College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge London

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Chris Bates, Overcome Fear of Public Speaking Retreat Canterbury, UK runner-up in the BBC's Apprentice 2010 will be our special guest and lead judge at the Corporate Challenge 2011.

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For more news on the Corporate Challenge, our DVD, our new Fear of Public Speaking Retreat, Diploma in Public Speaking and all Scheduled Courses, please follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/vincestev

Location

Based in London, the College of Public Speaking offers its scheduled courses and workshops throughout central London, the south-east and across the UK. We cater for staff at all levels, whether it be for supervisors, managers, busy executives and right up to Board level. We also offer instruction for the effective delivery of technical material.

Trainers

Our lead trainers Michael Ronayne, Vince Stevenson, Richard Johnson and Alistair Divall have years of experience in the world of speaking and training across some of largest companies in the UK and abroad. We understand the issues involved in influencing people, whether it be senior management or the promotion board in accepting that you are ready for that next major challenge. We all belong to prestigious speakers clubs and regulary deliver speeches. We also participate in National Competitions and therefore ensure that we keep our skills up to date. We work as a cohesive team and support each other in delivering top quality courses and workshops.

Community

The College of Public Speaking also has strong links with the Community having run free workshops at Oxfam, Medicins sans Frontieres, Breast Cancer Care, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Cancer Research UK, The Rainbow Trust, Skoll Emerge Social Entrepreneurship - Oxford, Oxford Hub, Kings College London, Stephen Lawrence Trust, 2Care Dementia Charity, Media Trust London, Addaction London, Bromley Field Study Centre and Gordon House, a residential home for people with a gambling addiction.

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College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge London

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College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge 2011

Corporate Challenge 2011 Results
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge 2011

The College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge 2011 was a major success on October 24th at the English-Speaking Union's Headquarters in Mayfair. Ten finalists spoke to a one hundred strong audience on the theme of 'You make a living from what you get, you make a life from what you give.' A quotation attributed to Winston Churchill. Five independent judges, led by Chris Bates were staggered by the quality and diversity of the interpretations of the theme. Following a long deliberation the results were announced in reverse order: Third - Jason Ashwood of the Metropolitan Police, Runner-up - David Jones from the Natural History Museum. The 2011 Corporate Challenge Champion is Andrew Chuks who runs Winner's Edge, his own training company, pictured with Chris Bates.


David Jones, Jason Ashwood, Andrew Chuks, Chris Bates
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge 2011

Corporate Challenge Background

The College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge is an innovation to promote and encourage communication excellence in the business world. We are also looking to find the UK's top business speakers (entries from all sectors invited).

Popular TV programmes like The Apprentice and The Dragons' Den underline the need for excellent communication skills. How many times have prospective entrepreneurs faltered at the first hurdle of their sales pitch? We know that these problems can be resolved with supportive guidance, structure and practice.

This contest is a marvellous opportunity for individuals to develop themselves in a friendly, supportive and pressurised environment. Speech contests emulate the rigours of a tough business world where millions of pounds can be won and lost on one strong presentation. It's also a development opportunity for contestants and companies alike.

This Year's Theme

This year's theme is: We make a living by what we get, but we make a life from what we give. (Winston Churchill).

Images from the first heat on 19th September Our thanks to William Buist for this generous contribution to the event.

Please indicate which date best suits you. Registration for each event begins at 6.15pm, the event starts 6:45pm prompt.

Grand Final Details - Monday 24th October 2011 - Starts 18:30

Entrance to the contest is free for both contestants and spectators.

Here is a list with short biographies of this year's Corporate Challenge Grand Final Contestants 2011

The qualifiers from both heats in alphabetical order are: Jason Ashwood, Andrew Chuks, Shaughan Dolan, Anthony Gell, David Jones, Phillip Khan-Panni, James Milton, Robert Noble, Mike Robinson and Dorothea Stuart.

The English-Speaking Union is found at Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London W1J 5ED. The ESU's Mayfair venue is wonderfully atmospheric and it is certainly a venue to add to your speaking CV. The Nearest Tube: Green Park (Victoria and Piccadilly Line) which is 400 yards away. Registration begins at 18:30 ready for a 19:00 start. Please bring a guest or two. Entrance is free for both contestants and spectators. There will also be a bar for our use after the events. Map to Dartmouth House

Contest Rules

The College of Public Speaking will appoint a panel of experienced judges for the heats and finals. The guest judges for the final will not have attended the heats, so the same speech can be used without losing impact.

Each speaker will have 60 seconds to tell us about their company, products and services. Last year's event was an excellent networking opportunity for those participating.

Speakers will be expected to demonstrate skills in terms of gestures, speech construction, speaking with conviction, vocal variety, vocabulary and word pictures, humour and audience rapport. 6x4" cards can be used, a lectern will be available if required, but most importantly, the speech must not be read.

The speech duration will be a maximum of 6 minutes and speakers will incur penalty points for speaking beyond this limit. Lighting arrangements: Green light 3mins, Amber light 4mins, Red light 5mins leaving 60 seconds to round off the speech. The red light will go off at 6 minutes. At six minutes thirty seconds, the speaker will be gavelled.

The timing of the speech begins from the first word following the salutation, 'Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen'.

The judges are looking for a strong message combined with excellent delivery skills.

Contact Details

Initially, please send an indication of interest to Vince at vince@collegeofpublicspeaking.co.uk

For media enquiries, contact on the email address above or call Vince on 07731-876304.

Previous Winners of the Corporate Challenge



Corporate Challenge 2010 Results
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge 2010The College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge 2010 was a major success on October 25th at the English-Speaking Union's Headquarters in Mayfair. Ten finalists spoke to a hundred strong audience on the theme of 'Creating long term economic prosperity...' Five independent judges, led by Rachel Elnaugh were staggered by the quality of the speaking. Following a long deliberation the results were announced in reverse order: Third - George Anstey of Nera Consulting. Runner-up - Anthony Gell of The Business Voice (bvo.com). The 2010 Corporate Challenge Champion is Texan, Laura McCracken a consultant with Wrightson Wood, pictured with Rachel Elnaugh (centre).


College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final 2008.
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final

(Left to right) Presenting the trophies is Gwyn Redgers, National President of the Association of Speakers Clubs 2007-08. In third place Francesca Lagerberg, Rod Sloane (winner), John McKay (runner up), lead judge Cliff Hunter (a trustee of the Speakers Trust).

Rod Sloane tells us about the inspiration for his winning speech. mp3 file - 47 second interview.

The College of Public Speaking would like to thank the organisers and judges of the event who all volunteered their time and creative energies on this project.

We are indebted to John Cassidy for volunteering these top quality images. Follow the link to see many more pictures that he took on the night. John Cassidy Photos

College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final 2009
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final 2009


College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final Contestants
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand FinalCollege of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand FinalCollege of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand FinalCollege of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final
corporate challenge London, college of public speaking london, UK, Toastmasters International, Cogers, Simpletons, Sylvans debating, UKcorporate challenge London, college of public speaking london, UK, Toastmasters International, Cogers, Simpletons, Sylvans debating, UK
College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand FinalCollege of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge Grand Final

Here is a video and transcription of William Buist's speech on the Societal Web Blog - William Buist

The College of Public Speaking would like to thank the organisers and judges of the event who all volunteered their time and creative energies on this project.