The Art of Debate

 At Igniters, we believe the best way to grow as a speaker is to step outside your comfort zone, try something new, and learn together. This week, we did just that! Ali was the Toastmaster and helped to moderate the debate.

Debate Night: Big Ideas. Confident Voices.

Our members Marvin and Nathan tackled the question "Should Alberta remain a province of Canada, or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process to pursue independence?" Marvin was for Alberta remaining a province of Canada, and Nathan was for Independence for Alberta. Each side presented opening arguments, listened to the opposing viewpoint, offered a rebuttal, and wrapped up with closing arguments. Table Topics was adapted for members to ask the debaters specific questions and members voted for the participant who most clearly articulated their position. Congratulations Marvin!

It was an opportunity to practise thinking on your feet, organizing ideas, and responding thoughtfully even when someone sees things differently. The goal wasn't just to make a point. It was to make it clearly, confidently, and respectfully.

Five Benefits Of Debating:

1.       Think Faster: Practise organizing your thoughts under pressure.

2.       Build Confidence: Speak up and share your ideas with conviction.

3.       Listen Better: Understand the other side before responding.

4.       Strengthen Your Arguments: Support your opinions with clear reasoning and examples.

5.       Stay Respectful: Learn to disagree with an idea without making it personal.

 

From Keynote Practice to Conference Stage!

Elaine delivered her keynote speech for a second time as she prepares to speak at a Conference on October 24!

Giving a keynote more than once is a smart way to polish the message, strengthen delivery, and discover what resonates with an audience.

Elaine used previous feedback to make changes and she spoke more confidently.

Five Tips For Delivering A Memorable Keynote:    

1.  Start strong: Open with a question, a surprising fact, or a compelling story.   

2. Know your message: Be clear about the one big idea you want your audience to remember.

3. Tell stories: Make your message relatable with real-life examples and experiences.

4.  Bring it to life: Use vocal variety, purposeful pauses, eye contact, and natural gestures.

5.   Practise, Get feedback, and Refine: Every rehearsal is a chance to make your message stronger.

We are cheering Elaine on as she takes her keynote to the conference stage on October 24! We're glad Igniters could be part of the preparation journey. That's the power of a supportive club. We celebrate the big moments and help each other get ready for them.

Next Week: Murder Mystery Night!

Think you've got a sharp eye for clues? Love a good mystery?

Next week, we're joining forces for a WHAMtastic Joint Meeting: Zoom Murder Mystery Night!

Wednesday, October 28 Time: 5:45 pm - 6:45 pm Costumes optional.

Get ready for mystery, teamwork, surprises, and plenty of fun! Bring your curiosity, your detective instincts, and your sense of humour. You never know what you might discover!

Nandini 

VP PR Committee

Creativity

 Are you creative? Would you think Toastmasters is somewhere that could help you tap into creativity? It isn’t the first thing I think of when I ponder Toastmasters.

Surprisingly Igniters is a feast of creative Opportunities. Each time a member delivers a speech their topic or speech approach can be very creative. Our Speech Evaluators are extremely creative! Many of them use a 3 letter acronym to give their 3 aspects of feedback (what was good, where could you improve for the future, what did I like best)? The 3 letter acronym, usually derived from the speech topic, creates an easy way to recall the feedback.

Our meeting on October 13 was very creative, lead by Nandini, with a theme of Around the World in 90 minutes. 

We had 2 tour guides (aka scheduled speeches) that took us on virtual world tours. Tamil spoke about Hong Kong being more than just a layover city while Elaine spoke about hunting in Africa. They both painted pictures that took us through bustling city streets and 8 feet tall grass. We also had a wonderful Icebreaker speech from Em who spoke about her “Gratitude for Growth” taking a creative view of the things she was thankful she quit. It was very thought provoking.

Back to where I started from, creativity coming from surprising opportunities. Have you delved into AI? Well, our Toastmaster, Nandini has. She is using AI to create thematic virtual backgrounds for our zoom meetings. She is creating backgrounds to match our meeting themes. I must say I love seeing a zoom room full of meeting theme backgrounds. On Sept 15 we had Fall into it. On Sept 28 we had Health and Wellness. Most recently, on Oct 13, we had Around the World in 90 minutes. The time and creativity Nandini put into making our zoom meetings more fun is effective! The fun continues when I log into another meeting after forgetting to change these themed backgrounds. It opens up conversations about Toastmasters and Igniters.

There are so many opportunities from participating in Toastmasters. We’ll add Creativity to the list of Toastmasters’ benefits. If you’re interested in improving your creativity, please join us at our next zoom meeting, which will be on Wednesday October 28 5: 45 - 6:45pm (take note that it is a Wednesday, not our usual Tuesday evenings, and earlier than our usual start at 7pm) we are joining with another club, WAAMtastic for a murder mystery. Some of us will be giving speeches as our assigned characters while we try to solve the Haunting of Blackwood Manor. To be extra clear, there won’t be a meeting on Tuesday Oct 27. Instead the meeting will be on Wednesday October 28. Email us at info@igniters for the zoom link if you’re interested in attending this creative murder mystery night.

Emma VPPR

Interview Series - Part1 - Mona!

What a better way to share information about the membership experience in our amazing Toastmasters club, Igniters, than to hear directly from members? Therefore, the idea to do an interview series was born. My first interview is with Mona who joined Toastmasters in 1997 and is a founding member of Igniters. Mona is also our Mentor Coordinator. She brings experience and energy to our club. 

 

This link will take you to our interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=671rwkSnpEI&list=PLOf9a42nhe6A 

 Which member will we hear from next? If you’re interested in checking us out, our next meeting occurs on zoom on Tuesday October 13. 7-8:30pm. Nandini will be leading this meeting with a theme of Around the world in 90 minutes! Email info@igniterstm.ca to get the zoom link. 

Emma VP PR

Speak, Laugh & Connect — What a Night!

Marvin the Toastmaster chose our theme Speak, Laugh, Connect for the October 6 Igniters Open House and we certainly did all three!

We welcomed special guests Area E18 Director Alireza and Division D Director Stanley. We were ready for an evening of fun, learning, and connection.

What Makes You Laugh?

Members shared their answers, and the list included cats, funny friends and those wonderfully ridiculous situations that happen in everyday life. Plenty of laughter followed!

Three Speakers. Three Great Stories.

One of our newer members Yousef, stepped up to give his Presentation Mastery Ice Breaker, sharing two hilarious versions of himself as he learns English. Creative, funny and a wonderful introduction to who he is!

Darlene, an experienced member also began the Vintage Path with an Ice Breaker called “Why?” Her message about lifelong learning and continually growing and developing her skills was both inspiring and energizing.

Our Mentoring Coordinator Mona, on the Visionary Communication Path, Level 2 shared her Toastmasters journey, her first mentoring experience and how the skills she developed have helped her in her business. A great reminder that what we learn at Toastmasters goes well beyond the meeting.

One of the Igniters Advantages is the top-tier evaluations from our seasoned members Glen, Nandini, and Diane.  They offer specific, practical suggestions to help elevate each speech and everyone gets to learn from the feedback and use those ideas in future speeches.

Bonus: you get expert coaching without having to book an appointment!

We also celebrated and sang Happy Birthday to Ali and enjoyed delicious desserts and a special card. 

Awards 

Stanley - Past D42 Club Growth Director 
honors Nandini, Diane, and Ali for their 
dedication to Toastmasters.

Last years, D42 Club Growth Director Stanley, on behalf of the Trio, presented three Division E Of the Year Awards recognizing Ali for Toastmaster of the Year, Nandini for Public Relations, and Diane for Area Director with the cheering members. Congratulations to all the deserving recipients!

Elaine led Table Topics with  thought - provoking questions on the theme. We had unusual results a three-way tie for Best Table Topics Participant between Tyler, Lenore, and Tamil! 

To finish the evening, one clever member Tracey challenged us with a math question based on information shared throughout the meeting. So yes… listening really does pay off!

It was a night full of laughter, learning, celebration and connection and a great reminder of what makes Igniters such a fun, friendly and supportive club.

As our VP of Education Trevor shared in an email - "that was a wonderful meeting last night! I just wanted to echo what Division and Area director said - we are one of the best clubs. That's because of all of us!" 

Come for the speaking. Stay for the laughter. Leave with connections!

Nandini

VP PR Committee

Open House!

We're holding an Open House meeting on Tuesday October 6, 7-8:30pm with doors opening at 6:30pm. It will be at our in-person meeting location, which is located at 3512 5 Ave NW. This is the Nifty Fifties in the Parkdale Community Centre. Come one! Come all!

 See what the excitement and benefits of Toastmasters is all about. You will get to see the main elements of Toastmasters, which includes prepared speeches, speech evaluations, and impromptu speaking, which we call table topics. We have 3 speeches lined up by Trevor, Darlene, and Mona. There will be prizes and food. It will be an evening of fun, food, learning, and growth! Come see why we all love Toasmasters and our wonderful club, Igniters!! 

Emma VP PR

How Do We Make a Great Club Even Better?

What do you get when you put Toastmasters together, divide everyone into groups, ask some important questions and add cinnamon buns?

Moments of Truth at Igniters!

Once a year, we pause our regular meeting routine and ask

What are we doing well? What could we do better? And what makes Igniters such an amazing club?

This year, our members had plenty to say!

Welcome to our new Igniters Yousef, Em, Nathan and terrific Tyler is back! A huge appreciation to all our members who have renewed.

Six Areas. Lots of Ideas.

President Yvonne led our Moments of Truth, with our VP Education Trevor  helping organize a clear agenda.

Members split into groups and tackled six key areas:

1. First Impressions
2. Membership Orientation
3. Fellowship and Variety
4. Program Planning and Meeting Organization
5. Membership Strength
6. Achievement Recognition

Each group discussed what we're doing well, where we could improve, and how we can make Igniters even stronger.

Then everyone came together to share their ideas. There were plenty of suggestions and more than a few we should definitely do that!

Yvonne followed up the next day with a summary. The executive team will add action items to our Club Success Program and review feedback at executive meetings. A great discussion is even better when it leads to action!

Stepping Up and Stepping Forward 

We also celebrated Elaine  with the Most Improved Member Ribbon. VP Education Trevor celebrating with her.

After a bit of a speaking break, she stepped back up and delivered a strong Keynote about immunity and helping others, earning credit for Level 5 in Pathways: Prepare to Speak Professionally.

She's now preparing for a Keynote in front of 100 people in October, with helpful feedback from Nandini who offered her suggestions on how to connect with a bigger audience. Feedback from the members will build her confidence.

Igniters - a safe place to Try it. Get feedback. Improve. Then take the next leap.

Looking Ahead

Our Division G Director Ali also shared exciting news! The Spring Conference will be in Calgary, featuring the International Speech and Evaluation Contests.

And, of course, great ideas are even better with snacks. 

A productive evening? Absolutely. A thoughtful evening? Definitely. A cinnamon-bun evening from Elaine? Even better!

At Igniters: we learn, we support, we celebrate and we keep making a great club even better.

Nandini 

VP PR Committee

More Recognition!

 

You might recall a blog post on August 19, 2026 announcing that 2 members of Igniters were announced as Area Of The Year award winners. To refresh your memory Ali was Toastmaster of the year and Nandini was Public Relations of the Year. I didn’t know at that time that Diane was also selected as Area Director Of The Year. Igniters therefore had 3 members that advanced to the next stage, Division E. And low and behold, all three of our amazing members were selected as Division E Of The Year award winners!

Division E Toastmaster Of The Year:  Ali

Division E Public Relations Of The Year:  Nandini

Division E Area Director Of The Year:  Diane

Igniters is so lucky to have these 3 as dedicated members. They are all active in the club in many ways, in addition to the roles that earned them these awards. They take on meeting roles, deliver speeches, serve on the club executive. Last year Ali was VP Education and Nandini was VP PR. They are also active outside our club. Both Ali and Nandini have lead sessions in Leadership Training. Nandini is the Division E Circle of Gold Coordinator and a member of the Membership and PR Committees. Ali is the Division G Director in our newly aligned District 208. Diane is leading a Youth Leadership Program. I learn from these three often. They are shining stars in Igniters as well as within Division E. Congratulations Ali, Nandini, and Diane!!!

We look forward to cheering them on at the District 42 Of The Year Awards on October 3.

Emma VP PR