Jody White, Speaking Directly

I used to think a leader was the “big cheese” in the corner office, a Boy Scout Troop Leader or the person down the street who owned a business. Early in my career, I had several supervisors who were “leaders” by their position; however, they certainly didn’t lead “me” in a way that promoted my growth and success!   Did I ever see myself as a leader? No! Why? It was me who labeled myself as a “follower." The generic job titles that I was placed in, regardless of the experience and skill set I had to offer, didn’t help my thought process either. It wasn’t until many years later when I worked with a supervisor who truly changed my mindset to believe that I was a leader and gave me courage to change the course of my career path! When I joined Toastmasters, I jumped right in to serve in leadership roles which gave me even more experience and knowledge to pursue exciting challenges in Toastmasters and my community. Do people ask your opinions about certain topics? Do you ...

A few years ago, I attended a lunch meeting hosted by an organization to promote their next charitable event. I looked forward to learning more about the organization and hearing their speaker provide a bit of history and details to peak my interest in their fundraising efforts. I settled in my chair, turned up my ears and waited patiently for the speaker.    After he was introduced, and began speaking, I had a bad feeling. The feeling was similar to being told that your favorite ice cream has been discontinued; a big disappointment!    What happened?      The speaker, who I am sure was knowledgeable and experienced, filled his speech with so many “pause fillers” that I had difficulty understanding what he was saying. He began the majority of his sentences with a long “Uh” and added other distracting words in his sentences.      His 20-minute presentation seemed like hours and it became uncomfortable to listen to him speak. As a  “l...