Written by Chantal
Introduction
On Monday 27 June we met upstairs at our regular venue, the Clerk and Well, for a regular meeting of Bloomsbury Speakers. We heard from four experienced speakers who inspired and enlightened us in turn while battling bravely against the noise of football supporters downstairs!
Roles
Member Margarita was Acting President for the evening, taking the opportunity to emphasise that whatever role a member carries out at Toastmasters, they receive valuable feedback. Member Henry was Toastmaster for the evening, praising the psychological power-boosting effect of applause, before introducing us to Raymond, Timekeeper. Raymond treated us to the historical fact that Lincoln’s Gettysburg address only lasted three minutes, thus reminding the club of the importance of keeping to schedule.
Prepared speeches
After opening remarks, the first speaker was Abraham, who delivered a No. 3 Speech entitled ‘Emotional Intelligence’. He explained how important emotional intelligence – encompassing skills like self-awareness and empathy – is in the workplace.
The second speaker of the night was Heleana, who delivered a No. 4 speech with the title ‘What Burning Man taught me about Love’. She recounted her experiences of the Burning Man Festival in Nevada and the lessons gained from it, including the joy of giving without the expectation of receiving.
The third speaker was Agnes, who gave a No. 5 speech with the title ‘Lingo Bingo’, launching a blistering argument against corporate jargon and providing the audience with a game to play in their next meeting at work.
The next prepared speech was delivered by Margarita, who gave a No. 8 speech entitled ‘Dolce Far Niente’. She appealed to the audience to revel in the sweetness of doing nothing, drawing on an anecdote of how a quick walk in the park boosted her performance at work afterwards.
After the break, we heard from the four evaluators who had been preparing feedback for the first batch of prepared speeches – Robert, Margarita, Swarajit and Matthew.
We then held a session of table topics, hosted by Peter F. Afterwards, we invited the Table Topics Evaluator, Heleana, to present feedback on each of the impromptu speeches we had just heard.
After the Timekeeper’s report, the visiting General Evaluator from Russian English Speakers, Roman, summarised the evening’s speaking and offered feedback for those who had not yet been evaluated.
Awards
Best Speaker: Margarita
Best Evaluator: Matthew
Best table topic: Piotr
Next meeting
Our next meeting will be on Monday 11 July from 7PM to 9.15PM at the Clerk and Well. Please get in touch at info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions!
