Meg Heyworth has got the Worthing Speakers Club off the ground again for 2010. Following a number of meetings, it is her turn as President to lead the group forward with a theme at the next club night, Thursday 18th March 2010.

As it is her birthday Meg has asked us all to wear hats, the sillier the better.

Bring a friend and introduce them to the Worthing Club upstairs at the Charles Dickens Pub in Heene Road Worthing.

Hope you like the new design of the Toastmasters site. A few points of interest:

1. Both Worthing Toastmaster websites now point to this site. i.e. they are duplicated. This should reduce confusion as there is only one set of content now.

2. Your participation in commenting on posts is useful in two ways. Firstly, it shows this is a live, functioning club to potential new members. Secondly, it provides a central point of contact for club members, who can add their opinions to both posts and maybe even some posts themselves.

I hope you like the design and please feel free to comment on this post and the website in general!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/speaker/

The new ‘reality television’ series aimed at finding the best young speaker in Britain.

If you haven’t already heard about The Speaker, which BBC Television plans to broadcast weekly in prime time on BBC2 in February and March, you soon will! This exciting new programme, inspired by The Speakers Trust, will highlight the importance of strong speaking skills in the modern age.

Toastmasters International has been closely involved as a consultant to the programme since the concept began to evolve back in early 2008.

Sean Kennedy, the programme director for Jack Petchey’s “Speak out” Challenge, the world’s biggest youth speaking event, is with The Speakers Trust, a charity founded and led by past leaders of speakers clubs to: develop resources and promote the benefits of public speaking for all; provide training for the less fortunate who cannot yet speak up for themselves; support the growth and expansion of the networks of British and Irish clubs. David Thompson, who was our District 71 Governor from 2004-5, is a trustee of The Speakers Trust, (along with trustees from the Association of Speakers Clubs and other networks of speakers clubs).

http://www.speakerstrust.org.uk/

They are in excellent and distinguished company. Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham, the former head of the Confederation of British Industry and the new President of The Speakers Trust, spearheads the Trust’s campaigns to encourage commercial, social and governmental organisations to support it with grants, publicity and other resources.

The Speaker, produced by the team behind the very successful Dragons’ Den programme, is a series of regional contests culminating in a national final on TV to find the best teenage speakers in the United Kingdom. They were coached and filmed in the late summer and autumn for the programme which was inspired and advised by Sean Kennedy, who, in addition to his Toastmasters International credentials, is now a Director of SpeakersBank (the training arm of The Speakers Trust) which runs The “Speak Out” Challenge courses for charities and schools.

The 2008 Speak Out Challenge provided the underlying basis for the television programme. To give some idea of the scale of Speak Out, now entering its fourth year, it is estimated that over 19,000 students from the 32 boroughs in London and the 14 districts in Essex will participate in the 2009 Challenge. There will be 500 workshop finals, 350+ Assembly Finals, 37 Regional Finals, all culminating in one Grand Final. The organisers estimate that more than 100,000 people will attend the various finals of what is thought to be the world’s biggest youth speaking event of its kind.

The project ties in with other curriculum subjects such as GCSE English, SEAL, Enterprise, Business Studies and Citizenship. The students have the opportuntiy to talk openly and honestly on any subject they feel strongly about. The project will be funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation up to £550,000. Every student will receive up to six hours of training in the skills of public speaking and effective communication from professional trainers, making them prime candidates to be future members of Toastmasters International.

Although Toastmasters International has been involved only indirectly, it will almost certainly benefit directly, and significantly, if the programme catches on with the viewing public. If television can make archaeology, genealogy and box-opening compelling viewing, what might it do for speaking?

A new club on the south coast is making the most of the skills of seven members to grow into joining the Toastmasters International organisation.

Numerologists consider seven to be the sum of the spiritual three and the material four, signifying creation. Worthing Speakers are using this power to create a club with a magnificent future.

The magical power of the number seven has come to Toastmasters. Starting up a new speakers club in Worthing West Sussex has been an exciting prospect in and of itself, add to that the power of the magic number seven for decision-making and it is destined for greatness!

It is people that make the world go round and the rule is the same for the world of public speaking.

After only five meetings with guests coming along to experience Worthing Speakers, a group of seven core members has evolved to move towards chartering with Toastmasters International.

How will the number seven apply to Worthing? Seven is considered to be a perfect number for creative thinking and decision-making. Seven very different talents combined to make a successful club. Like the Seven Wonders of the World, each person offers their own special and unique set of skills that will promote, invite and encourage like-minded people to become new members.

These seven talented people offer the new club Networking Leadership, Coaching, Business Skills, Experienced Public Speaking, Professional Writing, Internet Marketing and Public Relations.

Over the next few months our core group of seven will plan, communicate and develop a club to be as established as there are seven days in the week. From February 2009 the number of meetings will increase, taking place on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month. An hour before each meeting there is the opportunity for a ‘mind shower’ – seventh heaven!

For additional information or details on how to join the Worthing Speakers Club please use the Contact form on this site.

1st and 3rd Thursday every month