Living in the present is much easier said than done. Ever been in a meeting but your mind is drifting elsewhere? Perhaps you’re thinking of a conversation you had right before your meeting or you’re planning out the rest of your day. It’s amazing how so many of us spend our days at work thinking about our next vacation yet when we’re actually on vacation, we spend so much time worrying about work.  Read more... (422 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

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Do as I say, not as I do. It seems like everyone is guru these days yet many of these folks don’t follow their own advice. For example: the Facebook guru that tells people to “always include a personal message when adding someone as a friend” yet rarely does that herself. One of my biggest frustrations which many so-called speaking experts is that they tell people that they should do things when giving a speech, yet they clearly don’t follow these rules themselves when they’re “teaching” this advice.  Read more... (642 words, 1 image, estimated 2:34 mins reading time)

read full story of "Do You Walk the Walk?"

Have you ever wished you could go back in time and do things differently? Sure, most of us do. I recently came across a cereal box that had list on the back of “18 things to do before you turn 18.” This list got me thinking for two reasons. First, most of the suggestions (bungee jumping, create a new word, go backstage at concert) were useless in terms of helping people get the most out of life at that age. Second, I thought about what I would tell myself if I could go back in time.  Read more... (1512 words, 1 image, estimated 6:03 mins reading time)

read full story of "Success: Ten Things To Do in High School"

I’ve had a lot of fun the last week or so with some of the dialogues I’ve had on this blog, via email and the various social networks. I’ve also been enlightened, shocked and learned a few things. So to wrap up this topic so I can move on to the finer points of other areas of communication and personal development, I want to provide you with my final thoughts on Toastmasters along with a brief history of my involvement with this great organization.

Why I joined:  Read more... (1784 words, estimated 7:08 mins reading time)

read full story of "Toastmasters is More Than Just Public Speaking – My Toastmaster’s Journey"

Shortly after I joined Toastmasters I couldn’t imagine myself getting to a point in life where I wouldn’t be regularly attending meetings. There were so many things to do in Toastmasters such as go for my DTM, participate in speech contests and get roles at the district level. But life is funny and sure enough, I found myself quitting Toastmasters, not just once, but twice.

I know that there is this perception that Toastmasters is just for amateurs – I remember hearing one woman vocally express this during a National Speakers Association meeting I attended. I don’t believe that to be the case as I know several excellent speakers who still use Toastmasters to sharpen their skills.  Read more... (1066 words, 1 image, estimated 4:16 mins reading time)

read full story of "Five Signs That You May Have Outgrown Toastmasters"

My recent post on whether Toastmasters should dump the Ah counter role has sparked an interesting discussion. A few folks have posted comments to this site, sent me email and messaged me on some of the online social networking services both for and against the counting of (and caring about) filler words.

Where I stand on the issue is that unless the speaker repeatedly uses filler words over and over again, I don’t find them to be a big deal. So if someone says “ah” or “um” three times throughout a fifteen minute talk, I wouldn’t hold it against them. Now, if they started every sentence off with “ummmmmmmm…” then it would drive me crazy.  Read more... (735 words, 1 image, estimated 2:56 mins reading time)

read full story of "The Ah Counter Debate Part 2: More About Ums and Ahs"

I’ll never forget my first Toastmasters meeting back in 2002. There were three fantastic speeches followed by my favorite part of the meeting – Table Topics. If you’re not familiar with Table Topics, it’s the part of the meeting where folks are welcomed to come up and speak “off the cuff” about the topic of the day. I participated and lasted 47 seconds. And, thanks to the person in the “Ah Counter” role, I found out that I had some filler words. At first, I found that role to be very cool and useful, but there’s two reasons why I question whether or not it’s needed – or even helpful.  Read more... (631 words, estimated 2:31 mins reading time)

read full story of "Does Toastmasters Really Need the Ah Counter Role?"