Holiday time in Paris but TMP continued to open its doors to members and guests at Les Noces de Jeannette.
Anaelle welcomed everyone to “this wonderful TMP community” and reminded us of Helen Keller’s saying: “Together we can do so much!”

THE TOAST
Josep echoed this idea, adding that “Talent wins games but teamwork wins championships” (Michael Jordan).
He reminded us that when Kennedy took men to the moon, it was the work of NASA’s 18,000 people.

THE JOKE –
Peter told us he was delighted when his doctor prescribed, “Get a hot momma – be cheerful.”

Sadly, he discovered what had actually been said – “Got a heartmurmur – be careful!”

THE WORD –
Martin chose TRUE – e.g., true friend.

AREA CONTEST

Thanks to all who volunteered to help at the Area 4 contest this coming Saturday (24th).
Come and support our contestants Bob, Tricia, & Siobhan

1:30, Maison de la Sagesse – to the right of Chapelle
Notre Dame, 13bis rue Abel Gance, 13e
(metro Quai de
la Gare, line 6).

ANNAELLE’S TABLE TOPICS

Siobhan: “IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD”

Remembering how she needed help simply to change her baby’s nappy, agreed she needed the support of the whole ‘village’.

Maria: “COMMUNITY:THE POWER FOR CHANGE”

Maria said some communities block development, but there are things she has achieved that she couldn’t have done without the support of the community.

Harriet: “CREATING YOUR OWN COMMUNITY”

Harriet described her isolation after arriving in Paris on the first day of lockdown and losing her job soon
afterwards. As a result, she was forced to build her own community, but she now feels at home in Paris. Finally, she told us that it was a pleasure to be with us – as part of a new community!

Yasmine: “A COMMUNITY YOU ARE PART OF”

Yasmine described her work community, a major hotel chain, a place that experiences constant change but has to stay the same. The aim is to offer perfect service, and to this end, customers don’t see the huge effort that takes place behind the scenes.

Lars: “COMMUNITY SERVICE”

Lars suggested that, although he has not done any particular community service, we all serve any community of which we are a part. Moreover, he noted that communities are totally reliant on this.

Davide: “IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST, GO ALONE; IF YOU WANT TO GO FAR, GO WITH OTHERS.“

Davide considered this, especially in a work setting. As a trader, a very individual job, it seems to be true. However, he then considered runners. Alone, one can run quickly for a while, but it generally takes a
team to provide the motivation needed to continue running the distance.

SPEECHES AND EVALUATIONS

Connal’s evaluation of “I Will Survive” by Yannis

Connal paid tribute to the growth he has seen in Yannis. Today, he said, it was “a new Yannis” who
“strutted up John Travolta style.” He has become much more physical in his presentation, with
“expansive” and “natural” gestures. Now that Yannis has proved his potential, Connal advised him to
“Step up, as it only gets easier.” Moving forwards, he advised Yannis to program physical actions
throughout the speech and to learn his script (he referred to his notes towards the end). Connal
concluded by saying how much he had enjoyed Yannis’ stories – ”Sweet but funny but mortifying!”
Benoit‘s evaluation of “Olympic Games, The Important Thing is Taking Part” by Laura B
Benoit commended Laura for her use of positive, one-handed gestures to emphasize certain points.
He enjoyed her deadpan, sarcastic presentation style, as well as her jokes and references to
politicians. He recommended that Laura should memorize her speech so she could fulfil the objective
‘to engage the audience’. To facilitate greater vocal variety and help her practice the jokes, he
suggested rehearsing aloud. Finally, Benoit hoped Laura would use her sarcastic humor to “fuel” her next speech.

Josep’s evaluation of “When Life Gives you Lemon, What do you Do?” by Jessica

There was only one weakness, a moment when Jessica appeared to be searching for words, and Josep
wondered if notecards might help her recover quickly in such circumstances. Otherwise he had
nothing but praise – for Jessica’s engagement (her use of questions, her strong ending: “I believe in
you,” and her reference to her own life to prove points); for her vocal variety (tone suiting the subject
and use of pauses); and for her clarity.

Suzanne’s evaluation of “My Night in Amsterdam” by Tricia

Suzanne summarized Tricia’s speech as a story but noted that there was a subtext to it, that our
Toastmaster skills can be useful, and pointed out that this message speaks to our audience. She
appreciated Tricia’s “light conversational style, steady pace, and good diction” as well as her use of
humor. However, as this speech and the evaluation are preparation for the contest, suggestions for
improvement were important. Her main suggestions were that Tricia should seek ways to inject
greater emotional impact and tension (perhaps exaggerating her children’s reactions to their mother
onstage or Tricia’s own fear) and that the ending could be stronger (perhaps there might be a link to
the beginning).

GENERAL EVALUATION – MARTIN

Martin noted two areas for improvement:

Firstly, we started late.

Next, everyone received the fish course… and then plates were removed so the vegetarians could have their food – late. He wondered if it would be possible for some form of marker (as before) to distinguish which dish to serve.

However, there were many points for praise:
Martin praised Anaelle’s effort and efficiency in running a meeting when so many of the regular
members were away and for her choice of table topics that had everyone talking easily.

He noted the buzz he experienced on walking in tonight and suggested that the unusual number of
guests had energized us.

Josep and Anaelle were both commended for their ability to lead the meeting – and Connal for being the first person he had seen deliver a funny evaluation.

AWARDS TO…..
Harriet – Table Topics, Yannis – First Speech, Jessica – Speech, Josep – Evaluation

DATES for the DIARY –

• March 19
• April 2
• April 16
• May 7
• May 21
• June 4
• June 18