What a ‘Great’ (not good) Meeting!
This past meeting was one of the most inspiring that I can remember.
Our Toastmaster, Bill Hanger, did an excellent job keeping the meeting flowing. He had a natural and sophisticated presence as he led the introduction of participants and guests. Bill set the bar high with his genuine and complimentary introductions of the speakers.
Our first speaker was Dwayne Phillips. His speech was quite thought provoking as he explained the difference between “good” and “great” customer service. Through relatable examples, Dwayne illustrated that great customer service is achieved by empowering employees. He recalled a memorable experience he had reaching Dell customer service and how it took eight months to arrive at a satisfactory resolution.
Then, he reminisced about a better experience with a credit card company. He told us about how quickly customer service answered his phone call and how his needs were taken care of immediately.
Dwayne emphasized that a business must have the “wow factor” to make it in today’s world. He made sure we could remember his message by giving us a key phrase to take home. He said, “Great is the new good.” I have to say, this speech was “grrreeaat!”
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Our second speaker was John Becker. John is a real master of the English language and his words spun a beautiful web of personal experience, meaningful examples and good advice.
John began with the example of the elephant in captivity. He explained that while the elephant is a mighty animal, it is trained from infancy to be restrained. Trainers will place one end of a rope around the elephant’s ankle and the other end around a small stake. While the elephant could easily escape as it grows larger, the beast comes to believes that it is truly bound. John explained how we, as humans, do this to ourselves and each other. John told us about the struggles and victories in his career as a Real Estate Broker and he referenced three points that helped him along the way – one of which was his passion for Toastmasters. His speech concluded with an allusion back to the elephant, where he asked us all to “look at our ankles” to see what’s holding us back from being “who we were meant to be.” As the evaluator of this speech, I had a very difficult job – John was technically perfect! Overall, our meeting was lively and fun, with all participants taking extra care in delivering their roles to the best of their abilities. Kathy Clifton, our General Evaluator, remarked on how she would be “hard” on us to further our improvement. With that in mind, I think we all stepped it up a bit. It was a “great” meeting and I can’t wait for next week! |
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PS. Recently our own Sergeant-at-Arms, John Becker CC was asked to speak at an awards presentation for Exit Realty’s Top Salespeople in North and South Carolina. John’s speaking skills that he’s polished over the past two years really paid off, as I’m told “he blew them away” and was the topic of many conversations throughout the rest of the conference.
Congratulations John – you’ve done us Proud! Jim Alvord CC |President |
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