Dear Sprechbarista,
What happens to most people when going through a period of personal change? Typically people experience the five stages of the change curve:
1. Enthusiasm or shock
2. Frustration
3. Doubt
4 Testing and exploring
5. Embracing the improvement (finally!)
No matter in which stage they lingered, Wednesday night’s participants all took another step in developing their public speaking skills!
Sarah invited us to use her word of the evening swap. Manuela gave us the tip to buy virtual stamps for our Christmas cards. Guest Sigrid made us chuckle about arthritis triggers.
A Shortcut to Success
Guest speaker Sigrid invited us to look at her ups and downs as a public speaker. Her recommended shortcuts zu success: get the help of a mentor, accept feedback as a valuable point of orientation and closely look at how others do.
A Good Introduction
Anne Kathrin K. (best prepared speaker, best usage of the word of the evening, hammer award) made us aware of the difference between a no-conversaion, superficial smalltalk and a true and deep exchange of emotions, values and topics people care about.
Table topics master Anne Kathrin J. invited five impromptu speakers to share their thoughts on a variety of topics related to change:
Melanie (best table topic speaker) remembered that it was nearly coincidence that made her move to Cologne many years ago.
Lars explained that he prefers change that happens on his own rather than on other people’s initiative.
Guest Kim (best table topic speaker) told us that she prefers to meet new people in person although she organizes virtual social networking events.
Tilman advised us to look for the critical moment of decision when we are trying to implement new behavior.
Guest Sigrid (best table topic speaker) remembered how much it had touched her to find out that her colleagues had thoroughly enjoyed learning English with her as a teacher.
Our evaluators Manuela, Tilman and Christian (best evaluator) provided valuable feedback for the prepared and impromptu speakers. Sarah shared her impressions and advice as general evaluator. Ivan challenged us with his quiz questions (first time – well done!) and Tilman gave a detailed account as our grammarian. Christian supported the speakers as timekeeper, Lars perfectly managed the technical part as our Zoom moderator.
With efforts made and challenges accepted, what can we do to support ourselves in periods of change?
We can change perspectives and see change as an opportunity instead of a threat.
We can allow mistakes and abandon our fear of failure.
We can take care of ourselves and have our needs fulfilled.
Thank you all for sharing your, stories, thoughts and ideas!
Kind regards,
Melanie
Toastmaster of the Evening