TechMasters

TechMasters has always been about helping people find their voice, develop their skills, and have the confidence to share their ideas. This month, TechMasters alumnus and former club president Glenn Leifheit took those skills to one of the most recognized speaking stages in the world: TEDx.

Glenn recently spoke at TEDx Parrish Street 2026, sharing his message about mental resilience and the power of “mind workouts.” Drawing on his experiences in technology, leadership, mentoring, and personal growth, Glenn challenged his audience to think about how we can intentionally exercise our minds to become more resilient.

For those of us who knew Glenn during his years with TechMasters, seeing him on the TEDx stage is particularly exciting. Glenn served as President of TechMasters and has remained an advocate for communication, mentorship, and personal growth throughout his career. He may also be one of the first TechMasters alumni to take the TEDx stage — an accomplishment worth celebrating!

Toastmasters is about much more than learning how to give a speech. It's about finding your voice and gaining the confidence to use it. Glenn's journey is a great example of where that can lead.

Congratulations, Glenn, from your friends at TechMasters. TechMasters for the win!

Products and services do not sell themselves.  People do. 

So it is with Techmasters, a Toastmasters club.  The club occasionally take opportunities to “sell” our group to likely prospects. 

Our “prospects” were attendees of Minnebar on May 2.  As billed on Minnebar’s website, it is the big day to join 1,400+ technologists, builders, designers, founders, and curious minds at Best Buy headquarters in Richfield, MN for the largest technology unconference in the country.  It was founded in 2006.  An unconference(or BarCamp) is a user-generated conference that is participant-led.  There are no keynote speakers or formal workshops, and all sessions are led by people from the tech and business communities. 

Our “sell” of Techmasters involved holding an abbreviated Toastmasters meeting that was open to Minnebar attendees.  The main portions of the meeting were table topics, a prepared speech, and evaluations.  Table topics are impromptu speaking for one to two minutes. 

Khalid Mohamoud of Techmasters gave the prepared speech titled “To Speak Good”.  Khalid chose to become a member of Techmasters after browsing through online info on the 50-plus Toastmasters clubs in the Twin Cities metro area. “I discovered my way of speaking at Techmasters”, states Khalid.  “In the business world, a person is so busy that there is not always time to concentrate on improving communication”.  At Techmasters, Khalid can concentrate on just that. 

Today’s Relaxation meeting was all about the theme “Serenity Now”—a little calm, a little chaos, and a lot of fun. We had 16 people join in, with Loras leading a website review and the team rolling through updates from David, Kyle, Brad, Tony, and Benko to keep things moving and productive.

Then things got creative fast. We heard everything from Michelle’s invisible Disney adventure to Hazel bending time, Mitch going full secret agent, and Khalid channeling Reality TV / Mr. Beast energy. Nathaniel went big with singularity vibes, Sam took us into the Inferno Dallol Depression, and Darryl brought an icebreaker on zig-zag careers. Shoutout to Khalid as the Wise Old Owl, Sam & Darryl for the Word Picture, and Alicia as Better Evaluator—proof that serenity doesn’t always mean quiet… sometimes it means laughing together.

Techmasters is for working on improvement in speech and leadership but we do take time to enjoy life also.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!  On Friday, February 6, a group of us met at Wooden Hill Brewing in Edina for chat, drinks, and chow.  We strive for quality in our work and good times in our recreation.

Announcing Speechcraft Workshop - May 17

TechMasters - A Toastmasters chapter run by IT professionals in the Twin Cities - is hosting a 4 week Speechcraft workshop to get your public speaking, communication, leadership and other soft skills off the ground. Tuesday mornings online at 7:45 am CST. 

• Trainers are experienced Toastmasters who frequently speak at events
• All IT professionals - we speak your language
• Communicate better with coworkers
• Improve leadership skills
• Gain confidence
• Prepare for public speaking

We are launching a new blog tool for TechMasters! Check it out at https://mytldr.com