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We Strive to Be Professional
Paul C. Fanning, DTM
you are like me and your thought departed for and wonder at times how and why errors (that
the ether), and a good, appealing voice that can means I am giving the grace of getting it right
inspire confidence, faith in what is being said, but someone else processed it for publication).
and can draw you in are all tools we learn. WE I have heard them speak at the club meetings;
strive to be professional. thus, I know they can “get it right” but not “get it
With the modern method of newscasting write” the day it is delivered to the public. Again,
on TV or internet, not only do they have a copy professionalism and applying the standards of
of what has been written for them to say, there Toastmasters to their employment should be
is also the teleprompter guiding them along. the watchword.
Professionalism—old fashioned preparedness I had an interesting discussion with one of our
and practicing—to not include the Ah Counter’s waitstaff recently. He could not see the reason
fodder. There is no excuse. I really cannot help for sitting in school, or being promptly at his job
holding my imaginary speaker’s evaluation form when it is his shift, and just the general malaise
in my hand while the news, or a political address, that dinosaurs are in charge of education and
are being given. For me, I am a reformed bad do not understand the needs of today’s youth.
speaker. (And no, he quit shortly after that and did not
I was interviewed one day during a massive have enough credits to graduate.) No matter what
fire in Alaska (that is, I was the guy in uniform version of Toastmasters education program you
that they descended upon), and the result have learned under, or all of them, the basics
was. . . let me just say I had a member of my are still the same. We join not to win awards,
Sunday School tell me how bad I was, and he or praise, or to be worshipped as the ultimate
was embarrassed at my lack of professionalism! example of a speaker, but to grow, learn, and
Lesson learned the hard way. Thanks, Tommy, modify or apply that which we have been
for being honest and telling the truth. introduced to. That is the important reason and
Yet it does not stop there. There is a daily result—improvement, perfection of the craft,
in Oregon that I read, and two members of and professionalism.
the editorial staff are former members of a The Voices! editor, Phyllis Harmon, has always
prominent club in Portland—both became been my mentor. Just this week I was at a meeting
president before work called them to the where the speaker kept using the word "Thing" or
grindstone of daily reality. I read the editorials, "Things" which she considers very bad to use as a
VOICES! | JUNE 2023 27
