Fraenkly Speaking 2022/2023

June 2023

Gardens, game plans and Germans were all part of our final meeting of the 2022/2023 Toastmasters year!

Topics Master Peter used quotes from famous Germans in history to challenge us during Table Topics. Speaker Morag took us on a delightful journey through her own secret garden. Speaker Gaby facilitated a much-appreciated discussion that helped us reach concensus on growing our membership, feeding in to the game plan for next year.

TMOD Daniela confidently led us through the meeting, inviting us to reflect on what keeps us involved in Toastmasters. And feedback from GE Jean provided us with recommendations that will make our involvement even more rewarding.

In the Club Business portion of the meeting, President Guenter recapped the highlights of the year (more on this in a later post!) and CLC Chair David led the election of the 2023/2024 Officers Team.

A most enjoyable morning to end a most enjoyable year!

May 2023

 Update: They did it! Raj took 2nd place Table Topics English, Yvonne took 2nd place Evaluation German and Mikaela took 1st place Evaluation English at the District Conference in Aarhus. Congratulations!! We're so proud of you. To use another idiom - you knocked it out of the ballpark and really showed 'em what Division D is made of!

While the UK was busy crowning its new king, Fraenkly Speaking was busy hosting our own Division royalty.

Through thick or thin, rain or shine, Division D champions Raj, Yvonne and Mikaela have been preparing tirelessly for the next stage in the contest season. Today we gave them the stage to practice their speeches, Table Topics and evaluations and provided (sometimes nit-picky) feedback to help them hone their speaking skills for next weekend.

Break a leg, Raj, Yvonne and Mikaela. We'll be rooting for you as you aim to be crowned District champions in Aarhus!

It wasn't all about contests. Table Topics Master Guenter challenged us with idiomatic expressions. And even with lots of other balls in their court, three of our members were recognized for significant achievements in Toastmasters: Olga received her long-overdue DTM badge and both Jean and Guenter were awarded Triple Crowns for completing three levels this program year. Congratulations.

Once more, we demonstrated what a great club Fraenkly Speaking is. And you can say that again!

April 2023

Simply a fun morning reminiscing about 10 years of Fraenkly Speaking. How did it get started? Where did the name come from? What are some memorable moments?

Our emcee Marc led us through a fast-paced, interactive program including Pecha Kutcha-like presentations, each conducted by two Toastmasters, resulting in humorous, unexpected twists in the stories. Daniela challenged us with Table Topic questions all around the theme 'TEN'.

Our Area Director Kevin addressed us in-person at the Nachbarschaftshaus and our Division Director Manuela via recording. We were also humbled by the words Charter President Dorleta shared about the impact Fraenkly has had on its members and the wider Toastmasters community. We do make a difference!

See photos and videos from the day in the 10th Anniversary post. Thanks to the organizing team of Guenter, Gaby, Peter and Steve for making this special day possible.

Happy Anniversary, Fraenkly Speaking!

March 2023

Following our Advanced Club's mission of supporting our Area Clubs, Fraenkly Speaking invited contest winners from Areas D4 and D6 to speak and get feedback in preparation for the Division Contest on 1 April.

Anatoly (International Speech, English), Benjamin (Table Topics, English), Luise (Speech, German and Evaluation, English) and Yvonne (Evaluation, German) each honoured us with their champion-worthy rhetorical skills and the entire audience of Fraenkly members and guests provided valuable feedback to help them up their game even further.

None of this could not have happened without the brilliant team of club members Peter, Daniela, Gaby, Jean and our President Guenter. They conducted the meeting on par with the Oscars!

Good luck to our contestants and many thanks to all that participated.

January 2023

Same procedure? Well, yes and no!

What stayed the same? The quality of the meeting was high, with challenging Table Topics, two well-presented speeches, two solid evaluations. And Toastmaster David regaled us with some of his corny jokes!

How did we up our game? Topics Master Peter offered multi-stage questions related to German soldier slang. Speaker Daniela (project: Writing a Speech with Purpose), after a two-year break in speaking, shared her tips on maintaining identity and strengthening belonging. Speaker Monika (project: Understanding Your Leadership Style) used a few PowerPoint slides to orient us to her work project on increasing participation, then turned off the projector to tell her story. Grammarian Olga quizzed us, rather than reported to us. Ah Counter Morag prepared a fun Ah Counter virtual background.

We always have the same procedure of running fun, challenging, quality meetings. And we always shake things up a bit. Precisely what an Advanced Club is for!

December 2022

Toastmaster Monika masterfully led us through Christmas traditions around the world as she introduced the international members that took part in our holiday meeting. We heard about foods, gift giving, and days of celebration in countries such as Czechia, Mexico, Scotland, England, and, yes, even Germany!

A micrometer? Cookie jar? Candelabra? Salt and Pepper Shakers? Topicsmaster Guenter used the tradition of White Elephant gifts to let us exclaim how thrilled a grateful we were to receive such magnificent presents!

Speaker Peter (project: Introduction to Toastmasters Mentoring) erzählte uns von seinen unerwarteten Erfahrungen mit Der Kaiser und der Rubel. And Speaker Morag (project: Connect with Storytelling) connected us with how her relationship to Santa Claus changed during her life.

General Evaluator Gaby gave us pointers on how we can deliver stronger evaluations and be more mindful of time. She also praised us for truly 'owning the roles' both before and during the meeting.

It was a festive way to end 2022. Not only another memorable meeting - we also enjoyed Christmas goodies, online and in-room decorations, and Christmas Cracker jokes from funny man David!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

November 2022

Toastmaster Marc was both entertaining and educational with his theme Achtsamkeit/ Mindfulness, peppering the meeting with  passages and personal lessons learned  from the book Achtsam Mordern. which tells the journey of fictitious lawyer Björn Diemel on his way to bringing more mindfulness into his life.

Topicsmaster Morag used thoughtful quotes related to mindfulness as the basis for questions such as "What is silence for you?"

Speaker Kevin (project: Writing a Speech with Purpose) reminded us of the value of feedback in all areas of our life as key to self improvement. And Speaker Steve (project: Leading in Difficult Situations) introduced a plan to host a virtual World Cafe in 2023, with club members challenging him to address possible disruptions to the plan.

General Evaluator Olga encouraged us to be more mindful of the timing guidelines associated with our roles and of experimenting with matching the energy level in the hybrid room when performing our roles. This is an example of putting Kevin's message to immediate practice! Improvement through feedback!

Thanks for reading, and now, take a couple of deep breaths, be mindful of where you're at right now, and note what a difference that makes!

October 2022

Toastmaster Guenter chose Perseverance / Ausdauer as the theme for the meeting, giving us examples of the value of perseverence in our everyday lives. Topicsmaster Olga asked questions giving us the opportunity to share how we demonstrate perseverence, cleverly alternating the questions between English und Deutsch!

Speaking of Deutsch, Rednerin Jean hat ihrer ersten Rede auf Deutsch gehalten! She brought us along on her journey with the German language from time in Switzerland as a child, through school and university, to professional applications, to her latest chalenge: Fraenkly Speaking!

Club Treasurer Axel creatively used the Pathways Q&A project to present the club's budget for 2022/23, which was ultimately approved by the members. And General Evaluator Marc showed perseverance by,among other things, facilitating a round robin evaluation of Axel's session.

But, all in all, no perseverance, no exceptional effort, was necessary during the morning, as it was a most delightful meeting!