Toastmasters International -A Sisterhood of Speakers

The image shows a video call with several older women, some seated together and others appearing individually on the screen. The background includes various home furnishings and decor, suggesting a comfortable, domestic setting.

District 73 Director Janine Wan (top left) interviewed six longtime members and friends. (Top right, from left to right): Sandra Glass, Mary Voice, and Kamilla Zwolak; (bottom left, left to right): Nola Sharp, Marlene Sinclair, and Judy Murphy. Kim Harris, District 73's Public Relations Manager at the time, is at bottom right.

Six women, who together have nearly 200 years of cumulative Toastmasters membership, recently participated in an interview with Janine Wan, DTM, District 73 Director (Southern Australia). The group reflected on their memories, and what they believe to be one of Toastmasters’ greatest gifts—the opportunity to meet supportive and inspirational lifelong friends.

Indeed, all six women met through Toastmasters, and have known each other for decades, through club meetings, conferences, speech competitions, leadership roles, and mentorship. They have competed against, coached, and cheered on each other.

They are all District 73 members who belong to multiple clubs. Mary Voice was the first of the group to become a Toastmaster, joining in 1982. She met Kamilla Zwolak, DTM, when she joined in 1988. Gradually through the years, they met the other four women: Marlene Sinclair, DTM, who has been a member for 34 years; Judy Murphy, DTM, a 33-year member; Sandra Glass, DTM, a 29-year member; and Nola Sharp, DTM, a 20-year member.

“These women exemplify the kind of friendships that start as small roots in clubs and grow to become tall trees, that nurture and support hundreds of others,” says Wan.

They have grown together, and individually, says Sharp. “These wonderful women bring value to every shared experience I’ve had [with them]—I’ve become a stronger person, I’ve achieved, and I continue to learn.”

Here are some of their musings (edited for clarity and length).

The First Club Meeting

Toastmasters hooked all of the women from the beginning.

Zwolak: “I couldn’t believe something like [this club] existed. I thought, What a fantastic place to share your thoughts. You’re nobody’s wife or mother or anything—you’re just you and you’re accepted.
Sinclair: “I was managing a private hospital—I regularly made presentations but not without blushing. I knew I had to do something. I went to a meeting and thought, I have found my people.”

Both Voice and Glass discovered Toastmasters through Speechcraft and found the training so helpful they stayed.

Finding the Fun

All the women love humor and apply it liberally in Toastmasters. (Sinclair, Sharp, and Zwolak are former winners of the District 73 Humorous Speech Contest.) They laugh about memorable speeches, costumes and props, and Table Topics^® sessions presented in hotel lobbies and on trains traveling to Toastmasters meetings. One episode of Train Table Topics lasted from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. the next morning.

Murphy: “Sometimes we go through rough times in our lives. The best thing you can do is go to a Toastmasters meeting. You’ll find endorphins, friends, and lots of laughs. It’s the best medicine you can have.”
Glass: “Mary and I were in a club that named its perpetual Table Topics trophy after her since she always won. Then one year she didn’t participate and I finally got to be on it!”

Even friendly competition among one another, which they’ve all happily faced, creates laughs.

Mastering Toastmasters

All the women have excelled at the specific communication and leadership skills they went looking for after that first meeting. They continue to practice them, both inside and outside their clubs.

Murphy: “I spoke at the Order of the British Empire Chapel in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The chapel manager told me it was the best reading he’d ever heard, and it was all because of Toastmasters. It taught me a lesson. Every time we take an opportunity to speak outside the four walls of the club, we’re putting our Toastmasters skills to a new purpose.”
Zwolak: “I’ve enjoyed learning evaluations—it’s made me a much better listener. I share the praise-improvement-praise evaluation formula with everyone. People really appreciate it.”
Sinclair: “I was a Rotarian for years and when they heard I was a Toastmaster, they dragged me into running Rotary children’s contests. I’ve given kids in the program feedback for 20 years, all around District 73. I wouldn’t have thought of doing anything like that had I not been a Toastmaster.”
Glass: “Speaking of evaluations—my teenage daughter says that my way of giving feedback has definitely improved since I went to Toastmasters!”

“These wonderful women bring value to every shared experience I’ve had with them.”

—Nola Sharp, DTM

Tips for Toastmasters

The women had this advice for new and newly inspired Toastmasters:

Get involved straight away.
Put your hand up for everything.
Join the Club Executive Committee as soon as you can.
Remember you can go at your own pace.

Sharp says it succinctly: “My tip will always be—always do your best, even in the smallest roles.”

And to her lifelong Toastmasters friends, the 81-year-old says: “I’m going to hopefully be the oldest woman in Toastmasters ever. That’s my goal. And I hope you are all with me.”