I gave the below speech today to the Gulf Power Engineering Society and my fellow Toastmasters group on May 26, 2016. I wrote this in March 2016 and finally had the opportunity to deliver it for a crowd in the way I wanted. This was my final speech to complete the Toastmasters Competent Communicator manual. …
A few days ago I was asked to be part of a project. I said “No” right away. I’ll be honest…it felt really good to say No! I gave a strong, quick answer. I was decisive. I felt empowered. Damn, I really meant it too. I said No and Wow, I was relieved. I took myself out of the …
“Why did you call yourself a bad mommy at the doctor?” my eight year old asked me two weeks ago, sounding surprised. “Because I ignored my instincts about you being sick. I thought you might have strep and it turns out you did.” I replied back. “But why does that make you a bad mom?” she …
Over a year ago I wrote about Bee movie and how bees may be small creatures but their contributions to our community make a huge impact. The film I saw with my children was the perfect metaphor to describe how important the contributions are that small businesses make in our economy. Today I had the great …
Eighteen pairs of eyes gazed at me as I explained the term entrepreneur. I gave a 45 minute lesson plan on business tips for second graders to Denise Moore’s class at Beulah Elementary School on April 6. I give presentations often for my employer, the Florida SBDC at UWF, but I was most nervous about …
Our family took its first real vacation in nearly a decade. We traveled to Sevierville, Tennessee (located near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg) with another family–our very good friends. This spring break getaway was the the most relaxed my husband and I have felt in a year or longer. We rented a cabin in the Smoky …
I recently interviewed four women for an article I’m composing on the topic of female confidence. Each of the participants had thought-provoking insights about their assertiveness and outside factors that affect it. I’m not done writing it yet but the words of these empowering ladies are already burned into my mind. They are amazing and I can’t wait to …
Today I attended the University of West Florida Women in Leadership Conference. This inspiring event was put on by the College of Business. The theme was “Designing Your Future” and it indeed conveyed the message that we female leaders can create our own path to success. The conference included three main guest speakers. Two panels of female …
I gave this speech (below) in my Toastmasters group. Actually it was credited as two speeches from the Competent Communicator Manual – with emphasis on vocal variety and visual aids. The total time it took me to deliver this speech was almost fourteen minutes. I received such great feedback from the presentation and I had such …
I enjoyed a lunch meeting with three other ladies on Friday. We met for work purposes but the conversation later turned to personal endeavors and lastly, one of my favorite topics: creativity. I referenced how I recently read the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) to the group. That’s when I …