The Awakener - Volume 8 Issue 2

THE

AWAKENER

Volume 8 | Issue 2 | Jan-Jun 2021

“Whatever your grade or position, if you know how and when to speak—and when to remain silent—your chances of real success are proportionately increased.”

— RALPH C. SMEDLEY, founder of Toastmasters International

www.awakeningtm.org

STATISTICS

CLUB MISSION “We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in confidence and personal growth.”

CLUB AWARDS • Golden Club Award • 80/80 Membership Award

Club Status 2020/2021 DCP Status : All 10 DCP points achieved Pathways Adoption Rate : 100% Pathway level completion : 16 completed Triple Crown : 8 Excellence in Leadership : All 7 Exco members participated for both OTP’s Number of meetings conducted : 40

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CLUB VISION “Striving towards excellence in public speaking skills whilst creating quality leaders by providing a conducive environment to realise the dreams and hopes of members.”

CONTENTS

02 04 05 06 06 06 07 08 09 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 19 20

STATISTICS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE AREA DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE PQD’S MESSAGE PRESIDENTS DISTINGUISHED BANNER CLUB QUALITY & CLUB ENGAGEMENT REPORT INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST DEBATE CONTEST EDUCATIONAL REPORT FOLLOW YOUR PASSION RED VS BLUE TEAM CHALLENGE NEW MEMBERS REPORT THEMED MEETING HOW TO MAKE ONLINE MEETINGS EFFECTIVE THE CREATIVE BRAIN THE TOASTMASTERS JOURNEY INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS EDITOR’S MESSAGE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE - 2020/21

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I believe a great journey is just like a voyage in an unpredictable sea where you eventually become a skillful sailor.

Since the inception of Awakening Toastmasters under the youngest Charter President in the world, DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed, Awakening has been synonymous with innovation & perfection.

The aspiration of every member has always been to give their best and be the best.

This Awakening journey has been gradual. There has been challenges along the way but with plenty of awards and accolades to smoothen any rough edges due to the challenges.

Looking back to our recent past, the voyage of Awakening is an apt validation of this progress with the club being recognized and awarded as the Platinum Club of District 82 for consecutive years 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 as the number 1 club. To top it all, we have now produced 4 DTM’s. The first Awakening DTM, our Charter President DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed was incidentally the youngest DTM in Sri Lanka and the sixth youngest in the world. A culmination of two journeys destined for greatness!!

We are amidst very challenging times for the whole world due the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite not able to have physical meetings, eventually we were pushed to have virtual meetings which most of us were not familiar with.

Awakening took the step forward and held the first meeting while supporting the fraternity to adapt and embrace the changes by educating the members on how to conduct effective online meetings.

Today Awakening has reached the 200th meeting surmounting many a challenge across the journey.

Our heartfelt thanks need to be extended to each and every individual who have supported and encouraged us in this journey.

Credit for colorfully showing what Awakening is in print and digital form, needs to be given to the fantastic Newsletter team. They have produced another gem, reflecting on the achievements and the journey of Awakening.

An end of one journey is the beginning of another. The weight of expectation is upon the present team to continue this fabulous journey. But I have no doubt that they will surpass all expectations despite the rough voyage that lay ahead.

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TM Shadrin Safwan President – 2020/21 Awakening Toastmasters

ARE A DIR EC TOR ’ S M E SSAG E We encounter challenges, whether it is unique to our circumstances with the pandemic or any other reasons, which hinder the success of Toastmasters frequently. But through these hurdles true qualities of Leaders come to light.

The current Leaders of Awakening Toastmasters have really shown their qualities, in maintaining the well-established standards of Awakening no matter the challenges.

Being one of the early leaders in pathways adoption as well as maintaining more than 80% membership retention.

Over the years Awakening Toastmasters has really established itself as a criterion.

By challenging themselves to outperform themselves year-on-year. Awards and Recognitions may substantiate this, but what true validates their status, is the number of Members who become Leaders through Awakening Toastmasters and those who continue to do services to the Organisation.

Congratulations to Awakening Toastmasters on the achieving President Distinguish status. Well done Team! Now I am sure you all are working very closing to elect the next Leaders to be the next baton holders (Leaders).

My Best wishes to the soon to be elected new Team, and Best wishes to Awakening Toastmasters in their future endeavors. Keep Sailing through the Storm.

TM Muhammed Saeed Area Director Area C1 | District 82 Toastmasters International

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PROGRAM QUALITY DIRECTORS MESSAGE Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. ~ Vince Lombardi In our journey of toastmasters from the 1st of July there are milestones which I see as the Distinguished Club Program (DCP). If we see these milestones as checkpoints in our journey we would be chasing behind perfection. Today with 2 months more to wrap up the year on 30th of June Awakening toastmasters have caught up with excellence in achieving all 10 DCP points, 100% in Pathways, and in addition completing 07 extra educational awards.

Using our Toastmaster journey each and every member should continue to become better communicators, work with Integrity, Respect, Service and Excellence, deal with change - adapting to new situations, develop others while becoming more focused and confident within yourself.

With just two months more to go - think if there is anything else your could do – We all know the value of Toastmasters do we have 5 more friends to join us and enjoy the benefits of toastmasters while achieving the final award of ‘beat the clock’.

Srianthie Salgado, DTM Program Quality Director District 82 Toastmasters International

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I NTE RNATIONAL SPE ECH CONTE ST “Every time we face our fears we gain strength, courage, and confidence in doing that.”

Theodore Roosevelt Hiyah! With all the enthusiasm, grit, and great expectations the club contest of Awakening Toastmasters was held on 23rd January 2021 virtually due to the prevailing Covid-19 restrictions.

Although it was held as per the new normal the Awakening spirit was always high within all the members throughout the contest as usual.

With 7 contestants actively delivering quality speeches in an engrossing contest added the right ambiance for all other guests and toastmasters to witness an enthralling competition.

Remarkably the contest chair Toastmaster Hakeem Mubarak and Zoom Master Najeeb Saheel were extremely helpful and supportive for all the contestants especially technically.

Amidst a collection of great speakers with great speeches, DTM Muhammad Sheikh Ahmed was crowned as a Champion of the International Speech Club Contest of Awakening Toastmasters while Toastmaster Inshaf Ahamed and Toastmaster Zumry Iqbal were placed 2nd and 3rd respectively.

With the gained confidence and gusto both the champion and the runner-up from the club reached the next level in the contest series comprising of five dynamic clubs in the area for the Area Level Contest.

Further, the Area Director of Division C, Toastmaster Muhammed Saeed’s participation and support added the exact colour that the Division needed to move forward.

As the saying goes on“Great stories move great hearts”, with the set tone, DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed from Awakening Toastmasters Club and Toastmaster Senuri from IIT Toastmasters Club represented our Area – Area 1 at the Division Contest which was yet another extremely competitive screen on the 17th of April 2021 where each speaker that came on screen had their own story and showed great promise for the future with the potential within them.

Toastmaster Samuditha from Sampath Bank Toastmasters Club emerged as the champion whilst Toastmaster Treshan Galapathy from Lyceum Toastmasters Club was placed 2nd and DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed from Awakening Toastmasters Club was placed 3rd.

Toastmaster Samuditha will represent Division - C at the District Conference to be held in June 2021 at the Ovation in Kandy.

Quitters never win and winners never quit.

TM Inshaf Ahmed Secretary - 2020/21 Awakening Toastmasters

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DEBATE CONTEST Awakening Toastmasters has always been at the forefront of bringing about a difference, keeping the meetings refreshing and entertaining while providing great educational value to the participants.

With the world adjusting to the new normal and a semblance of normalcy returning, Awakening Toastmasters were back to their physical meetings. With the pandemic restraining the Awakeners to the size of the digital screens, they were rearing to go with plenty of pent-up creativity and energy. It was time to Debate and Conquer.

At the 206th Awakening session on the morning of the Saturday the 28th March, the Awakeners were lined up to view a debate for the ages. The topic up for discussion was ‘Social media does more harm than good’.

The proposing team was lead by the dynamic, immediate past Division Director, DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed while the opposing team was lead by the astute Immediate past Division Resource Chair DTM Ishfaaq Uvaim.

Both teams were equally balanced with past Area Directors and Club presidents lined up to debate each other. The points were put forward, debated and debunked with vigor while the audience were enthralled and engaged throughout.

At the end of the debate after a close match up between the teams, the audience selected the proposing team led by DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed as the winner of the debate, thereby endorsing the view proposed. However, the clear winner for the best debater award was DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed, who brought his vast experience in discussing and debating on issues which were a plenty, to a successful and satisfactory conclusion.

Following the success of the first debate, based on the request of the Awakeners, a second round of debates were staged with a new set of debaters. Led by the young and energetic Toastmasters TM Hakeem Mubarak and TM Zumri Iqbal.

The 208th Awakening session on the 4th of Apr, was an encore of the highest standards.

Having full comprehension of the debating norms and standards expected from the lessons learnt during the first debate, this debate on ‘Education is more important than experience for success‘ was a keenly contested match up. The audience were allotted into the teams with team colors adding an extra oomph to the atmosphere. To maintain impartiality, experienced debate judges were appointed. After an engaging debate in every sense, winners had to be chosen and the opposing team led by TM Hakeem Mubarak clinched the debate while the best debater was TM Zakir Nuhman.

While the debates provided a valuable learning experience, the excitement and enthusiasm that the debates had created has fully unleashed the creative spirit of Awakening and has led to Awakeners yearning for more.

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Ishfaaq Uvaim, DTM Awakening Toastmasters

FOU R -WH E E L S MOVE YOU R BODY, BUT T WO WH E E L S MOVE YOU R SOU L . .

From the Cycling Toastmaster of Awakening Cars and planes may disagree but a bicycle needs to be every man’s best friend. Cycling is an adventure whether you’re a three year old kid who’s got his first bicycle, or an adult who’s looking to escape the city chaos while pedaling those calories away.

It’s almost metaphorical as to how cycling has changed one’s life during pandemic. I used to wake up with the sun hitting on my face as-if it was forcing me to wake-up and start the day, but now, as I discover my joys for cycling; I instantly jump out of the cold & cozy bed before the warm sun hits me up with its morning lights.

There’s an unfathomable joy as you ride in the dawn before the city wakes up. The chaos of traffic and the speeding cars almost seems forgotten as you step on the road and pass though the surrounding of the city. The pin-dropped silence & the smell of fresh lilies with dewdrops are a beautiful sight and a bliss. There’s no doubt that this twowheel could make a person’s life and the environment a better place.

When it comes to environment, the bicycle would win the debate hands down. As you burn down last night’s calories, you slowly realize how much you‘ve been contributing to the surrounding. One less car means less commuting and less carbon released. With the bicycle, the journey is all yours – you’re the master navigator of your ride.

So, go down those roads you’ve never taken and discover the green treasures of this beautiful island while you enjoy the journey of Toastmasters!

TM Ahamed Miflal Awakening Toastmasters

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PASSION FOR LIFE! Today, all of us are entangled in an ultra-competitive realm.

In this competitive world, everyone has one common goal regardless of what culture or country they belong to. That is, to be successful in what they do. In a broader context, it sounds absolutely perfect. But in the end, how many people achieve the ultimate goal that they dreamed of.?

This is the exact question that we all should ask ourselves. How many of our dreams have been left as just a shadow of a once upon a time dream. Have you ever wondered why you couldn’t achieve it, while someone who has failed multiple times at his or her dream and seemed a failure to the world, eventually succeeds beyond the wildest expectations.?

Every dream begins with believing in it and in yourself. However, it is in the depth of how passionate you are towards achieving it, can the chances of its fulfillment be defined. The greater the passion you have, your commitment and desire will surely enhance accordingly.

Passion is an emotion to be acted upon. Without action, passion yields no worthwhile results. Passion is the fuel in the fire of action. When you have a passion for something, you love it even when you hate it.

Here are few tips to enhance your passion towards your goal to achieve what you want: • Identify what you actually wanted to go for and create passion out of your own will.

• Develop your passion to the level that you are willing to sacrifice your 100% in terms of commitment and determination.

• Regardless of what hinders your path of achieving the dream, giving up should not be an option.

• Expect the unexpected and be open-minded to make swift decisions at the hour of need.

• Review the level of your own passion constantly and identify where you are at in achieving your goal.

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Upon pursuing your passion, it is expected to find roadblocks, receive criticism, people doubting you, and many a challenge.

Nevertheless, the one thing to remember is that nothing can stop you except you alone.

For most of us joining Toastmasters was a choice or a recommendation, but it is our passion towards its valuable benefits and positive transformation, the reason why many of us remain firm in this program while improving themselves.

When your dream is your ultimate passion, the chances of you enjoying the journey is obviously high. So why not convert your biggest dream to your biggest passion; you will not only have very high chances of fulfilling it but also enjoying every moment in achieving something the world once doubted whether possible.

Dare to Dream, live with Passion, challenge your limits and be a Success.!

“

Convert your priorities to your passion, achieving those priorities will soon become easier

“

Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed, DTM Charter President Awakening Toastmasters

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RED VS BLUE TEAM CHALLENGE The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 –1882), said “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”; he also said, “Be true to your own act and congratulate yourself if you have done something strange and extravagant to break the monotony of a decorous age”. These two statements echo the sentiments of the Awakening Toastmasters Club. A community Club that has won many accolades in the Toastmasters fraternity by leading & inspiring new activities that engage the membership to break out of the monotonous routine that could prevail if changed.

Red vs Blue is a novel theme that splits the audience of members into two teams and competes on a few events to be crowned as champions. The teams are assigned randomly by calling out two repetitive numbers (usually 1 & 2) – in the given seating arrangement, so that audience cannot choose preferences, which assigns the Red & Blue teams respectively. The Red vs Blue event has become an annual event for the past 7 years, in the club’s 8-year history, and has been conceptualized by the charismatic charter president of the club DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed.

You may be paired up with or against your buddy, and it’s all fun & fair play when the games begin. Events include the best speaker & evaluator competition, and the twist comes in with the addition of the ‘do you know’ questions, debates, and charades. The team selects the respective captain, and each member can participate in only one event, hence the participation of the majority is ensured. The thematic colors on the event day across the meeting venue liven up & engage the audience. The Red & Blue caps to armbands and even miniature flags help the members support their respective teams.

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The atmosphere can get loud and engaging when rivalry brews up – but in all spirit of sportsmanship, all the cheering and booing stays within the premises and does not go beyond the event day.

Over the past few years that I have had the privilege of participating in the annual Red vs Blue event, I’ve represented both colors and had my better days as well.

The underlying value of the Red vs Blue event is the sportsmanship it brings with the competitive & intense battle for supremacy. This also breaks the otherwise monotonous routine of toastmaster speeches on a weekly basis. This event adds color to the Toastmasters calendar and should be part of the club’s annual events, which helps the culture of fellowship grow.

TM Zakir Nuhmaan Awakening Toastmasters

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TOASTMASTERS IT IS

It’s been an honor and a privilege to join and be a part of the Awakening family, mainly due to the fun ways the meetings are conducted, and the way new members are accepted and made to feel at home.

People talk about losing stage fright after joining a Toastmaster’s club however for me personally it was news to me that I had such a stage fright until I felt the 20 seconds of the round-robin stage feel like 2 hours and the constant stammering.

Nevertheless, with every meeting passing by I feel an element of confidence as well as slight improvements in my speaking ability and vocabulary. In my opinion each person with the opportunity to join and try out toastmaster should give it a go and see where they stand and how well they fare in it.

Adding to that the support and help I have received from all my fellow club members and exco have been immense and second to none making this journey easier to adopt and smooth. Stage fright becomes your strength and fellow members become family this is the journey so far and I’m extremely eager to see how it goes in the future.

TM Nafaan Nazeel Awakening Toastmasters

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THEMED MEETING

The meeting was themed parliament and it was necessary to keep the “PARLIAMENT” vibe throughout the meeting and fellow members, which was indeed a challenging task. The biggest of all was that I had to deliver my Level 3 Project 3 speech as well together with being the Toastmaster of the day and also the speaker of the parliament.

The seating was set up according to the structure of the parliament, where both sides faced the opposite and I sat in the middle dividing the rest of the members into two parties on either side of my table, assigning the members randomly to both parties.

Following the introductions, we had the round-robin session, which was enthusiastically conducted by the current president, Toastmaster Shadrin Safwan. Next in line was the prepared speech session with three prepared speeches each from DTM Ishfaq Uvaim, Toastmaster Inshaf Ahamed, and myself. Next, the Table Topic session was conducted by Toastmaster Mohammed Aadil. He conducted the session in the form of a debate where the proposing side got 2 minutes and was opposed by the opposition for a minute on a chosen topic randomly related to parliament theme. It was such an energetic and engaging session, which reflected actual heated debates occurring in the parliament.

Some members even got dressed as Parliament Ministers, and it was an enjoyable, fun-filled, and memorable meeting conducted by me which was vouched by the positive feedback given by fellow toastmasters. This is one of the many fun-filled meetings held at Awakening Toastmasters, and we hope to have a lot more in the future as well.

TM Rifdhan Rifark Sgt-At-Arms - 2020/21 Awakening Toastmasters

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HOW TO MAKE ONLINE MEETINGS EFFECTIVE Lockdowns and Virtual meetings are the new norm. We cannot do without it nor ignore it.

When the lockdown concept was first implemented in Sri Lanka in February 2020, most companies had to adopt to the concept of working from home. I manage a team of 20 sales staff who needs excellent communication. Meeting, training, and huddle are all important to keep the team productive and effective. Awakening Toastmasters, my home club was one of the first clubs to introduce online meetings and I am so grateful for this club for teaching me certain etiquettes and techniques to conduct an effective online meeting. The points which I learnt and would love to share are as follows: 1. List of Attendees List out who’s attending so your entire team knows who will be there, eliminating any confusion. If a remote worker is unable to attend, remember to convey it to all the attendees.

2. Read the Agenda Your team should read the meeting agenda ahead of time.

Not only will this let your online team know what they’ll be discussing, but it’ll also give them time to sort out any remote work issues they may be facing.

3. Quiet Location Have everyone attend the meeting from a quiet location to prevent interruptions. Use noise-canceling software, if necessary, to drown out external noises.

4. Use Video People respond better if they can see the facial reactions of the person they’re talking to. Use the video call feature whenever possible and be camera-ready.

5. Ban Multitasking Your team should be paying attention to the meeting and not emailing, chatting, or watching videos on YouTube or Facebook.

Therefore video conferencing is a good idea. It reduces the temptation to multitask since everyone can see what you’re up to.

6. Cut-off Phone Distractions Ask your team to turn off notifications or put their phones in silent mode. This will minimize distractions caused by any pings or pop-ups on mobile devices.

7. Don’t Interrupt When others are speaking, let them finish. If you need to talk, wait for a pause.

This prevents the confusion caused by people talking over each other.

TM Hishaam Azeez Awakening Toastmasters

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THE CREATIVE BRAIN

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THE TOASTMASTERS JOURNEY Toastmasters began as a series of speaking clubs organized

by Ralph C. Smedley during his time working for the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. As director of education at the YMCA, Smedley saw a need for the men in the community to learn how to speak, conduct meetings, plan programs and work on committees, and he wanted to help them.

Smedley decided to organize a club where they could learn these skills in a social environment, and the men responded well to the concept. He named the group the Toastmasters Club; “toastmaster” was a popular term that referred to a person who gave toasts at banquets and other occasions.

The first unofficial Toastmasters meeting was held on March 24, 1905. Much like Toastmasters meetings today, the participants took turns leading and speaking at each meeting. Smedley and the older, more experienced men evaluated short speeches, while the younger men were invited to join in the evaluations. However, as Smedley was offered positions at other YMCAs in Illinois and later, in San Jose, California, the fledgling clubs lacked leadership and did not flourish.

Source: https://www.toastmasters.org/about/history

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INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS TM Muhammed Yoosuf Furqan Ali

• •

Royal Institute Colombo 05 Bsc. Econ. and Managment

TM Nafaan Nazeel

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St. Peter’s College Graduated international business management at Apiit

St. Peter’s College CIMA, Wisdom Business Academy

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•

S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia

St. Peter’s College Colombo University external degree at Esoft Campus

TM Frshad Farook

TM Shabbeer Shaheer

TM Mohamed Zuhni Mohideen

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TM Muhammad Mustafa Firdausi

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Business Entrepreneur Professional Video Editor

EDITOR’S MESSAGE It is with great honor and privilege that I am writing this to you, being a new member and being given the responsibility of editing the newsletter for the club is utterly amazing.

If you asked me to summarize the experience, what I can say is that the journey is long but worth it. Seeing how your club has grown is a wholesome experience by itself, but being a part of the growth is truly staggering.

On that note, I would like to give all the credit to; DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed, TM Muhammed Saeed, TM Shadrin Safwan, TM Najeeb Saheel, TM Usman Firdousi, and TM Zumry Iqbal for the immense support and help received in the making of this newsletter.

TM Shabbeer Shaheer Awakening Toastmasters

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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2020/21 President Shadrin Safwan

Secretary Inshaf Ahmed

VP Education

Treasurer

Najeeb Saheel

Abdul Quadir

VP Membership Nafhan Naseem

VP Public Relations Usman Firdousi

Meeting Venue & Dates Venue: Billari # 156/11, Park Road, Colombo 05, Sri Lanka.

Time : 209:00 am Every Saturday

Sargeant-At-Arms Rifdhan Rifark

Immediate Past President Muhammed Saeed

Club # 03598897 AWAKENING TOASTMASTERS Contact Information #140/3, W.A.Silva Mawatha, Colombo 05, Srilanka. www.awakeningtm.org president@awakeningtm.org