"Where Leaders Are Made.”
So goes the tagline of Toastmasters International and thanks to DTM Luis Caetano, the Toastmaster of the Evening, who decided to use it as the theme for the 311th meeting of Filcom, this tagline is no longer a mere string of words, but a catchphrase that cuts deep into our hearts as aspiring leaders who aim to “influence” (word of the day) others positively. He highlighted that leadership is the ultimate reason why we develop our communication skills. When we communicate effectively, we can inspire, influence and lead others. Speaking of leading others, last night was a special joint meeting with Jordanian Engineers Toastmasters Club who gladly & readily took up the roles of Timer (TM Malek), Grammarian (TM Amjad) & Speech Evaluator (TM Saif).
In the first part of the meeting, Prepared Speeches, we listened to 3 amazing speakers. TM Qasim delivered his first-ever speech, Ice Breaker, and it was impressive! No use of notes, no hint of nervousness and he delivered a well-structured speech about his inspiring life story. TM Theresa, on the other hand, had us giggled with her entertaining speech entitled Let Your Hair Down. And lastly, TM Farooq delivered an advanced speech, Speaking Under Fire, where he acted as a CEO of two merging companies. The audience who served as employees asked provocative questions in the end, but TM Farooq could not be intimidated. He answered all the questions succinctly and on time. In the end, Theresa was adjudged the Best Speaker.
The Table Topics was the second part of the meeting conducted by TM Jessie who adapted the contest format with a common question to be answered by 5 brave volunteers. The topic was “Are leaders born or made? Why?” All of them chose “made” but it was TM Rashed’s answer that stood out.
Then, after a 15-minute break, the meeting reconvened with the Evaluation Session. But this time, the Toastmaster of the Evening, DTM Luis, (instead of the General Evaluator) facilitated the giving of reports of the role players and speech evaluators so TM Nadim (GE) could have the time to take note of their reports and evaluations. DTM Luis proved to be right in his strategy because when TM Nadim came to give his general evaluation, it was nothing short of impeccable. For this session, TM Joseph bagged the Best Evaluator award.
Finally, in the Business Session, TM Joseph was elected and inducted as the Vice President for Public Relations, followed by a group photo.
By Joseph Amande
VP - PR
Joint Meeting of Filcom and Joeng
July 22, 2017
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Qatar
Tafawook Hall
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