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.