A Toast To His Masterful Turnaround
Sudden and violent seizures. Doctors visits. Hospital stays. This was the sum of Dan Vincent’s childhood. Dan, a millwright at our Sudbury Operations, suffered from severe epileptic attacks that included loss of awareness, shaking, convulsions, writhing on the ground, bumps and bruises. That, however, was just the physical manifestation.
Young Dan suffered emotionally, too, perhaps even more. He was acutely aware of the negative impact his chronic and violent attacks were having on others; in response, he felt judged and misunderstood, and he became incessantly self-conscious. If the teacher happened to call upon him in class, Dan wanted to disappear. Worse were the oral presentations, where he had to get up in front of his fellow students and talk.
“Whenever I heard the words ‘oral presentation,’ my stomach would go into knots, my hands would clam up. It was real, and it was overwhelming. I was afraid of messing up and being judged for it,” he said, adding, “my discomfort was so all-encompassing, it overtook me: I would stumble over my words, lose my train of thought. I felt dumb and unpopular.”
Vale News covered Dan’s incredible story in detail in last year’s Mental Health Awareness series.
Time to take control
Two years ago, Dan set a goal: to share his story with anyone who was interested in hearing it. In sharing how he had overcome so many obstacles, he hoped to help himself – and others.
But how? As it turned out, Dan had a fortuitous meeting that led him to Toastmasters, a global organization where members learn to improve their speaking and leadership skills. The organization has 16,600 clubs in 143 countries, including Sudbury, ON.
Put yourself out there and good things will come
Here’s what happened: “My wife and I were invited to a United Steelworkers Union banquet. During dinner, I pointed to the head table and said, ‘I am going over there to meet the International President.’ ‘Really?’ my wife asked. ‘Do you really think you should?’ I walked over to his table, introduced myself and shared my story. After I was done, he asked for my contact information and told me he would share it with an associate who would be in touch.
“The very next morning the phone rang: it was the associate. We spoke for an hour, the conversation ending when he suggested that I seek out my local Toastmasters Club. Within a week, I found myself sitting in a Toastmaster’s chair. And within a very short time after that, I had overcome decades of discomfort in public speaking – and in myself.”
What is Toastmasters?
Toastmasters International is a worldwide non-profit educational organization that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. It increases confidence which allows for a nice flow and transition when it comes to communicating one on one and in small or large groups.
