On June 19, 2016 I had blogged about how Jane Genova was Running Away from Toastmasters. On June 17th she had blogged about Toastmasters - Style over substance. Jane had joined a club in Tucson, but gave up after attending just three weekly meetings - and then asked for a refund of her dues. Then on June 19th she replied to my post by whining about me in the second half of another post titled Hilary Clinton Isn’t Such a Hot Public Speaker - So?
On July 1st Jane whined further - about not yet receiving her refund in a post on her Speechwriter-Ghostwriter blog titled Beware Toastmasters - You could be toast. That same post appeared on her other two blogs Law and More and Over 50 with titles of Toastmasters - This Scenario Wasn’t Covered in Anger Management and Toastmasters - Bad Taste in My Mouth (like burnt toast).
She didn’t carefully proofread, so her last two words were originally brunt (sic) toast. After I commented she fixed that typo. Since she bangs out roughly three posts a day on Speechwriter-Ghostwriter, I wasn’t surprised by that lapse.
In my June 19th post I had noted that:
“Jane’s post is as interesting for what it leaves out as for what it says.“
That’s also true of her latest one. How huge of a refund are we talking about? For comparison purposes, keep in mind that she’d mentioned taking a myriad of Dale Carnegie public speaking seminars. The basic Dale Carnegie course (of nine weekly sessions) currently costs $1695 to $1995. She mentioned that Group 5858 (actually Conquistador Toastmasters Club) had told her more than half her dues had gone to International. That would be just $36 for six months. Another $20 was for a one-time fee for a new-member packet containing publications. There also would be some local dues to cover club expenses. So, her total expenditure was somewhere less than $72, or roughly 25 TIMES less than the price for that basic Dale Carnegie course.
Was the Conquistador club her only possible choice? No! There are 38 clubs within a 25 mile radius of her zip code. 11 of them have restricted membership and 3 are Advanced, so there still are 24 to consider. Ten meet in late afternoon or evening (like Conquistador).
In my June 20th post titled Does public speaking training always work? I mentioned that Toastmasters works for lots of people, if you take the time to research and find the right club. Jane never mentioned if she visited any others before she joined.
Is Jane's latest outburst her silliest post for the last month? Nope, that would be the June 23rd one titled HEAT WAVE! - Wal-Mart Turns Up AC. It’s not really news that Arizona is as hot as blazes in summer. (I once interviewed for a job in Phoenix on a day where the high was 104 degrees).
Images of Mount Borah and molehills came from Wikimedia Commons.
UPDATE July 7, 2016
Today Jane Genova posted what might be a reply to this blog post. Her latest gem was titled
Toastmasters, et al. - Beware Your Self-Appointed Brand Ambassadors. But she didn't directly refer to me, so I'm not clear on what she's really talking about. Also, she never clarified exactly how much money she wanted to get back.
UPDATE July 15, 2016
Today I posted about how (Mary) Jane Genova also was a self-appointed brand ambassador for Toastmasters International - she did blog posts in 2014 and 2015 cribbed from press releases about their Golden Gavel awards.
Very curiously within hours she blogged about Digital Martyrdom - Great for Google Rankings. In her non-reply she again referred to self-appointed brand ambassadors. But she never enlightened us about the status of her attempt to get the Toastmasters dues refunded.
You can listen to Jane speak on June 30th here and decide for yourself whether she has less style than substance.
UPDATE July 15, 2016
Today I posted about how (Mary) Jane Genova also was a self-appointed brand ambassador for Toastmasters International - she did blog posts in 2014 and 2015 cribbed from press releases about their Golden Gavel awards.
Very curiously within hours she blogged about Digital Martyrdom - Great for Google Rankings. In her non-reply she again referred to self-appointed brand ambassadors. But she never enlightened us about the status of her attempt to get the Toastmasters dues refunded.
You can listen to Jane speak on June 30th here and decide for yourself whether she has less style than substance.
Hi Richard - as a 23 yr member of Toastmasters there is nothing new here. Because I have seen it many times before, I will put my money on a sure bet. MY BET: She gave her Icebreaker Speech thinking she would "blow everyone away" with a "this is how a professional speaks does it" and when she received her evaluation and they gave constructive comments (you had 4 "ahs, 3 hums,moved your arms to much, etc.) her ego jumped in and she couldn't handle it. Saw that happen time and time again when folks think they are great speakers just because they did a little public speaking someplace and then can't handle the TM evaluations.
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