Area 44 Live On Air

by Esther Lenssen, SunTalker Editor

Friday, March 8, 2013 was the day for Area 44 Governor Gene Kowalski, Assistant Area 44 Governor Christine Langley, and fellow Area 44 Toastmaster Lynn Kruse—the day they promoted Toastmasters International and their Area 44 International Speech and Table Topics Contest live on radio. They were invited to Goliath Radio 1380 AM. The Ormond Beach-based radio station offered them the opportunity to talk with host Roland Via on the “Via Report” at 2:30 pm.

Christine Langley, Lynn Kruse and Gene Kowalski

Gene Kowalski, ACG, ALB, had been on radio before, announcing the Area 44 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest in the fall. Christine Langley, ACB, ALB, VP Education at Toastmasters On The Halifax in Holly Hill, and Lynn Kruse, ACB, ALB, VP Education at EduSpeakers in Daytona Beach, were the Area 44 Contest Master and Contest Chair and radio newbies. Roland Via started by asking Gene to explain what Toastmasters is. Then he wanted to know from Christine and Lynn why they got involved with Toastmasters. But he also went into contest details: “What can you win?,” “What's on a rating sheet?,” “It says here in your program that there is one minute of silence between speakers. Does that mean there's no applause?”

Our Toastmasters sounded very knowledgeable, comfortable and at ease. Gene knew all the Toastmasters International statistics; Lynn and Christine have great radio voices; and on top of that, Christine managed to “smile through the radio”. Other Toastmasters called in and added their perspectives.

In the following interview, Gene, Christine and Lynn are sharing their experiences about their radio appearance:

Lynn, Gene, and Chris "on the air"

Congratulations, guys, you just promoted your Area 44 International Speech and Table Topics Contest on local radio, on Goliath Radio 1380 AM with Roland Via. How exciting was that?
Lynn: It was a great experience! Last year I attended publicity workshops in Philadelphia and New York. This was a wonderful opportunity to put some of that knowledge to use for an organization that contributes greatly to the American way of life.

Christine: I had that “I’m feeling nervous but I’m trying to ignore it” feeling in my gut beforehand, but it turned into an “I don’t know if I can speak without my voice shaking” feeling by the time our mikes were turned on. I really didn’t expect to be overcome with that much nervousness. However, by the end of the show, I was feeling much more relaxed. It was like it is when you take on a new Toastmasters leadership position. At first you wonder what you got yourself into and then, when you finally feel like you know what you're doing, your time is up! But, all this in 30 minutes.

Radio host Roland Via - Goliath Radio 1380 AM

I know you're all experienced Toastmasters, but I assume that you're not invited to radio talk shows every day. Were you a little nervous, and if so, what did you do to overcome that nervousness?
Christine: When my nerves were trying to overtake me, I tried to shift my attention to Roland and his questions instead of focusing on how I was feeling. It also helped that when he asked questions that I knew I couldn’t answer, I could just point toward Gene and Lynn. Shifting my attention away from my nerves was really easy when the calls came in because I had to listen really hard without the visual cues of a person in the room. That part was fun for me because that’s where it turned to a conversation rather than an interview. That’s the main takeaway for me—make it a conversation and just have fun.

How did you prepare for the show?
Christine: I spent some time preparing notes beforehand—that’s how I put my thoughts together. I put together notes about my years in Toastmasters, what Toastmasters is all about, who joins Toastmasters and why, and the benefits of participating in a Toastmasters Contest. I also looked at the station’s website and looked up Roland’s website as well. That really helped, I think.

I really enjoyed meeting Roland. I think he did a great job asking us questions and making us feel welcome and comfortable. He also spent some time afterwards giving us tips for radio exposure in the future. I would definitely go back and do this again!

Lynn: I reviewed some of what I had learned about being on radio shows and made mental notes of the most important facts about Toastmasters that I think the public should know.

Gene: I prepared as I would prepare for any speech. I research my topics with the end result being to have fun. Coordinate among the participants. Lynn, Christine and I met before the interview to agree on areas of discussion, gather facts and ideas. Working together as a cohesive unit is essential.

Gene, how did you manage to get air time at this local radio station?
Gene: Goliath Radio has three shows that host local groups—Big Talk with Big John, Roland Via’s Report, and Paul Carpenella’s Mid-Day Volusia. This was our second appearance on the Via Report. We also appeared one week prior to our September 2012 Humorous Speech and Evaluation contest. Barbara Kincade, a two time Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), helped us coordinate with the radio station to have this awesome opportunity to talk candidly on live radio about Toastmasters. Barbara is a dedicated Toastmaster always willing to help others improve.

How has your participation in the radio show benefited your club, your event or Toastmasters International in general?
Lynn: We didn't get an immediate influx of attendees at our Area Contest, but the District Contest in the same venue on Saturday, April 13th at 10:30 am may benefit if it is also promoted. Better communication benefits families, neighborhoods and nations. To maintain our democracy, we need more and better leaders. As the public realizes that Toastmasters promotes growth in both areas, all of our clubs will grow. We may even have more than 900 new clubs!

How has it benefited you personally?
Lynn: The radio show benefited me personally by giving me some real life experience to go with the other learning I have been doing.

Christine: It was definitely a growing experience for me and I learned a lot—about handling myself in this kind of situation and about the medium. This is not an experience that I would have ever pursued on my own, so I am very grateful that Gene asked me to participate. Also, next week I am scheduled to be video interviewed while in Las Vegas at a convention for a cloud-based software product that I use at work. The lessons that I learned from my experience on the radio today will definitely help me provide a better interview next week: relax, focus on the questions rather than my nerves, make it a conversation, and enjoy myself.