The inspiration for this fun theme was from our chairperson, Ilona, who is originally from Russia. Ilona revealed shared that when she moved to Australia, she used the telly to help practice her English and accent. So, for our warm-up,…
Breaking the Ice x 2
We were thrilled to have two ice breaker speeches on October 14th from new members, Chris and Sylvia. An ice breaker is the first speech that a new member gives, when the speaker introduced herself or himself to the rest…

Nobody Asked Me, But…
We had a lively meeting on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 at St Kieran’s Manly Vale. Everyone was excited to be able to meet in person again. We welcomed three guests on the night – Therese, Erika and Louise. I was…

Pivot to Persevere – Toastmasters Manly Vale
The theme for our July 22, 2020 St Kieran’s Manly Vale Toastmasters meeting was “pivot”. Our chairperson chose this theme because we’ve all had to pivot our ways of life in the last few months thanks to COVID-19. We started…

Our First In-Person Meeting in 4 Months!
We had an excited group of Toastmasters at St Kieran’s Manly Vale on July 8th when we held our first in-person meeting in four months! The membership had voted to alternate having in-person and Zoom meetings. We had 14 members…
Learning Every Day
Toastmasters St Kieran’s Manly Vale had another, lively Zoom meeting with two very special guests on June 10, 2020. The theme of the meeting was “Learning every day” and our special guests were our outgoing Area Director, Adrian, and our…
Member Interview: Paul Gilchrist
Meet our VP Education, Paul Gilchrist. Paul is one of our long-term members, mentors and leaders at Toastmasters St Kieran’s. His story will inspire anyone who is more comfortable with technology and systems than communicating and speaking. Many people are…
What Does the Future Hold?
The theme for the Toastmasters St Kieran’s Manly Vale meeting on May 27, 2020 was, “What does the future hold?” A compelling question in this COVID-19 world and the perfect theme on a night when we had an icebreaker speech…

Member Interview: Karen Robertson
Member Since: September 2018 Why did you seek out Toastmasters? Unlike most people, I don’t have a fear of public speaking. In fact, I really enjoy it. At the time of joining, I was looking for a place to explore…
Composing Music for Film, Life Lessons and “Would you Rather?”
Toastmasters St Kieran’s had another fun Zoom meeting on Wednesday, 13 May, 2020. This was our third meeting on Zoom, since the social distancing started due to COVID-19. Meeting on Zoom has seen our members developing new skills and facing…