Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

VPPR TIPS to Produce Your Powerful Presence™ – No. 47
by Kelly Fallucca, VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

LEADERSHIP PRESENCE: Do Not Be a Dread Dumper

Toastmasters teaches us how to speak with intention. Leadership presence requires us to communicate challenges with intention as well.

When a meeting goes sideways, membership numbers dip, volunteers are stretched thin, or an event suddenly develops ten new problems, it is tempting to march into the room carrying a giant emotional trash bag and dump every worry onto the nearest available Toastmaster.

I have done it too.

Overwhelm can make every issue feel urgent, enormous, and personally assigned to ruin your day.

Leadership presence is not pretending everything is perfect. It is learning how to pause, sort the pile, and lead the next move.

Before you broadcast the panic:
1. Take a breath.
2. Separate the real issue from the dramatic storyline.
3. Identify the one action that will move the needle first.
4. Ask for support with clarity, not chaos.
5. Bring a proposed next step—not just a bag of dread.

Your fellow Toastmasters do not expect you to arrive with every answer.

They need you to bring steadiness, perspective, and a path forward.

CTA: This week, whether you are leading a club meeting, planning an event, or supporting your officer team, pause before you unload. Carry the solution forward—not the dread.

Sparkle & Shine, Friends!
Kelly Fallucca
VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters
D2 Area Director, C35

VPPR TIPS to Produce Your Powerful Presence™ – No. 46
by Kelly Fallucca, VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

WHAT TO DO WHEN SUBTEXT IS NOT SUBTLE: A Lesson in Leadership Presence

In Toastmasters, the real message is not always said in words. Sometimes it is in the awkward pause, the confused guest, the nervous speaker, the unanswered volunteer request, or the member who says, “I’m just busy,” but slowly disappears.

That is subtext.

Strong leadership presence means noticing what the room is telling you before the room has to shout.

If guests look lost, explain the agenda in plain language. If a speaker seems nervous, offer encouragement before advice. If members are quiet, ask clearer questions instead of assuming they are not interested. If no one volunteers, check the workload, the expectations, and the energy behind the ask.

Correction starts with curiosity. Pause. Observe. Ask, “What might be happening underneath this moment?”

Toastmasters is not just where people learn to speak…it is where leadership skills are developed in everyday situations.

Learn to notice what is unsaid and do not ignore the signals. Pause, read the room, respond with intention, and course-correct before small moments become missed opportunities.

Create a room where people feel seen, heard, supported, and ready to take on new challenges.

CTA: At your next meeting, notice any subtext in members or guests, course-correct in the moment, and lead with intention and presence.

Sparkle & Shine, Friends!
Kelly Fallucca
VPPR, Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters
D2 Area Director, C35

I am proud to support Victoria Mathew as she runs for our next District 2 Growth Director.

Victoria is the kind of leader who shows up with clarity, consistency, and action. She was a trusted partner to me during last year’s Pathways to Brilliance Conference, where I served as Marketing Chair, and she also assisted me during a live workshop for DECA Washington.

She is brilliant, dependable, action-oriented, and always focused on moving the mission forward. Victoria embodies leadership presence—not just in what she says, but in how she serves, collaborates, and sets the example for others.

District 2 would be fortunate to have her leadership in this role.

Kelly Fallucca
VPPR Public Speaking Northwest
Area Director, C35

District 2 Toastmasters
District 2 Toastmasters