People want comfort!

Hello Everyone - At our April 2nd meeting, chair Brendan Dineen chose "what do people want?" as theme of the meeting.   The word of the evening was "comfort".  Brendan explained that people buy brands that make them most comfortable.  Therefore, before you can make an impact, you have to make people you are talking to feel comfortable.  Keep that in mind next time you are trying to sell beachfront real estate in Saskatechewan.

Well, what makes Bolton Banter members feel really comfortable is welcoming a new member.  Tom Wildfang, who had visited us previously as a guest, is now the newest member of Bolton Banter.  We look forward to hearing your icebreaker Tom.  We welcomed as well Heather Taylor-Nanan and we hope too that she may decide to join our ranks.

Jane Collier chose a most intriguing Table Topics idea.   She asked us to imagine we had just authored a book.  Our mission was to convince people to buy it.  Book titles ranged from " A Perfect Nightmare" to "Making Change Happen".  This topic made people think!  Great idea Jane.  We're all going to be great salesmen and women. 

On April 29th at the Towns of York Toastmasters Club there will be an educational evening, led by Eric Solowka, on presentation skills.  The following evening, April 30th, here at Bolton Banter Eric will present the "eye connect" workshop.  For those of you who experience difficulty making eye contact during your speeches, you need to attend this presentation.  These are great learning opportunities so do come out and participate.

The Division "M" International Speech and Evaluation contest will be held Saturday, April 4th at the Tek-We-Gwill Hall in Newton Robinson.  The winners of this competition will represent the Division at the District 86 spring conference International Speech and Evaluation contest.  The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn in Burlington from April 24th to 26th. 

Laurie Stapleton and Ben Allison are both working from the Competent Communicator manual.  Laurie presented project #4, "How to say it" with a speech entitled "When Opportunity Knocks".  She told the story of how she changed her career path.  Her message?  Don't underestimate yourself!  Ben presented project #3, "Get to the point".  His speech, "Karmic Balance", was related to his experience with Tae Kwon Do.  His message was "do a random act of kindness".  Doing what Ben suggests would be a good idea, given that he is a black belt!

Lorraine Van Wagner, working from an advanced manual called "Facilitating Discussion", asked the members to reach a consensus on the best way to promote involvement in the club's executive committee.  The elections for this committee are to be held next month.  There was a general consensus that people need to understand the various roles and their attached responsibilities.  Experienced committee members pointed out though that executive membership is part of the overall Toastmasters learning experience.  Perfection in any role is neither required nor expected.  You simply need a positive attitude and a willingness to help your club. 

The evening ended with the presentation of ribbons.  Eric was voted best Table Topics speaker, Eric and Carol Dowell tied for best evaluator and Laurie was named best speaker.  Congratulations to Tom Wildfang who offered the parting incite in his first role as a newly minted Toastmaster. 

See you all at our next meeting, April 16th. 

Cheers, Lorraine Van Wagner - Webmaster