Didsbury Speakers

17/09/2026

Another fantastic evening at Didsbury Toastmasters, with a great turnout of members and guests.

We enjoyed two entertaining prepared speeches. Mahmoud delivered his Icebreaker speech, while Jan gave her first speech since rejoining the club, sharing a humorous look at A-levels and how her daughter’s experience compares with her own.

The second half of the meeting featured our Table Topics competition, which was open to both members and guests. Ten people took part, and for many it was their first experience of a Toastmasters contest.

Congratulations to Karen Lee, who took first place, followed closely by Natalie in second and Jan in third.

A special mention also goes to Becky, one of our newest members, who stepped straight into her first meeting role as Timekeeper.

Thank you to everyone who spoke, competed, took on a role, or came along to support the evening.

Newcomers are always welcome - come along to our friendly club for a taster. Search ‘Didsbury Toastmasters’ on Meetup for more info. We meet every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7:15 at Withington Golf Club.

Next meeting is Weds 7th October.

03/09/2026

Another great time at Didsbury Speakers last night! It was SCRUMPTIOUS!

A big thank you to everyone who came along, got involved and stepped outside their comfort zone.

Lydia took on her first role as Table Topics Master and did a fantastic job with a brilliant selection of food-related questions. We had some great spontaneous speeches, including Nisha on the overrated avocado, Sam taking Ronaldo to Greggs, and Matt revealing his death-row meal!

🏆 Mus delivered a great speech on procrastination and took home Best Speaker – congratulations, Mus!

💻 Karen Lee gave us a useful reminder on how to use the club website and EasySpeak. If you haven't already, get online, have a look around and start familiarising yourself with it.

👏 And a double celebration for Liam, who achieved his Level 4 ribbon AND won Best Evaluator! Huge congratulations, Liam – we’re looking forward to seeing what you do next.

Another fun, supportive and entertaining evening. See you at the next one! 🎉
September 16th 7:15pm

If you're a newcomer and fancy seeing what it's all about, search Didsbury Speakers on Meetup.

13/08/2026

Cancel that holiday and come along and scout out a Toast Buddy Mentor - no formal process - just ask someone you’d like to work with.

Also, the speeches are looking exciting - take a look at the club page to whet your appetite and sign up for roles.

Weds 19th August 7:30

Ps I’ll be on holiday 🫣

06/08/2026

We thought everyone might be away on holiday and we’d have a quiet night. We couldn’t have been more wrong! Didsbury Toastmasters was packed with members and new guests, and it turned into a cracking evening.

Luke kicked things off with the hilarious story of how he became a sausage-dog convert. We then had two brilliant Ice Breaker speeches. Mohammed took us on his journey from Saudi Arabia to Manchester. Sadly for us, he’ll soon be returning home, and we wish him all the very best for the future.

Raja followed with an eloquent speech about gratitude, cleverly weaving in a parable along the way.

The evening’s theme was “new beginnings,” and the Table Topics brought out stories about moving countries, trying new things, and even taking up meditative sword fighting! Lots of our guests got up and had a go too—which is no mean feat when you’re asked to speak without any preparation.

Our president, Emma, introduced the club’s new buddy scheme - Toast Buddies - designed to help members find mentors as they make their way through the Toastmasters programme. This is a proactive initiative where members are encouraged to connect with more experienced speakers at our meetings and ask if they'll buddy up and guide them towards becoming more accomplished speakers.

Karen Lee also told us about the club's upcoming Table Topics competition where the focus is on humorous speaking. Contestants all answer the same mystery question and leave the room until it’s their turn! Winners go on to the regional heats and so on... More on this to follow

Our next meeting is Wednesday 19 August. Come along, challenge yourself and have a good laugh while you’re at it.

04/08/2026

Our next meeting is tomorrow, Weds Aug 5th. Looking forward to seeing the usual faces as well as some new ones. How dare people be on holiday and miss this!

01/07/2026

What a way to round off another fantastic chapter at Didsbury Speakers!

Our meeting on the 17th of June was our busiest yet. We had so many guests and new members through the door that we actually ran out of chairs, with people lining the sides of the room. It was brilliant to see the club so full of energy and enthusiasm, especially considering many of our regular members were away watching the football!

There were plenty of highlights throughout the evening. Karen Lee delivered the final speech of her Level 2 Pathway, a fantastic achievement and one that also meant our club qualified for the Smedley Award!

Eltayeb took on the toastmaster role for the very first time, and did an outstanding job - real evidence of what can happen to someone’s public speaking abilities when they keep showing up and putting in the effort.

We also saw Zuzka deliver a brilliant Ice Breaker speech, earning herself the Best Speaker award on her very first speech at the club. And one of our guests managed to impress everyone by winning Best Table Topics with a confident impromptu response.

The evening also marked the handover to our new President, Emma. We’re incredibly excited to see what she achieves over the coming year and have every confidence she’ll do a fantastic job leading the club.

See you all tonight!

15/06/2026

Don’t miss the next meeting at Didsbury Speakers (17th of June)!

Our last couple of meetings have been packed with great speeches and plenty of members stepping outside their comfort zones.

One of the highlights was our comedy themed meeting led by Toastmaster Liam, which created a really fun atmosphere throughout the evening. We saw Sam deliver his Ice Breaker speech, Sunday win Best Speaker, and Gareth take home Best Evaluator. We also welcomed new members Jun and Akeel to the club, while Liam celebrated receiving his Level 3 award on the same evening he served as Toastmaster.

Best Table Topics was shared between guest Sam and guest (now member) Mahmood, who both impressed with their impromptu speaking.

Our most recent meeting continued the momentum. Neil delivered his Ice Breaker speech and was awarded Best Speaker, Emmanuel won Best Evaluator, and guests Mohamed and Sandra shared Best Table Topics after both giving confident and engaging responses.

It was also great to see Meenhaz take on his first role as Ah Counter and Mus step into the Timekeeper role for the first time, with both doing a great job. We were also delighted to officially welcome Mahmood as a new member of Didsbury Speakers!

It’s been a really good few meetings and we’re looking forward to the next one this Wednesday!

06/06/2026

If you want to finally overcome your fear of public speaking, give this a read:

I sat in the car park of Didsbury Speakers (Toastmasters) club, feeling like I was about to have a panic attack at the thought of walking into a public speaking class.  6 months later I’m president of the very same club and have performed stand up comedy in front of over 100 people at the

20/05/2026

Join us tonight at Withington Golf Club! Arrive at 7:15 for a 7:30 start 🙌

Lots of great things have been happening at Didsbury Speakers over the last few weeks, with some brilliant speeches, evaluations and first-time role holders stepping up with confidence.

At our meeting on the 15th of April, Luke won Best Speaker with another deep and thought-provoking speech, something we’ve really come to expect from him. Liam took Best Evaluator with some genuinely useful and well-delivered feedback, and guest Sammy won Best Table Topics after giving a great impromptu response on the night.

Then on the 6th of May, we had another fantastic meeting with plenty of awards and strong performances across the board. Sam took on his first ever role during his very first meeting as a member, which was great to see. We also officially welcomed Meenhaz as a member of Didsbury Speakers, which was great to see.

Martin won Best Evaluator with a great breakdown of the Table Topics session, while Emma and Geoff shared Best Speaker after both delivering really interesting speeches. Karen Lee brought loads of energy to the room and won Best Table Topics with a fun and engaging response.

Really great meetings all round and it’s been fantastic seeing both new and experienced members getting involved, growing in confidence and helping create such a positive atmosphere at the club.

Don't miss tonight's meeting with Toastmaster Liam!!

15/04/2026

We’ve had a couple of really strong meetings at Didsbury Speakers recently, with great energy in the room and some brilliant contributions across both evenings.

In the first meeting, it was great to see Dave and Charlotte take on their first roles and do a fantastic job. Zinhle delivered an excellent speech to win Best Speaker, while Neil took Best Table Topics with some really strong public speaking skills. Luke also stood out with a thoughtful evaluation, earning Best Evaluator.

At our most recent meeting, Liam won Best Speaker, Matthew took Best Evaluator and guests Leret and Visha shared Best Table Topics.

Two really enjoyable meetings, make sure you don’t miss the next one tonight!