Starring…!
At the helm of a club meeting for the first time, Dieter chose the theme “Heard it in the movies?”. He peppered the meeting with quotes from various movies, some well-known, others not so much!
Co-starring…!
Grammarian Dirk played along with the theme, choosing “Epic” as the Word of the Day. In total, presenters managed to slip “epic” into their speeches nine times throughout the meeting!
Guest-starring…!
Table Topics Master Kathy also followed the theme. Each table topics speaker was given a quote from a movie or television series then asked a question relevant to the quote.
Asked about something she had lost, Angela said she is about to lose her daughter to Australia! Dirk was asked about a time he has inadvertently muddled his words under pressure giving his message a completely different meaning, and he spoke about his young daughter who is learning to speak and often her meaning is hilariously lost!
Megan enjoys going on holiday but also loves arriving back home, confirming that she agrees “there is no place like home”. Darrell decided that something he could do all day is nothing (and confided that he often does!).
Visitor Donna bravely took the stage and introduced herself. A great start to a Toastmaster’s journey!
The final table topics speaker was Dieter who talked about power when playing rugby.
Main cast…!
The first prepared speech was by Jocelyn titled “A Better Class of Graffiti”. Jocelyn compared various pieces of graffiti and questioned whether they were art or vandalism.
In a speech titled “Plastic Fantastic”, Katina talked about the proliferation of plastic and encouraged the audience to stop using one-use plastic bags and containers.
In the third prepared speech, Gary said that in his current managerial role, he has learnt that in change there are three golden rules – listen, listen, listen. He believes that change communicated well can deliver great business growth but the absolute key is to listen to your people.
Production advisers…!
In evaluating Table Topics, Angela liked all the stories that came out even though the topics were quite challenging.
In her evaluation of Jocelyn’s speech, Megan hailed the speech as “epic”! She felt that making the purpose of the speech clearer would have enhanced the message. Megan loved Jocelyn’s conclusion that graffiti is “coming to a blank wall near you”.
In evaluating Katina’s speech, Kathy felt that Katina had used excellent vocal variety to engage her audience, employing volume, pace and repetition. She recommended more use of pause to take the speech to the next level.
In evaluating Gary’s presentation, Darrell felt Gary had conveyed a very powerful message on how to deal with a desperate situation.
Producer…!
In the General Business session, President Angela reminded members of the District Conference taking place in Dunedin from 3-5 May. She wished Gary all the best representing Division J in the Table Topics contest.
Executive Director…!
In his General Evaluation, Ron urged presenters who have a pen in their hand when they get to the lectern to “put it down”! Apart from being irritating to the audience, it takes away from the speaker and the presentation.
He also explained the timer role for the guest. He mentioned that if a speaker goes over time, they are effectively stealing time from the next speaker.
Having come to its satisfactory conclusion, Dieter signaled the end of the movie meeting!
Spinnaker Toastmasters Club, Plimmerton, Porirua, New Zealand 