Now back to our program...for my fourth Toastmasters International speech the category was How to Say It. The title of my speech was "I'm Going National!" and I gave it on the evening of September 26, 2006. I think this is when I fist began to have some inklng that I could do well with this public speaking bit. My strong motivation at this point, which you will pick up on, has driven me to be more consistent in writing and delivering new speeches since then. Read on.

Have you ever considered how our club would expand in significance if two or three of us became accomplished speakers on the district or regional level? Can’t you just hear “the Talk of the Town Club” rolling off the lips of Alabamians statewide? Now, take your mind beyond the borders of the state. Can you imagine how significant it would be to have our club recognized nationally and internationally? Here is my contribution to making that happen and I want you to hold me accountable. Now that my work schedule is more sane, I’m focusing on giving two speeches per month from now thru December. I’ll have my first ten speeches done by the end of the year and my Competent Communicator certification will be completed.

Why the sudden urge to target this goal? Quite simply, I’ve been inspired seeing those of you who have walked thru your first ten speeches over the last year. Frankly, I’m proud and jealous all at one time and I am duly impressed by the new talent that has entered the club. They are really showing their stuff with some outstanding presentations! Well, my competitive juices are flowing now and I’m throwing down the gauntlet. I have to catch up. 

I have mapped out my calendar using this same two-speech-a-month pattern to achieve bronze and silver by the end of 2007. Somewhere between the end of this year and August of 2008 I want to compete for the World Championship of Public Speaking. Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. – the big challenge. I’m leaning towards the August 2008 competition because it’s roughly a year long preparatory process. I want to be sure that I’ve hit a couple of certifications and developed some real consistency before I press towards the ultimate objective. I don’t know if this will knock me off pace to achieve gold by the end of 2008 but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.  

In the mean time I have my Advanced Speaking series planned out in detail. Starting in January I’m doing The Professional Speaker and Communicating on Television series to complete Bronze around May 2007. Then I’ll do the Humorously Speaking and Public Relations series along with two speeches from the Successful Club series for Silver in November of 2007. Unless I’m inspired to do it sooner I figure I’ll start prepping for the Championship right around this time. After then I’ll finish off with The Entertaining Speaker and Persuasive Speaking series, conduct a Success/Leadership program and coach a new Toastmaster thru his first three speeches to take the Gold in June 2008. 

Why am I telling you all of this? There are a number of reasons actually. First, I have to speak the idea outwardly in order to give it life and now that I’ve said it I have to commit to it because my personal integrity is at stake and that means everything to me. In another way it will be the culmination of a five year career transition from engineering, which I liked O.K. - I guess - to something that I actually love to do. I didn’t realize it was a five year plan at the time but that’s pretty much what it has become. I left the technical world in May of 2003 and have not looked back. I entered the life insurance profession and began my pursuit into the world of personal finance. In fact it was a retired insurance agent who was so impressed with my command of the language that she introduced me to one of the founders of Talk of the Town. That person told me more about the club and I joined immediately.  

The sales experience and my pleasure of dealing directly with the public without the “chase factor” lead me from insurance to banking. I have no doubt that my speaking ability along with my sales experience and my comfort in dealing with the public helped me to get the position. Now I’m in a field where I can help families with the most basic of their finances. So you see it’s all been coming together over time and I’m excited about where my life will be in May of 2008. As you can tell I never met a microphone that I didn’t like, yes, I am a ham and I do like the spotlight. Can’t you tell by the first Advanced series that I’ve chosen?  

Another reason I’m telling you these things is that I want you guys to be my cheering section beyond the confines of our weekly club meeting. We do a great job of supporting, analyzing and critiquing each other here at home but now it’s time to take the evaluation of our speaking skills to an all new level. Now is the time to really challenge each other to be better than we are. Just look at how so many of you have grown from your first to tenth qualifying speeches. It can only get better from this point forward. Like I said earlier, I am fired up and I am determined to catch up with you. 

And finally, the most practical reason is that I enjoy this so much I can truly see myself as a career professional speaker. I’ve already decided to buy Darren LaCroix’s Get Paid to Speak by Next Week! series. He’s the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking and he advertises in Toastmaster magazine each month. Accomplishing the goal of World Champion would change my entire life and my family’s life. The Champ gets invited to speak all over the country and all around the world. I could give my family experiences that until now were only dreams. Well, reality is at the end of the tunnel in two years or less. That ideal vacation and all those adventures from table topics discussions I’ve talked about before – hey, they will actually be within reach.  

They say that’s how dreams and visions work. Put your energy into pursuing the image in your mind and it can’t help but come true. Athletes call this visualization and the best coaches make it a point to teach it to their players. See the play in your mind before it starts and you’ll know exactly what to do when the action comes your way. That’s what Coach Craig always told us in baseball practice in high school. 

I didn’t know at the time I joined Talk of the Town that I would dream of becoming the next Les Brown but here we are. And to think that my original intent was only to become a better insurance agent. The motivation has definitely changed and now the true goal is in sight. I’m making my charge up the hill and I want to bring the club along with me.  

Twenty-oh-eight is the championship year for Talk of the Town. Are we ready to kick it up a notch! Well so am I so let’s move forward and make it happen!