Written by Elena (edited by Swarajit)
Introduction
With one of the members completing her tenth speech, a General Evaluator taking the Table Topics award and it being Glen’s last time as the club President, it was another lively meeting!
Jo, the Toastmaster, set a fun and friendly tone for the meeting, and introduced the theme – food – which is essential for life but can also be one of its great pleasures.
Prepared speeches
In her Ice Breaker speech “Welcome to My World” Ilze asked the audience to close their eyes and create their own vision of her world while she described her life from the age of six to her twenties, so that everyone could have their own perception of it.
Ahmed gave his No. 3 speech entitled “Euro Zone Crisis”. He described what the Euro Zone is and its original purpose, outlined the main issues of the Euro Zone crisis and suggested measures to overcome them.
In her No. 5 speech “Russian Wedding”, Elena told the audience what a typical Russian wedding is like. She described the various traditions and rituals, some of which were quite different to those of an English wedding.
In her No. 10 speech entitled “Where Are We Going?” Kate inspired the audience to overcome their fears, bring out the best in themselves and encourage other people to do the same as the Soka Gakkai philosophy teaches.
Speech evaluations
Evaluating Ilze’s Ice Breaker speech, Swarajit praised her great engagement with the audience and use of descriptive language in a chronologically-structured personal story with an especially humorous ending. He recommended that Ilze slow down a little to avoid stumbling over longer words.
Femi evaluated Ahmed’s speech and extolled the fantastic topic that went very well with the objectives of speech No. 3, (to organise the speech in the manner that best supports its main message) and commended his questions at the beginning of each part that allowed the audience to easily follow the speech. Femi recommended that Ahmed make a conscious effort to improve his transitions between sections by avoiding unnecessary ‘filler’ words like ‘so’.
Ratan gave an evaluation of Elena’s speech and commended her body language, gestures and use of a shot glass to act out drinking vodka, as Russian wedding guests do. Ratan recommended Elena to incorporate more drama.
The last evaluator of the meeting, Henry, evaluated Kate’s speech in which he praised her anecdotes and a deep, personal message that was very powerful and in congruence with Kate’s body language.
Table Topics
Hari, the Table Topics Master this evening, tied his section in nicely with Jo’s culinary theme. He stretched the audience with challenging questions like: “You are an entrepreneur who has just opened a new restaurant. You need to convince us to eat there”; “If you have to eat one style of food for the rest of your life what would it be and why?”; and “How is baking a cake a metaphor for life?”
Awards
Ilze was awarded a certificate for successfully completing her Icebreaker speech, to recognise this important landmark.
The Best Evaluator award went to Henry for his evaluation of Kate’s speech. The Best Table Topic Speaker award went to Brad for his “Cake of Life” table topic, and the Best Speaker award went to Kate for her inspirational speech.
The President’s discretional award went to the evening’s Toastmaster Jo who successfully stepped up to this most challenging of club roles.
Next meeting
Our next meeting is on Monday 9th July 2012, upstairs at The Clerk and Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5BX.
