March Newsletter – Help needed and learning from the best

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Hello and welcome to the March newsletter!

The build-up to contest season is picking up pace – ours is only a week away now – so get yourself booked in to speak at our International Speech and Evaluation contests. Even if you’re not competing, there are still plenty of ways to help run the event as a functionary, so book yourself in on ClubPlan now.

We’re also still looking for some of our members to visit other clubs’ contests as a judge. If you’re available to judge at any of the following contests, please get in touch via education@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk:

  • Clerkenwell Speakers – Wednesday 12th March (6:30pm-9pm) The Apple Tree pub, 45 Mount Pleasant, London, WC1X 0AE
  • Society Speakers – Wednesday, 19th March (6:30pm-9pm) Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street, London, W1W 6DL
  • London Olympians – Thursday 20th March (6:30pm-9pm) MyHotel Chelsea, 35 Ixworth Place, SW3 3QX
  • Holborn Speakers – Tuesday, 25th March (6:30pm-9pm) The Devereux pub, 20 Devereux Court, Temple, London, WC2R 3JJ

There are no special qualifications required to be a judge, so please volunteer if you can.

If you don’t have time to read the whole newsletter, you can skip to the bottom for a short summary of the main points.

What’s happened since the last newsletter?

February was short but sweet, with two regular meetings including a Valentine-themed table topics session from Grace, and icebreaker speeches from Michelle and Tracey.

Kicking off March, we also had an incredibly useful and well-received pair of workshops from district council members Hilary Briggs and Freddie Daniells last Monday, which I hope will encourage all who attended to enter the contests later this month – more from them below.

What’s planned for March?

Lots! The dates below are just those directly related to our club, but keep reading through the rest of the newsletter for even more exciting events this month:

  • Monday, 10th March – Regular Meeting – Our first club meeting this month will be themed around International Women’s Day. The programme is almost full, but if you’re quick you may be able to grab one of the last couple of pre-bookable table topic slots on ClubPlan.
  • Monday, 17th March – International Speech & Evaluation Contest Night – At the time of writing, only four members have signed up for the International Speech contest, while we’re still waiting for our first entry for the Evaluation contest! Remember that all members are eligible for the Evaluation contest, and there’s no preparation required, so get yourself booked in on ClubPlan for the chance to represent the Bloomsbury Speakers at the next level.
  • Monday, 24th March – Regular Meeting – At the time of writing, there is one prepared speech slot available – again, book yourself in on ClubPlan to make use of the opportunity.
  • Thursday, 27th March – Area 34 International Speech & Evaluation Contest – The winners from our club contests on the 17th will go on to compete against winners from the other clubs in our area of London. See immediately below for the details – registration is required to attend!

Area 34 contest night – registration required and help needed!

Please go along to support the winners from our club contests (whoever they may be!) in the next round at the Area 34 contest night. The event is free to attend, but as it’s being held in a corporate building, pre-registration is essential – here are the full details:

Date: Thursday, 27th March
Time: 7pm-9pm
Venue: Transport for London, 55 Broadway, SW1H 0BD (directly above St. James’s Park tube station)
Registration: president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk

The contest organisers are also looking for judges, timekeepers and vote counters to help with running the event, so please volunteer for one of these roles when you register.

World champion speakers event – Friday, 14th March

This is a rare opportunity to learn from two exceptional speakers. Ed Tate (2000 World Champion) and Darren LaCroix (2001 World Champion) will each help you to change the way you create and deliver your speeches and presentations.

In Ed’s workshop, ‘The Story Finder: How to Create New Stories in Minutes’ you will have the opportunity to:

  • Discover how to be remarkable with your own material;
  • Practice Ed’s 4 Elements of Effective Story Telling;
  • Create new material immediately, using a story creation framework;
  • Learn 10 different ways to creatively open and close any presentation.

Darren’s workshop, ‘Create Your Keynote’ will cover:

  • Time-proven speech writing processes;
  • Common mistakes to avoid;
  • A whole new perspective to writing a world-class speech.

Full details are below – see you there!

Date: Friday, 14th March
Time: 7pm-9pm
Venue: Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 5AZ (Map)
Price: ÂŁ7.50
Tickets: http://worldchampions.eventbrite.co.uk

Table topics workshop at Clerkenwell Speakers – Wednesday, 19th March

Five-time UK & Ireland table topics champion David Jones will be running a 2-hour long table topics workshop for Clerkenwell Speakers on Wednesday, 19th March. The workshop will include some of David’s top tips for giving a table topic speech, as well as plenty of opportunity to get up and practice – all are welcome, so don’t miss out if you can make it.

Date: Wednesday, 19th March
Time: 6:45pm-9pm
Venue: The Apple Tree, 45 Mount Pleasant, WC1X 0AE
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/8qCei (with directions from our regular meeting venue)

Reminder – dates for your diary

Here’s a quick reminder of some of the important contest and conference dates announced in last month’s newsletter:

  • Friday, 4th April  (7pm onwards) – Division L International Speech & Evaluation Contests – City Temple Conference Centre, Holborn Viaduct, EC1A 2DE – the top placed contestants in this month’s Area 34 contests will go on to face the best speakers from the other areas in North & Central London – the prize is a place in the national semi-finals.
  • Friday 9th-Sunday 11th May – District 71 King Laoire Conference – The last ever conference for District 71 as we know it will be held in DĂșn Laoghaire in Ireland and will play host to the UK & Ireland International Speech and Evaluation contest semi-finals and finals, featuring the winners from each division around both countries. Booking is open on the official website and the hotel is filling up fast.
  • Wednesday 20th-Saturday 23rd August – International Convention and World Championship Finals in Kuala Lumpur – While the Evaluation Contest ends at District level, the International Speech Contest (as its name implies) continues on to the world semi-finals and finals in Malaysia, with the eventual winner being crowned World Champion of Public Speaking. Perhaps this year’s winner will be from Bloomsbury Speakers!

Tip of the Month: Workshop learning points

We try to hold at least a couple of workshops a year at Bloomsbury Speakers and this month’s tip is a bit of a cheat on my part, as it’s really just a collection of my favourite learning points from last Monday’s speech and evaluation workshops which were run for us by Hilary Briggs and Freddie Daniells. If you weren’t there, here’s just some of what you missed:

  • With evaluations, keep them factual. Look at it like presenting evidence in a court of law; an evaluation is your own opinion, but your comments need to be backed up by observations i.e. what you saw, heard and felt and when.
  • In contests, use the C-C-R-R-C format. Contest judges will give you credit for having a structured and balanced approach to your evaluation. Give two commendations followed by two recommendations and finish with your most positive commendation, ensuring that your comments are delivered to the audience i.e. in the third person – and always finish with a summary!
  • The majority of World Championship-winning speeches are inspirational AND entertaining. Winning speeches typically involve a personal story comprised of a situation, a protagonist (usually yourself), a goal, a problem or obstacle to overcome and a journey to success. They will also make use of humour to engage the audience and judges – eight laughs in a 5-7 minute speech is a conservative target.
  • But that’s not all – there are common pitfalls to avoid. It’s not enough to have a problem; the situation needs to escalate as the story progresses. The story needs to be acted out in scenes (rather than told as a narrative) to help the audience to be there with you. There also needs to be a character arc so that the character changes in some way. This is usually with the help of a mentor character, because audiences will connect better with speakers who, like them, aren’t perfect and need help.

Of course, many of these points are specific to Toastmasters competitions rather than public speaking in general, but why not try applying some of these tips in this month’s contests and in our regular meetings going forward?

And finally


Congratulations to our VP Public Relations Rufina and Immediate Past President Femi who recently announced their engagement!

Femi Fina

That’s all for now. See you at a meeting soon!

Swarajit Das
President
Bloomsbury Speakers

Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know

  • Our first regular meeting in March is on the 10th and will be a special event to mark International Women’s Day, organised by committee members Jo and Rufina.
  • Our International Speech & Evaluation contest is on Monday, 17th March. Register as a contestant or functionary on ClubPlan.
  • Our second regular meeting in March is on the 24th and, at the time of writing, there is one speech slot available on ClubPlan.
  • The winners from our club contests will progress to the Area 34 finals from 7pm on Thursday, 27th March at 55 Broadway, SW1H 0BD (directly above St. James’s Park tube station). Registration via president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk is essential to attend.
  • A special world champion speakers event is taking place from 7pm on Friday, 14th March, featuring workshops from former World Champions of Public Speaking Ed Tate and Darren LaCroix. Tickets are available at http://worldchampions.eventbrite.co.uk.
  • Clerkenwell Speakers is hosting a table topics workshop to be run by five-time UK & Ireland champion David Jones from 6:45pm on Wednesday, 19th March at The Apple Tree, 45 Mount Pleasant, WC1X 0AE.

Meeting Report for 24 February 2014

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Introductions

Club president Swarajit opened the meeting by promoting the leadership opportunities available in Toastmasters, which are often overlooked by members in favour of improving their communication skills. He spoke about the invaluable experience of serving on the club’s committee and encouraged members to get involved in the running their club and even consider taking on a formal position on the new committee this summer.

Swarajit then handed over to Bronia, the Toastmaster for the evening, to kick the meeting off with a celebrity theme – “which actor or actress would play you in a film about your life?”

Bronia also introduced two of the functionaries who would be assisting her that evening:

  • Grace, the timekeeper, explained the format of the meeting agenda and the use of coloured lights to signal timings to the speakers.
  • Ash, the grammarian, introduced the word of the day, fortuitous – which means happening or produced by chance, by accident, lucky or fortunate – and encouraged everyone to incorporate it into their speeches.

Prepared speeches

With an Icebreaker speech entitled “Community Action”, Tracey introduced herself to the club (even though she’d been a member for several months already) before going on to talk about the voluntary work she’d undertaken and what she’d learnt from her experiences.

The second speaker was Svetlana, who used her speech on “The Commercialisation of Holidays” to share her frustration about how festivals such as Christmas and Easter have become too focused on spending money rather than showing our loved ones that we care for them.

Hari opened his advanced speech with a humorous tale set in his favourite cafĂ© which had him make an assumption about an elderly couple, reminding him (and us) about the danger of simply assuming. He ended with a message reiterating that “to assume, makes an ASS out of U and ME.”

Kate rounded off the prepared speeches with an advanced storytelling speech entitled “The Adventures of Jeremy Fisher” in which she humorously reminisced about the ageing horse she and her family had grown up with.

Evaluations

Jo was up first with her evaluation of Tracey’s Icebreaker on her volunteering activities.  She praised Tracey’s ‘silky, smooth’ voice, clear explanatory structure and gently persuasive manner. She would have liked a few personal anecdotes on Tracey’s experiences so the audience could really understand what her volunteering means to her and those she helps.

Marte was impressed with Svetlana’s stage presence and use of personal stories to make her message easier to relate to. She recommended using smaller prompt cards to organise her notes on and giving a clear outline of the speech’s purpose at the start.

Glen commended Hari’s qualities as an advanced speaker, including his great eye contact, wide vocal variety and charismatic delivery. He recommended a stronger internal speech structure and a clearer purpose but ended by praising Hari’s evocation of the characters in his story, which was an improvement from earlier speeches.

Henry found lots to praise in Kate’s humorous tale, particular the vivid descriptions which added depth and colour to the story. His main recommendation was to make use of pauses to add drama to the narrative.

Table Topics

The table topics (impromptu speeches) section was chaired by Janet who flipped the meeting’s theme on its head by asking each speaker to answer a particular question as if they were a given celebrity. Participants included Peter who defended Eddie Izzard’s choice of attire, and Janet’s daughter Ayla speaking as fairytale princess Cinderella.

Joe evaluated the topics session by commending all who took part for rising to the challenge with the general recommendation to pause more for contemplation and to make full use of the time on stage.

Awards

After Ash had reported back on the interesting use of language throughout the meeting, Swarajit brought the meeting to a timely close by handing out the awards:

  • Tracey was given an Icebreaker ribbon to mark her first speech at the club
  • The president’s award went to Grace as the evening’s proficient first-time Timekeeper
  • Best evaluator went to Henry
  • Best table topic went to Ayla
  • Best speaker went to Kate

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting will be held on Monday, 10th March upstairs at The Clerk & Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5DU.

The club’s 2014 International Speech and Evaluation Contest will take place on Monday, 17th March. Enter or sign up for roles on ClubPlan now!

Meeting Report for 10 February 2014

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Introductions

This meeting was held in our backup venue, The Apple Tree, due to building works at the Clerk & Well.

Swarajit the club president opened the meeting by describing Toastmasters as “a place where you can make mistakes with your public speaking and it doesn’t matter”.

He went on to talk about four stages of a model of competence: unconscious incompetence (you don’t know about or don’t value a skill), conscious incompetence (you know you lack a desired skill), conscious competence (you are skilled with deliberate effort), and unconscious competence (you are effortlessly skilled), and related it to the Toastmasters Competent Communicator program.

The Toastmaster for the evening, Ahmed, started by introducing his theme for the meeting, having asked all participants “What is your dream job?”. He spoke about the Toastmasters practice of providing written feedback for all speakers and the importance of applause to help warm up the speakers with lots of support and encouragement.

Rebecca (dream job: superhero!) described her role as Timekeeper, ably standing in at the last minute to replace the scheduled person in that role.

Hari (dream job: internet sensation and travelling speaker) explained the role of Harkmaster (an occasional replacement for the Grammarian role) and described how he loves the role because it encourages the audience to listen – with the incentive of chocolatey rewards!

Prepared speeches

The first speech was an ice breaker entitled “Ambitions” from new member Michelle. She told us about her current role in HR and her objectives for Toastmasters – to gain confidence giving work presentations. She told us how she enjoys travel and has visited Egypt, India, Thailand, and having worked in Sydney still has long term ambitions to work abroad. Of all the places she’d visited Michelle would choose to live in Boston because her relatives always make her feel welcome!

Our second speaker Ash (dream job: Olympic sprinter) gave a No. 2 speech entitled “My Miracle Mineral”. She opened with the statement that 80% of the people in the room will be deficient in magnesium! We learned that although we can get magnesium in food – such as nuts and leafy vegetables – our body cannot store it, so it needs constant replenishment. Also our modern lifestyles can easily deplete it. Ash described numerous personal benefits – or miracles – of taking the mineral: reduced migraines, a cure for insomnia and enhanced muscle recovery.

Our third prepared speech was from Marte, another No. 2 speech, this time entitled “Get on that bike!”. She opened her speech with a question: “How many of you cycle in London?” and then revealed that around half a million people cycle every day in London. She then described the numerous benefits of cycling: it’s healthy exercise, it’s good for the environment, and it’s also cheaper and faster than the alternatives. But it comes with its hazards: breathing exhaust fumes in busy traffic, the danger of large vehicles and the attitude of some motorists to cyclists. But there were solutions to all of these problems.

The final prepared speech was an advanced “speech to inform” by experienced member Jo entitled “A Fool for Love”. With Valentine’s Day coming up Jo decided to share three lessons learned from a past romance. Ignoring her best instincts because the object of her affections was “hot” taught Jo her Tip #1: Be true to yourself about what you want from love. Her beau’s admission “I’m just not very good at being happy” led her to Tip #2: Listen to who they say are. And an encounter with a disapproving mother led her to Tip #3: Find out about their friends and family!

Evaluations

Henry (dream job: travelling the world interviewing famous people) evaluated Michelle’s ice breaker. He commended the tight structure and the fact that the speech “did what it said on the tin”. Successful speaking is about “connection not perfection” he said he felt Michelle had really connected with the audience. His recommendation was simply not to worry if small things went wrong.

Bronia (dream job: CEO of her own company) evaluated Ash’s No. 2 speech about magnesium. Bronia felt Ash was “instantly likeable” because of her smile which was “the battle half won”. She felt her pace made her speech very easy to follow and this had helped Ash to bond with the audience. She also commended the structure of the speech and the very clear central message.

Peter (dream job: own a smallholding and be closer to nature) evaluated Marte’s speech about cycling. “If you smile, you can’t go wrong” said Peter, and he felt that Marte had certainly done that. He commended her on her humour and the clarity of her main points although it sounded like he was more persuaded by the hazards of cycling than the benefits!

Janet evaluated the final speech, Jo’s speech about love. She opened by asking: “What makes a fantastic public speaker?” and clearly felt that Jo deserved that description. Janet said Jo had made her speech really funny – but also true. And she’d made it personal – even though it can be difficult to open yourself up – but that helps people engage. Areas for improvement: a little more vocal variety; wider use of the stage; get the audience involved more.

Table Topics

As Topicsmaster for the evening Grace introduced her theme – Valentines – and gave brave volunteers the opportunity to give an impromptu speech based on one of her questions.

  • Julia was asked “What does love mean?” and said she felt it meant being “comfortable and connected” with someone
  • Faith was asked “Do you believe in love at first sight?” and told a humorous story about her friend and her future husband.
  • Peter was asked “What first catches your attention about a person?”. He told us “love doesn’t exist” and backed up his statement with great humour.
  • Raghav was asked “What is your favourite movie?” and revealed it was Love Actually.
  • Simon was asked where he would sweep someone away to for a romantic weekend and he said somewhere Arabic-speaking so he could show off some new language skills.

As table topics evaluator Glen told us that the secret to great public speaking is a full bladder (!) before giving feedback for each of the table topics speakers.

General evaluator Sandra, visiting from our sister club Holborn, gave her evaluation of the club as a whole and of all the participants who had not received evaluations elsewhere. She commended the club on its friendly atmosphere, which she said was second only to her own. 🙂

Awards

Swarajit wrapped up the meeting with some announcements about forthcoming events before handing out the awards:

  • The president’s award went to Rebecca for stepping in at the last minute as Timekeeper
  • Best evaluator was shared by Janet & Glen
  • Best table topic went to Peter
  • Best speaker went to Jo

Important Dates

Our next regular meeting will be held on Monday, 24th Feburary 2014 upstairs at The Clerk & Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5DU.

The club is holding a Speech and Evaluation Workshop on Monday, 3rd March 2014. Book your place here.

The club’s 2014 International Speech and Evaluation Contest will take place on Monday, 17th March 2014.

February Newsletter – Preparing for contest season and dates for your diary

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Hello and welcome to the February newsletter!

We’ve been experimenting with a different room layout at The Clerk & Well for the past month, and it seems to be preferred by the majority of those who’ve attended. However, it does take a bit more effort to set up properly, so any help from our members who can arrive early will be greatly appreciated, especially as the club’s Sergeant at Arms is absent for the time being.

Having said that, we have a temporary change of venue for our first meeting this month. This Monday’s meeting will be held upstairs at The Apple Tree, 45 Mount Pleasant, WC1X 0AE (NOT at The Real Man Pizza Company as previously announced) – just a short walk from our regular meeting place. Again, help will be needed with transporting our equipment to and from the meeting venue, so if you’re available to arrive early and lend a hand then please get in touch via president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk.

Anyway, on with this month’s newsletter


If you don’t have time to read the whole newsletter, you can skip to the bottom for a short summary of the main points.

What’s happened since the last newsletter?

Despite several last-minute dropouts due to illness, we had two packed meetings in January, featuring icebreaker speeches from new members Svetlana and Grace, as well as a No. 10 speech from Paula who has now achieved the title of Competent Communicator and helped the club achieve its eighth point in the Distinguished Club Programme!

We also co-hosted the hugely successful ‘Belly Laugh’ night with three other clubs and some of the funniest Toastmasters in London. If you weren’t able to attend, take a look at Clerkenwell Speakers’ write-up and photos from the event.

What’s planned for February?

There’s only so much we can fit in to the shortest month of the year, but there’s still plenty for us to look forward to:

  • Monday, 10th February – Regular Meeting – Please note the change of venue for our first meeting this month. As mentioned above, we’ll be at The Apple Tree, 45 Mount Pleasant, WC1X 0AE (NOT at The Real Man Pizza Company as previously announced). The programme for the meeting is full but there are still some pre-bookable table topic slots available for members on ClubPlan.
  • Monday, 24th February – Regular Meeting – Back at The Clerk & Well, this meeting features the always-entertaining Bronia in the role of Toastmaster, so it’s well worth coming along even if you’re not taking part. At the time of writing, there are slots available for an advanced speech evaluator and a Sergeant at Arms to greet and introduce the guests. Again, book yourself in on ClubPlan.

Dates for your diary – contest season is approaching!

This is an early warning that the spring contest season is just around the corner, so start thinking now about whether you’d like to enter our International Speech and Evaluation contests next month. In the meantime, here are all the important dates for your diary with further details to follow nearer the time:

  • Monday, 3rd March – International Speech & Evaluation Workshop – We’re hosting a special event featuring workshops from district leaders Hilary Briggs and Freddie Daniells. Invitations have already gone out to members and are now open to guests too. See below for the details.
  • Monday, 17th March – Bloomsbury Speakers International Speech & Evaluation Contests – Booking for contest places is already open on ClubPlan, but keep an eye out for an invitation from our VP Education Jo with everything you need to know. If you don’t intend to compete but would like to help with organising or running the event, please contact Jo via education@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk. We’re also looking for members who are willing to go and judge at other clubs’ contests – again contact Jo if you’d like to help.
  • Thursday, 27th March – Area 34 International Speech & Evaluation Contests – The winners from our club contests will go on to compete against winners from the other clubs in our area of London: Holborn Speakers, Tube Talk, Lawspeak, Society Speakers and Clerkenwell Speakers.
  • Friday, 4th April – Division L International Speech & Evaluation Contests – the top placed contestants in March’s Area 34 contests will go on to face the best speakers from the other areas in North & Central London.
  • Friday 9th-Sunday 11th May – District 71 King Laoire Conference – The last ever conference for District 71 as we know it will be held in DĂșn Laoghaire in Ireland and will play host to the UK & Ireland International Speech and Evaluation contest semi-finals and finals, featuring the winners from each division around both countries. Booking is already open on the official website.
  • Wednesday 20th-Saturday 23rd August – International Convention and World Championship Finals in Kuala Lumpur – While the Evaluation Contest ends at District level, the International Speech Contest (as its name implies) continues on to the world semi-finals and finals in Malaysia, with the eventual winner being crowned World Champion of Public Speaking. Perhaps this year’s winner will be from Bloomsbury Speakers!

International Speech & Evaluation Workshop – Monday, 3rd March

In preparation for the above contests, we’re very privileged to welcome Toastmasters District 71 (UK & Ireland) Council members Hilary Briggs and Freddie Daniells to give two special workshops on Monday, 3rd March.

Hilary (serving Lieutenant Governor Education and Training) will be running her workshop Evaluate with Confidence! in which she’ll share her expert knowledge of:

  • What makes a great evaluation;
  • How to build your skills in a systematic way;
  • Top tips for Evaluation Contests.

We’ll also get to hear from Immediate Past District Governor, Freddie with his Seven Insights into Winning International Speeches. With a wealth of experience in Toastmasters, and having attended the last four World Championship of Public Speaking finals, acting as a judge in one and helping coach a finalist in another, Freddie is perfectly placed to share his findings on what makes a successful contest speech.

Unfortunately, with such a small venue, there are only a limited number of seats available, so please only book yourself in if you can definitely attend (and cancel your booking if you find out later that you can’t make it).

https://springcontestworkshop.eventbrite.co.uk

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to refine your skills for the upcoming contests and give yourself that extra edge for these and future competitions!

Clerkenwell Speakers news

If you’re unable to make it to the above event, you may be interested to know that Freddie Daniells will be running his workshop Exceptional Evaluations for Clerkenwell Speakers on Wednesday, 19th February at The Apple Tree (which is Clerkenwell’s new permanent venue as well as our temporary venue for this week’s meeting).

Clerkenwell Speakers was formed last summer when it became apparent that we at Bloomsbury Speakers could no longer meet the overwhelming demand for membership on our own. Since then, they’ve managed to meet the minimum requirement for new members within just six months and will be holding a special chartering meeting on Wednesday, 26th February to celebrate this important milestone.

Chartering means that they are now officially recognised as a Toastmasters club and have all the privileges that come with it (such as being able to hold and enter contests). Congratulations to everyone involved in getting the club to where it is today!

(Also, don’t forget that Bloomsbury members still have free membership of Clerkenwell Speakers and can book in for roles and speeches on their ClubPlan until the end of March.)

Membership waiting list

The waiting list for membership of Bloomsbury Speakers currently has fifteen names on it and, with only two new members being admitted each month, some of them may still have a long wait ahead. However, we are giving priority to those people on the waiting list who continue to attend meetings regularly as a guest and are willing to give their first speech in the month they join – so if you’re keen to join our club then please keep coming along to our meetings (at least three times) and sign our guestbook on each visit.

We will be in touch with all the guests on the waiting list in the coming weeks to make sure that they would still like to continue – however, a full list of all the clubs in Greater London is available on The London Speaker, and we highly recommend visiting at least one or two other clubs before deciding on which one to join, as each club has its own distinct personality. But of course, anyone is welcome to attend our regular meetings as a guest at any time with no obligation to join.

Tip of the Month: Competing makes you a better speaker

Aside from giving you the extra opportunities to speak in front of an audience, entering speech contests can improve your public speaking skills in ways that speaking at a regular club meeting may not provide:

  • It combines all the skills from your previous projects. While this should be happening as you work through your manuals anyway, it can often be tempting to just focus on the objectives of the project at hand. Since there are no specific objectives in a speech contest, it’s the perfect opportunity to bring together everything you’ve learnt so far into one speech – from structure and rhetoric to persuading and inspiring.
  • It makes you more conscious about connecting with your audience. Making a one-to-one connection with members of your audience through gestures and eye-contact will mean they’re more likely to understand and appreciate your message. Since you’ll be judged by anonymous individuals around the room, you’ll be more aware of the importance of connecting with everyone on an individual level, and doing so with the judges will mean they’re more likely to score you favourably.
  • It gives you targets to aim for and exceed. This is probably the single aspect of contests that pushes speakers to improve each time. Whether you agree with the judges’ decision or not, your biggest competition is often against yourself and the parts of your public speaking that you know need improvement. If you’ve previously been placed in a speech contest but never won, then perhaps your next target is to progress to the area finals. If, like our members Femi and Janet last year, you’ve previously got as far as the division contest, then think about (and get help from you mentor on) what you need to do better next time in order to compete at the national level.

As you can see, the benefits of speaking in a contest environment are significant so it’s well worth giving some serious consideration to entering next month and learning as much as you can from the experience.

That’s all for now. See you at a meeting soon!

Swarajit Das
President
Bloomsbury Speakers

Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know

  • Our regular meetings in February are on the 10th and 24th. Please note that the meeting on the 10th will be held upstairs at The Apple Tree, 45 Mount Pleasant, WC1X 0AE (NOT at The Real Man Pizza Company as previously announced), just a short walk from our regular meeting place.
  • We’re hosting an International Speech & Evaluation Workshop with district leaders Hilary Briggs and Freddie Daniells on Monday, 3rd March. Tickets are available at https://springcontestworkshop.eventbrite.co.uk.
  • Our International Speech & Evaluation Contest will be held on Monday, 17th March. Invitations will go out to members in the next couple of weeks, but booking for contest places is already open on ClubPlan.
  • Clerkenwell Speakers is having its chartering meeting on Wednesday, 26th February at their new permanent venue, The Apple Tree, and Bloomsbury members can still book into roles and speech slots on their ClubPlan until the end of March.
  • We are giving priority for membership to people on our waiting list who continue to attend regularly as a guest (and at least three times). If you are keen to join, please make sure you sign our guestbook each time you attend, or check out The London Speaker for details of other Toastmasters clubs around Greater London.

Meeting Report for 27 January 2014

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Written by Helen

Introduction

Swarajit, our President, opened a packed meeting with a bit of history of Toastmasters International. He went on to remind us that public speaking is a learned skill – one that we learn through practice and feedback, that is, evaluation. He then introduced Glen, who was performing the eponymous role of Toastmaster.

  • Peter – the Timekeeper – explained his role, emphasising the importance of being able to contain a speech within a particular time.
  • Helen – the Grammarian – explained her role as well and introduced the word of the day, “vivify”.

Prepared Speeches

In her Icebreaker speech, Grace traced her journey from the Irish countryside – where she grew up in a big, noisy family – to Liverpool, Dublin, and eventually London. She concluded by telling us all her hopes of building confidence as a public speaker.

Bronia spoke on the topic of conflict and how best to deal with it. She quoted many experts, including Abraham Maslow, to explain how conflict affects us. Her advice: open your mind, don’t project, and listen thoroughly.

Paula began her #10 speech, “People”, with two questions: “What kind of person are you? Are you the person you want to be?” She went on to tell a personal story of how she dealt with a difficult person at her workplace, and the lessons she learnt from that experience. She emphasised the importance of drawing a “line in the sand” when faced with such a situation.

In his advanced speech, Joe told a humorous story of a trip he took to Morocco in which he failed, on many occasions, to exercise good judgement. In the end he accepted help from some kind locals, and saw the importance of learning from his mistakes.

Evaluations

Carrie evaluated Grace’s Icebreaker, commending her structure, storytelling style and use of language. She recommended more eye contact but was impressed that Grace delivered her speech with very little use of notes.

Barnaby began his evaluation of Bronia’s speech by empathising with the challenge of preparing a research-based speech (which was the objective of Bronia’s No. 7 speech project). He recommended a more solid structure and more use of facts as evidence.

Femi congratulated Paula on her 10th speech before commending her “commanding presence”. He recommended being a bit more descriptive but found her speech nonetheless inspiring.

Henry promised to be harsh on Joe, who had given an advanced speech. He strongly commended Joe’s opening and structure. His recommendation was to use more drama, and not to over-signpost the learnings, but to let the audience draw their own conclusions from the story.

Table Topics

Marte, our Topicsmaster, introduced Table Topics and presented her theme – the Royal Family.

  • Nazia was offered the prospect of becoming a princess and asked to choose whether she would marry Prince William or Prince Harry. She responded that she was not the marrying kind but that being a princess was quite tempting.
  • Guest Peter was asked what he would change if he were king. He expressed his desire to abolish the monarchy and the moral dilemma that that presented. In the end, he decided to “just go for the crown and keep it”.
  • This segued nicely into Svetlana’s question, “Should we still have a queen or king?” She speculated that when William becomes king he may reform the monarchy, bringing back the times of King Arthur.
  • Manish was asked to choose a new location for his palace, should he be crowned king. He chose Lords pavilion – the Mecca of cricket – as he is a huge cricket fan.
  • Asked whether the queen should retire, Tracey questioned the queen’s purpose. However, given that she is such a well-kept woman, why not just keep on going?

Renars evaluated each table topic with his usual wit. He pointed out the difference between a scripted speech and one which is improvised and went on to give detailed commendations and recommendations to each speaker.

Reports

Helen quoted numerous examples of excellent language used throughout the meeting. She also reported 10 uses of the word of the day.

Jane, our general evaluator, commended the club’s welcoming and warm atmosphere before evaluating each of the functionaries in a concise manner.

Awards

  • Grace received an Icebreaker award for beginning her journey at Toastmasters.
  • Paula received the Competent Communicator award for having completed her 10th speech. She also won Best Prepared Speech.
  • Best Table Topic went to Peter for the second time in a row.
  • The President’s award was given to Marte for having thrown herself into various roles since coming back to Toastmasters and running a highly entertaining table topics session.

Next Meeting

Our next regular meeting will be held on Monday, 10th February at The Apple Tree, 45 Mount Pleasant, WC1X 0AE (NOT The Real Man Pizza Company as previously announced).

Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.