9 Members gathered virtually from the comforts of their home using Zoom video conferencing software. Scott served as Toastmaster for this first edition and things went surprisingly well. The virtual meeting room opened 10 minutes early and Scott officially started 4 minutes late. The meeting ended 12 minutes early.

The format stayed consistent with traditional roles only it was an all Table Topics night.

Scott started the meeting by going over the basic user controls of the Zoom software. Members were on a variety of devices including laptops, desktops, smart phones, and IPads. You can even dial in from a regular phone for audio only participation.

Here are some things to keep in mind to ensure quality video conferencing:

  • Turn off other internet devices to maximize available bandwidth
  • Participate from an isolated space free from background noise/distraction
  • Keep you device on mute until the Toastmaster calls on you
  • Consider dialing in for audio and using the internet for video. This will ensure the quality of your voice even if your video freezes.
  • Use “Jazz Hands” in replace of clapping
  • Ensure good lighting on your face as you broadcast
  • Look at the camera when speaking

Scott is looking into production controls to mute people should their audio go down in the middle of a speech. This will ensure the meeting continues productively. He will train George and Tony to be ready in the event that his own internet fails in the middle of a future meeting.

The WOD was “Persevere” which means to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty. A great choice by Traci given the current state of affairs! Several Members managed to include it in their speaking opportunity.

Tony served as Timer and found colored scraps of paper with Green, Yellow and Red written on them for the color blind. If you are timer in the future feel free to get creative on how to signal to the speaker their time situation.

Scott also made these club announcements:

  • George is officially our Vice President of Education
  • Dues payment date is extended to 4/30. Official announcement here.
  • Open House is being pushed back to a later date TBD.
  • Guests will be allowed to attend virtual meetings via invitation only. Have them email vppr@lakenormantoastmasters.com for meeting link.

Scott’s speaking tip was to persevere through this challenging time and to continue working through your pathways speaking goals.

George served as Table Topics Master asking participants to riff on technology inspired themes:

  • Printers (Bruce)
  • Teleprompters on the phone (Traci)
  • Alarm clocks (Steve got creative and changed the topic to teleporters)
  • Drones (Rich)
  • Staplers (Enyonam)
  • Traffic lights (Tony)
  • Cables (Enyonam)
  • GPS (Bruce)
  • Sarah (Keurig)

Scott followed up with some additional questions and these interesting facts managed to come through the Table Topics responses:

Tony will serve as Toastmaster next week. If you haven’t done so already, download the Zoom application to your preferred device. Scott will email a link to next week’s virtual meeting.