Mentoring (Discover Prompts #4 STREET)
“Having mentored for years, Laura has studied Catherine Kram, David Clutterbuck and Norman Cohen’s works on the very subject. She has been trained by The Princes Trust, and delivers workshops […]
Earworms? (Discover Prompts #3 – SONG)
EARWORMS? And what are they … exactly? They are those songs that you just cannot get out of your head. Last year, Kylie did it again to me. This time […]
The Virtual Handshake?
The Corona Virus has got us all paranoid. We, from the West, are so used to the shaking of hands and more recently the kissing on each cheek (blame the […]
Meeting Roles and Responsibilities – A Toastmaster’s Education Speech
As a new Toastmaster you may well be confused with the meeting roles and responsibilities, this is a brief resume as to what you might be expected to deliver when […]
Pathways – Step by Step
Introduction “Having spent 10 years enjoying the old Toastmasters educational system and being fairly fluent with the content, Laura was keen to embark on the new Pathways Programme. She signed […]
It’s Poet’s Day
Today is Poet’s day. Let’s celebrate it. Much of what we deliver in our prepared speeches is poetic prose. It is a form of writing that uses the aesthetic and […]
Awesome Radio Advertising with Rick Simmonds
An audience with Rick Simmonds of Wessex FM who shares with us the remarkable PR opportunities now available from local radio broadcasting … at so little cost. All sound Business […]
The Water Boatman’s Willy
The things you learn, listening to podcasts on a Sunday morning. The Blue Whale the largest mammal is the loudest creature on earth, no great surprise there. But this little […]
Battle of the Sexes
Introduction “Laura has been fascinated by the study of communications or rather miscommunications, since 2007, when she picked up a copy of John Gray’s book entitled Men are from Mars, […]
“Everything changes, but nothing changes.”
New Parenting Model for the 21st Century – I don’t think so Fellow Toastmasters I am not a biological parent, I have three step children, a sibling, a nephew and […]
Sowing Seeds for Impromptu Speaking
The level three Pathways ‘Active Listening’ project asks the Table Topics Master to really ‘listen’ to the table topic responses. Then to make an appropriate comment on the talk as […]
The Rest of the Story (TM Speech #7)
“Our next speaker, Laura McHarrie’s maiden name was Richardson. On the 21st November 1984 (almost 34 years ago), Ray Dukes, a Debenham’s employee wrote … ‘In response to your request […]
The Man He Killed – Speciality Speech #4
Throughout the UK communities gathered on 32 beaches as part of Pages of the Sea to say a collective thank you and goodbye to the millions who left our shores […]
How to be Heard (TM Speech #2&3)
Introduction “Here at Toastmasters, we live and die by our presentation successes and failures. The intros can have a massive impact how the audience reacts to the speech. I’m so […]
I’m Not Deaf – You Know …
“Our next speaker is Laura McHarrie. This speech was inspired by Rachel Knowles. When Rachel answered Julia Martineau’s table topic question – what invention could you not live without, she […]
Listen to Learn..
Introduction “The first three months of any Toastmaster year is called the Golden Quarter. The more that is planned and actioned in the first three months, the smoother the club […]
Distinguished Toastmasters Indeed!
In April 2008, 7.15pm for a strict 7.30 kick off, Steve Graham, Jan Thorpe with much bugging and instance from yours truly, Casterbridge Speakers was launched. That day, I started […]
Petrol Heads – thanks Mark
There are people that like their cars and there are people that lurve their cars. These are the so called petrol heads. At first glance at tonight’s meeting theme, I thought […]
Martin Luther-King Jr Day
On this day in history, Martin Luther-King Jr was born (Jan 15th 1929). He was assassinated before his 40th birthday. He’d have been 89 today, if he’d have lived this […]
Learning from Honks & Hinks
Don’t you think it’s a wonderful sound when a flock of geese fly into Weymouth? Theirs is not the most attractive sound but it is very distinctive. For me, it […]
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 […]
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 […]
Laura McHarrie @ The Hidden Edge 