Febraury 10th 2012
Last night I attended Dalhousie’s Toastmasters meeting with 3 other girls from the class. We left from the Mount so had time to discuss our predictions of what was going to happen or really what was toastmaster meeting. It wasn’t what we expected really but it was interesting and a great experience. When we got to the meeting we were a few minutes earlier but it gave us time to get situated. It was a tiny and personal environment, the members knew each other by name and talked about past meetings, but they also made us new comers feel welcome. We all had to stand up and announce who we were, how long we had been attending or titles that were held at meetings as well as our hobbies and interests. Some people had been going for to years some just a few months or if you were like us, it was your first time. They had an agenda and stuck to it so you knew what was happening for the night, it was even divided up into timed sections.
At the start after introductions there were specific roles given to volunteers. Melissa actually volunteered and got the position of time keeper. Not the exact name but pretty much sums up the purpose of her job. She was in charge of letting people know when they had reached certain amounts of time. For example there were two students who had prepared speeches. They were on a time limit so Melissa had 3 pieces of paper, one was green to show they had met the minimum time necessary, the second was yellow to warn them they were running out of time and the last paper was red to show they had gone over their intended time. It was interesting for one of us to even be given a job just because we were all so new. The other roles included question-master who payed close attention to the presentations and asked questions to the audience that were relevant to the speeches. The finer was in charge of calling people out for being negative or doing something incorrectly, they give the person a 25 cent fine which goes towards the toastmaster meeting funds. The last role which I cannot remember the title of was in charge of catching space fillers. So their job was to make a note of every time the speaker used words such as “uhhh. Uhmm, ahh, like, and” those types of sayings that aren’t necessary. Once all the jobs were given the speeches began.
As soon as the first student went up I had butterflies in my stomach for them just because I know how nervous I get and with new people attending the meeting it could add some extra pressure. However the speaker did very well, her speech was a mock trial for her law class so she will actually be presenting something very similar. I thought what a great way to get some practice in where there should be no pressure. The situation changed my mind and became a positive to me, I now saw it as an opportunity to present when it doesn’t count however still receive tips and advice as if it did. Her speech was well done and she kept calm the entire 7 or 8 minutes. As an audience we also got little sheets to make notes and helpful tips which would be given to the speakers anonymously.
The second presentation was not as intriguing to me just because of the topic. Now I could barely understand half of the law terms and sections of the Charter but was able to stay more focused and enjoyed it more then this speech. The student did a speech on how to do a great speech. It was on PowerPoint which usually having visuals is a good way to engage your audience however it just seemed pointless to me, although he was a good speaker I became uninterested in what he was saying because it had no purpose.
We were then given a break to get up and mingle there were a few snack items, it was a nice way to make everyone a bit more comfortable before the next activity. I personally thought I was going to be like a fly on the wall at this meeting, I did not do my homework and see what a toastmaster meeting entailed. However just my luck that was not the case, the next activity was meant for everyone to participate. Each person went up to the front of the room and were given a question, you just had to give your answer and explain. Seemed fairly simple but some of the questions were tough especially when you were suppose to talk about the question for at least 2 minutes. My palms were sweaty when my turn approached and I was the first out of the Mount girls to go but I did my best and without the blinding lights and camera it was more relaxing then anticipated. My question was “What is your dream job and why?”, my response was of course being a model. I stated the pros and cons of the industry as well as personally. I was satisfied with my response and for the rest for the rest of the time just enjoyed the improve of others.
At the end they wrapped it up with the discussion of the job roles. They stated times, questions, comments, criticism and the fines. The fines were actually pretty funny, like I got one for saying I was too tall to be a model, and 2 other girls both got fined from the Mount. We did our best and were surprised we had to get up and speak in the first place so overall I was pleased with the outcome and learned some new skills to apply to my next presentation.
