Speaking Olympiad in London

A festival of Public Speaking, a meeting between some of the best speakers of four different public speaking Associations, I spend wonderful hours listening - and taking some photos, too.

We met at 10 : 30 at the pub The George, on Srand, accross the Royal Court of Justice. I arrived home at 17 pm. But how much I learned about how to speak about a subject, weather you prepare it or are given just an instant before!

The Cogers, formed in the 18th Century, the ASC and Speakers Bank and, of course also the Toastmasters were represented, each by three members. They compeated in 4 different kind of speaches.

They were asked as Table Topic, the same question: Winning is everything - tell us your opinion. My view of course is that they were all winners, even if there were only the Toastmasters team, with David Jones, Laura McCracken and Paul Carrol who went away with the winners cup. They were all of them great and wonderful.

The debates, the answers about the Table Topic, etc. short speeches or longer ones, what a great talent and mastery exhibited by all!

I do have now ideas of Table Topics, debate examples, etc. for many of our club meetings.

Weather my pictures are well taken or not is not so relevant, in all case they do remind me of them and all of them and also of lots of things they spoke about.

I was very very impressed!

Bravo to all of you and the Chairmen and the different speech leaders and the organizers, and thanks special to theLondonSpeaker blog for having written about this great event.

David Thomson, Toastmaster from 15 years, was the chief judge, but he had five different judges with him. I do own him my first speech, the Icebreaker way back at the beginning of last year, when he asked me "who wants to give his or her first speech... tomorrow at Croydon?"

Of course, I had to be prepared, and I was.

More then this days with some of my speeches, but from now on...

Steve Job's three stories

There is no better example of good speech and storytelling that this three storeis told 6 years ago by Steve Jobs, and now, he gave a great speech too at the unvailing of I-pad, but this one is not about a thing, it is about his life and his experience and dealing with the problems that came his way

Competent Communicator: Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! | Video on TED.com

I just published a great speech to which I listened this morning in my Competent Communicator blog, I will not reproduce it here, but I do believe it is worth listening and pondering to it.

Competent Communicator: Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! | Video on TED.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

I understand now better what Cameron had in mind proposing alternative education for young.

But also, it gave me ideas for my next speech.

From the advanced toastmaster's manual "Speaking to Inform", this next project is a  'Fact finding Report" - and of course, with the intention also to persuade if possible that the facts you found and are showing are pointing to a certain direction. For myself, I do not believe in Objectivity, I think we are all Subjective, and that all speech should at least in part be somewhat persuasive too. More it is subtly done, more it is effective.

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Yesterday, I visited the Polish your Polish group, a great toastmaster group, in South Kensington, near the Expos, I'll have to return to see some of the Expos too. They meet twice a month, in Polish, but I participated at one of their three English language meetings by year.

A special theme, Storytelling and Fairytales.

From the first worlds of its president, Lukasz, raised in Philadelfia and a very good speaker, we were plounged in the world of tales. "Once upan the times, long ago, in a far away world, there was a man, called Smilley, who..." How astute beginning, opening of a Toastmaster meeting based on Storytelling!

Our Toastmaster of the evening, Mrs Kramarz, continued by introducing each participant by his or hers favorite fairy tale. And the word of the day was Magic, Magical.

The meeting begun then with Table-topics, the great Table topics Master, Gosia Gorna, asked questions about tales, past or present or new ones, not without first, explaining, that we do not have to answer to the question, can turn it around or inverse it complectly. And all who did not speak in the second part, were asked to do it for 1 minute or 1 minute and half.

Pemma Fox, from the Corinthians Speakers, evaluated fast and well the Table topics. Her club is one where I would return with pleasure, and she as very encouraging me at the end of the meeting, too.

After a short break, the speech part begun, all by telling some tales, the last was me. Followed by all the Evaluation part of course, that makes more sense as this, all together finished by the General Evaluation.

We had a nr 4 speech and one from the storytelling manual and mine, from Speaking to Inform. What was stunning is that there were no big difference of levels between them, all were really good. Only mine, perhaps was too much a tale and not enough giving new information.

It was a great meeting!

My tale was good but then I wanted to explain how we find it, that come out well, how we learn it, that part got forgotten, and how we shape it pondering about 'what is my most important thing, message in this tale now" - that got well, but some or many thought I did not bring enough 'new information' or been enough explicit what it was the new information I did want to convey.

Listening to my speech, which my recorder 'immortalised' I agree with them, I got lost toward the end, and was not enough 'to the point', wanted too much to personalize it too. My ends need a lot more work and care too!

OK, next time.

I hope.

Portrait in the bus

Yes, I like the nature the fog and the buildings, I like the flowers and the colors in spring and the colors in fall.

But nothing as much as people and their portraits and different faces and warm expressions.

Finally, I come back to them and in the end of the day they are the great joy of photography finally for me.

London in fog

London, of Sherlock Holmes, was supposed to be men in tweeds and the city in fog, all the time.

In the last 18 month, perhaps three mornings, and even not all the day, wa in fog, and yes, even then not so thick as it was dercribed.

I read, this is because there is almost no more heating with carbon and no factories for sure that 'smoke'

So it is normal, that I run out of the house as soon as I have seen what is lurkng outside: finally a nice "English fog!"

I walked my street and through the heath taking photos, there is a special light in the fog, a special quality of image that comes out, even when you take from far. Then, I wanted to go centre London but instead took the first bus that arrived: Crystal Palace. It beckoned me.

There was not Crystal nor Palace but a small park and lots of busses, there, so after taking some pictures of trees and people, I took another bus, this time towards Oxford Circle, through I got down in Trafalgar Square as soon as I have seen the Elephants.

The battery of my camera refused to function soon after that, so I got a train back, home, but not before I had a great breakfast of Croissants and chocolate at the station, and bought some books.

So difficult to resist books!

Elephants Trafalgar Square

There are elephants everywhere in London, I presume, as I found one near hte market in Greenwich and a whole bunch of them at the Trafalgar Squre.

Today I went out at six, because the fog beconed me to take foggy photos, and I did take until my battery gave out.

From Blackheat and the Heath the bus had taken me to the end of the 202 Cristal Palace, I did not find the Palace there and then I came back with number 3 to the Trafalgar Square.

Interesting journay and discoveries, 250 images on the way from the wals and from the bus too.

Just a few of my foggy images, as today the uploader crashes all the time. enjoy!

So happy the fog asked me to go out!

Morning at my place

How much pleasure a gift can give!

Not only I like it a lot, but each time it does remind me of the generosity, welcome and warmth of those who offered me - was it a year ago?

Merci Rachel! Merci Andrew!

A huge thank you for both of you. And not only for this small nice stuffed animal lurking behind me as I write, but showing me a real English openess and hospitality.

Whoever tries to tell me that the English are cold, I have now many examples of the contrary, but your hospitality was one of the most important one between them. And this decoration in my living room reminds me day by day and even reassures me whenever I would feel alone.

I tiied always to tell myself that Things does not matterm people matters, but behind things there is ofthen people associated with them.

Think, what do You value and why? What memory is linked with it?