Big Country Toastmasters will be holding an open house event with the aim of spreading the word about the organization and encouraging more individuals to sign up as members.
The free open house event will take place Wednesday, Jan. 24 at the Sask. Polytech boardroom in Moose Jaw. Alternatively, the event can be attended online via the Zoom app. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will run until approximately 8 p.m.
“We are going to be focusing on impromptu speaking… (at) this open house,” explained Lorna Arnold, the president of Big Country Toastmasters.
“Impromptu speaking skills have so many applications in life. We picked impromptu speaking skills because (many) young people are probably looking at job interviews.”
Founded 62 years ago after a merger of Sitting Bull Toastmasters and Standing Bear Toastmasters, the organization uses open house events such as this to reach out to new individuals in the community in the hopes of finding someone who might benefit from the classes.
The open house will begin with a few opening remarks, followed by an in-house speaker who will give a presentation about impromptu speaking. This week’s speaker will be Rochelle Pasquet.
Following the presentation, attendees can participate in table topics and then an official evaluator will give a formal evaluation of the earlier presentation as an example for new members.
“When we think of an evaluation, we usually think of… the teacher putting red x’s all over (our paper). But in Toastmasters, a critique is probably a better definition of what our evaluation portion of the meeting is.”
The Sask. Polytech campus is located at 600 Saskatchewan Street in Moose Jaw. If you need further information, Lorna Arnold can be reached at 306-690-8739 and Cathy Morrell can be reached at 306-630-7015. All guests are asked to show up a few minutes early to get situated before the event begins.
For anyone wishing to attend via Zoom, the meeting number is 883344 05135.
Arnold said there’s no expectation for guests to register on the first night, and after two or three meetings, anyone who finds the organization beneficial is welcome to join at their own pace.
“When I first came, I had very low self-esteem and had a lot of difficulty talking to people. I wouldn’t call those first six months fun – I was increasing my skills. After a few months, I started enjoying the variety of learning…,” Arnold recalled. “Over the years I am better at it, and I no longer dread having to speak.”
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