East Yorkshire woman becomes first '˜Accredited Speaker'

A woman from East Yorkshire has become the first person in Europe to qualify as an Accredited Speaker with Toastmasters International.

Clare Crowther is only the 70th person globally to earn the qualification.

Toastmasters International has a global membership of 350,000 members but the accredited speaker status is awarded to members who can demonstrate that they are not only masters of the spoken word, but are also experts in their chosen subject matter.

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Ms Crowther, a programme management consultant, has worked with organisations in the UK and overseas including FTSE100 companies, SMEs, Government Departments and Higher Education establishments.

She said she has a particular affinity for ‘performance’. She uses many of the skills and tips she has acquired in her acting training and appearances as an ‘extra’ in theatre and film productions including “A Royal Night Out” which was filmed in Hull.

She now intends to translate the experiences she has encountered during her three-year journey in becoming a Toastmasters Accredited Speaker into helping other people, particularly in the UK and Europe-wide, to do likewise.

Ms Crowther said, “I’m very proud to be able to call myself the first ever Briton and European to achieve AS status but at the same time, it’s unbelievable that I am the first! I’m now developing my own Accredited Speaker coaching workshop programme to guide other people who are interested in taking their public speaking profile to the highest possible level so hopefully the next person will also be from our region”.