Sunrise Toastmasters, Greensboro, NC

Hello Sunrise Toastmasters Members and guests!

Before beginning this rewind/fast-forward, please note we will not meet on Friday, March 25 (as Guilford County schools are out this day). The next Sunrise Toastmasters club meeting will be April 1.

Rewind from March 18

This meeting was held at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital in room 1 (0029) of the AHEC section with 9 members and one guest present (welcome back, Victoria!)

President Summer Murphy opened our meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and a few quick club reminders. First, dues – please pay by April 1 to remain in good standing with the organization. Second, consider competing in some area Toastmaster speech and Table Topics competitions this week. If interested, reach out to Summer. She then handed it over to Mike Stipanov to lead the meeting as Toastmaster for the morning. He chose to center his meeting on the unusually-entertaining race for the presidency, pointing out all the skullduggery (Word of the Day) that’s feeding an always-hungry media. In addition to learning the candidate’s style, mannerisms, and doctrine, Mike listens for how a candidate will put their plans into action. It’s clear that our democratic nation has a big decision to make in the not-too-distant future.

Today’s first speaker, Phil Monroe, completed project #3 in the Competent Communicator’s Manual, titled “How Software is Made”. In his speech, Phil talked about his entry into software programming and design and where it’s led him so far. As he explained the systems and processes for making software, he took us behind the scenes as software, like smart phone apps, move from ideas to reality. By the end, the audience appreciated Phil’s well-organized speech and unique perspective. The second speaker, Jenna Willingham, gave her ninth speech from the same manual, titled “Small Talk – Big Deal?”. The purpose of her speech was to persuade the listener to use the curious skill of small talk to enrich your life and the lives of others around you. She argued that, like any skill, our ability to conduct small talk takes practice – and that practice is worth the time, awkwardness, and effort. By the end, the audience understood that when you staying curious about the lives of others, small talk can open a world of possibilities where you least expect it.

Topicsmaster Dave Burr led the group in table topics with a cheeky game of “Would You Rather?”. Respondents showed great poise and control in navigating “the lesser of two evils” with a wide array of equally-cheeky answers. A special thanks to Steve Stephens and Angela Marsh for evaluating the speeches, to Summer Murphy for evaluating the meeting in general, and to Rita Sturdivant for serving as Timer/Grammarian.

 Fast-Forward to April 1 (two weeks from now!)

Please see the slated roles below: