Oklahoma City, OK: Let's Talk Club

Oklahoma City, OK
Meets 7 PM Eastern Time Thursdays
Attendance: 14 attendees

Often the Toastmaster of the Day (TMOD), or the emcee, sets the tone of a meeting for the rest of the members and Sonya certainly did that at Let's Talk Toastmasters on July 2. I don't know if Sonya was a cheerleader in the past or an inspirational speaker now, but her pep and spark really energized me throughout the meeting. She also took the opportunity at different points of the meeting to play snippets of pop songs that we in the audience swayed and danced to, albeit in our seats. 

That surge of happy brain chemicals -- serotonin and dopamine -- continued during Wiline's speech. She did a toast to the trio of members in the club who earned the Distinguished Toastmasters award in the last Toastmasters year, which ended June 30. 

Members of this club were friendly and greeted us very warmly. The took the time at the beginning of the meeting to explain all the roles, which is helpful for guests. They even let me participate in Table Topics (impromptu speaking) and I was voted the best respondent. Yes, I know, more happy brain chemicals were triggered there too. The club also plans to have a training session about Zoom in the near future. That's a great thing to do.

One of the things I noticed that is different is that the club refers to its Timer, Ah Counter, and Grammarian as "technicians." I had never heard that term used that way before. The General Evaluator at the meeting, Sherri, thanked the Table Topics Master, Jessica, for NOT asking for volunteers during Table Topics. I heartily agree with Sherri on this. My philosophy about Table Topics is to call on people with no speaking roles in the meeting or those with minor roles. I've also found that the more timid members generally won't volunteer to answer a Table Topics question, but they will respond, often beautifully, when they are selected.

This club does the Pledge of Allegiance and has a business session at the beginning of its regular club meeting. We don't do either at my home club, but I have to remember that each club has its own culture that works for its members. The club was President's Distinguished for 2019-20, so I can't argue with how they do things. I enjoyed my visit there.



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