Written by Tracey
Introductions
Jo, current President of Bloomsbury Speakers, welcomed all guests to the meeting and explained that all members – whether old or new – attend meetings to improve their skills.
Jo then introduced the evening’s Toastmaster, Bronia. She explained her role and described Bloomsbury Speakers as a fun club. In her view, the most important part of public speaking is listening and providing feedback. She introduced her theme for the night which was “What is your favourite number?” She used functionaries’ and speakers’ responses of their favourite numbers while introducing them to the audience. She then introduced the night’s functionaries.
Michelle fulfilled the Timekeeper role, explaining her responsibilities as Timekeeper and the importance of completing speeches on time. She demonstrated the use of the traffic lights system, which signals timings for each speaker and recommended this role to new members starting out in Toastmasters.
Bronia then introduced Stella, the Grammarian for the evening. Her word of the day was “mantle” which refers to a responsibility passed on from one person to another. Her role was to watch out for fillers and note exemplary use of language and rhetoric in all speakers and to report on those at the end of the meeting.
Prepared speeches
The first was a No. 7 speech presented by Barnaby entitled “Malady”. Barnaby informed the audience of the facts and effects of cancer. He highlighted its prevalence in society and how the disease affects the body, as well the families of cancer suffers.
The second speaker, Hari, in his advanced speech entitled “A Mate, a Meal, and a Memory” told the audience an anecdote about his culinary disappointments when visiting a health-conscious friend in Norfolk.
Renars, the third speaker, delivered an advanced speech on rock climbing. Renars’s passionate speech was about the logistics of rock climbing. He told the audience about the pressures involved, and how the skills gained benefit other areas of his life.
The final speaker was Svetlana, delivering her speech No.7 entitled “Make it Shine Your Way”. Her speech focused on personal growth and achievement of happiness. She provided guidance on coming to terms with the past and achieving happiness through gratitude.
Evaluations
Peter F evaluated Barnaby’s No. 7 speech “Malady”. He commended his extensive use of facts and emotive language. Peter recommended that Barnaby improve the volume of his delivery.
Helen evaluated Hari’s advanced speech, praising his use of similes. She felt Hari exuded the confidence of an experienced speaker and recommended he use all his speaking time when delivering speeches.
Swarajit evaluated Renars’s advanced speech, commending his voice projection and stance. Swarajit commented that Renars used an exemplary informative style, despite the speech’s objective to persuade. He noted that Renars could improve his eye contact and include props to illustrate his points.
Tracey evaluated Svetlana’s No. 4 speech. She praised her unique use of metaphor, imagery and language; and use of triads to end her speech. She also commended her novel introduction and pace. Her recommendation was that Svetlana could improve her introduction by stating the theme of her speech.
Table topics
Egor, the Table Topics Master introduced his theme on mathematics.
- Peter L was asked “What is your favourite mathematical operation?”
- Elena was asked “Should we get rid of roman numbers?”
- Rhianna was asked “Where she would take a mathematician on a date?”
- Callum was asked “why there are so few female mathematicians?”
- Yoko was asked about a mathematical problem she had faced.
Kate, the Table Topics Evaluator, gave a balanced and encouraging evaluation of all speakers. She commented on the effectiveness of pauses and silence during impromptu speaking.
Conclusion
Grammarian Stella’s report contained some useful recommendations on language use, after which General Evaluator of the evening Joy from Clerkenwell Speakers provided a thorough and concise report.
Awards
Closing the meeting, President Jo handed out the awards based on the audience votes:
- Best Table Topic Speaker was awarded to Rhianna
- Best Evaluator was awarded to Kate
- Best Prepared Speech was awarded to Hari
- The President’s discretionary award went to Stella for her role as Grammarian
Next Meeting
Our next regular meeting will be held on Monday, 11th August, upstairs at the Clerk & Well pub, 156 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5DU. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
