While I may live in a small coastal town in Oregon, it seems we have almost all I need to launch a successful career. A year ago I moved just outside of Newport, Oregon feeling this would be a quiet place to work on my book, Healing Happens: Stories of Healing Against All Odds, and prepare for my book tour launching in April 2018. In the beginning the only time I went to town was to buy groceries or attend a Yaquina Toastmasters meeting on Tuesday mornings at the restaurant Pig ‘N Pancake. To my surprise Toastmasters provided all I needed; connection to community, refined preparation for my speaking tour, and an excellent breakfast catered to my special dietary requirements! Whether a new member or long-time member, there is always a friendly face to greet you at the meetings. Every meeting is filled with laughter as many people in the club have a great sense of humor. Our president Brian Norris is very tactful at keeping a great sense of harmony among the members. I have made friends, been given opportunities all over this region to speak about my miracle healing stories and success strategies. I see familiar faces in town that make me feel like a welcome member of this community. They have also encouraged me to take on bigger roles within Toastmasters to step out of my shell. Not only have those roles helped me as a public speaker, but also as a leader, and in my ability to communicate in everyday conversations.
People say public speaking is one of their biggest fears. To overcome fears, I find it helpful to establish a supportive environment, find a well-developed training system, and obtain constructive feedback from people more experienced than me. It takes courage to take on a leadership role or stand in front of a room. When I do so the Toastmasters members are always supportive. The energy of the group feels so inclusive they even added the ability to join the meetings online for people like me who travel a lot to be able to stay involved. Now we are a hybrid club and have members from around the world! With a program that started almost one hundred years ago, I really feel Toastmasters has polished our training manuals to offer clear guidance every step of the way. I even got to be part of helping roll out the new Pathways program, which I feel is even more tailored to each individual’s goals. Whether you want to focus on speaking, coaching, leading, communicating, negotiating, networking, project planning, motivating others, or mentoring, it seems there is a path for you.
At a recent training with Brendon Burchard, known as “the world’s leading high performance coach,” he shared perfection can’t be achieved until we launch our product or service and see how people respond to it. Yet at Toastmasters we can practice launching our work over and over again until our message is honed. We have members who have been involved for over twenty years who offer feedback I never would have thought about on my own. The members are supportive and articulate with their feedback so I always feel great about my accomplishments and inspired to grow. Now I feel ready to step out into the world, share the inspiration I have gathered from my research and experiences on healing and success, and my tummy has been filled with yummy food!
Please join us at Yaquina Toastmasters on Tuesdays at 7:00am Pacific time online at zoom.us/j/503657370 or in person at Pig ‘N Pancake, Newport, Oregon. Visit our blog at ybtoastmasters.blogspot.com. And, get a free gift when you visit my website at healinghappensbook.com.
Avital joined Yaquina Toastmasters in 2017. She has achieved her Advance Communicator Bronze, Her book is available on amazon.com
As Seen On Voices!
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