‘Clapping and cheering for our speakers as they make their way up onto the stage to deliver their speech…’ our president, Swarajit, explained in his opening remarks before handing over to Ahmed, our Toastmaster, ‘…is one of the simplest and easiest ways to inspire confidence and to encourage our speakers’.
On taking over from Swarajit, Ahmed subsequently introduced the theme of the evening around the notion of ‘going out of our comfort zones’, which was fitting given that this was Ahmed’s first stint as Toastmaster himself. He was ably supported by Grammarian, Jo, who gave us ‘Vivacious’ as the word of the day, and Liz the Timekeeper.
We were treated to an entertaining number 4 speech about the history of pole dancing from Helen who entitled her speech “Pop! Six! Squish! Uh uh! Cicero! Lipschitz!”
In her number 6 speech, “The Expensive Occasions” Rufina shared her twined bewilderment and frustration with the exorbitant amount of money that weddings cost nowadays, and how the occasion – particularly the reception ceremony – can sometimes become so drawn out.
‘Pace yourself’, Paula urged us in her number 8 speech – “12-Minute Workout” – as she demonstrated an exercise regime commonly known as interval training which involves a series of gentle to intense workouts punctuated with relief periods.
Finally, in a number 10 speech entitled “Why Won’t God Heal Amputees?” our very own president, Swarajit, invited us to consider the notion that we are better than God; this is evident, he claimed, in how we innovate and ultimately solve difficult problems – artificial limbs for amputees being case in point.
Key tips from our evaluators, namely Michael, Peter, Barnaby, Renars and Joe, included:
- Vivid language and descriptive words are always welcome.
- Fonts on visual aids should be big enough for the audience at the back to see.
- Hand gestures that are larger than the outlines of your body communicate a large idea or concept. But if all your hand gestures are large they can become distracting.
- Create more interest in your voice by changing the pace or speed with which you speak. Add more expression by changing the volume and/or pitch when you go higher for light, sweet moments or deep down/quiet for serious moments.
The table topic talks (or impromptu speeches), hosted by Bronia, were on the theme of interview questions, and with the exception of Glen, all the participants were guests!
- Glen had to answer the question “If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and throw into a blender, how would you get out?”
- Nathaniel had to choose any two celebrities to be his parents and explain why
- “How would you explain what Facebook is to your grandmother?” was addressed by Janna
- Vehno was confronted with the question, “Have you ever stolen a pen from work?”
- Another guest was invited to discuss what she thought about when she was in the car
- Madeline was asked to reveal what makes her happy in the office on a Friday afternoon
- And Robin tackled the challenging question, “How many cows are there in Canada?”
The awards for the evening went to:
Best Table Topic: This was a tie between Glen and Janna.
Best Evaluator: Joe won the best evaluator’s award for the evening after taking on the unenviable task of evaluating the seven impromptu table topic speakers.
Best Prepared Speech: Helen – who took us through the history of pole dancing from its origins in the circus, before it became synonymous with strip clubs, to its present use in mainstream gyms and studios.
President’s Award: This went to Cheska, our General Evaluator from our sister club Holborn Speakers, for doing a fantastic job at the role she was performing for the first time.
Swarajit completed his competent communication manual.
Our next meeting is on Monday, 14th October from 6:30pm, upstairs at the Clerk & Well pub. See you there!
