Naturally Speaking Toastmasters
131 Charlotte Street Peterborough, ON, Canada

NSTM/KLTM Meeting Recap: Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 Meeting Theme: Panic Good meeting this week. For our meeting theme we had the stressful if not interesting subject of Panic. We also listened to a very well-thought out speech from our official speaker DTM and District 60 Pathways Chair Tony Nelson. In his speech, Tony talked about how his many experiences as a Toastmaster had contributed to his work as a teacher, which was inspiring to hear. ... It is also my (Kyle Los') duty as Vice-President of Public Relations for the Naturally Speaking Toastmasters Club, to report that this will be the last club meeting recap, at least for a while, on our facebook page. Although I find this decision regrettable, I have come to it, after discussion with the rest of the club executive, due to a lack of interest and response to our meeting recaps. This has led me to reconsider whether the recaps are worth my continued efforts, in addition to my other duties and projects within and outside Toastmasters. Our club facebook page will stay up in the meantime, so you can continue to check it for club updates or contact us through it if you are interested attending one of our club meetings. Also, as always, if you're interested in improving your speaking and communication skills and sitting in on one of our club meetings, we are still continuing them at the usual times each week on the Zoom video platform- every other Tuesday followed by every other Wednesday the next week, from 12pm-1pm. Just contact us for the details of how to join in. You can also look up our club names on Meetup.com for our meeting event listings you can RSVP to there. Lastly, to everyone who found interest in our club recaps, we're glad you did so! It's not out of the question that they will continue at some point in the future! Take care!

Membership renewal terms begins April 1st. If you are thinking about becoming a member, message us and we'll send you a link to be aguest. THIS is the PERFECT time to join!

KLTM/NSTM Meeting Recap: Meeting Date: March 3, 2021 Meeting Theme: Challenges Word of the Day: Challenge... Pretty good meeting today. We had the considerably timely theme of Challenges and listened to quite a nice official speech from KLTM member Gail. In her speech, Gail told a relatable story about how rewarding her experience being assisted by her Toastmasters mentor was. We also had a compelling Table Topics session. The questions weren't directly related to the meeting theme, but our TT Master came up with some compelling prompts nonetheless. The three speakers related thoughts about 'saying you can't always do the best' for your own sake, the fascination of going out into nature, and the encouragement of a role model. Our meeting chair had some technical glitches with her internet feed that we had to work through, but otherwise an interesting meeting. As always, if you're interested in improving your speaking and communication skills and sitting in on one of our club meetings, we are still continuing them at the usual times each week on the Zoom video platform- every other Tuesday followed by every other Wednesday the next week, from 12pm-1pm. Just contact us for the details of how to join in! You can also look up our club names on Meetup.com for our meeting event listings there!

KLTM/NSTM Meeting Recap: Meeting Date: February 17, 2021 Meeting Theme: Enjoy the Journey Word of the Day: Equity... A very full but compelling meeting this week. Not only did we have two official speakers (Yeah!) but also two Table Topics speeches and an extended club business portion. I'm impressed we were able to fit it all into our hour as well as we did! Our first speech, done by KLTM member Shirley (I regret that I didn't think of recording the speech titles), talked about the value of pets in our lives, highlighting this by referring to all the different ones that had lived in the White House over the decades. I had no idea just how many different species have had a place on that property! The second speech, by returning guest Lee-Anne, related a personal trauma that she had gone through in the past and her process of overcoming it. It was such a well-done, raw and passionate speech that it created very palpable tension in everyone as we listened. We applaud you for what you shared with us Lee-Anne! As always, if you're interested in improving your speaking and communication skills and sitting in on one of our club meetings, we are still continuing them at the usual times each week on the Zoom video platform- every other Tuesday followed by every other Wednesday the next week, from 12pm-1pm. Just contact us for the details of how to join in!

NSTM/KLTM Meeting Recap: Meeting Date: February 9, 2021 Meeting Theme: Love Word of the Day: Predicate... Good meeting this week. Chaired by yours truly (NSTM VP of PR Kyle Los), our meeting theme was love. Although it was likely motivated by Valentines Day coming soon, when I spoke to the theme in my meeting intro, I wanted to highlight how the holiday doesn't have to just be about romantic love but general love and thoughtfulness for everyone. I was motivated to speak to this from a quote in my Hallmark pocket calendar, but I did find it meaningful. In place of an official speaker we had DTM and District 60 Pathways Chair Tony Nelson deliver an educational session and Q&A on Toastmaster Pathways. Said Pathways are different series of speech projects Toastmasters can take on to learn about specific aspects of communication and speaking. In recent years Pathways was reogranized from being on paper to being online, hence Tony’s session to help explain the use of the new version. Pathways are definitely a good reason to be apart of Toastmasters and Tony provided a lot of insight (as he always does) for current as well as future members! As always, if you're interested in improving your speaking and communication skills and sitting in on one of our club meetings, we are still continuing them at the usual times each week on the Zoom video platform- every other Tuesday followed by every other Wednesday the next week, from 12pm-1pm. Just contact us for the details of how to join in!

NSTM/KLTM Social Event recap: Febuary 5, 2021 Social Event: Round-Table Story Reading What a great turnout we had for our Round-Table Story-Reading Social event! If memory serves we had ten attendees (including two new guests!) to read Monica Hughes' sci-fi short story "The Haunting of the Orion Queen". ... It made for an interesting variety of vocal talents as people took turns reading a page from the story. What's more, although I felt uncertain if everyone would be interested in reading, (aside from one of the new guests unfortunately being unable to speak vocally over Zoom due to a technical glitch) it turned out that everyone was eager to do so! Stay tuned for updates on our future social events!!

KLTM/NSTM Meeting Date: Febuary 3, 2021 Meeting Theme: Snow Day Word of the Day: Contingent A properly timely theme for our meeting this week- Snow Day! It led to many interesting and nostalgic recollections in the speeches given from our members about snow days and enjoying snow. ... Also, what a courageous and personal Icebreaker speech given by the meeting's official speaker Sherri! It was entitled "From Victim to Victory" and related the many trials and tribulations she has endured and surpassed in her life. We applaud you Sherri! Finally we were happy to have our Toastmasters Division E Director Jennifer as a guest! She thanked our two clubs for "sticking it out" as a community by going online. As always, if you're interested in improving your speaking and communication skills and sitting in on one of our club meetings, we are still continuing them at the usual times each week on the Zoom video platform- every other Tuesday followed by every other Wednesday the next week, from 12pm-1pm. Just contact us for the details of how to join in!

Hey! Naturally Speaking Toastmasters is having an online club social event this Friday, February 5, at noon. The event will be a round-table story reading and discussion. We will be reading the short story "The Haunting of the Orion Queen" by Monica Hughes. Without giving too much away, it is something like a ghost story and mystery in a sci-fi setting on a spaceship. Although there are some spooky elements in the story, rest assured it is family friendly. For the round-table... read, each attendee will read a page from the story, going around the circle alphabetically by name. The pages of the story will be shared via Zoom. This is an opportunity for club members and guests to connect and enjoy an interesting story. Here is the link to RSVP for the Zoom meeting: https://www.meetup.com/Build-Your-Confidence-with-TM-Pe// All are welcome!!

NSTM/KLTM MeetingDate: January 26, 2021 Meeting Theme: January Wolf Moon Word of the Day: Vibrant Another fine meeting today, with plenty of good speeches on the subject of connection. This included our Chair talking about wolves, in relation to the meeting theme, and about how their howls are a form of communication (one that is apparently possible for humans to join in on!). ... What a passionate speech by our speaker James as well! It was entitled "Lost Connections" and was a striking reflection on how important connection and being in the physical presence of others is to our health and wellbeing. James also talked about how the social distancing of the COVID pandemic has arguably reminded us of that importance. I found the speech not only compelling but even poetic! As always, if you're interested in improving your speaking and communication skills and sitting in on one of our club meetings, we are still continuing them at the usual times each week on the Zoom video platform- every other Tuesday followed by every other Wednesday the next week, from 12pm-1pm. Just contact us for the details of how to join in!

I and the other NSTM Club Officers had the 2nd session of our Club Officer Training this past Saturday. Not unlike the first session, I found it impressively insightful, not just in regards to Toastmasters, but I think, for being an administrator in any organization. First we had a moderated panel by some amazing Toastmasters of Area 43 on the topic of motivating your club members. I especially liked the opening tip: "Make your role in Toastmasters a collaboration." Afterwar...d, my training session in Public Relations was done, for the second time, by the outstanding J.D. Thomas. Not only is he a well-articulated and enthusiastic speaker, but he really knows his stuff on PR! One of several tips I copied down from him during the session was: 'Communication is not for the speaker, but for the people the speaker speaks to'. Just another glimpse of the new things I've learned in my journey learning about communication in Toastmasters! As always, if you're interested in improving your speaking and communication skills and sitting in on one of our club meetings, you can still do so as we are holding them at the usual time each week on the Zoom video platform- Tuesdays from 12pm-1pm. We just ask that you get in touch with us through our fb page or email at least a day before the meeting you want to attend so we can send you the required info for joining the Zoom meeting. Stay healthy! Stay safe!

I know it's a long time coming (and for that I sincerely apologize), but I still thought I should post a recap of our virtual Open House two weeks ago on Oct 27 '20. According to Zoom, the video platform we used, our total attendees for the event was 17, more than twice the amount I've seen at our meetings in the recent past! It's really encouraging to see that our promotional efforts worked. Aside from the excellent turnout, I feel pride in each of our members who held a rol...e for the Open House meeting. Everyone knew their role and carried them smoothly and compellingly throughout. As Chair of the meeting, I delivered my intro introducing Toastmasters and its many benefits, as well as relating the meeting theme "dancing" (and about how I thought spontaneous dancing was easier than spontaneous singing or public speaking). There was also the Speaking Tips delivered by Carrie Sadowski, in which she very creatively described preparing for delivering a speech as being similar to preparing for a dance performance. I feel I should also give thanks to Heidi Kaphengst from the Kawartha Lakes Toastmasters club for graciously agreeing to be our official speaker for the meeting. She delivered her memorable speech on elevator pitches called "Say It In A Nutshell". As always, if you're interested in improving your speaking and communication skills and sitting in on one of our club meetings, you can still do so as we are holding them at the usual time each week on the Zoom video platform- Tuesdays from 12pm-1pm. We just ask that you get in touch with us through our fb page or email at least a day before the meeting you want to attend so we can send you the required info for joining the Zoom meeting. Stay healthy! Stay safe!

Here is another reminder: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/naturally-speaking-toastmasters