Holborn Speakers hits the mark again with another dynamite evening. Four speakers stepped up – Sarah Maloof told us animatedly about the perils of making big decisions, Paul Lau shared the secrets to success in business, Guy Smith gave a personal and uplifting story about one of his great challenges in life and finally Riad Hamada gave us his number 10 speech. It was a moving account of overcoming adversity using imagination and courage. Congratulations Riad on finishing your first manual and becoming a Competent Communicator!

The table topics had a decidedly business theme to them, but don’t think that stopped them from being a lot of fun. Craig gave us some interesting scenarios from buttering up the boss to firing an employee. We learnt that Zadi will be very gentle firing someone, but Kaveh is not to be trusted with juicy gossip! In the end though, the audience vote decided that lying and backstabbing wins out every time.

Anthony Robinson gave a very refined and well informed report on our grammar and the GE, David O’Neil, was both thorough and on time. A rare and precious quality in a general evaluation. Remember, contest night is next week, be there!

Filed by: chrisboden | Category: Meetings
Thursday, September 24th 2009 5:39 pm

So what’s the story?

We are holding two contests on the 29^th September – Table Topics and Humorous Speech.

Can I enter?

Yes! Only requirement is that you are a club member, go for it.

Humorous speech, is that like a stand up comedy routine?

No. It is still a speech, it needs a structure and a purpose. But it can be about absolutely anything, given in any style you like and yes, you are meant to make people laugh. Timing is the standard 5/6/7 minutes.

So what makes a good speech?

The usual + humour. The judging criteria are available here

http://cid-c0b976c87fb66ee3.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/Toastmasters/Humorous%20Speech%20Judging%20Form.pdf

I’m not sure if I can be funny.

Neither is anyone else. Give it a try, it’s your best chance and a great challenge.

Table topics contest, how does that work?

Well you all answer a table topics question (usual 1/1.5/2 minutes length) and the best one wins.

But what if someone gets an easier question than me?

Everyone answers the same question. Contestants are corralled in the bar downstairs and enter the room one at a time to be given the question.

Doesn’t it get boring listening to the same answer again and again?

Well it would if everyone answered the same. Try to be original.

Does it have to be funny?

No. Just like in regular meetings table topics can be serious, funny, silly or whatever. Mind you getting a laugh can go a long way.

Ok sounds good, how do I enter?

Just book yourself in on clubplan as you would a normal meeting role. You can enter either or both contests. If you want to enter both then email the VPEs and it will be set up for you.

Isn’t there something in the Competent Leader manual about organising and chairing contests?

Yes there is. For a couple of projects helping to organise a contest is a way to complete the project. Ditto for being a contest chairperson.

Is it too late for that?

We already have contest chairs for this one, but I could still use some help organising. Email me (chrisboden1@gmail.com) I will have jobs for you. However we are also hosting the Area contest in the 7^th October which needs organisers and chairpeople. Let me know if you’re interested.

Area Contest, tell me more

Ok then. Winners of the club contests go the Area contest and do it again. Winners from there goes to the Division B final (that’s London basically), then from there to the UK and Ireland championship.

If I’m not competing, what else can I do?

I’m glad you asked. We need timers and vote counters for our contest. And every other club in London is running a contest as well and will need judges from other clubs. There is a calendar here: http://thelondonspeaker.typepad.com/weblog/hsttschedule.html

Contact the club and offer your services. Plus, most importantly of all we need an audience! Contest night is always a lot of fun so come and watch and cheer and have a good laugh.

Filed by: chrisboden | Category: Competent Leader, Contests
Saturday, September 5th 2009 2:26 pm

At this week’s meeting we covered tips on how to continue to improve on skills acquired through the 10 competent communicator speech projects.  In order to present a speech that your audience will appreciate and enjoy, both content and delivery are important.  When you become familiar and comfortable with your material, you can concentrate on your delivery and building rapport with your audience, rather than worry about forgetting what you are going to say.  Preparation is key to a successful presentation.  A good way to help you prepare your content is chunking your material down into a mind map which you can also use as a stage prompt instead of notes  (if you need something to refer to when you are on stage).  The pictorial representation of the key points in your speech can sit on the floor allowing you to discretely look at it if you do lose your train of thought.  If you want to learn more, Tony Buzan is an expert on mind maps and has written several books on the subject.

Another useful tool when preparing your speech is to video your practise runs – instant feedback which will help you refine your performance! 

Watch this space for more tips.

Filed by: Jay Surti | Category: Meetings
Thursday, September 3rd 2009 2:42 pm