Personal stories break the ice at Toastmasters
Sure where else would you get it? Personal life stories, the history of Rosa Parks and a beautiful excerpt from Tuesdays with Morrie. And that’s just the speeches alone that were delivered on Monday night last! Toastmasters is like one big present which is unwrapped at each meeting and, like Forrest Gump, until you open it, you just never know what you’re going to get.
Liam Ramsbottom set the ball rolling with his icebreaker speech where he took us on a meander through the major points of his life so far. His speech flowed smoothly and Liam’s confidence , humour and sound advice to live life in the present were much appreciated by the audience. His evaluator, Ger Rowney, complimented him on an outstanding speech and declared that Liam was coolness personified!
The history of Rosa Parks was beautifully delivered by Bryan Holland .His Evaluator, Mark Bastow, complimented him on his fascinating portrayal of the black lady who made history by refusing to relinquish her seat on a bus to a white man in 1955. Bryan’s delivery was enhanced by his technological skills and it was intriguing to see a photo of Rosa, followed by a snapshot of President Obama sitting on that same seat just over half a century later. Amazing how one lady’s courage can change the course of history!
Advanced speaker, Ann Duncan, treated the audience to an interpretive reading of an excerpt from the novel, Tuesdays with Morrie . Her dramatic skills and poignant delivery proved a spellbinding combination and Ann held the audience in the palm of her hand throughout. Meree O’Sullivan, her evaluator, praised her vocal variety and depth of emotion and expressed her immense enjoyment of Ann’s storytelling abilities.
Toastmaster of the evening, Mary Killeen, was meanwhile weaving her web of magic by encouraging the audience to make use of the “cupla focal” in honour of Seachtain na Gaeilge . Mary lead by example and bolstered by her warm encouragement , many people present had a stab at our native teanga , particularly during Table Topics which were delivered by Kevin Langan. Keeping with the theme ,Kevin’s excellent topics involved discussion on many irish sayings like “Theres no place like home” and “The life of a scholar is a wonderful one” What the audience lacked in actual skill, was more than compensated by their enthusiasm for our native tongue. Well done to all.
Finally Esther Bastow, the general evaluator, rounded off the meeting with her positive feedback on the night’s proceedings. She granted the Geraldine O’Loughlin Award to Jimmy Fitzpatrick, for his continuous valuable contribution to the Club and reminded all that the next meeting takes place on Monday, March 25th. All are welcome and guests are free for first two meetings. You never know what treats are in store!
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Weather for Portlaoise
Sunday 26 May 2013
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