Results of the 2009 Pilot Virtual Speech Contest were announced at national conference.
Videos of the finalists can be viewed on the ASC website virtual speech contest 2009 page.
Mike Douse, ASC Development Officer has written an article for the BBC Website about the discipline of public speaking, to coincide with the broadcast of ‘The Speaker’, BBC2’s reality show, aimed at finding Britain’s best school student speaker. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/brecon_life/pages/mikedouse.shtml
It is with deep regret that I have to inform all in the Association of the recent sudden death of John Rimmer. He died in hospital on 23.12.08, after tenaciously fighting against cancer for seven years.
He was a member of two clubs, Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield for twenty eight years, no mean achievement and only a few years ago was a National Finalist in Evaluation. He used his speaking skills to help others and covered many outside assignments, not least of which were in support of his beloved Jubilee Sailing Trust. He was a committed committee member for as long as I can remember, and supported me as President over many years. On a personal note, I have lost not only a good friend and mentor, but also one of our most highly regarded members.
For information concerning funeral arrangements, contact me on: 0121 354 3291
Di Mitchell
President
Sutton Coldfield Speakers Club
John Rimmer pictured with Dilwyn Scott
The Association of Speakers Clubs invites entries for a pilot
VIRTUAL SPEECH CONTEST
* Entrants should be paid-up members of Clubs in good standing.
* Only one entry per person; once submitted the entry may not be retracted.
* Speeches may be on any topic.
* Speeches should be recorded in digital format. All videos should be uploaded to google video or youtube for embedding in the ASC website.
* Please contact the Webmaster on webmaster@the-asc.org.uk if in difficulty uploading your speech (or in following these instructions).
* Tapes will not be accepted.
* Each speech should commence with an identification, such as:
“My name is Cynthia Ferret, I am a member of Snetterton Speakers Club and my speech is entitled ‘Things Fall Apart’. Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen…”
* The timing should commence from the next word uttered.
* Recorded speeches should be of between 4-6 minutes duration.
* The contest will run from 1st December 2008 though 31st March 2009.
* The judging panel will be the NEC Education Committee (with the exception of any member who is competing)
* Judging criteria will be as for the existing National Speech Contest together with any common sense medium-specific applications as determined by the judging panel.
* From 1st April 2009 onwards, Club members will be able to access all competing speeches on the ASC website.
* The winners will be announced at the Annual Dinner during the Dundee Conference and the prize (being donated by National President Joe James) will be presented then.
* This initiative is intended as a pilot for a potential (possibly much wider and hopefully sponsored) contest in the future.
These Rules Can be Downloaded here.
Lisa Rogers
Webmaster
The NEC has great pleasure in announcing the appointment of Graham McLachlan, of Renfrew Club, and a Past President of North Western District, as National Education Director, with immediate effect. Graham has been very active in promoting both Education and Development in his own District, and his talents and energy will be an asset to the Association nationally.
I grew up accepting that bread and biscuits needed Marmite. When I lived in Australia, I encountered Vegemite and made the unpatriotic transition. But then I discovered Promite. Perfection. Everyone should taste Promite.
In a similar manner, I believe that every Speakers Club member should be able to use PowerPoint. I would not compel them to nor make it a requirement. But, as with Promite, it’s such a great thing I’d like everyone to have the chance to enjoy it as much as I do.
Perhaps it should be an optional assignment at the Advanced level. The ASC will shortly make available a self-instruction PowerPoint handbook: I have seen the draft and it is excellent.
However, I have three reservations and do not use PowerPoint now as much as I did a decade or so ago.
In many places where I work (Bangladesh, for example) the electricity cuts out – and I fear that this will soon start to happen here in the UK.
Having a prepared set of slides made me lazy, in that I would deliver more or less the same presentation to a group of professors in Pretoria as to a gathering of charity workers in Jamaica.
The PowerPoint format increasingly restricted me – I still like to communicate as I did when I was a mathematics teacher 110101 (binary) years ago and I like my thoughts, along with those of my class/audience to unwind freely in realtime, all over the blackboard.
Yes, everyone should experience PowerPoint – and maybe someone can solve my problems therewith.
MIKE DOUSE
Brecon Speakers Club
At the National Conference in Blackpool in April, Joe James, a member of Tyneside Speakers Club since the early seventies, was elected National President. Joe has previously served as Club President (twice), North East England Area President, Eastern District President, National Materials Officer and National Education Director. He is also currently Eastern District treasurer. Joe is pictured below at the Gala Dinner at the Blackpool Conference. (Photo: Tony Scott)
Joe James
Greetings from your new webmaster.
My name is Lisa Rogers (26) and I’m the new webmaster for the ASC. I have been a member of Denny Speakers Club since 2000 and have been webmater at Denny for about 5 years. I am also in the process of co-founding a new club to be based in Edinburgh with Thomas Scott and Lorna Scott-Dodd. I am webmaster for various other voluntary organisations and I work as a Research Associate at the Institute for Computer Based Learning at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. I look forward to your new suggestions in the coming months. Thanks also to Brian for the fantastic work he did during his time as webmaster.
Lisa Rogers
