22 June 2015
Our second meeting saw 23 Toastmasters and guests settle down for another great evening of prepared and spontaneous speeches. The introductory round, based on a TRAVEL theme, had us hopping all over the world. From Boras to Zimbabwe, China to New Zealand, Miami to Tokyo, we are very experienced globetrotters.
Two more names were added to the Center Berlin banner. Prateek and Lukacs, both members of Mercury Toastmasters, also became Center Berlin Toastmasters. As soon as we have 20 members (of which 3 can be dual members like Prateek and Lukacs) Center Berlin will become a fully chartered Toastmasters club. We are on our way!
Anna gave her very first speech and did so with the cool control of a seasoned speaker. She confessed that public speaking has been a nightmare for her. Thanks to Anna’s determination, good Toastmaster mentoring and safe environment, nerves are now a thing of the past!
The variety and creativity of our speakers always amazes me. Speech objectives may be similar but individual approaches and conclusions so different. Prateek’s speech project was from the Storytelling manual. His objective was to give us a story with a moral. Dyane’s speech followed guidelines for an inspirational speech containing a clear message. Prateek told a folk tale of a little bird who learned a valuable lesson, partly through not heeding the advice of the flock. Dyane’s story of trying to be ‘cool’ by wearing trendy clothes, took a different turn. Her message was clearly not to follow the crowd but to be yourself.
We picked up the theme of the evening in Doris’ Table Topics questions relating to Travel. Doris had us all dreaming of where we’d spend our summer holidays.
What will I remember from this evening? – the smiles!
What did I take away from this evening? – You want to be cool? Be yourself!
Khushi Pasquale, Acting President Center Berlin Toastmasters