Eyeopener Toastmasters Club
1236 3 Ave S T1J 0J9 Lethbridge, AB, Canada

The last post was an 'Oops.' It was all about our St. Patrick's Day meeting, but the picture showed our Christmas meeting. Here is the real St. Pat's Day picture.

This is excellent information for those of us who are Zooming together

Eyeopener Toastmasters Christmas Meeting Holiday festivities were on full display at the Eyeopener Toastmaster Club’s last meeting of 2020 on December 16th. 15 members and guests from near and far, sporting holiday hats, festively decked out their Zoom spaces for the meeting. There were people on hand from Lethbridge, Calgary, Pincher Creek, Brooks, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and as far away as Ontario who joined the celebration. With holiday tunes playing softly in the backgroun...d, the room was quickly abuzz with chatter as old friendships were renewed and new ones were made. It was as close to in-person as it gets. Bev, the mastermind behind this unique celebration called the meeting to order. The first order of business was self-introductions. This wasn’t your average go around the room and introduce yourself. This was a virtual gift exchange. Each person drew the name of someone else actually, Bev drew the name ahead of time and let us know to whom we would be giving a gift and offered a special gift for that special person. Everyone told what they chose and why it was the perfect gift for their recipient. We had WIDE range of gifts. From a hockey stick to a lush pillow, to a wonder solution which would cure a wonky shoulder. It was fabulous fun! Too bad there wasn’t time to gift steal. Our speakers this morning were Jacob and Alex Ann. Jacob asked us to look at the poem ’’ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas in a whole new light. Jacob explained the spiritual side of this classic. He told us he believed it could be viewed as a telling of the Christmas story in the Book of Luke in the Bible. I’ll bet our members will see new meaning the next time they hear or recite the poem. Alex Ann (AA) talked about the benefits of having a mentor. She spoke about the role her mentor, Freddi, played in encouraging her, keeping her looking forward when she was feeling overwhelmed. At one point AA told Freddi this Toastmaster thing was hard. Freddi informed her it was HARD = Hope Attitude Resilience Determination. Important words for all of us when we want to quit. What holiday celebration would be complete without a Table Topics session themed around that classic holiday movie. (Not Die Hard) It’s a wonderful life. Our Topic Master, Gerald asked participants questions based on characters and scenes from the movie. The answers were as unique as those presenting them. Although we weren’t meeting face-to-face, this meeting had all the fun and warmth of a holiday gathering of friends. It was an outstanding way to ring out 2020 and to look forward to what 2021 has in store. Happy Holidays everyone! See you on January 6, 2021.

In this short video, I review some issues I have seen with speakers picking speech topics and messages!

It’s a perfect time to try out a Toastmaster meeting. You can do so from the comfort of your home, office, or coffee shop. Tell us what you think!It’s a perfect time to try out a Toastmaster meeting. You can do so from the comfort of your home, office, or coffee shop. Tell us what you think!

What could you talk about for 30 minutes with absolutely no preparation? What could you talk about for 30 minutes with absolutely no preparation?

Hey everyone! Due to the awful weather, we’ve decided to cancel this morning’s meeting. Stay warm and get some rest!Hey everyone! Due to the awful weather, we’ve decided to cancel this morning’s meeting. Stay warm and get some rest!

Did you know that public speaking is listed as the biggest fear in the US? (It’s likely Canadians share a similar statistic.) If you’ve ever wanted to overcome this fear but thought it impossible, or even develop your leadership and communication skills as a whole, then we invite you to be our guest tomorrow morning! 7am at the Legacy Tae Kwon Do Centre on 3rd ave. Nothing to lose but fear, and so much to gain! Also, there’s food.