Member blog by Max Delaney.

Steve Kennelly was our Toastmaster for the morning, exploring the meeting theme of the Winter Solstice. He presented different winter themed facts and got us looking forward to the longer days as we head towards summer!

Corinne Bataille started us off with a research speech on food systems that can savethe world. This was speech #1-4 of Presentation Mastery – Researching and Presenting an Unfamiliar Topic. A very well structured speech began with Corinne spending time outlining the topics she will cover throughout her speech before diving in, which allowed us to seamlessly follow her through. Corinne had clearly researched her topic well as there was little indication the topic was unfamiliar to her! She invited audience participation with regular questions and left us pondering ‘Why should we care about food systems?’ Overall, it was a well presented speech on a topic that was relevant to the entire audience.

Colin Hampson made a statement early by pushing his notes aside and settling into the stage. Colin oozed relaxation by composing himself well, making us aware of him taking a moment to compose himself, and by doing so, he made instant connections with us in the audience. Presenting his first speech, titled ‘Why Words Matter’, in the Effective Coaching pathway, Colin shared with us deep personal stories from his past that have positively shaped his personality to date.

A profoundly emotional speech that evoked perspective through grief allowed the audience to understand how Colin values life, reminding us throughout that the gift of life is the greatest gift of all; especially for those who no longer have that gift. While sharing his stories Colin always returned to his speech title on why words matter, reminding us to consider how the words we produce each day will impact on those around us. Overall, Colin’s fantastic ice breaker speech left us looking forward to his upcoming speeches.