Hello and welcome to the winter 2018 newsletter!
We had our last meeting of 2018 this week, but we have one more evening get-together up our sleeve – join us for an informal social from 6:30pm next Monday, 17th December. We’ll be at our old haunt The Clerk & Well, 156 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5DU which has some great Thai food. See you there!
It’s been an eventful few months for the club – not only did we move to our new venue The City Pride (arguably some way outside Bloomsbury itself), but our members had great success in the autumn Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests. Keep reading to find out what happened.
Moving with the times, we’ve also created a members-only WhatsApp group to share news of club events, including socials and last-minute roles that need filling at our meetings. It’s proven to be quite effective so far and we welcome feedback.
What’s in this newsletter?
- Autumn contests – the results!
- Spring contests – looking ahead
- Club socials
- Mentoring
- New members
Autumn contests – the results!
Margarita was our double champion in the club’s Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests and, after winning again at the area contests, she took her speech about an embarrassing addiction to reality TV all the way to the Division C finals!
Margarita after winning both contests at the Area level
Meanwhile, Helen also qualified through her corporate club at Google – again in both contests – to make it to the same finals as Margarita with a speech about her family heritage, telling us where she was really from.
Helen at the Division contest
The two of them did us proud – Margarita placed third in the Humorous Speech contest while Helen placed second in both the Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests – and both members were robbed of a higher placing in this author’s humble opinion!
Spring contests – looking ahead
They’re still a few months away, but it’s never too early to start thinking about the annual International Speech and Evaluation contests. The Evaluation contest requires all contestants to evaluate one speech given by a mystery speaker – this really pushes your critical thinking and evaluation skills to the limit, as you’ll have much less time to prepare than you do in a regular meeting (just 5 minutes), but it’s a great experience.
Meanwhile, the prestigious International Speech contest involves writing and delivering your own 5-7 minute speech on any subject, with the eventual winner being crowned World Champion of Public Speaking.
To be eligible for the International Speech contest, you need to have completed at least six speech projects from the Competent Communication manual or a minimum of two levels in a Toastmasters Pathway. All members are eligible to enter the evaluation contest.
Both contests will be held on the same night in March, so get preparing and practising!
Club socials
As mentioned above, we have one last informal meetup planned for next Monday, 17th December at The Clerk & Well – but regardless, it’s been another busy quarter for club socials at Bloomsbury Speakers.
In November we had a fun night of Scottish folk dancing at a ceilidh event in Camden, and last week we took an early leap on to the Christmas bandwagon with our festive meal – held jointly with our friends from Kings Cross Speakers. Much merriment was had by all!
We’re always happy to receive ideas for more social events, so do get in touch via socials@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk or the WhatsApp group with any suggestions you might have.
Mentoring
As members of Bloomsbury Speakers, many of us have benefitted from having a mentor within the club. A mentor is someone (usually a more experienced member of the club) who can give help and advice to guide you on your Toastmasters educational path. This can involve helping you draft your first speech, watching you practice and giving you immediate feedback or advising you how to prepare for functionary roles at club meetings.
If you’d like to become a mentor or benefit from having on yourself, feel free to get in touch via mentoring@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk.
Code of Conduct
Our club Code of Conduct has now been finalised – these are the basic rules we expect all our members and guests to follow to make Bloomsbury Speakers as friendly and supportive as possible.
- I will applaud every speaker
- I will listen to every speaker
- I will provide honest and constructive feedback to speakers when asked to do so
- I will help keep the meeting space tidy
- I will keep my phone on silent and otherwise avoid disrupting the meeting
- I will not pressure anyone to speak who does not want to speak
- I will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their age, race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or ability
- I will not cause discomfort to any guest or member, and I will step in if I see this happening to anyone else
- I will help to make Bloomsbury Speakers an inclusive and nurturing club
New members
Finally, please welcome our newest members Gabriele and Yassine as well as returning member Aislinn – she couldn’t stay away forever! Be sure to say hello to all three at a future meeting.
That’s all for this newsletter – see you at a meeting soon!
