Written by Valerie Williams-Ndikintum, PMP
Twice monthly PMI Atlanta Toastmasters conduct meetings at 6:30p at Nancy G’s. The July 10th PMI Atlanta Toastmasters meeting was high in attendance with 11 guests in addition to Toastmasters members. Guests included professionals, as well as students, most of which were PMI Atlanta members.
Each Toastmasters meeting is led by members who rotate facilitating and driving the meeting. The different roles, which must be filled at each Toastmasters meeting are: Sergeant-at-Arms, Toastmaster, Joke Master, General Evaluator, Evaluators, Timer, ‘Ah’ Counter, Topics Master, Grammarian and Vote Counter.
Toastmasters International has two tracks available to members, the Communication Track and the Leadership Track. New members receive a New Member Kit, including a manual, which serves as a step-by-step guide to speech writing and delivery for each respective track. Each manual walks members through 10 different speech types, all of which members are required to deliver to receive a certificate for their respective track.
The theme of the July 10th meeting was ‘America the Beautiful’ facilitated by Toastmaster Kevin Buchanan. Speeches delivered during the meeting consisted of two Icebreakers, a manual speech project and a Table Topics session.
The Icebreaker is a two to four-minute speech; the first speech delivered by a new member to fellow Toastmasters members. The purpose of the Icebreaker is to provide fellow club members with information regarding the speaker, an introductory speech of sorts. Members are encouraged to prepare an Icebreaker speech regarding three to four interesting aspects of their life or they may speak about an incident or event, which has had a profound impact on their life. The title of the two Icebreaker speeches delivered during the July 10th meeting were, ‘I’m a Picky Eater’, by Michael Sadlowski and ‘Aiming High, Shooting South’, by Gregory Smith.
A manual speech is one of the 10 projects outlined in the Competent Communication Manual, the manual which serves as a guide for members on the Communication Track. The manual speech delivered during the July 10th meeting was titled, ‘Lessons from The Apprentice’. The speaker was Kristin Howlett, PMP and the topic regarded lessons learned from the television series ‘The Apprentice’. Covered in Kristin’s speech were 7 lessons learned from the television show.
1) Have a strategy.
2) Find out what customers want.
3) Deal with the person in charge, the decision-marker.
4) Be positive. People will want to be around you.
5) Have courage to speak your mind.
6) Stand up for yourself.
7) Be flexible in your business interactions.
The overall theme of the speech centered around a key piece of advice offered by the speaker, ‘There is life after being fired. Take the experience and use it to learn and grow. ‘
The final speech of the evening was the Table Topics session led by Jalean McClurg. Table Topics sessions are impromptu speeches on topics selected to provide insight into life skills such as negotiation and conflict resolution; themes essential to project managers. The titled of the Table Topics session was, ‘Life the Beautiful’, inspired by the overall theme of the meeting, ‘America the Beautiful’ and building upon the theme of the manual speech delivered earlier in the meeting; ‘what to do when life throws lemons at you’.
Serving as Evaluators during the meeting were Michael Donahoe, who served as General Evaluator, Jalean McClurg, Dean Gudlauski and Larry Ferguson. Each speech kept within the allocated time limit. The tone of the audience was uplifting and evaluations were constructive and encouraging.
If you’re looking for an empowering and supportive organization, one which assists in improving your leadership and communication skills, PMI Atlanta Toastmasters may be the organization for you. Come join us as a guest, you just might leave as a member. The next Toastmasters meeting will be held on July 24th at Nancy G’s on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. Meetings start promptly at 6:30p, however, many guests arrive early for dinner and networking.
For more information regarding PMI Atlanta Toastmasters Club, please visit http://pmiatl.toastmastersclubs.org.