NTI NTITOASTMASTERS TOASTMASTERSCLUB CLUB
NEWSLETTER Theme- Basic Preparation Club Number- 1079197 Club Name- NTI Toastmasters
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Club July-September 2013
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Editorial
Ram Narayanan
From the president’s desk
Rajesh Daga
Celebrating 300th session
Guests and members
From the desk of VP-E
G. Rajasekaran
New member’s experience
Ahmed Al Rashdi Jaya Seelan G Muneer Al Barwani
Member’s view
Shibani Soni Zubair Mohammed
Photographs
Various meetings and functions
Prizes and awards
For July- September 2013
Riddles and Humors
Shibani Soni
www.toastmasters.org
Club website
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http://1079197.toastmastersclubs.org/ Expressions NTI Toastmasters Club, July-September 2013
Club Officers: 2013-14 President
:
Rajesh Daga
VP Education
:
G. Rajasekaran
VP Membership
:
Ms. Shahad Al Wahabi
VP Public Relations
:
Braj Kishor Bachchan
Secretary
:
Ms. Shibani Soni Verma
Treasurer
:
Ms. Nilofer S Tanna
Sergeant-At-Arms
:
Ms. Sharda Daga
Chief Grammarian
:
Dr. Smita Brahma
Librarian:
:
Faiz Al-Mamari
Editors Team Ram Narayan
Editing & co-ordination
Braj K Bachchan
Design
Kalyan Bania (Guest)
Photo collection
Camila Rodrigues
Riddles and Humors
Shibani Soni
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Expressions ExpressionsNTI NTIToastmasters ToastmastersClub, Club,July-September July-September2013 2013
Editorial
EDITORIAL Dear fellow toastmasters, Can you imagine the compound educative power of 300 meetings! It would mean at least 900 speeches, 1200 table topics, 900 evaluations, 300 grammarian reports, 300 new words, 100s of best use of the words……what other program on earth would give platform for participants to learn, to revel and rejoice on a scale that is unmatched! Too good to be true, but true! That is a huge amount of learning on any count and all encompassing! It requires great discipline and consistent effort on the part of club leaders and enthusiastic fellow toastmasters who have helped reach an achievement of this scale and can be aptly termed ‘monumental’. This is a great place to be in, so much as has been given in the testimonials by our contributing toastmasters of this letter! Is it only learning and acquiring skill? No. It is fun and entertainment. Even for the experienced toastmasters giving a table topics speech is a little challenging and uncertain. This uncertainty adds to the excitement and it reiterates the fact that learning never stops. We are glad to observe that publishing of this newsletter is coinciding with 300th meeting celebrations and we, the Newsletter team, consider this a great opportunity to offer encomiums to NTI Toastmasters Club, a great club in Toastmaster International circles of Oman. A club which has helped all its members to hone their skills in communication and develop leadership attributes. These two hours is the best investment that anybody can make and the involvement benefit far outweighs the efforts! This Newsletter is the first issue of this TM calendar year. In line with its theme, we urge each of the readers to focus on making strong foundation; on which they can build their dream structures! We wish all the Toastmasters a very successful career in their Toastmasters learning program! Happy reading! On behalf of Newsletter team
Ram Narayanan Chief Editor
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FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK DTM Rajesh Daga President NTI Toastmster Club
“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over, the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives”. These pearls of wisdom, famously written by American author and poet Henry David Thoreau in 19th century, are applicable in 21st century too, as NTI Toastmasters club is gearing up for 300th session celebrations! Brick after brick, meeting after meeting, year after year, slowly and painstakingly, NTI TM club has come a long way - a path littered with glorious achievements, scaling insurmountable heights and adding value to each of nearly 150 members who wore the prestigious NTI club badge proudly in the last 6 years. The first meeting of NTI TM club in August 2007 held at NTI's Ghala training center was just the right foundation in bringing back the Toastmasters movement in Oman after a long gap of 4 years. Thanks to Lawrence Alva, GM of NTI and DTM MV Jose who, gave us the much needed break through. Giants like Yasser Sulaiman, Mahmood Ismail Safar, Salar Mohammad, Girish Kumar, Hitin Bakshi, Mihir Bal and Sajan Nair helped to make the journey smoother. There was no looking back. Today, we have come a long way. Now, on a firm foundation backed by a very committed membership, the sights are set to achieve greater milestones and landmarks not only for NTI TM club but for each of our members. We learned the invaluable lesson that persistence and perseverance led us to restart the TM movement in Oman, despite inexplicable hurdles and monumental obstacles. Right and solid foundation is the basis for a strong and sturdy structure. We might be slow when laying the foundation and progress may not be seen visibly, but the importance is known as the structure withstands the fury of time and nature and adversity. This is our strong belief and trust at NTI. Our members have honed their skills and moved on in their life and career. Some of them, although far away, still keep in touch and celebrate our success and share our happiness. Yes friends, we have learnt, shared and grown in these 300 sessions! Thank you for being a part of NTI TM clubs success. Without you, the strong and sturdy structure would not be gloriously standing, acknowledging your own success! Let’s take a pledge today. Keep learning! Keep growing! Keep leading!
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CELEBRATING 300th SESSION My best wishes go to the leaders and members of NTI TM Club in Oman for the celebration of their 300th meeting! I am specially thrilled because I shall be joining you in this memorable and auspicious occasion. I look forward to meeting all of you.
Victoria Ferrer Mustafa District Governor ------------------------------------------------------------------------Congratulations on your milestone meeting! I’ve had the pleasure to work together with some of the stalwarts of your chapter as a District officer and I’ve been impressed by their commitment to its members and the Toastmasters organization. This chapter has provided an ideal platform for its members and has produced good speakers and great leaders. May the club and its members continue to reveal the riches that are dormant within people who have chosen to make toastmasters ‘a way of life’. All the best
Uma Radhakrishnan, DTM Immediate Past Region Advisor - Region 11- 2012 – 2013 --------------------------------------------------------------------------We are all proud of this great achievement of NTI Club for reaching 300th session. Please keep up the great work & efforts, and let’s together build the new generation of leaders in Oman. Wish you and your team all the very best.
Bader Hassan Mohammed Al Lawati Divison D Public Relations Officer ------------------------------------------------------------------------It is not often that a club reaches this magical milestone. From NTI advance we have great pleasure in wishing you all the very best for the mega event and club further success.
M.Ramesh President, NTI Advance Toastmaster Club.
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CELEBRATING 300th SESSION Nothing is Impossible at NTI. The energy of the youngsters and the experience of the seniors combined drives this club. This club has the combination of sexes, ages and nationals all the other clubs in Oman will envy off. This is the only club which can boast of contributing the most leaders of Division "D" from the First Division Governor to the Current Division Governor. May you grow and bring more laurels to TM family on Oman.
DTM.S.MohammedSalar AsstDivGoverner Marketing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am delighted to note that NTI Toastmasters Club is celebrating 300th session on 6th October 2013. Great achievement. My heartiest congratulations to NTI club officers, all members, mentors and club sponsors. Celebrating 300th session is not an easy task. It is the result of your extraordinary team work, passion, excellent guidance by senior leaders and last but not the least, enthusiastic and active participation by members. Kudos to all! May you continue to achieve many more such milestones by conducting quality meetings in the years ahead.
JinachandranNambiar, ACB, ALB Area Governor, Area 24 Division L [Learn to Lead] --------------------------------------------------------------------------NTITM club is one of the best clubs I have attended. Enthusiasm in this club is contagious. NTI detoxifies my soul every week. My communication and leadership skills have improved greatly after joining this club. Long live NTITM club!
CC BR Chander, Member, NTITM
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Expressions NTI Toastmasters Club, July-September 2013
CELEBRATING 300th SESSION It is the belief in TMI mission and the enthusiasm and the commitment of some of the individuals that made me open the doors for reviving the movement in Oman. From that moment, today we are witnessing the 300th session of the NTI Toast Masters Club. On this accession, I would like to thank all those individuals who spared no efforts to initiate and spread the spirit of Toast Masters in Oman due to which we see the state in which the movement is today. My best wishes to every member of NTI Toast Masters Club for a very successful journey in acquiring world-class skills in communication and leadership. Lawrence Alva CEO-National Training Institute, Oman
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NTI Toastmaster Cub is an incubator, through which I unleashed my potential. I will remain indebted to all the members for their unconditional support and particularly to DTM Rajesh Daga, who was instrumental in motivating me to be a member. As we are celebrating this moment of triumph, we can definitely say that at NTITMclub- we nurture our talents inspiringly. Way to go NTITM !
ACB/ALB Saleh Abdullah Alkhamyasi Member/Mentor NTI Toastmasters
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Though, I am not very experienced in the Toastmaster journey, but I have noticed a highly encouraging and mutually supportive trend in NTITM Club. The energy level of the members in this club is unmatched. Proud to be a part of this winning Team!
CC CL Braj K Bachchan VP-PR, NTI-TM
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FROM THE DESK OF VP- EDUCATION
Reignite your passion Passion is a positive factor which makes a person reach great heights in life. Just like the five fingers are of different sizes, passion also differs for different people – soccer is Maradonna’s passion, Cricket is Sachin Tendulkar’s passion, and as for Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of facebook, founding of such a popular social network forum is passion! Everyone has a passion for something in him or her but it takes time to discover it. Once you discover your passion, make sure it’s clear to yourself and visible to everyone within your world. Otherwise your passion may become illusory and will remain incognito. If you study the life of your role model or of any hero, you will find them following their passion devotedly. The point is, they had the passion, and they followed it, whatever came in their way. Touch your heart and ask yourself, “What is my passion?” Recall what you had in your mind when you joined toastmasters? Remember those dreams you had; of becoming an adorable speaker in your circle. Are you following those dreams with passion? If you are, then I am sure that your dreams shall come true sooner than later….You can visualize yourself as an effective speaker getting approval amidst thunderous applauses from a big audience! As it happens to any dream, the passing of time may distract you from focusing on your passion. But you should not abandon your passion since it is the passion that makes an aspirant brave against streams to explore the innards of a sea. Wit0068out passion, people cannot pursue their dreams. It was passion that made man reach the moon, climb the Himalayas, find new cures, discover new galaxies; the list goes on and on….. Keep your passion alive. If you find it diminishing, re-ignite it! When you enrolled in toastmasters as member, you had the passion to become a great communicator and a good leader. Do you have the same zeal now? If not, learn to keep your passion alive. How? By becoming an active member in various club activities! Mutual support is assured in any Toastmasters Club. Your mentors are willing to help; the VP-education will assist in providing opportunities for stage time. Your commitment will determine the level of your success! That will add to the strength and reputation of the club! Follow your dream with passion…the passion that is re-ignited! We are at 300th meeting milestone and it is a huge task accomplished! Wish you all the very best! Success is yours to claim! Sincerely,
CC.CL.G. Rajasekaran
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Vice President – Education NTI Toastmasters club. Expressions NTI Toastmasters Club, July-September 2013
NEW MEMBER’S EXPERIENCE When I joined NTI Toastmasters club in Dec 2012, it was a dream come true experience as I wanted to join Toastmasters International for a long time! Initially I attended Omantel Toastmasters club a number of times but the meeting time was not convenient for my schedule. Once I Joined this great forum, I realized I found the right place to learn leadership and communication skills. My first speech was truly an icebreaker paving the way to a big world of opportunities and possibilities. I am highly motivated by my mentors who have given me all the supports I needed. Success comes with hard work and commitment; Learning from our failures! I have learnt a lot and refined my speeches as per the guidelines provided in the competent communication manuals. At NTI toastmasters, we work as one family. The mentors motivate the new members to be active providing them useful information. We receive useful feedbacks from other members after delivering the speeches. I always seek help from the experienced members before any speech presentation. After joining NTI I have become a better speaker, listener and good in time management. With all the support from my fellow members, I look forward to deliver more and more speeches and complete my competent communication manual. I conclude this write up with this quote by Anthony J D Angelo who said, “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”
Ahmed Al Rashdi
When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane. Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
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PHOTOGRAPHS
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MEMBER’S VIEW
Ground work or basic preparation! Preparation is about having the readiness to face the battle ahead! Preparation helps to make the tasks easier! This applies to anything including delivering a speech at Toastmaster club. In speeches , ground work should mean referring the various sources, making notes, and some time getting the appropriate visual aids –the components that help us for the final delivery of a good speech. Those are fundamentals for making successful speeches! This is a skill that has to be learnt. It is an art! We should know where to start and where to end. The speaker should keep in mind two aspects while doing ground work: 1. He or she should be analytical and investigative, and should know what is the right source of information for them, and 2. He or she should know their subjects thoroughly enough and also display it, while presenting it to the audience! Ground work is also about having a discussion with the mentor or with any well informed person with whom a speaker is comfortable to communicate with! Finally, in order to deliver the speech in a very professional manner, ground work is an important element that should be done sincerely and with close attention to detail at a satisfactory level. Thank you,
Shibani Soni
Last week my mother-in-law fell into a wishing well, can’t believe it actually worked What is faster Hot or cold? Hot, because you can catch a cold. Love may be blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.
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Expressions NTI Toastmasters Club, July-September 2013
PHOTOGRAPHS
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Expressions NTI Toastmasters Club, July-September 2013
NEW MEMBER’S EXPERIENCE It was one evening during Eid, when accidently I met my good old friend Mr. Rajasekar in a hypermarket. We shared old memories and as the conversation was cut to present, he mentioned he was a member in Toastmasters. While parting off, he casually invited me for “Toastmaster” Iftar party in NTI Club. I couldn’t refuse his invitation! So I was there at the party and had the opportunity to meet others who were present. Guests were being greeted warmly with enthusiasm. I understood there was this friendly atmosphere and was impressed by the hospitality with which everyone was treated! From then on, I attended three meetings on a row and realized “this is a forum whereby leadership skills are practiced”! The purpose of my joining “Toastmaster International” is to overcome fear of public speaking and to develop communication skills. I am sure this (forum) would ensure personnel growth and give self-confidence. This would further enable me to practice leadership skills and widen contacts through friendships. After that I haven’t missed a single meeting and I’ll try to give my 100% in all activities of this club. What I have learned from my experience is that toastmasters forum provides the members with tools that equip them in every manner to improve communication and leadership skills; as has been described in the mission statement. I gave my Ice Breaker P-1 speech on 15/09/2013. It was a great experience. I got a very good feedback from our President, good evaluation from TM Chander and encouraging comments from senior members. In the coming speeches which I plan to deliver, I shall incorporate the learning experiences which I observed over a period of time. To conclude, I would like to mention that joining “Toastmaster international’ was the right move for me at the right time.
Jaya Seelan G.
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MEMBER’S VIEW
Preparation is 90% of Success…. “Have you ever heard of a soldier going to fight the enemies in the battle ground without enough bullets in his artillery”? Lack of preparation might lead to an early defeat in the battle. Bruce says, "By failing to prepare, we are preparing to fail." Lack of preparation leads to lack of confidence and, that does not help any person on this earth. Preparation is the area that needs to be addressed more effectively by all of us; either at work or at our homes. Whether we are planning for a client-meeting or preparing for a vacation abroad, going out for dinner or thinking to watch a movie or delivering a speech in Toastmasters club, preparation is a key thing. Most of us think that we don’t have enough time for preparation. Then, let us learn from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who used to put one hour of preparation for every single minute of his speech. If the prime minister of a country could give ample time for preparation, then common men like us definitely can manage to have enough time to prepare for the things which we want to do. It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret! Thorough preparation is required for delivering a remarkable speech in Toastmasters club as well. Good public speakers are neither born nor lucky, they are just well prepared! Success consists of 90% preparation and 10% perspiration! Laying the right foundation in our club too, has brought us to the milestone of 300th session. Let us keep preparing, keep growing!
Zubair Mohammed
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NEW MEMBER’S EXPERIENCE
I always thought something was missing when delivering a speech at my work place! I rarely deliver speeches and if I did, the audience was neither intrigued, nor entertained. I couldn't spark curiosity or crack a joke in a normal manner. Reciprocating the smiles or invoking responses were the biggest challenges from the audience! It was then that I remembered the existence of a program called “Toastmasters"! I had known about it for some time, and in turn started searching on the net to find the nearest and the most active of clubs! And then, I landed NTI Toastmasters club! I first walked into the NTI club after I had an invitation from DTM Rajesh Daga; I was thrilled, and I felt like an extremely important person! A guest who was accorded priority and greeted warmly by the president and vice president! I decided to attend as a regular guest without joining the club. It enabled me have enough time to make up my mind, with a pledge to commitment. And naturally, I became a member! After joining the club, I broke down my Toastmaster membership
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Muneer Al-Barwani
RIDDLES Q: What goes up when rain comes down? A: An umbrella! Q: If I drink, I die. If I eat, I am fine. What am I? A: A fire! Q: If I have it, I don’t share it. If I share it, I don’t have it. What is it? A: A Secret Q: What travels around the world but stays in one spot? A: A stamp! Q: What has hands but can not clap? A: A clock Q: What starts with the letter “t”, is filled with “t” and ends in “t”? A: A teapot! Q: What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it? A: Silence. Q: How many months have 28 days? A: All 12 months! Q: Mr. Blue lives in the blue house, Mr. Pink lives in the pink house, and Mr. Brown lives in the brown house. Who lives in the white house? A: The president! Q: They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they? A: Stars! Q: How do you make the number one disappear? A: Add the letter G and it’s “GONE” Q; What goes up but never comes down? A: Your age!
Some of my proudest moments have been when a website told me my password was “Very Strong.” If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of payments. Old accountants never die; they just lose their balance. I say no to alcohol, it just doesn’t listen
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CLEBRATION AND AWARD
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PRIZES AND AWARDS
Date 07.07.2013 14.07.2013 21.07.2013 28.07.2013 04.08.2013 18.08.2013 25.08.2013 01.09.2013 08.09.2013 15.09.2013
Best Speaker Khalid Al Aremi Camila Rodrigues Narendra Ghorpadae Faiz Al Mamari Shahab Al Wahibi Sharada Daga Camila Rodrigues Nilofer S Tanna Fahad Said Al Hajri Mohammed Zubair Shibani S V Yaqoob Alaufi
22.09.2013 Camila Rodrigues 29-09.2013 Yaqoob Alaufi (Speakathon) Nilofer Tanna Khalid Alareimi
Best Evaluator John Valliattu Ramanathan
Best Table topic speaker Bamra (G) Ramanarayanan
Vinod Mathumal Chander B R Ramanathan Rajesh Daga Chander B R Jose Pannikuttu
Rajesh Dhaga Mustafa (G) Muneer Al Barwani
Chander B R Rajesh Daga Chander B R
Shahad Al Wahibi Muneer Al Barwani Mohammed Zubair Marium (G) Namira Iqbal (G) -------
Shahad Al Wahibi -----
Nilofer S Tanna Rajesh Daga
Toastmaster of the Month/Quarter award July- Camila Rodrigues August- Camila Rodrigues September- Zubair Mohammed Toastmaster of the Quarter- Nilofer Tanna
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Expressions NTI Toastmasters Club, July-September 2013
PHOTOGRAPHS
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Expressions NTI Toastmasters Club, July-September 2013
NTI Toastmasters Club, Al Khuwair Timing: Every SUNDAY at 19.45 Tel: 9945 7659 http://1079197.toastmastersclubs.org/
Expressions NTI Toastmasters Club, July-September 2013
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Jebel Akhtar, The Green Mountain, Oman