🎉 Hello, London Victorians!

As the seasons shift and the leaves begin to turn, our club has been in full bloom - bursting with contests, milestones, and new voices. While we cheered on our own champions, Toastmasters International crowned its newest global star: Sabyasachi Sengupta, winner of the 2025 World Championship of Public Speaking, with his moving speech “Just Nod.”

Becoming a World Champion is monumental. Every gesture, pause, and phrase must land with intent. It’s not just about speaking well - it’s about moving people, moment by moment.

Each year, over 30,000 Toastmasters from 100+ countries begin this journey. They rise through club, area, division, and district contests, then face global quarterfinals. Only 28 semifinalists reach the international stage. Just eight deliver their final speech on the Toastmasters International stage.

It starts with a single step - and for many, that step happens in a Toastmasters meeting.

Let’s celebrate the voices that made us laugh, think, and cheer.

🏆 Contest Highlights

Our stage lit up once again with laughter, spontaneity, and storytelling flair during this season’s Humorous Speech and Table Topics contest.

We heard tales of passport puzzles, startup stumbles, and a lift given to a stranger (with unexpected hiccups). One speaker took us through the “water works” with bravery and brilliance. Each speech brought laughter, depth, and connection - reminding us that humour is often rooted in truth.

Table Topics sparked imagination with one powerful question: “If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be and why?” We met presidents, prime ministers, doctors, dreamers - and even an “anti-model” who challenged the very idea of role models. Every response was bold, personal, and uniquely delivered.

👏 A special thanks to Chief Judge Sam, whose seamless coordination brought cross-club magic to the evening. And to our judges and role players - your quiet precision and support made the night run like clockwork.

🎉 And now, presenting our winners from both contests:

👏To every contestant - thank you for your courage, creativity, and charisma. You made the evening shine.

🌟 Member Spotlight 🌟

In this edition, we shine the spotlight on Sean McKenna. If you’ve ever seen a meeting wobble and then magically steady itself, chances are Sean was behind the fix. A dual-club member and a VP-Education’s gold mine, Sean is the kind of Toastmaster who steps in with calm precision - whether it’s filling a last-minute role or smoothing out a tech hiccup mid-meeting.

We asked Sean three questions about his Toastmasters journey:

What inspired you to take on the Treasurer role, and how has it deepened your understanding of club dynamics and member engagement? 

I know that clubs often struggle to find committee members, so I decided to help out with an area that I'm familiar with - I have a financial background. I really like this club, so I thought it was a good place to learn what goes on behind the scenes. It's been interesting seeing the details of money flows - the meeting room is expensive! - but it's been more eye-opening seeing all the work put in by other committee members. Lots of thought and effort to give members the best experience possible.

As a member of dual clubs, what differences or synergies have you noticed - and how has that broadened your Toastmasters journey? 

With my other club being online only, the experience of each club is quite different. I find presenting online has different challenges to presenting in-person; online, you don't get the same level of visual and audio feedback, so it can feel like you're speaking into the void. Doing both formats helps me in different ways. But the speech writing process and many aspects of delivery (vocal variety, energy levels) are the same in both, so there certainly are synergies.

What long-term value do you see Toastmasters offering to professionals navigating high-stakes roles - and how can clubs evolve to better support that growth? 

The long-term value to me is huge because in senior positions, the pressure to be an excellent speaker can be considerable. Most people have things they need to experiment with - vocal variety, use of the stage, style (e.g., conversational vs scripted) - and Toastmasters is a safe place to get out of your comfort zone and experiment. People will not want to use work presentations to start suddenly varying their volume or pitch, but do so at Toastmasters, and we'll know why you're doing that and encourage you to push the experiment further! Clubs just need to engage with members and listen to what they want because ultimately, the responsibility for anyone's journey is with each individual. Clubs provide the stage; it's up to us to use it.

🎯 Pathways Progress

In Toastmasters, progress isn’t just measured in levels - it’s felt in confidence, clarity, and the courage to keep showing up.

Today, we celebrate our members who’ve taken powerful strides on that journey:

👏 Your growth is a gift to this club. Congratulations!

🙌 Welcome to the Family

Every new member brings fresh energy, new stories, and a voice waiting to be heard.

This month, we’re delighted to welcome six new members to London Victorians - each bringing their own spark, story, and style to our club.

💬 We can’t wait to hear your Icebreakers, cheer you on, and watch your confidence grow - one speech at a time.

🌟 Welcome aboard - onward and upward!

🎤 Beyond the Club: Stories Worth Sharing

From Moth StorySLAM to global spotlight, storytelling lives beyond our club - and the mic is waiting for you.

🎙️ Try the mic yourself at The Moth StorySLAM in London on 8th October.

Theme: Masks - share a true, 5-minute story about disguise, duality, or revelation.

🎟️ themoth.org/events/masks-london-2025

🌍 And if you need a reason to dream bigger - watch Sabyasachi Sengupta’s winning speech from the 2025 World Championship of Public Speaking:

🎥 Watch “Just Nod”

💬 From local stories to world stages - your voice belongs everywhere.

💌 Feedback Zone

This newsletter is just one voice in a club full of storytellers.

Got ideas to jazz up our meetings, spark creativity, or add more flair to our next edition? Send them to [email protected] - we’re all ears.

🎭 Until then: keep speaking, keep growing, and keep showing up.