CHATT...ERRR AMDAVAD TOASTMASTERS NEWSLETTER
ODYSSEY
ODYSSEY PATHWAYS ODYSSEY OF ATM I AM YOUR BELIEF ART & POETRY SECTION
ATM AT ELOQUENCE 2018 NUDGE TO SPREAD POSITIVITY. INTERVIEW—ADITYA MAHESHWARAN MONOLOGUE—DRIVING AND HEALING FORCE FOR ME. AMDAVAD TOASTMASTERS CLUB | QUARTER 2 | APRIL TO JUNE 2018
Odyssey, as the theme aptly suggests, means journey. Every odyssey in our life, we take, we discover the unknown facets of our life. We learn a lot in the process, transforming ourselves in to a better human being. The path we take determines our evolution, it plays important role in defining our personality. It’s this path which is (crucial) than the actual destination we reach. No doubt, reaching the destination is vital as it motivates an individual to take up the journey in first place & henceforth drives him to achieve the desired goal. This very desire to achieve certain goals in life has motivated each of us to join Amdavad Toastmasters club. Some of us want to be exemplary speakers while others want to take the charge & lead the way, whatever is the objective, we all believe ATM can be the catalyst to fulfil our expectations. The roll out of pathways last month has opened opportunities for all of us to pursue a path that is most suitable to us, which supports us in the best manner . While pathways have simplified the learning processes, it also has widened the scope of acquiring multiple skill sets in the form of 10 pathways. The 10 paths are:
Dynamic leadership: Focuses on building str ategic leadership & conflict resolution skills Effective coaching: Builds inter per sonal communication, leadership & coaching skills. Innovation planning: Builds cr eative pr oject management & communication skills. Leadership development: Builds communication & leadership skills. Motivational strategies: Builds motivational leader ship & communication skills. Persuasive influence: Develops skills to lead in complex situations. Presentation Mastery: Helps in public speaking skills.
Strategic relationships: Focuses on networ king, leadership & communication skills. Team collaboration: Develops collabor ative leader ship skills. Visionary communication: Builds innovative communication & leadership skills. Though we have choice of going with the path suggested by online assessment in the base camp, it’s not compulsory & we can opt for any other path after enrolling for pathways. Each path has 5 levels, each level has 2-4 projects, in all 15 projects per path. These projects are mix of public speaking assignments, evaluations & mentoring. Overall, each path ensures all-round development of Toastmaster. Once a toastmaster completes 2 paths, one after another, in addition to serving as a club officer & a district officer for a year also becomes club mentor or club coach & participates in youth leadership or speech craft program or becomes a club sponsor, he can pursue DTM project, leading to the award of DTM which is the highest echelon. In summary, pathways help build 5 core competencies, public speaking, interpersonal communication, strategic leadership, management and confidence. All we need to do is select a path & get going. So, let’s make pathways, a way of our learning! -Girish Kulkarni
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PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS AMDAVAD TOASTMASTERS TURNED 6! This June, the celebrations were at its peak and members along with their families laughed, enjoyed and bonded over dinner. It is this bond that has served like a thread for this club since its incubation. But the reasons to celebrate were more than just the 6th Birthday. Amdavad Toastmasters sparkled like a diamond in the District 98s Annual Conference at Hyderabad, grabbing the coveted Diamond Club Award and getting featured in the elite list of 25 clubs in District 98. This is indeed a recognition, of the efforts of the members and the club leaders who went beyond their capacities to contribute to the Distinguished Club Program (DCP). We were also among the 45 clubs in District 98 that received the Pristine award for adding over 45 new members in the last Toastmasters' Year. It is also a moment of pride that Amdavad Toastmasters was among the 6 clubs that were selected as winners in the Membership Campaign driven by District 98. While recognition is essential, our club members have also taken that step to embrace change, with many initiating their journey in Pathways since its roll out in May 2018. At a macro level, the program seems tailor made to help individuals from varied professional and personal backgrounds to achieve their specific goals.
It would not be out of proportion to state that the journey in the last 6 months has helped me gain new perspectives on leadership and I would urge each member to explore the leadership opportunities that the club offers. I would also like to thank each member of the Executive committee and also the club mentors who have been a great support system for the smooth functioning of the club. As we move forward, I extend my wishes to the Newly Elected Executive Committee of our club, who will definitely take this Club to Even greater Heights.
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INTERVIEW WITH DTM ADITYA MAHESWARAN
First of all, we would like to thank DTM Aditya Maheswaran for taking some time off from his schedule to answer a few questions about his experiences. 1. Could you share your journey to World Championship of Public speaking (WCPS)? It’s been a tremendous journey for 13 years in Toastmasters. I started contesting in 2014, before that I was pretty much occupied in the leadership track of Toastmasters. The journey to WCPS is excellent as it helps me connect with myself. It teaches me more than public speaking. It teaches an individual how to control nervousness and how to control anxiety. I’ve learnt that one can’t be good for 5-7 minutes on stage and bad off stage. So WCPS has helped me develop holistically. The trophy only validates what you’ve become and not what will you become. All my 3 years at WCPS (2014, 15, 17) has taught me that and so it’s a terrific journey. 2. What activities you undertake to reach WCPS Stage? It requires a lot of dedication and practice. If you want to be world champion in cricket, it requires a lot of dedication and practice. The same is applicable for public speaking. It’s a learning curve. Go to the stage, practice and seek good feedback. Improve your techniques then again go to the stage, practice and seek better feedback. It is a process of learning right tools, practicing and seeking feedback. 3. What are the challenges you faced? If you can share few, pursuing Toastmasters can be prepared for it . Absolutely. The first challenge I faced early on was self -doubt. Why should a large group of people listen to
something I have to say? I’ve probably not had any great setbacks in my life. I’ve not lost any family member. Nothing dramatic has happened in my life then why would people listen to me? A realization came when I understood that it’s not about greater incidents and stories. It’s all about great insights from small incidents. It’s very important to draw out great insights from small incidents. Even small incidences which may have happened 5 minutes before your speech. The second roadblock we Indians face is speaking to a global audience. The first time I went to WCPS, I realized that people have come from all around the world and some jokes don’t appeal to people from other parts of the world. I would rather say that all were great learning experiences. 4. Who is your inspiration?
(laughing) There are a lot of people who have inspired me. What they have inspired me is to be myself. At end of the day, the greatest inspiration should be your own self-development. In Toastmasters, DTM Deepak (First vice president from Toastmasters) has been a source of inspiration. 5. At what point do you come alive on stage – before you walk on, when you walk on, or three minutes after you start? In a 7-minute contest, you don’t have the luxury to come alive on stage after too long! This is a good question because different people have different ways to energize themselves. For me, 4-5 minutes before I go on stage is a very important time. At that time, I’ve to kill my distractions like what’s happening at office, what client presentation is due the next day etc. I need to get away with all these and need to keep calm. If I can
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change even one person’s perspective through my speech, I derive great joy. The mind-set of changing someone’s life in 7 minutes energizes me and helps me to soothe myself before I walk on stage. I learnt not to care much about the trophy that’s placed on stage. I focus on the message I need to deliver. 6. Why do you feel impelled to speak? I think it’s a deep question. I don’t think everybody needs to feel impelled. We’re drawn by different likes and different passions. I don’t feel impelled to dance. Some people feel connected to divine by dancing! Each one of us has some natural inclination. Being on stage and sharing my perspectives has always made me find myself more than any other activity. For me, public speaking connects me to the divine. 7. Could you please share how to create messages that are impossible to ignore? (laughing) Well, that’s really for the audience to say it’s impossible to ignore. I take up a topic that the audience can connect to. Core message or story has to be at that level so that everyone can relate to it. 8. What has been the most challenging yet at the same time the most fruitful incident/experience in your Toastmasters journey so far?
In contests, being part of a club like Mumbai Toastmasters, the most challenging task is to win at the club level. We have fine speakers there. You can be assured that the one who wins the club level has a terrific speech that has the potential to go all the way. So the challenging yet fruitful experience has been contesting at Mumbai TM club! But going back in time, a challenging yet fruitful incident was when I was the president of Chennai TM club (way back in 2008). The club’s average age was 42 and mine was half of that. Managing stakeholders, resolving conflicts between senior members – all of this made me a more mature and balanced person. 9. How do you manage your role in Toastmasters, your professional & personal life? What drives you? Abdul Kalam once advised his audience “find your ‘theatre of action’, and work relentlessly in it”. We all work in many theatres of action. I am a management consultant and I’ve got everyday human interaction with the top brass of the corporate world. Therefore, my profession and Toastmasters go hand in hand. Making compelling proposals for clients, negotiating, & adding value to their growth is my focus and Toastmasters directly fits into that. I used to feel my career disconnected with TM when I started my career as an IT professional. Life is in sync when you feel a coherence between your profession and passion.
DTM Aditya Maheswaran delivered a Keynote session on the topic “Ideas to Execution - What makes a World Champion” at Amdavad Toastmasters on May 30th, 2018.
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Pathways Roadblocks Change is like a monster hiding under your bed when you were a kid. Once you look and realize that it's just a shadow your fear turns into relief. For many Toastmasters around the world, the new pathways programme is like a monster. In this article, I will depict how to deal with the roadblocks related to pathways. Pathways enables each member to customize their journey based on their skills, requirement & goals. It develops skills transferable at workplace. This makes real sense ascertaining the diversity of people joining Toastmasters. Here are the few ROADBLOCKS member have encountered while taking on the Toastmasters' journey.
ROADBLOCK - 1 # I am there in Toastmasters since long time but not been able to achieve CC or CL, what should I do! You can straight away switch on to pathways irrespective of your CC, CL. You try to finish your CC, CL simultaneously, and get enrolled in pathways. Get your basics right, and then switch on to pathways.
ROADBLOCK — 2 # I am a senior toastmaster having achieved various titles like CC, CL, ACB etc. What should I do now? I am not interested in achieving DTM. Pathways has a vast resources for learning for all the toastmasters. These resources are in form of PDF, ONLINE CLASS or video tutorials. It has various electives to experiment which you have not encountered with your Current toastmasters' journey. You can be in traditional path but get enrolled in pathways so that you can become valuable resource to the club you may guide and mentor new members as well.
ROADBLOCK - 3 # I am confused which path to choose as my mentor is not in pathways and will not be able to guide me. There are plenty of resources available on Toastmasters' website. You can also refer to the resources created by the districts where pathways have enrolled since long and programme has well-established, e.g., DIST — 4 OR DIST-57 WEBSITE. Pathways assessment is a great interactive tool to decide which path you should pick based on your skills, deficiencies and goals. You have option of online exchange of path in case of wrong selection. You can take help of your V.P.E or PATHWAYS GUIDE as well. Your mentor is a senior Toastmaster, and he has gone through all the basics of traditional programme which are the basis of pathways programme.
ROADBLOCK - 4 # Who will guide me regarding the online navigation through my pathways journey!. Pathways programme is managed and guided at the club level by V.P.EDUCATION as a BASECAMP MANAGER in guidance fr om Pathways guide. He will guide you through the queries and will approve and verify your projects. Your individual projects will be guided by your mentor or your pathway's path buddy. Once we address these roadblocks and learn about pathways, whole new exciting world of learning waits to unveil. It is rightly said by someone-when one teaches , two learn. Robin Sharma has nicely quoted about the change that “ Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end". So let's try to stumble this roadblocks and take the Odyssey of THE PATHWAYS. - Hiren Dholakia
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MEMBER ACHIEVMENTS
Our Members (starting from the left) Amit Gulati, Vranda Rathi and Dhanraj Kamdar were awarded with the Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB) awards by the Toastmasters International. We congratulate them on their feat.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Our Club member, Toastmaster Manish Khanolkar (CC, ALB), became the Area Director of Area A1, District 98. We congratulate him and wish him success in his new assignment.
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Aman Pardesi
Dhiren Pranami
Pratima Ponia
Anupriya Bishnoi
Vikas Kashyap
Jitendra Padmashali
Ronak Modi
Mahesh Chaudhari
Kailash Mulchandani
Roshni Ranganathan
Satheesh Kumar
Deepak RK
Sameer Savaliya
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ODYSSEY OF ATM K.P Jani (ACG, ALB)
While on a vacation from the USA to India/ Ahmedabad, in
2007, I was appalled, and disappointed to find that, one of the Industrially richest and Educationally advanced states of the country, with Institutes like IIM, IIT, CEPT, NID, and Industrial presence of L&T, Essar, Reliance and Lalbhai’s, had no Toastmasters’ Club.
Team Biswajit comprised of young, energetic, hard-working and upcoming executives in the fields like I.T., Banking, Finance, and Telecom, along with a highly motivated, energetic and knowledgeable Leader and the seasoned Toastmaster from Gurgaon. Team KP consisted of “Hardly-working” irregular but philanthropic oldies.
I had joined the Toastmasters in 2002 in the USA and reaped the innumerable benefits in and off the work there. A passion was born within me to start a Toastmasters Club in Ahmedabad because I knew that the only weak point in otherwise brilliant Gujarati (native) was the ability to speak in English in public.
Biswajit brought in the members, I brought in the money by coercing my buddies either to take up membership (and attend weekly meetings) or donate (minimum Rs. 5,000) to the club to take care of initial registration fees and sundry expenses like commissioning ceremony. They readily accepted the second choice.
Together with the initial 20 members, I mustered my old college mates, who were (still are) active members of my College Alumni Association. I got a very positive response from a dozen of them. I went back to the USA with high hopes to start a club in Ahmedabad while in the USA. What a height of overconfidence in remote control!
Even today, I twist their tails to make them cough up five or ten grand or lend their farm-house for celebrations. All that I must do is show them the blank membership form.
On my next vacation to India in 2009, I held a formal presentation on Toastmasters International at AMA. Attendance was over 50. Twelve ‘buddies’ enrolled and committed to be the members and expand the membership.
I went back to the USA with high hopes. Again, remote control didn’t help. Status quo was maintained. No progress was made back home. They had the will to form the club but lacked time and leadership – a leader who could actively work, as they had their own businesses to look after. I migrated back to India for good in 2010 and started actively conducting meetings with my “dormant members”. They were very upbeat and positive about starting the club. Soon, I wrote to Toastmasters International about my intent to start the club in Ahmedabad. Toastmasters International headquarters responded by referring me to Toastmaster VK Jain, the District Director.
When I emailed DTM Jain, he directed me to contact Biswajit Adhikari, in Ahmedabad who was already conducting meetings with his group of friends, trying to register a Club in the city. Without wasting a single moment, I contacted Mr. Biswajit, a smiling and a friendly person who I befriended at the very first meeting. We joined our respective groups. Rest is history. We had doubled our resources. What an exhilarating feeling it was to meet with a “force multiplier”!!
Meeting place was another big hiccup in the beginning. Sometimes, we used to meet at Bibhu’s classroom where he ran an English-coaching Institute. Soon the meeting place was fixed at a multinational I.T. firm. From there we shifted to Idea Telecom Headquarters and then to Knowledge Academy. Presently, we have rented a wonderful studio at Dev Aurum in Prahladnagar. Attendance was another problem in the initial days before the club was registered. We used to conduct meetings even with five or six persons. The premise was enthusiastic, passionate, and perseverant. The pioneers never even once, lost confidence, hope, or got despondent or feeble-hearted. The burning passion kept our spirits high and mighty. The founding members worked overtime in creating awareness about the toastmasters in Colleges, Corporates and educational institutes to build a membership base. The news spread very fast and the guests increased by leaps and bounds, followed by new members. There has been no looking back since. Today, we have a membership base of over 50, which is exemplary by any club in the world. The club has also been instrumental in helping the formation of a Corporate club (TCS be@T) at Gandhinagar and another Community club (HCTC) in Ahmedabad. In retrospect, the odyssey of ATM Club started with that first step by a passionate bunch of aspiring speakers and leaders and covered the distance of six years with their dedication and inspiring new members to an epic journey of discovering one’s self and helping the fellow human beings achieve greater heights in building fine individuals and a great society.
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MONOLOGUE—THE DRIVING & HEALING FORCE BEHIND ME
In the morning, I reached my dental clinic with a big todo list, The list contained both the tasks which I love to do like writing new blog post, preparing for toastmaster meeting and the tasks which I hate to do like buying new SIM card, searching for clinic documents for filing tax return were boring tasks. I was torn in my mind for priorities. Suddenly I saw maid entering the clinic and I asked her to clean the center table as I love cleanliness. Promptly, she replied ‘COLIN (cleaner) is finished’. Immediately I lost my cool. When was it over? Why did no one inform me? How many things do I need to look after? I was feeling choked and frustrated. Why are things not happening my way? Why I have to do things which I hate? To combat with my unpleasant state of mind, I started monologue. One day, our life fluid will famish the way fluid in Colin bottle was over. At that time, we might shout and start talking to ourselves “No way!! What? Am I not going to see tomorrow?” I have many pending tasks on my bucket list. I was not even warned by almighty. This is not fair. But remember, nobody will be there to listen to you nor to answer you back... This is a reality. Better, we start living in the moment to make an expectation that everything is going to be my way will make no one happy. In any tragedies, unwanted outcomes, we try to find formula /laws /rules to conquer over. It is always on trial and error base. Few formulas succeed and few won’t. That’s life. People who like surprises (I love them) should reduce their expectations and start living life in its unpredictability. Sometimes, surprises are the things which we cherish a lot. Remember, our Best friends and spouse were stranger once.
"Laugh on your problems, because they are also surprises of life and they also won't last long” Let’s not take anything personally. Unconsciously, we believe that we have control over our lives, but if we see carefully, we have minimal control over our everchanging body, mind, and emotions. We have almost no control over other people's behavior & nature. Start doing things which makes you happy. Live life with your own imagination without fear, who knows what will happen tomorrow. I guess no one knows, then why to take anyone’s advice? Start enjoying creativity which is coming out of you, that's the conjunction between you and Divine. Always remember, sooner or later everything is going to end, so better you enjoy till Colin bottle is full and till you have time & energy to Refill it...
- Dr. Samir Savaliya
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NUDGE TO SPREAD POSITIVITY
Nudges are interventions, policies, or decisions that rely on behavioral science to steer people in a direction, but at the same time preserve their freedom of choice. Nudging relies on subtle psychological ploys to guide human beings to make choices that are more beneficial for themselves or for society in the long-run. This method of influencing people without forcing them is known as libertarian paternalism, a term coined by Nobel Prize winning economist Richard Thaler. Governments across the world are nudging people to become better citizens. Recently, Gujarat Government drew 3-D prints on roads near pedestrian crossings. It was a silent way to nudge people to slow down their vehicles. Those 3-D art works would make people feel as if there was a bump or some laid object in the way. Aren’t such nudges way better than those back breaking bumps that seem to act like a stimulus package to physiotherapy industry? The potential for nudging has proved so great that some governments, including those of the UK and the USA, have set up “Nudge Units” to help push pro-environment, pro-saving and pro-health agendas.
Nudging tools are everywhere. Even in our homes. The alarm clock that you set every night is also a nudging tool. When it beeps in the morning, it doesn’t force you to wake up but only gives you a reminder. It is entirely your call whether you want to do a somersault in the bed next or go back to the fantasy world. So, how can we make use of these nudging techniques? When I first visited Amdavad Toastmasters, General Evaluator (GE) started his report by saying “Meeting started 10 minutes late”. My eyes burgeoned on hearing that. I had never seen someone crib about being 10 minutes late in India. For most of the events in our country, Indian Standard Time seems to mean one hour after the scheduled time. What GE did that day, apart from informing time, was to nudge people into better time management! Similarly, when the VP Education of your club asks Toastmaster of the Day (TMOD) to prepare the agenda before the meeting, he is nudging TMOD to gain better event management skills. By using sandwich approach, evaluators not only enunciate points of improvement but also nudge speakers to deliver more speeches and get better gradually. But most powerful nudging tool in our meetings is the positive and supportive environment. It lifts spirits of people and broadens the horizon of thinking. The stories of struggle that we hear in many speeches nudge us to be more resilient. By frequently indulging in positive acts at Toastmasters, we can create a ‘Positive Spillover Effect’ that can enrich our communities with positivity. Before writing your speeches or taking up decisions, pause a while and ponder how you can rephrase those words or reframe those acts to nudge people towards a more positive approach. I did it all the time while writing this article. - Jay Jani
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Odyssey, what is the meaning of this word? According to the Oxford dictionary it means epic journey. What kind of a journey is an epic journey? I would say journey of our life is an epic journey. No journey in our life is possible without guidance. Our Odyssey, start the moment we are born and our first guide are our parents. Parents teach us everything they know. They guide us throughout our life. Same is true with me. My parents were instrumental in guiding me on the path of life. When I reflect back today, I can summarize these learnings into 3 important pearls of life. 1. No matter what, always enjoy and always
smile: During my school days, some of my classmate would make comments on my fat body. Thus, I would hate going to school (otherwise I loved going to school). My father was an excellent body language reader. He confronted me and asked me what’s wrong. I told him the whole story. He advised, 'don’t run away from it.
Some of my friend grabbed me and stopped the fight. In the evening I was waiting for my father. When he came home I ran towards him to give him a hug. Instead of hugging, he grabbed me and threw me on the wall. He was angry & furious. Next thing he did was to grab a stick & put it to best use. For me, It was a painful experience. Now I feel, I deserved so. After 2 days my father took me to hospital to meet the guy I fought with. He was in bad condition. I felt very shameful. I still remember words of my father he said that day, "We are in this world to spread love, not violence. We only fight when it is absolutely necessary". F rom that day I never got into any fight.
You are getting everyone’s attention without any effort so just enjoy and smile'. I didn't under-
3. Don’t worry, be strong, my son.
stand what he meant but I followed his advice because he was my first superhero. Within few weeks, friends who used to tease me became my best friends, thereafter they never-ever allowed anyone to tease me.
The last advice he gave me before he died on 28th May 2018. "Don't worry, be strong, my son" and that’s the last conversation I had with him. He was smiling till his last breath. This is the advice that made me a lot stronger. Whenever I feel weak or about to give up, then I remember his last advice. His voice still echoes in my soul. I wish I would have spent more time with him.
2. Never get into fight until it’s absolutely nec-
essary: When I was 11-year-old, I got into a fight. (I don't remember the reason now). I had beaten the other guy very badly, Blood came out from his face and knees.
These 3 learnings have changed my life forever and are making Odyssey of my life happier and meaningful.
-Sohel Mirza
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PRIME TIME I AM YOUR BELIEF
By Jay Jani
By Meena Agarwal "The world will not let me live” or “The world is a beautiful place to live.”
The winds of winter blew; tall dark woods provided a stunning view
“Love marriage is the best option” or “Love marriage is the worst option”
I was in the midst of tranquillity, far flung from the volatility
“Scolding a child is our right” or “Child is the purest form of God”
I fell in love with a grumpy owl, and so with a rabbit’s prowl When Monkey’s toppled, my eyes wobbled
“Never start any work on Saturday” or “Any day is the best day to start any work”
I gave them food, and they all gobbled I knew my joy was at the pinnacle,
"All other religions are unethical” or “All religions are the same” “Money is the root causes of all the problems” or “Money is the solution of all the problems” I am your belief. I can make you feel confident or shy I can make you feel fearless or fearful I can make you feel enthusiastic in the worst or depressed in the best. I can make you find the best way out of the worst or no way in the best. I am your belief, I have transformed many lives,
Because I was watching nature’s miracle! I wondered if forests give us eternal peace, Why do we cringe for the commercial bliss? Puzzled and muddled, I let the time flow, Slow and low, I didn’t even let my boat row. But the time passed and my maturity amassed,
The solution was now firmly grasped. Integrity and innovation can take us to greener bastions, And that is why we need to work hard for the scenic attractions! Time made me learn, Time made me yearn, Gradually my mind started to churn, Thinking deep, this is what I discerned -
Don’t be a procrastinating fellow, Just change me, and I will change everything within and around you. I am your belief.
Stay away from the social bellow, There is nothing more prime than the time, Manage it fine and you shall outshine!
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ATMs 6th Anniversary Celebrations
I AM YOUR BELIEF
Amdavad Toastmasters Club celebrated it’s 6th Anniversary on 3rd June 2018 in Ahmedabad. More than 40 toastmasters participated in the celebrations with their families. Toastmasters were witness to diverse talent showcased by members. This involved dance, shayari, music, mimicry, tongue twisters and songs. Following are the glimpses of anniversary celebrations:
My Journey with ATM In 2017 December, when I went to USA my daughter Hirva Thakkar who is a toastmaster there, motivated and inspired me to become a member of Toastmasters. I never had stage fear since I was the secretary of Hotel and Restaurant Gujarat, I have been a Rotarian, and was used to handle the stage. I joined Toastmasters in 2017 March. My experience with Toastmasters is like of a class room situation. You get to know lot of new people from different walks of life. We learn Communication and Leadership Skills by taking up various roles. You come across a lot of new words, phrases, importance of eye contact, stage movement, time management, greetings, addressing audience, anecdotes, you learn a lot;it is an amazing experience. Even listening to acclaimed speakers offers a lot of learning.
I would love to be Toastmaster forever where ever I am and would love to inspire many more. Being Toastmaster is both pleasure and a Privilege.
- Dilip Thakkar
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ATM AT ELOQUENCE 2018 Amdavad Toastmasters Club has received prestigious Diamond Club award (1st Photo from Top left) as well as Pristine award (1st Photo from the second row) for year 2017-18. The awards were given at Eloquence 2018 and received by President TM Krishna. Accompanying them were VP-E TM Hiren, Immediate past president TM Vranda, VP-PR TM Abhisha, TM Dilip and TM G.M. Subramaniyam. TM G M Subramaniyam (2nd Photo from Top left) won Table Topics contest at Eloquence 2018.
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JULY - DEC 2018
President Hiren Dholakia
Vice-President Education Girish Kulkarni
Secretary Vice-President Public Relations Aakash Vaswani Prarthana Verma
Sergeant-At-Arms Apurv Shanker
Vice-President Membership Yash Rajai
Treasurer Abhisha Thaker
Immediate Past President Krishna Kumhar
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NEWSLETTER TEAM
Editor Girish Kulkarni
Designer Aakash Vaswani
Co - Editor Meghana Mehta
Co - Designer Apurv Shanker
Edit & Design Support Fenil Shah
Proof-Reader Rashi Mishra
Vice - President Public Relations Abhisha Thaker
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Scintillate 2018 International Speech & Table Topics Contest Area A1, District 98 of Toastmasters International organized its semi-annual club contest 'Scintillate’ on 8th April, 2018. 2 contestants from 4 clubs in Area A1 ( Amdavad Toastmasters, TCS BE@T Gandhinagar, TCS Kalpak & RG Speakers Jamnagar) represented their respective clubs in International Speech & Table Topics contest. The event also witnessed a huge audience turnout as over 80 people attended the event at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA). The winners of the contest got the chance to represent Area A1 at the Division level contest.
Participants at the Area Level International Speech Contest - Scintillate 2018
Participants at the Area Level Table Topics Contest-Scintillate 2018
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Winners at Scintillate 2018 International Speech Contest Winners First - Bilal Shethwala (TCS Be@t) - 3rd from left
Second - Amit Gulati (Amdavad Toastmasters) - 4th from left Third - K.P. Jani (Amdavad Toastmasters) - 5th from left
Table Topics Contest Winners First - Bhushan Sonmale (TCS Be@t) - 3rd from left
Second - Amit Gulati (Amdavad Toastmasters) - 4th from left Third - K.P. Jani (Amdavad Toastmasters) - 5th from left
Role Players of the Area Level International Speech & Table Topics Contest - Scintillate 2018
PAGE 19 | AMDAVAD TOASTMASTERS NEWSLETTER | APRIL TO JUNE 2018
Musical Odyssey -by TM Vranda
Reflection
By TM Krishna