Introductions
The meeting began with the outgoing club president Femi feeling a bit emotional because it was his last meeting as President of Bloomsbury Speakers. He reminded us of Toastmasters’ purpose: to inspire and help women and men gain confidence in public speaking.
“When you plant a seed in the ground, and give it love and attention” said Femi, “it will grow and flourish. So it is with your speaking skills”. Joining Toastmasters is much like planting a seed in the ground and letting it grow into a powerful skill.
Femi handed over to the evening’s Toastmaster Jo, who declared the theme of the evening to be ‘summer’. She was very confident that summer was soon to fall upon English soil and wanted to know everyone’s summer plans. Jo revealed her own plans to finally exchange on her flat and begin decorating. Jo clearly explained her role for the evening was to be a facilitator, rather like the ball-girls in the ongoing Wimbledon tennis matches.
Helen was the Timekeeper for the evening. She gracefully explained the importance of time as she likened a perfect speech to the perfect summer season: not too short or too long.
Mike was the Grammarian for the meeting and he chose the Word of the Day “succinct” for the speakers to attempt to incorporate into their speeches.
Prepared Speeches
Ed was the first prepared speech for the evening with his No. 3 speech entitled “Time”. He began by challenging us with a riddle: “What can we lose that we can never get back?” The answer, of course, Time. He explained that we should always take a moment before responding to a request, in order to give ourselves the space to think about our reaction. He reminded us that by responding too quickly, we lose our freedom, which can be seen as the time between a stimulus and a response.
Paula gave her No. 7 speech called “The Cool Geeks”, referring to those with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Paula told us that she often works with children and their parents who have been diagnosed with this condition. She explained the difference between the 2 conditions and went back in history to explain how two Austrian psychiatrists shed light on this ever increasing diagnosis. The 3 common behaviours are: communication difficulties, challenges with interaction and repetitive/obsessive behaviours.
In a speech called “Brave”, Janet gave her No. 8 speech. Janet spoke about the meaning of Brave in the 21st century and how it lacks a relevant definition in modern life. She looked to Mel Gibson, the dictionary, and Hollywood cinemas for a meaningful explanation of the term in modern society, but to no avail. Instead Janet was inspired by the people in her life, her friends, her family and her fellow Toastmasters, who all give the perfect explanation of the word Brave.
Hari told a story for his advanced speech: “Swordplay and Success” that took place in 17th century Japan. The story featured a boy who wanted to learn the art of sword fighting. The story was about breaking down your preconceived notions and expectations before becoming ready to absorb the correct information. The story’s moral conveyed how important it is to begin our journey at the bottom and raise through the ranks of knowledge properly.
After the prepared speeches, Nazia gave a brief summary of a new program that Toastmasters has initiated, called the Youth Leadership program. The program is designed to help children to improve their public speaking while helping Toastmasters practice their skills.
Evaluations
Each speaker was given an evaluation by a fellow club member.
Rajeev gave a thorough evaluation of Ed’s speech on Time. He began by commending Ed on his ability to deliver the speech without notes. He also loved the quotes that Ed used to begin his talk. Rajeev’s one recommendation for Ed was to better ‘sign-post’ the speech, which would have helped the audience follow his thought process more easily. Regardless Rajeev thought that the speech was very well delivered.
Paula’s speech was evaluated by James. James loved Paula’s interaction with the audience and commended her on a well-researched topic, filled with interesting statistics. His recommendations were to keep the speech to time so that we could have discovered more about the speech’s title: The Cool Geeks, and its meaning. Other than that, it was effective and authoritative.
Bronia evaluated Janet’s speech “Brave”. She felt that by using simple language and many examples, Janet was able to keep the audience interested throughout the speech. Bronia recommended that Janet make better use of the visual props throughout the room because many people around the room could not see the screen that was displaying Janet’s presentation. Overall, Bronia felt that the speech was heart-warming, engaging and entertaining.
Finally Hari’s speech was evaluated by Renars. Renars let us know that Hari is generally one of his favourite speakers and he very much enjoyed listening to his story as well as Hari’s animated delivery. Renars recommendation was for Hari to be clearer in his message to the audience. The point of the story was difficult for many to relate to their everyday life. If a bit more clarity was added, then Renars felt it would have been spectacular.
Table Topics
Table Topics were led by Glen who cleverly played on the theme of “summer weather”. His questions were challenging and innovative giving each of the speakers a few minutes to develop their one-the-spot speaking skills and included:
- Whether it’s acceptable for men to wear shorts to the office in summer
- Whether your job is easier or harder during the summer
- Whether 6 weeks is too much time for school children to have off over the summer
- Whether Boris Johnson should introduce any initiatives to make life easier for Londoners during the summer
Henry effortlessly gave an evaluation of all the Table Topics participants. He summed up each person’s commendable attributes and followed by a helpful recommendation. Henry found an admirable credit in each speaker that could inspire them to be willing to take another chance with Table Topics.
Reports
Helen and Mike helped Jo close the evening by reporting on the accuracy on time and innovation with words respectively. Mike was thrilled with the countless number of times the word ‘succinct’ was used.
Closing and Awards
The evening came to an end when Swarajit, the incoming president, gave Femi, the outgoing president, a gift from all the Toastmasters committee who wanted to say thank you for Femi’s efforts throughout this past year. Femi will be much missed as our Club President!
Femi announced the awards as voted by the audience:
- Best Table Topic went to: Dan, a guest
- Best Evaluator award was given to Henry
- Best Speech went to Janet
Next Meeting
Our next regular meeting will be held on Monday 8th July 2013 upstairs at The Clerk & Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5DU.
Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.
