What a buzzing evening we had on Monday evening. Lots of inspiration, education and humour, all expertly orchestrated by Toastmaster for the evening, Ian Upton, with Tom as Time-keeper, Sheena as Videographer, Gillian and Costa as Ballot Counters, and Elizabeth delivering a very useful “helpful hints” Warm-Up session.
It was great to welcome back Charlie Warshawski, who rejoins ESC after a 12 month break. Also welcome to four new members – Scott Shanks (who rejoins after a 6 year break), Paul Dowdeswell, Justin Pybus and Ben Daly, who all stepped up to give prepared speeches. Our experienced Evaluators James, Stephen, Patrick and Adam all gave very constructive feedback – “the breakfast of champions” – which whetted everyone’s appetite to keep practicing and improving. One key learning point for speakers is to keep to time. Scott managed to do that and so was the only one eligible for Best Speech vote, with Adam voted as Best Evaluator.
Amanda led Table Topics with the theme of proverbs, giving eight speakers including 3 guests, the opportunity to embrace the moment, over-come panic, and practice impromptu speaking. Some stunning performances, with guest, Linzi, picking up the Best Topics vote. The evening was rounded off with Dave Goodman as Topics Evaluator and Aishi Lim as General Evaluator, both demonstrating their usual insightful and candid observations in their feedback.
Toastmaster of the Year (ToTY) award
What makes the Club run smoothly is your attendance and willingness to prepare and participate in whatever role you are assigned or volunteer for – the more you participate and practice, the better you get, and the better the Club gets too.
Each year, we present “Toastmaster of the Year” (ToTY) award to the member who has participated the most. Costa Nicolau is keeping score, noting down attendance, roles done, visits to other clubs, contests, etc. So, please make sure you let Costa know if you are doing things related to Toastmasters outside of ESC.
Area 53 Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest
Come and support ESC winners Ian Upton, Dave Villa-Clarke and Dave Goodman as they compete against Surbiton Speakers Club winners on Thursday 6 October, 7.30pm, at St Andrews Church, Maple Road, Surbiton.
Doris Sew Hoy
ESC President