Toastmasters Advanced Leader Bronze

It's been a good year for Toastmasters. The fiscal year runs from 1-Jul through the following 30-Jun. During 2014 I've knocked off three designations: Advanced Communicator Silver, Competent Leader and Advanced Leader Bronze. A club earns the Distinctive Club designation by meeting 10 milestones. I'm 30% of a Distinguished Club all on my own.

I haven't suddenly become a person of great energy and ambition. It's partly an accounting trick, like boosting sales for a particular quarter by forward or back dating other sales. The Advanced Communicator Silver was earned in this fiscal year. I prepared and presented 12 speeches to fulfill the requirement. The Leadership side of the house has been sadly neglected by me for years. I didn't know how it worked, so I never kept track even as I fulfilled the requirements. The Competent Leader can easily be had by diligently attending meetings and volunteering for roles. The Bronze Leader requires that you become a club officer. I did that a few years back, but never thought to get credit for it because I hadn't bothered with its predecessor.

There are two hurdles left to becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster: Advanced Communicator Gold and Advanced Leader Silver. The former is "get a shovel stuff": prepare and deliver ten more speeches. If I can do it, I'll have written and delivered around 50 speeches since I first joined in 2008. The latter means I have to serve as area or division governor. I'm hoping to become area governor for the term starting on 1-Jul-2014. If I can manage it, I think I can achieve both by 30-Jun-2015 and become a DTM.

I don't think this makes me the best speaker. I still have issues with formulating, rehearsing, memorizing, making it a performance. But there's never been fear. Some people fear public speaking more than death. I'm not one of them.

There are only three DTMs in our club. I never would have guessed that I could be one of them. It'd feel good to achieve this milestone. Let's see what this year brings.