| Last Meeting |
Malvern Speakers report April 23 2019 Colin Jackson CC
Recent unseasonably summery weather had led Isaac Baker to opt for a holiday theme for his Table Topics session. Most participants rose bravely to the challenge, with cherished memories of places as far apart as Morecambe, Cornwall and Banff in the Canadian Rockies. Two speakers rather let him down, however. Jen Cashmore, invited to recall a favourite outdoor meal, revealed a preference for the comforts of home, the sofa and the TV to open-air gastronomy; while Caroline Bellhouse, asked about her favourite ice cream, explained that she didn’t like the stuff at all, and amazed her audience with a description of a Malaysian equivalent featuring shaved ice and sweet corn!
In the first of the prepared speeches, a more serious note was struck by Isaac’s Mum Jackie Baker, with her thoughts on the importance of managing her personal time. This brought out the surprising detail that one day she had to admit to an unimpressed husband that she had spent 4½ hours looking after the dog!
Humour was never far from the surface in the confidently delivered icebreaker speech by new-dad-of-three-months Paul Davies. His subject – French Kids Don’t Throw Food – examined differences between the French and British ways of bringing up children. He identified three key principles: teach them to wait, give treats at just one time of day: and feed kids the same food as adults – giving them their veg first while they are really hungry!
“...and I thought he was such a nice young man” was Steph Bilton’s wistful comment as she began her evaluation of Will Dutton’s provocatively titled How To Lose Your Friends. It turned out that this was through the game of Monopoly, in which Will is obviously an expert. His advice: be as greedy as possible; drive a hard bargain when trading properties; and build houses and hotels aggressively. His tongue-in-cheek talk really engaged his listeners, generating an animated post-speech discussion and the evening’s Best Speech ribbon for Will.
Steph Bilton’s recollections of her time as a maid-of-all-work and a marine attraction in Morecambe won her the Best Table Topic vote, while Jen Cashmore’s forensic appraisal of Jackie Baker’s speech was judged best evaluation.
Next meeting will be at the Great Malvern Hotel at 7.30pm on Tuesday May 14th guest welcome.
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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| Hilary Benoit |
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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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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! |
| 14 May 19 at 19:30 |
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Open to all |
Contact the Vice President Membership |
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