Toastmasters – Gwen Hernandez

8 Steps to Surviving an Author Reading

I recently gave my first public reading of one of my own books. And I didn’t die! Probably largely thanks to three years of Toastmasters in my mid twenties (one of the best personal/professional development things I ever did). But here are a few other things that really helped make the reading (I think) a

The Daily Squirrel

November 10, 2009Gwen HernandezWriting Craft1 Comment

Years ago, when I was in Toastmasters, we had a member, Ken, who was truly a remarkable speaker. Anytime we had an unfilled speaking slot, he would give an impromptu speech using a random topic from the audience. His most memorable speech was about gray squirrels. He gave a humorous, completely off-the-cuff, 7-minute speech about hunting