Introduction

Our last meeting was on Monday 21^st May. We enjoyed four high-quality prepared speeches and a table topics session about artistic and scientific discoveries.

Roles

Peter R, President of the Club, opened the meeting by reminding us that being members of Toastmasters is a great way of becoming excellent communicators. He then handed over the reins of the meeting to Toastmaster Sarah who explained the agenda and introduced Timekeeper Lei and Grammarian Scott. Scott chose “ambiguous” as the word of the day.

Prepared speeches

First to speak was Andy with his Competent Communicator Speech #4 “The Greatest Briton”. Andy spoke about a more secret side of Winston Churchill, one which believed in a racial hierarchy and used racist beliefs as a basis for developing policies. Andy commented that the idealisation of Churchill to this day is likely to perpetuate the injustices of the past.

The second speaker was Chantal with her Storytelling Speech #2 “Scar Tissue”. Chantal delivered a personal and heart-felt speech about a water skiing accident her father had on the island of Majorca when she was a teenager. Now that her father has recovered and continues to water ski, Chantal keeps thinking about how lucky her family was to escape tragedy.

Third to speak was Sheldon with his Entertaining Speaker Speech #2 “You Don’t Know Me”. By explaining two experiments which had taken place at a summer camp in the US and at a university, Sheldon concluded that many of us believe we know more about others than others know about us. This is also because we tend to exhibit different personalities when in a group.

Last to speak was Helen with her Speaking to Inform Speech #2 “Who are the Windrush Generation and Why Should I Care”. Helen gave a brief powerpoint presentation on the current situation affecting the Windrush Generation and urged us to react by contacting the Home Office, contacting our local MPs and/or supporting the Windrush Justice Fund.

Luisa then led the guest introductions.

Table Topics

After the break, we heard from the evening’s evaluators – Michelle, Stirling, Peter and Atul.

After that, Table Topics Master Swarajit led a great table topics session, and Stirling, Roland, Farri, Stella, Han, Luisa and Andy participated. Highlights included Stirling predicting that humans will be less hairy in the future, and Stella concluding that washing up liquid is a pretty useless discovery compared to dishwashers!

Grammarian Scott then reported on the great uses of language during the meeting.

Finally, visiting General Evaluator Henry evaluated our club and the meeting.

Awards

Best Speaker: Helen

Best Evaluator: Atul

Best Table Topic: Stirling

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 11^th 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.

Introduction

Our last meeting was on Monday 23^rd April: we enjoyed five excellent prepared speeches and a thought-provoking table topics session.

Roles

President of the Club Peter R reminded us that the ambition of any Toastmasters member should be to become a world class speaker. He then introduced Toastmaster Atul who shared his personal experience to highlight that success is about not giving up and believing in yourself. He then called up Timekeeper Raphael and Grammarian Andy, who announced “esoteric” as the word of the day.

Prepared speeches

The first speaker was Stirling with his Ice Breaker Speech “Everybody Wants to Do Something Good”. Stirling talked to us about his career so far and the years spent living all over the world in search of an environmentally-friendly job. He now works for a bank which finances clear energy projects, and has no intention of leaving London!

The second speaker was Miro with his Competent Communicator Speech #2 “Escape from Reality”. Miro gave us some very useful tips on how to begin “lucid dreaming”, which means being aware of our dream state and manipulating our dreams in a conscious way. He even told us that controlling our dreams can be a good way to get to know the more unconscious layers of our personality!

Third to speak was Lei with her Competent Communicator Speech #3 “Be Authentic”. In keeping with the title, Lei admitted she had not prepared her speech and wanted it to be as spontaneous as possible. She talked to us about the barriers to being authentic, and the courage it took her to have her first honest conversation with her mother.

Margarita then led the guest introductions.

After the break we heard from the fourth speaker, Scott, with his Competent Communicator Speech #7 “The Lindy Effect”. Scott talked us through the concept that the future life expectancy of some non-perishable things is proportional to their current age. According to this theory, if you are unsure which new movie to watch or new book to read, just go for the oldest!

Last to speak was Chantal with her Storytelling Speech #1 “Brother Bear”. Chantal told us the heart-warming tale of a human with a hatred for bears who was, as a punishment, transformed into a bear himself. The experience taught him love and compassion and, when the time came to become a human again, he opted to remain a bear!

Toastmaster Atul then led a group evaluation session, in which all attendees evaluated the five speakers.

Table Topics

Table Topics Master Luisa then led a table topics session on the subject of public speaking, and James, Max, Swarajit, Mary, Paloma and Jackie participated. Highlights included Swarajit keeping us up to speed with all the shouting matches he’s had over the years!

Grammarian Andy then reported that three people had managed to squeeze the word of the day into their speeches, and announced the winners of the “Ums and Ahs Award”, which went to those who had managed to avoid using filler words.

Finally, visiting General Evaluator Gill evaluated our club and the meeting.

Awards

Best Speaker: Scott

Best Table Topic: Max, Swarajit and Paloma

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 14^th May 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.

Introduction

We enjoyed another great meeting on Monday 9^th April, where we heard four high-quality speeches and participated in a fun table topics session.

Roles

Peter R, President of the Club, welcomed everyone to the meeting and pointed out that we are all part of Toastmasters to become world class speakers. He then introduced Toastmaster Chantal, who gave us an explanation of the history of “toast” (the food), talked us through the agenda and introduced Timekeeper Jamie and Grammarian Luisa, who chose “implacable” as the word of the day.

Prepared speeches

First to speak was Raphael with his Ice Breaker Speech “Two Degrees of Separation”. Raphael talked to us about his siblings, his love of backpacking and his past habit to shy away from public speaking opportunities. Regarding the last point, he is definitely set on changing that!

The second speaker was Yamina with her Competent Communicator Speech #5 “Little Red Riding Headscarf”. Revisiting a famous tale, Yamina talked about the story of a little girl who, unlike all her other friends, always wore a headscarf instead of a hood. She still tasted the same to the wolf!

The third speaker was Peter R with his Persuasive Speaking Speech #4 “A Fulfilling Career is Possible”. Peter talked us through the golden rules for finding a satisfying job, i.e. it’s not about the money, but about our passions and helping others. He finished with an entertaining Q&A session.

Last to speak was Sheldon with his Entertaining Speaker Speech #1 “Cuba: A Food Adventure”. Sheldon gave us a hilarious gastronomic account of his recent journey to Cuba, where – surrounded by ham and cheese toasties, and little else – he was forced to admit that he missed pizza!  

Scott then led the guest introductions.

Table Topics

After the break, we heard from the evening’s evaluators – Peter R, Stirling, Helen and Andy.

Table Topics Master Atul then led a fantastic table topics session on the subject of books. Swarajit, Philippe, Scott Lee, Mary, Lei, Ed, Alex and Peter participated. Highlights included Scott Lee commenting that he would much rather read a book with a happy ending in order to get a return on his investment, and Peter explaining that the book passage that most changed his life was the one he once had to read out as a kid, when he got to the front of the class, tripped and knocked out his two front teeth!

Margarita evaluated all table topic speakers.

Grammarian Luisa then gave us a report on the great uses of language throughout the meeting and noted that 9 people had used the word of the day.

Finally, visiting General Evaluator Christina evaluated our club and the meeting.

Awards

Best Speaker: Yamina

Best Evaluator: Helen

Best Table Topic: Peter

Next meeting

Our next regular meeting will take place at Wedge Issue Pizza & Beer (91-95 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1R 5BX), on Monday 23^rd April 18:30-21:00. Come over to practice your public speaking skills!

Please feel free to get in touch as info@bloomsburyspeakers.org.uk if you have any questions.