I contacted Skillers, a Toastmasters club in Lublin, Poland twice on its website expressing interest to join its meeting and requesting the virtual meeting link. I didn’t hear back. I messaged them on Facebook page, there was still no response, I posted on its board (less than 30 min before the meeting), last try…right at the clock, somebody finally responded my message with Zoom link, I made to the meeting, Yes!
Today’s theme was ‘English – an exceptional language’. What a great description/ opening that connects us across cultures and enables me to join today’s meeting. Members, mostly if not all seemed to be university students, welcomed me to visit Lublin and told me it’s the best place in Poland with beautiful old town and great food. I immediately liked the group and I’d love to visit Poland and Lublin one day.
Let me share 3 things the club did well and uniquely:
- Ken, a speaker gave a speech titled ‘squeeze an asset’. Before he started, I wondered if it’s correct English or he meant squeezing an “object or item”? yet it became clear once he started talking…he cleverly played the word “asset” for thing (& used a lemon as prop) and people (mentor). He focused on the latter and gave 3 recommendations along with examples how to “squeeze” the most, best of mentoring experience, e.g. be prepared and ask early.
- The meeting had a usual role “body language advisor”. Mandy, the club president took the role and encouraged people to “smile”. We had plenty throughout the meeting. At the end, she asked us to look at images of celebrities and judge if it’s real or fake smile. Some were obvious while others could be ambiguous. I’d love to learn more about the cue.
- At end of the meeting, members who wanted to be the officers in the next term lobbied for vote in next week’s election. Mandy, running for the president again, with a big smile, she said that she knew everybody, wanted to do more next year, and asked ‘power to the woman’. I’m at first surprised by her “directness” yet immediately cheered for her “courage” to stand-up and could clearly see why. Kate who would like to be VP Public Relation later followed Mandy’s lead to call for ‘power to the woman’. Talking about influence J. Yoko who was quiet during the meeting calmly said she was new yet she wanted to be the VP Membership to provide every visitor a great experience as she enjoyed (& immediately became a member). I especially loved what she said, ‘we’re not just a club but a world of family’. I’m thrilled to see her (& people like her), on the other side of (personality) spectrum, also spoke up and joined the leadership team. That’s true Toastmaster spirit – diversity and teamwork.
I’m impressed with the Skillers who represented their name well with confidence, enthusiasm, and proficiency (at least in their second language) in presenting themselves. My persistence paid-off: I enjoyed the meeting and learn about another culture and gen Z*. People sometimes “worry” about the younger generation because they think or behave differently yet I believe each generation will find their own way to continue communicating, collaborating, and building forward~
*Millennial (or Generation Y): Born 1981-1996. Generation Z: Born 1997-2012 per https://www.mentalfloss.com/.
Note: names have been changed to protect people’s privacy