While the theme of the evening was “Pause”, there was not one moment of silence. Oana, once again, excelled at wearing many hats as the Club President, hybrid master supported by Alex, Josep and Vincent, and Toastmaster of the Evening! How does she manage so many tasks at once?

We were graced with the presence of some delightful guests: Adrienne, Kelly, Beatrice, Caroline and Kaiyue whom we are looking forward to seeing again at our upcoming Christmas party on December 7th.

As Toastmaster of the Evening, Oana chose a quote from Mark Twain, “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” The Pause is infused in the speeches and evaluations that we make at Toastmasters of Paris.

She announced our upcoming Christmas party on the 7th of December, a club contest in January and asked Alex to explain the Youth Leadership Program. He invited us to attend the meeting of YLP at the American Library Friday the 18th of November.

Paula, our VP of Membership, inducted two new members to the club, Josep and Laura, who promised to attend meetings and participate actively in the life of the club. The members then promised to welcome and support their growth and personal development. We’re excited to induct Anaëlle at the December 7 meeting. A big welcome to everyone!

A delicious salad of mixed fresh greens and thin slices of mimoletta cheese started off our meal, accompanied by Peter’s Toast of the Evening celebrating the Pause which eliminates the “errs” and “ahs” from our speech.

Laura’s Word of the Evening was embellish, adding the details that give color to our descriptions. It was well-used throughout the evening!

Eduard’s Joke of the Evening came from real life. Unknowingly, his father was walking naked through the apartment. When asked whether he was going to a concert, he smiled, a welcomed sight to see.

Tricia was our Table Topics Master. Inspired by the theme “Pause,” she used quotes and provocative questions which elicited interesting responses from Edouard about legal judgements; Martin about moving the capital of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; Kailue, about the need to pause from social media, Laura stating that Steve Colbert made her laugh, Peter, about the decision to stay in France and Alex about how we should pause to appreciate the beautiful cities in which we live.

Paula gave her second speech “Hit that Pause Button” reminding us of the importance of taking a pause from your working life. Her advice to members and guests was “Stop autocensuring yourself and do what brings you joy”. Evaluated by Vicki, Paula had applied the feedback from her last speech, incorporating vivacious gestures and vocal variety. She commended Paula on speaking about a topic that concerns us all, bringing joy into our lives.

Bob’s speech “A Question of Style” delved into communication styles. Asking the members what they thought his style was, all agreed that he is “Direct”. His anecdote about his partner for 12 years, clearly showed two different styles – hers “Supportive” and his “Direct”. Evaluated by Suzanne, she pointed out that his speech didn’t dig deep enough into a personal analysis of his style and how it could affect his communication.

Silvia’s speech, “Leading with Appreciation” explained how the carrot and the stick have traditionally been used to motivate people. Her experience as president of Toastmasters of Paris taught her to recognize the value of each of her teammates and show her appreciation. Cindi evaluated Silvia’s speech by commending her for her high level of leadership, the well thought structure of the speech and encouraged Silvia to come out from the podium, be in contact with the audience and add more vocal variety to her delivery. She concluded with praise for a Silvia’s message.

As General Evaluator of the evening, Vincent praised the team that made the hybrid meeting a success. He thanked Tricia for her excellent Table Topics and commended the speakers and evaluators for their performances.

Alex gave a Grammarian’s Report repeating some of the phrases that gained his attention and admiration. Stumbles were rare for many and left all of us feeling that we had done a good job.

Laura noted that 6 members had used the word “Embellish” in their interventions.

And now for the winners…..

Alex won the ribbon for Best Table Topic.

Cindi was victorious with her detailed and well-crafted Evaluation.

Silvia won Best Speaker for her speech.

Last but not least, Josep and Laura earned both a huge applause and membership ribbons for joining TMP.

Toastmasters of Paris celebrates Christmas early this year on the 7th of December. Please come in your festive best for a rollicking fun evening.