Hearing Loss LIVE! Talks Audible Talkers Toastmaster with Harry Wolfe

#Toastmasters #Confidence #Speech #HearingLoss #HardofHearing #CochlearImplant #HearingAids #Online

This month  @hearinglosslive is all about confidence. What better way to build it than public speaking. Toastmasters has been a long time platform built to help you with that. But what if you have hearing loss? How do you access this type of platform. Well meet Harry Wolfe, long time Toastmaster advocate who found a way to make Toastmasters inclusive to those with hearing loss. Find out why he says: "This is not a Toastmasters for hearing loss. This is a Toastmaster that includes everyone."

Find out more on how this online speaking platform can help you find your voice with hearing loss.

Transcript

Julia Stepp  00:00
Hearing Loss LIVE! talks with Harry Wolfe about Audible Talkers Toastmaster.  Julia: Good morning and welcome to Hearing Loss LIVE! Welcome to 2024. We hope you are remembering to like, share, subscribe to all of our content, maybe check out our classes that are rolling out in February, bring a partner. Again this year will be buy one bring one free. What else? I always forget something. So I'll throw it on the end as we all know. We have some new content ideas this year and one of them is introducing the hard of hearing public at large community members that are doing above and beyond to help lessen the stigma of hearing loss I guess is how I'm going to put it. As you all know, Chelle Wyatt has been with Audible Toastmasters for a little while. We try to make sure we let you know when their meetings are and she's given some of her speeches and you can find them on our YouTube page. But we would like to introduce you to Harry Wolfe. Harry Wolfe is the founder of Audible Toastmasters. And I'm going to have him go over the history here in a second. We love this subject for this month, because as you know, it's about confidence with your hearing loss. What better way than to get out of your little box, get online, get to a meeting and do public speaking, right. So Harry, can you give us some background on how you found it? Audible Talkers, Toastmaster.

01:49
Harry: In November of 2018, I received a real shock in my Toastmasters club, I had been a member for 20 years. But all of a sudden, as I aged, I had trouble hearing the speakers. And it made me realize that people with hearing loss would have trouble being in Toastmasters. So I decided to found a club to accommodate people with hearing loss, myself and others in the area. Of course, in my research, I discovered there are around 800,000 people in the region that fit the profile of having some degree of hearing loss. So I began the club started the club. And it was a real challenge getting it going but it was interesting as well. Fortunately, we met in a room that had a hearing loop, and we never would have gotten that room if the person who coordinated with us, Michele Stokes, had not previously been in Toastmasters, and had not had hearing loss. Because with hearing loss and participating in Toastmasters, she understood exactly what I was talking about, and why it would be good to have a meeting and room with hearing loop. So she let us meet in the room and we did meet beginning July 1st was our first meeting. And we needed to recruit 20 members to become an officially chartered Club, which we did by November, the end of November, we recruited the additional members. And when we gave our model meeting the first meeting after delivering it, it went so well that two people came up and join the club on the spot. Okay, those two people were Peggy Staples, who was the president, my chapter of the local chapter of Hearing Loss Association and Minerva Gutierrez has been heavily involved in hearing loss projects. They joined on the spot. So I spent the next six months or so recruiting, and we ultimately reached 20 members. About half of those members have hearing loss. I like to say that Audible Talkers Toastmasters is not a club for people with hearing loss. It's a club for everyone, including people with hearing loss. We are inclusive. So everything was going fine. Great meetings in the club. It took a little while to get to the library during rush hour but that was okay. And then COVID struck. Well, we had to cancel our in-person meetings so we moved online, but moving online was a blessing in disguise. Instead of spending three hours going to and from and setup nice about 15 minutes. So it was great. Secondly, we recruited some people outside of Arizona who wanted to improve their English. So we had someone from Saudi Arabia, from Germany, from Bogota, Colombia, from Jamaica. And they were members of the club. They joined soon after that, they weren't the charter members, they joined, because they were very interested in what the club had to offer. And I was impressed with one person who, in Saudi Arabia, our club meeting starts at 3am their time. This man has two small children. For him to continue, he was a member for a year, I couldn't believe it. But he liked the meetings and the club enough to be willing to do that, because he felt he could improve his his English. And of course, improve yourself confidence. And that's another thing that we work on. And I'm working on that now. Improving myself competence, I'm going to be giving a contest speech in the upcoming international speech contest. And there's a difference between giving a formal speech and connecting with your audience. Connecting with your audience is a level above. Because I've given thousands of speeches in my career, literally thousands, because of what I did. And I was pedantic, I was educational. But I didn't necessarily connect. And I could tell by looking at people's face faces, you know, they were looking off. And so now I'm trying to work on my goal this year, is to be more a more engaging speaker. So--

Chelle  06:55
Chelle: this jogged memory, for me that I haven't thought of in a long time. But in the mid 90s, they went back to the local community college and went back to school. One of the classes was speech. And I remember being okay with standing up there, but I had to get with the teacher beforehand and say, there's no way I'm going to understand everybody's whole speech. I am not going to be able to participate in the feedback portion of the speeches that are given. And I also need to, of course, sit up front, show up early, and this was in the mid 90s. I did okay. But I've gotten better since. And he was really good about me, not providing feedback for that reason. And but it was pretty sad, because I wanted to hear everything. And I wanted to be a part of that, too. So I think that's what kept me from joining Toastmasters, prior to joining Audible Talkers, was because I would think about that feedback process and go, God, you know, that's gonna be so much work. And you eliminated that with Audible Talker. So when Christie asked me to join, I was like, okay, because there was accessability.

08:30
Harry: Yeah, well, I did learn some things through club members. One thing I learned that captions were not enough if you were evaluating a speaker, and it was Peggy Staples and said, I need a transcript of the speech. So now, we get written transcripts of the speech for most people, the afternoon before the meeting. And that way, it is more reassuring to people if they have it. But you know, as Peggy said, I can't evaluate someone while I'm struggling to hear them. Okay, so she, she educated me on that. And so we adapted and, and we continue to look at ways to adapt. One thing that was suggested the other day was we have an impromptu speaking session where we ask people questions. Well, someone said, it would really be nice if we could have that in text or if we could have somewhere where it was written down. So we tried that in our last meeting, and it went quite well. Actually, the person had a PowerPoint presentation, and moved through the questions. But that was really good because several of our members, several of our guests I should say, who were very hard to hearing couldn't hear what was going on. And that's why a woman didn't want to participate in table box. Not because she was scared, but because she couldn't hear the question. So we learned that you need to use the chat box for this impromptu speaking so everyone can participate.

Chelle  10:20
Chelle: Yeah, the transcripts are getting transcripts before their meetings were always super helpful. Because I knew even if it didn't match perfectly with they said, because during speeches, we asked him to stray a little bit if we're doing it right. which I've learned from you Harry and Julia., Julia strays too. So but that's okay, because you got to be on your toes. And that's what Toastmaster teaches you the questions. I know that when I do Table Topics, I'm like, I am like, oh, my gosh, am I really gonna hitch that is a very good idea. I hadn't thought about asking for it and text.

11:03
Harry: Right. Our meeting can be inspiring. I'm trying to think of Christie's theme in the last meeting was a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, although I'm trying to think, well, the theme for the coming meeting, January 8th, is new beginnings. The theme provides a focus for the meeting. And usually Table Topics questions will be related to the theme. But it's nice to have a theme that attracts people's attention. And you know, some people have interesting and innovative themes.

Chelle  11:47
Chelle: It is. The themes help a lot. And you know, the whole experience has just been really good. And I was actually kind of sad that I had to drop out last what maybe years, six months or something, but it's just so much going on. I learned a lot from all of you. I like to attend when I can. I catch myself when I'm doing these podcasts now, thanks to you and Audible Talkers staying pause no and no. Or keep it to a minimum.

12:30
Harry: Well, I understand your need to drop out the club, because it's all about priorities. Okay. And I understand that family, job, health are the top priorities, and you may not have enough time for something else. That's the magic of Toastmasters, we will not is that it supports our priorities. All right. So beyond physical well being or mental health is paramount. And when you attend an engaging Toastmasters meeting, you just feel so great. After the meeting, big problems don't seem so big anymore. And you feel like you can accomplish things that you didn't think you could. And that really happened to me. The the story is, I was trying to be become bilingual, or at least get closer to bilingualism. So I was in Puebla, Mexico for an immersion program, and I joined a Toastmasters club to get better feedback on my speeches. Well, I practice I was assigned to give my first speech in a couple of weeks, and I practice extensively with my teachers and everyone else, so that I'd be well prepared and would be confident. And I gave this speech, and they loved it. Because I talked about my efforts to become bilingual. And with joining this club, you were going to help me meet my dream. Well, at the end of the speech, they started clapping vigorously. But then they did something that just blew me away. They started a chant. A cheer you will, they said "lo hiciste, lo hiciste un diez, un diez!" I know the captions are not going to do well with this. "You did it, You did it, a 10, a 10!" I couldn't believe it because this was one of the best clubs in Mexico. And I can tell you how, how I felt as a result of that experience. At each meeting, they had five formal speeches okay, this club, you know, meant business, and they said it A great example and some of the members mentored me. So in this case, you know, Toastmasters helped me meet a goal that was important to me. So just keep that in mind that Toastmasters can help you with that. It can help you, when there are family disputes, or you're not talking to someone. When you practice impromptu speaking in Table Topics, you have a better chance to think on your feet, as they say, and respond appropriately. And not say something that is going to create, you know, a conflict, or maybe you don't talk to one another for years. So there's that and of course Toastmasters can help you advance in your career. It provides more self confidence, when you give speeches, and you're more articulate, you're able to get to the point. And so we have one member of the club, who wants to become-- run for public office, he's not hard of hearing, but he joined the club in order to increase his self confidence, and especially work on being more passionate when he speaks. His speaking is fine as a beautiful speaking voice. But the passion that you need to become a, you know, to become an engaging speaker, and to run for public office is is essential. And so I think he's moving toward his goal. And I'll be on his campaign committee when he does run.

Julia Stepp  16:42
Julia: Super cool. Harry, Toastmasters. I know it's on a Monday is it once a month or twice a month?

16:54
Harry: Okay, in our club, we meet twice a month. Normally, we meet the first and third Monday at six o'clock Mountain Standard Time of each month. But January, this January is a strange month, both the first and the third, Mondays fall on federal holidays. So I decided and asked the club if it was okay, to move to the second and fourth, just for this month, and then we go back to the person. So that's a long response. But yes, twice a month.

Julia Stepp  17:31
Julia: No, that's, that's great info.

Chelle  17:32
Chelle: I just want to add that Arizona time is very stable, and it it changes for everybody else, but it never changes for them. So when the time again, it will be Pacific time.

17:48
Harry: I have to be careful. I don't say Arizona time anymore. Because what is Arizona time? I say Mountain Standard Time. Okay, and when we go when the clocks change again, I'll say we're on Pacific Time. Okay. Because, you know, we have had some people have trouble with the time and I find it funny when someone enters the meeting like seven o'clock when it ends at 7:15 because they think at six o'clock you know? And we've had that happen. Chelle, you might had it happen one time? Yeah. And it's very funny, they're embarrassed, they just laugh, you know, but what I've done in my notices now is I've explained please adjust to your own timezone. And I even say for example, if you're on the East Coast it's eight o'clock your time because again, one of the people said to me, Hey, this is confusing, you need to clarify that. So we added it to our meeting notice.

Julia Stepp  19:07
Julia: Yeah, I think we stole that from you Harry, by the way. We now, I think Chelle has that in almost everything we put out that same. Please adjust for your timezone because we find no I never thought I had problems with time zones. But as I age, it gets worse and worse. Yeah. Um, well, I hope you read our blog as well. We have a blog that matches with this that goes into a little more depth, in depth. It will also have Harry's email address. So you can reach out Harry, if you have more questions or want to join Audible Talkers, Toastmaster. It's a lot for me to get out of my mouth, right. We I'm sure he'd love to see more people there. It's a great way to build your confidence. It's a great way to meet other people. I think it's a great way to even involve some lipreading, or am I wrong?

Chelle  20:05
Chelle: Let me just add that one of the things that I think this can help build confidence in, is at work? How are you going to tell people at work about your hearing loss and what your communication needs are? You can practice wonderfully with this group. They're so supportive.  Julia: That

Julia Stepp  20:25
is a great idea or that moment when you get that person that says, Are your ears in and you can be able to practice what that truth is. And that's that's a good idea of confidence.  Yeah, yeah.  Yeah. I love that. Anything else before I close this out?

20:44
Harry: No, nothing. I thank you for inviting me to podcast I found your questions very interesting and provocative. So I enjoy participating this and responding to your questions. 

20:58
Julia: We

Julia Stepp  20:58
thank you for joining us. We do love Audible Talkers-- [laughter] Let me try again. Audible Talker's Toastmaster. I know Chelle's really enjoyed it so.

20:59
Harry: Well. I'll tell you i i started with Audible Speakers Toastmasters. But then I realized you can have speakers sitting on your desk. And so I changed it to Audible Talker.

Julia Stepp  21:23
Julia: That makes sense. That makes sense. I like it. All right. We hope you're enjoying this month with confidence. I don't remember what we're doing next month, but it will probably be on the other podcast we cut this month for our workbook package. Remember to share, like and subscribe and we look forward to seeing you again. Bye!