Time is a very misleading thing. All there ever is, is now. This was the theme of Florida Toastmasters during their annual general meeting (AGM) on 7 June.
President Dawn Hemming extended a cheerful welcome to all the attendees and said the AGM brings with it an opportunity for reflection. “It is a time to look back on the past year, a time to assess the successes of an organisation and to complete areas for possible improvement.”
Toastmaster Craig Ellis encouraged and inspired the guests to use time wisely and as the evening progressed he created the realisation that the time is always ripe to do the right thing.
Having concluded the main purpose of the AGM, which is to revitalise the organisation through the official engagement of members into key elected positions, it was time to relax and enjoy every moment as it came our way.
Over the Sea and Far Away was the title of Caroline Clifford’s Ice-breaker Speech. London is one of her favourite cities. She lived there for a year and is still enchanted by its magic. It’s not only the historical and cultural relevance of the city, but the daily life. No matter where you are, London comes to you. The ultimate way to get an aerial view of the city and many famous landmarks including Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament is to take a ride on the giant Ferris wheel – the London Eye.
Barry Nelson opened his speech with a famous quote from Muhammad Ali “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” His words got to the core of people’s desires, encouraging them to reach for their goals and dreams. Barry’s message inspired us to love ourselves, forgive ourselves and be good to ourselves. Look toward the future with hope and optimism – stop worrying about being good and start accepting yourself. Say “Yes” to life. At some point, you have to accept that the past has happened and you’ve done everything in your power to make amends for past mistakes. It’s now time to turn the page and accept those events as part of your story.
No matter who you are, where you’re from or what you do for a living, we all share something in common – the desire to be successful. We all want to achieve success so we can live a comfortable life – have financial freedom, drive a luxury car, and live in a beautiful house. There are a lot of tips and strategies out there on how to be successful in life, but Michael Glencross firmly believes that there is no better way to succeed than to follow the footsteps of those who have already achieved success. He reinforced his message with famous quotes from Henry Ford, Aristotle and Sir Winston Churchill. He concluded his speech with a quote from Ruben Gonzalez, the master storyteller and author. “Always have something ahead of you to look forward to, to work for and to hope for. Push beyond self-imposed limitations and produce better results.”
Elize Ellis shared some techniques that can be used to close more sales and double your closing ratio. She explained the psychology of persuasion techniques to avoid the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) syndrome. She demonstrated how to build an effective relationship by using factors that influence customers during their decision-making process. Selling is a wonderful profession when approached ethically, constructively and helpfully. The main purpose of the sales process is to convince customers that they will be better off with the product than they would be with the money necessary to buy the product.
The Table Topics session was presented by Lawrence Makeleni.
“Colour me healthy”, said Shaun Goodbrand. By eating fruits and vegetables of a variety of colours, one can get the best, all round. He is passionate about purple fruits and vegetables because they offer an extra antioxidant punch. One of his favourite treats is savouring the sweet mellow flavours of roasted beets.
The Trophy for the Best Prepared Speech was awarded to Caroline Clifford. Barry Nelson won the Trophy for the Best Speech Evaluator, and Kevin Loader was presented with the trophy for the best Impromptu Speech.
Caroline Clifford was also presented with her CC1 certificate, while Michael Glencross claimed his CC10 certificate, for the second time around.
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