Speakout august 2013

Speak Out

FREEDOM SPECIAL!

Conquer Fear. Enjoy Freedom.

CTM: The Lighthouse Club of Tamil Nadu

AUGUST ISSUE

CHENNAI TOASTMASTERS CLUB-‐ SPEAK OUT

August 2013 Page 2

04 CHASE FREEDOM

05 WHERE IS FREEDOM?

06 CTM 400!

07 IS FREEDOM AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT?

07 FREEDOM

08 FREEDOM TO THINK AND ACT

10 FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!

11 A FEW TIPS ON TIME MANAGEMENT

12 FREEDOM DAYS & FREEDOM LOST

13 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

14 THOUGHT ON FREEDOM

15 PERSONAL FREEDOM

16 GET FREEDOM FROM YOURSELF

17 WORDS MATTER

18 100 REASONS TO BE A TOASTMASTER

19 JULY ISSUE’S BRAIN TWISTERS

FEATURES

CHENNAI TOASTMASTERS CLUB-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ SPEAK OUT

August 2013 Page 3


August 2013 Page 4

If a person has to chase

something worthwhile in his life it is chasing excellence. The world remembers people who were on top of their trade, not even the second best. I came across this quote in Facebook mentioned by our beloved DTM Saro Velrajan. The quote says "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a Ride!"' -- Hunter S. Thompson. How inspiring? We all want to achieve our dreams but be comfortable, we all want to be rich but not strain too much, we all want to be famous and popular, but don’t want to sweat day in and out for that. Nothing comes easy; nothing is free.

When Indian cricket team

wins, we cheer, when

Usain Bolt wins a 100m

race, we applaud.

We say they are great. They are born to win. What about us? Are we born in this world to lead an ordinary life only applauding

others thinking they are great and we are not? The answer lies in only one thing – “Chase Excellence”. Whatever we do and whatever we feel is important, if we strive for excellence, give our very best, we need not go behind success in what we want, it will come to our home and knock the door.

The leaders who show the way to others have always directed the course of life in the world and if you have a closer look at their life, it will be filled with passion for their cause and excellence in pursuing it. Why don’t you want to be that Leader? Chennai Toastmasters Club has often churned out such leaders who have shown the direction of the Toastmasters movement in Tamil Nadu and the growth of the movement in the State is for everyone to see. CTM has been a breeding ground of leaders. These leaders take up huge responsibilities when the need arises. Sample this – TM Arna Chugani from CTM became the President of CSF when it was born, TM Divya Iyer became the president of CCC when it was formed and recently TM Madhavan Nampoothiri became the president of the new club CTC about to be chartered very soon.

TM Rajesh Narayanan was responsible for the launch of two

new corporate clubs, Verizon Chennai - Olympia and RMZ and TM Anjaneya Kantethi was in charge of launching of a new corporate club in Wipro. These leaders joined CTM to develop themselves as better communicators and leaders bravely took up the leadership mantle when the opportunity presented itself while some created the opportunities itself. All of this within the last two years. Hats off to all of these brave leaders because they started to lead their respective clubs from scratch.

We are hard and fast in

chasing our goal of

winning the Evaluation

speech and Humorous

speech contest in

Reverberation 2013. TM Deepa Bharatkumar and

TM Shankar have successfully completed three education sessions each on Evaluation and Humorous speech contest preparation. On behalf of all the members of CTM, I thank them on this noble initiative because preparing for oneself is a major task but helping in preparing the members for the contests is a task,

CHASE EXCELLENCE


August 2013 Page 5

which comes out of care for the members and passion towards the growth of the club.

It was a hell of a joy and learning ride in the month of July and August for CTM. We had a one of a kind 400th meeting celebrations, 5 to 6 education sessions, senior members of CTM taking important roles to train the new members and most importantly going to Medley Toastmasters and Pirating the Gavel from them. DTM Kartik Srinivasan started his second DTM journey through his icebreaker speech in Medley winning the ribbon yet again ensuring a great start to his journey.

With the contest

season looming large,

I wish all the members

of CTM to chase

excellence.

Prepare well and give your best for the contest. When you are chasing excellence it will not only accomplish our goal of winning the Evaluation and Humorous speech contest in Reverberation 2013 but will make you a better communicator and a better leader in every area of your life.

Where Is Freedom?

Are you free of your fears and, desires? Are you free? Why did you join Toastmasters? To free yourself of fear of public speaking, isn’t it? To be free of your introverted nature, isn’t it? To be free of boredom? To be more aggressive leader? Have you achieved the goals you set for yourself? If you have why are you still a Toastmaster? And if not, why not continue? Think again, are we really free?

- Ramesh Daswani, ACG, ALB

S. Sakthi Prasanna President

Chennai Toastmasters Club


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If you had entered Sapphire

Hall, Presidency Club at 3:30 pm on July 21, you would have witnessed nothing short of sheer magnificence for the next 3 hours. In fact, magnificence is a bit of an understatement.

Chennai Toastmasters Club

(CTM) celebrated its

milestone 400th meeting! For some it was a well

orchestrated symphony, for some it was a time well worth invested, for some it was sheer class and for some it was showing the world what a celebration it would be if the Lighthouse club of Chennai celebrates its 400th meeting! The mood was perfectly set with the banners, decorations and above all, people with their high levels of enthusiasm taking their seats for the meeting to start. The meeting started with a thunderous applause as soon as the President started the meeting with CTM’s coveted prize in Ovation 2013, the GOLDEN GAVEL. What a mixture of people we could spot!

Past Presidents of CTM, past and present Area Governors,

Division Governors, Presidents from other clubs, past and present District Officers and founding members of CTM were all present at the event, and the President did a fantastic job in making sure that all of these dignitaries were felicitated and honoured. (I choose not to mention the names of the dignitaries explicitly here, as the list becomes never ending). Also, some of the past Presidents who weren’t able to be present physically were present virtually through their videos and shared their experience and wishes.

There was a plethora of events planned out for the evening, which included fun events like skits and poem recitals. There were 3 contests lined up namely “Mentor-Mentee Humorous Skit” Contest, “Hot Seat” Contest (Table Topics Contest where 3 topics were given and participants were asked to switch topics and talk for 3 minutes) and singing contest. We also had one speech by TM Raj Vijayasiri from Sri Lanka, followed by a brilliant evaluation from DTM Rajeev Nambiar. There was not a minute where you couldn’t see the audience laughing their heart out. Humour, fun and laughter were at their peak!

Apart from all this, the audience had two wonderful take

home elements. One, the 400th meeting special edition of our “Speak Out” newsletter (found at http://issuu.com/lakshmilakshminarayanan/docs/forprint) and two, a souvenir, which was a DVD containing contest-related videos and important presentations. And how would the event end without the cutting of the yummy chocolate truffle cake, which said “CTM 400”? It was a perfect finish to a perfect event. The event was a great platform for all of us to know our roots, straight from the horses’ mouth, and what a feeling it was!

CTM profusely thanks all the well wishers of the occasion.

Laksmi L.

VP - PR, CTM

CTM 400!


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Freedom is defined from different aspects and cultures. Freedom varies from culture to another. Some define freedom as a natural right that any human being is born with.

One can live free by respecting other's rights to live free too. One cannot ignore the rights of people with whom we live in the society. Exemption from the power and control of another is freedom. Limited liberty is freedom. Independence is freedom. The state of being free by itself is freedom. The idea behind freedom is to be respectful and useful to our society.

If some one is deprived from this innate right, he/she will

definitely feel the pinch of not living life to the fullest possible extent. Freedom is not absolute. Freedom must be limited. Frankness, openness & unreserved nature form subsets of freedom. This state has a uniqueness of giving liberty to one without snatching or denying the same of another individual. Extending the ropes or boundaries of decorum is essentially freedom of all sorts. In the end, one can conclude by saying that "for one to be free is not merely casting off one's chains (rules of life), but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others". The value of

freedom is enhanced because of its inert quality of not loosing its sheen when shared.

Spread freedom. Spread happiness.

Monisha Ramadevan

The word freedom always takes

us to political freedom we received from British dynasty. But in reality we are still fighting for freedom from bad politics and inefficient leadership. Because we suppressed our thoughts due to centuries of foreign rule once by Muslims and then by Europeans. We need to come out of that mental slavery, thinking always we are weak and foreigners are strong. Our

ancestors gave to the world so much knowledge in the form of Ayurveda, Yoga, Meditation, Mathematics, Vedas, etc. And our modern generation has proved how capable Indians are. Let us realize our potential and come out of this mental slavery, think rationally, put enough hard work and understand the real meaning of the freedom. India will shine; let's make it possible!

Naga M. Reddy

Is FREEDOM AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT?

FREEDOM


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Last summer, I had taken my daughter to my native place - a village in the down south for a short vacation. It was a good break for us from the city life – away from the population, the pollution and the noise. My daughter was astonished to see almost everything in the village – the grazing cattle, the running calves, the flying birds and the hens. When we were there, she got a wonderful opportunity to witness the birth of a tiny little chicken, first hand.

At first, the shell cracked with a

little noise… then slowly the chick pierced through the cracks and showed its beak. She asked me, “Dad, can we help the chick to break the remaining shell?” I told her “Mitra! Wait… let the chick break the shell on its own. When it breaks the shell on its own, it becomes stronger”. She patiently waited for the chick to pop out of the egg.

On seeing the little chick jump out of the shell, Mitra started to clap her hands with lots of cheer. When I was brooding over this incident post summer, I was asking myself often do we wait till the chick pops-out of the shell in our real life?

Do we give people the freedom to perform, especially under challenging situations?”

Let me take you to July 2011 to share an interesting incident which

happened during my leadership journey in Toastmasters. It was two weeks since I had taken over the role of a Division G Governor in Tamilnadu. US Consulate had engaged Tamilnadu Toastmasters to conduct a Youth Leadership Program (YLP). Being the new kid in the corridor and not having seen any YLPs in the past, I did not know what to do. I did not even know how to bring 15 volunteers to conduct the program during the weekends, for 8 weeks in a row. I wanted to provide a neutral platform for members to use this opportunity and groom their skills. I sent an invite to all the 500+ members in Chennai, asking for nominations. I got responses from nearly 15 volunteers. I made all of them an YLP coordinator. The orientation session for the coordinators happened on July 30th, 2011.

July 30th, 2011… a day that I will never forget. I was at the Medleys Toastmasters Club meeting and I had my mobile phone in silent mode. By the time I finished the meeting and looked at my mobile I had 15+ missed calls from 5 different people, many of them are senior toastmasters in the community. The moment you see 15+ missed calls in just 2 hours, you know that there is a “fire” somewhere. Sandhiya Rajaraman, our then Asst. Division Governor and an YLP coordinator, had left 5 missed calls. I called her back and asked “What is the fire?!” She said “Saro… the US Consulate people did not want a few volunteers as trainers in the program – the US consulate people thought they are incapable”. When I returned the missed calls on my phone, I spoke to a few more senior toastmasters in the community each one of them said “US Consulate is funding this program and we should make sure that we should put only our best in the team. Remove those trainers, if they are not up to the mark”. I did not know what to do – should I honor those advices from senior members or should I follow my conscience?

My Division Governorship was my first experience playing any large leadership role outside the club. All along I was thinking “Only in the work place, people are differentiated and provided opportunity based on their skills/capability”. The smaller leadership roles that I had taken before in Toastmasters provided me an opportunity to “form teams” - however those teams never had to face a “customer”. The YLP program presented me an opportunity to “form a team” and expose them to a “customer” (the US Consulate). Moreover, one of those YLP coordinators whom I was asked to “fire” was a college student who had just developed self-confidence in life, through Toastmasters. Should I fire him to make US Consulate happy and “crumble” his self-confidence? I really did not know how to deal with that situation. When in doubt I always look up my “beliefs bible” – a self introspection that I do to check against my principles, values and beliefs. My belief bible said that in a volunteering organization, everyone should be treated equally and provided equal opportunity… as far as the volunteers have the interest to learn and commitment to perform. Bingo! I got the clarity that I needed the most. I made a conscious decision to proceed with the identified trainers and told everyone “Same team… No change”. Youth Leadership Program (YLP) was conducted by our Toastmasters gang for

Is FREEDOM AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT?


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When in doubt I always look up my “beliefs bible” – a self introspection that I do to check against my principles, values and beliefs. My belief bible said that in a volunteering organization, everyone should be treated equally and provided equal opportunity… as far as the volunteers have the interest to learn and commitment to perform. Bingo! I got the clarity that I needed the most. I made a conscious decision to proceed with the identified trainers and told everyone “Same team… No change”.

Youth Leadership Program (YLP) was conducted by our Toastmasters gang for 8 weeks at Anjuman School, T.Nagar. One of the star coordinators who emerged out of the YLP program was our very own “student Toastmaster”, who inspired many school students to come out of their fear of public speaking. Students were able to relate to him better because he was more or less in their age group. Every student in his class felt, “if a student like him is determined and committed to improve his communication skills, why not me?”. This student Toastmaster later developed more confidence to charter a new corporate club in his company, and ran the first ever community Speech Craft program in Tamilnadu.

Thank God! I did not fire the student Toastmaster from the YLP program. If I had followed the advices of others… if I had gotten influenced by “what would senior toastmasters think if I don’t follow their advice”… I would’ve committed the sin of losing a huge banyan tree by cutting it when it was budding. Freedom to think and act is very important… not only in Toastmasters, but also in our real life. Let the chick pop out of the shell on its own – so that, it becomes stronger.

- DTM Saro

CHENNAI TOASTMASTERS CLUB-‐-‐-‐ SPEAK OUT

FREEDOM! FREEDOM!! FREEDOM!!!

This seems to be the theme anywhere and everywhere!

“Man is born free and

everywhere he is chains”

said Rousseau, the great

philosopher.

“Freedom is my birth right”, said the renowned freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak. But let us pause a moment and think about what exactly is ‘Freedom’. It is the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical/mental restraint; in other words, exemption from external control.

If you look at Indian Constitution, it talks of ‘Right to Freedom’, which includes “speech and expression”.

For me, FREEDOM means that I am OPEN and not restricted by FEAR. FEAR is the dominant factor that stops me from expressing myself in an OPEN manner – fear of ‘am I good enough’, ‘fear of being ridiculed and laughed at, fear of being judged and above all, fear of failure.

The only way to cure me of

this disease called fear is

CONFIDENCE; and the

only way to build the

confidence is through

COMMUNICATION. COMMUNICATION essentially happens through a Coach, and to me this Coach is not an individual, but the forum called TOASTMASTERS where great Communicators Leaders are made, and where the main focus is building CONFIDENCE.

When I joined Toastmasters’ a few years back, I had the arrogance to think of myself as a very confident communicator. However, over the past few years, I have learnt not just otherwise, but also the way to improve myself as a more confident (not arrogant) person. This is the place where I learnt that Communication is the bridge that connects us to others. When I am confident and clear in my communication, my

relationships become more authentic, and this is the forum that has taught me over and over again that my responsibility towards communication results in my happiness as, at the end of the day, I am a product of my behavior; my behavior, a resultant of my thoughts and words; & above all, I am the cause, creator and benefactor of my own happiness!

- DTM Karthik S.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose once said, “Give me your blood and I will give

you Freedom. I am telling you, “Give me your words, and I will give you

Freedom.” – DTM Karthik August 2013 Page 10


August 2013 Page 11

A FEW TIPS ON TIME MANAGEMENT!

1. Plan every day in advance. 2. Know your timelines:

• You need to be clear on the timelines for each task only then you can maximize your effectiveness.

3. Apply Pareto rule of 80/20:

• 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results. This will help you to prioritize your actions based on their importance.

4. Delegate:

• Any task that could be performed by your team needs to be delegated. Thus the time saved can be used for activities of higher purpose.

5. Learn to say ‘No’: • This is a very important to learn as we tend to get involved in

multiple requests from various people.

6. Slice & Dice: • Break your goals to the last level of tasks.

This is important to have clarity & get focus.

7. Focus on one task at hand: • Take one task at a time and be focused.

Handling too many things at any time will not provide the intended results.

- Hari Ramachandran


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- Nagendra Bharathi

Freedom Days -------------------

Freedom from Facebook is Happy family day.

Freedom from mobile is Accident free day.

Freedom from Internet is

World peace day. Freedom from kingdom is

Independence day. Freedom from boredom is

CTM day!

Freedom Lost -----------------

Freedom of savings Lost to subsidies

Freedom of consumption Lost to foreign goods

Freedom of investment

Lost to FIIs Freedom of growth

Lost to global village Freedom of economy

Lost to corruption

FREE YOURSELF FROM THE HANDCUFFS, FROM ALL THE CONSTRAINTS

FREEDOM DAYS & FREEDOM LOST


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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Expressing oneself is a very tricky technique. It involves 2 important

aspects : putting your point across and putting it across in such a way that it doesn’t affect the sentiments of the receiver. And both these are equally important.

Expressing yourself in the right manner is an art by itself.

Some people are naturally gifted with the art of beautifully expressing themselves and I obviously don’t fall into that category. Be it an informal talk with friends or a speech on stage, I have always been a person who has not been able to clearly communicate all that I would have in my brain. But when it comes to writing, I am pretty comfortable, as I have the time to think before I write. I have always lacked the spontaneity. And I think that is because, I would always be conscious about what people would think about me. I would be focusing on portraying myself well, more than putting my point across, which is the worst barrier in expressing oneself.

Beginners who are still finding their way through expressing themselves must be oblivious of what people would think of them, and start being natural, which comes only with practice. I have always had a tough time being natural on stage, but at least I am improving in small baby steps. Toastmasters is the best place you can ask for, where you can practice this technique.

For the rest of the people who are well versed with expressing themselves through speech or by writing, it is vital that you keep in mind you don’t offend the receivers. After all, you are expressing your thoughts because, you want the listeners to accept your views, or you want them to take action, or make the listeners feel good. Whatever the case may be, if you don’t take into account the feelings of the listeners, the whole purpose of expressing yourself is going to be in vain.

Take for instance the roles that we take up in every Toastmasters meeting. We always strive to be polite and motivating while putting our point across. People talk about the sandwich technique, where you put the points of improvement in between positives, so the person feels good about what he is doing, at the same time, is motivated to improve his skills. All of us have full freedom of expression, but we still have to use our discretion when we use it, so that it solves the purpose.

The whole Toastmasters Programme is designed in such a way that the learning is rounded. You name it, and the Programme has it. And the best that Toastmasters has to teach is the right way to use your freedom of expression.

Use your freedom wisely, for your own and other’s benefit.

Lakshmi L VP-PR CTM

Lakshmi is a homemaker and freedom to her involves using her freedom in a way that it doesn’t affect the freedom of others.

Expressing yourself in the right manner is an art by itself.


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As we celebrate our country

66th independence anniversary, I cannot help taking a jog down memory lane and mull on how the definition of freedom has changed during different stages of my life.

Way back in school, freedom was intricately tied to the long summer holidays extending over two months which brought a welcome change to monotony of school routine. The freedom was of course enjoyable as it entailed temporary relief from having to face the strenuous school routine, the home-works, tests and last but not the least having to face the strict school teacher whose face bore an uncanny resemblance to the local zoo ape in a foul mood.

Moving to teenage, I associated freedom with independence of decision making and moving out of the clutches of decision imposed by my parents. I breathed out freedom after smoking my first cigarette, soaked in independence after gulping the first pint of alcohol and delighted in

the satisfaction moving out of the barriers imposed by society. Getting my first job brought its own share of freedom as I was able to spend my salary in the way I wanted without having to answer any body’s questions .It felt awesome when I drew four thousand bucks from an ATM and handed it over to the mobile shop vendor for purchasing first mobile handset. I was on cloud nine when I could walk into any mall and buy clothes, footwear, etc at the swipe of the credit card. I thoroughly enjoyed the taste of freedom!

Moving on, life took an unexpected turn in the form of marriage and I was swept off my feet. IT took a while for reality to dawn that after winning hundred battles of independence, I had surrendered everything in one single war . But it brought with a sense of responsibility and broadened my horizons, expanded my expenses and imposed a sense of maturity, which was altogether non-existent.

All along I had misinterpreted

freedom to be free thinking—thinking out of the peripheries of restriction imposed by the society. But with maturity it dawned on me that the key to happiness was not just being about freedom but also using the freedom in a responsible way. While we have no choice on the earth that we inherit from our forefathers and ancestors we definitely should

use our freedom

discreetly so that we

leave behind a beautiful

earth behind for the next

generations.

- Shankar

THOUGHTS ON FREEDOM


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Personal freedom is freedom of

expression, by committing ourselves to a particular course of action. A bird flying in search of food is not guaranteed to find its food, but it is still free. On the other hand, a bird that is caged, even if fed, is not.

For a human, to be free is to

have an opportunity to individuate. We love to carve an identity for us that is somehow unique. We aspire to be seen as a successful professional, a loving spouse or a caring parent. In doing so, we define our identity, to ourselves and to others.

Further, we also love to discover the artistic potentials in us through various channels (as in Toastmasters, for instance). It is great to know that

the channels by which we can so express ourselves has increased manifold. Here are a few examples.

1) The so-called “ordinary

people” (though no one is ordinary), are able to express their voice on the social media via reality debates, discussions etc.

2) Being in the software field, I know quite a number of people in the profession who have created a name for themselves through technical blogging. Other than the joy of expression, blogging has also given them a kind of credibility that would have been very difficult to achieve otherwise.

3) I recently chatted with a

Toastmaster who was so excited about Toastmasters as it provided an opportunity to express his literary skills.

All of the above examples are

instances of exercising personal freedom.

We celebrate the 66th year of Indian independence. The importance of political freedom is beyond the scope of this humble article. It is quintessential to attain certain basic amenities. But once a person gets the basic amenities, what often matters to the common man is personal freedom, that depends on whether he or she has sufficient avenues to express the potentials within.

Personal freedom is the

opportunity to express our

deepest self.

Sabareeswar

PERSONAL FREEDOM


August 2013 Page 16

One of the important things you must have to be a good public speaker is the freedom from yourself. You can compare a new speaker and a seasoned speaker to get the idea of this concept. When you watch a new speaker coming to the stage you can notice that his full focus is upon himself. How do I look? Am I speaking good? Am I forgetting anything? He is full of self-consciousness that he partly forgets about the message he came to deliver and the audience before which he is speaking. Now you watch a seasoned speaker, he never thinks of himself. He never cares how he looks or speaks. His full focus is on the message. He gauges the audience reaction and responds to it accordingly by changing the way he speaks. That seasoned speaker truly has the freedom from himself. The leap from highly self-conscious to freedom from yourself is the greatest journey you will ever have in toastmasters.

Are you interested to know about how to make the jump? Are there any exercises you can follow? Yeah, that is what this article is about. You can find below my top five ways to attain the freedom from yourself.

1. Tie loose ends There are many questions that

come to your mind when you are

preparing for your speech. Take a pen and paper and write down all the questions that distracts you and answer the important one and reject the trivial things. Now you think yourself preparing for a speech and got the following questions. What happens if I forget my speech? What happens if I go to the venue late? What happens if I forget my comb? Now the first two are important and the last one is not important. Give a compelling answer to all the questions. “I have prepared enough and I would not forget. Even if I forget audience doesn’t know my script. I would carry on”. “I had made travel arrangement. I will be there by 20mins early”. So, now as you answered them then and there they won’t pop up in your mind while you are practising further or giving your speech before audience.

2.YOU-focussed While scripting your speech

make sure that you would add as many “YOU” words as possible. It will be a time consuming process but it gives a great deal of liberation when you are speaking. What you

are doing is that you are changing the focus of the speech from “I” (speaker) to “YOU” (audience). This techniques kills all the self-consciousness. When giving a speech enriched with “you” it will be a lot easier to speak before audience as you are bringing them into every sentence of your speech. They will also be a lot attentive to your speeches. Take this article which has the word “you” 40 times.

3. Ask these four questions before going to the stage To make a effective presentation what happens inside a speaker is more important that what happens outside him. To get the right mind-set before speaking every speaker few minutes before a presentation must answer the following four questions.

• Will I have fun? • How will I give this

presentation if this was my last one?

• Am I present? • What is my intent? By answering this question you

get the right mind-set and also focus on your presentation instead of yourself. That’s it, Thank you for being such a great reader!

- Bharath Raja

THREE WAYS TO GET FREEDOM FROM YOURSELF


August 2013 Page 17

I’m very glad and honoured to write for Chennai Toastmasters Club on the special occasion of Independence Day.

Reaching home in the wee hours of night, wearing what you like doing what you love doing: Freedom mean different things to different people. In the context of Toastmasters, freedom is all about the choice of words You & I have to

express our opinion in our club meetings.

More often people underestimate the power of Words they use. Words can uplift the audience, Words can create emotions, Words can inspire people for greater good.

Look back at the greatest events in the history. All have been the result of prodigious word usage by Great Leaders. Be it Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream”, Obama’s “Yes we can” or Swami Vivekananda’s spirited speech at Chicago.

Your choice of words can have a profound impact on others. Next time you prepare for your speech (or) addressing a big gathering, spend quality time in drafting the

speech with right words because right words at right context can create MAGIC. It is strange that “WORDS” AND “SWORD” have the same alphabets. Even more strange is if not used properly both have the same effect. Happy Toastmastering!!!

- TM Rajesh

WORDS MATTER


August 2013 Page 18

100 REASONS TO BE A TOASTMASTER!

1.Tell your stories

2. Share your vision 3. Set and meet goals 4. Meet interesting people 5. Make friends 6. Develop leadership skills 7. Preside over meetings 8. Attend conferences 9. Attend specialty workshops 10. Give workshops 11. Research topics 12. Discuss current events 13. Explore issues 14. Enter contests 15. Consider new careers 16. Try new roles 17. Network 18. Challenge yourself 19. Become self-motivated 20. Hear top speakers 21. Work with teams 22. Organize a new club 23. Become a mentor 24. Purchase audio/video cassettes

on speaking and leading 25. Become a club specialist 26. Negotiate 27. Campaign and run for office 28. Learn parliamentary procedure 29. Organize special events 30. Judge speaking contests 31. Interview speakers 32. Participate in club leadership 33. Participate in District leadership 34. Complete manuals related to

specific interests and/or career needs. Your career can benefit:

35. Increased overall confidence 36. Conduct interviews with ease

37. Conduct efficient meetings 38. Give better presentations 39. Professional delivery of reports and information 40. Improved communication with

colleagues and management 41. Enhanced time-management skills 42. Acceptance of criticism more objectively 43. New management skills 44. Increased effectiveness in relaying messages 45. Learning to motivate others 46. Learning how to delegate 47. Learning how to set and meet goals 48. Developing techniques for handling change You will personally: 49. Enhance your self-esteem 50. Improve your vocabulary 51. Improve your grammar 52. Expand your knowledge 53. Discover new worlds 54. Consider new hobbies 55. Improve communication with

family and friends 56. Develop courage to take risks 57. Grow as a person 58. Change focus 59. Clarify your thinking 60. Reinforce knowledge, positive attitudes and behaviour 61. Learn to conquer fears 62. Expand your comfort zone 63. Learn techniques for meeting challenges 64. Share your interests 65. Observe positive change in yourself

and others You will develop: 66. Communication skills 67. Listening skills 68. Leadership skills 69. Public speaking skills 70. Presentation skills 71. Evaluation techniques 72. Vocal variety 73. Effective non-verbal communication 74. Research techniques


August 2013 Page 19

You will also receive: 75. A constructive evaluation of each speech 76. Feedback on your progress 77. Help from mentors 78. Training manuals and materials 79. A proven program to improve your communication and leadership skills 80. Support for your goals 81. Tips from advanced Toastmasters 82. Recognition for goals achieved

You will practice: 83. Giving prepared speeches 84. Talking “off the cuff” 85. Giving evaluations 86. Introductions of other speakers 87. Telling jokes and stories 88. Giving toasts 89. Quoting authors 90. Reporting on roles 91. Delivering reports 92. Chairing meetings 93. Meeting management skills 94. Handling props

95. Using audio-visual equipment Finally, you will: 96. Continue to grow 97. Enhance your social skills 98. Be entertained 99. Laugh

And…

100. Have fun

- Ramalingam Kalirajan

ANSWERS FOR JULY ISSUE BRAIN TWISTERS

Answers for the jumble 1. GROUND 2. MISTAKE 3. ADEPT 4. NORMAL FINAL ANSWER – MENTORING

Answers for the crossword Across 3. Leadership 5. Anirudh 6. Deepa Down 1. Saro 2. Priyanandan 4. Sudha

- Lakshmi L


August 2013 Page 20

Memories of the CTM 400TH celebrations

Winning of the GOLDEN GAVEL by CTM Club

Documents

Speakout august 2013