Gary Wilson Writing Online About Toastmasters

Gary Wilson, my grandfather who has enjoyed public speaking for decades, has written about Toastmasters in the mainstream media and online.

District 70 Toastmasters is the NSW/ACT part of Toastmasters International.  

Here are some links and quotes:

As I Was Saying... 

Written by Mark Ragg for the Sydney Morning Herald, re-published by Clap.

Comment to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007

Presenting evils

There was much truth about the evils of PowerPoint in your article.
In Toastmasters, we help people conquer fears of public speaking and turn themselves into polished presenters. And we constantly teach that a combination of passion, good content, well - honed delivery skills and practice is the key to making an effective presentation, not any associated visuals.
Experienced presenters, such as Allan Pease, have the ability to use PowerPoint to enhance their presentations. But more than 99 per cent of people have had no formal training in public speaking, giving truth to the old saying that learning to talk is one of the first things we do, while learning to talk well is one of the last (if it is achieved at all).

And so we find people trying to escape facing their audiences by hiding behind a notebook computer as they set out to bore their audiences with bullet points before letting themlapse into digitally enhanced snoozes.

Even the claimed advantages of PowerPoint, like it helps one structure a presentation and present key points, applied equally to the old overhead projector.

And while that was often misused too, at least most speakers knew where to find the on - off switch along the way.

I continually remind students of our Toastmasters Speechcraft courses that the secret to a great presentation is you, not your visuals.

When used, they should just be a "visual aid". The best advice I can give your readers when contemplating a presentation is to remember that "All power corrupts but PowerPoint corrupts absolutely".

- Gary Wilson Oatlands, NSW