This Thursday, Join Us for.an Open House with Duluth Toastmasters Club 1523

I joined Toastmasters just over a year ago. The meetings were live and lively. The club I became part of here in Duluth was friendly and welcoming, and in a very short time I felt right at home. Three months later, the world shifted on its axis. The pandemic hit and we no longer met in person. Like millions of other people we had to learn how to use new technology to gather while social distancing.

It was surprising how quickly we adapted. One week we were meeting in the Old Central High School in Duluth's Central Hillside, two weeks later we were learning how to log in through Zoom. Even from the start our meetings began on time and our energy level was high as we pursued this new adventure.

ALL THIS TO SAY that once a year our Toastmasters group has an Open House and you are invited. Last year we met in the Green Room at the Duluth Public Library. One week later we were forced to start Zooming. What's great is that visitors to our club can Zoom in from anywhere in the world this year. 

What is Toastmasters? 

Toastmasters is an upbeat, safe way to learn how to be a public speaker ad more. It will help you in future job interviews, in making presentations and speaking at meetings. It is an invaluable tool for building your leadership skills. In short, it can make a difference in your career and in your life. 

Our Duluth Chapter 1523 is comprised of people from a variety of backgrounds. Yana Stockman, for example, is originally from Ukraine with English her third language. Bert Hursh is a teacher who one worked on a nuclear submarine. Dave Boe is a writer. Some are young, some late in their careers. All are quite interesting.

Randine LePage says she originally joined when she was going through a career transition. She wanted to get more comfortable with public speaking. "I have stayed because I have found many more directions in which to learn and grow within Toastmasters.  What I learn in my personal and professional life, I develop further in Toastmasters, and what I learn in Toastmasters, also develops further at work and at home.  More opportunity means more growth, more success and more fulfillment!

Jordan Simpson initially joined Toastmasters six years ago as a way to keep up her confidence as a presenter. "I didn't know at the time how much Toastmasters would help me grow as an individual. For five of the six years I've been in TM, I've been able to expand and mold my leadership skills and connect with individuals between Thunder Bay, ON, CA, to the Twin Cities in MN." 

Wulf Gar joined Toastmasters to further his leadership skills and to become more comfortable with speaking in front of people. "What I've received has been far greater than I anticipated. My confidence has been lifted, not just when speaking in front of others, but also at work and in my community." 

Wulf sees the fail-proof learning environment as its secret sauce. "Toastmasters instructs and nurtures new members, while providing a fun and non-judgmental atmosphere to practice. When you take those skills into the real world, you're already polished and experienced, ready to interact with others with confidence. I love the fun and inspirational atmosphere!"

International Life Coach and Club President Yana Stockman says she lacked confidence when making presentations in a third language. Toastmaster has given her a place to practice. Constructive feedback has helped her immensely. Nothing crushes fear more than confronting it head-on," she says. "After a few months of meetings, my speech deliveries felt much less anxious and much more like my second nature. Consistency of weekly meetings builds up my confidence, which is critical to deliver an influential presentations. 

"I did not expect to receive the enormous amount of benefits that came with my Toastmasters membership: unlimited access in education, a worldwide network community, an opportunity to advance leadership skills on multiple levels. Toastmasters will always be a big milestone in my personal and professional life, because Toastmasters will help you to create a tool-box of skills that you will carry with you for the rest of your life."

As Jordan Simpson puts it, "Whether you want to: build confidence while speaking, sharpen your leadership skills, learn about constructive feedback, build relationships with people throughout the world, or simply see people virtually on a weekly basis, Toastmasters is for you."

Special thanks to team member Dave Boe for assembling these testimonies and quotes.

OUR MEETING IS THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

You are invited.

Register Here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/toastmasters-open-house-tickets-137230814059?fbclid=IwAR1-MmeIONeKJa9v1vEZT9k7iIveJ2QdKPeGRfbrUeNE0Dfq6LYLZ4otx_Q

Of Enemies and Allies

One of the benefits of being part of Toastmasters is that we get to here so many interesting stories and speeches about a whole range of topics from beyond our own realm of experience. Thursday evening, Bert Hursh gave a speech about "Enemies and Allies" that really stimulated my thinking. 

The foundation of Bert's speech was his personal experience on a nuclear submarine near the end of the Cold War. What made the speech powerful though was the way he applied the insights from the first half of his speech to personal real life situations. Whether in school, the workplace or life in general, there's a sense in which we have all experienced some of these realities. It's important to know who your enemies are and who are your allies. 

I asked Mr. Hursh, who is a teacher in the Ashland school district I believe, for permission to share his speech here. 

Enemies and Allies

My mission today is twofold. First, enemy identification and second, relying on allied support.

In my time of service in the United States Navy, I experienced many days of stress. I served during the Cold War, underwater for 80 days in a submarine, living less than 100 feet from a nuclear reactor where I slept 10 feet above a nuclear missile. 

I was in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm.  I even had to share screen time with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, while they were  filming The Hunt for Red October.  (Check out this story about the USS Dallas.)

Two other missions that were especially stressful I can’t talk about. Well, I could, but you know how the saying goes. What I can say is that I spent some time in enemy territory, and can attest to the fear and anxiety that comes from being surrounded in hostile waters.

When this happened, it was my job during a battle station situation to plot on a chart the relative location of all the ships in the area. It is tricky to do when you cannot see any of them. I had to totally rely on our sonar men to identify them simply by listening to them. Every ship in the world has its own signature sound and it takes an expert to make that identification.  Knowing where your enemy is, as any veteran will tell you, is very, very important. We could only identify our enemy by the sound it made. 

My two brothers are also veterans as is our father. My younger brother, Robert, did multiple tours of duty to Iraq where it was his role to teach ethics to the local police force as well as doing security outings in Baghdad. Some circumstances were pretty tough with IEDs and other risks to fear. He was responsible for the safety of his unit and some dangerous times came to him. Afterward, and even now, he does not speak of some of those times. He does speak of his allies, his buddies who were there with him, his friends and family. 

We all need allies, people who support us and have our backs. These are other veterans, family members, friends, neighbors… 

Growing up as I did, I had enemies. I could identify them because I could hear them. They sounded like this;

 

--What did you do that for? 

--Dummy, can’t you do anything right? 

--You ‘re so stupid. 

--Nobody cares.  

--You want to try some of this? It will make you feel better

Sometimes it was my own inner voice:  

--I hate this place.

--I don’t need this.

--I can’t do it.

--I don’t know what I am doing.

I knew this enemy and he was lying to me. 

Fortunately, I had Allies to defend me and help me. I came to believe that God had placed people around me to rescue me. My grandparents, my social studies teacher and basketball coach Mr. Mike Jahn, my science teacher George Olson, people at my church. They all helped me identify and conquer those destructive enemies. 

Some of you here might have the same lying enemy. 

That enemy inside us who doesn't wear a uniform and is our hardest enemy to fight. He nags at you and tells you that you are not good enough. He says you have done bad things so now you are worthless, making you angry at everything and everyone, and you just don’t want to deal with it anymore. 

My friends, you have allies! I know this because I am one of them. 

Looking around, (at our local group of fellow Toastmasters) I find that my enemy is not here. What I see here are allies. They are friends, neighbors, teammates, brothers and sisters, school staff. Look around. Your enemy is not here. All around you are allies.

If we wrongly identify and consider them as hostile to us, the worst can happen. Now I have not been in an accident that is considered friendly fire, but I know that any soldier or sailor would say that bringing harm to an ally is a tragedy that is unimaginable, unthinkable. 

 

In the Navy there is one honor that cannot be done alone to earn it. The Battle “E”. It signifies that your ship or unit was able to carry out Efficient and Excellent battle plans against the enemy. It is not an individual award. Every crew member must be at their best to earn this one. 

We are on the same team!

Be an ally to someone like my sonar man. Help identify the unseen enemy. When the battle plan can be carried out, you can conquer that enemy.  

* * * *

Thank you, Bert, for sharing these thoughts with our Toastmasters group and allowing me to reproduce them here for others to reflect on.

Toastmasters as an organization is nearly 100 years old. It's purpose is not simply to help people become better public speakers, but also to develop leaders. Our own Toastmasters Club 1523 meets on Thursday evenings, and guests are always warmly welcomed. In fact, with Zoom, if you live overseas you can still attend one of our meetings. Some of our members have attended other groups elsewhere in the world.

For more information, visit our club website.

Related Link: Before Going Into Battle We Must Know WWAUA

Photos 

Top: USS San Juan. Photo by Paul Farley, public domain, courtesy US Navy

Next: USS Michigan. US Navy photo by Brian Norkell

Bottom: Submarine insignia known as The Dolphins, honoring the 105 officers and men who perished in the sinking of the US Argonaut.

Jane Kim Shares Thoughts On Toastmasters, Power and Powerlessness

The pandemic has altered many aspects of our lives in 2020, but it hasn't stopped our lives altogether. It's just been a matter of making adjustments. One such adjustment has been the advent of Zoom.

Zoom videoconferencing has made it easy for companies to transition to the cocooning now common for the past seven months. And for our local Toastmasters club it's had some special perks because a few of our members have attended meetings in other parts of the country and the world, and occasionally we have had guests Zoom in from elsewhere.

Jane Kim

At our Toastmasters meeting Thursday Jane Kim gave an interesting speech about how we carry ourselves and its impact on both ourselves and others. I asked for permission to share her talk here and a little about herself.  Her talk follows this brief interview.

EN: How did you become interested in being part of Toastmasters?

Jane Kim: I became interested in Toastmasters after some folks from my inner circle encouraged me to check it out. I was working for two public access broadcast television stations in the Twin Cities when I joined one of the local clubs there and, while I was exposed to much journalism and communication while working at these two jobs, I still had this desire to polish up my skills. I joined the Plymouth club in the Twin Cities in November of 2019 and when I learned that I got hired at FOX 21 Local News in Duluth, I decided to jump right into the Duluth Toastmasters Club, mainly to make great connections in the Northland and to keep working on my skills.

EN: What have you learned through your involvement with Toastmasters?

JK: I've learned that no one is a perfect speaker, which is a good thing! Everyone has something that they can improve on. I've learned for myself that I tend to speak with a lot of um's and and's, and I tend to rush when I speak (I consider that to be a nervous tic of mine). I would say the Ah Counter's role and the variety of Evaluators for my speeches have been key to my growth in these areas. But on the other hand, I've learned that in a supportive and encouraging environment like the one at Duluth Toastmasters, you can reach the goals that you set for yourself. For instance, during the most recent speech that I gave, I was able to use gestures naturally and effectively, even during a Zoom call! I'm learning a whole lot through my participation in Toastmasters, and I am ever so grateful for the opportunity to take part in such a sweet group!

* * * *

Let Your Light Shine

Presence. What allows for someone to have a great or not so great presence?

It was at a garage sale where I stumbled upon a book that would shift my perspective about body language and how your body contributes to changing your mind. We were covering rummage sales and the summer trends of selling one’s old treasures for a story at work, and I think it was the second or third garage sale we went to where I found the book Presence by Amy Cuddy for a measly two dollars.

I wasn’t too familiar with Cuddy’s work – I watched part of her TED talk maybe a few years ago, but it wasn’t until I actually read her book Presence that my understanding of the effectiveness of body language changed.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

There’s a part in her book where talks about feeling powerful and powerless. It’s actually interwoven throughout the entirety of the pages in the book, but Cuddy basically makes the claim that feeling powerful and powerless are two types of dispositions one can have. One can feel powerful, feeling decisive and confident and ready to take on the world, or one can feel powerless, indecisive, insecure, defeated.

As she mentions in her book, power makes us approach while powerlessness makes us avoid. When one feels powerless, not only do our minds have thoughts of insecurity and defeat, we also quote constrict our posture, tightening, wrapping, and making ourselves smaller (limbs touching torso, chest caved inward, shoulders slumped, head lowered, posture slouched). We also use restricted gestures and speech by hesitating, rushing, using a small vocal range, a high pitch and so on.

She goes on to say that when we are feeling powerless, in virtually every way that we can, we make ourselves smaller. Rather than take up more space, we take up less – through our postures, our gestures, our walking and even our voices. We shorten, slouch, collapse, and we restrict our body language end quote.

In response to this, one can only see that those watching us will find us also powerless. Did you know that if you stand in a powerful pose – something like this, this or this – will actually change the hormones in your brain? Yes, the body indeed can change the mind. According to Presence, the body and the brain are a part of a single integrated complicated beautiful system.

“I don’t sing because I’m happy,” said William James, “I’m happy because I sing.” Let that sink in for a minute. It’s not because of the emotional cues of the song that makes one happy but you’re happy because you participate in the act of singing.

According to studies sponsored by Oregon and Harvard universities, doing power poses leads to a high level of testosterone and low levels of cortisol. Testosterone is connected with dominance while cortisol is a stress hormone. According to an article by weekplan.net, people holding power poses tended to be more confident, authoritative, assertive and relaxed while those in low power role poses had low levels of testosterone and high levels of cortisol. When we decide to do something like asking someone out on a date or raising your hand in class or volunteering, we consider the possible benefits or the possible costs of the action. Benefits being a new relationship or being able to say what we think and costs being looking foolish in the eyes of others. If we are constantly focusing on the costs of the action, then we miss out on the decisions that we can make and opportunities to feel powerful in the moment. I don’t mean to keep quoting this book, but presence is the way you carry yourself and is a source of personal power. It’s the key that allows you to unlock yourself, she says, your abilities, your creativity, your courage and even your generosity.

I hope that both you and I learn the secret to finding our presence.


Related Links
Duluth Toastmasters Club 1523 
Duluth Toastmasters Club 1523 on Facebook
Meet Duluth Toastmasters Club 1523: Dave Boe and Randine LePage
More Toastmasters Testimonials: Katy, Wulfgar and Yana
A Visit with Transition Life Coach Yana Stockman

Bert Hursh Shares His Leadership Style

Bert Hursh

This past December I decided to join a Toastmasters group here in Duluth. It’s never too late to learn new skills or hone old ones. Who knows? I may want to do a book tour someday after all this quarantine stuff is lifted in 2023.

Our last five meetings have been held via Zoom, the easy-to-use virtual meeting technology that now has over 300 million users. I’ve been quite impressed by the skills some of these other members have developed. Also, attendees get an opportunity to hear some very interesting speeches.

When Bert Hursh, a Social Studies teacher at Ashland High School, gave his speech 10 days I knew I wanted to share part of it here. Hursh’s insights on leadership were no doubt partially formed by his service in the U.S. Navy and in Desert Storm.

Hursh began his speech with a statistic, citing how many hundreds of billions of dollars businesses lose each year because of bad leadership. The scope of his message was business leadership, not political leadership where trillions can be frittered away through careless decision making and poor oversight.

My Leadership Style

“It has been loudly expressed that in our society today there is a crisis in leadership, a crisis that if left uncorrected could be the demise of a once thriving culture,” he said in his intro.

After studying 35,000 corporate leaders the Gallup Research Group discovered that only 18% of them actually demonstrated a high level of talent and skill for managing people. This is quite a statement, and Bert elaborated. How do we explain this? How do people get to be in positions of leadership if they don’t have a knack for it?

Most of us are familiar with the Peter Principle which states that employees tend to rise in the hierarchy through promotion until they reach a level of respective incompetence. Bert, however, identified a different cause of this problem. “It turns out,” he said, “that the characteristics of these managers often fit the desire of the corporation-- Ambition, Competitiveness, and Perfectionism--and who has had these characteristics the longest, that is, tenure.”

He quickly pivoted, pointing out that this bureaucratic style is not his own favored leadership style.

“There are certain segments of society that like, and even love, bureaucracy,” he said. “I am not among them.”

What else is a leader to be if not ambitious and competitive?

The last time he checked, Bert found that Amazon lists 57,136 books on this topic. After a quick read of their titles he found an interesting common thread weaving its way through them all. It was the word LEADERSHIP.

He then gave us a little etymology lesson.

“Being a leader means… just that, to lead. To be up front, nothing interesting there.”

When you add the suffix SHIP you get all sorts of fuzzy feelings. It’s a little morpheme, but it’s got power! By applying this unique suffix to nouns it can change their meaning in four different ways,

1. Adding ship to some nouns creates a new one that implies STATUS Like chairmanship or citizenship

2. Adding ship to other nouns makes it part of a collective in a group as with Membership, for example, or kinship.

3. Adding ship to yet other nouns will speak to the art or skill in something. Craftsmanship comes to mind or penmanship.

4. To express quality or the condition of something you can add ship to other nouns. Having the principalship was a condition I had for a while. Partnership is another example.

“Why I think this is interesting, if not exciting, is that when I looked down the list of 915 words that are in our language that end with this ship, only Leader fits all four cases: condition, quality, status and being part of a special group.”

Leadership has only one synonym that denotes all of these ideas and this is my style, he asserted, and that is Coaching.

A COACHING style of leadership looks like this:
*Prepares others for the future
*Excels with those who have potential
*Motivates others by challenging
*Uses positive statements
*Mentors/disciples
*Strong personal relationship
*Promotes high morale

Hursh closed with this tidy affirmation, “This is just my style. Thank you.”

Related Links
Duluth Toastmasters Club 1523
Toastmaster Close Ups: Dave Boe and Randine LePage
Toastmaster Close Ups: Katy, Wulfgar and Yana
Toastmasters Club 1523 Facebook Page

Toastmasters Club 1523 Open House in the Green Room at the LIbrary: You Are Invited

Will you join us?

Club 1523. (Click to enlarge)  

This coming Thursday our Toastmasters Club 1523 is hosting an Open House in the Duluth Library. The public is invited. (This means you.)

I myself began attending Club 1523 in December and quickly discovered that Toastmasters is not just about becoming a better speaker, but also about becoming a better leader. It's an impressive program that was started in 1924 by a fellow named Ralph Smedley in Santa Ana, California. Ralph's aim was to help improve communication skills in a group of young men he was associated with. Today there are now 352, 000 members in nearly 16,000 clubs worldwide.

Our newest member, Jane Kim, addressing to the group.

The club meetings have a somewhat formal structure that makes meetings efficient without feeling rigid. There are usually two speeches each week and a Table Topics segment in which members have an opportunity to practice impromptu speaking. This is my favorite part of the meeting. A Table Topics Master selects the topic which you can't anticipate, forcing you to assemble in your mind a structured two-minute talk. It's a great skill to have because if you're ever in management or at a function as a company spokesperson, it's almost certain that at some point in your career you'll be called upon "to say a few words."

Whether for professional or personal development, you never know how far you can go as a speaker or leader until you move outside your comfort zone.

In addition to dealing with the basic issue of stage fright, you learn how to write a speech, engage an audience, how to deliver that speech with confidence and how to grow from each speaking experience via constructive feedback.

Whether you're comfortable or terrified as a public speaker, Toastmasters will help you improve. This Thursday's public meeting will give you a chance to see what they are all about.

Consider Yourself Invited 

OPEN HOUSE 

TIME: 6:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, March 11

PLACE: THE GREEN ROOM @ THE DULUTH PUBLIC LIBRARY 

Located on the Michigan Street level of the library, 

down one flight of stairs from the Checkout Desk. 

More Toastmasters Testimonials: Katy, Wulfgar and Yana

When Aeschines spoke, they said, 'How well he speaks', but when Demosthenes spoke, they said 'Let us march against Philip.'

Last week I mentioned that I've been attending Toastmasters the past few months, an organization design to help people improve in their public speaking and leadership skills. In that post I introduced two of the members of our Duluth, Dave Boe and Randine LePage. Here are three more members of our tribe, Duluth Toastmaster Club 1523.

Katy Hursh is currently an administrative assistant for a company here in Duluth.

EN: How long have you been with Toastmasters?

Katy Hursh: I have been in Toastmasters since September 2018. I had been asked to be the main speaker at two separate events and was looking for a way to beef up my public speaking skills. I had never heard of Toastmasters but happened upon it after looking for public speaking on line. I joined Toastmasters for practice and getting some feedback in preparation to speak.

I have gained a great deal of confidence, and how to read an audience and deliver a speech with impact. It's been very rewarding. I appreciate all the roles members are encouraged to be involved in from giving speeches, keeping time, evaluating grammar. All skills add to being a better speaker.

* * * *

Wulf Gar works for St. Louis county in the 911 area, as an administrative person, mainly responsible for time cards and training documents for the 911 dispatchers.

EN: How long have you been with Toastmasters?

Wulf Gar: I started in May of 2019. So it's been 9 months now. Yikes, that doesn't seem like a lot. I think it might seem longer because we pack a bunch of information into every meeting.

EN: What prompted you to join?

WG: A friend of mine kept remarking on my "accidental leadership urges." She pointed out that I can't just participate in something, I have to organize and recruit and lead. And it is accidental. Or at least I'm not intending to do it. She wanted me to explore where this comes from. She wondered if I could hone it and harness it for good. So, she suggested Toastmasters as they advertised Leadership education. The rest is history, as they say.

EN: What have you learned?

WG: Quite a bit. I was the captain of my speech team in high school, so I already had a basic grounding. But in Toastmasters I'm learning timing, tone, and audience engagement. I'm learning how to construct a speech, how to motivate and inspire people, and give and receive proper feedback.

EN: Anything else you would like to add?

WG: I'm having a great time in Toastmasters. The people are awesome, the education is top-notch, and I honestly can't wait to see what happens next.

* * * *

Yana Stockman, a Transition Life Coach whom I interviewed just before Christmas, was born in Ukraine. English is her third language. She is currently club president for Club 1523.

EN: How long have you been with Toastmasters and what prompted you to join?

Yana Stockman: 1 year and 3 months. I joined because of a desire for self-improvement and challenge of being out of my comfort zone. Also, the desire to inspire and empower the audience in order to promote personal development and self-awareness. I believe in consistency and if putting the focus on improvement is the only way to become the best version of ourselves.

EN: What have you learned?

YS: Public speaking is a powerful tool, it could lift you up and bring you down. I am continuously learning and evolving as a speaker meeting after meeting. So far by preparing and delivering speeches, I've learned:
• How powerful it is to deliver the story and how everyone's story is unique.
• Ability in my leadership skills.
• Confidence in public speaking appearance.
• Consistency in improving my speeches.
• Being persuasive as a speaker and team member.
• Not to apologize for my accent. Everyone has an accent when they speak a foreign language, and that is an integral part of who we are.

EN: Tell us more about your career.

YS: I am Transition Life Coach and Motivational Public Speaker. I help people to navigate through life transitions and one of my intentions in joining Toastmasters was to enhance my message with confidence, empower with persuasiveness and share my story.

EN: Anything else you would like to add?

YS: It is very important to explore goals and know how Toastmasters could help you meet them. It starts with the vision of what you want and what is your "why" when it comes to public speaking. The real prize is what we learn and who we become in the process.

* * * *

To quote the early 19th century newspaper editor and poet David Everett: 

"Tall oaks from little acorns grow."

Duluth Toastmasters Club 1523 meets on Thursday evenings from 6:15 to 7:30 PM. Guests are always welcome, and tonight we're having a special guest. Come a little early and find out what we are about. 

For more information visit 

https://1523.toastmastersclubs.org/

Meet Duluth Toastmasters Club 1523: Dave Boe and Randine LePage

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” --Henry Ford

This past December I decided to start attending a Toastmasters group here in Duluth. Toastmasters is an international organization dedicated to helping people not only develop their public speaking skills but also their leadership skills.

If you're one of those people who would rather die than stand in front of a group and give a speech, well, this just might be what the doctor ordered to help you overcome that inner terror.

The group I joined--Toastmasters Chapter 1523--meets on Thursday evenings at the old Central High School downtown. What I liked about this group was the informality of the photo on their website. It was unpretentious and warm. When I showed up at my first meeting I found a room full of friendly people from all walks of life and all ages. Guests are always welcome, and when I returned they even welcomed me back.

This wasn't my first Toastmasters rodeo. When I moved to Duluth in 1986 I attended a handful of meetings in a basement downtown somewhere. David Ross, who worked in some capacity at a hospital in Moose Lake was part of that group. He had an unforgettable charisma and I was not surprised when a few years later he became head of the local Chamber of Commerce. I have no doubt his Toastmasters experience contributed to his career success.

In retrospect I believe it would have helped me personally to have continued at that time.

One of my favorite parts of the weekly meetings was the Table Topics exercise. Table Topics is an opportunity to give a short impromptu speech on a topic that you have not prepared for. It happens frequently in life that you may be asked to stand and share a few remarks on behalf of your company or organization. This weekly exercise helps you become comfortable when these situations pop up.

What follows is a brief introduction to two of our members here in Club 1523. Dave Boe is Vice President Public Relations and Randine LePage is Vice President Education/Treasurer. Sometime in the near future I will introduce several others whom I've been getting to know.

Dave Boe

Dave Boe

EN: How long have you been with Toastmasters?
Dave Boe: Since last Spring

EN: What prompted you to join?
DB: Saw a flyer at a coffee house about an open house of the Duluth Club and went. Very similar to when a woman at the Depot arm-twisted me to audition for a play a couple decades ago.

EN: What have you learned?
DB: If sharing my experiences is learning, then that's what I have learned. If hearing others' experiences, I have learned.

EN: What do you do for a career?
DB: I write, edit, consult and try to keep my ex's happy.

EN: Anything else you would like to add?
DB: 1 + 1 = 2
I've written for a ton of publications over the years. Got my start doing a harmless travel piece for the Ft. Riley Post. The editor (whom I just re-connected with) loved it. I somehow made travelling in Kansas interesting. Ended up working full-time for the Division PAO. Was just down there last Fall, and poured through the Morgue. Talk about memories. Continued in Germany, with black rooms and cut and paste. Since coming back to Duluth I've worked with a number of local and niche publications, some since folded. Did, and do, a lot of PR for politicians (did 12 years with Oberstar), the Air Show, other boards, etc. I'm currently engaged in developing a wargame and editing wargame rules. I also do the occasional Op/Ed for the DNT.

Randine LePage, CC ALB LD1

Randine LePage

I have been with Toastmasters since November 2010. I joined while navigating my last career change. I'd been told about it before but finally could get it in my schedule. I've learned more than I expected about myself and interpersonal communication in all areas of my life. I still don't love presenting and speaking, but I'm more effective and more comfortable with it. I've learned to tailor my style to my needs, abilities and skills, and those of the audience for my message. There is always more to learn to make that message even more succinct!

* * * *

Build a Better You
If you're looking for a fun way to improve your communication and leadership skills, Toastmasters is a warm, supportive environment to help you develop your potential in these areas. You learn more than public speaking skills. You'll become more confident in both impromptu speaking situations and in general speechwriting.

There are several Toastmasters clubs meeting in the Twin Ports. Club 1523 meets weekly after hours on Thursdays, which is more convenient for some. Guests are always welcome to visit. There's no pressure or obligation to join. Club 1523 is a warm cross section of veterans and beginners so you'll fit right in, whatever level you're at.

Here's more information on our club:
https://duluth.toastmastersclubs.org/

And for more information on Toastmasters International
visit https://www.toastmasters.org/