June 16, 2014 Club Meeeting

The following is a summary of the minutes from our June 16th meeting.

Meeting Location:   San Mateo City Hall, San Mateo, CA     6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Attendees: David, Suzanne, Lara, Samya, Trey, Randy, Martin, Aditi, Brenda

Guests: Shashi, Michelle, Vishal, Barbara

Samya was the Toastmaster; Randy was the General Evaluator; Martin was the Timer.

Samya did not have printed agendas available, so she outlined the meeting’s agenda: a speech by Brenda and evaluations from last week’s meeting. 

Speaker:  Brenda: The Speaker Role

Brenda asked the audience for recollections from the previous meeting.  Brenda also gave feedback to presenters whose slides she saw in the final draft of last week’s PowerPoint presentation, noting Martin’s clever use of images.

Evaluator #1:  David on Martin’s speech: The Toastmaster Role

David noted that Martin made good use of visuals and bullets.  Martin had clear delivery and made effective use of pauses.  David noted Martin needs more voice intonation as his voice was too low.  David said the presentation was well-prepared and had good humor.

Evaluator #2:  Vishal on Fernando’s speech: The General Evaluator Role

Vishal noted Fernando’s calm demeanor and positive speech.  Vishal noted the speech ended on time.  Vishal said there were moments of uncertainty because of the questions in Fernando’s voice and it made Fernando look less prepared.  Vishal said Fernando should show more confidence next time.  Vishal said Fernando’s speech was positive.

Roundtable evaluation: Trey’s speech: The Speaker Role

·         Vishal noted Trey’s confidence and that he appeared less prepared. 

·         Samya noted Trey had filled in at the last minute with less time to prepare than the other speakers.

·         David noted that Trey had said he hadn’t prepared in his speech introduction and that he shouldn’t include that in the future. 

·         Lara noted Trey spoke about the role’s pre-meeting responsibilities which include letting your Evaluator know the things you want them to watch out for. 

·         Randy reminded everyone about the sandwich evaluation technique.

Evaluator #3: Trey on Randy’s speech: The Role of the Grammarian

Trey noted Randy’s walking, gestures and body movement.  Randy used notes once. Randy’s tone got too low and his pauses sometimes were too long.  Randy shared past experiences and personal stories to illustrate examples of bad and good grammar and an example of a movie legitimizing the use of bad grammar.  Overall, it was a wonderful presentation with a nice closing.

Evaluator #4: Martin on Suzanne’s role as Toastmaster

Martin noted that Suzanne did an excellent job as Toastmaster which was a busy role in the last meeting.

Roundtable evaluation: David’s speech: The Role of the Evaluator

David reminded everyone of his speech from last week: The Evaluator’s role is to “Evaluate to Motivate”, outlining the sandwich evaluation technique and to avoid white-washing or being hypercritical.

·         Shashi noted the sandwich model is good to use in the office and helps people give feedback as well as receive feedback. 

·         Aditi agreed the sandwich technique is useful.

·         Martin thought the four-part breakdown is useful.

·         Trey noted David’s confidence and delivery are the best in the group, indicating a combination of lecture and life experience.

·         Randy reminded everyone to breathe.

·         Lara liked David’s improvisational use of the previous speaker’s crayons and paper.

·         Suzanne thought the strategy of having the audience draw the diagram was very useful and memorable.

·         Vishal noted David’s confidence and that David should smile more.  Vishal said David’s speech was inspiring and wonderful.

·         Samya said David put all of the tips from the ten projects together: hear it, say it, reiterate.  Samya also noticed that asking the audience to participate by draw the diagram helped to make it more memorable.

·         Barbara noted David’s confidence and humor and encouraged him to foster it.

·         Michelle thought the four-art diagram is a great technique for memory.

·         Brenda also thinks David should be more humorous.

Evaluator #5: Randy on Samya’s speech: The Role of the Table Topics Master

Randy really liked Samya’s calm and natural presentation.  Randy compared his nervousness to Samya’s experience and comfort.  Randy noted his appreciation of all of Samya’s help in making the club grow with her go-getter participation.

Evaluator #6: Suzanne on Lara’s speech: The Vote Counter Role

Suzanne noted Lara’s inclusion of the role’s pre-meeting responsibilities to create atmosphere.  Suzanne said Lara’s presentation was well-organized with slides but the delay in getting started was too long. (It should be noted, however, that we are all just becoming familiar with the power point equipment within the room.)  Suzanne noted Lara researched a low-profile role, reminding that the Vote Counter should repeat the criteria for voting when outlining the Vote Counter role during the meeting.

Martin gave the Timer’s report. 

Samya took advantage of the absence of printed agendas to run a Table Topics session quizzing the audience on meeting roles.

Randy, as General Evaluator, briefly outlined the responsibilities of the General Evaluator’s role.

Samya adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m.