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.