The Times Of Division G

DIV G | DIST 82 RELEASED AT THE SEMI-ANNUAL DIVISION G CONFERENCE – OPULENCE 29-OCT-2017

THE TIMES OF DIVISION G CLUBS IN FOCUS

TOGETHER, CONFERENCES BRING CHAMPIONS TOGETHER”: TM MUKI 2 JUST BORN! PAGE 5 & 7  Get ‘Mersal’ed with MERAKI  The XYZ of YMCA KILPAUK GROWING UP IS..  ..fun in NORTH CHENNAI

“HUMOUR MONSOON SETS IN

– HEAVY TO VERY HEAVY LAUGHTER EXPECTED” – WEATHER REPORT 3

MORE INSIDE

“MILESTONES BRING PEOPLE

“LETS KONNECT TO ACHIEVE THE STATE OF OPULENCE” – DTM SUGANTHI 1

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA? – AREA DIRECTORS’ UPDATES FROM STEPPING STONES TO MILESTONES – CLUB ACHIEVEMENTS KNOW THY ENEMY ;) – CONTESTANTS OF THIS SEASON FIGHT IT OUT! GST IS GOOD FOR GROWTH – AN EDITORIAL

”You can profit from the wisdom of others, and you can give them full credit.” – Ralph. C. Smedley, Founder, Toastmasters International

FROM THE CONFERENCE CHAIR TM PRINCLEY SAMUEL ACS ALB KCG TOASTMASTERS CLUB AREA G2

“Find that spark and rediscover!” DTM Suganthi Periasamy says in her message to Division G & K OCT 28, 2017 CHENNAI

Hello Toastmasters of Division G and K, Congratulations to all of you on successfully completing the first quarter of this Toastmasters year, filled with Officers Training Program, TLI programs, Judges and Contest Management training program, Club contest, Area contest, and not to forget the regular club meetings - you have survived in Toastmasters through this jam-packed quarter, and hence, congratulations!

At this juncture, I would like to share a story with you:

As the Conference Chair, I take immense pleasure in sharing my learning experiences. Being an English teacher I always thought, what more am I going to learn in Toastmasters? But now, I tell you, I am able to communicate effectively only because of Toastmasters.

Toastmasters have become a way of living for me. If I could explain what I learnt in Toastmasters, it would be all about “servant leadership and the heart to encourage others”.

A leader is a doer not an adviser and TMI taught me that. 3 years in the journey I have never felt monotonous or boring in all the roles I played in my club as well as in the other clubs. I owe a lot to KCG toastmasters club - from nowhere we have risen to the status of Golden Gavel Plus and there are many members who were instrumental in doing it. So this Opulence is so special and unique of its own kind with loads of innovation. I would like to state that “LETS LEARN TOGETHER, LETS GROW TOGETHER.” HAPPY TOASTMASTERING & HAPPY CONTESTING 

As you must be knowing, Thailand consists of many floating islands, and one such island is Koh Panyee.

After the Football World cup of 1986, watching football matches on the television became a favorite pastime in the fishing village of Panyee. People would stay glued to their television sets during the leisure hours watching the invigorating football matches. As Panyee was a floating island, space was the biggest constraint. So, the people had to feel contented watching matches and not being able to play one.

As days went by, one day, a group of young boys got together and started brainstorming as to how they could figure out some space to play football. The people of the island who heard the conversation of these young boys felt that they were shooting arrows in the dark. A week later, the boys decided to start their own soccer team, despite the fact that there wasn’t an inch of soil to play a sport of any kind on the island. The boys collected scrap wood and built a floating deck in the quieter portion of the ocean to serve as their field. Their passion and ingenuity, combined with the technical skills they developed through practice on such a small, rough field, were the start of history. The team began to enter competitions on the mainland, and their success turned the Panyee FC into what is today - one of Southern Thailand’s best football clubs, having won the ‘Youth Champions of Southern Thailand’ competition for the last seven years.

This story also reminds me of another quote "From a little spark may burst a mighty flame - Dante Alighieri".

Suganthi Periasamy, DTM Program Quality Director - District 82 Toastmasters International The spark that germinated in the mind of those young boys eventually kindled them to create an ever lasting history.

In Toastmasters too, we need that spark to keep us going on in our journey. Sometimes it comes from within. Many a times, this spark comes from a fellow member who re-ignites us - it may be a compliment on a speech well delivered or an appreciation for a leadership role or words of wisdom giving that vital piece of guidance.

Let's continue to re-discover ourselves in Toastmasters, and in that journey, let's "Konnect" with fellow members and also help them to achieve the state of "Opulence"!

Best Wishes!

The Times of Division G

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

ALL ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

TM MUKI CC, ALB | DIRECTOR, DIVISION G

Milestones bring people together, conference brings the champions together.

This was until, I experienced Toastmasters Conference, here you will observe winning and whinning moments. And what sets a champion apart is the undoubting belief in their skill.

I'm sure you joined Toastmasters for a need.

When you strategize and turn every wants into your need, you will be turning your words into action.

More you turn your words into reality, you stay in Euphoric state. If not?

Are you characterized by others, on what you say and what you do. hat you promised. I was considering that the life is in blissful state, when you stay more on the Euphoric moments in the actions you do. If not, then no enthusiasm in carrying out any activity.

THE BANNER

THE AGENDA

Take one want of yours and strategize as need: Say, "I want my club to have social event organized"; then you be the person to instrumentalize biweekly outdoor meeting.

"I want to deliver my speech in front of 500+ audience"; then you be the person to architect the Sangamam (or) champion of our Annual Conference.

Happy Toastmastering! 

CRUNCHING SOME NUMBERS AHEAD OF OPULENCE Area with Maximum % of Registrations: G1 , K3 Club with Maximum % of Registrations: WIPRO (G), READINGTON (K) Total Registrations: 321 (155 (G) + 102 (K))

IF THE CONTEST IS A MOVIE, WE HAVE TWO BLOCKBUSTERS READY, STARRING…

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The Times of Division G SORRY, THIS IS NOT YOUR REGULAR PAGE-3 ;) WE WILL STILL TRY MAKING IT INTERESTING WITH OUR

E D I T O R I A L GST SHOULD BE FURTHER INCREASED TO FUEL GROWTH Shocked?

This is just a trick to get your attention to read this Editorial – the most skipped page in any

newspaper. By the way, GST stands for Good Speaking Talent. Agree now?  Ok, now that we have your attention, let’s get back to our very short 15-line-editorial. Surprised? You’ll know soon. An editorial can be a newspaper’s boon or bane. Despite draining a major part of an editor’s time and intellect to come up with, it remains the most boring and lengthy text-only section consuming more ink and space, devoid of any colour or matter that could pull eye-balls. Being Toastmasters, we wanted to shatter all of that – by placing a crisp editorial that too on Page 3 [that too with smileys ] – Yes, we promise, this content is indeed crisp - going to get over in the next 6 lines. Rest are all junk text with a hidden quiz! Before we get there, we like to introduce ourselves as - The Editors-in-[mis]Chief and share our experience as a newsletter team. Our name with the photographs is on the column below the weather alert. If you are reading till here, thanks, you will be one of the very few to achieve this feat – please bear with us - only 3 more lines please. When Muki came up with the idea of doing a Tabloid instead of the usual Magazine, we readily agreed – only to check in the dictionary what a Tabloid meant! So yes, despite taking up the work in the last minute, we loved doing this, loved reading all the articles that came in respecting our last minute plead. Hope you all like it! That is it and now coming to the hidden quiz. The below junk text has a question sandwiched between which you need to find out and answer for yourselves. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Atque hoc loco similitudines eas, quibus

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WEATHER ALERT DATE:28-OCT-2017 [ie, DAY BEFORE OPULENCE] TIME: 22:00 HRS [ie, WHILE THIS NEWSLETTER IS STILL BEING WORKED UPON].

HUMOUR MONSOON HAS SET IN! HEAVY TO VERY HEAVY LAUGHTER likely tomorrow at the Opulence conference venue.

Lightning bright evaluations may be followed by thunderous applause. As a result of these low-pressure systems, load shedding is expected in several parts of your brain clearing any grief or pain temporarily.

The Department advices Toastmasters to extend this relaxed state of mind beyond the conference into your daily lives as well. Later, the storm is expected to cover the whole of TN and Srilanka by the first week of December and its impact reverberating for a year. | CHEERS, TM ASWIN

illi uti solent, dissimillimas proferebas. Qua igitur re ab deo vin citur, si aeternitate non vincitur? Bonum incolumis acies: misera caecitas. Itaque e contrario moderati aequabilesque habitus, affectiones ususque corporis apti esse ad naturam videntur. Quis hoc dicit? Duo Reges: constructio interrete. At ille non pertimu it

EDITORS-IN-[MIS]CHIEF :

saneque fidenter: Istis quidem ipsis verbis, inquit; Quid enim ab antiquis ex eo genere, quod ad disserendum valet, praetermissum est? Ut optime, secundum naturam affectum esse possit. Iam id ipsum absurdum, maximum malum neglegi. Teneo, inquit, finem illi videri nihil dolere. Hoc loco tenere se Triarius non potuit.

Videamus igitur sententias eorum, tum ad verba redeamus. Si quicquam extra virtutem habeatur in bonis. Quae

TM ASWIN C

cum dixisset paulumque institisset, Quid est? Compensabatur, inquit, cum summis dol oribus laetitia. Ita multo

AREA G4 HCL EXPRESSIONS

sanguine profuso in laetitia et in victoria est mortuus. Graccho, eius fere, aequalí? Qui bonum omne in virtute ponit, is potest dicere perfici beatam vitam perfectione virtutis; Nam illud vehementer repugnat, eundem beatum esse et multis malis oppressum. Bonum negas esse divitias, praeposìtum esse dicis? Nec tamen ille erat sapiens quis enim hoc aut quando aut ubi aut unde? Quando enim Socrates, qui parens philosophiae iure dici potest, quicquam tale fecit? Ut enim consuetudo loquitur, id solum dicitur honestum, quod est populari fama gloriosum. Quid, si etiam iucunda memoria est praeteritorum malorum? Sit sane ista voluptas. Nec lapathi suavitatem acupenseri Galloni Laelius anteponebat, sed suavitatem ipsam neglegebat; Huic mori optimum esse

TM ATHILA NABIN AREA G1 HCL SPEECHWEAVERS

propter desperationem sapientiae, illi propter spem vivere. Sit enim idem caecus, debilis. Non enim, si omnia non sequebatur, idcirco non erat ortus illinc. Negat enim summo bono afferre incrementum diem. Te enim iudicem aequum puto, modo quae dicat ille bene noris. Ita redarguitur ipse a sese, convincunturque scripta eius probitate ipsius ac moribus. Primum divisit dicat ille noris ipse a sese ineleganter; Koh Panyee is in which part of Thailand, North or South? Answer is in this newsletter only. Bonum integritas corporis: misera debilitas.

TM ANIL ALLU

Ille incendat? constructio interrete. At ille non pertimuit saneque fidenter: Istis quidem ipsis verbis, inquit;

AREA G5 TCS INSURANCE

Quid enim ab antiquis ex eo genere, quod ad disserendum valet, praetermissum est? Ut optime, secundum naturam affectum esse possit. Iam id ipsum absurdum, maximum malum neglegi. Teneo, inquit, finem illi videri nihil dolere. Hoc loco tenere se Triarius non potuit. Videamus igitur sententias eorum, tum ad verba redeamus.

Si quicquam extra virtutem habeatur in bonis. Quae cum dixisset paulumque institisset, Quid est?

Compensabatur, est mortuus. Graccho, eius fere, aequalí? Qui bonum omne in virtute ponit, is potest dicere perfici beatam vitam perfectione virtutis; Nam illud vehementer repugnat, eundem beatum esse et multis malis oppressum. Bonum negas esse divitias, praeposìtum esse dicis? Nec tamen ille erat sapiens quis enim hoc aut quando aut ubi aut unde? Quando enim Socrates, qui parens philosophiae iure dici potest, quicquam tale fecit?

Ut enim consuetudo loquitur,oluptas. Nec lapathi suavitatem acupenseri Galloni Laelius anteponebat, sed suavitatem ipsam neglegebat; Huic mori optimum esse propter desperationem saasawd.

Cheers! Happy Toastmastering! 

TM ANUSHA AREA G1 HCL SPEECHWEAVERS

The Times of Division G

AREA DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE | G1 TM RAHUL KHAITAN”My ultimate target is to enable each member in becoming a better speaker and better leader as compared to today.”

Toastmasters have been an amazing journey for me. The day I joined WCTM till today, it has been a learning experience for me.

For me Toastmasters is a place where I have learnt 3 things.

1. It has helped me in improving my communication skills.

2. It has provided me opportunities to become a leader and improve upon it.

3. I got friends who are like minded - they too wanted to learn and l share and help each other.

In short, it has been amazing and enriching.

I would take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of each Toastmaster of Area G1. The success and glory of Area G1 is because of them. I would also urge members to interact with fellow toastmasters of neighbour club and experience the full benefits of Toastmasters. My ultimate target is to enable each member in becoming a better speaker and better leader as compared to today. Each club should be Presidential Distinguished, thus confirming that the health of club and environment for members to grow is optimal. With the help of Ex-com, G1 members and the people in Toastmaster fraternity, it is definitely possible!

ACHIEVEMENTS – AREA G1 Infosys, Wipro and HCLSpeechweavers celebrated their 225, 200 and 200th consecutive meetings

  

Renewals are completed on Time. New leaders have taken the role exceptionally well.

HCL speech weavers is representing in both Humorous and Evaluation Division contest. Infact 4 out of 6 winners from them (i.e. the maximum a club can get). This shows the quality of the club.

Surya from WCTM, Nabin from HCL Speech Weavers and Umamaheshwari from Infosys Shols were awarded at Area level for their outstanding contributions.

THE CHAMPIONS

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The Times of Division G

CLUB SPOTLIGHT | 1 JUST-BORN THIS TERM – MERAKI CHARTERED JULY 1, 2017 | CLUB MEETS: 1st and 3rd SATURDAYS 7AM https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/06591490-meraki

Tamilnadu got Mersal’ed for various reasons recently – One of it being

!

SOURCE: fb.com/merakitoastmasters Where are you in your leadership growth trajectory at work?

Have you reached a certain level and are you worried that complacency will set in?

Why don’t you challenge yourself and discover new avenues to take a path less travelled?

Introducing Meraki, the first advanced Toastmasters club in Tamilnadu!

Meraki is a Greek word that means “doing something with passion, with absolute devotion, and with undivided attention”. Like you, we meraklis were at crossroads before discovering a new pathway to further sharpen our communication skills to be able to continue our next phase of transformational leadership journey.

At Meraki, we are constantly finding new ways to articulate our thoughts and reinvent ourselves. At every step we put each other through a challenge that we have otherwise been avoiding. We view every role and speech from a creative angle and perform it like never before. Each speech is a contest speech; thoroughly prepared, mentored and rehearsed. Speech evaluations are direct and honest not only from the assigned evaluators but also from other experts in the room. Each role too gets evaluated.

We will be one of the few early adaptors of the new Pathways program designed by TMI. This approach will give each member of Meraki a platform to propel towards excellence. We are also the first breakfast club in Tamilnadu. Yes, you read that right! We meraklis meet between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on the first and third Saturday of the month to learn, lead, share, laugh and of course eat.

Join Meraki. Revisit. Reinvent. Rejoice.

Write to VP-Membership TM Ramalingam (ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in) to find out how you can set off to discover a new YOU!

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The Times of Division G

AREA DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE | G2 TM PRAVEEN JOE ACG,ALB”My focus is not to just motivate the clubs in earning DCP points rather the attention is to produce leaders who will be able to influence their fellow human beings” The timeworn argument of quality vs. quantity sounds hollow in today's scenario of hard competition. It is the unification of both quality and quantity that will help oneself carve a path for distinction and exaltation. A well-focused approach, effective utilization of natural skills, creative choices, and self-belief is essential to achieve superior quality. Area G2 of Division G is focusing more in producing fruitful communicators and trend-setting leaders who would prefer to contribute in bringing change to the society in which they live through the skills they acquire in their toastmasters journey. As an area director my focus is not to just motivate the clubs in earning DCP points rather the attention is to produce leaders who will be able to influence their fellow human beings though their speaking skills and help them set their goals appropriate, may it be personal, organizational or societal. This is indeed happening and the enthusiasm received through the members is extremely good.

The area has 134 paid members as on date, out of which almost 60 percent are below the age of 25. This obviously increases the need of shepherding than just mentoring. Best efforts are taken to start two more clubs in this area before March 2017 exclusively for the student community. Hope with the support of the veteran and seasoned toastmasters of A guidance of the district leaders this would be made possible!

ACHIEVEMENTS – AREA G2   



There are 5 clubs in this area. ‘KCG Toastmasters club’ is the home club and is already ‘Select Distinguished’ and is marching towards achieving ‘Golden Gavel’.

It’s a proud privilege that the club has produced ‘teacher – leaders’ who are very effectively playing their roles in full swing in various capacities in the division.

The division conference ‘Opulence 2017’ is indeed hosted in the campus of this club which is ‘KCG College of Technology’. Three other clubs namely ‘Hindustan TM Club’, ‘KCG Youthmasters TM Club’ and ‘Great Lakes TM Club’ are budding clubs which are striving their level best in improving their quality and are taking their best efforts in bringing up the club in various horizons.

Paypal TM Club is a corporate club which has already produced quality speakers and is continuing to cherish in their toastmasters journey. This club has always been very supportive in organizing area level events.

THE CHAMPIONS

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The Times of Division G

CLUB SPOTLIGHT | 2 JUST-BORN THIS TERM – CHENNAI KILPAUK YMCA CHARTERED AUG 07, 2017 | CLUB MEETS: SATURDAYS 3:30-5 PM https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/05870413-chennai-kilpauk-ymca-toastmasters

The X,Y,Z of Chennai Kilpauk YMCA Club explained!

As we enter the last quarter of the year 2017, many club members would look back on the fantastic year their club has had so far. One of the few clubs to look back and say "Wow! What a fantastic start this has been!" would be Chennai Kilpauk YMCA Toastmasters club. This club has a reason to exclaim so.

Right from the day the demo meetings began in Oct 2016, this club has not cancelled even one weekly meeting. Be it rain or shine, the club has met every Saturday from 3:30-5 pm. There have been meetings that had a lean crowd or handful of people but never had there been a case of "no show". Just

as it takes 40 weeks for a baby to be born, it took 40 weeks (26-Oct-2016 to 7-Aug-2017) for this club to be born (get chartered).Within the 1st month, all 7 officers underwent the Officers Training Program. The Club conducted both Evaluation and Humorous Speech Contests with 4 contestants in each. The 2nd month was even more delightful. Celebration was in the air on 17-Sep-2017 when the club had its Chartering ceremony, Officers Installation and New Member Induction. The club narrowly missed the Smedley award when it added 4 new members as against the required 5.

The Club has few more feathers in its cap:

      

All 20 new members have been assigned Mentors in the same week of their joining.

More than 50% of its new members (11/20) have started their CC journey i.e. delivered at least CC1 One of its members, Latha Aravindakshan, was 2nd Runner-up at the Area G4 Evaluation Contest on 16-Sep-2017.

The Club had its first Joint meeting (with CTM) on 1-Oct-2017.

The Club actively participated in the Joint Area G4 meeting on 15-Oct-2017.

The Club's VP-PR, Aditya Mangal, is the VP-PR Chair for this Division Conference.

Members of this Club visit other Community clubs regularly.

While the Club aims to close the year with more colorful feathers, it also extends its heartfelt gratitude to all those who supported it so far. Photos of the Charter Executive Committee and the Chartering Ceremony celebration:

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The Times of Division G

AREA DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE | G3 TM BALACHANDRA NATHELLA” I am striving to position strong mentoring and evaluations in place that provide a vital boost to the clubs” When people find out I am a Toastmaster, they often ask me what I have gained from my membership. It’s a challenging question to answer, because I know what they are looking for: improved speaking skills, confidence, networking opportunities and leadership skills Excom along with members are excelling day by day in providing best first Impressions to guests, membership orientation, program planning, Meeting organization, retaining membership and achievement recognition. Also, they are very effectively conducting the milestone meetings, which ultimately attracting more guests to taste the Toastmasters. Ultimately, many accountable and authentic leaders are coming out of each successful meeting.

I am striving to position the strong mentoring and evaluations that provide a vital boost to the clubs. Mentoring has great benefits for the new member, the mentor and for the club as a whole. Perfectly crafted evaluations help members grow and are motivated to achieve their goals. These will improve the quality of meetings and help to retain members.

After visiting many clubs, area contests in this season, I have memorized my days when some of the Humorous speakers expressed the pain of Excom in executing the effective meetings. Maybe you are the vice president education and you had no idea how much work it would take, or you are the sergeant at arms, and arranging supplies each week has become a thankless struggle. You could be the treasurer, tired of chasing members for dues renewal, or the club president who gathers member support for your DCP goals. Perhaps you are the vice president membership, chasing guests to join, or you are the vice president public relations and creating a club promotion plan becomes overwhelming. Your life outside of Toastmasters may be over-busy, or connecting within your club may drain your energy. So many factors feed into excom officer burnout. But if you are one of these people, think about what could happen if you do not quit.

Author Napoleon Hill said, “Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.” The reward comes with staying in the race.

Thank you all for making the Division contest a grand Success.

ACHIEVEMENTS – AREA G3    

All the club's in area G3 achieved Smedley membership award All the club's renewed on time Tcs Maitree Alpha club celebrated 300th meeting Tcs Maitree Syndicate club celebrated 50th meeting in a grand manner.

THE CHAMPIONS

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The Times of Division G

AREA DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE | G4 DTM NOORAIN NADIM” Either you run the day or the day runs you. To me, this quote is time management in a nutshell… Only by serving yourself first will you be able to serve your members and your club..”

Be the boss of your time “Either you run the day or the day runs you.” To me, this quote is time management in a nutshell. I think that regular people (read: mere mortals [read: non-Toastmasters]) might, on an average, have about 100 things to do per day. They have household chores to do, books to read, newspapers to peruse, assignments to finish, work deadlines to meet, and so much more! But the extraordinary ones (read: superhero [read: Toastmasters]) might, on an average, have about 1,000 things to do!

Yup, over and above what the average Joe does, we have to attend Toastmasters meetings regularly, take up roles, write speeches, count people’s ‘ahs’, ‘umms’ and other crutch words no matter where we are, and do so much more! We end up doing much more than regular people with our time and as a result, sometimes, we might find it difficult to strike the right balance in our time-balancing act.

If you, my superhero friend, have found managing time in and outside Toastmasters to be a challenge, then well, I used to know that feeling only too well. Wondering what has changed for me?

There’s just one thing, really.

I joined Toastmasters to become a confident and coherent prepared speaker on stage. However, I started getting leadership opportunities early on in my tenure as a member. While I relished playing all these roles and felt truly blessed, I couldn’t help but feel burnt out at the end of the day. The work I was doing in Toastmasters was starting to take a toll on me outside Toastmasters and that wasn’t healthy at all. Fortunately, my mentor acted as my compass, pointing me to the reason behind why I was feeling that way—I had forgotten my purpose of becoming a Toastmaster. I had stopped giving speeches, neglecting my fundamental need of becoming a member. This made me believe that if you wander in Toastmasters, you will be lost. No matter what you do in life and especially in Toastmasters, it is critical to remember your purpose. So remember, remember! Never forget that one superpower you want to hone when you’re serving in Toastmasters—being a wordsmith or a leader par excellence. Whatever it is, try and ensure your needs are met. Only by serving yourself first will you be able to serve your members and your club.

After my mentor rapped me on my head on that fateful day, my compass now seems to show me the right direction. I have been giving at least one speech every month and I am well on my way to achieve the education and leadership goals I have set for myself this year.

We all make time for what is important to us. I hope you find time for the most super awesome thing in the world: you. That will help you be the boss of your time, always.

ACHIEVEMENTS – AREA G4 Chennai Toastmasters Club o

First club in the Area to achieve the “Distinguished” status

o

Celebrated 600th milestone meeting on August 13, 2017

Chennai Kilpauk YMCA Toastmasters o

The newest member of Area G4—chartered on August 7, 2017

o

TM Latha Aravindakshan bagged the third place in the Area G4 Evaluation Contest

HCL Expressions Toastmasters Club o

All set to celebrate its 200th milestone meeting on November 2, 2017

o

TM Shunmuga Priya served as the Contest Chair of the Area G4 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest.

o

The first new club of District 82 this year—chartered on July 1, 2017; also the first Advanced Toastmasters Club in Tamil Nadu

o

TM Sarathy Srinivas bagged the first place while TM Hugh Conan Doyle placed third in the Area G4 Humorous Speech Contest,; TM Sarathy also placed first in the Area G4 Evaluation Contest

Meraki

Orators of Tech Mahindra o

The first choice of all Division and Area events—hosted the TLI event, “Train the trainer”, and the Area G4 Joint Meeting.

o

DTM Sundararaman Chintamani placed second in both the Humorous Speech Contest and the Evaluation Contest at the Area level

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The Times of Division G

THE CHAMPIONS – AREA G4

AREA G4 JOINT MEETING BEFORE DIWALI

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The Times of Division G

CLUB SPOTLIGHT | 3 GROWING UP IS … – FUN IN NORTH CHENNAI CHARTERED JUN 29, 2017 | CLUB MEETS: SATURDAYS 3:45 PM https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/05936200-North-Chennai-Toastmasters-Club

First and only Club serving the northernmost part of the City!

Teachers are the ladders we all climb upon but seldom look back at their service. How many such teachers are part of the Toastmasters Fraternity? - other than few clubs in colleges, teachers are far and few and school teachers are seldom part of Toastmasters. Infact it is the teachers who can provide maximum service to a club by both sharing and learning from their rich experience of interacting and communicating. North Chennai Club proudly counts several teachers as their members and the club meets in a private school in Tondiarpet every Saturday!

How many Toastmasters clubs are there in Northernmost part of Chennai? None – until this club was formed, thanks to its sponsors and continous support from Division G clubs, this club got chartered in the penultimate day of the previous term.

AREA DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE | G5 TM THRIBHUVAN V” Afterall life is short and we just live to win hearts..”

Leadership Journey on Toastmasters in an esteemed district’s division (D82 Giv-G) is a pride! Like a medal of an army officer. I’ll make a long story in Short, it’s been 4 months since now and its tones of Believing, caring, and learning.

Believing - Here in this journey of Toastmasters I am going through and gone through roads which is leading through beautiful dimensions to beautiful destinations. Each and every destination is milestone which we are going to look back and connect the dots as Steve Jobs said. Believing this is the challenge and believing is an art to lead smooth transitions in our life road. BELIEVE !!!!!

Caring - As a human all require caring. All humans are like fingers and nothing is same, no one reciprocate the same way. Every individual is bound and plastered with personal and professional wishes. Making people believe, understand and make do something which they have never done before, which in turn makes them achieve their personal or professional wish, is caring. The over joy which you experience is this.

Learning - It is a Selfish part how I come up! On bike riding, understanding Clutch and managing it is the learning, when we master it! our bike starts communicating to us. The same way this journey of 4 months as an Area director provides a tones of transformation. It’s true! This days are Chipping away the unwanted rocks to bring out the statue which is within. After all it’s a short life and we live just to win hearts

THE CHAMPIONS – AREA G5

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The Times of Division G

SELECT ARTICLES SUBMITTED BY TOASTMASTERS OF DIVISION G REPRODUCED AS-IS

1 THE GIRL IN THE CITIES – TM SRIDEVI MOKARALA

| TCS MAITREE ALPHA

THE GIRL IN THE CITIES If Mithila Palkar could enter into Bollywood for being a ‘Girl in the city’; I don’t know where I should be by now, for being the ‘Girl in the cities’. You would identify with me, if you had lived through the below - born in one city, brought up in another, studied in a completely new one, and worked in another; and when somebody asks you where you hail from, you have nothing to do but keep a straight face.

So, it all starts in a state where many new things always start - Gujarat. That’s where, as told by my mom, was I born. But I know nothing about this city, because my mom only had her pre-pregnancy, whizzing vomits there. At first she did not know if it was because of the sweet she had been eating since few months that made her vomit, because if you live in Gujarat, you expect sugar in everything - I repeat - everything. From the dal you eat with roti to the Mirchi bajji you might want to have for snacks, everything is sweet. So, whatever it was that she had for lunch that day, she vomited inside a temple and was rushed to the doctor. Thank god, she knew it was not because of the food, it was because of me.(I used ‘Thank god’ only with the hope that my mom must have thanked god after she heard the news). So, she hurried my dad to get a transfer, may be because she did not want her child also to stay in the sweet state and go around vomiting in temples.

So I travelled to Hyderabad. In this city, when I was a child, I always wondered why people woke up early in the morning and ran with mufflers covering their ears and noses, but with outfits that did not even cover their arms and thighs. And after a full hour of running, why they stopped near a breakfast truck on the road side and ate Idlys(rice cakes) that swam in ghee. May be because otherwise, they would not have a reason to run again the next day. However, I owe my proficiency in English speaking skills to this state. In the state of Andhra Pradesh(now Telangana and Andhra), they set rules for students to speak only in English - with each other, with teachers, with parents, with neighbours, with grandparents, and even with the milk man and shopkeeper. If not spoken so, your classmate who might have noticed you asking for coriander in any language other than English, would have all rights to complain to the class teacher. Still, after many complaints and punishments and bunks and parties later, I was done with graduation and I moved to Chennai.

Vanakkam. I am sorry, but the mere mention of Chennai instills a fear in me that, if I don’t use a Tamil word, I might be disregarded from being eligible to write anything about the state of Tamil Nadu. I agree, you have love for your mother tounge, so much that you would want to die for it. But, you also expect me to die over it? I don’t think it’s fair. I could drink a whole bucket of Sambar and am sure,I will still not be able to love your language as much as you do. That’s how much they love their language. But, I owe my weight loss to this state, because I could not tolerate pepper seeds in every dish, and Sambar with everything. And if I complain, they would get back at me saying, “What daaaaw! Vunly(Read Only) you have problem with this state!”. I was always left with the dilemma of whether the pronunciation of ‘Only’ was right.

But not for long. Because, the next place I travelled to, had a completely new pronunciation for ‘O’ in itself, let alone ‘only’.

Kerala. God’s own country. Even the HR who interviewed me asked ‘What’s your Co-li-fication?’ It was qualification. Luckily I understood it and answered, and hence had to settle down in the state. Amidst lot of lakes and coconuts, I finally went back to throwing up habit, that my mother assumed she had saved me from. Because I always thought coconut oil was supposed to be used on skin and hair, not in food. If you have the same doubt, go back and look at your Parachute coconut oil tin(the standard one, without flavours). It is 100 percent edible. So, even before I got used to the smell of coconut oil, I moved to yet another rice-loving, fish-loving, soccer-loving, and Left-loving state.

Kolkata. Again the love for alphabet ‘O’. Your name having an ‘A’ might cause you the biggest headache, for it will never be pronounced as ‘A’. It will always be an ‘O’. Noresh, Ojay, Proveen. Not only Os, they also have an issue with Vs. It will never be a ‘V’. It will always be a ‘B’. No Viplavs. Only Biplabs. No Varuns. Only Baruns. Even with all these, one of my dad’s Bengali colleague has a blog on his family name. ‘Sens and Sensibilty’. I was not irated with the missing e in sense. I was irated on how it is sensible to change all the Os and Vs in my name to As and Bs. But, I will live with it - for the fresh water fish I get to eat here.

Or, I will live with it until I move to another different state and know how diverse it would be from all that I had already seen. Until then, to all the ‘Girls in the cities’, you have to get used to keeping the straight face to the question of where you belong, and live with it. Because it is never wise to discuss all the cities you have lived in and because not everybody is as cute as Mithila Palkar, irrespective of how many cities you have lived in.

-Sridevi Mokarala

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2 A POEM – TM SARANYA

| ALPHABETANS SYNTEL

Peeping through the banters of Canopy, I came across this man made ironic parody, Invented at various stages of Evolution, Probably a fusion or result of my hallucination, Chasing away the predators and ensuring safety, Standing, staring, scaring, staying there forever, As visible as light just as present as Air, Were they the best inventions of men?

One guards energy and other the energy givers, No trumps to boast, No victories to toast, Enduring hermit life….. Solving its purpose….

-TM Saranya

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3 THE JOURNEY OF A COMPETENT LEADER – TM FOUZAN

| ALPHABETANS

SYNTEL nd

I was in class 2

when my Mom told me, “Why do you feel so shy? What prohibits you to speak in front of people? Why don’t

you express when surrounded by relatives or friends just like you do when I’m around?” I did not have the answer to those question back then & was not even bothered to find because my life was going good with that attitude. I was comfortable with whatever I had and did not gave a second thought on it. As time progressed, the search for good started in the ‘world of trend’ and it made me to learn the art ‘how to bend’. Slowly and gradually I found myself involved in the race of career and goals, and that was the time when I heard the word called “leadership” which was merely an object of dictionary similar to thousands of other words in my school days. I started liking the word now and understood its meaning. The questions asked by mom in my childhood were now provoking me to find the reasons. They made me to think, how worried my mother was when everyone looked me with an image of a shy boy. And in the course of finding a solution to the provoking questions, I got motivated and started looking for platforms to explore my capabilities. It was October 2015 when I joined Toastmasters and from then I’m working towards enhancing myself in each aspects of leadership. The way I speak has changed, I inculcated the habit of listening people by analyzing what they want to say, I learnt the art of giving feedbacks in a way which doesn’t makes the receiver feel demotivated, I became more responsible and oriented towards the responsibilities I have been assigned with keeping the time constraint in mind. Toastmaster did not only helped me in developing these skills but also made me a good organizer by giving an opportunity to plan and coordinate events by building a team of executers. I became the face of my club at many meetings and conferences, and doing this made me aware how to represent your organization. The technique of mentoring and engaging myself with people is the add-on which has been poured into my bucket of learnings. Now, people see me as a person who is good at making relations and maintaining it, who loves to express while speaking and can stand in front of many strangers. The tag of a shy boy is no more associated and I feel happy about it. I wish I could share all this with my mom. The journey has not been short, lot of fillers and pauses accompanied making it tough but always carrying smile on the face without any complains made it easy for me to handle those. At last, I would like to say that “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a leader.” You will find yourself unstoppable irrespective of the situations.

By TM Fouzan

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4 HUMOUR FOR DUMMIES – TM BRITTO PRADEEP AR

| TCS MAITREE ALPHA

Hello All, before getting into the article let me introduce myself. I am very sure you would not have gotten any chance to know me earlier. I am not a famous writer or a speaker for that matter. I am a budding Toastmaster who is just a CC1 speech old. The CC1 I delivered was after a month I became a TM member, and it has been 2 months since that speech. I am not such instantaneous writer. I just take my own sweet time to sit and let the idea germinate in my sand box (I mean my brain, just in case you did not get the wordplay). You see I believe in having a lot of wordplay in my writing, so that it sounds humorous and makes the reader or listener click into it. But recently I found that when I sit and force myself to think, my sand box (again!) goes wireless, so that I am not able to reach it. At all. That explains why I am not able to start writing my CC2 speech.

So, when I was busy breaking my butter box (my brain again) to get out some cheese (ideas) - you get it right?

You can never get cheese out of a butter box no matter how hard you squeeze it - came the Humor and Evaluation contest. Many fellow TMs were encouraging me to take up the humor contest. They told that my CC1 was also humorous, and I could just tweak it a bit to make it a little more humorous. The sad part I was pondering upon was, I really swear, I never knew where these guys found my CC1 speech humorous. In fact, during the speech, I was shocked when these guys started bursting into laughter, for some serious lines I was reciting. I paused, since I forgot my next line, since I was busy thinking what was funny in the last line I spoke.

Unfortunately, my evaluator was all praise for my pausing technique, that being just a CC1 speaker I had known to pause after a funny line. I had tears of joy, I really believed that my speech was humorous and determined to read my CC1 speech again and again to find those humor triggers. Actually for at least a month, I had read my speech for at least 52 times, and still puzzled all the same.

In this sad state, I said to myself to let go of this search and find my inner peace with it, so that I could start writing for the humor contest. I believe everything comes from within, as the Bible says. So does humor. But my butter box was completely out of shape by now, due to the exhaustive squeezing. It could barely recognise me as its rightful owner. I could not even start writing my intro, let alone write humor. So like all TMs, I started rejecting the calls honorable TM President repeatedly made to remind me to nominate for the humor contest. At one point I had to add his number to the black list, with all due respect. I know honorable President would have read this article before you did, I have to find him before he finds me, and confess this sin.

But I went to the Humor Contest, sat low in the lastest seat in the auditorium so that the Prez would not find me there. I was enjoying the speeches, all were super humorous and were tickling my bones. Oh, how I got back my sense of humor there. There was a time when I was shell shocked to see the President himself up on the stage. He would have surely seen me from up there. But I made sure that I was jumping on my seat laughing when he was giving his speech. He would have surely noticed how I enjoyed his speech, and would definitely forgive my sins, I hope.

After the contest, I went back and again started thinking of writing a humor speech. But since I could no more squeeze my butter box, it was already a ball of tin rolling in my head. That was when I got this idea of going to my guru, Google. I browsed for all jokes and funny speeches. But I was so disconnected to even understand those jokes myself first. So I started looking for this book named Humor for Dummies. And still searching for it. If you guys find it somewhere, I am hereby humbly requesting you to please share me the link and help this poor soul. Thanks in advance.

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5 WEAPON TO HAPPINESS – TM DEEPIKA HARIHARAN | TCS MAITREE ALPHA Good day buddies!! To begin with, let me just pinch myself and confirm the state. Oh no!! It is not a dream and definitely it is a reality. I am writing an article. That too, a humorous article (just for namesake). Thank God, English is blessed with the word ‘forgive’ that has served many people including me. So no expectations, no disappointments - especially for this article!

What blossoms the hearts of human pleasantly? What makes you to roll on the floor and laugh?

Yes. It is happiness. There is an amazing term that can be a key factor to happiness and they call it humour. It is well said that “Laughter is the best medicine” just because this great weapon can conquer and win the world. Irrespective of any constraint, humor can guarantee cherishing moments. Throw this sword in any crowd and yield the target. All categories of people can be reactive to this weapon. Generally, selective humans are experts in making fun who can be well recognised in any group of people. In any gang of friends, there will be one culprit who does all the mischievous things but still never be caught. This one will have the supernatural powers to get absconded, and the people around laughing will get caught. One of my friend best suits for the above scenario.

In school days there was no deficiency of humor. Now rollback the memories of school days, raise your hands proudly if you have emptied the lunch boxes of your friends. Yes, I knew it, you would have done that, see that corner smile in your face. Another exciting moment is copying during exams. This requires tricky technique to be followed and I am a self-taught master in that.

Do you remember the days when our parents just chase us for beating if we get caught in some mischief? Luckily we could have escaped out of it. On close examining my father’s behavior, I came to know about an adorable human quality. It is courage. So what is courage? It is well reflected when a husband is bold enough to taste his wife’s special dish prepared for the first time. Additionally, to admire the wife without make-up. Another gifted human nature is patience.

“God of patience” is such a man who tirelessly waits for his wife during shopping hours and most importantly in beauty spas.

If it is spas for women, then it is gyms for men. Few men enjoy their meals but lament to lose weight. No worry for your tummies. Go to parties and just perform stylish steps flaunting them.

Notably, existence of two types of women can be figured out there. One, who can count her boyfriends and the other, the queen without a king. Unfortunately, I fall into the second category, but I don’t go to parties yet (wink!!). Now it is time to thank the pity souls for reading my golden lines (just to convince myself, well, ignore). To the end, let me remind you, smile is something that is free of cost and there is no good weapon like humor that can kill and throw the sadness away. So say Cheese! Cheese! Cheese always.

6 F’ANT’ASTIC! – TM MICHELLE | TCS MAITREE ALPHA A friend of Bill's was over at his place. Since he wanted to be a good host he offered him a sandwich that he had on the table. His friend thanked him n took a big bite out of the sandwich. He tasted something funny and asked Bill what that flavor was. Bill was puzzled by the question and took a bite of the sandwich and said "That's ant flavor" unfazed. His friend spat out what was in his mouth. Bill explained. This is the result of my battle with ants. Ants were everywhere, in my bread, rice, biscuits and all over my table. I spent weeks trying to get rid of them. Then I came across a quote which changed my perception. It was "If you can't beat them join them" That's when I stopped fighting and now I live in harmony with them. Now I've grown to like their taste.

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7 BE HAPPY, LIVE YOUR LIFE! – TM JOSEPH SANTHIYAGU | HCL ASPIRATIONS The Doctor said let’s take a scan. My eye brows raised. my heart started to pump faster. First thing I remembered is; I did not have enough cash and they don’t accept card. Within a few mins I started running towards atm outside hospital. it was a good 300m run. I came back paid the money and then move to the lab. The result was negative. That’s the day I discovered about mind over body philosophy. That’s the day I realized what this baby means to me. A few minutes ago I was limping but the happiness of baby made me run.

Do u know which is the best pressure cooker in the world? Mother-in-laws are the best pressure cookers available in today’s market. Both my MIL and my wife’s MIL were state champions. My mother was champion from Chennai and my wives MIL was champion from Bangalore. They made my wife visit their own renowned best specialist. The test and drugs given by 2 different Doctors was too painful. One fine day my wife said I quilt I can’t do it anymore. I gave her a hug and said its ok. I took my stand stopped any more tests to be taken. no more drugs no more tests.

To get our minds out of pregnancy and professional life we started going for yoga. It was at 5:30 in the morning. After 3 weeks of yoga on 21st Jan 2015 I asked my wife, if she can take one more test. She saw me with eyes open wide and said I don’t want us to be hurt again let’s not do it. I said I already got the test let’s just try once tomorrow morning. As we woke up early in the morning at 5:00 AM for yoga my wife took the test and it was negative. We did not talk we got depressed and went to bed. I woke up 6:45 and my bus was at 7:15. I was in a hurry to get ready. My wife woke up and was tiding the place. then suddenly when she was about to throw the pregnancy test in the garbage, she shouted Joseph! Joseph! I was like what is it I am getting late I am moving out in 5 min. She said the result is positive. I did not move for another 60s. I took her to nearby lab got her blood tested. The results came that evening that was the longest day of my life. it as positive. but the report said there were 3 sacks. meaning triplets. We got more scared than happy. We fixed an appointment with our Doctor.

The Doctor said it’s a very rare scenario so he asked us to test again in hospital lab. My wife went inside the lab. As usual my heart was pumping. It was pumping more than suguana pump. The lab technician called me in.

I have fell in love 3 times in my life. once in my school, then in my college and finally with my wife. when your crush comes near you, your heart starts to pump faster. It was the same here but with a small difference. When I went inside the lab I started to look inside the monitor. I stood like a student submitting his record note for correction. but the tech said do you hear anything, I said yes. do u know what it is. I understood what it was but could not answer, she said it is the heart beat of baby number1 and now this is the heart beat of baby2. You are blessed with twin’s - congratulations!

At that instant my heart skipped a beat literally. the joy was immeasurable.

There are many methods to get pregnant but nothing guarantees anything. There are many multispecialty hospitals. There are multiple religious’ places of worship. The reason these establishments flourish is because it’s not easy to create a new life. Even if your parents fight a lot, that one moment of happiness they shared was when you were born. I don’t not believe that we have to pray to the creator for blessing because I believe you were born because of his blessing we just need to realize that. Be happy. live your life.

Joseph Santhiyagu

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8 THE INCOMPLETE JOURNEY OF MY LIFE | TM ASHTALATHA UDAYKUMAR | HCL ASPIRATIONS “Average” – This little word starting with the 1st letter in the Alphabets series, sums me up; or at least I thought it did. I was never a 1st Rank Holder, neither did I get any big prizes nor any medals in the field of Sports or Arts.

I did well in certain subjects and was bad in some. I was not always an outstanding student. I was a nondescript to summarize in a nutshell.

3 years ago, it dawned to me that, I do not want to be just an Average or Mediocre person. I wanted to come out of my little cocoon that I had constructed around me and wanted to become someone better than who I was. I dreamed about metamorphosing into a butterfly and to spread my winds far and wide.

When I was at this cross road of my life I came across this beautiful quote “You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” - Zig Ziglar I went about listing the list of attributes that made me the average next door Joe. And to my surprise, I realized that procrastination, the fear of trying out something new, getting comfortable with regularity were some of my inhibiting factors. I went about attacking these two seasoned traits within me whose roots were deeply embedded into my very being.

Procrastinating was my biggest challenge. To go about conquering this I read Volumes or DIYs, watched YouTube videos and read a lot of books. All that went in wain. To my surprise, the little device that I held in the palm of my hand was what really helped me; my smartphone. I went about listing all the tasks that I had to complete and kept this list updated and every time a task was completed, I went about striking it out and once I had completed all my backlogs I was able to find lots of time in my hands that enabled me to stop Procrastinating and do all my chores then and there. I started setting reminders so that I don’t miss anything. The smartphone helped me complete my tasks on time. Over a period of time, I was able to pursue my hobbies, get my life organized better and learn the important art of doing it once, but doing it right.

Toastmasters, helped me a great deal too in my quest. Meeting new people, going to various others clubs, participating in a plethora of contests helped me a great deal in overcoming all my fears and inhibitions.

Toastmasters is where I personally experienced a sensation that “There are no true strangers in the world, there are only friends whom you have not yet met.”

Taking up new roles and preparing for them, made me exploit Shiv Kera’s Mantra – “Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently.”

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The next time you find yourself at a cross road in life or are experiencing a mid-life crisis. Take a moment, ponder and then set on the path to move on forward, because always remember: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” - Lao Tzu.

9 A POEM ON HER CLUB – TM ISHANI MISHRA | NOKIA TOASTMASTERS "A Toastmasters Club which uniformly cheers, perpetually claps for the glorious peers.

Who speechify and mesmerize the audience with delight, flaunt reliance owing to cornerstone equally infinite.

We Nokians 'Connect People' and give mega credence to Innovation, superlative Communication & Leadership cruise with zeal is Our quintessential destination."

10 SPEECHCRAFT EXPERIENCE – TM KEERTHI | TCS INSURANCE TOASTMASTERS Hi everyone. I am Keerthi from TCS Insurance Toastmasters Club. I am glad to share my experience about the Speechcraft program that I took up as a Main Coordinator.

First things first. Speechcraft is like a crash course of Toastmasters. The main aim is to introduce the world of Public Speaking (and hence Toastmasters) to non-members and help them get acquainted with how Toastmasters works.

It started off with 20 members (hereby called as Speechcrafters) on April 19 2017 at company 'Wabag House', Thoraipakkam. About 11 sessions were conducted and by the end of these sessions, Speechcrafters has to complete minimum till CC3 from CC manual to complete their Speechcraft program and get the Speechcraft certificate. All the Stationary stuff like Manuals would be provided by TMI. Each member was assigned a Mentor who would help them out in anything from Speech preparation to taking mocks.

As a coordinator, I was completely responsible for making the program work so as to meet its purpose. A coordinator role is predominantly the role of VPE and President. It's their onus to make sure meetings are conducted as per Toastmasters norms, everyone gets an equal chance to take up roles and most importantly each member should be comfortable with Public Speaking. Initial 2-3 meetings were conducted with help of Toastmasters from other clubs taking up various meeting roles. Slowly all Speechcrafters were encouraged to take all roles including TMOD, TTM, Evaluators, etc. Their performance was tracked and evaluated on daily basis. Various Educational sessions were also conducted to guide them on drafting a speech, organizing, tone variations, etc.

I really had great learning from this Speechcraft Program. I got to play various Excomm roles in one go and it gave me a good chance to showcase my managerial and leadership skills. I got to interact with fabulous 20 people from the company and learn great lessons from them. The perseverance and the Positive attitude they showed towards learning is my biggest take away. If this whole experience was not enough, the cherry on the cake is they liked the Speechcraft program and have chartered a new club 'Wabag Toastmasters'. Phew! Our efforts finally paid off.

All in all it was a fantastic roller coaster ride and believe me it's worth the time.

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