Looking forward to 2010/2011

18 06 2010

Many of our members gathered on Friday 11th for a quiet drink in Macroom. I think it is to our credit that it wasn’t that quiet! It was the perfect way to end an enjoyable year for the club.

Well a week has passed and it is time to look forward. The committee is in place for next year, you’ll find them listed along with some member profiles on the “Who We Are” page (See the link above).

Also, we have a provisional calendar in place with meetings due to kick off on Thursday September 23rd. (See “When we meet”).

All that is left to decide is the venue. Following an extensive search last year, only two venues emerged as suitable for our Toastmasters meetings. While we don’t need anything special, we do need to be able to seat 20 people in a private room and have access to tea/coffee facilities. The two venues are:

Which venue would you prefer to see us in? Please vote below.

Have a good summer!


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2009/2010 season ends on a high.

28 05 2010

What a great night we had last night, May 27th at our final meeting of the season. Topicsmaster for the evening, Trevor Mulcahy, introduced an innovative session which included going on holidays with various celebrities using diverse transportation means such as camels and children’s tricycles.

We had three prepared speeches for the evening. Kris Meulemans presented a masterful stage 2 speech entitled “When life hands you lemons…, which was a huge endorsement for a positive approach to life and making margaritas. Fiona Cotter completed her sixth competent communicator level with a thought provoking speech regarding the state of the nation. She intelligently echoed Kris’s idea’s in advocating a more positive approach to life in these recessionary times with a speech entitled “Taking Action”. Our third speech for the evening was given by Peter Neville, which was the anniversary of his last presentation. His speech Planes, trains and automobiles was an excellent travel diary of his recent trip to Austria. We hope we won’t have to wait such a long time for his next presentation.

The evaluation of the meeting was admirably accomplished by Michael Murphy who has taken to the roles at Toastmasters like a duck to water.

At the conclusion of a very successful season we wish to thank all our patrons, members and guests for their contributions and help throughout the season.

We would especially like to thank John Skeates who is stepping down after three years of doing Trojan work as treasurer.

Our next meeting will be on September 23rd. New members and guests are most welcome to come along and remember you need not speak unless you wish to.


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Three speeches at this week’s Toastmasters, Thursday Night.

26 05 2010

We are lucky enough to be ending the year on a high with three speeches due to be given at our next Toastmasters’s meeting, Thursday, 27th May at 8PM. Peter Neville, Kris Meulemans and Fiona Cotter will be speaking. All of these speakers are working on the projects from the introductory Toastmaster’s manual – The Competent Communicator. Fiona will be giving her sixth speech, Peter, his fifth and Kris will be following up his ice breaker with his second speech.

Its the perfect night to get an idea of whether or not Toastmasters is for you.


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What can Toastmasters do for your business..? (Audio).

18 05 2010

Just a quick post to draw your attention to last Saturday’s episode of The Business on RTE Radio 1 which featured Darren Le Croix – A world champion at public speaking. In just under 24 minutes, Darren provided the best insight into what Toastmasters can do for you and for your business that I have come across. Leaving Toastmasters aside, the segment is very interesting and often funny.

Darren provides tips on speaking to two Irish business owners and finishes with a comparison of speeches by David Cameron and Brian Cowen – You may be surprised by Darren’s comments.

To listen to the mp3 of the show, click here.

Got your interest? Why not come along to Macroom’s next Toastmaster meeting on May 27th, 8pm,  at the Macroom E centre.


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“A great night was had by all…”

14 05 2010

Yes, Last night we had a very good meeting. For once our timekeeping went out the window as we had to put up with an over-enthusiastic attendance, but we still managed to get finished by about 9:45. Having started at 8 and managed to get through three speeches – 9:45 wasn’t too bad.

Our first speech was from John Skeates, one of our most experienced members. In a 14 minute advanced speech, “That’ll do ferry nicely”, John took us on several trips: Cork – Fishguard in the 50′s, Portsmouth – Bilbao, and even as far as Bergen, Norway and Hong Kong.

Our second speech was from Kieran Coffey who is in training for a best-man’s speech. I don’t want to give away the game here, but it’ll be gas!

Finally, Kris Meulemans, our newest member, gave his Ice Breaker speech. This is where a new Toastmaster gets to speak for about 5 minutes on themselves. No easy task – But Kris did an excellent job. We are looking forward to his coming speeches.

The night finished on a high with the inaugural presentation of the perpetual Cremin-Connolly trophy to Michael Murphy, Macroom’s representative in the recent International Speech contest. Pictures will follow soon.

The only thing the night was missing were guests, so please do come along on the 27th if you think Toastmasters is for you.

Bridge Macroom
Photo owned by mozzercork (cc)


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