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Ralph C. Smedley (February 22, 1878 – September 11, 1965)

The founder of Toastmasters International, an international speakingorganization with more than 3,00,000 members in 117 countries and more

than 14000 clubs.

District: 41

July/2013 – Vol 1

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 Editorial – Umesh Agashe,

– Page 2

2 District Governor’sAddress – Prasad Sovani, –Page 3

3 Introduction of DistrictGovernor – Page 5

4 About Toastmasters –Page 7

5 Toastmasters – Vision,Mission & Values – Page 12

6 District 41 e – NewsletterContest – Page 13

7 Interview of InternationalSpeech Champion – Page 14

8 Interview of Table TopicsDistrict Champion – Page 16

9 Nurturing new clubs –Brillian S. K. – Page 18

10 DOTP – Snaps – Page 21

11 District 41 Officers for2013-14 – Page 22

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

NEWSLETTER

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

Editorial

Umesh Agashe, CC, ALBHave you ever searched for quotes on communication? From Plato toEinstein, from academicians to practitioners, & from gifted men to commonmen everybody has deliberated on most important trait required for fulfillingpersonal & professional life. Communication skills appear easy to learn, acommon sense, but we all would agree that common sense is not socommon.

We get trained in many skills, but we seldom get trained in communicationskills, and in public speaking skills. About a year back, I knew that effectivecommunication is a challenge for me, as it is a challenge for many other men& women. I had host of ideas to enhance my communication skills, but youcannot learn to swim by reading a book, it stands true even forcommunication skills. As John Powel has rightly said, communication worksfor those who work at it. So, where we can work out on a consistent basis toenhance our communication skills? Toastmasters provides a platform toconsistently exercise our ability to give words to our thoughts.

One entire year in Toastmasters has provided me more than just aconfidence to stand in front of the audience. Prepared speeches have taughtme writing & rewriting well structured speeches. Playing various roles in aclub have provided me opportunities to enrich my leadership skills.Consistent training in Toastmasters presented me confidence to host eventsoutside Toastmasters. Contests pushed me to raise the bar & learn fromfellow Toastmasters. Giving & receiving feedbacks has strengthened myability of quick thinking & responding instead of reacting. And above all,every week I get to learn from fellow Toastmasters, I am addicted to it.

District 41 e - Newsletter will continue to tell such stories of thousands ofToastmasters, stories which will inspire, and enlighten fellow Toastmasters.There are millions out there who might have realized that effectivecommunication is a challenge for them, let’s inform them about a platformwhich would train them in effective communication skills. A platform which isself-paced, practice oriented (learn by doing), & which is also a non-profitorganization. Let’s spread the brand of Toastmasters, forward this e -Newsletter to your near & dear once who can benefit from Toastmasters.

Please mail us your suggestions, feedbacks, stories, & your interests forcontributing in District 41 e - Newsletter to d41enewsletter@gmail.com

Keep communicatingUmesh Agashe, CC, ALBEditor, Newsletter, District-41

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Prasad Sovani, DTMDistrict Governor, 2013-14Toastmasters InternationalDistrict 41

Innovate, Implement, Excel

Prasad Sovani, DTMMexico City Olympics 1968!! Men’s Long Jump finals! Bob Beamon ran inhard & hit the board perfectly, stretched out and flew through the air like noone ever had. And finally, he hit the sand in the pit below—8.9 meter later!He knew he had done something special.

Dear District Officers, Club Officers and fellow Toastmasters!

In the 33 years prior to this, the world long jump record had increased by 22cm. Coming into the Olympics; the world record was 8.35 meter. But Bob’sjump was so long that it crossed the limit of the measuring device. & it hadto be measured using a tape. Bob had shattered the world record by anunbelievable 55 cm. Till then, the world record had moved by one inch at atime on an average and Bob’s record jumped by almost 2 feet. This WorldRecord was not broken for the next 23 years! This coined a new word inEnglish: Beamonesque, meaning a feat so dramatically superior to previousfeats that it overwhelms the imagination.

This kind of achievement is possible if we all strive for ‘Beamonesque’excellence! Can we, the Toastmasters of District 41 do that? Of course wecan!

We must have a focused approach towards excellence, for that to happen,just like Don Bradman. Once he was to be interviewed by Neville Cardusduring a test match. That evening, Bradman cancelled the interview sayinghe needed to focus because the team needed him to make a double centurythe next day. Cardus pointed out, “Don, your previous innings on this groundwas 334, and the law of averages is against another such a score!” Bradmantold Cardus, "I don't believe in the law of averages. I believe in myself!”

Bradman focused on his innings & scored a triple century again, defeatingEngland as well as the ‘Law of Averages’! His career average of 99.94 has notbeen surpassed by anyone & may never be. The next best average is lessthan Bradman’s by almost 40 runs! A difference between the best and thesecond best of about 40 percent!!! Bradman scored runs so consistently, thathuge averages are known as Bradmanesque!

If we, the Toastmasters of District 41, are focused on excellence & areBradmanesque as well as Beamonesque, we may re-write History &Geography of Toastmasters & there will be a new word coined in TI fraternity– ‘Forty-Onesque’!

We must keep improving & implementing until we are perfect. Pole-vaulterSergei Bubka broke his own record thirty-five times! And these principlesapply everywhere; in sports as well as speeches. I was fortunate to travel

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last year, with Ed Tate, World Champion of Public Speaking for the year 2000. When I asked him about hisspeech preparation that won him the crown, he said, “Prasad, I wrote & re-wrote my winning speech 168times and after that I rehearsed it more than a thousand times!” Most of us, might not have rehearsed allour speeches put together 168 times! We must deliver our project speeches in such a manner that peoplelook forward to our next project speech. We must always strive for Forty-Onesque!

How will we get excellence? There is a famous saying, “What got you here won’t get you further!”... Wehave focused on ONLY Numbers for far too long in the recent past and that was the need of the hour then.However, we need to change that mindset. We need to focus on club quality, individual speech quality andeven changes in the way we think.

It is a strange paradox that we have to innovate and excel as speakers, while we need to implementthings as leaders.

Innovation can happen in the topics we select for our speeches, or the perspective we adopt while lookingat our own lives. Innovation can be accomplished by using an out-of-the-box thinking or by lookingdifferently at the same topics. We should seek innovation in the way we do things. Hence we arelaunching an award called “Innovate to Excel” . Any Toastmaster can give us ideas and these can be in 4categories: Individual Innovation (Speaking), Club meeting/ Administration Innovation, DistrictAdministration Innovation, PR/Conference/Other Innovation. Each month will have 4 awards under these 4categories. Anyone who gives the best innovative idea will win a surprise gift. Each idea that does not winin a particular week will get carried to the next month automatically. Thus the “Thinkers” amongst us willbe rewarded!

On the other hand, we need to implement many decisions & ideas as leaders. We do have lot of ideas, andwe will add a lot more through the contest “Innovate to Excel” But, alas, these ideas are of no use unlesssomeone implements them! What we need for a successful club / district is that someone ought to go outand work on them. I have seen some Division & District Conference Organizers lose money becausesomeone gives them a ‘better’ idea and leaves without implementing the same!”

While all the club and district leaders have always welcomed innovation in running of meetings,conferences, design, format and other areas, we have some standard operating procedures, which aretime-tested and success is assured if one were to just use these standard operating procedures.

Hence we say, — for a leader —, “One implementation is greater than 50 ideas!"

Another favorite mantra that I personally quote is “Done is better than perfection!” If we wait for theperfect leadership decision, chances are that we may never be able to decide. At times, it is better todecide either way and move ahead in life. We ought to decide fast and implement those decisions. Hencewe say, “Done is better than perfection!”

So, friends, we will need to focus on excellence, innovation and implementation!

It is a rather odd combination, but my Forty-Onesque friends are capable of doing that!

Let us all achieve Excellence through Innovation and Implementation!

Innovate, Implement, Excel!

-Prasad Sovani, DTM,District Governor, 2013-14Toastmasters International District 41

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Introduction of our District Governor Prasad Sovani, DTM

Experience in TMs:Member of TI for 18 yearsCompleted the title of DTM in 3 yearsWon 47 trophies in Public Speaking in Singapore and India in all 5 types of speech contests.President of Bradell Heights Toastmasters Club, Singapore, which he led to the position of number1 in Asia and number 5 in the world, amongst more than 8000 clubs, then.Was awarded a title 'Super Toastmaster' & 'Legendary Toastmaster'He was honored as 'Man of the Year' in Toastmasters for 2 consecutive years.Organized the biggest ever speech contest in South East AsiaWon the Area Governor of the Year Award in 1997-98He started the first community club in Pune- Toastmasters club of Pune, which has given birth to 5more community clubsHe has founded 24 Toastmasters clubs so farServed as Division Governor in 2010-11. The only division to grow by 70% and only division tohave all its area achieve the highest honor of “President’s Distinguished Area”Served as Lieutenant Governor for Marketing (LGM) for District 41 in 2011-12. The clubs in thedistrict grew from 98 to 134. He was awarded with Marketing Excellence award which is given toonly 3 persons in the world.Served as LGET for District 41 in 2012-2013 when our district reached “President’s DistinguishedDistrict” status before May for the first time in history.

Apart from this, Prasad has had success in many different fields in life.Won both the Maharashtra State Government Merit Scholarships in Middle & High School. Toppedthe state of Maharashtra in Mathematics in High School Scholarship Exam.He was the Top Salesperson & later Top Sales Manager for his company nationwide.Won the scholarship of the Rotary Foundation to travel to South America, as a Cultural Ambassadorof Maharashtra under a program ‘Group Study Exchange’.Excelled as a Rotary President in 2009-10Won the Spanish Poetry Competition 2000-01 in University of Pune. Writes poems in 4 languages-Marathi, English, Spanish & HindiHe did his Masters in Economics & currently is pursuing PhD in Latin American Economies.He has travelled to some 360 cities in 27 countries in 4 continentsA cricket enthusiast and a qualified umpire. He wrote articles while still in college.An avid reader and a prolific writer. He writes articles on Economics, International politics, traveland sportsA Corporate Trainer by profession, he trains in Sales, soft skills, Public Speaking, Economics &many other topics under his company, The POEMS Trainer

In short,A Mathematician, an Economist, a Successful Salesperson, a Super Manager, a ProfessionalThinker, an Experienced Trainer, a Consultant, a Prolific Orator, a Sensitive Poet, an AnalyticalWriter, a Passionate Globe Trotter, an Explorer of the Unknown…A Dynamic Leader, a Purposeful Executor, a Creative Visionary….A Philanthropist, a Rotarian, a Toastmaster.

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FAQ

About ToastmastersToastmasters Club is a place where members practise public speaking & improve their Communication &Leadership skills. All clubs are part of a larger international fraternity called Toastmasters International(TI)TI is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1924 in USA-- that operates clubs worldwide for thepurpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills. Throughits member clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening,and thinking--vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster humanunderstanding, and contribute to the general betterment of humankind.

The official website of Toastmasters International is www.toastmasters.org

Today, there are more than 300,000 members and over 14,000 clubs locatedacross 117 countries.

About Toastmasters Movement in India

There are about 3000 clubs in Asia and 320+ in India spread across 47 cities. There are about 80 clubs inBangalore, 45 clubs in NCR. The other major cities in India include Pune(20), Mumbai(18), Chennai(40),Hyderabad(40), Kolkata(8) etc.

Most of these are in-house, i.e. only for employees of companies such as Infosys, TCS, Eaton etc. Infosyshas clubs across all its development centres in India as well as abroad. TCS has 15+ clubs in India.There are about 25 college/ educational institute based clubs, meant exclusively for the students.

All these clubs meet twice a year at the District Conferences and discuss various issues.

Membership BenefitsWhat does one gain by becoming a member?

Improve Communication skillsImprove Leadership skillsImprove Organisational skillsGain confidence

In short, you becomeA Better ThinkerA Better SpeakerA Better Listener

Who can be a member?Anyone over 18 years of age! Typically there are clubs formed at communities, colleges, alumniassociations, trade bodies, companies etc.

What does a club member do?Attend the club meetings, & follow the guided programme of Toastmasters International in Communication& Leadership. (This has evolved over 89 years of experience.)In addition, experienced members help other club members become better speakers (Mentor them) & helpthe club in its functioning.

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How receptive is the club to new members?Most people are genuinely terrified of speaking in public or are quite conscious about what the audiencemight think or say. Toastmasters meetings are totally un-biased and non-judgemental. A visitor will bewelcomed enthusiastically into the club and immediately be considered a member of the group.

Similarly, we strive to increase our fraternity and we help you form new club/s at various locations as wellas at various institutes.

Toastmasters club is NOT

A bureau of great speakers, but it is a place where ordinary people gather & become betterspeakers. It is NOT a programme for improving English, but the member may find that his

language improves automatically.

Typical Meetings of Toastmasters Clubs

How is a typical meeting conducted?In each meeting, there are 2 sections -One half deals with Impromptu Speaking, the other half deals with prepared speeches, which are laterevaluated.

What happens in the Impromptu Speaking Section?One member gives away the topics, or ‘tables’ them one by one, the others can speak on it by eithervolunteering or once they are nominated. The time allotted is between 1 & 2 minutes

What happens in the Prepared Speech Section?The members follow a graded programme, as per the manual -- that they receive, once they becomemembers. They deliver speeches on any topic of their choice, but using the suggested format & trying tomeet the objectives of that particular speech.

What happens in the Evaluation Section?Later, senior members evaluate these speeches, giving them constructive feedback. This is the best partof the programme- positive, encouraging feedback with suggestions for improvement!

In addition to providing the speaker with feedback the evaluator learns important skills in quicklypreparing a presentation and listening skills. One thing to note is that the evaluators evaluate the speechand not the speaker. This is a subtle but important difference.

The distinctive feature of Toastmasters is this continual evaluation. Each activity at a club is evaluated:speeches are evaluated both orally at the meeting as well as by writing in the manual. There is languageevaluation nearer the end of the meeting. Even the evaluators are evaluated at the end of the meeting bya "General Evaluator"!

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Are there any certificates issued after completion of this programme?Yes there is recognition of achievement at every milestone. There are educational awards earned such asCC (Competent Communicator), ACB {Advanced Communicator (Bronze)}, ACS {Advanced Communicator(Silver)}, and ACG {Advanced Communicator (Gold)}. And there are leadership awards earned such as CL(Competent Leader), ALB {Advance Leader (Bronze)}, and ALS {Advance Leader (Silver)}. When youcomplete both the tracks, as shown below, you get the coveted title of DTM (Distinguish Toastmasters) -this is the highest educational title awarded by Toastmasters International.

Educational Programme

A Toastmasters club is a "learn-by-doing" workshop. It is self-paced. Members meet weekly or biweeklyfor 1-3 hours to learn and practice public speaking techniques. The Toastmasters CompetentCommunicator and Competent Leadership Manuals are the heart of the TI educational program.

The Competent Communicator Manual consists of ten speech projects, each building upon the other inskills and difficulty. For each project speech, the members prepare and deliver a speech in front of thegroup. After a member has given the presentation, it is be evaluated by another Toastmaster. Thisimmediate feedback provides the member with information on how he or she can improve his or herpresentation skills for the next speech.

Upon completion of the Competent Communicator Manual, a Toastmaster earns the certification of‘Competent Communicator’, and may add the initials CC to his or her name. The Competent LeadershipManual is used in a similar fashion. The member works through ten leadership projects, working onleadership skills such as giving feedback, critical thinking, compeering a meeting, team building andothers. Most of these leadership projects consist of multiple assignments accomplished at meetings over aperiod of time. When giving a speech at Toastmasters meetings, a member is expected to speak within aprescribed time limit. For most basic manual speeches, this limit is 5 to 7 minutes.

After achieving the title of CC, the Toastmaster then can go on to more advanced projects. There are 15advanced manuals in the Toastmasters program, each consisting of five project speeches. These include

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manuals on sales presentations, speaking to inform, speeches by management, interpretative reading,speaking on television, entertaining speaking, storytelling, interpersonal communication, and others.

A Toastmaster earns the title & certification of ‘Advanced Communicator’ (There are various levels in this-such as Bronze, Silver & Gold), upon completing some of these advanced manuals and fulfilling someother requirements.

Similarly, when the member works in some capacity as a service leader, or helps a new club by mentoringthe charter process as well as functioning of the club, the member gets credit for that in the leadershiptrack as Advanced Leader (Bronze/ Silver)

Upon completion of both -Communication & Leadership tracks, a person can get the title of DistinguishedToastmaster (DTM), Toastmasters' highest award. The emphasis is on continual learning in this self-pacedprogramme.

Speech Contests

TI holds contests twice a year. These allow members to practice their communications skills underdemanding conditions, view the efforts of skilled members of other clubs, and provide entertainmentduring business meetings or dinner functions.

There are five different types of contests that can be held:1. Humorous Speech Contest2. Table Topics Contest3. Tall Tales Contest4. Evaluation Contest5. The International Speech Contest

Each club conducts these contests. The winner of each club contest goes to an Area Contest; the winner ofthe Area Contest goes on to the Division Contest; the winner of the Division Contest goes on to theDistrict Contest. Most contests stop at the District level; the one exception is the International Speechcontest.

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The "International Speech Contest", selects a single winner for the entire worldwide membership ofToastmasters. Winners of this contest are crowned the "World Champion of Public Speaking" at the annualInternational Conference.

In the International Speech Contest, the contestant selects the subject and type of speech to give and isjudged on the overall presentation using a point system for various categories of skills.

In a Humorous Speech Contest the speeches are judged using a different set of categories that includeshow well humour was used. In a Tall Tales Contest, judging is based on speaking skills and use ofexaggeration for humorous effect. In an Evaluation Contest, a model speaker (sometimes called a testspeaker or a target speaker) gives a speech, and then all of the contestants evaluate the same speech. Inthe Table Topics Contest, each contestant is led into the room one at a time and presented with a questionthey have not previously been informed of and are judged on how well they respond; each contestant isgiven the same question.

Judges evaluate contestants with a rating system on a wide range of criteria based on the speech type.These rating scores are summed into a single score. The score is used to define a ranking of the top-threecandidates. A Borda count is used to determine the winner from the rankings.

Organizational Structure

The 14000 clubs worldwide follow a structured hierarchy of service leadership.Typically 4 to 6 clubs comprise an Area, and the Area Governor mentors the clubs.Typically 3 to 5 Areas comprise a Division and a Division Governor mentors the clubs as well as theAreas.About 7-15 Divisions form a District and a team of Top Trio mentors the clubs / Areas andDivisions.

The top 3 leaders of the District are District Governor, Lieutenant Governor for Education and Training,and Lieutenant Governor for Marketing and they are known as Top Trio.

There are 88 such Districts in the world. They are divided into 14 Regions and each Region is led by anInternational Director (ID), who is elected by the entire membership worldwide. Each Region also has aRegional Advisor (RA), who is selected through a process. The District leaders are mentored by RA, ID anda board comprising of International Directors and International President. The entire membership is ledeach year by one individual who holds the title “International President!” Each of these leaders serve asvolunteers and their tenure is one year except for board of directors whose tenure is 2 years, with half theboard retiring each year. The board is supported by employees in Rancho Santo Margarita, Mission Viejo,California led by the Executive Director.

This organization was predominantly North American until 1990s but has been growing rapidly in Asia andparticularly India. India has shown growth rate of 30-40% per year for the past 5-6 years.

The distinctive feature of Toastmasters is thiscontinual evaluation. Each activity at a club isevaluated.

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Spread Share & Propagate

Innovate & Communicate

District – 41Newsletter Contest

Each club can send one or more e - Newsletter designed & distributed betweenJuly to September 2013.You can mail your club’s e – Newsletter with subject “District – 41 NewsletterContest” along with club details to d41enewsletter@gmail.comFinal date for sending your club’s e – Newsletter is 15th Oct 2013Judging Criteria

o Contento Presentationo Number of people from the club contributing in e – Newslettero Number of people to whom it is distributed.

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An interview with District

41 International SpeechChampion held inHyderabad on 18th May2013. Avinash Agarwalpresented a speech title“Burn Your Boats”.

He has completedBachelor of BusinessManagement, followed bya PG Diploma in Marketing& AdvertisingCommunication from St.Xaviers, Mumbai. He hasworked as a Copywriterand Conceptualizer (forExperiential Marketing andBranding Campaigns)

We wish him all the bestfor the final round ofInternational SpeechContest. You can sendyour comments toavi.794@gmail.com

District 41 - International Speech Champion

Avinash Agarwal, CC, CL

Q: Please tell us in brief about yourself, how & when did you joinToastmasters?A: I joined Toastmasters in Bangalore back in 2006, during my college days(it was a part of our regular curriculum) Though it's been 7 years, i did takea couple of year-long breaks in between. But that's the best part aboutToastmasters, isn't it? The community always welcomes you back with openarms, no matter which part of the world you are in.

Q: How you started preparing for the contest? Have you presentedsame speech across all the levels (Club to District)?A: I used 2-3 different speeches from the Club to District level, inconsultation with my mentors. We've learnt that the effect of a speech isvery different with the audience, stage and contest level and it's crucial toadapt accordingly.

A funny thing is, I was about to discard the speech 'Burn Your Boats' in favorof my last year's District speech 'One More Round' because that had gotmore favorable reviews. But, it all worked out for the best!

Q: Please let us know about your mentors? How important is the roleof mentors while preparing for the highest level (District level)?A: This is something I've seen with many speakers. We often undermine orunderestimate the importance of a great mentor. The little 'nuts and bolts'that they tighten in the speech gives it the winning edge.

I wouldn't have gotten half as far as I have if not for my mentors and theirinvaluable contribution- in particular Punita Singh Ma'am with her hawk-eyedinsights and my club mentors Amit Kumar and Kunal Khanna! This is for you:)

Q: Darren LaCroix stressed on rewriting your speeches? How manytimes you rewrote your speech? Any specific process you followed?A: I think Darren was spot on (no surprises!) when he said, 'Great speechesare not written, they are re-written'. He stressed on the importance ofrewriting and polishing your speech after every delivery. Over time, we godeeper into it and near perfection.

I don't have an exact count of the number of times I rewrote this speech, butthis has been in progress for over a year (i used it in the contest last yeartoo). And each time I revisit it, there are little changes. So yes, it has been along process of polishing and trying to perfecting this speech. This means,obviously, there’s still a long way to go!

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Q: Humour was one of the strong points in your speech? Do you think humour always wins incontests?A: Victor Borge once said, "Laughter is the closest distance between two people". I think that line sums itall up :) Humour breaks the tension and brings you closer to your audience, at the same time makingeven a serious message more effective and memorable.

Q: Please tell us something about your stand-up comedy experience.A: The reason I started stand-up comedy was because it scared me! That was again a learning fromToastmasters. I think it's a great exercise for any speaker to perform in front of a LIVE, non-mutuallysupportive audience with the challenge of making them laugh. It's the best feeling in the world :)

Q: How is Toastmasters helping you in professional life?A: Toastmasters actually changed my career (I know it sounds like a cliché!) in more ways than one. Iquit my regular job this February and am working as a Stand-up Comedian, Writer, Public Speaker andTrainer. Thanks to this wonderful family, I literally 'Burnt my Boats' :)

Avinash Agarwal, CC, CL getting coached by Darren LaCroix

Darren was spot on (no surprises!) when hesaid, 'Great speeches are not written, they arere-written'.

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This is an interview with

winner of District 41 TableTopics contest held inHyderabad on 18th May2013.

Naveen Misra is a memberof Kolkata ToastmastersClub. He talked on theTable Topic “Half a loaf isbetter than none”

You may write to him atnaveenmisra@hotmail.com

District 41 – Table Topics Champion

TM Naveen Misra

Q: Tell us in brief about yourself? How & when did you joinToastmasters?A: I am a service industry employee having over 15 years of workexperience having started working from my college days. I was educated inSt.Xaviers School and College and have stayed almost all my life in Kolkata.My wife is currently freelancing and works in the field of multimedia, I havetwo sons. My dad is a doctor and my mom a housewife. My younger brotherand his wife are advocates. I love talking to and meeting people. I am also adog fanatic and love showing dogs.

I came to know about Toastmasters from a friend of mine, who was based inAbu Dhabi and was a part of the Toastmasters phenomenon there. I feltinterested and surfed for more information and hence chanced upon the TCSclub in Kolkata, I called up and spoke to a gentleman called Shiladitya. Heexplained that being a “corporate club”, non-employees were not allowed andhence I would have to wait for the first “community club” to happen. He alsoreferred me to Mr.Kunal Pabrai, who was and still is, championing theToastmasters cause in Eastern India. I spoke to Kunal and things happenedthereafter……

Q: How you started preparing for the contest?A: I did not start preparing per se. I was “cajoled” to participate in the clubcontest, winning that I was plummeted into the Area contest. I won that tooand that is when the expectation of others rose first and then I too felt that Ishould try harder. I kept my thinking cap on for longer periods than beforeand on hearing any topic of discussion indulged in an impromptu soliloquy,though in my mind. That I would say was my basic preparation.

Q: Please let us know some techniques winners use in tackling tabletopics?A: First, have an open mind and no pre planned “opening”. Do not have acommon opening paragraph, which you can fit into any topic, the audiencemight not always overlook this and the judges rarely miss.

Start talking about the words in the topic which strike you, which can be youropening. While you talk, think about how you can weave your thoughts aboutthose particular words in a string that is your body.

The timer will lead you to your closing, remember to take your audience backto where you started from so that neither they nor you lose clue of the topicand everyone feels that it was a “complete” speech rather than just a think-on-your-feet act.

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Q: Unlike prepared speech, preparing for Table Topics is a life-long process, but what fewprocesses one can start with to excel in Table Topics?A: I think the above answer covers this too. I sincerely suggest that keep reading the newspapers andmagazines, table topics is more like a quick service restaurant whereas a prepared speech is more likefine dining.

Q: Please let us know about your mentors? How important is the role of mentors whilepreparing for the highest level (District level)?A: Kunal Pabrai, Abdul Rahim, Dr. Punita Singh – have played a very important role in shaping up mycommunicability. Ayan, a dear friend, has been the main force in getting me to compete. I would beuntrue if I did not mention the role of Kolkata Toastmasters Club and the great band of members fromwhom I keep learning every time I hear them speak.

Mentoring is of paramount importance and should not always be looked at as a classroom session.Sometimes we need a sounding board and that is what effective mentoring does.

Q: In table topics contest what one should do? Express him/her or impress the judges?A: In table topics contest I have always felt that one should not go out to impress anyone, leave alone thejudges, who you do not see nor know. Rather have clarity of thought and fluidity in your language and youwill surely get your message across, which should impress all.

A table topic is more like a quick service restaurant whereas a prepared speechis more like a fine dining.

Q: How is Toastmasters helping you inprofessional life?A: It is helping in training people, developing myteam, helping me communicate with all around mein a very clear and precise manner. In ourprofessional life we need to know what we speak,have a clarity of voice and as and when neededmodulate the same, have clear body language.While discussing come to the point, use similes toexplain things better. In short the entireCompetent Communicator manual helps you takeoff and the rest of the advanced manuals help yousoar higher.

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From taking Bombay

Toastmasters Club to newheights, to contributing asthe District newsletterEditor and to beingadjudged the Best AreaGovernor; his contributionsto Toastmasters have beenacknowledged by membersand District Leaders.

DTM Brillian S. K. Lt.Governor Marketing District41 for 2013-14 shares hisexperiences of starting newclubs.

You may write to him atbrillian@gmail.com

Nurturing new clubs

Brillian S. K., DTM

Q: Your exuberance in taking Toastmasters movement acrossMumbai & other cities of India is well known. We would love to hearabout your experience of taking Toastmasters movement acrossIndia. A: Thankyou for the kind words. This was possible because of collaboration andfocussed efforts of a wonderful team. All the teams I worked with were kindenough to support me in achieving excellence together. I would be happy toshare my experience in nurturing new clubs.

Q: What is the magic formula that you use to promote and build newclubs? A:Based on my experiences in helping start new clubs, I have a few pointersthat worked.

Ask stakeholders: Before we plan for a demonstrative meeting or an openhouse, we prefer to have a personal one on one meeting / a detailed phonechat with the key stakeholders. Key stakeholders include Business Heads,Human Resources or the Training Team. We ask their requirements andwhy they intend to form a club. We ask about potential members, job rolesand current situation. This knowledge helps in creating the plan for theopen house.

This may sound clichéd, however unless the key stakeholders are engagedand involved from the start, it is difficult to manage membership, renewalsand in the long run-- sustenance.

Buffet of offerings: From the leads that we receive, almost everycorporate is keen to develop the communication skills of its employees.They approach toastmasters only with the intent of enhancingcommunication skills. During our initial discussions, we clarify that we arenot an English Teaching institute; Toastmasters program is a process. Theadvantage of developing leadership skills along with communication skills issomething that helps in getting them engaged. We also speak about theofferings of toastmasters like High Performance Leadership, Contests,Evaluations and even Accredited Speaker tracks. I always use the buffetlunch concept to explain this– there is so much available, it is up to theindividual to pick and choose. Anyone can come back and pickup somethingthat suits their current / future needs - every aspect helps the memberbecome better as a communicator and leader.

Customise Your Presentation: We are all hard pressed for time, and it isimportant that we help them understand the concept quickly. We alwayscustomise the presentation to showcase how specifically the program wouldhelp the organisation build communication and leadership. I learnt from myexperience that the more we engage the audience, & make it relevant tothem, the higher is the possibility of a conversion. Initially we used run the20 minutes’ video called “Welcome to toastmasters”; this was eating intoour presentation time. Hence we customised our intro sessions making it afew slides with a small presentation and a short Table Topics

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session – which helped us engage and connect well with both the key stakeholders and potentialmembers. We also customised the presentation based on the focus group. E.g. when presenting before anaudience with sales focus – we focussed on making the elevator pitches, when presenting to analysts, wespoke about making effective presentations.

Demonstrate Development: We ask for volunteers to join us for an Open house/ demonstrativemeeting. Our entourage normally has two / three volunteers who have experienced a transformation postjoining: Normally, our team comprises of 3 different individuals who benefitted by Toastmasters such as

1. A silver haired Gentleman – Fluent in language – when he speaks fluently jaws drop. He then talksabout his story, how the toastmasters program has helped him overcome his fear of publicspeaking.

2. A young bubbly – Vernacular Medium Educated Lady – she speaks about her background, how shetook 6 months to muster courage to speak.

3. A corporate professional- With Stuttering Problem – he speaks about how with practice and thesupportive environment at Toastmasters, he has overcome his stuttering.

While we may not have all of them at all the sessions, it makes a great difference.

Q: Could you throw some light on the multiple clubs at Larsen & Toubro that created a wave inDistrict 41?A: When the L&T IES team approached us, they were skeptical. They wanted to start a club in Baroda;however there was no club in Gujarat those days. Amdavad Toastmasters was work in progress and thenearest club was in Mumbai. After a few rounds of discussions, they invited me to Baroda. I spent threedays at Baroda L&T, first half day was spent in meeting the HR Team and Head of HR, who were thrilledwith the possibility of extending the same across locations. We had an awareness session the first daywherein members got a firsthand experience of Public Speaking when I invited them for Table Topics.

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30 members volunteered to be part of a Toastmasters journey. The next day all the 30 members attendeda formal training session on evaluation, taking up roles at toastmasters meeting. This was followed by adetailed training for the members identified to take up Executive Committee roles. A few points that wereraised during our debriefing sessions were hand-holding for Executive Committee, support for newmembers in their speeches. That’s when I suggested a mentoring program not just for the members, butalso for the Executive Committee wherein we mapped senior Toastmasters as Mentors for specificExecutive Committee roles. This gave the much needed comfort to the HR team and they expressed theirinterest to start 5 clubs - Mumbai, Baroda, Mysore, Chennai & Bangalore. They wanted me to travel tothese locations to conduct similar awareness and training. We were in the first year of our formation asDistrict 41 and three clubs were being planned in District 82. I connected them to Nina John & NirmalaLilly who were more than happy to take the clubs into their arms and groom them.

Q: WOW! It would have been difficult managing such a request.A: Yes, it was difficult, but then it is a part of toastmaster’s leadership experience. As I mentioned earlier,it’s about collaborating – the spirit of togetherness always works. I personally believe that at Toastmasterswe can learn more when we are ready to give. I simply followed the protocols without even consideringthat we would get only 2 clubs. I am proud of the fact that we “gifted 3 clubs” to District 82, a gift from achild to the parent. This was duly recognised by the District team. I thank the then District Trio (Punita,Vinay & Prasad) for recognising my efforts by honouring me with “Spirit of Toastmasters” Award.

Q: So what’s next?A: We always believe in experimenting. Based on feedback received, we have made changes to our OpenHouse sessions & Demonstrative meetings. This year we experimented – conducting a club meeting at theprospects’ venue. We were finding it difficult to get volunteers for demonstrative meetings. At CSC / Nokiawe invited General Mills/ Bombay Toastmasters club to conduct their regular meeting at the corporatevenue. This approach helped us achieve a win-win situation. The corporate got a full flavour of thecomplete session; members of the club got an opportunity to speak in front of a largely unknownaudience. To involve the potential members, table topics sessions are made interesting and membersparticipate wholeheartedly.

Unless the key stakeholders are engaged and involved from the start, it isdifficult to manage membership, renewals and in the long run-- sustenance of a

club.

Q: Any more L&T type multiple clubs in the near future?A: Now that we know what works, we do check with corporate if they are keen to start multi locationclubs. Few months back, we met the team from JSW Energy, had a long discussion on pros-cons how wecan make things work out. We conducted an awareness session and a couple of meetings later; they werekeen to take toastmasters to remote parts of the nation. Ritu & Sangeeta helped in conducting a demoand as of today, Barmer has processed the charter papers, while Ratnagiri in Maharashtra (Dist 41) andKrishnanagar in Karnataka (Dist 82) are in pipeline.Another corporate we are in discussion with - experienced a demonstrative meeting and is thrilled aboutthe program – we may have two clubs in Mumbai and others across locations. During my recent visit toDubai – the possibility of reviving a club was put across to me. While in Singapore one of the AreaGovernors sought help starting a club.

Q: Thank you Brillian for sharing your experiences.A: Quoting PID Dilip Abhayasekhara “we are here to change the world, one member at a time”, eachone of us should make a difference. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share.

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Snaps by Azharuddin Khadri (azharuddingl@gmail.com)

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District 41 Officers for 2013-14

NAME DISTRICT LEADERSHIP ROLEPrasad Sovani, DTM District GovernorRitu Arora, DTM Lt. Governor Education & TrainingBrillian S.K., DTM Lt. Governor Marketing

Ajit Dembla, ACB, ALB District PROVenkata R. Dittakavi, CC, ALB District SecretaryMohan Karambelkar, DTM District TreasurerVinay Jain ACS, ALS Immediate. Past District Governor

Sunil Khunteta, ACS, ALS Asst Lt Gov Education & TrainingSangeeta S Bahl, DTM Asst Lt Gov MarketingSumeet Miglani, DTM District DCP ChairUmesh Agashe, CC, ALB District Newsletter EditorSwapnil Sonavane, CC, CL District Webmaster

Chinnappa N. Nanaiah, CC, ALB Division A GovernorJyotirmay Bhattacharjya, CC, ALB Area A1 GovernorMukesh Kulothia, CC, CL Area A2 GovernorRaj Mehta, ACB, ALB Area A3 GovernorAmanpreet Singh Marwaha, CC, CL Area A4 Governor

Neeraj Kumar Gupta, DTM Division B GovernorNeha Agarwal, ACB, ALB Area B1 GovernorPradnya Nikhil Shrivastava, ACB, ALB Area B2 GovernorPrashant Pandey, CC, ALB Area B3 GovernorMeetu Mahajan, CL Area B4 Governor

Sunil Nair, ACS, ALB Division C GovernorAnju Aggarwal, CL Area C1 GovernorNikhil Khanna, CC, CL Area C2 GovernorRiyaz Khan, CC, CL Area C3 GovernorNikhil Arora, CL Area C4 GovernorRibhu Chawla Area C5 Governor

Biswajit Adhikari, ACS, ALB Division D GovernorBibhu Prasad Panigrahi, CC Area D1 GovernorNikhil Salvi, ACS, ALB Area D2 GovernorJ P Chaurasia, ACB, CL Area D3 Governor

Chandana Erande, ACG, ALB Division E GovernorNitesh Agarwal, ACB, ALB Area E1 GovernorBeena Mandrekar, ACS, ALB Area E2 GovernorJaideep Vasant Solanki, ACB, ALB Area E3 Governor

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NAME DISTRICT LEADERSHIP ROLEChandrashekar D P, ACB, ALB Division F GovernorDixith Kumar, CC, CL Area F1 GovernorNitin Sakelli, ACB, CL Area F2 GovernorSita Ravinutala, DTM Area F3 Governor

Janaki P Pattanaik, DTM Division G GovernorParantap Basu, CL Area G1 GovernorAshok Gupta, CC, CL Area G2 GovernorAmrita Chatterjee, ACB, ALB Area G3 GovernorMehul Bhati, CC, CL Area G4 Governor

Rajnish Vyakaranam, ACB, ALB Division H GovernorManju Bhargavi.S, CL Area H1 GovernorRaviKumar Nandigam, CC, CL Area H2 GovernorVamshi Krishna Poshetty, CC, ALB Area H3 GovernorSatyajit Sahoo, CC, CL Area H4 Governor

Farida Dsilva Dias, ACS, ALS Division I GovernorSudarshan Gadhave, CC, ALB Area I-1 GovernorAnupam Jeevan, ACB, ALB Area I-2 GovernorAdolph Castellino, ACB, ALB Area I-3 Governor

Pooja B Sapra, DTM Division J GovernorNitin Gupta, ACB, ALB Area J1 GovernorAnjul Hans, CC, ALB Area J2 GovernorGaurav Verma, CC Area J3 Governor

Arvind Nair, ACB, ALB Division K GovernorMohit Chhabra, CC, ALB Area K1 GovernorHitendra Bhadang, CL Area K2 GovernorMohammed Babrawala, CC, ALB Area K3 GovernorAnkita Tapkire, CL Area K4 Governor

Alfred Ravi Tauro, DTM Division L GovernorSushil Bhaskar R, CL Area L1 GovernorRohit Swain, CL Area L2 GovernorVidyasagar Uddagiri, ACB, ALB Area L3 GovernorSrinidhi Dasaka, CC, CL Area L4 Governor

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This is a monthly e - Newsletter of District 41 - Toastmasters International. The sole purpose of this e - Newsletter isto share success stories of fellow Toastmasters, activities at district level & 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

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