Prague Business Toastmasters

New week, new beginning.
And at every beginning, you are a beginner. 🎤🔥

Tomorrow at Prague Business Toastmasters we’ll explore the theme “Beginners” with our Toastmaster of the Evening, Lukáš Liebich.

Because nobody starts as an expert. Every confident speaker once had their first speech, first awkward Table Topics answer, or first moment of “why am I doing this to myself?” 😅

The best way to start a new week?
Try something new. Say yes to a challenge.

📍 YMCA Palace, Blue Sky room, 6th floor, Prague
🕖 Monday at 7 PM

For some people, Toastmasters might seem like it’s all about serious stuff.
Public speaking. Perfect communication. Polished presentations.

But sometimes… it’s more about having fun, hanging out, and shooting each other.
(With laser guns. Relax 😄)

Lately, everywhere you look, you’re being spammed with the phrase “be part of a community.”

And honestly? Most of the time it’s just a phrase without real meaning.

How does it actually work in Toastmasters?
👉 Regular meetings on Mondays at 7PM
👉 Quick pub hangouts afterward
👉 Voluntary brunches, trips, and random events - announced in our group chat
👉 If you want to organize something, you just do it.

No pressure. Just people doing stuff together if they feel like it.

This Thursday, Thorsten Stockner from Goood Morning Toastmasters Prague organized a laser tag event. Twelve of us went straight into battle.

Honestly? I haven’t done anything like that since high school.

There’s something so refreshing about just doing stuff. About running around with a laser gun and not having to think about what you’re going to say next. Just clearing your head with the thrill. I didn’t expect my heart rate to go that high because of a public speaking club :)

It was a total blast. Thanks Thor for setting it up! 🔫

Want to see what we're actually about? Come visit us on Monday at our regular meeting:
📍 7:00 PM
📍 YMCA Palace, 5th Floor (Red Velvet Room)

As always, representation of PBT can't be missing at the Division Contest! 🎤

👉 It’s safe to say it’s becoming a tradition – PBT is always represented at the Division Contest!

And this year, it was in the hands of Lukáš Liebich and Soňa Nováková.

Soňa represented us in International Speeches. And I have to add… she has been a PBT member only since December!! It’s absolutely incredible that she made it all the way to Division. Just think about where you were after your first three months in Toastmasters. Nothing but respect. 🙌

Lukáš Liebich took over the evaluation stage, placing 1st in English Evaluation and 2nd in Czech Evaluation. He’s simply a beast. And honestly, there is no such thing as “too much Lukáš on stage” – he always finds a way to sneak in a little joke, even into his evaluations.

His results also mean he made the cut to represent us internationally in Split – in Evaluation and Table Topics!

Results:

International Speeches:
🥇 Thorsten Stockner
🥈 Daniel Grancak
🥉 Marek Dzurilla

International Evaluation:
🥇 Lukas Liebich
🥈 Thorsten Stockner
🥉 Lenka Kocifajova

CZ/SK Speech:
🥇 Andrej Beseda
🥈 Anna Sears
🥉 Helena Nova

CZ/SK Evaluation:
🥇 Lubos Bahorec
🥈 Lukas Liebich
🥉 Lenka Kocifajova

Congratulations to all the speakers – you were amazing! 🏆✨

👉 Photos by Jiří Kaláček 📸 thank you for the incredible photos and for designing the beautiful trophies. They will surely be proudly admired on many shelves for a long time.

Everyone is getting feedback. Even officers.
Last week, PBT held a Moments of Truth session.

A space where members give feedback on what works and what we can improve. Because more perspectives always lead to better decisions.

But who are “officers”? Just people with fancy red name tags and coffee meetings? ☕

Not really.

Officers are the team that puts in extra work behind the scenes to keep the club running.

👤 President – Jan Piskáček
Leads the club, sets direction, and keeps everything on track.

🎓 Vice President Education – Natália Kováčová
🎓 Co-Vice President Education – Romana Macurová
Manages the educational program, schedules speeches, and tracks member progress.

🤝 Vice President Membership – Jakub Provazník
Brings in new members and takes care of their onboarding.

📣 Vice President Public Relations – Žofie Košťálková (me :))
Handles marketing, social media, and communication to attract guests.

📝 Secretary – Vítězslav Kašpar
Keeps records, meeting minutes, and club documents organized.

💰 Treasurer – Ondřej Koščo
Manages finances and membership payments.

🎤 Sergeant at Arms – Michael Strohbach
Prepares the meeting space and keeps everything running smoothly.

🧭 Immediate Past President – Mike Smith
Supports the president with experience and continuity.

🙏 Thanks to the officers, the club runs the way it does.

💬 And thanks to all members for the honest and thoughtful feedback. We truly take it seriously and use it to keep improving.

🎤 Let’s start the week with public speaking!

Join us tomorrow for another Prague Business Toastmasters meeting.

You can look forward to:
🗣 Vítězslav Kašpar with a speech “The C.I.A. Every Day”
🎙 Two speeches from Toastmasters veterans Mike Smith and Lukáš Liebich

And here are the results from last week’s meeting:
🏆 Best Speaker: Ursula Weiss
🏆 Best Table Topics: Mike Smith
🏆 Best Table Topics: Soňa Nováková
🏆 Best Evaluator: Lukáš Liebich

📍 Where: YMCA Palace, Velvet Room (5th floor), Na Poříčí 12, Prague
🕖 When: Monday at 7:00 PM

Guests are always welcome. Come listen, learn, and maybe even feel inspired to take the stage yourself! 🎤

Last Monday at PBT: Contest Night! 🏆

It was fascinating that so many speeches were about self-discovery and pushing your own limits. We especially enjoyed Natalia’s speech about the "pancake theory" – a very cool way to look at relationships!

And Olga Rudakova came back to Toastmasters after a 5-year break and absolutely dominated both categories

Speech:
🥇 Olga Rudakova
🥈 Soňa Nováková
🥉 Romana Macurová
Evaluation:
🥇 Olga Rudakova
🥈 Jakub Provazník
🥉 Jan Borský

Huge shoutout to Soňa Nováková, our newest member since December, who will be representing PBT at the Area contest! 🚀

Congratulations to all contestants for their courage, preparation, and great performances! 🎉

Thanks to everyone who organized, competed, or came to watch.

At our last meeting, we explored the theme of Personal Growth in Toastmasters.

Our Toastmaster of the Day, Jan Piskacek, asked a simple but powerful question:
“How has Toastmasters helped you grow?”

We heard some inspiring and even unexpected answers 😄:
✨ Becoming a more confident speaker
✨ Finding my voice at places where I felt silenced before
✨ Discovering that growth happens when you show up before you are ready
✨ Giving more effective feedback
✨ Finding my leadership style
✨ And yes… even gaining 2 kg since joining Toastmasters!

In Toastmasters, we wear many hats. We’re not just speakers, we’re also listeners, evaluators, moderators, event organizers, and team leaders. Each role is an opportunity to experiment, challenge ourselves, and grow in a supportive and safe environment.

👉 How would you like to grow?
Come visit us to see if Toastmasters can support you on your journey.

We meet every Monday, 19:00-21:00 at Palác YMCA - Na Poříčí 1041/12, Prague. Guests are always welcome.

Are you tired that every time you give someone advice, it sounds cocky or arrogant? 😰 You try to help and still end up looking like the bad guy... 🤦‍♀️

Or do you just want to win the blue Best Evaluator Ribbon every meeting? 🏆
(Studies even show these make you 10x more attractive and interesting...🥵)

Stop waiting. Let’s make it happen!

👉 Join the EVALUATION MASTER CLASS with Mike Smith & Katalin Csitári

🗓 This Tuesday
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 YMCA Palace Prague
Na Poříčí 12, 110 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic

🔗 Register here and read more👇:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHwAhHiU3vSHTA_kKwFcEnj8o95Q2AGh5JqnDXR-VoASOrMg/viewform?fbclid=IwY2xjawP2C9lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBTdnNmVEFPRHl1ZFhzNG5Pc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrRo0foxLJVWS68-LbkqHPH4XNiYZq6Hk4xAADFMDuCvOfQFHa87buGz2aM4_aem_rOohLgBP6CHr18lND4BHCQ

A great speech doesn’t start with “Hello everyone.”
It starts with a hook that ignites attention and an address that makes the audience feel seen.

That’s exactly why our meeting theme tomorrow is Hook & Addressing.
You can look forward to these prepared speeches:

🎤 Jana Sujanska opens the meeting with her Icebreaker
introducing herself to the club in her very first official speech.
🎤 Soňa Nováková follows with Playfulness
🎤 Natália Kováčová presents PBT Split Adventure

Come and see how our speakers will ignite the room 🔥
📍 Where: YMCA Palace, Velvet Room
🕖 When: Tomorrow at 7:00 PM

TINDER.
That was our meeting theme.
If you weren’t there, you’re not alone. I missed this meeting as VPPR, and so did many of our readers.
So I asked our Toastmaster of the Day, Lukas Liebich, a few quick questions to give you a glimpse of what you missed.

❓Why did you choose such an unusual topic for the meeting?

Lukáš: You’re right that its’not a typical topic for our business club.
At the same time: A big part of our members are single and familiar with the dating world. I thought why not do a fun topic for once, something everyone can relate to?

❓Tinder is a very broad subject. What was the meeting mainly about?

Lukáš: I asked every person who had a speaking role to share their hypothetical (or real) Tinder Bio with me. Then I would use it when introducing them.
Imagine this - when I introduced the next speaker, I would say something like: “Our first speaker of the day is a person who loves photography, fitness and long walks. She is looking for a partner in crime, who is OK with the fact that she is happily married.”
It was all a bit tongue-in-cheek, and we got quite a few good laughs.

❓Can we find you on Tinder? (Asking for a friend 😄)

Lukáš: I was there in the past, but not anymore. Now If a woman wants to go for a date with me, she needs to charm me in person.

❓What’s the weirdest Tinder bio you’ve ever encountered?

Lukáš: I remember seeing a (woman) recruiter on Tinder. It was during the time when there was a huge demand for software developers, and it was impossible to contact them on LinkedIn. She was innovative, experimenting with new channels. She was attractive, but - I did not have what she was looking for. I had to swipe left.

❓Let’s talk Table Topics. What kind of questions were used?

Lukáš: I think the weirdest one was: “You come to a date and the other person has a strange brown spot on their face. What do you do?” A bit surreal.

❓If you could give just one piece of advice to someone creating their very first Tinder profile, what would it be?

Lukáš: Obviously, make your photos look good.
The more inspiring advice: Think of it as a form of self-expression. And your first profile will most likely not be your last. So play with it and see what happens!

Big applause goes also to: 👏
🎉 Soňa Nováková – Enthusiasm Ribbon and a Clipboard for a finishing three speeches in one term.
🎤 Best Speaker – Natália Kováčová
⚡ Best Table Topics – Bara Talacko
🧠 Best Evaluator – Jan Piskacek, MBA

…and a warm welcome to our new member Michaela Šrámková!
It’s a pleasure to have you with us 🤍👏

If you want to catch the next one live (no swiping needed), come see us today! We don't ghost 😉

🕖 7 pm
📍 Palace YMCA, 5th floor, Velvet Room

Chocolate pancakes, jam, fruit, and a snow fight.
A combo that only Nicolas Boev could deliver ☃️🥞

One of our members shared with us his New Year's resolution:
“To be more playful.”

We took it seriously - snowball fight.

It felt liberating to be able to do things labeled as “childish” again, even though you are not 10 for a long time. Just be present. Play a little bit. Skip for a minute the talks about your job, upcoming speeches, or productivity. And just be. Just play. Just smile.

Thank you, Nic, for such an experience♥️

If you want to be playful tonight, come to our Toastmasters meeting with a spicy theme: Tinder 🌶️

You can be as playful as you like during Table Topics…just don’t be a player afterwards 🙏

See you tonight at 7:00 PM
📍 Palace YMCA, Velvet Room, 5th floor