UNLEASH TO UPLIFT - ISSUE 01

OF EXPOLANKA TOASTMASTERS CLUB

TM USMAN JAUFFER UNLEASHING THE HUMOR WITHIN

TM GAZZALY MOULANA ZOOM EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULAR ZOOM MASTER

CLUB NO 2302941 AREA 02 DIVISION F DISTRICT 82

U N L E A S H TO U P L I F T

DECEMBER 2020 ISSUE 01

OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

AND OUR VERY OWN TOASTMASTERS

UPLIFTING NOTE BY THE PRESIDENT TM SAMEERA DILHAN Expolanka Toastmasters Club, a club with a graceful presence in the fraternity has grown tremendously and reached greater heights within a short span of just 09 years. The Club has managed to set the tone throughout for any member who walks in to explore and realize their true potential which helps the club in producing many champion speakers and distinguished leaders within District 82. Staying true to the words of our Patron Mr. Hanif Yusoof, the vision for this Toastmasters year is set to unleash the talents and potential of the members while uplifting their skills and the spirits. Thus, the entire year would be revolving around the theme ‘Unleash and Uplift’.

This Toastmasters year the Club has conducted all the meetings in alignment with themes to add more excitement to the meetings. The themed meetings for the remaining 6 months are already announced as well. Meantime the Club has started several new initiatives to further cope up with the vision for this year. Starting from the ‘Mentor Protégé Relationship Management program; the intention is to build a strong relationship between the mentors and the mentees of the club.

Subsequently the ‘Experience the Experience’ monthly episodes are telecasted through social media channels by Vice President Public Relations, TM Kavya Reshani in order to give an insight on the history of Expolanka Toastmasters Club right from the inception through the respective Presidents of their respective years. The club and the committee is all set for the newest initiative which will be starting from the new year, the ‘Fast Track Presentation Series’ which would cover the important aspects of a speech in a nutshell through 8 sessions by 8 presenters.

Over the past 6 months Expolanka Toastmasters Club has been able to maintain the standards and reach numerous accolades. During this period the club was able to achieve Smedley Ribbon with the efforts made by Vice President Membership, TM Sifani Sahibo. TM Aboobucker Raza and TM Usman Jauffer represented the Club in Division F, Humorous Speech Online Contest. As far as the educational goals are concerned, the club has achieved Distinguished status by achieving 6 DCP points so far and on the march with the purpose of achieving 10 DCP points. Also, the Club has been well in line with the targets and plans of winning the prestigious Golden Gavel Award for the 7th time under the purview of Vice President Education, TM Aboobucker Raza.

This Toastmasters year, we have had one of the biggest challenges to conduct online meetings due to the prevailing world pandemic situation. However, the Club has conducted 10 out of 12 meetings through online platform and it turns out that the members are enjoying it quite a lot. Yes, the odds may be high, but the dynamic EXCO that I have with the likes of, Raza, Sifani, Kavya, Sachini, Nisansala and Ikhlas, will continue to move forward and raise Expolanka flag high. It has been great 6 months and the Club is eagerly waiting for the next 6 months, looking forward to sparkle through the quality and the progress of the Club.

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THE FRATERNITY THAT UNLEASHES THE COMMUNICATORS AND UPLIFTS THE LEADERS Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization's membership exceeds 358,000 in more than 16,800 clubs in 143 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders.

RESPECT

INTEGRITY

T O A S T M A S T E R S

INTERNATIONAL MISSION We empower individuals to communicators and leaders.

become

more

effective

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

SERVICE

EXCELLENCE

CORE VALUES

EXPOLANKA TOASTMASTERS CLUB It has been such a vast experience throughout the years as an EXCO member, first as the VP Public Relations, then as the VP Education and now as the President. It is a privilege indeed to be the 9th President of this prestigious Club. The amount of knowledge and experience I have gained throughout these years is massive. Every year is a challenge. There is no difference for this toastmaster year as well specially as the President. However, the dynamic team that I have in the EXCO has made my task easy and so far, it has been a great journey with them. Looking forward to work with them for the next 6 months as well.

UNLEASHING THE EXCO Being the current VP membership , I have been molded into a very organized person, while also it has tremendously helped me to build strong networks among the members of Toastmasters fraternity

I do not have a background in the public relations arena yet, my willingness to learn and try new things and the encouragement of supportive team has supported me these past 6 months as the club’s VPPR. I have learned so much after my involvement as the club’s public relations officer.

Though being the club secretary was a new experience for me, none of the members in the club let me feel so. I enjoy working with the supportive, dedicated, creative and fantastic team.

Challenging. Complex. Captivating.

Being a Vice President Education has definitely been challenging but the learning and growth that I am going through while playing this role cannot be described in words. The skills that I have been able to elevate in my personal and professional life through this role are; Planning, organizing, leadership, coordination and cooperation. This role has made me more courageous, more confident, more courteous, more considerate, more compassionate, more composed and most importantly much more creative. This role makes you the guide of all the members in their educational journey. VP Education eventually becomes the motivator, giving the push at the right direction and support at all times. This challenge is undoubtedly worth it because this will transform you into a person that you wouldn't even imagine you could become

Taking up the role of Sergeant At Arms in this prestigious Toastmasters Club has assisted me in taking up responsibilities and is helping me to learn and enhance my interpersonal skills. The team is one family, helping one another in the pursuit of learning and growth.

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Since I thought of improving my public speaking skills I joined TM. When I get the proposal to be an exco member I had no idea about what was around the corner. I thought I will not be able to fulfill the task. But the whole team assist and encourage me ,Since then, I accomplished quite a lot. I listened and spoke; acted and delegated learned and helped; So I discover the leader in me.

UNLEASH AND UPLIFT THE 9TH INTSALLATION CEREMONY OF ETMC Every beautiful journey has an end and with every end starts a beautiful journey again.

Expolanka Toastmasters Club celebrated the 9th installation ceremony of the club office bearers for the year 2020/2021 on the 11th September 2020 at EFL Campus Auditorium which turned out to be a glamorous event.

Before coming to the event, let us take you through the journey right from the inception. The organizing committee met over a coffee on 8th of August 2020 to plan the entire event that was destined to become super successful.

Starting off with the foundation, the hardest part of this entire ceremony: The theme. We wanted to have a theme that would not just fit the ceremony but would be the vision for the entire year, from Spark to Then, Now and Forever to Beyond the Horizon to Power of Synergy to Powerhouse of Potential, we brainstormed upon so many different ideas but nothing seemed to satisfy the vision for the year, that was when we went through the process of reverse engineering. Answering the questions; What do we need to focus on during this year? What do we need to work on during this year? To unleash the talents and potential of the members, said one. To uplift the skills and the spirits of the members said another and that was when we figured out the theme through the combination of ideas ‘Unleash and Uplift’. Staying true to the core values of Toastmasters International as well as the vision of our Patron of Expolanka Toastmasters Club, there wouldn't have been any other theme that would have fit the vision for the year better, it took almost an entire day to decide on the theme for the most awaited event in the Toastmasters calendar of Expolanka Toastmasters Club.

Now foundation set, next difficult task was deciding on the entertainment act. What could we do differently while staying true to the theme? We started brainstorming on multiple ideas and answers again, what are we good at? What talents are hidden within each and every one of us?

Let's work towards unleashing them in order to uplift our own spirits. This idea was what the entire entertainment act was based upon, combining these ideas and making this entertainment act look like one and memorable was what the efforts of the entire Exco went into. From poetry to dancing to singing to humorizing this entire act was what the distinct yet dynamic talents culminated towards. The decoration again, was the outcome of sheer commitment and sole focus on unleashing the potential and talents and uplifting the skills and spirits. The entire team worked together in making the venue visually appealing and colorful while staying true to the theme. The hands of every team member were dipped in paint and colors. From backdrop designing, curtain raiser designing, planning the menu for dinner, security arrangements, to awards designing, installation officer selection, new member induction officer selection, invitation list, presentation designing and media box arrangements, it was all top notch and was possible only with the support of the peers and the members who were present as one team and one family. Then came the time to decide the Masters of the Ceremony, who better than a combination of a rising star and a star who has already been there could carry the entire event on their shoulders through their skills of mastering the ceremony while mastering the hearts of the audience? TM Zafrana Nafees and TM Nisal Wijeratne were a killer combo who made sure that there wasn’t a single dull moment. Their energy and their timely wit were a breeze of fresh air that added more colors to the event.

The evening witnessed the Executive committee embellished in blue, silver and black while the members and the invitees embellished in colors that made the evening radiant and rich. The event started with the walk of fame followed by the national anthem and a powerful curtain raiser along with the opening remarks by the MCs. A cheerful welcome address by the Co-Chairperson TM Sifani Sahibo made sure that the friends from the company, from the club and from the fraternity felt at home.

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Next in line was the Arts of Impersonation, a mind blowing mimicry entertainment act by TM Yasir Harris , this act indeed made an impact on the audience. Next was the address by the Immediate Past President TM Gazzaly Moulana who proudly presented the achievements during his tenure, the period of transition being the major challenge he noted. Main achievements being receipt of Presidents Distinguished Status, Golden Gavel and a powerful digital footprint through TM Gazzaly's role of being a Zoom Master not just within the club but also within the fraternity.

Next in line was the address by our Patron and the Chief Guest of the evening, Mr. HanifYusoof who has been a pillar of strength for Expolanka Toastmasters Club right from the inception, his vision has been the reason for the club to race towards victory and so many achievements and his interests inspire everyone in the club to take the club to greater heights, impactful indeed. The highlight was his charitable footprint leading towards change and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. He uplifted the spirits of each and every one of us present in the audience. This was followed by New Member Induction by TM Gazzaly Moulana, the club accepted the new members into the family with open hearts and open arms.

Then came the moment on what this entire ceremony was based upon, the Club Office Bearer’s Installation Ceremony for the year 2020/2021. The installation officer was none other than our Past President TM Ahmed Abdullah, the club office bearers who took the baton of responsibility for the year were; TM Sameera Dilhan - President TM Aboobucker Raza - Vice President Education TM Sifani Sahibo - Vice President Membership TM Kavya Reshani - Vice President Public Relations TM Sachini Kumarasinghe - Secretary TM Nisansala Liyanapathirana - Treasurer TM Ikhlas Imtiyaz - Sergeant At Arms

As soon as the gavel was passed to the President, it officially announced the appointment of the new Executive Committee, TM Sameera Dilhan took to the podium to deliver a powerful incoming speech as the President of this prestigious Club.

An address that pronounced the responsibility and the vision for the year. What followed next was the Entertainment Act by the Executive Committee, burst of creativity, talent, wit and humor.

An act that will be etched in our ecstatic memories forever.

Next in line was the address by the most prominent figure of District 82, the Guest of Honor of the evening DTM Noorul Munawwara, her powerful presence and the address elevated the status of our Club as one that has had a very graceful presence in the fraternity for over 8 years. Her motivational words definitely energized our ambitions and uplifted our passion.

Now the evening was racing towards the conclusion and this was the moment where the efforts of the members throughout the year were recognized and awarded. The newest DTMs of the Club DTM Scerena Dirckze and DTM Hisham Yasir were recognized and awarded. Best attendance award was grabbed by both DTM Zaidh Naushard and TM Ahmed Abdullah. Best Toastmaster of the year trophy was taken home by none other than the most deserving, TM Ahmed Abdullah who also was recognized by the District for Excellence in Leadership portrayed during the year.

And finally, it was the time to pull the curtains down to an event that will go down the books of Expolanka Toastmasters Club as the one that set the bars high, The Co- Chairperson TM Aboobucker Raza delivered a well curated vote of thanks, ensuring to recognize and thank everyone present at the event while also acknowledging the contribution of each and every member of the club in whichever the way they could. That marked the conclusion of a magnanimous evening followed by the delectable fellowship dinner.

We Unleash and Uplift at Expolanka Toastmasters Club while transforming caterpillars into butterflies.

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UPLIFTING EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS OF THE TENURE 193 - CHAMPIONS 194 – DREAMS & AMBITIONS A group of champions graced our very first Educational Meeting of the year held on the 08th of July 2020 via Zoom. All the role players who joined in to elevate the standard of our very first club meeting for the tenure have been champions of different contests in area and divisional level. Keynote session titled Creatiwwitty delivered by DTM Jayan Narayan was a session filled with creativity and wit; brilliant session indeed. The meeting witnessed 35 participants. By getting all the champions on board as role-players, we were able to kick start the year by maintaining the quality of our meetings, setting a benchmark. The meeting helped to boost and increase the knowledge and exposure of the club members further. TMOD was TM Ahmed Abdullah, the Past President and the divisional level champion of evaluation speech contest;.

195 - SPORTS The President TM Sameera Dilhan who loves sports, football in particular conducted the role of TMOD during our third educational meeting themed Sports which was held on the12th of August 2020.

The highlight was the Sports-master session conducted by him that gave a greater insight and kept the members hooked by ushering them through football, cricket and wrestling in the form of an impromptu speaking game making sure everyone gets the chance to speak up.

First Moments of Truth session was held on the same day conducted

by TM Nisansala Liyanapathirana.

197 – GREEN LIFE This was our very first hybrid meeting which was a combination of physical and online meeting themed green life with the intention of bringing in a change and assisting the members in going green and reducing the carbon footprint. This was held on 9thof September 2020 and the current VP Membership TM Sifani Sahibo led this meeting as the Toastmaster of the day. The highlight of this meeting was the plants that were handed over to each and every participant in order for them to grow at their home which has definitely been a success as seen in the pictures. Keynote session on “Insights on Evaluations Speech” was conducted by TM Tissa Dissanayake; Brilliant, insightful and interactive session that gave hands on experience on evaluating speeches to each and every participant.

199 – HALLOWEEN Expolanka Toastmasters club hosted the 199th Meeting themed Halloween on 14th of October 2020 with NIBM Toastmasters club. It was the first virtual joint meeting of the tenure.

Our second educational meeting themed Dreams and Ambitions was held on the 22nd of July 2020. The Past VP Education TM Sharon Rodrigo took over as the TMOD for a meeting that portrayed the power of dreams and ambitions and the importance of them in a person’s life. The keynote session titled Beyond the Horizon was delivered by TM Asitha Hanthana, the founder of One Minute Motivation. The session made a long-lasting impact on the audience while ensuring to have a strong interaction throughout. A very educative meeting indeed.

196 – TELL A JOKE Humor is a powerful tool in communication. The Past President DTM Darren Pullenayegam led the 196th meeting with humorous punches throughout making the meeting more interesting. The Jokes-master session conducted by him elevated the levels of humor during the meeting and the TT session conducted by DTM Zaidh Naushard was a refreshing change to the usual TT session by adding humorous elements in it; captivating indeed. Keynote session was conducted by TM Roshantha Jayatunga on Insights on Humorous speech, he shared the powerful techniques to make any speech humorously sound while the audience was bursting into laughter throughout. This was held on 26th of August via Zoom online platform.

198 – MENTAL HEALTH Mental health is what keeps anyone sane and fit, if this is healthy a person is healthy. To better understand the importance of mental health, the 198th educational meeting of Expolanka Toastmasters Club was organized under this theme which was held on 23rd of September 2020. The meeting witnessed TM Nisansala Liyanapathirana taking the lead as the TMOD in order to give insights on mental health in the current context. This was the second hybrid meeting of Expolanka Toastmasters Club which took place at EFLCampus as well as via Zoom platform. The prepared speeches and the table topics gave in- depth views and understanding about mental health as the they were well aligned with the theme. Mental health session conducted by Aboobucker Raza gave in more insights on the types of mental disorders and the symptoms which was also shared both as a physical document and soft copy, the session was made interactive as the questions were asked from the participants and the participants had to refer the document in order to answer those questions. This meeting also had the Area Director visit for the cycle. Each and every participant went back home with a sound knowledge about mental health. A very fruitful meeting indeed.

204 – CHRISTMAS

201 – MENTORS

Christmas Themed Meeting which was our 204th Meeting for the year was conducted by TM Antony Rajasekaran as he wore the cloak of the toastmaster of the day. He shared insights on the Christmas Festival and celebrations while informing us the importance of celebrating it by making a difference to the society. DTM Scerena Dirckze conducted the table topics session with some interesting topics aligning the session well with the theme, the takes of the members on each topic given was very interesting to listen to. Sifani the Santa made an entry as a package of entertainment with an entertaining game and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly having a crazy and a fun time. It was a very insightful and fun-filled meeting.

Learning and life becomes easier when there is someone to assist you, to guide you and to correct you throughout the journey of learning. Mentors do that gracefully in toastmasters. Our immediate Past President Gazzaly Moulana who is a mentor played the role of the TMOD on our 201st educational meeting themed Mentors held on 18th of November 2020 via Zoom. There were 5 well prepared speeches. Tabletopics Master Usman Jauffer grabbed our attention during the Tabletopics session related to Mentors garnishing the session with his personal experience of being mentored. It was indeed a very interesting meeting.

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200 - MILESTONE A milestone goes down the history books as a special event because it reflects the powerful past, the successful present and the hopeful future all entangled in the ropes of efforts and hopes. The graceful presence of the club was celebrated as Expolanka Toastmasters Club reached 200th. It definitely was an incredible achievement for all those who have been the pillars of this little family that keeps growing from caterpillars into butterflies. 200th meeting was an eventful meeting, the celebration was not just limited within the club but it went far beyond the club, into the fraternity. The meeting witnessed the participation of dignitaries and guests from District 82 alongside all the present and the past members of the club. DTM Zaidh Naushard took the control of organizing this entire meeting as he stepped into the shoes of the TMOD of a milestone meeting. The role players covered most of the Past Presidents and the Past Executive Members who have been the strong foundation of this club. Them stepping into each role defined the steps that they took to let the club prosper and reach greater heights. The experience shined brighter throughout the roles that they portrayed, as the butterflies who were helping more caterpillars turn into butterflies merely by playing their part powerfully. The person who made the milestone so much more impactful and the meeting more powerful was none other than the President of Toastmasters International, DTM Richard E Peck himself, who graced the meeting and was there throughout, right from the beginning until the conclusion. What better than a speech about the club and the importance of the milestone through the words of DTM Richard could have boosted the enthusiasm of members? This indeed was an achievement and elevated the purpose of the milestone reached. From the prepared speeches to table topics to evaluations, all were top notch as the rhythm of the high standards of the club was heard through all of them. To make the meeting more impactful, we had a very insightful keynote session by Professor Ananda Jayawardane who took us through the journey of loosing fear and becoming confident through his successful life lessons. Wrapping up the meeting at a high note while having the Energy of the members intact, this definitely was a meeting that will go down the history of Expolanka Toastmasters club, as one that set the benchmark. The 200th meeting was successfully held on 4th of November 2020.

202 – BACK TO SCHOOL School life is considered to be the best phase in every adult's life and reminiscing the memories of the same brings joy during that moment.

To experience the school life yet again, we had an educational meeting themed Back to School held on 25th November 2020 via Zoom Platform. TM Zafrana Nafees played the role of the TMOD taking over the office of the Headmistress of the school. It was an incredibly entertaining meeting with so many fun game activities ranging from guess game to charades during the game time conducted by the TMOD herself. This meeting took us through the journey of school life as every member stepped into the shoes of their younger selves and was divided into different houses, the games decided the fate of each house. The highlight of the meeting was the usage of the word of the day, the word 'Academic' was used 110 times during the meeting which definitely was a treat to the grammarian, the highest usage of the word of the day in the history of Expolanka Toastmasters Club. Time flew so quick that as soon as the meeting approached its closure, we were left craving for more and that sense of entertainment and satisfaction was surreal. From Round Robin session to Prepared speeches to Table topics to evaluations, all of them were brilliant aligning well with the theme. Students of the school were happy that the school memories came back live during that moment. Indeed a roller coaster meeting that each and everyone of us thoroughly enjoyed.

203 – HARRY POTTER The journey into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter turned out to be one of the best journey during the tenure, the power-packed meeting was garnished with the wands of magic and the atmosphere was purely Harry Potter-ish. From the Parchments that were released during the month, to the sorting hat doing its task of sorting the members into their respective houses to the characters portrayed by each and every Wizard and Witch to the segments that took place at the Hogwarts of Expolanka Toastmasters Club were absolutely magical. J.K Rowling would definitely be proud of this journey. Aboobucker Hagrid, the caretaker of the journey along with Zaidh Dumbledore, the headmaster of evaluations and Hermione Sahibo, the in charge of the clock tower made this journey memorable.

Quidditch Quiz Tournament - The battle of the houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw racing against the time but racing towards answering questions was a nail-biting segment.

Triwizard Storytelling Tournament - The spectacular storytelling segment between the houses in an attempt to get hold of the trophy was a burst of creativity and wit.

Yule Ball Open Letter Challenge - The open letters that were spoken in favor of and against the topic was an epic example of resilience and flexibility of each house towards victory.

Debating Wizards; The Battle of Hogwarts - The epic saga of good versus evil and right versus wrong reached an exemplary height when Dumbledore’s Army and Voldemort’s Death Eaters embarked into the journey of an intense debate.

The winning house for the series was announced by combining the points of Quidditch Quiz Tournament, Triwizard Storytelling Tournament & Yule Ball Open Letter Challenge – Hufflepuff was announced as the winning house. The winning army of the battle (Debating Wizards – The Battle of Hogwarts) turned out to be Dumbledore’s Army. This meeting was a remarkable meeting, the main focus alongside the theme were communication, leadership and interaction. Prepared speeches and the impromptu sessions elevated the communication skills of each and every member. The house captains taking over their houses and coordinating with each and every member, evaluators evaluating the sessions elevated the leadership skills of them and the houses and the armies that came together as a team portrayed a great teamwork hence improving the interaction skills of every member involved. This meeting blended the theme and toastmasters aspects in an incredible manner. Worth every minute.

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UNLEASHING THE ACHIEVEMENTS THAT UPLIFTED THE MEMBERS EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

CLUB ACHIEVEMENTS

SMEDLEY AWARD – 5 New Members One of the top 5 flyers of the District for the month of September 2020 EXCELLENCE IN TRAINING MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS

ZAIDH NAUSHARD CLUB EXTENSION & RETENTION CHAIR (DIVISION A& E) DISTRICT 82 - 20/21

PATHWAYS LEVEL 3

HISHAM YASIR PR AWARDS CHAIR DISTRICT 82 - 20/21

TM NISANSALA LIYANAPATHIRANA TM KAVYA RESHANI

AHMED ABDULLAH ASSISTANT CLUB COACH DISTRICT 82 – 20/21

PATHWAYS LEVEL 1

DTM ZAIDH NAUSHARD TM ABOOBUCKER RAZA

PATHWAYS LEVEL 2

TM SIFANI SAHIBO TMTUAN ZAFRAAN

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UNLEASHING THE NEW MEMBERS THE NEW MEMBERS JOINED THE FAMILY ON SEPTEMBER 2020

TM SAHANA VITHANAGAMA I am new to Expolanka Group, and soon as I started my very first real job, I wanted to make new friends and embrace the work culture. Emails circulated on Toastmasters’ club achievements grabbed my attention and felt this is the right place to start. I joined the first toastmasters meeting full of curiosity and was not planning to talk much 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 of Toastmasters’ journey. Expolanka Toastmasters club is the right place to accelerate my communication and leadership skills to achieve my goals.

TM UMAIR HIMAYATULLA Since I was a kid public speaking and social awkwardness have been two major factors, I had trouble dealing with. Especially after starting my school career in Sinhalese medium, I always had the fear within me which was holding me back from expressing myself to the world. When I joined the corporate world, still I was thinking how could I improve myself in terms of my fears. One of the best things to happen in my life is joining Expolanka Toastmasters Club with tones of hopes to discover my actual self. I was welcomed whole heartedly by the Toastmasters family and since then I have realized that this is the place that I have been seeking for my entire life.

TM AZHAR SHERIFF My entry into toastmasters was influenced by the first ever speech craft program conducted by Colombo Toastmasters Club facilitated by Expolanka Learning Center as part of Group learning and development initiatives. This program influenced us to start the Expolanka Toastmasters Club in 2012 and I was privileged to serve as the Charter Secretary of the Club and the following year I served as the VP Membership. A brief exit due to a Corporate decision separated me physically from activities of the club. I was happy to witness the progress achieved by the club in leaps and bounds over the years.

With the introduction of the Alumni of club yet again I am thrilled to be a part of it and wish the club all the very best in its future endeavors.

TM FAAIQ MOHAMMED I joined Expolanka Toastmasters club in the beginning of its installation period, after a short break I rejoined for the 2nd time. With the workload this time also I had to stop. Still the culture and every individual I got inspired at the Club, always made me not to quit. In my absence, I been following some of my favorite Expolanka Toastmasters in social media, their posts and stories made me more needy to become a public speaker in the future. Specially, the growth of DTM Zaidh Naushad & TM Usman Jauffer in their TM career. This is my 3rd attempt, and I am lucky to be mentored by both of above individuals who have been my inspiration and motivation in public speaking. I learned something from them which is very important for any Toastmaster! “Do not rush to finish your pathways speeches, take enough time to deliver a quality speech” I was privileged to deliver my Ice breaker at 200th meeting of Expo Lanka Toastmaster Club in front of International President DTM Richard E. Peck, both my mentors and also to win the Best Prepared Speaker award at my first speech of my public speaking career.

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HOW CAN WE UNLEASH THE HUMOR WITHIN? AN INTERVIEW WITH TM USMAN JAUFFER Q: What has Toastmasters given you so far?

I was in Hemas Toastmasters Club and now in Expolanka Toastmasters Club. Both of them are corporate clubs. So as a learning what I really got is, you can connect with people very easily bridging your professional and personal life. That's number one. Number two is opportunities that you get in the form of a stage, cheerful audience and contest experience, Great thing any human can get because you can be an immense talent and get recognized and cheered for the same.

These are the two main things toastmasters has given me.

Q: You have won numerous awards in Humorous speech contest whether in the club, area or division.

Why have you been a constant contestant throughout all the contests?

Q: How long did you prepare for the speech you delivered this year? What made you to pick on that particular topic?

I rarely write a speech. I do all during the last minute of the contest as its mostly Impromptu speeches because I never get any ideas when I sit to script. DTM Zaidh was very strict and he clearly told me if you don't have a new subject and if you didn't write the script, you should not come to me. Most of the time my script and all I give a rough idea to DTM Zaidh. He is the only person who helps to put them in words and arranging it. This time also he said no problem, you give we'll look. I said no, I'll write something. So I wrote within the day and sent to DTM Zaidh and he did revert like in a day. I have to have a clear message, something useful to audience. When I was thinking. I got an idea and that's when I felt it should be Rumour. Because I strongly feel Rumour is one of the biggest problem to this world nowadays. Some wars also happens in the world because of rumour or gossips or unauthentic information. So I really wanted to tell the audience that Rumour is one of the very crucial thing that we have to get rid in our life. That’s why I took Rumour as a subject.

Because I really like to do Humorous speeches. Many people think that we have to be very funny to do the humorous speech, not necessarily as humour is the way you connect with people. Even serious people like Charlie Chaplin and Eminem can be humorous. Making people laugh and making them happy needs to be the focus. People who know me connect to me immediately through humor, people have seen me as a very rough and tough person, I am. But through humor I want Q: Give us some tips that would make the humorous to touch people’s hearts. That's one of the main reason I have script a winning script according to you. been very constant on the humorous Speeches.

Winning is a subject, depending on the people, if I had known the winning element, I would have won in the district. So still I Q: When did you find out that humour is your forte? don't know what is the winning element yet.But all I can say is Joining toastmasters was an accident. One of my guru Mr. we should not copy, I have witnessed so many people copying Rehan Wanniappa told me to join Toastmasters. I didn't know others speeches which is not ethical. Toastmasters is built with what toastmasters is. I thought it teaches cookery so initially I some ethics and as a speaker you have to have that. went to the club meeting and that day it was someone’s Inspiration is a different thing. Because you can be inspired by birthday. People were welcoming with a cake and food. So my a person and you can do a speech but copying shouldn’t be doubts of it being cookery became clear. But suddenly they the option. started the meeting proceedings then came Round Robin. I knew some English so I did the Round Robin and then they Q: Previously you have had experienced the physical called me for a table topic. I went and delivered the table topic platform while this time it has been a virtual platform. and it was very funny. Once I did the speech, one of the Tell about your experience with the virtual platform? members who was a Colonel came down and told “you have Honestly speaking I don’t prefer virtual platform much. immense humorous potential you should compete in However, I spoke with my mentors and friends specially with humorous contest, we’ll help.” First meeting itself the club Gazzaly who is one of the District 82 Zoom Masters. He vividly members decided that I was a humorous contest material, explained me that this will be the future platform and anyhow that was the day I realised humor is my thing and eventually I have to adapt to it. Subsequently I worked with all my mentors and I did my online speech over and over again to get started to compete. used to it. And after that I got kind of comfortable with it and Q: What has been your best speech according to you managed to face the contest.

thus far and why do you think is the best speech?

Q: Finally, how do you prepare before delivering any

In toastmasters everyone's first speech which goes up to the speeches beyond the club? divisional level is the best speech. You know why? people I feel happy to do a speech. Before the contest I drink some benchmark from that speech. So until now some people call water. I usually have strepsils to clear my voice before every 7 me ‘boys will be boys’. Which was my speech that went to minute speech, I do some stretching and some vocal exercises, divisional level getting me second place. Even the people who to get the voice and the posture right. Apart from that when I don’t know my name remember the title, hence this speech is come to the stage, I make sure I am in the centre of the stage a speech that I will never forget. and I look at the audience. Because audience is important.

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EXPOLANKA UNLEASHING ITS TALENTS CONTEST CORNER Humorous Speech and Evaluation speech Club Contest 2020 The Club Humorous and Evaluation Speech contest was held on the 18th of September 2020 at EFL Campus Auditorium, with the participation of distinguished guests and dignitaries along with the club members.TM Ikhlas Imtiyaz carried out his duty by organizing the entire event along with the EC of the club being the Contest Chair.

For the Humourous speech club contest, TM Aboobucker Raza took home the winner's trophy. TM Sifani Sahibo and TM Usman Jauffer took home the trophy of first runner up and second runner up respectively, qualifying for Area F2 Humourous speech contest.

For the Evaluation speech club contest, TM Ahmed Abdullah was crowned the winner. TM Sameera Dilhan and TM Aboobucker Raza became first runner up and second runner up respectively.

Humorous Speech Area Contest 2020 The Humorous Speech Area contest was held on the 10th of October 2020 via Zoom Online Platform. TM Aboobucker Raza and TM Usman Jauffer represented the club at the Area contest, bringing home the trophies of winner and first runner up respectively proceeding to the division.

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SELF ACCEPTANCE UPLIFTS SELF CONFIDENCE SPEECH ARTICLE BY TM ARULMATHI SUPPIAH An important key to successes is self- confidence, an important key to self-confidence is willingness & preparation.

Let me start off with my base, the problem number 1, I am from a middle-class family of 7 including children. My childhood was not very peaceful & enjoyable. Because of my drunkard father I always was in fear & struggles. When we started to grow up the fear & hesitation also started growing up with us. When I was a child, I had faced many comments, rejections & ignorance. We never enjoyed the childhood like the other people. You guys talk about video games, cartoons and F.R.I.E.N.D.S but I had never experienced that.

I was even scared to laugh because if we laugh, we will get in trouble…That kind of mind set grew up with us. So we did not get an opportunity to be confident. I always thought that I didn’t have any talents in me.

In School I never participated in any events because of the fear. I never discovered myself. Negative vibes & thoughts always surrounded me. We faced economical problems as well, hence I never got what I liked. I tried to find happiness in the bits and pieces, but the cloud of negativity didn’t allow me to. Just fear and hesitation.

Moving on to my face, problem number 2, When I started growing up both my teeth and my dressing sense started growing weird. I faced insults from my friends & relatives including my father. I expected encouragement, someone to push me towards confidence by being the pillar or at least through the supportive words. But when your own family insults you, where else can you expect encouragement? who else could I shut? Even the circle that I moved with were trying to find courage and encouragement just like me. Unfortunately, none of us were able to overcome the issues of insults.

To rid off my fear I stared to talk with people voluntarily, I stared to admire people, I started seeing good things in them and always tried to find positive things in others in order to make myself positive. Others achievements inspire me. How did I think that I didn’t have talents? Because eventually I figured out that I can talk well with people, they enjoy when I talk to them sometimes entertaining conversations also, some people also tell me that I am a funny girl. I can dance, I write some Tamil poems too. At the moment I am just trying to do mimicry. The base just became a source of my fear while it wasn’t powerful to stop me from finding my strengths amidst darkness.

And face, if that was a reason to stop me from being confident, I joined a job, became independent and started fulfilling my wishes one after the other. I fixed braces to my teeth, with 3 years of struggles I got my teeth right today. I changed my dressing style, hair style and created my own style. Since, I stopped bothering about people, the happiness stopped depending on them and their opinions. I am happy today with the person I have become since this is the person I have worked towards.

Maybe my base & face theory might not make a sense to others but the experience that I have gone through towards the self acceptance and self confidence has become great memory for me and will be closer to my heart always.

Each time we face our fear we gain strength, courage & confidence hence let me say that self-confidence doesn’t come through your base or your face, it comes through self-acceptance, giving up on negativity and through focusing on positives. Face your fears and kick their backs one after the other.

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EXPOLANKA UNLEASHING ITS LIMITS EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULAR ZOOM MASTER With the impact of the global pandemic around the globe, clubs began to move online. Personally, I felt it’s a great way to keep people connected, keep momentum going, and provide a much-needed sense of routine in a time when many people’s lives are disrupted. “Don’t expect the same magic that you’d get from a face-to-face club. An online club fills another role.”—Matt Krause Online meetings are easier than ever to set up. The technology isn’t difficult to master and there are plenty of options to suit different needs. Some of the meeting roles may need to be slightly adjusted, and members might need to be patient at first, but it’s very workable and it can be a fun and welcome change.

For an example couple of weeks back in our club we had back to school and harry potter themed meeting where almost every members participated. The goal should be to have a good time and keep the community spirit going even if there are technical hiccups along the way.

The biggest decision when going to an online meeting format is figuring out what type of videoconferencing software to use. At this point we want to make that decision well in advance of the meeting and do a test run beforehand to ensure everything goes well. At this time of we start to research on this we found popular platforms for online such as Zoom, Microsoft team, Webex, Google Hangouts etc. Some had a limit on the number of attendees, and some had time limits and some, we needed to bear a cost to conduct meetings. After some research we finally found that Zoom works best for our club. Then there comes a new role for our toastmasters meeting “Zoom-master”. Although this is not a role in a traditional club meeting, the technical host is an important role in online meetings. It may be best for someone with technical expertise, and it is the online version of sergeant at arms. Here I stepped into this role and, I'm glad to share that I have been a Zoom Master for, District online speech semifinals and finals, several District training programs, club hosting the WCPS 2013, Division Conferences and OTP, Club meetings etc. I personally believe this role is mainly based on pre planning and of incident managing based on the experience. The differences between club and district level meeting is managing no of tasks and participants. If no of participants are high, I would suggest having minimum of 2 Zoom Masters. “Plan, prepare & perform” Let me give you some Zoom Mastering tips for planning and executing. Schedule meetings and add them to your calendar, arrive early and familiarize yourself with the meeting controls, let the toastmaster know that you will be available, record meeting, share screen, mute audio, turn off video, mute everyone, ensure you know how to setup the polls for best speaker, evaluator and topics speaker, display the relevant poll when asked by the toastmaster once the polling is complete, advise the president privately on chat of the winner, once you have learned how to use Zoom’s tools, your next step is to learn how to support a meeting.

Someday, you may want to conduct a virtual live meeting of your own to people outside of toastmasters.

Virtual live meetings and events are great for getting new business. By serving as Zoom Master, you will discover just how important it is to have a Zoom Master, and how to guide new Zoom Masters to help, while you focus your time hosting the meeting. Also, you may be asked to be a Zoom Master for an outside the club event hosted by someone else. In fact, if you do a good job as Zoom Master, you might even be asked by one of your own toastmasters members to help with an outside-the-club event by serving the role.

And finally, the most important reason for now, though, is to help assure your club has virtual meetings that run smoothly. Having a Zoom Master (whether dedicated or rotating weekly) is an important key to everyone enjoying successful online meetings.

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ETMC UPLIFTING THE SPIRITS OF THE GUESTS GUEST REMARKS CORNER I’ve been attending Expo Lanka TMC meetings over the past 6 years and quality has always been an upward trend. I’ve evaluated quite a few Advanced speakers from the club and I’ve learnt a lot while providing them feedback. I witnessed the pinnacle of creativity of Expo TMC in the Harry Potter thematic meeting held on 09th December. I Wish EXPO family and upwards and onwards journey in Toastmasters.

DTM Mario Wickramarachchi Expolanka is a club that has always gone an extra mile in everything they do, be it a club meeting, be it a special event, be in even the installation. The amount of details that they go to in making the experience absolutely memorable for everyone participating is amazing. High Five!!!!

TM Kalpana De Silva I have heard about Expolanka Toastmasters Club many times during my conversations across several occasions with my friends in Sri Lanka. Hence, when I received an invitation from your club to speak, I was truly overwhelmed. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the meeting and I took home quite a few learnings. One of them was the habit of sticking to time limits. All sections were executed with such precision. Another aspect that stood out was the sincerity towards each role. All the role players did their part to near perfection. I instantly felt at home and the warmth is something I would cherish. Wishing each of you a wonderful learning experience and look forward to drop by in-person sometime in the near future.

DTM Jayan Narayan My experience in attending education meetings and other events of Expolanka Toastmasters Club were always fulfilling and exhilarating. They ensure to maintain high standards as well as spice their events by making them enjoyable. Expolanka Toastmasters are a bunch who are always prepared to support anybody in the Toastmasters journey.

DTM Shazuli Raheem "Expolanka Toastmasters club has been a club with quality and excellence. It always reflects on club meetings and club members. Especially during the 2020 lockdown period Expolanka Toastmasters continued the toastmaster's journey by adapting to the online platform. And I enjoyed the 200th Milestone Meeting of the club where current Toastmasters International President Richard Peck was present as a special guest."

DTM Nisal Weerakoon, I had a privilege of conducting evaluation session on 9th Sep 2020.What a team it was at the meeting. They were engaging, energetic and actively participated hands on activities planned for evaluation session. Most striking was energy and laughter.

Expolanka Toastmasters enjoyed every bit of it. I could witness teamwork spirit with ample evidence that each member is prepared to support and stand by the other. Ideal breading ground for leadership development.I wish them every success.

TM Tissa Dissanayaka "Quality of club depends on the quality of speeches & Evaluations" It is with much enthusiasm I participated for the meeting.

What captivated me is the self-motivated toastmasters who were keen on learning. During my toastmaster's journey, one valuable lesson I learnt. Which is the growth of a club and its members depend on the quality of the speeches & the evaluations. I witness the quality during my 2hours. "Encouraging evaluations & practical improvements to build the speaker standards" "Uplifting speeches/messages to take action..." Undoubtedlty I can say, Expolanka Toastmasters Club, is a club I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning & growing. My blessings are with ETC to grow higher & higher to create more value for its members, organization, community & the nation.

TM Asitha Hanthana

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UPLIFTING SPEECH BY THE INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT EXCERPT FROM THE SPEECH DELIVERED BY DTM RICHARD E PECK AT THE 200TH MILESTONE MEETING 8 years, 200 meetings! what an achievement. Countless speeches, over those 8 years. Countless stories, more achievements. Today 3 ice breaker speeches. Individuals gaining personal achievements in stepping beyond their comfort zone. You are setting the bar high for what it means to be a club. You are setting your sites and what it means to be achievers and to have those personal achievements. And see, the club can have achievements as a club overall in achieving all those distinguished points that it wants to but, there’s personal achievements as well, that are as important if not more important to the members of your club. It is much as achievement is important.

I like you to think about something else and that's impact. The impact that you make on each other that you make on the world as TM Zaidh said making an impact on community making an impact on the world. Now there's two types of impact that we make as toastmasters. There's that visible impact that we have, that we see. Let me give you an example. How many of you have seen that the 1st speaker when we were meeting on sites come up to the podium, grab a whole of it with their hands and knuckle so tight at the blood stop flowing they start swaying from side to side.

The president doesn't know whether to run up and grab or not before they fall over. They barely get to the green lights and they sit down. And you're not sure if you have to give them respiratory or oxygen in order to have them recovered. If you encourage and support, 3 or 4 speeches later they are commanding the stage. Then you are stepping into leadership then they want to compete under big stage under conference. That's the outward impact that we see. That we can witness. But there's an impact below the surface that we don't always see. The emotional attachment that was mentioned earlier. For me when I leave here today some of you won’t see me again for quite a while. Hopefully I will see all of you soon. But we don’t know what Covid 19 is going to be. But you need to know that you made an impact on me. By being able to attend this meeting and by being able to meet each an everyone of you for just a short period of time too. Letting me into your world and experience Expolanka Toastmasters.

I like you to visualize this in the following way to understand the impact. Imagine you are standing on the edge of a crystal-clear flat body of the world. You are standing on your stage. In your hand you have a very small pebble. Then like we almost do we have to throw the pebble into the water. When that pebble breaks the surface of the water, what’s the first thing we notice. We notice the ripples. And the ripples keep getting larger and larger and reaching further and further. That’s the physical impact that you see, That’s the impact that you make with each person you let into your club, with each person you encourage, with each person you meet. But we know that when that pebbles breaks the surface it doesn’t stop creating change. It creates the change below the surface as well. And that’s the change that we also make as toastmasters. That’s the emotional impact, the confidence that grows within us. The need to be connected during these times, when we have to stay so far apart, but need to be so close to one another.

Each meeting that you have is a pebble of impact getting tossed into that water. Think about the impact that you have made over these years. And let your meetings continue to make the impact on the world. Let your member base continue to make the change. I wish you great success over the next 200 meetings and hopefully I get the opportunity to attend when you hit that milestone meeting as well. Thank you all again for allowing me to attend this meeting today. It was truly my pleasure; It was truly my honor and I look forward to watching your success.

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THE FACE BEHIND UNLEASH TO UPLIFT ISSUE 01 EDITOR UNLEASHES THE EXPERIENCE

It is indeed a great opportunity to be the Newsletter Editor for ‘Unleash to Uplift’ and it is an immense pleasure to launch this first edition for 2020. This has become a reality with the help of the Executive Committee and all the other club members.

In this issue, we have the honor of featuring our very own TM Usman Jauffer, Division Champion of Humorous Contest and our very own TM Gazzaly Moulana who is popular Zoom Master in District 82.

A huge thank you to all the persons who contributed in writing the wonderful and inspiring articles, without which there wouldn’t have been this newsletter issue.

Last but not the 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.

TM KAVYA RESHANI

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UNLEASHING THE CALENDAR FOR 2021 BLOCK THE DATES FOR THE UPCOMING EVENTS

THE END