Reason to Smile

I evaluated a speech last night at a Toastmaster club meeting near my home. The club had a good attendance and the facilities where old but distinguished a(s compared to my club which was recently built). It had an old world feel as the community center is at least 20-15 years old. There were attendees from India, Philippines, Indonesia, Europe and USA. The speeches were good especially from a DTM who was a past governor who gave a special speech on discipline. I felt a bit intimidated as the group seem to be distinguished.

So to bolster my courage I wrote done the clubs where I gave a speech evaluation. I counted about 8 clubs outside my home club. It gave me confidence because I did more than 8 evaluations if I count those that I did in my home club. I did my evaluation quite fast and there where moments where I could not find the right words. I had a lot of pause fillers as well. But I managed to give a good and relevant speech as I found a way to gently criticize an otherwise, near perfect speech. It was done by a genial and appealing person who writes a blog called 'Reasons for a Smile'. His speech was entertaining and had a good lesson on solving disagreements. The objective was to use body gestures which he did well.

I also met 2 ladies from my home country. Both are young teachers and have recently moved here. The club president encouraged them to join as they work together at the same school. I left after the program though I was invited for coffee. I needed to work on my speech for our club meeting on Thursday. I did not have a chance to write but I was able to read the articles I downloaded on the subject of conversing with ease. I like going to the club last night and it allowed me to see a different perspective. I think I can learn a lot by visiting clubs instead of just sticking with my own. I get to practice my evaluation skills more often.

I am finishing the book 'Standing on the Water's Edge.' An interesting book due to the psychological insights it provides to writers. I hope I can apply the guides in my struggles. I also finished reading a book about Queen Isabela. An amazing story where one could see that life is really more exciting that fiction. I am also reading a picture book on the castles of Great Britain. It helps me visualize the scenes from the book. Queen Isabella is one of those history books that I love to read with historical drama and adventure. I am now listening to an audio book called 'Empire' by an accomplished Oxford historian.