Toastmasters World Tour
Welcome to my Toastmasters World Tour Podcast. I’m your host, Brendan O’Sullivan. Come with me as I embark on a virtual tour of the world chatting to Toastmasters. My tour starts at home chatting to potential Toastmasters at the very start of their journey, contemplating their first Toastmasters club visit. It then takes off to explore the globe on a quest to seek out Toastmasters from all walks of life, from every continent, and from all levels of experience, from novices to the best in the world. Let’s learn from and be inspired by their journeys!
Episodes
Did you know your Icebreaker speech doesn't have to be your whole life story?
In fact, it's usually better if it isn't. It's better to just share something interesting about yourself to break the ice.
If you want to hear an example of this in action, listen in to this episode where James employs the very interesting device of using song lyrics and applying it to lessons he's learn in his life. He uses the ...
Want to improve your public speaking but terrified of joining Toastmasters and actually doing it?
In this episode, I chat to my very first Toastmasters World Tour podcast guest, my brother-in-law James Caldwell who DID end up joining Toastmasters, to find out how reality compared to his expectations we discussed in episode 1
Hear James Caldwell's expectations in January 2026 when he was considering joining...
Imagine being told repeatedly as a child that you’re “good for nothing” by a trusted adult — a teacher.
It gets internalised. It gets believed. And it has lasting consequences. Consequences many don’t overcome.
So what an extraordinary person is this episode’s guest, Gurmeet Singh, who overcame this to be awarded 2nd place in the recent 2026 World Championship of Public...
Would you love to improve your public speaking but are still too young for Toastmasters?
Parents and grandparents, have you ever considered what a Toastmasters-like club could do not only for your child's/grandchild's public speaking, but also for their confidence?
Did you know such clubs exist? They're called Gavel Clubs and they cater for school-aged kids.
In this episode, I chat to 12-year-old Gave...
Can you bear the bare truth of what goes on behind the scenes at Toastmasters?
Be warned this is my first PG rated episode as Nicky reveals all.
What is it with Toastmasters and the number 3? Even at District Level we have "the trio" !
This is Part 2 of 2 of my chat with Nicky Jurd, fresh off her year as District 69 District Director from Cairns, Australia. Tune in to hear the bare truth of her favour...
What can you learn from a Toastmasters International District Director at the end of her term?
1] You don’t need to aspire to the role to benefit. Nicky Jurd never originally planned to become District Director. Like many leaders, she ended up there. Profit from what she learned along the way.
2] Leadership lessons that go beyond Toastmasters. The approaches she used with her team, her district, and difficult co...
Do you have a fear of public speaking? If you need inspiration for speaking to a large audience, look no further than 12 year old Charlie Priem. He recently performed the opening welcome address at our Toastmasters District Conference. Listen in to learn how he managed that at his tender age, and be inspired.
I hope you have enjoyed this Podcast episode. I'd love to hear your feedback, and any ideas or suggesti...
Would you be brave enough to take on the role of Convenor for a Toastmasters District level Conference? What about if you’d never even organised a club level contest, let alone Area or Division? How about it also required enticing a whole district to drive 2.5 hours from the nearest major centre, and much further for many others? Finally, would you ask your 12 year old son to open the Conference and would your...
Want to know how a Toastmasters District Champion prepares for the International Speech contest at the World Championship of Public Speaking? Today’s guest, Kimberly Harpur, recently won the New Zealand North District 112 [District 72 since July 1st] International Speech Contest and the video of that speech was also successful at the Quarterfinals, and thus she has progressed to the Semifinals at the World Cha...
Would you be game enough to agree to a Podcast interview if it was in your lunch break, impromptu, and you were brand new to Toastmasters? This episode's Toastmasters World Tour Podcast guest, Beryl Rachier is new to Toastmasters and, under no pressure, willingly agreed to a Podcast chat sprung on her with no warning at the end of an introductory mentor session. Let’s hear how she goes, her first impressions, ...
Did you know you can visit Toastmasters clubs overseas and will be warmly welcomed? Just use “Find a Club” on the Toastmasters International Website and check the meeting times.
Today's guest is the newly crowned District 69 Toastmaster of the year, Deb Barnett, who humbly discusses her surprise at receiving this prestigious award, and her recent Irish Toastmasters Club visits on her recent pre-crow...
Have you ever received unsolicited advice from a Toastmaster? How did you feel? Today’s guest, Heidi Hoynk recently competed in 3 Toastmasters District finals competitions, was 2nd place in 2, and was crowned District 69 Table Topics Champion. She shares her competition insights and also gives us reason to pause as she reflects on the potential impact of unsolicited advice immediately after competitions.
...
Should Toastmasters evolve and embrace technology? Or should it stick to it’s traditions? Today’s podcast guest, Óscar Nájera, is an experienced software developer. He’s developed an app to help improve the efficiency of Toastmasters contests which he’s generously willing to share at cost [not for profit]. While he eventually got approval to run a pilot in his own Area competition, which was ...
What opportunities are you foregoing due to a lack of confidence in public speaking?
You could either delay 10 years, like so many do, or Carpe diem ( Seize the day!!! ) and do something about it. We doctors learn so much from our patients. When David Simpson realised he’d been avoiding career opportunities due to his fear of public speaking, it was his patients’ suggestions of joining Toastmasters that f...
Do you realise that learning the skill of giving a good evaluation doesn’t just make you a great Toastmaster, but can make such a difference in our interpersonal relationships both at work [in turn helping advance our careers] and in our personal lives? Who better to learn from than a current reigning Toastmasters District Evaluation Contest Champion. Listen in to the concluding half of the same chat started i...
Young and want to turbo charge your career? I’ve met so many Toastmasters who say they wished they’d discovered Toastmasters decades earlier. Today’s guest, Nethmie Galla did join while young, joining while at University, and now at age 30 reflects on her career trajectory, attributing Toastmasters to expediting her career and landing her the job she loves. She was also the recent winner of the Dis...
Ever wondered what Toastmasters is all about and what it could do for you? As today's guest Urmi Hossain reveals, Toastmasters is about so much more than just public speaking. She has leveraged what she got from Toastmasters, and this has led to a lot of opportunities she didn’t expect. Growing up in Italy with Bengali Parents, Urmi overcame identity and interracial struggles to go on to succeed working in Mon...
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a public speaking guide book that was user friendly, can be read either cover to cover or in short spurts, with the ability to dive in at any point, and can be used as a reference? Now there is!! “Public Speaking from A-Z: The Speaker's Handbook for Powerful Presentations” written by Fursey Gotuaco. Fursey has spent most of his career as a teacher, teaching theatre...
Gifts! Who doesn’t love gifts? Aka points for improvement, these recommendations are gifts to the public speaker that the evaluator gives to help him/her improve. Listen in to today's episode for gifts Harriet Tinka [ 3 time District Evaluation Champion] also gives all prospective evaluators in the audience as she reflects on Episode 18’s Global Online Evaluation Contest.
I hope you have enjoyed thi...
Ever wondered how a Toastmaster feels about the evaluation of their Speech? How it is received? Listen in to todays podcast to hear Anthony’s reflections on both the evaluations and judging of his test speech in episode 18, as well as the feedback on the first paragraph of his new speech
I hope you have enjoyed this Podcast episode. I'd love to hear your feedback, and any ideas or suggestions for improvement. Y...
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