2019 Conference Workshops

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Conference Schedule

Saturday – 9:15am to 10:15am

Room 101:

Email with Empathy: The Key to Successful Communication

This workshop provides insight into the problems of communicating by email. We highlight models of communication and emotional intelligence, and show how email interferes in these processes, resulting in miscommunication.

We look at common communication mistakes that lead to misunderstandings and conflict, and provide strategies for how to avoid these.

Dr. Chris McKillop is CEO of Turalt, who uses ‘the technology of empathy’ to develop AI tools to enhance business communication. She has a degree in Artificial Intelligence, and a PhD in Educational Technology. Her personal mission is to show how AI can help us understand our humanity, and to help make the world a more empathic place.

 

 Room 102:

The Creative Person: Uncovering Your Creativity, Joy, & Enthusiasm

This workshop focuses on helping participants overcome subconscious resistance to allow deeper levels of creativity, joy, and enthusiasm.

Participants will:

• Discover deeper levels of creativity
• Identify patterns that are serving/not serving the creative process and strategies to find the right patterns
• Leave with a toolkit of creativity-building ideas

Darrell Cheung is an experienced facilitator and has been a Dale Carnegie Business Coach since 2008.  In 2018, he became a candidate for the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers.
Darrell has recently focused on the quest to help others heal by purchasing a wellness clinic and starting the journey to being a life coach.

 

Room 103:

Imagine Possibilities and LEAP: Steps for Realizing Dreams

Do you have a new idea for a speech or advancing your career?  Does the idea linger, never to be spoken or acted upon?  Learn to ‘LEAP’ – and discover how to take your next step.
The LEAP process sparks confidence and assurance.  Make dream possibilities your new reality.

1. Imagine how to take your life’s possibilities and turn them into reality
2. Learn the 4 key phases (LEAP) for getting results – from an idea to action
3. Hear success stories related to fellow participants’ LEAP experiences
4. Identify opportunities within Toastmasters to practice LEAP

Roman Smolak has been a Toastmaster since 2006, and is an active trainer and workshop presenter.  For 22 years, Roman sold software technology to Fortune 500 companies across North America.

Roman has a Master’s degree from York University and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Toronto.  He completed his Master’s Certificate in Adult Training and Development, from the Schulich School of Business.  Roman teaches “Influence and Persuasion for Business”, a course he developed, for the Toronto District School Board’s adult continuing education program.

 

Room 104:

Speak Like a Pro – Presenting with Impact!

Participants learn the tools that will give them the confidence to walk into any meeting, regardless of the audience, knowing that whatever they say will have a positive influence on the outcome.

Whether it’s a formal presentation, a conference or an impromptu meeting, participants learn to present on-point messages with creativity, whether speaking to groups or one-on-one.

Participants will learn how to:

• Stand out when they speak
• Communicate their ideas
• Make their content memorable
• Speak with impact

Professional speaker, facilitator and author of “Speak Like a Pro – Everything that you need to survive your next speaking gig!”, Phil Tasci has been a proud Toastmaster for 15 years and is a member of CAPS – the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers.

 

Saturday – 10:30am to 11:30am

Room 101:

Persuasion – How to Get Things Done Without Being PUSHY

Do you wish you were better at motivating people?  Are there times when you wish you had stronger leadership skills?  Does your team or family not pull together when it’s needed?  This workshop will teach you how to tap into the power of persuasion so you can motivate and influence others.

You will learn:

• 3 key methods to influence others without being “PUSHY”
• The Persuasion Tool Model for Negotiating
• 2 types of questions you MUST ask to discover others’ motivation
• That understanding their WHY is a key to success
• How to use roleplaying to practice these skills

When it came to speaking in public, Bob Weese went from uncomfortable, nervous and anxious to an accomplished professional speaker.  Bob worked as an on-air broadcaster in radio and television and is now co-owner of B2B Sales Connections.  He has traveled across North America delivering training workshops to thousands of business professionals and was named Top Trainer in their worldwide practice by FastTraining International Inc. (35 countries).  His clients have appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den as well as major TV networks.

 

 Room 102:

Managing Time In Today’s Whirlwind World

Time is a wonderful servant … but a horrible master! A harsh reality of today’s demanding world is the ever-present conflict between two competing forces: “Urgent” and “Important”. This highly interactive, real-world and practical workshop will help attendees distinguish what really matters most and manage time accordingly.
Members will learn (or intensify) their knowledge of the 4 Quadrant Time Matrix and leave with an increased sense of control to better deal with the whirlwind demands of busy-busy-busy-ness at work and in life.

Ray Pons has served as a business coach and keynote speaker for 20+ years. In his role as a life insurance salesman, he attained MDRT in his very first year of production, which less than 0.25% of agents achieve. In reinsurance, Ray increased sales from $260 million to $2.4 billion in less than 2 years. He has also photographed weddings, pumped gas, and shoveled manure.

 

Room 103:

Decluttering Techniques for Speakers

If we want to communicate effectively – at home, work, and yes, on our Toastmasters stage, we must declutter our message.

In this interactive workshop, learn how to:

• Identify key decluttering techniques
• Apply decluttering techniques to create powerful speeches
• Connect with your audience through clear, focused messages

Michelle Warren is a Communication, Innovation, and Leadership coach. She is passionate about helping individuals improve their communication efforts, think differently, and lead confidently.
An experienced Toastmaster and educator, Michelle is an interactive and dynamic workshop leader.

 

Room 104:

Realizing Your Best Self: A Three-Part Strategy for Success

Review, revise or refresh your understanding of ‘You!’  Combining recent developments in the areas of human biology, emotions and cognition with time-tested insights from psychology, philosophy and science, this workshop invites you to discover and select transformative ideas that resonate with ‘Your Best Self’.

You will learn the foundational framework of ideas that will help you achieve a clear understanding of who you are, and how this knowledge can lead to success in your personal and professional life. The framework reflects the three basic aspects of You: biology, emotions, and cognition.

For over twenty-five years, Marenca Kherani specialized in recruiting top performers for the fastest growing software companies in the high-tech industry. The tagline of her company underscored her approach: ‘searching for the best, with the best.’ During the thousands of hours she spent coaching candidates and consulting with clients, she recognized a common factor in personal and professional success: clarity of thinking.

Five years ago, she embarked on a new venture, namely to achieve clarity of thinking in the most fundamental and intimate aspect of a person’s life: the ‘understanding of’ and ‘relationship with’ oneself.  In this workshop, she reveals golden nuggets about human nature gleaned from hundreds of hours of study and research on the topic.

 

Sunday – 10:15am to 11:15pm

Room 101:

Find Your Flow – Personal Strategies to Maximize Performance

Get in the zone with Productivity C.P.R. ™, a holistic model for creating a healthy, fulfilling, and productive work and life experience.  Control your compass.  Prime for performance.  Redesign your rituals.  Through self-awareness, craft personal policies that keep you thriving.  Step into self-control and become your CFO – Chief Fulfilment Officer.

• Develop a process for purposefully setting intentions
• Learn how to best manage your attention
• Explore best practices for excellent execution
• Anticipate roadblocks and build a path around them

Productivity catalyst, Clare Kumar, developed her organizing and productivity skills as coping strategies for being a “Highly Sensitive Person”.  As a speaker and Certified Executive Coach, she draws on this organic learning and further study of best practices to help busy professionals boost performance.  She is devoted to inspiring a life that flows.

 

Room 102:

S.H.I.N.E. – How to Transform Your Next Presentation

Are you giving speeches that stand out from the rest of your club?  This session will give you tools you can start implementing right away to help you deliver better speeches, connect more with your ideal audiences, and increase your confidence while you speak.

Participants will learn the five tools to better presentation skills, including:

• Story – what should be included
• Hero – who should be one and how they interact with a story
• Instrument – vocal exercises to prepare to speak

Like you, influence and presentation skills expert Tim Barnaby loves great performances from the stage.  Unlike many speaking coaches, Tim delivers a wealth of knowledge that clients have described as “extremely effective” in helping leaders develop and leverage their speaking skills to increase their influence and impact.  His 20-year procurement career is complemented by his World Class Speaking Coach Certification.

 

 Room 103:

Sparring with Fear: Overcoming the Fear of Failure

Fear is everywhere and it needs to be dealt with if you want to become who you want to be and have what you want to have.  Fear hinders your ability to do the work necessary to be successful.

The SPARRING WITH FEAR workshop aims to help you identify those fears and renew a deeper sense of purpose in your life. The workshop offers practical suggestions and encourages participants to spar with their fear until they achieve what they are after.

Grzegorz Kieszkowski is a Polish-Canadian writer, teacher, photographer, and speaker.  He earned his Honours Bachelor Degrees in English and Philosophy from York University, along with his Teaching Certification.
Grzegorz has been an outstanding teacher and entertaining speaker for over twenty years. He is an excellent communicator and presenter.  He resides in Cobourg, Ontario, along with his wife and two small children.

 

 Room 104:

Negotiation Tactics

Many people are both thrilled and intimidated by negotiations.  In this workshop learn about negotiation tactics and how to achieve your desired outcomes.  Learn how to recognize when others are using tactics on you and how to use their tactics to your advantage.

This workshop will cover:

• The major bargaining styles
• Tactics associated with each of these styles
• Strategies for rendering these tactics powerless against you

With over 20 years of speaking experience and as a graduate of Second City improvisation, Carol Prahinski, DTM, engages audiences with stories about strategy misalignment, supply chain snafus and leaders with character.  Her enthusiasm and thought-provoking questions keep you engaged and entertained with lessons that can be applied immediately.

Dr. Prahinski received her PhD and MS degrees from Ohio State University.   This fall, she was nationally awarded as the “Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors” by Poets and Quants.  Currently, she is a member of four Toastmasters clubs, Immediate Past President of National Speakers Association – Michigan, an assistant professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, and International Director, Region 6, with Toastmasters International.