16 months

13 total speeches

5 levels

8 blog posts

4 elective speeches

3 public speaking events in Kelowna

1 Visionary Communication Toastmasters Pathway DONE!

From fear, sweat and heart palpitations to peace, fun and a heart of confidence.

This has been my journey over the last sixteen months after I pressed the “launch” button on my Visionary Communication Pathway through Toastmasters International.

This was sixteen months of digging deep within myself as I dealt with health issues, death of three family members and our beloved Labrador retriever.

It was sixteen months where I committed to actually working on my Pathway consistently and doing one speech per month.

In July and August, I had to get over myself as I went two months without giving a speech because I was incredibly afraid of my speech on the benefits of communication. Isn’t that ironic?

In March and April, I was so ill that I missed many meetings and didn’t complete a speech for another two month period.

Once I hit level five, I was finding my rhythm and enjoying every single second of my Pathway and speeches. I could see my words were inspiring my audience and adding value to their day. I also had been invited to speak to audiences in my city about my passions.

My mentor and inspiration for joining Toastmasters, Vic Lindal, now encouraged me to work on the introduction for my speeches. The introduction that would be read before I even started speaking. The words that the Toastmaster would speak before I had a chance to speak.

We were going deep.

I was finishing strong.

Over these sixteen months, I have been blessed with the very best feedback from my fellow Toastmasters and the beloved guests that come see what we are about.

Imagine getting feedback every. single. time you speak. Yes, this is what Toastmasters is all about, helping each of us grow and become more confident as communicators and people. I have been blessed.

When I do receive feedback, I don’t read it right away. I will go home, put my speech notes and feedback sheets together with a paper clip. Once I begin work on my next speech, this is when I look back at the feedback that was given on my last speech. My heart was to make every single speech better than the last whether it was by improving my clarity, volume, gestures, posture, or even my ability to tell a story, I believe this feedback made me better.

Here’s a few of my favourite pieces of feedback from all of my speeches:

Level one: I did my Research and Presenting speech on Toastmasters International and spend time learning more about this organization we all belong to. Toastmaster and DJ John gave me some invaluable feedback, “Your speech was broken down and laid out nicely in a way that was easy to follow and enjoyable to listen to. The only room for improvement is a couple of times you were gripping your hands in a way that seemed slightly nervous.”

Level two: During this speech, I sat everyone around the metaphorical campfire to talk about My protege story. Toastmaster Starshine Girl gave me feedback that I still think of today, “You excelled at keeping the audience interested and you were well organized. You may want to work on your pauses, vocal variety and pacing. Don’t forget to breathe.”

Level three: From my fellow Toastmaster, Rob, and the person who started the OC Toastmasters Club over two decades ago said “Work on smoother transitions and insert some humour” when giving feedback on my Four Flowers and One mother speech.

Level four: Toastmaster Wenbo gave me insightful feedback on my speech about my blog (www.beenough.me), “I always love your beginnings, you bring energy to your speeches and engage the audience.

Level five: One of my level five speeches embraced Shakespeare and was titled To volunteer or not to volunteer, that is the question. I was fortunate to have Toastmaster Laura encourage me to “Use the stage. Own it and to go to other areas of the stage to impact my points”. I didn’t know but I was rocking while I was walking.

16 months

13 total speeches

5 levels

8 blog posts

4 elective speeches

3 public speaking events in Kelowna

1 Visionary Communication Toastmasters Pathway DONE!

From fear, sweat and heart palpitations to peace, fun and a heart of confidence.

Where will your Pathway take you?