My name is Janet Buys and I am a member of L’Amour Toastmasters Club in Harare, Zimbabwe. I joined Toastmasters in June 2019 to overcome glossophobia and since then, I have become a confident and effective leader and speaker.

One of the first things I learnt from our club mentors was to visit other clubs. Whilst every club has it’s own vibe, the vision and mission of Toastmasters International clearly shines through. You will never feel lost or out of place wherever you go.

I recently attended a speech contest hosted by Evolving Ladies Club. The atmosphere was great and it was a vibrant and exciting meeting. The speakers were confident and very comfortable and I sensed the energy and synergy of the club members, who were, in the words of the Contest Chair, DTM Dorothy Chanakira, “not competing with each other, but contesting against their own potential.”

Knowing this has given me the desire to continue taking up roles and learn through the transferrable skills through serving as a Club Officer and challenging myself to continually step outside my comfort zone. Everyday, I see how the skills I am learning translate into other areas of my life..