Hamilton Central Essential Toastmasters Club

31/05/2026

Sweet as. A commonly used phrase in NZ. But sweet as what? As in all good, no worries. Our guest speaker last week, Gregory, a student from Waikato Management School, shared the experience of Kiwi English culture shock. It was a well-presented, confident speech about how even though we all speak the same English language, different slang and colloquialisms can still make communication more difficult. At Toastmasters we develop our leadership skills, so we are proud to be supporting the next generation of leaders.

Love and peace was our main focus at the start of the month. It seems that in our world today we are overwhelmed by conflict and division. If world war 3 broke out, would NZ be a peaceful place to live? Can love create peace? How would you stop the war if you had the power to do so? We also discussed ‘when was the last time you read a book?’ This session made us realise how digital we have become; scrolling through social media, and watching short video clips have made us unable to slow down and reflect. Then ‘think deeply, act practically’ theme examined the importance of taking small steps to work towards a goal. We can think, dream and reflect, but ultimately we need action to start moving forward. This is relevant to all of us in our Toastmasters journey, we took the first steps to become a more confident speaker, and now we are slowly taking on more roles to keep challenging ourselves. Near the end of the month, our club also held its AGM, hosted by the highly experienced Peter E. Congratulations to the newly elected President and club officers! Sweet as.

28/04/2026

28/04/2026

Our Toastmasters meetings are not just about public speaking. They are also a great way to get together with a supportive group of people, make friends and have fun! Our first meeting in April discussed ‘putting ourselves in other people’s shoes, and what it means to be empathetic towards each other. Empathy is to see, hear and sense someone, to show compassion and understanding. Then our latest meeting explored the theme ‘keeping it simple’; how too often we overcomplicate things. How can we streamline processes to make them easier? How can we simplify our daily routine? Keeping it simple is also important to remember when writing our speeches. Using the three-part structure of intro, body and conclusion, removing unnecessary words and being more concise, are some tips for conveying a simple, yet powerful message.

23/04/2026

To all our members and guests - there will be no meeting on 25th of April, due to the Hamilton Central Library being closed on Anzac Day. Have a great weekend of reflection and remembrance, and we’ll see you at our next meeting on the 2nd of May!

13/04/2026

Registrations for our Youth Speak to Succeed programme close this week! So if you’re aged 13-18 and would like the chance to improve your confidence, please register by Friday 17th of April to secure your place in the programme!

02/04/2026

A quick reminder to our members and guests that there will be no meeting this Saturday 4th of April due to the Hamilton Central Library being closed over Easter. Wishing everyone an enjoyable and safe Easter break, and we’ll see you at our next meeting on the 11th of April!
🐣 🐰

02/04/2026

Our Toastmasters meetings are a great opportunity to not only practise speaking confidently and develop our leadership skills, but to also learn something new by engaging in meaningful discussion. Every meeting has a theme, which sets the tone for the session and our Tabletopics questions. This month we explored the power of vulnerability, although often seen as a weakness, really it is a measure of our courage and a way to build better connections. The following week saw us dancing to a tune; would we be a follower, and dance to someone else’s tune, or to our own tune of doing things a bit differently? This led on to a session based on the proverb ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’. We questioned which ‘bird’ we would take; the safe option we already have, or risk losing this by trying to find a better opportunity? Last week was a reminder to not always take the safe option, so we can ‘crack out of our shell’. This is the reason we all joined Toastmasters, to find the courage to stand up in front of people, speak and be heard, and as a result, to grow and develop as a person.

Congratulations to Frank and Peter Z, for completing level 1, and Harizah for completing level 4 of Pathways, Toastmasters Education programme.

If you would like to experience a Toastmasters meeting, come and visit us; guests are always welcome!

18/03/2026

Our Hamilton Central Essential club contestants did an awesome job at the C1 and C2 Evaluation and International speech contests on Sunday at Trust Waikato. Congratulations to Nova, who came 1st in the C2 evaluation contest, and Jia who came 2nd place in the C2 international contest. We’re all very proud of you both! 👏 🎉

17/03/2026

We have great news for all teenagers aged 13 to 18. Can you say yes to your speaking success? How good would it be to know you can be more relaxed and confident speaking to groups and participating well in discussions? You can, if you take the first steps and say yes to our YSTS Youth Speak to Succeed programme.

How will you benefit from this FREE programme?
- each session will have lots of friendship and fun for everyone.
- speaking and listening experience including group discussions, prepared and impromptu speeches.
- NCEA speech assessment practice.
- Evaluation (constructive advice and feedback) by peers and experienced Toastmasters.
- Personal mentoring if requested.
- All participants who attend at least six sessions will be awarded Certificates of Achievement from Toastmasters International, a world-recognised organisation.

This course will have 8 sessions;
🗓️ Every Thursday, 4-5pm from 23 April 2026 to 11 June 2026.
📍Hamilton Central Library, Level 2.

Early registration is essential to ensure you get included on this programme. Please email [email protected] and include your name, age, and contact details of parent/ guardian.

27/02/2026

Last Saturday was our club contest day. Congratulations to our winners Nova and Jia! 🎉The speech evaluation contest was won by Nova, followed by Jia in second and Jason in third place. Jia won the international speech contest for his speech titled ‘at seven sharp’ and Nova came in second for his speech ‘less is more in mastery’.

Thanks to Iwan from Dinsdale Toastmasters, who was our test speaker for the evaluation contest. His thought-provoking speech asked us ‘why?’ What is the meaning and purpose of what we do?

Also a big thank you to our judges, contest officials and guests for supporting our contests!

Would you like to learn more? Everyone is welcome to join us at 10am every Saturday at the Hamilton Central Library.