Meeting Report: 14th May 2018

/in /by
Introduction
 
We last met on Monday 14th May, and were treated to three great prepared speeches and a hilarious table topics session.
 
Roles
 
President of the Club Peter R inspired us with the story of someone he knows who used to pass out when public speaking and is now a first-class speaker. He then introduced Toastmaster Andy who explained the agenda and called up Timekeeper Michelle and Grammarian Atul. Atul announced that “ostentatious” would be the word of the day.
 
Prepared speeches
 
The first speaker was Krishan with his Competent Communicator Speech #3 “Jobs of the Future”.
 
The second speaker was Luisa with her Competent Communicator Speech #7 “Happiness”. 
 
Third to speak was Margarita with her Persuasive Speaking Speech #5 “What’s the Story”.
 
Stirling then led the guest introductions.
 
Table Topics
 
After the break, we heard from the evening’s evaluators – Swarajit, Matt and Sheldon.
 
Table Topics Master Chantal then led a fantastic table topics session, and Sarah, Suraya, Andy, Chris, Miro and Matt participated. Highlights included Sarah concluding that cats are great and Miro wishing he could launch the Egyptian president into space never to return!
 
Grammarian Atul then reported on the great uses of language during the meeting.
 
Finally, visiting General Evaluator Shola evaluated our club and the meeting.
 
Awards
Best Speaker: Margarita
Best Evaluator: Matt
Best Table Topic: Andy
 
Next meeting
 

Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 21st May 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills!

Please feel free to get in touch at info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.

Meeting Report: 23rd April 2018

/in /by

Introduction

Our last meeting was on Monday 23rd April: we enjoyed five excellent prepared speeches and a thought-provoking table topics session.

Roles

President of the Club Peter R reminded us that the ambition of any Toastmasters member should be to become a world class speaker. He then introduced Toastmaster Atul who shared his personal experience to highlight that success is about not giving up and believing in yourself. He then called up Timekeeper Raphael and Grammarian Andy, who announced “esoteric” as the word of the day.

Prepared speeches

The first speaker was Stirling with his Ice Breaker Speech “Everybody Wants to Do Something Good”. Stirling talked to us about his career so far and the years spent living all over the world in search of an environmentally-friendly job. He now works for a bank which finances clear energy projects, and has no intention of leaving London!

The second speaker was Miro with his Competent Communicator Speech #2 “Escape from Reality”. Miro gave us some very useful tips on how to begin “lucid dreaming”, which means being aware of our dream state and manipulating our dreams in a conscious way. He even told us that controlling our dreams can be a good way to get to know the more unconscious layers of our personality!

Third to speak was Lei with her Competent Communicator Speech #3 “Be Authentic”. In keeping with the title, Lei admitted she had not prepared her speech and wanted it to be as spontaneous as possible. She talked to us about the barriers to being authentic, and the courage it took her to have her first honest conversation with her mother.

Margarita then led the guest introductions.

After the break we heard from the fourth speaker, Scott, with his Competent Communicator Speech #7 “The Lindy Effect”. Scott talked us through the concept that the future life expectancy of some non-perishable things is proportional to their current age. According to this theory, if you are unsure which new movie to watch or new book to read, just go for the oldest!

Last to speak was Chantal with her Storytelling Speech #1 “Brother Bear”. Chantal told us the heart-warming tale of a human with a hatred for bears who was, as a punishment, transformed into a bear himself. The experience taught him love and compassion and, when the time came to become a human again, he opted to remain a bear!

Toastmaster Atul then led a group evaluation session, in which all attendees evaluated the five speakers.

Table Topics

Table Topics Master Luisa then led a table topics session on the subject of public speaking, and James, Max, Swarajit, Mary, Paloma and Jackie participated. Highlights included Swarajit keeping us up to speed with all the shouting matches he’s had over the years!

Grammarian Andy then reported that three people had managed to squeeze the word of the day into their speeches, and announced the winners of the “Ums and Ahs Award”, which went to those who had managed to avoid using filler words.

Finally, visiting General Evaluator Gill evaluated our club and the meeting.

Awards

Best Speaker: Scott

Best Table Topic: Max, Swarajit and Paloma

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 14th May 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills!

Please feel free to get in touch at info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.

Meeting Report: 9th April 2018

/in /by

Introduction

We enjoyed another great meeting on Monday 9th April, where we heard four high-quality speeches and participated in a fun table topics session.

Roles

Peter R, President of the Club, welcomed everyone to the meeting and pointed out that we are all part of Toastmasters to become world class speakers. He then introduced Toastmaster Chantal, who gave us an explanation of the history of “toast” (the food), talked us through the agenda and introduced Timekeeper Jamie and Grammarian Luisa, who chose “implacable” as the word of the day.

Prepared speeches

First to speak was Raphael with his Ice Breaker Speech “Two Degrees of Separation”. Raphael talked to us about his siblings, his love of backpacking and his past habit to shy away from public speaking opportunities. Regarding the last point, he is definitely set on changing that!

The second speaker was Yamina with her Competent Communicator Speech #5 “Little Red Riding Headscarf”. Revisiting a famous tale, Yamina talked about the story of a little girl who, unlike all her other friends, always wore a headscarf instead of a hood. She still tasted the same to the wolf!

The third speaker was Peter R with his Persuasive Speaking Speech #4 “A Fulfilling Career is Possible”. Peter talked us through the golden rules for finding a satisfying job, i.e. it’s not about the money, but about our passions and helping others. He finished with an entertaining Q&A session.

Last to speak was Sheldon with his Entertaining Speaker Speech #1 “Cuba: A Food Adventure”. Sheldon gave us a hilarious gastronomic account of his recent journey to Cuba, where – surrounded by ham and cheese toasties, and little else – he was forced to admit that he missed pizza!  

Scott then led the guest introductions.

Table Topics

After the break, we heard from the evening’s evaluators – Peter R, Stirling, Helen and Andy.

Table Topics Master Atul then led a fantastic table topics session on the subject of books. Swarajit, Philippe, Scott Lee, Mary, Lei, Ed, Alex and Peter participated. Highlights included Scott Lee commenting that he would much rather read a book with a happy ending in order to get a return on his investment, and Peter explaining that the book passage that most changed his life was the one he once had to read out as a kid, when he got to the front of the class, tripped and knocked out his two front teeth!

Margarita evaluated all table topic speakers.

Grammarian Luisa then gave us a report on the great uses of language throughout the meeting and noted that 9 people had used the word of the day.

Finally, visiting General Evaluator Christina evaluated our club and the meeting.

Awards

Best Speaker: Yamina

Best Evaluator: Helen

Best Table Topic: Peter

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 23rd April 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills!

Please feel free to get in touch as info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.

Meeting Report: 26th March 2018

/in /by
Introduction
 
We met on Monday 26th March for another entertaining evening of speeches and impromptu talks at Wedge Issue Pizza.
 
Roles
 
President of the club Peter R opened the meeting by explaining what Toastmasters is and by talking through the many benefits it provides to members. He then introduced Toastmaster Margarita, who explained the agenda and introduced Timekeeper Michael.
 
Prepared speeches
 
The first speaker was Jamie with her Ice Breaker Speech “The Day That Changed My Life”. Jamie gave an inspiring talk about how the sudden death of a relative prompted her to make the most of life, including hiking and facing her fear of public speaking.
 
The second speaker was Luisa with her Competent Communicator Speech #6 “Beyond Reasonable Doubt”. Luisa questioned the validity of our beliefs by talking through a famous case which almost resulted in an innocent man being convicted of murder.
 
Third to speak was Scott with his Competent Communicator Speech #3 “Tarrare – A Hungry Man”. Scott gave us an interesting and somewhat gory account of the life of Tarrare, a French man with implacable hunger and very unusual eating habits. 
 
The last speaker was Sarah with her Competent Communicator Speech #9 “What’s in a Scent”. Sarah explained human adulterous behaviours through the parental investment theory. The bottom line is: our romantic choices are often driven by evolutionary needs!  
 
Scott then led the guest introductions.
 
Table Topics
 
After the break, we heard from the evening’s evaluators – Swarajit, Andy, Chantal and Peter.
 
Table Topics Master Lei then led a captivating table topics session on a number of existential questions. Claire, Raphael, Erica, James, Susan, Paloma, Adriana and Jeya participated. Highlights included Paloma urging us all to tell white lies more often, and Raphael commenting on his preference to chase rather than be chased.
 
Atul evaluated all table topic speakers.
 
Finally, visiting General Evaluator Megan evaluated our club and the meeting.
 
Awards

Best Speaker: Luisa

Best Evaluator: Andy

Best Table Topic: Raphael

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 9thApril 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills!

Please free to get in touch as info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.

Meeting Report: 26th February 2018

/in /by

Introduction

Our last meeting was on Monday 26th February at Wedge Issue Pizza, where we enjoyed four high-quality speeches and a great table topics session.

Roles

Peter R, President of the Club, welcomed everyone to the meeting and pointed out how being members of Toastmasters can gradually help us become better communicators. Toastmaster Swarajit then took over, explaining the agenda and introducing Timekeeper Nigel and Grammarian Stella, who chose “selfie” as the word of the day.

Prepared speeches

The first speaker was Daniel from Croydon Communicators with his Competition Speech “42 Million”. Daniel explained to us the importance of a single minute, and how sixty seconds can change our lives. He urged us to seize all the minutes we can and make the most of them.

The second speaker was Marti from Holborn Speakers with his Competition Speech “Not Another Speech about Recycling”. Marti wondered whether the recycling agenda was not being pushed on us a bit too much, and concluded by telling us to keep doing what we were already doing.

Third to speak was Andy with his Competent Communicator Speech #2 “2+2”. Andy talked us through different cognitive systems within the brain, and how automatic processes and conscious thinking can sometimes collide to produce unintended consequences.

The last speaker was Peter with his Storytelling Speech #1 “Spring-Heeled Jack”. Peter took us back to London in the 1830s, where people reported seeing a mysterious figure who would attack people before springing 10 feet in the air and disappearing. The moral of the story? There isn’t one!

Scott then led the guest introductions.

Table Topics

After the break, we heard from the evening’s evaluators – Sheldon, Atul, Luisa and Scott.

Table Topics Master Sarah then led a fantastic table topics session centred around the theme of the evening: movies. Scott, Marti, Anya, Sterling, Luisa, Andy and Rafael participated. Highlights included Andy confessing to his childhood fear of dinosaurs and Jurassic Park, and Rafael commenting that the movie “Into the Wild” is all about the importance of family.

Yamina evaluated all table topics speakers.

Grammarian Stella then gave us a report on the great uses of language throughout the meeting – surprisingly, not many people used the word of the day!

Finally, visiting General Evaluator Nick evaluated our club and the meeting.

Awards

Best Speaker: Peter

Best Evaluators: Yamina and Scott

Best Table Topic: Rafael

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 12th March 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills and enjoy delicious free pizza!

Please feel free to get in touch at info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.