Speaking at Reeds
Reeds has been working along with Epsom Speakers Toastmasters club. They have been empowering students with public speaking skills. The way Epsom Speakers helps is by providing educational presentations and feedback.
I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by Leo Gadson and Amanda Zwarts. Reeds has about 50 students that take part in the public speaking training. By having three visitors we are able to provide feedback in the 3 different groups of students.
The atmosphere at Reeds is always warm and welcoming. The meal and the wine was great as usual. Mr Terry had done a great job on organising the event. We had a lovely chat with Sally Briggs, one of the maths teachers. I was very fortunate to be seated next to George, the chairman of the evening and we covered a series of different topics. It was evident once again how smart the kids are Reeds tend to be.
After our dinner I covered through the educational material presented through their school year. As guest Toastmaster I was asked to cover the topics of how to create a speech and how to deliver it effectively. How to effectively evaluate and how to respond to an impromptu speech effectively. There was a lot to cover in 10 minutes.
After the meal and the speech we split up into three separate rooms. There are were about 50 student members in the club. Amanda and Leon both went to the different rooms and provided constructive feedback.
Seeing students participate in public speaking is very inspiring. They were all fantastically good. Whenever I visit Reeds, I always think I should have started my public speaking journey sooner. High quality speeches, thought provoking and full of humour! The delivery of most students was calm and well manor.
Nicholas spoke about fear of missing out, Elliot about living in a computer stimulation, Maya about fake tanning. Emily evaluated Nicholas. Gus evaluated Elliot and Joseph evaluated Maya. We then followed the session with some impromptu speaking.
All students portrayed great public speaking skills such as vocal variety, stage presence and confidence. Lots of humour to make everyone laugh. The evaluations were very constructive and resembled the standard and ethos of a Toastmaster. The speakers at the impromptu were more relaxed and allowed their creativity to develop.
I was pleased to see great use of story telling, humour, gestures and lots of smiling. After their session I provided a general evaluation to all the participants and to the way the meeting was run. To help the students with their improvement and to also encourage them for what they already do very well.
If you haven’t already attended Reeds than I would highly recommend that you speak to Patrick Ebbs and get yourself booked in for the next event. Patrick needs a list of speakers that he can poach when needed. The commitment is really about once a year. We can all contribute to the future of the students at Reeds.
I have only been to Reeds twice and I have great memories. They have a high standard and the students have great skills at public speaking. Definitely a great environment to be in both to help and to grow.
Best wishes,
Phoebus