Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

🎉 SAVE THE DATES! 🎉

PUBLIC SPEAKING NORTHWEST CLUB AWARDS CELEBRATIONS!

Join us as we celebrate an incredible year of growth, achievement, and community at Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters!

To accommodate everyone, we will be hosting two celebrations—one in person and one online via Zoom.

SAVE THE DATES

📍 In Person — September 1st at the Brightwater Center in Woodinville

Enjoy refreshments, inspiring speeches, a prize drawing, special recognitions, and much more!

💻 Online — September 8th via Zoom

Celebrate with us virtually with speeches, a prize drawing, special recognitions, and plenty of fun!

We will be honoring Katie Munoz and our founder, Jean Tracy, DTM, for 30 years in Toastmasters, celebrating Kelly Fallucca’s newly awarded DTM, recognizing our club’s educational achievements, and much more!

Meeting Information & Directions:
https://publicspeakingnorthwest.com/directions.html

Guests and fellow Toastmasters are welcome!
Please RSVP through our Contact Us link and let us know which celebration you will be attending.
https://9406.toastmastersclubs.org/?contactus=popup

Come celebrate all we have accomplished together! 🏆✨
Sparkle & Shine, Friends!

VPPR TIPS to Produce Your Powerful Presence™ – No. 58
by Kelly Fallucca, DTM, VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

TABLE TOPICS IS REALLY PRESENCE TRAINING IN DISGUISE

Table Topics may look like a quick, impromptu speaking exercise, but it is actually one of the best ways to build a powerful presence.

Why? Because presence is not about having the perfect answer. It is about how you show up when you do not have time to prepare.

Table Topics teaches you to:
Stay composed under pressure instead of rushing to fill the silence.

Trust yourself even when you are unsure where your answer is going.

Adapt quickly when the unexpected happens.

Connect with the audience rather than disappearing into your own thoughts.

Speak with intention instead of chasing perfection.
The goal is not to sound rehearsed. It is to become more comfortable being fully present in the moment.

This Week’s Challenge:
At your next Table Topics, do not just answer the question—tell a story. Give the audience a moment, a character, a lesson, or a laugh.

Stories are easier to tell because we do not have to memorize them. More importantly, they create connection—and connection creates presence.

Sparkle & Shine, Friends!

VPPR TIPS to Produce Your Powerful Presence™ – No. 57
by Kelly Fallucca, DTM, VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

RECALCULATE! Does Your Leadership GPS Need an Upgrade?

Have you ever used a GPS that only gave you one instruction?

“Turn left.”

No destination.
No explanation.
No backup plan.
Not very helpful, right?

Great leadership works the same way. People need more than directions—they need a destination, purpose, and support along the journey.

G — Goal: Know the Destination

A GPS needs a destination before it can create a route.

Great leaders create clarity:

✨ Where are we going?

✨ Why does it matter?

✨ What does success look like?

Without a destination, people are just busy traveling.

P — Purpose: Understand the Why

A GPS gives directions. Leaders give meaning.

People want to know:

✨ Why does this matter?

✨ Who does this help?

✨ What impact will this have?

Purpose transforms a task into a mission.

S — Support: Navigate the Journey

Even the best GPS needs to recalculate.

Roads change. Obstacles appear. Plans shift.

Great leaders:

✨ Listen

✨ Adapt

✨ Encourage

✨ Remove Roadblocks

They do not just send people on the journey—they travel with them.

Ask yourself:

Am I simply telling people where to go, or am I helping them understand why the destination matters and giving them the right tools for the trip?

Anyone can assign a task. Great leaders inspire movement.

This Week’s Challenge

Bring your club’s success plan to life! Have your officers share your club’s goals, vision, and action plans with members at a club meeting.

Create excitement, build connections, and inspire members to take the journey with you.

Because when everyone understands the destination, they can help create the path forward in ways you could not have predicted on your own.

Sparkle & Shine, Friends!

VPPR TIPS to Produce Your Powerful Presence™ — No. 56
Communication Presence: When Your Hands Start Giving Their Own Speech

Have your hands ever delivered a completely different speech than the one you prepared?

One hand is pointing. The other is chopping the air. Suddenly, your audience is watching an invisible puppet show. Your hands are the focus, not you.

Gestures strengthen your Communication Presence when they support your message. The goal is not to keep your hands frozen at your sides. It is to make each movement intentional.

Try these tips:

Begin with your hands relaxed at your sides or lightly resting in front of you.

Use open palms to appear welcoming and confident.

Match gestures to important words, emotions, or comparisons.

Avoid repeating the same movement too often.

Let your hands return to a neutral position between gestures.

This week’s challenge: Record one minute of yourself speaking. Watch it once without sound and study only your hands. Are they helping your message—or competing with it?

Sparkle & Shine, Friends!

Kelly Fallucca, DTM

VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest District 2 Toastmasters

VPPR TIPS to Produce Your Powerful Presence™ — No. 55
Project Presence: When Tech Takes the Day Off

The slides disappear. The microphone cuts out. The video freezes.
Technology failures can make even a prepared speaker feel unprepared, but your response reveals your Project Presence.
Project Presence is how your planning, materials, technology, environment, and ex*****on support the experience you are creating.

When something fails, pause before you panic. Take a breath, assess the problem, and avoid repeated apologies. Your audience will follow your emotional lead.

Always prepare a no-tech version of your presentation. Be ready to explain the visual, tell the story without the video, or lead the activity without an online tool. Technology should support your message, not control it.

Bring backups, assign clear team roles, and keep the audience briefly informed. Sometimes the best decision is to skip the broken element and continue.

A strong presenter might say:
“While we reset the screen, let me tell you the story of when….”
That sentence keeps the audience engaged while you calmly move forward.

Afterward, review what happened without blame and improve your process for next time.

This Week’s Challenge
Before your next presentation or club meeting, identify one technology risk and create a backup plan. Strong Project Presence begins before anything goes wrong.

Sparkle & Shine, Friends!
Kelly Fallucca, DTM
VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

VPPR TIPS to Produce Your Powerful Presence™ – No. 54
by Kelly Fallucca, VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

PRESENCE IN ACTION: AMIE BOURN

Amie Bourn is demonstrating what effective public relations looks like in action. As the 2026–2027 Vice President of Public Relations for Auburn Morning Toastmasters Club 329, one of her first projects was a complete refresh of the club’s online presence.

The redesigned website makes it easier for members and prospective guests to find meeting details, events, club news, member highlights, and helpful resources. Amie has also strengthened the club’s visibility across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

This is a great example of how a fresh, consistent, and welcoming digital presence can help a Toastmasters club build credibility, celebrate its members, and attract new guests. Strong public relations is not simply posting—it is creating a clear and inviting path for people to discover your club.

Check out Auburn Morning Toastmasters website for inspiration: https://auburnmorning.toastmastersclubs.org/

Visual storytelling is just as important as choosing the right words—strong visuals capture attention, reinforce your message, and make it memorable.

Brava, Amie!

THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE
Update your club website and create one fresh Toastmasters-branded image or video. Make sure your meeting information is current, your visuals follow brand standards, and your content gives prospective guests a reason to visit.

Sparkle & Shine, Friends!
Kelly Fallucca, DTM
VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters welcomes Raxit Jani to our club!
We are so glad you joined us, Raxit!

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters welcomes Dr. Dhwani Maheshwari MD to the club.

The best is yet to come!

VPPR TIPS to PRODUCE Your Powerful Presence™ – No. 53
by Kelly Fallucca, DTM, VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

SHOW ME THE TRANSFORMATION!

In the memorable Tom Cruise film Jerry Maguire, one line became unforgettable: “Show me the money!”

For speakers, the challenge is similar: “Show me the transformation!”

Strong speakers do more than explain an idea—they help the audience see what changes because the idea was implemented.

Instead of saying, “Toastmasters builds confidence,” show the transformation. Describe the member who once avoided eye contact, rushed through every speech, and feared being called on. Then reveal what changed after consistent practice, feedback, and encouragement.

Before-and-after stories make an idea believable. Demonstrations make it visible. Real examples make it memorable.

The same principle applies to leadership, communication, and calls to action. Do not simply tell your audience that a habit, tool, or decision works. Show them what life looked like before, what action was taken, and what became possible afterward.

Transformation gives your message proof. It allows the audience to picture themselves making the same change.

This Week’s Challenge
In your next speech, meeting role, or club conversation, replace one general claim with a specific before-and-after example. Do not just tell us the value—show us the transformation.

Sparkle & Shine, Friends!
Kelly Fallucca, DTM
VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18stYkPTLQ/

When a message matters, finding the courage to share it can change lives.
Congratulations to our Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters member Alex Konicke on his powerful interview with KING 5.
Ten years after an unimaginable family tragedy, Alex is breaking his silence to raise awareness about mental illness, encourage earlier intervention, and help other families recognize when someone may need serious support. His willingness to turn profound pain into purpose takes extraordinary courage.
Alex joined Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters to build his confidence and strengthen the public-speaking skills needed to share this deeply personal message. Watching him step forward and use his voice on such an important platform is a powerful reminder of why communication matters.
Public speaking is not simply about delivering a polished speech. It is about developing the confidence to tell the stories that need to be heard, creating connection, and using our experiences to serve others.
Alex, we are incredibly proud of you. Thank you for trusting us to be part of your journey and for bravely using your voice to bring greater awareness, compassion, and understanding to mental health.
Your story matters.
Your voice matters.
And your courage will help other families.
Please take a moment to watch and share Alex’s KING 5 interview and buy his book, available on Amazon, to support his mission.
KING 5 Interview
https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/snohomish-man-raises-mental-health-awareness-ten-years-after-tragedy/281-818079b1-9032-4b57-97db-81125af0d4c1
Book on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FY1WR1D4/?bestFormat=true&k=evil%20among%20us%20alex%20konicke&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ww_k1_1_9_de&crid=4QNS9SI7MGUZ&sprefix=alex%20koni
We are all so proud of you, Alex!

Snohomish man turns personal tragedy into mental health advocacy Nearly 10 years after his brother killed their mother and set fire ...