Introduction
Bloomsbury Speakers held their latest regular meeting on Monday 9th October at Wedge Issue Pizza. Four brilliant speeches were followed by a table topics session which got us laughing from beginning to end!
Roles
The meeting kicked off with a welcome speech from the President of the Club Peter R who reminded everyone that Toastmasters is about learning to communicate, but also to interact with people and to inspire others. Toastmaster Matt then took over the reins of the meeting and introduced the theme of the evening – “danger”. He started by describing a near death experience he had on a plane to Panama but stopped abruptly and invited us all to be present for his next speech in November to find out more! He introduced Grammarian Andy and Timekeeper Swarajit.
Prepared speeches
The first speech was by Yamina with her Competent Communicator Speech #3 “All is Knowledge”. She questioned what knowledge is and whether it really all boils down to what we are taught in school. We can learn a great deal from family, oral traditions… even bad dates! Knowledge is all around us and we should accept it in whatever form it comes to us.
The second speaker was Luisa was her Competent Communicator Speech #4 “The Power of Now”. Luisa explored the causes of modern stress and gave us some tips on how to deal with it. She recommended that we all integrate some mindfulness into our lives to give ourselves a break from our constant internal monologue.
Next to speak was Raymond with his Competent Communicator Speech #5 “Things Can Only Get Better”, who described the worst day of his life. After injuring himself during a hiking accident in Canada, getting fined for drinking a pint and walking for miles with a blood-drenched shirt, he went to sleep in his tent happy that the day was over… before a bear entered to steal his stuff!
The last speech was Competent Communicator Speech #7 “Why Good Food is Good” by Julian. Julian took us on a multi-sensory journey whilst recalling the best meal he ever had, which was in Bali at a French-Indonesian restaurant. We were left feeling very hungry indeed! Julian also gave his official goodbyes to the club, as he would be moving to Australia at the weekend – good luck Julian!
Lei then led the guest introductions.
Table Topics
After the break, we heard from the four speech evaluators – Sheldon, Helen, Rupert and Michelle.
Chantal then led a fantastic table topics session, in which Andy, Sheldon, Leanne, Julian, Rupert, Ed and Matt participated. Highlights included Sheldon’s explanation of the meaning of the word “bumfuzzle” and the biggest mystery ever existed according to Julian, i.e. who founded the Wedge Issue Pizza all those years ago!
Lei evaluated all table topics speakers.
Grammarian Andy then updated us on how many times the word of the day “apocryphal” had been used – unsurprisingly…. not many!
Finally, visiting General Evaluator Alex evaluated our club and the meeting.
To say we did not enjoy the meeting would be an incredibly apocryphal statement!
Awards
Best Speaker: Raymond
Best Evaluator: Helen
Best Table Topic: Leanne
Next meeting
The next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 23rd October 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills and enjoy delicious free pizza!
Please feel free to get in touch at info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.
