Some very tall stories

The club's annual Tall Tales Contest took place on Thursday the 5th of May, and was a huge success. We are indebted to those who came from other clubs to assist as judges and in other ways. The total attendance was 23:

 Camberley Members: Atulya Verma, Bob Nisbet, Cathy Richardson, Christina, Dan Benton, Deborah G, Gary Jenkins, Harry Fish, Maria James, Martin Berry (Club President), Natalie Kay, Panos Panagou, Quang Truong Le, Sarah Williamson Green.

 Visitors and Guest(s): Amanda Zwarts, Samantha Babister, Nicola Coutts, Ruth Duffield, Deena Honey, Nuno Bento, Tania Grant, Maria Sandler, Simon Reed.

 The meeting room was prepared by the members, and the meeting opened by Quang, with a short introduction. The meeting was then handed to our President, Martin, who welcomed everyone, with a special mention for our guests. Quang then explained his role as Speech Contest Chair, and Samantha her role as Chief Judge, and introductions were made to the Contest Counter, Christina, and the Time Keepers, Dan and Deborah. The Videographer of the evening was Atulya.

  The Tall Tales Contest then commenced, with 6 contestants speaking, as follows:

 1) Martin - Easter Break

 2) Cathy - African Mystery

 3) Natalie - Flight of the Tiger Moth

 4) Gary - Gangsters

 5) Harry - Harry the Potter

 6) Panos - All True 

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

 The meeting resumed after the break with the club's brief AGM, with planning in mind for the formation of a new committee, to be in place by the 1st of July 2011. This part of the meeting was expertly handled by Christina, one of the club's founder members, who explained the committee roles that needed to be filled, and gave the names of those who had come forward to date. There were no additional nominations from the floor of the meeting, so those already proposed were duly elected.

  We then moved on to the ever-popular Table Topics part of the evening. The Table Topics Master was Maria, who had the Royal Wedding edition of Hello magazine to hand, and invited participants to comment on some of the pictures, speculating on what was being said at the time by the subjects in the photographs, and commenting on the choice of fashions displayed. Those chosen to speak on this occasion were: Nicola, Sarah, Martin, Amanda and Dan.

  The Table Topics Evaluation was carried out by Bob, with his own observations on the Royal Wedding, and some useful feedback for the Table Topics speakers. Bob also reminded us of the value of the "Pose, Pause, Pounce" approach to help involve the whole audience........Pose the question/topic to all..........Pause whilst each one thinks, "if I get called up, how will I approach this?..........Pounce on one lucky individual, who will have the pleasure of entertaining the audience by speaking on the chosen topic.

  Presentation of Awards by the Chief Judge:

 Samantha and her team of judges had by this time compared their marking sheets from the six speeches, and decided on the awards for the first 3 places as follows:

 1st - Natalie, who received the silver trophy, and goes on to the next stage of the competition, 2nd - Panos, 3rd - Gary.

 There was also an award for the best Table Topics speaker, which went to Amanda for her humorous comments on the dress sense of the ladies at the Royal Wedding.

  The meeting was handed back to Martin (Club President), who thanked everyone for being a great audience, and in particular those who had judged, spoken and helped in other ways. Martin then concluded the meeting, and many then went on to our local hostelry for light refreshments and informal discussions.

  Next meeting: This will be a normal club evening to be held on Thursday the 19th of May 2011, commencing 7.30 p.m. at the usual venue, St. Michael's church hall, London Road/A30, Camberley. Our standard procedure is to have three speeches given by members, which are then evaluated by fellow members. This is followed by a break for tea, coffee and biscuits. The second part of the meeting includes the impromptu side of Toastmasters, Table Topics, where both members and guests (if they wish) can be called upon to speak. We welcome guests without charge.

  Club's Newsletter: This newsletter is e-mailed to "Friends of Camberley Speakers" who are current club members, friends from other Toastmasters clubs, past members and prospective new members who have shown an interest in joining the club. If you no longer wish to be on the list, please "Unsubscribe" to harryfish@thinkpositive.co.uk

 The newsletter will also be posted onto the websites shown on the top of this letter, 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.

  New members: Please welcome our most recent joiner at Camberley Speakers, Panos Panagou, and give him any assistance he may require on his journey with Toastmasters, though if you know Panos, you will realise he already has a good deal of speaking experience behind him. If you would like to know more about joining, please read the final page of this letter.

 Members' badges: Natalie Kay has created a badge template to help new members and regular visitors to be easily identifiable. Please let Natalie know if you need a badge: ndkay@hotmail.co.uk

  Members' manuals: In return for paying a joining fee, new members are enrolled on the Toastmasters International system, issued with a PIN, and receive their first two manuals, the Competent Communicator manual, and the Competent Leadership manual. Do bring these with you to our meetings, and ensure that whenever you carry out a role, you find a fellow member to evaluate your efforts, and have this recorded in your manuals. This way you will progress towards your first two Toastmaster awards.

  You have seen above, that the end of year approaches for Toastmasters International clubs around the world. This is an exciting time, as we build towards meeting our goals for the current year, by helping individual members to achieve their objectives with progressing through their Competent Communication and Competent Leadership manuals. Points win prizes, or in fact ribbons, to be added to those we already have on the club's banner. We have several members who are close to reaching their intended goals this year. They will be given every encouragement and opportunity to do so. The message is clear, achieve your goals, and help your club to achieve its goals.  

  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 say so, somebody may be able to help. If you have a meeting role, but need to cancel, please inform us 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, even taking on a small role, 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

  THE MEMBERSHIP PAGE   

 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.

 Some FAQs to guide new joiners:

  - How much does it cost? - Membership is renewed every six months, in April and October, and currently costs £39 twice-yearly. This covers the hire of the hall and other expenses. When you first join there is also a "one off" fee which is currently £16, to cover your registration onto the Toastmasters International system as a member, and to pay for your first two manuals.

  - What if you join part-way through the six-month period? - Membership cost is effectively £6-50/month. You get a pro-rata reduction if joining part-way through the normal half-yearly periods.

  - What do you get when you join the club? - As outlined above, your membership is acknowledged by Toastmasters Head Office in California, and you will receive your first two manuals, which have been designed to guide you through your first 10 speeches, and the other challenges you may choose to meet within the club, such as carrying out speech evaluations for others, and taking part in various parts of running your club, which will be acknowledged by your fellow members. Don't forget to bring the manuals to each meeting, where you can be given credit for any roles you perform. 

 - Is there any help to get started? - Many of those joining Toastmasters for the first time experience a mixture of excitement and anxiety about what lies ahead. Fear not, you are in good company, we have all been through it! Be assured you are amongst friends who are there to help you, if help is required. Your Competent Communication manual will show you the outline themes for your first 10 speeches, and gives a fair amount of guidance in writing. If you would also like some face-to-face assistance from a more experienced speaker, there are many within Camberley Speakers who are willing to give up some of their time to do this.  

 If you decide to join..........Welcome to Toastmasters!