The College of Public Speaking

Before I start talking about the College of Public Speaking, I think it would be useful if I were to put a few historical items into context.

My name is Vince Stevenson and I come from an IT technical background and have worked with some of the largest companies in the world, especially in the banking sector. Then I moved into IT training with Sun Microsystems in London because it seemed to be a logical progression from the disciplines of Change Management, Configuration Management and Quality. Then about 10 years ago I moved into speaking and what an impact that had on me.

I joined my local speakers club and I was amazed by the number and high standard of speakers that the club produced. Because of my, ‘I want to be the best I can be’ nature, I needed to make large strides forward and quickly. So I also joined my local Toastmasters Club in Bromley and a speakers club in the City of London. Meeting only twice per month was not enough. I felt the need to speak once or twice a week at clubs, at least. My wife tells me that became quite obsessive about it.

The major benefit of membership was the quality of the feedback in my evaluations. I suddenly realised that there were many areas of technique that I could improve upon and I set sail on the CTM and its equivalents. I was totally hooked on speaking and my training delivery feedback jumped forwards incredibly quickly.

I could not get enough of speaking, delivering speeches and evaluations, general evaluations and then of course, developing into club management and making things happen for others. It was a cathartic experience, an experience that I’m very proud of, and an experience that I carry forward with my original speakers club in Bromley and in 2006, I founded Beckenham Speakers Club. I have been Area President, District Development Officer, District President and a member of the National Executive. In 2006/7 I had the pleasure of being one of the organisers of the UK National Conference. I have also had the privilege of winning all four individual trophies for club management, education and development that our District provides.

I am totally immersed in speaking and constantly thrilled by creating a warm and supportive educational setting where people can come along and develop their skills in front of an audience. I have been described as a speaker’s speaker… but enough about me.

In 2003/4 I was approached by some senior figures in the UK speaking world to see if I would be interested in participating in a venture that would be speaking/training related and would financially support the Speakers Trust, a charity dedicated to supporting communications development across all strands of society. It is not in my nature to pass on such a marvellous opportunity. Sadly, because my colleagues were scattered around the UK, regular face-to-face meetings were sparse and progress was slow. However, after evaluating several business opportunities, we decided upon the name the College of Public Speaking and in September 2006 we began trading. Our primary goal was to become the UK’s leading professional speaker development organisation. In this our fourth year of operation we have already worked with hundreds of students and we sponsor large speaking events like the College of Public Speaking Corporate Challenge. Next year we will also be sponsoring the Speaking Olympiad 2010.

So what’s the difference between speakers clubs and what we do at the College of Public Speaking? That is a very simple answer. As I have alluded to earlier, being a member of a speakers club is a great experience, but clubs usually only meet twice per month for two hours or so. Some clubs are large and have many members, which can for the novice speaker seem quite intimidating (although it really isn’t at all). What if you need to develop quickly in a short period of time? That cannot be achieved with a number of 1 to 2 minutes topics. That’s where the College of Public Speaking comes into its own.

Our courses and workshops are designed to support individuals and groups at a number of levels. Depending on the number in the group we can provide individual coaching, video replay and identify very quickly what works and what does not. Naturally, we utilise our experience gained throughout a thousand evaluations during the last 10 years at speakers clubs; our feedback is objective and supportive and people leave our courses having undertaken a thorough, rigorous and intensive grounding in speaking skills. The one thing the College of Public Speaking cannot offer is a large audience with whom you can practise. With continuous professional development in mind we offer to identify our clients’ local speaking club and ask them to sign up and go along regularly. Again, having the opportunity to practise in front of a supportive audience really boosts confidence and enhances skills.

Vivaldi was a prodigious composer and many musical pundits make the point that he had the privilege of a full time sponsored orchestra at his disposal for most of his creative life.
The College of Public Speaking continues its valuable work across sectors and is currently forging links with many charitable organisations in the UK, and helping their staff to become more effective at pitching their organisations to funders.