Spa Speakers

Leadership

Marina O’Callaghan, DTM and founder member of Spa Speakers shares her story

Marina O’Callaghan, DTM and founder member of Spa Speakers shares her story
Marina O'Callaghan

Marina O'Callaghan

Founder member and DTM at Spa Speakers
Marina has had a truly distinguished career with Toastmasters. Since joining Oxford Speakers Club in late 2000, she has been a VPM, a Club President and Area Governor, helped launch two clubs (Spa Speakers and Bicester Achievers Club), and has earned the highest award at Toastmasters, the fabled Distinguished Toastmaster Award (DTM). Marina is currently taking a break due to health reasons, though still mentors 2 very lucky Toastmasters.
Marina O'Callaghan

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Dear Spa Speakers, Marina O’Callaghan was an instrumental figure in founding Spa Speakers and kindly shared her account of how our favourite club got off the ground back in 2004. Thank you Marina, we continue to benefit from the great…

By Marina O'Callaghan | 10th July 2019 | Club Business, Leadership, Member's Stories, repost |
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Martyn Tilson – The Story of Spa Speakers

Martyn Tilson – The Story of Spa Speakers
Martyn Tilson

Martyn Tilson

Founder at Spa Speakers
Martyn Tilson has always lived in the county. Trained as an accountant he ran his own business in the 80's. After 12 years in employment and health & safety, he has spent the last 10 years managing a narrowboat marina near Southam. He has been both an Area and Division Governor before achieving his Distinguished Toastmaster Award in 2009. He is still active in voluntary work, concentrating on being chair of trustees for PRCF (prcf.org.uk).Martyn has a large family including 12 grandchildren(!)
Martyn Tilson

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Dear Members We have a very very special article for you. Founder of Spa Speakers Martyn Tilson has been kind enough to write an account of how he set up our club back 2004. We owe Martyn a big thank…

By Martyn Tilson | 26th June 2019 | Leadership, Member's Stories, repost |
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Choosing the right words when evaluating

Choosing the right words when evaluating
Spa Speakers
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Spa Speakers

Spa Speakers is a lively public speaking club based in Leamington Spa. Our mission is to help people like you become more confident communicators and leaders, no matter what your current level and experience.

The best way to find out if it’s for you is to try it! Visit us as a guest, totally free, with no obligation to join, and see if we have something to offer you.
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To evaluate a speech well is a challenging endeavour. First, you’ve got to carefully listen to the content and observe the performance of the speech, looking out for strengths as well as opportunities for improvement. Second, you’ve got to prioritise…

By Spa Speakers | 15th May 2019 | Leadership, Mentoring, repost, Speaking Tips |
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One tiny thing every member can do to help the club HUGELY

One tiny thing every member can do to help the club HUGELY
Spa Speakers
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Spa Speakers

Spa Speakers is a lively public speaking club based in Leamington Spa. Our mission is to help people like you become more confident communicators and leaders, no matter what your current level and experience.

The best way to find out if it’s for you is to try it! Visit us as a guest, totally free, with no obligation to join, and see if we have something to offer you.
Spa Speakers
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As enthusiastic Spa Speakers, we want to play our part in making the club super successful, don’t we? Here is something really simple and easy that you can start doing right away that would not only make every meeting run…

By Spa Speakers | 8th May 2019 | Club Business, Leadership, repost |
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Is it time you became a mentor?

Is it time you became a mentor?
Spa Speakers
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Spa Speakers

Spa Speakers is a lively public speaking club based in Leamington Spa. Our mission is to help people like you become more confident communicators and leaders, no matter what your current level and experience.

The best way to find out if it’s for you is to try it! Visit us as a guest, totally free, with no obligation to join, and see if we have something to offer you.
Spa Speakers
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If you’ve been with the club for a while (say 6 months or more) you’ve probably acquired enough knowledge and experience to support a new member in taking those scary first steps getting acquainted with the club. Spa Speakers continues…

By Spa Speakers | 1st May 2019 | Club Business, Leadership, Mentoring, repost |
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The enormous power of a well timed nudge

The enormous power of a well timed nudge
Spa Speakers
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Spa Speakers

Spa Speakers is a lively public speaking club based in Leamington Spa. Our mission is to help people like you become more confident communicators and leaders, no matter what your current level and experience.

The best way to find out if it’s for you is to try it! Visit us as a guest, totally free, with no obligation to join, and see if we have something to offer you.
Spa Speakers
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“I’ll do it later” “I’ll do it next week” “I haven’t got time” “I don’t feel like it right now” Such innocent words. Such deadly words! Sometimes self-talk like this does reflects reality; there is a genuine lack of time.…

By Spa Speakers | 24th April 2019 | Club Business, Leadership, Mentoring, repost |
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Some thoughts on how to deliver an excellent evaluation

Some thoughts on how to deliver an excellent evaluation
Fiona Clayton
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Fiona Clayton

Former President and Social Secretary at Spa Speakers
I sought out Spa Speakers because I work with some very good public speakers and I was inspired to improve my own communication skills. But I didn’t realise just how much I would benefit. My confidence to stand up and speak in front of others has grown massively and this has been noticed by my work colleagues. By taking part in a number of roles in the club I believe I’ve become a better leader and facilitator.
Fiona Clayton
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Evaluation is the feedback we give to each other in Toastmasters.  A well-structured and appropriately delivered evaluation lets us know what we did well and what we could improve on. In the context of Toastmasters we may be called upon…

By Fiona Clayton | 10th April 2019 | Club Business, Leadership, Mentoring, repost, Speaking Tips |
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5 reasons why Toastmasters doesn’t work for everybody

5 reasons why Toastmasters doesn’t work for everybody
Spa Speakers
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Spa Speakers

Spa Speakers is a lively public speaking club based in Leamington Spa. Our mission is to help people like you become more confident communicators and leaders, no matter what your current level and experience.

The best way to find out if it’s for you is to try it! Visit us as a guest, totally free, with no obligation to join, and see if we have something to offer you.
Spa Speakers
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Toastmasters International has over 350,000 members worldwide and has been around for ages. Why? The educational program works. Rather than focussing on endless theory and book learning, members engage in highly participative learning that involves regularly giving speeches and taking…

By Spa Speakers | 3rd April 2019 | Club Business, Leadership, Mentoring, repost, Speaking Tips |
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How to create a great experience for guests

How to create a great experience for guests
Spa Speakers
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Spa Speakers

Spa Speakers is a lively public speaking club based in Leamington Spa. Our mission is to help people like you become more confident communicators and leaders, no matter what your current level and experience.

The best way to find out if it’s for you is to try it! Visit us as a guest, totally free, with no obligation to join, and see if we have something to offer you.
Spa Speakers
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One of the scariest moments for those wishing to conquer their public speaking fears is taking the first step and visiting a club like ours. Questions like the following arise: “What will it be like?” “Will the people be friendly?”…

By Spa Speakers | 20th March 2019 | Club Business, Leadership, repost |
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6 tips to create a great club meeting experience

6 tips to create a great club meeting experience
Spa Speakers
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Spa Speakers

Spa Speakers is a lively public speaking club based in Leamington Spa. Our mission is to help people like you become more confident communicators and leaders, no matter what your current level and experience.

The best way to find out if it’s for you is to try it! Visit us as a guest, totally free, with no obligation to join, and see if we have something to offer you.
Spa Speakers
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Leading club meetings can be quite daunting for a new committee, especially for the very first time. Not to fear! Here are 6 simple tips for club leaders to bear in mind. Regular members: you too can help meetings run…

By Spa Speakers | 13th March 2019 | Club Business, Leadership, Officer Training, repost |
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