Introductions
It was a sensational evening as the meeting started off on a festive note, being the first week of the Christmas season. Our president Swarajit assured us that Bloomsbury Speakers and Toastmasters as a whole provide a friendly atmosphere in which to practice speeches and make mistakes without any repercussions. He went on to encourage everyone to take up a mentor where you can get encouragement and direct feedback on your progress.
He handed the meeting over to Renars, our Toastmaster for the evening, who stressed the importance of Toastmasters as it’s become one of his greatest skills. He introduced the theme for the evening which was “How do you prepare for Christmas?” along with the functionaries – Rebecca, the Timekeeper, and Femi the Grammarian who gave us the word of the day, appreciate.
Prepared speeches
Kicking off the prepared speeches, Nathaniel started with his phenomenonal ice breaker speech entitled “Path to London” by giving us the gist of how some of Margaret Thatcher’s policies as Prime Minister led to his birth in Malaysia before coming back to England, even though his parents were resident in the UK. This, combined with travelling around the world, stirred up the desire to pursue his diverse interests.
With a No. 5 speech entitled “Christmas in Singapore” Peter declared himself a Christmas humbug. He took us through his memories of the festive season in Singapore as a young boy, particular the unforgettable year of 1966. During this year he got to decorate, deliver his mum’s scrumptious sweets and serve as the senior altar boy in church.
In her No. 6 speech, “The Story That Defines Us” Bronia reminded us of the fact that London can be a cold place both emotionally and physically. A lot is focused on developing individualism. However you can find people who have a common play or interest in a big crowd to connect with.
The final speaker, Glen, with his advance speech entitled “Going Pro for a Day” spoke about how he’d recently had the chance to really show off his speaking skills from Toastmasters in a professional context. He related his doubting moments and sleepless nights as he prepared to take his daunting role as an MC in front of 600 people successfully.
Evaluations
Moving on to the evaluations, the key tips from our evaluators were:
- Joe in evaluating Nathaniel, commended him on his grounded, articulate and polished speech. The recommendation given was to build on connecting with the audience.
- Rajeev commended Peter on his great conversational style, a well-paced story and the use of rhetorical devices. His recommendation was to make more use of movement, gestures and facial expressions.
- Kate in evaluating Bronia commended her on her warm smile and described her as a great storyteller and very likeable. The recommendation was to use more vocal variety in her speech.
- Nazia commended Glen on an engaging opening and how he took the audience through the journey of conquering his demons. The recommendation was to manage the time effectively.
Table Topics
The table topic speeches, hosted by Rufina, were based on the theme of the evening and the festive season.
- Femi spoke about how he’d make a difference in someone’s life this season.
- Jairzina was asked, if you won £6million this Christmas what would you do?
- Anna considered the question, if you had one wish this season what would it be?
- Paula was asked, if you had the opportunity to wine and dine with a star, who would it be?
- Egor considered which holiday destination he’d like to go to for Christmas.
- Svetlana was told she could have a job of her choosing as a Christmas present and asked what it would be.
Henry commended all of the table topics speakers in his evaluation:
- Femi as the connector, incredible at hand gestures and weaved around the question before answering.
- Jairzina as the elegant state person, good hand gestures and a well thought answer
- Anna as the brave heart, full of smiles and good body language.
- Paula as the professional, beautiful structure and a well rounded up speech.
- Egor the jazz talker, free style and danced around the question before answering.
- Svetlana as the linguist, confident and brave lady.
Recommendations given as a whole by Henry included not ending speeches abruptly, being too laid back, standing to one corner of the room and concentrating attention on the topics master.
Awards
The awards for the evening went to:
- Best Prepared Speech: Glen won the best speech.
- Best Evaluator: Henry won the best evaluator.
- Best Table Topic: It was a tie between Femi and Jairzina.
- President’s Award: This went to Rebecca for taking on her first functionary role.
Next meeting
Our next regular meeting will be held on Monday, 9th December 2013 downstairs The Real Man Pizza Company, 91-95 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5DU. This will be the last meeting of the year.
Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.
And finally…
We had a great time mingling with our friends from Clerkenwell Speakers and other toastmasters from around London at the Area 33 Christmas Social on Friday!
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