News CategoryPosted by Celene Sun, July 04, 2010 17:02:51
Another evening of BBQ, tasty (suitably burned) food, fun and karaoke for Camden speakers, it was a truly great evening, finished with Karaoke - Kingsley style, mixed with random but impressive dance style as demonstrated by the talented Laura.
Here's a picture to prove the level of fun after some singing, dancing and drinking.
Look out for the next social we'll be organising over the summer period.
News CategoryPosted by Laura Sun, March 21, 2010 09:10:43Camden Speakers Club has won the 'Ace of Clubs' award from the Association of Speakers Clubs for being the best speakers club in the District (there are 19 clubs in the south-east).
Here are two photos of us celebrating...
News CategoryPosted by Celene Wed, March 10, 2010 21:34:46The Art of Persuasion, with Dr Evan Harris MP
Sex, politics and religion were the main themes of Camden Speakers Club’s event on 3 March with guest speaker Dr Evan Harris, Lib Dem MP.
Using three highly controversial topical issues – prostitution law, assisted suicide and incitement of hatred – Dr Harris demonstrated his skills in persuasive speech and called for the audience to challenge him.
With people agreeing, disagreeing or persuading, the discussion – chaired by Laura Nelson, President of Camden Speakers Club – was varied, entertaining and informative. The audience also considered whether Dr Harris had convinced them - or not, and why.
The first topic, decriminalisation of prostitution, split the views in the audience. Dr Harris’s opinion was that there was not enough evidence to support the new law that punishes men for using prostitutes, and thinks that harm can be reduced by legalisation of the sex industry instead.
The second topic was equally controversial. Many disagreed with the speaker. "My mother fought with dignity and pride until the very end and she would have made a split-second mistake if we were to let her die on the days when she was feeling low," said one woman in the audience.
The defence from Dr Harris was calm. "Assisted suicide for those terminally ill and knowing that they have a CHOICE to leave in peace IS humane. Assisted suicide is about choice.”
Choice and liberty were also the themes of the third topic. Dr Harris argued against the banning of incitement of hatred in speech, and members of the audience asked if he condoned the situation in which we may have to walk around our own neighbourhood feeling scared.
His rebuttal was fitting for a Speakers Club event. “Decriminalising incitement of hatred is about freedom of speech,” he said. “Which is about accommodating the views we may not like to hear.”
News CategoryPosted by Celene Tue, February 23, 2010 23:02:22What an honour! for Camden to host this year's Area Speech, Topics and Evaluation contests 2010.
It was a bitterly cold evening but the temperature in the Irish Centre, home venue of the Camden Speakers Club, was most certainly rising by the minute. The heat was getting unbearable, as some of the best speakers in the area compete to take home one of these shiny armours. All the club winners were there - they have proven themselves already. Now they have to do it again, for the Area Contest.
Camden sent our best and one thing for sure, we made ourselves heard. Camden is here to stay. Despite no silverware to take home, we are proud.
Following 4 hours of intense competition, Wimbledon Speakers proved to be too tough a competitor to beat. They ended up taking home all the trophies. But they were good speakers. Besides the intense hours of competition when we tried to kill off the opponents (I tried poisoning their tea and biscuits but clearly didn't work), there were some exchanges of genuine tips amongst various speakers on how to be a better speaker. All round, everyone enjoyed a fantastic, educational and competitive evening.
We can't wait for next year.
We are proud to say, good luck to Wimbledon speakers (Michael and Kathryn) who will be representing London in the District competition.
News CategoryPosted by Laura Fri, January 22, 2010 00:19:10
Club contests are over and winners go
through to the next round – the London Area contest on 17 February.
Congratulations to the winners, who are:
Speech (6-8 minutes prepared
speech): Celene and Araba
Topics (3 minutes impromptu
speaking on allocated topic): Laura
Evaluation (4 minutes analysis on someone
else’s prepared speech): Rob
Well done to everyone who took part. The
contests were diverse and entertaining, with guest judges who travelled all the
way from Croydon (Ian Price) and Wimbledon (Katherine Inglis and Michael
Ronayne).
Winners will compete against all the other
speakers clubs in London on 17 February in Camden. The winners of the Area
round will then be eligible to compete at the District round.
Last year, Camden took the two top places
in the Area speech contest (Celene and Laura).
News CategoryPosted by Laura Thu, January 21, 2010 23:40:39
Check out the Eloquent Woman blog,
which today writes about former US Secretary of State Madeleine Korbel Albright
(the first female secretary of state and, at that time, the highest ranking
woman ever to serve in the U.S. government). Albright said:
I tell women to act in a more confident
manner. You need to learn to interrupt. Ask questions when they occur to you
and don’t wait to ask. Also, you don’t need to ask permission to ask a
question. Be a risk taker; business appreciates risk takers. This trait is
desirable in prospective leaders.
…If women continue to keep their heads down
working away, instead of speaking up, they won’t get noticed.
Read more about women and public speaking
on Delilah’s blog.
News CategoryPosted by Celene Sat, December 05, 2009 09:34:30We can all feel a bit self concious when asked to speak infront of a crowd, but if you remember....
Let go of assumptions. Just because an audience is not smiling or nodding in agreement does not mean they aren't listening or feeling positive about your talk. People often do not display encouragement on their faces in an audience situation, so don't seek it. You'll know from the applause level at the end how well you went and by then, the speech is over!
News CategoryPosted by Laura Sun, November 29, 2009 15:19:42Top speechwriter dazzles Camden with tips and tales
Nearly 100 people
from speakers clubs, political parties, and even an MP came to the Camden Irish
Centre on 18 November to listen to Phil Collins, the former chief speechwriter
for Tony Blair.
The evening was a
resounding success. Not only was there plenty of wisdom and excellent tips for
budding speechwriters to take away, but our guest was a gripping orator and
regaled the audience with stories and witticisms.
Phil, who has also written for other politicians
and corporate chief executives, and is currently chief leader writer for the Times newspaper, claims that, in one
sense: “Speechwriting is like football. Famous
footballers don’t know how they play so well.”
However, knowing the techniques and applying them well will make a huge
difference to your speeches. In a discussion that was introduced by Laura Nelson, President of Camden Speakers Club, and chaired by London Area President Debra Owen-Hughes, Phil offered an array of advice, recounted below.
Work the words
The first
challenge to identify what the speech is about.
“You’d be amazed how many speakers don’t know,” Phil said. Also, have just one
argument, and know what the argument is and whom the speaker is going to argue
against.
Once you have an argument, you
need to edit. “Read it out,” said Phil. “You hear the repetition. Take the
scaffolding down off the building.” In other words, cut words.
Especially cut the jargon.
Corporate CEOs, lamented Phil, use jargon on purpose to exclude people, so he
has a list of banned words and phrases. “21st century solution…fast-changing
world. They don’t mean anything,” said Phil. “It’s an example of people who’ve
stopped thinking.”
When considering
language, it is important to keep the audience in mind. Phil reflected on Gordon
Brown’s style, which he described as ‘grandiose’. “It’s received well in
America, but not here. Senators talk like that all the time.”
In the UK, we
don’t have the occasions for great speeches in the style of Martin Luther King.
In contrast, when Obama was running for President of the US, he was making
history, to which rhetoric is better suited.
Be natural
For speeches to
work, they have to match the particular style of the speaker. This can be lost if the speech has to be approved by many people. “A
speech with tracked changed
from 43 internal managers loses its ‘voice’,” Phil said.
Audiences relate
well to speeches that include stories. One of Phil’s clients, Pepsico’s CEO
Indra Nooyi, is unusual in that she likes to include personal stories of her
life – a technique that works well if the speaker has the nerve to do it.
Phil, who is also
a bestselling novelist, uses many of his storytelling techniques in
speechwriting. You have to move the plot along, but not in an
obvious, forced way, he said.
Humour also has
to sound natural. The trick with humour, Phil said, is to let the jokes come
out of the writing – don’t insert them unnecessarily. Jokes are funnier if
they’re about something that’s happened to the speaker.
But a joke still
might bomb. If it does, it’s not a disaster. “If that happens, the speaker
should just say: I’ve made a joke – please laugh,” said Phil. “And the audience
will.”
Notes from a speechwriter
Before
you write – remember that every speech has something of ‘you’ in the writing.
Don’t take that away when you write. Be yourself. Be comfortable in your own
skin.
1.
Topic – ensure there’s a central theme running through the speech. Can you
summarise your theme in a few words?
2.
The argument – every speech must have just one argument. Test your speech by
checking that you can argue the opposite.
3.
Have discipline – take the rubbish out. The quality of the speech is generally
proportional to how much material you delete.
4.
Read your speech out loud – this enables you to spot repetition. Repetition on
paper is not as obvious as when the speech is said out loud.
5.
Language – the tone of the speech needs to suit the purpose. Martin Luther King’s
speech in 1963 may have been one of the greatest speeches in history, but it is
difficult to have the same effect if you are talking about Council Tax Reform.
6.
There’s no substitute for writing clearly and writing well.
