The London Speaker

Angel Speakers has arrived - visit us!

From Steve Maguire, Founding President Angel Speakers

Taking our name from our location Angel Islington, Angel Speakers chartered in April with an initial base of 24, 19 new to Toastmasters. We meet in the Hilton hotel, a great venue for meetings, next to the Business Design Centre. 5 minutes from Angel tube station. Though a young club, we are really achieving; making a positive difference to our members’ personal development, welcoming guests and helping to boost Area 47 to President Distinguished Area award. 

A huge hug of thanks goes out to London Communicators who are our sponsoring club and to the many individual experienced Toastmasters (you know who you are) who have helped grow the club by coming along and supporting us by taking roles.

Since our initial demo meeting on the 22 October 2009 (also the 85th Birthday of the Toastmasters International organisation) it’s been a fantastic journey for all involved. Angel Speakers story so far has had many highs and some lows, but with wonderful energy and dedication each meeting managed to lift the spirits - offering members and guests opportunities to share stories and have fun.

For me, on a personal level, chartering the club was a great achievement. It taught me great things are achieved by taking that first step and working together for a common goal. This experience provided new insights into communication, leadership and how relationships develop. If this applies to me, which I know it does, it means that other toastmasters get the same benefits by joining in too.

The future?  Now with a full committee trained at COT we look forward to our chartering party. We’ll use our skills and contacts to keep growing the club, bringing the opportunities of Toastmasters to more and more people. Angel's door is open and the club welcomes the support of experienced Toastmasters and most welcome guests to come along and join us, every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month for a 7pm start.

As I pass the baton on to our new joint Presidents Simone Hauser and Andrew Osborne I know I leave the club in great shape and in good hands for the future.

Speakers 25 in the City next meetings - join us!

From Karen Thurman, Speakers 25 in the City

Speakers 25 In The City held its first meeting on June 18th, with 20 people attending. The theme of the night was "New Beginnings" and the attendees, speakers, evaluators and other role holders ensured that we had a wonderful new beginning. Meeting number 2 on July 12th, themed "Going Forward" was an equally fun and successful meeting.

We want to thank all who attended our meetings and helped us make them a success, in the true Toastmasters spirit.

Our next meetings are at 6.30pm on July 26th, August 9th and August 23rd. We're looking to fill all roles except grammarian for the two August meetings, so if you would like to try out an enthusiastic, fun new open club please contact us at [email protected].  If you know anyone who might be interesting in joining please encourage them to contact us too.

Venue: 25 Gresham Street, EC2V 7HN (close to St Paul's underground station).

Club Officer Training with your new London Council members

Posted by Dorothea Stuart

One of the first tasks that a new London Division B Council has is organising Club Officer Training for the committee members of all the Toastmasters clubs in London.

At the training on 19 July, Paul Walsh our new Division B Governor was clearly enjoying leading his team in delivering an excellent evening of information, discussion and networking.

Speakers focused on giving us ideas for ensuring club success, the power of mentoring, how to organise the upcoming Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests. We all benefited from the breakout groups to discuss our own committee role and the chance to network with the hospitality provided by State Street.

We heard more about the next UK &Ireland Conference - Flourish - in Glasgow where the contest finals will be held 11-13 November.  District Lt Governor Education & Training Freddie Daniells and PR Officer Hilary Briggs provided the bigger picture of how London clubs fit into the wider Toastmasters world.

The final Club OfficerTraining is on Wednesday 27 July at London Bridge - book your place via your club President/Area Governor.

Pictured: Andy Pape, Area 47 Governor gets feedback from the audience. Kate McNeilly, Area 33 Governor continues discussions after her mentoring workshop.

 

Ken Adjei, Area 34 Govenor encourage us to provide mentoring programmes, Greg Ros, Area 31 Governor, event manager for the evening, gets us organised

Aaron Woods, Asst Area Governor leads the breakout session for VPEs. Nigel Cutts, Area 6 Governor encourages club success.

District Officers Freddie Daniells and Hilary Briggs gets us thinking about the benefits of the Toastmasters educational programmes, the central importance of evauation and the power of our success stories to attract new members.

Support our International Speech Champion at Tube Talk's next meeting

Posted by Kassim El-Maawiy, VPE Tube Talk

Help the District 71(UK & Ireland) International Speech Champion prepare for Las Vegas!

Tube Talk are delighted to welcome District Champion Malachi Talabi at our meeting on Wednesday 27^th July 2011 in central London.

Malachi will be practicing one of his speeches in preparation for the World Semi Finals of Public Speaking at Toastmasters International Convention in Las Vegas next month.

Why not come along and support him and provide as much feedback as possible to enable him to hone the speech over the coming weeks?

If you’re able to come along, get in touch: [email protected] or 020 7027 0595

All guests must be signed in with security, therefore we’d appreciate all guest names in advance.

Where: Tube Talk, London Underground, Templar House, 81-87 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NU (NB the entrance is on High Holborn - do not be confused by google maps!) Download TTTemplar Map

When: 27^th July 17:45 for a prompt start at 18:15

Come along and show your support as Malachi’s Toastmaster journey truly goes International!

PS Did you know that Tube Talk is now an open club? We would love to have you as a member. Come along and check us out!

  

Presentations sending you to sleep?

I have never been a great fan of presentations using software such as PowerPoint.  To be fair this is mainly because it's often used so badly. 

You may have seen the article in Fast Company Magazine reporting the statistic from the Anti-PowerPoint Party in Switzerland which claims that 85% of participants in meetings are find that software based presentations are “killing motivation”.  A recent SlideRocket survey showed that 30% of respondents admitted to falling asleep in presentations.

Just for fun you might like to take the BBC quiz 7 Questions on PowerPoint.   As Toastmasters, I’m confident that your presentations will always keep your audience awake and alert!

Andy O'Sullivan sums up his year as London Toastmasters Division B Governor

What did you gain from a year as London Division B Governor?

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet many of the amazing members in London Division B. We’re fortunate to have 40 Toastmasters clubs in our Division, many within walking distance of each other - including three separate clubs meeting in the same venue, fortunately on different nights!

By visiting many of these clubs I had the invaluable opportunity to learn how our Division Council and the UK & Ireland District can help & support our members better.  (Andy in centre of picture at London Contest finals 2011).

What do you see as the biggest successes in 2010-11?

New clubs and membership growth. It‘s been wonderful  welcoming new members to Toastmasters. Many joined the new clubs that started and chartered in London over the year.  

Angel Speakers, Covent Garden Speakers, Lawspeak Toastmasters, Man Speakers, Phoenix & Whitehall Speakers all chartered, joining the Division B community and helping grow our membership to 1227. No other Division within UK & Ireland has seen an increase anywhere near this level. Congratulations to all the club officers in achieving this historic moment in each club’s history.

We have two new clubs already holding meetings: at Imperial College and Speakers 25 in the City. With two more clubs currently being planned 2011-12 could be another record breaking year. 

Excellent London Contest finals/Workshops. The wonderful feedback I’ve received from our two Division contests shows how much our members in London took away from these events.  The only ‘complaint’ is that people wanted to attend all of the workshops that were offered.

We’ve addressed this by holding evening workshops during the year - they’ve proved to be so popular; the places have been snapped up within days. 

The high quality of our contests and workshops has attracted members and even no-members from across the country.  Other Division Governors tell me they’ve been so impressed, they’ve copied our ideas!  Well, they do say imitation is the greatest form of flattery!

And what about Div B organising the Conference, A Spring Odyssey?

Twice a year, we have a District conference which can be held anywhere within the UK and Ireland.  In May we were very fortunate to have the conference in Windsor.  The conference was the result of two years hard work by TubeTalk and other members of Division B who organised the whole event. I’d like to thank everyone for their hard before and during the conference.  A special word of gratitude must go to Iain Duthie the Conference Director, who put in so much effort to ensure the conference was such an astonishing success. (Iain pictured at the end of A Spring Odyssey).

I had the pleasure of meeting many of our members at the conference who enjoyed the selection of workshops, contests and hospitality. 

It’s been a busy year for me and for the Division Council - Area Governors and Assistant Division Governors. I’ve learned huge amounts and I’m looking forward to supporting our new London Division B Governor Paul Walsh and his team.

International Speech Contest August 2011 in Las Vegas

Malachi Talabi our UK & Ireland International Speech Champion will be competing in the World Semi-Finals on 18 August 2011 in Las Vegas Nevada.  The names of all the semi-finalist from around the world can be found here.

The speech contest is just part of the International Convention which is an annual event attracting Toastmasters members and guests from at least 113 countries.

As it says on toastmasters.org "The much-anticipated event features a fun and dynamic program that includes keynote presentations, skill-building seminars and international speech contests culminating in the World Championship of Public Speaking. These superb speakers and competitors demonstrate the excellence in public speaking that the Toastmasters program is known for."

If you feel like a trip to the USA now is your chance. Malachi will appreciate the support!

Pictured left to right: Teresa Dukes (D71 Governor), Malachi, Pat Johnson (Toastmasters International President), Liz Hobbs (Assistant Division B Governor). Taken at the UK & Ireland Conference, A Spring Odyssey, May 2011.

Toastmasters International Magazine now online

The new digital edition of the Toastmaster magazine is now available. If you bookmark the page you can return each month to see the new issue. (Note: the current issue is restricted to Toastmasters members only. Please log in to the website to view it.) All past issues from 2011 are available for everyone to view.

 

The digital edition allows you to customize the magazine to your needs and access it remotely on your digital reader or smart phone. It is more interactive, enabling you to share articles with friends, search for certain topics and click on live Web links. You can zoom in to enlarge text, turn sound on and off, and translate the magazine into alternate languages. Further enhancements will follow.

 

If you have any questions or comments about the Toastmaster magazine, please contact [email protected].

 

Record Educational Awards and Club Growth for London Div B Toastmasters in 2010-2011

From Liz Hobbs, outgoing Assistant Division Governor - Education & Training

At the beginning of the last Toastmaster year, I had an article in the District 71 (UK & Ireland) Newsletter saying that ‘the only way was up’ for our Division.  I knew that we had a pool of talent and a lot of members, new members and new clubs all committed to enhancing their communications and leadership skills.

Well, you have certainly all proved me right – we are around 14% up on our results from last year with an extraordinary jump in the amount of members achieving Competent Leader, followed closely by Competent Communicator. 

We had 2 Distinguished Toastmasters this year and we have a number of people that are well on their way to achieving Distinguished Toastmaster in this coming Toastmaster year – great foundations are being laid throughout the Division.

Our outgoing London Division B Governor, Andy O’Sullivan also congratulates everyone and highlights the growth of new clubs within the Division:

“We’ve seen an amazing number of new clubs charter with - Angel Speakers, Covent Garden Speakers, Lawspeak Toastmasters, Man Speakers, Phoenix & Whitehall Speakers all joining the Toastmasters community and helping to grow our Division membership to 1227.  No other Division has seen an increase anywhere near this level.”

I want to wish every single member who has achieved educational awards in the last Toastmaster year my hearty congratulations – you have all contributed to an excellent year and I look forward to a brilliant year to come.

London Toastmasters Educational Awards June 2011. A Triumphant end to the year!

From Liz Hobbs, outgoing Assistant Division Governor - Education &Training 

An amazing number of people completed educational awards in June 2011.  Another record year for London Division B which shows how many people are joining us and benefiting from the Toastmasters educational programme. Congratulations to everyone.  What will you achieve in the coming year?

Competent Communicator

Janice Chan. NZICA Bank Speakers. Area 33

Bandna Chopra  . WIBF Speakers -City. Area 47

Philip Corless. Riverside Communicators. Area 29

Anne Craven. MLP London Bridge Speakers. Area 33

Gerald Dunn. NZICA Bank Speakers. Area 33

Evelyn Edwards. London Olympians. Area 6

Caine Free. Riverside Communicators. Area 29

Desiree Goodall. WIBF Speakers -City. Area 47

Veena Hirana. WIBF Speakers -CW. Area 31

Claudia Holm. Speakers Corner. Area 31

Anne Johnson. London Communicators. Area 47

Ron Kang. Berkeley Square Speakers. Area 45

Tracy Kirlew. Citi Criers. Area 31 

Nicole Kollermann. London Communicators. Area 47

Raphael Kopel. St Paul's Speakers. Area 33

Philip Korsah. Tube Talk. Area 34

Philippa Leguen de Lacroix.  1st London Toastmasters. Area 33

Dave Levin.  1st London Toastmasters. Area 33

Laura McCracken. London Olympians. Area 6

Agnieszka Obara. Polish Your Polish. Area 6

Kaveh Pourvand. Holborn Speakers. Area 34

Jill Segal.  Grosvenor Square Speakers. Area 45

Stephen Sheasby. Covent Garden Speakers. Area 45

Emma Simpson. St Paul's Speakers. Area 33

Jade Simpson. NZICA Bank Speakers. Area 33 

Michael Smith. London Communicators. Area 47

Sony Solomon. Citi Criers. Area 31

Brendan Staunton. Early Bird Speakers. Area 45

Ben Taylor. Early Bird Speakers. Area 45

Pia Turner. Broadgate Speakers. Area 33

Ioanna Tziri. Speakers Corner. Area 31

Taz Virdee. Grosvenor Square Speakers. Area 45

Advanced Communicator Bronze

Simon Cooper. Northen Lights. Area 47

Rajkumar Jain. St Paul's Speakers. Area 33

Julia Kowalle. NZICA Bank Speakers. Area 33 

Joydev Nandi. West London Speakers. Area 29

John Nyaruwa. Tube Talk Toastmasters. Area 34

Jay Surti. Holborn Speakers. Area 34 

Adolfo Tunon. Citi Criers. Area 31 

Aaron Wood. Covent Garden Speakers. Area 45

Advanced Communicator Silver

Jacqueline Purcell. Grosvenor Square Speakers. Area 45

Jilly Shaul. Northen Lights. Area 47

Dorothea Stuart. Riverside Communicators. Area 29

David West. London Corinthians. Area 6

Advanced Communicator Gold

Kim Crosby. London Olympians. Area 6

Kate McNeilly. London Athenians. Area 29

Competent Leader

Robert Cole. Broadgate Speakers. Area 33

Shelley Des Forges. NZICA Bank Speakers. Area 33

Dick Dixon. Tube Talk Toastmasters. Area 34

Iain Duthie. Tube Talk Toastmasters. Area 34

Dominique Fourniol. Holborn Speakers. Area 34

Aliki Georgakopoulou. London Communicators. Area 47

Veena Hirani.  WIBF Speakers -CW.Area 31

Simon Hull. Broadgate Speakers. Area 33

Rajkumar Jain. St Paul's Speakers. Area 33

Tracy Kirlew. Citi Criers. Area 31 

Dave Longley. Bloomsbury Speakers. Area 34

Paul Miner. MLP London Bridge Speakers. Area 33

John Nyaruwa. Tube Talk Toastmasters. Area 34

Andrew Pape. Northern Lights Speakers. Area 47

Jakub Pieczonka. London Communicators. Area 47

Lukasz Szyrmer. Polish Your Polish. Area 6

Advanced Leader Bronze

Andrew P. Bennett. Excalibur Speakers. Area 47

Christopher Boden. Holborn Speakers. Area 34

Catherine Chadwick. London Olympians. Area 6

Jenny Teuten. West London Speakers. Area 29

Leadership Excellence Award

Andrew Klimaytys. Riverside Communicators. Area 29

Kate McNeilly. London Athenians. Area 29

Educational Awards	Last Year 2009/10	June 2011	Division B year to date
Competent Communicator	73	32	85
Adv Comm Bronze	18	8	20
Adv Comm Silver	2	4	5
Adv Comm Gold	3	2	4
Competent Leader	27	16	41
Adv Leader Bronze	12	4	11
Adv Leader Silver	6	-	1
Leadership Excellence	5	2	3
Distinguished Toastmaster(DTM)	7	-	2
Total	153	68	172