Phyllis: The Diamond on Her Way

Posted on March 3, 2014 by MarleneMB

“Phyllis, you will be a contestant in the club’s Table Topics Contest,” I informed her as she entered the meeting room. “Marlene, I don’t think I can do it.” She replied. Knowing that she doubts her ability I insisted, “Yes. You can. I know you can. You have what it takes.” She smiled and said, “If you think I can do, then I will do it.”

Phyllis has the ability to speak, but she is fighting years of being told that she doesn’t have the potential to do anything well. Yet, each time she is given a gentle nudge to speak, she does it and better than she thought she could. I saw the opportunity to give her more self-confidence through the experience of competing in the club’s contest. Phyllis not only entered the contest, she won first place.

She went on to represent the club in the Toastmasters District 47 Area 12 Table Topics Contest. Watching Phyllis using the tips (body language, vocal variety, eye contact) that we gave her along with her smile was a proud moment for me. Knowing how much she doubts her ability and to see her take on the challenge of speaking in front of a room full of people is special to me. Phyllis won the second place award!

We hugged afterwards and she said, “Marlene, I want you to continue to coach me. I want to be just like you.” I told her, “No, Phyllis. I don’t want you to be just like me. I want you to be the best Phyllis you can be, the Diamond that I know you are.” She smiled broadly as though a light bulb went on above her head. She excitedly repeated, “I will be the best I can be.” Phyllis is on her way…shining bright like a Diamond. Are you on your way?

Feel free to share this article and post a comment. Live a Diamond Life. Live a Life of Purpose!

Click www.marlenembryan.com to visit my website.

Click https://www.facebook.com/MarleneMBryanLLC to like my Facebook Page. Follow me on twitter @MarleneMBryan.

Setting the Right Tempo

Posted on January 13, 2014 by MarleneMB

Dawnna St. Louis at D47 TLI. Picture by Jesus Diaz.

When planning an event for Toastmasters, I wanted to select the Keynote Speaker that would get the event going with the right tempo. I wanted the person that would understand the audience and would get them excited about the event and the upcoming workshops. As I thought about the folks that I know as great speakers, I thought who better than someone that has been a Toastmaster. Someone that I have been impressed with the way she/he delivered her/his message with such bravado and energy.

An image of Dawnna St. Louis popped up in my head. Dawnna works as a Keynote speaker for International Organizations, Private Corporations, and Direct Marketing companies. She has inspired sales teams and entrepreneurs to have the confidence to close bigger deals, women’s groups to shameless self promote, and executives to become confident leaders and strong decision makers.

I was worried that she may not be available because Dawnna’s schedule has been jam packed with her travels around the USA and abroad. With fingers crossed, I typed a short email message to her: “Keynote, TLI???” She responded: “When?” I replied: “Sat. Jan. 4, 2014 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.” She sent: “For you, anything!” I jumped out of my chair and yelled “Yipeeee!!!” I have known Dawnna for a few years now and she has been my business coach. I know how busy she normally is and I was quite happy that the event was scheduled on a date that she was available.

Dawnna asked me before hand what message I wanted the audience to take away with them. I told her about the theme: “New Year, New You.” I wanted them to learn something she did to improve herself or overcame an obstacle; letting them know that they too can do the same in their lives. The day of the event, Dawnna delivered a motivating and inspirational speech. Her speech did just that and more. She had the audience laughing with her skillful use of humor. She had them empathizing with her when she opened up about her fears. She had them celebrating with her when she faced and overcame those fears. She left them with hope that they too can overcome obstacles and their fears.

Dawnna set the right tempo for our audience. They left out of her session with smiles on their faces and headed off to the other workshops with enthusiasm and great anticipation. Dawnna did not only gain more fans for herself, but she set the stage for the other presenters to shine. Dawnna is a fantastic example of a talented Diamond Cutter! Leave a comment and share this article.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7205kFUPmY#t=23]

Live a Diamond Life! Live a Life of Purpose!

Please click to like my fan page: MarleneMBryanLLC

Please visit our website: www.marlenembryan.com

New Year, New You – Starting the Year Successfully

Posted on January 11, 2014 by MarleneMB

“New Year, New You,” exclaimed Maria as we both walked through the parking lot to our cars. I had shared with her that we needed to come up with a theme for the Toastmasters Leadership Institute. Every six months, Toastmasters International mandates that at least four of the seven club officers in each club (over 14,000 clubs world wide) in the organization should receive leadership training. This training is called Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI). It is not an easy task to pull together a training session for the amount of people that required training. We wanted a theme that would attract folks to sign up for the event.

As the Division Governor of Division A, one of my duties is to ensure that the officers receive this training. Currently, there are over twenty clubs in the division and this equate to a minimum of eighty officers. I enlisted Maria’s assistant in coaching our newly appointed TLI chair, Carmen, with organizing the event. Maria had previously done this and I thought it would be great to have her share her knowledge with Carmen. It was a way to help Carmen develop her leadership skills while helping Maria develop her coaching skills. I am happy to say, “Mission accomplished. “

These two women collaborated with each other on the theme; they came up with great ideas for memorbilia for the attendees to purchase, special raffles, and much more. They visited the venue to ensure that the facility will accommodate all the workshops, the space for the sponsors and for the food. They enlisted the aide of many people to cover registration, hospitality, facilitators, etc. During the planning stages, they conducted conference calls with the major coordinators and kept me updated with their progress. When they needed my assistance, they pulled me in to help guide them when necessary.

I learned a lot during this process as well:

Learn to delegate and not take everything on myself
Assign the tasks to someone that you know has the potential to grow
Provide this person with a partner that can coach him/her through the assignments
Give him/her the power to be creative
Encourage him/her along the way
Recognize him/her for a job well done and allow him/her to shine

The event was a great success! We had over 200 attendees. The presenters, facilitators, club officers and guests gave rave reviews of the event. My mentor, Norman, who has been a Toastmasters for twenty-seven years, came up to me and said it was one of the best TLI he has ever attended. I was beaming like a proud mom for Carmen and Maria. As I read through the evaluations of the workshops and the event, I realized that the theme was perfect. Many of the respondents stated that the presenters, the keynote speaker and the event impacted them in a positive way. They learned new things and left with great ideas for themselves and their club members. What can you do to become a New You in the New Year?

Live a Diamond Life! Live a Life of Purpose!

Please click to like my fan page: MarleneMBryanLLC

Please visit our website: www.marlenembryan.com

Convicted by Hunger

Posted on November 30, 2013 by MarleneMB

Lifting the knife and fork in my hand, I started to cut into the fish on my plate. It had been many hours since I ate anything. The pleasant aroma of the food was making my mouth water. Suddenly, I heard knocking at the door of the hotel boardroom I was sitting in. It was the room we were using as a central point for the organization of the District 47 Fall Conference. My team was in charge of registration and I told them to go enjoy the dinner event while I manned the registration of any latecomers.

Needless to say, I was not happy to hear the knock at the door, as I was about to eat. Grudgingly, I left the food and when towards the door as the knocking continued. I snapped open the door to see two young ladies standing there. Hastily they said were there to pick up their registration badges and meal ticket. In a not too friendly voice, I told them that it was late and registration was closed. Their response was that they were instructed by their club president to come up and get their badges. Murmuring to myself, I told them to come in.

I asked them if they minded if I ate some of my dinner. They said no and I proceeded to take a bite, but I felt self-conscious. I told them that registration would be open at 7 a.m. the next morning, as the smell of the food caused my stomach to rumble. One of the young ladies answered angrily: “Fine. We will come back tomorrow morning.” She turned away to leave. The second one said “What about our food?” to her. The first replied: “ We will find something to buy.”

The plea of the second attendee stopped me in my track. I immediately heard the hunger in her voice. I felt terrible and ashamed of my actions. The thought popped into my head that they are Bahamians and probably just got in from the airport. I knew it was raining outside and this often means delayed flights and bad traveling conditions. I said a prayer to God asking for His forgiveness. I turned to them and asked them to forgive me. I was wrong. I told them it was not the “Toastmasterly” thing to do; most importantly, it was not the Christianly thing to do. I asked them to sit down as I helped them get thing items they needed. Before they left I again asked for their forgiveness.

I ran into them a few times after this episode and each time I gave them hugs. By the end of the weekend, we became friends and we agreed to exchange our contact information. I learned a valuable lesson that weekend: Never let my needs get in the way of being kind towards others and treating others the way I want to be treated. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to admit that I was wrong and to ask for forgiveness. I am most happy that they granted me not only forgiveness, but also their friendship.

Live a Diamond Life! Live a Life of Purpose!

Please click to like my fan page: MarleneMBryanLLC.

Please visit my website: www.marlenembryan.com.

Resolve

Posted on October 14, 2013 by MarleneMB

She waved to me across the room as she timidly entered. Her winning smile was in place as she approached me. I called her name excitedly “Phyllis” as we hugged. Phyllis is one of six hundred members of the Toastmasters in Division A, the division I oversee as the Division Governor. Phyllis came to see me at the District 47 leadership meeting in order to give me money to pay for her registration for the upcoming District Fall Conference.

I was so happy to see her because I was impressed at her resolve to ensure that she attends the conference. You see, Phyllis does not drive; neither does she have Internet access at home. Whenever, there is event in the District, Phyllis finds and gives me the money for the event. Then I get online and get her registered. Phyllis determination to attend these events always impresses me.

I think about the people who have easy access to transportation and Internet service, yet make excuses why they cannot attend these events. Phyllis sees beyond her inconvenience and recognizes the value of learning new speaking techniques and leadership skills at these conferences. She is willing to invest in her growth despite her challenges. Phyllis’ steadfastness also reminds me that you get what you put into anything you do or relationship you are a part of. She is an inspiration to me to keep doing my best for every member of Division A.

One of the definitions of resolve is “firm determination to do something.” Phyllis shows that she is determine to succeed in any condition! Thank you Phyllis for teaching me to not let any obstacle keep me from reaching my destination or living my purpose!

Live a Diamond Life! Live a Life of Purpose!

Please click to like my fan page MarleneMBryanLLC.

Please visit my website: www.marlenembryan.com.