News Archive 2002

Click on any of the dates below to see the articles or click to return to the news archive home page

21st August

Wow! Another exciting evening at the Cottonwood Speakers Club. There were 11 members and 11 guests (yes, ELEVEN) at our fun-filled evening. It was lovely to see so many people there, and really encouraging for the speakers to have such an appreciative audience. Some of these people were even brave enough to stand up and take part in the warm-up and Tabletopics sessions. Well done everybody!

Two of our guests joined up on the spot, and others have promised to come back again. Many thanks to Grace for bringing along all but one of these people.

It was with pleasure that we officially welcomed Grace as our newest member, and I would also like to congratulate her on her first ever role as Grammarian.

Robert Sheridan was back with us after a work-related absence. Robert was an excellent Toastmaster for the evening, and really set the tone for the meeting.

Paul entertained and informed us with his Education Spot where he outlined his vision for the next club year, with particular reference to his role as Vice President of Public Relations. Paul's new 'baby' is the club website and any feedback will be welcome.

On a less happy note, it was the last meeting where Richard Pollock would be with us as a member. Richard is moving back to London to start a new job, and will be getting married next year. We wish Richard (and Sally) every happiness for the future.

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4th September

The Annual Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests kicked off at Club Level at our normal venue at the Cottonwood Hotel, East Cliff Bournemouth at 7.30pm.

This was the first round of a contest which involves all of the Toastmasters International clubs in the UK and Ireland. The winners at Club level go on to compete in an Area contest, then a Division contest, culminating in a Grand Final at District level, in front of an audience of around 200 people!

The humorous speech must last between 5 and 7 minutes and be the speaker's original material.

Table topic speeches (speaking 'off the cuff') last from 1-2mins and the topic is supplied by the contest chairperson.

Contests are a fantastic way of meeting members from other Clubs, gaining new skills, such as judging and, most importantly of all, gives members a chance to take their speaking skills to another level by competing under pressure.

The standard of speeches is always high, increasing with each round.

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18th September

Ann Blacklock fought off stiff competition on Wednesday to emerge victorious in the Cottonwood Speakers Club's Humorous Speech Contest. With a speech entitled 'If I show you mine, will you show me yours?', Ann kept us entertained throughout. Well done also to Louis Jarvis, Chris Whiteside and Phil Wilton for their well crafted and humorous speeches.Due to last minute withdrawals, there were only 2 entries for the Tabletopics Contest. This was won by myself, with Tim Brewster a close second. Many thanks to everyone who competed, officiated, kept time, judged,
applauded or otherwise helped to make the evening a success.

The next round of the contest will be hosted by Wessex Speakers Club on Sunday 13th October. I would encourage you to go along for an enjoyable time, and also to support your club representatives.

It was with pleasure that I welcomed 2 more new members to the Cottonwood Speakers Club. I'm sure that you will make Judith Bennett and Georgie Fox very welcome. I was also delighted to present Ann Blacklock with her Competent Toastmaster certificate. Well done Ann, and good luck with your 'ATM' speeches!

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13th October

Anni Blacklock, Chris Whiteside and Lyn Whiteside all travelled to Winchester to represent the club at the Area Speech Contest.

Unfortunately, none of us were placed high enough to progress to the next round. However, I believe that
none of us let the club down - this applies particularly to Anni who was beaten into 3rd place by 2 brilliant speeches, and to Chris who refused to give in when things went badly and gained a lot of respect in the process.

Thanks to Nick and Grace who came along to support us.

The next round of the contest was at Abingdon on Sunday 27th October.

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20th November

Those who attended our latest meeting were greeted with a dramatic change of scenery. Gone were the rows of chairs, replaced instead by what looked like nothing more than a white sheet layed on the floor. But this all turned out to be part of a master plan by Robert Sheridan, who made absolutely sure he'd fulfilled the requirements of his no.8 speech, which was using props. A blindfold, music and a home-made 'question mark' were among the other members of his supporting cast for his speech entitled "The Mystique of Johari".

Nick Greenwood completed an education spot which was the final requirement for his ATM-Silver award. Well done Nick.

This meeting we introduced a new speaking role for the first time - that of 'Quotemaster'. Barry Mitchell did an excellent job, giving us several quotes, my favourite of which was "If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you ever tried"!

Gillian King, our newest member, and Norman, one of four guests, succesfully shared the role of Timekeeper and Norman went on to receive the raffle prize for this evening.

Which just goes to prove that the more you give, the more you receive!

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For Public Speaking, Effective Presentations and Presentation Skills, Confidence to Speak in Public and Building Self-Esteem: Cottonwood Speakers, Bournemouth (Poole Christchurch Wimborne Dorset Ringwood Hampshire)

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