Develop and coach for excellence...

On Thursday the 28^th July 2011 the meeting started at 7:10 pm. We had a total of 17 attendees. David was toastmaster for the evening.

Cecilia as Sergeant-At-Arms introduced the president Dave who welcomed us all. Toastmaster for the night was David. David began the meeting in eloquent style with his humor factory going into overdrive as he asked the president to not wave his knickers around in the air!

Cecilia gave us a great warm-up. Colin gave us his 'tip of the day' which was to speak as loudly as you can to eliminate the majority of your speaking problems by making it easier for you to be heard and giving you confidence from the loud sound vibrations. Neelam explained her role as time-keeper and gave us a confident explanation as to why keeping to good time was so important.

The prepared speakers came next. Arlene gave her Icebreaker speech and kept us interested by handing out a sealed bag covered in messages. What was in the bag? A delicious cake which we ate afterward. The message of the speech was that people are important so treat them well. Next speaker was Harish who told us why "risk is risky". He advised us all to take out travel insurance as it doesn't cost much and told of a sad personal experience he had which bought this lesson home to him. Dave gave the final speech which was an educational one. His message was that we should 'evaluate to motivate' people. He took us on such a magnificent journey that the time flew by. He covered many personal experiences and used the projector screen and power-point slides to expert effect. Next up were the evaluations. Hanna evaluated Arlene and advised her to pause more when delivering a speech and demonstrated what she meant to memorable effect. Michael evaluated Harish elegantly and professionally and gave him some great motivating feedback and tips. Neelam then gave the audience an excellent rendition of the speaking times.

The first half of the meeting ended and everyone socialized freely during the break.

David the Toastmaster started the next half of the meeting after a 10 minute break.

Hillary was in charge of the table topics and had a selection of unique and interesting topics such as "how could you persuade the audience to watch rugby?" and "what musical would you recommend to the audience". There were 8 table topics speakers who all handled themselves very well.

Colin evaluated the table topics speakers. He commended speakers on their immediate confident starts and good use of humor. His main recommendation was one of eye-contact and he advised speakers to "remember Ed and follow the Zed" by making eye contact in a diagonal Z fashion across the room. He particularly commended the use of personal stories and the focus speakers displayed by staying on target and actually answering the question asked of them.

Time-keeper Neelam gave us a last time report which was delivered clearly and confidently highlighting her excellent attention to detail.

President Dave was also the General Evaluator and multi-tasked well, as it was his second evaluation role of the night. He gave a full and proper observation of the meeting as a whole and imparted great insights upon us.

Toastmaster David returned the meeting to the president Dave after jovially thanking him for not waving his knickers around! Dave then welcomed our 5 guests and made announcements. The meeting ended at 9:10 pm

See you on Thursday 12th August 2011 at 6.45 for a 7pm prompt start.

The Night of Champions

On Thursday the 14^th July 2011 at 7:02 pm the first Croydon Communicators meeting of the new Toastmasters year started. We had a total of 22 attendees. The theme was "The Night of Champions".

Cecilia as Sergeant-At-Arms introduced the president. President Dave gave us all a warm welcome and displayed his championship form in presiding over the club. Toastmaster for the night was Colin wearing a tie which was so bright it literally blazed like an Olympic flame. He explained The Night of Champions theme and began to take us on the journey through the meeting. Saladine lead us all on a rousing warm-up, then for a 'tip of the day' he did an amazing routine by showing us some spectacular breathing techniques. Arlene explained her role as time-keeper and then Neelam confidently talked about her own role as Grammarian and had a well chosen 'word of the day'.

Next was the prepared speech section.

Clifford Wheatley gave an excellent practice speech for his daughters upcoming wedding and it was clear that he will give a championship speech at the actual event. Michael gave an informative and highly interesting speech about "The Role of the Auditor" where he used the projector screen and power-point slides to amazing and memorable effect. Vathani delivered the final speech "English Rose" where she talked of her love for 'sugar crafting' and handed out a lovely demonstration rose for us all to see and feel.

Next up were the evaluations.

Dave Longley evaluated Clifford, Cecilia evaluated Michael, and David evaluated Vathani. All were constructive, positive and helpful. Arlene told all the speakers how well they doing for time. The first half of the meeting ended and attendees tucked into the sandwich buffet which was laid on specially for this event as food is not usually provided at our meetings. It was truly a 'Buffet of Champions'.

Toastmaster Colin began the next half of the meeting after the 15 minute break. Harish led an amazing and challenging table topics section with topics as varied as "what would your computer mouse say to you?" and all of the table topics speakers were awarded with championship medals for taking on the challenge. David evaluated all the table topics speakers with his usual award-winning standard of articulate flair and useful feedback. Grammarian Neelam gave us a resounding grammar report then time-keeper Arlene Foster gave a final report on our time. The incredible Shegun was our General Evaluator and showed attention to detail that was impeccable coupled with a highly impressive delivery style. Toastmaster Colin returned the meeting to the president Dave Longley who welcomed our guests and made announcements.

The meeting ended at 9:15 pm.

What an unforgettable night it was, who can forget those championship standard prepared speeches, who can forget The Buffet of Champions, who can forget the brave Table Topics champions, who can forget Colin's tie!

The legendary film director Woody Allen once said that "80% of success is simply showing up" and so everybody who turned up on the night, (and anybody who goes to any Toastmasters club anywhere) is a true champion. A big thank you to all the functionaries, speech givers, and audience, we all made it a night to remember. The Croydon Communicators are the home of champions and we are the only club in the whole of England who can say we produced the current UK and Ireland Speaking champion for 2011 (OUR member, Malachi). We are the champions! See you at the next meeting!