Professional Speaking

Come along to get rid of the number one fear people have. Every week we have new members and people starting from scratch so you will not be alone. Everything is based around what you're comfortable with and you don't have to stand up, talk or do anything if you don't feel like it. But you will have the opportunity to speak at least 4/5 times a night. You can come along to see what we're doing and take part if you like. We will be running this for beginners every week and anyone is welcome to join us to learn and get better together. Hope to see you there :D We charge €5 to help towards the room rental.

Come join us at The Playground with our weekly drop-in improv workshop! Running on Monday evenings, this is a chance to experience improv among like minded people. No experience necessary and all levels are welcome! Each week we will have a different theme with exercises and activities to allow us improve our improv skills. Whether you are interested in developing the skills for your professional or personal life, or you are someone who currently performs or would like to perform on stage, then there is something for everyone. The long-term objective of The Playground is to create a place for people to develop and create projects and shows, providing regular opportunities for those who wish to perform in shows. Facilitated by two very experienced improvisers, Neil Curran and Quinton O'Reilly, join us for some play! We also have guest teachers join us too. **Important Info** \* Each drop-in session lasts 2 hours and starts at 7pm in the Teachers' Club. \* Each drop-in costs just €12. \* You can also sign up for membership which costs just €30 per calendar month and gets you access to all workshops. \* No experience necessary and all levels welcome. \* Events run on a drop-in basis offering flexibility for those who can't commit to doing a course. \* Payment can be made on arrival. \* After the workshop, many of us stick around for chats in the bar upstairs so do stick around for it. For more about Neil Curran please visit www.lowerthetone.com Check us out on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/improv_playground/

Join us to **practise and improve your target language with native speakers on Monday in River Bar**(1 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2) from **6.30pm to 8.30pm**. **Our system:** **• You sit opposite a native speaker of the language you're learning** **• You speak 5mins English, 5mins other language, then change table** This ensures everyone gets an equal opportunity to practise the language they're learning. Our team seats people, controls the time, organises the table changes etc. What to expect: • Relaxed easy going atmosphere • Professional and quality service • Great networking opportunities • All levels welcome from absolute beginner to fully fluent • A big mix of ages with attendees at each event from 18 to 70+ years old • Topic cards on the tables to help start conversations Languages: We usually have **native speakers of English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese** and more depending on who shows up. **Admission fee €7** (€6 for student card holders). **No pre-registration required, just show up**. Loyalty card system: Come to 5 events and the 6th is free. Over 150,000 people since 2012 have attended our language exchanges to practise and improve their target language - you can too! Everyone is welcome! For more news and info check: Website: [www.languageexchangeireland.com](http://www.languageexchangeireland.com/) FB: [www.facebook.com/languageexchangeireland](http://www.facebook.com/languageexchangeireland) Instagram: [www.instagram.com/languageexchangeireland](http://www.instagram.com/languageexchangeireland) NOTE: The MeetUp attendance does not reflect actual attendance. There are usually around 100 people at each event. We are also in the River Bar every Thursday at 6.30pm

***Let's support this charity event gay speed dating in Penny Lane*** You can secure a ticket on Eventbrite.ie at the link below. https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/gay-speed-dating-tickets-1990338646470?aff=ebdssbehomepeforyou&_gl=1\*fjz9wc\*_up\*MQ..\*_ga\*MTUwNzMxODgwNC4xNzc5NzYxMTUx\*_ga_TQVES5V6SH\*czE3Nzk3NjExNTAkbzEkZzAkdDE3Nzk3NjExNTAkajYwJGwwJGgw ***We’re so excited to bring you our Second Gay Speed Dating Night at Penny Lane! ✨ Join us for a fun, relaxed evening of one-to-one chat*** Or Ten euro on the night if tickets remain available So let's have a bit of fun and laughter at this charity event. Who knows you may even find a new Boyfriend or Husband ❤️🏳️‍🌈❤️ Ariana Grinder is a wonderfully funny talented performer and singer 🤩 Peter James, courageously organises these events for local and gay registered charities. So lets do our best to support this Wonderfull Event. Should be great crack.

This event has been discontinued

## About this event ## **Temple Bar Toastmasters, in person meetings, will allow you to be a confident speaker, gain an edge in your career and communicate effectively.** **FREE to all first time guests!** Open to all members of the public. **The club meets every first & third Tuesday of the month.** * Bring a friend or come alone, all welcome- we are a friendly supportive group! **Benefits for you:​** be a confident speaker gain an edge in your career communicate effectively prepare for online job interviews become a confident public speaker **How we help you:** regular opportunities to speak a planned programme mentoring and coaching friendly supportive feedback practice on hosting a meeting different speaking situations ​ \* \* Entry fee of 5 euros applicable at the door (free for first time guests) \* \* **​**

This group is for people who don't feel their German is strong enough for the Deutsch Sprechen Stammtisch. Anyone from complete beginner to native German speaker is welcome. All you need is a willingness to learn and speak German (or as much German as you can) and a willingness to help and be patient with other people who have less German than you have. The aim of this group is to build the confidence as well as ability to speak German in real life situations with others. . There are a limited number of places, so please keep your RSVP up-to-date! Bis dann.

Join the Energy Innovators Ireland group for an informal meetup focused on the latest innovations in energy and renewable technologies. This meetups speaker is **Fergus Sharkey**, Head of Business Supports at SEAI. He will speak about his journey in his various roles pushing forward energy innovation with his talk titled "Postcard from the Energy Transition Frontlines" *Fergus is an experienced engineer and proven leader in the energy and sustainability sector. Currently Head of Business Supports in SEAI helping to lead Ireland's energy transition. Fergus and his team provide a wide range of supports to businesses looking to improve energy efficiency and adopt renewable energy.* Whether you are a seasoned professional or simply curious about the intersection of technology and sustainability, this meetup is the perfect opportunity to network, learn, and exchange ideas with like-minded individuals. Upstairs room in Nearys pub at 6pm https://www.linkedin.com/in/fsharkey/details/experience/ https://www.seai.ie/grants/business-grants

Join us on **Tuesday, June 9th, at 6:00 PM** for an evening of networking with the **Sustainability and Innovation Network Dublin**. **Details:** 📅 **Date:** Tuesday, June 9th ⏰ **Time:** 6:00 - 8:00 PM 📍 **Venue:** Bar Rua RSVP to let us know you’re coming, we would love to see you there!

We are in the middle of a trilogy of topics that form a story. Our current series is around the theme of human flourishing. In April we discussed *beauty*. In May we looked at how the role ‘*home*’ plays in our well-being. To round off this *trilogy of human flourishing*, we will ask what roles do *nature and nurture* play in our lives? Have you ever pondered why you are the way you are? Are we born this way, or are we shaped by life? *Nature* refers to the genetic blueprint we inherit from our ancestors. *Nurture* refers to the social, cultural, and environmental factors that moulds our personalities, values, and skills. Are these two influences enemies or dancing partners? What limits, if any, exist in either one? How do they contribute to destiny or choice? Join us for facilitated conversations about Nature and Nurture this upcoming Tuesday, 9.June, 7:15pm, at Third Space Café Smithfield. Newcomers are welcome. **NOTE**: we ask for a **3 Euro donation** to cover costs. Payable on the night by coin or Revolut. Thank you. Socrates Cafe: *a space where ideas and dialogue can flourish*.

**NEXT EVENT - 09 JUNE 2026** **VENUE UPGRADE!** This Event will take place at Building [DUB12](https://maps.app.goo.gl/bkQrdwFLTiNaN5618), 1 Burlington Rd, Dublin, D04 RH96, Ireland Conf Rooms (Theatre) 01.503 & 01.505 **MEET!** **Luis Guirigay** Worldwide Head of Cloud Infrastructure Solutions at AWS **AND...** **Christian Melendez** Principal Specialist Solutions Architect & EMEA Lead, Compute at AWS Two senior AWS practitioners sharing hard-won production lessons, focused on real-world patterns - not just demos! Admission is FREE, Event includes Prize Draw, AWS Credits and Refreshments too. **AGENDA** **5:45 PM - REGISTRATION & NETWORKING** **6:00 PM - START** Ronan Guilfoyle, AWS Lead Solutions Architect Ronan Ó Caollaí, AWS User Group Dublin **6:10 PM - Luis Guirigay** **Stop Guessing, Start Testing: Performance Engineering on AWS** Over-provisioned to feel safe? Under-provisioned and hoping for the best? This session makes the case for performance testing as the feedback loop that closes the gap between architecture assumptions and production reality. We'll cover how to map load testing methodologies to specific reliability and cost risks on AWS, simulate diverse traffic patterns across workloads including AI inference and RAG pipelines, and build a repeatable framework for right-sizing with confidence, not gut feel. 6:40 PM - BREAK / NETWORKING 7:00 PM - **Christian Melendez** **Autoscaling Isn't Set-and-Forget: Tuning KEDA & Karpenter for Real Workloads.** You've deployed KEDA and Karpenter—now what? Most talks stop at "it scales." This one starts there. We'll dive into the advanced configurations, failure modes, and optimization patterns that separate demo clusters from production workloads. On the Karpenter side: Node Disruption Budgets to control voluntary disruptions, how to survive Spot interruptions gracefully, and bootstrap optimizations that shave minutes off node startup. On KEDA: scaling modifiers that combine multiple metrics into smarter decisions, cooldown tuning to prevent thrashing, and the shift from reactive scaling to proactive workload sizing. We'll show how EKS Auto Mode changes the equation—what you get out of the box, what you still need to configure, and how KEDA fits into a managed Karpenter environment. **8pm - ENDS** **SPEAK or SPONSOR!** Speaking/Sponsorship slots available! If you’re designing/building/testing/scaling something interesting on AWS we’d really love to hear from you. ++++++++++++++++++ **SAVE THE DATE! - 09 JUNE 2026** All your questions about AWS answered at a single event! ———— **Tickets are FREE but are Limited, so please RSVP Now.** **WANT TO SUPPORT?** AWS User Group events offer a great opportunity to align your brand with AWS thought leadership and to reach a highly influential audience of senior engineers, architects, founders and technical decision-makers that traditional channels cannot match. The Dublin AWS User Group is amongst the longest established in the world and has a long reputation for delivering quality content and engagement opportunities. Meetups are typically run in a city centre live entertainment setting with full A/V capabilities including dedicated lighting and sound engineers and seating for 200. Contact us through the **Messages Icon** about Speaking and/or Supporting. \* Agenda, may change slightly **AWS User Group Dublin Team**

Topic to be announced. **THANK YOU** *Franklin University* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Franklin University*, please visit their website: https://www.franklin.edu/ **DIRECTIONS** Franklin University Fisher Hall 300 E. Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jxjBA2hUmS5qrvhq8 Parking is FREE! Please park in Lot C in front of Fisher Hall. See attached map. NOTE: Map the address only. When mapping with Google Maps it may use the Fisher Hall at OSU, which is NOT correct. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com

The topic for June is "Roadtrip" Speak Easy: true stories, told live. The idea is simple: an audience, an open microphone, and great stories. Hilarious, gripping, poignant- it's up to you. Audiences are invited to come to listen or come to tell as folks from all corners of Columbus offer their stories live on stage! Held at Wild Goose Creative's warm, intimate space, this night of tales occurs on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Doors open at 6:30 pm, show starts at 7:00 pm. Please arrive early if you want to tell, as we generally only have room for a limited number of tellers, and the sign-up sheet has a tendency to fill up fast. Formed around the idea that people need stories--they're what hold and draw us together--SpeakEasy celebrates the strangeness and commonness of being human. And in a world of smartphones, Facebook, Twitter, and more . . . it gives people a real, breathing, in-person way to connect. The night is geared for true stories of all kinds, taking the best tales told around kitchen tables, in darkened pubs, on the street corner, and at late-night parties and giving them an audience. Speak Easy is also a great outlet for performers, writers, and artists looking to share their favorite stories and perfect their skills. We strongly encourage tellers to please tell the story rather than read it so we keep within the spirit of good storytelling and stay engaged with the audience. All are welcome. Hang around after the show for a drink and build community!

QA or the Highway is a one-day, affordable, regional, professional conference featuring real-world experience and thought leadership in the QA and testing industry. This is a ticketed event please register here: https://www.qaorthehwy.com/ Featured Keynote Speakers: **Matthew-Hope Eland** **(Wizard at Leading EDJE)** \- An AI Specialist and Wizard at Leading EDJE who is known to teach software engineering\, AI\, and data science concepts in the most ridiculous ways possible\. Matt has used machine learning to settle debates over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie\, reinforcement learning to drive the behavior of digital squirrels\, data analytics to suggest improvements to his favorite TV show\, and AI agents to play board games and create an AI agent with the personality of a dog\. Matt is the author of "Data Science in \.NET with Polyglot Notebooks" and "Refactoring with C\#" as well as several LinkedIn Learning courses\. Matt helps organize the Central Ohio \.NET Developer Group\, runs several blogs and a YouTube channel\, has a Master’s of Science in Data Analytics\, and is a current Microsoft MVP in AI and \.NET\. **Tatyana Arbouzova** **(CEO at Innovate QA)** \- Tatyana Arbouzova is an engineering and business leader with a strong background in Quality Engineering across multiple industries\, including Big Tech\, Healthcare\, and Entertainment\. She has held leadership roles at world\-class companies such as Microsoft\, VMware\, Disney\, and The Pokémon Company International\, where she focused on building quality\-driven cultures and scaling teams to deliver high\-impact products\. With decades of experience\, Tatyana has helped organizations transform their quality practices so teams can deliver software efficiently\, confidently\, and with measurable business outcomes\. Today\, Tatyana advises software companies on adopting AI to optimize quality practices and improve how software is delivered at scale\. She is also a passionate community builder and the founder of Innovate QA\, a thriving Seattle\-based community and conference for quality professionals\.

Join Voice Over Pros Of Ohio for an exciting morning of networking, and exploring opportunities in the world of voice acting. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, this event is perfect for expanding your network, learning how to start a VO business, and for honing your skills. Connect with fellow voice actors and VO experts, that will help you succeed in your voice over business. This event will feature discussions on professional development, entrepreneurship in the voice over industry, with tips for navigating the world of voice acting. Don't miss this unique opportunity to learn from others, collaborate with like-minded individuals, and take your voice over career to the next level. Join us Saturday, March 28, from 10am - 12pm and learn how to start or grow your voice over business. Let your voice be heard! The $10 fee covers refreshments and door prizes.

At Evolve Synergy Sessions, you'll be part of a supportive mastermind where we share challenges, brainstorm solutions, and inspire one another to take bold steps in our businesses. Grow your network, gain fresh perspectives, and build meaningful relationships with like-minded women who are committed to success. Whether you’re looking to move the needle in your business or simply need a space to connect and recharge, this is the perfect place to fuel your entrepreneurial journey. [Add Event to Calendar](https://evolvecolumbus.eventcalendarapp.com/) \*\* Please note, we will be arriving around 8:15a for open networking! Get there early and get connected! Contact Alexis Morley at [alexis.morley@edwardjones.com](mailto:alexis.morley@edwardjones.com) or Terri Lawson at [terri.lawson@e-merge.com](mailto:terri.lawson@e-merge.com) for more information.

Whether you've never done improv before, or you've done it for so long you were quoted in *Truth in Comedy*, or anywhere in between, come join us! Swing by *Gresso's* for the **Columbus Improv Comedy Meetup**! The idea behind improvised comedy is to create entire scenes from scratch. A suggestion is taken from the audience and laughter is built on the spot. This can be done in game form, like *Whose Line Is It Anyway, Make Some Noise,* or *Wild 'n Out*; it can also be done in a longer way, to tell a complicated story, like *TJ & Dave*. Our meetup, which is central Ohio's longest running (and FREE!) weekly comedy event, brings the games for you to play in a safe, supportive, and compassionate environment. Afterward, many members will hang out in *Gresso's* itself and get to know each other. Not only is this a lot of fun, but you get to work on thinking faster on your feet, your public speaking, plus it's an excellent way to meet new people and build relationships that will last a lifetime, and you do that while laughing your butt off! Ask yourself if you want to join the **Columbus Improv Comedy Meetup**, and say "*Yes, And*" that you'll have a blast!

**The Behavior Gap: Where Products Win or Lose** Teams today have more data than ever, and yet many still struggle to understand why customers adopt, engage with, or abandon their products. Teams sprint, ship faster, and chase more signals… all while metrics stall and confidence drops. The missing piece isn’t more data. It’s often the behavioral insight between the metrics, explaining why the numbers move in the first place. Dashboards can tell you what customers did, but understanding why they did it (and how to influence what they do next) requires a deeper blend of insights. This session is about closing that gap. Drawing from real-world experience designing and scaling products as [ZoCo Design](https://zocodesign.com/)’s CEO, [Lacey](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/) will share how to cut through the noise and identify the insights that actually change behavior—moving people, and moving metrics. You’ll learn: * Why understanding customer behavior is a quant and qual challenge * How to spot the signals that actually predict behavior change * Where AI accelerates insight, and where it creates distraction * How to get meaningfully closer to customers, without adding more tools This talk reframes how to evaluate performance and identify what levers actually improve it, helping your team to make smarter bets with greater confidence. Every meaningful outcome is driven by behavior change. And when you know how to design for behavior, you stop guessing, and start building things that work. **About Our Speaker** [Lacey Picazo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/) is the Founder and CEO of ZoCo, a healthcare product studio that turns complex, high-stakes ideas into products that drive real-world adoption. She partners with healthcare organizations to uncover critical care delivery insights, focus product strategy through behavior design, and build solutions that patients and providers actually use. Thanks to our 2026 sponsors: [Clarivoy](https://www.clarivoy.com), [What Box Consulting Group](https://www.whatboxconsultinggroup.com), [Conductrics](https://www.conductrics.com), and [Piwik PRO](https://piwik.pro) More info at [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com)