Written by Valerie Williams-Ndikintum, PMP

Twice a month PMI Atlanta’s Toastmasters Chapter conduct meetings at 6:30p held at Nancy G’s. The August 14th meeting not only gave Toastmasters speakers the ability to practice their craft of speech writing and delivery, it also served as the chapter’s annual changing of the guards; a farewell to the 2013-14 officers and induction of the 2014-15 officers. The meeting was high in attendance with 11 guests in addition to Toastmasters members.

The theme of the August 14th meeting was Leadership, facilitated by Toastmaster Barbara D. Wallace. Speeches delivered during the meeting consisted of one Icebreaker, two manual speech projects and a Table Topics session.

 

The first speech delivered during the evening was speech three from The Entertaining Speaker Manual. The assignment for speech three is Make Them Laugh, which is delivered as a five to seven-minute humorous speech drawn from the speaker’s experience. The title of the speech was ‘Keeping up with the Kraigers’, delivered by Shannon Kraiger, CTM, CC. The theme of Shannon’s speech was family during which she delivered a witty synopsis based on the personalities of family members while growing up as a young girl in Chicago.

The second speech of the evening was an Icebreaker Speech. The Icebreaker is a two to four-minute speech; the first speech delivered by a new member to fellow Toastmasters members. The title of the Icebreaker speech was ‘Nuggets My Parents Taught Me’, delivered by Modupe Olantunji. Modupe’s speech was based on life lessons she learned from her parents while growing up in Lagos, Nigeria. The lessons delivered during Modupe’s speech were, the best way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them, there is no excuse to not do well in school, and you are who you are; don’t bow down to peer pressure.

The third speech of the evening was speech five from The Competent Communicator Manual. The assignment for speech five is Your Body Speaks, which is delivered as a five to seven-minute speech during which the speaker is assigned to use stance, movement, gestures, facial expression and eye contact to communicate the purpose of the speech to the audience. The title of the speech was ‘Camels, Cobras & Tea! Oh My!’ delivered by Laura E. Davidson. This speech was the winner of the PMI Atlanta Toastmasters Chapter Annual Humorous Contest held on July 24th. Laura used various types of body movements, voice inflection and facial expressions among other techniques to narrate an experience she had with 4 friends in Marekesh, Morocco while visiting to attend a PMI program. The moral of Laura’s speech was ‘class starts tomorrow, but lifelong friendships start today’.

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 theme of the Table Topics session was, ‘Change’. Each speaker was asked to speak on a different question regarding change. The first speaker was Scott Madden, who spoke to the question, ‘What does change mean to you?’. Scott spoke of different changes the dynamics of a family experiences, from having children, raising children through infancy, daycare and grade school. Scott used his own family experience as example.

The second Table Topics speaker was Cyndi Ellison, who spoke to the question of ‘How would you dare change your organizations culture?’. Cyndi spoke of her personality during high school and a specific experience dying her hair from blonde to ‘Manic Panic Blue’ and the response she received from one of her teachers.

Serving as Evaluators during the meeting were Scott Madden, who served as General Evaluator, Kevin Buchanan who evaluated Shannon Kraiger’s speech and Dionne Saunders, who evaluated Modupe Olatunji’s speech. The audience performed a round robin evaluation for Laura Davidson’s speech. All speakers and evaluators qualified for time.

Awards were presented to Dionne Saunders for best evaluator, Laura Davidson for best speaker and Scott Madden for best Table Topics speaker. Winners received ribbons.

Rich Staci served as Grammarian, Valerie Williams-Ndikintum as Ah-Counter and Larry Ferguson kept time. The Word of the Day (WOTD) was Acumen and was utilized in three instances during the meeting.

Before the conclusion of the meeting, Dionne Saunders was invited to speak on lessons she’s learned from Toastmasters. Dionne spoke of an experience serving on a panel. The experience reminded her that a speakers’ panel is nothing more than a table topics discussion. Dionne reminded speakers to maintain a consistent pace, slow down and continue to breathe.

The meeting concluded with the 2014-2015 officers’ induction ceremony led by Michael Drake, AG. The purpose of the ceremony was to bid farewell to 2013-14 officers, thanking them for their service, and conduct an induction of new officers to serve on the 2014-15 board. The PMI Atlanta Toastmasters’ 2014-15 board consists of the officers below:

• VP of Public Relations – Jalean McClurg
• VP of Membership – Scott Madden
• VP of Education – Fred Walker
• Secretary – Wendy Shannon
• President – Dean Gudlauski

New officers sworn in received a Toastmasters pin. Parting 2013-14 officers received a Toastmasters glass mug as an expression of gratitude for serving.

The new President shared his goal for the 2014-15 year with members being:
1. Help members achieve excellence in communication.
2. Assist members with practicing.
3. Provide membership service such as mentoring.

Speaking of mentoring, aside from speeches delivered and officer inductions, the meeting marked the kickoff of the chapter’s mentor program with introductions to the mentor team by Fred Walker. The mentor team consists of Fred Walker, Larry Ferguson, Shannon Kraiger, Dionne Saunders, Sam Abdelaziz, Jalean McClurg, Michael Donahoe, Chris Coussens, Dean Gudlauski and Wendy Shannon. During delivery of Fred’s message, he outlined two methods to request a mentor.

1. The link on the Toastmasters’ website.
2. Emailing Fred Walker directly.

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. The next Toastmasters meeting will be held on August 28th 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.