Workshops Archives - Bloomsbury Speakers

Hey Bloomers!

Yep, we’ve tried something new there. Does calling our collective ‘Bloomers’ work? Or does it make us sound like we collect vintage underwear for a living?

Either way, it’s a new year, so we’re standing by it (for this newsletter, at least!).

And because it’s a new year, we want to start by reminding you that whether you’ve been to Bloomsbury Speakers a thousand times or you’ve signed up for our newsletter but never attended a meeting – everyone is welcome.

The perfect place to improve your public speaking skills.

As soon as you step through the door, you’re in a warm, supportive environment that allows you to practise performing speeches.

And the best part?

All feedback is constructive.

We don’t do unhelpful criticism – vital if you’ve lost confidence speaking in front of a group or you’re a first-time speaker.

So, if you’re a former member or guest, come to one of our meetings this month and see for yourself.

2024 – an exciting year ahead!

If you can’t stomach eating the last of the Celebrations, leave 2023 behind and celebrate the exciting events lined up in 2024.

Check out how great the start of the year is:

• 29^th January 2024: Your Words Can Inspire – writing an inspirational speech that connects, with Freddie Daniells

Ever wondered what it takes to write an inspiring speech that could take you to the finals of the World Championship of Public Speaking at the Toastmasters International world convention in August?

Then this workshop will help you understand how to:

Choose a message
Structure your speech
Create the right type of content required

You’ll also learn foundational lessons useful for speakers of all levels, whether speaking in Toastmasters, at work or in your community.

And with the help of Freddie Daniells, you’ll learn from the best.

Freddie has attended five World Championships, was a judge in the 2013 finals, and has provided speech mentoring and advice to District Champions, semi-finalists and finalists in the World Championship of Public Speaking.

He’s also a professional speech coach, having worked with companies like Google, Hewlett Packard, Ernst & Young and many others.

Join us on 29^th January 2024 and take your first step toward becoming a more inspiring speaker.

Date: Monday, 29^th January
Time: 6:45pm-9:15pm
Venue: The Union Tavern, 52 Lloyd Baker Street, London, WC1X 9AA (Map)
Price: £5 or FREE for members of Bloomsbury Speakers

Book your ticket

• 26^th February 2024: International Speech and Evaluation contests

Freddie’s workshop leads nicely into the first round of the International Speech contest itself, which starts at club level and culminates at the World Championship of Public Speaking.

Our club contest night on 26^th February will consist of both the International Speech and Evaluation contests:

The International Speech contest

This event involves giving a 5–7-minute speech on a topic of your choice.

The timings are more important than in a regular club meeting because speaking for less than 4½ minutes or more than 7½ minutes will mean you’re disqualified – but the timing lights will guide you.

To be eligible, you must be a paid club member and have completed Levels 1 and 2 of your educational Pathway.

The Evaluation contest

All contestants evaluate the same speech, with a mystery speaker invited to give a speech, after which the contestants are escorted from the room and given five minutes to write up any notes.

At the end of the five minutes, you’ll be called back into the room to deliver your 2–3-minute evaluation.

You need to speak for at least 1½ minutes and no more than 3½ minutes; otherwise, you’ll be disqualified.

All paid members of the club are eligible for this contest, regardless of your progress in Pathways.

The winners of each contest will represent Bloomsbury Speakers in the next round, facing the winners from the other clubs in our area.

Please let our VP of Education Andrea know if you’d like to take part.

Oh, and good luck!

• 3^rd-5^th May 2024: District 91 conference

2024 is the centenary year of Toastmasters International, and District 91, which represents clubs in the south of the UK, will be marking this milestone with a weekend of workshops, networking and speeches in Bristol.

This event will also include the finals of the Humorous Speech, Table Topics and Evaluation contests, as well as the fourth round of the International Speech contest.

Don’t miss out; early-bird tickets are available now at a reduced rate.

Book your ticket

Celebrating awesome Bloomsbury Speakers!

In November ’23, our members Andrea and Matt competed at the Division C (central London) finals of the Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests.

This being the third of four possible rounds, the competition was tough, and they both did an excellent job, with Andrea placing 3^rd in the Humorous Speech contest and Matt coming 2^nd in the Table Topics contest.

Nice one, Bloomers!

Get yourself to one of our upcoming meetings.

As usual, upcoming meetings and workshops will take place at The Union Tavern.

Here are the all-important dates for your diary:

Regular meeting: 8^th January 2024 at 6:30pm
Regular meeting: 22^nd January 2024 at 6:30pm
Your Words Can Inspire (workshop): 29^th January 2024 at 6:45pm

And here’s what’s lined up for February:

Regular meeting: 12^th February 2024 at 6:30pm
International Speech & Evaluation contests: 26^th February 2024 at 6:45pm

Venues for February’s meetings will be confirmed soon.

As always, you can book on Eventbrite or Meetup to receive a handy reminder nearer the time. And, don’t forget, our regular meetings and contests are always FREE to attend for guests.

Oh, and before we go, here’s a snap from our Christmas social last month – it was a joint event with the other clubs in our area, but Bloomsbury Speakers definitely had the biggest turnout.

And why wouldn’t we?

We’re blooming marvellous!

This month’s newsletter was edited by Matt at Indelible Think.

Last night was Bloomsbury Speakers first ever Table Topics Workshop – an extra opportunity for members of the club to practice their impromptu speaking.

Table Topics are a regular fixture of normal Toastmasters meetings. Here’s how they work:

The table topics organiser (or Topicsmaster) introduces the session and then invites a series of volunteers to speak for 1-2 minutes on a particular topic, the exciting twist being that you only get given the topic at the very last second, as you are coming up to the front of the room.

At a regular meeting there will be a single table topics session giving 6-8 people the opportunity to speak, but last night’s session was designed to really ramp up our impromptu speaking skills and so the whole evening was completely dedicated to table topics. Everyone who attended got three chances to speak (which we worked out was the equivalent of three months worth of normal meetings!)

The topics and speeches were very varied and entertaining, and included:

Craig arguing for a complete cycling ban in London (he really hates “the Boris bike”!)
Fabrizio arguing that he should be Hollywood’s choice for the next big action hero
Alex D outlining his plans to create new hybrid animals, such as the “zeraffe”
Rekha explaining how she would deal with a critical boss (be afraid!)
Henry apologising to a work colleague for inappropriate comments
Alex G presenting his ideas for improving office morale amidst redundancies
Glen making a case for compulsory hat wearing in the U.K.
Kate explaining why we should all eat five (insects!) a day
Nazia recounting her memories of the Great Fire of London
Jeff attempting to rally support for National Nudity Day

The evening was tremendous fun (and also very funny!) and the informal feedback after the session was very positive – everyone seemed to feel they’d learnt loads in a short space of time.

We’re busy collating a list of top tips we learned from the session and will post them up here very soon.

But if you want to improve your impromptu speaking (and who doesn’t – you never know when you might be called upon to say something!) then we strongly recommend jumping into the very next table topics session you can. And, of course, Bloomsbury Speakers is a great place to give it a try!