The Toastmasters Podcast

[19:30] Expressive Leadership Coach and fellow podcaster Jonathan Li of theexpressiveleader.com joins Bo and Ryan from Hong Kong. Jonathan shares his story of going from an anxious, agitated speaker to a calm and comfortable communicator. He also talks about how listeners can benefit from what he calls the Expressive Leadership Model.

Bo, Ryan, and Greg finish up the year of Toastmasters Podcasts by each sharing something they learned in 2014 as members.

[19:40] Nita Patel, DTM, is a Toastmaster from New Hampshire who works as an engineer and is active as a board member and leader in various professional societies. Ms. Patel was profiled in the December 2014 issue of the Toastmaster magazine, and she joins us to discuss the importance of clear communication in the workplace and beyond. Ms. Patel also touches on her experience as a female in a male-dominated profession, and the competitive advantage she brings to her career as an experienced Toastmaster.

[19:43] Greg speaks with Paul Clark, a historian and author who has researched early Toastmasters history, some of which he shares with us to commemorate the organization's 90th year. Paul talks about Toastmasters founder Ralph Smedley as well as the formation of the first Toastmasters club. He also discusses Toastmasters-related historical documents that he discovered in a Southern California library.Paul grew up in Orange County, California, where the Toastmasters organization was founded in 1924. He has been a member since 1985.

Meet the 2014 World Champion of Public Speaking, Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

[23:45] Mohammed Murad, DTM, was elected as Toastmasters’ 2014–2015 International President this past August at the International Convention in Kuala Lumpur. Murad, a resident of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is an entrepreneur and Managing Director of three companies. He holds an MBA and a Master of Quality Management degree from the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia. He is also a graduate of the City of Dubai’s Leadership Development Program, and has received training at Harvard, London Business School and the Singapore School of Government.  A dedicated Toastmaster since 1996, Murad is a member of Toastmasters Dubai Chapter club in Dubai. He has held a number of high-profile leadership positions within the organization.  As International President, he works with the Board to develop, support and modify the organization’s policies and procedures.“I am excited by the opportunity to give back to the organization that has given me so much,” says Murad.

Greg's columns appear at Canoe.ca, G4TechTV Canada, GadgetGreg.com, GadgetGuy.ca and others. He's also appeared on a number of TV and radio programs, including CBC's Blue Sky, CTV NewsChannel Express and CITY TV Breakfast Television.Greg  recently published his first book: Corey OutSMARTs the Butterflies.

Meet presenters who will be speaking at the Toastmasters International Convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August.

Jeremey is Chief Marketing Officer of American Management Association (AMA) International. AMA is the world’s leading nonprofit, membership-based management development, research and publishing organization. Prior to joining AMA, Jeremey served as Group Vice President of Marketing at Gartner Inc., the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. During his career, Jeremey has held a variety of individual contributor and general management roles in the semiconductor industry and the information services business.

[22:14] Vikas Jhingran is a speaker, author and corporate leader with a strong interest in helping people and teams reach their full potential. As an engineer with Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas, he uses his leadership and communication skills to manage multi-million-dollar projects. Vikas advocates an emotion-based approach to verbal communication, which he explores in his book Emote: Using Emotions to Make Your Message Memorable When he captured the 2007 Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking, Vikas became the first East Indian and the second Asian to win the annual competition.