Friday, November 22, 2019

Online Toastmasters Clubs With Members Worldwide

Wherever you are in the world, at home or travelling on business or on holiday, you can join a Toastmasters club or visit one. Almost every country has a club, well over a hundred countries. If your country does not have a club, then visit one when travelling, and watch some of the international winners on line.

Photographs With Winners
Naturally you will want to be photographed with the winners at a local club in a contest. I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced. So, here I am with the 2019 club contest winners. I am the club president. The first place winner goes forward to the Area contest in 2020.


Angela, President of Braddell Heights Advanced, standing on the left, wearing a Toastmasters tee-shirt. Sylvia, cool and calm in blue, is seated on the left, was second runner up in two contests. Arinjay, standing on the right, in businesslike black jacket, was first runner up in both contest. Faith, seated, pretty and passionate in pink, seated on the right, was first place winner in two contests, the International Speech contest and the Table Topics (impromptu speeches) contest.

An area consists of four to six clubs in the same area.

When you meet one of the international winners, you will then recognize them and asked to be photographed with them. If they are selling a book, they will be only too happy to be photographed with you, showing their book.

I travel a lot and this year I have been a member of two basic clubs and one advanced club in London.


Flag of Singapore

Singapore
I belong to two advanced clubs in Singapore.

Singapore's Online Club
I have just joined an advanced online club in Singapore which has had people logging in from the USA, the UK and Sweden. I went to act as tally counter (collecting votes from the anonymous jusges) at a contest at Toastmasters Club of Singapore at the Sheraton Towers Hotel. I was one of two tally counters. The other was Alicia. She immediately said to me, "We were both on the online Toastmasters club last week!"


Online speakers Alicia (left) and Angela (right). We met online and later in person.
Flag of Malaysia


Malaysia
I have an invitation to visit a club near Johor Bahru, from four girls (young-looking mature ladies) at a club just aoutside JB. They were visiting a university alumni club in Singapore.

Back in Europe, I got myself invited to a club. 



Travelling In Europe
When my husband was on business in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, just before Christmas, we stayed on, thinking we would be all alonge and there would be no toastmassters clubs meeting during the christmas and new year period. Although I could see only a couple meeting during the holiday period, and I suspected even those which met would have cancelled their meetings because the public buildings would be closed, I wrote to six or seven clubs, all the ones in the city, just inc case they had moved a meeting or decided to holda a party in somebody's house and would be kinds enough to invite us. To our surprise and delight, after a blank two days, we unexpectedly got told that one of the clubs was having its usual meeting on the day after Xmas, the 26th, which in England is Boxing Day and a national holiday.

That club had members who were largely either expats or retired local people without large families keeping them busy. Although some of them would be busy, a core of between half a dozen or a dozen would be meeting and a couple more would make their small meeting bigger and more interesting. Even more suprising, on arrival we discovered that I already knew one of the members. He had attended a Toastmasters club meeting in Singapore when he was there and remembered me.

After the meeting we all went to a reasonably priced local restaurant in a large hall and they were able to help translate the vast menu and help us choose local specialities which were novelties to us and within our budget. I stayed in touch with an elderly gentleman, emailing about the English language intermittently, for several months.



Flag of the USA

The USA
In America there are online clubs speaking English and Spanish.

Singapore
One online club is bilingual. My club based online in Singapore is English speaking. Singapore also has bilingual clubs, and clubs speaking only in French, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil (an official language in Singapore and spoken in Southern India and Sri Lanka).

If you are interested in finding a club near you, at home or on holiday or a business trip, go to Toastmasters International Find A Club.

Useful Websites
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club

About theAuthor
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.


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