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Member Spotlight: Interview with Kate

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Kate, what drew you to stepping into your first Toastmasters meeting?
I’ve always been aware of Toastmasters, my mum was a member whilst we were living in Cyprus in 1994, and I remember listening to her practice her speeches. Incredibly, that time still inspires her, as over Christmas she presented me with one of the props she painted 30 years ago! I loved the fact that she played with words to share her ideas and passions, and I wanted to experience that.

One of the key tips, when moving abroad (or anywhere) is to attend clubs to meet likeminded people so that it’s easier to make friends. And, so, when I moved to Southampton, Toastmasters was my first point of call.

You’re journey in Toastmasters has been a bit stop and start, can you share what brought you back this time?
Yes, in total I’ve been a member of Toastmasters for about 2.5 years. I started in 2011 and came for one year. In that job, I was on-call and therefore couldn’t put in the time into Toastmasters that I wanted to, and I only managed to do my icebreaker. The passion, joy and community that I felt from Hamwic Speakers carried with me, so I was delighted to have been invited to their 10 year anniversary. A small time to rekindle some friendships and meet new people, this time I attended for about a month or so… work was still a barrier for me. I did manage to attend a meeting in Montreal. Finally, having changed jobs, and was no longer on-call, I realised that I hadn’t progressed in my career as quickly as I wanted to and was healing from stress. With some reflection, and now available time, Toastmasters was a real possibility for me to practice skills, and increase my confidence in speaking and confidence in who I am (that had been stripped away). I am very chuffed to say that I’ve now been a member for almost a year’n’half, and looking forward to many more years.

How did you come to raising your hand to be president of Hamwic Speakers, what have been some of your most rewarding experiences? What initiatives or projects are you particularly proud of?
I took a leap. During the autumn contests, a district leader highlighted the district conference and mentioned the opportunity to support the conference organising team. I snapped the QR code. A few months later, I emailed Amy and that was that. Amy put me to work. Being a part of the conference team, was an incredible experience, I met so many people, it opened my eyes to all the opportunities that there are in Toastmasters and the vast experience that others have developed over their own journey. Because of this experience, and of the community at Hamwic Speakers, I felt that if I put my hand up to be president, I would be supported in the role and be pulled up if needed, and directed towards best course of actions.

There are so many rewarding experiences to name, I think the ones that stand up are those that I’m working with the committee and members on different activities. As president, I’m looking at the club members differently, I seeing how each one supports each other in their journeys and pathways, how each members have that passion for Toastmasters and want to share the tips they’ve come across. We celebrated Hamwic Speakers 15th Anniversary and we had all past presidents and old members come and be with us, such a joyous occasion.

You mentioned that you feel like you’re a lifelong advocate for Toastmasters. How do you incorporate this advocacy into your daily life or professional role?
I seem to always be on the look out to support people I meet, whether walking through my place of work, or with conversations within my job roles, I want to share with them the confidence that learning the skills of public speaking brings to their life. And, also a location to hear speeches that covers all sorts of topics that you wouldn’t even think about that helps in seeing the world through a different perspective.

Imagine a newbie walks into your club looking wide-eyed and hopeful. What’s the first piece of wisdom you’d offer them?
I typically bring the new member to the front, before the meeting starts, so that they can ‘feel the stage’, and feel what it’s like standing there. They get to have that initial shock of exposing themselves, but in a safe manner before all the eyes are on them and the silence is there. So, that if they get asked to a question, or be called up to do a table-topics they are already prepared (a tiny bit) for that initial shock and can breathe through it.

What strategies have you found effective in keeping club members engaged and motivated?
As a committee, our VP Education has been trying a new way of engaging with members. She is organising with members to take on the role of Toastmaster a few weeks before, and provide them with supporting material as they then encourage members to deliver speeches and take on the different roles. As we know the Toastmaster Wears Many Hats.  We also, encourage and celebrate the diversity of doing warm up, table topics in a different way. So, every meeting seems to be different each time and still structured! As a club, our yearly calendar includes doing a walk around our city centre, handover committee meeting at the park, a festive meeting, workshops etc.

What’s one Toastmasters milestone you’re itching to hit in the next year?
I’d love to finish my pathway! That early memory of only doing one speech that first year, continues to be my push to work through my pathway. I’ve enjoyed playing with the theme of each speech as I learn on basecamp. And, my second milestone, is being more confident at doing evaluations and humorous speeches.

What is one message you would like to share with the district that keeps you inspired and driven in Toastmasters?
Recently our Mentoring Officer gave an insightful speech with a graph that showed the level of energy needed to see progress in your personal public speaking goals, between someone who is inconsistent vs someone who is consistently delivering a speech or taking on a role. My message therefore, would be to put your name down each meeting to do something, or take on a committee role, because you only need a small amount of energy each time as you take those small increments.

Guiding Stars: Insights from Region 10 Advisor, Lilian Shaftacola, on Navigating Toastmasters’ Path to Excellence

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What does a Region Advisor do and how does your role ultimately benefit club members?

As the current Region 10 Advisor, I am using my experience to guide the leaders of our eight Districts as they navigate their way through this program year. My objective is to encourage them to develop innovative strategies that will ensure that their Districts achieve high member retention and club growth while maintaining high quality clubs that can add value to their members.

 

How do you recommend that clubs provide an enriching experience for their members?

The objective of a club should always be to find ways to support every single member and allow them to benefit from the best possible experience. I always advise the clubs to apply the moments of truth, they will never go wrong there. A few additional tips are: The club leaders should aim to be very inclusive, always providing a welcoming environment for guests and members alike. All present should be encouraged to speak up and participate during the meeting. There should be plenty of feedback, always delivered in a very supportive manner. It is also vital that a club ensures it is meeting its members’ needs (which could be changing over time). Therefore, I would suggest checking-in with them on a regular basis, to ask: “what is working, what could be done better?”

 

How did you first join Toastmasters and what has encouraged you to remain an active member after so many years?

Almost 25 years ago, I was invited by a friend to accompany them to a dinner on a Friday night. It seemed like a fairly standard invitation at first but then I realized that we were actually going to a club meeting to listen to people challenge themselves by delivering speeches. I had never heard of the Toastmasters organization before that night and I was very surprised to see so many people from different walks of life giving up their Friday evening to speak in public! I felt quite uncomfortable at first but I ended up being drawn in by the welcoming atmosphere and the multiple opportunities for growth offered. I am still active after so many years because my journey within Toastmasters has been such a rewarding one and I have loved every step of the way. While I did originally join solely to improve my public speaking skills, I have, over the years, also appreciated the leadership roles I have taken on that allowed me to develop further.

 

What motivates you to keep serving the organization and how do you stay connected to the member experience?

The Toastmasters organization has given me so much over the past years that I am really enjoying the opportunity to offer something back by finding ways to support others in their development. The mentoring experience remains an especially rewarding one for me and nothing makes me happier than seeing my mentees achieve their goals. I now have a number of mentees scattered throughout Europe and, of course, I am also working closely with the District Leaders in Region 10. At the same time, I love getting to know as many members as possible – over the last few months I have been fortunate to find myself spending time with many wonderful people. I am currently sponsoring a prospect club and I belong to two established, successful clubs in different Districts but I also love attending the meetings of other clubs. For example, when I was visiting London last week, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting four very different clubs, discussing with their members and listening to their views.

 

Leadership is a key aspect of Toastmasters. What advice would you give to members who are hesitant about stepping into leadership roles within their club?

There is so much value to be gained from stepping into such roles as you can apply the leadership lessons learned in Toastmasters to your professional life. Think of it as an opportunity to practice leadership skills in a safe, non-judgmental environment. What could be better? The beauty of it is that you never know where this leadership journey could end up taking you. Therefore, do not overthink it. Just say yes and go for the challenge!

 

Can you share a success story from a club that overcame challenges and became stronger? What could members learn from this?

I have in mind a certain club that catered mainly to an expatriate community within its country. Therefore, it would experience high turnover as a significant portion of its membership base would leave the country every year. At some point, this club found itself in a very precarious position with the original sponsors also having moved on. There were only 4 members left at that stage and there was very little interest from guests. Even the District leadership team had essentially written off the club but 2 of the remaining members really believed in it and fought to keep it alive. They first worked hard to diversify their membership base, encouraging more locals to join. They then held a number online sessions which allowed them to invite special guests from all over the world. For nine months they worked with dedication to achieve their goal of 20+ active members. Today the club is thriving again thanks to their enthusiasm and determination. The message here is that you do not need to have an army of people to save a club but you do have to have at least one person who genuinely cares and will fight for it.

 

Do you have any final words to share with members who are just starting out on their Toastmasters journey?

Dear new members, I envy you as you start out – you have such a great journey ahead of you, please do not waste one second of it. Do take on as many different roles as possible within the organization and ensure that you always have an experienced mentor by your side to support you. Just don’t give up and you will be amazed by what you will end up accomplishing. Trust me on this – during my twenty-five years as a member, I have seen the Toastmasters organization work its magic on so many people all over the world.

Toastmasters Recruitment Drive at South Croydon Jobs Fair

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On the 27th November 2024, a dedicated team in Division 8 put up a Toastmasters’ banner and raised awareness of the benefits of joining Toastmasters International. This was their third trip to Job Fairs by the Bridge in South London. The team spent three hours, talking and introducing attendees Toastmasters and how their speaking skills can develop and improve with our help. We look forward to meeting them at a club near you!

 

Here are some highlights and feedback from some of our members that served on the day:

Suzy Kearn ,VPPR  from Croydon Communicators :

The day was an enjoyable experience for both TM’s and potential guests. The event was packed and a great opportunity to get Toastmasters known and possible new members, now or in the future.

 

 

Sabeer the Division B8 Area Director had this to say:

It has been an amazing experience for me. The teamwork was incredible and time went by so quickly and the  best part was we were all having a great time, engaging/ talking with participants at the job fair. I was surprised to learn that not many people knew about Toastmaster which would make it a perfect reason why we were there.

Overall, been an amazing experience for me and thank you for having me.

Wendy Gibson VPE from Purley Speakers had this to say.

Positive Takeaways:

  • High Attendance: The event was well-attended, providing plenty of opportunities to engage with a diverse group of potential new members.
  • Effective Teamwork: Our team worked seamlessly together, with everyone contributing positively to the event. We were able to engage attendees without anyone needing to wait for attention, thanks to our well-staffed table.
  • Positive Energy and Engagement: We arrived with enthusiasm and maintained a friendly, approachable attitude throughout the day. This helped us make meaningful connections, and we successfully gathered numerous contact details.
  • Strong Collaboration Across Clubs: It was a great opportunity to meet members from other clubs and work together as a unified team. Despite being new to each other, we gelled quickly, making the event enjoyable and productive
  • Slow Foot Traffic as an Advantage: The crowded corridor slowed the pace of attendees, which gave us more time to capture their attention and engage with them, ensuring we spoke to more people than we might have otherwise.

Challenges:

  • Limited Space: The small table and lack of seating made it difficult to organise materials and rest comfortably. However, this did encourage more standing interactions, which could be seen as an advantage in making our table more approachable.

This was a super event, and we hope to do many more of these in the future, and to continue to inspire everyone around us.  Are you inspired to do similar at your local business fair?