Extravaganza 03

EXTRAVAGANZAÂ

OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF EXPOLANKA TOASTMASTERS CLUB

MARCH 2018 | VOLUME 01 | EDITION 03 CLUB # 02302941 | AREA F2 | DIVISION F | DISTRICT 82

FEATURING SWARNALATHA J.

MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, COUNSELLOR

CHAMPIONS CORNER TM LAKSHIMAAL

2018 AREA F2 INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST WINNER

AND OUR VERY OWN TOASTMASTERS

PRESIDENT'S WORDS OF WISDOM TM HISHAM YASIR

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Hello again everyone. So we meet again for the third time this year!

Expolanka TMC was envisioned by a true visionary Mr. Hanif Yoosuf. His essence of ‘dare to do spirit’ is a drive to our members.

Throughout this year we have been able to add value to our group which is a huge win for the club. we were able to conduct a speech craft program for our higher management. Additionally the program we focused on improving ‘power point presentation skills’ for non-toastmasters also was a neat initiative.

As far as education, we are in the pursuit of 10 DCP points and achieving the Golden Gavel at Ovations. In this pursuit we are confident we have not compromised on quality as many of our members have gone on to perform excellent speeches and leadership roles during the year. The comments that we received for the open house Tamil themed meeting, TM Hisham & TM Usman representing the club at Evaluation & humorous speech at division level, TM Usman winning first runner up for humorous speech at division level, 08 prepared speech and 11 table topic contestants at the recently concluded club contest, TM Lakshimaal representing the club at division level for international speech contest are some examples for the quality we have maintained in the pursuit of District awards.

As far as membership, the club achieved the Smedley ribbon and Talk up Toastmasters ribbon this year. Compliance is Is close to our heart and hence we were able to maintain good governance with Group HR and respective superiors during the year with regard to secretarial and treasurer activities.

As far as promotion, The Toast quiz where we gift a TMI merchandise to the winner Is something that all us look forward to. We have maintained good record of achievements, special occasions, birthdays etc. to recognize them through social media. We are at the moment endeavoring to relaunch our website, launch a club Youtube channel and win a flyer of the month award.

We understand that not all members can be present at all educational meetings. Hence our secretary, TM Thiwanka continues the meeting recap right after the educational meeting which helps to keep our members updated and geared up for the next session.

Our vision is to grow to become the premiere institute in the group for soft skills development. At Expolanka you will see a diverse membership embracing the club from various subsidiaries from Classic Travel, ITX 360 and Efl from around the country like Katunayeke, Orugodawatte and Colpetty. Our hopeful endeavor is to wide spread the diversity in the club even more to achieve far more recognition and attract different experiences in the group.

We were Alhamdulillah able to achieve such this nine months, due to the blessings of the almighty and due to the spirit of perseverance and most importantly an attitude of responsibility that our exco has graced as a challenge.

Till next time, God bless !

WHAT IS TOASTMASTERS?

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Who are we?

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development.

Our organization has more than 352,000 memberships. Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 16,400 clubs in 141 countries that make up our global network of meeting locations.

The world needs leaders. Leaders head families, coach teams, run businesses and mentor others. These leaders must not only accomplish, they must communicate. By regularly giving speeches, gaining feedback, leading teams and guiding others to achieve their goals in a supportive atmosphere, leaders emerge from the Toastmasters program. Every Toastmasters Journey begins with a single speech. During their journey, they learn to tell their stories. They listen and answer. They plan and lead. They give feedback and accept it. Through our community of learners, they find their path to leadership.

Toastmasters International Mission: We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.

District Mission: We build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence.

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.

Core Values: Integrity , Respect, Service,Excellence

For more information visit: https://www.toastmasters.org/

EXPOLANKA TOASTMASTERS CLUB

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THE COVER STORY

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A CHAT WITH A WONDER WOMEN, SWARNALATHA J. Today we have the privileged of featuring an amazing lady who proved the phrase ' Nothing is Impossible' . Swarnalatha based in India, affected with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis since 2009. Holds a Diploma in Computer Science and is a post graduate in Hindi Literature.

She is multi-talented and has won many awards for her work as a disability rights activist, notedly the Eastern Bhoomika award and ‘I Rise’ awards in 2017.

Swarnalatha is a motivational speaker and counsellor, works on fundraising, awareness campaigns and public relations.

She is the founder of Swarga foundation, dedicated for the welfare of people affected by Multiple Sclerosis Q. • Learning about your life, you are a huge believer in self-confidence. In the face of adversity how would you advise someone to keep their head high and face challenges with a positive attitude?

Often, I find myself amidst challenging situations. My heart broke several times, but I didn’t let the circumstances break my self-confidence and willpower. Each time, I have faced fears and adversities, my confidence, courage and mental strength have multiplied. Negative events in life provide us an opportunity to transform us. If not for adversities, we would never be directed towards changing our lives and would still have lived in our comfort zones. Meditation and acceptance have definitely elevated my confidence to another level. These are universal secrets and the ways to explore our potential.

Q. How would you define life? Would you think of it as a gift or rather a challenge?

I consider life to be a gift filled with challenges. Do we value the gift that comes easy to us? No, I suppose. For me, life is all about getting up 101st time with same attitude and courage, even if I have fallen a 100 times. If we genuinely express gratitude towards even the smallest thing we have been blessed with in life, we develop the ability to look at every challenge as a gift in disguise.

Q. As a person who is constantly making an impact on people’s lives, explain to us what leadership means to you?

A leader is a role model who has huge power and responsibility; many people looking up to him for inspiration and guidance. He has to be empathetic, have clear-cut vision, share knowledge, delegate and trust his

teammates. I consider Swami Vivekananda to be a perfect leader, who was a man of principles, fearlessness and gumption.

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Q.What is the best advise that you can give young people who are full of energy to make a change in the world but unable to do so due to distractions that they face.

It’s a welcoming move that energetic youngsters are coming forward to bring change with utmost enthusiasm. They look forward to big change in a small time frame, which rarely works. The key is to take one step at a time. Achieving smaller goals build confidence and provide impetus to look forward to bigger transformation with great hope. One must take calculated risks, but be responsible and mature to own up mistakes.

"Success, as they say has no shortcuts. Patience, resilience, willingness to adapt, gratitude is the essence of success."

Q.You are a person who travels a lot and meets new people often. What kind of advice can you give to young people on work life balance.

There is a dire need for people to realign their perspectives and realize their purpose in life. We need to accept everyone and every circumstance the way they are and not expect them to change the way we want them to. Since the gap between expectation v/s reality is very high, youngsters often lead unfulfilling lives, where depression and instant gratification cause imbalance. We need to understand that the real happiness comes from little things. Success, as they say has no shortcuts. Patience, resilience, willingness to adapt, gratitude is the essence of success. When this happens, we grow in all verticals of life. Work-life balance becomes a myth.

Q.Public speaking is a big part of your day to day life. Do you ever get nervous on stage? Is there any ritual you do before you speak in public that you expect will bring you blessings or luck.

Despite giving more than 150 motivational talks, I get nervous every time, I’m on the stage. I close my eyes for few seconds and connect with the inner self and take deep breaths. The divine ensures an immaculate and friendly smile, which is enough to create a ripple effect and I see the audience smile too. Thus I would have established connection with the audience and words flow with eloquence.

I never prepare my speeches. My words are straight from the heart and thus the impact is more than I could have ever imagined. The only thing that will bring us luck is our gut feeling. Never go against that. It’s one of the strongest means of universal intelligence to communicate with us.

Q. What is the first impression you received when you hear the word ‘toastmasters’?

A bunch of young, strong, confident speakers who are future leaders and change-makers.

Toastmasters: "A bunch of young, strong, confident speakers who are future leaders and change-makers."

-Swarnalatha J-

Q. Tell us about Swarga Foundation and how we could be part of your great cause.

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Swarga’s Mission is to improve the lives of individuals with Multiple Sclerosis and other neuro-muscular disorders by increasing awareness among the general public and thereby transforming the general attitude in society towards differently-abled individuals. This transformation will increase empathy and improve access to opportunities that are currently inaccessible due to lack of infrastructure and misinterpretations of disabilities among the general public. Please visit our website www.swargafoundation.org to witness our projects which have made difference in the lives of many.

You could help us spread the word about the work we do, refer patients to us for counselling or any other support they may require in terms of rehabilitation and employment. One may also volunteer with us based on individual’s skill sets. People can also donate through our website.

Q. Anything else you would like to share?

Life is unpredictable. Adversities can strike anybody. Does that mean we stop living and complaining till eternity? It only means life has given us another opportunity to transform and make a better version of ourselves. It’s alright to seek help when we are in trouble but not to depend on anyone to rescue us from the situation. Only our courage, faith and unflinching fortitude can help us sail through adversities. If we accept whatever life throws at us, certainly, LIFE FINDS A WAY…..

Interviewed by DTM Zaidh Naushard

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THE CHALLENGE

BY TM SHAMAYIL SAHEEDULLAH

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Four of us were awake In the middle of the night sorting out and packing our camping gear.

Time was flying as we had a few more hours left to start our journey early in the morning. The check list was quite long since we had been planning our three day hike for months. With a little bit of sleep late in the night we left early in the morning. Having worked the whole night we slept like logs half way through our five hour journey to the starting point of climbing the highest hiking points in the Knuckles mountain range in Sri Lanka. At this point we were advised by the villages to be cautious of animals that may cause harm to us. Two of them volunteered to assist us to get to a certain point of the mountain however thereafter it was only the four of us with our navigating tools and camping gear.

Hiking further into the gigantic mountains we lost sight of the village and all around we saw was thick jungle. Our back packs weighed around 7 to 9 Kilograms each. It was noon and we began to get tired and needed a break. We came across a beautiful stream where we decided to sit next to and get some rest. The air was fresh and water was crystal clear. We only heard the sounds of birds, wind and flowing water. We had our meals and filled our water bottles and then continued our journey. By late evening we reached a point where we saw a range of mountains covered by clouds and the sky illuminated with various colors as it was the time of sun set.

We decided to set up the camp before night fall. Each one of us took up tasks such as finding fire wood, cooking, setting camp & most importantly taking precautionary actions against animals. That night it rained heavily and most of our camping gear got wet. We were not prepared to face a heavy rain. However the next morning we continued our journey. There were no human trails as such. Not many have hiked to the peak of this mountain. At Certain points we had to look for animal tracks and then walk along them. We kept going further and we came to a point where we were walking in circles and then we realized that we have lost our way. For quite a long time each one of us were trying to figure our way back but all attempts failed. We even climbed trees to see if we can find some direction however all we could see was thick jungle all around. All of us were panicking and also demotivated. It was getting dark and we had to find a way out. Fortunately after all the panic we managed to find a pathway downhill which we decided to go along. We had to cut trees to make our way. Finally at a very far distance we saw the village we started our hike from and gradually headed towards the village. It was getting dark at and we had to use our head torches. However we safely arrived at the village and camped the night there.

Though we failed to achieve our target, we learnt so much from it. A few months later we planned a hike to the same destination. And this time we successfully and happily accomplished it by hiking to the highest point of the Knuckles mountain range in Sri Lanka.

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OUR ACHIEVEMENTS During this quarter of the year, we were able to achieve 07 DCP points and achieve ‘select distinguish’ status from TMI. The club is in the pursue of achieving 10 DCP points securing the presidents distinguished status for the 05th year in a row and also to achieve the Golden Gavel at Ovations this year.

In pursuit of this, we saw few of our members contributing immensely with their respective speech & leadership projects completion.

TM Afraz Hassan CC10

TM Kavya Palagolla CC10

TM Ahmed Abdullah TM Darren Pullenayagam CC10 ACS 10

Furthermore, the club was able to achieve the ‘Talk up Toastmasters’ Membership ribbon by adding 05 new OR reinstated members during the period of 01st February to 31st March 2018.

Incidentally we were one of the first 10 clubs in District 82 to achieve the award.

WITHOUT YOUR LOVE…

BY TM DARREN PULLENAEGAM

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Jack and Lisa, were your typical happy twenties couple. Life was good, they were young, and there was not a care in the world.

It was a sunny September morning, when Jack on his fourth date with Lisa, proposed his love.

He held her hand looked directly into her beautiful brown eyes and said “I love you, be mine”.

Since that day, every movie, every moment and every memory was shared. It was jack who said one day “Darling, I want this to last” so each year I’m going to give you a piece of a note, each word is part of a whole, and once you complete the note, I will marry you”.

So the first year, she got her first piece which said “Without”. Lisa loved him so much she said “I’ll keep all your notes in a little box, with me at all times”. The second year she got, “your”, third was “love”, fourth “I”, fifth “would”. And by the 6th year, things were not going well, like a virus, arguments and ego had corrupted the once bright relationship. The movies never happened together anymore and each moment was strained, each memory forgotten. Then one day while they were driving back home, Lisa asked him to pull over, then in somber, but firm words she said “Jack, I’m sorry but I can’t do this anymore”. Jack bent his head, to hide a silent tear that rolled down his cheek and gave her the last piece of the note, which she crumpled and stuffed into her jeans pocket. A flash of light and CRAAAAAAASH! Seeing bright lights and feeling a bit dizzy, Lisa woke up in the hospital. Searching for Jack was all she could think about. A Doctor was by her side as she tried to get off the bed, saying “Ma’am, you’ve just been in an accident please don’t get up”. “But my Boyfriend, where is Jack?” “Is he ok?”

The doctor replied “I’m sorry Ma’am, he didn’t make it” The tears were uncontrollable as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled little note, which read “die”. Putting the pieces together she broke down, for the note read “Without your love, I would die”.

Is there someone in your life, without your love?

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THANK YOU 2000 TIMES!!!

INTERNATIONAL SPEECH AND TABLE TOPICS CONTEST 2018

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The International speech and table topics club contest was held on the 20th February 2018 at Expolanka Holdings, Colombo 03 amidst a gathering of distinguished guests.

TM Scerena Dirckze held the position as the contest chair for both contests and carried out a out a splendid job by organizing this event along with the EC of the club.

TM Lakshimaal & TM Safiya qualified for the area international speech contest along with TM Usman & TM Zainul for the area table topics contest which was held on the 8th March 2018 at the Union Assurance auditorium.

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TM Lakshimaal from Expolanka Toastmasters club emerged as the winner of area F2 international speech contest and qualified to the division F contest along with TM Dilan Joseph from Amana Bank TMC. TM Shameen Sameera from Serendib TMC and TM Shazuli Raheem from Amana Banks TMC was placed 1st and 2nd respectively at the area table contest also qualified for the divisions table topics contest from Area F2.

We hereby would like to wish our very own TM Lakshimaal Samarasinghe to rock the divisions on the 8th April 2018 along with the rest qualified contestants for a good battle of speeches!

ANNUAL CONFERENCE DIVISION A & F The annual conference 'Inspire' of division A & F will be held on the 8th April 2018 at the Center for banking studies, Rajagiriya from 7.30 am onward.

Registrations fee per member has been priced at Rs.1250 per member and can be registered thought the link given below : https://goo.gl/forms/HuMESj3oQaF35mc43 Closing date for registrations will be on the 2nd April 2018.

For more details you may contact : TM Saliya on 0777392083 TM Praveen on 0771068777

CHAMPIONS CORNER

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AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AREA INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CHAMPION TM LAKSHIMAAL SAMARASINGHE TM Lakshimaal starts his toastmasters journey in the year 2015. This young and vibrant gentlemen with a born talent for public speaking is a member of Smedly Toastmasters and joined Expolanka Toastmasters club this year to expand his network within the toastmasters fraternity.

Lakshimaal is a past division winner and the Current VP Education at Smedly Toastmasters. Not to forget he also emerged as the champion at the area F2 International Speech competition and qualified to the divisions in style!

Q. How did it feel to win the Area contest, especially the last few moments when the results were being read out.

Whatever level the competition is, the moment the results are being read out is always intense.

My heart literally starts beating at double the speed especially when the 2nd and 1st runners up have been announced and when you are not one of them.

Q. You are quite an experienced contestant. What motivates you to compete and how did you keep yourself motivated when you failed previously.

For me preparing for a contest is like taking a crash course of the CC manual. So each time I do it, I strive to do it better than the last time. I strongly believe that competing is the best way Toastmasters offers to improve your public speaking skills. And each time I fall short, I take a look at what went wrong and then fix it. At competitions, there’s no such thing as a perfect speech, but whoever makes the least mistakes – win.

Q. Describe to us the process for you when it comes to writing a speech? Do you give importance to what the audience wants to hear or do you just speak your heart out.

Any speaker speaking at a contest or even a meeting needs to know that whatever said and done, it has to be a Toastmasters speech. Something that you love might be something that the audience doesn’t want to hear. And preparing for a contest is different from preparing for a project speech. I can talk on this for days but to make it short, the foundation that you build your speech upon should be the Judges ballot, whatever the competition is.

Q. How important do you think is humor when it comes to international speech?

Humor is one of the most important aspects of any speech, be it prepared or impromptu.

It can be that one thing that makes your speech easy to recall and the thing that helps you capture / recapture the attention of an audience.

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Q. Body language like hand gestures and facial expressions are something that lot of speakers tend to feel uncomfortable with. What kind of advice you can give for speaker to overcome the fear of demanding body language.

This is because we simply don’t think about body movements until the moment we are actually delivering the speech. Give attention to it as you draft your speech. Plan and practice your movements beforehand. Also, if you have time, sign up for a dance class or a martial arts session, it’ll take out the stiffness and your movements and gestures will appear more natural.

Q. Some have the perception that they don’t have personal stories to share with the audience.

What kind of advice would you give to such speakers to motivate them to start speaking.

Everyone has a story. But we always want our stories to be dramatic and full of emotions. Well it doesn’t have to be. What’s important is how you share your story and most importantly how you connect it to a point you want to prove. Also, let your imagination kick in here and there.

Q. How has the experience of toastmasters been to you It has been life changing. It’s simply amazing, it’s one of the top best things that has ever happened to me. I still remember the feeling I had the day I did my ice breaker and every time I speak, I re-live it.

Q. • Share with us words of wisdom for the younger speakers Have a focus. Don’t try everything on the menu and know what your strong areas are. For an example if you think you are stronger in table topics, go ahead with it. And compete..compete and compete! And when you do compete, please don’t compete with the idea of learning. Compete with the sole intention of winning, and that’s how you learn!

"Compete with the sole intention of winning, and that’s how you learn"

IS IT WORTH IT?

BY TM SHEHANI JAYASEKARA

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Is it worth the investment of my time? Would I be easily bored? And better yet, will I continue to commit to what I started? Those were the questions running through my inquisitive & wondering mind when I was given the idea of joining Expolanka Toastmasters.

Somehow, I was determined to give it a shot and attended my first Toastmasters meeting and to my amusement, all my doubts were proven wrong by the warm welcome and the thorough instructions of meeting proceedings given by the amazing team and the great crowd that was present that day.

There was something different that I saw about Toastmasters meetings that really caught my attention. It wasn’t just an ordinary meeting with a regular bunch of people participating in the proceedings, everyone had to participate and break the ice! As scary as it sounds to a girl who's terrified of speaking in front of a crowd this brought back nostalgia from school days of participating in almost all the school club activities with a mini adrenaline rush.

Listening to someone speak of their personal experiences and their side of stories made my mind open further towards many different dimensions and new perspectives. With my routine balancing of work & social life, taking part in Toastmasters has started to make me feel like I’m a part of a bigger community that constantly makes me question & improve myself in many ways.

I have a long way to go in this great choice I’ve made, but is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!!

Best Role Player : Meeting # 136

KNOW YOUR DATES

Meeting # 140 : 4th April 2018 Meeting # 141 : Special Joint meeting with Wattala TMC Meeting # 142 : 18th April 2018 Meeting # 143 : 9th May 2018 Meeting # 144 : 23rd May 2018 Meeting # 145 : 6th June 2018 Meeting # 146 : 20th June 2018

TOAST QUIZ WINNERS

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JUST IMAGINE

BY TM KAVYA PALAGOLLA

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If I tell you that I can walk on a rainbow, will you believe in me? If I tell you that I have a house made out of chocolates, will you believe in me? If I tell you that I can fly above the sky, will you believe in me?My dear friends,,,You would say that this girl is just imagining..Yes that’s true. This is my imagination.

When I was a kid I used to live in a world full of imagination. I loved to watch cartoons specially, the Barbie cartoons because I loved the magical palaces, the unicorns, the flying carts, the princesses which do not exist in the real world.

When I was growing up, I found it so difficult to get out of my imaginary world as I realized that the reality is mostly about knowledge. And all I could here people saying is “Kavya will you please stop imagining things and come to this real world”.

I was so disappointed. I questioned myself. Why do people see imagination as a waste of time?

Speaking of imagination, parents give their fullest support for the children to gain knowledge and to improve their knowledge. But we rarely see parents supporting their children to improve their imagination because most of the people see the reality based on knowledge.

Albert Einstein said, ‘Imagination is better than knowledge’. The reason for him to make a statement like that was, he realized that knowledge is a thing which already exist in the real world.

But imagination will lead the entire world for inventions and creativity.

Imagination breeds creativity, Imagination breeds passion, it gives meaning, and most people importantly imagination creates reality.

I’m not saying that we should not face reality because it’s a part of our lives. But it’s our imagination which will show us the path when we get stuck in our lives.

Just think for a minute. Each and everything we used to fulfill our needs and wants are existing because of someone’s imagination. Even the chair we use to sit, the pen we use to write, the television, the mobile phone, everything is made because of someone’s imagination.

The best example is the author of the best series ‘Harry Potter’ J. K. Rowling.

According to the facts I collected from a YouTube video, at the age of 17 she was rejected from college, at the age of 25 her mother died of a disease, at the age of 26 she suffered a miscarriage, her husband abused her, despite of that her daughter was born, at the age of 28 she got divorced and was diagnosed with severe depression. At the age of 29 she was a single mother, at the age of 30 she wanted to commit suicide!

But it’s her imagination and passion for writing which helped her to come up in life by publishing the Harry Potter, the best selling series which is beyond popular all over the world. Harry Potter was J.K. Rowling’s Imagination!

Therefore my dear friends, Never give up on your imagination. Who knows, someday you may invent something new to make this world a better place.

As Bob Proctor said, Thoughts become Things. If you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand’ JUST IMAGINE!

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EXPOLANKA TOASTMASTERS CLUB MEMBERS PARTICIPATION AT VARIOUS EVENTS ORGANIZED BY THE DISTRICT AND TLI

THEMED MEETING

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A Friendship themed meeting was organized on the 28th March 2018 in par with the farewell meeting for our very own toastmaster TM Kavya Palagolla.

TM Allan took up a toastmaster role and carried out a splendid job right throughout the meeting which went along with the theme.

OVATION 2018 The year end district conference for district 82 has been scheduled from the 11th of May to the 13th of May this year at the BMICH in Colombo, Sri Lanka. District 82 comprises a varied group of members from Tamil Nadu in India to members from Colombo in Sri Lanka. The conference chair DTM Yusuf Jeevunjee has gathered together a group of elite speakers which include International president of Toastmasters International, DTM Balraj Arunasalam, Fast cars fanatic Dilantha Malagamuwa, Inspirational speaker Robin Sieger, Best-selling author and NLP Master trainer Carol Talbot and a finalist from the world champion of public speaking Mohamed Shukri.

The participants also get the unique opportunity to cave in to the talents of the 12 best international speech & table topic contestants during the event. The winner of the international speech competition will be representing District 82 at the World championship of public speaking 2018.

Furthermore, Ovations 2018 will see the oath taking of the new district office bearers who will lead the district in terms of educations, club growth and etc.

The Co- Chair of the conference has delightfully promised that the fun night, networking, scrumptious food and the mesmerizing attitude will be enveloped with the warmth and grace of the Sri Lankan community for all the participants at Ovations 2018.

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Stay Tuned!!!

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Under the guidance of the Managing Director of Expolanka Freight Pvt Ltd Mr. Safi Yoosuf & the supervision of the company human resource department, Expolanka Toastmaster Club was able to launch the first speech craft program this toastmasters year for the ‘EFL A & B team’ members. The members consist of two teams which are under the direction of the Managing Director and consist of staff of above senior executive level and below directorate level.

The programme continued for 10 Friday's with immense knowledge sharing by different expertise presentations done by well known toastmaster colleagues within the toastmasters fraternity.

Among the 20 members who registered initially 15 enthusiastic speechcrafters completed the program successfully and was awarded for their performance shown right throughout at the grand finale held on the 16th February 2018.

Below are some of the moments captured at the grand finale held at the EFL Auditorium.

THE WOW FACTOR

BY SC ISURU HAPUGODA

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The story of WOW began on the 16th September 2017. Sometimes we are so busy with our lives where we don’t have enough time to focus on things in life than work, unless someone force you to, Same theory goes here as well. EFL “B” Team forced me to attend the program “Speech crafters”. A miniature version of “Toastmasters”. With a daunting challenge of sacrificing 09 Friday evenings. In simple terms 09 happening Friday nights :).

On the first day I stepped in to the auditorium at 05.30 pm. There were around 20 participants and all faces were familiar. We all rose for the national anthem. Then President started the session by saying. “In order to qualify as a speech crafter below requirements need to be met.

01. 80% Attendance.

02. Deliver 02 prepared speeches.

03. 02 leadership roles including one being a speech evaluator.”

A few weeks later, I was asked to deliver my 'Ice Breaker' speech - the first prepared speech where a new member introduces themselves to the team. I did it and it came out extremely well. I got praised and constructive recommendations from the others and my evaluator.

Just like prepared speeches, Speech crafters encourages impromptu speaking with something called the Table Topics, where people are chosen on a random basis from the audience, given a topic, and asked to speak on it for between one and two minutes. First they open the forum for volunteers.

I learnt a lot listening in awe to the great speeches being presented throughout the sessions such as how to organize your speech, BIG 3, presenting effective presentations, etc.

Then came the long awaited day. Speech craft Grand Finale on the 16-Feb-2018, after nine sessions of extensive coaching and grooming, the bunch of enthusiastic individuals were expected to unveil their vocal talents.

I was asked to perform the role of table topic evaluator. I had to evaluate the odd nos. General evaluator called me on stage. I can still remember that moment, I asked from the audience “Are you tired of clapping? Ok instead let’s give our speakers WOWs” that’s how the WOW factor came in to play which I’m still commended of.

Speech craft isn’t just about speeches, it’s a personal development program that improves confidence, self-esteem, interpersonal and leadership skills. It allows people to grow at a speed with which they feel comfortable. Of course there is a competitive side to. If one wants it. But, even the competitions are executed in a mutually supportive manner.

In reality, most people come to compete not with others, but to compete with the negative thoughts that reside in their minds. And I as a speech crafter surely learnt how to get over this throughout the sessions conducted which eventually changed the ‘forceful Fridays’ to an eventful ‘learning Friday’.

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CLUB HAPPENING'S JANUARY-MARCH

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GUEST COMMENTS Amazing meeting with variety & knowledge gained.

Would love to visit more meetings and may be do a speech. All the best!

TM Hafiz Saleem from Smedley & Hayleys TMC

It was my pleasure to be with Expolanka Toastmasters & enjoyed the meeting a lot with the 8 speeches. All the best for the future meetings!

TM Gaya from Singer TMC

The amazing way the meeting was arranged is highly commendable. And the inclusiveness of the members to the guests and participant members is very warmly and relaxing. To all who was involved 'Kudos' Harsha Amarasiri from Expolanka TMC

This was the most organized meeting i have attended. Thank you for making me a part of this.

TM Thisura Jayasoma from Voice of Colombo TMC

It's nice to see how the members treat them selves as friends like family. But also try to give stern evaluations to the speakers which will help them and the club to grow further.

DTM Chathura from Pinnacle advanced TMC

EDITORIAL MESSAGE

BY TM SAFIYA ISMAIL

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It is with great pleasure I pen down a few words for the last newsletter this quarter as well as the last for this toastmasters year 2017/2018. Just like we got the privilege to feature TM Mark Brown in the last newsletter this newsletter we got the opportunity to feature Swarnalatha J, an inspiring women who we heard about in our stay in India for Reverbs 2017. Which also emphasize what toastmasters can do through broadening our network with the other fellow members throughout the toastmasters fraternity. We have been also able to feature our very own talented TM Lakshimaal Samarasinghe who will be representing both our club and area at the division F international speech contest. Along with many more lovely articles from our very own members.

I also take this opportunity to thank each and every one who was behind this successful edition amidst their busy work schedules especially being in a corporate club and the financial year end’s coming up just around the corner. As promised in the last edition I hope we were able to stick in providing rich content with a lot to learn from our members as well as the featured guest articles.

Before I conclude this I would like to enlighten you all with a quote from Henry Ford ; “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”

Which is exactly the success factor of our club.

So until we meet again at some point, Adios!

2017/18 Executive Committee of Expolanka Toastmasters Club

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EXPOLANKA TOASTMASTERS CLUB TRANSFORMING CATERPILLARS IN TO BUTTERFLIES, ONE ROLE AT A TIME!

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN ADIEU!