Moments of Truth

Moments of Truth

By Joyce Trimble, DTM, Outreach Chair

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR…

Ever wished for something, got it but WAIT…that’s not what I meant?    Such was the case recently at Mr. Cooper Speaks.

One of our members wanted to complete his Advanced Leader Bronze (ALB), not because he had visions of completing his Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) by June, 2020, but just to say he finished it.  It was a win/win for him and the club.  Still pending was the requirement of  two presentations from The Successful Club Series * and/or The Leadership Excellence Series  *.

He and I met to coordinate the presentations.  The first was Moments Of Truth (Item 290)  *.  Have you ever presented it or participated in a participation?  If so, you know the benefits of members having an opportunity to evaluate your club’s strengths and opportunities for improvement.  During the opportunities portion, he was actually the one who said, “I wish we had more Table Topics”!

*  Information for these presentation are free and available on the District 25 education resource page – pdf and power point for each presentation. Click here for details.

As the club’s Vice President Education, that was all I needed to get creative.   I remembered a game at our charter ceremony and brought it back to life…just better. “Toastmasters Family Feud”.  Vanessa Rivera and her “techy” and creative talents perfected a power point version I “borrowed”.  She found so many questions and answers for our Table Topic Meeting!  We rehearsed.  We were ready.

Now we all know that even the best plans often go amuck!  Vanessa couldn’t get to the electronic presentation at our meeting!   Not to worry, I had the questions and answers on hard copy.  We were short two members for an even distribution of 4 teams; as any Toastmaster does, I improvised.

The plan was to be team had one member to answer the question and the one with the most points was given a table topic question about their answer.   Team winner for Team 1 or Team 2 advanced to the finals.  Likewise, Team 3 or Team advanced.   And a play off!  The Winning Team was presented with a winner’s ribbons

We still had plenty of time for the other two teams to play.   Before I go on, have you ever been given just the right play, the perfect opportunity for something just too good to pass up?  As Hostess, that opportunity was given to me on a silver platter and I had to go for it.  Thankfully I had given notice that as the Hostess I might change my mind who answered the question.

Kelly Pelkey, DTM, Past President and Mr. Cooper Clown 1 or 2, Chris Anderson (you might remember him as El Dragon’) were pitted against each other.  The question was “What would you take for an overnight stay at the hospital”.   Kelly responded pajamas, the #1 answer.  She was preparing to speak when I asked Chris to describe the pajamas Kelly would actually take to the hospital.  And he did in a surprisingly atypical Chris the Clown mode.  Applause! Applause! Applause!  They were preparing to walk to the end of the line when I asked Kelly to describe the pajamas she would actually take.  In short her sophisticated pajamas Chris described were replaced with a pink bunny suit complete with polished nails and blingy earrings!  Laughter! Laughter! Laughter!  They were the hit of the game!

If your club has not participated in a Moments of Truth presentation, now is the time to put it on our calendar as part of the new Toastmaster year.  It is your opportunity to keep doing what is working well and correct missed opportunities.   Be on the look out for a Moments of Truth promotion to help your club earn some TI Bucks.

So yes, do be careful for what you wish, it might just be better!

Joyce Trimble, DTM
D25 Outreach Chair