Didsbury Speakers

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

Overcome Your Fear Of Public Speaking (according to Dan M. Jones) — Didsbury Speakers 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

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!!

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!

Another great meeting at Didsbury Speakers, with strong contributions from both members and guests throughout the evening.

Best Speaker went to Emma, who delivered a fantastic speech, very closely followed by Luke with a thought-provoking Icebreaker. Best Table Topics was picked up by one of our guests, who gave a creative and engaging response. And best evaluator went to Natalie for constructive feedback.

It was great to see our newer members stepping up, with Zuzka taking on the Table Topics Master role for the first time.

A warm welcome to our newest member Dave, and congratulations to Jacqui for achieving her Level 2.

It was also especially nice to be joined by Area Director Clesia Mendes, who always brings great energy and positivity to our meetings.

Next meeting is tonight, see you there!

We had another enjoyable meeting at Didsbury Speakers, with strong contributions from both members and guests throughout the evening.

A special highlight was Sunday delivering his Icebreaker speech. It was a confident and engaging first speech and a fantastic way to introduce himself to the club.

For Table Topics, we had joint winners on the night, with guests Kieran and Dave both giving strong impromptu responses. Best Evaluator went to Zinhle, who provided thoughtful and constructive feedback that will no doubt help our speakers continue to improve. Best Speaker was awarded jointly to Anita and Sunday for their speeches, both delivering strong performances on the night.

Our next meeting is tonight. See you there!

We had another great meeting at Didsbury Speakers, with a really positive atmosphere and strong contributions throughout the evening.

A special mention to two of our newer members, Emma and Luke, who both took on roles for the first time. They each did a fantastic job and stepped up with confidence, which was great to see.

Our Best Table Topics award went to our guest Ferhan for a strong response on the night. Best Speaker went to Will, who delivered a really confident speech. It was especially impressive to see that level of composure from one of our newer members, and his growth as a speaker in such a short space of time has been clear to everyone in the room. Best Evaluator was awarded to Karen Lee, who gave thoughtful and helpful feedback.

All in all, it was a great meeting and a genuinely enjoyable evening. Looking forward to seeing everybody tonight at our next meeting!

We had another great meeting at Didsbury Speakers, with a lively room and plenty of strong contributions throughout the evening. It was lovely to be joined by lots of guests, and we’re especially pleased to welcome our newest members: Nick and Charlotte!

Nick also jumped straight in by taking on the Sergeant at Arms role for the first time, which was great to see.

Our guest Zuizka won Best Table Topics, Jacqui won Best Speaker and Estelle received Best Evaluator for a very insightful evaluation.

A really enjoyable meeting all round, looking forward to the next one tomorrow!

We had a brilliant meeting at Didsbury Speakers last time, with three fantastic speeches and an incredibly close vote for Best Speaker. Gareth and Tom shared the award, with just a single vote separating everyone, so it could easily have been a three-way tie. Best Evaluator was also a joint win for Kate and Natalie, both delivering thoughtful and encouraging feedback as always. Luke took Best Table Topics with a hilarious response that we all really enjoyed.
A special mention as well to Richard, who stepped into a role for the first time and did a great job, and to Sophie for a strong and confident icebreaker speech.

Next meeting is tomorrow, don’t miss it!

2025 was a BRILLIANT year at Didsbury Speakers. Watching our members grow in confidence and presence has been a real pleasure to see.
What excites me most is seeing how far many of you will go over the next 12 months.

I know that none of us plan on slowing down in 2026, so let’s start this year off strong at our next meeting on the 7th of Jan.

Same time and place as always…

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Dan

Don’t miss tomorrow’s Christmas special meeting! 🎅
This one’s going to be a little different, it’ll be: less formal, few traditional meeting roles, but plenty of chances to speak in a more laid back environment.
There’ll also be some tasty snacks and, of course, amazing people!

Our last 2 meetings went incredibly well. At the meeting before last, we had two strong icebreaker speeches from Emmanuel and Richard, with Emmanuel winning Best Speaker. Best Table Topics went to Neil, who we’re pleased to say is now officially a member, and Best Evaluator went to Natalie.

At our most recent meeting, Geoff took Best Speaker, Will won Best Table Topics, and Gareth picked up Best Evaluator. It was a fun night and great seeing guests and newer members getting properly involved.

We’ve had a great year at Didsbury Speakers, and I really hope you can all make it to our final meeting of the year to finish on a high.

See you tomorrow,
Dan