Toast Masters International-November 6th & 7th, 2009

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I'm honored to have been asked and am truly looking forward to the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at the Toastmasters International event to be held on November 6 & 7th at the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel in Niagara Falls.

Toastmasters is a truly wonderful organization that provides communication and leadership skills training to a wide audience.

I want to help make it an even wider audience!

Now through the years many people have had the chance to hear me speak about why I write, how I write, and what it means to be published in this day and age. I've told my story many times to different audiences and have been really happy to answer all sorts of questions about the publishing business, working with an editor and an agent.

Yet this time I'm thrilled with the chance to speak because I'm going to have a different forum, so to speak, and I'm going to be able to incorporate some new stories about communication and leadership.

You know writing has always been a solitary event. Many of the people I meet have no idea how the guy standing before them has written even one coherent sentence!

I don't do too much in the way of self-promoting the books - something that my great publisher hates - but the ability to speak in front of the Toastmasters International crowd offers me a special opportunity.

I am going to be able to speak of why I sit down in the room alone, with the dogs snoring beside me, in an effort to put something down on paper that means something to someone else.

Over the course of the last six months I have struggled with my motivations. I have wondered how and why I should even bother to continue to communicate. The ability to speak in front of the Toastmasters International gathering will answer some of those questions for me.

I plan on giving it my all and I'm well aware that there are going to be a number of awesome speakers on the panel.

Do yourself a favor - find out more about the event - and get there!

You can check it out at http://d65fallconference.wordpress.com/ or contact Melinda Schmidt at velvet@techsorcery.com.

I hope to see your smiling face in the audience. I have a lot to share!

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