Club News
Want to keep up to date with the latest club news? All our meeting reports and announcements will be posted on this page.
Toastmasters Meeting Report – 24 July 2025
Another exciting informative and entertaining meeting with 26 people in attendance.
Chairman Luke had a theme (Tell an old Joke) which he did often during the night, much to our delight.
Laughter rang around the room many times as we guffawed at his attempt to humour us. It was delightful.
He had pulled together a wonderful array of speakers, and our Toastmaster, Ruwayda gave some very interesting and inspiring introductions as she welcomed each prepared speaker to the lectern.
I was so caught up with how well she did this, and if I were a speaker, I would have been smiling from ear to ear with the wonderful introductions she gave.
Glenn gave his best speech so far, which was amusing and inspiring, titled Journey from tyres to Telecom.
A wonderful story about those who had inspired him to look at difficult situations that they face by not yelling at them as a boss but showing them how to do better or just letting them discover the way themselves without being critical. What he learned from others, he now uses to help others he leads. I loved this as it was a wake-up call for those angry managers out there, and many would earn a lot from hearing his narrative.
His use of gestures, vocal variety and facial expression was marvellous.
The second speaker Liz had us all enthralled, sharing her experience travelling on three cable cars as they climbed, racketing up the steep mountain terrain in Salzburg Austria to the salt mines. A journey of suspense delivered with lots of drama and emotion leaving us wondering how it will end. Wonderful story telling and her speech title was (Up the Mountain).
Third we heard Nidheesh with his speech (What’s the right age for retirement). Had us all intrigued as he shared his thoughts about AI taking over jobs and parents not enjoying life to the full with family, travel, experiences and fun while still young rather than working tediously until age 65 before we could retire and get a pension.
His thinking is that we should receive it in our 40s rather than 60s and in sharing this I was mesmerized by his logic. However, I would have liked to hear how this would be paid for. His argument was so unexpected and thought-provoking and I asked him if he was running for politics. Interesting stuff.
We then to Sarah entertain us with not one but two short impromptu speeches on topics she was just given. We smiled and laughed as she entertained us with lots of gestures facial variety and humour telling us about a storm and a gazebo then going on to tell us about winning the Karen Award. I forgot to take notes so have less to share with you as I was so engulfed in her comical delivery. Well done, Sarah.
We moved on to Trang who gave a wonderful performance with (Am I too old for this). Sharing her love for dancing as a child and as she grew up and got married, having children found time to consider dance again and wondering if she was too old. Then discovering a dance class and getting back into it she found herself enjoying it once again. This was her third speech to the club as she is so new, and I am astounded at her progress.
Trang had notes on the lectern but never used them and she entertained us using gestures, vocal variation and great eye contact. I would have liked to see her dance, though. Brilliant.
Greg had us all engaged with his speech (Reflection) – two wonderful situations he shared with us about taking the time to reflect on a situation before judging others or jumping to conclusions. A wonderful look at seeing things from the perspective of the other person. This was a simple yet easy example of a good motivational speech that many industry leaders would benefit from.
The speech evaluators all gave wonderful commendations with several offering helpful recommendations to assist speakers become even better and I was impressed by all evaluations.
The Word of the night given by Lakshman was Jocular and several members used it over the evening and his report later also included word phrases he enjoyed.
The Smile story was delivered by Les and we enjoyed this very much.
Jacquie ran the Table Topic session with some interesting topics for members and guests to speak to and most managed them well.
We all enjoyed the general evaluators’ report by Steve, which was thoughtful, helpful and entertaining. A masterclass in great encouragement in feedback to the members.
The food break was a time to mix and mingle with the 3 guests and members and the delicious array of food and drink was soon consumed by thankful participants.
Another wonderful night at Three Kings Toastmasters and we are looking forward to our next meeting on the 7th August.
Kevin Prohl
Toastmasters Meeting Report – 12 June 2025
We had a great turnout at this week’s meeting, with only three apologies from Justine, Liang, and John. It was a pleasure to welcome several guests and familiar faces, and especially exciting to introduce a new member to the team.
Gregory introduced the Word of the Night, pursue/pursuit, which was clearly explained and well presented. While it wasn’t widely used throughout the evening, a few participants gave it a go Lachman, as expected, went the extra mile to weave it into his contributions effectively. Geeshan set the tone with a smile story about growing up in Sri Lanka, blending humour and heartfelt reflection as he shared a tale of family rebellion.
The evening featured five prepared speeches, starting with Steve Peeters’ cleverly themed “I Know Nothing,” where he delivered yet another masterclass on immigration law and relationships. Trang followed with her Ice Breaker titled Turning Corners, sharing her journey to New Zealand at 18. Her speech was heartfelt, engaging, and confidently delivered. Les delivered My Favourite Things, where he shared why Table Topics is his favourite part of Toastmasters and how it energises him something I now also appreciate. Leon spoke on The Power of Yes, sharing how saying yes led him to step up as class leader in his training institute, building his confidence and opening new doors. Nikishika wrapped up the speech segment with How to Survive as a Leader in Difficult Situations, offering practical insights, examples, and takeaways that resonated with the audience.
Evaluations began early, with strong contributions across the board. President Sarah led by example, followed by thoughtful and constructive feedback from myself and Jie Deng. Lachman delivered a well-rounded evaluation and smoothly incorporated the Word of the Night. Jacquie stood out with a clever “I know nothing” opener and delivered an insightful evaluation, full of relevant examples. Her strong eye contact and confident delivery shone through. Chetna added a humorous twist, joking that she got more likes than Steve’s Facebook page!
We then enjoyed our usual pizza and smorgasbord of food during the break an opportunity to catch up and connect before regrouping for the club business session.
The business session was short and sweet, led by President Sarah alongside Kevin, who helped induct our newest member into the team. Following this, we had a Table Topics session, giving guests and members alike a chance to get involved. Everyone gave it a go, adding energy and value to the evening. We hope to see our guests return as future Toastmasters!
Gregory, Jervis, and Varshi presented the Grammarian, Ah Counter, and Timekeeper’s reports respectively, each delivering clear and concise summaries of how the group performed in these areas. To round out the night, Bek delivered the General Evaluation. With his trademark humour and energy, he had everyone laughing, engaged, and even recruited volunteers for upcoming debates an epic way to finish on a high. What a legend!
Lastly, our guests stood up and courageously shared their reflections on the evening. It was heartening to hear the positive feedback and see such a strong turnout. President Sarah closed the meeting, wrapping up another successful and energising Toastmasters night.
Glenn Ward
Humorous & Table Topics Competition - 5 September 2024
What a wonderful night it was on Thursday the 5th of September!
Our evergreen club members participated in the Humorous and Table Topics contests and showcased their extraordinary abilities in public speaking in front of a houseful crowd.
On behalf of the Three Kings Toastmasters Club, I would like to congratulate the following:
Humorous Contest:
- First Place – Luke Arnold
- Second Place – Richard Watling
- Third Place – Apeksha Chourasia
Table Topics Contest:
- First Place – Lakshman Sockalingam
- Second Place – Otabek Fazilov
- Third Place – Ratul Bhattacharjee
Luke Arnold and Lakshman Sockalingam will be representing our club in the Area M3 Contest on the 5th of October at our Club Venue, Three Kings Fickling Center at 10am.
Let’s rally together in the support of Luke and Lakshman on the competition day where they fly Three Kings Toastmasters Club’s flag to newer heights!
I would also like to congratulate Liz Day and Nishika Jayasinghe for their extraordinary effort in organising the club competition. As Steve Peeters said, he hasn’t seen a more engaged and humorous contest in the club since 1990s, also reminding us of his young age. His comments are a testament to your hard work.
Thank you to all judges, participants, and members who have helped on the sidelines to make this event a complete success.
Posted by Ratul B
Meeting Report - 8 August 2024
The meeting began promptly at 7:00 PM, the Chairman, Greg, introduced the theme of the night, “Not Just Another Day,” with fun historical facts. We were delighted to welcome three guests to our meeting. 23 people attended the meeting in total.
Our Grammarian, Justine, introduced the word of the night, “impeccable,” which all the members had a blast with throughout the evening.
The night kicked off with a hilarious smile story from Luke, who shared his adventures in Thailand, setting a light-hearted tone. Our Toastmaster, Lin Sun, then introduced the speakers:
- Nishika opened with a thoughtful speech on creating a project plan to benefit the club, filled with valuable ideas.
- Brenda followed with an entertaining and nostalgic speech about her childhood.
- Rachel delivered her icebreaker speech, giving us a warm introduction to who she is.
- Ben gave an informative speech on surfing, taking us all on a journey through the waves.
- Greg offered practical tips on networking, with a memorable takeaway: “People pick up on genuine interest, and they respond positively to it.”
- Kevin closed the speaking session with insightful tips on delivering a humorous speech.
After a delightful snack break, we resumed with evaluations, where the evaluators provided constructive feedback and highlighted the strengths of each speech.
The Table Topics session, hosted by Les Johns, was dynamic and engaging, offering a variety of spontaneous questions that everyone could speak to. Evaluations by Richard and Lakshman were great to watch, as both competed to use the word “impeccable” the most.
The meeting concluded with a business session where we discussed upcoming contests. The session ended on time, leaving everyone with a sense of accomplishment and excitement for the next meeting.,
Posted by SaSTHA n
Speech & Evaluation Contests - 22 February 2024
Wow what an exciting fun filled interesting evening it was last night at Three Kings Toastmasters Club.
36 people enjoyed both contests and the results are:
International Speech Contest:
First Place: Luke Arnold
Second Place: Les Johns
Third place: Ratul Bhattarchargee
Evaluation Contest:
First Place: Steve Peeters
Second Place: Luke Arnold
Third place: Ratul Bhattarchargee
The winners will be competing at the Area M3 Speech contests to be held on Saturday 2nd March in the Seniors Room at the Fickling Centre from 9am to 5pm.
Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy another day of excellent speeches.
We thank all seven contestants who competed in each contest and all the helpers and judges plus Bryce Quedley the Test Speaker in the Evaluation contest with his speech titled The Cat.
The large banquet of delicious food saw all partaking in the break mixing and mingling chatting with friends. and guests.
Posted by KeVIN P
Meeting report: Christmas Function 2023
Three Kings Toastmasters excelled at their usual high standards with a scintillating Christmas get-together on November 30th, with 28 people including 6 guests attending.
Club members each brought along a plate of food connected to their birth country as well as a modestly-priced gift for Secret Santa. Ratul had thoughtfully brought along some music to get the evening going.
Chairman, Luke, started the evening with an invitation to socialize over the International Christmas food. The art of communication was in full view during this time.
Luke conducted and improvised for the slightly more formal part of the programme, welcoming back long-time member, Ted, who related a couple of humorous anecdotes.
Club President, Jacquie, introduced the award of two trophies for 2023. The first was the Raymond Mok Memorial Award for demonstrating exceptional dedication, integrity, and inspiration.
Raymond’s parents were invited to present the award. The vote by club members saw this award go to long-time member, Kevin.
The second trophy was Ted’s Serious Trophy for bringing humour to club meetings. Ted was on hand to present it to Richard who later turned out to be Old Father Time.
Table topics was introduced by Les who had a basket of mysterious objects that speakers Manu, Bek, Justine, Malia and Daisy were asked to describe.
Justine and Malia, as guests, were commended for having a go at impromptu speaking by Table Topic evaluators Steve and Manu.
The timekeeper, Jie, ensured time was adhered to with a resounding bell.
There was time for two continuous stories whereby, after the initial sentence was read out, everyone participated in sequence adding one and then four words to the story.
The first story began, “ A secret that I have never shared before ……’ ; the second began, “ What I want for Christmas…..”
The eagerly awaited Secret Santa session facilitated by Sarah, concluded proceedings on a hilarious note. Everyone chose a number from a hat. Number One went up to choose a present from the Secret Santa table. After that Number Two had the option of choosing something from the table or commandeering Number One’s present.
The club will have one more meeting this year on December 14th and resume in 2024 on January 11th.
Kevin reminded us, that Toastmasters International celebrates 100 years in existence next year.
Posted by RICHARD w
Meeting report: 5 May 2022
Yesterday’s meeting had the theme of “Theft” and Richard our Chairman entertained us with a creative and dramatic beginning to the meeting. We had several visitors attend the meeting including our Area Director and it was wonderful to see many of the guests take up roles in the meeting. Yesterday was also our AGM and we voted for our new committee.
Kevin was Toastmaster and introduced our prepared speeches which included Anand presenting about “Our Limitless Brain”, Joseph with an action-packed speech called “Not in my Lifetime”, and Sarah telling her story with a speech called “Never Give Up. Never Give In”. Lakshman gave a very informative speech about learning styles. Jie also made us laugh with a smile story about her daughter as a young child.
There was a wonderful buffet served half way through the evening with a number of guests commenting on how good it was! In the second half of the evening Daisy presented some thought-provoking questions as our Table Topics Master and we heard some excellent evaluations from Graham, Jacquie, Les, Yetzabel, and Jie. We completed the evening hearing a thorough general evaluation of the evening from Steve.
I always come away from the Toastmasters meetings with a smile on my face and yesterday was no exception. What a fun way to spend a Thursday evening!
Posted by Sarah W
Meeting Report: 21st April – Anzac Day – Lest We Forget
Last night’s Toastmasters meeting proved a great night. It had the theme of Anzac Day and Chairman Jacquie did a wonderful job of explaining the significance of this day and keeping the meeting running to schedule. Jacquie was also the Table Topics Master and had some thought-provoking questions to keep us challenged! Prenha and Leticia provided an excellent example of how to be a Table Topics evaluator! Ted was Grammarian and Ah Counter and chose our word of the evening which was relinquish. No one relinquished their opportunity to speak last night!
There were three well-prepared speeches from Joseph, Daisy, and Saane. Joseph spoke about the benefits of exercising to keep a disciplined life with SMART goals and the benefits exercising has on our mental health. Saane entertained us with a speech about the pride of Tonga winning in rugby league against Australia and Daisy kept us laughing with a speech about closet syndrome and buying too many clothes. Les, Sarah, and Yetzabel evaluated the prepared speeches. Liz also made us laugh with a dramatically told smile story about someone who had been speeding in their vehicle.
In recognition of the death of David Nottage, there was the opportunity to see a video of his 1996 World Champion speech “Get Up” and hear from Kevin about what made it award winning. Following the speeches we shared a complimentary food buffet and some good conversation. To complete the evening, we also learnt from Steve‘s tips as General Evaluator.
Looking forward to our next meeting!
Posted by Sarah W
Meeting Report: 24 March – – Men’s Night!
What a fantastic Toastmasters meeting last night! The meeting theme was “Men’s Night” which led to some hilarious Table Topic speeches and discussions. The meeting was full of laughter with some valuable learning as well. It is appreciated that so many people took on multiple roles with a number of people away. What an amazing group of people we have in our club! The word of the night was ‘tenacity’ which must have been used a record-breaking amount of times!
Shanthi was last night’s chairman and she did an amazing job of introducing people and keeping the meeting on track, while injecting some humour into the meeting. Richard was Toastmaster and also provided an impactful prepared speech on war. Les and Joseph also gave prepared speeches. Les inspired us about how success and failure are our choice and Joseph gave an excellent icebreaker speech.
Aline made us all laugh with a hilarious smile story. I left the meeting with a smile on my face and I am sure everyone else would have too! I can’t wait till the next meeting!
Posted by Sarah W
Meeting Report: Year of the Tiger
Club meetings on a fortnight at Three Kings is always a hoot, and last night was no exception.
Although we missed a few of our members who sent their apologies there was still a great turn out, with 4 guests who had attended meetings last year, joining us again.
It was another well organised meeting from beginning to the end, chaired by our beautiful Sarah Wilson who was “brave” enough to step up to the challenge when the opportunity was offered by Kevin Prohl. Our Sargent at Arms, Les never missed a beat when starting the club meeting on time.
Kevin Prohl our Vice President Membership worked tirelessly behind scenes, organising set up and food and the welcoming guests.
Liz Day started the laughter with her “four-legged chicken” laughter lab story and the fun continued throughout the rest of the night.
In her natural and non-assuming way, Lilla introduced each of the five speakers.
The theme was the Chinese year of the Tiger – and the word of the night was introduced by Yetzabel, who observed how it was used and pointed out great phrases used by some of the speakers. Ums and Ahs were noted down by Les and gave a thorough report at the end.
We had the privilege of listening to four inspiring, entertaining and well presented speeches. Kevin Prohl started with his usual finesse of speech delivery and, Daisy, Leticia and Anand gave their first ice breakers which allowed us the audience a view to their different perspectives and personalities.
Each of the speech evaluators gave positive feedbacks in their own unique styles, added with a sprinkle of humour that made my face sore from giggling too much.
Our Table topics section was mastered by one of our newest members, Aline and the questions were easy and allowed the guests to easily use a whole minute and some with their responses.
Our timer gave an entertaining report and went over time himself when giving advice to another member for going over time, which again left us in fits of laughter.
Overall it was an enjoyable night and look forward to hearing the line up of contestants in our upcoming International and Evaluations club contests, on Thursday, 24 February 2022.
Three Kings club is popular for the family culture it embraces which draws its members together. I hope that this continues as we look forward to more meetings like last night.
Reported by Ilaisaane
Posted by Saane T
Meeting Report: 27 January – Latin Night Extravaganza
The word of the evening yesterday was “euphoria” which described the evening well. There was much happiness and excitement. It was wonderful experiencing an evening of Latin culture which chairman Daniel themed the meeting. We even had a Piniata! Steve made the evening fun with his smile story and as Toastmaster he was creative in the way he introduced speakers with the meanings of their names.
We inducted the new members Aline and Daisy to the club who both gave excellent icebreaker speeches. Other speeches included Yetzabel with a speech about mentoring, Kevin W informing us about parking while making it a fun game for the audience, Prenha with a speech about how journaling can be a tool to give us clarity in our life’s situations, and Ivo spoke about volunteering for St John. Kevin W also introduced the Table Topic speeches for the evening with the theme of summer which meant we heard about some favourite holiday experiences of members and guests.
It was wonderful being able to share such a fun evening with so many guests. Can’t wait for the next meeting!
Posted by Sarah W
Meeting Report: 18th November – An Exultant Evening!
Thursday proved to be another fun and informative evening! The Toastmasters meeting had the theme of ‘nurturing’ with the word of the evening being ‘exultant’ meaning joyous, delighted, elated, jubilant, or overjoyed. It was certainty a good word to describe the evening!
Liz was the chairman for the evening and also gave an excellent speech about the importance of a having a Toastmasters mentor as our “experienced and trusted advisor”. She mentioned a mentor helps us in not “what” to do but “how” to write an effective speech. Kevin also gave us some excellent tips on preparing effective speeches. Kevin gave us two useful marketing acronyms to remember to apply to our speeches with AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) and WIIFM (What’s in it for me?).
Other prepared speeches were presented by Les about franchises and Lisa about different leadership styles (Transformation, Democratic, Laissez-faire, Autocratic) and the different situations these are best applied. Les mentioned that although a franchise model can mean you are paying fees to the franchisor, the effective systems (such as pricing) you can implement in your business can ensure your business remains profitable.
A highlight of the evening for me was the smile story. I am still smiling now when I think of Ade’s smile story! She gave a hilarious speech about a family member being shut out of his hotel room in his underwear! We also heard many interesting travel stories in the Table Topics speeches lead by Yetzabel.
I can’t wait to our next meeting on 2nd December!
Posted by Sarah W
Meeting Report: 21 October – Touching Lives Together
We all had lots of fun at Three Kings Toastmasters on Thursday. The evening had the theme of “Touching Lives Together”. It was wonderful to have Graham, Christine, and other guests joining the meeting.
A highlight of the evening was the Table Topic speeches. Ade did a fantastic job as Table Topics Master with some obscure words which we were required to give a definition. The definition was allowed to be real or made-up but most of us were unaware of the real meanings until the end. It was hilarious hearing people’s meanings for the words. I found out quagswagging is the act of shaking to and fro, siagonology is the study of jaw bones, and perissology is the use of more words than are necessary to convey meaning.
The Chairman was Kevin P who also gave a very informative educational speech about evaluations asking for input from the audience about what they consider important. Key points raised from the audience included using the CRC formula, considering the experience of the speaker and accordingly being more encouraging for new speakers, assessing criteria against objectives, and providing a summary of the evaluation at the end.
Lisa did a wonderful job as Toastmaster introducing our prepared speeches and evaluators. Kevin W presented a speech called “Parking Nation”. It was his first speech since becoming a member at Three Kings recently and a brilliant speech which entertained us. Jie informed us about the future of healthy eating providing very interesting information about 3D food printers. Steve also entertained us with a smile story.
It was indeed a great evening! I look forward to the next meeting on 4th November.
Posted by Sarah W
Meeting Report: October 7, 2021 – Freedom
Freedom was the theme for our meeting and there was definitely a fun vibe about the night.
We heard four great speeches:
Ram encouraged us that to be human, is to accept that we make mistakes and that our mistakes shape and change us.
Lisa explained how protein-based vaccines work. Lisa’s explanation was very interesting and was accompanied by a slideshow which for those of us non-sciencey-types, was very helpful.
Farina took us on the journey of what it’s like to work at a supermarket particularly during lockdown. I don’t know about you, but I came away wishing we could have a “hug-an-essential-worker-day”.
Sarah ran an engaging panel discussion on the Housing Crisis with Steve, Lakshman, and Walaa. So many interesting viewpoints from the panel and when the audience was invited to join, the conversation kept going, right through the break!
Table topics were run by Karolina and were a great success. There were lots of laughs and Kendra, our guest for the evening even sang for us. What a treat!
The word for the evening was “liberty” and was used 34 times! I think that may be a record! Well done to Saane for picking a word that not only related to the theme but was accessible for people to use.
Daniel gets the Oscar for best Ah Counter when he did impersonations of everyone’s “ummm’s” and “ahhhs” and had us all in stitches.
And finally, we welcomed our newest member Kevin W. It is awesome to have another experienced member rejoining and being a part of our club.
A big thank you to Jie (Chairperson) & Chris (Toastmaster) and everyone for such a great evening.
Our next meeting will be on the 21st of October, hopefully, in person.
Posted by Jacquie L
Contact
Have a question? Email us at: threekings@d112tm.org.nz
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Fortnightly on Thursday, 7:00 – 9:30pm
Fickling Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Auckland.
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