Q&A with Katie McCabe, Salesforce.com Administrator and Co-President of Encinitas Toastmasters
Pat Rarus, DTM, conducted this interview, also of Encinitas Toastmasters.
Q. Katie, you have been a member of Encinitas Toastmasters for a few years now. How has membership and participation improved both your professional and personal life?
A. Toastmasters has added so much to my life. I’ve met wonderful friends and improved my speaking skills. I recently had an online job interview in which I had to record answers to the questions with only one minute to review them. Toastmaster’s Table Topics prepared me for this kind of challenge. I also gave a eulogy at my beloved aunt’s funeral last year. It was a very emotional experience, but my Toastmasters training kicked in, and I was able to honor my aunt.
Q. Katie, you recently told our club that you have a unique way of preparing for a speech. Details, please!
A. I find that I go completely blank if I sit in front of my laptop to try to compose a speech. Instead, I go on a walk. While on the walk, I brainstorm ideas and try out concepts. Once I have much of it figured out, I come home and jot down notes. The next day, I go on another walk to practice the speech, swapping out ideas as I think of them. (I may look a little odd walking around my neighborhood practicing a speech!) The final step is recording myself on my laptop to test the timing and see which sections need more practice.
Q. Katie, I understand that you have lived in 14 different cities over your lifetime. Why all those places? What has this “moving around” experience taught you?
A. My father was a pilot in the Navy, so my family moved 14 times by the time I was 14 years old. I was the new kid in school countless times. I learned how important it is to be welcoming to new people in any situation. Conversely, I learned how it is our own responsibility to proactively reach out and connect with people when we are the new ones.
I lived in many different areas of the country and the world. It was great to learn early on that there are many different ways to live and that they all have value. This experience has helped me think twice about the status quo and be open to different ideas.
Q. You and Moeko Wilson are serving as ETM Co-Presidents. This is new for our club, yet it seems to be working well. How do you and Moeko share your duties? What makes a Co-Presidency easier and more rewarding, in your opinion?
A. I am so lucky and thankful to have such a wonderful co-president and friend, Moeko Wilson. We are a great team because our skills are complementary. Moerko has served as Treasurer and Secretary in past board terms, so she knows the ins and outs of the business side of the role. I have served as VP of Public Relations, Sergeant-at-Arms, and VP of Education, Leadership, so I am more familiar with the communication and education side of things.
Moeko and I meet monthly before board meetings to divide duties and plan the board meeting. Luckily, Moeko is very organized, so she has set up a spreadsheet to keep us on track. We then copy (cc) each other on all important emails so that we are both up to speed. It has been a wonderful partnership!
Q. What is your favorite part of a Toastmasters’ meeting? Is it the prepared speeches, Table Topics, or Evaluations? Tell us what and why.
A. I am actually having trouble answering this one. I love all three main parts of the meeting — prepared speeches, Table Topics, and evaluations — for different reasons. I’ve gotten so much out of the prepared speeches. They have made me both laugh and cry, and I always learn something! I was most intimidated by Table Topics, but they are so much fun to watch and have really helped me improve my extemporaneous speaking. The evaluations are where I have learned the most about the craft of speaking. The seasoned evaluators have provided countless tips that I’ve incorporated into my speeches over the years.
Q. Before serving as Co-President, you held other board positions over the years, including VP of Education, Sergeant-At-Arms, and VP of Public Relations. Why is it important for club members to serve as officers? After all, they are not getting paid for this responsibility!
A. Serving on the board is a great way to improve career skills. As VPPR, I learned new software for sending mass emails and building websites. As VPE-Leadership, I saw an education program's inner workings. And as Sergeant-At-Arms, I learned that even in a role that I don’t feel I’m naturally cut out for (organizing supplies and setting up the meetings), I can still have a great time. Encinitas Toastmasters has done so much for my life that it is wonderful to be able to give back to the club by serving on the board. The board has brought me so much closer to many of our club members, and I’ve made lifelong friends.
Q. Katie, Encinitas TM is already one of the top clubs in San Diego County. How can we tweak our meetings or practices to improve our club?
A. One of our biggest challenges right now is the size of our club. We are closing in on 70 members! Managing a club of this size is a completely different ballgame. We are continuously working on keeping our meetings on time while still having time for prepared speeches and important club announcements and giving everyone a chance to speak. We are testing out different meeting options, such as shortening role descriptions and timing every section of the meeting, to try to get everything in. With the ratio of new and experienced members growing rapidly, we are also working on education improvements. We have rewritten all the role descriptions and are linking them from Easy Speak.
Our New Member Ambassador has created an education survey that will be sent out soon. We have also added a new member website page and are considering a buddy system for new members. We are also empowering our veteran members to speak to new members and answer questions.