Social Media and Negotiation - TM meetings in September - Report by Ursula Beatty

Themed meetings add variety and interest to our weekly meetings. The toastmaster or MC who leads the meeting  is responsible for selecting the theme for the day.

The following reports are from two club meetings in September with two different themes: Social Media and Negotiation.

Meeting No: 742. Sep 6^th, 2017

Ian Garvie was the Toastmaster (MC) for the day. His chosen theme: Social media.

His  question for all of us: Is Social Media friend or Foe?

There were some very interesting answers to this question from the audience during our introduction of members section. 

Networking was the word of the day (WOD)– selected by Sarafina, who also gave a report on the WOD usage and grammarian report towards the end of the meeting.

Occasionally we have Debates related to the Theme of the day. The participants are required to speak for or against the motion regardless of their personal preferences!
Nicole led a debate with 2 motions. 1.  Is Social Media beneficial for society?  Ursula spoke in favour and  Aimee spoke against.   
2. Are Face book Friends better than real friends? debated by Ian (For) and Mark (Against). Both questions produced lively and entertaining answers.

Julie Anne gave a speech in preparation for the upcoming club speech contest.

A good selection of thought provoking Table Topics led by Mark Butler. For example “Is Social media heading in a positive or negative direction?”

Nicole answered the table topic: What is your favourite form of social media?: In Aimee’s evaluation of table topics, she noted that “Nicole  was like butter – very smooth!”  Another great quote Aimee!

In the evening, I 'happened' to  turn on the 612 ABC radio and there was a very interesting discussion and talk back  with a psychologist about  “Does Social Media and Facebook in particular,  make you sad and depressed?” It would appear that for many people, it does. What do you think?

*************************************************************

Meeting No: 743. Sep 13^th, 2017

An Excellent meeting today with a great vibe and very well run. 

Nicole Kelly was the Toastmaster (MC) for the day. Her chosen theme: Negotiation. 

Her question to all of us: What is your negotiation style?

[after first explaining the 5 different negotiation styles: 1. Competing Win/lose; 2. accommodating Lose/win;  3. compromising lose/win some: lose/win some;  4. collaborating win/win and 5. avoiding lose/lose] 

One of the Guests,  Cameron was at a  workshop on this very topic the previous day, so this was an easy question for him to answer.  I love how synchronicity is always at work at our TM meetings!

Nicole shared a great quote:  “Money isn’t everything, but I would rather cry in a Mercedes than on a push bike!”

Hannah was the 1^st speaker with a speech from the speaking to Inform manual about how to play the violin. She gave a very informative and interesting presentation, especially for those of us that have never played the violin. Julie Anne evaluated Hannah’s speech

Ursula was 2^nd speaker with a speech project on using Vocal variety. A story about the highs and lows of her recent visits to an aged care facility  in Ireland.   

Christine evaluated this speech as well as the table topics questions with her usual expertise. She  demonstrated her excellent multi tasking and focusing  skills, despite the fact she has only been back in the country a few days after a long haul flight.