Doncaster Speakers TM Club Meeting Report: 14th August 2023 – Reading is Our Magic Power… By Mrs Stephanie Bisby

‘Reading is our magic power’ was the theme of Doncaster Speakers’ 14 th August 23 meeting, chosen by:

Toastmaster for the evening, Lianna Cairns,

The theme was to mark National Local Bookshop Day. Throughout the meeting Lianna challenged members and guests to identify inspiring quotes from well-known books, from Dickens to Dr Seuss, as well as introducing the audience to various local(ish) bookshops and similar venues like libraries and charity shops.

The theme was picked up by Grammarian Stephanie Bisby, who tasked members with making use of a word of the day – ‘fluent’ – which could apply equally to readers and speakers.

Table Topics Master: Bridget Pearson also developed the theme of magic powers by offering impromptu speakers a superpower (ranging from reading a book in 3 seconds to changing someone else’s accent) and asking them to elaborate on how they would make use of it.

There were a number of changes to the anticipated schedule due to Apologies for Absence as result of the hospitalization of our VPPR Mr Donald Sweeting and another last-minute cancellation of our third speaker, meaning that with just one prepared speech, Rai Bergmane won Best Speaker of the evening by default…

Although her speech would have set the bar very high indeed for future local competitions in our friendly yet competitive atmosphere… Rai engaged us with an excellent prepared speech motivating members by sharing how she learned she was ‘better than she thought’ in a work context, and asking the audience to look for ways in which they too might be undervaluing themselves.

Rai’s evaluator Valerie Swanborough delivered remotely via Zoom Google Meet and LiveStream a careful and logical evaluation, taking in the different levels of communication used by the speaker, her body language, and the structure of the conversation, highlighting both the positives and areas for personal improvement.

Vice-President for Education Andy Howell also stepped in to deliver a last-minute education slot on the role of Toastmaster and how better to make the experience enjoyable, while long-term member Andrew Miller adopted the role of ‘Ah counter’ with aplomb. Both demonstrated the benefit of Toastmasters in giving members practice at thinking on their feet in a safe and supportive environment.

Best Table Topic of the evening was won by the Toastmaster, Lianna Cairns, who described how she would utilise the superpower of being able to read minds to make sense of her young child’s needs.

Best evaluator was a tie between Steven Bisby for his whistlestop tour of all 8 table topics, providing each speaker with both commendations and recommendations, and Stephanie Bisby’s overall report on the evening as General Evaluator.

We also had two guests present, and the pleasure of presenting one of them with a First Timer award for taking on the challenge of deciding how to use the superpower of speed reading. Three members were also presented with certificates for completing levels of the Pathways educational programme, which is available to all Toastmasters members to help them improve their speaking skills.

Every meeting of Doncaster Speakers is encouraging and motivational to speakers, but it’s rare for an evening to be just as motivational when it comes to reading.

If this report has piqued your curiosity about our quirky blend of fun challenges and serious education, come along to our next meeting on 4 th September to see what our next Toastmaster has in store for us.

NB: (Our next meeting is a change from our usual meeting pattern of 2 nd and 4 th Monday of each month, this is due to the August bank holiday but should resolve itself in the following months) Please see our EVENTS Page for more up to date info.


Written By: Stephanie Bisby President: Doncaster Speakers TM Club.

Edited & Published By: Donald D Sweeting Sr. VPPR: Doncaster Speakers TM Club.

Doncaster Member Bids For UK Glory – 22nd April 2023… By Andy Howell

The City’s football team may not be doing well but there were 2 wins today in Doncaster and they were both registered in the Division N Toastmasters competition by Doncaster Speakers member Andy Howell.

Andy came first in both the Evaluation competition and the International Speech competition.

Andy beat 6 other competitors in each event with competitors from across the north of England from the likes of Manchester, Leeds, Doncaster and Sheffield.

Now Andy gets to do it all again in the UK finals which take place in just over a month’s time in Liverpool over the 27th & 28th May 2023.

The UK final is the grand final for the Evaluation contest but the International Speech competition has one more round as the winner goes through to the World Final in Barbados.

Andy impressed the judges with his International Speech describing how he faces fear and does it anyway. His speech co-starred a Red Jelly baby which he has feared most of his life but during his speech he finally face the fear and ate it.

We’re back to club life this coming Monday where members practice speaking and leadership skills . To clarify, that’s 24th April with a 7pm start.  Feel free to come along to the Regent Hotel in Doncaster and check things out – be there for 6.45pm to get settled before we get underway.

And a big incentive to come is that the Division N Competition winner will be doing a speech.

Doncaster Speakers TM Club Meeting & GE Report: 17 th April 2023. Connections – By Andrew Miller…

Connections

Adaptability is one of the key strengths of a Toastmaster and those skills were tested on this particular evening as we discovered that there was a problem with the room booking and, with half an hour’s notice, we had to reconvene to a completely different part of the hotel, set everything up in an unfamiliar space and make sure that all arrivals were suitably diverted.

It slightly delayed the start of the meeting, but didn’t prevent it running smoothly from thereonin.

Toastmaster for the evening was Stephanie Bisby and the theme she ran with was one of ‘Connections’ on the basis that being a member of Doncaster Speakers is not just about improving your speaking and leadership skills, but also a great way to make good connections with other people.  Furthermore, our club is connected to many, many, many other clubs around the world (apparently it would take over 40 years to visit all of them if we went to one a day).  Whilst we don’t know everyone in all of those clubs, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with those closest to us.

Connecting to the theme of ‘Connections’ was the Word of the Day – “Association” or any similar word that is associated with it.  Hah, see what I did there.

We had two prepared speeches this evening.

Steven Bisby bamboozled us all as he got us to consider whether or not we were Bagels or Croissants.  Nothing to do with a continental breakfast it turns out, but tips and hints for how to be successful at a networking event (a bagel is a closed pair that doesn’t invite others to join, a croissant is an open pair that says ‘join us’).  

Next up was Elizabeth Mead, with a short speech which was actually the first of a series to be completed over the following meetings.  At her place of work, she had been asked to introduce a new tool for planning.  Tonight she introduced the concept of what she’d been asked to do and, in future speeches, she will let us know how things went.

Whilst we frequently see speeches at Toastmasters where the speaker shares personal stories and meaningful lessons in life, it’s also good to see work related topics.  In both cases, key learning points and concise report summaries were delivered in an engaging an informative way – very useful skills to be developed no matter what line of work we are in.

Before the break, Andy Howell stepped up with an education slot entitled “we the audience”, around the importance of feedback and making sure that we don’t hold back in giving constructive suggestions.  It’s easy to give the positive feedback, but understanding how things can be even better is actually the secret sauce.

Andy and Stephanie were both back after the break to give their feedback to our two speakers respectively.  Andy was keen to get some Evaluation practice in as he will be representing the club at the Division Contest at the weekend. 

Which then brought us on to Table Topics, led by Elizabeth Mead, which turned out to be one of the best for a very long time.

Running with the Connections theme, Elizabeth had a ‘magic’ bag of items.  The first person came up and, lucky dip style, pulled out an object.  The aim was to start a story based around that object and pause the story at a key point.  The second speaker then pulled out an object and had to continue the same story, weaving in the new object.

Every member that took part did an amazing job of picking up and running with the theme, weaving in their own object effortlessly and creating a surreal but hugely enjoyable, satisfying and connected story.

For the record, Andy had a stapler at work that he’d had for over 40 years.  One day it went missing and it turned out that his boss had stolen it but refused to accept that it was Andy’s.  Andy stole it back but, at a Christmas party, the boss got his revenge.  By the end of the story, Andy had been falsely arrested for murder and thrown into jail, only to be rescued from his cell in the nick of time by “Tin-Opener Man”.

One for the ages, for sure.

The final few slots were taken  up with the Table Topic Evaluation from Steven Bisby, an Ah Counter report from Lianna Williamson, Grammarian feedback from first timer in the role, Macaulay Shaw and the overall meeting report from the General Evaluator, Andrew Miller.

Winners of the evening were as follows:

Best Speaker – Steven Bisby

Best Evaluator – Stephanie Bisby

Best Table Topic – Andrew Miller

We’re back again in just one week (the Easter Holidays having pushed things back a bit).  To clarify, that’s 24th April with a 7pm start.  Feel free to come along and check things out – be there for 6.45pm to get settled before we get underway.

On the basis of how tonight went, it’s going to be a cracker.


Doncaster Speakers TM Club Meeting & GE Report Monday 27th February 2023. Wisdom Earnt By Donald Sweeting

This was yet another successful Hybrid Toastmasters Meeting on Zoom and in Person at The Regent Hotel, Regent Square in Doncaster, South Yorkshire last Monday, 27th Feb. 23, where OUR theme was “Wisdom Earnt” and at least a dozen members in total were in person attendance on the night.

The meeting commenced slightly later than planned at around 19.16 due to technical issues with the sound which produced an echo for viewers on Zoom.  Once this was rectified the Meeting commenced with Sophie Ellis standing in for the very first time as acting Sergeant At Arms by calling the meeting to order, issuing instructions for members safety and comfort while reminding those present and on Zoom to switch their devices off or switch to silent mode.

Sophie did a brilliant job at this role, considering that it was the first time she had ever done it, without any traces of nerves or the inherent heightened anxiety which usually occurs when attempting public speaking in front of a live audience.  Sophie then handed over the meeting to The Toastmaster for the evening Mr Andy Howell, who welcomed guests and fellow toastmasters as one of our more experienced members and Vice President of the Club.

Andy began with enthusiasm by explaining his role as Toastmaster and the Toastmasters program in general, re-assuring those in attendance that we were all here for the same reason, which was to create a safe space to learn to speak confidently in public.  He then called for those members who volunteered to help him conduct the meeting, to come up to the stage to give a description of their roles of Grammarian, Ah Counter and Timekeeper to the audience. 

Grammarian Bal Purwall came up with the word of the day which was French, after a great deal of research and it was delivered in her usual manner of high energy and exuberance… It was a very tricky word (or phrase) of the day, with only one or two members present who spoke French, actually being able to work it into their speeches or addresses on stage.  The role functions as a tool to stretch us to learn new words (or phrases) while improving our vocabulary.

Ah Counter Thashini Thennakoon reported on her role to detect and record the use of filler words such as Ah, Erm, You Know and Sooo… which we subconsciously use to stall for time while giving a speech instead of simply taking a pause.  It was done quite humorously by Thashini also admitting to being one of her own worst critics in her addressing of the audience via Zoom but not recording her own offenses, which made everyone laugh out loud in empathy with her. 

“Life Goes On” – Was the theme of the first prepared speech by Thashini Thennakoon with Bridgette Pearson as her evaluator.  Bridgettes mandate was to look out for hand gestures and other physical movements used to convey the message.  The feedback given was done so with love and enthusiasm which showed that these two people really cared about each other and their roles in Toastmasters has been enhanced by that developing friendship.

“A Change Is As Good As A Rest” – By Stephanie Bisby was evaluated by Andrew Miller of ARM Coaching in his usual animated and enthusiastic style of speaking.  This style of speaking and the enthusiasm he puts into his delivery has made him one of our most successful competitors for public speeches in our club’s history. Despite a few technical issues that crept back into the system Anrew was able to defeat the Zoom Gremlins and deliver one of the most memorable evaluations which won him the prize of Best Evaluator on the night. 

Educational Session Leader – Stephanie Bisby delivered a speech on getting the most out of Toastmasters which was both informative and motivational. Senior and more experienced members got up to give Toastimonials on their journeys within Toastmasters which included our current Area Director Elizabeth Mead.  

The overall stagecraft and performances of all members in attendance at the meeting and on zoom was worthy of commendation, as it was one of the better meetings in this member experience. The roles for the International Speech Contests were also discussed and nominations for competitors, judges and role players were taken from the audience.

Toastmaster Mr Andy Howell did an excellent job by controlling the meeting and adapting to the challenges presented by technical issues and being quick thinking on his feet. The Table Topics Master Elizabeth Mead likewise did an outstanding job with the table topics.  Introducing each impromptu speaker with the level of enthusiasm worthy of her seniority as a veteran public speaker making it an overall uplifting and inspiring event that was a pleasure to attend.

Written by: Donald Sweeting (Sergeant At Arms – Doncaster Speakers TM Club)

Doncaster Speakers TM Club Meeting & GE Report: 13th Feb 2023 – The Power Of Love… By Liana Cairns

Another fantastic session on Monday 13th February with the appropriate theme for the day “The Power of Love”. Our Toastmaster for the evening Mr. Donald Sweeting was entertaining and confident hosting the meeting. The theme for the evening was woven throughout the meeting with fun facts and quotes.

We had 1 speaker, Elizabeth Mead, with 2 mini impromptu speeches that had to be selected on the night by her evaluator Bridget Pearson. The first speech was entitled Dotty the Dog and the second, My First Toastmasters Speech. Bridget Pearson evaluated both speeches with commendations and recommendations.  

Tabletopics was run by Thashini this evening, this was all about love. Thashini Thennakoon showed us how this role should be delivered and commented on everyone’s speech positively after, what great listening skills! We had a lot of fun in the session and Andy evaluated it making sure everyone got quality feedback for their speeches. 

The evening was rounded off by Elizabeth Mead giving out the awards and we had 4 worthy winners.

Best Speaker- Elizabeth Mead

Best Tabletopics- Stephanie Bisby

Best Evaluator- Andy Howarth and Lianna Cairns (Two Way Tie)

Written by Lianna Cairns, our General Evaluator

Doncaster Speakers TM Club Meeting & GE Report: Monday 23rd Jan 2023 – Burns Night. By Andrew Miller

Burn’s Night 2023

Before the meeting got fully under way, there was a slight but pleasant diversion as Area Director, Elizabeth Meads, came to the front to wish a happy birthday to our Toastmaster of the evening, Stephanie Bisby and to lead the attendees in a round of that most famous of anniversary anthems.

On to the meeting itself and, with Burn’s Night just a couple of days, Stephanie had picked up on this theme and guests were encouraged to dress smartly or with a Scottish reference.  In addition, little snippets of the great bard’s poetry were dripped in throughout the meeting.

Linking in with this theme was the Word of the Day, in recognition of the standing held by Scotland’s National Poet – Significant (or any derivation thereof), as set by Bridget Pearson.  Unable to attend in person due to illness but still managing to contribute via the power of Zoom.  The hybrid meetings have been a great success in allowing people to attend that may, otherwise, be unable to, be that due to health, geography or circumstance.

Only one prepared speech tonight, from our highly experienced member Andy Howell, who mused on the juxtaposition caused by his excitement around anything new – especially gadgets – and his love of the more traditional and classic models.  Ultimately, there’s no reason to be one or the other and there’s nothing wrong with being a classical geek.

This is a speech that Andy will run again in a few week’s time.  The purpose of the exercise, as guided by our online training programme, Pathways, is to get feedback on what we do and then demonstrate that we’ve taken that feedback on board and incorporated it into going forwards.

This is the best way to learn anything and is at the core of what we do at Toastmasters.  It’s also a great way for new members to get over their fear of ‘having to be perfect’ in their early days, because they know that they’re going to be doing the same speech again, there are no issues in getting it wrong.  Not that there ever is an issue, but the mind doesn’t work that way.

Before the break, Stephanie came back up to the front to run an education slot on just such a theme.  The Biggest Fear that people have when speaking in front of an audience.  She shared her own journey and then encouraged experienced members to do likewise.  What became apparent was that virtually everybody had, at some time or another, experienced Imposter Syndrome.  This included experienced professional speakers and helped to demonstrate that, not only are you in good company, but that it doesn’t have to hold you back.

We then had a break which was significant in that there was birthday cake to be had (excellently made by Elizabeth Meads) as well as a tray of donuts to be shared (thank you Donald Sweeting).  Luckily there was no chance of succumbing to a sugar crash as the second half kept up the energy of the first.

After Helen Jordan had given her feedback to Andy, we were straight into Table Topics, with each situation or question connecting to Scotland or Poetry in some way.  A special mention to our returning guests, Sophie Ellis and Charlie Tindill both of whom volunteered to take part.  Indeed, it was Charlie who walked away with the ribbon for Best Table Topic after contrasting the desire of being a famous sports star and a famous poet.  Having been a boxer in the past, his gaze now turned to rhythmic writing and it’s power to change the world.

Lianna Williamson gave her feedback to everyone that had undertaken a Topic challenge and delivered it via Zoom and one handed – as the other one was cradling an infant throughout.  Full marks for multi-tasking.

After reports from our Grammarian and Ah Counter (Arthur Fenn), the meeting was summarised by the General Evaluator, Andrew Miller, complete with See-You-Jimmy wig to mark the occasion – and clearly the deciding factor on getting him the Best Evaluator

award for the evening.

Steeped in quality and fun it was another great meeting.  We meet again on 13th February.  Get there for 6.45pm, ready for a 7pm start and I’m sure that it’ll be another fun night – though we can’t guarantee cake every time !!