Tullamore Toastmasters hosts event focusing on Artificial Intelligence
Tullamore Toastmasters welcomed members and guests to a well-attended open meeting on Thursday, February 12, at Fergie’s Bar and Lounge, featuring a practical and engaging session on Artificial Intelligence.
President Timothy Green opened the meeting and set a warm, inclusive tone for the evening. Toastmaster Charles Malone introduced the role holders and outlined how the meeting would run, offering clarity for first-time visitors. Eileen Fleming led an energetic 'table topics' segment before the keynote presentation.
The highlight of the evening was a session by special guest speaker Michael McCann, Principal Consultant and AI strategy specialist. Drawing on extensive experience in large-scale technology transformation, Michael delivered a clear introduction to AI fundamentals, explaining how tools such as ChatGPT can support speech preparation, idea development and project planning.
He explored the broader impact of AI on business and society, encouraging attendees to think critically about both opportunity and responsibility. A live demonstration showcased a “Toastmasters Meeting Assistant” capable of generating agendas, creating Table Topics questions and structuring feedback.
Michael also demonstrated additional AI tools in action, including a live example of building a website from scratch. He shared practical guidance on prompt engineering, emphasising a key principle: stop treating AI like a search engine. The quality of the output depends on the quality of the question. The more specific and thoughtful the prompt, the more powerful and useful the result.
The session concluded with a lively Q&A, where members and guests explored real-world applications, ethical considerations and the future direction of AI.
Dan Dold stepped in at short notice as General Evaluator and delivered thoughtful feedback in his first time in the role. President Timothy Green closed the meeting by thanking Michael and reminding members of the upcoming February contest.
The next Tullamore Toastmasters meeting will take place on February 22 at 8pm in Fergie’s Bar and Lounge. For further information, contact tullamoretoastmasters@gmail.com