Minnesota Atheists Meetup Group

You’re invited to attend Freethought Toastmasters (http://freethought.toastmastersclubs.org/), a club of Toastmasters International (http://www.toastmasters.org/). Build your leadership and communication skills in a supportive, freethinking environment; a place where you will find familiar faces you know from Minnesota Atheists.

Most club members do not RSVP on Meetup since they attend most meetings and coordinate through the 'Toastmaster' of the evening if they cannot attend, so don't let the low RSVP numbers dissuade you from attending.

Join us IN-PERSON or join us ONLINE! This meeting will be HYBRID, but we expect most participants to be there in person. For those wishing to join us on zoom, send an email to George.Francis.Kane_AT_gmail.com to receive the new URL.

We open the party room at 6:00 PM for socializing before the meeting. We encourage zoom participants to join the meeting between 6:15 and 6:25 to socialize and iron out any technical issues. Use the meeting url to access the meeting, this will allow you to join via your computer or smartphone zoom app and will use your devices built in speakers/microphone/video. Message us or comment below if you need the call-in alternative.

Schedule:
• 6:00pm - The party room opens for in-person attendees, a meal is provided
• 6:15pm - Join the Zoom meeting for a pre-social
• 6:30pm - Freethought Toastmasters Business Meeting
~6:40pm - Toastmaster calls the meeting to order
~6:50pm - Scheduled Speeches
~7:25pm - Table Topics: impromptu speaking opportunity
~7:40pm - Evaluations
~7:55pm - Closing
• 8:00pm - Meeting Ends, optional post-social

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. While in many other Toastmaster Clubs the culture deters any mention of religion, so atheists feel guarded and often stay "in the closet," this club provides not only training in public speaking, but also continuous education in topics of interest to atheists.

This club offers the opportunity to talk about a wide range of topics. We welcome people of all worldviews, but of course our members tend to be non-religious. We take current events seriously, but our politics range from capitalist to socialist, from liberal to conservative. Our ages run from the 20s to the 60s (and beyond).

If you decide to join, you can learn to be a better, more confident speaker. No matter what our worldviews, we are committed to mutual respect, tolerance, honesty, encouragement and constructive criticism. If you become a member, you will have the opportunity to prepare and deliver speeches regularly, and receive constructive evaluations of your speeches. It’s a great place to become comfortable as a speaker. With the help of other members, we learn to prepare and present effective speeches on a wide range of topics from humorous to serious. We also learn to think fast during our "Table Topics" sessions (impromptu speeches). We never know quite what to expect from our speakers, but we can always count on an interesting evening together.

As a club of Toastmasters International, we charge the standard rate with no additional club dues. To join Toastmasters, it costs $60 per six months (prorated depending on when you join) plus a $20 new member fee. The new member fee pays for the educational program and the general membership fee pays for district events (local educational sessions for the greater Toastmasters community), general overhead, and a Toastmasters magazine members can opt to receive in the mail.

Join us online Sunday March 8th at 2 p.m. to discuss Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures by Carl Zimmer.

For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and the darkest shadows of science. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer takes readers on a fantastic voyage into the secret universe of these extraordinary life-forms--which are not only among the most highly evolved on Earth, but make up the majority of life's diversity. Traveling from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the parasite-riddled war zone of southern Sudan, Zimmer introduces an array of amazing creatures that invade their hosts, prey on them from within, and control their behavior. He also vividly describes parasites that can change DNA, rewire the brain, make men more distrustful and women more outgoing, and turn hosts into the living dead. This comprehensive, gracefully written book brings parasites out into the open and uncovers what they can teach us all about the most fundamental survival tactics in the universe--the laws of Parasite Rex.

*****

Tentative future books:

The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism by Joe Conason
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq by Stephen Kinzer
Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Wisdom of Plagues by Donald McNeil
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

If you are interested in any of these titles, or have other book suggestions, please message me or leave a comment below.

Please note: The link for joining the meeting is only visible to those on the attending list. If you are on the wait list you will not see the link unless a spot opens up and you are moved to attending.