RTM's Newest Distinguished Toastmaster
There is no greater achievement within Toastmasters International than the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) designation. The DTM recognizes a superior level of achievement not only in communication, but in leadership as well. Muriel Taing, our very own Rockridge Toastmaster, has recently reached this highly regarded accolade.
From a memorable speech about literally free falling off a bridge in New Zealand that showcased facial expressions and body movement, to delivering a wedding toast where club members acted as wedding guests at Russ’ and Wendy’s “wedding,” Muriel has soared to the top in her time at RTM. The tools gained on the path to becoming a DTM have helped her build a foundation that without a doubt transfers to other parts of her daily life outside of RTM, both personally and professionally.
Being an effective communicator, succeeding in connecting with your audience through empathy and emotion, and knowing how to be persuasive have been invaluable skills and served to be great benefits when meeting with clients at her job. Finding the right words to use when speaking has improved her connections with others. Muriel notes that when giving speeches, every audience member is so different, and it takes a lot of practice as well as trial and error to know how to read your audience and make real-time adjustments to ensure you are bringing them along and keeping them engaged. By strengthening this skill, it has even made conversations that would be considered difficult much more approachable.
In Muriel’s spare time, she carries over her public speaking skills when teaching yoga and thoughtfully guiding students through various poses. It has allowed her to ‘hold the space’ which is an incredibly sought after goal of many yogis.
Becoming a DTM doesn’t happen overnight and Muriel can attest that it’s been a lot of hard work! Some people take decades to reach this achievement. Muriel set her eyes on the award in 2018 when she was ironically being interviewed for ournewsletter. When the interviewer asked her what was next, she replied that though her goal was aggressive, she had motivation from her previous Toastmaster accomplishments and decided to keep climbing upwards. Part of the DTM requirements include serving as a club officer, district officer, and either a club mentor, sponsor, or coach, as well as delivering numerous speeches and completing a high performance leadership program. Overall, holding multiple leadership positions served as a practice ground for Muriel. She has found it critical in improving her ability to deliver constructive feedback and instilling leadership confidence when managing and guiding project teams. She is always finding new ways to motivate others through the mentorship program.
Initially, she wasn’t sure that reaching this accomplishment was possible. While many of us can agree that achieving the DTM might sound daunting, Muriel is the type of person who enjoys facing challenges. This journey certainly had some ups and downs throughout the moments but her dogged motivation pushed her on and it has clearly paid off.
Congratulations to Muriel!
Tips for Becoming a DTM
If you’re interested in becoming a DTM, here are 3 tips from Muriel to help keep you on track
Don’t be discouraged by the time commitment it can take. Remember, it’s a self-paced program, so you can develop skills at your own pace and comfort level. A key part of how you learn and grow at Toastmasters is by doing the work and putting in the effort, but you’ll find yourself naturally carving out the time as you see progress and learn more about what you need to feel prepared!
Reach out to Toastmaster colleagues for help and support along the way. The program is a good balance of tasks that can be completed on an individual level, as well as some that require teamwork to be successful. When you connect with others, you can innovate on ideas and options that you may not have thought of on your own or even knew were available, and also see things in a fresh, different light. There are various paths and approaches to achieve the same outcome and you’re not in this alone!
It will be uncomfortable at times–there will be missteps and imperfections, which is normal when you’re on the path to growth. Lean into the challenges and over time, you’ll find ease in the discomfort. It can be exhilarating to see how far you’ve come!
Learn. Engage. Lead.
(This article is reprinted from the July issue of the RTM newsletter.)
It's convention time and an opportunity to learn from the best of the best. This summer, the Toastmasters International Convention is coming to a link near you!! The virtual conference makes it so much easier for everyone to watch the most experienced speakers compete for the title of World Champion.
Registration is now open for this event at two different levels. 1) All access for $25 and 2) Limited access for FREE.
Besides the speech competition, the event also includes 4 learning tracks that can be reviewed here.
Public Speaking/Stage Presence
Dynamic Communication
Self-Improvement
Leadership/Professional Development
The TI Convention takes place from August 23 to 28, 2021. To find out more please visit the Toastmasters page.