Clondalkin Talkin’ Toastmasters set the standards for speeches

Clondalkin Talkin’ – the official Toastmasters club of Dublin 22, is a non-profit community club, specialising in the development of public speaking, and communication skills.

Each year Toastmasters holds a Humorous Speech contest. This year, Peter Redmond won the Club, Area, and Division levels of this contest with an hilarious speech about the trials and tribulations of flat-pack furniture.

He’s now through to the District final in Solihull next May, when he will compete with contestants who have made it through from the other 200+ clubs throughout Ireland, NI, Scotland, Wales, and England.

They are affiliated to Toastmasters International, the largest and most successful organisation of its kind in the world – with a membership in excess of 250,000 in 149 countries.

In terms of educational attainment, Clondalkin Talkin’ is among the top one per cent of Toastmasters clubs in these islands. It offers a highly participative and supportive environment to those who are looking to improve their communication skills, or who are simply looking to overcome their fear of speaking in public.

The Toastmasters educational programme is known as Pathways. It offers a wide choice of focus, which enables members to tailor the curriculum to their own particular areas of interest.

An individual path within the programme typically involves the completion of about 16-18 speeches/projects.

Members themselves decide on the pace at which they want to progress through their path – though a schedule of about two years is entirely do-able.

The Pathways programme includes the following paths: Visionary Communication, Presentation Mastery, Motivational Strategies, Persuasive Influence, Dynamic Leadership and Engaging Humour

Ongoing evaluation and feedback is an integral part of their educational model and each new member is provided with a dedicated Mentor to help them through the challenges of their early months in the club.

The club meets fortnightly from September to June in the Maldron Hotel, Newlands Cross. Membership fees are highly competitive and guests are always welcome, free of charge, without commitment.