A little R&R goes a long way
I went to Crete this year. It was extremely warm for September, bright blue cloudless skies and myriad mosquitos. Boyfriend and I decided that we needed to rest and recuperate […]
The Day I Lost My Voice
I have lost my voice! It hasn’t happened to me in a long time. But today, of all days, I have been croaking my brilliant advice! Really? I think I […]
Much Ado About Nothing!
Last weekend, Dave and I went to the open air Globe Theatre for our biennial visit. We always go in July and … it always rains! To date, we have […]
Clubs and Camaraderie
A few weeks ago I went to the pub for breakfast, dressed in this year’s Lion’s gear. We were supporting England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the battle for the […]
Summer Solstice
It has been the hottest day on record, previously registered in 1976. I was 14 that year. I don’t remember that day – in 1976 it was hot – all […]
a Muster of Minis
It just so happened that I left Hythe a little bit earlier than planned this Sunday, the sun was peeping out from behind a puff of wispy clouds. I was […]
Watch out little legs. My lanky ones are after you! – Special Occasions #3
This is Laura McHarrie’s 40th evaluated speech and the penultimate tick in the box towards Advanced Speaker Gold. She was the first member of Casterbridge Speakers having persuaded Steve Graham […]
The Five Es – High Performance Leadership part II
Laura is close to the end of her journey towards Distinguished Toastmaster. This is the penultimate project towards Advanced Leadership Silver. In this speech Laura takes a long hard look […]
To Boldly Go … Down Pathways –
Laura McHarrie has chosen to deliver her penultimate Advance Communicator Gold speech as part of her Area Director visit, as forthcoming changes to the Toastmasters learning programme lends itself to […]
COT MOP – Area Director’s Diary
(Club Officer Training – Mop up! Part 1) The joint area 1 and area 42 club officer training turned out to be a tremendous success. In pooling our resources, Diane […]
Live 2017 – Your Best Year Yet!
On Thursday evening, eight highly energised, exited and enthusiastic Hallmark Speakers took to the floor to give an amazing showcase of ideas on how to live life to the full […]
Talk Up Toastmasters – Area Director’s Diary
Talk Up Toastmasters is one of three challenges during the Toastmaster’s year to engage five new members to each of our clubs. Every club achieving five new members in this […]
Speed Networking
Speed networking is a great way to make lots of new contacts, expand your personal network and generate business leads. In the short one to one meetings you quickly establish […]
Ring out the Old; Ring in the New
Sticking to the theme of resolutions this cliché has been lifted from a rather dark poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson published in 1850. It has been recited annually at the […]
Six Down; Six to Go – Speeches by Management #2
Speeches by Management (2011-05) #2 – Appraise with Praise (5:00-7:00 min) Demonstrate importance of feedback techniques personally used in daily life; Use constructive evaluation to help someone improve their performance; […]
The Chaos Crisis
Your entrepreneurial spirit is on overdrive and you have that many ideas for business growth that you don’t know where to start? Or perhaps your Mission is that big, that bold […]
Grow and Be Strong Pt 2 – Speeches by Management #3
Hey Hallmark Speakers – how are you doing? Me? I’m not doing too bad … now … after a few false starts and some key learning. In fact the learning […]
10 out of 10! Andrew – Special Occasion Speeches #4
Sausages, Sparkers and Fireworks! With this speech entitled The Secrets of the Seaside Andrew Knowles has completed the competent communicators manual. That’s ten out of ten! Lady President, Mr Toastmaster, […]
Top Networking Tips
Like it or not, we network all the time. From the moment we stepped over the school ground threshold we started building relationships. We continue to do so through college, […]
A Load of Old Codswallop – RIP Sidney Harold Richardson
“A Load of Old Codswallop” – you can just see him, now, tutting with a wry grin and a twinkle in his eye as he says it. Friends and […]
Breaking the Rules – Speeches by Management #5
Houston, we have a problem! Tis not as bad as the Apollo 13 incident but neither are we NASA. However, according to the 2016/7 speech contest rulebook says a club […]
Grow & Be Strong – Speeches By Management #1
Laura McHarrie, introduced a project as part of her high performance leadership project in October 2015. The project floundered in the first few months. Having reviewed the initial plans, […]
Everyone is your Customer?
There is an old saying widely used by marketing professionals: ‘If everyone’s your customer, then no-one is your customer’. This saying makes the point about being able, as precisely as […]
Test your Market for Proof
Before you begin your marketing efforts in earnest, it is good business practice, almost essential in fact, to speak to a sample of your target audience first. By doing this […]
The Silver Lining
At the Sydney Olympics Nick Rogers and his team mate Joe Glanfield came fourth in their sailing event. Two points short of the bronze medal – they were gutted! After a […]
Over to You! – Special Occasion Speeches #1
The Toast – On 6th July, Laura McHarrie officially handed over the running of Toastmaster’s Area 42 to her successor Linda Parkinson-Hardman, simultaniously completing another in the special occasion speeches manual. […]
From Foolish to Flourish – Special Occasion Speeches #5
The Acceptance Speech The thing about Toastmasters is there is always the next challenge. Just when you think you have nailed one set of skills another advanced manual opens up […]
The Tough Get Cash
When the going gets tough … the tough get cash! This is a blog post I wrote in 2008. Thought it was worth resurrecting in the event of the last […]
Ah Yes! It is Christmas … Storytelling #4
Introduction – Laura McHarrie stumbled upon the subject of this her fourth project from the Story Telling Manual having talked about a Christmas Tradition in a table topic last December. […]
Wrapping Up … A Toastmaster’s Area Director’s Diary
Wrap up, tie up any loose ends and reflect before gifting! With little over a month to go before the end of the Toastmaster’s year, it is time to do […]
Hitting the Target
How do you get your message across when you are in a client meeting? Do you use PowerPoint? Explain a brochure? Deliver a pre-prepared speech? This post is about how […]
Beat The Clock – A Toastmaster’s Area Director’s Diary
As we draw to the close of the Toastmaster year, nothing stops! The clock keeps ticking! With two months to go we still have a lot to play for; not […]
Laura McHarrie @ The Hidden Edge 