A warm welcome from Club President Jillian
Tonight’s Speechathon was a delight. Five of the six speeches were Pathways speeches and one was a CC manual #8 speech, a clear indication that members are making the transition to the new Pathways Educational Program. The range of topics kept the audience informed, engaged and, at times, amused.
In Dara’s speech (CC#8) entitled “Wake Up to The Power of Sleep” she argued persuasively for a good night’s sleep and summed up the consequences of prolonged lack of it very powerfully: “Short sleep; short life!”.
Jacob, in his Pathways (Visionary Communication) Ice-breaker speech took us on a journey to three places that evokes rich memories and meaning for him: his grandparents’ home in Crete where he spent happy childhood days, Nafplio where his wife grew up and Welwyn Garden city where they are raising their family.
David brought a more philosophical question to his Icebreaker speech (Presentation Mastery) when he examined the question “Who am I really?” With sincerity and humour, we learnt that the ‘Diligent One’ is a psychologist and an Arsenal supporter.
Catherine described herself as a person of many hats. In her Icebreaker speech (Presentation Mastery) she shared stories about her things that are important to her including her family, children, education. She is the author of the influential Baxendale Report: How to best attract, induct and retain talent recruited into the Senior Civil Service that was presented before the Select Committee in the House of Commons.
“Some Birds Can't Fly” was the intriguing title Randike used to frame her speech (Motivational Strategies#2). We learnt that it was based on a 1997 Yugoslav film that led her to ask herself and the audience “Do you know the best life you want to live?” She is working on her plan and encouraged us to do the same.
Khalid ended the speechathon with a presentation entitled “In Pursuit of Fulfillment”. Drawing on the work of Simon Sinek, Stephen Covey and Susan Pinker he explained that being happy is not the same as being fulfilled. According to Simon Sinek, happiness comes from what we do and fulfillment comes from why we do it. In Khalid’s words, it’s the ‘fire of desire’.
The evaluators all did a great job in providing quality commendations and recommendations to all the speakers. The benefits from the workshop on ‘Effective Evaluation’ facilitated by Bob Ferguson last meeting were clear to see in tonight’s evaluation. Toastmaster Raza, Club President Jillian and General Evaluator Elizabeth E. also deserve a mention for helping the meeting to flow, for a warm welcome and for insightful feedback.
Best Speaker Awards went to Dara Caryotis and Khalid Mirza, and Best Evaluator Awards went to Surosh Pillay and Davina Malcolm.
Another great night at Herts Speakers!
Elizabeth Jordan
