By Rose W
Paradigm Shift
Wednesday, November 28, 2012- Liberty Village Toastmasters
“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”
C. S. Lewis
First-time Toastmaster-of-the-Day, Craig W, started the meeting with a topic that affects us often – paradigm shifts. Paradigm shifts are a sudden change in perspective; these moments can make us live our lives a bit differently, for better or for worse. He shared with us two examples of where paradigm shifts have occurred in his life. From these experiences, he realizes how much technology has changed the world today.
New Toastmasters Anderson and Alloma were eager to get ahead on their Toastmaster journey, as they completed their second speeches from the Competent Communicators (CC) manual tonight. Both scheduled speeches were informative and educational, with hints of humour. Anderson, an art history teacher, spoke about “postmodernity,” and sticking with the theme, he relates how technology has changed art and our process of thought these days. With the excitement of the Grey Cup still amidst in our minds from Toronto’s victory this past weekend, Alloma took us through the history of the Grey Cup, and how it became and remains a Canadian tradition.
Evaluators John Kj and Rene M both gave insightful and constructive evaluations to the speeches tonight.
Accentuating the theme of paradigm shifts, Table Topics Master John Kr encouraged attendees to share with everyone their own examples of paradigm shifts. Many participated, and in result, we had varying topics – from strange/unexpected cell phone ring tones, to the evolution of science, to lifestyle-changing experiences. However, the story that took the prize (in this case, literally: a chocolate moustache from John Kj and a Table Topics ribbon) was Rene’s on winning a court battle for a bicycle traffic fine.
For those who are interested to see how a meeting runs (much laughter ensued, as usual), be sure to come on out! We meet every Wednesday at the Harbourfront Community Centre (627 Queens Quay West, Assembly room C) from 6-8 PM.
See you there!
– Rose
