Mainstage Speakers

To deliver value, inspiration, and delight from stage

Keynote Speakers

Roland (Roly) Sussex, OAM

Roly Sussex is a specialist in language, communication and culture, and health communication. He was Professor of Applied Language Studies at the University of Queensland from 1989 until 2010. Before that he taught Linguistics and Russian at the University of Reading (UK) and Monash University in Melbourne, and was the foundation professor of Russian at the University of Melbourne from 1977 to 1989.

He is currently Research Professor in the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, and in the School of Languages and Cultures, at the University of Queensland. Since "retiring" he has become involved in social issues as a public intellectual.

His current research is focused on language, culture and society, technology, and, more recently, pain and health. He is a member of the PainLang Research Group at the University of Queensland, which is investigating the use of language in the diagnosis, treatment and management of pain.

When he is not engaged in work, he works on his garden and acreage, rides road bikes and mountain bikes, and indulges his passion for classical music.

He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2012, and was a made a Chevalier des Palmes Académiques by the French Government in 2017, and a member of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.

Monique Tonna

Monique Tonna, DTM, of Sydney, Australia, holds an MBA from Deakin University and brings over 20 years of experience in finance and currently works in Accounting in the Construction industry. Alongside her corporate career, she is the sole owner of a Pilates studio, where she curates tailored classes to meet her clients’ individual fitness goals—balancing analytical expertise with creative wellbeing practices.

A Toastmaster since 2011, Monique is a member of Parramatta Toastmasters Club in Parramatta and has held several high-profile leadership roles. She has achieved the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) designation, the highest educational award within Toastmasters International. She is also actively involved in delivering Toastmasters programs in jails, supporting communication and personal development for incarcerated individuals.

Monique believes Toastmasters benefits everyone—not only in public speaking, but in job interviews, special occasions, workplace communication, and personal relationships. As an officer on the Toastmasters International Board of Directors, she serves as a working ambassador, collaborating on policies and procedures that guide the organization in fulfilling its mission.

Saturday 2 May, 10:30

"Staying Here, Growing More"

Why do we stay in Toastmasters? Is it the growth, the confidence, or the connections?

In this lively and interactive session, Monique will dive into what keeps members coming back, share real stories that capture the heart of Toastmasters, and explore practical ways clubs can create a high-value environment where members join, stay, grow, and flourish.

Sunday 3 May, 11:45

"The Power of Attraction"

Every club – no matter how successful – needs to attract new members. You need them to bring new energy and ideas to your club – and they need you to help them become their best selves. But how can we overcome our fears about “selling” Toastmasters, or stop ourselves from “overselling” it? This presentation will give you the confidence to find guests for your meetings, and speak to them in a way that is totally appropriate for you, and them. And it will help you attract new members to your club this year.

Educational Breakout Workshops

Breakout One - Rock Solid Growth

Saturday 11:30

Di
Riddell

Making Your Stories Come Alive

What if the story you've been dismissing as ordinary is actually the one someone else needs to hear? Or even simply enjoy?

Di Riddell has spent nearly five decades helping people find the answer to that question.

She is an author and storyteller. Di transforms everyday moments into powerful, memorable stories that connect deeply and linger longer. She is the author of Speak Out: From Suppression to Expression and has contributed to eight anthologies.

In this interactive session, Making Your Story Come Alive, Di will show you how to turn simple experiences into stories that engage, inspire, and truly resonate.

Your stories are how people understand you, connect with you and remember you. Your story is your message.. it is your voice that makes people feel it.

Learn how your story connects to the session content. Di believes your voice is your gift to the world-let it come out to play.

About Di

Leadership and Toastmasters Roles

Past District Governor twice; 1985 and 2002.
Distinguished Toastmaster twice.
Presidential Citation - one of the highest honours bestowed on an individual member in recognition of outstanding, long tern contributions, dedication and service to the organisation. It is awarded annually to members who have made a significant impact at club, district and international levels.

Professional Expertise

Nursing background covering 40 years in a variety of capacities.
Confidence and Voice Advocate and Adoption Rights Advocate helping women to step up and out knowing that their voice is important and it matters.
Media and facilitation through Your Voice Matters sharing insights on communication and personal growth
Published author of 'Beyond Abuse' (about recovery and moving on) and 'Speak Out' sharing powerful transformational tools to heal the wounds of life's traumas and find joy safety and peace.
Board Experience in the community over many years on the Sunshine Coast.
Philosophy, her approach emphasises that Toastmasters provides the skills and immense opportunities to develop leadership that directly benefits one's professional, personal and community life.

Margot Tesch

When Your Nerves Take Over, How to Take Them Back

You know the feeling. Heart racing, mind blank, voice tight and suddenly it's not you speaking, it's your anxiety, or some other internal persona. Whether it strikes before a speech, in a difficult conversation, or just in the business of everyday life, being hijacked by your own nervous system can be exhausting.

But your body isn't working against you. It's working from a deep wisdom and once you learn to work with it, a new world can open up.

In this 30-minute experiential session, you'll get a simple framework for understanding and recognising why and when you get triggered, move through a few surprisingly effective body-based practices for coming back to calm, and finish with something that's always available to you, right here, right now.

Come ready to move a little, breathe a little, and leave feeling more at home in yourself.

About Margot

Margot Tesch's life has taken some different twists and turns: from IT consultant and strategic planner working with major corporations including Virgin Blue, to beef producer on a 5,000-acre Angus cattle station in SE Queensland, to published author, to life coach. That winding path has been a fertile training ground. Margot has found her true niche and is now an Aletheian life coach in certification, working with clients across all walks of life to help them understand themselves more deeply, move through what holds them back, and come home to who they really are. With over 250 hours of coaching experience, a genuine passion for the work, and a particular soft spot for helping people find their voice, including a number of Toastmasters she has had the privilege of working with, Margot brings warmth, curiosity, and passion to everything she does.

Trevor Burton

Memory Pegging Masterclass

A 40-minute workshop for quick, lasting recall.

Memory is the quiet engine behind almost everything we do: learning, decision-making, relationships, even our sense of identity. It allows us to recognise patterns, solve problems, and connect meaningfully with others.

The encouraging part is that memory isn’t fixed. It’s highly trainable. Simple techniques can dramatically improve recall, often with just a bit of practice. Many people assume a “good memory” is something you’re born with, but in reality, it’s more like a skill anyone can strengthen. With a few practical strategies and consistent use, remembering names, facts, or speeches becomes far easier than most people expect.

About Trevor

Trevor Burton is a proud 8-year Toastmaster who loves the idea of being a great public speaker. He is an avid student of life, particularly in the areas of consciousness and human potential.

At 55 he retired from full-time business to focus on travel and self-development and can’t help himself - at 60 he's now running one of Australia’s fastest growing clean perfume brands with his daughter Maddie.

‘I am looking forward to offering you a memory tool that has helped me enormously over the years’. I welcome input as to what fields I should study in this next phase of life.

Breakout Two - Rock Solid Speakers

Sunday 11:00

Colin Williams

The Speakers Quarry - Unearthing, Shaping and Polishing Your Creation

In this session, Colin guides us through his process of uncovering raw ideas, shaping them into a coherent structure, and refining their delivery until the final piece is clear, resonant, and impactful. We will gain practical techniques for sourcing authentic material, sculpting persuasive narratives, and polishing their performance so their message lands with confidence and clarity.

About Colin

Colin Williams is a storyteller with a passion for crafting narratives that connect and inspire. In 2024, he won the District 69 International Speech and Humorous Speech contests, earning the honour of representing Region 12 at the World Championship of Public Speaking in Anaheim, California. He believes that powerful storytelling is a skill anyone can learn and he's committed to helping others discover their own voice.

Peter Duncan

Empower Through Evaluation: The Master Craft

Most Toastmasters know how to evaluate. They know CRC. They know Heard–Saw–Felt. They know to be specific and to be kind.

This session starts where those fundamentals end and makes the case that knowing a framework and executing at championship level are two completely different things, and then closes that gap. The session goes to places that a club meeting educational cannot: the anatomy of analysis, the craft of transitions across the entire spine of an evaluation, metaphor as a teaching tool, the architecture of time within three minutes, and a breakdown of what the official judging ballot actually rewards.

Attendees leave with a clear, practical understanding of what separates a good evaluation from a great one, and the tools to make that shift themselves.

About Peter

Peter Duncan is a Toastmaster of eleven years and Vice President of Membership at Stanthorpe Toastmasters, competing across multiple formats including evaluation contest at District level. He brings to this session a background that spans competitive speaking, mentoring, and community leadership, and professional work in real estate, where communication is the product and honest feedback moves people forward every day.

Direct, warm, and built around making complex ideas immediately practical, Peter's goal for this session is simple: that you leave knowing how to give an evaluation that a speaker never forgets.

Annette Marshall

Because Words Aren't Enough

This interactive workshop explores how to bring emotion into speaking through voice, posture, and physical expression. Participants will learn practical techniques to move beyond neutral delivery and intentionally embody different emotions to enhance audience engagement. Through guided exercises, they will experience how physicality directly shapes vocal impact and message clarity. The session is highly practical, helping speakers make their communication more dynamic, authentic, and memorable.

About Annette

Annette Marshall is an improviser, comedian, and seasoned Toastmaster, who is living proof that emotions aren’t a weakness in speaking.. they’re the whole point. Annette has been described as a lot of things over the years, but “unemotional” has never been one of them.

Known for being personable, quick-witted, and highly engaging, she has built a reputation for connecting with audiences in a way that feels effortless and hard to forget. As the current District Administration Manager, she brings not only organisation and leadership to the role, but also a welcome dose of humour (whether officially required or not).

Join Annette for a lively and practical session on expressing emotion in speaking, where you’ll learn how to move beyond words and truly connect with your audience. Please come along, she was meant to be performing at the Brisbane Powerhouse this weekend and chose the conference instead, so naturally, she now needs an audience to give her validation.

Google Sites

Report abuse