Hello and Welcome to the August Newsletter!

It’s holiday time – indeed I’m writing this having just returned from a week enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Lake District.  A break from your usual routine can provide the perfect time to plan your next speech (unless like me you’ve spent your holiday in a house with six members of your family so there has never been a quiet moment!).  But spending time on the plane, the sun lounger or sitting at a cafe watching the world go by can get the creative juices flowing and this month there’s a great reason to make time to think about your next speech… the Humourous Speech and Table Topics Contests are approaching!  There will be more on that throughout this 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?

We had two meetings in July which were full of new challenges for our members. Rufina, made her debut as Toastmaster and two of our newer members – Emma and Egor –  took on the role of Topics Master for the first time.  Additionally Janet officially became a Competent Communicator by completing her N0 10 speech in which she gave us 10 excellent reasons to speak up and speak out.

What’s planned for August?

We have two meetings in August – on the 11^th and 18^th (the second of these has been brought forward a week from our usual 4^th Monday slot due to the Bank Holiday on the 25^th).  It’s a month full of speeches from newer members with an Icebreaker from Robert on the 11th and Emma, Emily, Faith Rose and Egor giving No2 and No3 speeches on the 18th.  As of writing, we are still looking for a Grammarian on the 18th so do sign up on Clubplan if you are available to take this role.

Dates for your Diary

Monday 1st September – we will be hosting our humorous speeches and improvisation workshop on Monday, 1st September. The workshop will be led  by Gayna Cooper who finished second in the UK & Ireland with an impressive speech which many thought was worthy of winning (borrow the DVD if you haven’t seen it).  The workshop is on Eventbrite so register there if you would like to attend. Link:  Humorous Speech & Improvisation Workshop

Monday 8th September – we will be hosting the Bloomsbury Speakers Humourous Speech and Table Topics contests.  Members should already have received an email from Bloomsbury Speakers outlining how to enter (sign up on Clubplan!) and some tips on preparing.  Whilst we want to see as many eligible members as possible enter the contest, in order to have a successful contest we also need non-competing members to:

• judge contests at other clubs so we can ask their members to judge at our contest.  To be a judge you need to have completed six speeches – there are contests organised throughout September at various London clubs eg Clerkenwell Speakers’ contest is on Wednesday 17th September.
• help our VPE Helen with organising the judges and the paperwork both before the contest and on the night itself.
• take a role on the evening – contest chair, vote counters and timekeepers are all needed
• be enthusiastic audience members at our contest!

Let’s everyone get involved to make this the best ever Bloomsbury Contest!  If you could be a judge at another club’s contest or can spare even a couple of hours to help Helen with our contest organisation please contact her at education@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk

Events at Other Clubs

Saturday 16th August – Excalibur Speakers  are holding what promises to be a lively event at Speakers Corner with lots of audience participation. Sign up at http://www.meetup.com/Excalibur-Speakers/events/194578212/  and don’t forget your picnic!  NB Swarajit is VP of PR of Excalibur this year so can provide further details on this event.

Tip of the month: Contact your Mentor today!

Mentoring is an area of the club’s offering which is underused by many members and mentor / mentee relationships often peter out over time through no fault of either party. However, the benefits of the mentoring relationship for both the mentor and mentee are well worth giving it another shot. Your mentor can provide you with advice and ideas for your speeches and roles and tailored feedback based on individual goals that you’ve shared with them.

From the perspective of the mentor, while the experience of helping your fellow members can be very productive and rewarding in itself, you can also claim credit towards your competent leadership award which, once completed, will entitle you to discounts on your future membership renewals.

It’s often easier than you think to work with your mentor. If you live or work close to each other then perhaps you could meet up over lunch somewhere locally. If not, you can meet immediately before or after one of our regular meetings or other events. Failing that, why not take advantage of some of the modern technology at your disposal, such as Skype video calling?  However you decide to communicate, the benefits are there for the taking.

Who should initiate contact?
It doesn’t really matter which one of you initiates contact, but this month’s tip is aimed at mentees in particular to contact their mentors since one mentor can have several mentees while most people will only have one mentor, which means each of you onlyinitiating contact once.

How do I contact my mentor?
If you don’t have their contact address, the easiest way to get in touch with any other member of the club is via the e-mail icon next to their name on ClubPlan.

What if I don’t have a mentor or know who my mentor is?
Simply contact James (VP Membership and Mentoring) and he will let you know who your mentor is. If you don’t yet have a mentor then he can also help you find one and put you in contact with each other.

How do I contact James?
You can contact him directly at mentoring@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk.

Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know

• Contest Season is coming!  Get involved as either a Contestant, a judge at another club, a functionary on the night or a contest organiser!  The Humourous Speech and Table Topics contest is on Monday 8^th  September – sign up on ClubPlan to enter or be a functionary.
• To get judges we need to send judges to other clubs – contact Helen at education@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk to help choose the funniest speech at another club.
• As prep for our contest there’s a Humourous Speech Workshop on Monday Sep 1st at the Clerk and Well.   The workshop is on Eventbrite so register there if you would like to attend. Link:  Humorous Speech & Improvisation Workshop
• Our regular meetings in August are on the 11^th and 18^th  – we still need a Grammarian for the 18th August
• Events at Other Clubs: Saturday 16th August – Excalibur Speakers  are holding what promises to be a lively event at Speakers Corner with lots of audience participation. Sign up at http://www.meetup.com/Excalibur-Speakers/events/194578212/
• Tip of the Month: Contact your mentor today.  If you don’t have one and would like one, contact James our VPE  at mentoring@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk.
• Contact membership@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you’re interested in becoming a member.

Hello and welcome to the June newsletter!

It’s with a tinge of sadness that I write this, my last introduction to my last monthly newsletter as your president – but I also feel much pride, as it’s been a fantastic year for Bloomsbury Speakers. Not only did we have two of our members, Glen and Janet, representing us at the district contests, but I’m delighted to announce that the club as a whole has managed to achieve Toastmasters International’s highest level of recognition – President’s Distinguished Club – for the second year running!

I’d like to place on record my sincere thanks to our committee officers, without whom none of this would have been possible. So thank you to Jo, Rufina, Ahmed, Paula and of course my predecessor Femi – not forgetting Rajeev, Marie and James who also served on the committee for part of the year. It was a pleasure to work with all of them and they each contributed significantly to the club’s success.

But perhaps the biggest thanks of all should go to our individual members, both old and new, whose enthusiasm for the club continues to make our meetings such a pleasure to attend and – I believe – the envy of many a visiting general evaluator! Thank you, one and all!

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?

We had two marvellous meetings in May in which several members made progress with their speech manuals, including Jon who made a start with his Icebreaker speech and Ahmed and Samuel who each finished their tenth speeches to earn the title of Competent Communicator.

We’ve also had two more new members join in the last few weeks, so welcome to Peter and Emma – we look forward to hearing your Icebreaker speeches this month.

What’s planned for June?

There are just two more meetings left for this Toastmasters year – the new year starts in July – but they both promise to be packed with the usual high standard of speeches and evaluations.

• Monday, 9^th June – Regular Meeting – For our first meeting this month we’re pleased to welcome last month’s UK & Ireland International Speech Contest finalist Flavia Gordon from Lewisham Speakers as our general evaluator. There’s a packed agenda, including a No. 10 speech from Rufina, but a couple of pre-bookable table topic slots may still be available on ClubPlan.
• Monday, 23^rd June – Regular Meeting – My last meeting as president 🙁 and, again, the programme is full. Do check back on ClubPlan regularly to see if any slots become free but, even if they don’t, come along anyway to mark the end of an amazing year for the club!

Distinguished Club Programme (DCP) – the final result!

The Distinguished Club Programme (DCP) is Toastmasters International’s framework of objectives that clubs should aim to achieve within the Toastmasters year (1^st July to 30^th June), and different levels of recognition are awarded depending on how many of the ten criteria are met.

As already mentioned above, Bloomsbury Speakers has now achieved the highest level of recognition, President’s Distinguished Club status, for the second year in a row – and we’re also the first club in Division L to pass this milestone this year! To attain this level of recognition, we had to achieve nine of the ten goals set by Toastmasters International in their DCP, and here’s a breakdown of everyone who helped us do it:

1. Two Competent Communicator awards: Swarajit and Paula
2. Two more Competent Communicator awards: Henry and Ahmed
3. One Advanced Communicator award: Hari
4. One more Advanced Communicator award: Not yet achieved
5. One leadership award: Glen
6. One more leadership award: Swarajit
7. Four new members: Sarah, Tracey, Aislinn and Nathaniel
8. Four more new members: Stella, Rebecca, Michelle, Grace, Svetlana, Egor, Faith-Rose, Emily and Jon
9. At least four club officers trained at each of two training events: Swarajit, Jo, Ahmed and Paula
10. On-time submission of club officer list and membership dues: Femi and Ahmed

Thanks to everyone involved, as you’ve helped cement our reputation as one of the best Toastmasters clubs in London, if not the world! 🙂

Meet your new leadership committee

After last month’s sneak peek, I’m very pleased to be able to announce our new executive committee which will take over leadership of the club from July. As is now semi-traditional for Bloomsbury Speakers, our current Vice President Education, Jo will take over as president of the club. Below is the full list of committee members with their main responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to get involved – all of our committee members will need assistance with their roles every now and again, so please get in touch if you’d like to help!

President – Jo Higham
	The president has overall responsibility for the successful running of the club by supporting committee members in their roles 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!
Vice President Education – Helen Hosein
	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.
Vice President Membership & Mentoring – James Hallinan
	The VP Membership & Mentoring converts guests into happy members by keeping track of the membership waiting list, 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 and assigning them a mentor.
Vice President Public Relations – Svetlana Rakhimova
	The VP Public Relations is responsible for raising the club’s profile and attracting new guests e.g. via social media. They also oversee the team that produces our meeting reports.
Treasurer – Rebecca Griffith
	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 and making sure members pay their renewal fees to the club on time.
Sergeant at Arms – Michelle McNicholas
	The Sergeant at Arms is in charge of logistics. They are responsible for enlisting others to prepare the venue for each meeting and also clear up afterwards, welcoming guests as they arrive and running the guest introductions section of the programme, organising club socials and liaising with venue management on behalf of the club.
Secretary – Liz Walsh
	The club secretary is responsible for club administration, particularly with regards to committee meetings and decision making.
Immediate Past President – Swarajit Das
	The immediate past president stays on the committee for at least one more year in an advisory capacity, using their experience to support the new president and committee in running the club.

I wish Jo and her team all the best going forward and I’m sure they will achieve even more in the year ahead!

Two table topics workshops from two champions

If you’d like to learn how to give a winning impromptu speech every time, then who better to learn from than two of the best table topic speakers in the country?

David Jones, who has won the UK & Ireland table topic speech contest five times and Paul Carroll who took the crown in 2003 will be giving separate workshops in the next couple of weeks. Here are all the details:

DAVID JONES’S WORKSHOP
Date: Thursday, 12^th June
Time: 7pm
Venue: Phoenix Speakers, The Star Tavern, 6 Belgrave Mews West, SW1X 8HT
Cost: £5
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/table-topics-workshop-tickets-11508926509

PAUL CARROLL’S WORKSHOP
Date: Thursday, 19^th June
Time: 6:45pm-8:30pm
Venue: Citi Criers, Citigroup Centre, 33 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, E14 5LB
Cost: FREE but limited spaces
Booking: katywoolcott@hotmail.com

District 71 conference DVD and looking ahead to District 91

After our member Janet made it all the way to the last ever UK & Ireland final of the International Speech contest last month, we decided, for the sake of posterity, to purchase the official conference DVD for the club. This DVD is available to lend out to members and contains recordings of the District 71 International Speech and Evaluation contest finals that took place in Dublin last month.

If you’d like to borrow the DVD (and it’s well worth a watch!), just speak to one of the committee members at one of our regular meetings, but in the meantime you can whet your appetite by enjoying Janet’s semi-final performance of her speech “The 5 Stages of Grief” on YouTube:

Meanwhile, preparations are well underway for the first ever District 91 (Southern England and Southern Wales) conference in Brighton. The conference will, amongst other things, play host to the Humorous Speech and Table Topics contest finals – hopefully with representation from Bloomsbury Speakers again – and the ‘early bird’ discounts for booking sooner rather than later end this month. Details are below.

Dates: 31^st October-2^nd November 2014
Venue: Thistle Hotel, Brighton
Cost: See website
Website: http://www.autumn-conference.org/brighton2014/

Tip of the Month: Try out the Toastmaster role

As a member, the meeting role I find the most enjoyable and simultaneously the most challenging to perform is that of the Toastmaster. It can appear to be quite a daunting task at first, and many members shy away from the role, but it’s definitely the most rewarding and valuable experience in our regular meetings. Here are a few of the reasons why:

• It maximises your stage time. We all know the importance of taking as many opportunities to speak as possible and, as you’re required to address the audience before and after every single speaker on the programme, no one gets more stage time in a regular meeting than the Toastmaster.
• It’s both prepared and impromptu. As we like to have themes in our meetings, the role of Toastmaster requires almost as much preparation as a prepared speech. You need to introduce your theme (and role) at the start, as well as familiarise yourself with the speakers’ responses – perhaps adding your own take on them – but you’ll also have to think on your feet when something unexpected happens, whether that’s a change to the programme or an interruption at the venue.
• It combines skills from the other roles such as time management and listening. The Toastmaster is responsible for keeping the meeting running to time and therefore needs to make on-the-spot decisions about the length of the break and table topics session. Listening carefully to each speaker means that they can also make smooth transitions between each segment by referring back to what the audience just heard.

As you can see, the benefits (and challenges) are plentiful and, speaking personally, the ‘buzz’ I get from performing the Toastmaster role is unlike any other and needs to be experienced first-hand – so if you’ve performed all of the other functionary roles at least once, why not try out the Toastmaster role at the next opportunity? You won’t regret it!

That’s all from me – it’s been a pleasure serving you and I look forward to seeing the club continue to go from strength to strength. See you at a meeting soon!

Swarajit Das
Outgoing President
Bloomsbury Speakers

Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know

• Our regular meetings in June are on the 9^th and 23^rd – check ClubPlan for speaking slots.
• Bloomsbury Speakers has again achieved the title of President’s Distinguished Club, the first club in Division L to do so this year.
• Welcome to our two newest members, Peter and Emma, who will be giving their icebreaker speeches this month. Contact membership@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you’re interested in becoming a member.
• A new committee will take over running the club from July, led by Jo (President) with Helen (VP Education), James (VP Membership & Mentoring), Svetlana (VP Public Relations), Rebecca (Treasurer), Michelle (Sergeant at Arms) and Liz (Secretary).
• Table Topics champion, David Jones will be running a workshop for Phoenix Speakers on Thursday, 12^th June. Tickets are £5 from Eventbrite.
• Former table topics champion, Paul Carroll will be running a workshop for Citi Criers on Thursday, 19^th June. Contact katywoolcott@hotmail.com to book.
• The club has a copy of the last District 71 conference DVD which is available for members to borrow on request.