Cheers to the Holidays!

What another great Toastmasters meeting this past Wednesday!  

Although we had a smaller turnout from our member-base, we were lucky to have 3 new members attend as well as a guest.  The theme was Holidays, which was appropriate given that it was our last meeting before the Christmas season.  

Jane gave a great speech from her Advanced Communicator manual in regards to the benefits of Toastmasters.  She made some strong points, talking about some of the communication blunders from the British and Canadian governments (and Rob Ford….no more comments needed!) and how Toastmasters can make us stronger communicators and leaders.

Jane also discussed Maslow's Hierarchy of Human needs, and how Toastmasters can fulfill our need for friendship and the need to be recognized by others.  It also gives it members a feeling of accomplishment and self-improvement.  Jane wanted to say that Toastmasters can help its members fulfill our most basic requirements of food and shelter (insert laughter here), but I think we all agreed it was a bit of a stretch!!!

Brad graciously led a round of Table Topics, with questions from the Table Topic card deck.  One of our newest members- Laurie- won the session- Congrats!!!

As I mentioned, it is our last regular meeting until Jan 8th.  Next week we are off to Rembrandt's for some holiday celebration over lunch.

Marloes

Fun on the Run!

Wasn't that a song back in the 70s?

Oh no, that was Fox on the Run by the British band Sweet, first recorded in 1974.  Today's meeting we heard all about the FUN you can have while trying to stay fit by running.

You see, we have a runner on our team.  She took up running as a few years ago and has participated in two half marathons.  Her humorous speech fit well with the theme of the meeting (challenges) as well as the word of the day (adaptable).  This was project 6 in the Competent Communication manual with the objectives to use vocal variety to add interest and meaning to the presentation.

Well there certainly was interest.  There was much laughter from the audience and with the very descriptive words that were used, many of us could see ourselves in the very situations that she described.  Actually, if you talked to the presenter, the situations described were actually challenges she had while running, but they really were funny.

The other challenges we overcame at the meeting were a change in venue.  Unfortunately we did not have a meeting space at our our regular location so we were lucky enough to revert back to our previous meeting space.  Luckily it was just across the street.  Not very far to carry the material we needed.  We also overcame the challenge of putting on a top notch program.  This was important as we had three guests in the audience.  Two were returning from their visit last week.  All three are preparing too join us as regular members.  So we must have either impressed them or they were impressed with the Toastmaster program.  In either case, the club will get to know them and help them in their journey of developing their communication and leadership skills.

So why not stop in for a visit and see what Toastmasters can offer you?  You might learn a little about some activity you may be interested in or just be transported back to the big hair days of your youth.

What is Your Favourite Sport?

Boy did we have an exciting meeting today!

We were in a smaller boardroom today.  An intimate situation at the best of times but with four guests, things were a little tight.  We perservered and I thing we showed our guests what a typical, high performance toastmasters meeting is all about.  They all showed interest and asked questions at the end of the meeting so I am hopeful we will see them back next week.  Maybe even as new members.

So what does the heading have to do with our guests?  Well, actually nothing.  It is just the theme of the meeting was sports and all of our guests stepped up to the challenge of introducing themselves and told us about their favourite sport.

We learned there were a number of armchair athletes among us.  Many of the group explained that they participated in numerous sports, and most admitted they weren't very good, but had fun, none the less.  The typical sports were mentioned, Football (go Riders) and Hockey but there were two that you don't hear about very often.  One of the guests enjoyed Cricket, a sport that is gaining popularity in Canada.  I just wish I knew the rules as it would make watching the game so much more enjoyable.  Oh, and if you haven't guest, I am one of those armchair athletes.  We also learned that one of our members enjoys Nascar Racing.  He advised that  most people don't think of Nascar as a sport but it has to be, because it is on the sports networks.  Who can argue with that.

For the rest of the program, we had a sports theme for table topics.  The questions ranged from what were the economic benefits of Regina hosting the Grey Cup to would you rather watch your favourite sport on the TV at home or in the stands at the game.

There was one prepared speech.  Well actually the speech was a prepared toast.  Often times we are called on to present a toast and today we saw how to properly recognize a person through a toast.  The subject of the toast were our Vice President of Education for the current as well as the past year.  Through a top notch evaluation we learned the proper elements required for a proper toast.  So I think we all learned something about toasts and recognized two well deserving people.

Next week we will be in our normal meeting place, just to the left of the main doors at Federated Co-op.  Why not stop in next week and check us out.  For sure we will have more room.

What's In The Hat

Our meeting this week was sparse on people but we still managed to conduct a fun and education session.

The interesting part of todays schedule was, there was no schedule.   All the attendees drew their role from a hat, so we all needed to be as prepared as possible. We didn't know what role we could be presented with.  This turned out to be a lot of fun and thanks must go to our Vice President of Education, Melissa for her innovative means of scheduling.

Mark presented his third prepared speech that dealt with him not wanting to loose his right to vote.  His speech topic was well suited as the theme of the meeting was Remembrance Day.  We also had an interesting Table Topics session.  With only one prepared speech we had lots of time.  With this extra time, everyone was asked to pick an object out of a hat and explain why it was the most important thing they owned.  It was apparent that some didn't have any idea what they were describing, but the story they came up with was interesting, none the less.

We also learned that Toastmasters in the city are holding a Boot Camp.  This is an excellent learning opportunity for new as well as experienced Toastmasters.  It will enable all to come away with a road map that will guide them through all the Toastmasters programs so they can attain their communication and leadership goals.

Toastmasters is a great place to learn, grow and develop your skills.  Why not stop in for a visit and see what we are all about.  If you can't make one of our meeting, Wednesday ant noon, copy the following link into your browser:
http://reports.toastmasters.org/findaclub/searchresults.cfm?Country=Canada&State=Saskatchewan&City=Saskatoon

There are twenty five clubs that meet in Saskatoon.  I am sure at least one will fit into your schedule.
Check it out.

North To Fort McMurray

This last weekend was Toastmasters District 42 Humorous and Table Topics competition where the best from all the Divisions compete.  The event was held in the far North – Fort McMurray Alberta, in the Boreal forest.  The event started off with a bus tour of the Oil Sands – A very enlightening trip where we saw the mine in action.  We were also able to witness and experience the reclamation program, which included a documented trail winding around the natural grasses and fauna of the region.

The keynote address on leadership entitled “How to get what YOU need by also considering the needs of others”, was given by Anne Barab.  This presentation was insightful, informative as well as extremely entertaining.  More growth and leadership skills were obtained through the great educational sessions all presented by experienced toastmasters.  Then the fun started with laughs at the humorous speeches and at the interviews – Toastmasters are funny people!  The winner of the Humorous speech contest was Jackie Diemart from North Battleford.  The Table Topics contest was held on the last day, and the contestants were required to name their street.  A weird selection of names was presented; Fathers Street, Content Street, Clover Lane etc. – typical when you have to come up with a name with no time to think!  Kelly Kaur from Calgary was the winner of the contest with the street called “Happy Street”.  

Sawridge Hotel - Our Venue

Bagpipes and Delegates

 A great time was had by all with fun, friendship and ample learning opportunities presented through out the weekend.  Why not stop by a local club to see what Toastmasters is all about, because Toastmasters is Were Leaders are made. 

New Tricks for Old Dogs

We almost had a full house at today's meeting and I think we all learnt something new.

We had one speaker today, our Vice President of Education, who explained the importance of the "leadership" training you can receive at Toastmasters.  As a member of Toastmasters, you are supplied with two manuals.  One to develop your communication skills, which most of us are concentrating on.  But we also receive a manual that helps us develop our leadership skills.  This manual is not as familiar to most.

Melissa explained that the Leadership manual has ten projects.  These projects cover such essential leadership skills as Listening, Critical Thinking, Time Management and Motivation, among others. There are a number of tasks that must be completed in each project so you get ample feedback on the skills you are developing.  At first glance, the sheer number of these tasks seem overwhelming, but Melissa assured us it is easy, as long as we bring our Leadership manual to every meeting and pass it on to our neighbour for them to evaluate us.  Even if we don't have a role to play, she urged us to bring our manual as you never know when you may have to fill a vacant position.

Melissa asked us to review our manuals and let her know the areas we were working at completing.  If there was something specific we needed, she would ensure we would get on the schedule.  She also asked us to have a close look because a couple of the project require participation in club events that only happen one or two times a year.  You wouldn't want to miss out on completing your manual because you missed an event.

Great job Melissa on educating us on how important the leadership track in Toastmasters really is and how easy it is to develop these essential skills.

If you are interested in learning more about what Toastmasters has to offer in the way of Leadership or Communication skill building, why not stop in for a visit.  Guests are always welcome.

What kind of Pet do you Have?

What is your pet peeve? Do you have one? The theme of Prairie Schooners' meeting today was "Pet Peeves" and Club members were asked to share their most detested annoyances as part of our Introduction section.  No one had any issues with sharing at least one if not more of their pet peeves. We heard everything from driving woes to people taking up too much space on the sidewalks to grammatical faux pas. If nothing else, it was a fantastic therapeutic session.

We had one speaker step up to the plate today at the last minute.  Jane presented a mini-educational on Public Speaking Etiquette which included the purpose of applause and handshakes.  We even learned of the health benefits of hand clapping! Thanks, Jane, for sharing some insightful tidbits on the various aspects to public speaking events.

This was our 2^nd meeting in our new location at Federated Cooperatives Ltd. We had a low turn out of 7 Club members and I hope that wasn't because the other members couldn't find us! J Hopefully everyone can make it to next week's meeting @ 12:05pm. Guests are always welcome to check us out. See you there!

Crazy Busy

What a crazy week it has been for Prairie Schooners Toastmasters.  Even though it was a short work week, it was still crazy.

The week started of with our Area Speech Contest, Tuesday Evening.  Both Jane and Richard were up against stiff competition and were successful in their efforts to represent the club and Area 47 at the next level of competition, the Division Contests.

Wednesday happened to be our regular club meeting at noon.  It was a bit of a panic as we had moved most of our club material over to our new meeting location at Federated Cooperatives LTD.  Which is just across the street from our previous space.  Mark did a wonderful job with is second speech all about our relationship with food.  It was a good thing we only had one speaker as we needed the extra time to get ourselves organized at FCL.  I am sure next week will go smoother and we all like the extra space in the new digs.

Saturday afternoon was also a bit of a blur as the Division contests were on.  There was even stiffer competition for Jane and Richard.  The best speakers from six Areas were there trying to take home the hardware and bragging rights of being the Division E Table Topics winner or Humorous Speech winner.

Congratulations to Jane who placed second in this tough field with a tough question.  Unfortunately Richard didn't place in the top 3 spots.  But he did represent Prairie Schooners and Area 47 well and provided the audience with a few laughs at his brothers expense.

Now that the contest season is almost wrapped up our club will be getting back to quality meeting with an aim to help the members meet their individual goals.

Hopefully I will see you next Wednesday when you visit.

Jokes All Around!!

What a meeting we had at Toastmasters today! It was our Humorous Speech contest and we had 4 laugh-worthy contestants: Richard, Marloes, Jane, and Rathan. Richard spoke to us about a recent fishing expedition with his brother, Marloes spoke about running her first half-marathon, Jane talked about making a 'splash' in the pool, and Rathan discussed the different ways in which people get married. Everyone did a great job and it was a fun hour of laughter. We had a fantastic turnout from our membership and were lucky to have visitors from other clubs to help facilitate the judging. Richard Jackson was the well deserved winner of our speech contest, narrowly defeating Marloes in what was likely the closest contest voting in club history. Come and support Richard in the Area Humorous Speech contest on Tuesday, October 15th!!! Just contact an Executive Member for more details. See everyone next week!

Bustin' at the Seams

Wow, yesterday's meeting saw 21 people gathered around for our fall Table Topics contest.  The room is comfortable with 12 chairs.  We were at standing room only capacity.  It's a good thing the fire Marshall wasn't around, we might have had to move our contest out into the hall.

We had 5 contestants from the club.  Some were seasoned members and some had joined within the last year.  We also had a number of Toastmaster guests from other clubs that were helping in other capacities like judges, timers and ballot counters.  The winners of the contest will go on to represent Prairie Schooners at the Toastmasters Area 47 contest that will be held in a couple of weeks.

But before we get to the Area Contest, Prairie Schooners has another contest scheduled for next week.  Next Wednesday we will be holding our Humourous speech contest.  I understand from our Vice President of Education, there will be 4 members competing.  I have heard some of them and let me tell you, they are funny.  So why not stop in for a visit next week and be entertained.

This week we also saw some returning guests and I believe one of them joined.  So you see our little club is expanding.  More members create a diverse group with the presentations varied and interesting.   Actually we are expanding beyond the capacity of the meeting room Tetra Tech is providing us so arrangements have been made to change locations.  We are not going far, just across the street to Federated Coop.  We will be expanding into their main floor boardroom in a few weeks.

So if you want to hear accomplished speakers, why not stop in at our Humour Contest.  Then stop by on another Wednesday to see what a regular Toastmasters meeting looks like and see what Toastmasters can do for you.  Remember, Toastmasters, where Leaders are made.

Kicking Into High Gear

Well for the last few weeks we are gearing up our Toastmaster program.  We are back to weekly meeting with fun and exciting programing every Wednesday.

This weeks meeting was very exciting and productive.  Some of the things that stand out are:

• We had 2 returning guests.  We are hopeful they have seen the benefits of the Toastmaster's program and how the program can help them in their communication and leadership skill development.  I think they will return again next week with their membership applications completed and cheque in hand.
• We passed a motion to accept the club budget our treasurer had prepared.  The good news is, no increase in club dues this year.  Wahoo!!
• We quickly dispensed with the motion that would require the chairman of the meeting to wear a tuxedo or suit.  There was a thought in the group that as an educational organisation we should show some professionalism and dress the part.  There was quite a bit of discussion with a few amendments to the motion.  Some of the amendments passed and some were defeated.  The end result was a defeat of the motion to dress in suit of tuxedo.  All members were relieved.  This was an exercise in handling motions during a business meeting under the guidance of Robert's Rules of Order.
• A presentation was made from the Storytelling manual, an advanced manual in the Communication track of Toastmasters.  The subject included the steps that were taken for an arranged marriage.  This was a very interesting story, full of scary facts and endearing humour.  A lot of information was presented but there were a lot of questions left unanswered.   Maybe these questions will get answered during future presentations.

There is always a need to fill the program each week, but in week or two, things are going to change up again.  You see, it is fall contest time.  A time when clubs conduct two speech contests.  Prairie Schooners will be holding a Table Topics contest as well as a humour speech contest.  The Table Topics contest will be very similar to the Table Topics portion of our regular meeting.  Except there will be judges that will evaluate your response.  The Humorous contest will consist of well crafted 5 to 7 minute presentations that are humorous.  Again these will be judged.

These contests are an excellent opportunity for club members to stretch and grow.  With the winners from Prairie Schooners going on to compete against other club winners in our Area.  Not only do you get an opportunity to stretch, you also get an opportunity to hear from some top notch speakers in the club.  With an opportunity to see demonstrated skills in action that you could incorporate into your own presentations.

So exciting times await us.  Come on out for a visit and some fun.  There is no obligation for visitors to participate in the program.  Just sit back and enjoy and see what Toastmasters has to offer you. 

Lazy Days of Summer Continued.....

It is true that our meetings at Prairie Schooners Toastmasters are every another week during the summer months, but this does not dampen our enthusiasm!!  Can't wait for our July 24th meeting....looking forward to some great speech and fun interaction with the group.  :)

Lazy Days of Summer

Lazy eh!  Well I think this really sums up the summer so far.  I just haven't been able to get in front of a computer to tell you what has been happening over the last few weeks.

We have slowed down our meetings over the summer and are now meeting twice a month in July and August instead of every week.  I think we are all a little lazy and would rather be out during the beautiful summer days we have been having instead of being in a boardroom developing of communication and leadership skills.  There will be plenty of time for that when we resume weekly meetings in September.

Things to note, at least as much as my memory will allow.  We have had a few new members join since my last post and with these new members were induction ceremonies.  We also went out for lunch and installed the new club officers.  We ended the year with a bang, receiving Presidents Distinguished status.  This status is awarded to clubs that achieve at least 9 of the 10 goals set by Toastmasters International in their Distinguished Club Plan.  The current executive has committed to reaching the same status next year.

We also had a pot luck BBQ, which was rained out.  We went ahead anyway (inside though) and enjoyed good food and friendship.  I think everyone had a good time.  At least it seems that way judging from the pictures taken at the event.  Mossy on over to our Facebook page to see for yourself.  The link is at the top of the page.

Stay tuned for more updates but remember we are in the lazy days of summer.

Bye for now, I have to go have a nap on the deck.

Food and Exercise

Well not food and exercise in the traditional sense.  

Today’s meeting was full of fun, food and stretches.  Rathan completed his tenth presentation today and achieved his Competent Communicator award.  Way to go Rathan!  His presentation wasn’t really about exercise.  It was more about how our comfort zone prohibits us from achieving great things.  Examples were given showing how easy it was to come up with excuses why we can’t do something.  It’s too hard, it will take to long, and I have something more important to do.  Well we always have an easier place to go, our comfort zone, that prohibits us from stretching.  Rathan challenged us to start with small steps, steps that will take us out of our comfort zone.  If you run, run a few meters more the next time you go out.  When you drive home, take a different route; sit in a different place around the board room table.  These small stretches will change your brain so you won’t always resort back to that big comfy couch we call our comfort zone.  We will be more willing to try different things and achieve much more in our lives.

Well after all that stretching, Shuqing temped our palates with Chinese dumplings.  It turns out that this is her favourite food.  She went on to demonstrate how to make real Chinese dumplings with the help of a little modern technology.  She went through the steps of how to prepare the filling, make the dough, constructing the dumpling and then the two ways of cooking them.  Shuqing showed us colourful pictures along the way and passed out the recipe that we could take home and try for ourselves.  I am not sure about the others but it was lunch time and I was hungrier after I heard her presentation.  The only thing she was missing were a few samples for the audience.  Well, maybe next time.

The meeting was running a little late but the expert skill of the Chairman brought us back on track to finish up just in time for me to leave and try and find some of those delicious dumplings.

Triple E Senate

Well that was the topic of discussion at today’s meeting.  Melissa presented project 9 from the Competent Communication manual where she was to persuade with power.  The title of her speech was “The Chamber of Sober Second Thought”.  With a title like that, wouldn’t you be interested in what she had to say?  I know I was.  As you guessed, Melissa briefly talked about the upper chamber, the Canadian Senate.  What a timely subject with all the press we are seeing about this sacred institution.  Melissa presented a brief history of the Senate and some options that are on the table that could improve this very important political establishment.  I know I would have liked to have heard more but time was running out.  I think there is a large majority of Canadians that don’t know much about the Senate.  Melissa shed some light on it for us today.

Our second presentation was from the Toastmasters “Better Speaker” series of manuals.  This was delivered by our President, Jane, and if you have ever heard or seen any of her presentations, you know she would do an excellent job of this topic.  The subject of this presentation was “Using Body Language”, something Jane is oh-so familiar with.  Practical examples were mention as well as demonstrated.  Jane’s presentation was so effective; those that followed her tried some of the techniques she demonstrated.  Way to go Jane, what a leader you are.

We had a returning guest again this week.  I think she likes what she sees and hopefully will become a member soon.  The boardroom chairs were full today as we had another guest too.  There certainly seems to be interest in Toastmasters from downtown Saskatoon.  It must be because we have a winning program, interesting presentations and lots of fun.

Why not stop by and give us a test drive.

Are you near the finish line?

Well the Toastmaster year is coming to a close in a few short weeks.  At club meetings you will see members frantically trying to complete presentations.  Trying to meet the goals they set for themselves last fall.  Well this week we heard how Christine crossed the finish line and how she continues to compete.  It turns out Christine loves to run.  She explained to us how she got started running in her small town.  With encouragement from her mother and friendly wagers with her father she won six Provincial Medals.  She went on to compete in four National Championships and ran cross country for the Huskies.  Working through project six of the Competent Communicator manual, Christine used vocal variety to enhance her presentation and show the passion for the sport she enjoys.

Our second presentation was given by Julia who is working from the Speaking to Inform Advanced Communicator manual.  Julia presented a hypothetical fact finding report regarding the strategic relations a mining company wanted to enhance.  The presentation was well laid out with visuals that guided the audience through the available information.  Julia also conducted a question and answer period.  Without using notes, Julia’s presentation was both professional and informative.  Her ability to handle the question and answer portion was outstanding and showed she was well prepared for any questions that were asked.

Although we are near the finish line, summer is upon us.  This usually means a drop in attendance and meeting roles sometimes need to be filled on the fly.  With confidence and professionalism Jeremy stepped into the role of Topics Master at the last minute and asked us some very interesting questions.  He was even prepared for the theme of the meeting (Mickey Mouse) by wearing a Disneyland shirt and shoes.  Of course Jeremy didn’t connect the two until he noticed the audience commenting on his attire.  Way to go Jeremy.

We also had two guests at our meeting this week, one returning and one new.  Hopefully they will be back as members soon.  New members always bring interesting stories and perspectives to the meetings.  There is always room to grow and learn from each others experiences.

Another special guest was with us.  Our Area Governor Vijay, stopped in for a visit.  The Toastmaster club is guided by a much larger organization than you see at a club meeting.  Our Area Governor, Vijay has provided guidance, motivation and advice to Prairie Schooners members the past year.  I wouldn’t be wrong in stating the whole club appreciates the attention she has given us over the past months.

Why not come out for a visit?  Guests are always welcome and there is no obligation to participate in the program.  Just sit back and observe what Toastmasters in all about.  I am sure you will see how Toastmasters can help you improve your presentation and leadership skills.

Remember, Toastmasters, Where Leaders are Made.

Until next time.

Free Money and a Free Education

That’s right folks; we had a Toastmasters educational presentation this week as well as a description on how to get free money from the Government.

First off, Jane presented from the Toastmasters Better Speaker Series of manuals.  She explained how to “Take the Terror Out of the Talk”.  We all get nervous before we make our presentations and Jane provided some very useful techniques to try and tame that terror.  As a seasoned speaker I found the information useful and I am sure our new members did as well.

Now let’s get to the free money.  Well it turns out to really not be free.  First you have to have children or grandchildren and have to make some financial investments.  Marloes told us all about the Registered Education Saving Plan (RESP).  She encouraged us all to put money away for our children or grandchildren.  The sooner we start, the more money will be available for their post secondary education and the more money the government will contribute.

Elections were also discussed at this week’s meeting.  It turns out we have a full slate of new officers ready to take over the reins.  I am sure they are looking forward to developing and practicing their leadership skills and are anxiously waiting for the club officer training.

We also had a guest this week who was an active Toastmaster in Calgary.  We are hoping that Vera will be joining our great group and share her experiences with us.  The more members we can attract, the more interesting our meeting become.  I look forward to the presentations where members share their background and interests with us.

Who knows what next week will bring.  Why not come for a visit and see for yourself.

Speaking and Getting What You Want

Another great meeting this week with topics that were both educational and entertaining.

If you have read previous entries in this blog you know about the impromptu speaking portion of a Toastmaster’s meeting.  The dreaded “Table Topics” session, where you are asked a question and you have to come up with a mini speech answer.  Well this week Julia provided an excellent overview of how to prepare, as much as one can, for Table Topics.  This presentation is part of the Toastmasters “Better Speaker Series” of manuals and covered the 5 steps you should use when faced with a question.  Julia also provided some tips and strategies along with examples on how to deliver a winning answer.  She also talked about things to avoid.  I am sure the audience will be using these techniques at next week’s meeting.  They were all taking notes.

We also learned the fine art of negotiation.  Did you know we negotiate all the time?  Jackie provided us with an overview of the negotiation process so that both parties can come away winners.  We were exposed to the four steps involved.  They are Assess, Prepare, Ask and Package.  The presentation took on a whole new meaning and came to life when Jackie added her own personal experience.  She related her experiences when she was negotiating the purchase of a hot tub for her yard.  She explained how she assessed her needs, did her research on-line in preparation for her visit to the show room floor of a local retailer.  We also learned of her sly way of preparing the salesman for her final ask and how she bundled her purchase with a package of add-ons at no extra cost.  At the end of the day Jackie was able to purchase a hot tub below the already discounted price, have it stored until they were ready for delivery, have it delivered for free and get a year worth of chemicals also for free.  Not bad when you know the steps involved.  The audience was taking notes here too.

Next week is club elections.  We will elect a new team of seven executive from our membership who will take over the running of the club in June.  This new team will plan and manage the club.  This includes everything from keeping the financial records to arranging the physical facilities.  This new team, some seasoned members and some new, will undergo training for their new leadership roles in the coming weeks.  It will be an exciting time for those newly elected as well as the rest of the club.  We all look forward to new leadership and communication opportunities in the coming months.

Till next time.

Tweeter or Bowler?

That is the question we were left with after today’s two presentations.  Melissa gave us a brief history and short introduction on the Twitter Universe.  We learned the origins of what is now the most popular social network.  We also learned how the logo for twitter has changed over time and if you are familiar with the hash tag (#) functionality you can keep up to date on the tweets (news) that have been associated with the tag.  So if you are interested in what is going on at the local city council meeting all you have to now is the proper #.  

Not only can you get breaking news from those tweeting at the city council meeting or from the local and national news organizations, you can also have discussions with your local community organizations.  Oh and don’t forget you can also follow your favourite politician or celebrity and who knows, maybe someone will want to follow your tweets.

The next presentation was a short introduction to the few similarities and the many differences between baseball and cricket.  From the brief description the only similarities are both sports use a ball and a bat.  Everything else is completely different, from the size of the teams the way points are accumulated.  Although we aren’t exposed to a lot of this interesting sport, it is the second most popular sport in the world.  One of the reasons we may not see a lot of cricket is the length of the game.  Unlike baseball that can last a few hours, a championship cricket match can last days.  Yes, Days!!

Both our presenters went over their time allotment.  A lot of information was presented and I think there is still much more to learn about these two topics. I hope we get a chance for a second class.

So what is it?  Are you a bowler or a tweeter?

Ups and Downs

Well we were on a bit of a roller coaster this week.  

Our first presentation was delivered by Christine.  Her objectives were to use body language and gestures to enhance her presentation.  She certainly hit the mark with a presentation on her and her mother’s attendance at the recent Oprah event in Saskatoon.  Certainly there was a powerful message delivered to the audience, some of which we heard about during the speech.  But Christine’s animated gestures, expressing her mother’s excitement to finally see her life long idol, really added humour and excitement to our afternoon.  Well done Christine.

From the highs to the lows we went when Jane explained to us how the development of the world was so dependant on water.  She went on to explain how life exploded to where we are today almost in a non-sustainable situation.  Jane explained to us how our water systems are being polluted buy numerous things that originate from our human existence, from lakes and waterways being polluted by agricultural runoff to the huge vortexes of garbage that are present in the oceans.  Jane’s presentation was a bit of a downer but she ended with a very strong message that we need to smarten up or we will be in a worse situation and we have to find a caretaker for our lovely blue planet.

You never know what you are going to be presented with at a club meeting.  We are entertained, made to think about our actions, inspired, as well as educated.  Why not stop by next week.  I heard a little bird tweet it will be fun.

'Till then.

Contagious Random Acts of Kindness

Two great presentations and a business meeting today.  The business meeting was just getting started when time ran out.  Of course the important aspects of the meeting were dealt with.  We had a little extra time so “Monkey Business” started.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at things, there will be a motion on the table that we will have to attend to at our next business meeting.  It’s just another opportunity to practice running meeting as I am sure we all have been to some that are poorly run and very unproductive.  Toastmasters tries to rectify these situation.  The more we practice, the better we become.

Both presentations today were from the Competent Communication manual.  Erin presented a great speech, Project 3 – Get To The Point, that spoke of random acts of kindness. Something she feels is contagious.  Her examples and excellent word choice painted pictures that we could certainly see ourselves in.  Here personal examples were well explained and appreciated by the group.  She certainly got to the point.

Our second presentation was by Richard, an experienced Toastmaster.  He was completing project 10 – Inspire Your Audience.  With a speech title of “Not In My Back Yard” the audience was persuaded to consider their environmental footprint as it extents outside their immediate area and think about the amount of garbage they generate.  The key message was to reduce and recycle, not just throw away and forget about the impact of your actions.  I think the audience was inspired.

Again we had top notch evaluations from Marloes and Julia.  Feedback is always important and happily received.  It is important to know the things the speakers did well and also the areas that could have been changed to better fit the objectives or make a more powerful and compelling presentation.  It was nice to hear the assigned evaluators but also nice to see notes being passed to the speakers from the rest of the audience.  This way the speakers get additional feedback on their presentations.

I am looking forward to our next Business meeting so we can continue our monkey business.  In the mean time, I will be thinking of a new subject for my next presentation.

Maybe I will see you next week.

Fun with April First

As you can guess, the theme of this weeks meeting was April Fools.  With this theme and the word of the day being “Kibitzer”, there were some interesting introductions.  We all had a laugh, either while describing pranks that had been played on us or hearing of those played on others.  If you don’t know the meaning of kibitzer, look it up and try to use it in a sentence or two.  You will then have a better understanding of what I mean when I say we had some Interesting Introductions.

We also had 2 very interesting and entertaining presentations on the program.  Meg presented speech number four from the Competent Communication manual entitled “The Grammar Nazi”.  Meg explained and showed us how the proper use of grammar, either written or oral, has declined over the years.  The excellent example she used were the song lyrics of two popular heartthrobs, Frank Sinatra and Justin Bieber.  By reading a few lines from each of their popular songs, we could certainly see what she meant.

Julia then presented speech number five from the Advanced Communication manual, Speaking to Inform.  Julia’s presentation, “Wonder Where We Live”, explained to us the impact and evolution of The Hudson Bay Company.  She went on to explain how many of our northern communities are a direct result of the commerce they carried out.  An interesting subject steeped in history that most people are unaware of.

Table topics were eliminated due to us running out of time.  I can just imagine the fun we would have had given the theme and word.  We wrapped up the program on time after some excellent speech evaluations given by Marloes and Rathan.  We were also reminded that before next weeks meeting the Area we belong to is holding the Area Spring Contests. This is an excellent opportunity to observe the best speakers in the Area as they vie for a position at the next level of competition. It was also suggested that it would be a good opportunity to come out and show support for Jane and Richard who are representing Prairie Schooners.

Till next week.

Puppies, Chicken and Curry

That's right folks.  Puppies, Chicken and Curry.  No, not Plane, Trains and Automobiles.  But just as entertaining.

Well if you are wondering what I am talking about.  These were the subjects of the two presentations given at this weeks Toastmasters meeting. 

Melisa was presenting project number 6 from the competent Communication manual and told us all about the 5th member of her family.  Upon hearing this I was a little surprised as I work with Melissa and know she is married and has 2 children.  Who is this 5th family member she is talking about?  Well it turns out that there is a chocolate Lab living with them.  Melissa explained to us how the dog training had progressed since they adopted this bundle of joy.  It seems there is quite a bit involved in training your puppy to sleep through the night, be kennel trained, learn where to go to the bathroom and how not to bark All The Time.  It was a very entertaining presentation, especially if you have ever owned a puppy.

Our second presentation, another very entertaining story, described a major kitchen disaster that occurred to Christine.  You guessed it, that is where the chicken and curry comes in.  The story starts out with Christine describing this delicious chicken curry recipe that she was preparing for her slow cooker.  With all the ingredients were described in great detail and the time being around 12:30, I am sure the whole audience were wishing she had brought in some samples.  The story goes on to describe how the slow cooker was set and the evening meal would be cooked while everyone was at work.  Only to return home at the end of the day to a delicious meal.  Somehow, Christine thought she could hurry up the process when she got home by removing the pot from her slow cooker and put it on the stove top for the final heating,  Christine was so distraught when the bottom of the ceramic pot cracked, which resulted in curry and chicken flowing all over, she just didn't know what to do.  Fortunately her husband saved the day by cleaning up the mess and advising her that tonight would be a perfect time to go out for dinner.

Two happy stories that were well presented.  But the theme of the meeting was Easter and the word of the day was Rabbit (bunny) so you knew that the Table Topics questions would probably revolve around these things.  Jane didn't disappoint.  We learned where Easter eggs come from.  Ask anyone at the meeting and they will tell you the secret place.  We learned the rules around when Easter occurs.  It was very technical.  As well we learned all about Maundy Thursday.  I am still not sure about this one as the answers we got were probably made up.  I will have to do a little research to find out for sure.  Never the less, it involved Easter.

There were a lot of laughs during the meeting and a lot of information explained.  If you want to know more about Toastmasters and have a Wednesday lunch hour free, why not stop in for a visit.  If you have read any of my other posts you will quickly learn we always have fun.  It's the best thing that can happen when you are learning.

See you soon.

Fluffy Pink Teddy Bear

You can imagine my surprise when our guest speaker, Julie, pulled out a teddy bear for her demonstration speech at our Club Evaluation Contest.  I wasn't really surprised to see a teddy bear, but because of the title of her speech, I was expecting something fluffy and pink.  Her bear was actually fuzzy and white.  Boy, I really had to listen closely to get the whole story.

Julie went on to describe her first best friend and how it followed her everywhere.   Parties, family pictures and even a made up graduation picture.  Julie's bear was everywhere and they were inseparable.

In her speech, Julie demonstrated great eye contact with the audience, had many good visual aids and excellent facial expression.  Here humour was accentuated by her short vivid word choice which painted pictures the whole audience was drawn to.

Well that was the scene for our Club Evaluation Contest this week.  There were five contestants, all listening intently and observing the presentation.  They would soon be ushered out of the room and given five minutes to collect their thoughts before being brought back in, one at a time, to deliver their evaluations.

I happened to be one of the competitors and had drawn the third spot.  Although I didn't get a chance to hear the first two competitors, the last two competitors and myself recognised many similar strengths and areas that could be improved in Julie's, very entertaining and somewhat emotional story.  It is interesting how 5 people can hear and observe the same presentation yet come away with different feelings, emotions and suggestions.  I guess that is why an evaluation is really only the personal feeling of that person.  I am sure Julie appreciated all the feedback she received from the contestants.

If you are interested in knowing who won the competition, I am not going to tell you.  You will have to attend the next level of competition to see who will be representing Prairie Schooners.  This competition will be held on April 6th, between 1 and 4 in the afternoon at The Bently, 1622B Acadia Drive Saskatoon.

Hope to see you there.

Mountain Top Household

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on a mountain?  

Well today Jackie gave her ice breaker speech, after joining the club just a few short weeks ago.  We learned how she grew up, literally, on the side of a mountain in British Columbia.  Her dad had to park at the end of the block because their road was too steep for traction in the wintertime and her front yard proved to be an excellent toboggan run.  That is, as long as you banked the snow up at the end or else risk ending up over the cliff.

Jackie lived close to a glacial fed lake that was crystal clear and very, very cold.  She wasn’t too fond of summer time swimming.  She informed us those dips were very short.  Thank-you Jackie for sharing your story and congratulations on completing your first speech.

 Table topics were replaced this week with a business meeting.  I think this caught the members a little off guard.  This was evident by the apparent confusion among the executive members.  Oh well, we practiced our parliamentary procedures and had many opportunities to learn as reported by the Parliamentarian.

An interesting meeting, all in all, with much buzz around the table about the club’s International Speech contest being held next week.  It turns out we have a potential of 3 competitors and will have judges from outside the club.  The winner of this contest, as well as the winner of the Club Evaluation contest being held March 20^th, will go on to represent Prairie Schooners at the Area contest being held April 6^th.

Why not stop in next week to hear some fantastic presentations.  All are welcome.

What is around the corner?

Today's Toastmasters meeting started out like all the rest.  After some of the roles were filled, the meeting started, pretty much on time.  We went through our introductions trying to use the word of the day.  This is when I knew we were in for a little challenge.  You see, the word of the day was the South African word Ubuntu.  A word used to describe the allegiances and relationships with each other.  We are all individuals but are influenced by those we interact with.  We are all individuals, at the same time we are community.  We were all able to use the word in our introductions, if only to re-iterate the definition.  The Grammarian reported that we weren't able to use the word at any other time.  A tough challenge to say the least.

The speaking portion of the meeting also progressed as expected.  Two presentations were made.  Meg completed project number 3 in the Competent Communicator manual and talked to us about the joy of attending live performances.  Richard presented the last speech in his High Performance Leadership program and told us the results of his project and some of the lessons learned.  Both of these presentations along with their evaluations were well prepared and delivered.

Rathann, our Vice President of Education, who always has a trick or two up his sleeve, was the Table Topics Master.  This is when the second challenge was revealed.  He asked us all to indicate if we believed social media was a good thing or not.  He then picked two members that were for and two that were against social media.  The four individuals were then asked to the front of the room to participate in a mini debate.  The twist however, was that the team for social media had to argue against it and the team against social media had to argue for.  This mini debate was very interesting as well as entertaining.

So you can see, Toastmaster meetings follow a prescribed format that might seem routine, but there will always be something to learn and often there will be a twist along the way.  Why not stop in for a meeting and see what excitement will be revealed around the next corner.

Does the Status Quo Need Changing?

Well at today's meeting, that was the question.  Well, the actual question was "Be it resolved that chickens be allowed in the yards of  houses within the Saskatoon city limits".  Well you guessed it, we had a debate.

Actually it was a very enjoyable and educational debate.  There was a heated discussion on why we should allow chickens in our back yards.  There was a team trying to convince the judges that the resolution should be passed and an opposing team that were adamant the status quo did not need to be changed.

We were entertained with facts like chickens are a sustainable food source except one hen will not produce enough eggs for your daily breakfast and if you decide to have some BBQ chicken, your source of eggs dry up.  Did you know that chickens smell?  Some might say they smell and make just as much noise as small children .  If we can have children, why can't we have chickens.  There is also a belief that chickens carry germs and diseases and should not be allowed in an urban area. While there is an opposing belief that chickens eat bugs and other things that are much more undesirable than the germs they carry.  There was also some personal experiences shared about chickens being scary, some may say just as much as children.

Actually there were quite a few comparisons between chickens and children.  There was also a suggestion that your property values would go down if your neighbour raised chickens.  Did you know the mega corporations are force feeding the chickens that end up in our supermarkets, free range chickens must be better for you, right?

The judges had a hard time determining which team did a better job in their arguments.  By a close margin the team that was for the Status Quo won out over the team that was for the proposition.

There were great presentations today that created a lot of laughter and an exceptional learning opportunity   A learning opportunity not only for the debaters, but also for the organisers and the audience. You never know what you are going to experience and learn at a Toastmasters meeting.  Why not stop by next week and see what you can take away.  It's nothing to cluck about.

What has happened while I was Away?

I have been away from Toastmasters for the past two weeks and really don’t have anything to report.  However I do have two ghost writers that have contributed on the events at Prairie Schooners.  Their input is appreciated as it gives me as well as you, an idea of what has been going on.

Our first reporter is Kris, who is involved in the 4-H organization.  Kris had earlier canvassed the club to see if there was anyone who could help out at the Silver Shadows Light Horse 4-H Club.  They were having their annual speaking competition and were looking for some judges.  Here is what Kris has to report:

A great big thanks to the members of the Prairie Schooners Toastmasters Club, Meg and Bonnie, for volunteering to judge the public speaking competition for the Silver Shadows Light Horse 4-H Club.  This local 4-H club has 16 youth members ranging in age from 6 to 18 years old.  They were divided into four age groups and delivered self authored speeches in front of the panel of judges.  The audience consisted of both club and family members.  The club members greatly appreciated the written and verbal feedback that the judges provided as it will continue to help them develop their confidence and public speaking skills into the future. 

Kris

Here are some pictures that Kris sent along with his report.

Thanks Kris.  It sounds like everyone enjoyed themselves and the contest was a success.

Our second reporter is our President Jane who tells us about our club meeting held on February 13^th.  It seems this was a memorable event for Jan.  Here is what she has to report:

The Club meeting held February 13^th was a memorable event for me.  We were honoured with the presence of our Division Governor - Carol Harrison.  At our club meetings  we often introduce ourselves and greet participants, toastmasters and welcome our “ honoured guests", when the guests are just guest!  But at this meeting we actually had an honoured guest and I, as president was able to show the members exactly what an honoured guest is :-) 

The theme of the meeting was the heart and we were privileged with a number of heart wrenching stories. We heard of deaths, kids with heart defects and the strength of friends - all very heart warming. 

Julia was the only speaker and gave a passionate and impeccable speech on the Inuit language. She taught us Inuit pronunciations and how to interpret the written language.  She finished off with a few words in Inuit. 

The Divisional Governor honoured us with her presence and presented me with the Toastmaster's "Triple Crown" award.  Last year I managed to achieve three awards: my Competent Leader, my Competent Leader Bronze and my Advanced Communicator Bronze. My hard work helped to ensure the club receive the highest award last year and resulted in an award for myself that I was not aware existed.  The Division Governor also praised us for our control of time in that we were able to complete an entire meeting in one hour - not many clubs do this.

Yes, we had a typical toastmasters meeting where we learned something, shared something and had fun.

Jane.

Thanks Jane.  Well it certainly is nice to see others in the club pick up the torch.  My experience has shown this happens quite often.  When positions on the program need filling, there is never a shortage of volunteers ready to help and grow as Communicators and Leaders.