3rd Edition of the Club ToastEd International Newsletter "Belief"

M I S S I O N A N D V I S I O N

Toastmasters International Mission

We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders

District Mission

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

Club Mission

We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater selfconfidence and personal growth.

Club Vision

We are a global family of passionate and agile learners

CLUB STATUS REPORT

FROM PRESIDENT'S DESK

Club President, Marcus Udokang DTM is an IT Consultant, Writer and Presenter, specializing in project management and business analysis, specifically business applications, requirements analysis, and business process management. He has worked in various industries including Financial Services, Oil and Gas, and IT Training/Education.

Marcus is also host of the Podcast and YouTube channel The Inquisitive Analyst, which focuses on discussions about the triumphs and challenges within the Business Analysis and Project Management fields

M A R C U S U D O K A N G

EVENT OF THE MONTH FROM OUR PRESIDENT CIRCLE OF GOLD

Part of growing and leveling up at Club ToastEd includes events such as contests. One way to prepare for a contest is through a Circle of Gold. What is a Circle of Gold? It's an event we had at Club ToastEd 2 weeks prior to the Area E28 contest. This involved inviting 5 evaluators to listen to the contestant's speeches and provide feedback which can help the speakers tweak their speeches in time for the contest.

We had the event on a Tuesday evening. Three speeches were presented, and a Table Topic. The evaluations were succinct and thorough. Each was unique, and provided ample reflective feedback which the speakers could use. Granted, with only 2 weeks prior to the Area contest doesn't leave much time to revamp the entire speech. Hence the feedback is more for a way to quickly sharpen the speech, with a modification here or there.

There were 3 observers as well as the TMOD who provided their input and comments for the speakers.

The Circle of Gold event is a vital and crucial way for speakers to develop their speaking skills at a rapid rate. And it's a pleasure to offer this service as a value add to our club members.

A hearty congratulations to the contestants who came in 2nd and 3rd place at the Area E28 Contest. MARCUS

AWARDS

A C H I E V E M E N T S

X C O M M E M B E R S

Marcus Udokang D Deepti Potni

Nagalakshmi V Kumar

Pooja Saran

TM Saradha Sa

Almeida ad A Reh

Secreta

DEEPTI POTNIS DTM

Thatwhichwecallarose/Byanyothernamewouldsmellas sweet.”SaidShakespere’sJuliet.Butdoyoureallyagreethat namesarejustnames?

Thatwhichwecallarose/Byanyothernamewouldsmellas sweet” Said Shakespere’s Juliet But do you really agree that namesarejustnames?

Before I start a story from Mahabharat, I would like to pose a question Has anyone heard name of Gandhari? I am sure many of you have surely heard it. Gandhari was the princess of the kingdom of Gandhar. Mighty kingdom of Hastinapur had a blind king named Dhrutrashtra Hastinapur sent a proposalofalliancetoGandharforGandhari.Gandharihadto compromise and accept the proposal To show her devotion towards her husband she decided to blindfold herself for the rest of her life They both produced 100 children Imagine what kind of children a blind father and blindfolded mother must have raised. All of them drifted away from the path of righteousness and the entire dynasty got destroyed in the warofKurukshetra.

Well I don’t I feel our names carry some aesthetic force To explain my point today I will tell you two tales One from the epicofMahabharatandotherfromtheepicofRamayan. W H A T ' S I N A N A M E ?

My second story is from the epic of Ramayana. Ramayana was written by sage Valmiki Before obtaining the title of sage Valmiki, hewasaPoirotinthewoodsnamedValya.Heusedtorobthetrace passers and provide for family Once Sage Narad was passing from thatjungleandheaskedValya,whyareyoucommittingsomuchof sin? Have you ever thought how are you going to repay your sins? Valya said, I do this to provide for my family, so I am not the only stakeholderinmysins.Myfamilywillsharemysins.SageNaradsaid, “why don’t you once verify before assuming?” Valya confidently went home and asked his wife if she would share his sins? Valya’s wife said my duty is to manage the household in whatever my husband provides me; I am doing it with all my conviction and righteousness. Your duty is to provide for your family but how you do it is your choice Neither I nor my children will be stakeholders in your sin. Her stand wide opened Valya’s eyes and he became Sage Valmiki

Now let’s think of the aesthetic force. Today also we see so many Gandharis around us We see so many ladies just to show their devotion to their husband give up on so many things. I know a lady whoneverusedhairoilafterhermarriagejustbecauseherhusband has an antipathy towards hair oil I know many ladies who carry the samesocialandpoliticalopinionastheirhusbandnotbecausethey agree or have any understanding of the subject but just because theirhusbandthinksso.ArethesenotthemodernGandharis?

This women’s day think what kind of women we want to raise Women like Gandhari? Or women like Valmiki’s wife? Are we not missingtheaestheticforceofValmiki’swife’sname?

If name Juliet has an aesthetic force of love and romance on us, if Gandhari has an aesthetic force of blindness on us, don’t we need anaestheticforceofbeingopinionatedlikeValmiki’swife?

-DeeptiPotnisDTM

Now I would like to pose one more question. Does anyone know the name of Valmiki’s wife? Anyone knows the name of this opinionated woman who turned a Pirate into a sage? Try. Google will not be able to answer this question.

Uncertainty, altered daily routines, financial pressures and social isolation – the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was mammoth. I was scared, anxious, agitated and confused. MyfamilylifewascrumblingandIwasconstantlylosingmy temper. Exercise, eating healthy, sleeping enough, I tried it all.

But the stress level was sky rocketing! And then, I stumbled uponToastmasters.Ijoinedanonlineclub–ClubToastEd.

The name fascinated me. I was curious to see learn more aboutit.Andafterattendingonemeeting,IknewthatIhad found my coping mechanism. Preparing and delivering speeches, interacting with like-minded individuals and most of all the sense of belonging saved me! Now it is almost a year that I have been a Toastmaster, I’ve found a mentor who empowers me and encourages me to pursue my goals! If the pandemic taught me fear, Toastmasters taughtmetoembracemyfears.Thankyou,Toastmasters!

ROSHANSUKHEJA

C O N N E C T I O N

TM ROSHAN SUKHEJA

FEATURED

C O N F I D E N C E

A Management graduate until 42 I was just just a timid kindergartener, though outward to my kids but introvert within, I was chasing behind my dreams and my dreams remained unfulfilled. Even after being a topper in my school life I was not abletospeakoutloud,sharemythoughtsandtakedecisionswith confidence. I felt I was invisible in at workspace. One fine morning, my dearest friend none other than our VPPE Nagalakshmi introducedmetoToastmastersClubToastEdInternational.Iloved I gradually grew, learnt and toastmasters chiseled me to a better personality. Today I have been given opportunities to handle things smoothly in my work place and I lead my team with confidence Thank you CLUBTOASTED for making me grow and expand my network, engraving my confidence and fine tuning my leadership skills Above all my awesome team members of clubtoastedhavebecomeapartofmyfamily.

SARADHASARAN

TM SARADHA SARAN

A the first make-or-break m ression If done correctly, your handshake partner may even view you as more likable A lot of how we judge someone's personality is based on their handshake they say that we can judge four or five personality traits just by handshake alone In fact, we're bonding with someone when we shake hands, the touch releases something called oxytocin so handshake is also important for the connection between people because when you shake hands your brain is like "ah ! this is someone I have to make a connection to" and we would all want to make the foundation of trust and connection.

For a Toastmasters mastering the Science and Art of a good Handshake is kind of just the “RIGHT THING”

Lets see what makes up a good handshake :

1) ANGLE : For a proper handshake, the palms of both the

B O D Y L A N G A U G E

Well from an evolutionary perspective exposed wrists are a sign of submission, and both women and homosexual men tend to do this subconsciously when they are in a room with people they want to attract.

This is why while smoking, many women hold the cigarette with one wrist turned out and exposed. If you want to show power, don’t expose your wrists. And you shake hands with someone who prefers to flip your hand, make a metal note…this one like to show he is in power. You also don't want to offer your hand up because that shows that you feel more weak you don't feel like you belong there. if you want to have a nice equal relationship you want to offer your hand nice and vertical right and then move up and down 2-3 times at the max

2. FIRMNESS :

RPO W E

A handshake is like a HAND HUG. think about that way if you don't give that firmness back it's like you're saying I don't want to have that intimacy I don't want to have that connection with you right. When you hold someone's hand for a handshake, it should feel nice and relaxed, the moment you feel any tension you know you've gone too hard, you also want to make sure you're not doing it too soft

FLIPPED UP HANDSHAKE

The eye contact I know that's not essentially part of the handshake but I contact is actually a really important part of having a good handshake that's because if you're shaking hands with someone and you're making eye contact you get double the oxytocin right so when you're making icons with someone you're literally saying I want to connect with you that so think about a time when you met someone and you're trying to make connection with them and they were either looking down or looking away or overall looking over your head you remember those people right you remember those people, infact more than the people who given you good handshakes sure that's because there's a red flag.

If someone doesn't make eye contact us some part of our brain goes this person is hiding something from me even if you're not even if you do it by accident right making sure you connect with your hands and then also make eye contact it's important for that trust

As you can see, handshaking is simple on the surface but has many elements of power, rapport, and relationship building underneath. Join us in our meeting and share your awkward handshake stories……

R A P P O R T

MEETINGS

W H E N W E M E E T

DeeptiPotnisDTM FLOWERPOWER

KNOWLEDGE EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITY

G R A T I T U D E K E O S P E A K E R S

KNOWLEDGE EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITY

G R A T I T U D E K E O S P E A K E R S

KNOWLEDGE EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITY

G R A T I T U D E K E O S P E A K E R S

W O R D O F T H E M O N T H

GOBLIN MODE

Oxford English Dictionary defines goblin mode, a slang term, as “a type of behavior which is unapologetically selfindulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.”

It's most often used in a sentence as "in goblin mode" or "to go goblin mode."

I'll go goblin mode and eat cold leftovers out of the fridge with my hands.

Contests are best to rush up that adrenal gland and rewards are just the perfect thing for all the dopamine you need. While everyone was busy writing, practicing and delivering speeches....there was a whole team of Toastmasters helping me bring this piece of newsletter for you all.

Thanks a million to this amazing Family of Club ToastEd. So true......

"TOASTMASTERS" where leaders are made

Hugs, TM Pooja Saran

THANK YOU

E D I T O R ' S N O T E