Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
Antonio Richardson would be the first guy to tell you he doesn't like public speaking. Yet, Richardson bravely signed up with the organization two years ago and has quickly become known for his humorous speeches that easily keep everyone's attention. Richardson is a Jacksonville native who has lived in Madison for four years. He is a system engineer for Tri-County Electric Cooperative, with hopes of eventually becoming the general manager of the Co-op.
Richardson has seen his confidence as a speaker and leader grow since joining Toastmasters, though meeting the time requirements for speeches can be difficult. "The biggest challenge for me has been coming up with interesting things to talk about for five to seven minutes when I could normally express those things in five to seven seconds," said Richardson. He is currently working through Pathways, which gives guided instructions and speech requirements that are helping Richardson improve in the area of innovative planning techniques.
Another area that has improved innovation for Richardson is the fact that Toastmasters' speeches are not required to be factual. They just need to be well-told. "I once gave a fictitious speech about my first deer hunting experience," said Richardson. "The speech was complete with details on how I narrowly avoided pooping in the woods by rushing to Busy Bee. I also described having an emotional breakdown when it was time to kill a deer because the animal reminded me of how many times I had seen Disney's 'Bambi.'" No one knew, at the time, that the speech wasn't true and Richardson's artful spinning of the tale had the audience laughing to the point of tears.
When Richardson has some free time, he enjoys playing the saxophone in the worship band at his church. "Maybe I like it because it doesn't involve talking," said Richardson.