What’s in this newsletter?
- Public speaking in lockdown
- A member’s experience
- Contest news
- Puzzled by Pathways?
- Next meetings
- And finally…
Public speaking in lockdown
The “new normal” shows no signs of going away, and Bloomsbury Speakers intends to continue with online meetings for the foreseeable future – but this isn’t bad news! Many of us also have to attend our work meetings and even job interviews online too, so Toastmasters meetings are still perfect practice for public speaking in the real world. The real world has changed and we’ve simply changed with it – but, of course, we still provide the safe and encouraging environment and constructive feedback from other members that we always have.
What’s more, you now have the chance to attend meetings at clubs all around the world from the comfort of your own home, or indeed anywhere you please. Have you ever given a speech at 1 o’clock in the morning?! It’s also a great way of feeling more connected if you’re quite isolated at this time.
To support people during this difficult period, the club’s committee has taken the decision to reduce our membership fees, so now is the perfect time to join or re-join as a member. See our website for more details: https://www.bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk/join.
A member’s experience
We’ve been asking some of our members to tell us why they joined Bloomsbury Speakers and why they continue coming after so long. Here’s the 3-minute version of Helen’s story.
If you can’t see the video above, please view it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gzTtYZlkeyM?t=1.
We’d love to hear about your own experiences of personal development and how you think Toastmasters could help you further, so please get in touch. In the meantime, do have a read of what our president Yamina has had to say about her journey: Get on the stage, tell your story.
Contest news
It’s contest season up and down the country and our members have been rising to the challenge of competing online. In the club’s Humorous Speech contest, Yassine joked about his identity as a French-Moroccan in the UK and the pressures of turning 30, while Swarajit gave a speech about a possible impending robot uprising that would be far scarier than any shown in the movies!
The results were:
- 1st place – Yassine
- 2nd place – Swarajit
In the Table Topics contest, Kamakshi, Swarajit, Yassine, Mara and Matt were each asked on-the-spot to give a 1-2 minute impromptu speech on why 2020 has been the best year ever! It was a challenging question, but everyone gave their own unique and fascinating response.
The results were:
- 1st place – Matt
- 2nd place – Yassine
- 3rd place – Mara
Swarajit and Matt went on to represent the club at the Area C2 finals (with Yassine qualifying for the next round in a different area through his second club, Experience French). Swarajit again placed second in the Humorous Speech area contest, while Matt went on to (again!) win the Table Topics contest. Congratulations!
Matt qualifies for the Division C final which will be held on Saturday, 31st October and you can register to watch and support him at this link.
Yassine’s area contest will be on Thursday, 22nd October and you can register to attend at this link.
Puzzled by Pathways?
Pathways is the Toastmasters educational programme that all members follow to improve their public speaking and leadership skills. It currently offers a choice of 11 different paths including Presentation Mastery, Engaging Humour and Visionary Communication.
Each path is made up of 5 levels in which the projects let you gradually build up core skills in public speaking, interpersonal communication, strategic leadership, management and confidence.
The new system may seem daunting at first for our longer-serving members, but it’s actually relatively straightforward when you look into it. For example, Level 1 is identical for every path and so everyone starts in exactly the same way with the same three projects:
We’ll include further tips on Pathways in future newsletters, but why not get started today by following the links above? And why not book in your next (or first) Pathways speech slot straight away on our meeting management site at ToastmasterClub.org?
As an added incentive, the club is also offering up prizes to those members who perform the most speeches and roles for the rest of the year – it’s going to be a closely run race, so don’t wait to get started. We’re really looking forward to hearing your speeches!
Next meetings
Our next meetings will be on the 12th and 26th of October from 6:45pm, and will be held online using Zoom. Please register on our Meetup or Eventbrite pages to receive the login details and a reminder nearer the time. Guests are always welcome to attend.
And finally…
Bloomsbury Speakers has a new mascot – meet Peter the Pangolin! As a gift to our immediate past president Margarita, and the club as a whole, our current president Yamina has adopted a pangolin family on our behalf at a conservation project in the Central African Republic.
Pangolins are the most trafficked animals in the world and we are now helping Born Free to protect them in the wild from trade and exploitation.
We received a certificate and a stuffed toy for our generosity, so please give our new honorary member a warm welcome at our next meeting!
