Toastmaster of the Evening Suzanne noted that the theme of the evening had been chosen because it was the day of the American election; however, she felt that ‘anxiety’ might have been more fitting. She cited a poll of American psychologists: 70% of their patients had reported anxiety about the future of the nation. The rules of Toastmasters, she continued, prohibit political controversy, and “Suzanne loves to follow club rules!” Rules create order and prevent chaos. However, this is what is at stake in this elections, she explained, in a democracy “designed to speak truth to power.” Suzanne concluded – “But the suspense continues…. As we do the toast!

THE TOAST – BENOIT
“Have you ever found yourself on the edge ofyour seat, heart racing?” – That’s suspense, he said, exciting but also tiring. Our brains release dopamine, keeping us focused and sharpening our senses, but what happens when there is too much suspense? – anxiety. “The suspense is killing us,” we say. But the good news is, we can handle this: “Turn off the TV!”he suggested. “The world will keep spinning.”
THE WORD OF THE DAY – DAVIDE
Appropriately, the word of the day was JITTERY, a word that appealed so much it was used by many speakers incuding Davide, Suzanne, Yannis, Davide, Florence, Vicki, Silvia, Alex, Amelie, and Siobhan.
JOKE – VINCENT
Vincent delivered a series of election jokes including –
What do you call a candidate who tells the truth? – Unemployed!
What’s the favorite vaction place for a politician? – The Poles!
Trump and Harris are in a plane crash. Who survives? – America!

BASE CAMP UPDATE
Lars, VP Education, talked about the new version of Pathways. It is much more user friendly: for
example, it is now possible to complete and send evaluation feedback directly on Base Camp without
having to download the forms, he says. However, Lars warned, there are some bugs in the program. He
asked everyone to check their details on Base Camp to see that their speeches have been credited, and
vice versa, that undone projects have not been marked as completed! If members have problems, they
should contact him for help.

MENTORING
Mentoring can make all the difference in Toastmaster growth. “New mentors are as vital to the life of the
Club as are new members, maybe even more so, because without immediate mentor connection starting
from the moment of induction, new members are cast adrift, “ Martin reminds us.
Thanks to Alison, VP Mentoring, for organizing this for us!

TABLE TOPICS

Josep – Leaking Someone’s Secret

In 2016 Josep had twenty-four hours to get out of Iran, as his CIA cover had been blown. He was driven to the border in the trunk of a car and then had to hike across the mountains into Turkey. At last he reached Paris, the only place where he would be safe.

Siobhan – Getting away with Murder

Hard to say this, because it has always been secret,
Siobhan began. But after Josep left, she discovered
the identity of the traitor, the CIA chief. As she was
secretly in love with Josep – another secret only just
revealed – she resorted to murder to avenge the
crime…

Davide – You meet your date at the restaurant,
but the profile was a lie!

Meeting dates like this is commonplace nowadays,
and Davide said he had found himself meeting
people like this in the past. However, he thought it
would be hard to lie on several photos… Even if the
date did not look as good as someone expects,
presumably you’d have been attracted by the
concversation you’d had, too. Certainly it would be
important not to show disappointment! – and then
good news – you could divide the bill!

Dalila – A comet is about to destroy the earth: how do you spend your last day?

What would she do with those last hours, Delilah pondered – spend time with her family or try
out something new, unhindered by social norms? It would be important not to be stressed, she
thought, but instead to embrace fate. Having considered these issues, Delilah decided that
she would want to have time with her family. She wpuld cook a good meal and then spend
everything “on one great wine” to “drink and share with loved ones.”

Lars – The Film Before the Book?

Lars was very firm in declaring
that the full scope of a book can
never be fitted into a film, which
can only last three hours at the
most. In any case, the best way
to appreciate the story is
through the imagination, as the
person creates the fictional
world in their head, and this is
always better. So no, never film
before book!

SPEECHES AND EVALUATIONS

• FLORENCE – ICEBREAKER: PRACTICING PATIENCE, evaluated by AMELIE
• JOANNE – JOURNEY FROM BURNOUT TO SELF-LOVE, evaluated by JOSEP
• VICKI – WHO’S NEXT? evaluated by ALEX
• SILVIA – BARK! Evaluated by SIOBHAN

PRACTICING PATIENCE
Florence introduced herself through the type of movies she loves (those that leave her “so enthralled and
so confused”) and those she hates (suspenseful movies bore her). She told us that this year, through
deciding to change jobs following burnout, she has been forced to learn patience.
Amelie noted that the icebreaker can be “a bit of a traumatizing speech” but congratulated Florence on
controlling her nervousness – she used pauses, avoided excessive movement, and had good gestures
(e.g., hands on heart to convey something dear to her), although some laughter betrayed her at times.
Amelie recommended more eye contact to convey confidence. Florence’s use of storytelling (talking
about her favorite movie) was commended, as well as the way she used films to give us insight into her
personality. The shift in subject from films to career was a little confusing, Amelie warned, advising for
next time, “Take us by the hand with structure: we need to feel where you want to take us.”
FROM BURNOUT TO SELF-LOVE
Joanne resumed her personal story, taking up where she had left us at the end of her last Icebreaker
speech. She explained how, on arriving in Paris from Shanghai, she had experienced burnout before
achieving “unconditional self-love.” She told us how she had trained herself to relax (dark room, music and
candles, no tech), to stop self-criticism (“Criticism changes nothing,”) and to “Live just for today. This
hour.”
Josep opened, “Straight to the point – fantastic!” He commended the way Joanne held the audience, the
clear structure to her speech, her use of quotations (the things she told herself), and her humor (that even
if she thought no one else loved her, her mother did!). Above all, Josep praised Joanne for speaking without
notes, adding that this was very rare, even for confirmed TMPers. Joanne is, he concuded, a great member
of our club, and she is helping to make it even stronger!

WHO’S NEXT?
Vicki confessed that the word of the evening, jittery, described how she was feeling, and then
explained her fears that Trump might be elected, despite his 34 counts of lawbreaking,
despite his being the first President to refuse to disclose tax details, despite his persistent
lying….
Alex opened by saying that, despite Vicki’s protsts that this wasn’t a funny subject, she had
indeed provoked some dark and grim humor and had drawn laughter from absurdity. He
praised Vicki’s vocal dexterity, calling it an “exemplar” of volume (from the loud and
incredulous “Trump won!”to the quiet reflection of “I couldn’t believe it,”) as well as her use
of pace changes. Her confidence, he told her, was displayed in her gestures and eye contact.
Finally, Alex praised Vicki’s handouts, which he said set certain expectations for the audience
without gving too much away. However, as Alex reminded her, if Vicki’s intention is humorous,
she could have emphasized more of the absurd, and as she was supposed to be creating
humor through anecdotes, she needed more than one. He left her with a challenge: more
anecdotes next time!

FROM BURNOUT TO SELF-LOVE
Joanne resumed her personal story, taking up where she had left us at the end of her last Icebreaker
speech. She explained how, on arriving in Paris from Shanghai, she had experienced burnout before
achieving “unconditional self-love.” She told us how she had trained herself to relax (dark room, music and
candles, no tech), to stop self-criticism (“Criticism changes nothing,”) and to “Live just for today. This
hour.”
Josep opened, “Straight to the point – fantastic!” He commended the way Joanne held the audience, the
clear structure to her speech, her use of quotations (the things she told herself), and her humor (that even
if she thought no one else loved her, her mother did!). Above all, Josep praised Joanne for speaking without
notes, adding that this was very rare, even for confirmed TMPers. Joanne is, he concuded, a great member
of our club, and she is helping to make it even stronger!

WHO’S NEXT?
Vicki confessed that the word of the evening, jittery, described how she was feeling, and then
explained her fears that Trump might be elected, despite his 34 counts of lawbreaking,
despite his being the first President to refuse to disclose tax details, despite his persistent
lying….
Alex opened by saying that, despite Vicki’s protsts that this wasn’t a funny subject, she had
indeed provoked some dark and grim humor and had drawn laughter from absurdity. He
praised Vicki’s vocal dexterity, calling it an “exemplar” of volume (from the loud and
incredulous “Trump won!”to the quiet reflection of “I couldn’t believe it,”) as well as her use
of pace changes. Her confidence, he told her, was displayed in her gestures and eye contact.
Finally, Alex praised Vicki’s handouts, which he said set certain expectations for the audience
without gving too much away. However, as Alex reminded her, if Vicki’s intention is humorous,
she could have emphasized more of the absurd, and as she was supposed to be creating
humor through anecdotes, she needed more than one. He left her with a challenge: more
anecdotes next time!

BARK!
Silvia’s humorous story was built around a very simple confusion: she thought she heard a young
man say he wanted to bark when in fact he was saying he wanted to park.
Siobhan found much to praise, from Silvia’s opening scene-setting sentence to her final message,
that we should always talk to strangers because it created positive experiences. She noted that
Silvia is never jittery but always in cool command of the audience, with good eye contact and
natural gestures. She noted that questions were used throughout to keep us hooked, to vary the
pace and tone, and to slow the pace so we could share Silvia’s confusion. The mock serious tones
and references to Toastmasters judging critera (body language to judge sniffing dog movements
and the vocal variety to judge barking) infused humor into the speech, as did the pun (“barking
mad”). Siobhan advised Silvia to enunciate the word bark at the beginning (she had heard buck),
and to add more drama to the story – emphaszing the different voices of the men and particularly
to exaggerate the barking, on which the humor of the story depends.

THE EVENING’S GUESTS

Alexander…
…is interested in improving his communication
skills – he has stage fright in when asked to
speak in meetings [probably the number one
reason for starting Toastmasters!]. He said it
had been an interesting evening with a high
level. He is looking forward to coming back!
Diako…
…visited us in his role as Area Director, and
said he was here to learn our secrets – how
we make our meetings great!
He is currently a member of two clubs, one
French and one English.
Dalila…
…is a career coach who wants to improve public speaking
as she often has to talk to groups. A French speaker, she
needs English for this, and Toastmaters would give her the
chance to practice. She was impressed with the meeting,
which she found was very structured, and claimed that the
feeling had been “warm”and “welcoming”.

Jialuo…
…had heard of Toastmasters
through some Australian
friends and came with her
coach, Dalila. She said she
had felt the club was inclusive
and had found it “inspiring” to
see people being
“openminded to sharing their
skills.”
Wenjun…
…only arrived in Paris two days before and found us by
Googling! She said the eveing was “Delicious – the food as
well!” The evening flowed smoothly “like the Seine,” and
she told us that she had enjoyed the cosiness of the
restaurant.
Miikka…
Is from inland, now living in Paris.
He wants to develop his speaking
skills in order to present at work.
He thanked us for the wam
welcome, adding, “How talented
you all are!”

Hyunjoo…
…heard of Toastmasters over ten years ago
and has been in Paris for over a year, She is
now coming out of her comfort zone, she told
us, wanting “to see and learn”and hoping to
develop her career. She described the
meeting as “cheerful and joyful.”
Fei…
…who was a Toastmaster 20 years ago in
Shanghai and now “rediscovering this
passion” with “an open heart,”
concluded, “I didn’t realize how much
technique there was behind speeches!”

GENERAL EVALUATION BY ALEX

Despite there being only 14 members at the meeting, it turned out to
be a good evening, Alex said, “Really fun and intimate.”

To Suzanne’s opening questioning of whether politics is a suitable
Toastmasters subject, Alex pointed out that it had motivated “interesting
and insightful speeches,” and concluded that it was fine as long as we
remain welcoming to everyone.

Alex had enjoyed Josep’s fictional anecdote, which was an interesting way
to respond to Table Topics.
He reminded us of recent recommencations for speakers to turn away
from the audience during thinking time. He advised against this, as it does
not prepare us for real life conversations, which is the purpose of these ad
hoc talks.

Alex commended the mixed seating of guests and members, but asked us
also to remember the loneliness of the timer, who often eats alone.

The evaluations were commendable, he said, then laughingly excluded his
own!

Maya was applauded when Alex said had been grammarian and stumble
catcher, both for the first time, and that these assignments require a
different kind of attention.

Finally , Alex thanked Lars for updating us on Base Camp.

RIBBONS

BEST SPEAKER – Joan

ICEBREAKER – Florence

TABLE TOPIC – Josep

EVALUATOR – Siobhan

Next Meeting: November 19