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Unleashthe TrainerWithin You

District: 41

Jan/2014 – Vol 7

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 Editorial – Page 2

2 District GovernorsMessage- Page 3

3 Unleash the trainer withinyou – Page 5

4 Interview - DTM PatJohnson - Page 10

5 Revitalized EducationProgram - Page 14

6 Learning to Lead - Page17

7 Prove Your Metal – Page18

8 Contributors – Page 19

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

NEWSLETTER

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Umesh Agashe, CC, ALBEditor–Newsletter,2013-14Toastmasters InternationalDistrict 41

If you would like tocontribute in e –Newsletter, or havesuggestions forimprovements, pleaseprovide your insights, emailyour views, feedback,suggestions at

agashe.umesh@gmail.com

Editorial

Umesh Agashe, CC, ALBIt was too foggy; I was barely aware that the flight had landed inStockholm. I could see all those trees near the airport drenched in rainwater, and perhaps waiting for snow fall. I was lucky; I started the firstweek of 2014 at a new place, meeting new people. Sweden, a Scandinaviancountry in northern Europe is known for a plethora of things, but the firstthought that came to my mind was the Nobel Prizes, and the founder of theNobel Prize - Alfred Nobel.

In 1888 Alfred Nobel’s brother died while visiting Cannes and a Frenchnewspaper erroneously published his death as Alfred’s obituary. Itcondemned him for his invention of dynamite and is said to have broughtabout his decision to leave a better legacy after his death. The obituarystated, "The merchant of death is dead" and went on to say, "Dr. AlfredNobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than everbefore, died yesterday." Alfred was disappointed with what he read and wasconcerned with how he would be remembered. Alfred Nobel accidently cameacross his own obituary, and that changed his legacy.

Self-help gurus often conduct exercises where they inspire participants towrite their own obituary, to connect with mortality, to realize their goals andinsanely focus on them. Finding the purpose is not an event, but a process,and one part of the process is to define the short term goals. WhileToastmasters were thinking about resolutions for 2014, we thought aboutpropagating one more benefit for Toastmasters.

Offer yourself to be a trainer

Whether you are a doctor, engineer or a management professional yourability to train others will always add value to your profile. And inToastmasters we learn these skills gradually, step by step. We asked someveteran trainers who are also Toastmasters:

“How Toastmasters has helped you to be better trainers?”

Learn from their experiences and the next time you write your speech, thinkabout developing your skill as a trainer. In the year 2014, participate intraining programs (OTP, DOTP) as a trainer.

Unleash the trainer within you @ToastmastersKeep communicatingUmesh Agashe, CC, ALBEditor, Newsletter, District-41

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Prasad Sovani, DTM,District Governor 2013-14,District 41, ToastmastersInternational.

He is a communicationevangelist. By professionhe is a corporate trainerand has successfullytrained many students totheir satisfaction in India,Singapore, and Brazil.

You may write to him atprasad.sovani@gmail.com

More, Less, Same and FeedFine!Dear fellow Toastmasters

Hi! Awesome New Year to all of you!

It is past the mid-way mark already, in the current Toastmasters year andwe find ourselves working towards our personal goals as well as the goals ofthe clubs, areas, divisions and district.

Joel Manby - the star speaker at the International Convention in August2012 said one thing that remains etched in my memory and heart. He askedall leaders to meet their respective teams and have a discussion, where,each one should ask the others, "What should I do, more of, less of, andsame as - the past." (Past could mean past few months, past year or life tillthen)

I thought it to be a great idea and here I am, asking you all:

“What should Prasad Sovani, your District Governor, do more of, less of andsame as the first 6 months as DG of District 41?”

Please send in your frank feedback to me by e-mail to:prasad.sovani@gmail.com or message me into my inbox on Facebook or callme on my cell +91-98221-93445 after the 23rd Jan 2014. (I am overseas atthe moment)

At the same time, would it not be wonderful, if the Division Governors satwith their AGs and club leaders and asked this question? The AreaGovernors could do the same with their DVGs and club leaders. The clubPresidents could sit with their respective teams and ask this question too.And each TM member can sit with the respective colleagues/family/friendsand ask what he/she can do differently for the future.

Thus, we could have a mechanism that fits in somewhere between feedbackand feed forward. Have you heard of the term 'Feed Forward'? Here theperson asks the others to help by explaining a problem / potential problemand seek suggestions for improvement. So let us call this FeedFine, wherewe get honest suggestions and get to hear what we need to, rather thanwhat we like to hear!

This would also pave the way for evaluation of one's own leadership roles.While we have evaluation of our speeches and meeting roles as an USP ofToastmasters, we still have not got evaluation forms for leadership rolessuch as Club Officers or District Officers.

I am enclosing some questions, which you may want to consider whileevaluating the unit leaders. It would be good to write detailed answers, butif each one is pressed for time, at least rank in order of preference. (On ascale of 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest rank and 5 being the highest)

How effectively did the leader perform his role?How were the people skills of the leader?

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How was the leader focused on the goals of the unit s/he is leading? (Unit = club, area, division,district as applicable)How creative has been the leader so far in solving the problems that you/the unit faced/ used toface?How are the leader's analytical skills?How reliable/responsible is the leader?How much aligned is the leader to the mission of his unit and of the organization?Would you consider the leader to be a person of integrity?Would you consider the leader to have good intentions for the organization?Does the leader have capabilities to perform the current role?Does the leader have capabilities to perform roles beyond this, in the organization?Is the leader transparent in his dealings?Does the leader 'walk the talk'?Would you remain friends with this person even if both of you were to not assume any leadershiprole in the organization and move to different cities/countries in future?What is one thing that you like a lot, in this leader's behavior?What is one area that you think this leader should improve in?Write more comments if necessary, attach more sheets, if necessary!

Dear Leaders, when you ask your teams to evaluate you on this FeedFine, you may be surprised by theanswers. You may have started out with some intention and the perceptions can be entirely different.Barring cases, where you have thought of some visionary actions, and are waiting for significantlydifferent results, let us all take action for course corrections!

Please feel free to write to me about my FeedFine!

We are launching a novel scheme called "Prove your mettle, nay, Metal" where all CompetentCommunicators are encouraged to complete Advanced Communicator Award and Keep Moving to continuetheir journey beyond CC! Please let us know what you feel about this as well.

-Prasad Sovani, DTMDistrict 41 Governor, 2013-14

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Unleash the trainer within you @

ToastmastersOn the 8th of November 2004, in an over packed conference room, a book release function was going on.One journalist asked a question to the author of the book, “This is a rather large book. Can yousummarize the contents in one sentence?” The author paused for a moment, and answered:

“Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs”

You must have realised by now that I am referring to the book launch of The 8th Habit: FromEffectiveness to Greatness: by Stephen R. Covey

Stephen R. Covey extensively focused on “The Knowledge Worker Age” in his book, and one of the traitsof a knowledge worker is the ability to learn fast and impart learning to others. Irrespective of domainexpertise (knowledge of a specific subject), the ability to train, will always be in demand in an informationage.

We talked to veteran Toastmasters who are also professional trainers. There are many qualities that oneneeds to have as a competent trainer. Here are a few gleanings from them:

Qualities like empathy, honesty, patience, pace, purpose, listening skill, communication skill, audienceconnect, clarity, confidence, command over the subject are necessary attributes to be a competenttrainer. Even while reading you must have realised that these qualities can be enhanced just by being amember of the Toastmasters club and practicing on a regular basis.

Let’s look at a few of the qualities:

Effective Communicator: Needless to say that the most important trait of a successful trainer iseffective communication. To say what you mean, and mean what you say is a challenging task. You needto have a command over the language, and knowledge of the subject. Motivational coach Tony Robinssays that “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive theworld and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others”. Few are giftedcommunicators, but so many of us can build this skill by consistently practising in Toastmasters and bylistening to others. Vikas Jhingran, 2007 world champion of Public Speaking says that

Training requires more than good speaking skills. For me, training is a two-fold exercise. First, I need todevelop material that is useful for my intended audience. Second, I have to deliver it in a manner that isunderstood and appreciated by audience. Toastmasters has helped me on both those fronts.

Toastmasters is a great way to develop material for training workshops. Often, I use their feedback toflush out stories or hone them for future use. I also use various aspects of Toastmasters; my clubmembers, my toastmaster connections, the Toastmasters magazine; to get a pulse on what people aretalking about or potential training topics. It does not have to be in the area of communications alone, itcan be on a different topic. You will find many Toastmaster members in your club or on Facebook whowork in whatever area you are interested in.

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An obvious advantage of Toastmasters is that it helps you develop as a communicator. For a trainer, theadvantages go further. Toastmasters allows me to practice my modules in a low risk environment. Thisgives me a sense of how the module is coming together, which area needs, more work etc. I often breakdown my module in many 5-7 minute speeches that I can practice as a Toastmasters speech. There arealso many clubs that allow for longer speeches. This ability to play with the structure of the trainingmodule, to enhance its effectiveness has helped me improve my training modules.

Becoming a good trainer takes time, effort, skill and good material. Toastmasters allows you not only todevelop the necessary speaking skills, but can also help you identify and develop the right material foryour training.

Vikas Jhingran is the author of the upcoming book EMOTE: Using Emotions to Make Your

Message Memorable and he is the 2007 World Champion of Public Speaking. Vikas has engineeringdegrees from IIT (Kharagpur) and MIT (USA). He works for Shell Oil Company and lives with his wife andtwo sons in Houston, TX (USA). Please click here to know more about him on his LinkedIn Profile.

Audience Connect: What is the highest form of intelligence? Scientists have found that it’s not the IQ, orbrilliance, but it’s your ability to step in someone else’s shoes. Understanding others is the highest form ofintelligence. In Toastmasters we do audience analysis while writing our speeches, we learn to presentconstructive feedback to speakers at all the levels, and we encourage Toastmasters to participate actively.When we are completing our projects we are gradually building this important trait, connecting with theaudience. An effective trainer always builds confidence in participants by empathetically connecting withthem. Palaniappa Subramaniam, the 1st runner up in the International Speech Contest 2012, shares hisviews on how Toastmasters helped him.

Many believe being a good speaker is sufficient to be a good trainer. Hence all world champions should begreat trainers. But this is not the case. The predominant differentiator is the ability to hold the audience’sattention and audience connection. A speaker does it for a short period of time (5 - 15 minutes); akeynote speaker might do it for an hour at most. But a trainer has to do it for more than 2 hours at least.In my opinion Toastmasters gave me the platform to test my ability to hold the audience.

Firstly I had the opportunity to do the "long duration" assignments in my club from the advancecommunicator series, namely the Technical Presentation and Facilitating Discussions modules. This gaveme the confidence to know that I was able to manage my audience over a longer period of time andlearned how I could simplify technical information to suit the majority of the non-technical listeners.

I also learned how to control and maintain my energy throughout the presentation. If we are so used todelivering a 7 minutes speech and suddenly you try to talk for one hour, you will realize how drained youfeel. Next, over the years I have tried many techniques on stage to hold my audience or to grab myaudience's attention like interactive exercise, humor, audience involvement, games, questions and manymore. I needed a set of audience to try all of these techniques out and I needed an audience that wouldgive me constructive feedback at the end of the day. And I got this opportunity through Toastmasters.

Finally through Toastmasters, I met people who were able to connect me with those looking for trainers.Training is a genre of business that requires connection and good word of mouth publicity which isavailable through the networks of Toastmasters. Just to put things into perspective, if it was not forToastmasters, I would have not come down to Puri and connected with so many of District 41Toastmasters.

Palaniappa Subramaniam, 1st runners up in International Speech contest 2012.

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Clarity: A good trainer is one who is able to make the subject as simple and interesting as possible. Agood trainer eradicates any ambiguity. International speech champion Daren LaCroix, during his trainingin Oration 2013 - Hyderabad said that “Great speeches are not written, they are re-written”. Whenwe are rewriting our speeches a number of times before presenting them at club level or in a contest,what we are doing? We are refining them. Through feedback from club members and mentors we aremaking an effort to make the message unambiguous. We talked to Anurag Sharma, who is a professionaltrainer and heads training functions for APAC region in Black and Veatch Company.

Ken Blanchard said that feedback is the breakfast of champions. I was in my 3rd year as a professionaltrainer and I was training a team of supervisors in Kochi. The training manager for this manufacturingcompany insisted that my sessions get recorded. So 16 hrs of training was captured and a copy wasshared with me. I never got an opportunity to look at that Video recording of mine. Cut to the 5th year,when in Delhi I attended a few TM sessions as a guest and was intrigued how the evaluators wereevaluating everything: speeches, grammar, and the overall session. And how much the speakers and roletakers benefitted from this. This was instant recording and instant playback with actionable feedback.

I became a fulltime member of The Orators Club, Pune in Feb 2012. In Toastmasters meetings, evaluatorsdid a critical and methodical evaluation of speech and roles, and this evaluation was not just restricted togrammar, throw of voice but also spoke on body language, clarity of comprehension and appropriateusage of pauses (for which I am very famous). Their feedback helped me in improving my body language,reducing the number of pauses and restricted my usage of excessive articles.

Anurag Sharma, is a professional trainer heading training functions for APAC region in Black and

Veatch. Please click here to know more about him on his LinkedIn profile.

Unleash the trainer

within you @

Toastmasters.

In 2014 be a trainer

in the Officers’

Training Program

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Charisma: For how long can we keep up our interest while facing an unenthusiastic and lethargic trainer?Charisma is the transfer of enthusiasm. A successful trainer is one who is able to fascinate and captivatethe audience with his words and body language. In Toastmasters we not only learn the usage of goodlanguage, vocal variety and gestures but we also practice this continuously. And practice makes perfect.We talked to another professional trainer and Toastmaster Aaron Watson - an entrepreneur, accomplishedspeaker, coach and a mentor to many for over a decade.

I joined Toastmasters more than a decade ago just to build my confidence. As I progressed in myspeeches one senior toastmaster said that I need to move from a speaker mode to a trainer mode. Heinvited me to speak in his corporate training program for two minutes on communication.

I was a bit scared. I practiced well. The talk was well received. Little did I realize that this would shapemy future since at that point of time I was working for a Manufacturing company Bosch India in the shopfloor!

My exposure and experience in the Industry gave me the edge in conducting sessions that were moreexperiential. I was always invited because of this attribute.

Later I then moved to a real estate company to head the Training Department. With Toastmasters andIndustrial experience I was able to develop various modules and also got involved in managementinitiatives.

I then founded Sinai Global a Management Consultancy Company with core areas in Training andConsulting. As a company we have a long way to go to meet the challenges of the industry. My messagecan be conveyed in three points

1. Seize Opportunities – It could fulfill your career aspirations.

2. Experience – Use your current experience in your field in the training that will be your cutting edge.

3. Entrepreneur – Move from a trainer to an Entrepreneur you will relate better with the Industry.

Aaron Watson is an entrepreneur, accomplished speaker, coach and a mentor for over a decade.

He bagged the 2nd place in the semi final for his speech titled “The Gutter Effect” in World Championship

of Public Speaking at Santa Anna California in 2010. He is also the author of his book titled “Voices ofmy Heart”. Please click here to know more about him on his LinkedIn profile.

Today’s information age demands the ability of a trainer in any professional. We may not have reachedthere yet but one thing is sure: consistent practice in Toastmasters will surely get you there. ManyToastmasters while sharing their experiences say that they discover themselves while writing speeches,while rehearsing them, and finally while presenting them in front of others. We talked to veteranToastmaster Chandana Erande - Division Governor, Division E, and a soft skills’ trainer herself.

I experienced the fear of public speaking when I was as young as 12 years old. It was only after I joinedToastmasters that I could speak successfully in front of a bunch of people. If there had been a platform/crash course in public speaking then, it would have made a substantial difference to my personality.

With this in mind, I started conducting classes in public speaking for youngsters ranging from 10- 15 yearsof age. This is the crucial time when fear of public speaking takes firm root. Besides, only a chosen fewchildren get the chance to participate in debate and elocution contests. The rest are never exposed totheir fears and hence do not know how to tackle them. Combining my experience in Toastmasters doing

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effective evaluations and my experience as a mother of 2 boys, I have designed several short courses inpublic speaking and communication for youngsters making them thoroughly entertaining as well aseducating young people in important life skills.

Slowly but surely, I have expanded my scope to conduct trainings in companies in communication.Feedback from parents and clients has proved invaluable in polishing my course content to make it moresuitable to the target audience. My mantra is: If you can converse, then you can communicate andconvince.

Chandana Erande, Division E Governor, District 41, and a soft skill trainer. Please click here to

know more about her on her LinkedIn profile.

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DTM Pat Johnson, Past

International President –Toastmasters International(2010-2011) believes that sheis a better communitymember, parent, employee,leader, friend and managerbecause of what she haslearned in Toastmasters.

She is working as AssistantDirector Learning &Development at the BritishColumbia Pension Corporationin Victoria, British Columbia,Canada. She is certified WorldClass Speaker Coach.

Please click here to knowmore about her on herLinkedIn profile.

Achieving Greatness Together

DTM Pat Johnson

Q: How and when did you join Toastmasters?A: I joined Toastmasters in the year 1983, after being terrified by my firstexperience of public speaking. It took me a number of months before Igot there to investigate about Toastmasters, but fortunately when Iattended the first meeting, I discovered a very welcoming environment. Ifound a home, I found my tribe. When I look back at it now, I feelblessed.

Q: Pat Johnson in the year 1983, scared of introducing senators,and Pat Johnson in the year 2010, the fifth woman InternationalPresident of Toastmasters (and first from Canada), whatmotivated you to consistently excel in such a long journey?A: I think there are many factors which kept on motivating me for such along time- let me touch base with some of them. First of all I believe thatthis is an education programme, and I never lost sight of the fact that Icame here to learn. I think the variety of people in Toastmasters and theexperiences they bring to Toastmasters has kept me very interested.

I went through ups and downs as people do, and I think some peoplebecome non members in such phases. But I always kept myself engaged.I started with stages where I wanted to just enhance my confidence, andexpress my thoughts, give voice to things I was thinking about.

Shortly after joining Toastmasters, I attended the district conference, andI met International Directors at the very first district conference. I wasimmediately exposed to the big world of Toastmasters, so I knew whatexisted out there. And as I am a curious person, that makes me a lifelonglearner.

I visited many clubs in my District as an Area Governor; I got recognisedas the Area Governor of the year. So that was hugely encouraging to mea person who was shy, lived in a very small community, and did not havemuch opportunity.The first six years were easy to stay involved in because I achieved myfirst DTM, I chartered a new club and I helped clubs which were failing invery small communities. And in the mean time, I never missed a singleDistrict Conference, or the District Executive Committee meeting everymonth.

I was so hungry to learn, and Toastmasters provided challenges one afteranother, which kept me motivated. In the bargain I made many friendsand mentors.

Q: As a woman, how do you think we can increase moreparticipation of women in Toastmasters? In Region 13 orspecifically in India where it is very less compared to globalstandards.A: This is a very challenging question. I think it is culture based. This

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challenge is not only in India but in various regions of the world. In my opinion, as women grow in theorganization they can invite more women.

There are role-models; I think we need to put them on the forefront of Toastmasters. We can targetwomen organizations, where they naturally get together. When I was in South Africa, I went to a numberof women networking events. We promoted Toastmasters specifically to business women participating innetworking events.

We need to share more and more stories about women in Toastmasters, and about the kind of valueaddition Toastmasters did in their lives.

Q: What did you learn from the leaders in Toastmasters before you became InternationalPresident in 2010-2011?A: The list of learning’s from fellow Toastmasters is huge, but I would like to mention a few things Ilearned from leaders in Toastmasters

Lead with your heart: You need to be a heartfelt leader, true to your calling.Importance of being a careful listenerBeing able to take a very complex discussion of many people and condensing it down to a keyselling point.Stay true to your values but never lose your sense of humour.People, that’s what really matters.

Q: Please share some of your best achievements as an International President of ToastmastersInternational.A: One of the things that I deeply thought about while running for International President wasGlobalization. At that time we were not regionalised, and I strongly felt that Toastmasters shouldbecome a global organization.

We needed a two thirds vote at the international convention for initiating the process of Regionalization. Isaid that if we do not do this, Toastmasters would cease to exist.

I feel honoured that I was in the executive committee. I think that was the greatest moment in myToastmasters journey. I was a part of huge team which brought it into reality.

Another equally important thing was rebranding to reach to new communities and new demography.

Q: Your message to leaders in Toastmasters.A: If we feel something is important, we can find the time and the resources. Not having funds andresources is just an excuse.

We need to share more and more storiesabout women in Toastmasters, and about thekind of value addition Toastmasters did in theirlives.

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Revitalized Education ProgramMany of you might have heard about Toastmasters Revitalized EducationProgram. Some of your friends have been selected as Ambassadors ofRevitalized Education Program. Aishwarya Gawade, ACB, ALB one of theyoungest ambassadors of this program and President of Toastmasters Club ofPune West shares some information with us. Please click here to know moreabout her on her LinkedIn profile.

As the world changes, Toastmasters International is changing with it. That means offering more andbetter opportunities to grow and learn. After much thought, research and analysis, Toastmasters isrevitalizing its education program.

The program will debut in the second half of 2014. This project, one of the organization’s most significantin recent memory, will have a profound impact on the lives of countless people—and you will have a hugepart to play. The participation of members is a key to the success of the program.

The updated program will offer a clearer path for achieving education awards. In addition, a greateremphasis will be placed on developing relevant, real-world communication and leadership skills in aglobally evolving marketplace. The core competencies you demonstrate will help you meet personal andprofessional goals.

Is the foundation of Toastmasters changing? No. The traditional core of our education system will stayfirmly in place. Achievement and recognition remain at the heart of the process. However, theorganization is taking the learning experience to the next level.

Technology will become a powerful tool. The revitalized program will marshal and refine online resourcesto boost self-directed learning. You will be able to harness technology to improve your speeches andmeeting roles.

You will be able to access educational materials through mobile web applications on your Smartphone’sand Tablets. Video will become a key learning tool. Expanded digital content will be available, along withopportunities to reach around the globe and learn along with members in other lands.

With such far-reaching technologies at your fingertips, you can expand your horizons on many levels.Toastmasters International aims to leverage the power of this global organization like never before.

Over the course of the next year, many member volunteers will work with the developers of the revitalizedprogram to ensure that it meets the goals and objectives of all members and remains true to thefoundation of the organization. These members are divided into two groups: Learning Masters andAmbassadors. They will provide feedback on the enhanced education program and help to communicateits benefits.

The member volunteers are from all over the world and reflect a wide range of experience inToastmasters.

Ambassadors have a major role to play in making the Revitalized Education Program successful. They arecharged with motivating, educating and inspiring fellow Toastmasters around the world as they build

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excitement and support for the program. This calls for members who are skilled and enthusiastic speakersand communicators.

This group of volunteers will number 1,500 in all. There will be two roles in the Ambassador program,Chief Ambassadors and Ambassadors. There will be one Chief Ambassador for each district and oneAmbassador for every 10 clubs within a district.

The Chief Ambassadors will:Select a portion of their team of ambassadorsLead the Ambassadors of the districtEducate the Ambassadors and other members about the revitalized programProvide updates as the project progressesExplain the program’s enhancements and benefitsServe as a conduit between the development team and ambassadorsAnswer members’ questions

The Ambassadors will:Educate other members about the revitalized programProvide updates as the project progressesExplain the program’s enhancementsSpread the word about its benefits for ToastmastersVisit clubs and answer members’ questionsWork closely with the Chief Ambassador to share member feedback and questions.

Chief Ambassador for District 41 is DTM Punita Singh.

Congratulations to all the Learning Masters and Ambassadors of District 41.

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Learning to Lead

Everyone has a story to tell, and in Toastmasters we have stories fromsurviving to thriving on the stage. We have stories of effective leaders & storiesof success. In this new section we present you stories of Toastmasters, theirjourney as public speakers, and their learning while serving as leaders in

Toastmasters. In this issue we have a story of DebadityaChakrabarty, DTM who won double bubble prize (Areas showing

exponential growth doubling number of clubs they had at the start). He shareshis journey as an Area Governor of Area B3 (Noida and Allahabad) during2012-2013. Please click here to know more about him on his LinkedIn profile.

When I was nominated as the Area B3 Governor, I had a big task in my hand. The task was to fill theshoes of the Mr. Varun Gupta, immediate past Area B3 Governor. Area B3 started the Toastmasters year2012-2013 with 3 clubs. The best part was that the three clubs were within a radius of 1km, and all thethree clubs were established and had good leaders and officers. So, handling the three clubs was veryeasy. I started my ground work even before my term started and spent time interacting with the membersof these clubs.

At the beginning of the year we planned to work as a team Division B and depending on the leader’sgeographical position, it would be assigned to an Area Governor to look into.

I started my work with OSS Cube Toastmasters. After initial discussions over the phone we organized theDemo Meeting. This was very successful with 25+ people attending the meeting. The management of theorganization was so thrilled with the Toastmasters program that they announced special benefits toassociates who would complete their educational awards within a period of 6 months and also toassociates who would have a certain percentage of attendance in the regular meetings. However it tooktime for the club to materialize as arranging 20 members was an issue.

Then we organized a meeting at Barco Electronics. The meeting was organized in an auditorium in theorganization and was attended by about 30 members. It took another two months for the club tomaterialize.

The third club which was added to my Area was Allahabad Toastmasters club. The entire credit for startingand nurturing this club goes to DTM Harsh Singhal. Despite his hectic role as Division Governor, he tooktime out to help Division B and gave an opportunity to the citizens of Allahabad to improve theircommunication and leadership skills.

Some important points about growth of new clubs:-

Regular follow up with prospective leads.Explain the benefits of Toastmasters to prospective leads and set out the expectation clearly.Explain that Toastmasters is a place to improve public communication and leadership skills and notEnglish grammar.Ensure attendance of at least 35+ guests to a demo meeting.Professionally organized demo meeting with mix of experienced and new Toastmasters.Precisely and clearly answer the questions of the audience at the demo meetings.

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Discuss with the management whether they can frame certain special polices or incentives for theemployees who attend Toastmasters meetings.Nurture the Clubs after they are chartered, so that they move to the next level.

I would like to thank the Immediate Past District Governor DTM Vinay Jain, Immediate Past LieutenantGovernor Education and Trainings DTM Prasad Sovani, Immediate Past Lieutenant Governor for MarketingDTM Ritu Arora, Past Division B Governor Varun Gupta and the entire Division B, for having faith in meand always helping me for issues and doubts I had.

(L to R) Rakesh Pathak, Debaditya Chakrabarty, and Nitin Gupta

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Prove Your MetalIt is time to prove your mettle, OR shall we say prove your metal-:)

We join Toastmasters to improve our communication, but somewhere down theline, some of us lose sight of our goals. We keep postponing our speeches, orsome of us, just stop after our CCs.

Here's your chance to score. With Valentine's Day round the corner, we thetrio, have sweetened the deal for the member achievers.

Any member achieving Advanced Communicator Bronze/AdvancedCommunicator Silver / Advanced Communicator Gold till February 14th, 2014(completed and uploaded on or before February 14th) will get a special letterfrom the District recognizing their "Spirit of Success." & a special pin of thesame color as the metal.

To make it fair to those who have already logged in an AC, anyone who haslogged in AC from 1st July 2013 to 14th Feb 2014 can benefit from this!

The clubs that have logged in /log in these ACs and earn the DCP points # 3and 4 as a result will get a special trophy during their division conferences.(Provided the clubs become distinguished & above by 31 March 2014)

The clubs that have never been distinguished in the past TM years, can earn atrophy even if they log in 1 AC (Provided the clubs become distinguished &above by 15 June 2014, applies to new clubs as well)

Coming up: Similar scheme for leadership awards in Feb/March.

Your trio 2013-14Warm Regards,Prasad Sovani, Reet Arora & Brillian SK

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Contributors

Umesh Agashe, CC, ALB

Chief Editor, layout, design & productionagashe.umesh@gmail.com

Sita Ravinatula, DTM

Co – Editorsita.ravinutala@gmail.com

Jahnavi Chintakunta, CL

Co – Editorjahnavi.c07@gmail.com

Beena Mandrekar, ACS, ALB

Co – Editorbeena.mandrekar@gmail.com

This is a monthly e - Newsletter of District 41 - Toastmasters International. The sole purpose of this e - Newsletter is to sharesuccess stories of fellow Toastmasters, activities at district level and spread the brand of Toastmasters. This e – Newsletter is a

result of efforts by many contributors. If you would like to contribute in e - Newsletter or have an idea for content or suggestions forimprovement in e - Newsletter, please write to agashe.umesh@gmail.com