Marilyn Freeman - Toastmasters
How to give presentations and chair a meeting
Chair James welcomed Marilyn & Tony, Les, Ian and Sally
His International Toast to RC Mt Isa had a decidedly domestic bent
Founded in 1558, and in District 9550, they ran the famous rodeo for 60 years
See the photos here
James welcomed James for the President's Report
- We were all saddened to hear the news of Norm's passing. Ron & Judy were to attend his funeral, and the service will be live streamed, or you can use the link at a later time to watch a recording. PP Anna noted that donations to RC Caloundra could be made in lieu of flowers.
- Merv is having some side effects from his treatment, but doing well. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.
- James is in discussion with Alan to talk him round to a special celebration of his 50 years in Rotary
- We need to provide a member to be on the "well paid" Cluster committee to organize the Centeary of Rotary in Aus/NZ celebration/Peace Poles.
Dates to remember
- October 23rd – Great Train Ride for Polio
- October 24th – End Polio Now Bridge Walk.
- November 8th – Rotary Foundation Seminar at St Columbans Caboolture.
- March 26th-28th – D. Conference at Kingaroy.
J F Burns "Too many people think of security rather than opportunity. They are more afraid of life than death"
18th August is Long Tan Day
From the ANZAC Portal "On 18 August, we commemorate Vietnam Veterans' Day on the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in 1966. We remember the sacrifices of those who died and say thank you to almost 60,000 Australians who served during the 10 years of our involvement in the Vietnam War."
Our own Vietnam veteran Ron led the Ode of Remembrance
Bernie introduced Marilyn
Bio – Marilyn Freeman
Marilyn is a qualified trainer, a conference and events manager and was a client manager in the performance improvement and motivation industry in Sydney.In 2003 she and husband Tony moved to Brisbane where she joined the Queensland Parliamentary Committees Office. She is now retired and devotes much of her spare time to Toastmasters – a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping people develop their communication and leadership skills. Within Toastmasters Marilyn is a Distinguished Toastmaster, has held many leadership roles including District Governor with 3,700 Toastmasters across Queensland, Northern Territory, Papua New Guinea and northern NSW in her care. She has also represented her district in the semi-finals of the International Speech Contest at the 2017 Toastmasters International Convention-Vancouver.Marilyn’s passion is helping others develop their leadership and communication skills – something she sees as vital in today’s business and political world.
Marilyn gave an interesting and animated talk about chairing meetings. Energy and enthusiasm, as well as good preparation, are the key.
Her training started very early, with her Nan's critique of her "pretty" colouring in "Be bold and exciting - not wishy washy"
And behind every great speaker, there is some whiteboard backup, in this case Tony
Marily shared her background in events management, where you need to be 100% organized and have that 100% grab - motivate and satisfy. These strategies work in business too
Good meetings "don't just happen" - she congratulated us on our printed agendas, but noted that the time limits for each speaker needed spelling out
The chairs role is vital, from contacting speakers prior to the event, being ready with stand-ins, committing to energy
Amy Cutting's TED Talks were recommended
Body language is critical but also primal - even blind athletes have "big body language" when they win. This releases adrenline, whereas a drowsy body releases cortisone.
Exercise, prepare, don't talk over people, evaluate
Past DG Wendy Wendy Protheroe is a good example
Younger business people need to be entertained - they have no attention span (I can say what I like about them here - no chance they would read this far)
Marilyn passed round some info on the Rotary/Toastmasters Alliance
James thanked Marilyn for her presentation
Directors
- Bernie outlined an idea to cheer up the Caloundra Hospital staff lunch area
- Darryl let us know that this year's Melbourne Cup will be run at Corbauld Park
- Gordon - guest of Norm five years ago - the rest is history
Jim gave us three minutes on Rotary, featuring some quietly spoken Soloman Islanders, then morphed into the Sergeant's Session