Conference Education Session Presenters 2018

Conference Education Session Presenters

“Life Lessons Learnt in the Cradle of Toastmasters”

Toastmasters International First Vice President Deepak Menon hails from New Delhi, India and has been a Toastmaster for 16 years. During his journey Deepak has learned many valuable lessons in Toastmasters. He believes that successful leaders empower their team to meet the needs of their organization while experiencing personal growth. In this interactive workshop, through personal stories and anecdotes, Deepak offers a glimpse of the valuable life lessons one can learn from Toastmasters that no school or university can teach.

Bio:

Deepak Menon, DTM, is a chartered accountant at J.P., Kapur & Uberai in New Delhi, where he is one of nine partners. He oversees management and operations, and specializes in international taxation, cross-border taxation, transfer pricing and direct taxes. Menon also serves as chair of the Chandra Charitable Trust, a nonprofit organization. Menon is a fellow chartered accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, where he also earned a Diploma in Information Systems Auditing.

While working with the American Center in New Delhi, Menon served as a coach for Toastmasters’ Youth Leadership program and helped build communication and leadership skills for approximately 700 underprivileged children. He also served as secretary of St. Columba School’s alumni society Old Columbans’ Association, and in 2006, co-founded the publishing house Ambi Knowledge Resources Private Limited.

A Toastmaster since 2002, Menon’s home club is Central Delhi Toastmasters.

“Toastmasters has taught me skills that no school, college or university can teach,” he says. “It has helped me evolve from a being a lone-player to a being a team-player; from being led to being a leader; from the problem to being the solution.”

“Truman’s True Leadership”

Alan’s fascination with President Truman’s common background and straight forward communication style began as a young adult. He believes Truman’s words and deeds provide an excellent blueprint for volunteer leadership. A Distinguished Toastmaster, Alan will share President Harry Truman’s blueprint in a fun and interactive workshop. When “the buck stops here” with you, you’ll know what to do…and what not to do.

Bio:

Alan Balthrop, DTM, was named 2009-10 Area Governor of the Year for District 50.  He also served as  D50 Town North Division Governor in 2011-12, and the District 50 Quality Education Chairman in 2013-14.  Most recently, he has served as Assistant Town North Division Director in the both the 2015-16 and the 2016-17 Toastmasters’ terms.  He has acted as an instructor for the 2017-18 incoming Area Director training and has mentored numerous Toastmasters as part of their HPL committees this year.

“Understanding Communication Styles”

This interactive session helps participants understand the importance of knowing their own communication style as well as the communication style of others they talk to, even those they LIVE with! The session includes a five-minute communication style test. We will discuss surprises the test reveals and talk about how this information can be beneficial going forward. We will also have role-play situations where participants will demonstrate the different styles. There will be time for questions and sharing.

Bio:

Dana has a passion for Toastmasters!  After 24 years, she still looks forward to going to meetings and watching new members flourish. Dana has served in just about every club & district role, has helped start clubs, coach clubs, and mentor members.  She served as District 26 Governor 2007-2008, and along with the efforts of the other district officers, clubs and members, helped her district reach distinguished status.

Dana is one of those crazy people who think public speaking is fun!  Training at TLIs and Toastmasters conferences is one way she can share her experience and continue to learn from the members.  Dana is the owner of Coach Dana Inspires, where she uses the skills she learned in Toastmasters.  She is a speaker, trainer, and life coach with clients around the US.

“Flourishing with Positive Psychology”

It’s the little simple things you do every day that will make you the most successful. Positive psychology provides a framework that ensures leaders develop and thrive. In this session, you will learn how to adopt and lead from a growth mindset for success; how to apply positive communication to enhance Learned Optimism; how Principles of Positive Psychology fuel performance at work and beyond; and learn to practice mindful leadership as a simple and effective way to lead and live better.

Bio:

Bindu Chintha is a certified Project Management Professional and has been in the fields of technology and leadership for more than 15 years. She is a certified Yoga Teacher teaching yoga and mindfulness for more than 9 years.

Bindu has been a passionate member of Airport Toastmasters for the past 4 years. She is an Advanced Communicator Silver. With a passion for Toastmasters Education Program she strives to bring the program to youth by conducting youth leadership programs in community and recently chartered first ever Toastmasters Gavel Club in her community.

Bindu loves to learn and has recently earned Masters of Science in Psychology. She is a marathon runner and has recently completed her first ever marathon running The Dallas Marathon.

“Extreme Productivity: Simple Hacks Used by Top Performers to Get More Done”

“I know what to do, but I’m just not doing it!” This is a common complaint from those who want to get more of the RIGHT things done. Too often, we are distracted, disinterested and  discouraged from staying on task and being productive. According to Lauren, it is not about the clock. It IS about our mindset and our behaviors that we embrace every day. She will share these hacks that you can immediately adopt in your life to get more done with much less stress. Get ready to shift your thinking and be challenged to a new way of looking at TIME and productivity.

Bio:

Lauren Midgley, DTM, is an award-winning author, professional speaker, and business strategist.  She helps business owners get focused on being more productive and profitable.  She has been in Toastmasters for over 10 years, held numerous officer positions, was an Area Governor and was the D25 Speaker’s Bureau Chair for three years.   Lauren is passionate about the topic of Productivity.   Her book, It’s 6 a.m. and I’m Already Behind has helped thousands in their quest to get more done and minimize the stress.

“Speech Evaluations”

Allan Pickering, a Toastmaster since 2013, has seen a great many speeches, both in his clubs and at speech contests where he has judged for the last three years. He became fascinated by the Evaluation Speech contest when he had the epiphany that evaluations are the key to the success of Toastmasters. Allan has since devoted himself to helping others be the best evaluators that they can be. This session discusses tips and tricks to hone your Evaluation skills so that you can be a better Toastmaster and apply evaluations to the outside world.

“Sharpen Your S Curve”

Have you hit a challenging patch in your career? Do you feel a bit lost and concerned that you may be off track? Or are you starting a new job and want to know where you can best make your mark? Zoom out, get your bearings on your career trajectory, and determine where you are now and what’s next. In this session with Lindsay Polyak, discover the S Curve and learn how to sharpen it by quickly navigating the path from:
· Aspiring
· to Driving
· and then Arriving.

Bio:

Lindsay Polyak, a Florida native turned Texan, has worked in the small business arena since 2000, from processing payroll and managing HR, to planning events and more recently, overseeing sales and marketing efforts. She is a Business Performance Advisor at Insperity where she introduces solutions to help small businesses run better, grow faster, and make more money. Lindsay, her husband, and their son live in Flower Mound, Texas where they enjoy the walking trails, parks, and feeding the ducks. As a Toastmaster, she has obtained her CC and ALB through the Colleyville Toastmasters Club.