Concerned Black Men of Richmond held annual Public Speaking event at Franklin Military Academy with Toastmasters of Richmond

 

March 26, 2019

 

Greetings and salutations!

The Concerned Black Men of RVA held our annual “Public Speaking” event, Saturday, March 9^th.   It was held at Franklin Military Academy and conducted by Nancy Johnson and Jeanette Hall-Merritt from the Toastmasters of Richmond.

There were 13 youth and 6 mentors in attendance for this activity.  They started the event with an exercise where the boys were instructed to line up according to their birthdays without talking. This proved to be problematic until they noticed the calculator caddy in the room that made it a lot easier to complete.

Next, Jeanette talked about the importance of using gestures when speaking.  She showed how when used properly, they can really enhance your ability to convey a message.

 

They were then shown a video from the speech given by a Toastmasters Champion and discussed how he used gestures and as well as other techniques to deliver his message.

 

 

The boys were then given the opportunity to use what they were taught.  Each of them was instructed to pull a rock from a bag which had one word on it such as believe, hope and love.  They spoke for between one and two minutes and did an outstanding job!  Not to be out done by the boys, the mentors each had a chance to show what we could do.

The Concerned Black Men of RVA made the decision several years ago to incorporate this activity in our curriculum annually and we are seeing remarkable growth in the boys who consistently participate in this event.

 

 Thomas Cannon presented Nancy Johnson and Jeanette Hall-Merritt with one of our CBM mugs as we thanked them for continuing to assist us with this activity.

Afterwards we made our trek to Pizza Hut where the boys enjoyed some food for their hard work.

 

The Concerned Black Men of RVA would again thank each of you for your interest and contributions to our organization.  You play a major role in our mission to impact the youth that we serve with impactful activities to enhance their life skills and development. 

Thank you again!

Sincerely,
Timothy Mallory
President-CBM-RVA

Click Here to learn more about The Concerned Black Men of Richmond, Inc.

Click Here to learn more about becoming a Mentor.

Click Here to see how you can support our efforts to continue to care for our youth.