The last meeting in April at Prostmasters Munich was one of an unusual kind. We had no prepared speeches, no word of the day, no table topics, but on the other hand we had workshops! Two of them! And jokes! Lots of them! This meeting was one of the most active ones I have attended recently since everybody from the audience took part in the workshops prepared by three of our fellow club members.
Enter Samuel!
What’s a joke workshop without jokes? We heard plenty of those, but the real essence of his talk were the eight simple tips he gave us that everyone can incorporate into their jokes and make them sound more authentic and more humorous. Remember to smile, create tension, and for god’s sake, don’t laugh at your own jokes ever again! After Samuel’s talk, three of our fellow toastmasters went on stage and practiced what they had learned and told us a couple of funny jokes.
The second workshop held during the evening was about the way we use our voice and how most of the time we never really use its full potential. Funny enough, most of us are not even aware of this, unless someone else points it out for us. That’s why Armin and Caroline taught us the fundamentals of voice projection and demonstrated several exercises that each and every one of us can practice in order to improve our voices. It all begins with taking a deep breath, then warming up your voice and ending with a tongue twister! Try it out now and say “I’m sure she sells sea shells on the sea shore”. Now repeat it again with your tongue out! Sounds funny? Well, it does not really matter, since this exercise is a good way to become more fluent.
All in all, the evening was excellent, with great fun and tons of laughter. The numerous guests who visited us this evening were more than happy by the end of the workshops.
Atanas Dimitrov