll, and normally with practice the TME gains the skills to become good. I can safely say, Jörg was good on this, his very first go. He ran a smooth, dynamic and professional event both in meeting preparation and execution.
Speeches were given by Isabelle, her second speech project (Organise your speech structure); Eleonore, speaking from the advanced Humorously Speaking manual; Karla, again an advanced speech from the Speeches by Management manual, and Ben, an Icebreaker speech to start over again from the very first Competent Communicator manual.
Our new member Bertalan prepared the impromptu speaking ‘table topics’ and chose creative, stimulating, yet accessible topics for our volunteers, Christoph, Andrey, and Radu.
Finally, we reviewed points of strength and development. Official speech evaluations were offered by Christian S, Ben, Barbara, and guest Cezar, and Iris gave a general evaluation.
Some after-meeting networking took place at the restaurant next door, where 8 members & guests stopped for a drink. The fact that 1/3 of the attendees met afterwards highlights our club’s culture of friendly exchange and support.
Organisation
Some points and observations to help us improve our next meetings:
Time Keeping
Iris’ general evaluation included one very important observation, that we sometimes “sacrifice time for content”. Speaking for too long. While the structured parts of the meeting (speeches, evaluations) are timed, other rolls are not, and sometimes we lose track of time. So ancillary roll holders (including but not exclusively : humorist, word of the day, continuity (TME)) should anticipate and plan their delivery to be succinct and communicative. This is great feedback, as it can lead to change and individual growth.
Venue
The Saalbau venue was large, had good acoustics, and was business like, and met the increasing demand of our growing guest numbers.
Evaluations
Email addresses and evaluation slips were collected and distributed before the meeting began. Super!
New Members
Two returning guestsm Cezar and Andrey, announced that they are ready to submit their membership forms. This is another sign that our meetings meet the needs of our members to develop their public speaking skills in a friendly and formative environment.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will also take place at the Saalbau Gallus, on 18th march, 19.30-21.30. This will be our bi-annual Club Speech Contest. Guests are very welcome to join us at this and future meetings.
See you at our next meeting,
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