Spinnaker Toastmasters Club

02/09/2026

Another epic Spinnaker Toastmasters meeting was chaired by Katina, with two guests, and several members online on 1 September 2026.

Grammarian Ron's word of the day was "vicious" which had both positive and negative meanings and he explained a few of them.

Dale ran Table Topics, with the theme "A Tribute to Dolly Parton". She had chosen some of her solo studio album titles for the speakers to talk about.

Speech 1 by Rach was titled "How to be cool". Rach is a master storyteller indeed and received the Speaker of the Night award.

Speech 2 by Katina was an introduction to her DTM Project - a series of travelling workshops on Evaluation. This was an excellent idea and we are looking forward to the details so Spinnaker can support Katina in her journey to the DTM award.

Memory Master Rory used Snicker bars for the correct answers to his Dolly Parton memory questions.

Timekeeper Greg reported on everyone's speech timings, and only got to ring the bell once!

Roman and Jinny (online) shared the General Evaluation segment, splitting the evaluation 4 each.

To learn more, visit our website blog page for the full details.

https://spinnakertoastmasters.org.nz/2026/09/02/a-tribute-to-dolly-parton/

If you would enjoy an evening of learning and enjoyment, please contact us at [email protected] and arrange to come to our next meeting on 15 September at 7.30 pm. We'd love to welcome you to our club.

Spinnaker’s 1 September 2026 meeting was chaired by Katina, with two guests, and several members online. Grammarian Ron’s word of the day was “vicious” which had both positi…

26/08/2026

One of the criteria on the Distinguished Club Program is that the 7 officers of a club attend a training session at the beginning of their term which is from 1 July. This year, Spinnaker was recognised as being one of only 5 clubs in the Wellington Division which met this criteria. Well done to Spinnaker!

23/08/2026

Spinnaker Toastmasters Club's next meeting is on Tuesday 1 September 2026 at 7.30 pm, at the St Andrew's Church Hall, 11 Steyne Avenue, Plimmerton.

Come along and enjoy an evening's entertainment along with prepared speeches, evaluations, and table topics.

You never know, if you pay attention, you might even catch a flying chocolate for the right answer to our memory master's challenges.

Contact us for more information on [email protected]

Send a message to learn more

23/08/2026

Watch the 2026 World Champion of Public Speaking Dirceu Da Silva present his winning speech: Best Decision Ever.

Dirceu Da Silva from District 59, Region 10, won with a speech titl...

19/08/2026

Spinnaker's Table Topics and Evaluation Champions

Spinnaker Toastmasters Club held its annual Table Topics and Evaluation contests on Tuesday 18 August 2026.

The winners were:

Table Topics - Dieter Timmerman
Evaluation - Jinny Nawaz

Congratulations to all the contestants and winners.

Send a message to learn more

17/08/2026

Spinnaker Toastmasters is holding its annual Table Topics and Evaluation Contests on Tuesday 18 August starting at 7.30 pm. Come along to the St Andrews Church Hall, 11 Steyne Avenue, Plimmerton, and join in the fun. See how the club's best table topicers and evaluators handle the pressure of a contest and find out how they fare. All welcome!

Send a message to learn more

07/08/2026

Not a perplexing meeting

Spinnaker Toastmasters meeting on Tuesday 4 August was held online, chaired by Megan, with 16 online including 1 guest. It certainly was a dark and stormy night with snow to low levels and freezing wind.

Grammarian Dieter's word of the day was "perplex" - to confuse or puzzle someone.

Table Topics by Kamila was a never-ending story, using our creativity and imagination. Each speaker had to continue the story from the previous speaker unless they were the final speaker who had to reach a conclusion.

After an educational by Dale on the upcoming speech contests, Ash gave a speech called "Communication Chameleon". Ash said he had created his own S.A.I.D. communication framework - supportive, analytical, initiating, and direct. He gave an example of a workplace communication issue which he resolved by adjusting his own communication style using this framework. He finished with a call to action for us to think about our own communication style using the S.A.I.D. framework and see if we need to adapt, like the chameleon.

In Speech 3 by Jacqui, she explained how she had just completed a residential workshop on how to communicate and lead a group of volunteers. They had to complete tasks by leading a group, and her task was to lead a team of 6 to push a ute around the block. The first thing she learnt was to "know your team".

Speech 4 by Jinny was "How to do an evaluation speech". Jinny used a Powerpoint presentation to illustrate what she had learnt from her mentors. She went on to explain how she conducted an evaluation of a speech with her analysis and structure.

Greg completed his first memory master role online and had us all laughing and catching virtual chocolates.

See our full meeting blog post on https://spinnakertoastmasters.org.nz/2026/08/04/not-a-perplexing-meeting/

Our next meeting will be Table Topics and Evaluation Contests. Join us at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 18 August to see Spinnaker's finest speakers vie for the coveted champion title.

Spinnaker’s 4 August meeting was held online, chaired by Megan, with 16 online including 1 guest. It certainly was a dark and stormy night with snow to low levels and freezing wind. A good ni…

23/07/2026

An astronomical meeting was chaired by Dieter at Spinnaker Toastmasters on 21 July meeting. The word of the day from Rory was "eclipse" and this followed Dieter's theme of International Moon Day on 20th July.

Speech 1 by Megan, evaluated by Ash, was titled "One foot in front of the other". Megan related her discovery of the joys of walking, and said "walking is one of the simplest ways to support your health". She showed us all her props, explained the health benefits, and outlined her goals of bush walks using the app AllTrails. Ash in his evaluation said Megan painted the picture of where she was, and her energy levels raised and lowered appropriately.

Speech 2 by Kamilla, evaluated by Sandie, titled "My worst haircut" was a humorous take as she opened with "I needed to find a new hairdresser, but it turned out to be my biggest disaster!" When the hairdresser asked "Isn't it great?" she replied "No, it's awful!" She now has a new hairdresser. Sandie said Kamilla had a way to make people laugh with her descriptive language and she really enjoyed her speech.

Speech 3 by Dale was a report back on the team building event she organised for a Level 5 Motivational Strategies Project. Dale said that the LoveLocal Expo 2026 event on Saturday 11 July had gone very well, with the booth team manning the stand for their hour and talking to many members of the public about Toastmasters. The goal of the event was to raise awareness of Toastmasters, and to encourage participation in a team event.

If you are interested in finding out how Toastmasters works, then come along to our next meeting on Tuesday 4 August at 7.30 pm. Let us know you're coming by emailing us on [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

11/07/2026

What a wonderful day at LoveLocal 2026. The Spinnaker team had lots of fun engaging with members of the public to explain what Toastmasters was all about and inviting them to our next meeting.

If you are interested, come along on Tuesday 21 July at 7.30 pm at the church hall, 11 Steyne Avenue, Plimmerton. We'd love to see you and tell you more about Toastmasters. You never know, you might catch the odd flying chocolate too!

10/07/2026

It’s all go at LoveLocal with our team. Come on down and visit us!