ELOQUENCE
September 2021
Essence of Qatar
DOHA TOASTMASTERS CLUB The First Toastmasters club in Qatar
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DOHA TOASTMASTERS CLUB
Celebrating 25 Years…... 2
ELOQUENCE ELOQUENCE is a newsletter published by Doha Toastmasters club for its members, promoting the goals and values of Toastmasters Internationals. TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL MISSION
We empower Individuals to become more effective communicators and Leaders. CLUB MISSION
We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self confidence and personal growth.
TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL CORE VALUE
Integrity Respect Service Excellence
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Index From the Editor’s Desk
Page 06
Message from President
Page 07
Know Your Ex-Com
Page 10
Message from District Director
Page 11
Message from Division A Director
Page 12
Message from VPPR
Page 14
Essence of Qatar
Page 15
Decoding Communication
Page 17
Leadership
Page 19
In it to Win it
Page 21
Dancing the Night Away
Page 22
Master Strokes by Namrata
Page 23
Emotional Intelligence
Page 25
Welcoming New Members
Page 28
Pathways
Page 29
Achievements
Page 32
A Year That was
Page 34
Club Contest
Page 40
For a Cause
Page 44
Distinguished Club Program-DCP
Page 45
Awards
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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK Ian Dmello Vice President– Public Relation Doha Toastmasters Club
Dear Toastmasters, With immense pleasure and happiness, Doha Toastmasters Club is bringing to you the edition of the “Eloquence” magazine for October 2021. Through this magazine, we aim to foster the skills of the members of our Club & Toastmasters fraternity in Qatar in expressing their thoughts. The word ‘Eloquence’ as its meaning in English – powerful, moving and magnificent use of language and in Latin - Speak Out’. This is the best platform for the members and TM peers to express their ideas and thoughts in the fields of communication, leadership and public speaking. The issuance of ‘Eloquence’ evidences the commitment of Doha Toastmasters Club towards opening opportunities for its members and TM fraternity in Qatar in oral & written communication and leadership. We take this opportunity to extend our thanks and special appreciation to those who contributed for bringing out this edition of the Eloquence . We urge the club members to utilize this platform to enhance their communication and leadership skills.
Regards and Thank You. Editor
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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Atul Hardas President Doha Toastmasters Club
“Communicate, Collaborate & Celebrate” Dear Members, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act but a Habit” Aristotle We the members of Doha Toastmasters Club the first club of Qatar always have the habit of striving for excellence. And that is the reason our club is the leading club in Qatar. It is with great sense of responsibility; I have accepted the prestigious post of President of Doha Toastmasters Club. It is an honour and privilege to serve the first and finest club in Qatar. From the bottom of my heart, I thank to all the members of Doha Toastmasters Club who have shown faith and confidence in me to serve as the President. First, I would like to congratulate the members of Doha Toastmasters Club who are elected in various leadership positions. District-116 Director Manzoor Moideen DTM, Division A Director Jayakumar Menon DTM, Area 1 Director Zaher Saleh, Area 3 Director Namrata Tawde, Congratulations to you all. I assure that Club will be always with you in your leadership journey.
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My journey in Doha Toastmasters club started in 2018 from 475th Club meeting as a guest. Since then, I am attending the club meetings regularly and never missed any club meeting. Each meeting was a learning experience for me. I learnt so many skills by observing the co-members & leaders in the club. I started my leadership journey as a Sergeant at Arms of the club then VP Education in the past year. Simultaneously I was active in Area and Division Councils. Concurrently working on various positions gave me an exposure to improve my leadership skills. In my Toastmasters Journey. I made many good friends who are always there to support me. Since chartering, Doha Toastmasters club is the President’s Distinguished Club. So let me assure you that in the year 2021-22 our club will retain its Presidents Distinguished status. My able and enthusiastic Ex-Com team will work hard to achieve all the club goals. I am glad to announce that slogan for Ex-Com 2021-22 will be- “Communicate, Collaborate, Celebrate.” As a President, I would like to mention our club plan.
1) Since beginning of the year, we are setting a goal for each member to complete minimum one pathway level. I encourage all the members to actively participate and complete the pathway levels at the earliest. To achieve this goal if required we will arrange more club meetings. 2) Monthly meeting calendar will be prepared for the year 2021-2022, which will help the members to plan their speeches well in advance & complete their educational goals. 3) For the benefits of the members, club will frequently arrange the Education Modules on Successful Club, Leadership Excellence and Better Speaker series as prescribed by Toastmasters International.
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These modules will be organized in view of Communication and leadership development of the members. 4) Since our club has always been a multinational club, we will invite & encourage the multinational community to attend & join the club. 5) For the benefits of the members, we will have Pathways Guidance team who will guide the members to complete their speech projects. 6) We all are eagerly waiting to start our In-Person meetings. As the situation is improving in Qatar, we expect that the Government will allow social Gathering soon. We will start the In-Person meetings at the earliest as per the Government guidelines following all protocols. 7) On January 1, 2022 Doha Toastmasters Club will complete 25years of Chartering. We are planning to have a grand celebration on completion of 25years of excellence of Doha Toastmasters Club, the First Club of Qatar. To celebrate our Silver Jubilee a separate team will be formed who will work for the organisation & celebration of 25th year. I request each member to actively participate in the organisation of this event. Together we will make this as a memorable event. 8) For the benefits of the members, I encourage all for 100% attendance in all the meetings of Doha Toastmasters Club. In the upcoming year we are planning to give more prizes to the members for their active contribution. Fellow Toastmasters let me assure you that upcoming year will encourage you to refine your communication skills. With our collaborative approach, we will move forward to celebrate the 25th Year of Doha Toastmasters Club.
Atul Jayant Hardas President
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MESSAGE FROM THE DISTRICT DIRECTOR Manzoor Moideen, DTM District Director - District 116 Dear President & Members of Doha Toastmasters Club, the first club of Qatar, which is also my home Club Congratulations on the release of your first Newsletter this term! Doha Toastmasters Club has been in the forefront right from its inception creating a unique and world class club culture, producing champions and accomplished leaders at all levels Am proud to associate with this choicest club in our District that has transformed me to be what am today and am indeed, indebted to all our past and current members and leaders. I have absolutely no doubt on your competence and proficiency and am sure you will once again make your Area, Division & District Proud this year by being one of the best clubs in our District, the Number One District in the World Glad to see that the Club within the first quarter itself, achieved 5 DCP points which outlines your plan well executed As you are all aware, District 116 has always been at the helm by being the Best since we became a District and thanks to all our members and clubs and am sure, we will repeat the history year after year with the support of all members of Doha Toastmasters Club
Regards and Best Wishes, Manzoor Moideen, DTM District Director - District 116 Phone: +974 5561 7583 Email: manzoormoideen@gmail.com
www.toastmasters.org; www.d116.org
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MESSAGE FROM DIVISION A DIRECTOR Jayakumar Menon, DTM Division A Director - District 116
Doha Toastmasters Club is in its silver jubilee year. WOW! 25 years! When the pioneers of this illustrious club first opened doors for all of Toastmasters in Qatar in September 1996, no one would have thought the movement would shape up into what it is today. A full fledged district by itself with as many as 8 Divisions, 32 Areas and a 100 plus clubs. A 100 plus clubs from just one club in twenty five years. Big salute to the likes of Manoj Megchiani, late Fazel Bachooali, Sonny Varghese…. the list goes on. And as Doha (The Club) is all set to celebrate the silver jubilee on the first of January 2022, one can’t be more excited to be part of this milestone event. The current District Director’s home club is Doha, the current Division Director’s home club is Doha, the current Area 1 Director’s home club is Doha; not to speak of many other firsts - to name a few - the first District Director of D116 emerged from Doha, the first Regional Advisor emerged from Doha. I can go on and on. Today, if you scan the profiles of most leaders in the fraternity in Qatar, you will happily find they all have a connection to Doha.
Over 25 years, Doha club didn’t just grow. It grew, grew and grew internally as well as externally. Heading onto a well-worn path, it produced leaders who churned out more and more clubs benefitting more and more aspirants..
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I consider it is the culture and values that help a club realize full potential and purpose. The club is important; but certainly most important are the members. Our main mission that matters most, must, therefore, be to connect well with the members, helping them succeed in their objectives merging into the club’s greater objective. I am sure the legacy that the present excom. has inherited, has been well directed to this end. May the club prosper from strength to strength in helping members grow together, effectually, excellently and, yes, eloquently. Congratulations on a great 25 years, Doha Toastmasters. Many thanks and best wishes for the future.
Regards and Best Wishes, Jayakumar Menon, DTM Division A Director - District 116 2021-22
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MESSAGE FROM VPPR TM Ian Dmello VP Public Relations Doha Toastmasters Club
I joined Doha Toastmasters Club Qatar on being inspired by the successes of my immediate boss in office (Teyseer Group of Companies), Mr. Rajeswar Sundaresan, DTM. He encouraged my colleagues and me to join Toastmasters highlighting the gains one makes in soft skills by joining such a club. The benefits due to improvement of communication skills are felt both in personal and professional life. For the year 2021 – 2022, I will be serving the club as Vice President Public Relations. I thank the President Atul Hardas and Immediate Past President Aakash Bhutada for encouraging me to take up this role. I will be responsible for coordinating public relations activities and publicizing the activities of my club on social and other media. My main task will be establishing and maintaining lines of communication between the club and its members, and the club and the public at large to increase the awareness of Toastmasters Club activities through local news and social media. Protecting the Toastmasters brand, developing a Public Relations plan, setting goals to achieve current club objectives and development & execution of action plans to reach the set goals will be my core responsibilities for this year. I pledge that I will strive to achieve the goals of VPPR during my tenure and I humbly request you all to support me in this endeavor.
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ESSENCE OF QATAR DTM Manzoor Moideen: A New Brand of Leadership by Stella Sabangan
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DTM Girish Jain & DTM Manzoor Moideen: Decoding Communication
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LEADERSHIP Sundaresan Rajeswar DTM Past District Director (116) Why leadership is in a lean phase
The years 2020 and 2021 moved leadership to a new future vision. If ever there was a time for courageous leadership, it is now. Positivity, honesty, generosity, selflessness, and care matter more in good leaders' reckoning. Caring is an active process that is human and humane-centered. Rather than control over people, a new perspective of understanding intimate details of turmoils and trenches by listening to voices to know what is going on has emerged. Leadership thus shifted more about who you are than what you do. The shift currently resulted in a lean phase for leadership. People aren't aspiring to leadership is the primary reason. Typically people remain lackadaisical, languish, and lukewarm. 'I am content with the role I have,' fears of fortified work-life balance, anxiety about necessary expertise, and negative perception that 'I don't think I will get the opportunity; why bother?'. Human fallibility is that we don't use what we learn with inhibitory fears binding our leadership transition. Leadership design is turning out to be deficient. Jim Collins stated that it is critical to get the right people on the bus in the right seats, especially when they are a leadership chair. The ascent to leadership is now more for managerial prowess than leadership ability. These leaders end up filling the organization chart and carry a title but are not necessarily leading. Leadership is growing in numbers, but the practice of leadership is declining. Teaching leadership as a skill set rather than a mindset is part of the deficiency. The formulaic is 'when you encounter a situation, here is how you respond.' People are not equipped to think like a leader and empowered to lead.
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What is needed is to take on leadership as a journey than a destination. Leadership should be a lifelong quest for learning, growth, and development. Lack of focussed leadership development is another reason for not enough leaders. 'Recruit' leaders than 'Grow Own' leaders is in vogue. There are also fewer people investing in one's skills and talent.
It is for people to escalate their leadership journey by being respectable, responsible, ethical, and professional. Finally, it is for us to look after ourselves to be well informed, helpful beyond the call of duty, possess plentiful ideas, prepare for problem -solving, and encourage others to step up. The critical qualities are sincere enthusiasm, excellent communication skills, good attributes such as integrity, decisiveness, and competence. Leadership is undoubtedly n the lean phase, but there are no universally applicable solutions. Toastmasters is the pathway to start or to stabilize or to soar your leadership journey.
Regards, Sundaresan Rajeswar DTM
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TM SMITHA ABRAHAM IN IT TO WIN IT It’s the contest season and all the divisions, every area, each member has their eye on the prize! To set foot on the dazzling stage of Toastmasters International.
In the rapidly changing world that we are currently placed in there couldn’t be a better time to be a toastmaster and even more to have the opportunity to participate in a contest. There is an extraordinary feeling in participating in a contest. The adrenaline rush that goes through your veins when your name is called on a virtual forum. That feeling of nervousness when you leave the break out room to enter into the main room. They say to calm your nerves - when you begin your talk, pick a few friendly faces in different areas of the room to settle your nerves, well that goes for a toss – because here you have just been placed in a room filled with faceless audience. But your mind is still racing with a zillion thoughts. Will I be audible? Will I be visible? Will the laptop I have placed on a ton of books smash onto the floor? You cross your fingers and hope everything goes without a glitch for the next 4 to 6 minutes! You deliver your speech! And everything goes smoothly! There is nothing quite like the feeling of victory! Whether we are competing with our fellow toastmaster or if we are simply looking at beating our own last record. BOOM - Our body shoots up with dopamine and we feel like we can conquer the world! If you don’t win, you learn, but the bottom line is - competition breeds champions – so challenge yourself, and now that everything is a click of a mouse away- CHALLENGE the world!
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Thrill courses through me, Dancing the Night Away TM RITHIKA THOMAS my heart elated and in rhythm with the beats of an unfamiliar tune. The strangeness does not stop my sway and swing as my body aches with the physicality of the music, my mind thoughtless. Sparks fly upwards from my toes to my fingers, grace forgotten as freedom sought my movement. It is a sensation that tells me I have not lived; all I have done is just exist in this space, as a speck. I brush past foreign bodies while I lose myself in art, dancing like I never have before. And it remains cherished in my heart, unforgettable 22
MASTER STROKES BY NAMRATA TAWDE
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MASTER STROKES BY NAMRATA TAWDE
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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TM Ian Dmello Emotional Intelligence—Why it is important CEOs are hired for their intellect and business expertise and fired for lack of emotional intelligence. A quote from Daniel Goldman Ph.D. an internationally known psychologist. Emotional Quotient (EQ) is the level of our ability to understand other people, what motivates them, and how to work cooperatively with them. Emotional Intelligence (IQ) is different from Intelligent Quotient. Intelligence Quotient is an individual's ability for logical reasoning. Researchers hold that people with high EQ are more successful in their careers. There are five significant categories of emotional intelligence skills. Self-Awareness - Understand emotions, and don't let feelings rule thoughts. Don't let emotions get out of control. Self-Regulation – Have the ability to control emotions and impulses. People who self -regulate typically don't allow themselves to become too angry or jealous, and they don't make impulsive, careless decisions. Motivation - Be willing to defer immediate results for long-term success. This results in being highly productive, loving a challenge, and very effective in whatever we do.
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Empathy - Empathy is the ability to identify with and understand the wants, needs, and viewpoints of those around us. People with compassion are good at recognizing others' feelings, even when those feelings may not be obvious. Social Skills - Those with strong social skills are typically team players. Rather than focus on their success first, they help others develop and shine. Examples of Industry Leaders with Emotional Quotient In 2015 Payscale ranked Amazon 464 out of the Fortune 500 companies in terms of employee turnover. The median tenure was 12 months. The CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos got negative press about callous management practices prevalent in his organization. Bezos has responded by asking his employees to email him at his official email jeff@amazon.com if they came across any cruel management practices. This is an emotionally mature and intelligent response, striking all the right notes to encourage empathy, communication, self-confidence, and more. Today Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world and Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world, known the world over. Elon Musk has fingers in almost as many pies as Bezos, a man of extraordinary genius and vision. In response to a recent claim that Tesla had incurred 30% more employee injuries than the industry standard, Musk committed to personal accountability in an email to employees. He then asked to be notified directly about every injury, meet with the injured employees personally, then attempt to do their tasks, so he can see what needs to be fixed. This response highlights his emotional quotient of empathy, social skills and selfawareness. Today Elon Musk is the second richest man in the world with companies manufacturing products that break the technological barriers like Tesla, Space X etc.
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Ultimately, what are the qualities that define successful individuals. In my opinion, a high level of emotional quotient & intelligence quotient with the drive to succeed. However, to be right at the top of the pile, luck and being in the right place at the right time also plays a role.
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WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS
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PATHWAYS
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TOASTMASTERS PATHWAYS—Skills developed on learning pathways
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Level 1: Mastering the Fundamentals Develop or enhance your understanding of the fundamentals needed to be a successful public speaker and evaluator. You’ll focus on speech writing and basic speech delivery, as well as receiving, applying and delivering feedback. Level 2: Learning Your Style
Develop an understanding of your personal styles and preferences. You’ll have the opportunity to identify your leadership or communication styles and preferences. You will also be introduced to the basic structure of the Pathways Mentor Program. Level 3: Increasing Knowledge Begin increasing your knowledge of skills specific to your path. You’ll complete one required project and at least two elective projects that address your goals and interests through a wide variety of topics
Level 4: Building Skills Build the skills you need to succeed on your path. You’ll have the opportunity to explore new challenges and begin applying what you have learned. You’ll complete one required project and at least one elective project. Level 5: Demonstrating Expertise In this final level, demonstrate your expertise in the skills you have learned. You’ll have the opportunity to apply what you have learned at all levels to accomplish larger projects. You’ll complete one required project, at least one elective project and the “Reflect on Your Path” project to bring closure to your path. At the completion of this level you will become Proficient. The Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award represents the highest level of educational achievement in Toastmasters. Earning a DTM affords you wonderful opportunities to grow as a communicator and leader.
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ACHIEVEMENTS
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ACHIEVEMENTS
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ACHIEVEMENTS
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A YEAR THAT WAS!
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A YEAR THAT WAS!
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A YEAR THAT WAS!
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A YEAR THAT WAS!
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A YEAR THAT WAS!
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CLUB CONTEST-2021
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CLUB CONTEST-2021
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CLUB CONTEST-2021
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CLUB CONTEST-2021
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FOR A CAUSE!
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DISTINGUISHED CLUB PROGRAM—DCP POINTS
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AWARDS
Doha Toastmaster Club—Educational Awards
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