Does your grammarian in your Toastmasters meeting call you out for ending sentences with a preposition (e.g. what we're here for), splitting infinitives (e.g. to confidently speak), or beginning your sentences with conjunctions (e.g. And, if that wasn't enough...)?  Some members might not be on the lookout for grammatical errors such as the above when filling the role of grammarian, but some delight in catching such common patterns of speech.  Should you ignore the callout, or strive to … [Read more...]

We had a terrific meeting today!  Though the "how do you do that" theme from this month wasn't overtly mentioned, everyone learned something they could take away with them.  Rich Scanlon delivered an entertaining and information speech on Body Language, based on project 5 from the Basic Communication manual, Your Body Speaks.  The next time a visitor arrives, take a look around the room and notice which members have their eyebrows raised as they say Hello - those were the members who applied … [Read more...]

Today's meeting was so much fun!  In honor of April Fool's Day, our TOTD Diana Crandall announced that our meeting would be a "backwards meeting".  In case you don't know what that is, it means that all events are held in backwards order - the reports are given at the beginning of the meeting, the evaluations are given before the speeches, the opening announcements are given at the end, etc.  I hadn't experienced a backwards meeting before, though I had heard of them, and was surprised to … [Read more...]