I've had a bit of a break in writing this blog. And I hate it. Because the longer a break you have, the harder it gets to return to the routine. I guess that's true about any habit. I've noticed the same with Toastmasters as well. We have had a few members who wanted to take a break from Toastmasters due to other commitments in their life/work. They stopped attending the meetings or did not renew their membership. I have to admit that I've had those feelings creep in as well to want to take a break from the weekly meetings. However, I've not seen those members return. I've heard it takes about 21 days to establish a 'habit' or a 'routine', and it takes one short break to ruin it!
Anyways, back to the meeting today! It was Marcia's first time as the Chair and she lived up to the expectations. I loved that she chose 'Gratitude' as the theme which was perfect for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.
We are starting to see a full meeting room as more of our members have returned from their summer vacations! I am grateful that we have a supportive group of members from all walks of life. I started a new manual today - Communicating on Video. The first project required me to prepare a short editorial and present it was as if I was on Television. It didn't take me long to select the theme for my editorial. Nutrition and Health have been my priority in the last few months. I saw the documentary, Fed Up, recently that got my riled up about Sugar. I decided to dedicate my editorial to educate the audience about how Sugar affects our health. Was I nervous or what! I had a LOT to talk about Sugar, but so little time. Plus, the idea of talking to the 'camera' was new to me. I had to ignore the presence of the club members and stare at the camera. It was a bit distracting since I tend to draw my energy from the reactions of the audience. There was a lot of improvements I can make in the next few projects. Katrina pointed out I was speaking fast and need to slow down. Well, that has been my issue since Day 1! It's a work in progress. You can watch the video here.
Sundeep added a twist to the usual Table Topics. She listed a few countries and stated a few ways people show Gratitude in those countries. The members had to associate the country with the gratitude methods and explain why they chose the answer. I thought it was an interesting change to the routine. Also, I ended up knowing a bit more about each country and their system. Karen rounded up the General Evaluation section by reminding us about the procedures of handing the gavel while Chairing a meeting. It's Thankgiving weekend and we are celebrating Toastmasters' 90th Anniversary at our next meeting! Watch this space for an update...
Anyways, back to the meeting today! It was Marcia's first time as the Chair and she lived up to the expectations. I loved that she chose 'Gratitude' as the theme which was perfect for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.
We are starting to see a full meeting room as more of our members have returned from their summer vacations! I am grateful that we have a supportive group of members from all walks of life. I started a new manual today - Communicating on Video. The first project required me to prepare a short editorial and present it was as if I was on Television. It didn't take me long to select the theme for my editorial. Nutrition and Health have been my priority in the last few months. I saw the documentary, Fed Up, recently that got my riled up about Sugar. I decided to dedicate my editorial to educate the audience about how Sugar affects our health. Was I nervous or what! I had a LOT to talk about Sugar, but so little time. Plus, the idea of talking to the 'camera' was new to me. I had to ignore the presence of the club members and stare at the camera. It was a bit distracting since I tend to draw my energy from the reactions of the audience. There was a lot of improvements I can make in the next few projects. Katrina pointed out I was speaking fast and need to slow down. Well, that has been my issue since Day 1! It's a work in progress. You can watch the video here.
Sundeep added a twist to the usual Table Topics. She listed a few countries and stated a few ways people show Gratitude in those countries. The members had to associate the country with the gratitude methods and explain why they chose the answer. I thought it was an interesting change to the routine. Also, I ended up knowing a bit more about each country and their system. Karen rounded up the General Evaluation section by reminding us about the procedures of handing the gavel while Chairing a meeting. It's Thankgiving weekend and we are celebrating Toastmasters' 90th Anniversary at our next meeting! Watch this space for an update...
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