Member Spotlight: Interview with Gary Penn

Q&A with Gary Penn, DTM, Partner at Chameleon Collective; Global eCommerce Consultant • Interim Leader VP eCommerce / DTC / and seasoned public speaker, including contest winner of various Toastmasters International speech contests over the years.

Gary is an active member of Encinitas Toastmasters.

This interview was conducted virtually by Pat Rarus, DTM, also of Encinitas Toastmasters.

Q. Gary, you are an awesome public speaker, incorporating vocal variety, impressive gestures, and even theatrics to wow your audiences. What is your advice to beginning Toastmasters who may do not yet possess your experience or your level of self-confidence?

A. My advice to all new speakers and my mentees within the club is always to get outside your comfort zone. For some folks, that might be just getting up in front of the room to present a Timer’s report during a meeting or taking on a new role like being Grammarian for a night.

These roles within Toastmasters exist for a reason: they help the operation of a meeting, yes, but more importantly, they are an opportunity to speak. For folks approaching mid-level (5+ speeches), I always encourage them to “Get outside the club.” If you have opportunities to speak in a meeting at work, or perhaps at a ceremony of some kind, or maybe even at your child’s class… lots of options abound in life! It’s nerve-wracking! I don’t mean to indicate that any of this is easy. Still, with practice comes presence and peace of mind to be able to tackle “the next.”

Q. Is it true that you once stood on your head during a speech contest? Details, please!

A. Yes! The rumors are true, and that speech was the furthest I’ve ever gotten to the global competition that crowns the Best Speaker in the World! I gave a speech for the International Speech Contest about being “addicted to yoga,” and the headstand was right toward the beginning when I was setting the scene for an epiphany that I had, which was the subject of the speech.

It was really hard to do because, at that level of contest speaking, I was wearing a suit which is not meant for yoga poses! I won the Club, Area, and Division levels and eventually competed in the Founder’s District speech contest which was an absolutely astounding level of competition. I did not win District [highest level in Toastmasters’ contests], but the memories of that competition have become lore – whenever I tell my Dad (a former professional speaker himself) that I’m struggling with a speech, he merely says, “Just stand on your head.”

Q. I understand that you recently gave three professional talks at eTail West 2022. Please tell us a little about this event and how you used your Toastmasters’ training to not only inform but also captivate your audience.

A. Per my original advice at the top of this interview, I really believe in getting “outside the club” to challenge oneself with speaking. For that reason, I began speaking at conferences (I’m an eCommerce Consultant) just about 2 years after joining Toastmasters (I joined in 2007!). eTail was fun this year because the three opportunities I was afforded to speak were of different types. One was a solo gig where I presented slides and spoke about an industry topic. This presentation was definitely something similar to the structured speeches in the [former] TM manuals.

The second was a 3-person panel discussion where the Q & A is much more akin to Table Topics. And with a panel, you have to be flexible enough to riff off of the responses of other folks on that panel. Finally, the last one was an invite I received about 5 minutes before the event started because someone else couldn’t make it. I filled in for a “fireside chat” on advanced technologies like augmented reality (AR) and cryptocurrency. This resulted in an interesting chat, but I think the guy who was scheduled probably would have been better. Still, I learned because I challenged myself to do something uncomfortable.

Q. In addition to these three speeches, how, in general, and then, specifically, has your Toastmasters’ training advanced your career?

A. I’m very driven in my career. My goal was to be a vice president (VP) by age 40. I missed this milestone by 18 months, but I didn’t beat myself up! Toastmasters were fundamental to that career trajectory. It provided me with the confidence to speak one-on-one with honest, clear, and direct language with my supervisors over the year. It also allowed me as an executive to give presentations before my various company’s employees.

These presentations were fun and engaging despite the topics often being boring. And most importantly, this corporate speaking provided me the confidence to be me unequivocally. Sometimes that comes across as ego, and the more comfortable I am, the more I find it’s necessary to humble myself – which is why it helps to get your butt kicked in a competition!

Q. Most of us will probably never become high-level paid speakers. With that in mind, what are the 5 most important Toastmasters’ principles to master when giving a business presentation?

A. First item: Humor. A presentation without humor, even if it’s something dark and emotional, is difficult to watch. Give the audience an outlet, even if just for a moment. Second: Vocals. Not necessarily voices and vocal variety but projection and clarity. Belt it out. Be unapologetically you and your audience will follow. The vocal range displays confidence and enraptures your listeners. That can also mean whispers or lower volumes when things get serious. It’s like music that accompanies a TV show or movie – it sets the scene.

Third: Keep your slides simple. If you use slides, have a few words per slide or a chart. Speak to your subject matter, not at it, and do not read it. Fourth: Be prepared. Get to your destination early, test your staging, and test your equipment. Projectors all work differently, and microphone sounds can vary, as meeting rooms are structured uniquely from each other. Lastly: Enjoy the occasion. Your audience will feed off your energy. Turn that energy into positive vibes. If you get stuck, your audience will support you. Pause and restart.

Q. Why is it important to continue as a Toastmaster even after achieving certain milestones, such as the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) status?

A. As with all things, practice makes perfect. I have been in TM for 16 years and achieved my DTM during that time. I’ve taken 2 long breaks of 6-12 months each for various reasons or because life threw me a curveball. But I always came back because speaking is an art form, and you lose that skill without practice. I’ll likely always be able to speak “well,” given how much time I’ve put into it, but the filler words come back, and the humor and off-the-cuff wit wanes. You have to keep going. Just like you have to keep moving to keep your body healthy as you age.

Q. Any other words of wisdom on how Toastmasters helps build communication and leadership skills?

A. Back to my original point: always find the next challenge, speak outside the club, and sign up when you don’t want to!