Bring and share

written by aseem kapoor

VPPR Croydon Communicators

Croydon Communicators kicked off 2023 with a vibrant 'bring and share' meeting that involved  fabulous food laid on by members, catching up with familiar faces, welcoming new friends, and a fun-filled evening of public speaking!

Watch highlights from the meeting in the video above.

Jerusha opened the meeting as Sergeant-at-Arms and also ran the warm-up session.
Stephen stepped into the role of acting club president for the meeting.
Aminat led the meeting in the role of Toastmaster with Sandhya as Timekeeper.

First speech of the evening '1 hour a day' was from Ravi who talked about the power of compounding and investing time in oneself.

The second speaker was Ian with a speech titled 'Finding my Sea Legs' in which he asked the audience to help him with a decision about learning to sail in Croydon! 

Third speech 'Delta Capita and me' was delivered by Pit who rewarded members in the audience with chocolate if they were able to prove they had been listening closely and answer questions he posed at the end!

Speech evaluations followed, with Susan commenting on Ravi's nicely modulated tone of voice and body language in her feedback. Gina noted how Ian used imagery to bring his speech to life. Caroline commended Pit on his stage presence and talked about how focusing on one topic and building around it could have worked better.

With the first half of the meeting concluded, it was time for the network break, one of our members Norma had come up with the brilliant idea of 'bring and share' so there were plenty of snacks and treats to enjoy.

In the second half of the meeting, guests had a chance to join in and participate in the table topics session. Table Topics Master Rupa provided the questions and Dan gave feedback to each speaker as Table Topic Evaluator.

Visiting Toastmaster Beatrice Freeman was in the house once again as General Evaluator delivering feedback to the club and role players with her usual energy and humour.

Finally Stephen closed the meeting and presented awards. Well done to Ian (best speaker), Caroline (best evaluator), and Pearl (best table topic)!