About us

Our club

Toast of Broadway is a friendly and supportive club that’s focused on helping you become a great communicator and leader.

The club was started in 1996 and has been meeting every two weeks since. We welcome members of all backgrounds who are aged 18 or above.

Our members come from a wide range of backgrounds and fields and also represent a wide age group. A fun and relaxed environment has seen our numbers continue to grow.

We are “Toast of Broadway” in District 112,
Division M, Area M2. Our Club number is 7453

Toastmasters International

Toastmasters was founded in 1924 at the Santa Ana YMCA in California by a youth leader named Ralph Smedley. He wanted to teach young professionals how to give after-dinner speeches and toasts at social functions.

Toastmasters International’s network consists of over 15,000 clubs that meet in 135 countries across the globe.

For more information visit these websites: toastmasters.org.nz & toastmasters.org

Meet our members

Jafar

Treasurer / VP Education

I joined Toastmasters in 2017 with a goal to be able to communicate my message clearly to people when speaking and enhance my public speaking skills. Toastmasters offered me a learning pathway as a persuasive speaker that helps me improve my ability to persuade people in negotiations and justifying my position. This has help in my day-to-day life as well as in my career as an Accountant.

In my spare time I enjoy spending time in nature and often seek opportunities to travel to places for mindful walking and exploring.

Jon

I’ve been a member since October 2016. I have a small business building websites for companies around NZ. This club has helped me face my fear of public speaking, and I love seeing myself and other members growing.

Andrew

Secretary

Claire

I’m Claire, a PhD researcher studying structural and earthquake engineering. I joined Toastmasters so that I can communicate my research better, especially to non-engineers. Ultimately, I want to be able to talk to people about earthquake engineering without making them fall asleep.

 

Toastmasters aside, I also like baking, arts and crafts, yoga and meditation.

Cindy

I first found out about Toastmasters many years ago from a friend who was in the club at university and I attended a few sessions as a guest. While I have always wanted to improve my public speaking skills, the idea of having to speak in front of a large group of strangers was just too daunting. Eventually, I realised the importance of being a good speaker and communicating effectively after entering the workforce, and summoned the courage to join Toast of Broadway.

 

The first session was nerve-wracking, being in a room of strangers and not really knowing what to expect. However, I soon learnt it was in fact a very welcoming space, nothing like the intimidating scenario I had initially imagined. I now look forward to attending the fortnightly sessions, where I get to participate in different roles, learn from the other members, all while being surrounded by a group of friendly people.

Helen

I decided to join Toast of Broadway after a couple of visits as a guest. I found the club to be really supportive and friendly. The members are from diverse backgrounds and they have different styles of communication, which helps to broaden my own perspective.

 

As I am now a Toastmaster, my goal is to gain confidence in public speaking and to become a competent communicator.

 

I am a software developer and I enjoy travel, cooking, and learning about Asian/European cuisines.

Danielle

Before joining Toast of Broadway I would freak out any time I had to do any type of public speaking. I always thought “man, if only they knew what I was trying to say”. My nervousness always held me back…

 

Fast forward four years later I’m now the Prime Minister of New Zealand!!!! Jokes not quite as good as Aunty Cindy. Seriously though, joining Toastmasters was one of the best decisions I’ve made to gain self confidence and improve my presenting skills, something so important working in HR. Trust me when I say; take the first step, come along, face your fears and stop freaking out like I used to.

Michael

Clarence

President

I am a veteran Toastmaster of 2 and half years. Toastmasters is a big part of my life as I strive to improve in my communication skills, this being key for me as a chiropractor where showing compassion and heart to care for my patients is so important.

My next goal with Toastmasters is to use my communication skills to also develop my leadership abilities, one of the reasons I took on the role of Club President for Toast of Broadway. Outside of Toastmasters, I do Olympic weightlifting out in Papatoetoe.

Maria

Member since May 2019. I see every meeting and role as a great experience to go out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. My purpose is not only to become a more effective communicator, it is also to enjoy the opportunity to share with a great bunch of smart people. Our passion for providing well-structured and vibrant speeches that catch the audience’s attention.

Alla

My name is Alla, I was born and raised in Moscow. I now live in Auckland and work as an account manager in a Digital Agency. The main parts of my role are client meetings and presentations. When I just started this career in 2017, I felt insecure about my English speaking skills and especially presenting in front of clients.

 

A year ago, in 2019 I joined Toastmasters to improve my presentation skills and also find friends. Toast of Broadway helped me with both! Six months after I started going to Toastmasters I had a job offer for a much more senior role. Now I do presentations pitching to massive multinational companies and I feel confident doing it. I often need to come up with good answers for difficult questions on the spot – thanks to toastmasters I can do that 🙂

Hani

Sergeant-at-Arms

Description coming soon!

Lucy

I’m Lucy and I am an Animal Trainer-Presenter at Auckland Zoo as well as a Guest Experience Host at Kelly Tarltons.  I joined Toastmasters to improve my impromptu speaking skills.  Working with animals, you never know what is going to happen!
 
In my spare time, I love languages, food & travel and I also train in Aikido.

Neelam

VP Membership

Sachin

Hi, I am Sachin Sindhu, one of my friends who has outstanding communication skills and who is a great inspiration for me, recommended I join Toastmaster. He was a member of Toastmasters for several years and he told me how much Toastmaster has helped him in his journey, so I decided to give it a shot.

A major part of my job includes meeting new clients and giving presentations. However, often I do not feel comfortable speaking in front of the public, my goal is to overcome this fear and improve my Public Speaking and Leadership skills.

Rimma

I am a simple Russian girl who made New Zealand a second home seven years ago. Professionally, I have a financial audit background. Currently I work as a Finance Manager for Gleeson Group.

 

I became passionate about personal development and growth a few years ago. As part of this journey I create a new challenge every year. There are two requirements for each challenge  – learning a new skill and getting out of the comfort zone. In addition, I would like to become a life coach one day to help others to transform their lives. Being a confident public speaker and effective communicator sounded like a good challenge and essential tool in achieving my future goals. All these puzzle pieces came together and here I am; a member of the Toast of Broadway club.

 

In my spare time, I love dancing, reading books, enjoying art and cultural events and exploring nature.

Rasha

VP Public Relations

Keith

I used to dislike being in the centre of attention – so I would rarely speak in meetings, let alone doing public presentations.

 

I began to think to myself, while I can live without doing a single presentation in my life, I know I would miss out if I don’t learn to express myself. I have taken a step-by-step approach to work on this. I started with posting weekly videos on YouTube, then a few months later I felt ready to step up my game so I decided to join Toastmasters.

 

I work in a Tech company, in my spare time I practice Taekwon-Do, do workouts and of course, make videos for my Youtube channel.

Will

Dawood

Annabel

Claudia

Dan