Meeting Report for Wednesday 13th November, 2019

Gosia was our accomplished Toastmaster for this fun meeting - introducing slips of paper on which people wrote a line or two, which were then placed in a hat. Those on stage then chose a slip, before incorporating the lines in what they said. It added a degree of challenge...but then we are an advanced club!

Ian ran a debating-style Table Topics, which also lifted many of us from our comfort zones, as the exercise warmed us up for the three formal speeches.

David delivered speech #9 from the CC Manual, "Persuade with Power"- "How are You?" This was a beautifully crafted and sensitively delivered speech that addressed a personal tragedy in his life, while passing on valuable information to the audience.

Then Latifa delivered "Chameleonism" - from Communicating on Television #2 - The Talk Show. This took an interview format, with Ben asking her a series of questions about how she feels she fits into the world. Her thoughtful and sincere answers kept the audience spellbound.

Finally, Monika delivered: "From a Dusty Atlas to Digital: a Journey with Maps." This speech was CC Manual #4, "Inspire your Audience" and Monika certainly achieved her objective! Ben commented that he'd wished Monika had taught him geography at school.

The Open Feedback session was chaired by Ilaria, which is an opportunity for the audience to suggest further commendations and recommendation on the delivered speeches.

Our experienced guest, Christopher was kind enough to perform the role of Open Feedback - making a number of helpful observations about Excalibur.

The Table Topics prize was shared by Ben and Freddie.
Errol was voted best Evaluator and the Best Speaker award went to David.

Our next meeting is at 19:00 on Wednesday 27th November at The Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street,  London W1W 6DN. Gests are very welcome! 

 

Excalibur Triumphs at the Area Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest!

Tuesday 29th October saw a packed room and high levels of excitement for the Area Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest, kindly hosted by Mindshare in their WC2 office.

Excalibur was represented by Robin (Table Topics) and Ben (Humorous Speech) and despite strong competition, I am pleased to report that both emerged triumphant!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the event such a success - especially Monika, who ran her first Area Contest - and was presented, for (amongst other things), her cartographic excellence, with a Toastmasters Outstanding Member pin, by Florian!

The Division L Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest, at which Robin and Ben will continue their journeys representing Excalibur, will be on Saturday 23rd November, 09:00 - 14:00 at City Temple Conference Centre, Holborn Viaduct, EC1A 2DE - get your tickets on Eventbrite!

Meeting Report for Wednesday 23rd October, 2019

Monika and Gosia got our meeting off to a smooth start, performing the Meet & Greet and Call to Order roles, before President Nick took to the stage with some sage words. He then handed over to our Toastmaster for the evening, Cat.
Sarah then explained - and performed - the Timekeeper role.
We were then ready for Table Topics, hosted by David.
Being an advanced club, we like to do things a little differently and so members of the audience are invited on stage to do an instant evaluation on the previous table topic. House Rule: every evaluator must include a recommendation!
Three prepared, high quality speeches followed. The first was delivered by Ilaria: "Is this Mission Possible?" (Strategic Relationships #1-4 - Researching & Presenting; 5-7 mins).
Our second speech was delivered by Carolina: "More Honey" (Competition & Other speeches #10 - Non-manual speech (5:00-7:00 mins, which included 1:00 min of Q&A).
Then Freddie entertained us with "The Age of Transition" (The Professional Speaker #2 - Speaking to Entertain (15:00-20:00 mins).
The speeches were evaluated for 2-3:00 mins by Latifa, David and Chinkata, before Brian ran the Open Feedback session - in which audience members offer an additional two minutes of commendations and one minute of recommendations per speech.
Our General Evaluator for the evening, Gagan then evaluated everyone who hadn't previously been evaluated.
It was then time for the prizes. Freddie scooped Best Speaker, and Chinkata, who was on top form as usual, was voted both best Evaluator and best Table Topics contestant.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 13th November 2019 at The Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley St., London W1W 6DN. Guests are very welcome!

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In other news, we welcome Ilaria who had agreed to be our new VPE. She is very experienced Toastmaster and VPE - this will be her fifth time performing this important committee role. 

Meeting Report for Wednesday 9th October, 2019

We met on our traditional second (the other meeting being the fourth) Wednesday of the month at the Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street, W1W 6DN.
Our Toastmaster for the evening was new member Latifa, who delivered a faultless and entertaining performance - her fist time in this role for Excalibur. 
Ben then invited our guests on stage to introduce themselves:

Freddie took the Table Topics session. The participants were instantly evaluated by other members of the audience. 

We then had our three formal speeches: Deborah - "The Secret of Youth" Humorously Speaking # 3 "Make them Laugh". This excellent speech was followed by Robin's "Smart" - Speeches by Management #1 "The Briefing". Finally Prakesh delivered "Books we Read. People we Meet" - Visionary Communication #1-1 Icebreaker. 

The speeches were evaluated by Monika, Ilaria and Carolina. 

Then we had the Open Feedback session, in which the audience is invited to add three minutes per speech of extra commendations and suggestions. Congratulations to Robin (#2) who jumped in at short notice to perform this role!

Kat then delivered an insightful Open Feedback session - in which everyone who hadn't been previously evaluated on stage, received her thoughts and suggestions.

President Nick then awarded the prizes which were as follows: best table Topic: Deborah; best Evaluation: Monika; best Speech: Robin.

Our next meeting is at 19:00 on Wednesday 23th October, at The Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street, London W1W 6DN. Guests are very welcome!

Excalibur Humorous Speech and Table Topics Competition, 25th September, 2019

We met at our usual Fitzrovia venue (2 Foley St., W1W 6DN) for our hotly anticipated annual Humorous Speech and Table Topics competitions. The tension was so great, you could have cut it with a knife (or indeed, a sword).

Our Humorous Speech contestants consisted of Debbie, Chinkata, Ian, David and Ben. Each in turn fulfilled the brief with expertly delivered, funny speeches that lasted 5-7.5 mins (there we no disqualifications).

The Table Topics contestants were Melanie, Debbie, Ilaria, Simon and Robin who answered the question, "What is your most spectacular failure and how did you make it a success?" The permitted time for answers was 1-2.5 mins and again, there were no disqualifications. All gave well structured and thoughtful replies - following the (unwritten) brief of employing a beginning, middle and end.

The Certificates of Participation were then handed out:

After the judges had done their work, the results were announced. The winners of the Table Topics competition were:

First Place: Robin
Second Place: Debbie
Third Place: Ilaria

Humorous Speech Winners:

First Place: Ben
Second Place: Chinkata
Third Place: Debbie

A big thank-you to everyone who helped this fun evening be the great success it was. That includes the many functionaries needed to run a competition, both from Excalibur, and from other clubs. 

The Area Competition is at 18.30 on 29th October at Mindshare Toastmasters, who meet at 1 St Giles High Street, WC2H 8AR. Come and support Robin and Ben! 

The next Excalibur meeting is at 19:00 on 9th October, 2019 at The Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street, W1W 6DN. Guests are very welcome! 

   

Meeting Report for Wednesday 11th September, 2019

We met on a balmy evening for another high quality meeting, kicked off by Brian (Meet and Greet) and Lukasz (Call to Order) before our President, Nick took to the stage to hand over to our Toastmaster for the evening, Debbie, who performed the role with great polish.

Once our guests had been introduced, Freddie explained the role of Timekeeper and then Robin took to the stage as Table Topics Master - her questions were based on the theme: when we we young, which given the considerable age spread of the club's members, proved more challenging for some than others!

Three excellent speeches were then delivered. The first was by David, "Do you see what I'm saying?" Presentation Mastery #2-1 Effective Body Language. It was evaluated by Ben.

Then Chinkata delivered "Things Fall Apart" Interpretive Reading #1 - Read a Story. This speech was evaluated by Errol.

Thirdly, David gave a speech entitled "Find the Source" Speaking to Inform #1 - The Speech to Inform which was evaluated by Jan.

Ian then ran the Open Feedback session - in which the audience is invited to add two minutes more of commendations and one minute more of suggestions to each speech. Rarely seen in Toastmasters clubs, this session allows members of the audience to speak and adds additional layers of analysis to the formal presentations.

Next, Ilaria delivered the Open Feedback session, in which she made insightful commendations and suggestions to people who hadn't been previously evaluated.

It was then time for President Nick to award the evening's prizes. Ben was chosen as best Table Topics contestant, best Evaluator was Errol, and David won Best Speaker. 

Our next meeting - which is our annual Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests - is on 25th September, but it starts at the earlier time of 6.30pm, at The Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street, W1W 6DN. Guests are very welcome!

Meeting Report for 14th August, 2019

Lukash called us to order, before handing over to club President Nick, who after some well chosen words, introduced our evening's Toastmaster, David, to the crowded room. Ben then invited our guests on stage.

Table Topics Master was Lynne, who conducted the session with her usual aplomb, reminding us that when the Table Topics are evaluated, the speaker must supply at least one recommendation. We are, after all, an advanced club!

We enjoyed three high quality, but very different speeches this evening. The first was delivered by Mel (including visuals!): "Thanks to Basingstoke" Dynamic Leadership 1 - The Icebreaker. We shared Mel's journey from her childhood in (un)inspiring Basingstoke, which generated the drive to achieve so much in her professional life.  

This was followed by Melanie's: "The Office Briefing" Speeches by Management - 1 - The Briefing. Melanie talked us through a list of essential recommendations when moving office, and handled the Q&A session with confidence and skill.    

Our third speech was by Freddie: "The Path to a More Successful Life" The Professional Speaker - 5 - The Motivational Speech. In this thoughtful speech, Freddie examined the meaning of life, compared his own goals when younger with the paths of three school friends, before gently steering us towards a more fulfilling future. 

The speeches were evaluated by Prakash, Simon and Ken. 

Monika then led the Open Feedback session, in which members and guests add additional commendations and suggestions to the prepared speeches. 

Our guest Latifa then took to the stage to deliver an excellent general evaluation - in which she made commendations and suggestions to those who hadn't been previously evaluated. A high-point of her delivery was when she announced she'd be joining Excalibur! 

We then moved to the prize giving. The best Table Topics award went to David, Ken was best Evaluator and Freddie was chosen as best speaker.

Our next meeting will be at 19:00 on Wednesday 28th August, 2019 at The Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street, W1W 6DN. Guests are very welcome!