The London Speaker

Toastmasters Educational Awards May 2009

Eight more educational awards were achieved by London Division B Toastmasters in May 2009.  Hilary completed her Advanced Communicator Gold with a flourish - giving the Oratory project from the Advanced Interpretive Reading Manual.  Congratulations to everyone gaining awards this month.  Every award represents a huge amount of learning and achievement.

Having talked to the Area Governors on Monday at the Division B Council Meeting I know that there are other people with awards that have recently been completed or will be completed soon.  Please make sure that these are submitted to Toastmasters International as soon as possible.  Not only will it be great to receive your glittering certificate it will also help our Clubs/Areas/Division and District receive the recognition they deserve.

Competent Communicator

Anna Casburn-Jones. Northern Lights. Area 33

Iwona Dolecka.  Polish Your Polish. Area 6

Kamil Leoniuk.  Polish Your Polish. Area 6

Andy O'Sullivan.  Broadgate Speakers. Area 33

Advanced Communicator Gold

Hilary Briggs. Early Bird Speakers. Area 34

Competent Leader

Jorg Muller.  London Athenians.  Area 29

Advanced Leader Bronze

David Adams. Berkeley Square Toastmasters. Area 6

Andy O'Sullivan.  Broadgate Speakers in the City. Area 33

Educational Awards	Last year 2007/08	May 2009	Division B year to date
Competent Communicator	51	4	37
Advanced Comm Bronze	13		7
Adv Comm Silver	8		1
Adv Comm Gold	3	1	3
Competent Leader	15	1	15
Old Comp Leader	21		n/a
Adv Leader Bronze	4	2	6
Adv Leader Silver	1		2
Leadership Excellence Award	1		4
Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM)			1
Total	117	8	76

April 2009 Toastmasters Educational Awards

A  dozen more educational awards were achieved by London Division B Toastmasters in April 2009.  It's good to see Club Presidents, VPEs etc. completing their awards as well as encouraging other club members to do so. Congratulations to everyone!

Lots of people will be completing awards as we approach the end of the  Toastmasters year (30th June).  Remember to get your awards submitted as soon as you complete them.  Don't want the Toastmasters International computer going into melt down in the last week of June!  If you have a personal goal to complete a speech or leadership award this year and would like the  opportunity to perform outside your own club also remember that we have some new clubs that would love to hear you speak or undertake a role.

Competent Communicator

Robert Griffiths. Early Bird Speakers. Area 34

Julie Holness.  London Communicators. Area 33

Sue Mannering.  Northern Lights. Area 33

Nazia Soon.  Holborn Speakers. Area 34

Richard Stacey. Early Bird Speakers.  Area 34

Ewan Wong. Tube Talk. Area 34

Advanced Communicator Bronze

Dave Brooks. Excalibur Speakers.  Area 6

Jilly Shaul.  Northern Lights.  Area 33

David Sellman.  London Cardinals.  Area 6

Competent Leader

Chris Jolly.  West London Speakers.  Area 29

Jason Peck.  Grosvernor Square Speakers. Area 34

Richard Stacey. Early Bird Speakers.  Area 34

Educational Awards	Last year 2007/08	April 2009	Division B year to date
Competent Communicator	51	6	33
Advanced Comm Bronze	13	3	7
Adv Comm Silver	8		1
Adv Comm Gold	3		2
Competent Leader	15	3	14
Old Comp Leader	21		n/a
Adv Leader Bronze	4		4
Adv Leader Silver	1		2
Leadership Excellence Award	1		4
Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM)			1
Total	117	12	68

West London - Area 29 Contest Night - Results

Monday night and an absolutely full house at Trojans Speakers (Ealing Broadway) for the Toastmasters 2009 Area 29 International Speech and Evaluation Contests.  We were treated to a speech contest with subjects ranging from holidays to preventing heroin abuse and much more...(won't spoil the surprise by telling you about the winning speech)!  The Evaluation contest was an excellent standard so overall our judges had their work cut out.

Competing in the International Speech Contest were:

Jessica Bass - London Athenians

Joydev Nandi - West London Speakers

Kerry-Anne Smith - Trojan Speakers

Franco Vaccaro - Riverside Communicators

Competing in the Evaluation Contest were:

John Craddock - Riverside Communicators (last year's winner)

Kate McNeilly - London Athenians

Lilian Nandi - West London Speakers

Kerry-Anne Smith - Trojans Speakers

And the winners were.....

For the International Speech Contest:

First Place Franco Vaccaro, Second Place Kerry-Anne Smith

For the Evaluation Contest:

First Place: Kerry-Anne Smith, Second Place: Lilian Nandi

Franco and Kerry-Anne will go on to compete at the London Toastmasters Division B Contests on Wednesday 29th April 2009.  Book your place above.

  Pictured from left. Contest chairman Andrew Klimaytys, Division B Governor Freddie Daniells, Kerry-Anne Smith, Franco Vaccaro and Area 29 Governor Himanshu Vora.

 Congratulations to our winners and all the contestants who made these trophies worth winning. 

Look forward to seeing them compete again next Wednesday 29th April.

Behind the Scenes at BBC2's The Speaker

Getting a show like BBC2's The Speaker to our screens takes a long time. Someone who has seen much of the work first hand is Sean Kennedy (a member of London CommunicatorsToastmasters club and Programme Director for Jack Petchey's "Speak Out" Challenge, the World's biggest youth public speaking competition) Sean was the series consultant for The Speaker. He agreed to answer a few questions.

I remember turning on the TV a couple of years ago and saying - that's Sean!  Is this when it all started?  In a way.  The BBC filmed some of the "Speak Out" Challenge events for an episode of The Culture Show which aired in March 2007.  John Amaechi (one of the judges on The Speaker), interviewed by Simon Mayo on 5Live recently, said he been shown clips of young people at our contests two years ago.The clips were from the filming for The Culture Show which was used to pitch the idea of a bigger programme which turned into...The Speaker. 

What has being series Consultant involved?With other staff from Speakerbank I've given general advice on the contest organisation and format.  Specifically, once the 1000s of entries had been reduced to 600 I sat with the Producer to watch all 600 videos.  From this the 160 young people were chosen for the Regional Finals that you've seen in the first two episodes.

I've also advised on judging criteria, helped briefing the judges and mentors etc.  As the contest has progressed I've provided some behind the scenes advice to the contestants - particularly giving them tips when they started giving three minute speeches on a set topic. That was a tough stage for them!

How did the 140 who didn't get passed the Regional Finals cope?  Obviously they were disappointed. But as part of the day trainers from Speakersbank ran workshops for them - before and after they'd competed.  This was important to encourage them and give them some added value beyond the contest itself.

How do you expect the TV audience watching at home to respond?  I hope the public will see the value of what's been done.  The BBC wanted this to be about the learning process, not just entertainment. I hope that they will see it's a worthwhile project.

Will The Speaker have a wider impact in schools?Evidence from the "Speak Out" Challenge suggests that it will.  Our survey of teachers and other information from schools tells us that GCSE English results (which includes speaking and listening assessments) have improved.  Other exams such as Maths and Business Studies also include some presentation of ideas to a teacher or group so there is a knock on effect.  In addition teachers tell us that "Speak Out" training increases overall participation in other school activities as young people's confidence and self-esteem grows. I hope this will be true for The Speaker too.

And finally, will all the Toastmasters watching learn something new?  I'm sure we will.  For example, there are fascinating tips from Alastair Campbell on persuasive speaking.  Something I've noticed in Toastmasters' contests is that winning speeches increasingly include personal stories.  There'll be lots to learn from Kate Silverton on crafting stories - something she has to do on the fly preparing news items.  Deborah Meadon has watched large numbers of people presenting on The Dragons' Den and know a great deal about what's needed to be convincing.  And of course Lord Spencer has important messages about how to make information clear, succinct and digestible.

Thanks Sean.  We're looking forward to the next episodes of The Speaker 8pm BBC2 on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th April 2009. Remember you can catch up via BBC iPlayer.

You can hear John Amaechi interviewed by Fi Glover on Saturday Live, Radio 4, 9am Saturday 11th April. Listen again at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4

Hear John Humphries interviewing Lord Digby Jones and 15 year old Benedict Townsend about The Speaker here.

Toastmasters Educational Awards March 2009

Five more educational awards were achieved by London Division B Toastmasters in March 2009.

Three months to go before the end of the Toastmasters year and we've achieved a little under 50% of the total awards we gained in 2007/08.  Guess the other 50% (plus) will come rolling in over the coming weeks!

Congratulations to everyone who completed a communication or leadership award this month.  We look forward to seeing and hearing you on the next stage of your Toastmasters journey.

Competent Communicator

Sam Cowan. London Olympians.  Area 6

David Bier. London Corinthians. Area 6

Jonathon Palmer. London Corinthians. Area 6

Competent Leader

Sean Kennedy. London Communicators.  Area 33

Advanced Leader Bronze

Amanda Warwick.  London Athenians. Area 29

Educational Awards	Last year 2007/08	March 2009	Division B year to date
Competent Communicator	51	3	27
Advanced Comm Bronze	13		4
Adv Comm Silver	8		1
Adv Comm Gold	3		2
Competent Leader	15	1	11
Old Comp Leader	21		n/a
Adv Leader Bronze	4	1	4
Adv Leader Silver	1		2
Leadership Excellence Award	1		4
Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM)			1
Total	117	5	56

Jim Hegarty talks Leadership, PR and recommends BBC 2's The Speaker

"I heard of Toastmasters seven years before I joined - the seven most wasted years of my life!" So says Jim Hegarty District 71 (UK and Ireland) PR Officer.   Jim has been a member of Toastmasters, in Ireland, for 13 years and continues to love it.

At this time of year clubs are thinking about who will become next year's club President and who will take on committee roles. Jim is adamant that you can only gain by stepping forward and having a go at a leadership role.  If you have been on a club committee why not become an Area Governor?  If you have the experience...the role of Division Governor beckons! 

Jim himself is immensely glad that he took up the challenge and stood for election for the role of PR Officer for District 71 last year.  He is someone who very much "operates on the positive". Initially on a steep learning curve he is now looking forward to the final three months of his year as PRO which includes the start of a new TV show The Speaker. 

Some of you will already have heard that starting on Tuesday 7th April 2009 a new show called The Speaker, goes out at 8pm on BBC2. Based to a large extent on the achievements of the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge!, in which teenagers learn public speaking skills and compete in a speaking competition, the show will bring the art of communication and public speaking to a huge audience.

 Jim has been working on a PR campaign (with Toastmaster colleagues) to help clubs to make the most of the opportunities that the programme could bring.  We will be telling you much more about this over the coming days and weeks.  You'll find more info on the show now and as it progresses the show's website.

On a personal note Jim has become very adept at selling Toastmasters wherever he goes.  When the World University Debating Championship was held in Cork Jim made sure that he was there.  It was a lesson  that "what we think is not do-able is do-able".  Starting by making a few phone calls, asking people for their advice and help, Jim was not only an honoured guest at the gala dinner but had plenty of opportunity to network and spread the word about Toastmasters. 

"I've learned not to be put off by the word No!  You might call at the wrong time when someone is busy but by being considerate and asking for help in the right way its amazing what you can achieve."  His advise to all of us - be bold with your PR activities. We know that membership of Toastmasters brings great benefits so make sure you use every opportunity to tell as many people as you can.

Welcome Dave Brooks, Distinguished Toastmaster!

At last...after nearly 4 years, one of our Division B London members, Dave Brooks, has achieved the prestigious status of Distinguished Toastmaster. 

How long has it taken to achieve DTM?  4 years and 3 months.   I have been very active in my club (Speakeasy @ Credit Suisse) and in the wider Toastmaster world because I knew I needed to improve my communication skills and confidence.

What have you gained from Toastmasters? The ability to face the challenge of much bigger audiences with far less trepidation.  I now realise whether you have an audience of 10, 100 or 1000 you just need to take a breath and get on with it. I've understood that the speaker is not the most important person in the room! You are the vessel through which the story or message travels, you are not the story itself.

What else have you learned? We are on a journey to communicate. What Toastmasters gives us is the understanding that communication happens at many levels in many different contexts. You need to pick the most appropriate context and think about how to communicate with a particular audience.  I have enjoyed learning how to give different types of speeches, working with voice tone, using kinaethetics and body movement in a way that adds to the message without being stagey or theatrical.

I mostly speak in a work environment and Toastmasters has helped me to be able to put together presentations far more quickly and perform them effectively at short notice.

The key lesson is that you're always learning.  The day you stop is the day you stop breathing!

To become a DTM you also have to complete the Leadership awards. How did you find these projects?  The leadership aspects of Toastmasters have been invaluable.  You can achieve Advanced Communicator Gold pretty much on your own if you so choose. However, completing the Competent Leader etc. means you have to involve others.  Being Area Governor for a year meant working with a number of club committees. The High Performance Leadership Project in particular requires a lot of delegation.  By getting involved in this way you not only grow yourself you help other people to grow too.

How would you summarise your experience in Toastmasters so far? Toastmasters is a delightful journey.  When I look back I can see just how much I have improved my communication, confidence and leadership skills. It's not about an absolute standard or measuring yourself against others. The test is how far you have come, how much you have changed - not only in speaking but also in learning to accept feedback and genuine help from others.  That's how I'd summarise what Toastmasters is. Its about breaking old habits and forming new ones - by practice and feedback.

Thank you Dave. We look forward to seeing your continued involvement in Toastmasters.

Toastmasters Educational Awards February 2009

Thirteen more educational awards were achieved by London Division B Toastmasters in February 2009.  Including...drum role please...one Distinguished Toastmaster.  Dave Brooks of Speakeasy @ Credit Suisse has achieved this prestigious award.  The first person in Division B to achieve this since 2004/05. More info on how Dave has done this will follow shortly.

Congratulation to everyone who achieved Toastmasters Educational Awards this month.  It's great to see the range of communication and leadership awards coming through.  Area 29 seems to have been hyperactive this month!

Competent Communicator

Olivier Bourseau. London Athenians.  Area 29 

Laura Clerci. London Business School Speakers. Area 29

Filippo Gioia. West London Speakers. Area 29

Darren Mothersele. London Athenians.  Area 29

Joydev Nandi.  West London Speakers.  Area 29

Graeme Phillips.  London Athenians.  Area 29

Advanced Communicator Gold

Jane Campbell. WIBF. Area 31

Competent Leader

Kimra Argus. West London Speakers.  Area 29

Amanda Warwick.  London Athenians.  Area 29

Advanced Leader Bronze

Steve McGuire.  London Communicators. Area 33

Advanced Leader Silver

Dave Brooks. Speakeasy @ Credit Suisse. Area 31

Leadership Excellence Award

Dave Brooks.  Speakeasy @ Credit Suisse. Area 31

Distinguished Toastmaster

Dave Brooks. Speakeasy @ Credit Suisse. Area 31

Educational Awards	Last year 2007/08	February2009	Division B year to date
Competent Communicator	51	6	24
Advanced Comm Bronze	13		4
Adv Comm Silver	8		1
Adv Comm Gold	3	1	2
Competent Leader	15	2	10
Old Comp Leader	21		n/a
Adv Leader Bronze	4	1	3
Adv Leader Silver	1	1	2
Leadership Excellence Award	1	1	4
Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM)		1	1
Total	117	13	51

Toastmasters Educational Awards January 2009

Seven more educational awards were achieved by London Division B Toastmasters in January 2009.

It's good to see the balance of communication and leadership awards.  And that two more of our members have completed the High Performance Leadership program to achieve their Leadership Excellence Award - an essential part of gaining the Advanced Leader Silver and becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster.

Congratulations to everyone who gained the first awards of 2009.

Competent Communicator

Olufemi Asaolu. Holborn Speakers. Area 34

Jessica Bass. London Athenians. Area 29

A.C. Gaskell. London Athenians. Area 29

Advanced Communicator Silver

Iain Duthie. Tube Talk. Area 34

Competent Leader

John Craddock. Riverside Communicators. Area 29

Leadership Excellence Award

Hilary Briggs. Grosvenor Square Speakers. Area 34

Pedro Casillas. Grosvenor Square Speakers. Area 34

Educational Awards	Last year 2007/08	January 2009	Division B year to date
Competent Communicator	51	3	18
Advanced Comm Bronze	13		4
Adv Comm Silver	8	1	1
Adv Comm Gold	3		1
Competent Leader	15	1	8
Old Comp Leader	21		n/a
Adv Leader Bronze	4		2
Adv Leader Silver	1		1
Leadership Excellence Award	1	2	3
Total	117	7	38

Toastmasters Educational Awards December 2008

 Four more educational awards were achieved by London Division B Toastmasters in December 2008. 

We look forward to hearing our competent communicators Anita and John making speeches from an advanced manual in early 2009!  And Franco continuing to make progress towards his AC Silver.  Congratulations to Alan for attaining the accolade of Advanced Communicator Gold which he completed when he ran a workshop at Grosvenor Square Speakers last month.

We are now half way through the Toastmasters year. As you will see from the table below Division B as so far recorded just over a quarter of the awards that we achieved last year.  I know that we have some awards that have been completed and which have not yet been submitted to Toastmasters International.   Let's see them coming through in January and get the full picture of our success!

Competent Communicator

John Craddock. Riverside Communicators. Area 29

Anita Grainger. Speakeasy @CreditSuisse. Area 31

Advanced Communicator Bronze

Franco Vaccaro. Riverside Communicators. Area 29

Advanced Communicator Gold

Alan Thomas. Grosvenor Square Speakers. Area 34

Educational Awards	Last year 2007/08	December 2008	Division B year to date
Competent Communicator	51	2	15
Advanced Comm Bronze	13	1	4
Adv Comm Silver	8		0
Adv Comm Gold	3	1	1
Competent Leader	15		7
Old Comp Leader	21		n/a
Adv Leader Bronze	4		2
Adv Leader Silver	1		1
Leadership Excellence Award	1		1
Total	117	4	31