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.