‘ANZ Talk of the Town’ Toastmasters Newsletter
Club No 7419, District 73
Welcome to the first edition of the ‘ANZ Talk of the Town Toastmasters’ newsletter for 2010! We have commenced the year very well with the appointment of the following positions:
President: Jessica Cerejo
VP Education: Tania Wilson
VP Membership: Pallavi Murthy
VP of PR: Maya Kawashima
Secretary: Caitlin McMahon
Treasurer: Ajit Ravindran
Sergent at Arms: Kevin Mitchell
‘Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest’
Monday 31 May
We hosted our first club competition titled ‘Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest’. Congratulations to Pallavi Murthy, Alastair Bradtke, Robert Horvath and David Stewart, who delivered high quality and witty speeches. The following were their speech titles:
Pallavi Murthy ‘Corporate Jargon’
Robert Horvath ‘A Glaring Injustice Against Incompetent People’
Alastair Bradtke ‘Public Transport a Rand ’
David Stewart ‘Revenge’
Special thanks to our Guests for judging: David Murphy, Robert Kinghorn, Cue Lam, Joanne Philipps and Max Tay.
Pallavi began by explaining why she dislikes corporate slogans and her preference for her manager to speak plain English. She used visual displays to demonstrate how she interpreted the ‘corporate’ metaphors like ‘keep your eye on the ball’ and ‘socialise’. Robert gave us a very witty and insightful speech on why it is important not to discriminate against ‘incompetent people’ (no references to any political parties here! J). Alastair spoke of his intense dislike of catching the overcrowded number 112 tram to work except for the day these men chroming was somewhat of an aberration. Last but not least, David factitiously reminded us not to give our children unusual names, for the fear of raising deviant and rebellious adults (by using the example of the Archbishop Fieldflower Goe who rebelled against his Athiest parents!) David was the Winner.
Annabelle Ong was the Guest Speaker for the evening where she spoke passionately on ‘Why Germany Deserves to Win [The World Cup].” She was confident, made plenty of eye contacts and overall had very convincing arguments. Ajit Ravindran won the ‘Best Evaluator’, followed closely by Ross Turetsky in Second Place and David Tasker in Third Place .
Vox Pop
Every week I will be selecting a Toastmasters person and asking them about what aspects of Toastmasters they really enjoy – and to learn a little bit more a bout them.
Interview with Tania Wilson
Why did you join Toastmasters?
To get over a crippling fear of public speaking!
What aspect of Toastmasters do you find particularly rewarding?
The opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself – all part of personal growth
What is your most memorable speech given?
I have a short-term memory so I’ll say my most recent speech: Be your own Superhero
What is the greatest fear that you have overcome? (aside public speaking!)
Always working on a number of fears at any given moment, however, a fear I have conquered is the fear of serving up inedible food to dinner party guests! This fear stopped me hosting dinner parties for years but I now hold regular dinner parties and no-one has ever been poisoned 🙂
Who do you most admire and why?
Nelson Mandela – for never giving up – and what an amazing difference he has made!
What are your interests/hobbies?
Ashtanga Yoga, Rock Climbing, Reading Novels and searching for the perfect coffee!
Something about you that no one really knows?
I’m a lounge room dancer, can juggle and, despite being a rock climber, am petrified of heights!
Upcoming events
Next session – Monday 7 June, 2010 @ 6pm (sharp).
Hope to see you there!
Talk of the Town 