President
TMChandulaJithmi
VicePresidentEducation
TMPameshaPeiris
VicePresidentMembership
TMMalinduBatheegama
ToastmastersInternationalMission
We empower individuals to become more effective communicatorsandleaders.
DistrictMission
Webuildnewclubsandsupportallclubsinachieving excellence
ClubMission
We provide a supportive and a positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills , resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth
ToastmastersInternationalCore
Itisagreatpleasureandprivilegetobecomethechiefeditor of Volume 14, Issue 02 of the "PTM Spotlight" Newsletter. The main objective of publishing the "PTM Spotlight" Newsletter is to make people aware of Toastmasters International Culture and the culture of Panadura Toastmasters Club. "PTM Spotlight" Newsletter contains articles about club meetings, articles from Panadura Toastmasters, and articles from other club members. "PTM Spotlight" Newsletter recognizes the new members of Panadura Toastmasters Club, the achievements of our membersandtheachievementsasaclub.
Designing the Newsletter made me realize the value of workingasateamandtheimportanceofplanningthework. The designing of the newsletter improved my creative abilities and leadership abilities. I must thank all the toastmasters who contributed to making this a success Thank you so much for stepping out of your comfort zone andcontributingtothis Thiswon'tbecomearealitywithout
I sincerely invite all of you to read this Newsletter "PTM Spotlight". This Newsletter represents the creativity and the valuable ideas of almost all the membersofPanaduraToastmastersClub.
Panadura Toastmasters members always claim to be the oneswhowouldgoaboveandbeyondtoempoweranduplift others and I believe it is the secret behind the enduring success of the club The club has many strengths; among which, the most prominent is the compassionate leaders in thepastandpresentwhoardentlybelievedintheservicefor greater good than relentlessly chasing on personal goals only
Thisyearwiththestand“Attention|Retention|Innovation,we aimedtoprovideattentiontoachievememberretentionand ultimately to do innovation First half of the year 2022/2023 was a learning curve which molded us to further act wisely. Every day we make a conscious effort to increase member experiencebecausetheclub’simpactonmemberssurpasses mere theoretical learnings on public speaking. Organizing mini workshops during meetings, arranging mini trips and cricketmatches planningforoutdoormeetings encouraging
achieveing Smedley award and also some district awards - Eight-80 membership award, membership retention award etc. in term 1, transforming new memberstobedivisionlevelcontestantsasIseeare the additional blessings we received while focusing onattentiontomembers Myhumblethanksgotothe executive committee and the beloved membership for making the impossible possible It has been said “If a good man thrives, all thrive with him! And that goodmanisyou,alltheleadersintheclub!Ibelieve, being the facilitators of learning, we are bestowed withthedutycreationofpersonalities
PTM spotlight is the innovation of one of one such leader, the Vice President Public Relations, TM AmashaDeSilva,whogoesaboveandbeyondforthe club.Toallthosewhojustfeltlikebeingagoodman, professionally and personally PTMC doors are open
It is a privilege to be the Area Director for the Panadura Toastmasters club, where I was inspired to step into the world of public speaking. The club not only helped me improve my communication and leadership skills, but it changedeveryaspectofinterpersonalinteractions.Whether you are a novice, experienced, or award-winning speaker, PanaduraToastmastershasasimilarbutslightlyhigherlevel ofresourcestomakefriendswithwhowillhelpyouconquer thechallengesthatlieaheadonthepath.
ThestrengthofthePanaduraToastmasterscomesfromthe variety of the membership, which comes from different backgrounds and different cultures From teenagers to senior citizens, and from undergraduates to professionals coming from a variety of fields, club meetings are a unique experience for everyone. Members are very committed, and theygotheextramiletomakethemeetingsmoreproductive andentertaining.Icouldcategorizethemembersintothree generations They are veteran, experienced, and novice toastmasters.Youcanfindplentyofthemwhobringvalueto the club meetings Irrespective of their status, everyone is verycommittedandwillingtolearnandhelpeachother.
The club is blessed with champion speakers and evaluators who have shone the club in the district level If someone’s ambition is to become a competitive speaker, Panadura Toastmasters is the right place to visit. The club offers guidanceandampleopportunitiestosucceed. Having earned Golden Club and President’s Distinguished ClubAwardsforconsecutiveyears,PanaduraToastmastersis oneoftheleadingclubsinthedistrict.
The club is already progressing on the right path under the leadership of Toastmaster Chandula Jithmi, a well-experienced Toastmaster who can bringtheclubtothenextlevelwithhercalibre.Iam confident that the club will perform beyond expectationsbyfacingthechallengesthatmaycome intheseuncertaintimes.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the verybesttotheExecutiveCommitteemembersofthe PanaduraToastmastersClubinthisnewchapterand lookforwardtoawonderfulyearahead.
Each New Year begins with a celebration. Therefore, it’s the sameforourPanaduraToastmastersfamily.ButIt’snotjust becauseofthenewyear;Intheveryfirstmeetingoftheyear 2023, we celebrated our 15th anniversary as a club too. So, on that day the meeting theme was 15th anniversary of the Panaduratoastmastersclub.Asalways,everyone’sfavourite ourmadampresidentJithmistartedthemeetingwithsome interesting facts about Toastmasters history by inviting to toastmasterofthedaytocontinuethemeeting.Forour15th anniversary-themedmeetingthetoastmasterofthedaywas ourimmediatepastpresidentTMMihikala.Asalways,shedid a wonderful job throughout the meeting becoming the best role player of the day too The 1st warm up session of the meeting,roundrobinsessiondonebyme,anditwasabout “the best thing that we learned so far in our Panadura Toastmasters journey”. I think from that session we got a chancetoknowaboutoneanother’slessonthattheylearnt in their Toastmasters journey. After round robin session withoutanydoubts,ourTMSeraanandTMNethmidelivered an amazing speech adding more meaning to our 15thanniversarythememeeting TableTopicsessionwasdoneby our talented TM Amasha and as always she conducted a really interesting session by encouraging our audience to participateinspeechesbygivingchocolatesasagiftfortheir participation As a result, our toastmasters did their table topicspeecheswithaddingmorecolourtothemeeting.Not only that as in every meeting there was a successful evaluation session done by our TM Jithmi and our TM Pamesha for the prepared speeches while TM Shehani and TM Praneeth evaluated table topic speeches. After an amazinglyfuntime,itwastimeforthetimer’sreportdoneby TMMalindu,ForAhCounter’sreportdonebyTMParamiand TM Kavisha Batawala reported her grammarian report. All those role players make our 15th anniversary-themed meeting more successful with their great efforts. So, in end TM Disara as the general evaluator did a fruitful session which helps to make our club meeting more successful. Finally,themeetingendedwithgivingcontrolofthemeeting back to our club president from our toastmaster of the day TM Mihikala while giving the meeting awards for the best speaker, the best role player, best tag role player , best evaluatorandforthebesttabletopicspeakertoo.
Attheend,Itwasanothermeaningfulclubmeetingof Panadura dear Panadura Toastmasters which ended as another great memorable anniversary meeting too.
Panadura Toastmasters is a club that always consider more about giving a quality output for the members and the society by providing the best social services. Starting from thelastDecemberof2022,withinthefirstweek,onthe3rdof December2022,thefirstmeetingoftheDecemberwhichwas the 11th session for this tenure was taken place. The Toastmaster of the Day, TM Parami Jayamuni played a significant role to make this general meeting flawless. And then within that meeting, the Christmas theme meeting of Panadura toastmasters was announced which was taken placeon17thoftheDecember.
Withthesupportofmanymembersandwiththeleadership of TM Ranudi Kulathunga as the Toastmaster of the day, Panadura Toastmasters had another great Christmas evening.Andalsoonthatday,aspecialeducationalsession was done by a special speaker TM Sherin Fernando from MoratuwaToastmastersClub.
Panadura Toastmasters had a meeting on 21st of January 2023 on “Going on a Trip” Themed Meeting which was conducted by the TM Hasindu Warnakula as the Toastmaster of the day Moment of Truth session was conducted by the Area Director- Area I 2 TM Dinesh Wijajayasekara It was successfully concludedasanotherthemedmeetingforthetenure.
Meanwhile,theclubwasspreadingawarenessaboutthe4th Speechcrafter Programme of Panadura Toastmasters Club. On the exact same day afternoon, Panadura Toastmasters deployed their Speechcraft Awareness session. And it was successfully done in a hybrid manner supplying the benefit fortheoverseasspeechcraftersaswell.Andthenatthelast weekendon29thofJanuarytheyinitiatedtheirSpeechcraft Programmeofficiallyontheonlineplatformanditwasdone successfully.AndonthatdaytheEducationalSessionwhich was about the “Value of Public Speaking” was done by a ChampionspeakerofDistrict82,TMRavinduAmendra. And within the month of February, they did their 2nd Speechcraftprogrammeon5thofFebruarybyinitiatingthe toastmaster duties for the month. It was another successful meeting, and the special educational session was done by anotherprominentspeaker,DTMModithaSendanayakeand it was about “Selecting a topic and organizing the speech” Most importantly, the club officers invited the Toastmasters for the educational session as it was another important educationalsessionineveryspeechcraftmeeting.
And then on the 12th of February 2023, Panadura ToastmastershadtheirValentine’sthememeetingasajoint meetingwithOasisToastmastersClubasOasisToastmasters visited Panadura Toastmasters at Likuid Spaces, Colombo 5 from900amto1100am
And it was another great meeting that was collectively done by both clubs and with the leadership of champion speaker TM Ravindu Amendra as the toastmaster of the day it was conductedmarvellously.
And in the evening, Panadura Toastmasters had their 3rd Speechcraft Session. In there, another valuable educational session was done by one of the best speakers, TM Disara Abeywickrama on “Speech with Purpose”. And then, Panadura Toastmasters had another successful theme meetingonthe18thofFebruary2023onthe“Movies”theme. It was driven successfully by a rising champion speaker as theToastmasteroftheday,TMSeraanAponso.Andthenon the 19th, they had their next Speechcraft meeting. On that day two educational sessions were done. One of them was donebyanotherChampionSpeakerofDivisionI,TMMihikala Hidellaarachchi on “Providing Successful Evaluation”. And the other education session was successfully done by another great toastmaster leadership figure, TM Dighayu Jayawardena on “Body Language” Both educational sessions were conducted for both speechcrafters and toastmasters as they were important for both And in the
The President of the hosting club, TM Chandula De Zoysa from Panadura Toastmasters Club called the meeting to order and welcomed the audience who were present. She asked the President of Oasis Toastmasters Club, TM Sankhanie Suraweera to introduce the members of their club.Inthesameway,TMChandulaDeZoysaintroducedthe Panadura Toastmasters Club members too. Then she introduced TM Ravindu Amendra as the toastmaster of the day. TMOD started the session with mentioning the special bondbothclubssharedwitheachotherandhowitrelatesto the theme of the meeting. TM Ravindu then invited the Tag teamtointroducetheirroles.TMSankhanieSuraweerawas theGeneralEvaluator.TMWadeenAliwastheahcounter.TM ParamiJayamuniwasthetimer. TheGrammarian,TMDisara AbeywickramaIntroducedthewordoftheday“COURTSHIP (noun) meaning, A period which a couple, or two people develop a relationship. TM Zinthan Salahudeen led the way to conduct the Round Robin Session. He explained the groundrulesofthesessionandstartedthesession.Speakers weregiven20secondstospeakandtheRRMconductedthe session in the zig-zag manner according to how they were seated. The session was on “Your first ever crush”. All participantsexpressedtheirviewsandmemoriesofthecrush
TM Chamodith Ranasingha conducted a panel discussion under the theme of “Interests to Interesting Future.” Panellists were TM Pushpitha Senarath, TM Mihikala Hidellarachchi & TM Ravindu Amendra. “How Hobbies Become A CareerPath”topicwaswellelaboratedbybothTM RavinduAmendraandTMMihikalaHidellarachchi. The TMOD handed over the session to Table TopicsMasteroftheday,TMMalinduBatheegama. The even table topics were evaluated by TM Chandula De Zoysa and odd table topics were evaluated by TM Thulsee Karunarathna TM Zinthan, TM Binura, TM Chethiya, TM Disara Participatedinthesession.
The TMOD handed over the session to TM Sankhani Suraweeratoproceedwiththeevaluationsession.TimerTM Paramipresentedthetimer'sreportfollowedbyTMWadeen presented the Ah counter’s report. The prepared speeches were then evaluated by the respective evaluators. Table topics were evaluated by the respective evaluators. The general evaluator then called upon the Grammarian report. TM Disara provided a comprehensive Grammarian's report. Voting was conducted to select the best prepared speech speaker, Table Topic Speaker, best evaluator, and best tag role player. Then TM Sankhani as the General Evaluator for thedayprovidedthefollowingfeedback.Sheappreciatedfor hosting the invited club and for working on getting the premises allocated for the meeting. Furthermore, she appreciated the cooperation of the club members to make the event a success. She appreciated the innovative Table Topicsessionalso GeneralEvaluatorSuggestedtostartthe meeting by SAA reminding the ground rules and after that SAAtointroducethepresidentandinvitetocallthemeeting inorder.GeneralEvaluatoralsosuggestedtousethegavelto hand over the control and to mark the starting and ending remarks. Furthermore, General Evaluator suggested to start themeetingwiththenationalanthemandclubmission
George Bernard Shaw once said, “There is no love sincere than the love of food”. We can agree with him, since we all trulylovefood.
Panadura Toastmasters had a memorable “Food Cravings” themedmeetingonthe25thofmarch,2023. Ourdearmadampresident;TMChandulaJithmiinaugurated themeetingandwelcomedtheguests.
TMVenujaWickramaarachchiwastheTostmasteroftheday. He did his role in a creative and a superior manner. He was dressedupliketheheadchefofahotel.Hiscreativitywasat thenextlevel,sinceheaddedmorecolourtoeverysessionof themeetingwithhisinnovativeideasrelatedtothethemeof themeeting
The new member TM Dumindi Perera fabulously played the timer’srole IdidtheAhcounter’srole,andtheToastmaster ofthedayintroducedmeasthe“Ahtaster”whileaddinghis creativity TM Kavisha Batawala played the grammarian’s role wonderfully The word of the day was “scrumptious”
Attheend,therewasameetingawardsessionforthe best speaker, the best role player, the best tag role player and the best evaluator. Our dear madam president TM Chandula Jithmi presented the token of appreciation to our humble madam, DTM Srianthie Salgado for visiting our club and conducting a productiveeducationalsession.
Since the theme of the meeting was “Food Cravings”, we had a compendium of scrumptious food after the meeting.
Everyoneenjoyedthe‘FoodCravings’themedmeeting havingmerrimentandknowledge.
Theannualinternationalandtabletopicsspeechcontestof PanaduraToastmastersClubwasheldonthe11thofMarch, 2023. TM Sajini Bandaranaike was the chief judge of both contestsandtheywerechairedbyTMChandulaJithmi.The contest master for the international speech contest was TM Venuja.. and the table topics contest was TM Kavisha Batawala. The event began with the international speech contest and four talented and acclaimed toastmasters contestedthisyear.Thecontestantsspokeonvarioustopics leavingtheaudiencewithwordsofinspiration,guidanceand motivation. TM Ravindu Amendra emerged victorious winning first place. TM Seraan Aponsu was awarded 2nd placewithTMRanudiKulathungawinningthirdplaceinthis segment of the competition. Next up in the event was the tabletopicscontest Therewasanenthusiasticparticipation of six brilliant toastmasters from the club. All participants had to speak on the topic “It is better to commit smaller wrongs for better rights”. A simple topic yet onerous task, ll i d b ll d i h i
Everybody has stories in their life, but people do not think that those stories are impactful to change another life. Stories are a powerful way to address the hearts of people. However,thisincorporationofapersonalstoryintoaspeech of 5-7 minutes should be done carefully as well as strategically.Sincethetimeislimited,theaudienceexpectsa take-homemessagefromthespeech.
Aspeechisanartthatcanbeusedtoconvince,persuadeand inspire. The words play a key role while the plot heightens thequalityofthemessage.Thestorywhichapersonselects for the speech should be appropriate. If the story is highly personal, such content should not be shared among the public. If the content does not harm any character or any ideas or philosophies, it can be shared among the public. Always,thespeakershouldmakesurethatthesestoriesare only add-ons to the speech. Therefore, the story should be craftedmeaningfully.Itshouldbeclearandsimple.Theplot shouldbefreeofconfusion.Thestoryshouldflowsmoothly, but it should not be very direct as well. Thus, this hampers thecuriosityoftheaudience.Astoryshouldbenarratedina waythatevokesthecuriosityofthelistenersateverysecond. Therefore, the element of curiosity is a must in a good speech.
Further,thiscuriosityshouldbetakentothehighestplacein thespeechwhichistechnicallycalled“climax”.Theclimaxof the story is the turning point of the speech. Hence, these placesshouldbepaidmoreattentionbythespeaker.There shouldnotbetoomanycharactersinthestory Itshouldbea maximum of three characters. When there are more charactersinthestory,itisdifficultforthespeakertohandle them successfully. At the same time, there is a high possibility of making confusions in the audience Therefore, itiswiseenoughto takenlyafewcharactersintothestory.
Moreover,theuseofdialoguesisindeedpowerfuland effective in addressing the audience. However, too muchofdialogueswillagainhindertheessenceofthe speech. Hence, a few, powerful dialogues will be enough to bring out the key message of the speech. The speaker should have sufficient time for the resolutionofthestoryanditshouldbeartfullylinked withthecoremessageofthespeech.
Therefore, the ending of the speech should be remarkablefortheaudience.Perhaps,theymightnot remember the beginning of the speech, but the closure will remain forever in their hearts. A powerful storycanchangeanythinginlife.Itisindeedafuelto runthebodymachine.
The use of subtle words, and thought-provoking phrases mixed with critical and humorous storylines add glamour to the speech and this kind of speech with a good delivery will definitely win the hearts of thelisteners.He/shemightnotbecomethechampion ofthecontest,butthatpersonbecomesthechampion oftheaudiencewithoutanydoubt.
Haveyoueverfeltyoucan’tmoveoninyourlife?Feelingthatyou are stuck and imprisoned somewhere without reaching your potential even though you know you can do more than you are already doing? Let me show you how your prison door is locked.
It’slockedbylackofconfidence
What is Self-confidence? Self-confidence is your belief in yourself andyourabilities.
Now let me walk all of you through two reasons that keep us lockedinthisprison
01.Shame
When you set your foot in front to do a table topic/prepared speechdoyoufeelwhatifImakeamistake?Ifsomeonecriticize you for your ignorance in a topic? Have you felt you are always going on in an emotional roller coaster of how others may be thinkingaboutyou?
The root cause behind this is shame It is the intensely painful feeling of believing that we are flawed & somehow unworthy of
Are you so fearful of doing mistakes, fear it will ruin your imageothershaveofyouordoyoudoubtyourcapabilityto dosomething?
Your beliefs & perception about yourself, your capability and your actions (not keeping promises you make to yourself) are roots to your self-doubt. Self-judgment, criticismwilladdmorepoisontoyourself-doubt. Fewkeystounlockself-doubtare;
1 Learn how to attune to your feelings and be there for yourself.
Do not run away from your struggles by procrastinating, doingthingstotakedistractyourself
2. Journal/ask yourself why you doubt you whenever you feelthiswayratherthanseeingitasanenemy.
3.Wheneveryoupromiseyourselftodoacertaintask,doit. If not don’t postpone it continuously Do small tasks continuouslytobuildyourtrust
It was a brilliant day in December 2020. Panadura Toastmasters Club had their themed meeting on ChristmasandIwasinterestedinjoiningwhenIsawthe flyer on Facebook. There, I was inspired and impressed with the way they conducted the meeting. They were very committed & warmly welcomed all the guests. I received even a virtual gift and that was really interesting.
Bythen,Iknewonlyonefromtheirclub,yetafterjoining that meeting, I got almost everyone as friends. Thereafter,Ididsomespeechesattheirclub.Sincethen, wheneverIneedasupportinToastmasters,Icallortext one of them and vice versa. Now, they are not just ToastmasterfriendsbutalsoRoastmastersonFacebook andwhereverwemeet.
Accordingtomypointofview,almostallinthisclubare dedicated to enhance the quality of the club and
I am Erandi Ranasinghe, current assistant area director of area H2, Administration manager of division H, immediate past president of the Avissawella toastmastersclubandthecharterpresidentofthesame club. So let me share my story of my toastmaster’s pathway journey and how it has helped me out in my careerlifeandpersonallifeaswell.
First,ImustsayIhadaphobiaofpublicspeaking.W
I was schooling, I was winning all-island awards a national awards for my English creative writing a dictation,butwhenIgoupontoastage,Iwasstrugg tofindwordstospeakout.Soasyoucanunderstan didn’t have the confidence to speak up the languag mastered in creative writing. This phobia remained sameuntilIstartedmyuniversitydegree.WhenIwa university,Ijoinedthegavelclubandlearntabitab toastmasters.Icouldinvolvemoreintoastmasterswh
When looking back at the toastmasters' journey, allIcansayisthatithashelpedmetobecomea betterversionofmyself.
Inmyhumbleopinion,beingamemberofthePanaduraToastmastersClubhasbeenhighly beneficial for my personal and professional growth. The small, close-knit community has providedmewithopportunitiestodevelopmyknowledge,skills,andconfidence,muchlikea robusttreegrowsinanurturingenvironment Asaresult,Iamimmenselyproudofmyselffor beingapartofthiswonderfulcommunity.
I never have seen such a supportive community like the Panadura Toastmaster Club Positive and constructive feedback from fellow members and mentors is invaluable.
Iamnotafraidofstageanymore.Iamnotafraidspeakinginfrontofacrowdanymore.I am not afraid of expressing my ideas anymore. This is all because of Panadaura T Cl b
Inmyhumbleopinion,beingamemberofthePanaduraToastmastersClubhasbeen highlybeneficialformypersonalandprofessionalgrowthIthinkitwillhelpmeto improvemypublicspeakingskills,selfconfidence,leadershipqualitiesandabilities of better communication. There is a nice, comfortable, joyful and encouraging environment in PTM family. I highly appreciate and I must express my sincere gratitude to all the members of Panadura Toastmasters Club for feel me fully welcomeonmyfirstday.Theysupporttomewithalloftheirhearts. SoIwillhopetostartmytoastmasterjourneywiththisamazingclub.Iamproudof myselfforbeingapartofthiswonderfulcommunity Ithinkitisnotonlyaclub,butalsoitisanicefamily.
TMDilshanMadushanka
TMIsuruSankajith
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THEMED
MEETING MEMORIES
THEMED MEETING
OUTBOUND MEETING
