Updates & Posts

We will be adding more articles to this page. To start: here are articles on speaking and articles giving personal views on the on the power of Toastmasters and an exciting joint meeting between London and Namibia.

Logistics and Speaking

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By Bob Nisbet

 Toastmaster member since November 1998 and President of Camberley Speakers, member of Guildford and Woking Speakers and District Logistics Manager since 2014, Bob is the most important person to invite to any contest, conference, workshop or training – with apologies to the Trio who thought they were 🙂  With Bob at the controls desk you can feel secure that the electronics will work – somehow – even though plans may need to be changed at the last minute! Bob has also featured in the Toastmasters magazine with a picture of him on holiday in Laos – and of course all Toastmasters have copies of the magazine wherever they are in the world!! This is what Bob has to say:

I am in my fourth year as Logistics Manager for District 91. This essentially means that I have space in the garage to store the District flag and banner plus a few other bits and pieces, like the big set of timing lights used at District contests.

The most obvious sight of me at Conference has been behind the sound desk. Over the years I have acquired a fair range of kit and I can cope with most things that events throw at me. But not always.

At the 2017 Gatwick Conference everything appeared fine until Aletta Rochat, the keynote speaker, took the stage. Every time she stood centre stage, her wireless microphone went dead! Somehow she got through her speech and as soon as she finished, Taz Miah and I started shifting the receiver to get a better signal. Nothing worked, and the speech contest was approaching. Plans to use wireless microphones for the contestants were abandoned and wired microphones rapidly set up in front of the stage. Luckily the cables were long enough and it all worked.

At the end of the Conference I mentioned what had happened to the crew who were de-rigging the stage. “It’s the wi-fi” came the reply. “It blots everything out.” Now I ask where the wi-fi hides, just in case!

TEDx and my journey

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By Jenny Thomas

When I started re-training in 2016 to become a qualified Personal Performance Coach & NLP Practitioner, one of my biggest fears was public speaking. I knew I was going to need to beholding workshops and potentially presenting in corporate businesses and I knew I wasn’t that great at it! And for a Confidence Coach this was going to be abit of an issue! How was I going to be credible if I wasn’t confident myself?  A lovely lady I met at networking event told me about Toastmasters and invited me along to the next meeting to try it. I was nervous but it was such a welcoming group, that I felt ok with my jelly legs and shaky voice! I’ve been going for the last 18 months and each meeting has helped me grow a little more in confidence with my public speaking – the group is supportive, encouraging and provides constructive feedback which has helped my skills immeasurably. I’m well on my way to completing my CC level and even considering competitions now too! Thank you, Toastmasters!

Jenny Thomas, member of Farnham Speakers since September 2017 has just done her first TEDx talk atTEDx Telford – organised by Division J Area Director, Sam Warner. A TEDx event is one that many aspiring public speakers have on their bucket list. The opportunity presented itself earlier than expected for Jenny and she took to the stage at the end of September with a very real ‘Idea Worth Spreading’ called People Before Profits. Jenny describes below how Toastmasters helped her on her path to TEDx and became more confident in public speaking

Megameetings

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By Nuala McHugh, Area 8 Director, Div B

As part of the initiative to strengthen the area and build stronger relationships, Area B8 has kicked off a new initiative for the Toastmasters 2018 – 2019 year; Megameetings. A Megameeting is where each club in the area host a special club meeting. This provides an opportunity where members across the area can make a special effort to both market and attend their neighbouring club.

Area B8 Area Director, Nuala McHugh, envisages many advantages to holding Megameetings in the area. For example, the audience would be bigger and the meeting atmosphere greatly enhanced. This will challenge members to conduct roles and speeches within a larger crowd environment with a set of new faces. Nuala also hope it will cement relations thereby bringing a greater community feel; engaging many new members who do not realise that there is a lot more to Toastmasters than their home club. We look forward to soaking up the vibes and the unique atmosphere that each club has!

My Reflection on the 2018 International Convention in Chicago

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By Ruth Ribeiro, President Riverside Communicators, Div B

In August 2018, to mark my year as President of Riverside Communicators, in Twickenham, I decided to attend the Toastmasters International Speech Convention in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Ruth with Arnaud Sartre, Fabian Bay, Lark Doley (2018-2019 Intl President), Pedro Casillas and Andy Hammond

I felt privileged to attend Lark Doley’s  2018-2019 International President’s Inauguration and met with her and other Senior District 91 Leaders for a photoshoot.  I also enjoyed seeing Balraj Arunasalam’s outgoing Presidential Speeches on stage. These 2 events had even more impact when I received the September issue of the Toastmasters Magazine with Lark Doley’s Picture on the front page and then in the same envelope, I received my very own, Competent Communicators Certificate, signed for, by Balraj Arunasalam, International President and Daniel Rex, for having completed 10 Speeches in the Competent Communicators Manual, as I reflected, thinking, Oh Wow! I know those people.  I have met them. For me, alongwith the networking opportunities within this great family of Leaders and Communicators, 3 other things stood out.

1) The Toastmasters Opening Ceremony at the Convention, started with a Parade of Representatives bearing flags from 111 different countries.  It was such a colourful and moving Parade, rather like a Toastmasters version of United Nations.  We got to sing the American National Anthem, being the Host country, and the Sri-Lankan national Anthem, being the country of origin of the outgoing International President.

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Meet a Leader- Pedro Casillas

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Pedro Casillas, District 91 District Director 2017/2018 inspires us with his story

1. What has been your journey with Toastmasters? 

I joined Grosvenor Square Speakers, (the first TI club to be set up in London), TI in 2002. During my time with TI, I have taken on many roles, (some more than once), from VPM, VPE, Treasurer, President, through to Area and Division Directors, through to being District Director last year. This year I am supporting the District in my role as Immediate Past District Director as well as helping my home club as Treasurer.
Over the years, as one would expect, I have learned to speak well in public; lead various teams; lead workshops and mentor many members.

2. Congratulations on the awards that District 91 were presented in Chicago. Tell us something more about it. 

Each year, TI challenges every Club, Area, Division and District to be the best they can be and to deliver exceptional benefits for ALL members. One way to measure this is the District Success programme, which measures how well the District is doing (the programme is broken down from District to Division to Area and Club level). Districts are judged on the number of new clubs created, the number of payments received and number of Distinguished clubs. Last TI year, 2017-18, D91 achieved the second highest award, ‘Select Distinguished District’ award. D91 finished 11th in the world out of 118 District, which is a fantastic achievement. In addition, D91 finished second in the world, with 80% + of our clubs having more than 20 members. What makes me most proud, is looking back on how well EVERYONE across the District contributed to our success and have helped to lay the foundations for continuing success.

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