Need to polish those presentation skills? Or maybe practise a different leadership style? Why not have some fun while you're at it?

A new Toastmasters club is starting up in Greytown, this one with a difference. We meet and eat at the same time, so you can practise those "after dinner speeches" or toasts "to the happy couple".

WHERE? At the Top Pub, Greytown Hotel, (pictured below) in the new dining annexe (boardroom style, pictured below).

WHEN? We meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 6.30 pm

HOW MUCH? Dinner $20 per night. Toastmaster club fees to be decided at a general meeting on chartering, but about $100 per annum. New and Dual members welcome.

WHO? Contact Rita Stirling on 304 8477 (day) or 379 7571 (evenings) to register.

Meeting Reports

24 February 2010

Thirteen may be unlucky, but that's how many turned out for our regular Wednesday meeting which incorporated a few different elements.

Jim was grammarian and challenged everyone to use inspire, inspiration or inspired during their speeches.

Colin, as Table Topics Master, mentioned a number of significant historical events that had happened in the month of February, such as the battle of Verdun, the excommunication of Elizabeth First, the assassination of Malcolm X, the Valentine's Day massacre, the battle of the Alamo etc. His challenge to speakers were to preface their answers with "I was a fly on the wall when ... happened." This led to a great deal of merriment and a great deal of information on flies, but not a lot on historical events.

After a tasty dinner, Rita led an educational session on judging and how contests are structured which then led into two competitors for WOW club competing for the International Speech Contest.

First up was Jenny Russell with "My Fathers Gifts", followed by Lynn Bushell with "Life is a Jar of Jellybeans". After a close contest, Lynn was announced the winner.

10 February 2010

Due to apologies it was a smaller than usual group that met for the first meeting of the 2010 year. The theme was "2010 a new decade a new opportunity". Colin kicked the meeting off with the word of the day which was "supercalifragilisticxpelealidotious" And everyone at the meeting used the word at least once!

Table topics asked members what they would do this decade as famous people, inventors, Nobel prize winners and celebrity chefs.

The meeting broke for dinner which was a choice of yummy steak or oven baked fish.

Our first speaker, Jill Eriksen, gave everyone an insight into the colour green and why she loves this colour. Our Second speaker Lee Carter covered bananas in her speech "Fruity tooty". Our third presentation was an educational from on adding impact to their speaking style with everyone practising being loud, angry, sad, shy, lustful and other suggestions from the floor. A lot of fun to end the meeting!

Above: Justin presenting John with his Competent Communicator Award.