About

Ernst & Young Toastmasters Club was established in September 1988 as an opportunity for employees of Ernst & Young in Cape Town, South Africa, to hone their skills as communicators and leaders. Now the club is open to anybody who shares these goals. The membership consists largely of professional, dynamic people from a wide range of industries. Our club members work in areas such as:

• Accounting
• Media
• Market research
• Teaching
• Publishing marketing
• Telecommunications
• Human resources consulting
• Information technology
• CRM consulting
• Retail management

What Ernst & Young Toastmasters club members have in common is a desire to be great communicators, polished presenters and inspiring leaders and the desire to get together with likeminded people in a fun and social and supportive environment.
The club forms part of the 12 500-strong network of Toastmasters International clubs in 106 countries around the world. Belonging to an organization like this means that every members’ achievements are recognised internationally. At the same time we have the advantage of access to the powerful and carefully developed manuals and programmes that this almost 86-year old network makes available to its member-clubs.

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Testimonials

Guy Lundy is a futurist, strategy consultant, and professional speaker. He is the co-author of “South Africa: Reasons to Believe” and the co-editor of “South Africa 2014: The Story of our Future”. Guy is the Managing Director of Centric Consulting, a corporate strategy consultancy. He has been a member of the Ernst & Young Toastmasters Club since 2001.
This is what Guy has to say about Toastmasters.

“Toastmasters literally changed my career and my life. For my 5th speech I chose to talk about the need for South Africans to be more positive about our country. I called it “I pledge allegiance” and it turned into a viral email that travelled around the world. This led to my co-authoring two books about South Africa and its future and created a career for me as a successful professional conference speaker.

I have now spoken at conferences in 7 countries to audiences ranging from 10 to 1000 people, and Toastmasters training has undoubtedly given me the edge one needs in such diverse settings.

Having been interviewed many times on live radio and TV, I have also found invaluable the ability to think and talk on my feet that participating in Table Topics has provided me.”

To find out more about Guy Lundy and how he makes a living through speaking, visit his website at www.guylundy.com

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Gavin Coetzee is the Managing Partner at First Facilitation. They specialise in Leadership development and coaching, team development, strategy, and change management. Gavin has been a member of Toastmasters since 1995.

This is what he has to say about the club.

“Toastmasters has been an extremely rewarding experience. It has given me the courage and the confidence to relax in front of audiences, speak off the cuff and lead groups of people with conviction. I have also developed my sense of humour and social skills through Toastmasters.

The network that I have built through TM has been everlasting and I have some very good friends and business acquaintances today as a result. On a practical level, meetings, workshops and conferences take less preparation, my participation has drastically increased and I am happy to lead groups of people in discussions.

Another benefit has been the ability to give constructive feedback to people in an encouraging, affirming and empowering manner. TM has both a communication and a leadership focus and as a result the opportunities for growth are immense.

I recommend Toastmasters to people wanting to gain social confidence, lose self-consciousness and grow as individuals in a way that Corporate and other organisations will never give you.”

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Toastmasters International

From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. The nonprofit organization now has nearly 250,000 members in more than 12,500 clubs in 106 countries, offering a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

Most Toastmasters meetings are comprised of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for an hour or two. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian.

There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.