Meeting Report for 23 July 2012

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Written by Elena (edited by Swarajit)

Introduction

With one member taking the Best Speaker award for the third consecutive speech, two members jointly receiving the Best Evaluator award and a guest taking home the Table Topic award, it was another lively meeting in The Clerk & Well pub.

The meeting was opened by Club President Femi who charged the audience with energy and enthusiasm and declared that the best medicine to overcome nervousness is practising, practising and practising as regularly as possible.

Joe, the Toastmaster of the evening was supported by Timekeeper Jasr and Grammarian Christopher.

Prepared speeches

The first part of the meeting opened with Steven’s Ice Breaker speech entitled “This is Me” in which he presented his passion for cycling and told the club about his journey around France and why he’d joined Toastmasters.

Ilze gave her No. 2 speech “Glossophobia” (the fear of public speaking!) which tied in nicely with Femi’s introduction. She explained the biological nature of any fear, suggested practising public speaking as a cure and finished with a quote “Be like a stamp – stick to one thing until you reach your destination”.

Paula spoke about mental health in her No. 3 speech “Who Cares?”. She demonstrated that good mental health is the ability to make the right decision in a difficult emotional situation, familiarized the audience with CRT therapy which is well used by the NHS today and explained how to get access to that service.

The last speaker of the evening was Jo with her speech No. 6 entitled “D-Day” in which she covered events that happened in early-1960s Birmingham, Alabama and how Martin Luther King’s campaign achieved desegregation at first in shops and restaurants and then in all public buildings. In conclusion Jo read King’s quote ”I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character” and expressed a hope that her nephew will be judged only this way in the future.

Speech evaluations

Evaluating Steven’s Ice Breaker, Glen saw him as an authentic storyteller with great eye-contact and a natural gift for humour saying that he really would like to see more of that in the future. However Glen noted that the speech could benefit from slightly calmer body language and some more pauses to improve pacing.

Hari evaluated Ilze’s speech and commended the interesting topic and Ilze’s explanation of the meaning of “glossophobia” at the beginning of the speech. Hari also praised Ilze’s relaxed body language and natural voice. What he would have liked to have seen was a bit more eye contact.

The next evaluator, Wayne, evaluated Paula’s speech about mental health. He acknowledged Paula’s great job at meeting the objectives of her speech project with a clear statement of the general (to inform what mental health is) and specific (how to find out if you need help) purposes of the speech. Wayne also commended Paula’s strong gestures, her really good vocal variety throughout the speech and her clear, specific language. He recommended Paula to structure her speech using not only “What” and “How” of mental health treatment but also the “Why”.

The last evaluator of the meeting was Kate who evaluated Jo’s powerful speech. She complimented Jo’s very clear, highly engaging and confidently delivered speech. Kate especially liked Jo’s personal story related to her nephew Ray. Kate suggested that speech could have been improved by pausing more while looking at individual audience members, which would enable constant audience engagement.

Table Topics

Jason, the Table Topic Master of the evening, introduced the theme – Weirdness – and inspired volunteers to reveal aspects of themselves which are slightly weird and to answer questions such as:

  • What is your weirdest dream?
  • What is the weirdest thing you have ever collected?
  • What’s the weirdest book you’ve ever read?

Awards

Closing the meeting, Femi reminded everyone of the Table Topics workshop on 30th July 2012 (fully booked – sorry!) and gave out the awards based on the votes cast during the evening.

The certificate for successfully completing his Ice Breaker speech – an important landmark for any Toastmaster– went to Steven.

The Best Evaluator award went (jointly) to Kate and Hari for the evaluations of Jo’s and Ilze’s speeches respectively. The Best Table Topics Speaker award went to guest Sinead, and the Best Speaker award went to Jo who received that for her third consecutive speech. The President’s discretional award went to Ilze for her excellent speech and for the fact that her speech topic was closely related to public speaking.

Next meeting

Our next meeting is on Monday, 13th August 2012, upstairs at The Clerk and Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5BX.

Meeting Report for 16 July 2012

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Introduction

Club President Femi opened the meeting with lots of energy and explained how Toastmasters nurtures the natural speaking ability in everyone. He likened public speaking to ice skating – the only way to get better is to “get on the ice” and start practicing.

The Toastmaster for the evening Jason introduced his theme for the meeting – music. He said he felt that a good speech should be like a good piece of music in that it should move you or otherwise affect you, and had asked each speaker to tell him their favourite song and why.

The timekeeper Ilze (favourite song Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”) explained the importance of keeping to time and started with a quote: “Make sure you always make time to spend with your special people, because otherwise one day you’ll find yourself with lots of time and nobody special to spend it with”.

Grammarian Renars (who had just learned to play “Trouble” by Coldplay) introduced the word of the day “reciprocate” and encouraged all participants to use it. He compared his role to that of a heckler in a comedy club, picking up on things that he didn’t like from the speakers – particularly related to language and grammar – but also highlighting “amazing uses of language”.

Prepared speeches

The first speaker was new member Jasr (favourite song “Al Atlal” – The Ruins), with his Icebreaker speech entitled: “Survivors”. In an honest and touching speech Jasr told the story of an encounter with a woman in a pub (which didn’t go quite how he’d hoped), then neatly transitioned to a discussion of natural history and some of the remarkable species to survive to the current day.

The next speech was from Michael (chosen song “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables) – a No.2 speech entitled: “Is Cycling A Drug?”. A passionate cyclist himself, Michael gave us a short history of the Tour de France – a race of 2000 miles over 3 weeks with only 2 rest days – from a uniquely murky perspective: that of drug use. He revealed that as far back as 1903 riders were using alcohol to dull the pain of the race and in 1924 two cycling brothers even used cocaine to improve their performance!

The third speaker was AG who told us about how a love of jewellery led her to take a jewellery-making evening class, which means she’s now able to make jewellery of her own for herself, her friends and her family. She took us through the various stages of the process she used for making a piece in the shape of a flower, including design, “annealing” (softening the metal) and “doming” (shaping).

The fourth speaker was by Joe with his No. 8 speech “Looking For My Keys” in which he used visual aids and the concept of keys as a metaphor for finding the tools to unlock the human mind. He explained one of these tools – powerful visualisation – and how it could be used to create the confidence and success that many of us aspire to achieve.

Speech evaluations 

After the break each of the prepared speeches was given a formal evaluation by one of the club members, who gave both commendations and useful recommendations to each speaker.

Evaluating his ice breaker, Ratan commended Jasr for engaging the sympathy of the audience and also vividly setting the scene at the start of his speech. He admitted to feeling some confusion in the main body of the speech but ended by congratulating Jasr on his excellent hand gestures and even gave him a quick tip for talking to women in pubs!

Christopher was our next evaluator, critiquing Michael’s speech about cycling and paying close attention to the project objectives: creating an appropriate outline, having a clear message, and using appropriate transitions. He particularly commended Michael’s use of factual information to support the main message and said he was really looking forward to Michael’s next speech.

Carrie (favourite song “Everything is Everything” by Lauryn Hill) was next up, evaluating AG’s speech about jewellery making. She started by stating that she felt AG had certainly met her speech objectives, particularly that of having a clear purpose, and commended her on giving the entire speech without notes. She recommended making the speech more engaging for people who might not naturally be interested in jewellery by, for instance, bringing a piece of her jewellery in for people to see and also by incorporating more humour into the speech.

Finally, Ahmed (for whom Donald Byrd’s “Dominoes” is a favourite tune) evaluated Joe’s No. 8 speech. He enjoyed Joe’s opening device of the image of a set of keys on the screen which engaged the audience, who wondered where this might lead, and overall he felt that the use of visual aids had complemented the speech. In terms of recommendations, Ahmed advised that standing closer to the computer might make Joe’s transitions slicker.

Table Topics

After the break, the Table Topics (impromptu speaking) session was run by Glen (favourite song “Fluorescent Adolescent” by The Arctic Monkeys) who took as his theme the weather. He felt we should embrace our natural tendency to make small talk about this very topic and push the limits a bit further. He invited various volunteers to speak off-the-cuff for one to two minutes on a number of weather-related topics, including:

  • If you could control the weather (like Storm from the X-Men) – what would you do?
  • Describe snow to someone who’s never seen it before.
  • Explain why you should be the new face of BBC Weather.
  • Does every cloud really have a silver lining?

Both members and guests tackled the wide range of topics with great enthusiasm and overall the standard was very high.

After an evaluation of all the topics speakers by regular member Joyanta, Ilze gave her final report as timekeeper. This was followed by Renars’ report as Grammarian – and he turned out to be a real stickler for ‘ums’ and ‘ers’ but also commended good use of language during the meeting.

The General Evaluator Stella from Society Speakers provided useful feedback for all members not yet evaluated, and had a number of commendations for the club as a whole, including the very friendly welcome she received on arrival.

Awards

Closing the meeting, Femi reminded everyone of the forthcoming Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests on 10th September before handing out the awards as voted by the audience.

The best evaluator award went to Ratan for his evaluation of Jasr’s speech. The best Table Topic award went (jointly!) to Renars and Swarajit. And best speaker went to Michael for his speech on drugs and cycling. The President’s award went to Ilze for her fantastic performance as timekeeper.

Next meeting

Our next meeting is on Monday 23rd July 2012, upstairs at The Clerk and Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5BX.

Meeting Report for 9th July 2012

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Written by Jo

Introduction
The meeting was opened by our new President Femi who welcomed all members and guests to ‘the friendliest club in London’ and encouraged everyone to think about why they had joined Toastmasters and stay focussed on meeting their goals.

Henry, the evening’s Toastmaster, explained that his role was to orchestrate the meeting so we ended on time.  His theme for the evening was crossroads – junctions in life where we make a decision (or a decision is made for us) that has a profound impact on the way we think, behave or live.  He was assisted by Chris as Timekeeper and David as Grammarian.

Prepared speeches

Angela opened the prepared speeches with her Icebreaker entitled ‘From Law Graduate to Pattern Cutter’ which traced her studies and career since the age of 18 including the reasoning behind the choices she had made.

Carrie’s No 2 Speech was entitled ‘Finding Luck’ and she explained how the people we see as being lucky are really just like us and gave tips on how we could make our own luck in life.

Renars presented an Advanced Speech on Public Relations entitled ‘The Goodwill Speech’ in which he spoke about the background of the Toastmasters organisation and the benefits of joining.

Finally Hari gave his Advanced Speech from the Leadership Series on ‘Giving Effective Feedback’ and spoke comprehensively about what makes effective feedback and suggested ways it could be presented.

Speech evaluations

Evaluating Angela’s Icebreaker speech, Jo praised her relaxed manner and the humour of her speech and she also enjoyed the repetitive elements.  Jo noted that Angela had paced around the stage at times so recommended that she work on moving with purpose.

Mike evaluated Carrie’s speech and commended her opening question and the structure and the ending.  He particularly liked the inclusion of the quote towards the end and suggested that would have been a good final sentence to the speech instead of continuing.

Joe evaluated Renars’ speech and noted the objective was to build goodwill in the club and influence the audience.  Joe liked Renars’ visualisation but felt that the speech could have come alive more with some storytelling woven into the points he was making.

The final evaluator, Neil, gave an evaluation of Hari’s speech. He praised Hari’s preparations with both his lack of notes and the IT set up and his use of descriptions.  His recommendation was to be careful not to talk to the computer whilst changing slides and he would also have liked to have seen a stronger opening.

Table Topics

The Table Topics Master this evening was Ahmed who randomly gave challenging questions to the participants all along the theme of time travel.

A mix of members and guests took part and were evaluated by the Topics Evaluator, Paula.

Awards

Angela was presented with a certificate for successfully completing her Icebreaker speech – an important first step in any Toasmaster’s journey.

The Best Evaluator award went to Joe for his considered evaluation of Renars’ speech.

The Best Table Topics Speaker award went to Wayne for his logical explanation of why the topic he was given was pointless as time travel was not possible and the Best Speaker award went to Carrie for her enlightening speech.

The President’s award went to Mike who gave an evalution despite not yet having completed his Icebreaker.

Next meeting

Our next meeting is on Monday 16th July 2012, upstairs at The Clerk and Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5BX.

June Newsletter – hellos, goodbyes and supersize

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Hello and welcome to the June newsletter!

It’s very nearly the end of the Toastmasters year and so this is my very last newsletter as club president. From the start of July Bloomsbury Speakers has a new President and a new committee running the club (more details below).

I said a few thank yous at the meeting on Monday evening, but once again I’d like to thank Femi, Swarajit, Hari, Kate, Adam and of course my predecessor Nazia for all their hard work in taking the club to the next level.

To put things into perspective, this time last year we had fewer than 30 members and shared a venue – and kit (such as timing lights) – with our sister club Holborn Speakers. Today we have our own venue, all our own kit and are very nearly 40 members strong.

Many thanks to the committee for making my term as president so enjoyable – I couldn’t have wished for a nicer, more committed bunch of people.

I also want to thank all our members, whose great enthusiasm and supportive attitude has helped to cement our reputation as one of the most fun and friendly clubs in London (and beyond!)

Even though I’ll miss being President, I’m really looking forward to getting back into some of the other roles during our meetings, like Topicsmaster, evaluator and of course, Toastmaster.

(P.S. As usual, you can skip to the bottom of the newsletter for a short summary of the main points)

What’s happened since the last newsletter?

We had three meetings in June, spanning the full Toastmasters spectrum with three ice breakers from brand new members and two more experienced members giving their No. 10 speeches (and thus achieving CC – Competent Communicator – status).

Despite competition from Euro 2012 – and some rather sultry British weather – the meetings were lively with a good turnout from members and guests alike.

We also had two new members join the club. So welcome on board Christopher (another one) and Jasr (our first) – I look forward to hearing your ice breaker speeches sometime soon!

What’s planned for July?

July is another ‘supersized’ month at Bloomsbury Speakers, with three regular meetings and a workshop:

  • Monday 9th July 2012 – Regular Meeting – the first meeting of July is already pretty booked up, but you could book in as a reserve speaker (in case someone drops out) or nab the final table topics slot.
  • Monday 16th July 2012 – Extra Meeting – another regular meeting to satisfy demand for speaking slots and roles. We’re still looking for a Grammarian and several evaluators. Also there are four table topics slots up for grabs (remember – you can book these in advance now!)
  • Monday 23rd July 2012 – Regular Meeting – our final meeting of the month still needs several evaluators. You could also grab the reserve speaker slot or one of the table topics slots.
  • Monday 30th July 2012 – Table Topics Workshop – this is already fully booked but if you reserved your place on EventBrite we’ll be contacting you in the next couple of weeks to confirm that you can still make it, so make sure it’s in your diary!

What’s on the horizon?

We’ve got two meetings in August – on the 13th and 20th August. Please note the second date – it’s the third Monday not the fourth, due to the August bank holiday.

In September we have:

  • Monday 10th September 2012 – Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest – this is the club-level round of the autumn contests – featuring humorous prepared speeches and table topics. We’ll release more details nearer the time but I’d encourage all members to enter (one or both contests!) – it’s a great experience and always a good atmosphere. We also need people to help with functionary roles such as counter and timekeeper.
  • Monday 24th September 2012 – Regular Meeting – we’ve literally just set this meeting up in ClubPlan so at the time of sending, all slots are available on a first-come first-served basis. If you’ve done your ice breaker recently, why not book your No. 2 speech? Get in there!

New committee

After the various nominations and votes received via ClubPlan, discussions were held with those members interested in taking on a role in the new committee, and here’s the new line-up with responsibilities:

  • Femi Asaolu – President – has overall responsibility for the successful running of the club
  • Swarajit Das – VP Education –  ensures that we run successful meetings with all roles filled and that the club’s educational goals are met
  • Joe Lake – VP Membership & Mentoring – looks after new and existing members to help them get the most out of the club and meet their personal development goals
  • Elena Fanaberova – Treasurer – responsible for controlling the club finances to ensure stability and continuity for all members
  • Jo Higham – Secretary – responsible for club administration, particularly with regards to committee meetings and decision making
  • Glen Long – VP Public Relations – responsible for raising the club profile and attracting new guests, e.g. via website and mailing list

NOTE: We are still looking for a replacement Sergeant at Arms, who is responsible for setting up the room before and after each meeting. The SAA also has a regular slot giving guest introductions (unless taking on another role). If you’d like to find out more, please get in contact.

Membership freeze

We’ve had some feedback from new members that it’s been difficult to book slots recently, so to help cope with demand we’ve decided to freeze club membership until the end of September.

Of course, guests are still very welcome to come along to the meetings during this period and anyone super-keen to join will go on a waiting list.

Tip of the Month: Squeeze Every Last Drop From Your Membership

Members – it costs you precious time and money to be part of Bloomsbury Speakers. We think its great value, but nonetheless there’s an investment on your part, and the value you get from that investment is entirely down to you and the attitude you take to your membership.

It’s a bit like being a member of a gym. Who’s getting the most value – the person who goes at least three times a week and gets into an enjoyable routine, or the person who goes once or twice a month – usually out of guilt? They’re both paying the same amount, but who’s getting the most value?

So here are some ideas for ‘super sizing’ the experience you get with Bloomsbury Speakers:

  • Aim to do a role every meeting. If you can’t do a role, do a table topic.
  • Set yourself a target for completing your ten speeches. Work towards that target.
  • Ask other members for their opinions and advice on your efforts.
  • If you have an idea for improving the club, don’t keep it to yourself – tell someone on the committee.
  • Network with other members after the meetings – who knows what opportunities might crop up?
  • Visit other clubs and make contacts. Many will welcome you as a General Evaluator – you can also let them know you’d be available to give a speech if they have last minute availability.
  • Take the opportunity not only to have a mentor, but also to be a mentor for others.

Take these ideas on board and I guarantee that this time next year you’ll be amazed how much you’ve progressed.

Right, I think that’s everything. It’s been a long newsletter so I’ll keep my sign-off brief!

Good luck to Femi and his new committee. I’m really proud of where the club is right now, and look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength in the future.

See you in a meeting very soon!

Glen Long
(Very soon to be ex-)President
Bloomsbury Speakers

Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know

  • Our next meeting is Monday 9th July 2012
  • We have an extra meeting on July 16th 2012
  • Our second meeting in August is the third, not fourth, Monday – i.e. Monday, 20th August
  • There are still functionary roles available in July and August – remember you need at least one functionary roles between speeches
  • There’s a brand new meeting in ClubPlan (i.e. all roles currently available) on 24th September
  • We have a new committee: Femi (President), Swarajit (VP Education), Joe (VP Membership & Mentoring), Elena (Treasurer), Jo (Secretary), and me (VP Public Relations)

Meeting Report for 25 June 2012

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Written by Elena (edited by Swarajit)

Introduction

With one of the members completing her tenth speech, a General Evaluator taking the Table Topics award and it being Glen’s last time as the club President, it was another lively meeting!

Jo, the Toastmaster, set a fun and friendly tone for the meeting, and introduced the theme – food – which is essential for life but can also be one of its great pleasures.

Prepared speeches

In her Ice Breaker speech “Welcome to My World” Ilze asked the audience to close their eyes and create their own vision of her world while she described her life from the age of six to her twenties, so that everyone could have their own perception of it.

Ahmed gave his No. 3 speech entitled “Euro Zone Crisis”. He described what the Euro Zone is and its original purpose, outlined the main issues of the Euro Zone crisis and suggested measures to overcome them.

In her No. 5 speech “Russian Wedding”, Elena told the audience what a typical Russian wedding is like. She described the various traditions and rituals, some of which were quite different to those of an English wedding.

In her No. 10 speech entitled “Where Are We Going?” Kate inspired the audience to overcome their fears, bring out the best in themselves and encourage other people to do the same as the Soka Gakkai philosophy teaches.

Speech evaluations

Evaluating Ilze’s Ice Breaker speech, Swarajit praised her great engagement with the audience and use of descriptive language in a chronologically-structured personal story with an especially humorous ending. He recommended that Ilze slow down a little to avoid stumbling over longer words.

Femi evaluated Ahmed’s speech and extolled the fantastic topic that went very well with the objectives of speech No. 3, (to organise the speech in the manner that best supports its main message) and commended his questions at the beginning of each part that allowed the audience to easily follow the speech. Femi recommended that Ahmed make a conscious effort to improve his transitions between sections by avoiding unnecessary ‘filler’ words like ‘so’.

Ratan gave an evaluation of Elena’s speech and commended her body language, gestures and use of a shot glass to act out drinking vodka, as Russian wedding guests do. Ratan recommended Elena to incorporate more drama.

The last evaluator of the meeting, Henry, evaluated Kate’s speech in which he praised her anecdotes and a deep, personal message that was very powerful and in congruence with Kate’s body language.

Table Topics

Hari, the Table Topics Master this evening, tied his section in nicely with Jo’s culinary theme. He stretched the audience with challenging questions like: “You are an entrepreneur who has just opened a new restaurant. You need to convince us to eat there”; “If you have to eat one style of food for the rest of your life what would it be and why?”; and “How is baking a cake a metaphor for life?”

Awards

Ilze was awarded a certificate for successfully completing her Icebreaker speech, to recognise this important landmark.

The Best Evaluator award went to Henry for his evaluation of Kate’s speech. The Best Table Topic Speaker award went to Brad for his “Cake of Life” table topic, and the Best Speaker award went to Kate for her inspirational speech.

The President’s discretional award went to the evening’s Toastmaster Jo who successfully stepped up to this most challenging of club roles.

Next meeting

Our next meeting is on Monday 9th July 2012, upstairs at The Clerk and Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5BX.