Second November meeting of 2010

The second November meeting of Camberley Speakers took place on Thursday, the 18th of November 2010. Several last-minute agenda changes were required, but thanks to some willing volunteers, all roles were filled, and we had another lively and enjoyable meeting. Total attendance 16:

Members: Adarsh Saini, Bob Nisbet, Chris Ayscough, Deborah G, Harry Fish, Jonathan Alsop, Maria James Mills, Martin Berry (Club President), Pam Williams, Quang Truong Le.

Guest(s): Nicola Coutts (Farnham Speakers), Rosemary Hayward (Farnham Speakers), Jessica Hayward (Farnham Speakers), Seni (Guildford Speakers), and first-time visitors Helen Clark and Natalie Kaye, who have both decided to join our club.

The meeting was started by Harry, as acting Sergeant-at-Arms, and then handed to Martin, who welcomed everyone, with a special mention for our various guests, four from other clubs, and two who were first-time visitors to a Toastmasters club. Martin handed back the meeting to Harry, our Toastmaster of the evening, who explained the last-minute changes that had been made to the agenda, due to unforeseen circumstances, and thanked those present who had kindly stepped forward to assist by taking on roles. Harry then introduced Adarsh, our Timekeeper for the evening, and Rosemary, our Grammarian and Ah Counter, and each in turn gave a summary of their roles. Rosemary’s chosen “Word of the Day” was EXUBERANCE. This word was on display in the front and back of the room.

Deborah then proceeded with the “Warm up” session, by asking us to each speak for 15 seconds on her chosen theme. “Tell us about a food or drink that transports you to another time and place”. Many warmed to the theme, and we were taken on a whirlwind trip to many interesting places. This was a good start to the evening, with lots of humour, and everyone present participated.

The meeting continued with three speeches, as follows:

1) It’s a dog’s life (CC03) – by Jonathan. This was an amusing story about the family dog which Jonathan once had in New Zealand, and the various escapades and narrow squeaks it experienced, with perhaps more lives than a cat!

2) Waking up early (CC05) – by Quang. Waking up early, is not it seems, a habit of Quang’s. He confessed to sometimes being reluctant to get out of bed in the mornings, even though he recognised the benefits of doing so. He suggested at one stage that 5 in the morning is a good time to start the day, if you can get up in time!

3) Colours (CC08) – by Maria. This was a speech intended to use visual aids, which Maria did well, with a number of slides showing various colours, and explaining that marketing and other theorists suggested that different colours depict different moods and seasons, and lead clothes designers and others to plan accordingly.   

During the break, the assembled members and guests had informal discussions, and Quang and Adarsh dispensed tea, coffee and biscuits.

The meeting resumed after the break with the speech evaluations. Bob gave an appraisal of Jonathan’s speech, Pam gave an appraisal of Quang’s speech, and Chris gave an appraisal of Maria’s speech.

The Table Topics Master was Jonathan, with a theme for participants to speak on a most favourite or least favourite job, film, music, house, etc. The participants were:

Jessica, Pam, Harry, Adarsh, Seni, Rosemary, Deborah, Quang, Helen and Natalie.

The Topics Evaluation was carried out by Martin, with a concise analysis of each speech, and some useful and constructive feedback for each of the TT speakers.

Rosemary took the floor as Grammarian/Ah Counter for the evening, and summarised the good and bad use of English over the course of the evening, and identified those who had used “filler” words. (Ah, Oh, So, Um etc.) Rosemary praised the use of good English, and those who had used well-structured phrases and the Word of the Day.

Jessica had taken on the role of General Evaluator at the very last minute, and gave her General Evaluation of the evening, a Toastmaster role she carried out for the first time on this occasion, and gave a very commendable performance. She had tips for the Timekeeper’s report, and some useful suggestions about other aspects of the meeting. She also congratulated the club on coping well with having to make some last-minute changes, and said that overall this had been a successful and well-conducted meeting.

The meeting was handed to Martin (Club President) who presented awards for:

Best Evaluator: On this occasion a dead heat between Bob, Pam and Chris!

Best Topics speaker, to Rosemary, on “My least favourite best friend”.

Best Prepared Speaker: Maria.

Martin concluded the meeting, and many then went to the nearby Duke of Clarence pub, for informal discussions.

Next meeting: Thursday 2nd of December 2010, commencing 7.30 p.m.

Other events: Madcap Comedy – Wednesday 15th of December, 7 p.m. at the Theatre, Old Woking. “Harry Blotter and the International Speech Contest”, see the attachment. If you would like to attend this star-studded humorous evening, contact Martin Berry, (see below) to obtain your tickets, which cost just £5 each.

Club Membership: We welcome guests to our growing club. If you like what we do at Camberley Speakers, why not bring a guest or two with you next time, and they can see for themselves? If you would like to know more about joining, please ask a committee member at the next meeting, or e-mail me or Martin Berry for details.

New members: Please welcome new members, Helen Clark and Natalie Kaye, who decided to join Camberley Speakers after their first visit. Do give them every assistance they may require on their journey with Toastmasters. They have both agreed to take on roles at the next meeting.

Club’s Newsletter: This newsletter will also be posted onto the website which you can access without a password. If you’d like to include additional information which is relevant to Toastmasters, do let me (Harry) know.

Club’s atmosphere: Whilst we are not yet the biggest club in the area, I think you will find that we are one of the friendliest, which is certainly the impression that many of our visitors give us. If you have a problem in attending because you need a lift, do come forward and say so, there is normally someone who will be happy to assist. If you need to cancel your attendance shortly before a meeting, and have a role to play, please let someone know ASAP, so that the agenda can be revised. Luckily we have many enthusiastic members, at Camberley and elsewhere, who are willing to take on roles at short notice, and a hard-working VPE (Quang) who is prepared to juggle the agenda as required, to ensure that “It will be alright on the night.”

Many hands make light work: A club like ours relies on volunteers. If you would like to play your part in running the club, and learn some new skills at the same time, please contact our President, Martin Berry on: berry-martin1@sky.com   or 01252-650001. 

I hope to see you at the next meeting.

Happy Toastmastering All!

Harry Fish CC - (VPPR, Camberley Speakers)

Phones: 01276-35164 and 07860-201387

E-mail: harryfish@thinkpositive.co.uk