Saturday, November 26, 2005

speakeasy toastmaster meeting

Speakeasy Toastmasters held another successful meeting on November 24th. Toastmaster for the evening was Tony O’ Regan, Division A Governor, who gave a witty and assured performance.
The first speaker was Vivienne Buckley, who delivered the informative speech project from the Speaking to inform manual. Vivienne described the various stages and the most efficient team structure necessary to successfully organise a major event.
Also delivering a project from the Speaking to inform manual, this time delivering the Abstract Concept speech, was Sean Corcoran. Sean spoke about alternative medicine and about energy based healing techniques. Sean described how the electromagnetic fields generated by our internal organs can be manipulated to treat illness.
The third speaker was Margaret O’ Regan who completed the speaking off the cuff project from the Speciality Speeches Manual. Out of five possible speeches, ‘Multiple intelligence’ was selected for Margaret to speak on. Margaret described the various intelligences we possess, such as spatial, musical and interpersonal intelligence. These capabilities undergo their most rapid development during our first three years of existence and to develop these capabilities poses a great challenge to those responsible for minding children. The final speaker was Ray Ryan Jnr, who read Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “The Blessed Virgin compared to the air we breath” in fulfilment of the interpreting poetry project from the Interpretative reading manual.
Topicsmaster for the night was Gerry Kelleher. His selection of entertaining topics included a role-play and a continuation story, whereby one club member was asked to start a story, a second member continued the story and a third member concluded the story. The meeting concluded with Brian McLoughlin conducting the General Evaluation session and Sean Corcoran delivering an address in his capacity as Area 17 Governor.
Speakeasy Toastmasters will hold their next meeting on the 8th December at the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow , at 8:00pm. This meeting will be our Christmas meeting, and a festive atmosphere is guaranteed. Non-members are welcome to attend and will not be asked to speak. More details about the club are available from Ray at 086-3675706, or from the club website, www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Speakeasy Toastmasters meeting

Speakeasy Toastmasters met on the 10th November and the Club celebrated the
achievements of Pat Sexton and Michael Cronin, both of whom were placed second in
the district 71 Topics and Humorous Speech contests respectively, which were held
recently in England. Another honour was bestowed upon the club at the district
conference, when Jeremiah Roynane was selected to give the keynote address after t
the conference banquet. Michael Cronin also featured at the club meeting, being the
presiding Toastmaster. Breaking with tradition, the topics session was held before the
speeches, with Margaret O’ Regan delivering an intriguing selection of topics.

The first speaker was Ann Lyons, a member of the Galtees Toastmaster Club in
Mitchlestown. Ann’s speech, “Party Animal”, which was a stage 3 project from the
Basic Manual, was a humorous account of an unsuccessful attempt to entertain an old
college friend. Following Ann was Dermot Meaney, who was completing the
interpretative reading project from the Speciality Speeches Manual. In “Up and
away”, Dermot read an extract from Richard Branson’s autobiography, which
describes Branson’s early experiences of long-distance travel in a hot-air balloon.

The next speaker was another visitor from a fellow Toastmaster club, Noreen
McSweeney, who is the President of Muskerry Toastmasters. Noreen delivered
her speech, “My First Communion”, as a Stage 5 speech from the Basic
Manual. In her characteristic hilarious and colourful style, Noreen described the
calamity of being late for the First Communion service of her school pupils.
Finally, Sean Lynch delivered a project from the Professional Speaker Manual.
Sean’s presentation was a sales force training seminar, with the audience assuming
the role of a sales team. Sean made extensive use of charts, posters, audience
participation and a host of props in his speech. Following the speeches, the meeting was reviewed by the General Evaluator, Ray Ryan Jnr. Speakeasy Toastmasters will
hold their next meeting on November 24th at the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow for
8:00PM. Non-members are welcome as always to attend our meetings, and will not be
asked to speak. Further details about the Club are available from our website,
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com .