Introduction
Swarajit, our President, opened the meeting by speaking about James Arthur – last year’s X Factor winner – and the fact that his lack of media training has reflected poorly on him. He, Swarajit suggested, is one more person who could benefit from the public speaking experience we gain at Toastmasters. Swarajit then introduced our Toastmaster for the evening, Ahmed.
- Stella – the Timekeeper – spoke poetically about time before explaining her role and the timings of the programme.
- Carrie – the Grammarian – introduced the word of the day, “utopian”, likening our Toastmasters club to a “modern day utopia in an otherwise soulless city.”
Prepared Speeches
Aislinn’s icebreaker, entitled, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got”, focused on the importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and develop dormant skills. Aislinn accomplished this through personal anecdotes about her Irish background, her career, and her friends’ reactions to her joining Toastmasters.
Rebecca also presented an icebreaker speech, recounting her life’s journey from Shropshire to Nottingham and then eventually London in search of bright lights.
Rajeev spoke passionately about road safety, citing recent accident statistics and reminding us all that each death is “one too many”. He called on all Londoners – pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike – to think in order to ensure safer roads for us all.
Paula spoke to us about our dreams, goals, aspirations and secret desires, all of which add fuel to each of our lives. She gave us examples of formidable women that she admires, reminding us all that, “You can do it!”
Evaluations
Jo commended Aislinn’s choice of a relatable topic, which she livened up by injecting humour and self-analysis and using a clear structure.
Henry was impressed with Rebecca’s confidence and sense of ease in front of the audience. Her use of “I” and “you” throughout the speech made it personal and conversational, creating a sense of intimacy.
Peter was confident that Rajeev had met the criteria for his speech as Rajeev is a very competent speaker. He recommended that Rajeev use his notes less and support his facts with punchy questions. He commended Rajeev’s powerful, thought-provoking language.
Bronia described Paula’s speech as “one of those speeches we all need to hear”. Whilst she thought Paula could have looked more confident and authoritative, Bronia was impressed with Paula’s storytelling skills and her powerful use of language, particularly repetition and sentence structure.
Table Topics
Renars – the Topicsmaster – introduced Table Topics as a useful skill for impressing a date and his or her friends. Even if you have no idea what he or she is talking about, you can still have something to say.
- Asked what he would do if he had to spend £3 million in 3 days, Henry said that he would invest and divest – buying things that had residual value whilst giving some to friends and to charity.
- Helen was asked what she would ask in a conversation with Napoleon. She focused humorously on his reputation for having been short.
- If Nathaniel had superpowers for a day, he said that he would be Spider-Man – jumping, climbing, having fun and building webs.
- Simon humorously enacted his response to a phone invitation from David Beckham for a game of football, using his mobile phone as a prop.
- Afsana explored possible uses for invisibility, including spying on her friends, but also benevolent uses that could help people.
- Josina was asked what celebrity she would like to be for a week. She chose Michelle Obama, because she would like to get involved in the initiatives she’s involved in, and to help others.
Joe carefully evaluated each topics speaker, giving commendations, recommendations and more commendations for each.
Reports
Carrie reminded us that if you didn’t use the word of the day in the meeting you can try to use it in the rest of the week. She also gave examples of beautiful language used throughout the meeting.
Our general evaluator for the evening was Gary, President of our sister club, Holborn Speakers. Gary evaluated each of the functionaries giving both commendations and recommendations. In particular, he reminded us that every role is an opportunity to speak and should be treated as a speech.
Awards
- Aislinn and Rebecca each received an Icebreaker award for beginning their journey at Toastmasters.
- Ahmed earned the President’s award for helping set up the room and for doing a great job as Toastmaster for the evening.
- Best Evaluator was a tie between Jo and Joe.
- Best Table Topic went to Helen.
- Best Prepared Speech went to Paula.
Next Meeting
Our next regular meeting will be held on Monday, 02 December at the Real Man Pizza Co, 91-95 Clerkenwell Rd.
Doors open at 6.30pm for a prompt 6.45pm start.
