Sesión del 21 de noviembre 2018

Barcelona Toastmasters Club’s session on November 21’st was full of encouraging and motivational speeches. Before proceeding with the post, I want to say that since I joined the club, some weeks ago, every Wednesday has become a kind of mandatory and very profitable occasion at the club, not only because the energy and good vibes you feel among all the people, but for the very friendly and positive environment as well.

 Well, back to duty, that Wednesday'session started with a notoriously nervous sergeant of arms calling to start the session. I'm completely sure about his feelings because, in fact, it was me performing that role for the first time. Secondly, our president, Isabel Montero Garcés, opened the night and called for the visitors to introduce themselves, as well as introducing our Toastmaster of the night, Adrien Frouin, who rose to the occasion despite the fact it was the first time for him in this role.

The team

Anne - Sophie Batta was in charge of the ah - counter role, the suspicious mind whose main task was to catch the disruptive words pronounced during speeches, like ah, eh, oh or similar. Performing as the grammarian was Anna Cebrian, and her main task was to detect the wrong use of the language and, of course, call applauses when a good usage is found. Sonia Vilela was ruling the dictatorship of the time, in order to preserve the session duration and me, again, took the role of the blogger in order to publish all what happened during the night.

The beginning: If tomorrow never comes

Alvaro Fernández Martínez gave us his second speech, with a very touching topic concerning the importance of enjoy living and being in the present.

His main objectives were to focus on a strong opening and conclusion, and fulfil the advices given by the Competent Communication Manual - 2. The speech was full of messages, with a lot of real and daily life examples. It was, in resume, an invitation of reflection. A very accomplished speech, but one note: the gestures could have been improved ( very stiff expression ) The pauses and the silences were effective and well appreciated.

The middle earth: Between Two Breaths

Sebastian Tunnel is very passionate about Scuba Diving. For him, this activity means a pleasure and a way to disconnect from the fantasies of real life. In his speech, he shared with all of us one of his deepest passions, and invite us to try it in order to enjoy a peaceful moment. Based on the Competent Communications Manual - 3, his main focuses were on organising a speech to achieve general and specific purposes, project sincerity and conviction, control nervousness, among others.

His thoughts and speech really attracted the attention of all the public, and he closed it with a very soft and relaxing video which really showed the calmness you can obtain by practising scuba diving.

Believe it or not: Fact and fiction

Angela gave this speech a few weeks ago. An image of an apple is as real as an apple itself? It depends. According to Angela, it is! And reality just depends on our brain. Her interesting topic was supported by new gestures and a slightly

different attitude during her discourse, without losing any of her very contagious personality, charisma and good vibes on the stage. Her main objectives were to take in mind and apply previous feedback and evaluation. She fulfilled all of them and gave us a more structured and clear presentation.

Digging into the human mind: Unforgettable

Our president, Isabel Montero Garcés, took us into a world that surrounded us but in most of the cases, we don’t see: Alzheimer's. As usual, she started with a strong introduction, catching the public’s attention since the beginning of her speech. Her discourse was supported not just for a good knowledge of the topic, but for her attitude, gestures and visual supports as well. What I like the most (and this is a common pattern in her speeches) is the passion, energy and a very structured discourse, all requirements that make her discourse unforgettable. Her main focus was to organize for easy understandability and retention and motivate the audience to learn. Of course, all of the requirements were fully fulfilled.

And last but not least, Lluis Carreras introduced the Table Topics, in which Olga Escribano took the plaudits with her impressive performance and charisma.