Speakers and Toastmasters clubs
To find your nearest club go onto the internet. Type in Toastmasters and then Find a Club. The first club I attended was Harrovians in Harrow & Wealdstone. It meets on the first, third and fifth Monday of each month at 7.15 pm.
Central London clubs include Holborn, above the Rugby Tavern, London Athenians Speakers near Hammersmith, and London Olympians, above the Hoop & Toy pub conveniently close to South Kensington tube station.
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Humour at Harrovians
Catholic Priests should be allowed to get married, by Anthony McGuigan, past president of Harrovians, was the winning subject amongst the five prepared speeches. This speech comes from the advanced manual of Persuasive speeches, in which you are invited to pick a controversial subject. A controversial subject is rather unusual at Toastmasters where most manuals suggest that you avoid religion, politics and sex, the three subjects most likely to excite your audience in one way or another.
Anthony said that he came from a small village in Ireland where the single priest lived in a five-bedroom house, 'with a housekeeper - but that's another story!' His speech told us many well-researched surprising facts about how Jesus's first priest or pope, 'the rock', Peter, was married, as indeed were priests and popes for several centuries. Moving to modern times he described how many priests left the church to get married - sometimes to their housekeepers!
This speech ends with question time from the audience - such a pity we don't have one minute of questions at the end of every speech. A question-minute would more accurately reflect what happens in a real one-hour after-dinner speech. Another advantage is that the audience would be kept alert thinking up a question.
My favourite question was from Shirley, who asked, 'If a single priest has a five-bedroom house, how many bedrooms will you give to a married priest?'
She also produced the best punning heckle, about nuns, 'Nuns they don't count'. Yes, there are none.
That was from the meeting on Monday October 16th. Harrovians Toastmasters meetings are held fortnightly on the first, third and fifth Monday of the month. Visitors are welcome. The venue is the Weald Stone Inn, which has a car park round the back. Arrive at 7.15 for socialising and networking, ready for the 7.30 rompt start.
For more details see the Toastmasters International website and click on the page Find A Club. There are 21 clubs in London, plus several thousand more in Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Europe, the USA, and around the world, wherever you are living, working or on holiday.
Harrovians meetings are free except once or twice a year when there is catering. Most big cities have a dinner club which meets in a hotel or restaurant and you pay for a meal. So check the costs and catering. Put the dinner venues and pubs serving meals at the end of your list of clubs if your budget and appetite are small, or at the top of your list if your budget, eyes and belly are bigger.
A Little Advice on Writing A Big Speech
Somebody I spoke to came up with some interesting advice. He said each evening he makes a list of things to do next day starting with the most difficult. Then when he gets up and is wide awake he deals with that one first. Having got it out of the way he feels really good and can relax and clear up all the lesser problems.
Central London clubs include Holborn, above the Rugby Tavern, London Athenians Speakers near Hammersmith, and London Olympians, above the Hoop & Toy pub conveniently close to South Kensington tube station.
***
Humour at Harrovians
Catholic Priests should be allowed to get married, by Anthony McGuigan, past president of Harrovians, was the winning subject amongst the five prepared speeches. This speech comes from the advanced manual of Persuasive speeches, in which you are invited to pick a controversial subject. A controversial subject is rather unusual at Toastmasters where most manuals suggest that you avoid religion, politics and sex, the three subjects most likely to excite your audience in one way or another.
Anthony said that he came from a small village in Ireland where the single priest lived in a five-bedroom house, 'with a housekeeper - but that's another story!' His speech told us many well-researched surprising facts about how Jesus's first priest or pope, 'the rock', Peter, was married, as indeed were priests and popes for several centuries. Moving to modern times he described how many priests left the church to get married - sometimes to their housekeepers!
This speech ends with question time from the audience - such a pity we don't have one minute of questions at the end of every speech. A question-minute would more accurately reflect what happens in a real one-hour after-dinner speech. Another advantage is that the audience would be kept alert thinking up a question.
My favourite question was from Shirley, who asked, 'If a single priest has a five-bedroom house, how many bedrooms will you give to a married priest?'
She also produced the best punning heckle, about nuns, 'Nuns they don't count'. Yes, there are none.
That was from the meeting on Monday October 16th. Harrovians Toastmasters meetings are held fortnightly on the first, third and fifth Monday of the month. Visitors are welcome. The venue is the Weald Stone Inn, which has a car park round the back. Arrive at 7.15 for socialising and networking, ready for the 7.30 rompt start.
For more details see the Toastmasters International website and click on the page Find A Club. There are 21 clubs in London, plus several thousand more in Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Europe, the USA, and around the world, wherever you are living, working or on holiday.
Harrovians meetings are free except once or twice a year when there is catering. Most big cities have a dinner club which meets in a hotel or restaurant and you pay for a meal. So check the costs and catering. Put the dinner venues and pubs serving meals at the end of your list of clubs if your budget and appetite are small, or at the top of your list if your budget, eyes and belly are bigger.
A Little Advice on Writing A Big Speech
Somebody I spoke to came up with some interesting advice. He said each evening he makes a list of things to do next day starting with the most difficult. Then when he gets up and is wide awake he deals with that one first. Having got it out of the way he feels really good and can relax and clear up all the lesser problems.
posted by Angela Lansbury Author at 11:05 AM
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