Emcee Arturo Venecia II
Join the event’s emcee, Arturo Venecia II, for an inspirational day of education and networking. Arturo is a professional trainer, coach, and podcaster. He coaches individuals in Fortune 500 companies and clubs in District 30. Arturo believes in a holistic approach to coaching that includes spirit, mind, body, and one’s environment. With plenty of experience helping people climb the steps to success by overcoming their self-limiting beliefs, Arturo will help us focus on our personal growth during the event.
Transformational Leadership 101—Tapping Potential
Sharon A. Hill, Author and Keynote Speaker
Sharon is an author and speaker with over 20-years of development and marketing experience with Fortune 500 giant, IBM. She founded Sharon Hill International to help individuals learn business etiquette, workplace diversity, and organizational behavior.
Adding to Sharon’s MBA in Organizational Behavior and four DTMs are several key Toastmasters roles:
- 2020-2021 Region 7 Advisor
- 2013-2015 Toastmasters International director
- 2012-2013 Region 7 Advisor
- 2010-2011 District 37 Governor
Sharon is married to her husband, Elmer Hill, DTM, and lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Schedule
Electives 9:15AM Sessions
The Comfort Zone Illusion
with Susan Neustrom, Ed.D.
Change happens. Sometimes quite suddenly—and poof! You find yourself a long ways from your comfort zone. This session unravels the mystery and illusion of your comfort zone, and provides simple, practical strategies that allow you to adapt and thrive, regardless of circumstance.
Participants will:
- Learn to break down the wall holding them in their comfort zones
- Explore the value of disruption, chaos, and confusion in creating opportunities for a successful life
- Identify five strategies that enable stepping out of your comfort zone—and to do so by dancing
Shaping Leaders for Success
with Valerie Fuson, DTM
Toastmaster’s success legacy is based on members sharing skills and expertise. But when leaders don’t know how to mentor, those members that struggle in their journey eventually give up and leave—leading to the collapse of small clubs. In this session, leaders will learn the essential elements of mentoring and how to help members achieve success.
Leaders will discover how:
- Coaching vs. Mentoring applies to building skills
- Effective mentoring strategies can be Informal and formal
- To model essential elements of mentoring
- Collaboration and culture build strong members and legacy clubs
Listening Is Leading: The Power of Empathy to Influence
with Lee Hopkins, DTM
Empathy and emotional intelligence are ranked near the top of every must-have list of leadership skills. Empathy is the most powerful, yet underrated leadership skill. Leading people, especially those who don’t share your core beliefs, is challenging. Leadership may even feel downright impossible without listening, which is the foundation of empathy. New listening skills will help you build thoughtful connections with those from ‘the opposite side’ in order to produce real change.
Participants will learn to:
- Define the concept of empathy in emotional intelligence
- Identify techniques to assess an individual’s motivation
- Demonstrate the process of using listening skills and empathy to influence change
Celebrate Pathways
with Brian Shields, TC4, EH2, and Panel
Participants will:
- Learn the benefits of the Pathway Program and how to take advantage of it
- Gain experiential information (tips and tricks) from those who have succeeded
- Understand the process and learn how to make it work to their benefit
Electives 10:15AM Sessions
Explore! Engage! Energize!
with Bonnie Sweet Bhardwaj, SR3
Just because our in-person travel is limited these days does not mean we can’t explore the world. This session details the benefits and procedures of the Ambassador program, and inspires members to seek new opportunities, experiences, and success.
Participants will:
- Explore the benefits of visiting other clubs, regardless of their location
- Engage in the Ambassador program, knowing the proper procedures and protocol
- Energize their experience by accepting the challenge and fun of expanding their network
Judges Ethics & Excellence
with Virginia Bosserman, DTM
Every aspect of the Toastmasters program is a learning opportunity with lessons that apply to all areas of life. While judging contests may seem like a separate, or isolated skill, this session explores how mastering the practical ethics of the judge’s role develops competence, confidence, and expertise in a wide variety of communication situations.
Participants will:
- Explore the concept of personal preferences vs. bias/prejudice
- Identify prerequisites/preparations for judging ethically
- Analyze and compare identified ballot criteria/ethical issues of different contests
- Identify potential challenges to objectivity
Vroooom Your Zoom
with Kathy Koultourides
Are you looking to put some “Vroom in your Zoom”? This session will provide attendees tried and true tips and tricks for using zoom masterfully when delivering speeches and presentations.
Participants will:
- Identify the basic features and functions of the Zoom platform
- Become aware of newer zoom upgrades and features
- Identify techniques to increase presentation effectiveness in the virtual environment
Curiosity, Characteristics & Community
with Brandi Gant, PM4 & Panel
Personal experiences and common challenges will be shared from several cultural perspectives to develop a creative approach which empowers participants to identify characteristics of collaboration and conflict. By understanding these characteristics, participants will be able to lead by leaping over biases and building stronger communities.
Participants will:
- Be exposed to cultural experiences and related challenges to expand their understanding and stimulate curiosity of diverse backgrounds
- Discuss expected and unexpected influences in cultural differences and biases, and learn how to describe those differences
- Identify key strategies to discover, uncover and recover relationships in order to close the gap in communities and develop collaborative systems