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.
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.
Thomas as Toastmaster of the evening
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.
Tatiana delivering her speech
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.
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.
Laurence was Timekepper
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.
Christophe delivering his icebreaker
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!
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.
Tatiana delivering her speech
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”
Eleanor H delivering her speech
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.
Robert practising his best man’s speech
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.
It has been suggested that the meeting time is put back by 15 minutes to try and prevent people arriving late. Please indicate your preference using the poll below:
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