Meet A Toastmaster

I’m a proud member of City of London Toastmasters, a club that has become a cornerstone of my personal and professional growth. Toastmasters, with its warm and supportive environment, has given me the platform to build confidence, refine my communication skills, and grow as a leader. While I work in the tech industry forging global partnerships, Toastmasters has helped me to communicate ideas, influence others, and speak with conviction. It’s the training ground where I’ve learned to turn thoughts into impactful words. 

My Toastmasters journey began after a humbling moment. A few years ago, I was invited back to my engineering college as the Chief Guest for an annual event. Standing on stage in front of 200 students, I wanted to inspire—but instead, I overwhelmed them with technology jargon that flew over their heads. That experience stayed with me. It sparked a desire to improve how I connect with an audience, to speak from the heart, and to share ideas in a way that truly resonates. 

Since joining Toastmasters, I’ve embraced every opportunity to grow. I remember the first role that I took up –  timekeeper, nervously clicking on the timer buttons. From there, I gradually stepped into other meeting roles and began giving speeches. As my confidence grew, I organised contests and eventually hosted meetings as the Toastmaster of the Day. One of my proudest moments was serving as the Master of Ceremonies at an event —a role that tested my presence, preparation, and ability to keep an audience engaged from start to finish. These experiences helped me shed my stage fear and equipped me with the tools to speak more fluently. 

Toastmasters has given me much more than just public speaking. It’s helped me develop as a leader. I currently serve as the Vice President Public Relations for City of London Toastmasters, where I’m responsible for communicating the club’s activities, celebrating member milestones, and maintaining a vibrant presence through newsletters, social media, and promotional content.  

At the district level, I also serve as the Incentive Lead. In this role, I work closely with the Club Growth and Marketing teams, analysing data, announcing award/incentive winners, and ensuring clubs know how to cash in their achievements. It’s a role that demands both attention to detail and strategic thinking, analytical skills that I now apply even in my professional life. These leadership roles have given me not only valuable experience but also the confidence to lead, support, and influence others, even beyond Toastmasters. 

“Sometimes, the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Keep walking.”

Three years ago, I took what I thought was a small step — I joined a corporate Toastmasters club under District 121 in India, simply to improve my communication and leadership skills. I started as a quiet member, not knowing that this very decision would one day become the foundation of my entire personal and professional transformation.

Back then, I juggled work responsibilities and Toastmasters meetings. It wasn’t easy. But with every role I took — from Vice President Membership to Vice President Education, and eventually President of the club — I grew. Not just in title, but in confidence, in resilience, and in purpose. Even after my term ended, I stayed on as a mentor, because Toastmasters had become more than just a club. It became my training ground for life. I was managing a full-time job, juggling deadlines, and trying to find myself — and still, I showed up for Toastmasters. Why? Because it gave me something no classroom or job ever had: a belief in myself.

1.5 years ago, I made one of the most difficult decisions of my life — I moved to the UK for my master’s degree. Leaving behind everything familiar, I landed in a new country, surrounded by a new culture, with new struggles and endless uncertainties. Life wasn’t easy. It was messy. It was overwhelming.

And yet, I knew exactly what I had to do: find a Toastmasters club.

I joined Surbiton Speakers Club (Area D53, Division D, District 91) almost immediately. While others were still unpacking, I was stepping onto the stage again — because that’s where I felt strongest. Even though I was drowning in assignments, working part-time jobs, navigating visa pressures, and battling homesickness, I still showed up.

A few months later, I became Area Director for Area D53. It felt surreal — a newcomer in a foreign land, now leading leaders. But Toastmasters didn’t care about my accent, my passport, or my background. It only cared about my willingness to grow. And through that role, I built deep connections, found mentors, and more importantly — found myself again.

The UK job market is no joke. Rejections pile up. Doubts creep in. But when I sat across from the interviewers, I spoke with clarity, confidence, and authenticity — because I had been practicing for this moment in every Toastmasters meeting. Every Table Topic was a mini-interview. Every speech, a pitch. Every leadership role, a preparation for the real world. And they worked.

And then, one day, the call came. I got the job. Right after my master’s. And I know, in my heart, that Toastmasters was the reason I was ready. To every student reading this, every job seeker wondering if they’ll ever “make it” — let me tell you this:

-> You will feel lost.
-> You will doubt yourself.
-> You will feel like giving up.

But please — don’t. Just take one small step. Join that meeting. Say yes to that role. Deliver that shaky speech. Show up for yourself, even when no one else does. Because one day, when you’re standing on the other side — proud, confident, and employed — you’ll realize: Toastmasters didn’t just teach you to speak. It taught you to live.

I am who I am today — because of Toastmasters. And that’s why, wherever I go, I carry its message with pride. It’s not just a club. It’s a lifeline. Life will be tough. But growth happens in discomfort. Hard work might not pay off immediately — but it always does, eventually. I managed my studies, my part-time job, my life, and still made time for Toastmasters. And today, I stand proud — not because it was easy, but because I never gave up.

Thank you, Toastmasters, for turning my quiet voice into a confident one, and my fear into leadership.

With gratitude,
Jeevan George John
Vice President of Education
Surbiton Speakers Club, Area D53, Division D, District 91

This Toastmasters year I am the Club Mentor Lead. I help appoint and support club mentors, who guide newly chartered clubs to become sustainable ones.

I joined Toastmasters exactly seven years ago. Like many Toastmasters, I joined because I wanted to overcome my fear of public speaking and become a better speaker. Public speaking was something I avoided ever since school. This all changed when I became a member of my club, Society Speakers, based in King’s Cross.

The friendly welcome I received from my fellow members was just what I needed to begin my Toastmasters journey. I liked, and still do like, being able to sign up for roles in advance and prepare for them. I enjoyed the meetings and could see a huge difference in my confidence and public speaking skills in just a few months. I have barely missed a meeting ever since!

I soon received my first taste of leadership when, six months after I joined, our Club Vice President of Education had to step down and I took on the role. I enjoyed playing such a central role in the club and organising our meetings. It helped me enjoy the success of my fellow members even more.

At the end of that Toastmasters year, I moved from Club Vice President of Education to Club President. Representing the club, helped open a whole new world of Toastmasters outside of my club and made me appreciate the opportunities to meet and learn with fantastic Toastmasters all over District 91.

In my career, as a civil engineer, I was working towards becoming professionally qualified. I had struggled to pass the final round interview to becoming professionally qualified and failed twice. It was then I realised I had to utilise what I had learned in Toastmasters and harnessed the confidence I gained from seeing my leadership and communication skills improve.

I sat my interview for a third time and passed. This has allowed my career to get moving and I have managed to be promoted twice and find a new job in the past four years.

Seeing how Toastmasters has given so much to me, I became determined to play my part in helping others experience the same benefits I have. I became an Area Director in July 2022 and a Division Director the following Toastmasters year. Those roles pushed me to meet and form connections with Toastmasters and their clubs which were completely new to me. It was a big challenge for me and I learned a lot.

I enjoyed meeting all of those Toastmasters, organising contests and organising club officer training. Better still was the support from other Toastmasters, whether that was giving me advice, taking roles or supporting contests.

This Toastmasters year, I am the Club Mentor Lead on the District 91 Club Growth team. I jumped at the opportunity when it came up! Being able to rub off that Toastmasters magic on entire clubs full of Toastmasters, instead of just individual Toastmasters, sounded incredible.

The Club Mentors I have been working with are passing on their expertise to brand-new Toastmasters and making a huge difference. Joining Toastmasters was transformational for me and I think of the Toastmasters before me who founded my club and how I might not have become a Toastmaster without them. That is what I think is special about new Toastmasters clubs starting now. It is not only about the founding members, but also all of the Toastmasters who will ever join the club.

If supporting a newly chartered club as a Club Mentor sounds like something you might be interested in then please get in touch here and I will be more than happy to speak to you.

When I walked into my first Toastmasters meeting in 2021 at CS Relentless Toastmasters in Ghana, I had no idea how much it would shape my personal and professional growth. I was looking for a space to refine my communication skills, but what I found was a community that inspired me to grow in ways I never expected.

Stepping into leadership roles early on—first as Vice President Membership, then as Club President—challenged me to think beyond my own development. I learned how to support others, foster a welcoming environment, and work with a team to build something bigger than myself. The experience honed my leadership skills and gave me a deeper appreciation for mentorship and collaboration. Completing two Toastmasters pathways—Presentation Mastery and Dynamic Leadership—was another milestone, reinforcing my confidence and ability to express my ideas with clarity.

Relocating to the UK was a new chapter in 2023, and I knew I wanted to stay connected to Toastmasters. Becoming part of Central London Toastmasters and serving on the District 91 Leadership Team has been incredibly fulfilling. As Marketing Lead under the Club Growth Director Team, I’ve worked on exciting initiatives—from partnering with universities to leading Facebook ads and Tube campaigns that introduce more people to the power of Toastmasters. Each project has been a reminder of what this community represents: opportunity, empowerment, and limitless growth.

One of the things I value most about Toastmasters is its inclusive and supportive nature. No matter your age, background, or experience level, this is a space where you can discover your potential. I encourage young professionals to take that first step—invest in yourself, challenge yourself, and watch how Toastmasters transforms you.

Looking back, I see how much I’ve grown, and I know the journey is far from over. Toastmasters isn’t just about public speaking—it’s about becoming the best version of yourself.

I often wonder why fellow toastmasters don’t enter contests – only it seems like such an obvious thing to do to refine our skill.  Should you enter? Of course you should, but what do you stand to gain?

It was so obvious to me to enter one year – I thought it would be easy – and then I failed spectacularly and unexpectedly. It’s quite normal for a table topic to go horribly wrong or for the speaker to sit down half way through. It’s not so common in a club speech, and even less common in a contest speech. Three minutes in I put my hand up and told the contest chair I’d had enough, and was going to sit down. I really had. The contest had brought out the worst in me – a lack of preparation, and an attempt to deliver an emotional speech from my childhood really hit home.

Emotionally, the speech had the desired effect on me, but not my audience. The message I was hoping to deliver to my audience hit me the hardest, and I dried up, memory gone, a few garbled sentences later and I was done. Should I attempt a rescue and get back on track, or stop my speech right there in the middle? Usually I would always choose the former. Pause, breathe, and deliver the rest of the speech of the cuff – or find a way get back on track.  When a speech goes wrong like this the audience don’t know if you transition in to something more like a table topic. You then appear to be confident and in control. To pull this one off I would need to be in a happy smiley place (my top tips for Table Topics are to smile and be happy). I was agitated and emotional, and that was my downfall. My rehearsal time spent yapping into a mirror did not have the same emotional impact that I experienced from a real audience. And my lack of preparation showed. My nerves loaded the gun and emotion pulled the trigger. 

The best bit about these experiences is what you can learn from them. I don’t think I could have prepared for this because I didn’t even know it could happen. And that’s why we enter the contest, so that we can prepare better for the next contest, and fulfil our goals as accomplished toastmasters.

For me speech contests are the biggest bang for your buck at Toastmasters. They accelerate learning and the ability to deliver speeches confidently in all scenarios. They can provide you with the world’s greatest confidence boost, or the world’s greatest wake-up call. Which will it be? There’s only one way to find out…

Patrick Thomas
VPM – Farnham Speakers Club