Introduction
Johannesburg Toastmasters Meeting started at 7pm Wednesday, 20 July 2022, via Zoom.
Start of the meeting
The meeting began with the welcoming of our four guests for the evening. Each guest gave a short introduction of themselves where the club got to know each guest a little better.
One of the perks about our meetings is the introduction to new, unusual and amusing words that adds a little spice to one’s vocabulary. The word of the evening, presented by Johara Naidoo, was finicky: one who is fussy about their needs or requirements.
The toast of the day was presented by Christoff Krige and was based around Mandela day, as well as acknowledging that the 20th of July is also known as International Hotdog Day and National Moon Day.
Following this, the toastmaster of the evening, Christoff Krige, guided us through a spectacular and inclusive evening.
Prepared Speeches
Things got interesting when the audience was treated to various speeches, each with a unique message, from the speakers as highlighted below. Relevant feedback was given to the speakers from the evaluators to assist in taking the wonderfully-said speeches to the next level.
- Ice Breaker speech by Josephine Tsotsti-evaluated by Saloshni Naidoo
- PL1PL2 (Mindset) speech by Keang Nage- evaluated by Zaina Limalia
- PL1PL2 (Don’t judge a book by its cover) by Tshiamo Molapisi- evaluated by Johara Naidoo
- PL2PL3 (Emotional Intelligence) by Judith Lee- evaluated by Christoff Krige
Table topics/Educational
One of the long standing traditions of toastmasters is table topics which intends to help members to develop their ability to quickly organise their thoughts and respond to an impromptu question or topic for two minutes. Guests and members were kept on their toes as the table topics master, Deshanya Naidoo, gave out interesting and out-of-the- ordinary topics to the guests and members, providing an opportunity for everyone to engage.
Grizzly Bear Award
The Grizzly Bear Award, the grizzly bear being the mascot for the Johannesburg Toastmasters Club(aka the oldest toastmasters club in the southern hemisphere), is awarded to a member who spoke well or contributed significantly to the outcome of the meeting. The Grizzly Bear Award was awarded to Judith Lee for delivering an excellent speech. Well done!
General Evaluations
The guests of the evening kindly shared their views of the club meeting and expressed their appreciation for the structure of the meeting, the speeches, and table topics.
Highlights for the next meeting
We have a few members and guests presenting their speeches which we look forward to. The next meeting will be held on the 3rd of August 2022 at 19:00pm, via Zoom.