Spreading the word

We are fortunate as a club in having attracted some lively new members recently, and in having two new visitors at our most recent meeting, held on Thursday the 20th of January 2011. The total attendance was 17:

Members: Bob Nisbet, Christina, Deborah G, Harry Fish, Helen Clark, Jonathan Alsop, Maria James Mills, Martin Berry (Club President), Natalie Kaye, Quang Truong Le, Rob Sutcliffe, Sarah Williamson Green.

Guest(s): Doug New, Marlane Heard (Woking Speakers), Gary Jenkins, Darren Pilkington, Mike Wright (representative from the Camberley News).

The meeting room was prepared by Sergeant at Arms Jonathan, and the meeting opened by our President, Martin, who welcomed everyone, with a special mention for our guests, some from other clubs, and Mike and Darren as first-time visitors to Camberley Speakers. Martin explained the last-minute agenda changes, then handed the meeting to Bob who was our Toastmaster of the evening. Bob introduced Helen, our Timekeeper for the evening, Deborah, our Grammarian and Ah Counter, and each in turn gave a summary of their roles. Deborah’s chosen “Word of the Day” was ANGST. This word was on display in the front and back of the room.

Rob ran the “Warm up” session, by asking us to each speak for 15 seconds on his chosen theme: “Tell us about a book you have read that has made the biggest impact on you”. This produced some lively responses from the audience, and wide variations on personal preferences and experiences. Our two new guests willingly participated.

The meeting continued with three speeches, as follows:

1) The Gift (CC05) – by Christina. This was an insight into bargain-hunting on overseas trips, mainly to the USA, and how Christina cleverly brought back her purchases, including on one occasion an awkwardly cumbersome walking stick, that was too large to pack. There some very amusing anecdotes and good body language, as intended.

2) The cheeky mind (CC06) – by Quang. This explored the interaction of the mind, and memory, and the changes that take place within us, to reflect our personal experiences throughout life, and the different memories we build up and store as a result.

3) The Goal – A Marathon (CC06) – by Maria. This was an insight into the gruelling training that Maria undertook prior to running a marathon in New Zealand, with the reassurance that as she got fitter the task became a little easier, and her appetite got better. There were many amusing references during her speech, and we were relieved to learn towards the end that she reached her goal of running the marathon, prior to collapsing in front of her family at the finishing line.   

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

The meeting resumed after the break with the speech evaluations. Harry gave an appraisal of Christina’s speech, Gary gave an appraisal of Quang’s speech, and Jonathan gave an appraisal of Maria’s speech.

The Table Topics Master was Natalie, with a number of unusual items awaiting reclaim in the Lost Property office of London Transport, including a grandfather clock, a Tibetan bell, some dress mannequins, and a Chinese typewriter. Each participant had to attempt to enthusiastically sell their selected item to the audience, as if in a charity auction. This resulted in some imaginative and amusing presentations. Those taking part were: Marlane, Doug, Sarah, Rob, Mike, Gary and Deborah.

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

Deborah 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, identifying those who had used “filler” words. (Ah, Oh, So, Um etc.) Deborah praised the use of good English, and those who had used well-structured phrases and the Word of the Day.

Sarah gave her General Evaluation of the evening, with some constructive comments for the President and the Toastmaster, and some other useful pointers, and rounded off by saying that she felt overall it had been a successful meeting.

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

Best Evaluator: Gary.

Best Topics speaker, to Mike, with the Chinese typewriter.

Best Prepared Speaker: Maria.

Martin concluded the meeting, and many then went to the Four Horseshoes for informal discussions.

Next meeting: Thursday 3rd of February 2011, commencing 7.30 p.m.  

Another date for your diary: Thursday the 17th of March, when the club will be holding a Speech Contest and Evaluation Contest on the same evening. In order to enter the speech contest a member needs to have completed 6 speeches from the Competent Communication manual.

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 our most recent new joiners, Helen Clark and Natalie Kaye. Do give them any assistance they may require on their journey with Toastmasters.

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: Our objective is to help members to develop their public speaking abilities in a friendly and supportive environment. 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. We have 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