Club Newsletter – October 2020

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What’s in this newsletter?

  • Public speaking in lockdown
  • A member’s experience
  • Contest news
  • Puzzled by Pathways?
  • Next meetings
  • And finally…

Public speaking in lockdown

The “new normal” shows no signs of going away, and Bloomsbury Speakers intends to continue with online meetings for the foreseeable future – but this isn’t bad news! Many of us also have to attend our work meetings and even job interviews online too, so Toastmasters meetings are still perfect practice for public speaking in the real world. The real world has changed and we’ve simply changed with it – but, of course, we still provide the safe and encouraging environment and constructive feedback from other members that we always have.

What’s more, you now have the chance to attend meetings at clubs all around the world from the comfort of your own home, or indeed anywhere you please. Have you ever given a speech at 1 o’clock in the morning?! It’s also a great way of feeling more connected if you’re quite isolated at this time.

To support people during this difficult period, the club’s committee has taken the decision to reduce our membership fees, so now is the perfect time to join or re-join as a member. See our website for more details: https://www.bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk/join.

A member’s experience

We’ve been asking some of our members to tell us why they joined Bloomsbury Speakers and why they continue coming after so long. Here’s the 3-minute version of Helen’s story.

If you can’t see the video above, please view it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gzTtYZlkeyM?t=1.

We’d love to hear about your own experiences of personal development and how you think Toastmasters could help you further, so please get in touch. In the meantime, do have a read of what our president Yamina has had to say about her journey: Get on the stage, tell your story.

Contest news

It’s contest season up and down the country and our members have been rising to the challenge of competing online. In the club’s Humorous Speech contest, Yassine joked about his identity as a French-Moroccan in the UK and the pressures of turning 30, while Swarajit gave a speech about a possible impending robot uprising that would be far scarier than any shown in the movies!

The results were:

  • 1st place – Yassine
  • 2nd place – Swarajit

In the Table Topics contest, Kamakshi, Swarajit, Yassine, Mara and Matt were each asked on-the-spot to give a 1-2 minute impromptu speech on why 2020 has been the best year ever! It was a challenging question, but everyone gave their own unique and fascinating response.

The results were:

  • 1st place – Matt
  • 2nd place – Yassine
  • 3rd place – Mara

Swarajit and Matt went on to represent the club at the Area C2 finals (with Yassine qualifying for the next round in a different area through his second club, Experience French). Swarajit again placed second in the Humorous Speech area contest, while Matt went on to (again!) win the Table Topics contest. Congratulations!

Matt qualifies for the Division C final which will be held on Saturday, 31st October and you can register to watch and support him at this link.

Yassine’s area contest will be on Thursday, 22nd October and you can register to attend at this link.

Puzzled by Pathways?

Pathways is the Toastmasters educational programme that all members follow to improve their public speaking and leadership skills. It currently offers a choice of 11 different paths including Presentation Mastery, Engaging Humour and Visionary Communication.

Each path is made up of 5 levels in which the projects let you gradually build up core skills in public speaking, interpersonal communication, strategic leadership, management and confidence.

The new system may seem daunting at first for our longer-serving members, but it’s actually relatively straightforward when you look into it. For example, Level 1 is identical for every path and so everyone starts in exactly the same way with the same three projects:

  1. Ice Breaker
  2. Evaluation and Feedback
  3. Researching and Presenting

We’ll include further tips on Pathways in future newsletters, but why not get started today by following the links above? And why not book in your next (or first) Pathways speech slot straight away on our meeting management site at ToastmasterClub.org?

As an added incentive, the club is also offering up prizes to those members who perform the most speeches and roles for the rest of the year – it’s going to be a closely run race, so don’t wait to get started. We’re really looking forward to hearing your speeches!

Next meetings

Our next meetings will be on the 12th and 26th of October from 6:45pm, and will be held online using Zoom. Please register on our Meetup or Eventbrite pages to receive the login details and a reminder nearer the time. Guests are always welcome to attend.

And finally…

Bloomsbury Speakers has a new mascot – meet Peter the Pangolin! As a gift to our immediate past president Margarita, and the club as a whole, our current president Yamina has adopted a pangolin family on our behalf at a conservation project in the Central African Republic.

Pangolins are the most trafficked animals in the world and we are now helping Born Free to protect them in the wild from trade and exploitation.

We received a certificate and a stuffed toy for our generosity, so please give our new honorary member a warm welcome at our next meeting!

Yamina bloomsbury speakers

Get on the stage, tell your story

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Welcome to Toastmasters and to Bloomsbury Speakers. I am Yamina Bakiri, and I am the president of Bloomsbury Speakers Toastmasters year 2020/21.

As you probably know, Toastmasters is a worldwide organisation dedicated to public speaking with hundred thousands members sharing the same goal: become a better speaker and leader. To succeed, there is only one golden rule: go on the stage – at the moment, a virtual stage – and start speaking and repeat it again and again. As Aristotle said: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

In the public speaking arena, a set of key rules and tools allows any neophyte to master this art.

The rule of 3, figures of speech, pauses, strong eye contact, hand gestures, voice modulation – you will be taught all this and more during your Toastmasters journey through specific educational programs. At Bloomsbury Speakers, we are very proud of our mentorship program tailored to members’ needs, where our most experienced members guide the newer ones through their journey and help them achieve their educational goals.

To me, Toastmasters is much more than public speaking. Ultimately, it is a place to learn how to communicate well. In any setting professional or personal, communication is one of the essential skills to master in life. Communication is a 2-way exchange: speaking and listening. From the speaker’s view, communication is the ability to share a story. Importantly, from the listener’s view, communication is the opportunity to learn something new.

As an audience member, during the same evening, you may learn about ant colonies and climbing Kilimanjaro as well uncovering the tips and tricks of speaking well and confidently. Ultimately, Toastmasters will teach you how to share a story best and adapt its delivery to what you want to achieve (what is your main message, how do you want the audience to feel?).

At Bloomsbury Speakers, we want to help you to find your voice and tell your OWN story.

Let me share about Bloomsbury Speakers and why I am so passionate about the club –

I am proud of the community we have built together. Our club is highly diverse – while we all joined for different reasons and are from all walks of life, our commitment to self-improvement and learning is unanimous. We have experienced members with masterclass like speeches and most candid ones who often share the most inspiring stories. Importantly we have fun together; often after our face to face meetings (in a non Covid19 world), we stay around for drinks and pizzas. But our virtual socials are no less, and we make a point to keep in touch with our members during this very different time.

Now let me share my own experience –

When I joined a few years ago, I wasn’t scared to be on stage, but I wasn’t comfortable either. Public speaking is no picnic, especially for a non-English native introvert-extrovert who tends to speak too fast. At the beginning of my Toastmasters journey, I was quite cautious about my time on stage, I wanted it to be as short as possible and only allowed myself a few stage appearances to present well-prepared and rehearsed speeches. I eventually realised that I was missing out as the stage is the best place to experiment, find your voice and progress.

To this day, I still have this sweet adrenaline rush before going to the stage, and I love it. I love the feeling, of course, as well as what comes next, and when on stage, I no longer want it to end.

So I invite you all to join us and start your Toastmaster journey to become a better speaker and leader! Come to our meetings, as a guest or member, get onto the stage and tell us your story.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to meeting you and seeing you on stage!