Tag: Toastmasters

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Past meetings

Holiday themed meeting

This week’s meeting had a holiday theme, with the hopes of extending the bank holiday even further. Not only did all speakers state what they got up to over the bank holiday, but there were also two speeches about holidays!

Fahad was acting President and gave an articulate introduction to the Toastmasters history and manuals. Fahad also encouraged members to consider becoming a member of the committee, with the Toastmasters New Year starting in July. He highlighted how serving as a club officer can really accelerate your development. Voting for committee members takes place at the AGM on 6th June. Click here for more information on the committee roles.

Fahad as acting President

Fahad handed over to Christophe, our Toastmaster for the evening. Christophe loves this role and has chiselled it down to perfection. He clearly described the role and welcomed each speaker to the stage with their bank holiday activities. Some activities were energetic, such as swimming, fitness classes and playing squash. Some were inspiring like walking on fire or presenting a workshop at a Toastmasters convention in Palma.

Christophe, introducing the holiday theme
Toastmaster Christophe describing the bank holiday theme

Christophe was supported by Thomas as Timekeeper, Alex as Grammarian and Vahagn as Harkmaster. Narayan took up his first role as Sergeant at Arms and greeted the 12 guests.

Alex, ecstatic that the word of the day, pragmatic, was used 9 times!
Vahagn getting ready to reward those who were listening!

Speeches

The initial section of the meeting was for prepared speeches. First up was Pascale, performing a number 4 speech, on Paradise. Pascale took the audience on an immersive trip to the Caribbean. She had the audience dancing at carnival in Trinidad to relaxing on an idyllic beach in Tobago.

Pascale, very happy to win the best speaker ribbon!

Next was Alexandro, who performed speech number 5 about why we travel. He used storytelling to great effect, describing his travels to Tehran, Dubrovnik and Kathmandu. Alexandro used body language to mirror his speech and to convey his message that traveling helps you learn and make the most out of life.

The third speaker Stephen, also performed speech 5. He performed an extremely well structured and clear speech, with three tips on persuasive techniques. Each tip was humorously highlighted with an active example about the audience should vote for him as best speaker!

Annabel gave the final speech of the night from the advanced Entertaining speaker manual on Obsessions. She used light hearted humour and rich content to describe the “cocktail for success”: morning routines, positive mantras and evening classes.

Evaluations

After the speeches, Diane, Paul H, Florian and Fahad performed evaluations for Pascale, Alexandro, Stephen and Annabel respectively. Audience members also completed feedback slips.

Speech feedback tip for persuading people (from Florian): Use open hand gestures, with palms facing the audience to convey sincerity. Focussed eye contact (rather than scanning around the room) is also essential for persuading people.

Fahad - best evaluator
Well done Fahad for winning the best Evaluator ribbon!

Table topics

The second section of the meeting was for Table Topics. Negin took to the stage as Table Topics Master. She gave each participant 3 words: a person, a place and a thing, which members and guests had to link together into a 2 minute table topic.

Great job David for your entertaining table topic about the Pope, a temple and a tiger!

For his second role of the day, Thomas gave some fantastic tips as Table Topics Evaluator. These included:

  • Run with the first thing that comes into your head
  • Make the topic into a story that you can relate to
  • Smile to increase the energy of your words

Well done to Florian, Narayan and guests Andrea, Dee, David, Bola, Abi and Manik for taking part!

Congratulations to Pascale, Fahad and David, who were tonight’s respective speech, evaluator and table topics winners and to all who helped make this a brilliant meeting as usual. We look forward to everyone at next Tuesday!

 

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Past meetings

Spontaneous themed meeting

This week’s meeting celebrated being spontaneous. Andrew, our Toastmaster for the evening, signed up to the role the previous night in true spontaneous style. In his introduction, he emphasised that while it is good to plan, it’s also great to be spontaneous. Andrew then guided us through the meeting with a smile, welcoming each speaker to the stage with a spontaneous story. Examples ranged from attending an Italian Toastmasters meeting without knowing the language, to skydiving on the spur of the moment to romantic rendezvous.

Andrew: our spontaneous Toastmaster
Andrew spontaneously takes up the Toastmaster role!

Negin (Timekeeper), Florian (Grammarian) and Pascale (Harkmaster) supported Andrew in functionary roles. Andy was Sergeant at Arms and greeted the guests with gusto.

Florian introducing word of the day: versatile

Speeches

The initial section of the meeting was for prepared speeches. First up was Isabelle who delivered an extremely moving speech no. 7 about the controversial subject of Euthanasia. As a journalist, Isabelle used first hand research to support her views. Consequently, she captivated the audience with her personal stories.

Next was George, who performed speech number 8. He used visual aids seamlessly to educate us all about high level and low level aircraft. George wowed us all with video clips of these planes alongside his informative description.

Terry gave the final speech of the night from the advanced public relations manual. He passionately discussed his campaign to stop the government from using people migration as a negotiation tool. He physically moved people to show who would be affected by Brexit, and also used humour to great effect. At the end of the speech, Terry persuaded us to take action and visit his “Do not Brex them” website.  If you also feel strongly about this subject – click here.

Well done Terry for winning the best speech ribbon!

Evaluations

After the speeches, Fahad, Nuala and John performed evaluations for Isabelle, George and Terry respectively. Audience members also completed feedback slips.

Speech feedback tip for using visual aids (from Nuala): If you are using a pointer to demonstrate visual aids, use open body language to increase viewers’ engagement. Think about what hand you are pointing with, to avoid blocking off the audience with your arm.

Speech feedback tip for persuading people (from John): A good persuasive technique is to use lots of facts to back up your points.

Great job John on winning the best evaluation ribbon!

Table topics

Table Topics took up the second section of the meeting. As Table Topics Master, Eleanor H presented the original theme: what story is behind the headline? She read out real, yet unusual news headlines, then the name of the unsuspecting member or guest.

Well done Paul for a winning table topic about a 1-eyed ferret in Liverpool (street station)

Afterwards, Alex evaluated all table topics succinctly and energetically. He advised all future table topic speakers to compose themselves by taking a deep breath. Well done to Christophe, Narayn, Paul H, Paul M, Bruna and guests Manik, Joe and Ajanta for taking part!

Florian headed the final part of the meeting, with a grammarian tip to avoid using “and” and “so” as verbal crutches. Pascale then faced the rather raucous/hungry audience, as harkmaster, to reward those who had been listening with home-baked brownies and flapjacks.

Brownies and flapjacks for those answering Pascale’s harkmaster questions correctly!

Congratulations to Terry, John and Paul M, who were tonight’s respective speech, evaluator and table topics winners! Thank you also to those who helped make this a fantastic versatile meeting. We look forward to seeing members and guests at our meeting next Tuesday!

 

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Education Past meetings

Speechathon – 28 March 2017

Once a month at London Victorians, we clear the decks for a speechathon. This affords members even more opportunities to give speeches and progress through the competent communicator programme.

It was fantastic to see the rapid progress being made by so many of our members in such a short space of time. And, as ever, the variety of topics was a treat for those attending.

Our people skills certainly benefited from the quality of speeches last night. Cleo taught us how to build rapport and Pascale talked us through the five languages of love. While Alexandro gave us an insight into courting in northern Spain.

Pascale winning best speaker

We also heard about the plight facing the world’s elephants, learned that mum’s have superhuman powers and were wowed by a powerful poetry recital. Judy had us on our feet at times as she shared her passion for dance with us.

Alex was also voted best speaker – we had two winners!

Thanks to all who attended and participated and don’t forget that next week we’re back to normal with the second half devoted to table topics and impromptu speaking.

Thomas gets another ribbon for best evaluator
Terry welcoming Charlotte as a new member
Categories
Past meetings Table Topics Toastmasters International

Table Topics Extravaganza! – 14th March 2017

Today’s toastmasters action-packed meeting was a London Victorians first – a meeting entirely devoted to table topics! Table topics are about developing a sharp mind and are useful for job interviews, meetings or even in day to day conversation. They are also a great way to practice speech techniques like body language or vocal variety on a weekly basis.

Terry giving us an educational speech

Terry began the meeting with an educational speech with some fantastic impromptu speaking tips. He highlighted how thinking about speech structure (introduction, main body, conclusion) before your table topic was a good way to prepare – unfortunately this went out the window for many of us when the nerves kicked in!

The meeting was then divided into three sessions, each with a different table topics master, evaluator and timekeeper.

Narrating Stories

Prateek introducing his table topic story theme

Prateek was the table topics master of the first session and presented a very original theme. He asked members to narrate a continuous story, while trying to incorporate selected words. Prateek provided the first sentence, then members followed on from each other.

The resulting story was filled with excitement and suspense, not to mention Toastmasters domination, tornados and time machines. Overall it was an exceptionally humorous table topics session. Alexandro was timekeeper and Diane managed the difficult task of evaluating over 10 speeches with ease, providing some thoughtful feedback.

Stories in Three Words

Cleo led the next session and she asked members to incorporate three words chosen at random into a story.

The audience was captivated by Millar’s holiday in Cape Cod, Alexandro’s speed dating train business venture and Karen’s dislike of buses. We even were treated to a live singing performance by Charlotte. Gabriele injected humour into his evaluation and Pascale was timekeeper.

 

Smelly Memories

What’s that smell?

Miller was the table topics master for the final session, with a brilliant theme that involved using our sense of smell. Miller asked members and guests to identify a smell from one of her mystery bottles and then describe the memory the smell transported them to.

There were some great stories and experiences involving lavender, lemon sherbet, and peppermint English to name a few. Charlotte was timekeeper and Nuala provided a clear and perceptive evaluation that gave each speaker something positive and something useful to take forward.

Congratulations to Judy, Charlotte and John, who were tonight’s table topics winners and to all who helped make this an extremely entertaining event. We look forward to seeing you on 21 March for our next meeting!

Well done Judy, Charlotte and John!
Categories
Education Toastmasters International

My 3 years journey to DTM

DTM
Distinguished Toastmasters – DTM

In the Beginning

When I did my icebreaker speech in Cheltenham Speakers in June 2013, little did I know back then that I would become a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) just 3 years later. A few weeks later I was living on the Clyde estuary and Toastmasters only came back on my agenda when I moved to London in late September 2013. Mastering public speaking and leadership was and remain a priority for me; so a rough plan was sketched in my head of joining several clubs to clock up experience faster.

My knowledge of the Toastmasters educational programme developed itself in drip by drip, mainly through my own research. Not having a mentor meant that I was on my own. But my natural curiosity coupled with an early promotion to VPE did the trick and so my first objective was set. Achieving Competent Communicator and Competent Leader status by June 2014! Once this was done, my next objective was a bold race against the clock, becoming a DTM before I turned 30; becoming a DTM before December 2016!

Launching London Victorians paved the way for completing all the leadership related tasks in time. The major stumbling block for me was the speeches, completing 30+ speeches in just 2 years. Like many I found the jump from the CC manual to the advanced manuals quite big and my speech progression stalled for a few months, adding to the dilemma. The dilemma was eventually sorted through a combination of forward planning and seeking out extra speaking opportunities whenever possible. Being a member of 3 and even briefly 4 clubs also helped in a big way! Eventually, my final speech from the Technical Presentations manual in late May, Speech 49 AM in my classification, 2016 sealed the deal.

Over the last 3 years I’ve learnt more about public speaking and leadership that I hoped for and the amazing thing is that my Toastmasters journey is still far from over. Indeed, the more I learnt about both subjects, the more I realise that I know little and still have a lot more to learn and experience. It goes without saying that I’m already working through my second DTM in order to focus on anything I may have missed when doing the first one!

Can anyone do the same? The answer is yes you can and here’s how.

1. Plan Your Speaking Schedule

As soon as I learnt the “2 roles in between speeches” rule in my clubs, I immediately requested speeches and roles far in advance to progress as fast as I could. I subsequently started keeping a record of all the meetings I attended and tabulated all the meeting dates of my clubs 6 months in advance. This way you can calculate how many speeches you’ll be doing over the course of a few months. Number your speech and here you go, you’ll have a very good idea of when you’ll deliver your 9th or even your 24th speech!

Use easy-Speak (http://www.toastmasterclub.org/) to track your progress and plan ahead!
Use easy-Speak (http://www.toastmasterclub.org/) to track your progress and plan ahead!

2. Join a Second Club

Not being a member a single club meant that I was exposed to some of the wider elements of the Toastmasters community very early on. You’ll meet more people faster, be known to visiting GEs and functionaries faster. But more importantly you’ll have more opportunities to speak and do meeting roles. Don’t neglect meeting roles as they’re just as important as speeches to sharpen your arsenal of skills.

3. Network Proactively

Had I not attended the Division B contests of October 2013, I most definitely wouldn’t have been as involved as quickly since these words of wisdom from the amazing Hillary Briggs, “you’re enthusiastic; you should get more involved!” Made me think a lot back then. In the same vein, offering my services as general evaluator, mystery speaker or judge, both pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to meet more people in other clubs. Without these relationships, London Victorians would have never happened, I would never have considered doing a Youth Leadership Project and becoming an area director would have been much harder.

4. Get to know the Educational Program

The Toastmasters Educational Program is rather simple, but the devil lies in its detail. For example in the requirement to do two speeches from the Successful Speaker Series to achieve ACS, the imperative of being a club mentor, sponsor or coach and a few more. Know what these bottlenecks will be far advance and plan accordingly!

5. Remember to Push Yourself!

You’ll need to do 46 speeches to become a DTM. That’s right a whopping 46 speeches! The effort will be worthless though if you don’t push yourself and excel in whatever you do. Always ensure that your speeches meet their project objectives. NEVER hesitate to repeat or redo a speech of you’re not happy about how it went. As club officer or district officer, don’t forget that you’re a leader and that you have a duty to lead by example. If you decide to launch a club in your own journey, make it the best you can, do better than what others do and serve your members first and foremost!

Just like me you’ll learn more on this journey than you hoped for. So onwards and forwards, go on and add these three letters ‘DTM’ to your last name by December 2019!