DUBAI – June 1, 2025: Words are weapons that can hurt, and words have the power to heal wounds as well, says Ramona J Smith, former Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, as she addressed a packed audience at the Toastmasters District Annual Conference (DTAC 2025) in Dubai recently.
As an acclaimed educator, and communication coach, Ramona urged aspiring leaders and communicators to speak with intent and empathy. “One thing you need to know is that what we say has the power to change something. No matter what, people can have the power if they can voice out what they want to say and know what their audience wants to know from them.”
Hosted by Toastmasters District 127, the regional division of Toastmasters International in the UAE, DTAC 2025 brought together a lineup of international keynote speakers and communication leaders. In addition to Ramano, the DTACT 2025 witnessed sessions by global leadership strategist Dr. Loretta Sanders; award-winning fitness influencer Captain Sam; and veteran Toastmaster DTM Balaji Nagabhushan.
Sharing her thoughts on leadership, Ramona said: “If you are a leader, you have to walk and talk like a leader. As a leader, you have to speak with power and influence. What if your next speech could change the world?”
“However, the real problem is that most speakers are selfish, expressing a ‘look at me’ attitude. The truth is that speaking is not about you; rather, it is about the audience. Understand what your audience wants to hear about from you, what pain they need to heal,” remarked the former high-school teacher from Houston, who emerged as the World Champion at the age of 31, and now coaches business leaders from around the world.
Commenting on her visit to the UAE, Ramona Smith said, “I am glad to visit the UAE again and engage with the Toastmasters fraternity here. I am happy to share my story of transformation as a speaker, mom, and communication coach, and my story as my Toastmaster journey towards winning the global championship of public speaking.”
The two-day conference, themed ‘One District, One Family,’ concluded with contests in international speech, table topics, evaluation, and humorous speaking. Winners from across club, area, and division levels competed for the coveted opportunity to represent District 127 at the World Championship of Public Speaking, set to take place during the Toastmasters International Convention from August 20 to 23, 2025, in Philadelphia, USA.
In multiple speech contests, Sven D’Souza emerged as the International Speech Champion, while Raham Sithara won the Humorous Speech title. Nafisath T. Aslam and Vajaya Ratinam Ramah secured top places in the Evaluation and Table Topics contests, respectively. In the language speech contests, Marwa Al Shafeea was named Best Arabic Speaker, while Anushri Sharma, Fameeb Mohamed, and Vijay Ramah won in the Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil categories, respectively.
DTM Shanil Palliyil, Chairman of DTAC 2025, said: “We successfully hosted a world-class conference that empowered attendees with inspiration, learning, and connections that last a lifetime. It was a celebration of excellence in leadership and communication, providing an powerful platform for growth, learning, and meaningful connections by continuous learning, practice, collaboration, and exchanging experience.”
DTM Viji John, Events Chair for DTAC 2025, said: “The mega event marked the culmination of the contest season, showcasing top-quality speeches and offering all participants, from competitors to learners, a platform for growth and celebration. The conference provided a great opportunity for Toastmasters in the UAE to experience the diversity of the global organization, and the occasion to re-energize with enthusiasm to continue the learning.”
DTM Dr. Muneeba Ali, Programme Quality Director, highlighted the scale of the Toastmasters movement in the UAE: “The conference exemplified our global path to communication excellence, passionate leadership, self-motivated education, and self-developed skills towards personal growth. District 127 is home to over 2,800 members across 154 clubs, 32 areas, and 8 divisions. Our mission is to nurture confident communicators and inspiring leaders through self-motivated learning and skill development.”
Toastmasters District 127 is a vibrant community of over 2,800 members across 154 clubs, 32 areas, and 8 divisions in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. We are dedicated to empowering individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.”
Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders through a global network of clubs.
The mission of Toastmasters is to provide supportive and positive learning experiences, empowering the members to develop their communication and leadership skills, and fostering greater self-confidence and personal growth.
-ENDS-
About Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International is a non-for-profit educational organization established by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley in 1924 in California. Currently headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, the community is spread across 148 countries and territories with nearly 8 million members across a network of over 14,000 clubs focusing on professional and personal development. Since inception, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders.
The mission of a Toastmasters Club is to provide supportive and positive learning experience, in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in a greater level of self-confidence and personal growth. Toastmasters empowers individuals from diverse backgrounds to become more confident speakers, more effective communicators and leaders.
Each year, the Toastmasters International Convention culminates in the final round of the International Speech Contest, where the World Champion of Public Speaking is chosen. The contestants, who reach the final round, stand the chance to win this prestigious accolade after a year of competing in Club, Area, Division, District and global semifinal competitions.