The London Speaker

Club Officer Training starts today. Learn, share, network!

Twice a year your London Toastmasters council runs evenings of (2 hour) club officer training to: share ideas, improve our knowledge of toastmasters and help us to make the most of the leadership opportunities which committee membership offers.  If you are currently on your club committee (including of a pre-charter club) or you are thinking of joining the committee we would love to see you at one of the sessions.  What do you need to do? Tell your club President/Area Governor that you want to be added to the guest list for one the dates below and come along!

There are three training sessions starting tonight.  The training starts promptly at 6.30pm and ends at 8.30pm.

Tues 7 February at Ernst & Young, 1 More London Place, SE1 2AF (close  to London Bridge station)

Wed 15 February at State Street, 20 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf,  E14 5HJ

Mon 20 February at Man Investments Ltd, Riverbank House, 2 Swan Lane, City of London, EC4R 3TN (entrance on Upper Thames Street). 

"There is so much to learn at these events about promoting your clubs, networking throughout the Division and what you can bring to your individual roles.  This will benefit all members of your club!" Simon Cooper, Assistant London Division B Governor.

"Ideally, each member of your Committee should attend one of the Club Officer Training sessions and at least 4 qualifying members (President, VPE, Membership Secretary, Secretary, VPPR, Treasurer, Sergeant-at Arms) of your Committee should attend and thereby contribute to your Distinguished Club Program.

If you are a ‘Pre-Chartered’ club, I encourage you to attend , as there is a lot of really useful information which is applicable to you now and when you are Chartered.

I very much look forward to seeing you there!! Paul Walsh, London Division B Governor

The Future of London Division B Toastmasters - give us your views

From Andy O'Sullivan

Londoners have enjoyed a tremendous expansion of Toastmasters in the capital over the last decade, but it is now time to examine how we sustain this growth for the next stage in our evolution.

To facilitate this process, a London Division B Alignment Committee has been established (composed of past & present leaders) to make suitable recommendations for how best to proceed. Further details regarding the proposed timetable and objectives for Alignment can be found in the following information leaflet:

Download Division B Alignment

However, we need your input into this process to ensure that all views and opinions are considered. We are providing the following methods to collect your feedback by Friday 24th February:

1. Respond to the short online survey available at: http://svy.mk/DivBAlignment (preferred option)

2. Hold discussions with your club committees, or at club meetings. Your officers will have an opportunity to bring these collective views to interactive sessions being held during Club Officer Training on the 7th, 15th and 20th February.

3. Contact the Alignment Committee directly, by emailing us at feedback@london-toastmasters.co.uk

Our intention is to compile your collective feedback, and supplement this with the necessary statistical information to support any future decision. The option(s) recommended by the London Division B Alignment Committee will publicised in a second round of consultation immediately they are produced. Their final proposal will then be submitted to the London Division B Council and UK & Ireland District 71 for approval.

Thank you in advance for taking part. Your opinion matters, so please take the time to express your views on the future of London Division B Toastmasters.

A New Year’s Message from Paul Walsh London Division B Governor

Happy New Year to fellow Toastmasters in Division B London!! The New Year is halfway through our own Toastmaster’s Year, which runs from 1st July to 30th June. For the next 6 months, therefore, what are some of the things we can focus on? For all Toastmasters in London..........

1. Be familiar with and pursue the ‘Toastmaster’s Promise’.

2. Grasp every opportunity to either compete or be a functionary in the Contests commencing in March.

3. Pursue your communications and leadership objectives by reference to the respective pathways.

4. Sign up for the ‘WOW Conference' at Wexford, 11th – 13th May 5. Enjoy!!

For all club leaders in London

1. Be aware of and pursue your Distinguished Club Programme.

2. Ensure all club officers attend club officer training in February.

3. Start planning for your contests and payment of ‘Semi-Annual’ dues.

4. Consider the Succession Plan for your club officers – and how about your own succession plan – are you planning to serve on the Division Council?

5. Enjoy!!

You can find out more on Toastmasters International, D71 (UK & Ireland) and WOW Wexford Conference websites – and of course, your Area Governor is always there to support you – as I am – Happy New Year!!

London Toastmasters Success and Awards at the UK & Ireland Conference

From Andy O'Sullivan, Immediate Past London Division B Governor

I've just arrived back home from our District 71 Conference, and have so much news to share with you.

It was an amazing District conference with high class workshops (especially from our London Division B Governor Paul Walsh) and two excellent contests.

Saturday saw the UK & Ireland 2011 Humorous Speech contest in which all 9 of the Divisions which make up our District were represented.   In a contest which saw speeches of incredible quality, Ola Aralepo  our London Champion, and member of Tube Talk, rose to the occasion and gave his best ever performance . . . and WON.   Congratulations Ola!!!

Sunday morning saw the Hall of Fame event.  This is where the work we all put in helping our members and clubs during 2010 - 2011 was acknowledged.

Each Area Governor (who suppport a group of clubs) was presented with an award to recognise his/her achievement in obtaining either a Distinguished, Select Distinguished or Presidents Distinguished Area.

There were a number of special awards for our London Division:

- The first was for achieving Presidents Distinguished Division. A recognition of how well our clubs are run and the amount of educational awards our members achieve.

- The Division B team received the ‘District Governors Distinguished Clubs Award’.  This is presented to the three divisions who achieved the highest percentage of Distinguished clubs.  Your hard work resulted in us achieving a fantastic 93.75%.  The highest in the District!

- We also received the ‘District Governor's Extension Award’ for the achieving a net growth in our clubs from the 6 new clubs that Chartered before July.  Again the highest in the District.

- Our 3rd award was ‘District Governor's 20-Plus Award’ for having every one of our clubs with at least 20 members.  We are the only Division to have achieved a 100% success.

This really is an amazing number of awards for us and cements our position as the Division to emulate.  Something I know others are already starting to do.

To me it was wonderful to see all the hard work, time and effort you all put last year being recognised with all these awards.  Thank you and very well done.

If this wasn't enough, there's even more.

- Gilly Cutts received a District Governor Commendation.  This was in recognition for Gilly's wonderful work both at her home club London Cardinals and in supporting 2 new clubs this year. Phoenix Speakers in London and a second in Hanoi, Vietnam.

- Greg Ros (Current Area 31 Area Governor) was awarded the very prestigious 'Toastmaster of the Year' award.  Congratulations Greg!!!

With the marvellous effort and enthusiasm I've already seen being put in by Paul Walsh and the current Division Council, I know our Division will be achieving even more and greater things for our members and clubs over the coming months.  

 From Paul Walsh, London Division B Governor:

Many Congratulations to our award recipients, especially Gilly and Greg,  last year’s Division B Council and of course, our club leaders!

With typical modesty, Andy hasn’t mentioned that he received the award, ‘Division Governor of the Year'.

Good luck to our London Champions as they compete in Glasgow

Post from Dorothea Stuart

Good luck Ola Aralepo, London 2011 Humorous Speech Champion and David Jones, London 2011 Table Topics Champion. Both are competing at the UK & Ireland (District 71) Toastmasters Conference in Glasgow this weekend where hundreds of Toastmasters members will meet for workshops,the contests and business meetings...and more. I'm sure Ola and David will both do an excellent job.  Look forward to hearing about their experiences on their return.

The UK & Ireland 2011 Humorous Speech Contest will be on Saturday afternoon and the UK & Ireland 2011 Table Topics Contest will be on Sunday morning.

Read more about the Flourish Conference at http://flourish2011.co.uk

Do you need a lift to the conference in Glasgow?

From Andy Pape, Area 47 Governor

Does anyone need a lift to the Toastmasters Flourish Conference in Glasgow 11-13 November?

I’ve hired a minibus and will be driving up on Friday, returning Sunday afternoon. We have 4 spaces left and you will be joining a fun group of fellow Toastmasters from all around London.  Plenty of room for luggage and avoid the hassle of connections between buses, planes and trains! £45pp contribution including petrol.  Contact me to reserve your place. Email here.

Join Society Speakers at their new venue on 16 November

From Andy Pape, Area 47 Governor

Thanks to all the Toastmasters who supported our first Society Speakers meeting.  We had a great turn out and the feedback has been very positive - we have 5 members already!  I'm sure we can build a successful club in which members are all able to become better speakers for their charities.  

Founder member, Stella Meadows, has been working hard to find us a new venue and we are pleased to announce that our future meetings will be at the newly converted Fitzrovia Community Centre on Foley Street.  It's in a great location, a few minutes from Goodge Street Tube and close to Warren Street, Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Circus and Great Portland Street.  Here's a map.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 16^th November, followed by meetings on 30th November and 14th December.  From January we will meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month.  Meeting time will be 7pm for a 7.10pm start and, as we will be running 2 speech meetings for a while, we should be finishing by 9pm at the latest.

Your help over the coming months will be invaluable to us as we build up our membership.  Please spread the word around people you know who work or volunteer for charities.  Do let Andy know if you are able to attend meetings and if you’d like to take on a role. Email here.

PMQs - the most challenging table topics?

Post from Dorothea Stuart

Archive on 4 has a 60 minute programme called Mind Your PMQs.  A history of the 50 years of what Tony Blair once described it as the most challenging and terrifying experience of his life - answering questions at Prime Minister's Question Time. On tonight Saturday 22 Oct 2011 at 8pm and Monday 24 Oct at 3pm. (You can also catch it on iPlayer)  More info at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0167rdw.  Your Toastmasters Table Topics Champions will be listening!

 

Speak English more clearly and naturally

Post from Dorothea Stuart

While I was looking at the BBC website I found a series of podcasts called The English We Speak .  The aim is to help non-native English speakers make your English sound more natural.  Find the podcasts at http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/tae.  More help with improving spoken English can be found at www.bbclearningenglish.com

Flourish Glasgow Conference/UK & Ireland Contest Finals

From Jane Cameron, Conference Organiser

Flourish Booking Deadline!

Flourish 2011 offers a weekend of Learning, Inspiration and Fun mixed with some distinctive Scottish touches and a superb conference venue in the Crowne Plaza, Glasgow.  Full Conference Information and Booking details at http://www.flourish2011.co.uk/ or contact info@flourish2011.co.uk.   

Note: please book Conference and Hotel Accommodation package by midnight on 25 October 2011.  Hotel accommodation bookings until 27 October will be honoured but after this date must be made direct with the hotel and they will not guarantee room availability or the preferential Flourish room rates.  We can continue to take Conference event bookings until 11 November.  If you have any problems booking, please contact Moira Beaton, Flourish Booking Officer bookings@flourish2011.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 7521 905594