Speakeasy @ Martlesham
Do you want to overcome the challenge of public speaking? Do you want to deliver effective presentations at work or have you got to give a speech at a forthcoming wedding? If you have answered “Yes!” to any of these questions, Speakeasy @ Martlesham is a club that can help you. Onesuffolk went along to a Speakeasy meeting to find out more…
On arriving at the Richards Room in Martlesham Community Hall I was made to feel very welcome by the group. I wasn’t really sure what to expect and as someone who is not very confident at speaking in public I was a little worried too!
Speakeasy @ Martlesham is a group that meets on alternate Thursdays and helps people to overcome their fears of public speaking. Each meeting has a set structure that allows members to work their way through training manuals at their own pace and ensures that everyone has a chance to speak and take on a different role.
First to stand up in front of the group was the ‘Toastmaster’ for the evening, Margaret Stanway. Margaret gave a brief introduction to the evening and explained that it was a non-manual evening. This meant members did not have to use their training manuals that night and could speak about any subject they liked with no set theme.
We started by introducing ourselves, ‘Madam Toastmaster, my name is…’ and after giving our real names went on to give the name of a historical character we would like to have been and the reasons why. As the introductions got nearer to me I frantically tried to think of a historical character I would have liked to have been, it’s funny how your mind suddenly goes blank. At the very last minute I decided on Cleopatra, phew!
As a guest for the evening that was the only time I stood up in front of the group and spoke but it didn’t feel as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think the fact that everyone in the room is in the same situation as yourself makes it that little bit easier.
Ann Nunn was ‘Wordmaster’ for the evening and as part of her role she had to set a ‘word of the day’. The chosen word of the day was “dynamic” and the ‘game’ of the evening was to try and use this word as many times as possible wherever you could.
Sue Coppens Browne then gave some hints and tips about vocal variety. How you can convey different messages by changing the tone of your voice, by using repetition, by talking fast, slow and with feeling in your voice. There were some really useful tips to be had.
After a couple of speeches and evaluations there was a break where tea, coffee, cake and biscuits were available. I chatted with some of the members during the break.
On a table facing the speakers I’d noticed a set of traffic lights. I’d heard people asking for the lights to be set at 5, 6 and 7 but was not sure what this meant. Margaret Stanway explained, “The traffic lights are all about timing your speech, when a speaker asks for the lights to be set at 5, 6 and 7, for example, the green light goes on at 5 minutes, the amber at 6 minutes and finally the red light at 7 minutes. This gives them an indication of how long they have left to speak and when they need to start wrapping up the speech.”
Founder member of Speakeasy, Teresa Dukes added, “When you are competing in competitions, you may have to stop speaking right on the red light, this is really difficult to do. Usually you are allowed around 30 seconds either side but if you go over you will be disqualified”.
After a mug of coffee and a slice of cake, the meeting was resumed. Dave Nightingale took to the floor, hat in hand, and gave a very funny insight to the ‘ins and outs’ of cricket, at one point even talking about belly buttons!
Then came, what I thought, was the most challenging part of the evening, the ‘table topics’. The toastmaster picked a person out at random and gave them a subject to talk about for 2 minutes.
The chosen person had from the time it took them to get up from their chair and walk to the front to think about what they were going to talk about. Bearing in mind this was a small community hall so they probably only had about 8 seconds thinking time. The subjects of the night were:
- The streets of London
- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
- Black magic
- Life on the Ocean Wave
- Down Memory Lane
I was asked if I would like to have a go at this part of the evening but declined gracefully. Even the ones that had been club members for a few years seemed to fear the table topics. The evening came to an end shortly after this.
Beforehand, I was quite apprehensive about going along to the group, would I have to stand up and talk in front of a group of speech experts, would it be a night listening to speeches full of stuff that didn’t interest me, would they laugh at me if I got something wrong?
I was wrong on all counts though, I soon realised everyone in the room was in the same boat, the atmosphere was relaxed, there was no humiliation and best of all the speeches themselves were fun to listen to so the training obviously works!
When and Where do they meet?
The group meets on alternate Thursdays from 7pm until 9:30pm in the Richards Room, Martlesham Community Hall (behind Tesco Extra). For further information contact Sue 07730 971186 or Dave 07969 598633 or visit the club website at: www.speakeasyatmartlesham.co.uk
How much does it cost to join?
Membership fees are £36 for 6 months. A one off payment of £18 covers the Toastmaster joining fee and the first training manual.
What is Toastmasters?
Toastmasters International is a training and educational organisation which teaches its members communication, leadership, training and management skills, and builds their self confidence. It is the largest and most successful organisation of its type in the world. It is a not-for-profit organisation run as a network of clubs led by volunteers for volunteers.
Useful Links
www.speakeasyatmartlesham.co.uk