Hello and welcome to the August Newsletter!
This is the first in a regular monthly series highlighting news and events from Bloomsbury Speakers.
If you have news or events or suggestions for future newsletters, please send them to newsletter@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk.
Hope to see you at a meeting soon!
Best wishes,
Glen Long
President
president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk
Recent news
July was the first month of the new Toastmasters year and what a great way to start! We had two well-attended meetings with lots of new guests.
We’ve also had three brand new members sign-up (in addition to two in June) and saw three great ice breaker speeches.
Other highlights from July:
- Our new committee took over the club reins – many thanks to the outgoing team for all their hard work and in particular to past president Nazia “Elle Presidente” Soon! Check out the new committee on our website (more photos coming soon!)
- Our brand new VP of Mentoring Hari Kalymnios has been busy revamping our mentoring programme and has produced new guidelines for club mentors – contact him at mentoring@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk
- We received notification that we had achieved Select Distinguished Club status based on points gained during the previous Toastmasters year!
What’s happening this month?
August promises to be another exciting month with a lots of speeches already booked and new members keen to flex their communication and leadership muscles.
Regular Meeting – Monday 8th August
We’ve already got a packed speech agenda with four speeches plus an ice breaker. But there are still quite a few evaluator slots so room for experienced evaluators and first-timers alike!
Regular Meeting – Monday 22nd August
Again, a packed speech agenda but plenty of evaluator slots and also a chance to be Harkmaster (or Grammarian). Or even Toastmaster!
Book yourself in via ClubPlan, or contact Dave Longley, our VP Education, to discuss your future speeches & meeting roles. Email Dave at education@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk
We’re looking at running another evaluation workshop in the future, but if you’ve never done an evaluation before and have two or three speeches under your belt, why not book yourself in to evaluate an ice breaker?
Please note: both of our meetings in August will be held at The Lamb, not The Rugby Tavern (due to refurbishments at the Rugby Tavern):
The Lamb, 94 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1N 3LZ. (map)
More dates for your diary
Andrew Brammer’s Storytelling Workshop – Monday 5th September
A great workshop from a Distinguished Toastmaster and past-winner of the UK & Ireland Humorous Speech contest (see below for details of this year’s contest!)
You can find out more about Andrew at his website:
http://www.speakingwords.co.uk/
Places will be limited and there will be a small charge to cover room hire and Andrew’s expenses. Members will be given priority but the workshop is open to all.
Please contact Dave Longley (email address above) if you are interested!
Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest – Monday 12th September
These are the club-level contests for humorous speaking and table topics competing against other members.
Members can enter either or both contests – the only requirement is that you are a fully paid up member (so make sure you’re up to date with your dues!)
Contests are suitable for speakers of all levels and it’s a great way to get some extra speaking experience. Members who enjoy Table Topics during a regular meeting should definitely consider entering this contest.
If you’re not a member of the club (yet!) then why not come along to watch? It’s a great atmosphere and promises to be a very entertaining evening.
Autumn Conference – “Flourish” – 11th – 13th November 2011
You’ll hear lots more about this in the weeks to come, but this is the conference being held up in Glasgow, featuring workshops, speech contest finals, and lots of food, drink and general merriment.
Whet your appetite here:
Tip of the Month – Calendars
If you use the calendar function on your computer or smartphone, you can automatically add Bloomsbury Speakers meetings by clicking on the link below (or pasting into your browser or calendar):
webcal://www.meetup.com/Bloomsbury-Speakers/events/ical/Bloomsbury+Speakers+Meetings/
If you prefer to receive meeting reminders by email, join our group on Meetup.com.
That’s all folks!
That’s everything for this newsletter. Hope you’ve found it an interesting read and see you soon!
