West Herts excels at Area contest

West Herts was wonderfully represented at Area level today with talented competitors and plenty of club support.

Congratulations to Muhammad Omer who stepped in at the last minute to win the Table Topics Contest with a rib tickling take on what he would want on a desert island.

Delightful veteran Stuart Lawson took a highly commendable second place.

Richard Beagle took third place in a field of eight in the Humorous Speech contest with a tale of smuggled apples and a escaping model plane.

Irina Baldwin (Table Topics) and Anthony Brennan (Humorous Speech) also put in strong performances after winning at club level. 

Special mention also to the other West Herts members Karen, Phil and Judy who were there to cheer on their fellow club members and take on essential support roles on the day. 

Not to be missed!

Wednesday 9 September we have two contests in one evening! Why not have a go at a humorous speech, or Table Topics (or both)? If you are a member you are eligible to enter! You can find out more about the contests here:http://toastmasterclub.org/kb.php?mode=article&k=27
 
Wednesday 23  September, we have a showstopper of an evening! We are delighted to be welcoming Martin Brooks, an impacttologist®. He studies how the top communicators in the world convince, influence and motivate others through the combined effect of their behaviours, their “impact”. Martin will share what impact is, why you need it and give some simple but highly effective “take-aways” to help you increase your impact and success. Martin will be available for some Q&A informally also. Please note that there will be a normal Table Topics session, but no other prepared speakers. As always, guests are welcome.

What's a story?

Does anyone know what makes a story? 

The definition is that you don't know what will happen until you get there - a bit like a West Herts Speakers meeting. (Thanks to John Kendall, Area Director)

Fun for all (26/8/15)

For anyone who feels shy about joining a Toastmasters group this week's meeting, especially, would have dispelled any fears.

The night, as usual, was a distillation of support, fun and encouragement. It was even more obvious than usual because of the smaller group - summer draws many of the members away.

President Richard Beagle asked everyone what they wanted to achieve that night and everyone accomplished their goals!

New member Phil Walls led an invigorating round of Table Topics (impromptu speeches). 

The word of the day was 'portmanteau', and even the winners of the evening ended up  as two parts.

Table Topics was the only competition of the evening and the tied winners were Richard and Judy!

Lost spoon leads quietly

Opeyemi Sebastian scooped the little pool on 14 August. It was't a huge gathering - summer takes its toll on numbers - but he put in two masterful performances.

The speech that won him Best Table Topics was a remarkable tale of the strangest object that has ever been in his car - a cereal spoon found far too late. You had to be there to understand.

His masterful Why Don't You Consider Leading Quietly won best Speaker ahead of an excellent and touching Having a Hero by Seb Lane.

Opey juggling trophies and ribbons presented by 

President Richard Beagle

Richard welcomes new member Philip Walls

Being human makes a world with more toothpaste than fish

Toastmaster Gwendoline embraced the holiday feel on 22 July by "inviting" us to her metaphorical holiday house for what proved to be a fun-filled evening. 

The "conversation" therein was led by three erudite  speakers highlighting a world of wildly differing values. Alex led with a philosophical journey of what makes us human, Irina on the tyranny of choice, and Megan reminding us that we can no longer say there are plenty of fish in the sea.

In table topics, Alex put us on the spot with speeches that punctuate life - especially when you have to talk around the horribly obvious.

Area Director John Kendall visited to urge all members to compete for the Table topics and humorous speech competition at Area in October Club competitions are planned for September.

Judy Mallinson, standing in for President Richard Beagle, urged all members to bring their Competent Leadership manuals to all meetings so that roles can be evaluated and lead to the completion of that competency.

As always, we were thrilled to welcome visitors and new members and assure them that many of the speakers are in themselves only new to the club and have learned speech making through practice and support.

Those taking home the ribbons were: 

Table Topics and Best Evaluator: Ope Sebastion

Best Speaker: Irina Baldwin

New Officers Appointed

It's that time of year when new members step up for officers' roles.
Appointed at this months's meeting were:

President - Richard Beagle
VP Education - Karen Willis
VP Membership - Karen Newell
VP Public Relations - Judy Mallinson
Secretary - Anthony Brennan
Treasurer - Opeyemi Sebastian
Sergeant at Arms - Judy Mallinson

Our thanks and much admiration to Caroline Flanagan for her inspirational leadership and contribution over the past year, and her commitment to the committee this year as Immediate Past President.

Our latest Competent Communicator

Last Wednesday, in front of an eager audience, one of our most enthusiastic members, Richard, presented his 10th speech from the Competent Communicator's Manual. We were treated to a passionate delivery and exposition of an event in Richard's life which helped him make a fundamental change in direction and attain success in his career. It's these speeches which encourage other members to dig deep and find inspirational topics which allow us to learn more about each other's life experiences.

The other speaker who delivered a prepared speech was Ope who beautifully crafted a homage to the three most important women in his life - his mother, wife and young daughter. His love and admiration for them came across so vividly that we were spellbound by his ability to bring his early years with his siblings to life.

Our more serious speeches were complemented by a light-hearted Table Topics round of five speeches, loosely structured around the topic of Comedy. Our worthy winner Karen managed to talk eloquently about 'How to Life your Mood' and even one of our visitors boldly stepped up to the plate for the first time and told us all about 'My Favourite Sitcom'.

So, if you are looking to hone your speaking skills, do join us for an enjoyable evening in two weeks time.

Blowing away the January blues

Our first meeting of 2015 was a jam-packed event ably led by Richard Beagle our Toastmaster for the evening.

Toastmasters think on their feet


The first part of the evening was devoted to Table Topics, which was introduced by Megan who came up with an innovative theme for this suite of impromptu 'mini speeches' lasting between one and two minutes. She asked the speakers to pick the name of a celebrity from one envelope and a profession from another and the idea was to tell the audience why these well known people might be good at a particular job. For example, we had Kate Middleton as a fire-fighter and David Beckham as a policeman. It made for a humerous start to the meeting and a challenging Table Topics for our members.

Early speeches delivered with aplomb

The second part of the evening was devoted to the prepared speeches. Daniel gave his first speech, known as The Ice Breaker, and Monica followed with her second speech which is all about organisation - delivering a strong opening, developing content with a clear path and finishing with a memorable conclusion. Both speakers gave extremely well prepared speeches and we look forward to their next contributions.

Advanced Toastmaster interviewing techniques

Gwendoline, one of our most advanced and accomplished speakers, is following a the 'Communicating on Video' Manual and delivered speech number 3 where she was required to host an interview. She prepared a series of questions and gently led her interviewee through the short interview with great skill.

After a break, we returned to hear the evaluations.....but more of this in our next blog post

Kick Start 2015 with West Herts Speakers

For many the start of the New Year is a time for making some resolutions. If one of the goals you have for 2015 is to improve your public speaking or leadership then joining Toastmasters is a great first step.

We start back after the Christmas break on Wednesday 14th January at 7.15 for a 7.30 start with lots of new members who joined us in December and seasoned speakers to guide the meetings and take on the roles which keep the schedule flowing.

Toastmasters membership is not just about speaking but also includes the all important evaluations.  Each speaker has their very own evaluator who is dedicated to listening with care and assessing how well the speech meets the speaker's objectives - always delivered in a positive way. We also have members acting  as grammarian, another counts the ums and ahs and then there is the time keeper keeping everyone on schedule.

So why not turn that New Year's resolution into action and come and join us. Please get in touch to find out more - telephone Amanda Brown on 01707 373138

Summer gives way the Autumn

For many September is the start of the new year - well the new school year anyway. Members renewed their dedication to West Herts Speakers and we had a jam packed room on Wednesday full of enthusiasm for the run of meetings up to Christmas.

We were led through the agenda by Kriss as Toastmaster for the evening. Stuart, as General Evaluator, introduced his team: Laurence, Ah-Counter; Liz, Grammarian; Amanda, Timekeeper.

The Table Topics, which forms the first part of each Toastmasters' evening, was directed by Karen, who posed questions to six unsuspecting members who then spoke for up to two minutes thinking on their feet, with no preparation. We were treated to the answers to:

• How would you use an extra hour a day productively?
• Which charity would you volunteer for?
• What would you like to get back that your have lost?
• What subjects would you introduce to the school curriculum?
• What advice would you give to a pupil entering a school of the opposite gender?
• How did you deliver a recent piece of good news?

Well those questions certainly got the grey matter whirring!

The second part of the evening continued with the prepared speeches. Anthony kicked off with a speech entitled ' A Little House on the Prairie'. He evoked scenes from a visit to the bowls club where his father is a member and conjured up a detailed picture so the audience felt as though they were actually there. Anthony is a master of understated humour and definitely a member to learn from.

Gwendoline, who is one of our most experience speakers, then gave a speech entitled 'Floordrobe' which was full of advice on how to organise our, sometimes less than tidy, rooms. She interacted with the audience and took questions from the floor in an altogether professional manner which shows that Toastmasters really does develop a whole raft of speaking skills for engaging an audience.

Finally, Omer gave his ice-breaker speech - this the term we give to a new member's first speech. The title was 'Rich' and he gave us insights into his early working life in a variety of jobs. He left us to ponder the notion that money doesn't necessarily make you happy and that there is more reward in life from helping others.

In summary, the evening was filled with some great speeches which were both educational, enjoyable and thought-provoking.

_________________________________________________________________________________

In our next blog, we will look at the roles of the evaluators.

West Herts Speakers welcomes a visitor from down under

This evening we were delighted to welcome Gillian Russell from Glen Waverley Toastmasters in Melbourne, Australia, demonstrating the truly international nature of the organisation. Whilst visiting relatives, Gillian took time out to see how our meetings compare with those in her home town. A seasoned speaker, Gillian immediately stepped into a role giving a speech about her journey along the Toastmasters road. She has been a member since 1999 and thoroughly enjoys mentoring others and being part of several groups in her area.

Our lively meeting was led by Toastmaster of the evening, Anthony Brennan who guided us through the agenda. Ope Sebastian was the Table Topics Master who challenged three of our members to talk unprepared for two minutes on topics surrounding the theme of today - 23rd July 2014. We were then treated to three prepared speeches from Anthony Boboe, Richard Beagle and Gillian Russell. Lively, interesting talks which kept the audience engaged throughout.

The evaluations were delivered smoothly and followed by reports from the grammarian, time keeper and ah-counter. Following the general evaluation and presentation of awards, the toastmaster handed back to the President for the evening, Corinne Frydman who brought an enjoyable evening to a close. Heartfelt thanks goes to everyone who took part and to our guests. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

A Letter from our immediate Past President

The letter below is from our Immediate Past-President, Corinne Frydman who will be guiding the new team in its early days in office from July 2014. She will no doubt continue to be a valued member of West Herts Speakers and will continue on her speaking journey.

"After 18 months as President of West Herts Speakers, it is with great pride that I now pass the baton to your new President, the very talented Caroline Flanagan. I strongly believe that Caroline, supported by an enthusiastic team of officers, will lead WHS to greater success.

Your new officers are:

President:                     Caroline Flanagan

VPE:                            Anthony Brennan

VPM:                           Richard Beagle

VPPR:                         Amanda Brown

Treasurer:                    Laurence Baldwin

SAA:                           Colin Donald

Secretary:                    Judy Mallinson

My sincere thanks go to my team of officers, Sola, Rivka, Colin, Anthony Nixon, Laurence, Stuart and Eleanor, who gave me so much support.  They ensured the smooth-running of the club, and contributed to increasing our membership by a bedazzling 19 members!

I would also like to thank all of you, dear members of West Herts Speakers, for taking an active part, whether volunteering for roles, delivering speeches or providing a consistently supportive atmosphere.  Please continue until public speaking and leading become your second nature!

Warm wishes,

Corinne Frydman

Immediate Past-President of West Herts Speakers"

West Herts Speakers appoints new Officers

The Toastmasters 'year' begins at the beginning of July and it was with enthusiasm that the new officers were nominated and seconded by members, in order to form a new leadership team which will take over from the previous custodians of the roles. We would like to give the outgoing team a big 'thank you' for all their hard work over the past year.

The new President of West Herts Speakers is Caroline Flanagan supported by three Vice Presidents of Education, Membership and Public Relations, our Secretary, Treasurer and the Sergeant of Arms.
The full list can be viewed here