Presidents Newsletter, November 2015

It has been a busy and exciting month at Excalibur Speakers. We have now moved to two meetings a month which means so much more opportunity for our members to improve their skills.

Beyond this, your committee is working on many more initiatives. Each is intended to improve the experience for you, our members.

Regular Meeting Report for 28th October 2015

What a special evening this was. The first ever time that Excalibur had a regular scheduled 2^nd meeting in the month. Twice as much opportunity for Excaliburgers goodness!  

Regular Meeting Report for 14th October 2015

Wow! What a great Excaliburgers session!

Our President, Freddie, kicked off the meeting. He suggested that, as aspiring speakers, we could learn so much from both professional speakers and comedians. They devote so much time to craft their work, knowing exactly where the laughs and other reactions will come from. We, as speakers, should follow their example by repeating and recording our speeches to hone our work too.

Excalibur to move to two meetings each month

Hi all…it seems like ages! And indeed it has been. What with a trip to the Toastmasters World Convention in August and a short break when our last meeting was on, I have missed my Excalibur fix for the last two meetings. I fully expect to see you at the next few meetings!

Your committee has, however, been hard at work in the background. Indeed, at the end of August, our committee meeting lasted over 3 hours! There were lots of exciting ideas for us to pursue this coming year. Today I would like to focus on the biggest item from that meeting.

Regular Meeting report for 8 July 2015

Despite the strike by staff at London Underground we had an intrepid 15 people, including 5 guests from other clubs, attend the first meeting of the new Toastmasters year. And a cracker of a meeting it was too! Our guests were Stella from Kings Cross Speakers, Mary from Isis Speakers near Oxford, Jeremy from Bank Speakers, Catherine from London Olympians and Sue had brought her dad along!

Our new President, Freddie, opened proceedings, explaining that Excalibur is the club for those Toastmasters focussed on developing their speaking skills but who were looking for the best feedback to help them progress. He then suggested that each member set speaking goals for the coming Toastmasters year.

Presidential Handover, July 2015 – Toasting a successful year

Fellow Toastmasters,

Just a quick note from me to say thank you to all of you for what has been a ***spectacular*** year at Excalibur Speakers! Particular thanks from me to our outgoing committee – Karthik, Swarajit, Chinkata, Justine, Tony and Ken – and to the helper elves who have provided additional support to the committee during the year.

I am delighted to let you know that we have done it: Excalibur Speakers is President's Distinguished Club for 2014/15! We set out our plan at the start of the year, and I toast each and every one of you who has contributed to this significant achievement – the first time in the club’s 17 year history.

So I hand the club over to our new President, Freddie Daniells, and his new committee: gladly a club that is in good shape! I have one more favour to ask of you: that you bestow upon the new committee and the club the support that you have given us during the last 12 months.

And on that, let’s start the year on the right note with…

Speak Out report for 25 June 2015

Our last Speak Out before the summer break started with visiting speaker Paul giving a speech based on Project 2 from The Entertaining Speaker entitled "A Big, Grey Lump". Opening with an anecdote of his first experience of feeding elephants at the circus, Paul went on to tell the story of a man known as Elephant Bill.
        Bill was an Englishman who went to Borneo in the 1920s to work with elephants. The mammals were used to pull felled trees to the river so they could be transported to the mill on other side. After a monsoon caused the logs to pile up, compromising the safety of a nearby bridge, two elephants were tasked with saving it from collapsing, which they managed due to their great perseverance.
        When war arrived in Borneo, Bill had to take the elephants to safety in India, facing many challenges along the way including climbing a sheer cliff, but was able to overcome them thanks in no small part to the fortitude of his animal companions.

Regular Meeting report for 10 June 2015

Cat opened her last regular meeting as club president by recounting the introduction from her first - in which she described herself as 'caretaker' for the club - before encouraging the guests in the room to introduce themselves.

Cat welcoming the evening's guests

President's Newsletter, June 2015 - The Final Countdown

Fellow Toastmasters,

What an exciting month we have ahead of us: summer is in the air (for one day at least), it's my birthday (shameless plug) and we are in the final countdown (cue the 1980s...) to the end of the Toastmasters year.

With three weeks to go, it isn't yet time to reflect on what we have achieved as a club during the 2014/15 Toastmasters year. However, it is a time to get excited about the opportunities ahead of us.

What do you want to achieve in 2015/16? Rather than waiting until July 1st to put your plan in place, I would suggest that now is the time to be lining up your thoughts, hopes and aspirations! Maybe you feel like it is time to be part of the Club Committee - either to give something back to the members or to address a particular area you want to develop - or perhaps 2015/16 is the year for you to complete that Leadership manual that has been lingering or to take your Communication track to the next level?

Let's take that next step together with our…

Speak Out report for 28 May 2015

An enjoyable Speak Out meeting began with past president Simon reading "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock" by T. S. Eliot, a challenging choice of interpretive reading for which he was commended by his evaluator Andrew. Simon was entertaining as he brought to life this piece about mid-life crises. Andrew explained that it was important to find the balance between the different narrative sections of the poem, and to respect the poetic rhythm in order to maintain an emotional connection with the audience.

Regular Meeting report for 13 May 2015

There was a full house and a packed schedule for our May meeting, which was opened by incumbent president Cat who introduced the guests before moving on to the subject of elections.

Speak Out report for 23 April 2015

As a one-off appearance at Excalibur's lunchtime meeting, club president Cat opened the meeting with excitement on the agenda ahead: a special workshop meeting.

Book your place now: Spring Conference, 9-10 May 2015

Fellow Toastmasters,

If you weren't able to make it along to the Division B workshops and contests on Saturday, I'm afraid that you missed out!

Errol did Excalibur and Area 45 proud with his third place in the International Speech Contest. Sadly he won't now be moving on to the next round, but he was faced tough competition from Nkem Anagor, who will be representing Division B at the D91 Conference next month.

Our Area 45 representative in the Evaluation Contest, Mindy, also did us proud with her 2nd place in the contest. Simon Simpson goes on to represent Division B at the D91 Conference.

I have to say that the line-up for the Spring Conference feels somewhat like an Excalibur workshop...!

Greetings from Andrew Bennett

Dear Excaliburgers,
                                                         
We are now one day away from London Division B Contest and Comedy Workshops. I hope that you will be attending and cheering on Errol as he speaks. Unfortunately I have to tell you that a last minute change in the schedule for a recording project I am involved with means that I have to be in Marseille on Saturday and Sunday and so will not be able to compete in Evaluation Contest on behalf of Area 52. My place will be taken by Toastmaster Pedro Casillas who I am sure will excel.

Business-skills workshop at Excalibur

Fellow Toastmasters,

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful weather! With all of this new life springing up around us, it makes me think of trying out new things.

You too?

If so, how about you come to Excalibur's Speak Out meeting next week?

We have a very special workshop meeting, focused on developing business skills.

Regular Meeting report for 8 April 2015

Opening this month's regular meeting, club president Cat used a metaphor of glass balls to represent the most important parts of our lives, including our health, plus one rubber ball to represent our work and professional development. She explained that, while our commitment to Toastmasters may dip from time to time, like the rubber ball, it can always bounce back.

President's Newsletter, April 2015 - Choose Life

Fellow Toastmasters,

It isn’t the most prosaic of monologues, but the recent tragic events of flight 4U 9525 crashing in the Alps reminded me of Ewan McGregor’s Choose Life speech from the 1990s film Trainspotting. He chose not to choose life. For me, the plane tragedy reminded me that I Choose Life.

How we choose to spend the limited life that we have is up to each one of us (may I remind you of Swarajit’s recent speech The Wager, with which he took 3rd place at the Area 45 contest!), but if my time in Toastmasters has taught me anything, it is that Toastmasters are a breed of human that thrive from living life to the max.

On that note, looking ahead to…

Oh, what a night!

Dear Excaliburgers,

I am delighted to announce that our representatives at the Area 45 contests tonight DID US PROUD!

Sadly David W and Carl were pipped to the post in a tough evaluation contest, whilst Swarajit placed third in the International Speech contest, and Errol won the International Speech contest and will be going forward to represent Area 45 at Saturday 18^th April's Division B contest!

Here are a couple of snaps from the night:

CORRECTION: Area 45 contest representatives

As a correction to last week's contest report, please note that Excalibur Speakers' representatives at the Area 45 contest will be Carl and David W for the Evaluation contest along with Swarajit and Errol for the International Speech contest.

The area contests will take place from 6:30pm on Friday, 27^th March at the Freemasons' Hall in Covent Garden. Please go along and show your support.

Contest report for 11 March 2015

Excalibur Speakers entered the spring contest season this week with its International Speech & Evaluation contest night. President Cat opened the meeting in song with a recital of the theme from Record Breakers, using its slogan of 'dedication' to explain what was needed to succeed in public speaking.

Club president Cat opening the meeting

Cat then handed proceedings over to Division B Governor and contest chair Jill to explain the rules and run the rest of the show.

Speak Out report for 26 February 2015

Attending this month's Speak Out meeting were members George, Anne, Justine and Tony, plus five guests! The guests had come along because they are thinking of setting up a new corporate club, and the Speak Out meeting was very convenient for them.

Regular Meeting report for 11 February 2015

This month, club president Cat opened the meeting talking about the power of Just Do It - inspired by a speech that she had heard at another Toastmasters club that morning. She challenged the audience to just do it when it came to next month's International Speech and Evaluation contests at the club (Wednesday, 11^th March) - a fantastic opportunity to get more stage time!

Cat then passed the meeting's proceedings on to Simon as Toastmaster of the evening, who filled the room with love in the air as his theme for the Valentine's meeting.

Simon as Toastmaster

President's Newsletter, February 2015 - Toastmasters treats

Dear Friends,

Where did January go to? Whilst we are already a 12th of the way through 2015, at least it brings us a step closer to our next meeting of Excalibur Speakers!

Iris Murdoch said, "One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats". That's just how I feel about Toastmasters, don't you? Our lives are continually touched by the gift of being given a supportive, open forum to speak, the care and attention of effective evaluations, and gathering together with like-minded people on a regular basis. 

If you are looking for your next happiness fix, please sign up online for our next meeting! Roles and speech slots are available to Excalibur members on easySpeak and we would also love for all members and guests to confirm their attendance using meetup.

There are *lots* of opportunities to spread a little happiness!

Also, looking ahead to more happiness-inducing small treats, you could compete in the upcoming International Speech or Evaluations contests or you could get involved with facilitating the contest night, as Contest Chair, Judge or functionary. Please get in touch with Karthik if you are able to participate.

Regular Meeting report for 14 January 2015

Our first meeting of 2015 kicked off with club president Cat explaining that incremental gains - much like professional athletes aim to achieve in their performance - are the key to overall improvement in public speaking and leadership, and Toastmasters clubs provide the perfect environment for this to happen.

Cat giving her introduction

President's Newsletter, January 2015 – Start as you mean to go on

Happy New Year Exaliburgers, Fellow Toastmasters and Friends!

January marks new starts for many of us, with aspirations for slimmer figures and fatter bank balances. But just like improving our Public Speaking skills, these things don't come about without hard work!

We started our Excalibur year all the way back in July, and as such we are already half way through our next step on the club's journey. As a Committee, we are pleased with our successes to date but we don't want it to stop here!

If you too are starting the year as you mean to go on, how about you get stuck in early and be part of raising the bar at Excalibur Speakers through:

• Signing up to meeting roles well ahead of time
• Working towards your Leadership and Communication awards
• Competing in the upcoming International Speech or Evaluations contests
• Facilitating the contest night, as Contest Chair, Judge or functionary
• Considering a Committee role for 2015/16 (see here for more information)

As always, if you have any questions please do get in touch.

Looking ahead to...