Welcome to Sans Souci Speakers Club (Solihull)

Sans Souci Speakers Club teaches public speaking….. but it does much more than that: it provides a safe environment and a friendly atmosphere where members can fulfil their potential.

It’s a social club, it’s a hobby, it’s a testing ground for the young professional and yes… we teach public speaking and presentation skills.

Over 30 Years of Experience

An established club that keeps up to date with the world of public speaking and presentation skills.

Public Speaking Certificates

Follow the ASC Speakers Guide and gain intermediate and advanced level certificates.

Public Speaking Tips

Check our other pages for lots of Tips and Tricks to help you to Achieve Speakng Confidence.

ABOUT SANS SOUCI

About Sans Souci Speakers Club (Solihull)

Founded and developed in Solihull, we provide a service for Solihull, Coventry, Birmingham, Redditch and the West Midlands.

Hello and welcome – my name is Cathy Anderson and I’m the President of Sans Souci Speakers Club.

Thanks for visiting our site…… take your time and have a good look round.

Sans Souci Speakers Club (Solihull) offers a warm and friendly atmosphere with a dedication to public speaking, communication and presentation skills.

Whether you’re just starting out, or an accomplished professional, we can help you boost your public speaking and presentation skills.

Our venue is in central Solihull with excellent tranport links. 

Our club evenings cover all forms of presentation skills. These include prepared speeches, impromptu speeches and the little understood art of chairmanship.

As a new member you will slowly add the skills you need, always at your own pace and always with support and encouragement from other members.

At Sans Souci Speakers Club you will learn the A to Z of effective communications. You can also use us as a sounding board for your business presentations, best man’s and other wedding speeches or any other aspect of public speaking and presentation skills that you would like to master.

WHO 

The Who and Why of Public Speaking

‘We don’t work miracles but we do take ordinary people like you and me, and turn them into extraordinary public speakers.

Sans Souci SC

The Who of Public Speaking

Sans Souci Speakers Club is a local club, based in Solihull with most of our members coming from Solihull, Coventry, Birmingham and the surrounding area.

We are a mixed club with an approximate split of 50/50 male/female, all ages and all professions.

We are a member of The Association of Speakers Clubs and have been teaching presentation skills and public speaking for over thirty years.

We don’t work miracles but we do take ordinary people like you and me, and turn them into extraordinary public speakers.

 

The Why of Public Speaking

Why would anyone willingly practise public speaking? We all know about the Fear of Public Speaking, the shyness, the nerves, the absolute terror. But at Sans Souci we concentrate on the power of public speaking.

Imagine giving that presentation at work, delivering that best man’s speech or chairing that Annual General Meeting of your club or association. Imagine simply feeling more confident and self-assured in everything you do.

Like we say at Sans Souci, give yourself an unfair advantage, learn to speak in public…with confidence.

WHEN

The Where and When of Public Speaking

‘We provide a safe supportive and friendly environment.’

Sans Souci SC

The Where of Public Speaking

We are a Solihull based club and we meet in the town centre at the Solihull Methodist Church Community Hall, Blossomfield Road, Solihull. (Car park entrance via Station Approach) More details can be found on our Venue and Dates page.

We meet in a bright, modern room and there is plenty of free car parking in a well lit area, which is covered by security cameras. No car? No problem, there is a railway station and a bus terminus right next door!

 

The When of Public Speaking

We meet on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of the month throughout the year, except July & August.
Meetings times are generally from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm.

For a full list of dates, visit our Venue and Dates page.

HOW

The How of Public Speaking

‘Like we say, give yourself an unfair advantage, learn to speak in public…with confidence.’

Sans Souci SC

The How of Public Speaking

First of all we provide a safe supportive and friendly environment, an environment conducive to mastering the art of public speaking. Then we give you the skills.

Through a structured programme you will master all aspects of public speaking and presentation skills:

  • How to organise a speech for maximum impact.
  • How to speak with emotion and passion.
  • How to use humour to soften a serious point.
  • How to add richness and interest to your voice.
  • How to forge a link with the audience.

You will concentrate on three areas: Prepared Speeches, Impromptu Speeches and Chairmanship Skills, all underpinned by the ASC foundation stone of caring and constructive Evaluations. More details below….

PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS

Speeches, Evaluations and Chairmanship Skills

Prepared Speeches

A good speech should contain emotion, it should contain humour and most importantly it should contain a message. We’ll show you how to plan a speech, how to lay it out in a logical manner with an introduction, a development and a conclusion and how to prepare a speech that doesn’t sound like a school essay. And we’ll even show you how to deliver it in a relaxed style.

At a Sans Souci club meeting usually the speeches will be one of the ASC F1 to A5 assignments  from “Making a Start” through aspects such as “Speech Construction” and “Use of Voice” to the A5 – “The Showpiece”

Following on from these are various Advanced assignments: speaking without notes, use of visual aids etc., all designed to perfect and enhance your presentation skills.

 

Impromptu Speeches (Topics)

We all give impromptu speeches every day of our lives. People ask about your holiday, what you do for a living or how to get to the local supermarket….. and you deliver a short impromptu speech giving all the information they need in a relaxed, friendly and animated manner. Once we have to give an impromptu speech in front of an audience….. we can’t think what to say or in what order to say it.

Don’t worry we’ll show you how to think on your feet and marshall your thoughts. You’ll never be lost for words again!

We practise impromptu speeches in the second half of a standard club evening and we call it “Topics”. And, of course, so that we all get the most from Topics, both delivering a Topic and chairing the Topics session are also evaluated!

Evaluations

Each speech is evaluated by another club member, thereby telling the speaker what they have done well and what they could do better and highlighting these things to the audience.  Members try at all times to be helpful and supportive and to offer sound constructive feedback. Preparing and delivering an evaluation is itself a learning experience and another speech!

The evening ends with a General Evaluation (GE) delivered by one of the more experienced members. They listen carefully, make notes and finally  assess the whole evening, focussing in particular on the Chair and the evaluators. The GE also has the final say about the decision of the prepared speech evaluators – should the speaker try that task again or are they ready to move on to the next one? 

 

Chairmanship skills

How do you introduce a guest? How do you propose a vote of thanks? How do you thank a speaker and make a link to the next speaker. We’re beginning to delve into the mysterious art of chairmanship skills….. a vital skill for any public speaker.

At our meetings a bit of structure helps the evening to be controlled and enables everyone to fulfil their role – it’s planned so that everyone present has a chance to speak during each meeting. And that’s where the Chair comes in, keeping everyone involved and engaged and enjoying the evening.

By watching more experienced club members you’ll learn how to do all of the above and before long you’ll keeping us all on our toes at the next club meeting!

Take your speaking skills to new heights

Gain encouragement and valuable feedback during your development from F1 (Making a start) to A5 (The Showpiece) and beyond to advanced assignments.

Continuing Professional Development

ASC certificates can be supplied to your company to demonstrate your progress in public speaking, communication and presentation skills training.

Practise your video speaking skills

Wow your colleagues in your next video meeting with better eye contact and great gestures honed in our friendly supportive club meetings.

CHOOSE US

Why Choose Sans Souci to Improve Your Public Speaking and Presentation Skills?

Z

Established for Over 30 Years

For many years we have provided a warm and friendly atmosphere with a dedication to the practice and improvement of public speaking and presentation skills.

Z

Tried and Tested Training Methods

At our meetings in Solihull you’ll follow the ASC’s introductory programme by progressing through ten assignments that build your confidence and public speaking skills one step at a time.

Z

Located in the Heart of the West Midlands

We are in a perfect location for serving Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Redditch and the surrounding area.

Z

Member of the Association of Speakers Clubs

As members of the Association of Speakers Clubs we can draw upon the expertise of a large organisation with members across the UK and fabulous training resources.

TESTIMONIALS

What Our Members Say

Don’t take our word for it….. this is what members old and new have said about Sans Souci Speakers Club (Solihull)

And we didn’t have to twist any arms….. honest!

I stepped outside of my “comfort zone” in joining Sans Souci, but I am so glad I did. The fun and supportive environment of the club has helped me to develop valuable new speaking skills and to grow in confidence. I have even felt able to accept offers to give presentations in my work as a Clinical Aromatherapist.

Carol

Club Member

Speakers club has made a real difference to my life and it happened really quite quickly after joining. Not only did I gain confidence in speaking publicly but also in my life more broadly. This was helped by Sans Souci being such a friendly, supportive group of people from a wide range of backgrounds.

David

Club Member

I joined Sans Souci when I was 15 years old and progressed through the different speech grades and competed in competitions. The atmosphere of the club is incredibly welcoming and encouraging to new members wishing to develop their confidence and public speaking skills. This helped me with university and job interviews and presentations for assessments and networking.

At Sans Souci you write and deliver speeches and help others through evaluations.  My time at the club was fun and educational, and has improved my confidence in my professional and personal life

Oscar

Former Club Member

I joined Sans Souci three years ago to improve my ability and confidence when giving presentations  at work. As presenting had not been a regular feature of my job, it was really daunting when asked to talk, even to a small group of people.

Sans Souci helped me by offering practical opportunities to speak to an audience and to get used to hearing my own voice aloud.

I have found that the current online Zoom sessions are a great way to develop my presentation skills and flourish in the new online workplace.

Lydia

Club Member

VIDEO SKILLS

Improve your video presentation skills with us

During the Covid 19 restrictions Sans Souci Speakers Club (Solihull) continued to meet via Zoom. Our members embraced this new technology, but we are happy to be able to meet face to face again.

We have learned how to speak effectively to the camera, how to maintain eye contact with a virtual audience and how to make our gestures count on the small screen. All of these skills can still be practised and improved in our club meetings so that you can still WOW your colleagues in your next Zoom or Teams meeting.

Why not come and join one of our club meetings and hone your communication and presentation skills in a friendly, supportive atmosphere.

Contact us for more details.

PUBLIC SPEAKING TIPS!

Public Speaking Tip!

Six Ways to Close Your Presentation

  1. Ask a rhetorical question.
  2. Review your points of wisdom.
  3. Challenge your audience.
  4. Call them to action.
  5. Revisit your opening.
  6. Let your last words linger.

Patricia Fripp

Some of your concerns answered!

“I'm frightened to death of giving presentations and speaking in public”

We all were once, believe me, but we’ve had no fatalities yet! We can’t emphasise enough that you will be supported at every stage by people who know how it feels and you will be allowed to progress at your own pace.

Sans Souci Speakers Club gives anyone from Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Redditch or the West Midlands the chance to make that progress. Take a look at our Fear of Public Speaking page to get some help with taming those butterflies.

“I just don't have the confidence”

Maybe….. maybe not, but we find that people somehow find their confidence after they’ve delivered a couple of speeches. Believe me, it’s all about practice.

“I have a regional accent”

Great! So have most of our members. Everyone thinks of Solihull as posh, but not us! Forget the old image of public speaking being a form of elocution, that went out with flared trousers and hot pants …. my apologies if you still wear flared trousers or hot pants!

You’d be pushed to find a regional accent not represented at Sans Souci Speakers Club. We’ve got members from Solihull, Birmingham, Coventry, Redditch and others from as far afield as Wales, Scotland and beyond.

“I don't know how to put a speech or a presentation together”

None of us did when we started, but the ASC (Association of Speakers Clubs) provides a manual which sets it all out in easy steps – “The Speakers Guide”. And anyway the more experienced members of the club are always there to give you advice.

Plus….. there is lots and lots of information available about public speaking and presentation skills, just take a look at our Courses and Resources page.

"I don't have the time to attend regularly”

That’s OK. Just come along when you have the time. Many members do exactly that.

For a full list of dates, take a look at our Venue and Dates page.

“I don't know if I'll like it”

No problem! Come along to a couple of our meetings as a guest and get a feel for things.

It won’t cost you a penny and it should give you time to make your mind up.

“Public Speaking courses are expensive”

Well yes….. and no. Public speaking and presentation skills courses can be expensive, but we are a non commercial non profit organisation and our membership fees are simply to cover the cost of room hire. For a full season, membership works out at about £5.00 a meeting!

More information over here at our Courses and resources page.

Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

Simply put….. the aim of Sans Souci Speakers Club (Solihull) is to enable you to speak in public, with confidence. If you want to improve your public speaking and presentation skills then contact us and come along to one of our regular meetings.

Contact usVenue and Dates