Meeting Report for 6 June 2016
Written by Peter
Introduction
On Monday 06 June we met upstairs at our regular venue,
the Clerk and Well, for a regular meeting of Bloomsbury Speakers. We heard from four accomplished speakers who gave talks spanning the range of the Competent Communication manual.
Roles
Committee Member Peter acted as Toastmaster for the evening. He introduced us to Robert, the Timekeeper, who conveyed with humour the importance of the schedule. Peter also introduced us to the Grammarian, Stella, who gave a Word of the Day, ‘sunder’, and told us that she would note down any outstanding uses of language throughout the evening.
Prepared speeches
After opening remarks, the first speaker was Francesca, who delivered a No. 2 Speech entitled ‘What Goliath has to learn from David’.
The second speaker of the night was Clare, who delivered a No. 5 speech with the title ‘Get into your genes’. Clare used a Powerpoint presentation as a visual aid to demonstrate the intricacy of the human genome and how apparently minor alterations can change our character.
The third speaker was Heleana, who gave a No. 7 speech with the title ‘Health is Wealth’. Heleana explained that a greater focus on health had positively impacted her life, and encouraged us to do the same.
The next prepared speech was delivered by Olga, who gave a No. 8 speech entitled ‘Big Data and You’.
After the break, we heard from the four evaluators who had been preparing feedback for the first batch of prepared speeches – Swarajit, Abraham, Henry and Raymond.
We then held a session of table topics, hosted by Ash. Afterwards, we invited the Table Topics Evaluator, Helen, to present feedback on each of the impromptu speeches we had just heard.
After the Timekeeper’s report and a quiz on the content of the evening’s speeches from the Grammarian, the visiting General Evaluator from King’s Cross Speakers, Brian, summarised the evening’s speaking and offered feedback for those who had not yet been evaluated.
Awards
Best Speaker: Clare
Best Evaluator: Henry
Best table topic: Piotr
Next meeting
Our next meeting will be Monday 13 June at the Clerk and Well (though the venue may be subject to change). Please get in touch at info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions!
