Toastcaster Communication Leadership Learning Lab

  [10:38] We keep our computers on lockdown, encrypt our data and secure them from prying eyes and online predators. But what about our backups and those external drives?  Our data is so valuable; we dedicate this episode and look at diskAshur2, an innovative hardware solution created by UK-based iStorage. It features PIN-authenticated and hardware-encrypted hard drive to help you lock down your precious data. And this is no April Fool's Joke. You can find iStorage diskAshur2  at Nuimpact (iStorage’s distributor) and Amazon.  You can also read the original review at Troy Media.    

[28:08] In this episode Greg Gazin speaks with communications expert Matt Abrahams who shares six of his many techniques to calm presentation jitters and a whole lot more. Matt is an educator and coach who teaches Strategic Communication for Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and Presentation Skills for Stanford’s Continuing Studies Program. He’s also co-founder of coaching consulting practice Bold Echo Communication Solutions where he helps presenters at all levels of an organization to become more confident and compelling speakers. He’s also the author of the Speaking Up without Freaking Out, now in its 3rd edition. You can also catch Matt on the Toastmasters Podcast, Episode 111, with Greg Gazin and Ryan Levesque where he spoke on how to Be Confident When Caught Off Guard. Matt’s Six techniques are also available as an infographic for quick reference. Matt can be reached at NoFreakingSpeaking.com.

[23:13] In this episode Greg speaks with Garfield Hiscock from Edmonton, Canada who shares his insights and motivations and how he’s clocked in over 100 visits to service organizations like Chambers of Commerce and Toastmasters clubs outside his hometown. It seems for years Hiscock found himself “out-of-town” for both work and play. His time away from home led him to search for, as he called them, “pseudo families” wherever he went; his solution was to seek out various service organizations. In fact often, he would often base his travel schedule around meeting times and locations. Hiscock is a Technical Trainer and currently working for a utility company, training drivers. He has a BA in Economics and a Masters of Information Technology Education. He’s also a Distinguished Toastmaster and member for over 27 years.

[30:20] What are “enlightened super achievers?” What are these influential leaders’ timeless secrets? If you want to know more tune in to our latest episode. Greg speaks with Corey Poirier, a multiple-time TEDx, highly sought-after speaker and featured in numerous media outlets. Corey is also the host of the top-rated radio show “Conversations with Passion,” where he’s interviewed over 4,000 top leaders and great minds, the likes of Robin Sharma Robin, Jack Canfield, Zig Ziglar, Dr. John Gray, John Maxwell, Stephen MR Covey, Arlene Dickinson and more. Corey who’s been successful on both sides of the mic, also shares some insights on how he reached his personal success and offer tips from his signature presentations. We'll also hear about his brand-new book, The Book of Why (And How) – Discover the Timeless Secrets to Meaning, Success and Abundance. Corey can be reached at ThatSpeakerGuy.com.  

[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.

[29:58] At this time of the year we reflect back on the year but look forward to the New Year. In this episode, we look back 10 years ago this week to a Toastcaster Podcast interview with Craig Valentine, 1999 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking that still resonates with Greg today. In the podcast interview Craig shared a number of insights and personal stories. He talked about things like the importance of having a vision, the dash between the dates, crabs in a barrel, leading a proactive versus a reactive life and more - relevant to Creating Your Future and perfect for this time of the year. What's really interesting is that with our 24/7 connected world and lives busier than ever, what you'll hear seems even more relevant today as it was a decade ago. So have a listen and enjoy our podcast replay. Craig Valentine WCPS is a motivational speaker, speech coach and best-selling author. He can be reached at CraigValentine.com.

[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.

[07:08] In this episode Greg tells the story of the origin of April Fool's Day. Greg was recently the Toastmaster of the Day at his home club, New Entrepreneurs and the theme was April Fool's Day.  After researching the topic, Greg perhaps over-prepared his opening remarks and although a little lengthy, they were well received by the members.As a result, when Greg went home, he expanded on what he had said and wrote an article that was published at Troy Media. Then he decided to make a podcast of the article which is what you'll hear. Enjoy.