"When we became a district last year we were one of the smallest districts in the world. Our goal is to become the largest district within five years. We'll make two or three districts in the Kingdom," he said.

Toastmasters Club aims to grow in the Kingdom by 35 percent this year alone. “God willing, we'll reach that target by the end of June," said Matlagaitu.

A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere, Rashid Ali said. A typical group has 20 to 40 members who meet weekly, biweekly or monthly for 60-90 minutes. There is no instructor in a Toastmasters meeting. Instead, members evaluate each other's presentations. “This feedback process is a key part of the program's success,” he pointed out.

The president plans to hold a massive campaign about the importance of Toastmasters. Recently the club set up a pavilion at an exhibition in Alkhobar, drawing a crowd of more than 10,000 visitors. "We have plans to visit malls to tell people about Toastmastering, its benefits and the added value people can get by joining the club," he said.

The international speakers club's first Saudi district conference will be held in Jeddah at Batterjee Medical College on May 17-18. Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja agreed to attend the event as chief guest and keynote speaker. Nine divisions in the Kingdom will send their champions to compete in international speech, humorous speech, evaluation and table topic. The conference also includes a workshop on communication and leadership skills.

Matlagaitu commended the standard of clubs in the Kingdom. "I think clubs in Saudi Arabia are generally on the same level of those in other countries, if not better. We plan to hold more training programs and many speakers and trainers have expressed their readiness to deliver their services free of charge," he added.

Matlagaitu joined Toastmasters in 2007. "I expected the benefits I would gain from joining the club would be marginal since I have obtained a lot of experience as a general manager. But when I joined the club, I realized it has great potential for young engineers in our company. It has been really enriching and gave me a chance to grow not only in public speaking but also in expanding my knowledge. It has been a great experience," he explained.

“Since 1924, more than 4 million people around the world have become more confident speakers and leaders because of their participation in Toastmasters,” said DTM Mohammed Rashid Ali, general manager passenger cars, Toyota Marketing Operations, Abdul Latif Jameel Group. There are 13,000 clubs in 116 countries with more than 270,000 members, he added.

Toastmasters clubs operate in companies and institutions such as Saudi Aramco, SABIC, PetroRabegh, ALJ, Jotun Paints, Al-Zamil , King Abdullah University for Science and Technology in Thuwal, Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University and Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, Effat University and Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah, Yanbu Technical College and Taibah University in Madinah.