Previous Meetings
Can you speak about a subject
at the drop of a hat? Do you have a fear of speaking at an event because you might make a fool of yourself?
These are two common thoughts that most people will have and these fears can be conquered in a relaxing and friendly environment at Warrington Speakers Club, Warrington, Chesire.
Selected news reports of meetings..
Presidents night held was held in September 2011 and had the theme
"How WSC has helped me"
and or
"How things have changed for me, since becoming a member of WSC"
The timings were 6-8 min per speech,
Balloon debate June 11
The June meeting saw 5 speakers in a balloon basket speaking for their lives.
As the balloon lost height, four of the characters in the basket needed to be ejected.
Barack Obama started with passionate rhetoric but floundered on his achievements for America; next a belligerent Lord Sugar made a straight talking plea but ended up being fired from the basket. Simon Cowell tugged on the heart stings with Gareth Gates then used a threat of sending out the heavies in the form of Susan Boyle but sadly he ran out of Xfactor. Despite an enthusiastic Boris Johnson planning the London Olympics for the good of the country, he nevertheless ended up being evicted. Not surprisingly Ken Dodd prevailed with a mixture of rapid fire comedy and clever word pictures justifying being spared and speaker Paul Whittle was presented with a well deserved prize for speaking in character, with humour
A topics session was followed by the general evaluator who highlighted the positive whilst detailing ways in which speakers could have enhanced their speech. A thoroughly entertaining evening was enjoyed by all. You could attend future speakers meetings, to book in or to simply learn more about public speaking do visit the web site: www.warringtonspeakersclub.co.uk.
News report mock trial may 2011
Speakers were intrigued to find the meeting venue had been transformed into a court room, complete with dock, magistrates’ bench, prosecution & defence solicitors, court officials, legal advisors, witness, arresting officer of the law, complete with court ushers.
The participants quickly eased into character, PC1234 had a slight lisp, a defendant with attitude, the tenacious prosecuting solicitor, a methodical defence solicitor, and a dower magistrate leading the team of three judges in total.
The facts of the alleged crime were adhered to, but embellishment was encouraged adding to the evening’s fun and entertainment.
Afterwards, when the judges had presided, found the accused guilty as charged, was given a particularly harsh sentence to 20 years community service; then the whole evening’s proceedings were evaluated by the general evaluator. “The event was well run and achieved the objective of taking the participants outside their comfort zones whilst maintaining the high standards of Warrington Speakers Club and the evening proved to be most enjoyable."
January 2011
A "Humorous Stories" competition was organised by the Education Director Fred Jones that challenged all, not only to present a humorous story, but also to adjudicate and mark the other speakers as well. When all speakers had finished, the marking sheets completed, collated, checked and winner was announced. There were some remarkably funny, well crafted stories, with the deserving winner being Brian Carter for his story “As Mr Kipling said so exceedingly well....” he was presented with a Silver Cup trophy & Scrolled Certificate. “A good evening was enjoyed by all”.
The next meeting is on Thursday 10th February when the Deputy Mayor of Warrington will visit the club. He will be invited to speak and join in with a full programme of speakers, presenting us with a wide range of subjects. “New members are always welcome” Visit our website www.warringtonspeakers.co.uk for more information, including venue & directions.
December 2010
General Evaluator Eric Jennings constructively evaluated the entire evening and complimented the standard of heart felt seasonal humour and festive tails, many with subtle twists.
Sound advice was given to enable speaking standards to be raised and oratory skills honed. A prize was awarded for the speech of the night that went to Noel Alms for his entertaining speech of the Christmas Pud and swallowed Gold Krugerrand.
A delightful end to an excellent evening's entertainment.
Following on with the theme of humour, the January 2011 meeting is a Humorous story competition where all present will participate, both in the speeches and also the evaluation
September 2010
WSC president Owen Wallwork organised and chaired the presidents evening, an interesting format in which all present were invited to talk for 5 to 7 minutes on “The advantages and disadvantages of technology”.
Speaking without notes, there were many well crafted arguments that ranged from the wheel, modern transport systems, Amish reluctance to use modern technology, camera developments, bicycle developments and replacement of mans best friend.
The general evaluator assessed the speeches and the running of the evening concluding that there was scope to tighten speaking disciplines, work more closely from the Warrington Speakers Club manual, coupled with coaching to raise the bar to achieve perfection.
June meeting had a theme of rubbish!
Own Wallwork in cooperated word pictures on his speech entitled “Cat nav” describing the meaning of purr to convey happy or sad, lonely, hurt, the benefits to old and young then cleverly linking this to reducing human aliments and waste reduction
Eric Jennings talked on “Evergreen” with a subtle use gestures and Brian Carter spoke with out notes.
Soap box gives a speaker an opportunity to vent off for 5minutes on a subject of his choice and on this occasion the subject turned to the frustration of lawns and thoughts on an ideal grass that can stay green, without needing to be cut.
The evenings’ reading was a 5 minutes humorous section from Roald Dahl nursery rhymes the 3 little pigs.
General evaluator Fred Jones summarised the evening’s proceedings by complimenting the running of the evening, well crafted speeches and reasoned arguments of the topics session. Some useful advice was given by the evaluators of the night and to conclude the meeting was challenging, took people out of their comfort zones with the result of speaking to an excellent standard.
Meeting January 2010
“Things you would like to see happen in the future” proved to be interesting theme for speeches and Dennis Jones use an array of word pictures to describe the tranquil Swiss district of Burne Oberland. The theme was developed to include how the UK could learn to adopt highly organised Swiss ways, in particular take a none reactionary position to avoid interfering with world affairs. Doug Pass entertained with his unique thoughts on women and conscription, and then Owen Wallwork spoke, without notes, “From steam to nuclear” and exhibited excellent skills in timing and pace of delivery.
The soap box addition to the programme enables a speaker to beat the drum and focus on a subject that may be of concern and worthy of highlighting. The rhetoric of the evening called for action of the silent peaceful majority to refrain from apathy, silence and letting all that is held dear, slip through fingers to be lost to the whims of but a few fanatics.
The Topics session was a fun centring on “call my bluff” scenario where the panel had to decide which speaker offered a true descriptive definition and which were false.
Visit WSC on Thursday 11th February, see www.warringtonspeakersclub.co.uk
for more detail.
John Hill
Sept 09
President's Night was the first session of the 2009/10 season. The new President challenged the members to give a five minute speech on their favourite place describing why it was their favourite place, how it made them feel and how they interacted with the people there.
There was a very high standard of speeches covering topics as diverse as Egypt, Sark, Chester and the Grand Canyon.
Noel Arms gave a moving speech remembering Dixcart Bay on Sark in the Channel Islands. Noel first sailed there as a young man with some of his friends and later returned with his wife and children. He had strong emotional memories of the place.
John Hill gave an imaginative speech describing how, while undertaking some DIY plumbing, his mind would wander to his favourite places – including his mother's garden ( and her cooking) John also managed to conclude the speech in exactly five minutes.
Peter Turner showed a picture of himself sitting on the rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. Peter told a tale of misfortune – losing his job, an obsessive girlfriend and a mugging which conspired to prevent him from making the journey.
The evening was evaluated by former President Mike Caldwell who presented the prize for the best speech to John Hill.
If you would like to practice your speaking skills in a warm and friendly environment, please telephone John Hill on 07969 765 770 or visit our website at www.warringtonspeakersclub.co.uk
Paul Whittle
President
Warrington Speakers Club
WARRINGTON SPEAKERS CLUB March 09
Deputy Mayor Councillor Brian Axcell, and his wife Irina, attended and participated in the March meeting of the Warrington Speakers Club.
There were four prepared speeches.
The Deputy Mayor gave a highly entertaining and informative speech
demonstrating Numeracy skills. The subject was Sustainable Energy and its
Viability. Brian used numbers and logic to reality check the Governments
targets of 10% from renewable sources by 2010, 15% by 2015 and 20% by 2020.
In contrast Keith Patterson gave a speech titled “Cambridge and a Little
Glory” which was an amusing walk through the high spots of his life -doing
National service in the army and eventually being based in Cambridge. The
glory being a little cup he won for swimming and his motif from his army unit (17 Lancers) - Death or Glory.
Frank Riley went for “Value for Money” which told the story of how a farmer
could choose a bride by calculating value for money. Amazingly this was based
upon a song he heard forty years ago, a rendition of which was used to finish
the speech.
To finish, Bernard Marron - expounded some of the unsung heroes of British
technology. James Baseljet (London Sewers) and Bishop and Williams (Body
snatchers). Bernard's conclusion was that without the nefarious activities of
the body snatchers medical science would be far less advanced, and you
never know, the credit crunch may also have a silver lining.
Mrs Irina Axcell evaluated the topic sessions and presented the prize to Peter Turner who told a story about a train ride in spring.
If you would like to practice your speaking skills in a warm and friendly environment, please telephone Dennis Jones on 01925 262909 or visit our website at www.warringtonspeakersclub.co.uk
Paul Whittle
Vice-President
Warrington Speakers Club
WARRINGTON SPEAKERS CLUB April 2009
Making a Business Presentation was the theme of the April Meeting of Warrington Speakers Club. Business presentations can be terrifying and also critical to the success of the business – the speaking club is the ideal place to practice.
Glyn Holloway gave the first presentation assisted by a range of props. His theme was packaging and he wnet on to explain a range of different metal packages, Tin cans, shoe polish tins, biscuit tins the construction of each was described in detail and the WSC members were amazed at the depth of his knowledge.
Maurice Monks – presented an imaginary range of expensive yachts. The Duchess ( £1M), the Princess (£1.5M) and the the Queen (£2M). Each with its own range of features – swimming pools, saunas and stately dinning rooms. A classic selling speech although also demonstrating some of the more Arthur Dailey techniques.
Finally Fred Jones gave a very realistic presentation – based upon his own successful business. Fred presented a device to be used by professional painters for keeping paint brushes in perfect condition (Brush Mate) without having to clean them. This was a lively polished performance which could have easily produced sales of DIY versions.
A topic session followed lead by Eddie Fuller. Each member of the club gave an impromptu speech on topics such as MP's expenses.
The General Evaluator – Noel Arms reviewed the events of the evening and awarded the prise for the best presentation to Fred Jones and the best Topic to Keith Patterson.
If you would like to practice your speaking skills in a warm and friendly environment, please telephone Dennis Jones on 01925 262909 or visit our website at www.warringtonspeakersclub.co.uk
Paul Whittle
Vice-President
Warrington Speakers Club
WARRINGTON SPEAKERS CLUB Jan 2009
Improvement was the theme of the speeches for the January meeting. Each of the three speakers was asked to prepare an eight minute speech.
Keith Patterson spoke on transport from the the earliest modes of transport to the current day – including a reference to Ice Road Truckers which he had recently seen on television. His conclusion being that the wheel had been the greatest invention of mankind. Paul Whittle used a selection of props to support his speech which was an end of term report for Local Government. Paul summarised the issues which had faced Local Government during 2008 – Education, Recycling, Credit Crunch, Fire Brigade Call Centres, Baby P and Sustainable Communities. Fred Jones focused on the National Health Service – explaining how the NHS would always be short of funds because public expectations are now so high and that a shift towards preventative medicine was required.
Three club members acted as evaluators for these speeches pointing out some minor ways in which the speeches could have been improved.
A topic session was then held where the members are asked to stand and speak on a allocated subject for three minutes without preparation. (Developing the useful skill of thinking on your feet)
The general evaluator Peter Turner said the standard of speeches was so high that he was unable to select a winner and declared a tie. Best evaluation was John Hill assessing Keith Paterson and for the Topics Peter presented the award to Doug Pass for his three minute improvised speech on “Television”.
If you would like to practice your speaking skills in a warm and friendly environment, please telephone Dennis Jones on 01925 262909 or visit our website at www.warringtonspeakersclub.co.uk
Paul Whittle
Vice-President
Warrington Speakers Club
WARRINGTON SPEAKERS CLUB May 2008
The May meeting of Warrington Speakers Club featured an unusual but challenging form of public speaking – doing a reading of a prescribed text.
The reading should be done in such a way that the audience can understand the text without watching the reader – as if they were on radio.
Three members were set this reading task.
John Sanson gave rendition of Alan Bennett's Christmas story, A complicated piece involving many voices and a telephone conversation. He made a valiant attempt using a toy bone to represent sections on the phone.
Owen Wallwork featured an amusing piece by Mike Harding describing the “bog standard rambler”. Owen gave a confident reading which had everyone wanting to joint the Jumbo rambling club.
Eddie Fuller told the story of Oliver Cromwell's Skull. This was entertainingly supported by a photograph of the burnt horrific skull. A fascinating story which spans hundreds of years. Eddie delivered the reading very well and was awarded the the best speech prize.
Each of the readings was evaluated by another club member. Brian Carter evaluated Owen and gave a masterclass in how a reading should be performed. This was appreciated by the club and he was awarded the best evaluation prize.
The second part of the club night was spent on a Topics session featuring the very topical subject of MP expenses. Six members gave an impromptu unrehearsed speech on this subject. John Hill won the prize for an amusing address from the standpoint of a impoverished MP.
If you would like to practice your speaking skills in a warm and friendly environment, please telephone Dennis Jones on 01925 262909 or visit our website at www.warringtonspeakersclub.co.uk
At its April 2008 meeting, Peter Turner was the Topics Chairman and altered the requirements for Club Members during the topics session by NOT speaking about the self or relying on personal experiences which added a new twist to this ever popular event.
Even seasoned campaigners struggled with this new dimension, but the first two speakers avoided the trap perfectly and both gave consummate speeches about holidays and photography respectively. Keith Paterson extolled the virtues of having to take a break from work and the trend of going to exotic places for two weeks often involved having to recover from the holiday upon one’s return. Eddie Fuller referred to light playing an important part in all forms of photography, but it is where one points the camera that counts.
All the other topics speakers fell foul of the regulation. It was not easy and proved that one needs to practice this skill continuously in order to become proficient and as a test of thinking on one’s feet.
The club meets monthly at the Village Hotel, Warrington. If you would like to come along to a meeting or would like to find out more about Warrington Speakers Club visit our website at www.warringtonspeakersclub.co.uk
Paul Whittle
Warrington Speakers Club