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Frequently
Asked Questions
- What
is
a
speakers
club?
A speakers club is a group of people who meet regularly to speak and
evaluate each others speaking with the aim of improving their speaking
and having fun.
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- How
often
do you meet?
The club meets every two weeks between September and December and
January and May.
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- Where
do
you meet?
AUGB
14 Royal Terrace
Edinburgh
EH7 5AB
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- How
do I join?
Our meetings are always open to new members so you're always welcome to
just come along on the night. Alternatively email
president@edinburghspeakersclub.co.uk or phone Bruce on
07875102445.
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- How
much
does it cost?
Each member pays £3 per meeting which funds the hire of the room,
as the club is part of wider organisation members also pay dues to the
District and National organisation (known as capitation).
Capitation is likely to be around £23 per year for the
2010/2011.
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- I've never done any
public speaking, will I be out of my depth?
No, the club is committed to helping people with all levels of ability
to improve their public speaking. Many members of the club joined
having had no experience beforehand. The evaluation given to
members will be tailored to their individual experience.
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- What is the Association
of Speakers Clubs (ASC)?
The ASC
exists to promote effective speaking, communication, and the conduct of
meetings. It is a non-profit organisation uniting groups of individuals
into Clubs. For more information see the ASC pages.
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- What
can
I speak about?
Anything you like other then sex, religion or party politics.
Subject that members have given speeches on include art, running,
parenting, comedy, caravans, history, the law,rugby, ageing and of
course giraffes. Speakers tend to rely on their own experiences
and interests to provide material for speeches and in general seek to
entertain or inform or both.
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- Why can't I speak
about sex, religion or party politics?
The club and the wider association believe that these subjects are
divisive and as such speaking about them makes it difficult to evaluate
people in a fair manner.
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- How
long
does
a
speech
last?
A competition speech is between 6-8 minutes, most speeches given at the
club are this length.
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- Who decides who gets to speak?
The short answer is the Education Director. However members
learning and development as a speaker is in there hands if they wish to
speak more often or given a particular assignment then the Education
Director will always be accommodating where possible.
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- How often will I get to speak?
It depends how often you wish to speak. All members will be
invited to take part in topics sessions from there first meeting
onwards where they will be asked to speak for 30 seconds/2 mins/3 mins
on a topic given to them just before they are required to speak.
If that sounds scary don't worry, new members can be given more time to
prepare a topic and if you wish you don't have to take part. As
far as a formal speech goes most members can expect to give three
speeches a year including one in the club speech contest. However
there are always spots available in the programme for enthusiastic
members.
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- What
are
topics?
In a topics session members of the club are given a word or phrase and
then invited to speak for 30 seconds/2 mins/3mins on it. The
point here is that it is impromptu (i.e. there is no preparation time)
hence the skill is in getting up and starting to speak and building a
mini speech. Whilst many new members find this a challenge there
a set of skills and tricks that can be developed in order to give very
good topics.
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- Are
you
a
debating
society?
No, we occasionally hold debates to improve members skills in that area
but we mostly focus on improving public speaking skills.
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- What's the
difference between evaluation and criticism?
If you choose to speak at the club (either in a formal speech or in a
topic session) your speaking will be evaluated by another member.
The aim of this evaluation is to help you improve your speaking and
more importantly your confidence when speaking public. It will be
pitched at your level and will focus on the positives whilst offering
you some advice on where you can improve. We are very aware that
many people are very nervous about speaking in public and endeavour to
put you at your ease whilst helping you to improve your speaking.
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Meeting Dates
Wednesday
19th
January 2011 -
Club Competitions
Wednesday 2nd February 2011 - Normal Meeting
Wednesday
16th
February 2011 - Normal Meeting
Wednesday
2nd
March 2011 -
Normal Meeting
Wednesday
16th
March 2011 -
Normal Meeting
Wednesday
30th
March 2011 -
Normal Meeting
Wednesday
13th
April 2011 -
Annual General Meeting
Wednesday 27th April 2011 -
Normal Meeting
Wednesday
11th
May 2011 -
Normal Meeting
Wednesday
25th
May 2011 -
Normal Meeting
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