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Steve Birch | Karen Lowen | Jackie Baker | Isaac Baker
Malvern Speakers Report Tuesday April 9th 2019
Attendance of members was somewhat depleted, as on the previous evening many had been to share the celebrations as Malvern’s daughter club Worcester had achieved Toastmasters International Charter status. However this deficiency was made up for by an unusually large number of guests who enjoyed a typically lively and varied meeting.
It opened with Mike Snoswell’s slightly surreal Dr Who-themed Table Topics session. Speakers responded with suitable flair and imagination with unprepared talks on some pretty weird subjects. It was the contribution from the club’s youngest member Isaac Baker, who also had a busy evening as Toastmaster, that was voted best.
There were two sparkling prepared speeches, the first from Tristan Mitchell, who considered The Problem with Problems. He pointed out that we are constantly solving problems without even realising it – for instance deciding which of 40,000 possible combinations of the order of putting on just eight garments when we dress in the morning! He ended (with appropriate actions!) with the famous tale of Archimedes’ Eureka moment when solving a problem in the bath.
The other main speaker was accountant Karen Lowen, who set out to demonstrate that far from being a bean counter, her profession was daily full of interest and surprises. Her point was convincingly (and entertainingly) made by her citing tax relief claims made by her clients for fertility treatment and a ‘nose job’ (one of which was actually successful)! She also quoted HMRC’s Top Ten list of totally ridiculous excuses offered for late tax returns, and outpointed Tristan for the Best Speech ribbon.
Annual committee elections saw veteran member Roger Granville elected President for the coming year. Next meeting will be on at 7.30pm on St George’s Day, April 23rd at the usual venue, the Great Malvern Hotel.
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| Penultimate Meeting |
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Tristan Mitchell | Stephanie Bilton | Steve Birch | Andrei Rezmeriță
Malvern Speakers report Tuesday March 26th 2019 - Colin Jckson
There was a rare achievement at last week’s meeting when a member making his debut ‘icebreaker’ address won the evening’s vote for Best Speech. It was the more remarkable because it came from someone for whom English is not his first language. Romanian-born Andrei Rezmeriță, now resident in Hereford, spoke with confidence and a fine command of English as he mused on life and happiness. It was an additional accomplishment in that he outpointed two other very experienced speakers in Jen Cashmore (President of the recently formed Worcester club and a Divisional finalist in this year’s Toastmasters International speech competition) and Karen Lowen, who had stepped in at the last minute to fill a gap in the evening’s programme.
Jen’s speech, remarkably entitled The Body Is Its Own Pharmacy And Delight Writes The Prescriptions, was a plea for a positive and cheerful attitude to life as the best antidote to ill health. As always she seasoned her talk with relevant statistics, including the remarkable one that 90 per cent of all illnesses treated by the NHS are stress-related. Stress, she claimed, suppresses the natural pharmacy of the body.
More light-hearted was Karen’s address ‘Man: The Instruction Manual’ in which she fancied she had obtained a bionic man by mail order and she imagined what such a book of rules might say. She used it to make a few telling feminist – if not sexist! - points, all delivered in her usual upbeat humorous manner.
The evening had begun in somewhat surreal style with Roger Granville’s Table Topics session. Somerset-born Roger, using his authentic Wurzel accent, invited speakers to be witnesses at the trial of two youths accused of the heinous crime of having tipped over a cow in a field on Christmas Eve – yes really! Victims rose imaginatively to this unusual challenge, with Steph Bilton’s use in evidence of the imprint of shoe sizes in the muddy field voted best. Steve Birch won the best evaluator's ribbon for his assessment of Jen Cashmore’s speech.
Next meeting will be at the Great Malvern Hotel on Tuesday April 9th at 7.30pm. Visitors from near or far are always welcome – there was one from Liverpool this week! |
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View the next meeting details including the structure and roles.
View the previous meeting agenda.
Find out more about the new and improved programme Pathways and begin your journey. |
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Does the mere thought of standing up to say a few words fill you with fear?
If so, you’re not alone! Fear of public speaking is reputed to rank even higher than death! Whether it’s the upcoming wedding speech, an important pitch to a client, or simply making your point in a meeting of colleagues, it’s easy for the fear to take over – so that you don’t perform at your best. There are consequences for how you’re viewed by friends, family and your boss, with follow-on emotional and economic impacts.
So what would you like to do about it?
If you’re employed in a reasonable sized organisation, you might have already attended a presentation skills course. Whilst good, you might have found that the learning wore off quickly and you’re still not that much further forward. If you really want to tackle your fear, and also if you’ve not got access to in-house training, Toastmasters is the perfect answer.
Our wide network of clubs and their learn-by-doing programme are sure to help you become a better speaker and leader because you’ll be building your skills at a pace that you choose. And the regular meetings (typically twice per month) ensure you practice and develop your skills – just as you might build your muscles through regular exercise (well some of you might!).
Here are just some of the benefits of joining Toastmasters:
- Regular and constructive feedback from other learners as you practice organising your thoughts and presenting them clearly
- Access to a wealth of educational materials and resources on public speaking, listening skills and effective communication in conferences and meetings.
- A free subscription to the Toastmaster, a monthly magazine that provides insights on communication, leadership, club activities and other relevant topics.
Members quickly gain the skills that allow them to excel at job interviews, present humorous, informative or special occasion speeches or give powerful business presentations.
Come along to our next meeting to find out more and see it in action. Guests are most welcome and can come as many times as they like.
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Looking to improve your speaking and leadership skills? Ignite your career? Gain the confidence to speak up?
You’ve come to the right place. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped more than 4 million people just like you, from around the world, become more confident speakers and leaders.
Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development, with more than 345,000 members in over 15,900 clubs in 142 countries. This network of clubs and their learn-by-doing programme are sure to help you improve.
Toastmasters will give you the skills and confidence you need to express yourself effectively in any situation. Whether you are a professional, student, stay-at-home parent or retired, Toastmasters is the most efficient, enjoyable and affordable way of gaining great communication skills. You'll learn how to:
- Formulate and express your ideas effectively
- Be more persuasive and confident when giving presentations
- Improve your one-on-one dealings with others
Don't delay! Become the speaker and leader you want to be. Confident, charismatic leaders weren't born that way. As you progress in Toastmasters, you'll get to practice your skills by organising and conducting meetings and motivating others to help you. Become a better negotiator. Gain trust. Inspire your team.
Visit our next meeting - guests are most welcome. You won't regret it!
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| Yours Subs |
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Bank Details:
S/C: 30-95-41
A/C: 27751760
Malvern Speakers |
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| Why Not Join Us! |
| When do we meet? |
| 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month at 19:30 |
Where do we meet? |
| The Great Malvern Hotel |
Graham Road
Great Malvern
Worcestershire
WR14 2HN |
Be a guest at our next meeting! |
| 23 Apr 19 at 19:30 |
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Open to all |
Contact the Vice President Membership |
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