HUNDREDS of people have learned the art of public speaking through the Oxford Speakers’ Club.

Men and women from all walks of life have acquired the skills to speak confidently in front of an audience.

The club, which is 50 years old this year, was founded by John Packford, the proprietor of Hunt’s stationers, in Broad Street.

He thought it was important his salesmen knew how to talk properly when dealing with customers.

Originally an all-male group, it first met in the Royal Oxford Hotel, then after meeting in various hotels, church halls and the Oxford Union, settled in the board room at the Radcliffe Infirmary for nearly 20 years.

Since 2007, it has met in the old court-room at Oxford Town Hall.

At their meetings, members give prepared and unprepared talks, then their colleagues are invited to give verbal and written feedback, which they use to improve their performance in future.

Members come from a range of backgrounds – they have included bank managers, solicitors, clergymen, health workers, scientists and many more.

But it is not only their employers that have benefited.

As Andrew Moss, the club’s longest-serving member, observes, many have used the skills they have acquired to give speeches at weddings, funerals and other family gatherings.

Some have become so good that they have enjoyed success at national and international speech contests – Betty Norman, who later married a fellow club member and became Betty Gosnell, won the UK and Ireland speech contest and went to the US to take part in the world championships.

Members have also given instruction to inmates of local prisons, and on a lighter note, staged a pantomime competition with clubs from Bicester and Leamington Spa, with each club being judged on a 15-minute show.

The club’s success has prompted others to spring up in the county – there is now a second in Oxford and others in Abingdon, Bicester and North Oxford.

Mr Moss, of Croft Avenue, Kidlington, was prompted to join after being appointed press and public relations officer of the Oxford Regional Health Authority covering Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire.

Covering such a vast area was impossible for one person, so he needed to brief NHS colleagues on how to handle media and other inquiries.

The club, which now has more than 40 male and female members, celebrated its anniversary with a dinner at the Oxford Conference Centre, in Banbury Road.

Mr Moss tells me: “Ours is a thriving club with a proud history. It has been a fruitful journey from a handful of volunteers to an Internet age which has attracted a new and enthusiastic generation.

“We look forward to the future with confidence.”

  • To join the club or for more information, call Mr Moss on 01865 372399 or visit the club's website