August 7, 2026 Club Meeting | St. Louis Toastmasters in Midtown Clayton

ATTENDANCE–Members = 8 (HK, Rosemary, Amy, Jane, Jordan, Mitchell, Peggy, Cheyenne)

ATTENDANCE–Guests = 2 (Raul, Kelly)

Current club membership = 24

WORD OF THE DAY: Curious – interested in other things.

SPEECHES:

> “Men’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl”, Pathway – Presentation Mastery, by Cheyenne

EVALUATIONS:

> What a great way to start your speech with an important question that’s relatable to everyone. Well organized speech about the book and give quotes that serve as good take-home message. You also ended the speech with a question to inspire more reflections. Only thing to improve is the eye contact, which is challenging on Zoom and need more practice. Overall very lovely speech! – Mitch

TABLE TOPICS QUESTIONS — Cheyenne

> What is the piece of advice you received from someone that changed your view of life? – HK

> What is a hobby or interest you did not have a chance to pursue in life? – Rosemary

> What is your favorite way to unwind after a stressful day? – Raul

> If you could speak any languages in the world, which language would you like to learn? – Jordan

> What’s the most spontaneous thing you have ever done? – Amy

> What’s one life lesson you learned the hard way? – Mitch

> What is something you missed from your childhood? – Jane

> If you could choose another career if you could choose again? – Peggy, BEST TABLE TOPICS

> What is your goal for the next year? – Kelly

GENERAL EVALUATOR – Jane

AH COUNTER – Raul

TIMER – Rosemary

GRAMMARIAN – Amy: Watch out for the new filler words: “you know”, “just”

NEXT CLUB MEETING–

In-person meeting at the Center of Clayton, Friday, August 21, 2026, 7:15 am

Please sign up now for a meeting role at www.midtownclayton.toastmastersclubs.org

Club Success Stories

I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my speech. I still drop in a few ums and that. I’m getting better at organizing my thoughts and in my preparation. I’m spending more time in my preparation.

John

Well, most definitely, it has lifted a weight in terms of the fear of public speaking and getting up in front of a group of people.

Regina

Toastmasters has given me the opportunity to develop, not just as a speaker, but as a person. It’s helped me to get closer and another step on the journey to being the best version of myself. There are leadership opportunities. There’s character development. There’s the ability to meet new people, build new friendships, forge new interests, and to realize just how much beauty, how much greatness there is in one little club, in one little community, is a reflection of our world.

Kiren

Faye sharing her public speaking testimonial through the St. Louis Toastmasters club in Midtown Clayton

Toastmasters has helped me a lot. I used to be really afraid of speaking in public and I still kind of am, but it’s helping me along the way, so I’m not as shaky when I’m talking in public and I begin to get a hold of myself more quickly when I’m in Toastmasters. And this club has definitely helped me do that and helped me grow.

Foye

Toastmasters has made me more comfortable speaking in front of a group, and Toastmasters has and will continue to be a very positive, motivating and self-improving experience for me.

Jerry

The benefit of the club for me was that I grew professionally. I became more confident. Now, I lead a lot of team meetings at work weekly, some of them monthly, quarterly for small or large groups of people and I feel more confident.

Aida

Joining Toastmasters put me outside of my comfort zone and it helped me understand that showing up is 90% of the journey. Just showing up, walking in the door. And so, I take that with me and I show up in more places than I ever did before.

Catherine

I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my speech. I still drop in a few ums and that. I’m getting better at organizing my thoughts and in my preparation. I’m spending more time in my preparation.

Dennis

The ability to communicate is of utmost, number one. Number two, a better listener. As you’re an evaluator and you listen to people, you really have to listen for the key points. And I think the other part is a mentor and that to see new people come into the club and as they progress from their first speech to their other speeches, and everybody gets something different out of it. The stories that you hear about where people came from and what their life experiences are.

Mark

I can definitely see a difference since I joined Toastmasters in being comfortable in uncomfortable situations. So, it’s not necessarily eliminating the jitters, but being able to succeed despite them.