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Inspired by workshop on how to win the International Speech Contest

Post author By London Victorians
Post date February 2, 2017

Our fabulous member Karen has kindly written up the following blog as an overview of the awesome workshop given at London Victorians Toastmasters Club in January:

Ever wondered what it takes to deliver a world class speech? Or how to communicate a message powerfully and persuasively?

London Victorians were given the tools to do just that last week at a masterclass in speech craft delivered by Toastmasters veteran and legend, Freddie Daniels. With speech season about to get underway, Freddie shared lots of tips on how to make it to the Olympics of public speaking – Toastmasters World Championships! For those of us less focused on contest glory, there were lots of useful insights and tools to help improve our communication skills. Top among Freddie’s tips were:

Keep it simple

Don’t underestimate the power of a simple, relatable message. Speeches that highlight common challenges, life lessons or universally accepted wisdom do well at speech contests. Freddie encouraged us to think about our own experiences and the lessons we’ve learned. What advice would you give to your younger self? Wisdom is the bedrock of inspiration as Freddie reminded us and an audience loves a speech it can relate to.

Watch a movie

What do Hollywood movies and world class speeches have in common? Freddie showed us that both have a well-told story at their core. The Pursuit of Happiness, the Kings Speech and Disney movies are examples of great storytelling. They all follow a predictable pattern, the ideal structure for a cracking speech – a situation, a main character, a goal, an obstacle and a journey to success. If you’re concerned it might not be possible to fit all that into a ten-minute speech, check out toastmasters website to see recordings of previous winners.

Have a laugh

Freddie really emphasised the power of humour. Speeches that win at district, area and international level are those that entertain. He reminded us that even when speaking about the most serious of topics, a dash of humour has the power to move an audience and keep them interested.

You can never have enough mentors

They say it takes a village to raise a child… Freddie’s workshop really showed that it takes a whole bunch of mentors, supporters and friends to craft a great speech. Freddie stressed the importance of practicing at different clubs, getting tips from those who have done well before, gathering feedback and constantly refining the delivery.

Interested in pushing yourself and taking your step towards the final? London Victorians club contest is taking place on 7 March and there are still places available. As Freddie said, someone’s got to win and that someone could be you!

Tags blog, contests, inspirational speeches, speech skills, workshop

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What’s Your Purpose? Follow up to the workshop

Post author By London Victorians
Post date October 31, 2016

During Ernesto’s recent workshop at London Victorians he spoke about an exercise involving a list of questions to help you find your purpose. You can download the exercise below, it also includes a list of further resources.

If anyone has any follow up questions for Ernesto then you can ask them in the comments on this page. This way Ernesto can go through all the question at once and everyone can benefit from his answers.

A big thank you to Ernesto for giving up his time for free. I’m sure many of you will be interested in taking a look at his website http://www.expanding-leadership.com.

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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.

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Speeches that inform – 28th June

Post author By London Victorians
Post date July 3, 2016

28th June marked London Victorian’s last meeting of the Toastmaster year and what a special meeting it was! Florian Bay our founding president was awarded Distinguished Toastmaster by Neil Coleman the Division B Director, who was also general evaluator of the meeting. Terry the incoming president presented Florian with a token on behalf of the club to thank him for his relentless hard work and dedication throughout the time he served as club President.

Terry presenting Florian a gift from the club

Owen took on the role of toastmaster of the night, injecting his personality and comedic charm throughout. He had a team to assist him; Laurence as timekeeper and John as grammarian utilizing the word “Panic” as the word of the day. Terry was Sergeant at Arms introducing the guests who attended the meeting.

Christophe delivered his icebreaker on the night, introducing himself to the club by informing the audience of his life’s journey and career from an entrepreneur to now investor. He informed the audience of the struggles he has overcome and the changes in his life’s direction which lead him to present day.

Second speech was Annabel delivering her 6th speech from the competent communication manual. Annabel informed the audience of the unwritten handbook of the office, the rules she has observed over her four years working. Her tips included etiquette of communication, personal branding and things you should never do.

Third on stage was Ernesto delivering a speech from an advanced manual, “speeches to inform”. Ernesto delivered a visually rich speech informing the audience of the universe in relation to the Earth and the possibility that we are not alone. He supported his research with facts, info-graphics, and stunning images.

The speeches were evaluated by Eleanor B, Edwin and Nuala who provided feedback to the respective speakers they were evaluating. The evaluations included techniques to improve eye contact, body language and methods of increasing the impact of the speech.

Tatiana was table topic master and asked impromptu speaking volunteers imaginative questions. She intertwined magic and technology in the subjects she selected. Speakers on the topics were then evaluated by Sergey.

Join us next week when we have our first meeting of the new year with more speeches, evaluations and table topics!

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Best Man’s Speech – 21st June

Post author By London Victorians
Post date June 26, 2016

Thomas was toastmaster for the evening taking command of the stage and introducing each speaker with a visual of their ideal place to live. He had a team to assist him, Bruna was timekeeper, and Christophe was Sergeant at Arms. Cleo was Grammarian with Allure for the word of the day and Paul was Harkmaster. We had three speeches from the competent communication manual and a Best Man’s speech.

There were four speeches during the meeting. First on stage was founding Club President Florian, in his 50th speech he revisited the icebreaker, the first speech from the competent communication manual. In this speech Florian shared personal stories of his background and how he overcame adversity to realise his dreams.

Second on stage was Tatiana delivering speech 3 from the competent communication manual. Her speech provided the audience with potential solutions on how to stay awake, ranging from changing your environment, exercises, and the consumption of caffeinated beverages.

Eleanor H was on stage delivering speech 5 from the competent communication manual, opening her speech with the question “What stops you from taking risks?” Citing, fear, regret and grudges as three main elements of what stops people when dealing with fear, Eleanor encouraged the audience to “Let It Go”

Fourth on stage was Robert who took the opportunity to practice his best man’s speech, even having a prop of the future husband and wife. Many members initially join Toastmasters because of an upcoming speech in order to receive feedback and learn the critical skills of successful public speaking.

The four speakers were provided feedback by the respective evaluators Annabel, Hannah, Isabelle and Sophia.

The second half of the meeting involved impromptu speaking, Prateek the Table Topic Master selected the Brexit referendum for the topic for the impromptu speeches. Regardless of their opinion each speaker had 1-2 minutes to voice either why they want to stay in the EU or leave the EU. The table topic speakers were then evaluated by Nuala.

A successful meeting with lots of excellent speakers and entertaining table topics. Join us on Tuesday for our next meeting.