Meeting Report: 13th November 2017

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Introduction

Bloomsbury Speakers met on Monday 13th November at Wedge Issue Pizza for their latest regular meeting. Three inspiring speeches and a hilarious table topics session later, we were onto the pizza!

Roles

President of the Club Peter R welcomed everyone to the meeting and pointed out that Toastmasters is not just about talking in front of people, but also strengthening our ability to express ourselves and interact with others. Toastmaster Scott took over and introduced Timekeeper Sarah. In the absence of a Grammarian, Scott declared “wedge” (after our lovely venue) to be the word of the day.

Prepared speeches

First to speak was James with his Ice Breaker Speech “Living the Dream”. James gave us an insight into his determination and how fear of heights had pushed him to start a skydiving club. We felt we were there with him as he described the plane taking off and flying higher and higher as he was getting ready for his first jump. We are all looking forward to James’ second speech!

The second speaker was Chantal was her Competent Communicator Speech #9 “Eat More Green”. Chantal used powerful persuasion to convince us to become “flexitarians” and gradually cut meat out of our diets. Meat-heavy diets have a negative effect on climate change and on resistance to antibiotics, and if we all started to diversify our diets we could help tackle these two challenges.

Last to speak was Margarita with her Storytelling Speech #4 “The Second Life of Optimus”. To add a bit of storytelling to the Christmas atmosphere, she took us back in time to faraway Moscow, where a boy (Margarita’s brother) rescued a mouse from an evil magician, and the two forged an unlikely friendship. Mouse Optimus and her brother became inseparable! A very inspiring story of friendship and loyalty.

Peter R then led the guest introductions.

Table Topics

After the break, three members of the club evaluated the evening’s speeches – Luisa, Rupert and Swarajit.

Table Topics Master Yamina then organised a great impromptu session, during which Rupert, Winsome, Margarita, Sofia, Lewis, Peter R, Stella and Scott discussed the topic of the night – dreams. Highlights included Rupert’s advice to dream small so as to avoid disappointment, and Winsome’s confession about being queen of the snooze!

Sheldon evaluated all table topics speakers.

Finally, visiting General Evaluator Lewis evaluated our club and the meeting.

Awards

Best Speaker: Chantal

Best Evaluator: Luisa

Best Table Topic: Rupert

Next meeting

The next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 27th November 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills and enjoy delicious free pizza!

Please feel free to get in touch at info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.

 

President’s Newsletter: November 2017

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Dear all,

Welcome to the first Bloomsbury Speakers newsletter for 2017! Below you’ll find information about upcoming workshops, meeting dates and speech slots; you’ll also find links to speaking resources that we’ve found really useful, as well as an opportunity to be mentored by some of our club’s most experienced speakers.

This year we’ve seen a new Bloomsbury Speakers committee take over, as well as many of our members completing their manuals and honing their skills as communicators. Sadly, we’ve also had to say goodbye to several members who have now left the UK for home; you’ll all be missed!

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Meeting dates and speech slots

Our meeting dates for the rest of this calendar year are:

13 November
27 November
11 December

The speech slots on 13 November are all taken; however, we’re still accepting bookings for prepared speeches on 27 November and 11 December. If you’re a member and you’d like to take up a slot for a prepared speech, either sign up on Easyspeak (www.toastmasterclub.org) or email our Vice-President for Education, Atul Chauhan (atulchauhan@hotmail.co.uk).

If you’d like to do impromptu speaking, just turn up at one of our meetings (the impromptu speaking slots are open to both members and non-members).

We’re always looking for members to fill our functionary roles (Evaluator, Grammarian, Timekeeper, Topic Evaluator, Sergeant-at-Arms and Toastmaster), so do get in touch with Atul if you’d like to take up one of these slots at any of our meetings.

All of our meetings take place at the same location:

Wedge Issue Pizza (downstairs), 91-95 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5BX.

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Mentoring

Our mentoring program is up-and-running; if you’re a member and you’d like a mentor, email me (peter.richardson@cantab.net) and we can assign you an experienced speaker to guide you through your next speech and beyond. A mentor can read drafts of speeches, offer advice on nerves, preparation and length, and provide feedback during meetings. Mentors can also tailor their assistance to any aspect of speaking you’d like to work on (pace, body language, speech content, and so on), so feel free to get in touch if you’d like one.

If you’d like to be a mentor, you’re equally welcome to get in touch. Becoming a mentor is a great way for someone who has spent a short while in the club to learn coaching and evaluation skills.

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Workshop in late November / early December

We’re planning to host a speaking workshop in late November or early December centred around introductory public speaking principles. The workshop will be open to members and guests. More details to come – watch this space.

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Christmas meal 

Every year Bloomsbury Speakers holds a Christmas meal with the local clubs around us; last year we went to Mem & Laz in Islington, and it was pretty great. This year we will be meeting on Friday 8 December: the meal is open to both members and guests. Just register your interest by e-mailing me (peter.richardson@cantab.net).

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Speaking resources

We thought it might be useful to compile some links to online material for generating speech structure and content, as well as great speeches and book recommendations. Below are some of the things that I’ve found really helpful (you may notice that two of them are TED-inspired):

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That’s all for the time being; we hope to see you at our next meeting (13 November) at 18:30 at Wedge Issue Pizza, Clerkenwell Road. Until then, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about the club. I’ll leave you with a quote I quite like:

“Nothing is so unbelievable that oratory cannot make it acceptable.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

Peter (President, Bloomsbury Speakers)