Port Dickson Toastmasters Meeting on 12th April 2011

We had our usual meeting on 12th April 2011. 3 guests attended our meeting.

The President opening the meeting.

TM Stephen Francis was Toastmaster of the evening. He came straight from office. That's why the tie was missing.







TM Kay Ku was Tabletopic master.

Among the tabletopic speakers were TM Chandran.

Capt Khalid.













Rosa Phua.














G T Singam.















Tan Lai Hock.













Lee Kah Tor.












A view of the audience at the meeting.













Dr Subhassh was tabletopic master, diagnosing the tabletopic session.










TM Yeoh Lian Geok arrange TM Kay Ku's birthday celebration.

It was time to sit and converse naturally, away from the mic and evaluation.

TM Kenneth came on next as the first speaker after the break.

Next, it was TM Indra G. She brought along her daughter to motivate her to join Toastmasters next time.

TM Amy Siew came on next.

No prize for guessing who was General Evaluator.

ATMG Lee Kah Tor was the first evaluator.

Next, it was TM G T Singam.

TM Kay Ku was the third evaluator.

TM Indra kept time for us.

TM Nageswari evaluated on the standard of language used for the night.

Our Lady Kat counted the number of "Ahs" during the meeting.

It was full attention from her. She was our guest for the night.

The other two guests, Anita and Masita.

A candid shot of Lee Kah Tor paying full attention to the speaker.

The photographer was not left out. Lucky, someone took his photo for Best Tabletopic Speaker.

The best Speaker goes to ...............

The best Evaluator was .............................

We had a good time at the meeting. It was educational and we learnt a lot. If you miss the meeting, do attend the next meeting. Hope to see you there.

Adios.

The Language Perfectionist: Of Course This Point Is Important

Another posting by Port Dickson Toastmasters Club

By Don Hauptman

The expression of course looks innocent, but it can create problems.

Writers and speakers casually insert the phrase to indicate that something is obvious or self-evident. In most cases, it's perfectly acceptable. But in others, it can sound insulting or patronizing.

The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style, by Paul W. Lovinger, has a good explanation of the trouble these two words can cause:

"A writer attaches an 'of course' to an obscure fact or arguable proposition, thereby implying to a number of readers that they are dolts for not knowing what the writer knows."

Here are a few examples, found online, demonstrating how of course may presume too much or make unintended insinuations:

· "Of course, we trust the wisdom of the bankruptcy court in supervising such a delicate endeavor."

· "Of course, the premier event of the racing year is Pimlico's Preakness Stakes..."

· "The Army is formally stating that of course combat is continuing in Iraq..."

Lovinger notes other common phrases that present similar risks of offense or condescension: as everyone knows, it goes without saying, for the simple reason that, and assorted variants.
So should you exercise care with this expression? Of course!

PD Toastmasters Club's Word of the Day: Delectation

Delectation (dee-lek-TAY-sun) - from the Latin for "to please" - is another way of saying pleasure, delight, or enjoyment.

Example: "Even after the buffet had evolved into the more functional sideboard in the 18th century, lavish arrangements of silver and porcelain continued to be put out for the delectation of guests at large dinners."