For a while now I’ve been looking for a push – something to help me go from an okay/average public speaker to a good one (obviously once I have mastered good I will want to go to great). I have felt stagnant and have known for a while that my presentations need more…something. I didn’t know what that something was, just that I needed it.
Toastmasters can take you only so far – you need to seek some information on your own. This is not a criticism of the organisation, simply my opinion. Where Toastmasters has excelled for me is that it has given me a powerful awareness of my strengths and weaknesses as a communicator and leader. It hasn’t always given me information on HOW to improve though. The collective knowledge and wisdom of the Toastmasters I have come into contact with has been incredible – but knowledge is never finite, there is always more to be gained.
Through my online hunting trips, I have come across some fantastic blogs by other Toastmasters and kudos to Six Minutes in particular – for without their review of Presentation Zen, I may never have bought this incredible book. I cannot recommend Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds enough. I have been raving about it to everyone I speak to, with good reason. It is an invaluable resource that anyone who needs to communicate anything in any situation to any audience should read.
The only problem is that I have been so enamoured by this book, so extraordinarily energised by the knowledge and wisdom I gained from reading it (and now following Garr Reynolds’ outstanding blog) that I want more. I can see clearly now exactly where my budget on leisure is actually going to go over the next few months: buying more of these resources – especially anything that Garr himself recommends.
I urge anyone and everyone to buy and read this book: it has changed my life already in so many positive ways and I cannot speak highly enough of it or its author. Stay tuned for further book recommendations – I have also bought Garr’s second book Presentation Zen Design which I’m sure will be equally inspiring, as well as several other books of presentations, design, active training, etc…I have found that with the exchange rates as they currently are, the cheapest way to purchase these resources in Australia appears to be via Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. Therefore the links on the book titles on this blog always direct you to these sites first.
What is unequivocally a key strength of Toastmasters is that although from time to time you do need to seek information and assistance from outside the organisation, Toastmasters provides the perfect place to practice your new found skills!
