Online – Toastmasters Talk of Spring

Continuing with online meetings, BrattleMasters, the local Toastmasters club, will meet Thursday, April 9. Members and the public may join our online Zoom meeting by using this link: https://zoom.us/j/404499195. The meeting ID is 404 499 195. Or by using one tap mobile, +16465588656,,404499195# US (New York), +13126266799,,404499195# US (Chicago) or dial by your location: +1 646 558 8656 US (New York), +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago), +1 301 715 8592 US, +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston), +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose), +1 253 215 8782 US.

Lisa Sieverts of Nelson, NH will emcee this meeting which has the theme of “April showers bring May flowers.” Scheduled speakers are Annamarie Pluhar of East Dummerston and Eddie Sause of Shelburne Falls, Mass. Evaluating each speaker are other Toastmasters who have been assigned to the speech and are informed ahead of time of the goals of the speaker’s particular project.

Like in a typical face-to-face meeting, a grammarian will introduce a word of the day and keep track of any grammatical errors or wonderful word or phrase flourishes; a timer will provide green, yellow and red signals of some kind for the speakers and evaluators; an “ah” counter will keep track of ahs, ums, andums, andahs, as well as the inappropriate use of so, and, like and other filler words; and a general evaluator will look at all aspects of the meeting. Near the close of the event, the grammarian, timer, ah counter and general evaluator will give short reports. The off-the-cuff exercise known as Table Topics is included at every meeting.

To join, sign in at about 5:50 p.m. to download Zoom, if necessary, and make sure your camera and speakers are working properly. Many programs are available for the vision-impaired.

The local Toastmasters club meets twice monthly on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. Until further notice, the club will meet online only.

The mission of a Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.