Toastmasters listened and listened
‘Listen, listen, listen’ became the mantra of Mullingar Toastmasters as Brian McLoughlin, club president, opened the last meeting with an emphasis on active listening.
Toastmaster of the night, Derek Walsh, then welcomed fáilte officer, Julie Kiernan, timekeeper, Patsy Fagan and general evaluator, Geraldine Smith.
In her icebreaker speech, entitled ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’, Fiona Collender showed how downsizing from Dublin had been a true blessing, earning her husband’s approval thanks to the cheaper pints in Mullingar!
Anisiria Giarza Lopez followed with ‘Finding answers in psychology’, an intriguing speech in which she compared the process of moving from abroad to the stages of grief, acceptance being the signal for the end of the journey.
Pat Cavanagh delivered a speech entitled, ‘Walk tall, walk straight’. Good coaches, he insisted, know when they are doing well when they find themselves made redundant.
Last to speak, Tom McIntyre, from Castleknock Toastmasters, poignantly demonstrated how the mentoring process had helped him come to terms with his wife’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Evaluators, Pauline McCabe, Deirdre Bigley, Lorraine Murphy and Philip Howlin commended all the speakers for their communication skills and offered advice on small improvements. Deirdre impressed all by starting her evaluation of Anisiria in Spanish. Philip made the call for all evaluators to employ their natural curiosity.
With a break for a cuppa and chat, topics master, Mags Healey Donoghue, used a variety of props to pull the audience along in an impromptu session of quick-fire challenges.
General evaluator, Geraldine, went on to commend all organisers and participants on the evening before handing over to Derek and Brian to make concluding remarks and close the meeting. And the best thing about the evening? Everyone listened!
The next meeting of Mullingar Toastmasters is at the Greville Arms Hotel on Thursday March 14 at 8pm. All are welcome.
– Anthony Viney, public relations officer