By Jenny Thomas
When I started re-training in 2016 to become a qualified Personal Performance Coach & NLP Practitioner, one of my biggest fears was public speaking. I knew I was going to need to beholding workshops and potentially presenting in corporate businesses and I knew I wasn’t that great at it! And for a Confidence Coach this was going to be abit of an issue! How was I going to be credible if I wasn’t confident myself? A lovely lady I met at networking event told me about Toastmasters and invited me along to the next meeting to try it. I was nervous but it was such a welcoming group, that I felt ok with my jelly legs and shaky voice! I’ve been going for the last 18 months and each meeting has helped me grow a little more in confidence with my public speaking – the group is supportive, encouraging and provides constructive feedback which has helped my skills immeasurably. I’m well on my way to completing my CC level and even considering competitions now too! Thank you, Toastmasters!
Jenny Thomas, member of Farnham Speakers since September 2017 has just done her first TEDx talk atTEDx Telford – organised by Division J Area Director, Sam Warner. A TEDx event is one that many aspiring public speakers have on their bucket list. The opportunity presented itself earlier than expected for Jenny and she took to the stage at the end of September with a very real ‘Idea Worth Spreading’ called People Before Profits. Jenny describes below how Toastmasters helped her on her path to TEDx and became more confident in public speaking