NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS

NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS
Speakeasy Toastmasters Club Mallow

Lorretto Barry is a highly experienced, infectiously enthuasiastic Toastmaster who in this article gives you an excellent plan for a New Years Resolution,- just join Speakeasy!
It is a fact. X factor viewers have dropped by 50%. So says the National News. That is not so with Speakeasy Toastmasters Club. This Club is celebrating its 20th year in existence and we are happy to announce that we have 100% bums on our chairs in the comfortable atmosphere of the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow. What makes the Club so successful? We offer a night’s education disguised in an atmosphere of friendliness; good humour; and to wet your whistle we have tea/coffee and biscuits at half time. What do people who come get out of a night? We all know that public speaking is high on the stress scale, but that stress can be overcome after a term at Toastmasters. We have had men who came to hone their skills in order to impress the in laws with their “best man” or “father of the bride” speech. We had students who developed the confidence to excel at presentations, and we had numerous people who wanted to succeed at that all important interview. Added to that mix we had people of all ages and occupations who came because they enjoy all that Toastmasters has to offer.

On becoming a member the Toastmasters programme provides a wide range of professionally produced educational material on speaking. The Club provides group support, helpful advice and most importantly genuine friendship. We help one another.
Everyone works at his/her own pace. No pressure.

The meeting is in two parts. The prepared speeches are in the first half, and the second half is devoted to table topics and evaluations. The table topics give members an opportunity to think on their feet. Guests are not asked to speak. The speeches are evaluated by other Toastmasters. This teaches one how to listen to the speech and then give feed back to the speaker. Every member is provided with a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which they have an opportunity to develop communication and Leadership skills which in turn foster self confidence and personal growth. Opportunities are also available to improve ones listening skills by taking a job on the programme as timekeeper for the duration of the meeting. Accurate timekeeping is important. Speeches are allocated a specified time. This trains the speaker the importance of ‘stand up; speak up; sit down’. Knowing one has a limited time encourages them to use it to its maximum potential. Members also have an opportunity while enjoying a social night, to improve confidence, ability to hold a conversation, improve voice projection, and diction. There is an old Chinese Proverb which says
‘A single conversation across a table with a wise man
Is worth a month’s study of books.’

Another interesting fact is that meetings always have a top table and a podium, and all members can at some stage do the job of Toastmaster which is in fact the M.C. for the night. The topics master asks the impromptu questions from his/her position at the podium.
At the end of the meeting the evaluators give their analysis of the speeches at the podium, and the General Evaluator gives his opinion on the running of the meeting. These are all opportunities to make one better able to deal with situations in the workplace or deal with today’s teenagers in the home. Or to chair a meeting when asked to do so.

By now you must surely be convinced of the value of being a member of Speakeasy Toastmasters Club.!
Speakeasy's first meeting of 2013 is at 8pm on Thurs 10th at the Hibernian Hotel Mallow and every other Thursday after that, at 8pm, Hibernian Hotel.
Non members are very welcome to attend all meetings and will not be asked to speak
Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485.
"Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our
blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot.
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

The Christmas Bear and other yarns.

Speakeasy in recent times has created a Grammarian role at the meeting, a person whose role it is to look at use of English and optionally, choose a word too that they would like to see used. Advent was the word chosen this week by Grammarian for the night, Marie Fitzpatrick.

It was an apt choice, for this Christmas meeting, but also because the club for the second meeting running, heard 2 new members on the advent of their membership of Speakeasy, making their introductory speeches. Anne O’Donovan and David Roche both gave delightful entertaining speeches. Anne’s was full of enthusiasms and David is obviously good at planning because one reason he joined was to get the speech right for his daughters wedding, and she’s just 7 !. Marie had quoted from the Patrick Kavanagh poem, “Advent”, in introducing her word,- “Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder”, and Anne and David’s speeches were beautifully judged, in giving an interesting glimpse on their lives.

There were 2 other excellent speeches. Marie Lynes gave a fascinating account of how pagan symbolism around Christmas Time was adapted by early Christian saints to help explain their faith. And Marie told us of one more thing we must thank the Germans for,- the origin of the Christmas Tree. Marie’s speech was so informative and full of her hallmark humour. Mary Buckley continued the Christmas theme with a delightful delivery of an old Christmas story, “The Christmas Bear”.

Michael Cronin as Toastmaster introduced every speaker with a story he had garnered from their own Christmases past, which added to the festive atmosphere. The member who shall be nameless, whose story involved Santa going off with her babies bottle forever, stole the show with her tragic tale. Noel O’ Connor produced some very thought provoking topics like the comparison between the mind and an umbrella which provided some equally thought provoking answers.

Anne Buckley kept a close eye on the timekeeping duties and Pat Sexton as General Evaluator evaluated the meeting as a whole in an encouraging manner.
President Jerry Mulcahy welcomed the Area Governor, Michael Sheehan who addressed the meeting, explaining his role and praised Speakeasy for its welcoming atmosphere and the continuing vibrancy of the club.

Speakeasy Toastmasters extends warmest Christmas Greetings to All and invites you to join us for our next meeting, the first of 2013, on Thursday January 10th, 8pm, Hibernian Hotel.

Speakeasy toastmasters meets at 8pm Hibernian Hotel Mallow every other Thursday,
Non members are very welcome to attend all meetings and will not be asked to speak
Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485.
"Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our
blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

"The Real Leader Has No Need To Lead"

The real leader has no need to lead--
he is content to point the way.

Margaret O'Regan, the author of this article, is a very experienced toastmaster and has assumed many leadership roles in Toastmasters.

When you think of a leader what do you think of? Maybe what comes to mind is a larger-than-life individual in charge of some group, team, company or country? It may be someone who impresses you or not. We all know that leaders need special strategies to create loyalty, generate persuasive messages, and even create opportunities for others to take over leadership. How this is achieved is another matter. I've encountered many leaders who are to be avoided at all costs. In fact, I have worked with some of them. They are the kind who look like they'd tear you apart if you said something wrong. And indeed, some of them do just that. In thinking about what helps a leader in the "likeability" stakes, I've found that a very effective way to enhance leadership capability is to simply change the manner in which information is communicated and dare I say introduce a little humour, in other words lighten up.

Now least you are thinking what has this article got to do with toastmasters, well read on. Toastmasters are well known to be effective in developing communication skills, standing up and giving speeches and well able to throw in the bit of humour too. Humour being part and parcel of every toastmaster’s tool kit. One of the lesser known facts about toastmasters is that membership not only helps members to become more confident in speaking in public it also helps develop leadership skills. Good, strong and professional leadership skills. The leadership programme within toastmasters, like the communications programme lets the member progress at a speed that suits him or her.

Members learn leadership skills by taking on various meeting roles such as toastmaster (chairman), topics master or timekeeper. Members also learn immense leadership skills by taking on various officer ship roles within the club or the region such as treasurer, public relations officer or president. Taking on officer roles within toastmasters differs from other clubs or organisations as toastmasters has a learn-by-doing approach, members are not lectured about leadership skills; rather they are given responsibilities and mentoring to help them lead in their own style. A structure is in place to support all officers and training is provided. In undertaking meeting roles guidance, mentorship and evaluation is provided. Officer roles are rotated yearly and meeting roles are rotated at each meeting. It is easy to see then that all members get an opportunity to progress at the rate they are comfortable with.

The leadership track within toastmasters is built on;
1 Credibility – toastmasters has built its credibility by providing guidance materials to ensure members have the knowledge to do what needs to be done and set appropriate goals
2 Purpose – every step within the toastmaster’s programme has a clear sense of purpose. Add to this the drive and determination members have to overcome obstacles and the result is that the leader achieves his/her purpose.
3 Energy – because officers rotate yearly and meeting roles rotate at every meeting, a sense of vitality and newness is always present.
4 Motivating people - the ability to inspire people has always been a core element of the toastmaster ethos. This doesn’t mean being a grand orator, it means conveying passion for what you are trying to achieve and tailoring how you motivate people to their individual needs by including them in solving problems.
5 Interpersonal sensitivity - being diplomatic and tactful rather than blunt.
6 Team building - fostering a team spirit by sharing information, creating a sense of group identity (we're in this together attitude) and involving people in major decisions rather than giving the impression that you have all the answers
7 Planning and organizing. This includes delegating and trusting people rather than micromanaging them.
8 Communication - making expectations clear, seeking members input while listening attentively, standing up for important values and delivering on your promises.
9 Equipping people – nurturing the incoming and future leaders of the club that they can successfully take on leadership roles. The essence of this involves letting people learn from doing even when that involves learning from mistakes.
We live in a world that needs good and strong leaders. Regardless of whether you are an employer or an employee; retired, unemployed or a manager each of us can benefit from improving our leadership abilities. One does not have to be born with such skills, they can be learned and honed with practice and mentoring.

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. Our membership is 280,000 strong. These members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 13,500 clubs in 116 countries that make up our global network of meeting locations.

Membership in Toastmasters is one of the greatest investments you can make in yourself. It is also one of the most cost-effective skill-building tools available anywhere. More than 4 million people have discovered the benefits of this proven learning formula. What are you waiting for? If you want to develop or improve your leadership skills in a no pressure atmosphere promise yourself to visit us at our meetings which take place on alternate Thursday evening at 8pm in the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow. All welcome.

Next meeting is on tonight, December 13th.

Non members are very welcome to attend all meetings and will not be asked to speak
Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485.
"Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our
blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Icebreakers and Mind Maps

It is a special occasion for a toastmaster club when an icebreak speech is being made. This is when a new member makes their first speech, introducing themselves to the club. Speakeasy toastmasters are indeed flourishing when they had 2 icebreaker speeches this week and 2 more promised on our next meeting on Dec 13th. Pat Duggan as Toastmaster had the pleasure of introducing the speakers.

Tom O’Connor’s entertaining icebreaker speech featured a very humorous and vividly described anecdote from his childhood. His speech was evaluated by Jerry O’Callaghan. James Kelleher really awakened the curiosity of the audience with his passionate interest in motor rallys. His excellent speech was evaluated by Liam Flynn. Their participation in the club is warmly welcomed.

Their were 3 other speakers on the night. Bill Martin gave a fascinating speech on “mind mapping”, a technique that aids memory and brain function, with the glorious title, Mr Martin’s martian view of the brain. His speech was evaluated by Mary Moynihan. The objective of Tony O’Regan’s speech was to sell a product, and he achieved this effortlessly, maybe because he was selling his own home grown geese! Michael Cronin gave a very interesting historical speech about a local “first lady”, -Eliza Lynch, who in the 19th century travelled to South America amongst other places and was a famous consort. His speech was evaluated by Jerry Mulcahy.

Claire O’Connell produced an eclectic and entertaining list of topics in her role as topics master and got a great response from the audience.

Ronan Condon had the task of General Evaluator whose main job is to evaluate the evaluators, but also to assess the meeting as a whole.

Bridie 0’Connell as grammarian gave positive feedback on the use of English in the meeting. Mary Buckley, though she declared herself distracted by the superb quality of the speeches, performed the time keeping duties well.
The President Jerry Mulcahy, thanked all involved for the success of the Inter Schools Public Speaking Contest last week.

All were warmly welcomed to the meeting by guest greeters, Marie Lynes, Mary Moynihan, and Ronan Condon.

Speakeasy toastmasters meets at 8pm Hibernian Hotel Mallow every other Thursday. Next meeting is the very special Christmas meeting on Dec 13th
Non members are very welcome to attend all meetings and will not be asked to speak
Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485.
"Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our
blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Speak Easy Toastmasters Schools Contest 2012

All were warmly welcomed to the Inter Schools Public Speaking Contest by Speakeasy President Jerry Mulcahy. The contest was chaired by Mary Buckley.

Mr Tom Cronin, President of Mallow Credit Union presented the Credit Union Perepetual Trophy to the winners, and Ms Teresa Gore presented the Hibernian Trophy. However all the wonderful young people who participated in the annual Inter-Schools Contest were winners. It was the 7th year of the contest and as Mr Cronin expressed at the presentation, it was a pleasure to be in the audience.

St Mary’s Secondary School, Charleville participated for the first time and their students Deirdre Costello and Esther Cahill gave us pause for thought in their speech topics. Deirdre looked at genetically modified food and Esther critiqued Irish youth and their interest in world poverty.

Scoil Mhuire Kanturk's students were Siobhan Gillies and Helena Egan. Siobhan examined our attitudes to mental health problems and Helena questioned our dependency on the television as the chief source of leisure.

Representing St. Mary’s Secondary School, Mallow, were Lena Diedrich and Fiona Long. Lena, a German exchange, student described the experience, in her charming speech. Fiona did make us laugh in a speech about public speaking.

Davis College were represented by Patrick Greaney and Alan O‘Keefe. Patrick gave a humorous account of Irish people and their strangely high ranking in happiness surveys! Alan gave an amusing analysis of the development of Irish technology in the leisure life of the Irish child.

The Patrician Academy was represented by Alex Notter. Alex gave a most thought provoking speech on Global Warming.

Sharon O' Brien representing Nagle Rice School in Doneraile, definitely convinced us of the usefulness of Transition Year.

The students from the six schools provided an absorbing and entertaining evening and there was great support for each speaker. In the interval as we waited for the result, Kieran Butler chaired an entertaining topics session.

The judges had a difficult task to pick winners!
The individual speaking prize went to Fiona Long of St Mary's Secondary School Mallow.
Second prize went to Alan O'Keefe of Davis College.
Third prize went Helena Egan of Scoil Mhuire, Kanturk
The School winners were Davis College, Mallow

The occasion has yet again provided such pleasure and inspiration to all involved.

Speakeasy toastmasters meets at 8pm Hibernian Hotel Mallow every other Thursday, next meeting is on tonight! Thurs, Nov 29th.
Non-members are most welcome and will not be asked to speak.
Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485.
"Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our
blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com
.

Blood, Sweat and Pensions

This week saw another interesting and entertaining evening at Speakeasy Toastmasters. Firstly the President Jerry Mulcahy acknowledged the achievement of Speakeasy member, Pat Sexton in coming second in the International Topics Contest, which this year was held in Garryvoe on November 10th. He also reminded the audience of that great annual event, the Inter Schools Public Speaking Contest which will be held tonight Nov 22nd at 8pm in the Hibernian Hotel and is eagerly awaited. From the serious problem of what is national identity and how to maintain it, to the absolute necessity of having an imaginary companion, if in the situation where you have to eat oatmeal alone, -there was great scope in the content of the 5 great speeches. Rhona Coughlan led the way with a challenging and fresh look at national identity. Pat Sexton evaluated Rhona s speech Dave Clarke gave solid advice in a humorous manner on the pitfalls of plane travel and how to avoid them. Marie Lynes evaluated Dave's speech. Mary Moynihan in a story with the delightful title, “Blood, Sweat and Pensions, took us back to Civil War times and a tale about the Flying Columns as they were called. Pat Connoly evaluated Mary's speech Michael Dineen amazed everyone with a talk about centre of gravity. Using his knowledge, he kept an audience volunteer sitting in his chair with one finger on his forehead as an example of the force of the centre of a persons gravity. He then demonstrated how one can help a person stand without the need for lifting by using their centre of gravity. Michael Cronin evaluated Michael's speech Bridie O Connell gave a deliciously witty reading from a poem by Galway Kinell, where he suggests the need for an imaginary companion when eating porridge. In his case he suggests John Keats, who is probably ok but I suggest that the reading of Oatmeal by Mr Kinnell himself would definitely aid the digestion. Liam Flynn evaluated Bridie's speech Sean Corcoran evaluated the evaluators and the meeting as a whole, giving all positive feedback and encouragement. Our evening at Speakeasy was greatly enhanced by the efforts of Kieran Butler as Topicsmaster. James Kelleher kept a watchful eye on the timing of all contributions which is an integral part of toastmaster meetings. Pat Duggan as Ah Counter gave a humorous analysis of our usage of grammar. All were warmly welcomed by guest greeters, Marie Lynes, Mary Moynihan and Ronan Condon. Speakeasy toastmasters meets at 8pm Hibernian Hotel Mallow every other Thursday, next meeting is on Nov 29th Schools Contest tonight, November 22nd 8pm, Hibernian Hotel. Non members are very welcome to attend all meetings and will not be asked to speak Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

School's Speech Contest 2012

Mary Buckley, who 6 years ago saw the opportunity available to enhance the educational life of teenagers by facilitating a public speaking contest, invites you to this years contest. “Life is an opportunity,- benefit from it,”-this is what we offer our young people in Toastmasters. One of the highlights of the Speakeasy Toastmaster calender year is the Inter-schools public speaking competition, which is now in its seventh year. With the help and support of the Mallow Credit Union, who generously sponsor the event annually and provide the Credit Union Perpetual Trophy and the Hibernian Hotel who also provide a trophy, we are enabled to continue to host this competition, which is going from strength to strength. This competition first began in 2006 with the three second level schools in Mallow competing and “from small acorns mighty oaks do grow”. This year we have seven schools interested in competing, which includes the three second level schools in Mallow, -St Mary's secondary School, Davis College and the Patrician Academy and also schools from the surrounding areas. The Mallow Credit Union continues to recognise and support our work. Club members are willing and available to go into the schools to mentor and help the students to prepare for this contest. This has proven very successful. We believe that every child deserves a chance- and in Toastmasters we offer an opportunity and a platform for building self-confidence and self esteem in an encouraging and motivating environment. Confidence is a precious talent. We believe it is the key to success. Some people have it naturally, but for others, yes, it can be acquired. One of our youngest club members to date was a former school contestant. Today Kieran is a confident speaker and a very enthusiastic club member, and while speaking to UCC student, Kieran Butler recently, he informed me that from his own personal experiences Toastmaster is a great way for young people to find their voice, and to learn express their opinions clearly. He also said it is a very useful skill to have and the more you practice it, the more beneficial it becomes, especially when faced with interviews or even in the workplace. Yes, it is our belief in Toastmasters that by starting early, young people will acquire an ease with communication skills and public speaking which will stand to them in their oral examination and presentations in later life. Back in 2010 at our divisional conference in Dublin one of the keynote speakers from the UK encouraged all present to reach out to others in our local communities and in our schools and set up more Toastmasters groups. This in return can help to alleviate some social problems. In Speakeasy Toastmasters we believe in ourselves, and that w good self esteem and good communication skills, are a powerful academic tool which we would like all young people to have as they journey on their chosen careers. This is why we organise this competition each year. We invite you all to come along at 8pm on November22nd at the Hibernian Hotel Mallow and get a flavour of what our amazing talented young people have to offer,- a night of entertainment, education, and fun not to be missed. Speakeasy toastmasters next meets at 8pm Hibernian Mallow every other Thursday, next meeting is on tonight! Nov 15th. Guests are most welcome and are never asked to speak. Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Languages and Scallions

This week at Speakeasy, an informative and thought provoking meeting was presided over by Toastmaster for the night, Angela Sheehan, with her usual warmth. The evening began with a lively topics session. Mary Moynihan was Topicsmaster and kept members on their toes with a variety of topics, from Halloween to anti social behaviour. Non members need never worry at topics session. They will never be asked to speak but are very welcome to if they should wish to do so. There were four speeches. Club President Jerry Mulcahy gave an absorbing speech about food. He took us back in time to the “Emergency”, or World War Two, when food was rationed and many people survived through tending to plots of ground and growing their own vegetables. It was fascinating social history to hear how the “eye” of the potato was carefully planted in spring. There was no waste, the rest of the potato was eaten. The eyes or “scillains”, were watched over carefully and protected from blight and frost till time for the first harvest in July. It was a thing of pride and honour for people to produce their own food and maybe a way of life many are returning to now. Jerry O’Callaghan evaluated Jerry’s speech. Kieran Butler, in a speech called, “Languages and the urgency of Now”, gave a very interesting, and humorous speech on the need for Irish people to develop language skills to help our economy and bring us more in line with our European neighbours. He really made his point when he went “interactive” and thought us all a few words of Chinese!, Nihao Kieran! Pat Sexton evaluated Kieran’s speech. Cait Murray made a case for listening to Classical music, its benefits, and ideas on help to be got for the Classical convert. Marie Fitzpatrick evaluated Cait’s speech. Margaret O’Regan gave a very amusing speech entitled, “I knew things had changed when …”. Margaret, used very funny personal anecdotes, to show how the world moves on. Pat Duggan evaluated Margaret’s speech. Ray Ryan ably evaluated the meeting as a whole. Bridie O’Connell looked after the job of timing the speeches and the contributors to the topics session. Claire O’ Connell gave a humorous account of how she felt we all did with regard to our grammar. All were warmly welcomed to the meeting by Marie Lynes, Ronan Condon and Mary Moynihan as Sergeant at Arms. A special congratulations was made at the meeting to Pat Sexton who having won the Division A final in the topics competition, will now represent the Division at the District Final where clubs from Great Britain and Ireland compete, to be held in Garryvoe Hotel on Sat 10th November next. Coming soon on the 22nd of November will be a highlight of the club year, the annual schools contest, for the Mallow Credit Union Perpetual Trophy, -not to be missed. Speakeasy toastmasters meets at 8pm Hibernian Hotel Mallow every other Thursday, next meeting is on Nov 15th. Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Feedback is a gift

“Feedback should always be accepted for what it is – a gift. Too often; though, it’s deployed as a weapon. Deliver it with care, accept it with appreciation. Anne Buckley, a long term member of Speakeasy Toastmasters, describes the value of positive feedback as part of the toastmasters meeting. Effective constructive feedback is critical to most areas of our lives, but is particularly critical to the lifeblood of Toastmaster meetings. Feedback or evaluation as it is called is what keeps members coming back to meetings and prevents the onset of mental rust and complacency. It is equally important for new members as they depend on evaluations for information, help and development. The process of evaluation separates Toastmasters International from other organisations offering public speaking or speech coaching. Criticism is easy; we hear it all the time, in every walk of life. Criticism is negative. Being critical almost sounds like a put down. Evaluation on the other hand considers the value and adds positivity as well as offering helpful solutions for improvement. As speakers we all need helpful and appropriate suggestions. Clearly evaluators; the people giving feedback play a vital role in Toastmasters. The evaluator needs to find words of praise for the good elements of the speech and offer words of help and encouragement in identifying areas for improvement. To give the best review you can, it is important to consider the speakers goals as well as the official evaluation guide. It is important to praise the aspects of the speech that were particularly good and explain why as well as to offer your suggestions and provide examples as to how these changes could be made. Evaluators must always remember that these suggestions are their own personal opinion and others may not necessarily agree with them. Some people are hesitant to give feedback particularly if they feel the speaker has more experience then they themselves do but remember that this is your own opinion and too many members discount the value of their own ideas. As we get used to listening to speeches we develop critical thinking skills and we hear at a much deeper level hence it is easier to analyse a particular presentation or assignment. I certainly remember my first evaluation and the constructive feedback I received in those early days helped me remedy my many nervous reactions. Our Toastmasters Mallow branch has a warm, friendly atmosphere and our members have found that they overcame nerves, gained tremendous confidence and assertiveness and were able to motivate their fellow workers. We all live in a very hectic busy world. Between family, work and social commitments, it is easy to get exhausted and believe professional development, communication skills and gaining confidence is a mammoth task. This is not the case. Why not come along to a Toastmaster meeting and see if it is for you? If you are looking to improve your speaking and leadership skills, meet new people or just come for a new experience, you’ve come to the right place! For those of you who may still be slightly hesitant about paying us a visit, I will leave you with a short poem; Come To The Edge.....Come to the edge ......Life said.....We might fall ............they said, Come to the edge ......Life said..... It’s too high COME TO THE EDGE And they came, And Life pushed them, And they flew. A version; original by Christopher Logue. Speakeasy toastmasters next meets at 8pm Hibernian Mallow every other Thursday, next meeting is on Nov 15th. Guests are most welcome and are never asked to speak. Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Everyday Heroes

Positivity abounded at this weeks Speakeasy Toastmaster meeting, chaired by Pat Connolly as Toastmaster who joined President Jerry Mulcahy and Topicsmaster Rhona Coughlan at the top table. Ronan Condon, in a speech entitled ‘ Everyday Heroes and Heroines’ encouraged us not to be engulfed by all the negativity around us but to focus on the positive aspects of human nature. He described the wonderful achievements of some everyday heroes who were honoured recently in the People of the Year Awards. He reminded us that we still live in amazing world. His speech was truly inspirational. His speech was evaluated by Mary Moynihan Marie Fitzpatrick described the origin and development of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. We learnt of the growth of the attraction of Fleadh Ceoils since the first small gathering in Mullingar in 1951. She described how many local Comhaltas branches, throughout the country, encourage groups of young people to play Irish traditional music and so have kept it alive. Her interesting speech was accompanied by visual slides and a little music. Marie’s speech was evaluated by Liam Flynn In the opening of his speech, Pat Sexton citing the lyrics of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen suggested that occasionally song lyrics can be regarded as poetry. He chose, however, the work of the Canadian, Joni Mitchell to demonstrate his point. In her powerful poem on Ethiopia she uses the word’ Ethiopia’ almost like a mantra. He also read her very insightful poem ‘The Magdalene Laundries’ written in 1995. He certainly convinced his audience that these lyrics were worthy of the title poetry.Pat’s speech was evaluated by Margaret O’Regan. Brian O’Farrell was a very welcome guest from the Fermoy club. He gave an extremely humorous speech on the subject of Internet security. He described a world full of ridiculous passwords. He contrasted the legacy he would leave to be researched, full of tweets, texts and Internet files to that of his great- grandfather whose signature appears on the 1901 Census. We have been warned! Michael Cronin evaluated. Rhona Coughlan as Topicsmaster for the evening introduced a very large range of entertaining topics which ranged from morning grouches and Superhero outfits, to the more serious question of an armed police force. The essential evaluation part of the meeting was chaired by Tony O'Regan. Anne Buckley kept an eye on the standard of English in use, in her role as Ah Counter. All contributions were timed, by Ray Ryan as timekeeper. All were warmly welcomed to the meeting by guest greeters Speakeasy toastmasters next meets at 8pm Hibernian Mallow every other Thursday, next meeting is on Nov 1st. Guests are most welcome and are never asked to speak. Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Why am I in Toastmasters? by Noel O'Connor

Noel O’Connor has been in Speakeasy Toastmasters from the start and is still enjoying it. Why am I in Toastmasters? I joined Speakeasy Toastmasters when it started in Mallow 20 years ago. The time has really flown but as the saying goes time flies when you are enjoying yourself and that is true in Toastmasters. Toastmasters is really a fantastic social outlet. There are members from all walks of life from farmers, students, and retired people to every role that you could think of. We have members from Castletownroche through Mallow back as far as Boherbue and Millstreet and as far south as Blarney. Not forgetting the natives of the Kingdom of Kerry who are very valued members. The meetings last for two hours starting at 8pm and finishing at 10pm which is suitable for people who have to get in baby sitters as they know it will be over at 10pm every night. At every meeting you have a different Toastmaster and topics master and four or five different speakers. This gives great variety to the meetings as the speeches can be about any thing from the humorous to the educational to story telling. In the second half of the meeting topics are given out by the topics master and members try to talk on the subject for two minutes with no preparation, during this a lot of banter goes on adding to the enjoyment. When a person joins toastmasters their first speech is normally about themselves after this they can pick any topic but try to carry out some criteria like hand gestures or persuade people to do something. People can come as guests and enjoy the meetings without becoming members. If you join toastmasters it will give you more confidence to speak even though it may be nerve wrecking at the time. Afterwards there is a great sense of achievement.. After a person gives a speech another member evaluates them and gives them ideas on how they might be able to improve. It is this method of helping each other that makes toastmasters so great. So if you get a chance come and see what happens at Toastmasters and enjoy a good night out. Speakeasy toastmasters next meets at 8pm Hibernian Mallow every other Thursday, next meeting is on Nov 1st. Guests are most welcome and are never asked to speak. Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

"Deadly Funny" Speak Easy's Humorous Speakers

It was indeed deadly funny, and this week with his account of the preparations for a wake in bygone days, Liam Flynn won the honour of representing Speakeasy Toastmasters at the Area final in the Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown on Tuesday 16th October 8pm. Claire O Connell gave a witty original account of what is currently regarded as “fabulous,“ not forgetting the pre-fab and wanna be fab! There were many wry smiles at Mary Moynihans’ clever depiction of the “driving test blues.” Kindness itself at the end, the examiner asked the applicant if they needed a drive home… Pat Connolly regaled us with a lovely tale of how the high jinks of youth can put us on the road of personal discovery. No audience member will ever look at flag day collecting in quite the same way after Michael Cronins hilarious and unique take on that experience and the well acknowledged bounty of the Irish people. There was plenty of wit also in the topics contest, the topic being, -”what aspect of your personality do you value most?”. Pat Sexton, Sean Corcoran, Pat Duggan and Liam Flynn, bravely held forth on their virtues and Pat Sexton will represent Speakeasy at the Area Final. The winners of the Area Final then go on to the Division A Final in the Oriel Hotel Ballincollig on October 21st. Speakeasy was honoured by the visit of the Area Governor, Michael Sheehan, who was warmly welcomed by our President Jerry Mulcahy. Bridie O Connell was a very relaxed topics master for the evening. Jerry O’Callaghan performed the important timekeeper duties. Proceedings as a whole were ably chaired by Division Governor Ray Ryan as Contest Chair. Anne Buckley supervised the judging, with Rona Coghlan and Ronan Condon counting votes. As usual all were warmly welcomed to the meeting by Marie Lyons, Ronan Condon and Mary Moynihan, our sergeant at arms, or guest greeters. Speakeasy toastmasters meets at 8pm,Hibernian Hotel Mallow on every second Thursday night, next meeting is on October 18th. Guests are most welcome and are never asked to speak. Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Kieran's Story

Kieran Butler joined Speakeasy Toastmasters after participating in the annual schools contest. As he explains,-it was a good idea. Imagine you are standing at a podium in front of a large audience. You are nervous, so nervous that you forget what you are going to say, you stand there motionless, the awkward silence deafening. Sounds nightmarish doesn’t it? So many of us view the thought of speaking in front of a crowd as a task to be shied away from, avoided. We feel that if we speak in public we will make a mistake, embarrass ourselves. These fears are normal. But isn’t it a pity when we have something to say but can’t because we are too nervous, isn’t it disempowering? Speaking in front of an audience and feeling anxious is normal, and guess what some of the greatest public speakers in history, were incredibly nervous before they went on stage to give a speech Some years ago I came across a book by Dale Carnegie, How to Develop Self Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking, London, 1990. On reading this I learned that some of the most famous orators in history, Lloyd George, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Stewart Parnell, all were very nervous before addressing an audience. Parnell in particular used to suffer from such intense anxiety prior to a speech, that he clenched his fists so hard that it would cause his fingernails to sink into his palms until his palms bled. Now I know that is an exceptional case, the point is that regardless of who we are all of us feel anxious and a bit self-conscious before giving a speech especially if we haven’t given one before. Toastmasters is the place to go if you want to overcome your fears about public speaking and learn how to feel calm and confident in front of a crowd whether it be at conference, a party a wedding. Speakeasy Toastmasters is a warm and welcoming club. I felt that warmth the first time I attended a meeting. The Club is ready to extend a very warm welcome to guests and always ready to offer encouragement and support to those who want to improve their public speaking abilities. A Speakeasy Toastmasters meeting is an enriching environment where you can broaden your horizons and augment your skills. It’s a place where you can enjoy yourself, have a chat around a cup of tea/coffee and make great friends. Speakeasy toastmasters meets at 8pm Hibernian Mallow on every second Thursday night, next meeting is on October 18th. Guests are most welcome and are never asked to speak. Contact Jerry 0863752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

A Chip Eating Cow without Papers

Next Thursday, October 4th, Speakeasy Toastmasters will host the Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest, with a bumper line up.Eight contestants in the Speech contest, and five in that challenging Topics Contest. However this week there was already plenty of humour in evidence at our club meeting. Marie Fitzpatrick as Toastmaster chaired the meeting with warmth and wit, putting all at ease.She joined our President Jerry Mulcahy at the top table and Pat Sexton who was the Topicsmaster for the night. Rona Coghlan gave a charming, funny speech on what happens when that idyllic fantasy of growing ones own veg meets with reality. Jerry O'Callaghan had the audience in the palm of his hand as they followed his "after dinner speech" celebrating Speakeasy's 20th anniversary that somehow or other brought him back to his childhood and winning that mystery prize at the carnival, a chip eating cow without papers ,who chased the guard and taught the townie a lesson on the right and wrong way to pull a cow.! Marie Lynes gave a beautiful, moving speech reflecting on the experience of the Irish diaspora. Considering the "Gathering" to be held in 2013, in honour of the diaspora, she called on us all to "put ourselves in their shoes". Anne Buckley's speech was a tribute to Dr Edward Jenner, who discovered the smallpox vaccine, and Anne gave us a very interesting account of subsequent vaccines developed. Ray Ryan gave a very informative speech on using the Linked in website to advertise ones cv and ones professional image. After the break for refreshments, Pat Sexton gave out an innovative selection of topics based on song lyrics. Pat Connolly ably took over the evaluation part of the meeting where the speeches are evaluated and the meeting as a whole is assessed. Mary Buckley as grammarian commented on the standard of English usage and praised our efforts. All were warmly welcomed to the meeting tonight by our guest greeters or Sergeant at Arms,- Mary Moynihan, Marie Lynes and Ronan Condon. Do join us at our Humourous Speaking Contest on next Thurs 4th October at 8pm Hibernian Hotel, Mallow Guests are most welcome and will not be asked to speak. Website: www.speakeasytoastmasters.com or contact Jerry on 08673752895 or Noel on 0872427485. Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot.ie/"

A truly international organisation

A truly international organisation. Knowing that there are Toastmasters clubs in many countries across the world and that a member would be welcome to visit any one of them, it has always been my intention to test this hospitality. The opportunity came on a visit to New Zealand in 2008. With a population of 4.4 million and almost 200 toastmasters clubs scattered throughout the country it is ranked number one in the world for number of clubs per 100,000 populations. Ireland is ranked number two. With this in mind we calculated that on any one night of our two week drive from the northern most corner of the North Island to the southernmost tip of the South Island we would surely be close to a club meeting at least once. This is where modern technology and the answer to all questions, the World Wide Web, came in handy. The Wavecrest Toastmasters club meets on Monday nights in St. Kilda’s Community Hall, Victoria Road, Dunedin and we were in that locality on Monday 5th April 2008 so we decided to give it a go. The plan was to find the location, be on time and slip in quietly to the back of the room where we may not be noticed. The first two parts of the plan worked well but as for not being noticed we may as well have had visitor written on our foreheads for everyone to see. In true Toastmasters fashion as soon as we arrived we were made feel welcome and important. It’s not often that they get visiting members from the other side of the world. The room was arranged in boardroom style so there was nowhere to hide. We were both given tasks to perform during the meeting and participated fully in the topics session. The format of the meeting was similar to any Toastmasters meeting at this side of the world. The speeches dealt with similar topics to what you would hear in Ireland and as for the humour and banter during the Topics session you may as well be in the HIB on any Thursday night at a Speakeasy meeting. The male versus female sparring match is as healthy there as it is here. Personal stories of human triumph over adversity, humorous stories of everyday incidents kept us hanging on every word. The tea break was friendly and talkative. The atmosphere and enthusiasm was infectious and we left the meeting that night with a more accurate impression of New Zealand people than you would find at any of the tourist spots or hotels. In the words of Paul McCartney “people are the same where ever you go” Speakeasy toastmasters next meeting at 8pm Hibernian Mallow on Thursday 4th October Contact Jerry 0873752895,or Noel 0872427485. "Follow us on Facebook "Speak Easy Toastmasters", on Twitter "@speakeasytm" and on our blog "http://speakeasytm.blogspot. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Banjos and Lost in Translation

Club President Jerry Mulcahy set the stage for this opening meeting of the 20th season of Speakeasy Toastmasters this week, with a warm welcoming. address. The Toastmaster for the meeting was Tony O’Regan who ably introduced the speakers and explained the running of the meeting and the duties of the officers of the meeting for the benefit of the many guests. There were 5 speakers all speaking from different manuals. Margaret O’Regan was first up, with a glorious exposition on miscommunication, aptly called Lost in Translation. Bill Martin using powerpoint with great effect gave a very useful speech on fuel efficiency. Mary Moynihan displayed the art of story telling with a story about facing challenges in life. We were then thoroughly entertained by Michael Buckley , a guest speaker from the Crusaders Toastmasters in Cork with his speech on the inequality between the sexes. Last but definitely not least, Sean Corcoran accompanied by his banjos, had the crowd in stitches with a speech about his relationship with them down the years,… you’d have had to be there. After a very sociable break for refreshments the topics master , Cait, Murray gave out topics.. The contributions by the audience are timed by the Timekeeper on this occasion,- Bridie O‘ Connell. Two minutes. is allowed and if another member wants to add on to what has been said,- usually to contradict it has to be said,!- they are allowed 1 minute. Guests are never asked to speak but very welcome to if they wish. The banter was entertaining Jean Sayers , our General Evaluator for the evening gave her opinion on the general running of the meeting and. carefully assessed the evaluations of the speeches, provided by Pat Duggan, Anne Buckley, Liam Flynn, Michael Cronin, and Noel O, Connor respectively. The grammarian on the night, Kieran Butler commented on the good phrases used in all the contributions. All were warmly welcomed to the meeting tonight by our guest greeters or Sergeant at Arms,- Mary Moynihan, Marie Lynes and Ronan Condon. Our next meeting will be at 8pm on 20th September at the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow. Guests are most welcome and will not be asked to speak. Website: www.speakeasytoastmasters.com or contact Jerry on 0873752895 or Noel on 0872427485.

President's Welcome

Speakeasy Toastmasters President Jerry Mulcahy offers you an invitation to join us, every other Thursday night, 8pm in the Hibernian Hotel from Sept 6th. Autumn is upon us at least that’s what it feels like. I know you will ask where did the summer go, -that is the question on everybodys lips. School holidays spoilt, no picnics on the beach, no country walks, and that suntan you were looking forward to, well it just didn’t happen, unless you were one of the lucky ones that hopped on a plane and went abroad. If that’s what you did, good luck to you. For those of us who stayed at home, all is not lost, - we will have toastmasters to brighten up our evenings. Every other Thursday night at 8pm in the Hi Bi, -at least four speeches all from different manuals, plus a topic session, where everybody chips in. It’s the fun part of the evening. The night finishes up with four evaluations, that’s the part you don’t want to miss. Don’t let the chance go. Drop in- you will be most welcome.

Speak Easy Toastmasters are back

Hello again. Summer is almost over and it is almost time to start thinking of what to do for the long evenings. This year, why not try something different? Whether you are unemployed, a student,a professional, a stay-at-home parent or retiree, Toastmasters is the best way to build great communication skills. You will learn how to successfully organize and present your ideas and yourself. Toastmasters will give you the skills and confidence you need to effectively express yourself in any situation. A Toastmasters club is not a classroom, it is a workshop where members meet once a fortnight to learn communication skills, such as how to speak with confidence, think on your feet, listen effectively, make new friends and, most importantly, to enjoy themselves. Speak Easy Toastmasters Club is affiliated to Toastmasters International which has over 10,500 clubs worldwide with almost a quarter of a million members and in Mallow Speak Easy Toastmasters meet on alternate Thursday nights at 8pm sharp, from September to May. This is a special year for Speakeasy Toastmasters, as this year marks our 20th anniversary. To mark this, in the interval between our usual account of our fortnightly meetings, this column will present articles by our members on aspects of their experience as members of Speakeasy. Guests are most welcome to attend our meetings and for as often as they like, so why not come along as our guest on Thursday September 6th and see what we are about? Don’t worry, guests attending a Toastmasters meeting are never asked to speak. Further information on Speak Easy Toastmasters can be had by visiting our constantly updated website at www.speakeasytoastmasters .com

Final Meeting, May

Speakeasy Toastmasters held their last meeting of the season on 31st May. We had six very interesting speeches. Bridget Breen gave the first speech called take action. This was a very motivational speech. Bridget told us that we all have goals and dreams. If we are waiting for things to happen we are only wasting time. She told us don’t be putting things off because of fear of failure. Bridget said that it is never too late to start doing something about our dreams and goals. She then went on to tell us about the hard decision that she and her husband had to make after he lost his job and they have decided to move to Australia. This came as a shock to all of us and we were saddened because we will be losing a good friend and active member The next speech was by Kieran Butler called listen to me. In this he asked us to know what does G.N.P. measure, he told us money and everything superficial .He asked us to reflect on what has true value. He outlined how society had gained a lot of money but had lost a lot of its values. Kieran said that having enough is important. He then posed the question to us are we going to change things. He asked us to think about this to discover what is really important decide what to do and act. The next speech was from Bridie O Connell called who am I. This was all about family trees. Bridie asked us to think about every member of the tree and what were they really like not just what was on the records. Bridie outlined that history has a habit of repeating itself such as family disputes. If we try to understand what went on from all sides it might help us not to make the same mistakes again. We should acknowledge what happened understand why, and forgive. We should look at our family trees as being full of nuts. She ended with a nice quote from Mark Twain” I spent a lot of money researching my family tree and double that amount keeping it secret”. The fourth speech was by Jerry Mulcahy called from quest to president. Jerry asked us the question to know why we came back to toastmasters after we came the first night. He went through all the good aspects of toastmasters and how it helps member’s confidence to give speeches and evaluate. He then went on to outline the various roles in toastmasters and the enjoyment members get from it. Sean Corcoran then gave a very touching and emotive story about a friend of his that he went to school with. The story was called Jimmy . The last speech was from Brian McLoughlin called the edge. This was a very humours speech in which he told us of his work as a psychotherapist and what he would do to make people happy. As this is our last meeting of the season we won’t be meeting again until September .I hope that you will join us then as an enjoyable night out. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Meeting and AGM Report

Speakeasy toastmasters had their AGM on 17th May. It started off with two speeches. The first from Michael Dineen called the laptop. In this humorous speech we learned what can go wrong if you don’t have your work on your computer backed up. He outlined three rules .First backup every thing .Second check that it is backed up before you clear away source .Third check that you have carried out rule 1 and 2. The second speech was from Pat Sexton called a modest proposal .In this speech he outlined all the good work that is carried out by the Hospice service and their need for fund raising to carry out this good work. We then had a topic session led by Pat Connolly. This was followed by the AGM where the President Tony O Regan thanked all those who helped through out the year. He thanked Jean Sayers for her work in making the club successful as EVP. He expressed his gratitude to Bridget Breen, Ray Ryan and Liam Flynn for organizing the room and looking after the door for the year. Mary Moynihan was thanked for her secretarial work. Cait Murray for her work in signing up members for the year and it was great to see so many new members. He thanked Bill Martin for his work as treasurer. Noël O Connor for his pro work. The officers for the coming year are. President Jerry Mulcahy. EVP Noel O Connor. PRO Cait Murray .Membership Bill Martin. Secretary Bridget Breen. Treasurer Liam Flynn. Sergeant at arms Marie Lynes, Mary Moynihan and Ronan Condon. The next meeting is on Thursday 31st May at 8pm in the Hi Bi every one is welcome. www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Old Hat, Choppers, Weddings and Optical Illusions.

Speakeasy toastmasters had a very enjoyable meeting on 3rd May. The first talk on the night was from Liam Flynn called a lot of old hat. Which was all about hats of all shapes and nationalities? We learned that a hat could determine our status and nationality. We got a demonstration of French, Australian, North African and English hats not forgetting the Irish cap. We learned how some people have a head for a hat and how the hat could make the man. The second speech was from Rhona Coughlan called give it a go .In this Rhona tried to inspire us to go for a flying lesson in a helicopter. We got a very humours account of her first flying lesson in Cork in which she had to stay away from the main runway in case Michael O Leary got a hissy fit if one of his planes got delayed. Rhona said to book today and have the time of your life tomorrow. Claire O Connell gave us a demonstration of optical illusions. We learned that there is evidence that these go back to before 350bc and even down through the years they were even used in war. She had examples to show that we did not see what we thought we saw. The last speech was from Bill Martin called the best man. He gave the best man speech at a wedding on the night we had Tony O Regan and Bridget Breen standing in for the Bride and groom. We found out lots about the groom from all their ventures around the world back to their days in short pants in the cubs and how the groom’s height led them to have a run in with the law. After the tea break we had a very lively topic session led by Michael Dineen The next meeting is on Thursday 17th May in the Hi Bi at 8pm every one is welcome

From Dracula to bicycles

The speakeasy toastmasters meeting on 19th April was very enjoyable. The first speech was from Angela Sheehan in which she out lined the life of Graham Stoker. We heard about his work and writings and how his book Dracula created the legend. She said that he should be acknowledged more for being a great Irish writer. The second speech was from Mary Moynihan called Patience. In this we heard how she had the perfect day planned, getting her hair done and going to a party. As it turned out Mary had to go on a shopping trip with her sister and ended up being late for the party. After a very humours account of the mishaps of the day and journey we were all surprised to find out that it was a surprise party for herself. After this an award was given to Margaret O Regan for having achieved being a distinguished toastmaster. This was given by Tony O Regan in a presentation called what the courier brought. In the talk Tony outlined all Margaret’s work and commitment to toastmasters. The next speech was by Ronan Condon called get on your bike. He told us that there was resurgence in cycling and that he had a lot of experience of cycling in Dublin. When he moved to Mallow he went from cycling from Mallow to Kilavullen to a sixty kilometre cycle two years ago to 120 kilometres last year and a 160 kilometre this year and he encouraged us all to start and enjoy it. The last speech was an impromptu speech from Ray Ryan in which he had to prepare five speeches and to give one on the night .The topic Milton Freeman was drawn and he gave a very detailed speech giving all his economic views and how he influenced the world The next meeting of speakeasy toastmasters is on Thursday 3rd May in Hi Bi at 8 pm every one welcome www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Contest Time

Congratulations to Tony O Regan who won the area final of the International speech contest and Pat Sexton who won the Evaluation contest in Charliville on9th April. There was a toastmasters meeting on 4thApril.There was a great variety of speeches. We had a very informative talk from Michael Dineen on strokes and what to look out for and do if you find someone getting a stroke. The second speech was from Marie Fitzpatrick on the ad vantages of making your brown bread .She outlined that we are at a loss with the closure of all the small bakeries with their variety of quality breads.
Next we had a very interesting speech from Declan Curtis on his studding and work in England called the inner child. He found that to work best with children you have to find your inner child and in doing so it also made him feel more at ease with himself. He came up with the idea that for most happiness we should walk hand in hand with our inner child.
The next speech was by Bill Martin called I hate H.R.This was a very humorous speech about his work on oil tankers and the things that can go wrong and how HR people some times don’t help
The last speech was a very colourful speech by a guest speaker from Galtee toastmasters Mary Meaney. It was the life story of her father Mick Meaney who got the world title for being buried alive about his life from Ballyporeen to working in England and back again.
Next meeting is on 19th April at 8pm in the HI Bi
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Shut Up And Listen

On 22nd March speakeasy toastmasters held their International Speech and Evaluation contests. There were five contestants in each contest. The first speech was from Pat Connolly called the power of one; this was about the history of the Special Olympics. The main theme was that we all have the power to change the world around us.
The second speech was from Bridget Breen called Shut up and listens. This explained the difference between the male and female brain and was very humours .
The third speech was by Liam Flynn called The anvil of Life. This was about the kitchen table and all of life that goes on around it. He outlined that it was the hearth of the home and that children got a broad education around it where ideas were matured in the family.
The fourth speech was from Tony O Regan called The Bucket this was the winning speech. In this speech he looked on life as if was a bucket .The speech was very cleverly put together and very thought provoking.
The fifth speech was from Pat Sexton called A letter to Ashling .This speech came second. It was a very emotive recollection of thoughts as to our existence and reincarnation and also very thought provoking
In the Evaluation contest the contestants had to evaluate a speech by Colette Noonan from Failte toastmasters in Charleville called A certain Age. The five contestants were Pat Duggan, Pat Sexton who won, Tony O Regan, Liam Flynn who came second and Celia Cremin.
We wish the winners will have success in the area final on the 9th April in Charleville
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Air Exchanger and Dogs

Speakeasy toastmasters had a meeting on 8th March .There were four very enjoyable speeches on the night. The first was an educational speech from Anne Buckley on how to give a more effective evaluation .The main theme was how the evaluator would motivate the speaker to improve. This will help us to learn and improve.

The second speech was from Michael Dineen this was about inclusion and to learn is society as good as we think it is for disabled people. We learned that there are still a lot of problems with access to buildings. There were a lot of very powerful questions in this speech like we should look at the person not the disability.

The third talk was from Liam Flynn in this he had to sell a product. The product he was promoting was an air exchanger for domestic houses to save on heating bills. After hearing his speech every house should have one.

The final speech was from Rhona Coughlan called Get the breed right. This was a very humours speech about having the right breed of dog for your home and what can go wrong if you have the wrong breed.

In the second half of the meeting we had some very entertaining topics from Ronan Condon.

The club International Speech and Evaluation Contest is on Thursday 22nd March In the Hi Bi at 8pm everyone welcome
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Back to Front Meeting

A very unusual meeting of speakeasy toastmasters was held on 23rd February this was a theme night where every thing was done in reverse. The answer to topics were given and the topics master had to pick the name of the topic.

An evaluation of a speech was given and the speakers had to give their speeches to suit these evaluations. This proved very humours and showed the skill of the speakers. The first speaker was Pat Sexton in which he gave an icebreaker speech and with great imagination fulfilled all the criteria that he was to fill with great humour.

The second speaker was Michael Cronin in which he told us all the aims that he has fulfil when he is picking night classes to attend and it was very entertaining.

The third speech was from Ray Ryan this was a humours speech in which he outline alternative enterprises that could be used in the future and also brought out his acting skills.

Tony O Regan gave the final speech this was on modern technology and how it could be used in agriculture in the future it stretched the imagination but it might just happen. Next meeting is on 8th March and the international speech contest is on 22nd March. Every one is welcome to attend. Meetings at 8pm in Hi Bi.
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Back to Front Meeting

A very unusual meeting of speakeasy toastmasters was held on 23rd February this was a theme night where every thing was done in reverse. The answer to topics were given and the topics master had to pick the name of the topic.

An evaluation of a speech was given and the speakers had to give their speeches to suit these evaluations. This proved very humours and showed the skill of the speakers. The first speaker was Pat Sexton in which he gave an icebreaker speech and with great imagination fulfilled all the criteria that he was to fill with great humour.

The second speaker was Michael Cronin in which he told us all the aims that he has fulfil when he is picking night classes to attend and it was very entertaining.

The third speech was from Ray Ryan this was a humours speech in which he outline alternative enterprises that could be used in the future and also brought out his acting skills.

Tony O Regan gave the final speech this was on modern technology and how it could be used in agriculture in the future it stretched the imagination but it might just happen. Next meeting is on 8th March and the international speech contest is on 22nd March. Every one is welcome to attend. Meetings at 8pm in Hi Bi.
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Stories from Dublin

A very enjoyable meeting of speakeasy toastmasters held on 9th February. There were four speakers on the night.

The first was Marie Lynes with a speech called a place to visit. This was about a visit to Glasnevin cemetery and how fascinating it was. Marie outlined the history of the cemetery and that it was for all religions and none. Going through the head stones it was really a history of Irish society from Parnell to Michael Collins. After hearing this talk you would be encouraged to visit Glasnevin cemetery if you got the opportunity.

The second talk was by Bridget Breen this was about communication. In this speech Bridget told us that body language and jesters make up to 70% of our communications and words less than 30%. She outlined a few examples to prove this.

The third speech was a story from Jerry Mulcahy. This was about a twenty one year old from Kerry going to Dublin for his birthday and all the adventures that he got up to. This was a very humorours speech.

The final story was from Mary Moynihan this was about her brother and sister starting school this was very enjoyable and well put together .There was a very lively topics session from Claire O Connell.

The next meeting is on February 23rd in the Hi Bi at 8 pm.

A Line in the Pavement

A meeting of speakeasy toastmasters was held on Thursday 26th January it was very enjoyable with a large crowd attending.

The first speaker on the night was David Clarke with a very thought provoking and informative speech called Is this heaven. The theme was to be positive, know yourself, find love, work hard and make it happen.

The second speaker was Ronan Condon with a speech called A line in the pavement .In this talk he told us all about the Mallow rebel trail .It was very interesting because we learned a lot about local history.

The third speaker was Michael Cronin called The birds and the bees and how to fall in love. In this he was doing an interpretive reading from Joseph O Connor. This was very humours and you could imagine Michael being there.

The fourth talk was given by Pat Sexton called The other titanic .This was the story of Titanic Johnson of his gambling and gaming life this was very detailed and well timed.

The final speech was by Ray Ryan called The atomic theory this was an interpretive reading of Flan O Brien’s book The Third Policeman.
After the coffee break we had a large selection of topics from Mary Moynihan.

The next meeting is on Thursday9th February in the Hi Bi at 8pm.
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Let the numbers do the talking.

Speakeasy toastmasters had their meeting on Thursday 12th January a large crowd attended there were four speeches on the night .The first of these was an interpretive reading from Noel O Connor which was the speech ex president Mary McAleese gave to UCC in 2006 on a conference on1916.

The second talk was given by Sean Corcoran on the joys of student life. This was very entertaining from which we learned all about fish bowels and jelly shots. He was looking forward to becoming a mature student and being able to keep up with his fellow students.

Claire O Connell gave the third speech called let the numbers do the talking. This was about history repeating itself. Claire outlined the numbers of unemployed during the 80’s and hopefully if we are lucky the numbers will go down like they did in the 90’s Claire finished off with a nice poem that she wrote on Ireland’s situation.

Pat Connelly gave the final speech called the jewel in the bay. This was about the marine research station on Sherkin Island and the fantastic work it is carrying out. We heard how it developed and all the areas of research it is carrying out.

The lively topics session was conducted by Anne Buckley with topics from internet dating to shopping in pyjamas

Our next meeting is on Thursday 26th January at 8pm in the HI Bi every one is welcome to come
www.speakeasytoastmasters.com