JIm K Toastmasters Saint John

Iowa State University Visit March 30, 2017  On March 30th I was in Ames, Iowa, a town of 60,000 people which includes the 36,000 students attending Iowa State University.   The business faculty had invited me to speak about communication and leadership in general, and Toastmasters specifically.   The business faculty is interested in ways that they can make their graduates even more valuable to prospective employers, although they are already highly successful in this regard. Throughout the day I had a series of meetings with students, faculty and senior administrators, and concluded with a presentation in a large lecture hall.   The university newspaper published the following article about my talk. http://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/article_dbcd102c-1594-11e7-9570-938ccdac0ea3.html?platform=hootsuite The day concluded with a meal at Hickory Park BBQ restaurant (http://www.hickoryparkames.com).  I highly recommend. This was an encouraging visit to a u...

Toastmasters in Greater Saint John since 1954 In January the local publication The District (http://districtnews.ca/) published my article about Toastmasters history in Saint John.  The article is reproduced below Public speaking continues to rank high on lists of common fears.  A 2016 survey by Chapman University indicated almost 26% of respondents feared speaking in public. Based on my experience I recognize that many more don’t fear public speaking but they are hesitant to speak as they don’t feel their skills are strong. Public speaking is a skill.  Skills require practice. Since 1954, Toastmasters has been providing opportunities for people in Greater Saint John to develop their speaking and leadership skills.  Participants learn about the elements of speaking and leadership, and then practice the elements in the club environment receiving feedback on their abilities, strengths and opportunities for improvement.  In 1954 that first Toastmasters ...