Doncaster Speakers Meeting Report Monday 23 October 2017

Another brilliant evening at Doncaster Speakers, it was filled with fun, energy, two amazing speeches and confidently delivered roles by all members .  The evening started with an introduction from Pauline Westrop as Sergeant at Arms and Jean Stewart as Toastmaster. Jean praised us all for being a high performing club, well done everyone for your continuous support and dedication to this.

Arthur Fenn was Timekeeper for the evening, he introduced his role and was waving the cards clearly at the back to keep us all in time for the evening.  Steven Bisby was Grammarian and introduced the word of the day ‘discombobulation’.   Steven was clear on what he was going to be looking out for and spoke to individuals when giving feedback.  Maria Orlovic was Ah Counter, she gave a personal story to introduce this role- what a great touch and a clear description of the role at the start of the evening and when evaluating at the end.

Our first speaker was Andrew Miller with a speech entitled ‘The Steel City Conference’, he persuaded a few more of us to sign up and attend the conference in Sheffield.  Derek Lucian evaluated his speech in a new creative way and asked the audience for our views and opinions on how well Andrew had met the speech objectives.

The second speaker was Pauline Westrop with a speech entitled ‘Would you save a life?’ which was filled with raw emotion and passion on her subject.  It gave us all something to take home and think about for the evening.  Bridget Pearson evaluated her speech with a warm personal approach and gave positive feedback to Pauline’s speech and also some constructive feedback.

Andy Howell delivered an excellent Educational session on ‘competent leaders easy speak’ it was a clear presentation to follow, we learnt a lot from it and also it encouraged us all to try out new roles.

The second half of the evening was filled with evaluations and Table Topics.  Stefan Glova took on the role of Table Topic Master and used this session to get hints and tips from us to help him in his new journey in the UK- fantastic idea! Stephanie Bisby gave a thoughtful evaluation to the Table Topics session and made sure she fed back to everyone that participated giving them one star and a wish.

The evening was wrapped up by myself (Lianna Cairns) giving the General Evaluator report and Jean finished off the evening.  Thank you for a great evening everyone and hope you all enjoy the ‘The Steel City Conference.’

The award winners were:

  • Best Speaker – Pauline Westrop
  • Best Table Topics – Stuart Hunt
  • Best Evaluator – Stephanie Bisby


Report by Lianna Cairns, General Evaluator

Our next meeting is Monday 13th November, 2017

Doncaster Speakers Meeting Report Monday 9 October 2017

Oh what a night, with 3 new people, one returning potential member and some impressive first talks. It upholds the Doncaster Toastmasters tradition of having marvellous, memorable meetings.

As ever, the meeting prep started before the meeting, with the Sargent of Arms (SAA) getting the room ready and guests being greeted and assigned to sit next to an existing member.

The meeting started on time and Maria Orlovic the SAA informed us that she had the power to evict anyone who misbehaved.  Now I should point out that we never misbehave, well apart from Jean and we allow that, as she is even funnier when she misbehaves a little bit.

Next up steps our President and Toastmaster for the evening Shane Lukas.  Now Shane has done this before and the first time he did it, he was good, this time he was even better.  In control, funny and it was a comfortable relaxed meeting, knowing that we had him to lead us through it.   Shane explained things in a bit more detail than normal, recognising the fact that we had potential members attending and he even opened the floor to comment on what people thought to Toastmasters.

Steven Bisby the timekeeper came up and in his normal precise and yet funny way, told us about this role.  He even kept to time himself.  Throughout the night Steven was very solid, keeping precise time and waving the cards about (a bit like a mad man, but with a good purpose) to make sure the speakers, especially the first timers, could see timing transitions.

Stefan Glova was next as AH Counter, which was his first role since joining us.  He is there to count all of the um’s , ah’s , er’s, etc. that we use as filler words.  He did very well, presenting his opening without any notes and findings in a friendly and enthusiastic way. He had a tough job as there was only one speech and therefore less for him to find, but I think that this bodes very well for his Toast Master future.

Next up was our Grammarian for the evening. Now Shelagh Jones is very experienced and is well known for choosing a word of the day that is challenging and sometimes, in my humble opinion, very hard to pronounce.  That said, it is always interesting and educational when Shelagh takes on this role.

However, this time she went above and beyond the call of duty, giving us the word Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia which means a fear of long words.  To her credit, she did actually say the word out loud.  Shelagh looked around the room at some pretty nervous faces knowing what we were all thinking – how the dickens were we to get that word into our talks?  It took a few seconds before her smile appeared and she then told us the real word of the day (a much easier word) was Transient.  There was an audible sigh of relief followed by some laughter.   She tracked the use of the word-of-the-day and gave us some good examples of good grammar in the talks that help us all to think more about the words which we use.

Next we moved on to the speeches.  Tonight we only had the one speaker, but Lianna Cairns filled the role of sole speaker very well.  She told us about an accident when she was younger, complete with acting, bandages, dramatic falling to the ground (that looked like it hurt!) and a few wise words for all of us.  Jean Stewart her evaluator commended the speech and gave a few bits of advice, which is the norm.  An excellent and entertaining speech, as we have come to expect from Lianna.

To round off the first half, Pauline Westrop presented a very well thought out education slot on Competent Leader (CL) awards.  This was a brilliant idea as I (Andy Howell) will be presenting a “how-to guide” on CL at the next meeting.  Therefore, Pauline saw the opportunity to give the background, interesting facts and motivation for members to go for CL.    The session flew by and she even made time for a few questions.

After the break, we had a reminder of the word-of-the-day from the Grammarian and we then went into the Table Topics (impromptu speaking) part of the evening.

Arthur Fenn was the Table Topics Master, and gave us a very personal theme that centred around his need for builders, tree surgeons etc.  It was a very consistent theme that all of the topics sprung from and I have never seen a more interactive TT session.  He also managed to get the new people speaking which is always a good thing.  The talks were impressive from both new and experienced people alike and the winner was actually a first timer Jon Carvell.  Jon took to the stage with a confidence, humour and eloquence that we are more used to seeing from veteran Toastmaster speakers.

Derek Lucian was the Table Topics Evaluator, and he sacrificed his chance at being voted Best Evaluator by going over the allocated time, to make sure that every TT speaker got a good evaluation on their speech. Derek is very experienced and that was obvious from the quality of the feedback and by the way that he pitched each evaluation at the level and experience of the person speaking.

As an added bonus, Jon Carvell wrote a poem during the break on the word of the day which was so good, that he was press-ganged (with no real reluctance on his part) to come up and read the poem.

All in all, a brilliant, fun and energetic night that will be remembered.

The award winners were:

  • Best Speaker – Lianna Cairns
  • Best Table Topics – Jon Carvell
  • Best Evaluator – Shared : Jean Stewart and Shelagh Jones

Jean Stewart will be Toastmaster at the next meeting on 23rd October.


Report by Andy Howell, General Evaluator

Our next meeting is Monday 23rd October, 2017

Doncaster Speakers Meeting Report Monday September 25 2017

The Sgt at Arms, Andrew Miller, gave a 2-minute warning prior to the start of the meeting.   At 7.00pm, Andrew announced the start of the meeting and also informed everyone regarding mobile phones, the location of toilets and the procedure should a fire alarm be sounded.  He then introduced the Toastmaster for the evening, Andy Howell.

Andy then welcomed everyone to the meeting.    He explained about the practice of handshakes, handclapping and why these are used.  He informed everyone on the extraordinary statistic that over 4 million people have joined Toastmasters since its inception in 1924.   He set the tone for the evening as being one of ‘fun’ with a meeting theme of ‘New Experiences’.   He then invited the Grammarian, Ah Counter and Timekeeper to come forward to explain their objectives in supporting the evening’s events.

Stephanie Bisby, the Grammarian, presented the meeting with the word of the day, which was ‘Diverge or Divergent’ and invited the group to use this as many times as possible.      She was followed by the Ah Counter, Arthur Fenn, and Timekeeper, Pauline Westrop.   They also explained how they would monitor the evening’s events and would provide feedback at the end of the evening. In Addition, the Timekeeper informed everyone of the availability of a Toastmaster timer app which embers can use via their mobile phones

There were four speakers booked to deliver their speeches during the evening.  Each one had a Speech Evaluator assigned to them and they had taken the time to speak to their own Presenter to find out what to look for during each speech.  It was interesting that the experience of the speakers varied greatly.  Also, it was noted that the speaking styles varied greatly which enhanced the evening.  All produced a great deal of laughter which supported Andy Howell’s prediction that the evening would be fun.

Following a short break when everyone could meet up and chat, the second half of the meeting contained the challenging Table Topics session.  Maria Orlovic, the Table Topics Master, gave some interesting topics and the speakers provided more great moments of humour.

At the conclusion of the meeting the Speech Evaluators gave their feedback on each speech for the benefit of the speakers and the group in general.   Also, the Grammarian, Ah Counter and General Evaluator summed up the meeting.

Andy Howell, the Toastmaster, invited comments from the group as a whole.  He handed out the Awards for the evening to:
Pauline Westrop was voted best Table Topics Presenter;
Stephanie Bisby was voted Best Evaluator and
Shane Lukas was voted Best Speaker.

The meeting closed at 9.15pm.

Report by Jean Stewart, General Evaluator

Our next meeting is Monday 9th October, 2017

Doncaster Speakers Meeting Report Monday August 14 2017

The Sgt at Arms, Andy Howell, ensured that the room was laid out and ready for the meeting due to start at 7.00pm.     He gave a three-minute warning enabling everyone to take their seats in time for start of the meeting.There were four visitors and each was supported by a member of the club.   Andy welcomed everyone to the meeting and acknowledged the presence of the visitors.    He advised everyone on the need to switch off mobile phones, the location of toilets and the procedure should a fire alarm be sounded.  He then introduced the Toastmaster for the evening, Andrew Miller.

Andrew then welcomed everyone to the meeting and made a point of mentioning the visitors by name.   He then introduced the Club’s Committee Members, explaining their roles within the Doncaster Speakers.   He explained about the practice of handshakes, handclapping and why these are used.  Also informed the meeting details for the forthcoming Speech Contest on 11th September 2017.  He then invited the Grammarian, Ah Counter and Timekeeper to come forward to explain their objectives in supporting the evening’s events.

Arthur Fenn, the Grammarian, presented the meeting with the word of the day, which was ‘Zenith’, and invited the group to use this as many times as possible.      He was followed by the Ah Counter, Stephanie Bisby, and Timekeeper, Andy Howell.   They also explained how they would monitor the evening’s events and would provide feedback at the end of the evening.

There were three speakers booked to deliver their speeches during the evening.   Each one had a Speech Evaluator assigned to them and they had taken the time to speak to their own Presenter to find out what to look for during each speech.    It was interesting that the experience of the speakers varied greatly.    One was delivering his first speech; the second speaker was delivering her fourth speech and the final speaker was delivering his sixth speech.    Also, it as noted that the speaking styles varied greatly which enhanced the evening.

Following a short break when everyone could meet up and chat, the second half of the meeting contained the challenging Table Topics session.  Arthur Fenn, the Table Topics Master gave some interesting topics and the speakers provided great moments of humour.

At the conclusion of the meeting the Speech Evaluators gave their feedback on each speech for the benefit of the speakers and the group in general.   Also, the Grammarian, Ah Counter and General Evaluator summed up the meeting.

Andrew Miller, the Toastmaster invited comments from both the visitors and from the group as a whole.    He also handed out the awards for the evening.

The meeting closed at 9.15pm.

Report by Jean Stewart, General Evaluator

Following the Bank Holiday break, our next meeting is Monday 11th September, 2017
Come along and watch the humorous speech competition – click here to RSVP

Doncaster Speakers Meeting Report Monday June 24 2017

About 15 people made the fortnightly pilgrimage to the Regent Hotel for the latest Toastmasters meeting.

Sergeant at Arms Andrew Miller kick started the evening off with one swoop of the hammer and a pause and stare until people took their seats.  Toastmaster for the evening Arthur Fenn highlighted the theme of the meeting as ‘Freedom’ and linked it nicely to his introduction of what Toastmasters is and means to people.  Arthur’s team of helpers came up, Gerard Cahill – Time Keeper, Sarah Saxelby – Grammarian, and Deborah Kershaw – Ah Counter, each came up and explained what their role was and what they would be looking for and reporting on later in the evening.

Part 2, the prepared speeches, was next.   Speech 1 was by Lianna Cairns entitled ‘Viva Las Vegas’ telling the audience about where to find the best deals on ‘the strip’ and now the whole of the group want to know when the team trip to Vegas will be.  Speech 2 by Maria Orlovic explained how her many trips to Italy had not been a success until she worked out what was the best food to eat whilst out there.  Speech 3 was by Pauline Westrop who is working on the Advanced Manual and was doing an interpretive reading from a Charlie Chaplin film.  The Toastmaster thanked the speakers and announced the start of the interval which led to much tea and coffee drinking and informal chat.

The Sergeant at Arms brought the room back to order with another bang on the hammer.  Next up were the evaluations with Andy Howell giving feedback to Lianna, Jean Stewart appraising Maria and Stephanie Bisby giving her thoughts to Pauline.  Also there were good snippets of advice that the whole audience could take away with them.

Part 4 came with the bit most people call ‘the fun part’ as Bridget Pearson introduced Table Topics, this is where the speaker is given a question or statement and straight away without time to think has to do a 1 to 2 minute talk.  This sessions topics were based around various days out when the person felt as free as a bird!  Table Topics evaluator Shelagh Jones made sense of the ramblings by giving all the speakers food for thought on what they had done well and areas that could be improved.

The Ah Counter reported that people had not used many words they should not have used so it looks like the meetings are paying off.  The Grammarian’s report contained all the people who had managed to sneak the word of the day ‘Ameliorate’ in to their speech.  The last report was given by Steven Bisby the General Evaluator who evaluated the evaluators on their well done’s and must try harder bits.

Sarah Saxelby in her other role of VP Education handed out the ribbons for best speaker – Lianna Cairns, Best table topic speaker, a tie between Lianna Cairns and Andrew Miller and best evaluator to herself.

Different people in the roles but it all happens again on Monday 14th August 2017 at 7:00pm. Why not come and join us?

– Report by Steven Bisby, General Evaluator –

Doncaster Speakers Meeting Report Monday June 10 2017

Shane3The theme for our meeting on Monday 10 July was “A New Chapter”, which was very apt as this was the first meeting for our new committee and for our new President and Toastmaster for the evening Shane Lukas (pictured).  Shane introduced the evening by asking for the audience to give interesting facts and benefits of Toastmasters. He also welcomed our 2 new members Luisa Marija and Stefan Glova.

Andy Howell as Sargent at Arms made sure the room was all set up and that we started promptly which was important as we had 3 speakers all doing Speech 2 Organize Your Speech from the Competent Communication Manual.

Arthur Fenn was the first speaker with a speech entitled “From Grains of Sand” which was a history of glass making. Bridget Pearson as his evaluator identified his passion for the subject, his powerful imagery and use of props and recommended that he watched out for the overuse of facts and his stance.

Josie Bowerman went next with a speech entitled “What a Waste”, she gave another impassioned plea for Culture and the Arts, a very different speech but again backed up with facts and illustrations to emphasis her points. Steven Bisby in his usual humorous style described her as “born in a Thesaurus not a womb” and went on to describe the various methods Josie has used to make her points. He recommended longer pauses and moving around the stage.

Deborah Kershaw was last but far from least as she went on to win Best Speaker with her talk entitled “If at 1st you don’t succeed try try try again!”. She gave us a very personal tale introducing us to Richard who was endeavouring to pass his driving test with Deborah as his 34th instructor!  He passed but not before we were treated to lots of visions of Deborah’s fear for her safety with her rather maverick pupil. Lianna Cairns identified Deborah’s conversational style, good eye contact and no reliance on notes. Lianna recommended that Deborah slow down, pause and enjoy the audience laughter.

The second half of the evening was devoted to our evaluators and Table Topics. Andy Howell set the Table Topics and following on from the theme of the evening invited the audience to speak on momentous events which had changed their lives or careers. We heard from Derek Lucian with his dislike of cows, Jean Stewart with her love of animals, Andrew Miller with his rebranding of his business and Lianna Cairns with her travels to New Zealand and Australia. One of our newest members Stefan Glova  gave Table Topics a go and spoke about how Toastmasters itself and his wish to speak in public was his biggest challenge. Stephanie Bisby evaluated the Table Topics and gave each participant some insightful feedback. The evening was rounded off with evaluations from our Grammarian, Richard Bluck, our Ah Counter Maria Orlovic and myself, Alison Turner as General Evaluator. The meeting kept to schedule with Time Keeper, Jean Stewart doing a thoroughly competent job of waving the cards to make sure we all kept to time.

Best Speaker Award            Deborah Kershaw
Best Evaluator Award          Lianna Cairns
Best Table Topics Award     Lianna Cairns
First Timers Award              Stefan Glova

Report by Alison Turner, General Evaluator
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The next meeting is on Monday 24th July 2017.
Visitors are very welcome to come and see what we do!