Introduction
Our last meeting on Monday 11th June was fun and engaging: we listened to three fantastic prepared speeches, we enjoyed a great table topics session and we treated ourselves to a drink and a pizza after the meeting!
Roles
Standing in for the President of the Club, Atul welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited us to be more like George Bernard Shaw – who became a great public speaker by persevering through his fear of presenting – rather than Atul’s cat, who is constantly scared and hides under a kitchen cabinet. He introduced Toastmaster Lei who ran through the agenda and called up Timekeeper Stirling and Harkmaster Sarah.
Prepared speeches
The first speaker was Michael with his Ice Breaker Speech “Growing Pains”. Michael gave us a great insight into his personal experience of growing up during university, and invited us to reflect on what it really means to grow up. Is it really about making money and having stable relationships, or is it perhaps more about managing expectations?
Next to speak was Rupert with his Competent Communicator Speech #4 “Becoming British”. Rupert spoke to us about how, fourteen years after arriving in the UK, he was finally granted a British passport. Disappointed with the speech the Mayor gave to mark the occasion, Rupert treated us to an alternative version: a frank and hilarious account of British life.
Last to speak was Andy with his Competent Communicator Speech #5 “Wake Up”. With so many of us suffering from sleep deprivation, Andy gave us some very useful tips on how to fall asleep in two minutes, a technique developed for the benefit of the Army. He even got us to practice on the spot – luckily, nobody dozed off!
Sofia then led the guest introductions.
Table Topics
After the break, we heard from the evening’s evaluators – Luisa, Swarajit and Margarita.
After that, Table Topics Master Paloma led an engaging table topics session, and Matt, TingTing, Abe, Kamakshi, Tylfe and Sara participated. Highlights included Matt comparing London to a fast-moving tortoise and Kamakshi admitting to having to drag her husband out for dinner!
Sheldon then evaluated all table topic speakers.
Harkmaster Sarah then tested our attention by asking us questions about the meeting and rewarding correct answers with delicious chocolates!
Finally, visiting General Evaluator Chris evaluated our club and the meeting.
Awards
Best Speaker: Andy
Best Evaluator: Luisa
Best Table Topic: Kamakshi
Next meeting
Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 25th June 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills!
Please feel free to get in touch at info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.
