WELCOME TO CLEVELAND FORUM

Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month, from 12.30pm – 2pm.

Meeting location is the Cleveland Library Meeting Room, cnr Bloomfield Street and Middle Street Cleveland.

We work on a varied agenda so our members gain experience in many aspects of speaking.

Visitors are  most welcome to come as our guest.

Email: forum@beconfident.org.au

What others are saying …

I first joined Forum to gain some confidence to do best man speech at my friend’s wedding, the thought of getting up at such a big event in front of 120 people terrified me. The skills I learnt and opportunities available to put knowledge into practice was invaluable and I feel much more comfortable getting up in front of an audience in all situations than I did previously.  – Richard, Bayside Forum

Forum helped me in my career with speaking to clients and knowing how to highlight the main points of each project for their benefit and understanding. In my community I’ve been able to participate in meetings effectively and pass these skills to others. The people I’ve met in Forum have given me a greater knowledge of my community and how it works. – Pam, Cleveland Forum 

I was introduced to Forum by an amazingly helpful member whose guidance and mentoring helped me quickly see the importance of both speaking with confidence and being able to run an effective meeting in my role then as Retirement Living Officer.  Attaining and practising those skills meant that all avenues of my life changed and so many opportunities opened up.   I am forever grateful to Forum for its inspirational leaders and members.   – Elaine, Bayside Forum

Health and Safety

Please do not attend if you are experiencing any cold and flu symptoms.

Calendar of this session’s meetings – please note that many of our meetings include speeches AND learning segments to assist you to become a confident presenter

Every meeting is different. We have a main speaker to a set title with other members speaking to the same title. Some meetings we have 2 titles for members to stretch their ideas. Some speeches are serious, some investigative and some are a lot of fun. Be ready for plenty of intellectual rigour.

Every meeting includes small tutorials in speaking and meeting procedure with members taking turns to experience Chairing the meeting under instruction from an experienced member as required.

1st February 2024  
Speeches to the title Great Expectation will be included in this meeting.  Our main speaker is Pam S and all members are invited to participate with speeches up to 5 minutes.

15th February 2024 
This is our promotional meeting to showcase everything that Forum has to offer. The theme for the day is The Ever Open Door.  All visitors are welcome.

7th March 2024
We will be featuring Media Reviews today with Jane as our main speaker. You may present a review on any genre of your choosing e.g. a book, film, theatre, TV, podcast or TED talk

21st March 2024
We have a choice of speech titles today: My Favourite Blond or Changing Attitudes.  Meg is our main speaker and all members are invited to participate with speeches up to 5 minutes.

4th April 2024

This is a special meeting!  You may have read books on Public Speaking – and they may have helped you – but when you actually practice speaking in front of an audience you will be amazed at how much you can improve.  If you want to be a confident communicator who can speak easily in public, chair meetings with poise and influence others with your ability to speak clearly and concisely –  your opportunity to do this is here.  Cleveland Forum is holding a special open meeting on Thursday 4 April 2024 at the Cleveland Library from 12.30 – 2.15pm and invites you to come along and hear tips and tutorials focussing on how to improve your Public Speaking Skills.  You will also have you the opportunity to participate in some speaking exercises if you would like to.  Come along on the day to see what Forum can do for you – your Confident Tomorrow is just an email away! 

For more details on this special meeting please email Pam Tranter at: forum@beconfident.org.au

18th April 2024
This meeting will be all about LEARNING!  We will be featuring workshops and tutorials delivered by some of Forum’s most experienced presenters.

2nd May 2024
Show and Tell – bring a picture and tell us its story.  Manon is our main speaker today and all members are invited to participate.

16th May 2024
I Beg To Differ is the theme for today’s meeting, allowing members the opportunity to express opposing views on various subjects. Meg will be leading this meeting as our main speaker.

30th May 2024
We are having a social outing today – destination TBA!

6th June 2024
Today’s meeting will feature speeches to the title A Community Concern

20th June 2024
Annual General Meeting – this is a great opportunity for visitors to learn how to run an effective AGM.  Once the formalities are completed we will have a guest speaker plus an impromptu speaking segment.

4th July 2024
Blue Sky Thinking is the activity of trying to find completely new ideas.  It can also mean creative ideas that are not limited by current thinking of beliefs (this definition is from Collins Dictionary.com).  At today’s meeting our members will be presenting their own new and creative ideas related to issues that impact our communities.