Swas - The breath of Division G

I shot an arrow into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where,

For so swiftly it flew, the sight,

Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For, whose sight so keen and strong

That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward in an oak,

I found the arrow, still unbroke;

And the song from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

To the uncluttered toastmasters’ temperament

and

to all the kith and kin of every toastmaster

Swas – Division ‘G’ Souvenir October 2014

Page 3

Division G – District 82

Division ‗G‘ of District 82 Toastmasters is geographically spread over the region of Tamil Nadu in India.

Division G consists of 5 Areas and has 25 clubs in her wing with 887 members. 5 Clubs have been chartered in

this term. Her clubs are widespread in Tamil Nadu with clubs from Vellore, Salem, Coimbatore, Trichy and

Chennai coming under her wing.

In this educational year, within the last 3 months, 79 educational awards have been filed by 60 members across

18 clubs.

She is the proud mother of the largest family in District 82.


Page 4

Contents Division G – District 82 .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Wishes from the District Governor – DTM Yusuf Jeevunjee ................................................................................ 5

From the Lieutenant Governor Education and Training, District 82 – DTM Sastharam Ravendran .................... 6

From the Lieutenant Governor Marketing, District 82 – DTM Sudash Liyanage ................................................. 7

From the Division Governor – TM Rahul Shankar ................................................................................................ 8

Division Council ..................................................................................................................................................... 9

From the Area Governors ..................................................................................................................................... 10

Division Directory ................................................................................................................................................ 12

Division Awards ................................................................................................................................................... 17

Wishes from Region 13 Advisor .......................................................................................................................... 21

Bonds of a Lifetime – DTM Nina John (Past District 82 Governor) ................................................................... 22

Are you ready for some Golu Climbing – DTM Suganthi Periasamy (Past Division G Governor) .................... 23

What‘s In It for You – DTM Saro Velrajan (Past Division G Governor) ............................................................ 25

Are we doing enough? – DTM Rajeev Nambiar (Division B Governor, District 82) .......................................... 26

Concoction of Learning and Laughter – TM Sudha Rajesh (Immediate Past Area Governor in Division G) ..... 27

World of Equality – TM Rahul Ganesan .............................................................................................................. 28

Our Literary Roots – TM Vaishnavi Ramadass .................................................................................................... 29

A Small Change Can Bring Bigger Impact in Life- TM D. Visagamoorthi ......................................................... 31

The Art of Communication in Kathakali – TM Nirmala Varier ........................................................................... 32

Tamil and Toastmasters – TM Lakshmi Priya ...................................................................................................... 34

Craft Your Speech – TM Pradeep Kumar ............................................................................................................ 35

Evaluate To Motivate – TM Karthik Palaniappan ................................................................................................ 36

Milestones, Memories and Moments .................................................................................................................... 39

Our Hatchlings – Chartered Recently ................................................................................................................... 43

Opulence 2014 ...................................................................................................................................................... 44

The Next District Event – Reverberations 2014 ................................................................................................... 45


Page 5

Wishes from the District Governor – DTM Yusuf Jeevunjee

It is my pleasure to send my best wishes to all of you for your

semi-annual Division G Conference. Once again, you have the

opportunity to bring together members of your whole division, as

well as members and well-wishers from other Toastmasters clubs,

to renew friendships and enjoy fellowship, and to benefit from the

educational content and the speech contests which are an integral

part of the conference. We all thoroughly enjoyed the previous

conference in Chennai and look forward to a great time again.

It is also time to reflect on our performance to date, to measure

the performance of clubs and members as committed at the

beginning of the year compared to our present position. We must

renew our challenge to improve and strengthen our own clubs and

grow the movement of Toastmasters in our divisions and district.

Developing more clubs, inducting new members and striving for

maximum membership retention, is one of the basic goals of the

Toastmasters movement.

These months of the year ahead are important, as they give us the

opportunity to focus on our goals, identify our strengths and weaknesses, and achieve our promised targets, by

persuading the members to complete their educational projects, and work towards the Distinguished Club

Programmes as set out by our own objectives. Through this, we will be fulfilling the basic objective of

Toastmasters, to maximize the Member experience.

I am confident that under the inspired leadership of your team of office bearers, the conference will draw in

many members, develop the skills of existing members and our movement will continue to thrive.

Wish you all the very best, and assure you of my full support for all your endeavors.

With best regards,

Yusuf Jeevunjee

District Governor,

District 82, Toastmasters International.


Page 6

From the Lieutenant Governor Education and Training, District 82 –

DTM Sastharam Ravendran

‗‘Success is often a matter of holding on longer, when others have given up‗‘

From around the globe, since ancient times, we have heard, time and again, stories- stories not just about

success but about Resilience. A word that amplifies the power of a human being‘s desire for excellence and his

unstoppable passion for his dreams.

We today, salute to one such story. After 10 years of consistent attempts, a man who has walked the talk of

perseverance and resilience has made us proud. Dhananjaya Hetteriarichi has set a milestone as a leader through

his power of speech. Tamil Nadu Toastmasters have seen Dan‗s

charisma from time to time including his talk last time at the Div.

G conference. We knew we saw a champion. A champion who

exuberated confidence, belief and most importantly hope. The hope

that we too can dream, dream big, work towards it a ten thousand

times and aim to be the next world champion of public speaking.

District 82 is a distinct district that has the privilege to have the best

of both worlds- India and Srilanka. Cultural exchanges enrich

us, intellectual discussions open up our minds and varied leadership

styles from both countries truly give us an International exposure in

this International organization. Dhananjaya‘s success story has been a

quintessential learning for all of us from this country about what it

takes to never give up.

The initiative of the Divisions to invite him yet again to share his glory, to imbibe a spirit of fellowship and to

yet again inspire us to be like him one day, some day is truly commendable.

We will now, no longer just understand the words ‗‘Success is often a matter of holding on longer, when others

have given up‗‘ but truly experience it as well.

Regards,

Sastharam Ravendran,

LGET, District 82 Toastmasters


Page 7

From the Lieutenant Governor Marketing, District 82 – DTM Sudash Liyanage

It is indeed a pleasure to send this message for ‗Swas – The breath of Division G‘ that inhale the ‗Opulence

2014 – A celebration of Knowledge and Tradition‘.

We celebrate the 90th

Anniversary of the birth of Toastmasters for this 22nd

October, growing ever since as a

brand known internationally as a catalyst in enhancing the knowledge and skills of communication and

leadership. Traditionally, we empower members to become effective communicators & leaders, so that they

will inculcate the wealth of confidence to realize their true potential and transform as a better human being.

I am proud of TM Rahul Shankar, our Division-G Governor and his able team for their true ability to plan and

present a wonderful conference to enhance the knowledge of our members

and to uphold the tradition of sharing, caring and mutual support to

become better leaders.

My experience in organizing eight different conferences for toastmasters

has provided abundance of opportunities to sharpen leadership skills and

to bring out the best in me. Traditionally, conference organizers are

benefitted in numerous ways. They will certainly build trust, unity and

harmony across the areas, clubs and Individual member. Participants can

also embrace the wealth of knowledge shared, networking with

membership, associating with great personalities to sniff their successes

and above all to be a part of the unique family of Toastmasters. The

testimony for same is epitomized with my participation in all nine district

conferences held so far from year 2006, where I began my journey in

toastmasters.

Hence, make the Opulence 2014 as your springboard to be successful in

toastmasters and the platform to reciprocate the gains by practicing and

protecting core values of toastmasters; Respect and Integrity, be of Service

to members to reach Excellence.

I am confident that the members of Division G will certainly set this conference ‗Opulence 2014‘ a celebration

of knowledge and tradition.

Sudash J. Liyanage

Lieutenant Governor Marketing, 2014-2015

District 82, Toastmasters International


Page 8

From the Division Governor – TM Rahul Shankar

Greetings!

I am pleased to write this message to each and every one of

you members in awe of one fact: We are part of a movement

that turns 90 years this October 22nd! Being a Toastmaster has

immensely contributed to my life and I am sure it has too, to

each and every one of you!

Our Division, in just three months has seen members

participate enthusiastically in delivering speeches, playing

roles, taking up leadership and supporting Division Initiatives.

I want to thank you for this great start to the Toastmasters year

and look forward to serving you and working with you to help

each of you have the best membership experience here at

Toastmasters.

Each of us took up Toastmastering for different reason - but we

all are in this movement together where we learn from each

other and grow as leaders and communicators. I urge all of you

to continue to strive for your self-development, but at the same

time look out for that fellow member who needs help, that a bit

of reassurance to not give up and a friend to applauded and

encourage. Let this year be one where we all give that gentle pat on the back to our fellow members. Our focus

shall remain on bettering our member experience - to us and to any new member who attends our club meetings,

contests and conferences.

This conference is aptly named 'Opulence 2014' as it celebrates the grand manner in which the movement has

grown around the world, particularly in our part of the world and how we all seem to gain so much knowledge

and insight from it. I hope you have a wonderful experience and are able to gain a lot of learning from this event

that has been organized to ensure that it is the best platform for our members.

At Division G, we are always in it together - to learn, lead and grow!

Regards,

Rahul Shankar

Division Governor – Division G, District 82


Page 9

Division Council

Division Governor Rahul Shankar (ACG, ALB) with the Division Council

From Top (Left To Right) : Area Governor G1 – TM Prasanna Venkataraman (CC, ALB)

Area Governor G2 – TM Ranganathan Rajendran (ACG, ALB)

Area Governor G3 – TM Ira Shukla (CC, ALB)

Area Governor G4 – TM Aravindan Kuttalam (ACG, ALB)

Area Governor G5 - TM Gautam Sharma (CC, ALB)

Division PRO – TM Aishwarya Sudhakar (CL)


Page 10

From the Area Governors

TM Prasanna Venkataraman, Area Governor, G1

They say `Tell me who your friends are; I will tell you who you are`. And today I can very proudly say that I have more than 100

great friends who are Toastmasters who will listen to every story of mine. A force which wants me to grow as an individual both

within the community and outside as well.

Though when I joined Toastmasters, I thought I was so unfortunate to join this forum and waste my Sunday evenings, things have

changed my perception over a period of time. Nowhere in this world can you find so many positive vibes around you. People

spend their time to improve you and bring out the best in you with absolutely no returns apart from personal satisfaction. DTM

Kartik Srinivasan can chose to train corporates instead of Contestants, DTM Suganthi can clock more hours in office than visiting

various clubs every week, DTM Jayan can toss several coins at a time than sitting in one Toastmasters meeting for 2 hours. But

they all grow because of knowledge they gain through this journey of Toastmasters.

We have not only built Toastmasters, over years, to help ourselves, but to help the community as the whole. Every Youth

Leadership Program, be it in SIET, BWC, Madurai or wherever we have conducted, the testimony to each of them is the request

we get the same time next year.

To me every Toastmasters club is like a nuclear reactor. We get charged every week through various meetings and in turn have

sufficient power to charge and excite more members. Each dedicated Toastmaster has more power than an induced nuclear atom.

Toastmasters are an extended family and I will keep going home every weekend.

TM Ranganathan Rajendram, Area Governor, G2

Toastmasters International is about to turn 90. An occasion to be celebrated with lot of pomp and fervor. What better way to

celebrate it. Opulence 2014 is on the cards and I am sure as the tagline says it‘s going to be a celebration of Knowledge and

Tradition. David Abram, the author of Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology says ―Breathing involves a continual oscillation

between exhaling and inhaling, offering ourselves to the world at one moment and drawing the world into ourselves at the next...‖

On a similar note I feel Toastmasters is a wonderful platform wherein we continuously oscillate ourselves between various

communication and leadership roles and groom ourselves on various essential aspects of Communication & Leadership. This is

my third year as a Toastmaster and I would say the amount of learning I have got from this moment is phenomenal. It‘s been 3

months in my stint as the Area governor for G2 and I would say it has been a wonderful journey. It has been a real pleasure

working with Rahul and the division council team. Rahul is someone who is a perfect example of a leader whom Ralph C

Smedley speaks about in one of his quotes “Leadership is the capacity to look ahead, think ahead, plan ahead, and then

influence other people to go ahead on the plan”. He is someone who has always shown the way; a real servant leader; A

worthy Successor for our Immediate Past Division Governor DTM Suganthi who has mentored me right from my early days. I

would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members for turning out in large numbers and making the Confluence a big

Success irrespective of the unfavorable conditions outside. It speaks tons about the commitment and dedication of each of the

Toastmasters in Division G. I would like signoff with another quote by Ralph Smedley; ―Here we are, with tremendous

opportunity before us. I challenge you to get to work to bring us up to a higher level of service. Let us share with others

the benefits we have gained for ourselves. ―We are all a part of big family called Division G. Let us Learn, Care, Share and

Grow as a Family.


Page 11

TM Ira Shukla, Area Governor, G3

As we attend more sessions and collect more awards, remember to create the constellation of memories which will remind you

each time that you are a part of a movement which brought out the best in you and those around you. As we celebrate 90 years of

a legacy lets also remember to celebrate the club officers who work tirelessly to make our clubs distinguished and our member

experience something that we can cherish. And more importantly , let‘s remember to celebrate each other, celebrate the

realization that makes us all want to connect to something bigger than us in order to become someone better than who we are,

celebrate the fire that drives you to prepare for each session role 1 week in advance and celebrate the journey that each

Toastmaster undertakes to find the leader within and to find their true purpose as they continue to change and influence lives as

we grow collectively.

TM Aravindan Kuttalam, Area Governor, G4

Greetings! "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself". - Henry Ford

The success of club, area, division and district is dependent on everyone moving forward together. I am happy and proud to be part of a group

where I can see this happening.

Our clubs are putting their best foot forward, with energy and enthusiasm. Two of the clubs in Area G4 are already distinguished - TCS Maitree

Chennai Toastmasters Club, which is President's Distinguished at DCP 9 and Alpha Betans Syntel Toastmasters Club which is at DCP 5.

Aristurtles Syntel Toastmasters Club is on track. The first quarter of this term has been a good start. I thank all the members for your

contribution.

Another good news has been the addition of a new club to Area G4 - Barclays Chennai Elite Speakers Club. I welcome the new club and its

members, and look forward to a great year with you. Along with putting their own foot forward, I am delighted to see that the members are also

helping others to move forward. Clubs have been helping each other as role players or mentors. Areas are helping each other, as was witnessed

during the conduct of contests. I thank all the members, Excomms, and my cohort Area Governors - Prasanna, Ira, Ranganathan and Gautam for

their help and support. It is this synergy that makes working in this group, truly pleasurable and worthwhile.

Over the last few years, Division G has been setting the precedent of doing the unprecedented, and this year will not be an exception under the

able leadership of our Division Governor, TM Rahul Shankar. I look forward to another stellar year, and am proud to be part of this most

happening Division of Toastmasters.

TM Gautam Sharma, Area Governor, G5

To a Division that brings together knowledge and tradition, what better way could I find to wish you other than a traditional vanakkam.

It gives me boundless joy in writing to all of you, the members who have always been known for the commitment towards Toastmasters

movement. What makes you all special is the burning passion for self-development and towards serving the community.

There was a boy who once wanted to become the most learned man in the world. After a lot of scrutiny, he zeroed in on one scholar who can be

his master. The boy asked the scholar, ―How long will it take for me to become the most learned man in the world?‖ ―10 years‖, replies the

scholar‖. The boy asks again, ―What if I put twice the amount of work than the other students?‖. Without thinking for the second the master

replies, ―20 years‖. The boy gets confused and asks how this could happen and the master gives him a reply, ―When you came here you were

focused on learning and not on the results. But as our discussion continued your focus was on the results and hence it would take more time.

Focus on learning and results will fall in place automatically.‖

The amount of results that members like you have produced, signifies that all of you are focusing on learning and self-development. With this

same thirst for learning, I am sure that Division G will reach greater and greater heights in the days, months and years to come. Wishing you all

the best.


Page 12

Division Directory

Area G1

Club Name : Chennai Toastmasters Club

Club No : 00665905

Day of Meeting : Sunday

Time of Meeting : 4 - 6 PM

Venue : Ruby Hall, The Presidency Club, Egmore, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Abhishek Mazumder, VP-PR, 9884108232

Club Name : Amazon Chennai Toastmasters Club

Club No : 01522687

Day of Meeting : Thursday


Venue : Amazon, Kandanchavadi, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Dileepan, VP-PR, 9941150885

Club Name : Shell Chennai Toastmasters Club

Club No : 02535524



Venue : Camp-4A, RMZ MBP 143, Dr MGR Rd, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Lalit, VP-PR, 9176667109

Club Name : Wipro Chennai Toastmasters Club

Club No : 03358372


Time of Meeting : Noon

Venue : CDC5, 1st floor, Elcot SEZ, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Dennis, VP-PR, 9677011069


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Area G2

Club Name : Coimbatore Toastmasters Club.

Club No : 02148163

Day of Meeting : Saturday.

Time of Meeting : 6.15 - 8.00 PM

Venue : PSG Institute of Management,Peelamedu, Avinashi Rd,

Coimbatore

Contact Details of SPOC : Sivakumar Palaniappan, 96009 24929

Club Name : TCS Insurance Toastmasters Club

Club No : 02221629

Day of Meeting : Tuesday

Time of Meeting : 2.45 – 4.30 PM

Venue : Class 1 3F ATL Building , TCS Siruseri, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Lakshmi Priya, VP-PR, [email protected]

Club Name : TCS Maitree Alpha Toastmasters Club

Club No : 02560442

Day of Meeting : Thursday & Friday

Time of Meeting : 2.45 PM(Thursday) 1.45 PM (Friday)

Venue : EB5- 3rd floor SW- Training room – TCS Siruseri, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : TM Faraz , VP-M, 98 84 481323

Club Name : Trichy Toastmasters Club

Club No : 03270615

Day of Meeting : 1st Sunday & 3rd Wednesday of every month

Time of Meeting : 6-8 PM

Venue : TRICHY PLUS, C-112, 5th Cross, Fort Station Road,

Thillainagar, Trichy - 620018

Contact Details of SPOC : Savitri, VP-PR, 97900 64242

Club Name : TCS Maitree Titans Toastmasters Club

Club No : 04036554


Time of Meeting : 3.30 – 5 PM

Venue : Executive conference Room, 7th floor, TCS, Nevile Block, TRIL

Info Park (near to IITM research Centre), Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Annapoorna, VP-M, 81 22 421958


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Area G3

Club Name : Terra VIT

Club No : 01600941



Venue : SJT807 , VIT University, Vellore

Contact Details of SPOC : Rajanya Ghosh, 7845850207

Club Name : Brisa Toastmaster International-VIT Student Chapter

Club No : 02677376

Day of Meeting : Friday


Venue : Silver Jubilee Tower , VIT University, Vellore

Contact Details of SPOC : Ankit Raj Saxena, 8110020517

Club Name : Agua VIT

Club No : 03295314

Day of Meeting : Monday


Venue : SJT825, VIT University, Vellore

Contact Details of SPOC : Shivesh Dixit, 8 45 851055

Club Name : Fogo VIT Toastmasters

Club No : 03295314



Venue : VIT University, Vellore

Contact Details of SPOC : Vignesh, VP-PR, 9629785951

Club Name : PhoenixVIT

Club No : 04198235




Contact Details of SPOC : Rohan, VP-PR, 9092056075

Club Name : Nuvens VIT

Club No : 04198323

Day of Meeting : Monday



Contact Details of SPOC : Kaustav, 96 29 341794


Page 15

Area G4

Club Name : TCS Maitree Chennai Toastmasters Club

Club No : 01373947

Day of Meeting : Wednesday


Venue : EB5- 1st Floor SW- Training room – TCS Siruseri, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Srikanth, VP-PR, 9524140073

Club Name : Alpha Betans Syntel

Club No : 03060904


Time of Meeting : 1-2.30 PM

Venue : Syntel , Plot H7 & H8, Sipcot IT Park, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Tapan Krishna, VP-PR, 8939395135

Club Name : Aristurtles Syntel Toastmasters Club

Club No : 03409720

Day of Meeting : Friday


Venue : Syntel, 1-124, Shivaji Gardens, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Viswanathan, VP-PR, 9094012303

Club Name : Barclays Chennai Elite Speakers

Club No : 04077010



Venue : Barclays Shared Services, 9A &9B, DLF IT Park, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Satya Swaroop ,[email protected]


Page 16

Area G5

Club Name : KCG Toastmasters Club

Club No : 01557592



Venue : KCG College of Technology , Karapakkam , Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Praveen, VP-PR, 9382172229

Club Name : TCS Maitree Orators Toastmasters Club

Club No : 02247135



Venue : RTSC, Digital Zone, TCS Karappakam, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Yogeshwaran, 9944864472

Club Name : TCS Maitree Champions Toastmasters Club,

Club No : 02560653



Venue : TCS - Chennai One SEZ, Thoraipakkam, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Aishwarya, VP-PR, 9884058962

Club Name : TCS Maitree Infinity Toastmasters Club

Club No : 03356293

Day of Meeting : Wednesday


Venue : TCS – Velachery, Chennai

Contact Details of SPOC : Pradeep Kumar, VP-E, 9789821698


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Division Awards


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Wishes from Region 13 Advisor

Season‘s Greetings! It gives me great delight to wish you on the occasion of the semiannual conference of

Division G, District 82 - ―Opulence 2014‖ to be held in Chennai on 19th October 2014. I am sure it would be a

true celebration of knowledge and tradition! Hearty congratulations to Division G Governor Rahul Shankar and

his entire team of dedicated volunteers and my best wishes to all the delegates.

Toastmasters‘ is where leaders are made.

How can you become a better leader?

By asking yourself some of these questions:

1. Are you getting ready for the next change in your life? Can you anticipate the next challenge? How can you

prepare for potential problems? Are you learning new skills?

Good leaders are proactive, not reactive, because they anticipate change and make strategies

accordingly. They see around the corners to look beyond the obvious. They act in the present to shape

their future.

2. What kind of people are you working with? Are they very similar to you or different?

It is important to develop relationships with people with different thought process, style of working and

belief systems. You need be able to connect with them well enough so that they trust you & work with

you towards a shared goal. Good leaders understand that having a more diverse network is a source of

great strength, because you have people that are thinking differently than you are.

3. What can you do to develop courage? Can you listen to criticism and yet have the audacity to take only the

positive points and go ahead with your idea?

Good leaders dare to be different. They don't just talk. They implement their ideas by taking calculated

risks. Their courage is a result of their conviction.

I have been able to experiment with the above principles by taking up various leadership positions in

Toastmasters; from club level to international. I have been blessed with great mentors who shared their insights

to help me imbibe the learning at every step. I have discovered that being aware of what is happening inside me

is as important as achieving success in a particular role. And the beauty of Toastmasters is - it is a safe

environment. You may sometimes trip and fall but a helping hand is never far away.

Let us support each other to become better leaders.

Enjoy the conference.

Nagaraja Rao, DTM

Region 13 Advisor (2013-14)

Toastmasters International


Page 22

Bonds of a Lifetime – DTM Nina John (Past District 82 Governor)

2014- the year Toastmasters turns 90, the year we look back on

this movement and how it has transformed millions of lives

across the world, and how it continues to do so. What is it about

Toastmasters that engenders such deep devotion and steadfast

loyalty?

I think it is the concept of servant leadership-where we all join

to build up our communication skills, but stay on because we

can build others up. This is one organization where titles do not

make a difference- being a POT –Plain Old Toastmaster is a

status that those who have not had a title enjoy as much as those

who have had a title and retired! It is such an immensely

humbling experience to attend the International conference and discover that the person sitting next to you at

the registration counter, or the Tally Counter at the contests is as likely to be a retired District Governor or even

International Past President, as it is to be a brand-new rookie Toastmaster!

The best part of attending the convention is meeting kindred spirits from across the globe, from countries you

have never heard of, and while talking, you discover you have exactly the same issues and challenges! It‘s

equally fun to walk in to a Toastmasters‘ meeting anywhere in the world and hear the familiar complaint: x role

player can‘t come because of traffic, or a new project, and suddenly, all eyes are on you as the Visiting

Toastmaster- ―Could you please help out?‖ And you are most happy to help. Confident of being able to play the

roles because your club does the same.

This spirit of camaraderie extends beyond the meeting –many clubs have a convivial session after the meeting,

some create fun social events (Dine Out Club in Houston dines out every week at a new location!), and some go

the extra mile (Chennai Communicators had a meeting on a boat in the sea!).

Recently, in Chennai, there were rumors of civil disturbances likely in the city, the day two Divisions were

holding their contests. Amazingly, every single Toastmaster present sent out messages to check if the others had

reached, and to reassure everybody if they had. More importantly, stranded outstation Toastmasters were taken

care of, with local Toastmasters spontaneously opening their homes, hearts and hearths, housing them for the

night and finding alternate travel arrangement the next day.

That‘s the real spirit of Toastmasters- not just a place where you come and deliver pretty speeches, but one

where ‗the atmosphere of mutual support‘ helps build the bonds of a lifetime. Ralph Smedley would be proud of

his legacy.


Page 23

Are you ready for some Golu Climbing – DTM Suganthi Periasamy (Past Division G

Governor)

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I took the one less traveled

by, and that has made all the difference.

When I take a moment and have a closer look at the world around

me, this line of thought expressed by Robert Frost seems to have

become cliché. Travelling the well-travelled road, yet marking a

difference seems to be trend of the day. So let me also follow the

trend carefully and jot my thoughts.

Ants carrying load heavier than their weight, an Eagle's ability to

spot a prey while flying at a few feet height, story of the sage and

scorpion, carpenter and the axe, old man and starfish, and of course,

the "famous" bumble bee story which has not spared anyone across

District 82 - these are stories of people, pets and events around us -

observing all these and deriving life's lessons from them is the

trending pattern that one can observe these days in speeches and

articles.

So, here comes my story ... I've tried my level best to match up to

these trends.

Last month I witnessed a colorful festival called Navaratri. The tradition of Golu had been an integral part of it.

Golu in Tamil means “Divine Presence”. Golu is an arrangement of dolls in a particular pattern. Many

households and temples have Golu during Navaratri. Last year, our Division Governor took me to Mylapore -

North Mada Street in Chennai, a place where the colors of Golu are born, and introduced me to the world of

Golu Bhommaizhal (dolls). The entire street was flanked by Golu doll vendors on both sides and the North

Mada Street was buzzing with people. I was fascinated by how these cute dolls carved out a story line and

vividly brought them to life. I visited the North Mada Street a few times this year, stood there "staring" at the

dolls and admiring. Not being able to go to Mylapore every day, but wanting to admire the dolls daily,

eventually, made me set up a Golu at home. Now I had the luxury of admiring these dolls sitting right there in

my Drawing room.

Oh, well, I am supposed to tell you what I learnt while admiring these dolls. So, let's get to business. Golu dolls

arrangement follows a set of rules on how the dolls ought to be arranged, the number of steps, the length of each

step, and so on. In a Golu, animals are kept in the bottom most step, the next higher step has ordinary human

beings, saints feature in the next higher step, preceded by Human avatars of Gods and the highest step has dolls


Page 24

of Gods and Goddess. The maturity level of people (dolls) goes higher in each higher step, symbolizing that one

should try and finally attain a maturity level to reach the Gods and Goddess.

In Toastmasters too, we are like the dolls with different maturity levels, placed at different levels in the Golu.

Each of us aims for the highest maturity level - DTM. When I attended just my club meetings, my leanings were

limited. When I picked up a little courage and ventured into the non-comfort zone, that is visiting other clubs,

taking part in their meetings, my leanings widened a bit. Climbing one step at a time, I, then, started taking up

leadership roles at area and division levels. Meeting new people, observing them and learning from them

provided me a bunch of learning. But the best learning came from working closely with people across clubs,

areas and divisions, striving to create a win-win situation for all of us without hurting others' sentiments and

being able to inspire & motivate the team towards achieving the common goal. I know that I still have many

steps to climb and many maturity levels to cross before I achieve "Distinction", but I am willing to leave my

current comfort step (club), venture into the unknown and pick up learnings on the way which will lead me to

the next higher step.

Are you willing to do some Golu climbing too?


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What’s In It for You – DTM Saro Velrajan (Past Division G Governor)

I‘m very happy and excited to write this article for Opulence

2014‘s souvenir.

Last week I had been to a club meeting. This is a club which got

chartered about a year ago and one of its members was completing

his Competent Communication journey. He had invited me to

witness/evaluate his speech and I accepted the role with pleasure.

After the meeting was over, he came to me and silently asked

"Saro... I'm having a question in my mind for a long time. I wanted

to ask you. Hope you won't mistake me". I said "Please go ahead. I

won't mistake you". With a little hesitation, he asked "Saro... do

people like you get paid whenever you visit clubs or when you start

new clubs in the community?" I wasn't shocked or surprised to hear

that - because, this is not the first time I'm handling this question.

Believe me… our new Toastmasters don‘t just ask you ―What is in

it for me?‖, but they also ask ―What is in it for you?‖

I smiled and asked him "Why do you ask this?‖ He said "Considering the rate at which people are starting new

clubs... considering the passion with which people are participating in Speech Craft programs... considering the

enthusiasm with which people go to other clubs... I'm sure that there should be some monetary benefit for these

people". I looked at him into the eyes and answered "Yes! We have a monetary benefit". He immediately got

curious. He gave a victorious smile as if he uncovered a million dollar Ponzi scheme, which was not known to

anyone in the community. I told him ―Dear… when we charter new clubs… when we conduct Speech Craft

programs… when we organize events/contests, we learn so many leadership skills. If you can motivate someone

to do something for you in a volunteering organization like Toastmasters... with the skills and experience that

you gain here, imagine the impact that you can make in your workplace ". I added ―Toastmasters is a 100%

non-profit organization. Nobody makes any money through Toastmasters. However, with the skills/experience

you gain from Toastmasters, you can easily standout from the crowd, at your workplace. The people who stand-

out from the crowd get noticed very fast and they make more money through promotions, bonuses and pay

hikes. That is the monetary benefit of actively volunteering in Toastmasters”. On hearing my response, the

Toastmaster was surprised, and also inspired. He said he‘ll also start volunteering, whenever he can and help

other members/clubs.

Friends… to me, Toastmasters is not just a communication skills development program… it is not just a

leadership skills development program… it is a self-development program. If you understand the real value of

Toastmasters, you‘ll get addicted to it very fast. In Toastmasters, there is a lot for you, me and everyone to

learn, live and levitate. Sit back, relax and enjoy … Opulence 2014!!


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Are we doing enough? – DTM Rajeev Nambiar (Division B Governor, District 82) Every person in life wants to become Opulent in some stage of

their lives. For some it is monetary, for some it is enhancing their

personal capacity in whatever field they are in or want to be and

the reasons and focuses vary in this regard. Well as Toastmaster

I‘m sure we are all here in the movement to become efficient and

effective communicators and in turn better leaders. Now I ask

each one of you- Are you doing enough to better yourself each

time you perform a role as a leader or a as a speaker??? I believe

it‘s time we reflect to see whether we are doing justice to this

learning curve of ours which needs to give commitment and

focus instead of just attending meetings just because we are

members of this great movement called Toastmasters. I firmly

believe that each individual is responsible in their own capacity

for the growth and development of the Toastmasters movement

because you are the brand ambassadors without whose effort and

commitment this powerful movement can‘t show case its might

to the world. Thus it‘s on your shoulders this movement can

make or break. Well Now ask yourself ―Am i doing enough‖???

If yes then ‗congratulations‘, if not, it‘s high time you did

because Toastmasters need your time and efforts to make it

bigger, brighter and better for all of us to learn and grow.


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Concoction of Learning and Laughter – TM Sudha Rajesh (Immediate Past Area

Governor in Division G)

Can you combine learning and fun? Is

that possible?

Well it is!! In fact the learning happens

both consciously and at a subconscious

level. And the learning that happens here

stays forever, unlike the Pythagoras

Theorems and Calculus and scores of

other stuff that we HAD to learn.

Where does this happen? At our

toastmasters clubs.

The learning stays forever, because we

learn by observing; we learn by doing; we

learn by experiencing.

The learning stays forever because it is

not taught but learnt.

The learning is not confined to

communication and leadership skills, but it is about living life in a meaningful way. It is about contributing.

Enough of the learning part, what about the fun?

What with contests happening throughout the year!! 8 out of 12 months, contests are conducted at some level or

other. Competition, adrenalin shooting up – we get to see all that.

Not just contests, there are celebrations happening all round the year –milestone speeches, milestone meetings,

special meetings for special occasions – there is no dearth of reasons to celebrate and have fun.

Above all, we get to network with different people, amazing people with amazing stories to tell.

All this and more happens throughout a toastmaster‘s year. No wonder, it is addictive.

Despite being a non-profit organization, it is possible to get help and support from dedicated and passionate

people only because, this movement not just brings people together, it BINDS us.

Birds of the same feather, not only flock together; here, we bond together.


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World of Equality – TM Rahul Ganesan - TCS Maitree Orators Toastmasters Club, Chennai

A small imagination from the Film ―2012―. A scientist was freaking out that the world will be completely

destroyed by the year end of 2012. She tried to convince her assistants to safe guard something more important

the world is lacking now. Nobody trusted her, but the scientist worked hard to gather accessories she was in

need. She also predicted that the world will become a ―land of business intelligence ―after this destruction.

The scientists worked in constructing an underground laboratory for her research. She felt that it was time to

settle her in the lab as the earth was effecting with increase in temperature which will lead to intensive global

warming and land region of earth will get immersed by water.

The Scientist was right in her prediction. The world faced its worst state and toppled completely. The human

race and all creatures like plants, animals vanished to the core. The world after this demolishment appeared to

be a new place or a planet with fresh air, pure water and fine land region.

What was the scientist working at in the laboratory? Are you curious to know?

The scientist was working on a humanoid – a human robotic machine. She spent the time of destruction in

developing the humanoid. The humanoid was given feelings, especially the feeling of treating a women equal in

all aspects (the factor that the world today is missing). The humanoid also had the qualities like tolerance,

patience and respect that each human of this competitive world should possess. She named the humanoid as

Zeus (King of Gods in Greek).

She wanted the world to have a balance in men and women aspects and made use of this destruction to develop

a humanoid with the feeling of equality in women and named the world as ―World of Equality‖. She brought

out the humanoid to the world after destruction and wished to express the feel of equality to the earth.

Friends, this imagination has brought out a humanoid that expresses equality in its feelings for women, then

why don‘t we humans (Men) express equality and respect to the women in this world, rather than expecting a

demolishment to Mother Earth to bring Equality in this world?

I hope my imagination has brought out Awareness towards the issues that Women of this world are facing. Let

us think about it.


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Our Literary Roots – TM Vaishnavi Ramadass - TCS Maitree Champions Toastmasters Club, Chennai

Which is the world‘s oldest language? This question has always been bothering linguists, anthropologists and

archaeologists, but no one has been able to find evidence that would lead to a definite conclusion. It‘s very

difficult to determine which the oldest language is, since it requires extensive research, and countless of

manuscripts and all sorts of written documents. They are thousands of years old and have to be reviewed and

analyzed, which takes a lot of time and resources. However, there is a group of several languages that most

linguists have put on; a short list as some of the oldest languages in the world that still exist which includes

Tamil.

It belongs to the Dravidian language family, and it‘s believed to be over 2,000 years old. The oldest known

manuscripts in Tamil language date to 300 BC, and it has a very rich literature, similar to Arabic or Latin.

Today, Tamil is the native language of 70 million people, with the majority of them living in India, Sri Lanka,

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Tamil is one of the few languages that have stayed practically unchanged

over a period of 2,000 years, and it‘s been able to resist the influence of other languages.

Tamil is not only an international language, but it is like a mother of all languages in the world. Tamil scholar

Devaneya Pavanar had established that Tamil is the primary classical language of the world.

"Root Tamil words exist in many languages of the world in various modifications but retaining the semantic

meaning. In the world languages, it is difficult to find a basic word that does not have some link with the Tamil

word. Hence, Tamil has the status of the mother tongue in the world,"

Sumerian, Arabic, Mayan, Meso, Persian, Turkish etc. are strongly believed as from Tamil.

Sumerians are believed to have similarity in the language script and certain culture co-relations between both

the languages (enable to date Tamil as 40,000 BC language.)

It is believed to be one lived even in Indus-Valley, Mohenjo Daro and Mergargh. It may be the first ever

language with written and spoken format and the first language born on the Indian-Subcontinent.


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Tamil is recognized as one of 7 Classical language of the world and it is the Second Largest Language Spoken

in the world older than 40,000 years.

The Sangam Age in South India is a landmark in Tamil history. According to the compilers of the Sangam

works such as Nakkeeran, the Tamil Sangams were academies, where Tamil poets and authors are said to have

gathered periodically to publish their works. The legends claim that the Pandya rulers of the mythical cities of

'South' Madurai, Kapatapuram and Madurai to have patronized the three Sangams.

The Sangam Age in India witnessed the rapid development of literary works in the southern regions. The

literature that was created during this time came to be known as Sangam literature. The great poets and writers

of this age have left behind invaluable accounts of brilliant literature that continue to enthrall historians and

scholars. The earliest literary work dates back to 200 B.C.

There were more than 450 authors from all classes of society, the sole criterion by which they were judged

being the recognition of their talent by their peers. These court poets sang the exploits of princes and warriors or

the sorrows of a nation at war. Kings honored them and they felt a keen sense of their own dignity. On one

occasion, the bard Mucikkiranar fell asleep in the palace near the place reserved for the royal drum, a sacrilege

punishable by death. Discovering him in this invidious situation, the king, rather than taking harsh measures

against him, picked up a fan and cooled his sleep, thus rendering homage to his genius. The kings and the poets

together made an irreplaceable era of literature. Literary works like Silapadhigaram and Yetuthogai, along with

communication and leadership, also propagated cultural values that benefitted the life of the audience.

From Arikkamedu, numismatic evidence is the most important source, which gives about the foreign trade of

early Tamils with Rome. From Agananuru and Purananuru we get a vivid description about the communication

of Romans with India. Apart from the literary sources, some inscriptional evidences provide valuable

information about the merchant communities and their duties. They flourished in trade as they were able to

communicate. The minor chieftains also played a significant role in the Sangam period. Among them Pari, Kari,

Ori, Nalli, Pegan, Ay and Adiyaman were popular for their philanthropy and patronage of Tamil poets.

Therefore, they were known as Kadai Yelu Vallalgal. Although they were subordinate to the Chera, Chola and

Pandya rulers, they were powerful and popular in their respective regions. The military administration was also

efficiently organized during the Sangam Age.

We can compare this with us Toastmasters and our roles. From the role of a timer, grammarian, club executive

committee etc., to the division team and the district team, each one is important and is powerful in their own

roles. And like how military administration was well organized, are our club meetings, contests and

conferences. We can highly relate our lives as Toastmasters with the Sangam era. The leaders (kings) conveyed

the art of leadership and stimulated the growth of communicators (poets).Sangams happened frequently to

analyze and compare oneself with the contests that happened among poets. We have a variety of contests to get

the best out of each toastmaster. Conferences that happen here in toastmasters are the modern Sangams we have

set up. Communication and leadership was always together, like our Toastmasters journey. The first step to

leadership is to communicate and we, as Toastmasters are taking the right step forward.

I can foresee our forthcoming generations talking about Toastmasters equally like we do about the age old

Sangam Period now to learn and grow as better communicators and leaders in the society. We are 90 years old

now and the legacy is always to follow!


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A Small Change Can Bring Bigger Impact in Life- TM D. Visagamoorthi - Coimbatore Toastmasters Club

Changing our habits can bring an enormous difference to the quality of our lives. Habits are exceptionally

powerful in life. They influence the way we live our life. Our habits will bring either happiness or

dissatisfaction to us. Transforming unhealthy habits to healthy habits is the key to living a happy and fulfilling

life that we dream. On some occasions, the smallest changes we bring into our life will bring biggest differences

in our lives. Look back at your life and consider the small changes you have made that led you to be happier

and more fulfilled. At the time you started these changes, you may have felt little impact. If you contemplate,

you can understand how powerful they were. Finally, your life has turned better as a result these tiny changes.

Creating positive life change is really a practice of introducing new habits to our living. Every change involves

a series of small new behaviors that you must include in your ―To do‖ list. But the process of adding up new

habits is not a simple thing. Simply inserting these new behaviors and assuming that they will stay with us is a

day dream. Almost every one of us is probably aware of this from our past experience. Probably you have made

New Year‘s resolutions or you were determined on a goal you wanted to achieve. You start with plenty of

liveliness and great intention, but after a few days or weeks, your keenness dries up and you give up your

ambition.

Habit formation is not easy because our brains are comfortable to routine activities. When we insert a new habit

into our lives, we have to literally rewire our brains. We must practice the new habit long enough until we build

new neural pathways that allow the new habit to become habitual. For instance, when we were trying to learn a

car we find it difficult and tensed but over a period of time and with practice, driving has become natural and

easy.

Building a positive habit involves a well-planned personal strategy.

The righteousness in any new habit which you want to build will increase your probability of success

tremendously and you can wake up every morning with great zeal and wind up every day with a sense of

fulfillment.


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The Art of Communication in Kathakali – TM Nirmala Varier - Trichy Toastmasters Club

Basically, it is the approach to an Art or its appreciation that dictates the ethics of an Art form. Appreciation of

an art form involves a kind of agreement between the artiste and the viewer. While the artiste/ performer enacts

on stage, adhering to the canons of his art form, the viewer consents to unravel the contextual knots, assimilate

and relish the proffered notion appropriately.

Hence, in a classical art form, there are certain pre- determined patterns ascribing well defined connotations to

specific actions. Thus a certain group of people perform accordingly and another group of people discern and

savor the same. So it may be inferred that there is no socio cultural relevance involved in this process of

enactment and appreciation.

To those having an eye for the plot, the underlying thematic concept dictates the aesthetic experience. On the

other hand, to those who are on the lookout for the form, appreciate it from the perspective of structure. The

latter‘s aesthetic experience is tarnished if the pitch, tone or rhythm faltered. Thus it may be said that the issue

lies in the viewer‘s perspective and not in the art per se.

In classical arts, the theme is contained in three layers:

1. The story: The scholars suggest that the chosen story should be renowned. In fact they insist that the chosen

storyline should be an excerpt from mythology/ epic/ legend. This is to ensure that the spectator is not anxious

regarding the development of the storyline or other such aspects and is able to focus on the artistic format and

the aesthetic charm. This theory which obviously has its origin in Semitic thought however constitutes an

irrefutable truth.

Parallels to the above may be drawn with Sartre‘s existentialism and Bertolt Brecht‘s distancing/ estranging

effect (not alienation effect). Scholars have deliberated upon ‗storyline‘ in detail. One point of note is that the


Page 33

story should have an objective/ intent. They suggest that, new stories may be formulated when this ‗objective‘

gets translated into ‗propaganda‘.

2. Narrative/ Theme: The narrative/ storyline/ theme is usually based on or an excerpt from Epics/ Mythology/

Legends and is a creation of the scriptwriter. It is a product distinct from the epic/ legend. The Kathakali

playwright when conceiving the script based on a given story incorporates several changes in the theme. He

might alter the chronological order of incidents, introduce new characters, discard existing characters, and

highlight selected episodes to enhance the dramatic impact.

The objective of the narrative is distinct from the story. The intent is to merely enhance the spectacle. In a

nutshell, the tale / story and narrative / theme are two different concepts.

3. The next is the „plot‟: Let us see how the ‗plot‘ evolves: The playwright conceives the storyline, imbues it

with his creative inputs, and then withdraws. Only then does the rest of the team of artistes embark upon their

creative embellishments. This team includes the performer/ actor, percussionists, vocals, costume and make- up

artistes. The fact remains that the script forms the underlying premise around which this team of artistes erect

their artifact. However, just as the house is built upon the foundation, yet it is the windows, doors and other

accessories that make it whole, so also Kathakali comprises of other facets beyond the script. Hence, if one

focuses on the theme alone, there is the risk of the rest of the aspects being overlooked.

For instance, let us consider the characterization of Anti-heroes/ Flawed heroes as protagonists. The writer

perhaps takes care not to justify the deeds or actions of such characters when fleshing out the storyline. Be it

Shakespeare‘s Othello or its movie counterpart – Kurosawa‘s ―Throne of Blood‖, be it ―A clockwork orange

―or its corresponding movie interpretation. In all these instances, it may be noted that the creator ensures that

the viewer does not develop empathy and remains dissociated from the characters or his/ her deeds. This they

accomplished by restraining the viewer from getting involved in the story/ plot. This ploy was not merely to

prevent the justification of the protagonist‘s acts but also to veer the viewer‘s interest away from the content and

focus on the structure instead.

Whenever an emotionally charged scene was being enacted on stage, Bertolt Brecht, the renowned theatre

practitioner would get an actor to walk across the stage holding a placard saying ― This is just a drama‖ to

prevent the audience from empathizing with the characters or situations on stage. Kathakali too employs many

such tactics to achieve the same end.

Any art form should stand distinct from the artiste- total involvement of the artiste perhaps enhances the beauty

of appreciation, but dilutes the aesthetics of the essence of THE ART. The artiste and the character portrayed

should at no point merge into one- if it does then the art is polluted/ diluted by the individuality of the artiste!

When the viewer identifies with the predicament of the character or the character itself, there is the possibility

of the aesthetic beauty being sidelined and the creative ingenuity being overlooked.


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Tamil and Toastmasters – TM Lakshmi Priya - TCS Insurance Toastmasters Club, Chennai

The word Tamil Culture immediately evokes the image of the towering gopurams symbolizing commanding grandeur and

solemnity ,the excellent literary works and adorable art forms .There is no doubt that the culture of the Tamils belongs to

the great and immortal treasures of the world's civilization. Our Tamil heritage stands impeccable for its richness in its

culture and its wide diversification, and I would say, our Toastmasters stands no lesser to it.

Striking the tongs at the hospitality, offering hospitality to a stranger or a guest is fundamental and a part of any Tamil

culture. They are so well known for their warmth that they show toward their guests. ―Athithi Devo Bava‖ would be the

baseline for any Tamilian, which directly implies, that all your guests should be treated as supreme as the God. It would

never be an exaggeration to state that, the westerners are often astonished by the welcoming attitude towards guests and

visiting strangers, which is strikingly different. The concept of hospitality is not limited to Tamils as such but is an

integral part of Toastmasters as well. Greeting the guest with smile and offering a warm welcome is an inbred

characteristic of toastmasters which provides a positive and supportive learning environment.

Another major part of Tamil culture is its festivals. The glory and the grandeur come alive with each & every festival of

its state. The special and milestones meetings of every toastmaster club are a festival on its own kind. The members gears

up and get united to celebrate the remarkable feat achieved by their club with joy and pride in their heart. These meetings

attract the guest towards their club and aid to add new members to the toastmaster‘s family. Anybody would be awestruck

by witnessing this real world of frolic and celebrations. So these special meetings just like festivals make a year full of

fond memories. The 90th celebration of Toastmaster International is a fine testimony to this.

The other exclaimable feature of the Tamil culture would be its Language & Literature. Language is the rational and

spiritual matrix in which a culture lives, moves and has its being. Just like the Tamil poets have consistently lost

themselves in the mystical enthusiasm over the nature of the language, we the Toastmasters have lost and found ourselves

in the course of mastering it. If a language is to be the matrix of flourishing and progressive culture it is necessary to be

taught to utmost perfection. As the famous thirukural ―Karka kasadara karpavai katrapin Nirka atharku thaha‖ goes, we in

toastmasters believe in learning the language without errors and hence the roles like ah counter, grammarian and

evaluators have evolved.

The contemporary poets of Tamil Nadu draw inspiration from many sources ranging from traditional sculptures with their

mythological allusions to folk themes and developments in 20th-century European art just like speakers draw inspiration

from anything and everything surrounding them to deliver their masterpiece, the prepared speech. The best speaker ribbon

could be analogous to the prestigious literary honors, the Jnanpith award.

Over the centuries Tamils have spread outside their territory and in this process have planted signs of their presence many

of which can be found even today. In the same degree, the toastmasters clubs have marked their footprints far and wide

and in the process have planted signs of their presence by producing many competent communicators and competent

leaders who have made a difference to this society and the movement. Thus the existence of the age long Tamil culture

that goes hand in hand with the toastmaster club culture should be looked upon as a source of fruitfulness and mutual

benefits.


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Craft Your Speech – TM Pradeep Kumar - TCS Maitree Infinity Toastmasters Club, Chennai

It came as a surprise to me when my Club President called me one day and said, ―Hey we are going to run a

Speechcraft program in our Division G‖. I had thought Speechcraft was always run by seasoned-toastmasters

and not amateur toastmasters like me. But Toastmasters proved me all wrong, hit right in the center and said,

―No it‘s your turn now, go Learn! ―.

Yes, Toastmasters have always been a great platform for learning and what better way to learn than by doing?

So I happily joined as one of the coordinators along with my President. So during the first meeting, I was all

excited to step into another corporate company and play my part as a Speech evaluator. Little did I know that

the Speechcraft meetings weren‘t like our usual meetings. Instead it required more scope for speech crafters to

learn about public speaking because Speechcraft is more about teaching Non-Toastmasters about public

speaking. I was also surprised when veteran Toastmasters like TM Saro Velrajan agreed to be a part of our

meetings as an Educational Speaker. That‘s when I realized that Speechcraft requires high level of Toastmaster

networking to get the right people for the speech crafters benefit.

We had a feedback session over the call with the corporate company and then we knew they expected

experienced and mature toastmasters to evaluate speakers instead of the younger ones like me. It might seem

weird when you are in toastmasters but I also realized that‘s how we have been living all through our lives. We

generally do not take advice from younger people and credibility prevails among the elder people or rather

experienced people. So our next mission was to get experienced Toastmasters. In our fraternity, we have no

scarcity for any kind of people and we did get the right quotient of experienced evaluators. The meetings have

gone quite well so far.

Based on the sessions held till now, we noticed that the Speech crafters enjoy Table Topics session the most and

we make sure we have interesting round of Table topics every time. We once held it by picking topics out of

pictures in newspaper. Another time we had small objects to convey the topic and also our custom – the Chits.

We make sure the topics are simple, yet fun and interesting to talk about. Being a corporate company we had to

postpone few sessions due to speech crafters unavailability and venue unavailability. Since it doesn‘t take place

in our usual meeting space, it also takes so much effort for the role players to go over there and hold the

meetings.

So we do come across various such problems but the learning we offer to the Speech crafters is the take-way

and that gives us immense satisfaction in the long run. We would truly appreciate it if our Division G folks join

hands with us to drive this Speechcraft by volunteering for role players.

Speechcraft Details: Venue: PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd

Prestige Palladium Bayan, 8th floor, 129-140, Greams Road, Chennai.

Timing: Friday 4.30PM to 6.30PM

Contact: Pradeep - 9789821698


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Evaluate To Motivate – TM Karthik Palaniappan - TCS Insurance Toastmasters Club, Chennai

Public speaking and leadership are skills that can be developed and improved. In Toastmasters, feedback is

called evaluation, and it is the heart of the Toastmasters educational program. You observe the speeches and

leadership roles of your fellow club members and offer evaluations of their efforts, and they do the same for

you. If you truly want to improve your speaking and leadership skills, you must learn how to give and receive

helpful evaluations.

In day to day routine life, you listen to people, observe their work and if possible you tend to give feedback. So

you evaluate in some manner every day, at home, office and in the community.

Effective evaluations benefit us by:

• Good example as AUDIENCE

• Critical thinking and better listening skills as EVALUATOR

• providing immediate feedback, offering methods of improvement, maintain self-esteem as SPEAKERS

The tone and content of an evaluation have great impact on the speaker and even on the club. A harsh

evaluation may cause a member to leave the club. An overly kind evaluation may not help the member to

improve, making the member frustrated and unhappy. Good evaluators strive to find a balance between the

extremes, giving evaluations that are helpful and encouraging. An evaluation is just considered to be an opinion

from the evaluator‘s perspective.

Factors for effective evaluation:

There are only two factors that drive the effective evaluation which are essential for any evaluators to provide

effective evaluation to the speakers.

• Preparation

• Delivery

How to Prepare:

Before the meeting starts:

• Contact the speaker

• Get their speech manual

• Read the speech objectives and the evaluation guide

• What are their interests in terms of evaluation?

• Set up the note form


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Given below a sample note form which I obtained from my toastmaster mentor for my evaluations

Owing to little amount of time given for evaluations, we should focus only on the areas that will make our

evaluations crisp and effective enough that the speaker can appreciate. As per the sample note above, the focus

areas are – Speech Flow (F), Strengths (S) and Improvements (I) and finally Overall impressions to conclude

your evaluations.

Before you write down your evaluations, listen to speaker‘s speech carefully without any distraction. After the

speaker has finished, then begin writing your evaluation points. Avoid giving more emphasis on eye contact,

grammar, expressions as they just contribute to effect of the speech and cannot form the basic purpose of the

evaluation.

How you say it:

The way you put forward your evaluations has more effect as the content of your evaluation. If you don‘t

carefully use the words, the message that you want to convey to the speaker will be lost. There are certain

guidelines that you need to follow during the evaluation.

Structure your evaluations as:

Opening

Objectives

Strengths

Improvements

Summary

Close

As highlighted above, remember that you are giving your opinion as evaluation and not other‘s opinion. Hence

it is recommended not to use words such as ―We are impressed...‖, ―We think...‖, ―We like....‖


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Instead use language like:

I liked....

I think...worked well....

Avoid evaluations like:

Cut Slash and Burn Evaluations

Repeating the words/speech

Your statements like: ―You did not use the stage properly‖, ―I was confused when you said‖, ―I don‘t

think you met the objectives‖

Better use of language during evaluation will help the speakers to accept your suggestions in a friendly manner

and will also help to avoid putting the person being offensive. This will help the speakers to turn up for next

sessions and being open to critical suggestions.

Methods to present evaluation:

The predominant type of evaluation is sandwich style where in the evaluator will comment on the highlights of

the speech, followed by the areas of improvement and again followed by highlights.

Other modes of evaluations that are followed are:

1) Chronological order – Start commenting on Introduction, then Body of the speech, and then

Conclusion

2) Speech objectives focused – Read out your answers to the questions at the end of the project given in

the speech manual (Technique appropriate for beginners in speech evaluations)

3) Theme based evaluations – ―Listening to your speech was like watching a movie…‖ go ahead and

organize your evaluation to justify why it was like a movie

4) Acronyms based organization - Your speech had SUPERB ingredients. S for STORY, U for UNIQUE

MESSAGE, P for PERSUASION, E for ENTERTAINMENT, R for RHETORICS and B for BODY

LANGUAGE.

It is evaluator‘s choice to follow a certain method of evaluation, but keep in mind that you need to show variety

in your evaluations as audience/speaker may not show interest in your evaluations even if they are effective.

Conclusion:

As you conclude, ensure that speaker gets motivated and eager to show improvements in the next project.

Conclude your evaluations with a positive note either by highlighting the area that impressed you the most or

highlight the improvement from his previous speech and offer congratulations. This helps to build self-esteem

and self-confidence.


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Milestones, Memories and Moments

BRISA VIT-100th

Dignitaries present: Area governor-TM Ira Shukla

Assistant area governors-TM Navneeth.V.Ganesh

and TM Rajath Chandra Mathur

Area treasurer-TM Nayaab Singh

Area secretary TM Rajanya Ghosh

Faculty coordinator of the club Prof. W.Christopher

Rajasekaran.

President TM Ritwik Raje started his ACB track.

Introduced 2 TMODs -TM Adarsh Warrier and TM

Akash Sharma.TM Swaroop and TM Vishnu‘s

music.

100th

birthday of Brisa had a yummy cake too!

Way to go!

AGUA VIT-75th

Highlights of the Session-

To preserve and to highlight the works of

the previous club officers.

The officers of the previous terms were

made to sign a memento as a token of

gratitude.

Cake cutting session to end the 75th

session

on light note.

Way to go!


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TERRA VIT-200th

Highlights -

Two TMODs - TM Joshua and TM Apoorva.

TM Ameya‘s CC9

TM Jishnu‘s CC9

TM Brejesh‘s ACB1

A moment of silence was observed for

victims of the 9/11.

Video unveiled on how Terra means to the

members.

And Giant Chocolate Cake for 200 meetings!

Way to go!

TCS MAITREE ORATORS TOASTMASTERS

CLUB-100th

Way to go!

TCS MAITREE INFINITY

TOASTMASTERS CLUB-50th

Way to go!

TCS MAITREE CHAMPIONS

TOASTMASTERS CLUB-125th

Highlights -

DTM Suganthi‘s session-Let‘s go

fishing.

TM Dheepan- CC 9.

Let‘s go fishing, on how Toastmaster-ing is a

life skill.

―Who‘s asking?‖ activity for table topics.

A great reminiscence about 125 meetings!

Way to go!


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TCS INSURANCE TOASTMASTERS

CLUB-150th

Hosted by TM Arun chellappa and TM

Nivedita.

DTM Asha verghese-On Target

evaluation.

Boom boom buzuki,maruti suzuki game.

TM Srivatsan and TM Karthikeyan gave their

speeches.

Seventh edition of Ebullience- club newsletter

was unveiled by Rajesh Thomas.

Role players and Toastmaster of the month were

felicitated.

Way to go Insurance!

CHENNAI TOASTMASTERS CLUB-450th

Chaired by TM Noorain and TM

Ramkumar

DTM Lalitha Giridhar - Before, After (Ice

Breaker).

DTM Harini Srinivasan- Energizing

Endeavors.

DTM Srinivasan Kartikeyan-Romantic

Communication

DTM Aditya Maheswaran- ABCD of E-

Accuracy, Brevity, Clarity and Density of

Evaluations.

Way to go CTM!


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SHELL CHENNAI TOASTMASTERS CLUB– 100th

TRICHY TOASTMASTERS

CLUB – 25th

AMAZON CHENNAI TOASTMASTERS CLUB–

150th


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Our Hatchlings – Chartered Recently


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Opulence 2014

On the stage that saw the Souvenir breathe to life, the teams of “Swas” – The Breath of Division G, extend our heartfelt

gratitude to the division and its members for making our efforts a living of success and happiness.

TM Abhishek, Conference Chair, Opulence 2014 –

I would like to thank the whole fraternity for the whole hearted support towards the conference. Initially when I started,

I was scared seeing the enormity of the task. The support and the creativity of the members have made my work so

easy. Even the naming of the conference - 'Opulence' and the logo has been designed by our members. Opulence means

grand. Division G is grand not only in terms of size but also in terms of tradition and knowledge. The 5 spikes on the logo

represent the shining areas of our division. We are also privileged to have the World Champion of Public Speaking 2014

as our Key Note Speaker which adds to the grandeur. I hope this conference will remain etched in the memory of all

toastmasters!

TM Shashank, Co-conference Chair, Opulence 2014 –

Division G has given me a lot of opportunities. I became a competent communicator by being a speaker, an evaluator,

and a mentor. I became a competent leader by being the charter president for TCS Maitree Infinity Toastmasters.

Division G has been my mentor throughout my toastmaster’s journey hitherto. When I think about it Division G has

always given something to me and has expected nothing from me. I thought being the co-conference chair for Opulence

as an opportunity to redeem Division G. I was wrong. After I became a co-conference chair I attended many

conferences, met many people, and learned many things. I then realized it was division G again that has helped me to

improve my communication and leadership skills. I had an epiphany that everything Division G has given to me and

everything division G will give me is nonredeemable. Thanks a lot Division G.


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The Next District Event – Reverberations 2014

Documents

Swas - The breath of Division G