Photo of Lincoln Smith, VP Membership, late 20s wearing striped shirt and hoody style pullover

Welcome Back: The New Year and DISCOMBOBULATE!

Paul Salvidge wearing jacket, tie and maroon scarf
Paul Salvidge, General Evaluator Report

My Report: Paul Salvidge, General Evaluator, 9 January 2018   

We Hit the Ground Running!

Happy New Year!

We hit the ground running with a lively meeting on 9 January with Lincoln leading the meeting as Toastmaster.  The natural start was for members to talk about their resolutions for the New Year.

Hello…and also, welcome back!

We were delighted to welcome Charlotte as our guest for the evening. Thank you, Charlotte, for taking part. Also, it was a great pleasure to welcome back our dear friend, Nasir.

Nasir took a break because, as happens, other commitments can interrupt the Toastmasters journey. That’s fine. Just carry on where you left off. We were also very pleased to welcome back Ben, too. Ben lost no time in winning the best impromptu speaker award for the evening…..don’t rest on your laurels, Ben, you’ll be facing tougher competition next meeting. 😀

Do remember – members and lapsed members can always return any time.  We’d be pleased to see you.

Meeting Roles

Thank you very much to the members who took up roles. We encourage everyone to take roles, especially newer members, because it gives you some practice on your feet for short periods.

  • Lincoln: Toastmaster, Grammarian
  • Sireesha: Timekeeper
  • Alison: Ah Counter
  • Clare: Speaker
  • Paul: General Evaluator
  • Steve: Table Topics Master
  • Murali: Table Topics Evaluator

All the New Year festivities made us more articulate. Alison reported that we did not use many “errs” and “ahs” in our speeches. Lincoln managed to introduce us to a new word, “Discombobulate,” which means to confuse. Several of us tried to use it.

Speeches

Clare dived in with an extended speech of 20 minutes although it was so riveting it seemed like 5. Clare talked about her hobby, or additional career, in drama and the films she had starred in.  Clare used a projector to take us into the world of show-biz. We learned more unusual terms like, “the honey pot,” which, ahem, is a charming name for the relief facilities on set.

Clare described filming in Hull, which was doubling for London (as it does) and how the setting was war time and the lights down Alfred Gelder Street were all turned off to give the war feeling. Then lights from one building kept going on and off. This was a building security guard unaware he’d stopped the filming. This was supposed to be a blackout scene! Clare described how the panic was on to get the lights switched off before the rise of the sun which would mean a day lost.

We were transported to different periods and events in history and, naturally, Clare won the Best Speaker Award.

Table Topics

Table Topics is impromptu speaking for between one and two minutes. Members don’t know what is coming to them. Steve set the questions (well done – he did this during the meeting as the lead was unable to attend at the last minute.) Steve’s Table Topics were centred on an ending, “….And that is why……” and speakers had to conclude with that line.

Well done Ben who won best Table Topics speaker.

Conclusion

There was no discombobulation at that meeting. It went very smoothly and it was a great pleasure to get back.

 

Paul.

image sources

  • Paul Salvidge Hull Speakers’ Secretary: Hull Speakers