eloQuence No 64

eloQuence ISSUE NO. 64

APRIL 2022

FOR THE BENEVOLENT SOUL

My most favorite personality

NOT ONE…BUT MANY!

MY FATHER…NOT JUST A FATHER..!

MY DAD IS MY HOME PAGE!

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev broke my conditioning | p. 24

My mother couldn’t help laughing | p. 19

I don’t need any entries in favourites | p. 23

WMC TOASTMASTERS CHARTERED IN 2003 | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN CLUB #603459 | AREA 14 DIVISION D | DISTRICT 20 WMCToastmasters

wmctm

WMCToastmasters

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The President's Desk THE POWER OF G.P.S.!

Getting lost is no fun.

Recently, one of my friends invited me to dinner at his home. Since we live only 7 miles apart, I assumed the drive would be easy.

I was wrong.....I knew I was close, but I was still lost. I reached the place but I couldn’t figure out his house after 20 minutes of search. To make matters worse, I had forgotten my mobile phone at home.

TM Abdul Rahim

Finally, I decided to trust my instincts. I parked my car on the side of the road, jumped a grassy divide, and walked right up his front steps.

I wondered, if only I had a GPS (global positioning system), it would have been so much easier.

Your Toastmasters journey also requires a GPS. Without it, you could spend years drifting and wandering.

G.P.S. will provide you with a carefully plotted course to reach your destination.

So what is a GPS ?

G: Goal. A goal is a dream with a deadline. If you don’t know where you want to go, any path will do just fine. Members like this may feel adrift with little sense of purpose or direction. Goal setting will help you crystallize why you joined and how you can benefit from Toastmasters.

P: Plan. Next, break down your goal into smaller targets. Then, set precise dates to complete those targets. Have your employer or spouse agree to your action plan and ask them to help you stick to it.

Leave a comfortable margin to ensure your goal is achieved by your deadline. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

S: Support. Find a support team to help you reach your goal. Your club mates provide accountability, positive support and encouragement. Ask your mentor to contact you seven, five and three days before your next scheduled speech. If current friends are not supportive of your self-improvement goal, find new friends. Surround yourself with people who are genuinely interested in your development and success.

Occasional obstacles and roadblocks may impede your Toastmasters journey, but if you regularly check your G.P.S. and keep moving forward, you will reach your destination.

See you at the finish line...!

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Message from VP Education Gratitude May 2021, when Toastmaster Ganapathy called me to take up the officer role of VP Ed for the term 2021-22, to be honest, I was very much reluctant. However, after having few rounds of discussions, I was convinced and decided to take up this added responsibility to my already quite a packed agenda.

After a smooth handover from outgoing VP-Ed, good friend Jefrey Abraham, I started the job. I must thank our President for being a great help and support throughout my term (including the next 2 months). Of course, encouragement from the senior members of our club, along with great participation and all-round support from all the members made it an enjoyable learning experience.

TM OVIN CRASTA

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Now with 2 months left in this term, I am glad I was able to fulfil this great responsibility. Online meetings are at times dull and the participants tend to get distracted. However, I am glad; we were able to conduct great workshops and have interesting themes that kept everyone involved hence leading to good, successful meetings. We ensured, the google forms sent well in advance to our members and most of the times received prompt response, which helped me to assign the roles accordingly. Initially we had fewer speakers take up speeches, but our senior members DTM Rekha & DTM Babu...

Message from VP Education were able enthuse positive energy and now members volunteer themselves to take up roles and speeches without having to be reminded.

On DCP goals, we have a plan to achieve all the points for this term and special thanks to all our speakers.

Special mention to all the role players for raising their hands and conducting them efficiently. Few members have set very high standards with their roles through innovative ideas special mention must be made of TM Yashodhan.

Another highlight was the club contest, we did have initial hiccups but today I am proud to let you know, 4 of our esteemed members were part of the Division contest and out of which, 2 are representing our club in the District. Even though our club had a great talent in the past, somehow our members did not qualify to the District, so this is indeed a great achievement for us.

My special thanks to all the members for taking up the roles and performing them diligently. I am grateful to all my fellow excom members for their helping hands and supporting me all the time. Finally, yet importantly, I am grateful to my President for helping me through the term by making the agenda more interesting by arranging the workshop speakers, having external general evaluators. This experience developed a great camaraderie with me and my President. My wife keeps joking with me, that I spend more time talking with TM Abdul Rahim than her.

There is saying, when everything goes well say nothing and take a bow… that is what I wish to do in the forthcoming AGM with all your support and coordination…

Gratitude from VP Education!

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A Note from your VP Public Relations “Leaders are optimistic. When you walk with leaders, the spirit of hope will ramble around you and you will feel like “yes, I can break barriers with few blows.” - Israelmore Ayivor No matter how long you've been in that place, no matter how long you've practiced that negative emotion, no matter what the conditions that you're standing in that you're observing that are making you feel less than good; it doesn't matter how big, bad and awful whatever-it-is is that you think you're living; 10 minutes is as long as we think it would ever take to achieve the important manifestation of the improved emotional state of being.

TM Prabodha Sarangi Yes, we can! Even I received very fewer articles this time, but are very unique and thoughtful topics. I managed to make this eloquence #64 of WMC Club, with the help of dearest excom members. I must thank you all, who put their time and efforts to write their articles. Dear readers, please go through all the lovely, informational and inspirational articles. With the theme "My favorite personality" Highlight: In this edition, we bring the entire list of world champion speakers since year 1938 and tips on efective body language to speak better!

Happy Reading!

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Educational Update

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Annual Club Contest Highlights!

International Speech Contest 1st Place

2nd Place

TM Anil C Kumar

TM Norman Dass

3rd Place

TM Murali Udayakanth

Humorous speech contest 1st Place

2nd Place

TM Yashodhan Abhayankar

TM Murali Udayakanth

3rd Place

TM Kiran Poithaya

Speech evaluation contest 1st Place

TM Jefrey Abraham

2nd Place

TM Murali Udayakanth

3rd Place

TM Anil C Kumar

Table topics contest

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1st Place

2nd Place

TM Sukumar Swaminathan

TM Jefrey Abraham

3rd Place

TM Anil C Kumar

Area Contest Highlights!

International Speech Contest

Humorous speech contest

2nd Place

2nd Place

TM Norman Dass

TM Yashodhan Abhayankar

Speech evaluation contest

Table topics contest

1st Place

1st Place

TM Jefrey Abraham

TM Sukumar Swaminathan

BTAC Contest Highlights!

Humorous speech contest

Table topics contest

1st Place

1st Place

3rd Place

TM Yashodhan Abhayankar

TM Jefrey Abraham

TM Sukumar Swaminathan

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Membership Update

Babu Ramachandran, DTM

TM Jefrey Abraham

TM Raghu Kumar

TM Ovin Crasta

WMC Toastmasters Club wishes its members A Happy Members Day (1st April 2022)

TM MARKANDEYULU ENJAM

WMC Toastmasters Club takes pride in welcoming its new members & reinstate member...

Happy Toastmastering!

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Feature 11

WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKERS LIST Year 1938

Henry Wiens

Reedley, California

1939

William Roberts

Huntington Park, California

1940

David MacFarlane

Santa Monica, California

1941

John McGinnis

San Francisco, California

1942

Cavett Robert

Phoenix, Arizona

1943

Lloyd Prante

Monrovia, California

1944 &

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From

Name

1945

NO CONVENTION

1946

Thor Myhre

Spokane, Washington

1947

Douglas Sherwin

Clearlake, Iowa

1948

Robert Dellwo

Spokane, Washington

1949

Dalton McAllister

Fort Wayne, Indiana

1950

Charles Hilton

Mason City, Iowa

1951

Albert Green, Jr.

Seattle, Washington

1952

George W. Armstrong

Omaha, Nebraska

1953

Theodore B. Furlow

Long Beach, California

1954

Herbert Thompson

Wood River, Illinois

1955

Charles W. Bryant

Tacoma, Washington

1956

David Holmes Jr.

Toledo, Ohio

1957

Charles Jones

Fort Smith, Arkansas

WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKERS LIST 1958

Edmund J. Shine

Hamburg, New York

1959

Dean F. Berkeley

Bloomington, Indiana

1960

Glenn E. Carroll

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

1961

John J. Carver

Seattle, Washington

1962

Robert Garton

Columbus, Indiana

1963

Larry Beitel

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

1964

Anthony C.L. Bishop

Northridge, California

1965

John L. Nydegger

Lewiston, Idaho

1966

Michael Yaconelli

San Diego, California

1967

Dale Smith

Goshen, Indiana

1968

Grant R. Sheehan

Washington, D.C.

1969

Dennis Mangers

Delano, California

1970

Stephen D. Boyd

Bloomington, Illinois

1971

Bert Angus

Transcona, Manitoba, Canada

1972

Rudy Valle

Canoga Park, California

1973

Charles W. Stewart

San Antonio, Texas

1974

Bennie Powell

Los Angeles, California

1975

Andy McKay

Rochester, New York

1976

William Johnson

Aberdeen, Maryland

1977

Evelyn Jane Burgay

Springfield, Virginia

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WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKERS LIST

14

1978

Michael Aun II

Lexington, South Carolina

1979

Dick Caldwell

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

1980

Jeff Young

Los Angeles, California

1981

Jim Joelson

Reno, Nevada

1982

Kenneth Bernard

Australia

1983

Roy Fenstermaker

Downey, California

1984

Joe Boyd

Bellingham, Washington

1985

Marie C. Pyne

Ireland

1986

M. Arabella Bengson

Islington, Ont., Canada

1987

Harold Patterson

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

1988

Jerry Starke

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1989

Don Johnson

Torrance, California

1990

David Brooks

Austin, Texas

1991

David Ross

Norman, Oklahoma

1992

Dana LaMon

Lancaster, California

1993

Otis Williams Jr.

Cincinnati, Ohio

1994

Morgan McArthur

Idaho Falls, Idaho

1995

Mark Brown

Mount Vernon, New York

1996

David Nottage

Auckland, New Zealand

1997

Willie Jones

Honolulu, Hawaii

WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKERS LIST 1998

Brett Rutledge

Auckland, New Zealand

1999

Craig Valentine

Ellicott City, Maryland

2000

Ed Tate

Aurora, Colorado

2001

Darren LaCroix

Auburn, Massachusetts

2002

Dwayne Smith

Decatur, Georgia

2003

Jim Key

Rowlett, Texas

2004

Randy Harvey

Sherwood, Oregon

2005

Lance Miller

Glendale, California

2006

Edward Hearn

Chicago, Illinois

2007

Vikas Jhingran

Cambridge, Massachusetts

2008

LaShunda Rundles

Dallas, Texas

2009

Mark Hunter

Albany Creek, QLD, Australia

2010

David Henderson

San Antonio, Texas

2011

Jock Elliott

Bongaree, QLD, Australia

2012

Ryan Avery

Portland, Oregon

2013

Presiyan Vasilev

Chicago, Illinois

2014

Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

Nawala Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka

2015

Mohammed Abdullah Qahtani

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Darren Tay

Singapore

Manoj Vasudevan

Singapore

2016 2017

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WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKERS LIST

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2018

Ramona J. Smith

Cleveland, Ohio

2019

Aaron Beverly

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2020

Mike Carr

Austin, Texas

2021

Verity Price

Cape Town, South Africa

GAVEL'S CORNER Topics upon a table: How my Gavels Journey began!

Nathan Crasta President, WMC Gavels Club

In the winter of 2017, at my very first gavels meeting, I found myself incredibly interested in the process. the speakers spoke with the urge to both learn more and to teach more, with a perfect ratio of humour to Education, of Entertainment to Emboldment. Everything went as smoothly as a talking mirror, until a great evil decided to intervene. For you see, at that fateful moment, the TTM decided to call upon me to partake in the feared, the dreaded, the purge of so many innocents: - “Table Topics” Respected readers, I am Nathan Crasta, son of current WMC VP Ed. TM Ovin Crasta, and the current Gavels President of WMC Gavels Club 2021-2022. As my term comes to a close, so too will my tenure at Gaveliers, as I decide to venture off into wherever my future takes me.

Before I conclude my term, and thus my fantastic experience, I want to recount what truly got me into this lovely club on this little island.

Only this time, I was actively socialising and joking along with the other Gavaliers, enjoying my time here and eager to watch the participants deliver their humorous yet education speeches. A platform where they were showing off their oratory skills. I watched with unflinching attention, then after all the breaks and all the speeches and all the talks, along came the one part I suddenly found myself waiting for. “Table Topics”.

Back to where we left off, I was terrified, like so many gaveliers, and perhaps toastmasters themselves, I was not a person who enjoyed impromptu speaking, much less in front of teenagers who I had never seen in my life. That day, which is now water off a duck’s back to me, I resolved to put away that meeting as just another learning, but once in a lifetime experience. However, the next day, while playing football with my friends, one of them who attended the club informed me that I had won the table topics round that day.

Ever since, extempore and improv speaking have been one of my finer loves, an activity I enjoy participating in and often do partake in whenever I can. Table topics no longer frightens me, but rather brightens my experience whenever I happen to see it. It’s an event that truly does make me feel like a person who is always learning and can help me expand my creativity and ability to think on my feet.

Which led me to ponder...Surely one more encounter wouldn’t hurt right?

It’s human nature to want to be prepared for every situation that comes our way. Yet, it is also in life’s nature to throw us curveballs and events that absolutely nothing could fully prepare us for.

Therefore, respected toastmasters and fellow gaveliers, do not treat this activity of Table Topics as an experience to be unwanted and unhelpful. Rather, understand that Table Topics is one of the purest extensions of what it means to be in toastmasters: surrounded by other people who also want to teach and be taught, and to understand that no matter what unexpected curveball life throws your way, there will always be people who are willing to help you throw it back.

Hoping to keep you on your feet.

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Perspective

My Father…not just a father..!

To me he is not a personality, just my father. Yet when I close my eyes

to think of my favorite personality ahead of Gandhiji and Mandela both whom I admire tremendously, my father’s face strongly asserts itself into my mind. What is it that makes this man special? Of course, any girl’s first hero is her father, that’s a given. But if you have a hero for a father? That is special. So, I write about a fabulous human called Raghavan and you for sure would wish that you had met him by the time you finish reading this.

DTM Rekha Utham

Born into an illustrious feudal land-owning family, highly anglicized, peppered with innumerable personalities who live in history books, my father was the 11th child of my grandparents and youngest amongst

three sons. He lost his father when he was barely five and was brought up by his mother whose regime was strict. He was a mischievous boy and a notorious teenager. The anecdotes about his mischief during school days would fill a book easily. When he was in high school, he and friends set fire to the office block because their exam papers were in there waiting to be sent to parents. He feared his mother’s wrath more than anything else in the world. At the age of 17 he ran away from home and joined the British army. Despite the family using its influence and flexing its collective muscles, they didn’t succeed in bringing him back home. So, he lived a common soldier’s life when he should have been lolling around in his palatial home in Kerala or getting ready to go to Cambridge or a local college like the rest of this siblings for further studies.

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As a young soldier in the British army, he broke all the rules and regulations and as is their custom he was fined. At the end of the month because of the heavy fines he would get a few quarters only as salary. That change he would throw back at the quartermaster and wait for his mother to send him money for sustenance. Air dropped into the jungles of Burma, shipped to the shores of Singapore, he fought in the second world war. Like millions of unsung heroes who lived and died chivalrous and valorous lives. Bundled into the deserts of El Alamein in Egypt in the chilly wintry days of November he was lost for seven days in that desert. He dredged the terrain for sustenance, crawled his way back to the camp on one leg, the other being gangrenous with bullet wounds, with valuable intelligence on the German locations and spent the next 3 months in hospital. His mother had remarked as she watched the falling leaves from her favourite almond tree that something has ...

happened to him. News reached after several weeks that he had been awarded the BEM (British Empire Medal) which is a family heirloom and a pension of GBP50 which my mother received from the Queen till she passed away in 2015. The saga of those seven days is for another day.

DTM Rekha Utham Integrity and the ability to look at truth unflinchingly is something I have learnt, and the fearlessness of consequences is what I have failed to learn from him.

His promotions were stopped for years because he stood up against his corrupt superiors. I have never heard him even in his most difficult times say that he regretted that stance. More than all the 22 medals for bravery that he won; it was this one fact that made our hearts swell with pride that we had a father like him.

Again, those stories are for fables and stories for his great grandchildren. It was the human that he was that made him so endearing. He helped anyone in need. His ability to share was phenomenal. When he retired and came back to the town where he belonged, he transformed people’s lives. We had a driver who used to just while away his time sleeping as my parents had minimal chores to be done. One day he said he was leaving the job. My mother was so upset as it is a herculean task to get a driver in Kerala. When she heard the reason for his leaving, she was mad with rage. The driver said “Sir gives me lecture daily about how I should live constructively and make a success of my life. Inspired by that I have decided that I will run a taxi and open a workshop” We all still laugh remembering the perplexed look on my father’s face.

Every evening he would go for a walk and on the culvert by the fields, a gang of boys would sit and pass scathing remarks about anyone who passed by especially girls. My father started talking to them, initially they kept quiet only because the whole town

knew about the two guns and a pistol at home!

But slowly they started seeing sense in what he was saying. If one of the was missing at the culvert he would go visit often taking Horlicks or medication if they were ill. The notorious gang of 10 which was dreaded by the people of the area got jobs with my father’s recommendation and became model citizens.

His family was the most important part of his life for him. My mother and us five children. We four daughters were his Princesses. Have you ever heard of a father-in-law telling his sons in law “please don’t shout at my daughter under my roof. I know she can be difficult and headstrong.

Please shout at her when you go back but not in this house for, I will not be able to bear anyone shouting at my daughter!!” All the son’s in-law obliged. I am sure they also remembered he had two guns and a pistol.

My younger sister’s two sons were extremely naughty, troublesome, hyperactive kids living in Dubai. My sister was very slim and frail, and my father was in anguish as to how she can manage these two boys. So, he took them to his room showed them the guns and the pistol and told them “If you guys trouble my daughter, I will be very angry”. The rest was left unsaid, the terrified twosome behaved after that!!

We were not the richest kids in college. Yet we were the only ones for whom a money order would come at the end of the month a paltry amount of Rs.50/- to go to the college canteen and snack on our favorites. The thoughtfulness of this father was boundless.

He would write to all of us every week. If you replied, you could rest assured that within the next postal cycle his reply would hit your post box. I have never seen another Indian man who treated his wife with such respect. He would not start his meal till she sat down, if she were standing, he would never be seated, his language towards her was always respectful. Yet he pranked her all the time, lost his temper with her but always hummed old Hindi film songs to ...

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make her laugh. All the dogs, cats, cows and other animals in our home was fed chapati every day by him at dinner time. He would eat only after all of them ate. The day he passed away the cows made such a ruckus because they were missing their chapatti!!

There are only two things he told us. One is to never fight as siblings and second to look after our mother like a precious child after he was gone. I am just so proud that we have kept our promise to him to date.

There was nothing extraordinary about this man, my father. But he was the best human in the way he looked after his family, the chivalrous soldier in the way he stood to defend his country and face the truth, compassionate mentor in the way he changed lives and an anchor not just to us his family but to many men whom he inspired and helped to live a better life than they could have ever imagined.

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Attitude!

It was reaffirming! The most important tool that helps sales people win business is their own "ATTITUDE”.

It is not the product, not the discount, not the approved vendor status, not the marketing budget, not the credit line but "attitude".

Iam saying this because recently we signed a contract on not how much we could sell but how best we could develop the business when we approached the market together. We won a business partnership because the client believed in our long-term value offering. We saved a customer, who was all important to the future of our business. We got the rights to expand a service to empirical proportions in the indirect channels.

TM SUKUMAR SWAMINATHAN While I cannot elucidate further, due to confidentiality, the point that struck me in all these cases was singular and common- Attitude! Of the professionals conducting these discussions that made us WIN. In all the cases, we did not have the perfect business scenario or the formula; what we had was intent! And that was relayed rightly by our professionals. They did not hide the facts, they gave clients/ partners the true picture, if there were issues on credit lines, approval status or policy level limitations it was explained. Most importantly, the professionals explained that they were interested, they wanted this to work for both the stakeholders.What followed was Magic. We got yeses, more and more yeses…

And that’s when I realized, businesses are won by people and not just by processes or policies or proposition. The human factor is the X factor. I am not advocating that the all-important business factors such as the Ps and the other business indices do not matter. It does matter to get us to the table.

But on the table, it’s all about the X factor. And for that to happen, management has to listen; encourage its people to hold to their “hearts” and build such a culture!

Congratulations! If you have read this till now then I have successfully earned two mins of time from your life and hope this has given you some food for thought. I wanted to leave you with another curveball.... Please feel free to replace the words such as 'sales', 'business', 'contracts', 'indirect channels' etc with 'family', 'love', 'togetherness', 'bonding', 'care'....and read again!

Isn't 'Attitude' equally relevant in bringing richness into our personal lives to?! Fellow WMCians let's rock with 'ATTITUDE'!

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My dad is my home page!

TM Yashodhan Abhyankar

I opened the browser of my mind and clicked on the favourites tab. To my utter surprise, the list was empty. How did I not have even a single entry here? There are a lot of people who I like and admire, how were they not in my favourites? I often visit pages dedicated to history, sports, music, freedom movement and so on. I always get inspired by famous personalities like Shivaji Maharaj, Vir Savarkar, Bhagat Singh and Sachin Tendulkar. I found all these pages under the “most visited pages” tab. But what about the favourites tab? Why was that empty?

Was my browser malfunctioning?

I was fine with other names not appearing in this list, but what about my Dad? What happened to his page?

In fact I was expecting his page to be at the top of the list. I clicked on settings, nothing seemed to be wrong.

Finally I decided to reset the browser. I was about to click the reset button and suddenly realised my mistake. I was trying to search for my Dad’s name everywhere except one place, the home page. Yes, he is much more than just a favourite, he is my home page.

During my childhood, I was scared of him. Not only me, the entire neighbourhood was afraid of him. Well built body, fair complexion and a voice to suit the personality. He never beat me; he never shouted at me; and yet I was scared of him. The reason was his blue eyes. A single angry look from him was more than enough to keep me quiet. He never used to chit chat with me; he never asked me anything about my studies; but it did not mean that he was not paying attention to my needs. Without asking for it, he bought me a bicycle when I went to 5th grade, Kinetic Honda, when I was in college. I wanted shoes for playing football, I wanted a tennis racket, and he never said no.

“Father” of my childhood turned into a “Friend” of my college days. He wanted me to become an engineer, and I was inclined towards commerce. He tried to convince me but never forced his opinion and happily allowed me to go to commerce college. During college days I used to get 50 Rupees from him for drinking beer on 31st December and now he is my drinking buddy. This transformation from father to friend was so natural that now I wonder why I used to get scared of him before.

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He never gave me any Gyan or discourse, but taught me so many things through his actions. His love towards plants and birds, his helping nature and simple living are some of the values I admire most.

He is in his 80s now and once again he has changed his role. Initially he was my father and I was his son, now I am playing the role of his father. I have to remind him to take medicines, I have to shout at him for not wearing a mask or not washing hands. He is enjoying his role of being naughty at eighty and I am enjoying the role of becoming a father of a mischievous old boy. Believe me, it’s fun.

I don’t need any entries in favourites, because my Dad is my Home Page.

Not one…but Many!

When does someone become your favourite? For me it is when I connect with something they said or did or when they change the way I look at my life. In that sense for me it is not just one personality. There are many including the famous and not so famous. So when I am asked to write about my favourite famous personality, obviously it is not just one. Also, since there is a limit of word count, I cannot write about all of them. So here I attempt to put forward a list of famous personalities who made significant influence on my life and changed the course of my life by reading, listening and reflecting upon what they said.

TM Thirumalai Ponnambalam

David Shwartz,The Author of Magic of Thinking Big. Through him I learned to look at myself differently as what I see in myself is what others see in me.

Dale Carnegie helped me to influence people and make friends.

Although I did lose many friends while 'trying to influence' them, I also learned that small act of kindness even if it helps only one person has a ripple effect. And that even the most wanted criminal believes that he is right.

Robin Sharma inspired me to Join the 5AM club, lead without title and enjoy every moment of life.

Rohnda Brynre through her book taught me to ASK with the feeling of gratitude for what I already have.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev broke my conditioning and guided me to believe only in those things that is true to myself.

Echart Tolle helps me to be in the Now, and to be aware that my perceptions of life experience is not barred by my past pain or EGO. The list is endless. And looking forward to many more personalities who are yet to touch my life and get added to my favourite famous personalities list.

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Service to Human Kind!

When it comes to my favourite personalities, many names start flashing in my mind great humans as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa to list a few … these personalities are known for their service to humankind throughout the globe.

So, when I had to jot down few words about any such person, I remembered those who helped positively to shape my childhood and have a great influence in my life. To begin with, one of them was my grandmother - She lost her husband before delivering her first-born. So at an early age had the burden of being a single mother and the sole earner for their livelihood. My Mother - A humble lady with big aspirations and dreams and would go through lengths to achieve them , which helped me to be the person who I am today , My father-in-law – A person who would not let anything in the world drag him down. A person Full of life and ambitions. My first boss – Who spotted that raw talent in me, nurtured and helped me grow in my career.

However, I finally had to settle for writing about this one personality who left her homeland at a young age for service of humankind to become a better human being and serve her Lord. Sr. Irene Crasta (A nun belonging to the Carmelite Sisters of Ajmer) my maternal grand aunt.

Born in 1916 in a village near Mangalore and she was the only sister to 7 seven brothers! This was indeed a difficult decision for the family to make as she was most loved being the only daughter and the youngest. However, destiny had made its choice and she spent most of her life in North of India dedicating her life to the service of human kind.

Later she completed her medical studies and did her Masters in Gynecology. Though she was away in the Northern part of India, she was in constant touch with her closed ones through the only form of communication, which then was ‘letter writing’. My mother developed the great bond with her aunt since her childhood, which made her visit our house whenever she came down to our hometown.

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TM Ovin Crasta I had opportunity to visit her once in Ajmer, which had become her home where she lived for more than 40 years. I was left astound, when I saw the gratitude and love people had towards my grand aunt. People from different caste, creed and religions, met and greeted her with respect wherever she travelled with us. I was amazed how one person hailing from different part of the country, became their own through her service.

Therefore, it didn’t surprise me at all, when she refused to come back to hometown (Mangalore) in her final days as she always considered people of Ajmer as her own. She passed away in 2013 at the age of 97 and was very active until her last moments on Earth.

I have learnt great lessons just watching her, she had enormous compassion towards people, never discriminated among them and considered her service to humankind as service to God for whom she offered her entire life. She showed me that, “Through your service, you will be respected”. She is indeed a role model who has made a positive imprint on my life. I certainly hope and try I can imbibe and reflect her virtues through my actions and deeds.

“How To Live Life….. Look at Mr. OJHA” 2. A Dad every kid will wish for: I remember as soon as his daughters started holding pencil, he gave them paint brush and drawing brushes to explore their talent in painting. Whether it was sports / dancing / studies, he made sure his daughters enjoy everything but with discipline.

TM Norman Dass

You might be scratching your head wondering how come you never heard this personality’s name earlier. It is because he is just one common family man.

He works for Bharat Petroleum in Mumbai. I came across this personality in the year 2003 in a sports club named YMCA in Mumbai. He was getting defeated by his colleagues in table tennis in his company very easily. And his ambition was to become a champion in his company’s tournament.

Mr. Ojha was 40 years old and I was 18. He took membership in our club. I remember defeating him in table tennis was like a cakewalk for me.

3. An obedient son: He had lost his mom at an early age and then later after getting married, he kept his father with him and started taking care of him. He used to take so much care of his father’s diet too. Like juices / dry fruits at right time, so that he gets nutrients for his body in his 80’s.

4. Jolly young man: Whether it is his company’s party or his friend’s wedding, his break dance is there to entertain the audience. Does push-ups in his 50’s and maintains healthy lifestyle.

5. Humility: Greeting the security people every day. Giving them tip on festivals. Respecting everyone is in his nature.

That is all about the personality of a family man.

As time passed, we became very good friends. He kept practising with me daily. As years passed, he improved his playing skills, movements and stamina and started defeating me. Finally, that day came what he had dreamt of, he became the table tennis champion in his company.

If you ask me, how life must be lived?

My answer will be, look at MR. OJHA!!

It wasn’t only about his sportsman spirit, but he was jack of all: 1. A respected husband: He is someone who takes care of his wife and leaves no stone unturned expressing his love for her.

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Reflection

TM Abdul Rahim

“Sincerity is not to say everything you think, but to mean everything you say” I. livra One of the most sincere human beings I have ever met in my life is Dr. Babu Ramachandran, one of the very people I admire most in my life.

It’s a blessing that the person I admire also happens to be the founder President and a great member of our club, WMC Toastmasters Club.

There are many characteristics of Dr. Babu I admire and adore. I would like to enumerate few in this write-up :

Sincerity …..thy name is Dr Babu Ramachandran.

Every word the man utters and every word the man writes, he means it. This is a rare quality that I have seen in very few people.

Sincerity in speech and action actually opens up people’s heart towards you. Dr Babu always means what he says and says what he means.

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Not Just a Doctor…….!

Motivation …..I have seen very few leaders who’re as motivating as Dr. Babu. Even when the chips are down, he never fails to pat on your back and encourage you.It is very easy to be negative and demotivate but not so easy to motivate especially when you have your backs to the wall. A truly motivating leader who leads by example.

Affection …..when he writes “with love” Dr Babu. It is not for the sake of writing. We all know he truly means every alphabet of those two words. He breathes life into those words. His love and affection towards fellow human beings is truly admirable and worth emulating. It is this love, affection and compassion that moves Dr Babu for the :

Social service …..that he is rendering to fellow human beings. He is a doctor but whose domain is not confined to the four walls of his hospital. He has grown beyond, way beyond those walls to serve the poor, the destitute and havenots in the various fields in Bahrain. His numerous humanitarian activities serving the humanity have earned innumerable laurels over the years. Einstein said “only a life lived in the service of others is worth living”.

That’s the life of Dr. Babu.

These are few reasons why I consider Dr. Babu Ramachadran as my most favourite personality. I sincerely wish and pray that he continues his great service for years and decades to come.

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Toastmasters Tips

10 WAYS HOW EFFECTIVE BODY LANGUAGE CAN HELP YOU SPEAK BETTER 1. Move just before your next key point, and stay there while you discuss it. If you have three key points, for instance, take up three positions in your performance space. The size of your stage will determine how far you should (or can) move. Your audience will find it easier to retain each of your talking points if you give them some help in visual terms.

2. If you're discussing a chronology, move from their left to their right. Let's say you're discussing the history of the company. During "The Early Years" you're positioned to your audience's left. "The Middle Years" finds you centre stage; and on "The 21st Century" you've moved to the right. People in the West read left to right, and you can help your audience follow your chronology if you move in this direction.

3. Stand with your feet at shoulder width, and gesture but don't walk or wander. Standing steadfast means you appear steadfast, and so does your message. You, and whatever you represent, can therefore be counted on because both are rock solid. Speakers who wander have all the definition of an amoeba, and they're just as difficult to stay focused on.

4. Approach the screen or questioners. If you need an excuse to move (and you do), here are a couple of good ones. Going up to a screen is more dynamic than using a laser pointer. And anything that brings you closer to the people you're trying to influence is a good idea.

5. Pro and con. Here's another way to move that's naturally tied to your content. If you're discussing both sides of a question ("Should we go ahead with the acquisition?"), stand on one side of the stage while you discuss the "Pro." Then move to the other side while you're talking about the "Con." If your conclusion lies on the Con side, stay where you are to finish up; if you're Pro, go back to where you gave that part of the argument to deliver your conclusion.

6. Breathe. Yes: it's movement. Specifically, it's purposeful movement when you breathe diaphragmatically. Belly breathing gives you a fuller, more resonant sound, and allows you to project to the back of the room. Boa constrictors take away the ability of their victims to breathe. It's an effective way to take the life out of a speaker. Watch this video about the benefits of this powerful technique.

7. Create visual variety. Audiences naturally have a hard time paying attention. They have to remain passive. Speeches are monologues rather than dialogues. And too much information is delivered verbally rather than visually. In addition to your slides, your flip charts, and the marching band you parade down the aisle (as one of my clients wanted to do!) you yourself must create visual variety through your body language. Make it real and as subtle as it needs to be. But think about it, and do it.

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10 WAYS HOW EFFECTIVE BODY LANGUAGE CAN HELP YOU SPEAK BETTER 8. Smile. Smiling, in addition to being a pleasant element of a speech or presentation, serves a serious purpose. It fosters audience engagement. Whoever you are or whatever type of speaking you do, chances are you don't smile enough. Speaking in public can be nerve-wracking. Just don't let your audience see that it is.

9. The way you carry yourself. Good posture, a strong stance, and fluid, measured movement create the impression of competence and confidence. When you give a speech you are naturally a leader, and audiences need to recognize you as such. Think of it this way: "How you stand affects your standing with your listeners."

10. Stand and move if you're speaking virtually. If you deliver webinars, speak in phone conferences, or do any kind of persuading remotely, you should stand and incorporate movement into your discourse. You need to do so for two reasons: a) your body language is an essential part of how you express yourself, and b) audiences will hear your physical engagement in your voice. It's the same reason you should keep a small mirror next to your phone and smile before you say "Hello."

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Glimpse of past meetings!

Meeting #437 on 8th April 2022

Meeting #436 on 18th March 2022 34

Meeting #435 on 4th March 2022

Meeting #434 on 18th Feb 2022

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Meeting #433 on 4th Feb 2022

Meeting #427 on 12th Nov 2021

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Birthday Celebrations

22nd April 2022

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Designer: TM Prabodha Sarangi Contributors : WMC Members Feature Contributor & Proof Reading

TM Abdul Rahim

Stock photos: Canva.com

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