by Norma Thatcher | Apr 18, 2017 | Humor, Inspirational, Leadership, Public speaking, Spiritual, Thought provoking
The postlude at our Easter Vigil service was Toccata from Symphony No. 5 in F minor composed by Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor (February 1844 – March 1937). This is a joyous piece of music that actually has been used at royal weddings. Prince William and Princess...
by Norma Thatcher | Apr 11, 2017 | Humor, Inspirational, Leadership, Public speaking, Thought provoking
I had a student once who didn’t like to do the assigned “prepare a three minute presentation” homework. His philosophy was that he was already pretty good at public speaking, and he felt that he was a better speaker when he just stood up, opened his mouth, and started...
by Norma Thatcher | Apr 4, 2017 | Humor, Inspirational, Public speaking, Thought provoking
“As in water, face reflects face, so a person’s heart reveals the person.” Proverbs 28:19. One of my students experienced an epiphany last week; he realized he had been subverting his true personality since day one of public speaking class. For six separate classes,...
by Norma Thatcher | Mar 28, 2017 | Inspirational, Leadership, Public speaking, Thought provoking
Assigning homework to adult students has its own strings attached. These are adults who work full-time jobs, have family responsibilities, and handle other aspects of a full life. Who wants to add homework to an already over-scheduled week? So while as the instructor...
by Norma Thatcher | Mar 25, 2017 | Humor, Inspirational, Public speaking, Thought provoking, Uncategorized
When I start a new class of students, I like to create an atmosphere of trust between everyone. One exercise to accomplish this is for each person to share something about themselves in a couple of sentences that may not be common knowledge. I explain that I’m not...
by Norma Thatcher | Mar 14, 2017 | Healthy Living, Humor, Inspirational, Public speaking, Thought provoking, Words
Professional football players don’t show up at the stadium fifteen minutes before the game, suit up, and then run onto the field, waiting for the referee to blow the starting whistle. Singers don’t arrive backstage at the concert arena and immediately walk up to the...