You Won’t Look Back by Ray Wilton

It’s 24th May 2020. The old leadership and communication education program will time out at the end of June. And I just got confirmation that I have been awarded DTM, with 5 weeks to spare! That might seem plenty of time, but I have been a member of Toastmasters for over 12 years. With the support of my Vice President (Education) and a last minute rush, just like all of my projects really, we got there.

Back in 2007, while I was a project manager at Vodafone, I was looking at my personal development plan. I had done all the job specific training available and I needed something. At the time, Newbury Speakers Club had got themselves on to Vodafone’s approved supplier register to provide Speechcraft training. If you have never heard of it, that is a six week program that any club can deliver to another organisation, and the club is even allowed to charge a small amount to boost club funds. I went on the course, led by Phil Gladwell and Tony Henderson-Newport. At the end, Newbury Speakers gave a goody pack which of course included a membership form.

I prevaricated a while, I realised I enjoyed making speeches, and I joined the club a few months later in March 2008. Three months further on a new committee was needed, Phil and Tony cornered me and suggested, and told me, I would be the next president. That was it, my journey had properly begun.

So to start progressing through the awards… Competent Leader and Competent Communicator came within 2 years. The bronze awards two years later. Things were moving swiftly. After my year as President, I became Vice President (Education) for the next five years. And I can say that had no bearing on my progress through the awards, apart from keeping me aware of the achievements I needed to complete. Honest!

For a while after that my progress slowed down, it took 4 years to complete Advanced Communicator Silver. However I was still doing significant things with the club. I became part of the Speechcraft team, delivering courses with Phil Gladwell into Vodafone, Accenture and Sovereign.

These are big names for a small club to supply. My career had also changed direction having been made redundant from Vodafone, and become a freelance project management consultant. But this is where the Toastmasters benefits really helped me. The table topics skills are so good in interviews! Speaking skills helped me present myself as so much more confident and authoritative. And here’s a tip – wear a Toastmasters pin in your lapel – it was spotted by an interviewer, and gave me a chance to talk about personal growth, leadership development and communication. I got that job!

And around 2017 I took my communication skills to my local community radio station. I secured an interview, actually battered them into submission, on their Friday chat show to plug Newbury Speakers Club. I so enjoyed the radio experience that I asked for my own show. Since then I have developed four different shows on Kennet Radio, usually a show each week. And that is probably why I had a last minute rush to complete DTM.

With six months of the old programme left, I had to get Advanced Communication Gold, Advanced Leader Silver, and a High Performance Leadership project. I had mentored a club several years before but hadn’t got it signed off, and the club had since folded. I needed that for ALS and there were no current opportunities. Luckily I had the emails still, and our Division Director supported my claim. Boom, that was in the bag. The HPL project became delivery of a presentation skills training event to Kennet Radio presenters. Another tick, and ALS in the bag. My last few speeches were done in spring 2020, and ACS was in the bag. Which meant that DTM was complete! And a triple crown for a bonus.

Important takeaways though around the bigger tasks for DTM, if DTM is your long term goal. Firstly they don’t arise very often so you have to keep alert to them, and do them as soon as the chance presents itself. Do that Area Director role as soon as you can. Do that HPL project early, and you might have to come up with the project idea yourself. Do the club coaching or mentoring at the first chance, those are like unicorns. The rest of it, speeches and smaller leadership projects, will be easy in comparison.

I also recognise the support that you can leverage from your club officers, area and division officers. They all want you to succeed. And when you succeed it cascades all the way up. The club gets recognition, as does the area and division. Without that support I would not have finished DTM in time.

What comes next? Is my journey over? Most certainly not. The club membership has changed completely since I started. All those people have never heard my icebreaker. I can use my skills to benefit club members through evaluation, mentoring and other ways. And don’t forget the contests. Oh yes! I will be back into those, bigger and stronger.

Its been a journey, it started with one step, the hardest one of all. Walking into the meeting for the first time. If you are reading this and wondering whether to try Toastmasters, don’t even think about it, just do it! You won’t ever look back.

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