The London Speaker

Former London Toastmaster beats his wife in public

From David T Jones

For weeks the tension between the married couple had been rising as they both wait to compete in the District 70 International Speech finals. Stony silences at home, belittling remarks about each other made in public. Finally, on 22 May, in the packed Grand Ballroom of the Bankstown Sports Club in Sydney, the inevitable confrontation occurred. Dale Rees-Bevan squared-up to her husband Allan. At six foot four inches tall, Allan is an imposing figure, and in front of 465 witnesses he beat his wife. When questioned afterwards, Allan confessed to being “elated” at what he had done.

As reported in the London Speaker on 11 May, Allan and Dale were both members of Holborn Speakers before moving to Australia in 2005. They were now competing in the District 70 (250+ clubs in New South Wales and Canberra) final of the International Speech contest. This was the first time a husband and wife had competed against each other in a D70 final.

Allan was placed second with his speech entitled “Cross the chasm”, while Dale came third with her speech “Even Frank”. Both admitted that Greg Kennedy with his speech “Jump” was the clear winner and deserved to go to the USA for the TM International Speech final in August 2010.

Immediately after the conference, Allan fled to Brisbane on a “business trip” to escape Dale’s wrath. Meanwhile, Dale signed-up for Darren LaCroix’s humour boot camp. With her eye on the Humorous Speech contest in October, Dale doesn’t want to come second again in the Rees-Bevan household.

When he returned home, Allan was pleased to find that he had been forgiven. He also discovered that Dale’s trophy had been given pride of place on the living room mantelpiece, while his bigger trophy had been relegated to the smallest room in the house. Until the next contest, that’s a small price to pay for the restoration of domestic harmony. Congratulations to both of them for doing so well in the final.

12 July launch of Cass Business School Toastmasters Club

From Anne-Marie Headley

We are delighted to announce the forthcoming launch of the Cass Business School Toastmasters Club.

Cass, a leading provider of business and management education is teaming up with Toastmasters International to establish a public speaking forum for students, staff and members of the public.

On Monday 12^th of July between 6:30pm-8:30pm  Cass will be holding a demonstration meeting for prospective members. The founder and president of the club Anne-Marie Headley would like to extend an invitation to all fellow Toastmasters to attend.

 “We are very excited about the launch of this new Toastmaster club in Moorgate. The demonstration meeting on the 12th of July promises to be a thoroughly entertaining learning experience, so please come along and show your support. Many of the attendees at this event will have never experienced a Toastmaster meeting before and for some it will be their very first venture into the world of public speaking. This gives us all a wonderful opportunity to share our own personal experiences of how Toastmasters has made a difference to our lives.”

For security reasons – if you plan to visit the club please send an RSVP to enquiries@casstoastmasters.com, so we can make the necessary arrangements for you at the Reception desk. Please arrive at 6:15pm for a 6:30pm start.

Post launch the first formal meeting will take place on the 26th of July with subsequent meetings planned for the 2nd and 4th Monday in every month between 6:30pm – 8:30pm.

Where: Cass Business School, 106 Bunhill Row,London, EC1Y 8TZ. Nearest station: Moorgate.

We look forward to seeing you there! In the meantime, if you are interested in filling a role or delivering a speech during one of these Monday evening meetings, please contact casstoastmasters-officers@casstoastmasters.com

Your help needed at demo meeting for potential new club

From Steve Maguire, Assistant Division B Governor

On Thursday 8 July, 6.30pm we're holding a Toastmasters demononstration meeting for a potential new club in the City - based at MAN Investments near Billingsgate Market EC3. 

This is a great opportunity to showcase Toastmasters to a new audience.  I am hoping you will volunteer to help!   We need people who can take on roles such as Toastmaster, Topics Evaluator, General Evaluator or perhaps give a short speech on TM and its benefits.  We'll have some of the potential members taking on roles such as Timekeeper.

If you are able to help please call me (07822 801322) or email - Steve.Maguire@cw.com

Thanks in advance.

Join London Communicators to celebrate another great year

From London Communicators

Please come and join us for the annual President's Dinner in July - a chance to thank our outgoing President David Lennon and his committee for a fantastic contribution to our club over the past year. This is a great opportunity for Toasties from other clubs to network and socialise with one of the friendliest clubs in London.  Keen on golf? Come and play a round in the afternoon before the dinner.

WHERE: Highgate Golf Club

WHEN: Wednesday 14th July 2010

TIME: 6.30pm for drinks on the terrace, 7pm for dinner

WHAT: Three course buffet dinner

CONTRIBUTION: £20 per person

INCLUDED: one Table Topic per person

OPTIONAL: You are welcome to arrive earlier at 12.30pm for lunch followed by an afternoon of golf; Philip, Steve, Sean and a few others will no doubt be playing a round. Guests of members are also welcome to play.

For more information or to book, please contact LC Treasurer Sarah Hebburn: click here to email

 

Learning to gain and manage an audience

From Tom Weller, Early Bird Speakers

Toastmasters Clubs around the world create a positive supportive learning environment where we, Fellow Toastmasters, develop oral communication and leadership skills. What learning opportunities are created when a team of Toastmasters leaves that environment?

On 3 June 2010, Early Bird Speakers (EBS) sent out just such a team into the wild London jungle. We walked from our famous post-meeting breakfast, with our colleagues from ACCA Breakfast Club, to the River. The sun was blazing. It was a beautiful half term day, and we were wondering if we could raise a crowd!

Out on the open there is no prepared supportive crowd. A room with a vested interest in public speaking provides such. We had to build our own from passers by. Learning how to speak and lead in a very different and exciting context. Uniquely, working in an environment such as this, where the experts are the street performers, the leadership and the speaking function are deeply intertwined, even inseparable. If you do not use your body and speech to lead, and hold your audience with your structure, content, tone, level, and pace, then you will not win an audience in the first place. Our team won an audience.

Speaking in public takes on a very different meaning when people are walking by, waiting to be entertained. We were able to draw in people, and they stayed to watch, though they paused but a short while.

We were treated to an evaluation from an experienced street performer.  His points were articulate, perceptive, and accurate, and apropos our desire to build a sustained audience. He recommended we think crowd control. We must find a new way of combining speaking and leading if we are to reach our full potential in the great outdoors.

This experience has given us many ideas for innovative speech and meeting structures which we will be trying in our next adventure. We can only recommend: if you have an idea for something different, embrace the fear, trust your team, see it through, and the learning opportunities will blow you away!

Editor's note:  another opportunity for outdoor speaking is being provided by Broadgate Speakers and 1st London on Sunday 20 June at Speakers' Corner.  More info to follow shortly.

N.B.  Remember if you are planning an outdoor event (other than at Speakers' Corner) you should check if you need official permission to use the space e.g. from the Local Authority

Evaluation Workshop and hear the Division G Speech Contest Winner

From Kevin Baggs, President Ware Speakers

Tuesday 11th May, Ware Speakers  are holding a workshop Exceptional Evaluations: 7 Steps to improving your evaluation led by Freddie Daniells, D71 PR Officer and immediate past London Division B Governor.

Also Gayna Cooper, the winner of the Division G Speech Contest will be visiting Ware Speakers and will deliver her warm and inspiring winning speech.  Gayna is looking for feedback from the audience - please come along if you can.  She will be competing in the UK & Ireland finals at the District 71 Toastmasters conference in Sligo 14-16 May 2010 alongside Simon Bucknall who won the London contest.

When: Ware Speakers meets at 7.30 pm at Wagger's pub in Ware. Waggers is easily accessible from Ware train station or by road. Where: Waggers Public House, Kibes Lane, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 7ED.

Covent Garden Speakers Launch 27 April 2010

From Harry Latif, VPE Covent Garden Speakers

Covent Garden Speakers is a brand new morning club, sponsored by Early Bird Speakers.

Our first meeting will be Tuesday 27th April at 7:10am, and we will meet every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month.  Venue: Freemasons' Hall, Lodge room 17, 60 Great Queen Street,WC2B 5AZ - a fantastic venue for public speaking.

There will be breakfast afterwards, so a great opportunity to Network; We appeal to novices and experienced speakers alike to come along and share in our success!!!

For further details, please do visit our profile on d71, and join our group on meetup.com. Please also get in touch with VPE, Harry Latif, Email if you have any queries.

Club President Aaron Wood says: We've set up Covent Garden Speakers because there are such a wide variety of people in the area, and I think this will provide a really rich environment to create a new club - one in which people can develop their speaking, listening and leadership skills. I'm a big fan of clubs in the morning as they start the day off in the best way. The addition of the opportunity to network over breakfast helps all the members to get to know one another. I'm hoping that the enthusiasm already shown by those in other clubs will continue and spread, and that new members and fellow toastmasters will be able to Grow in Confidence with the Covent Garden Speakers!

London Toastmasters Area 6 Contest Results

From Gary Edwards, Area 6 Governor

I'm very pleased to announce the success of the Area 6 contest on Monday. We were treated to an extraordinary evening packed with inspirational speeches and enlightening evaluations.

The competitors in the International Speech contest were: Simon Bucknall (London Cardinals), Mike Silverman (London Corinthians), David Jones (London Olympians) and Margaret Kramarz (Polish your Polish).

And the results: 1st Place Simon Bucknall 2nd Place Margaret Kramarz

The Evaluation Contest competitors were: Glenn Jones (London Cardinals), Margaret Kramarz (London Corinthians), Laura McCracken (London Olympians) and Gosia Gorna (Polish your Polish).

And the results were: 1st Place Laura McCracken 2nd Place Gosia Gorna.

Also instrumental in the running of the evening were Graeme Philips (Chief Judge), Liz Hobbs (mystery speaker), the timers, the counters, the judges and of course London Corinthians for supplying the room and a wonderful contest chair in the form of Steven Bastian.

Our winners go on to compete in the All London Final on Saturday 24 April in West Kensington, SW6.

Pictured below from left to right:

Gosia Gorna, Margaret Kramartz, Graeme Philips, Glenn Jones, Gary Edwards (Area Gov), Simon Bucknall, Laura McCracken, Mike Silverman, Steven Bastian (Contest Chairman).

London Toastmasters Area 45 Contest Results

From David Adams, Area 45 Governor

The Area 45 Contests were held on 18 March 2010. Contestants were from the three chartered clubs in the area, Earlybird Speakers, Berkeley Square Speakers and London’s oldest club, Grosvenor Square Speakers. Both contests produced a very high standard. There were two contestants from each club allowed under the area size rules. The winners of the two contests were:

Evaluation Contest

Winner: Gautam Chadda (Grosvenor Square) – who will go forward to the All London Division B Contest

2nd Place: Tony Duff (Earlybirds)

3rd Place: Prakash Patel (Berkeley Square)

International Speech Contest

Winner: Beate Rissbacher (Berkeley Square) – who will go forward to the All London Division B contest

2nd Place: Richard Stacey (Berkeley Square)

3rd Place: George Metcalfe (Earlybirds)

The Mystery Speaker was Kwame Akpokavi from Athenians. Adam Ginalski of Corinthians and Polish Your Polish was Chief Judge. Lesley Lear of Earlybirds led a spirited Table topics session

Thanks to Jonathan Müller of Earlybirds who organised the contest night  and who really drummed up terrific support from that club. Unfortunately the picture taking was less terrific - everyone was blurred unlike the speeches and the evaluations which were sharp and terrific to listen to.

We are most grateful to Geronimo Inns for giving us, for the second time, free of charge, the use of the function room at the Phoenix Pub and Restaurant in Palace Street, Victoria.

Storytelling Workshop Wed 28 April at Bloomsbury Speakers

From  Craig Reid, VPE Bloomsbury Speakers

How many times have you rushed straight to the heart of a story without providing the context...the drama?  Teasing the listening to want to hear every detail?  On Wednesday 28 April 2010 you will have the opportunity to see this in action and learn the fundamentals of storytelling from Giles Abbott.

Storytelling has been used for millennia to communicate message and vision. For all the modern presentation tools, storytelling remains the most powerful communication tool at our disposal.

Giles Abbott’s training workshop harnesses this power, and teaches methods to bring this communicative force into your public speaking and business presentations, giving you the confidence to address large groups as comfortably as you do a table-round discussion. Become magnetic! Make nerves your ally! Be yourself, but better!

This is an exclusive Toastmasters event in the friendly and cosy atmosphere of The Rugby Tavern. Places are limited and booking will be done on a 1st come 1st served basis. There will be a £10 charge to covers Giles’ fee for the evening.

If you are interested in booking a place follow this booking link: http://bloomspeak.eventbrite.com/

We look forward to seeing you for an evening of learning and storytelling.