Last Wednesday our club, Munich Prostmasters, had the honor of hosting The Area Conference for Munich Toastmasters, Munich Media Speakers, Effective Communicators and of course ourselves, Munich Prostmasters. We are Toastmaster clubs and concentrate our efforts on learning public speaking and leadership skills.
This time I have realized, there is one more skill to learn: chaos management. And oh yes, it was chaos. The second timer was not there yet, all the drinks and snacks were still on the way and the names of the contestants were a secret not only to the audience but to the contest chair as well. It became overwhelming and at one point I started talking to Shawn in all languages I knew. It is when I told myself to calm down and open the conference.
And the magic began. Silence has spread to the four conners of the room. The keynote speaker, Carlo, walked on stage. He is a relatively new at Toastmasters but he did rock the stage with his speech. A wonderful example of a well-prepared and inspiring speech. Witty and smart, encouraging and entertaining – it truly was honey to my ears and taught me that listening is even more important than talking. Great job, Carlo!
It is all coming up roses for Mel this year. He is the winner at Humorous and Table Topics contests. It is officially now – he is the funniest! His story of “Becoming a good German” made us all laugh so hard and so loud that neighborhood complained afterwards. Mel is not only the funniest, he is also the bravest one – talking out loud about german girls not shaving legs!
We had more winners. Verena from Munich Media Speakers has won our hearts and the 1st place in her area with “Dos and Don’ts of partying with the bosses”. Ineke proved she was created for working at marketing and winning at Toastmasters. Good luck ladies in the next round, divisional conference!
It was a lovely evening. And we did manage chaos. Thank you, guys, for being so helpful and supporting! I can’t think of a better place on this planet for learning, listening and getting inspired by you, Toastmasters!
Darya Bilousova,
President of Munich Prostmasters