Keep it Simple

Anil opened the meeting today with the theme, 'Keep it Simple'. He emphasized about the importance of simplicity and narrated a story about how we tend to complicate things in our life. It was a small meeting, maybe because the weather was so gloomy! But, we compensated for lack of members by doubling our energy! Our grammarian, Karen, added an interesting twist to her role. Instead of the usual filler words, she suggested implementing more pauses during our speaking roles today. I thought it was clever and added another dimension to the duties of a grammarian.
I completed my Storytelling manual today by delivering the project #4 - A Touching Story. I recently read a book 'Five Seconds at a Time' by Denis Shackel. I was deeply inspired and motivated by the message conveyed by the author. The language of the book was very simple and conveyed the message very well. Naturally, I was inclined to use the story of Denis and share his simple mantra to overcome obstacles in our life - 5 seconds at a time. He used his own example of surviving a tragic mountain climbing accident to elucidate the concept. See my speech here. Since our second speaker had to cancel due to a work conflict, Anil made a prompt decision to show the speech delivered by the 2014 World Champion of Public Speaking. I think it was an intelligent move to use up the extra time. It was also a helpful to watch and learn from the speakers of an international caliber. You can view his speech here.
Anthony conducted the Table Topics session. His energy and enthusiasm are quite infectious. Even though I was distracted by work emails, I was drawn to the Table Topics session. He used everyday phrases and encouraged members to add their own twist to the meaning of the phrase. Everyone participated, including our guest! It's always fun to see our guests brave it out and speak during Table Topics! Marcia, our General Evaluator, provided feedback on how we ran the meeting. She made an important suggestion to move the Meridian Toastmasters banner so that it's in the 'view' of the speakers, especially when we record videos to be publicly displayed.
After the long weekend, we will return on Tuesday... And, it's Elections time again! New year, new executive!