Over 75 of the District's most ambitious members attended this sold-out event of the semi-annual Founder's District Marketing workshop to learn and explore all that the Toastmasters leadership program has to offer such as building new clubs, sponsoring clubs, mentoring, and coaching. 

Has this ever happened to you: You’re at your local coffee shop, enjoying your favorite beverage and happen to get into what seems to be a friendly exchange about a current event with another patron, but it quickly dissolves into an angry verbal attack wrought with personal insults about your mother?

We believe that too often, instead of participating in an intelligent and rewarding exchange of facts, we Americans personally insult and demean one another if opinions differ. “Agreeing to disagree” is not a concept we’re taught to abide by whether in personal relationships or professional endeavors. 

Erica Beggan, CC and Tristen Tucker, ACB, are both current Toastmasters and officers of OCCN Speakers Forum #9377. Their public speaking career began over 10 years ago when they became collegiate Parliamentary debate partners, winning at the national level two years in a row. Having experienced their own communication breakdown a few years ago, which resulted in falling out of contact, these former debate partners and long-time friends had to get back to basics in understanding they needed to “agree to disagree” and come to compromises. The skills they had learned for formal debates were the very ones that helped to improve their personal relationship. Recognizing this need both inside and outside “the Board Room,” Tristen and Erica continuously advocate increasing critical thinking awareness and improving argumentation skills.

We invite you to take part in a Q&A with several industry experts to discuss bringing critical thinking and critical speaking back into daily practice during the “Bar Brawls have no place in the Board Room” panel on Saturday, April 13th at 2:30 p.m. at the National University in Costa Mesa.  Register to attend today.  Admission is free!

The holiday season is upon us -- a time to share and celebrate with our family and friends. But it is also a time to reflect on what we've accomplished in 2014, to take a look ahead to what we want to do in 2015. And, to make some plans for the New Year to help us achieve those sometime elusive goals we've set for ourselves.

For Toastmasters, the time signifies that we're half-way through our year. It's also a time for us to reflect on what we've accomplished in 2014 and to look ahead to what we still want to accomplish in 2015. And, yes, to make some plans to help us achieve the goals we've set for ourselves, as individuals, as clubs, Areas, Divisions, and the District.

I keep reminding you that our theme this year as a District is "Evaluate Your Potential," which is probably more significant the next six months than the previous six months. We seem to relax more the first half of the year, but kick into full gear the last half. This is when we push our clubs to focus on the members to achieve the communication and leadership awards. We challenge our members and our Area Governors to find opportunities for a new club or ways to bring in new members. And, more importantly, we start looking at next year's leaders -- talking with our members to encourage them to think about stepping into leadership at the club, Area, Division, and District levels. If you don't think you're ready to step into leadership, but another Toastmaster thinks you are, listen to them. They see what we can't see in ourselves. Accept and embrace the opportunity of leadership. Toastmasters is an organization made up of volunteers -- so, if no one asks you, volunteer. The rewards truly outweigh any apprehensions you might have.

We have two upcoming leadership events in January. The first, LACE (Leadership and Communication Excellence) is being offered on January 10 and January 24; focus is on providing leadership training to club officers – or those who want to be. On January 17, we will have a Leadership Dinner to talk about the ins and outs of serving as a leader at all levels in the organization, from the club to the District. Current leaders will share what they've learned throughout their year(s) serving as a leader – the benefits, the challenges, and the rewards.

Have you started looking at your goals for 2015? How will you "Elevate Your Potential"? Toastmasters has made a difference in your life, now it's time you make a difference in Toastmasters.

Have a blessed holiday season!

No tie. No lectern. No problem.

A new breed of talkers are transforming the traditional coat and tie presentation style into a relaxed yet persuasive tell-it-like-it-is conversation on the red carpet.

You have the opportunity to watch a dozen of these innovative speakers, including Mun Jen Ng - a semifinalist in the 2013 Toastmasters International speech contest - that will inspire thought leadership and visionary insights in brief 10 minutes-or-less talks at the third annual TEDxYouth Conference to take place on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 4:30pm to 8:30pm at Orange Coast College in the Robert B Moore Theater. Use the promotion code of "Toastmasters" and save 20% off on single ticket prices.

TED Talks are short engaging presentations that initially revolved around Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED), and now incorporate a multitude of subjects. The TEDxYouth@BommerCanyon event has a mixture of adult and youth presenters and is geared toward kids ages 12-18 and their parents. "The youth presenters are expected to 'game up' to the level of sophistication that adults appreciate in their big brother counterpart: TED" says event organizer Nikkisa Abdollahi. All TEDx presenters were coached by experienced Toastmasters and are thriving in the new open TED presentation style on the red dot carpet.

The 2013 TEDxYouth speaker line up includes:

1.   Mun Jen Ng, a successful Lake Forest artist, product designer and illustrator who has designed for Oakley, DKNY and Micheal Kors, will share how you can remained true to your heart and be richly validated.

2.   Vamsi Mokkapati, Mission Viejo high school senior, will teach you how to learn a universal language in 6 minutes flat.

3.   Anika Larsen, Laguna Beach high school senior, deleted her Facebook account (OMG!) and lived to tell about it and will share how she found a balance between life as a teen and social media.

4.   Gabe Eggerling, at age nine, saw the need for impoverished kids to have access to books and started a library in Peru from the comfort of his home in Huntington Beach.

5.   Jeet Banjeree, self-proclaimed 19-year-old "serial" entrepreneur, has built more than 50 digital products including mobile apps, websites, eBooks and more in just 3 short years. He will share his insights on doubt, success and the gaps in between.

6.   Jason Carbone was the Co-Executive Producer and Director of ABC's pop culture powerhouse The Bachelorette for three years, and several other successful reality TV shows, and will reveal the gaps between reality and reality TV.

7.   Staphany Hou, University high school senior (Irvine), will defend the virtues of well roundedness and disprove Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule in his bestseller Outliers.

8.   M.C.Kenzy and DTomp are 17 year old recording artists specializing in Hip Hop, Rap, Dub Step and EDM (Electric Dance Music) and will showcase their new single "Mind the Gap," created for TEDxYouth@BommerCanyon.

9.   Jeff Leksmana, a software developer for Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers and Sony, will provide proof of the powerful chain reaction between ideas and awareness.

10.   Aliso Viejo resident Dr. Kaveh Azartash will reveal a revolutionary foreign language app – to be launched 11/17/2013 – that assists children to break the accent barrier.

11.   Jake Ducey is one of the youngest published inspirational authors at twenty-two-years-old, and will share his passion to inspire youth to change the world by finding their true north.

12.   Vern Breitenbucher will share his 30-year love of photography today's teens and tweens can leverage digital photography while using unconventional methods.

This event is open to the public and tickets are available through Eventbrite. Use the promotion code of "Toastmasters" and save 20% off on single ticket prices. Register today. For additional information contact Nikkisa Abdollahi at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Complete speakers' profiles are listed at http://www.ted.com/tedx/events/8750.

About TEDxYouth@BommerCanyon

Nikkisa Abdollahi founded TEDxYouth@BommerCanyon in 2011 as a youth organization run by a Youth Council, with adult support and mentorship, designed to share "Ideas worth Spreading." Under the framework of TED, which stands for "technology, entertainment, and design," The Youth Council, composed of possibilitarians – agents of change, future leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs – are committed to sharing diverse and convergent ideas through inspiring talks to explore, to network and to build a stronger community.

About TED and TEDx

TED is the world-renown acronym for "technology, entertainment and design" and is the name of the nonprofit committed to ideas worth spreading. The organization holds two major conferences and posts its popular TED talks on the web.

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. At TEDx events, a screening of TED Talks videos—or a combination of live presenters and TED Talks videos—sparks deep conversation and connections. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.