Jill Vanderweit exclaimed, “One of the scenes that stood out for me was the King’s first address to the nation via radio.  With the Queen and Parliament listening from a separate room and an army of sound technicians ensuring the radio connection, the King and his vocal coach stood alone in a partitioned and blackened room with the microphone.  The tension of the scene, shown differently in every face, finally ended with success – and an audible sigh of relief from everyone in the movie theater!”  Cheryl Hawkins saw the movie with her teenage daughter and both spoke about the creative process of composing and delivering a speech.  Partly inspired by the movie, Cheryl went on to provide her first evaluation soon after.

The King’s Speech inspired others as well.  Mary Ann Guerra mentioned, “My favorite part was when the King and the “Therapist” had the fight because the “Therapist” wasn’t a real doctor with a medical degree.  The King finally realized after a short while that you don’t always need a degree to be effective; you just need skill and passion.”  The movie dealt not only with a speech challenge, stuttering, but also with having the courage to be heard..  Bonnie Maidak shared that her favorite scene occurred when Bertie says, “I have a voice and deserve to be heard.”   Bonnie added, “I did get quite a lot more out of the movie seeing it a second time.  I heard more of the words of the dialogue instead of just getting the gist of the conversation.  One of the non-Toastmaster in the group, Greg Ventura, shared his knowledge of the British monarchy and history which added another level of richness to the experience.  Greg said “Bertie did not choose his avenue for greatness, history chose it for him by challenging him to become what he never thought he would – Leader of the British Empire – which at the time, 1939, included roughly a quarter of the Earth’s population.”
This Fellowship event encompassing various clubs allowed the group the opportunity to see Toastmasters skills (leadership and communication) in action — not just on the screen but savoring the three elements of the event: companionship, discussion and movie-watching.  The movie asks: if a naval officer with a history of stuttering can go on to be the “Voice” of a Nation in times of war, what can the rest of us do by using the same core elements of communication and leadership?  Challenges are many.  The real key is how we react to them; cower in their face or proceed persistently till success is achieved.  Let us live kingly lives to use our many internal treasures and share them with the world.  Watch out world, here we come!

  – Gabriela  Cadena

It is common knowledge that the very thought of delivering a speech can mortify the most macho of men; but the process of actually penning the words is not exactly greeted with garrulous gaiety. And the less said about actually figuring out the speech topic, the better. So our solution at C&C is to say more about it; or rather, write more about it. If the repeated torture of giving speeches can improve one’s public speaking skills, imagine the heights of glory we can achieve by going from the frying pan to the fryer!

Whilst there is no dearth of great orators who can propound profusely on the 10 steps to delivering a great speech, the sceptic in us will never be convinced about the efficacy of applying those commandments to us mere mortals. But what if we regaled you with the humble happenings from the harrowing hallways of hell?

And why do we put ourselves through this ordeal, you might ask. Let’s just say, we’ve reserved the best for last. As our name implies, we don’t just chat, we also chew! Ever heard of comfort food? Well; once we are done with our speech, we find the dinner very comforting – so do join us!