Winter Newsletter – December 2018

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Hello and welcome to the winter 2018 newsletter!

We had our last meeting of 2018 this week, but we have one more evening get-together up our sleeve – join us for an informal social from 6:30pm next Monday, 17th December. We’ll be at our old haunt The Clerk & Well, 156 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5DU which has some great Thai food. See you there!

It’s been an eventful few months for the club – not only did we move to our new venue The City Pride (arguably some way outside Bloomsbury itself), but our members had great success in the autumn Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests. Keep reading to find out what happened.

Moving with the times, we’ve also created a members-only WhatsApp group to share news of club events, including socials and last-minute roles that need filling at our meetings. It’s proven to be quite effective so far and we welcome feedback.

What’s in this newsletter?

  • Autumn contests – the results!
  • Spring contests – looking ahead
  • Club socials
  • Mentoring
  • New members

Autumn contests – the results!

Margarita was our double champion in the club’s Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests and, after winning again at the area contests, she took her speech about an embarrassing addiction to reality TV all the way to the Division C finals!

Margarita after winning both contests at the Area level

Meanwhile, Helen also qualified through her corporate club at Google – again in both contests – to make it to the same finals as Margarita with a speech about her family heritage, telling us where she was really from.

Helen at the Division contest

The two of them did us proud – Margarita placed third in the Humorous Speech contest while Helen placed second in both the Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests – and both members were robbed of a higher placing in this author’s humble opinion!

Spring contests – looking ahead

They’re still a few months away, but it’s never too early to start thinking about the annual International Speech and Evaluation contests. The Evaluation contest requires all contestants to evaluate one speech given by a mystery speaker – this really pushes your critical thinking and evaluation skills to the limit, as you’ll have much less time to prepare than you do in a regular meeting (just 5 minutes), but it’s a great experience.

Meanwhile, the prestigious International Speech contest involves writing and delivering your own 5-7 minute speech on any subject, with the eventual winner being crowned World Champion of Public Speaking.

To be eligible for the International Speech contest, you need to have completed at least six speech projects from the Competent Communication manual or a minimum of two levels in a Toastmasters Pathway. All members are eligible to enter the evaluation contest.

Both contests will be held on the same night in March, so get preparing and practising!

Club socials

As mentioned above, we have one last informal meetup planned for next Monday, 17th December at The Clerk & Well – but regardless, it’s been another busy quarter for club socials at Bloomsbury Speakers.

In November we had a fun night of Scottish folk dancing at a ceilidh event in Camden, and last week we took an early leap on to the Christmas bandwagon with our festive meal – held jointly with our friends from Kings Cross Speakers. Much merriment was had by all!

We’re always happy to receive ideas for more social events, so do get in touch via socials@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk or the WhatsApp group with any suggestions you might have.

Mentoring

As members of Bloomsbury Speakers, many of us have benefitted from having a mentor within the club. A mentor is someone (usually a more experienced member of the club) who can give help and advice to guide you on your Toastmasters educational path. This can involve helping you draft your first speech, watching you practice and giving you immediate feedback or advising you how to prepare for functionary roles at club meetings.

If you’d like to become a mentor or benefit from having on yourself, feel free to get in touch via mentoring@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk.

Code of Conduct

Our club Code of Conduct has now been finalised – these are the basic rules we expect all our members and guests to follow to make Bloomsbury Speakers as friendly and supportive as possible.

  • I will applaud every speaker
  • I will listen to every speaker
  • I will provide honest and constructive feedback to speakers when asked to do so
  • I will help keep the meeting space tidy
  • I will keep my phone on silent and otherwise avoid disrupting the meeting
  • I will not pressure anyone to speak who does not want to speak
  • I will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their age, race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or ability
  • I will not cause discomfort to any guest or member, and I will step in if I see this happening to anyone else
  • I will help to make Bloomsbury Speakers an inclusive and nurturing club

New members

Finally, please welcome our newest members Gabriele and Yassine as well as returning member Aislinn – she couldn’t stay away forever! Be sure to say hello to all three at a future meeting.

That’s all for this newsletter – see you at a meeting soon!

Autumn Newsletter – September 2018

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Hello and welcome to the autumn 2018 newsletter!

We’re just over two months into the Toastmasters year (which starts in July), but your new committee is has been working hard behind the scenes on keeping everything running smoothly. See the People page on our website for details of who’s who!

What’s in this newsletter?

  • Contest season
  • Membership fee increase
  • Club socials
  • Pathways
  • Code of Conduct
  • New members


Contest season

Autumn in the UK means it’s Humorous Speech and Table Topics contest season, and Bloomsbury Speakers’ club contest date has been set for Monday, 1st October.

All paid-up members of the club are eligible to compete in what is always a fun and unpredictable night of public speaking. The Humorous Speech contest involves contestants delivering a 5-7 minute prepared speech on a topic of their choosing. For the table topics contest, contestants all deliver a 1-2 minute response to the same topic, which is set by the contest chair and could be about absolutely anything!

The winners of each contest will go up against the winners from the other clubs in our area on Thursday, 11th October at Blue Fin Speakers, 110 Southwark Street.

All members are encouraged to enter both contests, but we also need functionaries to help run the show on the night – contest chairs, timekeepers, a sergeant at arms and a couple of vote counters. Enter and volunteer by signing up on easy-Speak – and, of course, we need an audience too!

Judges are normally invited from other Toastmasters clubs, which means we need our members to reciprocate by judging at their club contests. Please get in touch via education@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you’re interested in helping out. It’s a great opportunity to see and judge some entertaining speeches from speakers outside our own club – and you don’t need any previous experience as a full briefing will be given beforehand.


Membership fee increase

Like all Toastmasters clubs, Bloomsbury Speakers is run not-for-profit by its members and for the benefit of its members. Price rises are never welcome news but, due to costs increasing, they are unfortunately a necessity from time to time.

From September onwards, membership fees will be increasing as follows:

  • The fees for new members will be £125 for a year or £95 for six months.
  • Renewal fees will be £110 for a year or £80 for six months.

Bloomsbury Speakers is affiliated to Toastmasters International, and the majority of your membership fee is paid directly to the organisation as dues. In return you receive the monthly Toastmaster magazine and access to the educational materials that we all work through to become better public speakers and leaders. It also means that we can hold and enter our four speech competitions each year (International Speech, Evaluation, Humorous Speech and Table Topics).

The remainder of your fee is used to meet club expenses such as hosting our website, printing materials for meetings and subsidising club events. All things considered, it’s still great value for money and we’re still among the cheapest Toastmasters clubs in central London.


Club socials

We’ve always been a friendly and sociable club and, over what was one of the longest-lasting and hottest summers in recent memory, we held several social events. These included a trip to Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park and not one but two hikes through the English countryside.


It seems a bit early – and we may have another event sooner – but our Sergeant at Arms, Lei, is already researching possible venues for our club Christmas social! Do get in touch via socials@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk with any suggestions you might have.


Pathways

In March this year, Toastmasters International rolled out its new Pathways educational programme in District 91 (Southern England & Wales). Unlike the old Competent Communication and Competent Leadership tracks, which were seen as something of a ‘one size fits all’ system, Pathways allows for a much more tailored learning experience based on your individual requirements. See the Pathways website to read all about it.

www.toastmasters.org/pathways-overview

Those of us still working towards any of the awards in the legacy tracks have until March 2020 to complete them, but in the meantime it will actually be our newest members acting as the trailblazers in Pathways. We look forward to hearing about your experiences using the new educational programme!


Code of Conduct

To make our club as supportive and welcoming as possible, the committee has written a Code of Conduct that all members and guests should follow. As this is quite new, and as is the case for everything in Toastmasters, feedback is welcome!

  • I will applaud every speaker
  • I will listen to every speaker
  • I will provide honest and constructive feedback to speakers when asked to do so
  • I will help keep the meeting space tidy
  • I will keep my phone on silent and otherwise avoid disrupting the meeting
  • I will not pressure anyone to speak who does not want to speak
  • I will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their age, race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or ability
  • I will not cause discomfort to any guest or member, and I will step in if I see this happening to anyone else
  • I will help to make Bloomsbury Speakers an inclusive and nurturing club


New members

Finally, please extend a warm welcome to our newest members Kamakshi, Mary and Mara. We look forward to hearing their ice breaker speeches in the near future.

 

That’s all for this newsletter – see you at a meeting soon!

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!

_____________________________________________________

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.

_____________________________________________________

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.

_____________________________________________________

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.

_____________________________________________________

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).

_____________________________________________________

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):

_____________________________________________________

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)

June Newsletter: Thank You (not goodbye!) and joining your Leadership Committee

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Hello and welcome to the June newsletter!

This is my final newsletter as Pesident of Bloomsbury Speakers as the Toasmasters year ends at the end of June and a new President and Committee take over.  In anticpation of this handover I’d like to thank Helen, Svetlana, Michelle, Rebecca, Tracey, Peter and of course my predecessor Swarajit for all their hard work – they have all been dedicated to cementing our reputation as one of the most well run and friendly clubs in London. If you are interested in following in their footsteps you will find more details below.

I also want to thank all our members, whose great enthusiasm and supportive attitude makes each meeting a fun and educative session.

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.

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 in May?

Lots! As usual in May our regular meeting dates of 2nd and 4th Mondays needed to be switched around because of the bank holidays but we still managed great turn outs to hear an Icebreaker from new member Rachel and an inspiring speech from Emma on taking a leap of faith.

We also changed our usual agenda on its’ head in the final meeting of the month with table topics in the first half of the meeting This was so we could hold a  20 minute Moments of Truth workshop in the second half which effectively holds a mirror up to Bloomsbury as a club.  Members and guests broke out into small groups to assess what Bloomsbury does well and what it could do better around a variety of themes.  Some great feedback was given and suggestions were noted down so the club can continue improving!

What’s planned for June?

  • Monday, 8th  June – Regular Meeting – Our first club meeting this month (and my last as President as I am on holiday for the second meting in June). The programme is filling up but the timekeeper role is still available and you could also grab one of the last couple of pre-bookable table topic slots on ClubPlan.  PLEASE NOTE THIS MEETING WILL NOW BE HELD DOWNSTAIRS AT THE LIBERTY & FREE SPEECH PIZZA HOUSE – OPPOSITE THE CLERK & WELL PUB.
  • Monday, 22nd June – Regular Meeting – At the time of writing, there is availablity on ClubPlan for a Timekeeper, Grammarian, Evaluator, Meeting Reporter and for a Sergeant at Arms to greet and introduce the guests.

What is the Meeting Reporter role?

This is a role which has always existed but is now being given status as a functionary role.  You may have noticed that you get Meeting Reports after each meeting.  This role is to mke notes or record the meeting (whatever works for you) and then write up the meeting report in word later that week before passing it to the VP PR to review and publish.  How long does it take to write?  I have gone home from a meeting and written it in just over an hour as it’s fresh in my mind but if you are a non-native speaker it my take longer. But as Emma S said when she recently undertook the role ‘It really makes you listen to the entire meeting and you get so much more out of it’

Having this as a functionary role means it DOES count as the functionary role you must do between prepared speeches so why not sign up and give it a try?

Tip of the Month: Join your leadership committee

Joining the club’s committee is a fantastic way of gaining and putting in to practice those leadership skills that you may not have the chance to work on in your day job – and, just like a regular meeting, a Toastmasters committee is a safe and friendly environment in which to do so. There are roles to suit all levels of skills, experience and time commitment and, not only will you have the opportunity to pick up new skills as well as refine existing ones, but you’ll also have a direct impact on the day-to-day running of your club.

Bloomsbury Speakers’ committee is currently recruiting its successors for the next Toastmasters year (which runs from 1st July to 30th June). Some members have already expressed an interest in certain roles, which is great as we want people who are enthusiastic! However, if you’re not sure what the different roles on the committee actually entail, here’s a quick summary:

Sergeant at Arms (Incumbent: Michelle) The SAA is in charge of logistics. They are responsible for:

  • enlisting others to help them prepare the venue for each meeting and also clear up afterwards;
  • welcoming guests as they arrive at each meeting and running (or delegating) the guest introductions section of the programme;
  • organising club socials and liaising with venue management on behalf of the club.

Treasurer (Incumbent: Rebecca)  The treasurer holds responsibility for the club’s finances. Their duties include:

  • keeping track of the club’s income and expenditure to ensure financial stability;
  • paying dues and other costs on behalf of members to Toastmasters International;
  • making sure members pay their renewal fees to the club on time.

Secretary (Incumbent: Peter F)  The club secretary is responsible for club administration, particularly with regards to committee meetings and decision making. Responsibilities include:

  • arranging and communicating the dates, times and venues for forthcoming committee meetings;
  • recording and circulating the minutes and action points from club committee meetings;
  • ordering stationery and equipment (with permission of the treasurer) on behalf of the club.

Vice President Public Relations (Incumbent: Svetlana) The VP Public Relations is responsible for raising the club’s profile and attracting new guests e.g. via social media. Regular tasks will include:

  • putting a team together to help write up the meeting reports after each regular meeting and contest;
  • keeping the club’s website and Meetup page up-to-date, along with other media;
  • maintaining the club’s guest book and mailing list and sending out e-mail campaigns.

Vice President Membership & Mentoring (Incumbent: Tracey) The VP Membership & Mentoring converts guests into happy members! They will do this by:

  • keeping track of the membership waiting list and inviting an appropriate number of guests to join as new members each month;
  • ensuring that new members have all the information they need when they first join;
  • assigning a mentor to each new member and monitoring their relationship.

Vice President Education (Incumbent: Helen) The VP Education is the second most senior position on the committee and is responsible for putting the programme together for each meeting along with keeping track of the educational progress of individual members and the club as a whole. Regular responsibilities will include:

  • ensuring all the speech slots and functionary roles (including general evaluators) are filled for every meeting and arranging printing of the programme;
  • tracking individual members’ progress through their communication and leadership manuals and submitting educational achievements to Toastmasters International;
  • administration of ClubPlan and enlisting the help of other members in organising club contests.

President (Incumbent: Jo) The president has overall responsibility for the successful running of the club by supporting committee members in their roles (including all of the above) as well as opening and closing every meeting, writing these newsletters and helping the club meet its goals in the Distinguished Club Programme – and much more besides!

Intrigued by what you’ve read here? Well, why not consider joining the next committee in July? It’s a great way of giving back to the club and you’ll be certain to benefit immensely from the experience yourself. If you’re interested in filling any of the roles above in the coming year, feel free to contact the incumbent member directly or write to president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk to express your interest – and if you’re a member of another club, get involved there too!

 

Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know

  • Our first regular meeting of the month is on the 8th June downstairs at the Liberty and Free Speech Pizza House across the road from the Clerk and Well.  The timekeeper slot is still available as is Meeting Reporter and, as ever, please get there early if you can to help set up the room.
  • Our second regular meeting of the month is on the 22nd June. At the time of writing, there is availablity on ClubPlan for a Timekeeper, Grammarian, Evaluator, Meeting Reporter and for a Sergeant at Arms to greet and introduce the guests.
  • The Meeting Reporter Role is now live on ClubPlan.  This role writes up the Meeting Report we publish after each meeting. As a functionary role it DOES count as the functionary role you must do between prepared speeches so why not sign up and give it a try?
  • The club’s committee is looking for its successors to take over in July. Contact any of the current committee members or president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you’re interested in taking on any of the leadership roles.

Newsletter written by Jo

PS Apologies for any typos but I’m writing this on my Dad’s clunky old PC which has a few keys that stick!!!

March Newsletter – Contest on Monday and Include a Call to Action

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Hello and welcome to the March newsletter!

The build-up to contest season is picking up pace – ours is just a few days away now – so get yourself booked in to speak at our International Speech and Evaluation contests on Monday.  Even if you’re not competing, we are still looking for a second timekeeper (no speaking, just checking contestants don’t get disqualified for going over on time) and two vote counters (get to know the result first!)  so book yourself in on ClubPlan now.  And of course we definitely need an enthusiastic audience on Monday night!

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, but we packed in two regular meetings and an incredibly useful and well-received workshop from Simon Bucknall which I hope will encourage all who attended to enter the contests next week.

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, 9th March – International Speech & Evaluation Contest Night – At the time of writing, only three members have signed up for the International Speech contest, although we have six for the Evaluation contest!  It’s not too late to enter either contest and, 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, 16th March – Regular Meeting – Our first club meeting this month. The programme is filling up but, incredibly there is still a speaking slot left plus an evaluation slot and, you could also grab one of the last couple of pre-bookable table topic slots on ClubPlan.
  • Thursday, 19th March – Area 34 International Speech & Evaluation Contest – The winners from our club contests on the 9th 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!
  • Saturday 28th March – Division L International Speech & Evaluation Contest – I don’t have the location details yet but this will be somewhere in Central London.  It’s usually a day of workshops and, of course, the contests and is a great learning opportunity as well as a chance to see some of London’s best Toastmasters competing against each other.
  • Monday, 30th March – Regular Meeting – At the time of writing, there is the grammarian, an evaluator and table topic slots available – again, book yourself in on ClubPlan to make use of the opportunity.

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, 19th 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.

 

Tip of the Month – Include a “Call to Action”

Early in the Competent Communicator programme (speech project No. 3 in fact) we are taught to make sure our speeches always have a clear purpose. Is our intent to inform, to persuade, to inspire or simply to entertain?

For any speech, but particularly for one which is intended to be persuasive or inspiring, it can also be very useful to ask yourself: “What action do I want the audience to take?”

Consider this: I personally might describe a speech as persuasive, but is it truly persuasive if it doesn’t cause me to take some kind of action soon afterwards? I might find another speech inspiring and uplifting but ultimately if it doesn’t inspire me to make some kind of change, has it really delivered on the basic purpose?

This is why it can be very effective to include a “call to action” towards the end of your speech. Having successfully sustained the audience’s attention and emotions throughout the speech, try to direct that momentum towards a specific action at the end. Tell them what you want them to do, and make it easy for them to actually do it.

For example, if you’re trying to persuade people to lead a more active lifestyle, invite them to take an extra 10 minutes of light exercise every day and give them some quick and easy ways to achieve it.

If your inspirational speech is about the value of friendship, ask them to think of one old friend they haven’t spoken to yet this year and suggest that I make a mental commitment to call them this week.

Remember, the actions don’t have to be huge, but they do have to be specific and you do have to tell your audience that you want them carried out. If the action is simply implied, then it probably won’t be carried out.

That’s all for now. See you at the contest on Monday!

Jo Higham
President
Bloomsbury Speakers

Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know

  • Our International Speech & Evaluation contest is on Monday, 9th March. Register as a contestant or functionary on ClubPlan.
  • Our regular meetings in March are on the 16th and 30th and at the time of writing, there is one speech slot available on 16th on ClubPlan.
  • The winners from our club contests will progress to the Area 34 finals from 7pm on Thursday, 19th March at 55 Broadway, SW1H 0BD (directly above St. James’s Park tube station). Registration via president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk is essential to attend.
  • Saturday 28th March – Division L International Speech & Evaluation Contest – full details including location will be announced soon.