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Meeting Report 10th August

10th August

 

Terrific speakers took to the stage yesterday, lead on by Rufina Daah, our Toastmistress for the evening.
This was not Rufina’s first time in the role and her comfort was evident: she chaired the meeting with confidence and humor, and dealt admirably with the unexpected.

 

Sean McKenna bluffed us all with a speech 2 that sounded  much more advanced. He warned us about the deceptive side of fake honey with a speech entitled ‘Nutritional Robbery’… We all took note. In a funny little twist, he later was evaluated by a fellow hay fevered honey lover, who had previously made a speech about bees.

 

Egor Shipovalov, ever the wordsmith, told us tales of tenor tessiture ( see what I did here?)

 

Hari Kalymnios: tried out the latest version of his competition speech entitled ‘Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living’ which managed to convince a few  members of the audience to take on Vipassana meditation.

 

Monday’s meeting also saw the return of our Stella Meadows as grammarian who showed no sign of nerves after her 5 month hiatus.

As ever, the masterfully tut-tutted our filler words and applauded our metaphors, similes and other rhetorical devises.

 

Our timekeeper Michell McNicholas handled her gavel with authority and Sarah Peacy introduced our many guests with a welcoming smile.

 

During the second part of our meeting we heard Peter Francis, Sheldon Dee and Femi Asaolu evaluate the prepared speech.

We then moved on to table topics presented by our quirky Swarajit Das who followed up on Rufina’s holiday theme of the night.

Eight lucky souls were asked to recall their best and worst holidays, how far they would go to get an upgrade etc…

 

It was GE Anis Qizilbash’s second time evaluating our club and we hope to see her back very soon indeed.

 

Next meeting is on 24th August.

 

Meeting Report for 27 July 2015

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Written by Svetlana

Another energizing rendezvous of like-minded people at Bloomsbury Speakers Toastmasters Club celebrating the charisma – took place on 27 July!
One half-milestone – No.5 – speech and three advanced speeches were on the agenda!

Emma S. surprised us with still another facet of her personality and life of a surfer. We experienced ups and downs of a very spiritual journey through motion pictures, which she created with her speech and body language.

Svetlana R. presented her new speech project as advanced double-interpretive reading of her translation of a humourous short story “About Cat Basia” by Alexey Berezin.

Rufina D. took everybody through a personal experience of wrong choice of Maid of Honour (turned into Maid of Horror) and its consequences and concluded with some valuable advice.

With Helen H. we literally immersed ourselves in the exotic childhood horror tales of West Indies with all the scary ghosts and spirits told with masterful imagery and colourful language.

The whole evening was beautifully summarised by the Grammarian Alefiya from the point of view of the language use and then by our phenomenal last minute serendipity GE Damian Chapman! Normally, we have our GEs booked several months in advance but 27 July was that special day when we were destined to discover Damian.

There were a few more discoveries during the Table Topics session – our guests Peter and Jake’s impromptu answers sounded like very well prepared speeches- both uplifting and insightful. All guests did well giving it a courageous go in standing up and facing the audience.

Our evaluators Robert W., Paul F., Zita M., Swarajit D. and Bronia K. added that special value to the evening providing commendations and recommendations in the form of brilliant speeches.

President Helen H., Toastmaster of the evening Egor S. Timekeeper Peter F., Sergeant and Arms Zita M. and our Table Topics Master Tracey A. produced a wonderful and unique evening of intellectual and emotional entertainment and personal growth for all of us.

Best speech award was voted in favour of Helen H. Best evaluator award went to Paul F. Best table topic award went to our guest Jake.

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting is on Monday, 10th of August upstairs at The Clerk and Well, 156 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5DU. Doors open at 6:30pm.

 

Meeting Report for 22 June 2015

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Written by Svetlana

Introduction

Bloomsbury Speakers Club hosted its regular meeting on Monday 22th June 2015 with an enthusiastic opening from President-in-Waiting Helen!

Prepared Speeches

After the Introduction, Helen handed the meeting over to the Toastmaster of the Evening, Hari, who introduced the theme of the day, which words of wisdom we would give to the dear ones as a farewell. A very dramatic question was handled mainly with humour and wit. 

Functionaries of the day were: Michelle, the Timekeeper, and Sarah, the Grammarian, who introduced the word of the day “audacious”.

There were four prepared speeches on the agenda. The first speaker was Paul who delivered his No. 1 Icebreaker Speech, entitled “Father’s Day”, which was a great story about two generations of fathers – his own father and the kind of father he was to his sons. While being a personal story with some dramatic moments, it also had lots of humour and poetry intertwined. Zita delivered her No. 2 speech project entitled “Disconnected in the Connected World” and Sheldon’s No. 3 speech “Coping with Semantic Flux” were both quite educational and surprised us with rich language and paradoxes. Alefiyah’s Speech No. 4 The Cultural Identity of a BBCD – British Born Confused Desi” was packed with quite exotic blend of episodes and details from her rich background and family stories and facts and prove that there is no easy answer to a simple question such as “Where are you originally from?”.

We had warmly hosted guest introductions from Swarajit and thorough evaluations from Tracey, Peter, Bronia, and Svetlana.

Table topics

The table topics session was conducted by Rufina who asked well thought questions, which revealed some ingenuity we have in the club. In particular, Swarajit, as a UN peace keeper, would introduce a ceremonial cake eating as a peace making procedure between leaders of countries at war. Paolo’s advice to disadvantaged teenagers would be to develop their personalities, gain education and not to be after easy money. Peter R.’s parting advice to his daughter who is getting married, would be to remain true to herself. The question “Your son/best friend who is insistent on moving to Australia,  what will be your words of wisdom to him?” was answered by India. The question “You work for a charity that deals with offenders in prison. Your assignment is to impact words of wisdom to these offenders. What would you say to them?” went to Harriet. “If you had to part with all your belongings except one, which one item would it be & why?” was answered by Sarah-Anne, who shared a heart-felt story from her life. “The London black cab drivers are demonstrating again. After your recent incident of swearing at a black cab driver blasted all over the news you still have to give a speech to these drivers as the Mayor of London. What would you say?” was bravely handled by Peter F.  Melanie shared with us one of her favorite quotes  of all times & why it was her favourite.

Egor gave a concise and informative evaluation for topics speakers with some useful analysis and tips for improvement.

Grammarian Sarah’s report was quite substantive.

Andy provided an excellent and thorough general evaluation of the evening with recommendations to all functionaries of the evening and evaluators who were not evaluated.

Awards

Icebreaker ribbon has handed to Paul; best speaker award was handed to Zita; best evaluator award went to Tracey, and best impromptu speech award went to Sarah Ann!

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting is on Monday, 13th of July upstairs at The Clerk and Well, 156 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5DU. Doors open at 6:30pm. 

June Newsletter: Thank You (not goodbye!) and joining your Leadership Committee

Hello and welcome to the June newsletter!

This is my final newsletter as Pesident of Bloomsbury Speakers as the Toasmasters year ends at the end of June and a new President and Committee take over.  In anticpation of this handover I’d like to thank Helen, Svetlana, Michelle, Rebecca, Tracey, Peter and of course my predecessor Swarajit for all their hard work – they have all been dedicated to cementing our reputation as one of the most well run and friendly clubs in London. If you are interested in following in their footsteps you will find more details below.

I also want to thank all our members, whose great enthusiasm and supportive attitude makes each meeting a fun and educative session.

Even though I’ll miss being President, I’m really looking forward to getting back into some of the other roles during our meetings, like Topicsmaster, evaluator and of course, Toastmaster.

If you don’t have time to read the whole newsletter, you can skip to the bottom for a short summary of the main points.

What’s happened in May?

Lots! As usual in May our regular meeting dates of 2nd and 4th Mondays needed to be switched around because of the bank holidays but we still managed great turn outs to hear an Icebreaker from new member Rachel and an inspiring speech from Emma on taking a leap of faith.

We also changed our usual agenda on its’ head in the final meeting of the month with table topics in the first half of the meeting This was so we could hold a  20 minute Moments of Truth workshop in the second half which effectively holds a mirror up to Bloomsbury as a club.  Members and guests broke out into small groups to assess what Bloomsbury does well and what it could do better around a variety of themes.  Some great feedback was given and suggestions were noted down so the club can continue improving!

What’s planned for June?

  • Monday, 8th  June – Regular Meeting – Our first club meeting this month (and my last as President as I am on holiday for the second meting in June). The programme is filling up but the timekeeper role is still available and you could also grab one of the last couple of pre-bookable table topic slots on ClubPlan.  PLEASE NOTE THIS MEETING WILL NOW BE HELD DOWNSTAIRS AT THE LIBERTY & FREE SPEECH PIZZA HOUSE – OPPOSITE THE CLERK & WELL PUB.
  • Monday, 22nd June – Regular Meeting – At the time of writing, there is availablity on ClubPlan for a Timekeeper, Grammarian, Evaluator, Meeting Reporter and for a Sergeant at Arms to greet and introduce the guests.

What is the Meeting Reporter role?

This is a role which has always existed but is now being given status as a functionary role.  You may have noticed that you get Meeting Reports after each meeting.  This role is to mke notes or record the meeting (whatever works for you) and then write up the meeting report in word later that week before passing it to the VP PR to review and publish.  How long does it take to write?  I have gone home from a meeting and written it in just over an hour as it’s fresh in my mind but if you are a non-native speaker it my take longer. But as Emma S said when she recently undertook the role ‘It really makes you listen to the entire meeting and you get so much more out of it’

Having this as a functionary role means it DOES count as the functionary role you must do between prepared speeches so why not sign up and give it a try?

Tip of the Month: Join your leadership committee

Joining the club’s committee is a fantastic way of gaining and putting in to practice those leadership skills that you may not have the chance to work on in your day job – and, just like a regular meeting, a Toastmasters committee is a safe and friendly environment in which to do so. There are roles to suit all levels of skills, experience and time commitment and, not only will you have the opportunity to pick up new skills as well as refine existing ones, but you’ll also have a direct impact on the day-to-day running of your club.

Bloomsbury Speakers’ committee is currently recruiting its successors for the next Toastmasters year (which runs from 1st July to 30th June). Some members have already expressed an interest in certain roles, which is great as we want people who are enthusiastic! However, if you’re not sure what the different roles on the committee actually entail, here’s a quick summary:

Sergeant at Arms (Incumbent: Michelle) The SAA is in charge of logistics. They are responsible for:

  • enlisting others to help them prepare the venue for each meeting and also clear up afterwards;
  • welcoming guests as they arrive at each meeting and running (or delegating) the guest introductions section of the programme;
  • organising club socials and liaising with venue management on behalf of the club.

Treasurer (Incumbent: Rebecca)  The treasurer holds responsibility for the club’s finances. Their duties include:

  • keeping track of the club’s income and expenditure to ensure financial stability;
  • paying dues and other costs on behalf of members to Toastmasters International;
  • making sure members pay their renewal fees to the club on time.

Secretary (Incumbent: Peter F)  The club secretary is responsible for club administration, particularly with regards to committee meetings and decision making. Responsibilities include:

  • arranging and communicating the dates, times and venues for forthcoming committee meetings;
  • recording and circulating the minutes and action points from club committee meetings;
  • ordering stationery and equipment (with permission of the treasurer) on behalf of the club.

Vice President Public Relations (Incumbent: Svetlana) The VP Public Relations is responsible for raising the club’s profile and attracting new guests e.g. via social media. Regular tasks will include:

  • putting a team together to help write up the meeting reports after each regular meeting and contest;
  • keeping the club’s website and Meetup page up-to-date, along with other media;
  • maintaining the club’s guest book and mailing list and sending out e-mail campaigns.

Vice President Membership & Mentoring (Incumbent: Tracey) The VP Membership & Mentoring converts guests into happy members! They will do this by:

  • keeping track of the membership waiting list and inviting an appropriate number of guests to join as new members each month;
  • ensuring that new members have all the information they need when they first join;
  • assigning a mentor to each new member and monitoring their relationship.

Vice President Education (Incumbent: Helen) The VP Education is the second most senior position on the committee and is responsible for putting the programme together for each meeting along with keeping track of the educational progress of individual members and the club as a whole. Regular responsibilities will include:

  • ensuring all the speech slots and functionary roles (including general evaluators) are filled for every meeting and arranging printing of the programme;
  • tracking individual members’ progress through their communication and leadership manuals and submitting educational achievements to Toastmasters International;
  • administration of ClubPlan and enlisting the help of other members in organising club contests.

President (Incumbent: Jo) The president has overall responsibility for the successful running of the club by supporting committee members in their roles (including all of the above) as well as opening and closing every meeting, writing these newsletters and helping the club meet its goals in the Distinguished Club Programme – and much more besides!

Intrigued by what you’ve read here? Well, why not consider joining the next committee in July? It’s a great way of giving back to the club and you’ll be certain to benefit immensely from the experience yourself. If you’re interested in filling any of the roles above in the coming year, feel free to contact the incumbent member directly or write to president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk to express your interest – and if you’re a member of another club, get involved there too!

 

Key facts – just the stuff you really need to know

  • Our first regular meeting of the month is on the 8th June downstairs at the Liberty and Free Speech Pizza House across the road from the Clerk and Well.  The timekeeper slot is still available as is Meeting Reporter and, as ever, please get there early if you can to help set up the room.
  • Our second regular meeting of the month is on the 22nd June. At the time of writing, there is availablity on ClubPlan for a Timekeeper, Grammarian, Evaluator, Meeting Reporter and for a Sergeant at Arms to greet and introduce the guests.
  • The Meeting Reporter Role is now live on ClubPlan.  This role writes up the Meeting Report we publish after each meeting. As a functionary role it DOES count as the functionary role you must do between prepared speeches so why not sign up and give it a try?
  • The club’s committee is looking for its successors to take over in July. Contact any of the current committee members or president@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you’re interested in taking on any of the leadership roles.

Newsletter written by Jo

PS Apologies for any typos but I’m writing this on my Dad’s clunky old PC which has a few keys that stick!!!

Meeting Report for 30 March

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Written by Svetlana

Introduction

Bloomsbury Speakers Club hosted its regular meeting on Monday 30th March 2015 with an enthusiastic opening from President Jo.

Prepared Speeches

After the Introduction, Jo handed the meeting over to the Toastmaster of the Evening, Peter L., who introduced the theme of the day jokes and pranks we like or we are good at in view of the upcoming 1 April Fool’s Day  . 

Femi introduced the functionaries of the day: Sarah the Timekeeper and Tracey, the Grammarian, introduced the word of the day “confounded”; she encouraged the use of rhetorical devices and reduce the amount of filler words.

There were four prepared speeches on the agenda. The first speaker was Conor who delivered a quite entertaining and informative No. 1 Icebreaker Speech, entitled “It’s Easy, Right?” devoted to his mixed experiences of public speaking, which he finalised encouraging us to open up topics discouraged from Toastmasters, such as politics, religion and sex.

Emma delivered her No.3 speech entitled “Women in Technology” – started off with a quiz to check our knowledge of famous names just to show us how biased we are as we could hardly name any women in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Emma organised her speech as past: Ada Lovelace, first computer programmer,  Daphne Oram, creator of electronic sounds; present – Lauren Melanie, lead engineer of iPhone, Jess Lee, Google Maps creator; and future of technology – Gloria, the 8 year old London STEM school student, the code cracker. Emma expressed her wish that the future will not be about gender, but about people in technology.

Flavia gave her International Contest speech entitled “The Script” in which she related a dramatic personal story of a relationship where her own faith and support from close friends and family brought her to the idea that if the script of your life is not working for you change it rather than breaking yourself. 

We had warmly hosted guest introductions from Michelle and well-balanced and well-structured thorough evaluations from Egor, Axel, and Bronia.

Table topics

The table topics session was conducted by Alefiyah, who offered the impromptu speakers a variety of questions.

“In life you often come across revelations, or epiphanies, which change our course of life. Which epiphany would you rather be?” went to Swarajit, who chose to be Darwin’s Theory.

“If you were a television what would your day be like?” went to Milo, who assumed the role quite easily and described several different highlights of being a TV set in a hotel or office foyer, at old persons’ home, at average family home, and gave us more than one chance to have a hearty laugh.

“If you were a house what kind of house would you like to be?” went to Olga who among so many choices chose to be a house for positive and caring people.

“If you were a celebrity what would you be famous for and why?” went to Sean, who said he would be David Beckham, because he, as an amateur football player is kicked all the time whether he is playing well or not. So, it would be good to enjoy fame and money while having that.

“If you were a political party what would be your philosophy?” went to Helen who said all current parties don’t provide what they are promising and she would be a party, which would promise anything voters want to vote for just to be elected.

“If you were car what kind of car would you be?” went to Axel who being originally from Sweden, would be a stylish car of Ferrari or Porsche or Aston Martin provided he gets his driving licence later this year.

Carrie gave an impressively thorough and informative evaluation for each of the topics speakers, which was well articulated and with good humour and language throughout.

Grammarian Tracey’s report was accepted with great attention as she evaluated speakers from the point of view of English language usage.

Florian provided an excellent and upbeat general evaluation of the evening providing recommendations to all functionaries of the evening and evaluators who were not evaluated.

Awards

Icebreaker ribbon has handed to Conor; best speaker award was handed to Flavia; best evaluator award went to Carrie; and best impromptu speech award went to Milo!

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting is on Monday, 13th of April upstairs at The Clerk and Well, 156 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5DU. Doors open at 6:30pm.

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