by Laurie McKee
Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) is one of the best-known secrets within District 25.
Last year, I attended a TLI briefing before facilitating a Vice President of Membership session. The briefing contained a wealth of knowledge and provided me with the information needed to succeed. This year I attended the session “From Speaker to Trainer” to learn even more. Division Directors Kelsey Dean and Brandi Wesley presented this interactive session where they explained the difference between ‘speaker’ and ‘trainer’ regarding TLIs.
A host of valuable insights and strategies were presented and explained. Capturing and maintaining attendee attention is essential to all these recommendations! One suggestion is to keep lecture times short and then encourage attendees to share their experiences before transitioning to the next topic. A noteworthy tip that grabbed my attention was the facilitator’s ability to personalize the presentations. Each facilitator may use the provided presentations available; they are then encouraged to add personal insights. Having the freedom to modify or update the slide is taking it a step further, enhancing the session. Kelsey and Brandi even covered some difficult topics, such as keeping the session on track. They excelled at doing so during this presentation – not an easy task considering the many speakers were in attendance.
For those who have attended numerous TLIs and believe they have mastered everything, consider the idea of facilitating a session. TLI facilitators can benefit as much, if not more, than the attendees. They share their knowledge, learn from others, can count their presentations as a Pathways project, make new friends and contacts, and so much more. I hope this presentation will be included in the DEC training as new Area Directors have so much to learn. What a fantastic learning presentation. Thank you, Kelsey and Brandi!
