Toastcaster Communication Leadership Learning Lab

[31:08] In this episode we see a little switch as host Greg Gazin takes the other side of the mic and interviewed by guest host Ryan Levesque co-host of the Toastmasters Podcast. Motivated by reading the book, Ryan takes the host chair and gets Greg to come clean to finally speak in detail about his 1st book, Corey OutSMARTs the Butterflies. 

Greg shares with Ryan a little about what his book is about and how he stumbled upon the idea and what and who inspired him to take on the project which lead him to find a new passion - writing for a young readers. Ryan gets Greg to pull back the the curtain to talk about his shy humble beginnings (long before he joined Toastmasters) but also what he learned about his journey, the writing process, the illustrations and what he’d do differently the next time. You’ll also here how it’s changed him and what people of all ages can learn or take away from reading the book including a glimpse into the book’s SMART model (not the one you’re thinking about).

Ryan also give his take on the book and how he feels it can help his young daughter.

There’s also a book give-away, but you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out more.

OutSmartingtheButterflies.com

Categories: Public Speaking, Confidence, Youth Leadership, ESL

[23:41] In this episode Greg speaks with Natalie Torres-Haddad who has become a voice for Latino millennials. She first found her niche in her community and is now expanding her reach around the world advocating for financial literacy and to uplift those feeling overwhelmed by debt.

Natalie, a.k.a The Financially Savvy Latina, shares a little of her journey, offering tips on taking on leadership within your community. She also gives us an insight on her unexpected TEDx talk experience entitled The Foreign Language of Financial Literacy and more.

Greg previously spoke with Natalie on the Toastmasters Podcast and Natalie also co-hosted with Greg a bilingual (English and Spanish) Toastmasters Podcast in 2017.

Natalie was raised in Inglewood (a southwest Los Angeles county). She’s also, an International Award Winning Author with her book, Financially Savvy in 20 mins (and a new podcast of the same name in both English in Spanish), a workshop facilitator, Real Estate investor and Toastmaster.

Natalie can reached via her website, Twitter @finsavvylatina and other social media platforms.

[25:07] We're so busy and bombarded with information that it's sometimes so hard to remember even the simplest things let alone details. In this episode, Greg speaks with Toastcaster regular Kevin Achtzener, DTM, a self-proclaimed Future Memory Expert who shares techniques for better recall.

Kevin’s obsession for remembering things and these techniques have helped him not only memorize a shuffled deck of cards in five minutes but also creative methods to recall large numbers – like part numbers and serial numbers to names and words. What might surprise you is some of his techniques involve using pictures, humor and even cartoon characters.

Kevin is from Edmonton, Canada and known as a Visual Productivity expert. Kevin can be reached at visualproductivity.net.

[25:44] Being part of a Mastermind Group can be a great way to develop skills, learn new things or simply be a great place for like-minded people to get together and share ideas. 

In this episode, Greg speaks with Dave Rodwell. Dave shares his experience in creating and being a part of two Mastermind groups; what he learned from the process and how it helped him speed up the development of his business and speaking career. He also offers some tips on creating a successful group, what to look out for and what benefits one can derive from such a group.

Rodwell hails from Edmonton Alberta Canada. He’s a former long-time investigator with the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), Private Investigator and Security Consultant. His business has evolved to include the areas of training on security matters and professional speaking on corporate security issues.  Dave has also been a Toastmaster for over 20 years.

Dave can be reached at DaveRodwell.com.

[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.