Exquisite Language Evaluation and Table Topic at Bishan Toastmasters Club

At Bishan Toastmasters Club in Singapore last week (January 2016) I was invited to be Language Evaluator, which we would call Grammarian in England. My first thought was that word of the day could be Oxymoron, a word used by best-selling Singaporean writer and former English teacher Catherine Lim, describing her novel title Howling Silence.

However, the club members might find that too difficult and obscure. I was given a dictionary and found the word 'exquisite', a positive word, which proved popular.

To my delight, I won a ribbon for best table topic.

Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

How to convince members to mentor others?

TM has an educational workshop on mentoring with the slides you show and a question and answer session at the end.

Give examples of a mentor and a mentee session. Being a mentor is just like being an evaluator. You both get points and learn. Sometimes the mentor only has to listen as the mentee talks through the problems, discusses one, two or three solutions, and finds the action and decides to do it. A mentor is evaluated in the CL manual. You could add the public mentoring session by running publicly through how the mentoring is then evaluated.

Angela Lansbury, author of Quick Quotations.

Clubs Attended 2016 UK and Singapore and lessons learned

2015
UK
Harrovians
HOD

Singapore

January 2016
Monday Jan 18 to Sheraton Hotel SCS Spoke in topics
Tue 19

Wed 20 Bukit Panjang (around an oval table, I was given a welcome ribbon signed on back by president with name of club, and best speaker for my topic.

My topic subject was: one swallow does not make a summer.

I said:
Swallows in the old days used to predict Seasons
In the old days you could tell the seasons by the birds which flew into (seasonal) countries (like the UK) for the summer. But with Global warming the seasons are less predictable. We have longer, warmer summers. Yet in England which has cold winter, we get shorter but less predictable shifting snow intervals, no longer white Christmas but often White weeks with whiteouts in January, February or even March.

How does global warming affect birds? In England we have a bird count in January organised by the RSPB, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. That day volunteers all over the country count birds in their gardens. If you don't have a garden you can count in the nearest park. Even a windowsill if you put out bird food.

You don't count birds flying across, which are hard to identify accurately, only those which land.
You could have birds flying away and coming back. The same bird might be counted twice or ten times. So you only count the numbers you see together. I saw four magpies and two crows o ravens.

I wondered why we counted in January. The leaves fall so it's easier to see birds in the trees or on the end of the lawn, not hidden from view by overhanging branches. The idea is to compare each year with the next year, to find out whether birds are increasing or decreasing. And which birds? More robins? Or fewer?

Swallows and birds flying in for the summer are not native birds and are outside our control. One swallow does not make a summer was originally a saying about birds, although we now use it metaphorically, when I do the bird count I take it literally. You could probably do the same bird count in Singapore, but the saying would not be a swallow but another bird. Yes, I agree, one swallow does not make a summer.

What I learned:
Bilingual Cards With Proverbs
(I would like to know which bilingual cards have the sayings in both Chinese and English - are they from Toastmasters or another organisation?)

Thu 21 Bukit Batok speakers club meeting at Bukit Batok CC (Community Centre) beyond the West Mall beside Bukit Batok MRT (and bus station). (Bukit Batok, alliterative, could mean hill of Javanese coconuts ; or Batu-stone in Bahasa Malay for coughs/explosives at nearby Little Guilin lake).
In an upstairs room we sat around a large o v a l table.
At break time we had k w a y  t e o w, flat rice noodles in mystery sauce, cockles and prawns, been sprouts; char away teouw with sausage. Chinese carrot cake (neither carrots, nor cake, some kind of vegetable stew) bananas and grapes.

What I learned:

Fri 22 ..

Sat
Sun

Mon Jan 25 Tanglin Club's Tanglin Restaurant
Lunch saw Shan who told me about her business selling gluten free products.
Dinner 6 pm. See Catherine Lim. (Take book for signing.)

Bukit Gombak - hill + bunch or collection

My Topics (table topics - impromptu speeches)


My Ribbons:
B i s h a n  (I had to insert spaces because autocorrect changed the name to Bison.)
I used the word Exquisite as Language Evaluator.
I won the table topics ribbon. My topic was?

Saturday Jan 30th 2016
Club Officer Training.
(I saw Alvin, Gibson, Ivy, Samantha)

Using your mobile smartphone to record speeches and evaluations

I was reading a forum on LinkedIn where a member was complaining about the time wasted waiting for manuals and brochures to arrive, during which time you could miss two meetings.

The new system due out in two years time will allow you to download manuals. Meanwhile, what can you do?

Many clubs buy spare copies of manuals. At the back of your first speech manual is the first speech from the Entertaining manual to get you started on your next project.

We need a whole section on using your smartphone at meetings. I went to a meeting in Singapore. One evaluator read his evaluation, prompted by his notes on his smartphone.

Another propped his smartphone against a water bottle (on the huge table we sat around) in order to records his speech and evaluation. (He did both at one meeting).

Angela Lansbury, CL, ACB.

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining - speech by Angela

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining - if you look for it, or create it. A speech given by Angela Lansbury to the members of five clubs in the Area, (Harrovian Speakers, HOD, Watford and two other clubs) demonstrating the use of props and inspiring speakers.

Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG, author of Wedding Speeches & Toasts (Ward Lock and Cassell); Quick Quotations (Lulu.com) £7.50/ Sing $10; Who Said What When? £7.50/Sing S10.
See my other posts: on Travel; and Speeches.

Speech Guide For Toastmaster Or President

Your meeting will go more efficiently and be less stressful if you check in advance by phoning the participants the weekend or night before or both. Check everybody is in the country, in good health, has remembered the meeting, has prepared, and has everything they need.

Check the main speaker/s and evaluator/s and mentors have contacted each other. Have the speakers brought or asked for any needed props such as a flipchart or projector or projector extension lead. Does the Grammarian have a printed word of the day.

Will everybody bring any manuals? If a first time speaker has no manual, the TME or mentor should send them or talk them through the requirements of the speech and timing it.

Can the speakers or committee members give you any introductions to speakers, whatever would increase the speaker's confidence or make the audience clap. (Qualifications, and what they mean - such as a PhD - which is a doctor - not a doctor of law but a ... who spent five years researching English grammar).

Appoint a backup speaker with a backup speech in case of absent or delayed speakers (who might fall ill, get lost, or be stuck in traffic. That way you will have the minimum of three speakers required for voting.

Who opens the meeting? At many weddings and functions the Toastmaster who knows the venue, and the order of proceedings, opens and then invites the VIP of the evening to speak. But in a Toastmasters Intention speech training club the order of VIPs is usually to start with the experienced VIP President, who is the well known figure, who knows proceedings better than the Toastmaster of the Evening who is a novice practising the role.

The President and Toastmaster of the evening need to liaise and be clear which one will do which role of these:

1 Organisation History
For the benefit of newcomers and a reminder to old-timers:
Explain the origin and purpose of Toastmasters International to train speakers (remember the number of clubs and members, first in the USA, then worldwide, and perhaps the original of the new or longstanding club or the number of clubs in a city, or country or region, (such as London, UK, Singapore, Las Vegas, Asia, Australia).

2 Personal Past or Recent Inspiration
Tell a personal story starting with the benefit to the audience and a question to be answered when they hear your speech.
Present: For example, 'why the the car accident I saw / survived has also benefitted you'.

Past: Alternatively a historical story why I joined Toastmasters to speak at a wedding, give a presentation. Or a recent event: on my way here tonight; a dramatic incident such as seeing a car accident and realising life was short, being on a plane and praising fate or yourself you would write a speech.

End with a happy or funny note.

3 Arrange Seating / Latecomers' Seats
Assign an empty seat or two near the door for latecomers with an agenda.
Appoint a mentor to smile at latecomers. Or welcome latecomers.

If anybody has signified they will be late, warn the audience to reduce embarrassment. Start promptly, if necessary filling time with a game or going round the room asking everybody to say their name and whether they are a member or a guest. Welcome the latecomer. If the main speaker or any role filler is absent, assign the VPE, SAA or other committee member to phone and find out whether the speaker or evaluator will be arriving late but in time or if another must fulfil the role.

Contests
In contests the judges should not sit beside speakers.

Workshops and Training
Agendas.
Seating - warn people that they need to be seated next to those in the same role for group work later, or in pairs or groups of four, or with strangers for an introduce yourself exercise. Saves delay later.

4 Housekeeping Rules: Safety and comfort
Point out fire exits, toilets, and tell people about intervals and meeting end time to encourage them to wait.
Safety: Point out the fire exits.
Noise: Ask people to turn off phones or sit near exit door / aisle if they must have phones on to help latecomers or deal with emergencies. You will have more success if:

a) Turn off phones
You ask people to get out their phones, demonstrate by getting out yours, then ask them to turn off phones. Ask if anybody has a new phone and doesn't know how to turn it off. Getting out your own phone saves you the embarrassment of the Toastmasters or speaker's own phone going off.

b) Turn phones back on
Promise to remind them to put phones back on at interval and end of meeting. If I have forgotten to turn off my phone I am also likely to forget to turn it on. I decline to turn off the phone unless I am reminded to turn it back on, because if my taxi driver can't reach me at the end of the evening I will be stranded in a strange city at night.

Distribute Agendas, Papers and Pens
Hand out agenda / voting slips / Paper and pencils / copies of evaluator / judging forms

Introduce / welcome guests and VIPs

Run through agenda of the evening.
Encourage enthusiasm and clapping.
Use phrases such as:
Please clear the aisle, move chairs together or apart to make space for members of the audience to come forward. Look at the speaker and sit up. Don't slouch, fold your arms, frown, look at your phone, hunt in your bag. Don't whisper. If you must pass on a message, hand a three word note.
We encourage speakers by clapping like this!
We also smile!

Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG, travel writer and photographer, workshop leader, speaker.

Toastmasters Experience
I have been a committee member of two London Clubs, Harrovians and HOD. During my years at Toastmasters International which I joined in 2005 (ten years ago at the time of writing this post), I have given 40 speeches, reaching Advanced Communicator Gold.

 I am the author of five books about Wedding speeches and wedding etiquette written for Ward Lock Cassell including Wedding Speeches and Toasts. My book How To Be A Bridesmaid featured in the Singapore Library presentation on how to use the library given to a group of Expat visitors. I have presented workshops on how to speak impromptu with props grabbed from your pocket or venue; I have written two books on Quotations: Quick Quotations; Who Said What When.  

I visit clubs in Singapore and London, England every year and am happy to be Grammarian, Evaluator, General Evaluator or Speaker or Judge or any other role. 

I am also available outside London and Singapore, worldwide, if I can be tempted by a fee, an honorarium and/or offer of accommodation and transport. I will also interested in writing blog posts, brochures, websites, articles and books, either for my own amusement or profit, or for a fee and/or royalties.

CL - Competent Leader
ACG - Advanced Communicator Gold

Speech Tips video, Wigs For Cancer Patients, This life at HOD Meeting Jan 7 2015

Positive Peter, the President
Positive Peter, our HOD President, Peter Jacques, opened the meeting enthusiastically, commenting alliteratively on the 'terrific turnout'. He asked us all to say Hello to the guests. Everybody waved at the guests.
 He asked those who attended the Xmas party to put up their hands and told everybody else that those who'd been to the party were smiling. He reminded us that members could attend a BBQ party in the summer as well as looking forward to next year's party.

He asked if any guest had experience in speaking, and asked that person, 'Please come up and join me,' and gave them a printed copy of the Toastmasters International mission statement to read to us.

Peter told us to 'have a good time' and that speakers should remember 'we are on your side'.

Jolly Justas, the TME
Our Toastmaster of the evening was jolly Justas, who told us we had 24 meetings and 72 speeches to enjoy. We could also help ourselves to enjoy a cup of water at the table at the door of the hall where we met. His theme was the Beatles "All we need is love" which had inspired him to come to England. He also told us that 'each of you has the right to vote'.

Looking back at my notes, I find that he referred to the place where we have coffee and chocolate biscuits at break time as the Rest room, which in the USA is the toilet. He should have said Recreation room. I forgot to mention it later when I was GE and don't remember the Grammarian mentioning it.

He told everybody, 'we like to clap!'
His great joke was when showing us the voting slips, he told us that he won a ribbon for best speech by voting for himself when everybody else forgot to vote.

Timing
Timer of the evening was a newcomer, so President Peter explained timings in a twosome with the new timer who held up the green, yellow and red timing cards. A great system to act as a duo, with the more experienced person leading the way, the other person learning and taking part in a supporting role. Like a comedy duo.

Peter's parting words were positive, 'Try to stick to timings and have a great time'. Only when typing this up did I notice the pun in the last two words.

Ah Counter, Roni
Roni Savage was given the role of Ah counter, a role which was introduced to the club only recently. When you have lots of people in the audience, or new members or guests, it's an extra role you can give out which sounds easy and even the shyest person can hardly refuse.

She told us she would be looking for 'crutch words'.

Grammarian, Lily
Lily arrived on stage saying 'Thank you, Mr Toastmaster'. In some clubs the roles of Ah counter and Grammarian are rolled into one.

Vowels, Consonants and Pronunciation
Notice the difference between crutch and crotch. What a difference in visions a vowel can make.

Regarding pronunciation, without mentioning any names, a couple of people during the evening dropped their Gs. French is a language where it has become the norm to drop the last letter.

However, in English we still expect the word speaking to be pronounced speaking and not speak in. The word writing should be pronounced writing, not write in. Smiling should be pronounced smiling, not smile in.

Pronounce the words correctly to get praise from English speakers. You will also get increased understanding from those struggling with English as a second language.

This Life Joke by Sandeep
We opened the prepared speech section with an introductory speech by Sandeep which he entitled This Lifetime. His memorable joke was that Hindus believe in reincarnation so they have many lives, but with only a 5-7 minute slot he would limit himself to one life, the present one.

Sandeep said his father's job meant that Sandeep kept changing schools. This made him feel like an outsider.

How interesting - because so many people say the same but give different reasons, they were a different race or religion or simply changed schools. Newcomers at a club meeting also feel like outsiders, until they are welcomed, or assigned a mentor.

Making A Difference by Eli
Eli had a huge roll-down poster about the charity he is promoting which gives wigs to children having cancer treatment so they can feel confident and glamorous.

Speech Writing tips from Coralie
Coralie's innovation was a video presentation on how to write a speech, to help those who tell mentors they don't know where to begin. Her useful advice included always carry a notebook and pencil specifically for recording speech ideas. This was backed up by her holding up and pen and pencil, a photo of a person writing, and holding up a mobile phone which can be used for note taking.

After the break, Justas made us all stand up and copy his slow hand movements as he hand clapped three times. He said teachers do that to make pupils pay attention to the teacher.

The Break
During the break we enjoyed a very good selection of chocolate biscuits.

Justas addressed the speakers by roles and first names prefaced by the word Mr - please welcome Mr David.

In my General Evaluator role I commented that it simultaneously paid the person an honour, whilst being friendly.

You can watch my evaluation of the evaluators on video.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Jolly Justas

President, Positive Peter helps timer who holds cards

Eli's speech about helping children with cancer feel better by wearing wigs

Coralie's video of speech tips included suggesting recording speech ideas on your mobile phone

Photos by Angela Lansbury.

Jolly Justas presents Angela Lansbury with ribbon for best evaluator of topics

Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG

Traffic light colours to time speeches demonstrated with scarves by Angela

Timing with red, yellow and red scarves
 As timekeeper, getting ready to go to Toastmasters, I had thought of demonstrating the lights with three coloured cards, red, yellow and green.

Then I decided to wear a red scarf. I thought that although red is my colour, which suits me, and is stimulating, perhaps as timer I should wear an encouraging green scarf rather than red. I put on the green, leaving on the red, reluctant to remove it, then decided to add yellow to demonstrate all the colours.

In this video you see Toastmaster of the Evening (a role recently renamed event manager) introducing me as timer.

I explained the importance of time, the speech lengths, and when to go on seeing green.

I demonstrated by waving the scarves in turn. (See previous post on entire meeting.)
Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG.

Harrovians Speeches on A Wake Up Call and a Boring Presentation

President Seema welcomed us with a motivational story about how Mr Honda suffered several setbacks to his business, from 1938 onwards, including a bombed production line during WWII, and an earthquake. The lack of gasoline (petrol) for cars led to his motorising a bicycle which he turned into a motorbike. He hired out bikes to others, changed the bikes from heavy, functional items for enthusiasts into lights bikes for the public, and went on to found a company which now employs 100,000 people in both Japan and the USA.

I understood: The moral is persist with your dream and concentrate on your goal, or choose another goal and persist with that one. Seema adds: "The moral of my story - make a decision and stick to the goal. The only thing that is dynamic is the process or means to achieve this goal."

TME's Theme
Jayanthiny was Toastmaster of the Evening, a role recently given the updated name of Event Organiser. She had devised a theme question for speakers on stage to answer: What have you learned from last year, especially in Toastmasters but also outside Toastmasters.

Timing with red, yellow and red scarves
 As timekeeper, getting ready to go to Toastmasters, I had thought of demonstrating the lights with three coloured cards, red, yellow and green.

Then I decided to wear a red scarf. I thought that although red is my colour, which suits me, and is stimulating, perhaps as timer I should wear an encouraging green scarf rather than red. I put on the green, leaving on the red, reluctant to remove it, then decided to add yellow or orange to demonstrate all the traffic light colours.

I demonstrated by waving the scarves in turn. (See the next post on scarves to demonstrate coloured lights for timing, on video.)

Timing Using Clocks
When I sat down my phone had been used to take a video which you can see on my next post. The Topics Master stood up and I started to time by using the clock, which might work if you have a clock with a second hand, or are timing a long speech over five minutes, but not sufficiently accurate when you have a clock without a second hand, the clock is the other side of the room and out of focus. However, with Ruth's help, we were soon back on track. That is why it is so useful to have two timekeepers, especially in competitions where one timer has the deciding vote on whether a speaker is within time.

Good Grammar
Grammarian, Indra, had prepared the word salubrious, meaning healthy, from the Latin. He had three copies of the word on different walls. As GE Sanjay remarked we often have two words, but three is unusual.

Topic - sports
Spellchecker or autocorrect on this website wanted to turn the next speaker's name to viper so I shall spell it out with gaps.

V i p u l ' s topics were on the theme of sports. I was talking to Martina a guest, and wrote down her name in case I needed to name her when describing the times of table topics speakers. I found out that she came from Prague and her hobbies were two kinds of sports, including yoga and running.

 Finding that she was willing to be a table topics speaker, I called over the topics master to ask her if she wanted to do a speech. She asked if she could know the topic in advance. The topic is usually a surprise. He said he could tell her the topic was sport.

We don't often tell guests, not even visitors, the topic, just find out about them and pick a topic we think they could answer. However, this seemed a good chance to encourage a wavering speaker.
She won the ribbon for best topic speaker. Seema is on the left of the picture, Martina on the right, the club banner in the middle.

Martina won table topics with a speech on running. V i p u l told us his passion was cricket. Indra was challenged to explain how we would act as referee and his answer was diplomatic. Sanjay was asked to speak about technology and enthused about how technology befitted everything including Toastmasters. Warren enthused about how Toastmasters was reinventing itself with new manuals every ten years.

How to Use the Timer
As timekeeper I had expected to be provided with a stopwatch. When none was placed on the table, I rushed back to find the overtime bells but did not find the timer.

Ruth showed me how to use the timer on my mobile phone. You select the clock (by looking for the clock icon or picture).  Assuming you have a touch screen, choose the 'lap' mode by tapping on the word lap. Then press 'start'' and the numbers at the top of the screen start increasing. You have three pairs of numbers, minutes and seconds. When the speaker finished you tap on stop. Write down the time in minutes and seconds before you tap the 'reset button or icon.

If you forget to press the stop button, you will have to deduct the previous speaker's time from the new time total.

Using my phone as a timer prevented me from using the phone as a camera.

The first prepared speech by Thulasi was entitled A Wake-up Call. She told us how hearing that only ten percent of Toastmasters members completed the first ten speeches of the manual was a reminder that she should do so by the end of the year and how she vowed to complete her manual. She had learned that the system is flexible. You do not have to do the ten speeches in order. She had jumped to number 9, the persuasive speech, as it suited her topic of motivating us, acting as a wake up call to encourage us to finish our manual by the end of the Toastmasters' International year in June 2016.

Succinct Speech by Alex
The second speech by Alex was succinct. He had enthusiastically started his speech without receiving the instruction manual in time to craft a longer speech. But he gave us all the essentials about his job and his family, leaving us wanting to hear more about his interesting work in osteopathy, helping keep people and their bones healthy.

Warren's Successful Evaluation of a Short Speech
Alex's evaluator Warren cleverly said that Alex's brevity was both the source of a commend and a recommend. Warren amusingly said that on a first date Alex would be a great success, not talking non-stop and interminably about himself, like most people do. In real life nobody lets you speak for more than four minutes (without interrupting). A good listener doesn't bore you by talking for more than four minutes. A good listener is always adding value in Toastmasters' meetings and in daily life.

Warren also give a fascinating analysis of a speech. A joke, he said, does not have a conclusion, but a speech has a conclusion. If you do not reach a conclusion, you have (a joke or story but) no speech.

Warren has improved his humour to stunning heights. Where once he would damn with faint praise and sarcasm, bringing people down, he now uses his humour to be insightful, original and encouraging.

I think it would be useful to have a policy that when a novice speaker does not reach the minimum time the TME/Topics Master or audience should help by turning the remaining time into a Q and A session. I have seen this done successful at table topics sessions when an experienced TME helps a tongue-tied speaker. It's also the technique used by the Chairman when a speaker invited to give a one hour talk finishes early. The paid members expect to be given a one hour talk and the hotel has not yet got the tea ready. So the chairman has a few prepared questions. This helps and encourages the speaker to expand and use the extra available time to gain greater goodwill by giving an increased amount of information or additional stories to entertain the audience.

Sushil's Entertaining Speech on How Not To Be Boring
Sushil's talk entitled 'The Boring Presentation' started with asking us all to be silent and then say what we felt about the silence. Bored? Tired? Distracted?

Sushil said when bored we relive our autobiographical memory. Seeking excitement has a role in evolution.

Some people are easily excited. But some need more stimulation than others. Stimulation provides motivation and inspiration.

The call to action was introducing elements into our lives and speeches to keep our own attention and that of the audience. Methods might include challenges and problems to solve, variety, change.

Sushil won the best speaker ribbon. Ruth won the evaluator ribbon. She praised Sushil for his sophistication in using Powerpoint in a speech and his daring in asking for a minute of silence.

Guests
Before the break guests were welcomed and asked to introduce themselves and say a few words about why they had come to a Toastmasters Meeting and what they thought about it so far. We were pleased to welcome back two members we had not seen for some time, Maxine Allison, a former member, and Lola, plus newcomer Martina, Zara, and Pradip.

At teatime break in addition to the usual selection of assorted plain and chocolate biscuits, and Seema had brought back from Dubai a box of dates to share with everybody. Everybody was having such a great time talking that ringing the bells, in my role as timer, succeeded in summoning only half of them. In order to get them all back into their seats to keep the meeting to time I was obliged to turn the lights on and off.

Ruth is presented with a ribbon for the best evaluator.

President Seema, CC, ALB, presented the ribbons.

General Evaluation from Sanjay

Sanjay was General Evaluator and praised all the evaluators as well as coming out with points of his own, such as suggesting that evaluators should suggest action which could be taken to solve problems. For example, using a spell check to check slides. (In this case, as Sushil ruefully admitted, spell checker would not have caught bor-e-ing which is a legitimate spelling of a different type of action to boring.) Sanjay commended me for my original use of props, scarves as timers. 

Meeting Manager's Actions - Phoning Before The Meeting! 

I wrote in Jayanthiny's Leadership manual evaluating her role as TME/ meeting manager. I was stunned to see how the new title reflect the new responsibility of the former TME, who no longer simply links one speaker to the next. The manual clearly states that the evaluator must mark the Meeting Manager on whether they have briefed the evaluators in how they should communicate with the speakers. 

Essentially it is a chain of command from the 'TME' through evaluators to speakers, before the meeting, ensuring that the speakers are prepared and will actually turn up to the meeting. This advance delegation of chasing saves the TME from the embarrassment of last minute changes to the programme when speakers arrive late, without manuals, or forget, don't rehearse the speech and fail to turn up at all! 

Jayanthiny was really pleased to have learned from my evaluation, and my going through the manual explaining why I could not give her top marks for one item.  She was delighted to get help in the role, even though I could not give her full marks for doing something neither of us had previously realised were in the manual as part of the role. 

Her enthusiasm rubbed off on me. I was also very happy to see a sharp reminder of how preparing in advance is part of the system set down by the time-conscious Americans. (It was done in the early days of the Harrovians club but over the years we had become more casual and forgotten.) 

Ruth gave a lift home to two members including Lola who hopes to pass a driving test next month which will enable her to attend more meetings.

Next Harrovians Speakers' meeting as usual is a Monday, Jan 18th 2016. VPE Sanjay filled some of the speaking slots and roles for the next meeting but you still have an opportunity to pick your favourite from the website.

Mentors

Seema is mentoring Jayanthiny. Angela is to mentor Alex.

Dates for your diary:

Meetings every month, first third and sometime fifth Monday of each month except when bank holidays fall on a Monday. In those months in see club calendar on the Easy Speak website. Alternatively check through Toastmasters International Find A Club. To be sure the website is up to date, double check by emailing a club committee member through the Easyspeak website.  Harrovians also has a Facebook page

International Speech Contest and Evaluation Contest is in February. 

 on Monday 15th 2016. The winners of both contests will be in the Area Contest in February or March. 

Newsletter report by Angela Lansbury CL, ACG.

Aps, checklists and positive scores when evaluating speeches

Chad on the LinkedIn forum is proposing to develop an ap for evaluation.

My comments are:

The checklist is very useful when planning your speech. Include volume (can you hear at back of the room) and understandable eg (if half the audience are English ,will a speech in Mandarin or French need some translations).

You also need to take into account the difference between an average score and a variable score. For example an average score would by 3 out of 5. But an good evaluation might say, "He/she started quietly but gained confidence and spoke at full volume by the end of the speech.

I'm in favour of developing an ap now. It's going to come, sooner or later.

The CRC method allows twice the number of praises to recommends.

The ap must shift the scores to start and end with the high points, or add a positive comment. What can you say to encourage somebody who did badly and knows it. (For example, they walked off stage, got lost and started again.)

Comments I have hears: "A baby fall many times but ends up walking."

You have ten speeches. You could get a low score each time on the first 9 speeches, but if you learned each lesson your 10th speech could still be amazingly good compared to speech 1 - as so often happens.

Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG.