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Past meetings Toastmasters International

Speaking in the Summer – 30th August

Post author By London Victorians
Post date September 7, 2016

On Tuesday 30th August, St James the Less Church buzzed with anticipation as toastmasters and guests took their seats. Eleanor Gelston filled in for Terry as President and kicked off the meeting by reminiscing about her own Toastmasters journey and how she had faced her fear of speaking in public. She ended on a powerful notes “all you have to do is do it” before handing over to the Toastmasters of the evening, Prateek.

Toastmasters give rapturous applause — Enthusiastic club members

Prateek immediately filled the room with energy and enthusiasm. He encouraged both sides of the room to cheer and clap as loudly as possible as he first introduced the functionaries and then the speakers.

Christophe gave the first speech of the night. Speaking about the US Presidential Elections and why his support goes to Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. He used powerful language to describe why Clinton would drive the USA to the ground as opposed to Trump who will make the country great again. He analysed the candidates’ solutions to three current issues: international trade, Russia and the terrorist organisation ISIS. He concluded that Trump has brought these issues to the forefront and is committed to solving them, while Clinton has no real solutions.

The second speaker was Eleanor Bucher who took us on a journey through Iceland. She guided the audience through the country by their senses, describing the sensation of standing on tectonic plates, the sound of horses’ hooves, the smell of “lip-curling” sulphur, the taste of salty fish and finally the magnificent sight of the honeycomb harbour building in Reykjavik.

Eleanor Handslip spoke next about “another Eleanor” (Eleanors took centre stage at this meeting!) and told us about the difficult life of Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the USA. She described Eleanor Roosevelt’s sad childhood as an orphan and her marriage to Franklin D.Roosevelt which was complicated by his interfering mother and his affair with his secretary. She then related how Eleanor Roosevelt overcame these challenges and became a role model for ambitious women as well as an advocate for human rights.

The final speech was by Thomas who shared a powerful and persuasive message: everyone must share in globalisation and wealth. He told us that he put money behind Brexit and described the vote to leave the EU as a “vote against globalisation”. He then outlined the history behind globalisation and international trade, taking us back to the Industrial Revolution. He highlighted the link between globalisation and xenophobia and the rise of nationalism.

Tom doing his competant communicator speech 9 - persuade with power — Toastmaster of the meeting Thomas

In the second half of the meeting we listened to some entertaining and insightful table topics. Isabelle who chose “looking back and moving forward” as the theme asked speakers to talk about memories and future plans. Questions ranged from “would you take part in a mission to Mars” to “if you could invite a historical figure to dinner, who would you choose?”

It was a great meeting which showcased the talent of London Victorians – come along to the next meeting on Tuesday 6th September at 6.45pm!

Tags Past meetings, speaking, Toastmasters

Past meetings Toastmasters International

Develop Speaking Skills

Post author By London Victorians
Post date August 21, 2016

Prateek as Toastmaster, developing his leadership skills

At 6:30 every Tuesday we meet in St. James the Less Church conveniently located between Victoria and Pimlico to develop leadership and develop speaking skills. On Tuesday 16th August Prateek was Toastmaster of the evening running an energetic night. He had a team to assist him, Bruna was timekeeper and Nuala was sergeant at arms. Isabelle was grammarian and Christophe was harkmaster.

There were four prepared speeches on the night, first on stage was Pranav delivering his Icebreaker. He informed the audience of his challenging journey which resulted in outstanding achievements while working in the robotics industry.

Second on stage was John, delivering speech 4 from the Competent Communication manual ‘How to Say it’. He compared facing adversity to teabags; it’s only when you put teabags in hot water you find out how strong they are. Similarly, when people face adversity it can bring out their best.

Third on stage was Sophia delivering speech 5 from the Competent Communication manual ‘Your Body Speaks’. Inspired by a book ‘Hinds Feet on High Places’, Sophia delivered a message about developing courage to overcome fear and humiliation.

Members and guests conversing at the meeting break

Fourth on stage was Robert who spoke about advances in tech, how the speed of technological change has made life easier for the end consumer. Providing examples such as apps such XE currency which offers convenience and the best foreign exchange rates possible.

The four speeches were evaluated by Stephen, Fahad, Romain and Florian respectively. Evaluations happen throughout a Toastmaster meeting so speakers learn where their strengths lie, and are also made aware of areas they can improve.

Majdouline then hosted the table topics session to develop speaking skills, with the theme of idioms, speakers were challenged to speak for 1-2 minutes on idioms such as ‘out of the blue’ and ‘as keen as mustard’. An inventive session with interesting answers that were then evaluated by Tatiana.

Guests are always welcome to join us so come along to our next meeting on the 23rd August!

Past meetings Toastmasters International

Public Speaking and Leadership Skills – 9th August

Post author By London Victorians
Post date August 14, 2016

Tuesday 9th August and Eleanor G was Toastmaster, introducing the theme of festivals for the meeting. She had a team to assist her, Pranav was Timekeeper, John was Sergeant At Arms and Christophe was Grammarian introducing Jovial as word of the day. Every week we have meetings to support our members in building their public speaking and leadership skills.

Eleanor as Toastmaster — Eleanor’s leadership task of being Toastmaster

Eleanor B was harkmaster, informing the audience of the importance of listening by stating “Hearing is uncontrollable whereas listening is a skill”, citing 5 types of listening; pseudo, appreciative, empathetic, comprehensive and critical listening.

We had three speeches on the night, first on stage was Miller delivering her icebreaker which is the first speech in the competent communication manual. Miller informed the audience about challenges she has overcome, how in life sometimes things work out differently than planned. Her speech ended with the message, that only by repeatedly asking ‘Who am I?’ do we truly start to know ourselves.

Second on stage was Cleo, delivering the second speech from the competent communication manual “Organise Your Speech”. Cleo informed the audience of the traditional Brazillian and Portuguese food, Feijoada. Likening the dish to a magic potion, Cleo informed the audience of the history, ingredients and how the Feijoada dish came to life in other parts of the World.

Lastly was Yyvonne delivering speech 3 from the Competent Communication manual “Get to the point”. Her speech was about the Olympics including some interesting statistics such as how there are 13,000 athletes competing in Rio, in 33 sports and 400 different events. Yyvonne also informed the audience of when her dog competed in doglympics in Taiwan!

Fahad then hosted the table topics inviting impromptu speaking volunteers to the stage to deliver a 1-2 minute speech. Speeches were then evaluated by Isabelle, who provided each speaker commendations on what they did well and also included tips on how to make their impromptu speech better. Join us next week to see how we help our members improve their public speaking and leadership skills.

Tags leadership, public speaking

Uncategorized

Speaking off the cuff – 2nd August

Post author By London Victorians
Post date August 9, 2016

Thomas was Toastmaster of the evening introducing speakers to the stage with an anecdote about what they each speaker had wanted to be when they grew up. Lots of interesting answers from aspirations to being a police woman to ambitions of driving a train. Thomas had a team to assist him, Pranav was timekeeper and Christophe was Sergeant At Arms. Cleo was grammarian introducing ‘epiphany’ as word of the day and Annabel was harkmaster. In the run up to Toastmasters table topic contest, we had several members speak off the cuff in preparation for the competition.

We had three prepared speeches, first on stage was Romain delivering speech 2 from the CC manual “Organise your speech”. Romain informed the audience about his passion for traveling which allows him to relax and disconnect. For him, traveling is more than a passion, and helps him put life into perspective.

Second on stage was George, delivering his speech 4 “How to say it”. George detailed his experiences in Uganda where his wife comes from. He informed the audience of the locals perception of Muzungos like him, where it affects financial dealings and perceptions of wealth.

Third on stage was Tatiana delivering speech 5 “Your body Speaks”, she explained to the audience how restrictions ignite creativity rather that restrict it. From calligraphy to engineering, Tatiana provided examples of how restrictions pushed and inspired, increasing creative output.

Eleanor H provided original and inventive table topics for impromptu speaking volunteers to deliver off the cuff speeches. Questions ranged from how would you entertain a crowd to considering if it is right to celebrate criminals. Nuala then evaluated each volunteer who took part in the impromptu speaking table topics session.

Past meetings Toastmasters International

Impromptu Speaking Challenges 26th July

Post author By London Victorians
Post date July 31, 2016

Tuesday 26th July George was Toastmaster with the theme of dreams. He told the audience his dream of making a million pounds a year on his Ugandan Farm. George had a team to assist him, Stephen was timekeeper. Cleo was Sergeant At Arms. Tatiana was Harkmaster and Romain was Grammarian introducing Euphoria as word of the day.

There were three speeches on the night. First was Bruna with her first speech as a member. Bruna told us of a difficult period in her life when she was 15. Rather than be labelled a victim, a strong and resilient Bruna told the audience how she has overcome these events to “turn her poison into medicine”.

Lawrence was next on stage delivering speech two ‘organise your speech’. With a powerful swing and a golf club as a prop, Lawrence informed the audience how he likens Golf to life; how failure is part of success, and passion is one of the most important elements to maintain.

Third on stage was Eleanor delivering her 6th speech focusing on ‘vocal variety’. Her speech began with the inspiring story of Gladys Cooper who at 113 was one of the oldest people in the UK. Outlining the events in Gladys life, and the changes in society that she experienced, Eleanor stated that age should not be thought of as a number, but more a value. An inspirational speech about reframing age in society.

The second half of the meeting was hosted by Christophe providing volunteers with topics for impromptu speaking which were based around the topics of morality and spirituality. Questions ranged from what kind of personality God might have to whether it’s ok to not tell the truth. Challenging questions with very creative and funny impromptu answers. Annabel then evaluated all impromptu speeches providing each speaker with commendations and recommendations.

Annabel evaluating impromptu speaking volunteers