Introduction
How can you overcome a fear of public speaking? Our President Swarajit explained, after he had warmly welcomed us, that we can deal with speech anxiety – and at the same time gain leadership skills – through practice. Simply practising prepared and impromptu speeches at a Toastmasters meeting, and delivering evaluations of other members’ speeches will put a nervous speaker on the road to being a confident speaker. The meeting was then handed over to Hari, our Toastmaster for the evening.
Before introducing the theme for the evening, “Silence – how do you get or where do you go for a moment of silence?”, Hari applauded everyone for coming out on such a dark and gloomy night. He went on to introduce the other functionaries for the evening: Sarah, the Timekeeper who talked us through the guidelines of the timing system; and Rajeev the Harkmaster whose role it was to test the audience’s listening skills at the end of the meeting by running a quiz based on the speeches rendered during the meeting. Rajeev also gave and challenged us to use the word of the day taciturn.
Prepared speeches
The first prepared speech was by Rufina with a number 8 speech entitled ‘Hidden Treasures’, where she reminded us that talents are like hidden treasures that cannot be pick from the roadside but must be dug up from deep within the earth. In doing so, the purpose and fulfilment of life is realised.
Onto another number 8 speech and member Samuel with his speech entitled ‘Lion boy’ took us on a picturesque and emotional journey of his life with his son nicknamed Lion boy from the time he was born and through his formative years, including their separation and reunion.
Stella on her number 9 speech briefly informed us about ongoing voluntary work to support an endangered species – turtles – which was enlightening. She ended on an emotional note by appealing to us to think about how we treat the environment.
Jumping to the challenge, Femi gave an impromptu speech entitled “The Power of Silence”. However, the content of the message was opposite to the title of the speech. It was an appeal to speak up, to challenge bullies and to stand up for the right thing.
Key tips from our evaluators were as outlined below:
- Damien evaluating Rufina commended her on the great use of metaphors, visual aids and her friendly style. His recommendation was to vary the pace of the speech.
- Peter commended Samuel on how the speech was delivered with flair and how he’d made it personal with the use of pictures. Samuel was encouraged to keep going.
- Ahmed commended Stella on a strong opening to her speech, and her very powerful and convincing language in helping the audience imagine the plight of the endangered species. The recommendation given was to avoid using notes.
- Helen commended Femi (who had no predefined objectives) on holding the audience’s attention with an impromptu speech. His pauses reinforced the theme (silence), while the use of personal stories and quotes helped bring the speech together.
Table Topics
Carrie hosted the table topics (also referred to as impromptu speeches) for the evening which was themed around the changing of the curriculum in the schools by the government. The questions went to these willing participants:
- Noemi – What did you think of the education you received – will you recommend it?
- Jo – Enjoying a class at school is more about the teacher than the subject. Discuss.
- Martin – There is a growing obesity problem in the UK. How many hours of Physical Education should be built into the curriculum?
- Rajeev – Behaviour management is more of an issue today than before. Who should be responsible, the teacher or parent?
- Anthony – A renewed sense of British focus has been prescribed for the history curriculum with more focus on the kings and queens at the expense of international history. Is this a good thing or not?
- Helen – The strictest teachers are the best. Discuss.
Glen had the mantle of evaluating the table topics. His commendations included praise for launching straight into the answer, solid arguments, phenomenal voice and good reasoning. Recommendations given were to use the stage more, along with pauses and vocal variety.
Awards
The awards for the evening went to:
Best Prepared Speech: Stella for her emotional and sincere speech on the endangered turtles.
Best Evaluator: Glen for his evaluation of the table topics session.
Best Table Topic: Helen for her discussion about strict teachers.
President’s Award: This went to Jo for organising the evening’s programme under challening circumstances.
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Next meeting
Our next regular meeting will be held on Monday, 25th November 2013 upstairs at The Clerk & Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5DU.
Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.
