Craig Strachan

Current

• Lieutenant Governor, Education and Training at Toastmasters District 74
• Member at Powerful Presentations Alliance
• Public Speaking Coach at Craig Strachan

• Consultant at Woolworths
• Director at CDS Solutions cc

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2 more...

Past

• Lieutenant Governor, Marketing at Toastmasters District 74
• Development Manager at Logical
• Senior Developer at Idion

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Education

• The Coaching Centre
• Toastmasters International
• University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika

• University of Cape Town

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1 more...

Recommended

18 people have recommended Craig

Connections

264 connections

Industry

Professional Training & Coaching

Websites

• My Website
• My Personal Blog
• My Business Blog

Craig Strachan’s Summary

I wrote my first computer program at the age of 11 on my father’s Apple 2 computer. This led me into an IT career, during which time I realized that poor communication within organizations was costing business. While people were working towards common objectives, the lack of effective communication was killing business. This was when I understood a simple fact: The key to successful business is good communication.

I joined Toastmasters International in 1999 with the goal of learning to give better business presentations. I soon found that I was really enjoying public speaking. Speaking as often as I could, I was soon elected into Toastmasters leadership roles. I have since spoken and trained all over Southern Africa, as well as leading over 500 members to Presidents Distinguished status – the highest recognition. I currently runs the marketing portfolio for Toastmasters Southern Africa, representing nine countries.

I combine my knowledge of communication and experience in organizations to facilitate effective communication. I do this through training seminars, keynote speeches, and individual coaching and mentoring. With the right assistance, everybody can be an effective communicator.

I received the Toastmaster of the Year award from his Toastmasters club, and I have been recognized in Southern Africa for Division Governor of the Year. I have also received service excellence awards in corporations.

I am an expert author at Ezinearticles.com, who have published several of my articles. My free ebook “Putting the Power back into PowerPoint” can be downloaded off my website.

I play several musical instruments, and I have been played on South African and International radio.

Having a blind wife has led me to be aware of our differences, strengths and weaknesses. My wife, Lois, taught me that disability is not in the body – disability is in the way we think. I cycles 109km every year to raise funds for mentally and physically disabled people.

Craig Strachan’s Specialties:

public, speaking, training, coaching, facilitating,author, PowerPoint, optimization, workshops, seminar, presenter, keynote, trainer, facilitation, Cape Town, blogging, linkedin, skills, online, presentation, coach, business, life, skills, communication, excellence, networking, speeches, Toastmaster, emcee, south africa, writing, articles, confidence, programming, project management, education, leadership, expert, ebooks, blindness, disability, mentoring

Craig Strachan’s Experience

• Lieutenant Governor, Education and Training

  Toastmasters District 74

  (Education Management industry)

  July 2008 — Present (1 year 1 month)

  I look after the educational needs of Toastmasters in District 74, Southern Africa

• Member

  Powerful Presentations Alliance

  (Education Management industry)

  January 2008 — Present (1 year 7 months)

  As presenters, we kept on hearing that we can help more people if we market our IT professional experiences. We found our audiences asking us to help them recognize our unique combination of IT professional skills and Presentation Skills. The Powerful Presentations Alliance was born to meet this unrelenting audience demand.
  
  Members of the Powerful Presentations Alliance subscribe to our code of ethics and commit to deliver Presentations of the highest quality. Our members come from South Africa and the United States of America although we have presented to audiences internationally. Members are all IT professionals with special talents and a passion for Professional Speaking. We communicate using PowerPoint and other technology to best serve our audience.

• Public Speaking Coach

  Craig Strachan

  (Professional Training & Coaching industry)

  January 2005 — Present (4 years 7 months)

  I help people to give great presentation, and to become effective public speakers. I coach public speaking PowerPoint presentation optimisation, meeting facilitation, seminars, keynote presentations and leadership training courses.

• Consultant

  Woolworths

  (Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Retail industry)

  September 2003 — Present (5 years 11 months)

  Consulting on and off at Woolworths for the past several years.

• Director

  CDS Solutions cc

  (Computer Software industry)

  January 1997 — Present (12 years 7 months)

  This is my IT business, which just continues to tick along.

• Lieutenant Governor, Marketing

  Toastmasters District 74

  (Professional Training & Coaching industry)

  July 2007 — June 2008 (1 year)

  I run the marketing portfolio for Toastmasters Southern Africa. Essentially I am responsible for membership and club growth for nine countries in Southern Africa.

• Development Manager

  Logical

  (Information Technology and Services industry)

  1999 — 2003 (4 years)

• Senior Developer

  Idion

  (Public Company; 51-200 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

  January 1999 — January 2001 (2 years 1 month)

  programmer, team leader, customer manager

Craig Strachan’s Education

• The Coaching Centre

  DIPC , Diploma in Practitioner Coaching , 2006 — 2008

  Activities and Societies:

  coaching, life skills coaching, business coaching, communication coaching

• Toastmasters International

  DTM , Distinguished Toastmasters , 2000 — 2007

  I have a Distinguished Toastmasters award from Toastmasters International, which focuses on communication and leadership training. I am actively involved in the organisation, providing their programme to as many people as possible.

  Activities and Societies:

  Distinguished Toastmaster, DTM, Club Coach, Lieutenant Governor Marketing, District 74

• University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika

  BSc.IS (Hons) , IS Honours , 2001 — 2005

• University of Cape Town

  BSC.Eng.Elec , Electronic Engineering , 1991 — 1995

Additional Information

Craig Strachan’s Websites:

• My Website
• My Personal Blog
• My Business Blog

Craig Strachan’s Interests:

public speaking, training, seminars, coaching, facilitating,Toastmasters, PowerPoint, writing, blogging, reading, music, cooking, reading,

Craig Strachan’s Groups:

Toastmasters, International Association of Facilitators (IAF), Coaches and Mentors Association of South Africa (COMENSA), MyGenius

•    eOffice
•    LION™ Worn with Pride! [Choose wisely ... ] < BEWARE OF COUNTERFEITS >
•    www.thecoachingforums.com
•    OpenNetworker.com
•    Consultants Network
•    Leading International Open Networkers (LION)
•    AfricaNews
•    Professionals in South Africa (PiSA)
•    NSA Next!
•    Public Speaking Network
•    Toastmasters International Members
•    World Champions' EDGE
•    Microsoft User Research

Craig Strachan’s Honors:

Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), Toastmasters Division Governor of the Year, Toastmaster of the Year, currently LG Marketing for Southern Africa, service excellence awards from Scantec and Woolworths South Africa

Craig Strachan’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch