UNLEASH TO UPLIFT - ISSUE 02

UPLIFTING NOTE BY THE PRESIDENT TM SAMEERA DILHAN

EXPOLANKA UNLEASHING ITS TALENTS

DIVISION DIRECTOR'S & AREA DIRECTOR'S NOTE DTM SHAZULI RAHEEM & TM SHAMIL ANIFF

UNLEASHING THE NEW MEMBERS

THE FRATERNITY THAT UNLEASHES THE COMMUNICATORS AND UPLIFTS THE LEADERS TOASTMASTERS & UNLEASHING THE EXCO

FORMULA OF HAPPINESS TM SACHINI KUMARSINGHE

UNLEASHING THE CALENDAR FOR 2021

FAST TRACK PRESENTATION SERIES

THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHARTER MEMBER DTM SCERENA DIRCKZE MENTOR PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM & EXPERIENCE THE EXPERIENCE EPISODES

UPLIFTING EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS

THE ROLE OF CONTEST CHAIR TM SAHANA VITHANAGAMA

WE LOVE COMFORTABLE TRAIN RIDES, DON’T WE? TM ABOOBUCKER RAZA

UNLEASHING THE ACHIEVEMENTS THAT UPLIFTED THE MEMBERS

ETMC UPLIFTING THE SPIRITS OF THE GUESTS & THE FACE BEHIND UNLEASH TO UPLIFT ISSUE 2 EDITOR UNLEASHES THE EXPERIENCE

Penning down the President’s note for the second Newsletter closer to the targets we set out to achieve at the start of the year is indeed fulfilling. Our progress towards our targets while maintaining the quality of education is testament to the standards envisioned by our visionary patron, Mr. Hanif Yusoof.

As elaborated in the first Newsletter, the Club has continued to do every meeting as a themed meeting and the members have been really enjoying the variety and unique set of meetings. When it comes to the new initiatives, the Club conducted the fourth phase of ‘Mentor and Protégé Relationship Management’ programme recently where the progress of the mentees were reviewed along with the mentors. On the other hand, we have broadcasted 6 episodes of ‘Experience the Experience’ video series. The ‘Fast Track Presentation Series’, was successfully conducted which consisted of 8 presentations presented by the experienced club members with members of the Club as well as the fraternity joining in as the audience.

When it comes to the educational goals Expolanka Toastmasters Club achieved 10DCP points and became a Presidents Distinguished Club for the 9th year in row. The Club has achieved Golden Club Award (known by the name Golden Gavel in the past) for the 7th time displaying the efforts of all the members. Our VP Education has done an incredible job in attaining these goals while maintaining the quality of each Club meeting. The Club added 5 new members from different SBUs of the company for the April renewal cycle with all the hard work of the VP Membership allowing us to win yet another Talk up Toastmasters Award. Meantime TM Aboobucker Raza represented the Club in Division F, International Speech Online Contest showcasing the standards maintained within the Club.

With few more days to go, I stand here as a proud President of this prestigious Club as we are on the verge of completing yet another successful year. Despite all the challenges the positive attitude of my EXCO, Raza, Sifani, Kavya, Sachini, Nisansala, Ikhlas and IPP Gazzaly is the main reason behind every achievement. And without a doubt the Club members have always been an integral part of our every step forward. Thus, Expolanka Toastmasters Club will continue to unleash the talents and potential of the members while uplifting their skills and the spirits for many more years to come.

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DTM Shazuli Raheem

TM Shamil Aniff

It definitely is an honour to be able to add a few words in the 2nd newsletter of Expolanka Toastmasters Club for the calendar year 2020/21. My association with Expolanka TMC goes back to year 2014 when my home Club Amana Bank TMC was chartered with the support of DTM Zaidh Naushard and DTM Hisham Yasir who practically made it to all our meetings. This camaraderie didn’t take long to extend to all members of both Clubs.

The cliché “Time flies when you are having a good time” rings true to me today. A whole Toastmasters year has almost passed us and I say this with a tinge of sadness.

For me, last year was different in more ways than one - and none more monumental than a complete shift to online meetings worldwide due to the global pandemic.

It was against this backdrop that I was appointed as the Area Director for F2.

Expolanka TMC is one of the corporate Clubs in the District which has consistently performed during the years. They have always raised the bar for others to follow suit. They have provided leadership in many ventures of the District and helped to elevate the profile of Toastmasters. I would like to note the selfless contribution made by the members of Expolanka TMC at all levels. One such person who comes to mind is TM Gazzaly Moulana who is a District wide sought after Zoom Master, who is ever prepared to help out any Toastmasters event irrespective of Division or Area.

This I would say is the hall mark of Expolanka Toastmasters.

My area consisted of 4 clubs - The perennial trend setters Expolanka Toastmasters, Amana Bank Toastmasters who are improving every year, the resurgence of Union Assurance Toastmasters after a difficult year and the new comer to the Toastmasters fraternity National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NSWDB) Toastmasters. I was apprehensive initially, thinking of how the clubs in my area are going to progress in this new reality. However, I soon realized that my fears were unfounded as in true Toastmasters spirit the clubs adapted to the “new normal” quite seamlessly with Expolanka leading the way.

As the Division Director, one of my yardsticks for contribution to members by a Club is achieving additional educational awards on top of the DCP goals. I am delighted to see more than double Level ones on the board, which speaks volumes to the focus the Club has on its members.

Needless to say, this not only demonstrates focus of the Executive Committee, but also speaks volumes about the supportive atmosphere within the club, resonating the Toastmasters Club Mission. I would be failing in my duties if I do not express my sincere appreciation to the Patron of the Club, Mr Hanif Yoosuf who has been a staunch advocate of the Club. I am glad to note that Expolanka TMC is one of the Clubs which has been able to achieve the Golden Gavel award as in the past years, which is dividends earned for its contribution to its members.

Expolanka Toastmasters club never ceases to amaze me, with their enthusiasm and commitment to ensure quality meetings in terms of value to members and maintaining high standards when it came to project speeches and evaluations. In addition, Expolanka Toastmasters also organized educational sessions for the benefit of their members. More importantly, they never miss to celebrate their successes and milestones achieved which I think contributes greatly to the level of pride felt by its members being attached to such a prestigious club. I’m sure the entire EXCO team contributed to the club’s success this year, however it would be an injustice on my part if I did not mention the 2 leaders who I correspond more often, Sameera Dilhan– President and Aboobucker Raza - VP Education for embodying great leadership qualities during various times and steering the club to greater heights once again.

I wish Expolanka Toastmasters Club the very best and look forward to seeing many more leaders emerging from the Club.

I would like to congratulate the current EXCO for doing a marvellous job and wish them great success in their future endeavours.

Shazuli Raheem Division Director – Division F - District 82 2020/2021.

Shamil Aniff Area Director – Area F2 - District 82 2020/2021.

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A Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization's membership exceeds 364,000 in more than 16,200 clubs in 145 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders.

INTERNATIONAL MISSION

DISTRICT MISSION

CLUB MISSION

We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.

We build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence.

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

Integrity

Respect

Service

Excellence

CORE VALUES

For more information visit: www.toastmasters.org

Unleashing the EXCO - 2020/2021 TM SAMEERA DILHAN

TM ABOOBUCKER RAZA

EFL

EFL

Email : sameerad@efl.global

Email : aboobucker@efl.global

TM SACHINI CHATHURIKA TM SIFANI SAHIBO TM KAVYA RESHANI Alumni Member of EFL Email : resh.krh@gmail.com

Alumni Member of EFL Email : sachinichathurikaku@gmail.com

TM NISANSALA RANASINGHE EFL Email : nisansalal@efl.global

EFL Email : fathimas@efl.global

TM IKHLAS IMTIAZ OKI DOKI Email : ikhlas.i@okidoki.lk

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GET IN TOUCH WITH US

EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS Every 02nd and 04th Wednesday

If Online Meetings From 07.00Pm onwards via Zoom Platform If Physical Meetings From 06.00Pm onwards at the Fourth Floor Cafeteria, Expolanka Holdings PLC, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka FOLLOW US Expolanka Toastmasters Club

Website :

https://expolankatmc.wixsite.com/etmc?fbclid=IwAR0jiaohXiPl7Tzv5pWK1gnXk33ABqu7wY3fnUP_Y0a-qB3Gg2Ww1diPboE

UNLEASHING THE CALENDAR FOR 2021

DISTRICT EVENT "Ovation" The Annual Conference of District 82 has been postponed until further notice.

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THROUGH THE EYES OF A

CHARTER MEMBER DTM SCERENA DIRCKZE

The Expolanka Toastmasters club was formed after 2 successful speechcraft sessions conducted by the Colombo Toastmasters club, way back in 2010 and 2011. I was part of the second batch in 2011 and was waiting eagerly for the club to be formed to start my toastmaster’s journey. 21 of us, a combination from both batches signed up as charter members and thus the Expolanka Toastmasters club was formed in April of 2012.

Looking back 9 years later, I am one of 2 charter members left in the club to share and tell the tale.

Our first year was both exciting and scary. Exciting because every day we were learning new things and scary because we didn’t know the first thing about running a toastmaster’s club or serving its members as part of the charter Exco. But we all had one intention in common which was strong enough to see us through. And that was to do our very best.

And sometimes if your intentions are pure and strong enough the rest sees itself through. Such was the case for us, because speaking in retrospect,I really can’t recall how else we pulled through that first year. Expolanka Toastmasters Club has always had the good fortune of having good friends from the Toastmaster fraternity who were ever ready to help us, and one thing I realized was that if you are humble enough to admit that you do not know everything and ask for help, there will always be good people who will come to your aid. That inaugural year was the toughest, but we pulled through with many guardian angels coming to our rescue.

The second year of the club, I took on presidency and that was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Being the president of a club is very much like being a CEO of a company, and though I was leading a team at work in my role as Head of Customer Service, this experience was entirely different. This was a team of volunteers and with the role came a whole new type of learning and leadership experience. My sincere wish for every member is to be able to go through this experience at least once as a member, for the learning is immeasurable. My goal for the club that year was to put Expolanka toastmasters club on the map and showcase the resilience of the club and its members. The Golden Gavel Plus had just been introduced that year in D82 and was the highest standard of achievement a club could achieve. We as a club, set out to achieve just that and with the hard work of all our members, and with a little help from all the friends we had made in the toastmaster fraternity by then, we were able to. It was such a fulfilling moment for us all, to be able to walk on stage at Ovation that year and collect the Golden Gavel Plus award from our District Director.

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Always be willing to learn.

Admit to yourself that you do not know everything, with this attitude, there will be plenty of people, good people who will be willing to share their knowledge with you and guide you.

Be humble enough and ask for the help you need.

In the first half of my toastmaster journey I made sure I took on a role every year. The first year I was VP Membership, The second – President. The third year was my first district role when I became the “Area Governor” as it was called during the time.

The 4th year I was the TLI Chair and the next year the District Chief Judge, and with each role came immense learning as we saw through some very turbulent times in the club. The time was ripe then to give the new generation their turn to shine and see this wonderful club through its next line of evolution.

Looking back today on the past nine years, I see a club that has fully transformed, and a dedicated Exco who has the same passion that we had when we chartered the club. In a way,a title I had given myself was that of a MOTHER to this club. I always felt it was my duty to see and guide it through all its challenges, and never let it go back but only move forward to progress. I had always taken it upon myself to guide, give advice, shake up and even be direct and forthright, when necessary, if that’s what it took to move forward. Today I can happily say I am a proud Mum. Happy of what this club has become and happy of how it got to be here. Happy in all it has achieved over the years as a club,and the opportunities it has created for its members to learn and grow as individuals.

My message to the future leaders of this club is when you take up a role as an EC member, take the time to understand its history, and you will feel a great sense of pride and joy which will give you the passion you need to do right by this club. You will never regret it.

Use every opportunity to learn and grow and don’t be afraid of making a few mistakes, even a few stupid ones as long as you’re learning from it. These learnings are what will carry you through or even propel you to become a better leader. A better Person.

Never be afraid of storms for it is during the storms that you will learn how to sail your ship.

The next thing is, always be willing to learn.

Admit to yourself that you do not know everything, and if you have this attitude, there will be plenty of people, good people who will be willing to share their knowledge with you and guide you. But be humble enough and ask for the help you need. You would be amazed at how much goodness there is out there, especially if your heart is in the right place when you ask for it.

Lastly, aspire to be the best you can be and never ever settle for less. Never compromise on quality and don’t take short cuts. And if you ever are tempted to, just listen to that inner voice, and always, always be guided by it.

My message to the future leaders of this club is when you take up a role as an EC member, take the time to understand its history, and you will feel a great sense of pride and joy which will give you the passion you need to do right by this club. You will never regret it.

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205 MEETING

206 MEETING

207 MEETING

208 MEETING

209 MEETING

MEETING

CHEFS AND COOKS THEMED MEETING On the 13th of January the Chefs and Cooks Themed Meeting was held with TM Nisansala Liyanapathirana taking up the role of the head chef (TMOD) and TM Mirzan as the sous chef (TTM) . Among the usual meeting proceedings was the ETMC Master Chef session which kept the members fully attentive to the mouth watering and delicious recipes described by the speakers, giving members the chance to speak up and present their ideas. The warm key note session titled ‘Keeping the Commitment’ which was delivered by DTM Scerena Dirckze added some more flavors in to the meeting.

HOW WELL DO WE KNOW EACH OTHER THEMED MEETING How Well Do We Know Each Other Themed Meeting was organized on the 27th January 2021. TM Sahana Vithanagama showed up as the TMOD and conducted 'How Well Do We Know Each Other' session. She carried out a splendid job right throughout the meeting which went along with the theme. Second Moments of Truth session was held on the same day conducted by TM Sameera Dilhan on behalf of TM Ahmed Abdullah.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S OR FRIENDS THEMED MEETING Club President TM Sameera Dilhan led this themed meeting as the TM of the day along with the presence of outside members as well as one of the Charter members of the Club, TM Sajitha de Mel. 10th February was all about the blend between F.R.I.E.N.D.S Series and friends in general which brought in a lot of interactive activities to create participation engagement throughout the meeting.

SPEECH MARATHON THEMED MEETING Educational meeting themed Speech Marathon was held on the 24th of February 2021 with Eight back to back speeches and evaluations. Six Internal speakers were evaluated by six guest evaluators. Two guest speakers were evaluated by two internal evaluators. The meeting witnessed the presence of 34 members including many DTMs. Interesting interactive session "Scattegories" took the audience back to the reminiscence of childhood. TMOD was TM Ikhlas Imran.

INFINITY AND BEYOND THEMED JOINT MEETING WITH INFOSYS TMC Joint meeting held on 10th March 2021 with Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai. Brilliant blend of two clubs representing two different countries and two different districts.

TM Hariharan from Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai as the Game master conducted an Interesting interactive session as a group activity on how to protect earth from an asteroid with 4 teams holding 4 different superpowers. TM Tapan Kamath of Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai took up the role of TMOD

LOVE, LET LOVE THEMED JOINT MEETING WITH MAWANELLA XZAHIRIANS TOASTMASTERS Joint meeting held on 20th March 2021 with Mawanella XZahirians Toastmasters.

Brilliant blend of two clubs with the unique theme of love. TM Aboobucker Raza from Expolanka Toastmasters Club as the Interactive Master conducted an Interesting interactive session of love to spread love through spoken letters by two teams showing love to each other through a twist of using 5 anti-love words in each member's letter. TM Ammar Ahamed of Mawanella XZahirians Toastmasters took up the TMOD role.

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210 MEETING

211 MEETING

212 MEETING

213 MEETING

214 MEETING MEETING

215 MEETING MEETING

GOSSIPS, YOUR BIGGEST LIE THEMED MEETING A fun filled meeting held on 24th March 2021 and TM Sachini Kumarasinghe showed up as the gossips master. The role players of the day were introduced after introducing some juicy gossips about them. TM Nisal Wijeratne conducted Interesting table topic session with unique topics. Gossips sessions were conducted at three different points throughout the meeting. the audience members were asked to speak about the gossip photographs of club members displayed on screen.

PARLIAMENT THEMED MEETING An interactive meeting from the inception to the conclusion. On the 07 of April 2021 TMOD TM Usman Jauffer transformed this themed meeting in to a precise parliament.

The role players of the day were introduced and asked to express their political views at the start itself on their respective ministries. All newcomers got the opportunity to deliver their maiden speeches during the table topic session. Parliamentary segment was an interactive session on politics, whereby the members in the audience were able to express their views on different political issues prevalent in the country.

LET'S TRAVEL THEMED MEETING The members departed into Let’s Travel Themed meeting on the 21st April 2021. TM Umair Himayatulla led the caravan. The role players introduced the roles along with their travel experiences. Table Topics session conducted on different travel destinations around the world. Three miscellaneous travel sessions were conducted as Sri Lankan Tour, World Tour and general knowledge on travel destinations. A very educative meeting indeed.

LEADERS THEMED MEETING An interactive meeting from inception to the conclusion. The role players were introduced and asked to express their views about leadership. An interesting Table Topics session conducted on leadership by using different leadership styles along with phrases related to the theme. Three miscellaneous leaders sessions were conducted as Fictional Leaders, Global Leaders and Club Leaders

CARTOONS AND MEMES THEMED MEETING The meeting took back the attendees to their childhood, reminiscence of memories. The role players introduced the roles along with their perception on cartoons and memes.

Table Topics session was all about cartoons and the members got the opportunity to witness the intros of each cartoons once again. The cartoons vs memes session was conducted by dividing the audience into two groups and debating on cartoons are good, but memes are stupid and memes are good but cartoons are stupid.

REVERSE MEETING

A unique meeting with the reverse structure. Meeting initiated with the conclusion followed by the general evaluation, Table topics session, prepared speech session, introduction of role players and concluded with the introduction of the TMOD. The role players were introduced by playing a reverse version of one of their toastmasters interaction questioning them about the actual interaction. An interesting Table Topics session conducted in a different format, the topics were read out in reverse and the speakers had to decipher the actual topic. "Remedy Through Reminiscence" was an interesting quiz session, the correct answer of each question was given in the answer options of the next question. "Tricks Of Confusing" session was a group activity with confusing questions which required the memory skills of the group members.

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WE LOVE COMFORTABLE TRAIN RIDES,

DON’T WE? TM ABOOBUCKER RAZA

My fellow train riders, 27th December 2017, I was in Chandigarh, a beautiful city of Punjab. 7:30 am and 4°C, already late for the train, there I was, running with multiple sweaters and a suitcase to get hold of Rameshwaram express, the train that comes to Chandigarh just once a week on platform number 8 of Chandigarh city railway station, the squeaky staircases and the shaky bridge that I had to cross through to get to the platform amidst the sounds of so many other trains and the scores of people was such a task. Finally I get there, and my train had already started moving. I throw the suitcase inside the train first and couple of seconds into running, I throw myself into the train panting and puffing but thanking God for not missing it.

The journey starts amidst the Punjabi families, men with turbans, women with plaited hair and the scent of mustard oil.

They were as loud as bhangra, would not mind dancing anytime anywhere, eating throughout the journey. I got down from my second-tier seat, went and sat on the rusted footboard, diving into the beauty of the nature. The misty fog covering the beautiful paddy fields and the dew drops dripping from the yellow leaves of the partially dried trees outside the train was magical and that got me awestruck, just like the most exciting phases of life.

Couple of hours into the journey and we were reaching the next station in Jaipur, a dull city of Rajasthan. The breeze while the train was approaching the station was musical. Women in veil and colorful saris and men with huge headgears was a highlight from the people who got into the train from there on. I opened the window and the cold breeze that was waiting outside the window hit my face hard but as soon as the breeze passed, the golden desserts appeared like the void in the heart that has turned cold, and that got me startled. I was terrified by the haunting emptiness because that resembled the most painful phases of life.

With every station, I was getting closer to the destination. The journey of 19 hours from Hyderabad was uneasy yet satisfying with shaky ascends and smooth descends. Finally, I got my suitcase down, ready to get off at the final destination. The train was reaching Rameshwaram, the city where the tiny particles of life are immersed into massive waters, once that happens, the conclusion becomes inevitable. This is where the ends would meet. The blazing sun, the roaring sea, the cloudless sky and people in white cloths amplified the importance of this city. As if the most intense phases of life had come to life.

And I was here to look at the point that once was connected to our country, the Adams bridge and the palk strait. It was long gone yet the signs of its presence were clearly evident.

Just like how temporary life is unless you make the presence evident. Nothing is permanent no matter how strong the bridge once used to be, it disappeared.

My long journey of 56 hours by that train ended here in Rameshwaram.

Your life itself is like an exciting journey by the train, you would be taken through the phases of enthralling ups and demeaning downs, shaky ascends and satisfying descends.

The journey would take you through the lush greeneries of beauty and blessings, golden desserts of emptiness and void, congested cities of boredom and delight and to the destination where the ends would meet, where the eternity would meet the temporary. You would come across different cultures, different kinds of people, different languages, different colours and different climates, be water dear riders, adapt to it, accept the diversity and cherish every phase of the journey, because once the train reaches the destination, you would either be at peace with yourself or with regrets lingering around. Let every phase fulfil the purpose of your existence. Affordable you ask, pretty much, costs you your breaths one after the other. To be missed you ask, not a single bit, every breath is worth the journey.

56 hours, 56 days or 56 years, if you are willing to pay the price, The journey continued until the next station a day later, get ready for the excitement.

Hyderabad, a city in Deccan congested with buildings and people yet rich in literature. I could see people on the cold and dusty platforms, waiting for their trains to arrive. The men in kurta paijama and women in salwar kameez get into the train, a beautiful blend of Urdu and Telugu in their conversation was poetry, such a delight to listen to. While my ears were fascinated by it, my eyes hooked their attention to the rocky mountains and misaligned hills out of the window, and being a witness to such a contrast was appealing as that was more like the mix of delightful and boring phases of life.

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EDUCATIONAL

ACHIEVEMENTS PRESIDENTS DISTINGUISHED CLUB GOLDEN CLUB AWARD GOALS TALK UP TOASTMASTER RIBBON – 5 NEW MEMBERS

PATHWAYS LEVEL 5 TM ABOOBUKER RAZA PATHWAYS LEVEL 4 TM ABOOBUKER RAZA PATHWAYS LEVEL 3 TM ABOOBUCKER RAZA TM SAMEERA DILHAN PATHWAYS LEVEL 2 TM SIFANI SAHIBO TM NISAL WIJERATNE DTM ZAIDH NAUSHARD

PATHWAYS LEVEL 1 TM ANTONY RAJASEKARAN TM GAZZALY MOULANA TM ARULMATHI SUPPIAH TM SACHINI KUMARASINGHE TM ARULJOTHI SUPPIAH TM AHMED ABDULLAH

TRIPLE CPOWN WINNER TM ABOOBUKER RAZA

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INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST 2021 The Club International Speech contest was held on the 05th of March 2021 via Zoom platform, with the participation of distinguished guests and dignitaries along with the club members.

TM Sahana Vithanagama, being the Contest Chair carried out her duty by organizing the entire Contest along with the EC of the Club.

INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CLUB CONTEST WINNERS 2021

In the International Speech Club Contest, TM Aboobucker Raza took home the winner's trophy.

TM Ahmed Abdullah and TM Sameera Dilhan emerged first runner up and second runner up respectively.

INTERNATIONAL SPEECH AREA CONTEST 2021 The International Speech Area Contest was held on the 19th of March 2021 via Zoom Online Platform. TM Aboobucker Raza and TM Sameera Dilhan represented the Club at the Area Contest, TM Aboobucker Raza emerged first runner up and proceeded to the Division Contest.

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EXPOLANKA UNLEASHING ITS TALENTS Contesting has been a consistent effort since my first year in toastmasters, every time, it has made me a better communicator as the growth has been evident in an instance. The improvement that I have harnessed throughout is what has allowed me to outperform at the humorous speech contest both in club and area level, moving forward with division representation, while winning the club and eventually representing the area at the division stage for international speech contest. I can confidently say that virtual space didn't stop me but pushed me towards my best self. This year is definitely going to be a special year since this being my second attempt in both had got me the chance of dual representation at the division stage.

TM Aboobucker Raza

The first speech that I gave in a competition is the Club Contest, where you compete against fellow club members. The competition was fierce, and the standard was exceptional. Finding the right speech topic was the most difficult part of the whole process. However I ended up writing a motivational and inspirational speech. The next challenge was presenting. Somehow I have practiced and presented it. I did not expect to win but participating also was a real challenge for me which I succeeded and looking forward to participate in more and more competitions.

TM Nisansala Liyanapathirana

Every year contest experience has given me something to learn and grow. This year too I was privileged to be a part of both Club and the Area contest for International Speech, where Champion speakers compete. Whether it is online or physical, one of the best experiences in toastmasters would definitely be the Speech contest.

TM Sameera Dilhan

My first toastmasters contest experience was International speech club contest. It was a valuable experience along with really good speakers which helped me personally to increase my knowledge and improve better in writing and speaking.

TM Kavya Reshani

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TM Nashath Naleem Articulate speaking and attentive listening are vital skills for every individual. Developing these skills will only happen through immersive practice. Toastmasters is the ideal place for you to exercise those, while also to gain further leadership skills.

I have heard so many positive reviews about Expolanka Toastmasters Club way before I joined the company. Since I joined, I was only eager to be a part of the club, as I believed that it will immensely help me to be a better version of myself.

I cannot really express my joy when I got the opportunity to join. Since the first meeting, I was vastly amazed by the generous and motivating members and the interesting topics that would make me learn something new on each session.

I hope to work hard so that I can benefit myself, moreover, to support the team in prospering our club to be more outstanding, in this journey I've begun.

TM Hemshanth Mohandas Expolanka Toastmasters Club motivates each member to climb up in their own leadership skills.

I kept seeing toastmaster posts frequently in social media platforms and that made me to join the club. And my first step in the meeting itself motivated me through the motivation by the members, they encourage and assist each other throughout.

After attending few meetings, I was amazed with the interesting concepts and topics that would learn and encourage me to speak.

I hope to work forward in future with this supporting team and come up with new ideas. I will learn to be an outstanding leader.

TM Chamila Wimalarathna I have been working at LPPL since Sep 2020 as an Executive in Data Science and Solution Department. Firstly I would like to thank Mr. Sammy Akbar, Mr. Venuje Weerasekara and Mr. Thusitha Gamage for giving me this wonderful opportunity to join the ETMC. I watched several International speech contest videos of Dananjaya Hettiarachchi in youtube. Those videos were really inspired me to improve my communication and leadership skills. After I joined LPPL I heard that LPPL had toastmaster club and I realized that this was the opportunity I had been looking for a while to brush up my communication and leadership skills.

Obviously I was excited in the first meeting of ETMC and meantime I was really pleased to join with such an amazing club with kind fellow toastmasters. All the fellow toastmasters listened carefully when I spoke for the first time and it was really helpful for me to boost my confidence when I was speaking in the club meetings.

Apart from that, all of them highlighted the areas where I could improve and gave the advices how I can improve in a friendly manner. Therefore I am pretty sure this would be a great opportunity for me to improve my leadership and communication skills in leaps and bounds.

TM Demintha Lakshan I am a logistician and currently I have almost four years of experience in warehouse operation and the Logistic analysis.

Within this time period and while climbing the corporate ladder, I have realized that the communication skills and the leadership skills are essential skills.

Therefore, I had searched many options and finally I found the valuable platform called “toastmasters”. Prior to the first toastmasters meeting, I felt nervous since I had no idea about the toastmasters platform. However, after few minutes in the meeting my doubts were cleared. The committee members and the team members are extremely friendly and the team helps each other to develop their soft skills. That will be helpful for an individual to improve their own communication and leadership skills.

TM Tharindu Athukorala During my career at Expolanka I used to always wonder what the toastmasters is all about. No sooner my fellow colleagues invited me to join the club and I thought I should make use of this opportunity. I started realizing how much I could gain in terms of improving my language skills during the first few club meetings. Also with various articles and other information shared amongst the club members that gave me access to useful day to day tips to keep improving my language and speaking skills.

Expolanka Toastmasters club gives its members a variety of options and ways they could learn and enjoy the opportunity of improving their English skills.

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FORMULA OF HAPPINESS TM Sachini Kumarasinghe

Fellow toastmasters, whenever you see me in an unhappy mood; you can offer me a delicious sweet. You will see me filled with happiness until I enjoy the last bite of that sweet. Then again I will be unhappy thinking the amount of calories I added to my body. So just think a while how difficult and confusing it is to define happiness.

I found a Harvard Research saying Passion is when you’re excited to see a new episode of your life. But Purpose is when you’re doing things you sincerely hate, because you have a good reason to do so. They say passion can fade over time but purpose is a stronger predictor than passion. Convincing yourself to not taste a delicious donut for a happier tomorrow Let me present you on how to search the formula for happiness with good health is all about purpose, not passion. in life.

What is happiness? The Oxford English Dictionary defines happy as feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. Is this true? I found that there are many researchers and scholars who have not got content with this definition of happiness. They have further studied from different aspects to find what happiness actually is.

When researching on the life purpose, I found a concept 'IKIGAI'. This is originated in the island called Okinawa where 80% of population have lived for over 85 years. The western researchers have studied the people in Okinawa and found IKIGAI being the secret of their long and happy life. It is the foundation of the international best seller book IKIGAI by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia. The Japanese meaning of IKIGAI is the Reason of Living which is interpreted in the book as “A reason to jump out of the bed each morning”. The concept of IKIGAI is explained in a simple Venn Diagram. It has four quadrants. “What you actually love to do”, “What you are good at”, “What you can be paid or rewarded for” and “What the world needs”. The concept says your IKIGAI stands in the middle of all these four quadrants. Though this is a simple diagram, if you actually try to work on it, you will understand that it's actually difficult to find the IKIGAI of your life. I enjoy analyzing data using excel tables and formulas. I love it and also I am good at it. Even I can be paid for it in my job. But when considering the fourth quadrant, does the world need it, the answer is questionable. In the near future, the world will not require this skill with development of data science and artificial intelligence technologies.

So probably it should not be my IKIGAI.

When we wonder what we should be doing to be happy, there are two things that comes to our minds above all else. They are; “Should I make more money to be happy?” and “Should I follow my passion to be happy?”. Does Money Make You Happy in Life? One famous study was done in 2019 with 1000 students graduating from the University of British Columbia on the happiness felt by each student and their perception of time and money. The study concluded saying people who prioritized money ended up less happy compared to others who prioritize time. There was a time that I got happier by sleeping thirty minutes extra in the morning compared to the money I spent on a taxi due to waking up late and getting late to work. So this research finding is correctly applicable there. Another study done in 2021 in US observing the emotional level of a group of employees through a smartphone app for 7 years; concluded saying money can make people happy since it provides people the autonomy to make choices about how they live their lives.

In simple terms if you are suffering from a sickness which can get cured by a very expensive surgery, you will understand this concept. Money gives you autonomy to make choices to be While concluding researchers have tried to search the happy in life. formula of happiness based on money passion and purpose. After studying all these different researches The next word that comes to our mind is Passion. “Follow your and concepts on happiness, I believe that my passion” “Go behind what your passion says” these are very definition of the formula of happiness means a common career advices we have heard and directions been journey with purpose of life. So dear toastmasters, given for happiness. But today there are many researchers what is the formula of happiness for you? criticizing and trying to prove this wrong. There is a study done in 2013 for 500 Canadian University Students. 90% of students of this university were passionate in sports, arts and music. But according to the statistics only 3% of job opportunities are available in the market in sports, arts and music. Therefore I will let you decide whether following the passion is a correct advice. Most of the recent studies are trying to substitute this word “Passion” with “Purpose”.

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When I was told about the Fast Track Presentation Series organized by the Executive Committee of the Toastmasters Club, I felt it was a spirited and innovative idea to share the most relevant aspects of a speech in a nutshell so that the new members, as well as the senior members, would greatly benefit from this.

Fast Track Presentation Series was a new initiative commenced in this toastmasters year mainly focusing on the new toastmasters of ETMC as well as in the fraternity. I am glad that I also was able to be a part of it as the presenter for ‘Content Creation and Types of Speeches’ which was a very vital area.

The enthusiasm and the response I had from the virtual audience during my session was very satisfying. I believe that the audience got the maximum out of my session and will always be there to help new toastmasters to grow while growing myself simultaneously.

TM Sameera Dilhan

The team had done an excellent job in selecting the topics and the speakers. I was excited to deliver on the subject of Body Language and Vocal Variety. The solid efforts the whole team put into ensuring perfect coordination and success was quite commendable. I am sure that each member was able to reap a great many benefits from this session. I loved the overall experience and truly enjoyed every bit of it.

TM Zafrana Nafees

TM Sameera Dilhan I trust it was a good experience for me and the fellow seniors as we got the opportunity to share the knowledge of our area of expertise to the younger members of the club.

It was beneficial for me as I too was able to revise on some important areas that I had forgotten. It was nice to see the engagement from the members.

As presenter It's a great platform to share our knowledge and experience..

I think we have to continue this next year too.

DTM Hisham Yasir TM Usman Jauffer

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MENTOR PROTÉGÉ RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

cerena Dirck MS ze T D A first of its kind at ETMC, this is a great initiative launched by the current exco. I feel it is essential for the VPE to have a pulse on the educational progress of each of the members and this is just perfect to do so.

Apart from helping monitor progress made between mentor and mentee, it also allows the VPE to further assist and make changes where needed.

Happy to say that the Mentor Protégé Program organized by the present executive committee has been the most structured Mentor Protégé Program I have witnessed thus far. The team has truly taken the project to heart so that even the mentors would be granted a rewarding experience by working with the protégés, just as much as the protégés would benefit from it.

Overall it created a positive impact. The executive team had periodic follow-ups and oneon-one meetings to ensure that concerns from both parties were addressed, and progress was made effectively.

TM

Z afra a N afe e n

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aidh Nausha MZ rd T D This is the first time I have seen a properly planned and well executed Mentor Protégé program conducted by a club and I am very happy that I was able to be a part of it as a Mentor. When you follow a program with progress and that is evaluated on a timely basis with both Mentor's point of view as well as Protégé point of view, I believe we add the ultimate value to our membership while providing a continuous support. Good luck with the program and I hope the EXCOs to come will follow the same in future too.

I would like to thank the EC for this initiative of Mentor Protégé Program which took place in 4 Phases. To make this project a success the commitment of mentor pool and successful protégés is appreciable. A tailored approach to suggestions and feedback, designed to coordinate with the protégé’s goals and personality, will form a strong foundation for success. I would request upcoming EC members also to continue this initiative.

TM

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TM Umair Himayathulla TM Nisansala Liyanapathirana "A leader takes people where they want to go.

A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” – Rosalynn Carter As quoted Expolanka club presidents and their teams have done a remarkable work and lot of sacrifices in order to build the club to where it is today. It is a great experience to hear those stories and stands as a learning platform to face future challenges with those experiences.

Experience the Experience is a marvelous initiative that takes us back into a powerful decade. Listening to each speaker gives us a feeling of presence into those years even though we weren't a part of it and I consider myself lucky to witness such a masterpiece of series.

TM Zafrana Nafees TM Ikhlas Imran Experience the Experience is a unique and informative collection of series that highlights and acts as a guideline for future speakers. I am ever grateful for the amazing team who put in their efforts in organizing this.

TM Arulmathi Suppiah Experience the Experience, when I saw the series I got to know the importance of the club and past presidents' efforts to bring our club to this level.

As a team they did a fantastic job. The experience, bond and friendship of them is so nice to see.

Visit our page to have a look

Expolanka Toastmasters Club

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THE ROLE OF

CONTEST CHAIR TM SAHANA VITHANAGAMA I am new to Expolanka Toastmasters club, but as I started my toastmasters journey, I wanted to have new friends and embrace the Toastmasters culture. I joined the first toastmasters meeting full of curiosity and was not planning to talk but to observe.

The friendliness of fellow club members and exciting meeting topics pushed me to be more interactive and have a great time from the beginning itself. The TM leadership handed me the opportunity to take up meeting roles and be more open and creative in my way. This helped me to build my character and overcome the shyness to speak up in front of an audience. After completing few meeting roles the Expo TM team identified my talent and opened more opportunities to grow. It was challenging at the beginning, but at every step, the TMs team was there with me guiding me well. I am grateful for their patience, guidance, support and giving me the opportunity to take up the contest chair role for the International Speech contest 2021. It was a massive learning curve for me because I had to work with internal and external club members, Distinguished Toastmasters which was memorable as well as great opportunity to build my personal and professional career. Taking up the role and working with a team with the support of TM leadership was very interesting and it drew me more closer to the TM culture.

With all the experience and confidence I got from taking up meeting roles and contest chair involvement I was ready to do my ice breaker speech. My mentor helped me to craft a decent speech and after few rehearsals I was confident and on the day of the speech, I was more than ready. After the speech, I got great encouragement with standing applause from the TM team and my evaluator did a fantastic job on evaluating my speech which shall help me to grow as a speaker. I felt the ice breaker speech was the first step on road ahead in the journey.

Having a friendly and enthusiastic TM team is a blessing and it is encouraging.

I am aiming to continue the TM journey well by taking up more roles and getting involved with the leadership which definitely will help me to grow as a person and a good speaker.

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Expolanka toastmasters club is known to have a friendly environment and thereby I have visited the club couple of times for themed meetings. That's when I realized that the club not only has an outgoing culture but also a supportive learning environment. The educational value that meetings provide is commendable. Wishing the club all the very best, Keep up the spirit!

TM Umrah

During a joint meeting of Expolanka Toastmasters Club and Infosys Toastmasters Chennai, I had the golden opportunity to attend and be part of an amazing meeting. Members of ETC came across as a cordial and welcoming group of people, creating an experience I will never forget. I look forward to attending more meetings at ETC whenever time permits, but the Joint meeting will be one I will cherish and consider as a benchmark for great meetings!

TM Tapan

My heartfelt thanks to Expolanka Toastmasters Club members for joining with us and being in our path of exploring the other club cultures.

I know what is takes to run a successful and energetic club. In our joint meeting, I was surprised to see all the aspects of the operation, handling the tasks such as Report generation, roles fixing from Expolanka Toastmasters club.

Looking forward to join you soon.

Expolanka Toastmasters is a club I got to know through its members individually who I now call great friends, and when I had the opportunity to be their guest I truly saw the environment that nurtured the amazing personalities I got to know.

Visiting Expolanka Toastmasters is always a great way to feel welcome, calm, learn and release all the stress because of the club's light and comfortable culture accompanied with great educational value.

TM Umarani

DTM Dinuk

When I was new to Toastmasters exactly 8 months before, I was just specified to my Club only.

But later with the time I learnt I must visit all other Club Meetings to learn and empower myself immensely. Then I became the Usual visitor of ETMC when the call to visit their 200th Meeting was sent publicly. I was in awe and mesmerized looking at the Meeting and being a part of their ever-memorable 200th Meeting where Richard Peck, DTM – President (Toastmasters International) was present. This first reaction gave me the best impression ever towards ETMC and then I became their usual Guest. I found the unique feature in their meetings from planning to keeping the Meeting entertaining and lively. The speeches delivered were mostly super awesome that depicted their high-quality performance.

I have never regretted spending time with these pure souls of ETMC from the President Sameera, VPE Aboobucker Raza to the rest. They were all wonderful and were always helpful for me, ours being the newest club. Being the charter President of my Club, I have personally got so many guidance from many of my friends in ETMC namely, Sameera Dilhan, Aboobucker Raza, Hisham Yasir, Zaidh Naushard Etc. It was a splendid time with ETMC, and I always hope to spare some of my time with these people because every time I learnt something new and modern. I firmly believe ETMC is one of the richest clubs in D82 that holds their meetings so professionally and effectively and undoubtedly every member of ETMC will have a vast learning experience here since productivity is much emphasized.

Expolanka Toastmastes has always been one of my favourite clubs. When I am stressed and if it’s Wednesday then the best place for me to land would be Expolanka's club meeting . Specially because their meetings are creative and filled with fun and laughter.

TM Shazna

TM Amna

Visiting Expolanka Toastmasters gave me an absolute joy because they conduct their club meetings with a mix of fun and utmost professionalism. That’s an aura, a club needs to carry out. With their creative thinking of doing different themed meetings to getting international speakers to doing joint meetings locally and internationally, have made the visit to Expolanka Toastmasters back and forth. With experienced toastmasters to quality meetings and evaluations I am sure Expolanka will reach many more milestones in the times to come. Expolanka Toastmasters Club has been shining bright all these years I can’t wait to see what they have to offer in the future. I wish Expolanka Toastmasters Club all the very best for their future endeavors.

TM Hafsa

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TM KAVYA RESHANI

THE EXPERIENCE It is a great privilege to be the editor of the ‘Unleash to Uplift’ and also a great honour to launch the second edition as well for this toastmasters year 2020/2021.

In this edition we have the honour of featuring our very own DTM Scerena Dirckze who is a past President of the Club, TM Aboobucker Raza, the current VP Education, TM Sachini Kumarasinghe, the current Secretary and TM Sahana Vithanagama along with many articles from the Club members and the fraternity who have been an immense strength to our club.

A huge thank you to all the individuals who contributed with wonderful and inspiring articles, and to everyone who was behind this successful edition amidst their busy schedules. Without them this wouldn't have been possible.

Also this has become a reality with the help of Executive Committee and all our very own Club members. Last but not least, I would like to thank TM Sameera Dilhan, President and TM Aboobucker Raza, VP Education for their everlasting support throughout the creation of this edition.

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