Enter the name for this tabbed section: About Us
What We Do
Our System Works because there is no substitute for experience gained by having a go, gaining feedback and absorbing experience by watching and listening to others.
Our Method
We use a ten-stage programme that is monitored by our Education Director to ensure that all members have the opportunity to develop to the point where they deliver a 'Masterpiece' speech with confidence. This programme has been proven to work over many years but is totally flexible and means that new members are able to move at a pace they find most suitable.
The programme first breaks down public speaking into its basic skills, which you practice, and then puts them back together one-by-one until you can deliver a 'Masterpiece'.
The programme will cover the following skills:
- Making a start
- Mean what you say
- Speech construction
- Use of gestures
- Use your voice
- Vocabulary and word pictures
- The use of notes
- Smile please!
- Audience rapport
- The Masterpiece
You can see more details on the Our Assignments page.
And after that, you can try our Advanced Skills course. You will also have the opportunity to learn the skills involved in chairing a meeting and entering various competitions should you wish to do so.
Enter the name for this tabbed section: A Typical Meeting
Join Us at a Typical Meeting
Our meetings do vary from time to time, but we can describe a typical session to you.
Two or three members will give prepared speeches to the Club, often in the region of 5-8 minutes each. These speeches vary enormously in content, mood and delivery, but they are usually framed around the series of ten target assignments which lead us through the various speaking skills. There will usually be a reading of some text given by one of the members at this point, because reading skills in public are also important.
One of the great characteristics of Speakers Club is the Evaluation. Here each speech will be evaluated by another member who will briefly go through the speech and highlight the strengths and weaknesses and give some advice for further improvement. This is done in a sincere, constructive and non-threatening way.
Impromptu speaking is a useful and often vital skill to develop and so we will usually have a 'Topics Session' during our meeting. One member acts as the Topics Chairman and will have prepared a number of topics which the members are asked to speak about for 2 or 3 minutes when called to the front - the only snag is that we will have no time to prepare! This might sound pretty hard work, but in fact these sessions are usually great fun and, at the same time, really do develop our abilities.
The Topics Session
'Topics' is all about impromptu speaking. Impromptu speaking is speaking without any prior preparation and at short notice, and it is a very valuable skill.
So why do we put ourselves through it?
It is a useful skill in business meetings, interviews and also everyday social life. It also helps your normal public speaking and can lead to much greater confidence and fluency.
In the Topics Session the Topics Chairman will have prepared a number of subjects for short 'mini-speeches' of 2 or 3 minutes duration. Speakers are called up and given their Topic subject and they speak without preparation. This sounds like a refined form of torture, but actually it is usually great fun .
Evaluation
One of the 'jewels in the crown' of the ASC is our unique method of evaluation. No external examinations, but your speech will be evaluated (not 'judged' or 'marked') by one of your peers. Your evaluator will review your speech and highlight the strengths and weaknesses, and give sound advice.
This is all done in a friendly and non-destructive way and you can learn a lot from the wise counsels of the more experienced members. You will be told whether you are ready to move on to the next stage of the Speakers Guide or whether you would be better having another try.
We have 10 stages of developing speaking skills. After successfully completing the first five stages you will be awarded the ASC Interim Certificate and after completing all ten you will receive the ASC Certificate of Achievement. You can then go on to tackle advanced techniques.