Toastcaster Communication Leadership Learning Lab

[56:05] The Accredited Speaker (AS) designation is reserved for Toastmasters who combine subject mastery with professional speaking skills at the highest level of proficiency. Since the program started in 1981, there have been fewer than 100, 90 to be exact at this time who have earned the coveted title.

This is the audio for the unique webinar: How to Earn the Toastmasters Accredited Speaker (AS) Designation.

It was hosted in January 2023 by AS We Speak, an advanced club dedicated to supporting members who are pursuing applying for the designation.

Sheryl Roush, DTM, AS, PDG, CVP (right) who earned her credential in 1993, invited her fellow AS colleagues to join the conversation and leads the session.  

You will hear them share their journeys, professional speaking suggestions, and tips not included in the official handbook.

If you are already familiar with the AS, please note the Board recently made changes in the Accredited Speaker program for 2023.

You can also view the full webinar - video at  https://youtu.be/wXeNeePm15M. 

 

 

 

 

-

[27:53] In this episode Greg speaks with Varun Puri co-founder of Yoodli a web-based platform, that helps individuals practice, record, upload and store speeches or interviews and provides feedback and AI enabled analytics as well as an auto-generated transcript of the speech.

In our conversation, Varun enlightens us on a little more of what Yoodli is, why it was created it, how it was funded, how it works and why he refers to it as a “smart- mirror.” 

He gives us a few examples and explains on how Yoodli,  in real-time, provides users with personalized feedback such as filler and repeated words, body language, word pacing and more. We’ll also hear about the added bonuses like games you can play to further step-up those skills. 

We also hear a little bit about the recent partnership between Toastmasters International and Yoodli, giving Toastmasters members, at no-cost, a customized version of the Yoodli platform tailored to the Toastmasters experience including the ability to practice your Table Topics (impromptu speaking).

We’ll also hear about how you can get your analytics on your Zoom communication by inviting Yoodli to join your meeting through a pasted link or your calendar. (Public version only)

And finally Varun shares with us how the platform has helped him in fine-tuning his own communication skills.

Varun Puri, Co-Founder, Yoodli is based in Seattle, Washington and can be reached at Yoodli.ai where you can also access the public version of Yoodli.

Toastmasters members are encouraged to access the Toastmasters Yoodli by simply logging onto their accounts at Toastmasters.org/myhome. 

You can also read more about Yoodli and the partnership in Laura Mishkind's new article on Yoodli in the Toastmaster Magazine On-line.

[31:19] Has the pandemic created for you or someone you know an unnerving unexpected and totally unprepared for, life changing moment? In reality, life-changing moments happen all the time. Many however, are not crises but unrealized opportunities. In fact, some of the best ones are often disguised, pass us by and are only noticed in hindsight. 

In his opening keynote session, you’ll hear from Past District 42 Governor (Director) Greg Gazin, DTM.  You’ll hear ways you can recognize life-changing moments and learn tips to harness them to help you catch your second wind and keep you sailing in the right direction.  

In this light-hearted session, Greg will share some of his epiphanies, adventures and misadventures of transformation both outside and inside Toastmasters as he meandered some of those moments. You’ll also hear how Toastmasters played a role but also mistakes he made and the differences it would have made if Pathways - Toastmasters Educational Program would have come along earlier.

Recorded via Zoom as part of Toastmasters District 42 2022 Spring Conference.

VIEW AS VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ohXygqYKtqA

(Note: In one moment inadvertently said "Toastmaster" when I should have said "ToastCaster." "In 2006, I created the ToastCaster Podcast." The Toastmasters Podcast was originally created by Ryan Levesque & Bo Bennett. I became host and producer of the Toastmasters Podcast in 2014.)

 

[18:33] Milestones are achieved and celebrated every day and recognized in a variety of different ways. Celebrations are also often backward looking going back to where one once was to where they are now. But what if you commemorated by celebrating forward? Using the milestone as a way of encouraging a future activity.

In this episode we look at the milestone of 200th episode of the Toastmasters Podcast and how instead of looking back at the first 200 episodes as many do, the hosts Greg Gazin and Ryan Levesque decided to create a contest - a Pitch Us Your Podcast Idea! contest. 

The idea would be to create more buzz around podcasting and encourage members to give it a try. Members could submit their most creative idea - a pitch and an audio sample and they did not have to have an existing podcast.  The winner would be announced and  be a guest on Episode #200 where they could introduce themselves to the world and pitch their idea to Greg and Ryan. 

When the dust settled, the winner was Rashmi Ketha from Ledgewood NJ, USA  with “The Experience Passport.” Personal development through hobby sampling.

You can catch the 200th episode - shown above at ToastmastersPodcast.com, and Apple & Google Podcasts. 

Also, if you want to find out a little more about the Toastmasters Podcast and its hosts, please check out: Tune In to The Toastmasters Podcast, in the March 2022 on-line issue of the Toastmaster Magazine.

[20:39] In a rare live interview opportunity, host Greg Gazin speaks with Daniel Rex, CEO, Toastmasters International during a Fall visit to District 99, Edmonton, Canada. In this episode, Dan talks about why he visited our fair city from Denver, CO and a special connection Dan has to our own Peter Kossowan, a.k.a. Mr. Toastmaster. 

We also learn a little more about Dan, what he likes to do, interesting things you may not know about him, how he discovered Toastmasters and how he’s evolved since joining the organization over 25 years ago.

As the CEO to one of the world’s largest not-for-profit communication and leadership organizations with 358K+ members worldwide, Dan shares some of his valuable leadership wisdom we can learn from. These include his thoughts on change, being a catalyst for change as well as his take on authentic leadership, and more.

Please enjoy this informative yet fun interview with Dan as a perfect close for this year and this decade.

[27:58] At every step of your life, our guest Mohammed Murad believes that we need to ask ourselves, the thought provoking question, “Is leadership for me?”

In this episode Murad gives context to this question and explains what this means. He also impresses upon us how Leadership is different for everyone. He also shares his vast leadership journey and gives us his 4 H’s of Leadership and what motivated him to take voluntary early retirement from the police force after 20 years of service to pursue his entrepreneurial journey.

Mohammed Murad is from Dubai, UAE. He is an entrepreneur and managing director of three companies. He has extensive experience in global marketing and branding emergency medical services management, human resource development and strategic planning for organizations. He is a Distinguished Toastmaster and Past Toastmasters International President 2014-15. (Orginal Interview 06/2017)

Murad delivered his keynote, “Is Leadership for Me?” as an educational at the recent 2018 Toastmasters International Convention in Chicago. You can subscribe to the recording at ToastmastersOnDemand.com. 

[23:41] In this episode Greg speaks with Natalie Torres-Haddad who has become a voice for Latino millennials. She first found her niche in her community and is now expanding her reach around the world advocating for financial literacy and to uplift those feeling overwhelmed by debt.

Natalie, a.k.a The Financially Savvy Latina, shares a little of her journey, offering tips on taking on leadership within your community. She also gives us an insight on her unexpected TEDx talk experience entitled The Foreign Language of Financial Literacy and more.

Greg previously spoke with Natalie on the Toastmasters Podcast and Natalie also co-hosted with Greg a bilingual (English and Spanish) Toastmasters Podcast in 2017.

Natalie was raised in Inglewood (a southwest Los Angeles county). She’s also, an International Award Winning Author with her book, Financially Savvy in 20 mins (and a new podcast of the same name in both English in Spanish), a workshop facilitator, Real Estate investor and Toastmaster.

Natalie can reached via her website, Twitter @finsavvylatina and other social media platforms.

[10:49] For whatever reason, over 80% of New Year's resolutions fail within the 1st two weeks of February. Perhaps we're going about this all wrong.  In this episode your host Greg Gazin shares a personal journey that shows perhaps why we might be more successful if we create visions rather that resolutions.

[22:32] Impromptu speaking is a great skill to have and you never know where it can be useful. In Toastmasters the practice of this type of speaking is called Table Topics. In this episode we speak with Blaine Zuk, ACG, ALB , who took home top honours at the District 99 Table Topics Contest held recently in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.

 

Zuk, a nine-year member of Dawnbreakers Toastmasters in Edmonton, has MBA and PMP designations and is a Project Manager and Change Manager in the healthcare informatics field. He grew up and currently lives on a farm, bringing stories of his work and life experience into his speeches  

 

He shares with us his experience competing in the contest, talks about the Table Topics competition question and his thought process on how he went about answering it. He also gives us some insight on impromptu speaking and tips on how you can do better at Table Topics at your club, work or in any social situation.

 

Blaine can be reached at BlaineSpeaks.com.

 

 

[07:33] In this episode, Greg talks about and shares a really cool resource for those looking to find quotes and other materials by or about Donald Trump that are not "Fake News."  Whether you are looking for speech material or quotes to use, this free currated on-line resource of 10,000+ entries allows people to search by keyword, subject or suggested categories.  This podcast is based on Greg's recent Gadget Guy article written for Canoe Tech Blog on the subject and links directly to the database.

[20:46] In this episode, Greg speaks with Dr. Bo Bennett. Bo is a successful entrepreneur, author, podcaster, instructor and Doctor of Philosophy. Many of you may already know Bo as the creator of FreeToastHost, founder of e-bookIt and founding co-host of the Toastmasters Podcast.

 
Bo and Greg talk about on-line courses, but not just about taking them, but creating them and getting them up on-line. Bo talks about the skills needed to create them and how these skills, like Toastmasters are a great way to practise and learn to become a more engaging speaker and presenter in a live, on-line and in a multi-medium environment.

Bo also breifly introduces us to VirversitY, an on-line learning platform he created where you can learn to create and produce you own on-line courses. This platform cannot only help you with your skills improvement, it also opens the doors for many business opportunities. For example, you can create on-line courses without limiting yourself geographically or turn books or existing content into courses as Bo has done.

Bo can be reached at BoBennett.com.

[20:38] Julia Ewing joins Greg to share some communication nuggets with the audience focussing on delivering your message - whether it be good news, bad news or just information.  Julia hails from Saskatoon, Canada  where's she's both a community developement professional and business educator, holding an undergraduate degree in human ecology, with a masters in business.

 

Julia attended Greg's educational on Podcasting and Podcast Interviews at a recent District 99 Toastmasters Convention in Edmonton.  Her name was selected from over 60 people who were willing to offer Greg feedback on his session in exchange for  the possibility of an exclusive one-on-one opportunty to be either a guest or a co-host on an upcoming show. This is Julia's podcast debut.

 

You can reach Julia on LinkedIn.

[19:01] Using a Juice Box as metaphor for Toastmasters Club Officers is the brainchild of Rebecca Cuthbertson Hulst, ACS, ALB. Rebecca has been a Toastmaster since Jan 2014 and just finishing her year as Area Director for District 99, D29 in Edmonton, Canada

 

Rebecca is also a Registered Collaborative Family Lawyer, a Mediator, and a lawyer for children.

 

When I stumbled across her speech "Juice Box," delivered in a form of a toast, there was no doubt that she would have to share this and tell her story behind it on our podcast. You’ll have to listen in to find out more.

[18:41] Sometimes employers do not know or are unaware of the value of Toastmasters or any other Leadership and Communications  training for their employees. Other times they may stress the need without really explaining their full value.  

In this episode Greg speaks with Marc Haine, DTM, a former District 42 PRM, keynote speaker, corporate trainer and business consultant specializing in the Hospitality industry.

 

Marc developed resource materials that can be shared with employers to help them understand using real-world tie-ins what’s in it for everyone and why their teams should embrace training - more specifically, Toastmasters.

 

Download the free Employer Resource Materials here.

 

 

 

[31:07] When Toastmasters Districts experience tremendous growth, approaching 300 clubs, they get a little too big to manage, often resulting in reduced quality of service to the members, so around that time, Toastmasters International encourages Districts to consider Reformation, i.e. splitting into two or more Districts.

 

In this episode we speak with Toastmasters Past International Director Ken Tanner, DTM from Edmonton, Canada, a Toastmasters since 1975, who chaired the D42 Reformation committee and oversaw the reformation of D42 into D42 and D99 starting with the idea phase in 2014  to completion July 2016 and beyond.

 

Ken shares with us how the process of this huge undertaking works and why it’s necessary. He illustrates the benefits to members, enlightening us with many of the tasks that need to be done, who is involved, what they need to do and how everyone is affected by them.

 

Of course, as a Toastmaster Ken also shares some of the skills necessary to complete the project, but also what communication and leadership skills can be gained and what he learned from participating and leading this high performance project. Ken can be reached at Ken.Tanner@d99tm.org.

 

[27:22] Mike Raffety, DTM, PID is very active on both the Official Toastmasters Facebook page and LinkedIn group answering many Toastmasters related questions. So we reached out to Mike in Chicago and asked him to give us his take on the Toastmasters Club Myths in the Toastmasters International April 2017 Leader Letter as well as a few other club, contest and speech myths he covered in a 2015 blog post at MikeRaffety.com. Even experienced Toastmasters may be surprised about some things many thought to be true, are simply not.

[29:15] In this episode we speak with Naomi Takeuchi, DTM, PDG, President and CEO 1000 Cranes, LLC. Naomi shares with us some of her Toastmaster travel adventures, visiting and speaking at clubs around the world and offering some insight, tips and encouragement to check out clubs, conferences or even have lunch and connect with other Toastmasters at their travel destinations.

Naomi is a consultant to non-profits and leadership development trainer who recently moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to Santa Rosa, California. She travels extensively for both personal travel and business and over the years visiting places like Australia, Canada, China, India, UK, Qatar and also New Zealand, where she is now also a dual member, creating an international network of colleagues and friends through Toastmasters. In fact, the title of this episode is inspired by her contribution, “Your International Network Awaits!” in the book Heart of a Toastmaster (page 51), an anthology of stories curated by Sheryl Roush.

[19:26] Toastcaster Podcast is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. In this episode Greg grabs the mic and takes an impromptu journey back a decade to its humble beginnings starting from the pilot episode featuring then District 42 Governor Mona Cooley, DTM.

What started as an idea in 2006 for an HPL (High Performance Leadership) project has blossomed into 77 episodes, almost 200K downloads and 1.5M feed hits and counting.

You'll hear how Toastcaster was conceived and get highlights from a number of the episodes and some of the people Greg has interviewed.

Greg will also share what he's learned from this process and how it's changed him and how he now looks at podcasting.

A huge thanks to all those that helped make it happen and for all the listeners for tuning in.

Happy Birthday Toastcaster Podcast

 

[19:15] In this episode we speak to Toastmasters International Immediate Past President Jim Kokocki, DTM, from New Brunswick, Canada. We learn a little about his Toastmasters journey including his year as President, an insight on leadership and maybe a sneak peek at his Keynote and Plenary session he'll be presenting at the inaugural Fall Conference for the newly created District 99 to be held in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. Oct 21-22, 2016.  If you are interested in attending, check out the D99tm.org Fall 2016 Conference Page.

[30:05] Privacy is something we may not think about as a concern when it comes to Toastmasters. Our guest is Jean Eaton of Information Managers a practical privacy coach and expert in many disciplines including Privacy Management and Legislation. As a former Toastmaster Jean explains what privacy means and offers up some best practices,valuable tips and shares what Clubs and club leaders can do to prevent a breach. Listeners can also download her 10 Key Steps to Prevent a Privacy Breach.