What a very piquant (word of the day) meeting this evening! A perfect way to warm up on a snowy day and to close the last meeting of 2010.

The theme of the evening was sex – more specifically, how to communicate with the opposite gender.

Eric, as Toastmaster, educated us on how to communicate better with the opposite sex.

Men can improve their listening skills by recognizing that women are not always looking for answers and sometimes simply want to share their thoughts, feelings and emotions. Men can better their speaking skills by being more descriptive and making connections between topics.

Women can aid their listening skills by paying attention to the facts and figures men list and understanding why those are important. Women can increase their speaking skills by stating their conclusion first followed by details after.

Ram gave us a lesson in politics with his speech “Framing”. Like a picture, your communication needs to be ‘framed’ when presenting it to certain audiences such as politicians. Ram described how he did this in his recent endeavors with the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Vivienne got us in the holiday spirit with a Christmas themed Table Topics session. Congratulations to Arvind for his winning speech describing the delicious treats he likes to cook over the holidays.

Today’s meeting ends our season for 2010 and we will start back up on Jan 12 2011.

Over the holidays, take this time to prepare a speech ahead of time so you are ready for the new year. As we are half-way through our Toastmasters year – reflect back on the goals you have set. Are you on track to achieve them? If not, what do you need to change to get back on track to accomplishing your goals? Contact your mentor and discuss your plan – even if you are doing well.

See you Friday Dec 17 10 at our Holiday party!

Cheers,

-Eric