More than 450 people will attend the Toastmasters International event in Sharjah on February 25, to develop their leadership skills.
Among the keynote speakers will be Manoj Vasudevan, a leadership readiness expert, author and coach; and Ahmad Haffar, the man behind the Voice of Dubai.
Vasudevan was the World Champion of Public Speaking in 2017 while 27-year-old Haffar was recognised as the “Most Impactful Young Innovator” in 2023.
Vasudevan believes that the world needs more leaders, especially talented people who need to step out and take leadership roles. “The problem with most of the talented people is that they don’t think they can be leaders. And that creates a vacuum in the leadership around the world,” he said.
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“The critical component of leadership is the ability to communicate. Another critical component which I never realised until I joined Toastmasters is what you learning here is how to influence without authority,” said Vasudevan, who would be speaking on the topic of how to master public speaking and presentation in less time.
He added that the ability to connect, communicate, build a network, lead and influence are the key five skills that people need to master, otherwise, they will be underperforming their true potential.
Toastmasters boasts a network of over 364,000 members in more than 16,200 clubs across 145 countries. Of the 130 districts globally, UAE and Lebanon Toastmasters clubs come under District 127, which has more than 3,000 members.
Another defining element of Toastmasters is to focus on the topic by bringing same-minded people together. Toastmasters also offer the opportunity to meet and connect with new people and develop many soft skills.
“This is the era of AI and you have to stay relevant. And one way to stay relevant is learning on topics of empathy, connection and people. These are the skills you need in the future. And here is an organization that you can potentially participate to develop and benefit in your career, business and life,” he added.
Toastmaster clubs are the experimental grounds where speakers can try their communication skills and get evaluated. These meetings etch the speaking skill in a person and bring out the leadership qualities, transforming the common man into an effective speaker.
The event in the UAE will run from 8.30am to 1pm at Safari Mall, Sharjah.