Division Newsletters

D91 Spring 2016 Londinium Conference 7-8 May

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WOW, the Spring conference is less than 4 weeks away!!

Have you bought your ticket?

If you have not bought your ticket, now is the time to buy. So click on this link to get your ticket.

If you have bought your ticket, here are three things you could do:

  • Get in-touch with the conference team if you have any special dietary requirements or food allergies. Contact us with your requirements.
  • Plan your travel and accommodation so that you arrive on time for the opening ceremony. For more information about the conference venue, detailed program and hotel accommodation, click here.
  • Spread the word at your club, area or division. Now that we are in the contest season, can I ask you to speak to a fellow Toastmaster and let them know that you will be attending the district conference.
Spring Conference Podcast

Don’t miss the interview with the 2015 World Champion of Public speaking, Mohammad Qahtani coming up in the next few weeks. Subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes or SoundCloud and listen to what the workshop presenters have to say about their sessions and why you should attend the conference.

That is all from me for now and I look forward to seeing you all in London on the 7th and 8th of May 2016

Ian Brett, Spring Conference Lead Ambassador

 

Excellence in the Face of Adversity!

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Part 2 of the Contests report from Samir Malak, Area 35 Director

Area K35 ISEC 2016 - Audience 2

Excellence in the face of adversity!

As we were preparing for the Area Contest, a boy approached me, his face awash with consternation.  “When are you going to be finished?”  I advised we would certainly be done by 10pm.  “But we are having Karate at 8pm in that room.”

“Let me look into that.”  I responded, with a smile.

We are often faced with challenges in our day to day lives and what we do in the face of a challenge speaks volumes about who we are.  The Speakers of Croydon leadership team confirmed we had booked the room, however, the Invictus Karate Club also had the room booked and the authorities of the venue were not able to be contacted to confirm and resolve the conflict.

Toastmasters from the leadership teams across the Area lept into action seeking alternatives.  You see, the Karate Club had to begin setup in the next 15 minutes and they had an inspector on the way from Milton Keynes . . . there was much at stakes for both groups!!!  We considered alternate venues in the area, other rooms, called local facilities.  In the end, we ran out of time, I announced to all that we needed to break down the room and we would reconvene upstairs to determine a plan of action.

As I was about to make my way upstairs to marshall the attendees together and establish a plan of action, the Karate instructor stopped me and pulled me aside.  He had found an alternative for his club meeting and he was going to cover the costs to shift his group.  Why?  “Because you have tried everything to find an alternative and resolve this, if it were anyone else, I would have just said no.”

I went upstairs and announced that we were back on track and we had a most excellent contest. The room was setup again in short order as everyone pulled together to get us back on track.  At the end of the contest, I thanked everyone for their demonstration of Toastmasters values of Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence, it was because everyone came together and rose to the occasion to do the right thing that they moved the Karate club to go above and beyond to support us in having a celebration of excellence, not just of our contestants, but of the Toastmaster club members!

Samir Malak, ACS, ALB
Area Director, K35

Imagine a Toastmasters meeting in a language you don’t speak

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From Steve Brewer, Area 61 Director

PYP Watford April 2016

A Polish Your Polish Watford meeting

On Sunday 3 April 2016 I had the privilege, and I don’t use that word lightly, to see Polish Your Polish come to Watford and present a Toastmasters session. This was to help Piotr Janik market interest in a new Polish speaking club that we hope will be based in Watford.

I was under the illusion that I would purely go, in my role as Area Director,  to support my friend Piotr, help set up the room and  say a few words about how wonderful Toastmasters is.

My illusion was quickly shattered as I became immersed in a Toastmasters session in a foreign language …which I don’t speak. The speakers and facilitators were truly engaging and the true nature of the best toastmasters clubs, providing a mutually supportive learning environment,  wasn’t lost in my failure to understand the words.

In fact it heightened my pleasure to see first hand how people fully engaged the audience, with eye contact, body language and the timing of the delivery of their messages. I was even able to evaluate two of the prepared speeches.

Even though I was totally immersed in the session the group included me further by a table topics challenge. The scenario was given in English. This was my cue that it was my turn. I was given a thoughtful English evaluation sandwiched in between the Polish ones.

Ralph Smedley said “We learn best in moments of enjoyment”. Very appropriately the word of the day was radość which means joy.  I would like to publically thank everyone who attended for providing me with an exceptional experience that I will remember for a very long time.

PR and Marketing for Toastmasters’ Clubs Workshop

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PR and Marketing for Toastmasters’ Clubs: A hands-on workshop for officers and members.

Have you ever wanted to plan marketing or PR for your club but didn’t know where to start?  Or thought you had a good news story but didn’t know how to pitch it to the press?  Or wanted to know how to produce a Facebook page?  (Or just wondered what it is?)

If you have ever wanted to know about the basics of marketing your club, this is the workshop for you.

This workshop will cover how to:
•  Understand the best marketing and PR methods for small organisations and what works at a local level
•  How to write a press release, talk to and contact journalists and media organisations.
•  The basics of producing a leaflet and a Facebook page
•  How to organise, run and market an event promoting your club – and look at what events work best!
•  How to write for your audience and how to make the most of your copy

At the end of the workshop, you will take away:
•  A draft marketing plan for your club
•  An overview of different types of marketing and how to create them and make them work
•  How journalists work, what makes a good story and how to pitch to the press.Kate Wood 1

The workshop will be delivered by Kate Wood and Chris Nye from Lewes Speakers Club on behalf of Area 55 and will be followed by the Area 55 International Speech and Evaluation Contest.

Further Information:

Date:  Saturday 2nd April
Time:  10.00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location:  Lansdown Hotel, King Edward’s Parade, Eastbourne, BN21 4EE

For further information and to book, contact Sue Pellow, Area 55 Director on 07803 234 894 or via email.

Area 55 International Speech and Evaluation Contest

The Area 55 Area International Speech and Evaluation Contest will take place at the Lansdowne Hotel, King Edward’s Parade, Eastbourne from 2pm on Saturday 2nd April followed by the election of the Area Director for A55.

Contest Chair is Barnaby Davies and Chief Judge is Meg Heyworth.

St Paul’s Speakers – Table Topics Workshop 30 March

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From Florian Bay, President St Paul’s Speakers

St Paul's SpeakersSt Paul’s Speakers announces a table topics workshop with Paul Carroll, past district table topics champion and President of 104 London Debaters.

The workshop is on Wednesday 30 March 2016.

Points covered by the workshop will include:

-Taking the fear out of table topics

-Table topics as impromptu conversation

-Paul’s top tips and advice for tackling questions

The workshop will be the entire meeting, allowing time for numerous questions and post table topic feedback. Speaking opportunities will be maximized in the two table-topics sessions included in this workshop.

Come and join us for what will be an educative and entertaining evening.

18h30 onwards. At Ye Olde Watling, 29 Watling Street. Check our website for directions.