Orator 2 final

ORATOR October - December 2014 1


3From the Editors Desk Time TM Vinay Satheesh

5Message of the Division Governor TM V P Menon

6Message of the President Andrew’s Attitude TM Deepak Gulati

8Message of Vice President (Education) What is stopping you? TM Abdul Khaliq

11Message of Vice President (Membership) Spices of life TM Qaisar Amin

13Walking tall TM Aadil Kadri

15Micro managers versus Toastmasters TM Jose William

17What motivates us? TM Anindya Kar

20Meetings during October to December 2014

21Major events / Member achievements

22Toastmasters Album

CONTENTS

Copyright Notice: Toastmasters International, the Toastmasters International

logo, and all other Toastmasters International trademarks and copyrights are

the sole property of Toastmasters International. Any logos, banners and

material used in preparation of this newsletter are provided at Toastmasters’

website for members’ use. Any extract used from Toastmasters manuals is

credited to Toastmasters with a reference to the original manual/guide.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization

that aims to improve one’s communication, public speaking and

leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations. Dr.

Ralph Smedley (February 22, 1878 – September 11, 1965) was the

founder of Toastmasters International.

Toastmasters will help you to:

Speak and present compellingly

Think quickly and clearly

Become a strong leader

Listen effectively

You will learn these skills and more in a supportive, self-paced,

fun atmosphere.


Hello Readers,

Welcome you all to the 2nd Volume of Orator. At times, our personal and professional commitments stretch us to an extent that we are

unable to focus on our goals.

It’s a matter of time. We dream to reach various goals and we keep on accumulating it. Sometimes, some of us set unrealistic goals and later we realize it and makes it more realistic.

For a balanced life realistic goals is a major factor.

I am a person who keep unrealistic goals and when I try to do it, sometimes get a feeling that

its an unattainable thing. But don’t get disheartened. Don’t get the feeling

that you are not capable of attaining it and stop doing it altogether. Don’t stop it altogether. Just keep maintaining it at least on a smaller scale. I met a person at a meeting one year before. He is a person with lot of experience and during the course of the discussion, someone asked him how he handled the commitments at work, personal and social life. He answered that, while he was young, he used to be very concerned about the problems and used to get very upset and also stretch very hard when things go wrong. Later on with experience he understood that many problems will get corrected by itself, some other problems will get corrected through somebody else. You just need to work on those remaining ones which need your attention. Work on it in a calm and peaceful manner and after a definite period of time, you will see it corrected.

When you are pursuing long term goals, systematic working for a very long period of time is the main factor which determine whether we will succeed at the end. So make systematic working a habit. But many of us including myself usually thinks while pursuing a long term goal, that “what if I don’t succeed after this long preparation.” The solution is remove “what if”

from your life. Never think about “what if”. Things might go wrong, but don’t think about it now. You need to think about only if it occurs. Why waste your energy now? Problems/failures might occur. Analyse and

identify the solution to those problems/failures only when it occur and then proceed further. You will find that life will be peaceful and you

will become a person who keeps on working towards improvement and you will find a lot of

medals and successes in your basket.

Concentrated effort is the key. And time is a factor. Put systematic concentrated effort on a regular basis for the time period required, and avoid thinking about the what ifs, then when you look back after a long period of time you will find that you have attained Quite a Lot! Keep cracking your goals. Now back to business. This Orator is dedicated to the history and purpose of Toastmasters

Time

Vinay Satheesh (Member of TMI since June 2013, a real estate professional, also interested in movies, motivational books, exercise, chatting with friends/relatives, entrepreneurship and networking with good people)

FROM THE EDITORS DESK


International in the eve of its 90th anniversary. My sincere gratitude to all the members who contributed articles to this volume of Orator and I hope that you will enjoy reading it. Wish you all the very best!

The first unofficial Toastmasters meeting

was held on March 24, 1905. Much like

Toastmasters meetings today, the

participants took turns leading and

speaking at each meeting. Smedley and

the older, more experienced men

evaluated short speeches, while the

younger men were invited to join in the

evaluations.

Smedley began working at the newly organized YMCA

in Santa Ana, California, in 1922, and for the first

two years, his time was spent building a home for the

organization.

Once the new YMCA building was christened in April

of 1924, he was able to introduce the idea of

Toastmasters to his colleagues, and organize the

Toastmasters club that eventually became Club No. 1

of Toastmasters International. The first meeting was

held at the YMCA building on October 22, 1924.

Toastmasters began as a series of

speaking clubs organized by Ralph C.

Smedley during his time working for

the YMCA (Young Men's Christian

Association) in Bloomington, Illinois,

United States. As director of education

at the YMCA, Smedley saw a need for

the men in the community to learn

how to speak, conduct meetings, plan

programs and work on committees,

and he wanted to help them.

Smedley decided to organize a club

where they could learn these skills in a

social environment, and the men

responded well to the concept. He

named the group the Toastmasters

Club; "toastmaster" was a popular

term that referred to a person who

gave toasts at banquets and other

occasions.


Dear DTC Members,

What have you done today to move you closer to

your dreams? Are you expecting to wake up one

morning and suddenly do everything to achieve

your dream in just that one day? Aristotle said,

"We are what we repeatedly do." Success is a

daily habit. It's the little things you do every day

that will get you to your destination. We all

aspire to be good communicators and

leaders. But what are we doing to make this

happen. Those small but important steps like

attending club meetings regularly, participating

actively in club meeting and other activities,

attending Club, Area, Division & District events,

grabbing any available speaking or leadership

role…These are those small steps which help us

to achieve our dreams and make those dreams a

reality. Are we doing it? It’s never too late. If

you are not already taking those small steps,

start doing it

now.

In a club like Dubai Toastmasters Club, there is

no dearth of opportunities to learn and

grow. Grab any and every opportunity that you

come across in Toastmasters or in your personal

& professional life. Be hungry to grab these

opportunities and you will find that your dreams

are slowly and steadily becoming real. All the

best.

MESSAGE OF THE DIVISION GOVERNOR

FACTS ABOUT

TOASTMASTERS

Founded

October 22, 1924

Updated Brand

August 17, 2011

Benefits

• Clearer communication

• Improved leadership skills

• Enhanced teamwork

• Effective meetings

• Increased productivity

• Positive mentoring

• Complements existing training programs

• Cost effective

Dubai Toastmasters club is the mother Toastmasters club of

Dubai and northern Emirates. A club that has gathered wealth

of experience since its inception in 1996. Our Club stands proud

as members try their best to practice what Toastmasters has to

offer. Our club is representative of something more than a typical

Toastmasters club where members gather together to create an

exceptional experience for days to remember and allow one to

utilize his/her potential in a supportive environment. We are

nothing but a family of people with a shared drive for self-

improvement and to help others. Each meeting gives everyone

an opportunity to practice conducting meetings, giving

impromptu speeches, presenting prepared speeches, and

offering constructive evaluation or in a nutshell, an opportunity

to improve, to lead, to learn and to set examples. We are Dubai

Toastmasters Club.

Message of the Division Governor [Division B, District 20] V P Menon (A member of TMI since 2002, a trainer by profession, also interested in toastmasters,

photography, travelling, reading, music, movies etc.)


It is a routine for me. I do it at least twice a day, without fail. Sometimes, even four or six times. I am talking about passing by the car entrance of

my building. Halting, taking the card out, wait

for the barrier to open, either while leaving or

coming back to the building.

Yes the activity is very mechanical and

monotonous, but off lately some flavor has been

added in this part of my daily routine. I call this

flavor, the AA effect (you will know later what is

that).

Most of the times when I pass that gate, I

witness greatness. That happens when one of the

security guards, Andrew is around.

I have been watching Andrew for months now.

Rather, I started to watch him and that shifted

to “observe him” later on. Each time I pass by

that gate, Andrew waves at me, or at anyone for

that matter, with some contagious energy, smile

and character. I use the word character because

he is nothing less than being genuine there.

Probably one of the most selfless greeting or

acknowledgement that I have seen in ages. I can

actually see his full set of teeth that one can, in

a great smile.

It took me about a month or so to realize that it

is happening without fail. Then it took about

another few weeks to realize that it is leaving

me amazed to the core, that he is a guy who is

probably not having time of his life, sitting on

that chair all day long, sometimes walking

around or may be simply standing. He might not

be having anything else to do; he can’t listen to

music, can’t read a book or take a nap. A BIG

NO…that will be a disaster for him.

So how it works? How each time he manages to

make me smile or helps me to start my day with

some insane positivity. What keeps him going

and what helps him do that?

About a week back, around 6-7 in the evening, as

I entered once again through that barrier, I

witnessed it again. Andrew showcased his

signature smile and the wave. I returned the

same with a smile too.

But that didn’t seem enough. I went a little

ahead, parked my car on hazards and

approached Andrew.

I introduced myself to him and asked his name

too. As you know by now, he said “My name is

Andrew”.

Andrew’s Attitude Deepak Gulati (A member of TMI since 1st July 2010, a Quality Assurance Officer in Finance Dept. with Emirates Airlines, also interested in photography, playing music & creative writing. He says that Toastmasters is no longer an interest …… it’s in his system now.)

MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT


“Andrew, I have a question for you? How you

manage to smile all day long, wave at each and

every one passing by without any kind of decline

in your enthusiasm?

“Sir, it’s my attitude”.

He only said this much but it was enough to

make me think deep as I was not expecting that

answer, I asked him back.

“Tell me more, what you mean by that? What

kind of attitude?”

Sir, I think if my attitude is positive, everything

is fine. If it is negative, it will be difficult for me

to pass hours sitting over here and doing almost

nothing apart from being vigilant. Since so many

people pass by, I try to take that as an

opportunity to greet others. That keeps me going

you know”.

This answer of Andrew’s did shake me deep

inside and I had some sudden respect for him

and his deeds.

Then I asked.

“I have seen you doing this for each passerby.

Does it also happen that they don’t greet you

back?”

“Yes Sir, that happens for sure. Sometimes people

don’t wave back, or give a cold shoulder too. They

don’t even care to smile many a times, but then, I

accept it because I know that they all are working

and having a long day of work and challenges.

May be they are in a bad mood too. I have no

issues with that. I do what I think is right, they

too can, do the same. But many of them come back

apologizing for not waving or smiling back”.

The conversation did last for another 3-4

minutes. About where is he from, what he

intends to do in near future etc etc. I greeted him

back and did head to home.

The greatest discovery of my generation is that

human beings can alter their lives by altering

their attitude in mind – William James

Sharing this story has no other intention but to

reinforce the belief that keeping a positive

attitude is never on the mercy of encouraging

situations or most favorable surroundings. It is

mere a choice, state in which one would want to

find himself or herself in.

It is a matter of saying NO I CAN’T or YES I CAN.

It is a matter of dwelling on problems or

focusing on solutions.

I am thankful that I chose to ask Andrew that

question. Am thankful that I managed to find

some inspiration through his thought process.

And I am thankful that I have some AA (Andrew’s

Attitude) effect on me.

Positive attitude is a choice. Let’s keep it with us at all times.


“I will do it” “I think I am going to do it in a next

meeting” “Maybe after my leave” or “Maybe when I have more experience”. We all have one excuse or another running

through our head when we intend to do something. Sometimes it takes ages to do that something. Well, for today’s discussion that “Something” is your project speeches. The question I am going to ask you is “What is stopping you?” or better if you ask yourself this question “What is stopping me?”. When you ask yourself this question, be honest to yourself! We can deceive others but we know

deep inside when we try to deceive ourselves. So take few seconds and ask yourself “What is stopping me?” I will help you trigger the thought process. Take a pen and a paper and just………think! What it could be, let’s see:

1. I can’t find time 2. I am going to do it, what’s the hurry 3. I am busy with work 4. I am not able to plan

5. It’s hard to find good topics 6. I don’t know what to write

7. How will I prepare? 8. Will I be able to deliver a good

speech?

Ok, now that’s what I can think of at this moment. Please don’t restrict yourself to these excuses, search your heart and make your own list. Now let’s see how I can help you to or even motivate you to deliver your projects on regular basis. You still have the paper and pencil with

What is stopping you? Abdul Khaliq (A member of TMI since April 2012, Finance Manager [Development & Assets] at Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Certified sustainability practitioner with a certification in GRI financial reporting, loves nature and has a passion towards sustainability and adventure)

MESSAGE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT (EDUCATION)


you, right? I want you to keep it handy as you read the following tips: MAKE A PLAN There is no better way of reminding yourself of the things you need to do than writing them down. This is not only true for the project speeches but for anything you would like to accomplish in life. You have to set a goal for yourself otherwise you will either not do it or do it when forced by VP Education. So make a plan! No one is suggesting you to finish your CC Manual in six months. All I am suggesting you is to make a plan. Sit and

think, how long would you like to take to finish your CC Manual - one year, two years. I wouldn’t suggest more than that. Ideally, it should be done between one year and one year and half. Again, these are my suggestions, make your own

plan. But please………… I would like to remind you that for God sake don’t make a Five Year Strategic Plan of a multinational company.

Planning will help you get rid of all the first four excuses I have listed above.

Suggestion: Think like this “I will do one project every month” or “I will do a project every two

months”. Build all your work commitments, vacations and other activities into your plan. IT’S HARD TO FIND GOOD TOPICS Easiest way to ward off such excuse is to read the objectives of at least two to three projects you plan to do. Read them again and keep them in mind. Then keep your eyes and mind open, OBSERVE! Observe everything happening around you. I am confident you will find a topic that fits your next project’s objective. Bear in

mind if it interests you it will interest others as well. Suggestion: Keep your eyes open and observe news, work, friend’s stories, your siblings, your parents, your boss, your child’s birthday party, an event at work, an incident on road, things you like to do, things you hate to do…………………….and the list goes on. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE Once you have thought of the topic start writing. Turn your topic idea into bullet points. Then start to build your story around those points. Trust me, once you start to write the words will

begin to flow. Keep visualizing what you want to say and keep writing. Suggestion: Again, keep the project objectives in front of you when you write your speech. I can’t emphasis enough concentrate on the

objectives of the project. HOW WILL I PREPARE? Practice, practice, practice. Keep at least half an

hour aside each day to go through your speech. Now this is part of your planning. Once you have

your plan ready (as discussed above) you would know when exactly you have to deliver your next speech. You must begin to write at least two

weeks before the day you intend to deliver your speech. Take a week to write and another week to practice daily. That way you have well written speech and a week to practice.

Suggestion: Send your script at least a week earlier to your mentor for review. Your mentor will come back to you with suggestions within couple of days and you will still have around five


days to incorporate changes to the script and to prepare for delivery. WILL I BE ABLE TO DELIVER A GOOD SPEECH? Of course yes, you will deliver even a great speech if you follow the steps outlined above. All you have to do is plan. And plan ahead. You will definitely be in good position if you know what you intend to do and when and that can come with planning yourself. One important ingredient to the great speech “Speak from your heart and you will succeed in delivering inspiring speeches”. So what are you waiting for? Take out a paper

and a pencil and start planning. Ask yourself “What’s stopping me?” the answer should be a big “NOTHING”.

DUBAI TOASTMASTERS CLUB No.7492

AREA 7, DIV B, DISTRICT 20

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT

Deepak Gulati

055 668 1921

[email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT-EDUCATION

Abdul Khaliq

050 450 0 802

[email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT-MEMBERSHIP

Qaisar Amin

056 916 1874

[email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT-PUBLIC RELATIONS

Vinay Satheesh

055 107 6736

[email protected]

SECRETARY

Deepa Khemani

050 293 1625

[email protected]

TREASURER

Anindya Kar

050 657 1218

[email protected]

SERGEANT AT ARMS

Jose William

050 832 2964

[email protected]

Visit our website: www.dubaitoastmasters.com

To save time replying to the many letters and

inquiries he was receiving, Smedley wrote the

"Manual of Instructions" and "Ten Lessons in

Public Speaking," which he had printed and

bound in paper covers. On October 25, 1928,

he secured copyrights on the publications and

trademarked the name "Toastmasters Club."

By 1930, nearly 30 Toastmasters clubs had

formed including a club in British Columbia,

Canada. To reflect expansion outside of the

United States, the newly formed association

was re-named Toastmasters International.

In 1932, Toastmasters International was

incorporated as a California non-profit

organization and Smedley took on the

positions of Secretary and Editor of the new

association.

mailto:[email protected]





http://www.dubaitoastmasters.com/


Hello Toastmasters,

The year has almost passed and we have 61

active members in our club it would not be possible to reach this number if all the members of our club especially our president had not

helped me to reach this miles stone. I am happy to announce that with the grace of

God we have achieved the “Talk up” award after a very long time and. On our 507th meeting I was TMOD and the theme

of the day was “Spices of Life” I believe that every new thing that we learn adds one more spice to our life no matter how small or big. I still think that I have to experience life gradually by adding more new spices in my life to make it delicious. So later on I can share the great secret recipes with my children when I am old. We interpret different things in different ways; I have tried to explain few of the things as I think they are;

Spices and their Interpretation Red Chilly: Teased, Angry and Hurt, helpless sometimes. Green Chilly: Thrill, Action and Challenges of life. Salt n Pepper: Relationship (Husband & Wife, Brothers & sisters, Friends, daughter in law and mother in law. Turmeric: Care, Concern and mothers love.

Sugar: Love, care, joy and happiness. Vanilla: Passion, Romance and love. Cinnamon: Sweet memories (I was reading an article “the aroma that comes from cinnamon it takes me back in time when me and my mom

used to make pies” It’s a mood changer for some people. You will feel cared because it helps in better function of your heart, brain, blood sugar and amazingly your memory.

Clove: Pain reliever, you feel cared. It has a warm, sweet and Aromatic taste that evokes

feelings of sultry tropical Climate.

Dear fellow toastmasters these are just few of the spices that I have mentioned that we all

know about. I want all of you to find that spice in your life and relate it to your feelings, memories, occasions. Everyone in this world has a castle of imagination, I want you to go in the castle enter into all of the rooms find the spices

in your life. We experience different situations in life sometimes its hot like red chilly. Sometimes its sweet like a sugar. Sometimes it leaves a bad taste like mustard seed but when all the spices come together they make a perfect meal. Similarly, life is not same always but then, ups

and down are experiences that we all learn from. Life is full of surprises I say it’s full of Spices They say it’s not straight but hilly. I say it’s full of challenges like green chilly. You have to go an extra mile. You can if you get a sugary smile.

Spices of life Qaisar Amin (A member of TMI since April 2004, an investment banker by profession, also interested in toastmasters, movies, music, dancing and a lot more.)

MESSAGE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT (MEMBERSHIP)


There is lot of pain in love. Don’t worry your mother will give you a clove. In your love I have become a gorilla. My darling it’s all because of vanilla. I had a fall because the road was margaric. Oh my dear take some hot milk with turmeric. I love my wife she is a great helper. It’s because our relationship is like salt n pepper. Come on everyone lets cook some fresh veal.

Put all the spices and lets us make a tasty meal. Last but not least every dish in this world has a secret spice, and so does our club. That secret spice is bringing the new members continuously

which will not only make it tastier and yummier it will also help all the members to experience new ideas.

I urge all the members to bring a new spice

(member) to club and make it a part of our club. I wish you all the best. “We know what we are, but know not what we may be” - William Shakespeare.

A series of rented office spaces in

Southern California served as

Toastmasters International's

headquarters until 1962, when the

staff moved into the first World

Headquarters building in Santa Ana,

not far from the YMCA where the first

Toastmasters club met.

In 1970, Toastmasters International

admitted its first female member,

Helen Blanchard, under the name

Homer Blanchard. In 1973,

Toastmasters began officially admitting

women, and in 1985, Helen became

Toastmasters' first female international

president.


Your savings, believe it or not,

affect the way you stand, the

way you walk, the tone of your

voice. In short, your physical

well-being and self-

confidence.

An individual without savings

is always running. He / She

must. He / She must take the

first job offered, or nearly so.

He / She sits nervously on

life’s chairs because any small

emergency throws him into

the hands of others.

Without savings, an individual

must be too grateful.

Gratitude is a fine thing in its

place. But a constant state of

gratitude is a horrible place in

which to live. An individual

with savings can walk tall. He

/ She may appraise

opportunities in a relaxed

way, have time for judicious

estimates and not be rushed

by economic necessity.

An individual with savings can

afford to resign from his / her

job, if his / her principles so

dictate. And for this reason

he’ll / she'll never need to do

so.

An individual who can afford

to quit is much more useful to

his / her company, and

therefore more promotable.

He / She can afford to give his

/ her company the benefit of

his / her most candid

judgments.

An individual always

concerned about necessities,

such as food and rent, can’t

afford to think in long-range

career terms. He / She must

dart to the most immediate

opportunity for ready cash.

Without savings, he / she will

spend a lifetime of darting,

dodging.

An individual with savings can

afford the wonderful privilege

of being generous in family or

neighborhood emergencies.

He / She can take a level stare

into the eyes of any man . . .

friend, stranger or enemy. It

shapes his / her personality

and character.

The ability to save has nothing

to do with the size of income.

Many high-income people,

who spend it all, are on a

tread-mill darting through life

like minnows.

The dean of American

Bankers, J. P. Morgan, once

advised a young broker: “Take

waste out of your spending;

you’ll drive the haste out of

your life.”

Will Rogers put it this way:

“I’d rather have the company

of a janitor, living on what he

/ she earned last year, than an

actor spending what he’ll /

she'll earn next year.”

We are all going to leave this

Earth. We are on this Earth

approximately 960 months.

Once you are 65 there are only

240 months to go until you are

85! Your children are at home

200 to 240 months—that’s it!

Money creates freedom of

choice. We counsel our clients

to become their own banker.

Walking Tall Aadil Kadri (A member of TMI since April 2010, a Certified Financial Planner by profession, also interested in calligraphy & graphology)

WALKING TALL


Bernard Baruch said, “The

failure or success of a long-

range savings plan is not

predicated on its rate of

return, but the consistency of

putting money away regularly

and leaving it there.”

Money gives you confidence.

Pay yourself first. Put money

away for the old man or old

woman that you will be one

day.

Will you be the grandparent

who comes to visit, or the one

who comes to stay?

There are two kinds of people

in the world. One earns

interest and the other pays

interest. The one who pays

interest works for the one who

earns interest!

An inspirational message from

one of the MDRT's in USA.

Terrence McCann, an Olympic wrestler, was chosen in 1975

to serve as the Executive Director of Toastmasters

International, a position he held until 2001. He was replaced

by Donna Groh (2001–2008) and then Daniel Rex (2008 to

present).


Management traits make

employees quit.

I recently had gone through an

unfortunate situation with my

company’s change

management. A kind of

destruction had been taking

place all over the

departments! I couldn’t

realize for few months what’s

going on. A few people got

terminated and a few

resigned.

It’s being visible that the top

management began to get

involved in every minute

process or things of others

without consulting them and

blame the staff who had been

loyal and committed to the

company for a very long

period of time. They ignore

the experience and knowledge

of the employees, focusing on

wrong priorities and come up

with issues to divert or alter

the current objectives and

leading a highly demotivated

team.

I meant to say how

micromanagement spoils

productivity and creativity in

work places. They

disempower the staff and

make them unable to breath

properly and give rise to poor

performance.

The reasons for

micromanaging are a

supervisor’s concern of

increased performance

pressure, he or her own

insecurity, or using as a tool to

terminate an employee.

The effects of

micromanagement are,

employees are no longer

willing to make sacrifices, the

employee stop making

suggestions, loses his interest

and does not become

proficient at his job and

consequently he quits his job

and look for another one.

This is where I admire

Toastmasters!

Motivations, Leadership,

Communication Skills through

“learn-by-doing” philosophy!

Toastmasters see themselves

as leaders.

“Leaders are in place to create

leaders”, and they do not take

credit for positive results and

also do not shift the blame for

the negative results to their

subordinates. Micro managers

create processes to make

themselves valuable in the

organization and a stressful

workplace to the creative and

productive employees.

Toastmasters empower the

people to gain self-esteem,

self-confidence, and

assertiveness, which make us

better salespeople, better

managers, and better leaders.

Motivation improves

performance, commitment,

productivity and creativity

that employees can apply to

their job and companies get

benefits.

Micromanagers versus Toastmasters Jose William (A member of TMI since August 2013, a logistics professional, also interested in movies and loves to learn whatever improves his career and quality of life)

MICROMANAGERS VERSUS TOASTMASTERSDITORS


Then why micromanagement

despite of wise management

who never underestimate

employee’s pride and dignity

at work!

PROMISE OF EVERY TOASTMASTER CLUB MEMBER

As a member of Toastmasters International and my club, I promise:

To attend club meetings regularly

To prepare all of my speech and leadership projects to the best

of my ability, basing them on projects in the Competent

Communication, Advanced Communication or Competent

Leadership manuals

To prepare for and fulfill meeting assignments

To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive

evaluations

To help the club maintain the positive, friendly environment

necessary for all members to learn and grow

To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so

To treat my fellow club members and our guests with respect

and courtesy

To bring guests to club meetings so they can see the benefits

Toastmasters membership offers

To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters

educational and recognition programs

To maintain honest and highly ethical standards during the

conduct of all Toastmasters activities

The Ralph C. Smedley

Memorial Fund was

established to support the

creation and development of

new materials and to help

advance Toastmasters

International's mission of

empowering individuals to

become more effective

communicators and leaders.


In a few months, it will have

been 10 years since I

graduated from the Indian

Institute of Management,

Calcutta. Some of my batch

mates have already gone on to

achieve great heights –

partners at top consulting

firms, managing directors at

top investment banks,

successful fund managers and

traders. While others may not

have reached such pinnacles

as yet, what is for sure is that,

almost all of us are far more

prosperous and materially

well off, than we had ever

imagined we would be, while

we were studying.

Yet, when I meet my

classmates, I invariably spot

an undercurrent of

dissatisfaction with our work

and our careers. I, for one,

have struggled with

motivation at work, even

though I have had no room to

complain about pay and perks.

And, I am not alone. In 2013 a

survey by Gallup revealed that

almost 70% of American

employees are dissatisfied

with their work.

Why do we have this epidemic

of dissatisfaction with our

jobs? What can be done to

motivate employees?

Intuitively, most people would

think that direct incentives

such as money or other perks

should act as the best

motivators. If an employer

wants his employees to do a

particular task well, he just

needs to announce an

appropriate bonus, and voila,

it should get done! This is the

classic carrot and stick

approach.

In reality, it is not as simple.

In a research done by

Professors at University of

Berkeley and Columbia

University with graduate

students, it was found that, as

long as a task involves pure

mechanical skill such as

tossing a coin or digging a

hole, a higher monetary

reward does lead to a superior

performance - as expected.

However, the moment the task

involved even the basic

cognitive skills, a higher

monetary incentive actually

led to an inferior

performance.

Digest that for a second as it

goes against all our intuitions

– more money leads to a worse

performance.

The study has since then been

repeated all over the world –

including in places like rural

India where the reward

offered was a significant sum

of money relative to the

income of the participants. It

has produced identical results

– more the money, poorer the

performance.

If not money, then what?

Daniel Pink, a well-known

journalist and author, has

distilled years of scientific

research on this topic to come

up with three main motivators

at the modern workplace. In

What motivates us? Anindya Kar (A member of TMI since October 2013, an entrepreneur, also interested in travelling, investing etc.)

What motivates us?


his book ‘Drive: The

Surprising Truth About What

Motivates Us’, he calls these

motivators: Autonomy,

Mastery and Purpose.

Autonomy: Autonomy is our

innate urge to be the master of

our own destiny. The desire to

be self-directed is deeply

ingrained on our psyche and

we crave for it. As that wise

philosopher Calvin, of Calvin

& Hobbes fame, once said, “It’s

only work, if someone else

makes us do it”.

Unfortunately, the modern

workplace has not progressed

significantly beyond the

‘command and control’ style of

military organisations on

which the early management

theories were based. We have

bosses, who have their bosses

and in the middle of all that

autonomy goes for a toss.

Some companies are waking

up to the new reality,

however. A software company

called Atlassian gives its

employees 1 day of autonomy

once every 3 months. For 24

hours, employees are free to

work on whatever they want

and with whoever they want –

all the company wants is that

the employees show them the

results. It turns out that 1 day

of pure, unbridled autonomy

often produces more new

product ideas, bug fixes and

other developments than the

entire quarter combined!

Mastery: We want to get

better and better at what we

do. There is an innate urge to

improve. This is why we can

spend hours playing the guitar

or trying to run a marathon

even though there is no

monetary benefit for us.

Pursuit of mastery has given

the world such amazing things

as Wikipedia, Linux, Quora -

built by experts who

have voluntarily given their

time for free!

Purpose: We want to feel that

our work has some meaning

beyond the obvious goal of

making money for

our organisation or ourselves.

Purpose is what makes us

excited to go to work and help

us endure the tough times. We

want to feel that we are

contributing something -

either to our personal growth

or to the betterment of

society.

Autonomy, Mastery and

Purpose form the trifecta of

essential human motivators at

work. They also explain what

drives us at Toastmasters:

Autonomy: Toastmasters is

completely self-directed. It is

completely up to the

individual. There is no boss.

All projects and roles are

taken up voluntarily.

Mastery: We want to be better

communicators and leaders.

That is why we join

Toastmasters. Irrespective of

how good one is, Toastmasters

still try to improve.

Purpose: Toastmasters is a

non-profit organisation. There

is no monetary incentive. It’s

purpose is clear – to help

create better leaders and

communicators.

The presence of the trifecta is

probably what has helped

Toastmasters thrive for over

90 years. It is probably what

motivates us to challenge

ourselves to complete various

communication projects or

take up leadership roles even


though there is no conceivable

monetary benefit.

So, if you feel demotivated at

work, ask yourself which of

the three factors discussed

above is missing from your

work. It could simply be that

you need a little bit of

independence- to work on a

small project of your own on

the side which allows you to

improve your skills and gives

you greater meaning and

purpose in your work. That

could make all the difference!

For half a century Toastmasters International has helped more than one

million individuals throughout the world to build self-confidence and

develop leadership potential through effective communication.

In the coming years communication will be more basic than ever to

international understanding and peace. We will need skilled listeners,

provocative thinkers and able speakers to provide the direction necessary to

achieve an atmosphere of harmony conducive to the prosperity and well-

being of all men.

On this historic occasion in the life of your organization, you have a proud

record to reflect upon. But those who know your work will also agree on

the vital role you will continue to have in our increasingly complex world. I

wish you sustained accomplishment and success.

- US President Richard Nixon [November 14, 1973]

Whatever your grade or position,

if you know how and when to

speak, and when to remain

silent, your chances of real

success are proportionately

increased. – Dr Ralph C. Smedley


Meetings during October to December 2014


Meeting No. 498: We bade farewell to one of our ever charming member, TM Richa Khera, who was

leaving Dubai to get settled at another part of the globe.

Meeting No. 499: We celebrated the success of Toastmasters International which has inspired and

improved many of us since 1924. We revisited the history of Toastmasters International at this

meeting through the seasoned Toastmaster, TM Shahjahan Beyabani.

Tall Tale Contest at Dubai Toastmasters Club: The club conducted the Tall Tale Contest on 24th

November 2014. It was a real fun. Further the meeting became more exceptional through the

educational session “Moments of Truth” by DTM Uma Radhakrishnan.

Tall Tale Contest organized by Division B: Division B organized Tall Tale Contest on 28th November

2014. Our own TM Aadil Kadri participated in the event and it was a wonderful performance by

him.

500th Meeting of Dubai Toastmasters Club: Dubai Toastmasters Club celebrated its 500th meeting on

8th December 2014. It was a special meeting in all respects. It was a joint meeting with Business

Excellence Club.

Announcement of the date for Dubai Toastmasters Club Contest: On 5th December 2014, Our

President announced that the club contest will be held on 23rd January 2015.

Awards attained by members:

Richa Competent Leader October 2014

Abdul Khaliq Competent Leader October 2014

Aadil Kadri Advanced Leader Bronze October 2014

Raham Sithara Competent Leader November 2014

Abdul Khaliq Advanced Communicator

Bronze

December 2014

MAJOR EVENTS / MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS

The ability to approach an audience in a friendly style is partly a gift of nature, and partly a

cultivated art.

A speech without a specific purpose is like a journey without a destination.

-Dr Ralph C. Smedley


TOASTMASTERS ALBUM







CLUB MEETINGS FROM JULY - SEPTEMBER 2014

Documents

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