From Training Stage to Rapturous Applause

On March 22, I had the great pleasure of attending Professional Trainers Toastmasters Club’s Roadshow in Admiralty. PTTM is currently recruiting experienced trainers in presenting quality workshops on a number of leadership and communication topics featuring Toastmasters' educational values and work skills. Those attending the Roadshow were fortunate that the lecture circuit provided two seasoned certified trainers, Mr. Talis Wong and Ms. Priya Gururaj, for the event. A young Toastmaster had great fun in learning and confessed, “one always learns something from each speaker. I have been a fan of Mr. Wong’s work for years, and made sure I kept the evening free for his presentation.”

Mr. Wong took a different approach in his 20-minute workshop on Stage Management. Rather than spending time on the nuts and bolts, Mr Wong focused on the experiential change of the stage. His tools include a physical panorama vision exercise and a mood-lifting video. This first workshop of the evening energized audience with interactive substance instead of lecturing. It made audience really BELIEVE in the power of stage management particularly in a trainer’s classroom. What Mr. Wong spent the evening doing was giving his audience a TASTE of effective state management!

Ms. Gururaj is an engaging trainer, and with her background in leadership success with “LAW OF EMPOWERMENT”, she knows how to hold an audience and work with it. A kick-off dance made for a well paced evening. The dimension of leaders was truly impressive. Although Ms. Gururaj made her workshop stage wild with movement, her dichotomy theory shows her true breadth as a leader – “Only Secure Leaders Give Power to Others whereas Insecure Leaders drag out!”. She illustrated the concept for the participants, allowing them to relate leadership to their own growth.

If you were one of the over 50 participants in the workshop you would certainly be impressed by the sweet and bitter evaluations given by our stars. Irene Chen’s authoritative but effective evaluation won her the best evaluator trophy. Toastmasters and trainer friends of all skill levels can learn something from true masters at the Roadshow night.