20'th Aniversary Celebration Night

Speakeasy President Jerry Mulcahy welcomed a group of more than 100 people this Saturday including some distinguished visitors to an evening of celebration, reminiscence and fun in honour of Speakeasy Toastmasters 20th Anniversary.

Toastmaster for the night was Michael Cronin who humorously directed the course of the evening which included some speeches and some topics around the centrepiece of a very enjoyable meal provided by the Hibernian Hotel and music provided by none other than Stanley Notte a toastmaster himself from Glanmire Toastmaster Club.

Among the distinguished guests was Mr Tom Cronin, a representative of Mallow Credit Union who generously supports the Speakeasy Schools Contest and the Mayor of Mallow Noel O'Connor. Mr O' Connor gave a warm and witty address, complimenting the club in particular on their commitment to the community through the creation of the schools contest and the creation of the Cope Foundation Nice and Easy Club, by President Jerry Mulcahy.

Toastmaster Pat Sexton gave an entertaining speech, reflecting on the clubs achievements over the past 20 years of the club, and lingering on some amusing aspects of the clubs attempts to make and break international relations, in the gatherings that occur between Irish and British Toastmaster Clubs in conferences down the years, where sing songs tended to have a slightly patriotic tinge on the Irish side of things.

Marie Fitzpatrick literally had the crowd in stitches with a hilarious speech on her knitting of an aran jumper over a period of 14 years or so...

The final speaker of the night was a new member to the club Tom O'Connor who gave his icebreaker speech, the first speech a toastmaster makes. It was a speech full of wonderful imagery centring around the great tale from Tom's childhood of how 4 schoolboys including Tom carried a supply of art materials from one end of Mallow to the other in a box resembling a coffin and carrying it in such a manner, they had the whole town confused, blessing themselves and stopping the traffic. The schoolmaster who sent them out to deliver the materials had not envisaged such a creative journey!

Tony O'Regan gave out the topics on the night and they aptly covered happenings over the years. Ex President and Ex District Governor Jeremiah Ronayne surely would have got the ribbon on a regular night. He hadn't a clue what topicsnaster Tony was referring to in his question, but in true Toastmaster style he changed the topic and recalled a toastmaster who shan't be named, being asked what he would do if the prized canary he was charged to mind died. Said toastmaster was for once and surely once only stumped. Well... he started, I'd open the cage door and ....(long pause)..A voice raised up from the audience and shouted.. "and jump in". And so the immortal image was created of said toastmaster swinging on perch in cage.

It was fitting on the night that all 20 Club Presidents were honoured with a commerative plaque.

It was indeed a great night of fun at Toastmasters 20th Anniversary and all look forward to many years to come of this great club.

Speakeasy Toastmasters meets every 2nd Thursday in the Hi-B, next series of meetings at 8pm Hibernian Mallow April 4th, April 18th, May 2nd, May16th and May30th. Non members 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 our blog"http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

"Born To Run"

This week, as Contest Chair Tony O' Regan explained, the International Speech and Evaluation Contest draws all Toastmaster Clubs together. Members who participate in this contest in clubs all over the world, follow the same path. If they get through the club contest, they go forward to the Area final and then the Division Final and then the District Final until finally they could be heading to the United States to the World Final!
After that introduction the audience did indeed settle in with great anticipation to hear the four Speech Contestants and five Evaluation Contestants. They were not to be disappointed.
Liam Flynn was first up with an excellent speech on the nature of self sufficiency. Liam encouraged us all to look to our own ability in terms of self sufficiency to get through the present day economic crisis, but most importantly ,-to help others. He cited local strengths, our agriculture, our tourism potential and most importantly, our youth, who could lead the way forward to a return to prosperous times.
Our President, Jerry Mulcahy, was next up. He gave a most moving speech about a tragic event that occurred many years ago on a building site in England where three young friends of which he was one, worked, having had to leave Ireland due to hard times back then. One of these friends died in an accident on the building site. Jerry framed this tragedy beautifully, painting a vivid picture of the times they lived in, taking the boat to England, like "hell without fire" and the sad good byes..
Pat Sexton's speech, "Born to Run", told the fascinating story of the "Turbaned Tornado", a Sikh gentleman of a 100 years of age who came in 3850th in the Toronto marathon in 2011. He was by no means the last back either!. This tale drew many happy smiles from the audience as we heard that Mr Singh took up running at the tender age of 89 and ecshewed performance enhancing drugs. His mantra was simplicity, serenity and shoes,-bright colourful shoes. This was a delicious, inspirational story that encouraged us to enjoy our age whatever it is. After all as Mr Singh pointed out,- very few people die over 100. A lot of people probably buying shoes today!
Claire O' Connell gave an interesting presentation on "the subconscious mind, friend or foe". She demonstrated the power and also the irrationality of the subconscious mind giving many interesting examples such as the plant which flourishes when told its beautiful while the other one dies that has been told it is ugly. Claire encouraged us to give our subconscious plenty of positive feedback.
In the Evaluation Contest the contestants had the pleasure of evaluating a delightful speech that enthralled the audience by a guest speaker from the Fermoy Toastmaster Club, Eilis Ui Bhriain. It was on the subject of her native place,-Dunmanus Bay, and as all the evaluators pointed out was very special in the beautiful imagery Eibhlis used to describe her home place. "Take me easy", she said, -"I was reared a pet" and it was no bother to do so as she described the sunsets and the bluebells and the farm with the grass of 7 to 8 milch cows. The picture was painted and she gave us the mythical story too of how the rocks were scattered on the top of the mountain a place her mother said would be "too rough for her timid feet". Many indeed felt Eibhlis was surely lost to the Irish Tourist Board!
Marie Lynes, as Topicsmaster kept the audience occupied and amused with a wide range of topics while the judging went on.
Mary Buckley and Anne Walsh did the important duties of timekeepers for the Contestants.
All were warmly welcomed to the Contest by guest greeters, Mary Moynihan, Marie Lynes and Ronan Condon.

On the night Pat Sexton and Claire O Connell were chosen to represent Speakeasy at the Area Speech Final.
Marie Fitzpatrick and Pat Sexton were chosen to represent Speakeasy at the Area Evaluation Final.

The Area Final of Speech and Evaluation Contests will be held at the Speakeasy Toastmasters next meeting, on April 4th.8pm, Hibernian Hotel Mallow.

Speakeasy Toastmasters meets every 2nd Thursday in the Hi-B, next meeting at 8pm Hibernian Mallow April 4th. Non members 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 our blog"http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Great Big Melting Pot

Our author today is Liam Flynn, a Wexford man who now lives in Millstreet and among his many interests, luckily for Speakeasy Toastmasters, is a great interest and dedication to the club. He has served in many roles on the club committee and is an enthuasiastic participant at meetings and contests.

Great Big Melting Pot
Take a pinch of White man
Wrap him up in black skin
Add a touch of blue blood
And a little bitty bit of red Indian Boy.
These are the opening lines of a hit song from the 70’s byr British Band “Blue Mink”. Their relevance to Toastmasters is as profound now as when they first appeared.
When you to go to a Toastmaster meeting you leave your luggage at the door. Colour, Creed, Education level, Degree of shyness doesn’t matter. Neither does social standing, affiliations or past achievement. When you enter the meeting only the self is present.
Firstly you will feel welcomed and put at ease. You will not be asked to speak or cajoled to perform. Everyone at the meeting will understand your state of nervousness because we all have experienced the “first” meeting.
If you have not experienced a toast master meeting before you may have a pre conceived idea that it is only for the highly proficient speaker who can do a presentation at the drop of a hat. Nothing could be further from the truth!
If you decide that you would like to progress through Toastmasters you will be given a Competent Communicator manual. This lays out a 10 step progressive programme of speeches and when completed makes you a “CC” or “Competent Communicator” in the eyes of Toastmasters.
The speed with which you do these 10 speeches is up to yourself. You are in total control. In the meantime you will have gained enormous experience from listening to other speakers both novice and experienced going through their programmes. Listening is the key.
After the first 10 speeches you can then pick from different speech manuals to diversify the type of speech you would like to make.These can include Story Telling,
Special Occasion, Business Presentation, etc.,
“All you need is a great big melting pot
Big enough for the world and all it’s got
Stir it for a hundred years or more
And turn out Coffee Coloured people by the score.”
For Coffee Coloured people read “Competent Communicators”
Liam Flynn
CC ,ACB
Speakeasy’s Speech and Evaluation Contest which will at 8pm Hibernian Hotel on March 21st.

The Celebration of Speakeasy's 20th Anniversary and tickets will be on Saturday March 23rd in the Hibernian Hotel. There will be a meal, speeches and an entertaining Topics Session to boot. It is an opportunity for non members to take a look at a Toastmaster Club and all are welcome. Contact Ronan at 0862758501 or email toastmastersmallow@gmail.com for tickets.

Speakeasy Toastmasters meets every 2nd Thursday in the Hi-B, next meeting at 8pm Hibernian Mallow, Thursday 21st March. Non members 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 our blog"http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Life and Trouser Length

Open Invitation to Speakeasy Toastmasters 20th Anniversary
Celebration on Saturday 23rdMarch

In the Hibernian Hotel at 8pm Saturday 23rd March, Speakeasy Toastmasters will host a celebration, with a full meal, music, speeches and a topic session thrown in to mark the 20th year of this great club. The club as usual welcome non members who might be interested in having a look at a Toastmaster Club and non members are never asked to speak. Tickets are being subsidized by the club and are 30euro per person and tickets can be booked through Ronan at 0862758501 or contact the email- toastmasters mallow@gmail.com. There is a great buzz in the air with regard to this night and all are guaranteed to have a relaxed and entertaining evening so book early and avoid disappointment!

Meanwhile this week’s meeting provided the audience with four absorbing speeches, interspersed with a wide range of topics. The able MC or Toastmaster of the night was Tom O’Connor who introduced the speakers and the officers of the night. He joined President Jerry Mulcahy and Topicsmaster Ronan Condon at the top table. Ronan kicked off the evening with some topics that drew very amusing responses, whether they were intended to or not. What have you learned from Life’s University for example.? Well,its all to do with trousers apparently, the length can unexpectedly shorten leading to unforeseen embarrassment. Was it to do with the washing machine?, a sudden growth spurt.? A different take on Life’s University indeed..

Anne O’ Donovan ’s speech gave a fascinating insight into the history and indeed the science behind shopping. The guru of Mall design Victor Grune back in the 1960’s came up with some interesting ploys to engage the shopper such as not having clocks so we can forget the time and the effective use of music. These still pertain today and Dundrum Shopping Centre had 19.7 million visitors in 2012. As Anne pointed out, shopping can be leisure or therapy or even replace religious observance for some,
depending on your outlook. Mary Buckley evaluated Anne’s speech.
Pat Duggan gave a very instructive demonstration speech on how to use old containers to create the perfect floral gift that would work as his speech title suggested from Mothers Day to Christmas. Angela Sheehan evaluated Pat’s speech.
Rona Coghlan gave a very enlightening speech on Dyslexia in 3 to 5 year olds, describing the indicators, some helpful tips that would help a child with this difficulty and directing people to the website www.dyslexia.ie. It was a speech that conveyed well researched information in a clear and compassionate manner, and certainly sparked the interest of the audience.
Finally and rather inspiringly if such a word exists, Bill Martin, sought to persuade us to take action.! We were all very cheered by this speech as Bill decided to give us the Mindset of Champions. To realise your potential, the main work has to be done on your daily rituals. There was some delightful advice.
Avoid News! Do not engage in the recession!. Make a Stop Doing it list instead of a To-Do list..
One’s peak energy is between 5 and 9am! That was the only tough message in an altogether uplifting speech evaluated by Marie Lynes.
Grammarian of the night Celine Cremin suggested the role be looked at with a view to having a regular reading instead which many felt would be a positive improvement and no doubt will be further discussed. Kieran Butler was as usual very effective in his role as General Evaluator of the meeting as a whole. The timekeeping duties were taken up by Pat Connolly.
All were warmly welcomed to the meeting by Guest Greeters, Marie Lynes, Mary Moynihan and Ronan Condon.

Next Thursday Night -21st March, the club will hold its Speech And Evaluation Contest.
Speakeasy Toastmasters meets every 2nd Thursday in the Hi-B. next meeting at 8pm Hibernian Mallow, Thursday 14th March. Non members 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 our blog"http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Effective Communication

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Effective Communication is a ‘must have’ in this electronic age. Being an effective communicator takes real skill. Communication skills have to be developed, honed and added to on an on-going basis. Communication is the basis of interpersonal skills and the greater your awareness of how it all works, the more effective your communication will be. To be effective in business, you have to communicate well. To be a good manager, you have to communicate exceptionally well. Communication is individual. We are not all the same. There is never one right way to communicate. Authentic effective communication always happens when we reply on those things we know to be true about or for ourselves. Your personal style can say more for you than all the words you use can. Most people look at what is wrong with themselves and other people, rather than focusing on what already works. Remember many things have to be working well for you to have got this far already. The communication cycle works as follows and you can take responsibility for every stage:
Spoken - Heard - Understood - Agreed To - Acted On - Implemented.
In Toastmasters you will become aware of where you or others tend to fall off the cycle. So, can I give you any greater reason for joining Speakeasy Toastmasters?

PERSONAL IMPACT

Personal impact includes key elements of Communication; Presentation; Assertiveness and Influencing techniques. All these components enable you to make the impact you want. We all can improve our ability to influence others. You all cringe at that interview that went badly wrong or that appraisal you wish to forget. Here is an opportunity to ensure that you will not repeat these experiences. In order to know making an impact works, there are a few areas you have to consider, and study.
• Knowing how and why things go wrong
• Improving your ability to influence others
• Understanding rules and conventions and boundaries
• Speaking your mind without offending
• Finding our how others see you
An awareness of all of these will increase confidence and raise self esteem. Come along to our next meeting as a guest and see for yourself how we put these skills into practice. We do it in stages and in an encouraging way.

Speakeasy’s Speech and Evaluation Contest which will be held at 8pm Hibernian Hotel on March 21st.

This year is the Club’s 20th Anniversary and tickets are now available for this unmissable night on Saturday March 23rd in the Hibernian Hotel. Non members are most welcome. Contact Ronan at 0862758501.

Speakeasy Toastmasters meets every 2nd Thursday in the Hi-B. next meeting at 8pm Hibernian Mallow, Thursday 7th March. Non members 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 our blog"http://speakeasytm.blogspot.

www.speakeasytoastmasters.com