One morning I came to breakfast to find a newspaper cutting on my plate telling me a Toastmasters Club was to be formed in Wellington.

         My wife said, “This wouldn’t do you any harm.” How right she was.

         I joined the club and attended the first meeting. An old school friend belonged to the New Plymouth club and spoke highly of the benefits of Toastmasters.

         That would be on Monday 7th February 1965. This was the Mother club. The first of many established in the Wellington region.

         The Wellington club was set up by Peter Shephard and Tim Tomlinson. Peter had been a member of the Dunedin club before transferring to Wellington. He later became Dr. Peter Shephard and set up the first club in Malaysia.

         In 1968 when I was touring the USA as an Eisenhower Fellow, I visited the Toastmasters World Head Quarters. I was given the difficult mission to explain why New Zealand clubs were unable to send their annual subscriptions to them.

         In those days we were unable to send money out of the country without a special permit from the Reserve Bank.

         I found the World Headquarters in a seedy area of Santa Ana in California. They have since moved.

         I was made most welcome by the Executive Director, Buck Engle, a retired army colonel. He congratulated me on my English and asked what language we spoke in New Zealand.

         Since then we have had two World Presidents from New Zealand. One was Len Jury whom I first met when he was a member of the Bell Block Young Farmers’ Club.

         I have attended meetings regularly for over 50 years.

         The club gave me the confidence to run many international workshops for senior managers in Asian countries.

         I learned how to make impromptu speeches at short notice. This helped me get out of all sorts of embarrassing situations in Asia and in the Pacific countries. One day in Sri Lanka I stood in for the Minister of Agriculture to open a National Conference at five-minute notice. Another time I was asked to reply to a Toast by the Mayor of Haiphong in Vietnam – just two of many examples.    Visitors in Asian and Pacific countries are often expected to speak at events but they are rarely given a warning.

         One morning I was sitting at Wellington Airport waiting for a plane to take me to Singapore. A man sitting next to me said, “You are a Toastmaster aren’t you? I said, “Yes.”He said, “We cannot find any one prepared to take on the Area Governors role. Would you be prepared to do it?”I said, “Only if you cannot find anyone else.”

         I had no idea who he was. Two weeks later when I returned to New Zealand I discovered I was the Area Governor – too late to do any training for the role.

         I flew to Singapore 32 times to run workshops for Asian managers at the Singapore Institute of Management. They had several Toastmasters clubs attached to the university.

         I was invited to be the guest speaker to address a combined meeting held at a gentlemen’s club.

         I remember the situation as there were a large number of Rolls Royce cars outside in the car park.

         My topic was “Hazards of International Speaking”. How I remember that its engraved on a pewter dish they presented to me at the end of my address.

         A Toastmaster club was a great place to meet people. Annette King became Deputy Prime Minister. She is now New Zealand’s High Commissioner in Australia. We have had Ambassadors pass through the club and some of our members have become University Professors.        Brian Tyler was the Auditor-General,  one of the highest ranks in government. He was such a busy person yet he always made time to mentor new members.

         If you are ambitious and want to improve your confidence, you’re listening and speaking skills look for a strong Toastmasters club and join up. It could help change your life – it certainly helped me. I have now lost my fear of speaking to a large audience.

Geoffrey Moss(Mossassociates.co.nz)