THERE was a change of venue and focus for members as they took part in the Midlands Area's Speech and Evaluation Contest at Knowle.

Each year, the National Association of Speakers Club organises a nationwide competition to find the ''best'' speaker.

The competition is arranged through a series of rounds, starting at club level, progressing to area and district level to the final held together at the association conference. In the Midlands area, there are five clubs which came together on Friday, January 29, to select the two people to represent the region.

Five speeches - covering a range of subjects from lingerie to cold calling - provided a lively, entertaining evening.

A panel of judges selected John Kemp from the Yardley Club as the worthy winner.

Running alongside the speech contest was the evaluation contest.

Five members listened intently to a speech by Melvin Evans and were tasked to evaluate him, giving him praise and constructive advice. Keith Davis from the Sans Souci club was judged the winner of this contest.

While the Redditch club did not produce the ''winners'', members who took part were pleased to be runners-up for both competitions and appreciative of the experience gained by taking part.

The national association's annual conference will be held in Hinckley in April so the Midland clubs will be active in managing it.

Redditch Speakers Club meets alternate Tuesdays at the Quality Hotel at 7.30pm.

Members and visitors are welcome to come along or take a look at the website redditchspeakersclub.co.uk

The latest club meeting was dedicated to an educational session. While speaking is a major part of the club's activities, the skill of listening is also an important part.

The club was fortunate to listen to Dilwyn Scott, past national president and currently Midlands area president, giving a seminar on the skill of listening and evaluating a speaker.

A successful speech has to address many elements and it is the evaluator's job to watch and listen to the speaker and identify where the speech has excelled and where it could be improved.

Dilwyn gave members clear guidance on how to go about the task of evaluation, which was beneficial to both new and older members.

Dilwyn then put his theory into practice by evaluating a member of the club and invited members to do the same.

A feedback session concluded the evening when members compared their evaluations.

The next meeting on February 15 at will be a normal club evening.

On March 1 the club will host a debate when other clubs, members and friends are invited to join in a debate - another skill of speaking. The topic will be considering the 24-hour opening of licensed premises.

For more details, call Jim Fitzpatrick on 63596.