The London Speaker

Andrew Bennett - Places in UK & Ireland Evaluation Contest

2013-05-12T12:08:53+01:00

From Andy O'Sullivan

Andrew Bennett our London Division B Evaluation champion has just placed third in the UK & Ireland District 71 Evaluation Contest. First place: John Webber. Second Place: Eddie O'Hanlon.

Congratulations to all of them.

News from the UK & Ireland Conference in Torquay

2013-05-12T10:42:30+01:00

Early Bird Ian Hawkins placed third in the UK & Ireland Toastmasters International Speech Contest (at Torquay). In first place was William Dempster (HOD Toastmasters) and second was Dave McEvoy from Sligo. Congratulations to all the winners.

This morning Sue Yen Leow our London Division L Evaluation champion and Andrew Bennett, our London Division B Evaluation champion compete in the UK & Ireland Evaluation finals. Good luck to both of them.

Ian Hawkins is pictured below with Jakub Pawlowski, London Division B Governor.

Darren LaCroix returns to London - Own The Stage - LIVE Coaching Session.

2013-05-09T20:00:00+01:00

What's the fastest way for a speaker to go from good to GREAT?

One word: Coaching

Participants will give 1 to 2 minutes of the opening of a speech and receive instant feedback from a master speaker coach! Objectives: To give you a champion’s perspective on common presenter mistakes, along with techniques and tips that anyone can use to correct them! Full details of the event can be found here: Eventbrite.co.uk

When: 14 May, 7pm-9.15pm

Where: City Temple Conference Centre, Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DE

Reserve your ticket here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/6588439199/#

Contest Semi-Finals start tomorrow in Torquay

2013-05-09T14:00:00+01:00

It has arrived! The Toastmasters District 71 UK & Ireland Conference starts tomorrow in Torquay. This means that our London Division B, K and L winnners of the International Speech and Evaluation Contests will be performing again in Semi-Finals and Finals. Good luck to all of them!

Learning from a great speech and speaker

2013-05-07T12:47:19+01:00

From Sean Glasgow, President Berkeley Square Speakers

As a Toastmaster I love great speeches.

I'm not sure if you saw Obama's speech on 18 April at the Interfaith Service for the Boston Marathon bombing. It's a well worth watching.

How does he hook the audience from the start?

What's his theme? How does he paint pictures?

How does he relate to the audience with a personal story?

How does he's use positive imagery to enrol both Bostonian's and anyone who has a relationship with the city?

Where and how does he use repetition? Where does he change gears from appealing to our highest values to 'putting his foot down'?

Look how much he uses story and specific details and images. Notice the beginning is the end.

"Around the bend someone's there to boost our spirits. On that toughest mile when we think we have hit a wall. Someone will be there to cheer us on and pick us up if we fall. We know that."

That quote in a sense summarises what I love and pride in being in Toastmasters, spirit and support that's always there. "We know that."

The speech is about 20 minutes long.

London Toastmasters Educational Awards April 2013

2013-05-07T12:45:40+01:00

From Dorothea Stuart

Many congratulations to everyone who gained leadership and communication awards in April 2013. Eighteen awards have been added to our total cross the three Divisions B, K and L.

Competent Communicator

Michael Abrey-Bugg. Bloomsbury Speakers. Area 34. Division L

Manish Arneja. LBS Public Speaking Club. Area 47. Division L

Heidi Ashley-Hacker. Riverside Communicators. Area 29. Division B

James Bogere. ACCA Breakfast Club. Area 33. Division L

Christine Brown. Tube Talk Toastmasters. Area 34. Division L

Francesca Coronin. MLP London Bridge Speakers. Area 58. Division K

Ildiko Cseh. Early Bird Speakers. Area 45. Division B

Anne Feeney. Riverside Communicators. Area 29. Division B

Chris Francis. Meridian Speakers, Area 59. Division K

Lori Goossen. Meridian Speakers. Area 59. Division K

Fiona Harrison. Mole Valley Speakers. Area 53. Division B

Advanced Communicator Bronze

Christopher Boden. Holborn Speakers. Area 34. Division L.

Dele Ogun. Early Bird Speakers. Area 45. Division B

Zhenni Ma. MLP London Bridge Speakers. Area 58. Division K

Competent Leader

Tazud Miah. Early Bird Speakers. Area 45. Division B

Adrian Moore. The Speakers of Croydon. Area 35. Division K

Richard Ryan. Berkeley Square Speakers. Area 52. Division B

Advanced Leader Bronze

Tazud Miah. Early Bird Speakers. Area 45. Division B

Educational Awards	Last Year 2011/12	April 2013	year to date
Competent Communicator		11	75
Adv Comm Bronze		3	12
Adv Comm Silver			4
Adv Comm Gold			3
Competent Leader		3	28
Adv Leader Bronze		1	7
Adv Leader Silver			6
Leadership Excellence			4
Distinguished Toastmaster(DTM)			5
Total		18	147

Book for Division L Contests Friday 26 April

2013-04-23T11:28:14+01:00

From Greg Ros, Division L Governor

London Division Contest… 1 more to go!

Division contests in London have become a bit like our capital's buses... you wait for six months, and then three come along at once!

After the tasty starter that was Division K Contest just over a week ago, followed by the hearty main course of last weekend's Division B event (with a side order of workshops), we've now finally come to the delightful dessert!

This coming Friday, North & Central London will be showing off its finest speakers and evaluators, all vying for a place in the UK & Ireland semi-finals in Torquay. And what's more, you will be spoiled for choice, with eight contestants in both contests. Book here!

International Speech Contest

Loretta Addai	Jeremy Robinson
Ola Aralepo	Dorothea Stuart
Clive Broadbent	Rod Sugden
Andrew Gillian	Janet Tarasofsky

Evaluation Contest

Talia Ajibade	Sue Yen Leow
Femi Asaolu	Alex Masri
Sayara Beg	Jeremy Robinson
Helen Green	Dorothea Stuart

And there's more! In addition, we will be announcing the winner of our divisional Toastmasters Online Presence (TOP) award, recognising the club which has demonstrated leading practice in this field. And as you may have expected from a Friday night setting, we have secured an after party venue at the nearby Plum Tree for all to unwind at the end of a busy week.

Tickets for this event are available NOW!

Venue: City Temple Conference Centre, Holburn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2DE

Date: Friday 26th April

Time: 6.15pm arrival/briefings for 6.45pm start (finishing at 9.15pm)

Cost: £5 (incl. booking fee)

Ticket Booking: http://london-toastmasters.eventbrite.com

Division B Contest Winners

2013-04-23T11:22:39+01:00

The winners of the London Divison B finals going through to the next round in Toquay are:

International Speech Contest Ian Hawkins, Evaluation Contest Andrew Bennett. Pictured here with Division B Governor Jakub Pawlowski.

More info to follow shortly.

Thank you to Julie Kertesz for the photo.

The gentle art of influence - learn about this at a Division B Workshop Saturday 20 April

2013-04-19T18:00:00+01:00

In a last minute change to our line-up of workshop leaders tomorrow: Richard Fallon has stepped in to give us one of his renowned workshops. We're delighted that he will be teaching us key influencing skills in his workshop called: "It Is All About Them: The Gentle Art of Influence" Read more about Richard's workshop below. For full information on the whole day go to: http://2013-spring-divisionb.eventbrite.com/#

As busy professionals, we are all experts in our field. And it is often important for us to communicate our specialist information to non-specialists: clients, potential clients, colleagues, external stakeholders etc. When we do this, it is absolutely vital that we fully engage them with our message, both in our manner of delivery, and the language we use, making sure they are, at least, willing to consider what we have to say, and, at best, willing to act on it. Whether the stakes are high or low, if practised, the gentle art of influence boosts our communication skills, gains us credibility, and, of course, wins us greater influence in our professional roles.

Workshop Outline
In this 45-minute, fun-packed, hands-on workshop you will:

learn how to utilise greater vocal variety to keep your audience pleasantly tuned in
explore stripping back your message to make it more accessible
understand how to maximise your influence through 5 key questions

Area 29 Contest results

2013-04-19T17:13:03+01:00

From Chris Jolly, Area 29 Governor

The Function Room at The Hop Poles Hammersmith was full last Monday 15 April 2013. Both contests were keenly fought and the standards were extremely high. I am sure the judges would have had difficult deliberations!

The results are as follows:

International Speech Contest

1^st Harminder Dhillon (Trojan Speakers)
2^nd Errol Williamson (Riverside Communicators)
3^rd Heidi Ashley-Hacker (Riverside Communicators)

Picture L to R: Freddie Daniells (District 71 Governor), Harminder, Chris Jolly.

Evaluation Contest

1^st Harminder Dhillon (Trojan Speakers)
2^nd Peter van der Sloot (London Athenians)
3^rd Glen Savage (Riverside Communicators)

My thanks go to Dave Drew (Contest Chair), Chris Pennisi (Chief Judge), our mystery speaker, all our functionaries and our enthusiastic audience.