Public speaking group wins prestigious award

A not-for-profit public speaking group has won the Toastmasters’ Presidents Distinguished Award.

Telford-based Shropshire Speakers, which is also affiliated to the international group, Toastmasters, is a popular public speaking club that helps people conquer their fears of giving presentations and speaking in public.

They have just been awarded the Toastmasters’ Presidents Distinguished Award, which is presented to clubs that have achieved a challenging set of educational, leadership, membership and administrative objectives.

The club has also experienced a recent influx of new members, all with different reasons and motivations for joining.

New committee member, Kay Heald said “I joined to help tackle a longstanding fear of public speaking.

"I was fine talking to my clients one-to-one, but when faced with a room full of unknown faces – I used to feel quite ill! I went along to Shropshire Speakers initially as a guest and was struck by how friendly and down-to-earth everyone was there.”

The group meets on the first and third Wednesday every month at the Ramada Hotel in Telford and not only are guests welcome to attend for free, they can come back as often as they like.

Acting president, Mags O’Brien, explained: “There’s no hard sell at Shropshire Speakers.

"We only want people to join if and when it feels right for them. Although there are lots of opportunities to practice speaking in public, we offer so much more than that – people can develop their listening, evaluation and feedback skills, as well as try out different management roles in a really supportive environment.”

Ashish Jain, another enthusiastic new member of Shropshire Speakers, said: “The club gives me immense opportunities to develop myself and be inspired, while we all help each other to become better public speakers and leaders."

Kay added: “I thought the meetings would be really intimidating, but it’s the complete opposite – the support and encouragement have been such a pleasant surprise. In fact, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually looking forward to delivering my next talk!”