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Definition: indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events.Example: they sat down together to reminisce their childhood.
Table Topics
We listened to an intriguing variety of Table Topics about life during lockdown hosted by Katia Hougaard.
Often is the case that Kimberly would sit in traffic for more than half an hour to get to work. Since she does not have to commute anymore, she is very happy.
Seema used to wake up early every day when she had to go to work. Now, she says she has “no discipline” and that she uses “more and more time on technology”.
Strictly speaking, you do not have to be in an office to be productive. In fact, Rubab (Best Table Topic) tells us that she is more productive at home, due to all the distractions in the office.
For most, our work lives are not normal. However, Pragya claims that doing business online “saves a lot of travel time” and can save the economy a lot of money.
Where does Tim prefer to work? Is it in his home office? No, it is in his barn with the horses. For the past 15 years, Tim “used to be a trainer” for businesses.
Prepared Speakers
What should I do with my litter? Patrick Kalonde discusses Why We Should Talk about Litter Pollution.
One day, Patrick had a chat with his mother about mask dissemination. That’s when he became more aware about the awful problem of waste in his beautiful hometown in Malawi.
Only 33% of waste is treated in an environmentally-friendly way. Patrick is using “data and science” to implement changes “to tackle the problem”. He ended his speech by acknowledging that “we have to raise awareness about this problem”.
Lenka Tarábková revealed How to Speak so People Would Listen to Us. Do you commit any of the “seven deadly sins” of listening?
If you are not present in your listening, judging instead of listening, or being negative, you are doomed to lose your rapport with the party with whom you speak. In addition, ensure you do not complain, make excuses, exaggerate, or confuse facts for others’ opinions.
Instead, Lenka suggests being present and open in your interactions with others. In other words, if you love your interaction with others as if you were interacting with your best friend, then you are on the successful path to winning friends and influencing people.
“Would you drive a car at 30mph without brakes?” The Brakes in Our Lives can help us go faster, according to Rahul Jain (Best Speaker).
If your car is missing brakes, would you dare drive it? Similarly, how would you get from A to B in life without some amount of “people brakes”, “situation brakes”, and “conscious brakes”?
A “people brake” is someone who is a “devil’s advocate”. They care for you but will always challenge you. A “situation brake” is a novel environment or context that challenges you. Finally, a “conscious brake” can be the “moral compass” that influences your decisions.
Evaluations
Adrija Menon evaluated the Table Topics.
Kimberly could have elaborated on how she felt due to not having to commute.
Seema expressly made her Topic relevant by stating how she became “addicted to the Toastmasters meetings”.
Rubab packed a “lot of information” into her speech and presented well.
Pragya gave the audience a “nice thought” to consider.
Tim showed us some of the contents of his house
Rubab evaluated Patrick’s presentation.
“A picture paints a thousand words” and Patrick’s lucid descriptions achieved the same effect.
“Some of us may not be accustomed” to his accent, so he could slow his pacing and pause more.
His talk was well-researched and thorough. Well done!
Katia (Best Evaluator) evaluated Lenka’s speech.
Lenka used plenty of vocal variety to express her emotions and influence the mood of her audience.
Her talk had a somewhat negative tone about it!
Her content was engaging and, coupled with her slides, awesome!
Chuka evaluated Rahul’s talk.
His analogy with the car greatly assisted understanding and improved audience attention.
He could have used real-life examples or presentation slides in the body of his speech.
The way Rahul spoke more slowly and with greater emphasis on certain words at his conclusion was reminiscent of an inspirational speaker.
Kenny acted as our General Evaluator.
We started on time! Kenny added, “I believe that’s a first!”
The Toastmaster (Harshit) should follow his role description more carefully.
The Table Topics Master shouldn’t exclude members just because they have meeting roles.