About Brinker Toastmasters

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Brinker Toastmasters is a member of Toastmasters International, the world’s largest nonprofit educational organization dedicated to helping men and women become more effective listeners, leaders, and speakers. We have been active in Vienna, Virginia, since 1998. Please use the links on this page to learn more about us and local Toastmasters organizations.

We meet at Navy Federal Credit Union, 820 Follin Lane, in Vienna, VA on the second and fourth Saturday of every month. (For exact directions to our meeting room see We’re Moving Again.) Our meetings begin at 9:30 am and end around 11:00 am. Guests are always welcome.

Take a look at this video to see how Toastmasters works; then use the form below to contact us to ask for more information about our club.

Posted by mikeschultz

Leadership steps

Jeffrey Cufaude is a facilitator based in Indianapolis. He regularly writes “feature articles on leadership and organizational development issues,” and I’ve found his Twitter feed full of useful ideas. At Twitter today, I found a couple of posts that might really be useful to our club.

The idea that first Tweet sparked in me was to invite members who complete an educational or leadership program to share with the club what lessons they have learned from their work or to tell us what difference this has made in their lives. This could be recognition for them and an encouragement to other members. Jeffrey’s second Twitter post might be a way of enlarging the Moments of Truth program—moving it beyond the tightly limited review it is and helping keep all members involved at all times in looking for ways we might improve our club.

What do you think? Tell us about your ideas in a comment to this post or by sharing them at a club meeting.

Posted by mikeschultz

Scott Fitzgerald’s Birthday

We didn’t celebrate Scott Fitzgerald’s birthday at our meeting today. Here’s hoping this thought holds true for your speaking,  too.

(By the way, it’s a good time to remember American creativity and artistic achievement—yesterday was the birthday of  Ray Charles and John Coltrane, today is Scott Fitzgerald’s, tomorrow is William Faulkner’s, Monday is T. S. Eliot’s, and next Sunday is Wallace Stevens’. For good measure, remember Glenn Gould on his birthday tomorrow, too, and next Friday the remarkable Persian poet, Rumi.)

 

Posted by mikeschultz

Brinker members get ready to start their meeting today in their new space at Navy Federal Credit Union. It’s a great meeting room—spacious and comfortable. It’s the fourth official meeting space I can remember for the club, and there have been times we held more than a few meetings in the basement of Vienna Presbyterian Church, in the church’s old annex building, and in the meeting room at David Cane’s apartment building. Does anyone remember anyplace else we’ve held meetings? At any rate, be sure to visit us in our new home. 

Posted by mikeschultz

For the Season

The BBC’s Poetry Please got me started

The lines are from Thomas Hardy’s Last Week in October.

Then The Writer’s Almanac kept it up with today’s program

Follow the link to find Brian Fanelli’s Raking Leaves. I’ll bet a few minutes with this graceful lyric will help you anticipate the yard cleanup that’s waiting for you, appreciate the fall colors, maybe even think about rewarding yourself with a glass of cider and a slab of apple pie.

 

Posted by mikeschultz

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 242) – Bruno Giussani

Manner of Speaking

Bruno Giussani - Swiss Director of TEDGlobal and European Director of TEDBruno Giussani – Swiss Director of TEDGlobal & European Director of TED

“When people sit in a room to listen to a speaker, they are offering her something extremely precious, something that isn’t recoverable once given: a few minutes of their time and of their attention. Her task is to use that time as well as possible.”

— Bruno Giussani

Photo courtesy of Bruno Giussani

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