Archive for March, 2010
Into Something Good - Park Central Toastmaster Article
Wrote this piece for my local Toastmaster Club Newsletter
Sometimes it takes me a while to realize that I’m into something good. I joined Toastmasters in 2006 when I’d moved out to Texas as a way of getting to know people in my new home town of Frisco. This was the second city we had lived in since moving out from England and I’d decided that I wanted to integrate my family a little more than we had done before in Richmond, Virginia. Unfortunately, after three meetings, and joining up, I didn’t return for another nine months. My job kept me on the road all the time and I was never in Frisco on a Thursday night.
While I was away something amazing happened. The people who had given their maiden speeches at the same time as me were now pretty accomplished speakers. I resolved to make a better effort, and while my travel still meant my attendance was sporadic, I began to progress. Along the way I gained responsibility for a major corporate campus construction and relocation project and realized that Toastmaster training could help my team with their presentation skills, so we chartered a new club, Capital One, in Plano. Recently, I joined Flight Safety International to lead an organizational change project for courseware production and distribution. Noticing a similar need to improve leadership and public speaking skills, We chartered a club there also. I am currently the Treasurer and Secretary.
We all get different things out of Toastmasters. For me it has been an opportunity to meet and help people build their confidence. Hal Colvin brought me along to Park Central in the Fall of 2009 it has become more to my own personal development. Park Central has given me the opportunity to see the kind of speaker I could be. Now I’m hooked on getting to the next level. It took me three years to get my CC. I’ve completed 8 of the ACB speeches in six months and now I’m going all the way!
