Hello and welcome to the March newsletter!
The build-up to contest season is picking up pace – ours is just a few days away now – so get yourself booked in to speak at our International Speech and Evaluation contests on Monday. Even if you’re not competing, we are still looking for a second timekeeper (no speaking, just checking contestants don’t get disqualified for going over on time) and two vote counters (get to know the result first!) so book yourself in on ClubPlan now. And of course we definitely need an enthusiastic audience on Monday night!
If you don’t have time to read the whole newsletter, you can skip to the bottom for a short summary of the main points.
What’s happened since the last newsletter?
February was short but sweet, but we packed in two regular meetings and an incredibly useful and well-received workshop from Simon Bucknall which I hope will encourage all who attended to enter the contests next week.
What’s planned for March?
Lots! The dates below are just those directly related to our club, but keep reading through the rest of the newsletter for even more exciting events this month:
- Monday, 9th March – International Speech & Evaluation Contest Night – At the time of writing, only three members have signed up for the International Speech contest, although we have six for the Evaluation contest! It’s not too late to enter either contest and, remember, that all members are eligible for the Evaluation contest, and there’s no preparation required, so get yourself booked in on ClubPlan for the chance to represent the Bloomsbury Speakers at the next level.
- Monday, 16th March – Regular Meeting – Our first club meeting this month. The programme is filling up but, incredibly there is still a speaking slot left plus an evaluation slot and, you could also grab one of the last couple of pre-bookable table topic slots on ClubPlan.
- Thursday, 19th March – Area 34 International Speech & Evaluation Contest – The winners from our club contests on the 9th will go on to compete against winners from the other clubs in our area of London. See immediately below for the details – registration is required to attend!
- Saturday 28th March – Division L International Speech & Evaluation Contest – I don’t have the location details yet but this will be somewhere in Central London. It’s usually a day of workshops and, of course, the contests and is a great learning opportunity as well as a chance to see some of London’s best Toastmasters competing against each other.
- Monday, 30th March – Regular Meeting – At the time of writing, there is the grammarian, an evaluator and table topic slots available – again, book yourself in on ClubPlan to make use of the opportunity.
Area 34 contest night – registration required and help needed!
Please go along to support the winners from our club contests (whoever they may be!) in the next round at the Area 34 contest night. The event is free to attend, but as it’s being held in a corporate building, pre-registration is essential – here are the full details:
Date: Thursday, 19th March
Time: 7pm-9pm
Venue: Transport for London, 55 Broadway, SW1H 0BD (directly above St. James’s Park tube station)
Registration: president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk
The contest organisers are also looking for judges, timekeepers and vote counters to help with running the event, so please volunteer for one of these roles when you register.
Tip of the Month – Include a “Call to Action”
Early in the Competent Communicator programme (speech project No. 3 in fact) we are taught to make sure our speeches always have a clear purpose. Is our intent to inform, to persuade, to inspire or simply to entertain?
For any speech, but particularly for one which is intended to be persuasive or inspiring, it can also be very useful to ask yourself: “What action do I want the audience to take?”
Consider this: I personally might describe a speech as persuasive, but is it truly persuasive if it doesn’t cause me to take some kind of action soon afterwards? I might find another speech inspiring and uplifting but ultimately if it doesn’t inspire me to make some kind of change, has it really delivered on the basic purpose?
This is why it can be very effective to include a “call to action” towards the end of your speech. Having successfully sustained the audience’s attention and emotions throughout the speech, try to direct that momentum towards a specific action at the end. Tell them what you want them to do, and make it easy for them to actually do it.
For example, if you’re trying to persuade people to lead a more active lifestyle, invite them to take an extra 10 minutes of light exercise every day and give them some quick and easy ways to achieve it.
If your inspirational speech is about the value of friendship, ask them to think of one old friend they haven’t spoken to yet this year and suggest that I make a mental commitment to call them this week.
Remember, the actions don’t have to be huge, but they do have to be specific and you do have to tell your audience that you want them carried out. If the action is simply implied, then it probably won’t be carried out.
That’s all for now. See you at the contest on Monday!
Jo Higham
President
Bloomsbury Speakers
Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know
- Our International Speech & Evaluation contest is on Monday, 9th March. Register as a contestant or functionary on ClubPlan.
- Our regular meetings in March are on the 16th and 30th and at the time of writing, there is one speech slot available on 16th on ClubPlan.
- The winners from our club contests will progress to the Area 34 finals from 7pm on Thursday, 19th March at 55 Broadway, SW1H 0BD (directly above St. James’s Park tube station). Registration via president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk is essential to attend.
- Saturday 28th March – Division L International Speech & Evaluation Contest – full details including location will be announced soon.
