Do you enjoy watching great speeches, hearing great speakers and grasping great ideas? Do you want to get better at public speaking by learning from some of the best? Then welcome to Speech Club.

It’s like a book club, only we watch and listen to speeches rather than read books! From classic political speeches to TED talks, we enjoy a wide range of speeches – different topics, styles and structures. Some are world famous, some will be completely new. We examine what works, why it works and what we can take away. We also look at what doesn’t work, what could have been done differently and what we could apply to our own public speaking. 

Each month’s speech is publicised in advance so you have a chance to watch beforehand if you wish – or save it for Speech Club night! We watch the speech during the hour-long session then Steve Bustin leads the critique and discussion and invites participants to give their views. 

It’s not training or coaching, just an opportunity to enjoy watching some of the best speeches of our times and learn from some of the best speakers past and present, facilitated by a top public speaking coach, award-winning speaker and Immediate Past President of The Professional Speaking Association. 

Speech Club takes place on the last Wednesday of every month, 6pm-7pm and tickets are free but booking is necessary to get the Zoom link. 

Next event: Wednesday 24th April at 6pm

Scarlet Keys’ TED Talk – Why Do We Like Our Favourite Songs? 

Book your free ticket here

Previous Speech Clubs have watched:

• Jill Bolte-Taylor’s TED Talk: My Stroke of Insight
• Steve Jobs Launching the iPhone in 2007
• J.K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Speech
• President Obama’s 2008 Acceptance Speech
• Panti’s Noble Call at the Abbey Theatre
• Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | Tim Urban
• Jeanne Robertson|Don’t go to Vegas Without a Baptist
• Monica Lewinsky|The Price of Shame
• David Attenborough at the opening of COP26 World Leaders Summit
• Mia Mottley,Prime Minister of Barbados at the Opening of the COP26 World Leaders Summit
• John Bohannan’s TEDx talk, ‘A Modest Proposal’.
• Julian Clary’s honorary degree speech at UEA.
• Rik Mayal’s honorary doctorate speech at University of Exeter.
• Michelle Obama’s full speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
• Tom Daley’s speech to the Oxford Union.
• Martha Lane Fox speaking at Wired 2019.
• Madonna Woman of The Year Full Speech | Billboard Women in Music 2016.
• Julia Gillard misogyny speech.
• Tim Minchin’s 9 Life Lessons.
• Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing.
• Julian Treasure’s TED talk, How to talk so that people want to listen.
• The best stats you’ve ever seen | Hans Rosling’s TED Talk.
• Beyoncé Commencement Speech | Dear Class Of 2020.
• How Bette Midler Turned Hollywood Rejection into ‘The Divine Miss M’.
• TEDx Talk – The Good Life with Robert Waldinger.
• Dylan Alcott at TEDxYouth@Sydney, with his talk ‘The truth about growing up disabled’.
• Kate Winslet’s Full Speech on Body Image | WE Day UK 2017.
• Dame Stephanie Shirley’s TED Talk: Why do ambitious women have flat heads?
• Michael J. Fox Receives the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award | 13th Governors Awards
• Sarah Knight, The Magic of Not Giving a F*ck
• Billy Porter’s Powerful Hollywood Walk Of Fame Speech
• Emilie Wapnick’s TED talk on Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling
• Andrew Tarvin’s TED talk The Skill of Humor
• Dawn French’s Falmouth University Chancellor Installation Speech