Tom Keefe

Spirited Communication

Category: public speaking

Remembering 9/11 and My Job Search Then and Now

September 10, 2017 /

Sixteen years ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop with about 10 members of a newly formed job search support group. It was the third week since I was terminated from a marketing communications position at Wonderlic, Inc. I was another casualty of the nation’s slowing economy and the company’s belt-tightening.

“Someone just flew a plane into the World Trade Center towers,” one of the group said, having listened to the news report on the radio playing in the coffee shop. I remember my response vividly: “That is truly sad, and I hope that not too many people died. But we have to focus on getting jobs!”

I soon realized that I had missed both the scope of the tragedy in New York and how our world was about to be rocked. The terrorist attacks there, at the Pentagon, and the hijacked Flight 93 that crashed into a Pennsylvania field, led to a shutdown of air traffic and further weakened the nation’s economy.

Hiring dried up, then slowly resumed over the ensuing months. For me, 9/11 marked the beginning of a three-year period of under- and unemployment, the worst period of my professional career. That ended in March 2004 when I was hired by VW Credit, Inc.

Today, as the nation again honors the brave first-responders and remembers the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 9/11 attacks, I feel a small sense of uncomfortable familiarity. Due to a reorganization, my position was eliminated in March at VW Credit, and I am about six months into my search for my next communication position. While I’m grateful that the economy is in better shape than it was 16 years ago, and my professional networking efforts continue to uncover promising leads, I find myself once again with an uncertain immediate future.

I continue to hone my speaking skills and build a speaking career, but I am not at the point where that can sustain my family by itself.

But it occurred to me recently that the strength, commitment and perseverance that I and the nation showed 16 years ago will lead to positive outcomes today. In other words, faith and effort are stronger than fear and doubt.

It was important for me to remember that today, and I hope it helps someone else who reads this.

Facing Fear and Fire Through Firewalking

July 22, 2016 /

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In June 2016, several participants in a firewalking exercise at a Tony Robbins motivational seminar, were taken to local hospitals after suffering burns.

Why would anyone walk across fire, and how do so many thousands of participants at events like Robbins’ avoid injury?

Stephanie Kurokawa

Stephanie Kurokawa

Listen to this 14-minute with Stephanie Kurokawa, a speaker, trainer and volunteer for Tony Robbins. She has successfully firewalked three times at Robbins’ events, and shares her thoughts on the benefits of the exercise.

Be ready for impromptu meetings

Prepare for Brief Encounters

September 28, 2015 /

bigstock-Young-woman-in-jobWhether you need to provide an unexpected update to a boss, engage in a conversation with a stranger at an event, or “sell yourself” during a job interview, the ability to deliver an organized message off-the-cuff is a valuable skill to employ.

Many people feel unsure of their ability to respond in such situations, and can benefit from training and practice.

One activity that has worked wonders for me is “Table Topics” during Toastmasters meetings.

Table Topics help members develop their ability to organize thoughts quickly. During Table Topics, members respond to a question or statement that they hear just before they begin to speak. They are given one to two minutes to respond.

You don’t have to be a member of Toastmasters to practice this skill. Take time (10 minutes should suffice) during team meetings, small gatherings of colleagues or at job-search circles. Have one person ask a question that another person needs to address in one to two minutes. Use the stopwatch function on your phone to time them. You also can do a “round-robin” exercise, where several people take turns asking questions of others.

Encourage every participant to keep talking for at least the minimum time of one minute. Toastmasters uses a color-code system to advise the speaker about how much time has transpired:

  • Green at the minimum time of one minute
  • Yellow at the mid-point of one and one-half minutes
  • Red at the maximum time of two minutes

A “grace period” of 30 seconds is offered by Toastmasters, so that someone who speaks for up to 2 and one-half minutes is considered to have successfully completed the exercise.

I have seen how Table Topics have improved my ability to speak cogently at work and at events in my profession. It can work for you and your team, as well!

The ability to speak persuasively and in an organized fashion is just one aspect of effective communications. If you would like me to address a communication challenge or opportunity facing you and your organization, contact me to set up time to discuss it.

Keefe Toastmasters trophies

Competition

September 27, 2015 /

Keefe Toastmasters trophiesThese are some of the trophies that I’ve won in various contests since joining Toastmasters. When I began to compete, these trophies were the prime motivator for me. I wanted one in every contest I entered, and the one I wanted most was the first-place trophy!

Now as a more seasoned speaker, I understand something that some of my Toastmasters peers told me years ago. The value of entering competitions isn’t the hardware you might acquire. It’s the personal growth that you obtain in the effort and experience.

In Toastmasters, and in other areas of our lives, we compete against ourselves, not against each other. When we compete against someone else, we focus energy on ways to “overcome” that person. To “one-up” them. Perhaps to belittle or beat them down in a fruitless effort to make ourselves look or feel better than them.

That is selfish and self-centered thinking that, in its extreme, is destructive to relationships and self-esteem.

When we compete against ourselves, we focus energy on ways to overcome past mistakes and obstacles that achieved a certain result. By learning from our mistakes and exploring ways to overcome those obstacles, we improve and move forward.

I can compete against myself and still support and cheer for someone else who is in the same “arena” as me. That is part of the reason why some teams succeed; each member works to do his or her best, while supporting each others’ efforts.

Another key is that, by not considering others as my “competition,” I remain open to learning from them, which can provide insights and ideas that I otherwise wouldn’t think by myself. That is the another reason why some team succeed; each member remains teachable and absorbs lessons from the experience and perspective of fellow teammates.

Early on, I didn’t work with other Toastmasters when I wrote and delivered my speeches in contests. I was competitive to a fault, and my speaking and delivery skills suffered–even when I occasionally took first place.

Today, I practice my speeches in Toastmasters meeting attended, in part, by people with whom I will share the stage at speech contests. We offer each other pointed, practical suggestions and encourage each other to do our best.

Each of us still wants to take home the trophy, of course. But I can say, for myself, that I have peace when I deliver a speech as well as I possibly could—even if someone else’s speech and delivery is rated higher that day by the judges.

And I can applaud my fellow contestants enthusiastically, because they, like me, know that the person they are competing against is themselves.

If you would like me to address your group or organization on the topic of teamwork, competition, speaking skills or a related topic, contact me.

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