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We trace Apex Toastmasters from a cozy sunroom club to a packed, high‑energy room, then through COVID disruptions into a pragmatic hybrid model. Don Dickinson DTM shares lessons on leadership, Pathways, and how to keep growth healthy without losing the club’s soul.

• Apex origin story and early culture
• Leadership continuity as the growth engine
• Room changes and meeting design shaping energy
• COVID shock, hybrid return and energy trade‑offs
• Virtual vs hybrid vs in‑person effectiveness
• Pathways strengths, gaps and recent fixes
• The role of repetition and tougher evaluations
• What makes a compelling speaker and communicator
• Why the classic meeting format still works
• Life after DTM, mentorship and service
• The social glue of shared self‑improvement

Apex Toastmasters is a President's distinguished club founded in 1996 and located in Apex, North Carolina, USA.

We meet every Thursday night at 7:00 pm at the Apex Baptist Church and online. See club website for details.

Apex Toastmasters Club Website: https://www.apextoastmasters.org/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=apex%20toastmasters

If you enjoyed what you heard, please take a moment to like, share, rate, or review this podcast.

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We talk with Peter Rau about how practice, presence, and a strong club culture turn anxiety into real growth. From officiating weddings to participating in speaking contests, we weigh the limits of online formats and the power of in-person connection, improv, and well-run meetings.

• early experiences in speech and debate
• officiating weddings and preparing with intention
• safe practice vs high-stakes speaking environments
• in-person presence, movement, and eye contact
• drawbacks of online contests and virtual delivery
• balancing demand for remote skills with live mastery
• crafting speeches, rehearsal depth, and flexibility
• what makes a club exceptional and reliable
• podcast ideas for live speeches and feedback
• navigating Pathways, icebreakers, and creativity
• improv as resilience training and fear reduction

Also mentioned: Vinh Giang expert public speaker.

Apex Toastmasters is a President's distinguished club founded in 1996 and located in Apex, North Carolina, USA.

We meet every Thursday night at 7:00 pm at the Apex Baptist Church and online. See club website for details.

Apex Toastmasters Club Website: https://www.apextoastmasters.org/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=apex%20toastmasters

If you enjoyed what you heard, please take a moment to like, share, rate, or review this podcast.

Send us a text

In this episode Kathy Berner describes her path from tentative guest to club builder, explore how welcoming habits create durable communities, and discuss why in-person energy still trains the best speakers. Vulnerability, humor, and small nudges become the tools that fuel the transformative power of public speaking.

• early Apex culture of warmth and mentoring
• table topics anxiety, hacks, and exposure therapy
• founding Fuquay-Varina Toastmasters: early meeting venues, spotty attendance, persistence
• growth via hospitality, diversity through welcomeness
• Compelling Speaking includes authenticity over polish; humor for cognitive resets
• multiple icebreakers as layered self-knowledge
• hybrid vs in-person and the “energy leak”
• mentoring beyond Pathways; work presentations and life impact
• retention through texts, invitations, and shared setup
• discipline, ownership, and scheduling reps

Apex Toastmasters is a President's distinguished club founded in 1996 and located in Apex, North Carolina, USA.

We meet every Thursday night at 7:00 pm at the Apex Baptist Church and online. See club website for details.

Apex Toastmasters Club Website: https://www.apextoastmasters.org/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=apex%20toastmasters

Fuquay-Varina Toastmasters meets Monday nights at 7:00 pm at Ransdell Fellowship Hall building: 309 N. Ennis Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526

Fuquay-Varina Toastmasters Club Website: https://fuquayvarina.toastmastersclubs.org/

If you enjoyed what you heard, please take a moment to like, share, rate, or review this podcast