WE THRIVED AT M.A.R.S (MEMBERS ACHIEVING REMARKABLE SUCCESS)
WHAT'S INSIDE MEMBERS ACHIEVING REMARKABLE SUCCESS05 SOLAR SYSTEM CROSSWORD PUZZLE 07 IGNITE THE LEADER WITHIN - OVATION 202208 SMOOTH SEAS NEVER MAKE SKILLFUL SAILORS 10 TOASTMASTERS AND OUR LIVES10 DON THE CONFIDENCE CLOAK 1 EXPERIENCE BEING WITH A TOASTMASTER11 OUR JOURNEY THROUGH SPACE 1 2
RED VS BLUE CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS16 QUIZ CONTEST OF AWAKENING TOASTMASTERS 18 AWAKENING FITNESSSTAY FIT STAY HEALTHY 20 SS HIGH FLIERS 22THE PEARL - A RIDE ACROSS THE ISLAND FROM THE EDITORIAL It is with utmost pleasure I share my view on this wonderful newsletter, "The Awakener". I would like to thank all those who contributed with wonderful articles to "The Awakener" and supported us in making this newsletter to meet the standards of our club. THE ART OF LEARNING AND ITS STYLES14 FIGHTING FOR THE TITLE OF THE CHAMPION 15 Fawaz Jainudeen, DTM 3 IT IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE19
Striving towards excellence in public speaking skills whilst creating quality leaders by providing a conducive environment to realise the dreams and hopes of members.
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 Mission Club Vision
Who are we
Awakening Toastmasters is a community club. We are a diverse group of people, consisting of Professionals, Doctors, Lawyers, IT Specialists, Artists and Entrepreneurs who share the common goal of improving public speaking and leadership skills.
4
MEMBERS ACHIEVING REMARKABLE SUCCESS
We at Awakening were able to start 2 Speech Craft Programs at Daraz currently ongoing. We’ve been receiving extremely good feedback and participation from speech crafters at Daraz.
5
Continuing the vision of thriving at MARS [Members Achieving Remarkable Success] has been a great journey with many wins and loads of learning for the entire Awakening Family.
We not only celebrated wins at Toastmasters but we also ensured to share the moments of all members’ achievements outside Toastmasters. This has been a great initiative which motivated the Awakening family to keep thriving
This year has been a rather challenging one. With the pandemic at play and the volatile economic conditions, we at Awakening had to drive a clear plan to ensure that we retain our members, be active and drive the values of Toastmasters.
To ensure that Awakening Toastmasters were active participants we’ve been able to have many members participating for each session We also had many thematic sessions such as having Quiz and Games sessions to ensure an overall active participation. With all activities conducted we were able to add new members and reach our base member target in the second half of this year.
“Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flow charts. It is about one life influencing another John C. Maxwell"
The Awakening Exco is geared to deliver the plan that was mapped for the year. We’ve completed 85% of the set targets already without missing any of the initiatives. We’ve got a few more interesting initiatives planned in the next 2 months. We request all members to participate in all sessions.
Abdul Qadir, President
We continue to be extremely grateful to our Charter President DTM Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed and TM Muhammed Saeed for always being there as our mentors, guiding our team with all initiatives that have been executed to date. I would also like to extend my appreciation to the executive committee for the patience and resilience to keep the Awakening flag flying high.
MEMBERS ACHIEVING REMARKABLE SUCCESS Triple Crown Winners Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed, DTM Abdul Qadir Anas Club Stats C2021/22 lub Stats 2021/22 10 DCP Points Achieved 21 Educational Goals Achieved 26 Meetings Held Excellence in Leadership - All 7 Exco Members participated for both OTPs. 100% Pathways Adoption (12 Online, 14 Physical, 11 Themed) Club Awards C2021/22 lub Awards 2021/22 Early Bird Renewal Award Golden Club Award 8/80 Membership Award District Director's Special Recognition for Membership 8 Contestants each participating for Humorous and Evaluation Speech Contest 7 Contestants each participating for International and Table Topics Speech Contest Fresh face (Rifdhan Rifark) representing the club reaching out to Division Contest on both Humorous and International Speech Contest 2 Speech Craft programs ongoing at Daraz 6 Special Achievements by the SClub pecial Achievements by the Club
SOLARSYSTEMCROSSWORDPUZZLE 1 4a 4d 6 8 7 3 5 2a 2d 1 - What occurs when one heavenly body (moon or planet) moves into the shadow of another? 2d - This is Earth's satellite. 3 The planet that has the most number of rings. 4d - One turn around the sun that equals 365 days is called? 6 What is the sun? DOWN 2a - The planet with the moons Phobos & Deimos. 4a - The moon's light is caused by ____ of the sun. 5 Objects that are commonly made of snow, ice, and dust, and can be found moving around outer space. 7 The planet famous for its red spot. 8 The center of our solar system. ACROSS NUS8,RETIPUJ7,STEMOC5,NOITCELFERA4,SRAMA2ssorcA RATS6,NOITULOVERD4,NRUTAS3,NOOMD2,ESPILCE1nwoD 7
Out of the many ways to narrate a great story, some ideas include creating a parallel world example metaphors, for example using a flower to describe an individual.
It was another 3 day event that I was looking forward to. Being able to see the champion speakers in person is always something that is exciting. And it's been a long while since events and conferences of this nature was the norm. Lockdowns taught us to really value these moments. The event was held in a pleasant environment where the audience could feel comfortable and at ease to concentrate and listen to the ideas shared by the speakers. I remember listening to the educational session on “Personal Branding” by Kumar De Silva and recollecting the importance of staying consistent with the image we portray to the world. Its easy to appear decent, strong and well mannered but it takes real guts to actually embody those values both in public and personal life.
To bring out a challenge the hero faces Failure and setbacks the hero struggles with followed by a piece of wise advice. A lesson to unlock the mystery of the hero’s struggle. Followed by victory and a short and sweet message. Short meaning, less than 10 words in length and sweet as it rhymes and sounds profound.
8
Ovation has become synonymous with meeting a world champion of public speaking. This time it was Dananjaya Hettiarachchi. His live presentation on “What’s your story?” Made us really ponder on the style of storytelling He brought up the discovery of the famous writer Joseph Campbell on how great stories have a common golden thread.
"IGNITE THE LEADER WITHIN"
OVATION 2022
It was a memorable one for us - Awakening Family as well. We were able to grab the Golden Club Award for the 8th consecutive year. Awakening Toastmasters also won the Early Bird Renewal Award as well as the Eight-80 Membership Award Awakening Toastmasters was also specially recognized by the District Director for membership and retention.
Overall the event was a celebration, a mixture of entertainment sessions and motivation to look ahead.
Haazim Mubarak, Awakening Toastmasters
9
From common sense like use good judgement at all times to quotes like “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” and inquisitive questions like “tradition came for a reason. Is that reason still valid today?” The future is waiting for the ones with imagination and courage to take action.
It’s my utmost pleasure in writing this note for “The Awakener” as the Area Director of C1 When I first stepped into Toastmasters, being the Chief Editor was my first role and this has given me a lot of insights about Toastmasters.
Despite having moments of challenging times, the clubs of C1 strived to bring out the best standards and quality in their meeting. The pandemic made us stronger and taught us to embrace the challenges and move on in life with great values.
For me to stand up and communicate with the beautiful people here and break through the language barrier, the skills I was able to learn being a Toastmaster comes in handy.
Shadrin Safwan, Area Director C1
As it is being correctly quoted “Smooth Seas Never Make Skillful Sailors”, the challenges made us stronger to find a way to have our meetings in an innovative and more interesting manner.
SMOOTH SEAS NEVER MAKE SKILLFULL SAILORS
TOASTMASTERS AND OUR LIVES
10
Nafeel Naleem, Versatile Toastmasters
Toastmasters has enabled me to stand on my own and get engaged with whatever activity it is, either educational or extra-curricular. Being a Toastmaster of Versatile Toastmasters and learning much from the champions at Awakening has made my life flow at ease, with much better performance.
How many of you’ll have taken a moment to think of the importance of Toastmasters in our lives? Let me respond through my point of view. As an individual who is currently in Pakistan for my higher education, better communication as well as leadership skills are of immense importance.
At the outset I would take this opportunity, to profusely thank Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed of Awakening Toastmasters, for offering me an opportunity to take part in the Quiz Competition organized by District 82 as an upcoming Toastmaster.
It was a great privilege to be guided under the captaincy of Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed, and also two enthusiastic team members, Muhammed Saeed and Najeeb Saheel. It was a great learning experience as a Toastmaster to be.
11
It has always been a dream of mine to be a part of the Toastmasters’ fraternity and I wish to be a part of Awakening Toastmasters soon
EXPERIENCE BEING WITH A TOASTMASTER
DON THE CONFIDENCE CLOAK
Looking back from a decade ago at myself, I was someone who really enjoyed the comfort zone. Rarely did I take up any challenges and risks. This also meant that I loved avoiding engagements.
But coming to the present and looking back to those days; after joining Toastmasters I am simply amazed that I have been able to shed this dark dress of shyness and donned the cloak of confidence. If you had known the old me, I’m sure that you would vouch for the massive difference.
Shakir Hussain
Joining Toastmasters has built up my courage and every interaction exude this new found confidence. As a result, I could share my thoughts very confidently on any social circle giving value to them. I'm very grateful to my fellow Toastmasters for encouraging me to break the barriers on public speaking with confidence.
Yusri Furqan, Awakening Toastmasters
Research shows us that each learning style uses different parts of the brain. By involving more of the brain during learning, we remember more of what we learn Researchers using brainimaging technologies have been able to find out the heat areas of the brain responsible for each learning style.
Everyone loves to learn. But what kind of styles of learning are most effective for each individual ? Surely there is no one size fits all approach to learning. After all we're seeing a dramatic increase in the number of learning tools made available and they cover an array of learning styles. Many people recognize that each person prefers different learning styles and techniques. Everyone
THE ART OF LEARNING AND ITS STYLES
Najeeb Saheel, Awakening Toastmasters
14
has a mix of learning styles. Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning, with far less use of the other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There is no right mix. Nor are your styles fixed. You can develop ability in less dominant styles, as well as further develop styles that you already use well
Using multiple learning styles for learning is a relatively new approach. The approach is one that educators have only recently started to recognize. Traditional schooling uses mainly linguistic and logical teaching methods. It also uses a limited range of learning and teaching techniques. Many schools still relay on classroom and book based teaching, much repetition, and pressure exams for reinforcement and review. A result is that we often label those who use these learning styles and techniques as Bright. Those who use less favored learning styles often find themselves in lower classes. This can create positive and negative spirals that reinforce the belief that one is "smart" or "dumb". Your learning styles have more influence than you may realize. Your preferred styles guide the way you learn. They also change the way you internally represent experiences, the way you recall information, and even the words you choose.
FIGHTING FOR THE TITLE OF THE CHAMPION
International Speech contest Table Topics Speech contest 1st Place Rifdhan Rifark 2nd Place - Zumry Iqbal 3rd Place Inshaf Ahmed 1st Place Ahmed Haazim 2nd Place - Aakif Uwaim 3rd Place Safwan Hussain Muhammed Saeed, Awakening Toastmasters The Winner and the First Runner-Up were qualified to take part in the Area Contest of Area 1, Division C under the Awakening Flag.
And whether to contest? In this contest season the Awakeners contest to be the Champion of Public Speaking yet again
As the months of February and March approach us, We Toastmasters are faced with two decisions to make: The renewal of the membership?
The D Day happened on the 20th of March 2022 with both International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest taking place. It was a fresh breath of air with the physical contest returning after sometime of online contests.
Table Topics contest showcased another brilliant performance from the contestants. With the title for the contest being ‘Patience is Priceless’, all the contestants took different approaches to the topic. Some kept it humorous, some made it inspirational, and one contestant made the speech on a philosophical angle.
Ten brave and enthusiastic Awakeners took part in both with six participants for each contest meaning that two contestants dared to take part in both. The International speeches were filled with rich content ranging from personal story of a stroll in the woods in the night to how to evaluate and judge an item and from humorous office stories to inspiring words to believe in yourself and prove naysayers wrong.
15
Once a calendar date is set for the activity, the teams are randomly selected on the event day without any prejudices, and each individual does not know which team they will fall into, until their name is drawn out from a bowl. This year the event was held on 25th June 2022, with a full house participation of more than 45 members. ,
If you do the same thing day in & day-out, you will be where you are. However, if you want to achieve greatness, even a small 1% positive improvement throughout the year will bring you closer to your aspirations [mathematically known as the ‘The 1% Principle’: 1.01 * (365) = 37.7]. This is exactly what Awakening Toastmasters has achieved over the past 8 years. They have been pushing the standards higher year on year, simply because they compete against themselves.
16
The Red vs Blue - Team Activity is the ingenuity of Charter President Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed. The name itself ensures that the participants take on a team culture for the day with competitive rivalry towards the other team.
RED VS BLUECONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS
Credit should be given to the organizing team who provide Red & Blue caps, arm bands to the participants which creates an energetic atmosphere, and ensures all those present blend into the theme of the d d l i without doubt an ning Toastmasters agerly anticipated ovides the nd strive for Zakir Nuhman, ning Toastmasters
17
The Red vs. Blue event has five main activities; a prepared speech & an evaluation assessment for the prepared speech, a general knowledge quiz, a debate limited to three participants per team, and a round of miming to engage the audience. This well articulated script facilitates a pendulum for the scorecard, as it shifts from one side to another on a knife edge. Keeping the audience lively and striving for more points till the final event.
QUIZ CONTEST OF AWAKENING TOASTMASTERS
5 Teams were drawn to battle against each other with 4 players for each team. This was the first time that a Quiz Session was held with the aid of an online application named ‘Kahoot’, giving the participants a fresh experience out of the normal.
The questions were both read and displayed on the projector screen where the scores were decided and awarded based on both the fastest and the correct answer.
Out of the teams that played, a close battle was witnessed between Team Falcons, Team Sharks and Team Jaguars However after a nail biting contest, Team Sharks eventual were crowned as Champions, Team Jaguars as Runners Up and Team Falcons as 1st Runners Up.
Excited and Thrilling is the essence which still reminds of this fascinating event. The 234th Educational Session of Awakening Toastmasters was held on the 8th of January 2022. There were some exhilarating items lined on the day's agenda. And one of the most anticipated event among them was the Quiz Contest.
The Quiz Master for the day TM Abdul Qadir was prepared for an entertaining session with an array of varied questions ranging from Toastmasters history, general knowledge, current affairs and sports which were tested on a round by round basis. The highlight was that
18
The awards for the winning teams were distributed and since all the participants were highly engaged and excited on this new experience it was agreed to have more of these types of games in the future meetings as well, and it was a day well spent and enjoyed with a full house on a bright Saturday morning. the hall was packed with a full house of Toastmasters
Inshaf Ahmed, Awakening Toastmasters
Get Comfortable with the Team It is important as a leader of a team to know the strengths and areas where he/she lacks pre-hand, to assign the tasks accordingly. Once the tasks are assigned, following up on regular basis is crucial too It should not exceed the point where the team member finds it annoying though.
As leaders or members of a team, we have a major role to play in making a difference during the execution phase of the team plan as it is easier said than done. Taking the step up from the saying or planning to the doing or execution is key to the final outcome But whatever you do during the execution, making sure that it is a positive one, as this will guarantee long term success of the task and more importantly the team.
19
IT IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE
Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed, DTM, Awakening Toastmasters
One of the most common reasons why leaders fail is not just because they don't have a clear plan, but rather due to the lack of knowledge in terms of pulling it off with the limited resources they have. Eventually it will lead the whole team to be in uproar with so much of forgotten promises and many a condemnation So, what could be done to avoid such unpleasant scenarios.
'Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail'; says many an advisor. Yes, regardless of the circumstances, it is true that a significant portion of the outcome depends on the if and how of the planning that has been done.
However, planning is not the only stipulation in successfully completing a task. It is more like an opening of a speech, where it requires to be exact, logical and something that ensures everyone understands what the prime goal is all about. On the contrary, execution of the tasks is equally or more significant. As it is easier said than actually done.
Keep the Spirit Alive Any team with one goal that has the same spirit within each member, will more likely execute the goals far better than any number of talented individuals.
Give a Pat on the Back Every time a specific task is successfully completed by a member, recognizing the individual with a small gesture of appreciation will make an enormous impact not only on the individual, but also on the whole team. Even the struggle of a team member could be aided with encouragement to uplift the positivity in the team.
STAY FIT STAY HEALTHY
20
It was the year 2020, Covid 19 had just begun rising. There was no way of meeting anyone or even going about our daily routine. It was when Awakening Fitness was born.
Exercising consistently is the single most important thing you can do for your health. It can reduce a lot of health risks such as, cancer, diabetes, strokes, and obesity. The stay at home protocol due to the inevitable plague made most of us lose interest in taking care of our physique. We gradually brought about this addition to make sure that our members stayed fit and healthy.
We have a great deal of gratitude towards our Chief Visionary Leader, Muhammad Sheikh Ahmed for engineering the idea of Awakening Fitness that established a life changing experience as a part of our busy schedule. It is truly remarkable to see how our members continuously showed improvements. So, pull-up your socks and be prepared for another day of intense workouts, cycling or swimming…! and who knows? One day you may see our very own talents at the “Tour de France” or even at the Oly swimming, stretching, cycling, football, as well as various other sports activities.
It was interesting to see how our members with distinct age categories accepted this new inclusion. The physical activities included running, walking
Ahmed Miflal, Chief Coordinator, Awakening Fitness
We made certain that our members were up to the mark. A team of Ambassadors were appointed to follow up with each member on their activity progress on weekly basis, likewise, the Data Analytics team keeps a continuous track of the statistics to display how each member has performed during the week At the end of a month’s sessions, we noticed how much change this has brought to our club.
The Awakening fitness proceeded to become a solid part in our members' schedules. A few months down the line we began to see a few members that displayed their talents and one of them is TM Muhiyadeen Farook. He was an exceptional team player, and his 600 km ride was a proof of his relentless determination. We were truly inspired by his pursuit of taking up and finishing this challenge amidst the number of pro-cyclists that quit early during the ride.
CONSISTENT - ALL TIME WEEKLY TARGET ACHIEVERS Muhammed Sheikh Ahmed Muhammed Saeed Abdul Hakeem Abdul Qadir Ahmed Bary Farook Farshad Farook Fawaz Jainudeen Hakeem Mubarak Haazim Mubarak Inshaf Ahamed Muhiyadeen Farook Miflal Fahim Ishfaq Uvaim Muslih Abdul Cader Nafeel Naleem Nasheeth Abdul Cader Rifdhan Rifark Rizwan Ali Mahmood Ishfaq Uwaim 873 KM Ahmed Bary Farook - 468 KM Isthibshar Irfan 5,400 KM Ahmed Bary Farook 2,958 Min, 44 K Aadil Muhammed 4,427 Min Nafan Nazeel 9,170 Min Ishfaaq Uvaim 34 Times Zahran Naseem - 19 Times Ahmed Bary Farook 15 Times 1. 2 3. SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT - RACE THE PEARL 600 KM RIDE FROM POINT PEDRO TO POINT DONDRA Muhiyadeen Farook (read more on page 22) TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED BY ALL MEMBERS AS AT 31ST AUG 2022 Accumulated Distance/ Duration LEGS OF STEEL - WALKING IRON MAN - RUNNING KING OF SPINS - CYCLING AQUA CHAMP - SWIMMING MISTER WORKOUT - EXERCIS SPORTS WIZARD - SPORTS 7 X 7 STARS - (ACTIVITIES ON FITNESS HIGH FLIERS 47,356 KM 21
The initial 250 km leg of the challenge was smooth despite the sun beating down on us. We rode past Dambulla at dusk, and things started becoming more testing. We were up against the darkness, challenging climbs, and the danger of running into wild elephants who routinely roam the roadsides in the area.
22
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, because who knows? You might become very good at it! That's exactly what I did when I took up cycling after COVID 19 hit Sri Lanka and forced the entire nation into isolation. Having been in good health all my life, I didn't want to hit the pause button on my fitness and health.
While I was doubtful whether I was capable of cycling 600 kilometres within 30 hours, the cycling enthusiast inside me wanted me to try. Therefore, both Nilupa and I registered for the 30-hour Challenge and committed to a rigorous training and nutrition regime in preparation for the marathon ride ahead.
RACE THE PEARL
A few weeks later, I became fond of my newfound hobby and befriended a group of cycling enthusiasts. Over the next year, cycling went from a last resort to keep fit to a great passion. Having witnessed my progress, my cycling buddy Nilupa Kiringoda was adamant that I registered for Race the Pearl Challenge organized by Spinner, held on February 4th, 2022.
Muhiyadeen Farook, Awakening Toastmasters
I started feeling the effects of the long ride and dehydration. I was also concerned about falling asleep on the handle as I hadn't even stopped to even eat until that point. Around the 450km mark, I was forced to have a 20 minute power nap as my eyes closed for a millisecond which resulted in my bike veering onto the oncoming lane. Rejuvenated after that short break, Nilupa and I safely rode to the completion of the challenge in 28 hours, which happened to be a record for the 30 hour category. I couldn't help but reminisce on how it all
I couldn't have cycled 600 kilometres from Point Pedro to Point Dondra in record time (and in one piece!) without the support, faith, and encouragement of my loving wife Fathuma, fellow cyclists including my good friend Thushantha, and many others.
I would also like to encourage people to support those who take on activities to better look after their bodies and follow their passion in these trying times
started in the times of the pandemic I felt proud about my journey, especially having set a record that would motivate others to become fitter and healthier despite what the world throws at them.
23
President VP Education VP Membership VP Public Relations Secretary Treasurer SergeantAt-Arms Imm. Past President "WE ARE THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF 2021/22" If you wish to join us, reach us; Awakening Toastmasters Club # 03598897 District 82, Division C, Area 1 www.awakeningtm.org Meeting Date & Time Saturdays @ 9.00 a.m Abdul Qadir Nasheeth Cader Rifdhan Rifark Zumry Iqbal Aadil Mohammed Siddique Iqbal Hazim Mubarak Shadrin Safwan
