The London Speaker

Toastmasters International Speech and Speech Evaluation Area Contests. March-April 2008

As the first round of the International Speech and Speech Evaluation contests nears completion it's time to get the Area Contests in your diary.

Hearing some of the best speakers in London is always a great experience - educational and fun.  Why not visit some of the five Area Contests that will be held across London over the next month?

In date order they are as follows:

Monday 31 March	Area 29	Hop Poles, King St, Hammersmith W6 9HR.  Upstairs function room.  Venue	7pm for 7.30pm start	Athenians, London Business School, Riverside, Trojans, West London
Wed. 9 April	Area 33	To attend please register with your club President or Area Governor	6.30pm for 7.00pm start	Broadgate, London Communicators, MLP!, Northern Lights, ToastMARSHters,
Monday 14 April	Area 6	Rubens Hotel, Buckingham Palace Rd SW1W 0PS. Venue	7pm for 7.30pm start	Cardinals, Corinthians, Excalibur, Olympians
Monday 14 April	Area 31	To attend please register with your club President or Area Governor	6.30pm for 7pm start	Canary Wharf Communicators, Citi Criers, City of London, Speakeasy, WIBF City, WIBF
Wed. 16 April	Area 34	Rugby Tavern, 19 Great James Street, WC1N 3ES. Upstairs function room. Venue	6.30pm for 7pm start	Berkeley Sq, Early Bird, Grosvenor Sq, Holborn, Tube Talk, NZICA

Look forward to seeing you at some of these contests.  Remember the Division B All London final is on Thursday 24 April 2008.  More information to follow soon.

Technorati Tags: Toastmasters,International Speech Contest,Speech Evaluation Contest

How would you evaluate Gordon Brown's speech?

As we approach the 2008 Speech Evaluation contests it's good to practice our evaluations...at every opportunity. 

On his blog, Dr Simon Raybould gives an interesting evaluation of a recent speech by Gordon Brown.  Simon wrote this as he was listening to the performance so he was in a similar situation to an Evaluator in a Toastmaster meeting or contest.  Read more...

As Evaluators we have to prioritise rapidly as we decide which aspects of a  speech to comment on.  The impact of someone's vocal style can be a significant factor in the success of a speech.  This aspect of the Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama battle which was discussed on Woman's Hour on Radio 4 recently.  Talking about Hillary the question was asked: 

Has the problem been the impact of the image she has projected: her voice, style and debating technique, against such a charismatic candidate? Her style is contrasted with her rival's by Patsy Rodenburg, Head of Voice in the Drama Department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Candace Allen, a blogger active with Democrats Abroad UK.  Listen again...and decide if you agree. 

Why not practice by evaluating this speech "The Maximum Value" from Jim Key, 2003 World Champion of Public Speaking

Or this 2007 International Speech, "Nothing is Impossible", from Toastmaster Amy Samet given at the Region III Contest, Texas? 

 

Technorati Tags: speech evaluation,toastmasters

Recent Educational Awards

On Wednesday evening Rory Marriott, VPE at Canary Wharf Communicators and bon viveur around the Toastmasters scene, berated me for not keeping up with my reporting of members awards. I insisted that I had only missed a couple of months. In fact, I last did it for the month of October! I managed to lose a bet on this and it is my round next time I see him!

Anyhow, here are the awards for November through to the end of February.

Advanced Communicator Gold

Dave Brooks of Speakeasy@Credit Suisse

Advanced Communicator Bronze

Ian Harrison of Riverside Communicators

Minna Sellman of London Cardinals

Advanced Leader Bronze

Eleanor Smith of ToastMARSHters

Rory Marriott of Canary Wharf Communicators

Competent Communicator

Dominique Fourniol of Holborn Speakers

Roger Thomson of Speakeasy@Credit Suisse

Jennifer Betts of Riverside Communicators

Dorothea Stuart of Riverside Communicators

Andrew Osborne of London Communicators

Irene Rusike of Grosvenor Square Speakers

Pieter Fourie of London Corinthians

Joanne Chan of Canary Wharf Communicators

Rory Marriott of Canary Wharf Communicators

Sui-Chin Mckeand-Han of Athenians

Alexander Lowry of London Cardinals

Competent Leader

Barbara Dahill of ToastMARSHters

David Drew of Citi Criers

Rory Marriott of Canary Whaf Communicators

Aiden Sweeney of Grosvenor Square Speakers

Steve Maguire of London Communicators

Elizabeth Whitfield of WIBF Speakers - City

Kerry Anne-Smith of Trojan Speakers

 

Congratulations, as ever, to all of the people who have achieved these awards.A tremendous achievement all round.

I am also pleased to report that several clubs are doing well on the Distinguished Club Plan (DCP). Grosvenor Square Speakers have achieved 9 points out of 10. They have already reached Presidents Distinguished club - the first club in London. A big well done to Club President, Carol West, and the rest of the folks there. And thanks for making me look good as your Area Guv!

London Corinthians and Canary Wharf Communicators have achieved 7 points each. They are both therefore guaranteed a minimum of Select Distinguished on the DCP. Well done Kim and Clive and their respective crews.

Onwards and upwards!

PS I wonder if there is any connection between Rory hassling me on this and his name appearing in the awards three times???

PPS Won't let this slip again - promise!

How To Make Your Speeches Come Alive With Stories - last reminder for this Wednesdays Workshop

I have just reviewed the feedback from last weeks Simon Bucknall workshop. In all, we collected over fifty feedback forms. Every single one suggests that people would like Division B to organise more workshop events.

Which brings me neatly to this Wednesdays workshop. This event promises to be just as interesting and be just as educational as Simon's event last week.

Andrew Brammer may be slightly less known across Division B. However, he is a past UK and Ireland Humorous Speaking Champion and has reached the highest level of Toastmaster achievement - the Distinguished Toastmaster award. Like Simon, he a fabulous speaker, a great entertainer and an excellent educator. This event is open to all and will benefit both beginners and experienced alike. It will not disappoint!

There are only 80 tickets for the event so when they are gone they are gone. There are still some seats available but many have already sold. It would be great to pack the place out again . If you are interested in coming then please book at:

www.andrewbrammer.eventbrite.com

There is a small fee of £3 to cover administration costs. The event is at Thomson Financial, 1 Mark Square, Leonard Street, London EC2A 4EG.  Doors open at 6.15pm with the event kicking off at 6.45pm. The event will be comfortably over by 9pm. For those who enjoy socialising with Toastmasters from other clubs, I am sure a local hostelry will benefit from our custom later on.

Can those in Division B please make sure that everyone in your clubs are aware of this event by sending a link to this article on?

Also, at Simon's workshop, people came from Bromley Speakers, Arun Speakers, Anglia Communicators, Speakers of Croydon and Guildford Speakers. Please come again to Andrews event. And please encourage your club colleagues to join us.

A full flyer is here

Andrew Brammer flyer Mar08

To learn more about the event please take a look at my previous article here:

http://thelondonspeaker.typepad.com/weblog/2008/02/workshop-how-to.html

Look forward to seeing you there.