On Thursday 16th August the usual triplet of speeches entertained all the members and guests who attended our meeting.
Hendrick Hendrick delivered his first speech entitled “A Beautiful Mind” for his “Persuasive Influence” Pathway program. With this icebreaker, he wanted to talk a bit about growth. In his opinion, growth gives him a better balance in life, and any kind of growth improves relationships, beliefs, etc. He studied Chemical engineering for 4 years in Manchester: when he succeeded in his exams, he felt he had positively grown because he could grasp the subject; when they didn’t work well, he felt he had grown in that occasion, too, despite the results. Now he is working in the IT field, but he doesn’t think he wasted any time studying something completely different from what he is currently doing because that period made him grow. Looking back at his past, he realizes he had an attitude slightly narrow: he only thought at the academy and not about other things. On the contrary, now he is trying to learn different things. He is also trying to change his mindset: the most important growth is the mind so he invites everybody to make our beautiful mind even more beautiful.
Then with “My Grandfather, an extraordinary man”, Ricardo Galera continued his Competent Communication manual, with his second speech – that is, “Organise your Speech”, whose objective is “Strong opening and conclusion; outline that can be followed and understood; clear message with supporting material; appropriate transitions”. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, his grandfather took a spoon before they fled to Catalonia, because it would have been useful to eat. The man had always had a hard life: at 4 he lost his mother; at 7 he went to live with a relative because his father married a second time and his new wife didn’t want him with them; at 11 he became a shepherd, at 17 he went to the Army and some time later he married Carmen. They had 7 children and lived on a farm. His grandfather had a passion to tell stories, and Ricardo provided us with an example: when he was a boy, he used to climb a tree to watch the birds. Once, however, he found a snake and to escape him, he fell from 20 feet high. When he woke up, he returned home and was punished for his lateness. His grandfather, with all the difficulties he experienced and with his seven children, left a legacy of love and kindness.
Finally, Mabel Prieto delivered, too, her second speech, as Ricardo did, and the title was a declaration of what she was going to tell: “Digital Humanitarians”. In Mabel’s words and experience, the Internet deeply changed the world. She volunteered in a refugee camp, and she noticed that refugees couldn’t do anything while they were waiting for their visa, and this process could take up to 2 years. There, she discovered how the Internet could help them. For example, there was an app which was able to top up the mobiles of the people in need. This opened her eyes to the possibilities which could lie in front of her. Last Christmas a teacher, who was teaching English through Skype, contacted her because she was looking for a partner in her new project: to teach languages to refugees. She accepted the challenge, she learnt how social media work and the possible impact they may have, and now she has a company working only online, without a physical office. She also gave three examples of people they helped to learn a new language because they had to leave their countries and relocate somewhere else, because of their beliefs, skills or sexual orientation.
Three different personal experiences and speeches, which let us wonder what we might expect at the next meeting on 30th August.
On Thursday 2nd August, two out of three speeches had a hand-out to stir our curiosity and to provide some additional elements.
When the British were able to break Enigma, they were faced with a dilemma: if they had always used the information they were decoding, the Axis would have understood they had cracked the code: this meant they had to let many soldiers die not to reveal what they had discovered. Although several lives were lost because of these tactics, it has been estimated that solving Enigma enabled the Allies to shorten the length of the war from two to four years: in this way, a very large amount of lives were saved.
Martin Seagroatt, too, with his third speech entitled “Does artificial intelligence pose an existential threat to humanity” – which covered the “Get to the Point” step, from the Competent Communicator Manual – started handing out a piece of paper depicting the three possible ideas one might have about Artificial Intelligence (A.I.): a positive, a balanced and a negative one. Martin first asked his audience in which idea they identified themselves, then he continued to talk about his fear that A.I. might have some negative aspects. For example, we will be able to create some supercomputers very soon, and they, too, will be able to devise and create new computers of their one: however, we cannot predict which type of devices they will be and what effect they might have on us.
On a similar note, with all these implementations we can’t predict how the A.I. will evolve, if they are going to follow our aims or if they have a logic of their own. In all these scenarios, there will always be the possibility of human errors and malfunctions, thus conveying the idea that a bleak future for the human species might not be such a far-fetched theory.
Moira Beaton “revisited” her previous speech, “Hidden in Plain Sight”, incorporating the observations and the feedback the evaluator originally gave her. This “update” of her speech was part of the program she is following: in fact, in the “Presentation Mastery” there is a project where the member has to “present either a new speech or the same speech that incorporates some or all of the feedback received from the presentation of the first speech”. This new “version” about the perils and the difficulties to detect the hidden sugar in the food had a stronger delivery, the technical aspects of the subject were explained in a clearer way, and the usage of the slides was improved.
Three examples of speeches which had some innovative aspects in their delivery, thus showing the variety of techniques we may learn in our club. Don’t miss, then, our next meeting on 16th August.
Arrive early to the meeting room to get familiar with the space. If you plan to use technology or visual aids, you may find it helpful to practice with them before the meeting begins.
Practice your speech and revise it until you can present it with ease.
Concentrate on your breathing. You can ease your tension by doing breathing exercises that work for you.
Visualize yourself giving a successful speech. Picture the audience applauding as you finish and return to your seat.
Realize that audience members support your success. They aren’t there to judge you. They want to hear your message.
Don’t call attention to your nervousness. If you don’t say anything about it, likely nobody will notice.
Concentrate on the message you are communicating to your audience. Your nervous feelings will be reduced if you focus your attention away from your anxieties.
Take every opportunity to speak. Experience builds confidence. Most beginning speakers find that they manage anxiety better after each speech they give.
At our latest meeting, a diversity of speeches helped to create a very enjoyable evening both for our members and our guests.
Although technically Irina Antonenko’s speech was her second one, she decided to move to the new Pathway education program, and she delivered her “icebreaker” entitled “It gets worse?”, from the “Motivational Strategies” path. She illustrated how the road to become an adult is difficult. After finishing her studies in maths, she started looking for a job, and she received an offer to work as legal secretary: this task, set in a fast-paced environment, revealed to be very formative, also because of the numerous tasks she had to regularly manage. After that, she was ready for her next move: to relocate to Edinburgh.
Here, she found a job in an IT company, which his helping her to learn what she really is. In addition to this, she started to come to Toastmasters because she thinks this type of environment will help her to find out new aspects of her personality.
Omar Martini has delivered his fourth speech, in the Competent Communication Manual, entitled “The road of life is paved with stories”. He talked about his passion for reading and stories, and how they had always been a part of him. He began quoting an episode of his childhood where probably everything started, then he continued to talk about his habit to regularly visit bookshops, something he has done in every city where he lived, and how all this helped him broaden his interests and choose the University he attended.
Finally, Jacek Lasota delivered something a little “unusual”, that is an unprepared speech. With the title “What is your Toastmaster plan”, he invited all the members to think if they have a plan in their Toastmaster commitment and, if not, to think about it. Every step in our lives as members of this association prepares us for what happens later. For example, to give an evaluation it is suggested to deliver at least three speeches, to see and learn how this process works. Or to participate in a contest, it is necessary to have delivered at least 6 speeches. Thus he urged us, especially in his new role as Vice President of Education, to take as many roles as possible and to think how we want to progress in our Toastmaster life.
An interesting mix of personal points of view which have made the evening a varied one and with something unexpected, too, which will make us wonder what we are going to see in our next meeting, on 26th July.
On Thursday 21st June we have had a clear example of the variety of speeches that the new educational program “Pathways” can offer to all the members.
Moira Beaton introduced her second speech from the “Presentation Mastery” series – that is, “Evaluation and Feedback” –, entitled “The Sugar Trap”. Accompanied by a series of images, the main objective of the text was to illustrate the fact we are unaware of the real quantity of sugar we daily consume. First, she talked about the several illnesses an excessive amount of sugar could lead and the possible addictiveness it could cause. We all start to ingest sugar even before being born, when we are in our mother’s womb, because of what she eats, then we progress with all kinds of food. As an example of the huge quantity of sugar contained in a product, she mentioned Starbuck’s Frappuccino, which may have from 17 to 23 teaspoons of sugar. Then, she listed the several names under which sugar is hidden, in order not to write the “S” word on the labels and the ingredient lists, and how sugar is used by the industry – i.e. to absorb moisture, to preserve food, to extend the product life on the shelves, etc. She concluded stating she is not against sugar or its use, but she doesn’t like the hidden sugar, and she thinks we need to have the full control of the quantity we ingest every day.
Jacek Lasota started the series “Communicating on Video” with the speech “First Week”, whose theme was “Straight talk”. The first week quoted in the title refers to the World Cup’s one, and how the use of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) has affected the matches. He listed the four main areas where it was used (1. if there was a goal or not; 2. if there was a penalty; 3. if a red card had to be used; 4. cases of mistaken identity) and affirmed he was very happy and satisfied by the positive effects it was having. This speech was very interesting to see because it was meant to be seen as a video rather than live during a club meeting. Watching Jacek could have seemed a little strange because he was sitting, he didn’t look straight to the audience and the body language and movements were obviously limited, but as I mentioned, the objective was different from the “classic speech”. Jacek showed us how Pathways could provide us the chance to experiment with new ways of communication: not only the classic ones but also those who are more connected with the modern types of verbal expression.
Finally, we had Neil McLure with his fifth “speech” from the “Interpretative Reading” series. This oratorical project was Mahatma Gandhi’s speech to Congress delivered on 8 August, 1942 in Bombay (now Mumbai) ahead of the Quit India Movement, in which he asked people to adopt ahimsa (non-violence) during the struggle for India’s independence from Britain. Neil chose this particular speech because some parts of it are relevant to nations still hoping to be rid of British Imperialism. The interpretation Neil gave of this powerful text was very effective, and here you may find the text he used, which is slightly modified only for time limit’s reason.
Let me, however, hasten to assure that I am the same Gandhi as I was in 1920. I have not changed in any fundamental respect. I attach the same importance to non-violence that I did then. If at all, my emphasis on it has grown stronger. There is no real contradiction between the present resolution and my previous writings and utterances.
Let me explain my position clearly.
Ours is not a drive for power, but purely a non-violent fight for India’s independence. In a violent struggle, a successful general has been often known to effect a military coup and to set up a dictatorship. But under the Congress scheme of things, essentially non-violent as it is, there can be no room for dictatorship. A non-violent soldier of freedom will covet nothing for himself, he fights only for the freedom of his country. The Congress is unconcerned as to who will rule, when freedom is attained. The power, when it comes, will belong to the people of India, and it will be for them to decide to whom it placed in the entrusted. May be that the reins will be placed in the hands of the Parsis, for instance-as I would love to see happen-or they may be handed to some others whose names are not heard in the Congress today. It will not be for you then to object saying, “This community is microscopic. That party did not play its due part in the freedom’s struggle; why should it have all the power?” Ever since its inception the Congress has kept itself meticulously free of the communal taint. It has thought always in terms of the whole nation and has acted accordingly.
Then, there is the question of your attitude towards the British. I have noticed that there is hatred towards the British among the people. The people say they are disgusted with their behaviour. The people make no distinction between British imperialism and the British people. To them, the two are one. We must get rid of this feeling. Our quarrel is not with the British people, we fight their imperialism. The proposal for the withdrawal of British power did not come out of anger. It came to enable India to play its due part at the present critical juncture It is not a happy position for a big country like India to be merely helping with money and material obtained willy-nilly from her while the United Nations are conducting the war. We cannot evoke the true spirit of sacrifice and valour, so long as we are not free. I know the British Government will not be able to withhold freedom from us, when we have made enough self-sacrifice. We must, therefore, purge ourselves of hatred. Speaking for myself, I can say that I have never felt any hatred. As a matter of fact, I feel myself to be a greater friend of the British now than ever before. One reason is that they are today in distress. My very friendship, therefore, demands that I should try to save them from their mistakes. As I view the situation, they are on the brink of an abyss. It, therefore, becomes my duty to warn them of their danger even though it may, for the time being, anger them to the point of cutting off the friendly hand that is stretched out to help them. People may laugh, nevertheless that is my claim. At a time when I may have to launch the biggest struggle of my life, I may not harbor hatred against anybody.
Another entertaining evening, as often happens at the Waverley Communicators meetings, and if you don’t want to miss what will happen at the next one, please come and visit us on 5th July.