Meeting Report for 25 February 2013

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wordle-25.02.2013

Introductions

In his introduction Club President Femi expanded upon the old adage “practice makes perfect” by saying that it is in fact “practice with insight” that makes perfect – so feedback is essential. Which is why it is such a fundamental part of the Toastmasters experience.

He also spoke about an article from the “Toastmaster” magazine (which every member receives) about making not just eye contact but meaningful eye contact and encouraged those members present to take another look at this valuable resource.

Jo, the evening’s Toastmaster, encouraged the audience to give each participant a warm round of applause in order to keep the energy levels high. Her theme – inspired by the Oscars – was “Awards” and prior to the meeting she’d asked each participant to name an award they had won in the past or felt could – or should – win in the future.

Starting the ball rolling, Jo said she felt she should win an award for most time spent on the Internet researching trips she never actually went on!

Eugenia, in the Timekeeper role, told the pertinent story of being kept waiting in the cold while a colleague took 26 minutes to tell her just three things. The moral of the story being that the ability to communicate information within a fixed period of time is crucial!

The Grammarian was Chris (who felt he deserved an award for being completely awful with money). He explained that it was important to be “clear, precise and well understood” and told us he would be looking out for effective uses of language during the meeting. He also introduced the word of the day – “interminable” – meaning relentless or neverending.

Prepared speeches

In a very impressive icebreaker entitled “The Bicycle Diaries”, brand-new member Rajeev (who said he deserved an award for always going to the pub for just one pint but staying for many more) told us about his childhood growing up in Sri Lanka where he learned to ride bikes which were much too big for him. He also described swapping sunny blue skies for damp grey ones when he moved from Sri Lanka to the UK at the age of 21.

In her No. 3 speech the second speaker Angela (potential winner of the “changing her hairstyle frequently” award) told us about the “invisible to do list” that she suddenly felt she needed to get through as she approached the age of 30. In “13 Days ’til 30” she also talked about the “upgrade generation” and its attitude to relationships, the difficulty of saving money in an expensive city like London, and getting her “baby toe” on the property ladder. In the end she decided to postpone it all until 35!

Regular member Paula (who felt she deserved the award for most unworn items in her wardrobe) gave her No. 5 speech entitled “Weekend Magic” in which she described the special moments in those two days off per week that can make a weekend magical. She herself enjoyed watching Columbo, doing aerobics and generally being active and jumping around. In a particularly entertaining segment she told us about the various characters she had met on a raw food weekend, including “Mr Miserable” and “Miss Sexy”.

Hari (wanted to win numerous awards including an Oscar, an Emmy and a Nobel Prize – but felt he was most likely to win one for daydreaming!) was the final speaker with an advanced speech entitled “Eliminate to Invigorate”. He told us about a seven and a half day fast and detox experience in Thailand and gave us details of a rather severe cleansing process which involved a bucket full of coffee, a long tube and an open mind. He said he was “in Thailand, but thinking of England”.

After the last of the prepared speeches, President Femi led the guest introductions where new visitors to the club were given the opportunity to introduce themselves and say a few short words.

Evaluations

After the break it was time for the evaluations, where each of the four prepared speakers received detailed spoken feedback from a fellow member.

The first evaluator was Gemma (who hoped one day to win an award for being an inspirational teacher). She evaluated Rajeev’s ice breaker speech and started by reassuring guests that it had been exceptional and most people did not start at this level! She felt his descriptions were fantastic, particularly the comparisons between Sri Lanka and London and thought he made good use of opening questions.

The next evaluator was Mike (who felt he should receive an award for always coming second!) giving feedback on Angela’s No. 3 speech. He said she had made a “fantastic start” which got him thinking about his own 30th birthday some years ago. He used the analogy of a “clothes horse” – on which Angela had draped various areas of her life. He loved the strong ending – postponing her responsibilities until 35.

Elena (who would like to win a speech award at the next contest) was responsible for evaluating Paula’s No. 5 speech. She loved the use of hand gestures and body language but recommended “counting off” her magic moments so that we could follow them more easily. She also felt Paula could have used fewer but more expressive examples to support her main points. She liked Paula’s choice of language, her entertaining style and the strong conclusion.

The final evaluator was Adam (he wanted an award for excessive coffee drinking) who evaluated Hari’s advanced speech (also coincidently coffee-related). He told us up front he would be looking at the speech’s “purpose, structure and language”. He felt Hari’s strong introduction had led us through the speech very effectively, liked the level of personal detail and particularly loved Harry’s “Dr detox” character. He was also very impressed by the use of props and humour.

Table Topics

Swarajit (wanted to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics, but didn’t know enough about Physics) introduced the Table Topics session by describing the benefits of participation – speakers would become “more and more un-phased” by real-life situations involving speaking without preparation.

Swarajit’s theme was Business and Careers. He invited members and guests to tackle a range of questions including:

  • What is your dream job?
  • How would you argue for a six-day week?
  • What charity would you set up?
  • What would you be fired for on The Apprentice?
  • What business idea of yours should we invest in?

Table topics evaluator Glen (who felt he deserved an award for “Best DIY Procrastinator”) evaluated all six of the table topics speakers providing praise and recommendations for each, including numerous specific examples.

Grammarian Chris returned to report 11.5 (!) uses of the Word of the Day and was impressed by “a fantastic array of rhetorical devices”.

The General Evaluator George from Berkeley Square Speakers evaluated all those participants not yet evaluated and themed his commendations and recommendations around the idea “Less is More”.

Awards

Closing the meeting President Femi handed out the awards based on the votes cast by the audience members during the meeting:

  • Best Table Topic went to brave guest Mark for his topic about his (non) cooking skills
  • Best Evaluator went to Glen for evaluating all the topics
  • Best Speaker went to Hari for his speech about detoxing

The President’s discretionary award went to the PR team behind the meeting reports and website: Glen, Elena, Jo and Swarajit.

Next meeting

Our next meeting is Monday 4th March, upstairs at The Clerk & Well, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5DU. Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.

Meeting Report for 18 February 2013

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Introductions

Club president Femi opened the meeting by welcoming returning members and new guests and talking about the history of Toastmasters. He said the phobia of public speaking was “innate” in many of us – so Toastmasters would be perpetually in business! Regular practice, he said, would help to “drive away Mr Nerves and welcome up Mr Confidence.”

The Toastmaster for the evening Paul gave a brief overview of the programme and, encouraging the audience to give the speakers warm support, told us to “clap everything that moves”. He also introduced the meeting’s theme – heroes – and revealed his own hero to be screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.

The Timekeeper Barnaby gave a very bookish introduction to his role, touching upon A Brief History of Time, War and Peace and Proust’s À La Recherche du Temps Perdu.

Grammarian Gemma explained that in her role she would be looking for use of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, similars, metaphors and introduced the word of the day: Quintessential. She gave the example “James Bond is the quintessential British spy”.

Prepared speeches

New member Joowon was the first prepared speaker with her ice breaker speech entitled “Planning”. She explained her simple approach to planning and how she used it for various aspects of her life, including dieting and learning a new language. We learned that she had improved her English by offering her services as a free tourist guide.

The second speaker was recent member Samuel, with a No. 2 speech entitled “Why I joined Toastmasters”. In a very humorous speech he told us about his lifelong fear of speaking out loud and how it tended to trigger his “fight or flight” instinct. He also amusingly told us how he once used direct sales techniques to get girls’ telephone numbers!

In another No. 2 speech entitled “the joy of singing” Punam told us about her unconventional way of relaxing at the end of the day. She would sing a duet of Summertime with Billie Holiday and this acted as a “balm” as she “connected through song” with Billie. She encouraged us to try it as singing is good for mental health.

In a No. 7 speech entitled “The Purest Drink in the World” regular member and club treasurer Elena told us about the history of vodka, which was first distilled in the 9th century. We learnt that in 1885 vodka was only sold in 12 litre buckets and that the distillation process can produce up to 95% alcohol. She warned that the Russians are very good at drinking vodka and could drink any of us “under the table”!

Evaluations

Glen commended Joowon for her expressive hand gestures and great eye contact. He loved the way she was already using some rhetorical devices in her speaking but recommended a slightly clearer setup at the beginning and having a third main point in the body of her speech.

Evaluating Samuel’s speech, Paula started by commending a “really clever structure”. She felt she could empathise strongly with one of his points in particular – “we’ve all been there” she said, referring to his comment about only thinking of the right thing to say when it’s too late. She recommended a clearer introduction to lead us into the structure but commended his great humour. Ending, she said she felt Samuel had inspired her to “fight” on his behalf.

Steven congratulated Punam for an “inspiring job” and liked that her speech had been grounded in science. He felt she had made great eye contact but recommended pausing and relaxing more, and also more using more volume on her conclusion.

Peter loved Elena’s use of examples and facts and the way that she had asked the audience questions. He recommended that she increased her volume and tried to reduce any hand clasping.

Table Topics

Table Topicsmaster Mike introduced the impromptu speaking session with topics inspired by Toastmaster Paul’s theme of heroes.

He invited members – and one or two brave guests – to tackle a variety of hero-related questions, such as:

  • Who is your hero in the community?
  • Who is your hero at work?
  • Who is your hero in sports?
  • Who is your hero in the media?
  • Who is your hero in business?
  • Who is your hero in politics?

Seasoned member Kate had the tough job of evaluating all of the table topics, providing commendations and recommendations each of the speakers.

Reports

In her Grammarian’s report Gemma highlighted interesting uses of language and particularly commended those people who had incorporated the word of the day – quintessential – into their speeches.

Visiting General Evaluator Joy, from Covent Garden Speakers, evaluated the club and meeting as a whole and also any participants who had not received evaluations elsewhere. She particularly loved the club’s venue, the Clerk & Well pub.

Awards

Wrapping up the meeting, president Femi handed out the evening’s awards based on the votes cast by the audience:

  • Best Table Topic went to Jo for telling us about her mother, who was her hero in business
  • Best Evaluator went to Glen for his encouraging evaluation of Joowon’s ice breaker speech
  • Best Speaker award went to Samuel for his speech about public speaking fear

Femi gave his president’s discretionary award to the Toastmaster Paul for running such a tight ship.

He finished by reminding everyone of the upcoming speech and evaluation contests on March 25 and told us all to “watch this space” for details of the venue.

Next meeting

Our next meeting is Monday 25th February, upstairs at The Clerk & Well, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5DU. Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.

Meeting Report for 11 February 2013

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Introductions

Club President Femi opened the meeting by thanking all the guests for coming and stressing the importance of giving each speaker a warm welcome. He invited each of us to try to be the first to start clapping and the last to stop!

Swarajit, the Toastmaster for the evening, introduced the meeting’s theme of love and relationships and told an unlikely tale about his first kiss.

Timekeeper Michael explained the timing lights that help the speakers keep to time and ended with a time-related quote from T.S. Eliot.

Next, Hari introduced his role as the evening’s Harkmaster – encouraging us to listen and not drift off into our own thoughts (such as thinking about what we were having for dinner!) but instead keep our focus on each speaker. He promised chocolate-based rewards towards the end of the meeting for those who demonstrated good listening skills.

Prepared speeches

The first prepared speech was an icebreaker from brand-new member Samuel. In “About Me” he told us about moving to Africa when he was just six months old and living in various different countries including Botswana, which has one third of the world’s elephant population!

The second speaker was Damien with a No. 2 speech entitled “Optimism Overrated”. Inspired by a speech by Barbara Ehrenreich (from The School of Life) which rallied against “all pervasive positive thinking” he echoed her call for a “recommitment to realism”.

In her No. 10 speech entitled “Flowers, Coffee and Kindness” Jo told the story of Emily, an American living in Belgium, who left small bouquets of flowers for strangers as an “unexpected pleasant surprise”. Jo inspired us all to take similar small steps to put a smile on a stranger’s face and even provided us with a practical handout at the end of her speech to help us do so.

The final prepared speech was an advanced public relations speech by Renars entitled “Should alcohol be banned?”. Renar’s made a strong case for eliminating alcohol completely from our diets and then took questions from the audience challenging his ideas.

Evaluations

After a short break it was time to hear evaluations for each of the speakers.

Henry commended Samuel’s confident ice breaker speech saying that most of us approached our very first speech like “a wobbly-legged foal” but not Samuel! Henry also commended Samuel’s solid stance, vocal variety and use of repetition.

Glen evaluated Jo’s No. 10 speech. He praised her strong storytelling and her effective switching from personal information to background information but felt she could have provided more evidence for her own efforts to produce unexpected pleasant surprises. He loved her handouts however and felt it was a very strong “call to action”, something missing from many speeches.

Carrie evaluated Damien’s No. 2 speech about optimism. She commended him for a strong opening and a clear structure, which he laid out for us at the top of the speech. She recommended that repositioning his notes would have made for better audience engagement and also felt that more use of the stage would have helped bring his speech to life.

Nazia then gave her evaluation of Renars’ advanced speech. She felt he had a great voice and got his message across very effectively. Generally she found his use of humour to be great, but occasionally felt it detracted from his points. She encouraged him to use more emotion in his speech and a clearer structure.

Table Topics

Ratan was in charge of the Table Topics session – an opportunity for members to practice their impromptu speaking skills. “Why do we do it?” he asked rhetorically. “To terrify you, to embarrass you” he joked before explaining the value of being able to think on your feet.

His Valentine’s-inspired questions for brave volunteers included:

  • Where would you take someone on a first date?
  • How do you prepare for a romantic date?
  • What happens when your favourite restaurant cancels your Valentine’s booking?
  • How do you tackle first-date nerves?

Afterwards, table topics evaluator Paul provided insightful feedback for each of the table topics speakers, with commendations and recommendations for each.

In his Harkmasters report, Hari tested us all with a number of questions relating to what we had heard that evening and rewarded people who provided correct answers with chocolates from his box of Celebrations.

The general evaluator Irina, in her first time in that role, commended the club for its general atmosphere and provided detailed feedback for those participants not evaluated elsewhere.

Closing the meeting, club president Femi handed out the awards:

  • Samuel received a certificate to mark the completion of his ice breaker. (Well done Samuel!)
  • The President’s discretionary award was shared between Hari and Ratan.
  • Best table topics speaker went to brand-new member Ben.
  • Best evaluator went to Paul for his skilled critique of the table topics speakers.
  • Best speaker award went to Jo for her speech about trying to make the world a better place with small, selfless gestures.

Next meeting

Our next meeting is Monday 18th February, upstairs at The Clerk & Well, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5DU. Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.

See you there!