A Champion In Our Midst,

No, this isn't Stephen!

On Wednesday 6^th November we will be treated to a guest appearance from Meridian Club member Stephen Edun, Divisional Contest Winner for the Toastmasters Humorous Contest! I have not had the pleasure of hearing Stephens' winning speech yet but talking to him outside of Toastmasters, he seems like the kind of guy who is just genuinely easy going but motivational by default. If you come to the club on Wednesday night, you can learn a bit more about him in our newsletter. Until then, I will share with you 3 tips Stephen has generously gifted to all you budding speech competition contestants out there. (The tips are useful for those of us who are not interested in competitions too!) J

1. Go and visit other clubs – Toastmasters members pretty much know the style and standard of their fellow club toastmasters. If you want to compete, you need to get a fresh perspective – hear and see other Toastmasters in action.
2. Seek feedback – This is what we do at Toastmasters, but as you know, the more you ask for the more you get. Ask people for honest, objective feedback. Again, if you can get this from seasoned Toastmasters, who don’t know you all that well – even better.
3. And finally in the words of the musical genius Prince… KISS Keep it simple (stupid!). Stephen points out; “if you look at all the speakers who have won Toastmasters International contests, their speeches always have a simple message with common principles”. If you can also connect with the audience and take them through an interesting story you are on to a winner baby!

You do not want to miss Stephen deliver his winning speech ‘Start where you are’. So get yourself down to Lewisham Speakers Club on 6^th November. Remember to thank him for the tips!

Storytelling Workshop in London, by Julie Kertesz

Post by Julie Kertesz.

Can TV adverts tell us about Toastmasters?

Having been off work unwell last week, I succumbed to the clutches of mind numbing TV. I still refuse to watch daytime TV but evenings – yes I admit I’ve been weak and unable to fight the system. L

For those of you who do watch TV, have you seen the advert for the new Nexus 7 the Google tablet? It features a little boy with braces who is scared to death at the thought of giving a presentation to his class. He googles ‘Glossophobia’ (fear of public speaking), finds a great historical speech from Winston Churchill, tries to model Churchill’s style, then smashes it in the classroom to the point where he scores major brownie points with a cute girl in the front row of his class causing another dilemma – how does he ask her out?

The Nexus 7 advert

Does the advert make me want to go buy the Nexus 7? Well inadvertently yes as it made me 'go compare' android tablets. Congratulations to the advertising agency! More importantly, does it paint a true picture of how you overcome a very real fear of using your tongue? (this is the literal translation of Glossophobia). In a way, yes it does. It shows that we learn fastest when:

·         We have a reason to have to learn – the pressure of an important event for example

·         We find a great mentor and model them

·         We practice – repetition is the key to learning.

This is what Toastmasters is all about people! For every single member, there was a reason they joined and it wasn't because they just wanted to be good at a toastmasters club.

At Toastmasters there is access to so many great speakers, in your club, in your area, district etc. we are spoilt for choice in terms of mentors.

And finally we come to practice! Whether you give a speech or a time keeper report, you are dissipating that feeling of nausea, and panic that used to envelop you and render you powerless.

Don’t be a slave to Glossophobia. Get yourself down to Lewisham Toastmasters Club. Find the cure and break free of the chains. We can't guarantee you will find the cute girl or boy in the front row though!