Introductions
Club president Femi opened the meeting by welcoming returning members and new guests and talking about the history of Toastmasters. He said the phobia of public speaking was “innate” in many of us – so Toastmasters would be perpetually in business! Regular practice, he said, would help to “drive away Mr Nerves and welcome up Mr Confidence.”
The Toastmaster for the evening Paul gave a brief overview of the programme and, encouraging the audience to give the speakers warm support, told us to “clap everything that moves”. He also introduced the meeting’s theme – heroes – and revealed his own hero to be screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.
The Timekeeper Barnaby gave a very bookish introduction to his role, touching upon A Brief History of Time, War and Peace and Proust’s À La Recherche du Temps Perdu.
Grammarian Gemma explained that in her role she would be looking for use of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, similars, metaphors and introduced the word of the day: Quintessential. She gave the example “James Bond is the quintessential British spy”.
Prepared speeches
New member Joowon was the first prepared speaker with her ice breaker speech entitled “Planning”. She explained her simple approach to planning and how she used it for various aspects of her life, including dieting and learning a new language. We learned that she had improved her English by offering her services as a free tourist guide.
The second speaker was recent member Samuel, with a No. 2 speech entitled “Why I joined Toastmasters”. In a very humorous speech he told us about his lifelong fear of speaking out loud and how it tended to trigger his “fight or flight” instinct. He also amusingly told us how he once used direct sales techniques to get girls’ telephone numbers!
In another No. 2 speech entitled “the joy of singing” Punam told us about her unconventional way of relaxing at the end of the day. She would sing a duet of Summertime with Billie Holiday and this acted as a “balm” as she “connected through song” with Billie. She encouraged us to try it as singing is good for mental health.
In a No. 7 speech entitled “The Purest Drink in the World” regular member and club treasurer Elena told us about the history of vodka, which was first distilled in the 9th century. We learnt that in 1885 vodka was only sold in 12 litre buckets and that the distillation process can produce up to 95% alcohol. She warned that the Russians are very good at drinking vodka and could drink any of us “under the table”!
Evaluations
Glen commended Joowon for her expressive hand gestures and great eye contact. He loved the way she was already using some rhetorical devices in her speaking but recommended a slightly clearer setup at the beginning and having a third main point in the body of her speech.
Evaluating Samuel’s speech, Paula started by commending a “really clever structure”. She felt she could empathise strongly with one of his points in particular – “we’ve all been there” she said, referring to his comment about only thinking of the right thing to say when it’s too late. She recommended a clearer introduction to lead us into the structure but commended his great humour. Ending, she said she felt Samuel had inspired her to “fight” on his behalf.
Steven congratulated Punam for an “inspiring job” and liked that her speech had been grounded in science. He felt she had made great eye contact but recommended pausing and relaxing more, and also more using more volume on her conclusion.
Peter loved Elena’s use of examples and facts and the way that she had asked the audience questions. He recommended that she increased her volume and tried to reduce any hand clasping.
Table Topics
Table Topicsmaster Mike introduced the impromptu speaking session with topics inspired by Toastmaster Paul’s theme of heroes.
He invited members – and one or two brave guests – to tackle a variety of hero-related questions, such as:
- Who is your hero in the community?
- Who is your hero at work?
- Who is your hero in sports?
- Who is your hero in the media?
- Who is your hero in business?
- Who is your hero in politics?
Seasoned member Kate had the tough job of evaluating all of the table topics, providing commendations and recommendations each of the speakers.
Reports
In her Grammarian’s report Gemma highlighted interesting uses of language and particularly commended those people who had incorporated the word of the day – quintessential – into their speeches.
Visiting General Evaluator Joy, from Covent Garden Speakers, evaluated the club and meeting as a whole and also any participants who had not received evaluations elsewhere. She particularly loved the club’s venue, the Clerk & Well pub.
Awards
Wrapping up the meeting, president Femi handed out the evening’s awards based on the votes cast by the audience:
- Best Table Topic went to Jo for telling us about her mother, who was her hero in business
- Best Evaluator went to Glen for his encouraging evaluation of Joowon’s ice breaker speech
- Best Speaker award went to Samuel for his speech about public speaking fear
Femi gave his president’s discretionary award to the Toastmaster Paul for running such a tight ship.
He finished by reminding everyone of the upcoming speech and evaluation contests on March 25 and told us all to “watch this space” for details of the venue.
Next meeting
Our next meeting is Monday 25th February, upstairs at The Clerk & Well, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5DU. Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.
