ISSUE: 2016/1
THE ICE BREAKER A Newsletter of South Delhi SDTM is a community under the Toastmasters aegis of Toastmasters Club: 00870897 International.
It has its genesis in 2006. Since then, it has been providing ample opportunities to its members to become effective leaders. The club has been able to churn leaders who have brought back laurels to the club.
In this Issue: # Thank You SDTM! # Why SDTM? # Ten Glorious Years # My Experience at Toastmasters # My First Speech : A Memory
ABOUT SDTM SDTM is a community under the aegis of Toastmasters International. It has its genesis in 2006. Since its inception SDTM has been able to carve a niche for itself in the world of Toastmasters. Moreover, it has been providing ample opportunities to its members to become effective leaders. The club has been able to churn leaders who have brought back laurels to the club.
From the President’s Desk: Thank You SDTM! Every time I come for the weekly toastmasters meeting, these three words keep pouring out from my heart. They carry my feeling of gratitude towards toastmasters. Toastmasters has helped me a lot in different stages of life - first, as a MBA student (for getting higher grades in project presentations), secondly, as campus recruiter (for conducting pre-placement session for hundreds of students) and now as a freelance trainer (to improve MBA/B.Tech students’ placements). With every meeting, my self-confidence increases immensely and helps to mould me as a better professional and as a better human being. The easiest way to return favour is by serving the favour giver. The Club's Executive Committee (EC) is one simple yet powerful way to return the favour. When I re-joined SDTM after a gap of almost 3 yrs in Dec 2015, EC elections were taking place headed by TM Tarun Bhargava. This was the opportunity I was waiting for so I quickly volunteered and became part of the last EC team as the Secretary. Six months later, I was quite reluctant to continue in the EC, but it was the temptation to remain in midst of the action that proved too hard to resist. Today, I am satisfied that members showed faith in my abilities to serve the club once again. With higher position comes a great responsibility. Members now expect me to deliver day after day. Your club has a very strong EC: Sayan Ray, Naveen Sood, Aditya Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Shraddha Kumar and Rahul Jolly. The EC is further supported by enthusiastic members like Gagan (with VP-education), Aakanksha (with VP-Membership), Prashant (with VP-PR) and Shankhdeep (with SAA). This entire team has started collaborating and will surpass all expectations. This EC team also has blessings of senior SDTM members like Rajeev Roy (Immediate Past President), Praveen Prasangi (Past President), Sachin Malik (Past President) and last but not the least Tarun Bhargava (Club Mentor). We know that all the members are firmly standing behind us and it gives us fuel to go full throttle. The goal set by the new EC is very simple - make SDTM one of the 5 best clubs in the entire NCR. This will be achieved through maximizing members’ learning opportunities. This sounds like a serious business considering a diversified set of members but we are going to enjoy the ride in a fun way. Our District Director, Mukesh Kulothia gave us confidence by his moto – ‘We can and We Will!’ Changing the meeting timing, introduction of the best anchor award and the club newsletter are the initial decisions taken by the EC. Watch this space in coming editions for more updates. Your SDTM Friend, Umashanker Akharia
GLIMPSE OF SDTM!
WHY SDTM ? Needless to say, everyone has some level of fear. Some have small and some large. And this fear stops you from performing well in facing people. So, you want to let go your fears? Fear of failures of Public Speaking. Okay! The mantra to transform your fear into your strength lies in just three step CRC approach of Toastmaster s Club. At Toastmasters, focus is laid not on the weakness but on your potential. From prepared speeches to Table Topic Contents, a healthy atmosphere would pull out your inner confidence. After your Icebreaker speech, the reward of clapping would soothe your ears and panorama would please your eyes. Long lost leader in you would finally come to shore. With every evaluation, you would feel more energetic and would climb the ladder of a successful speaker. So, LET GO your fears of Public Speaking by Joining SDTM Club. By: TM Rahul Sharma
WINNERS OF SDTM!
TEN GLORIOUS YEARS It seems as if it was yesterday when I walked into the New Delhi Toastmasters club. One could see people presenting speeches, cracking jokes, speaking impromptu and doing evaluations. The cherry on the cake was the cake itself- celebrating an occasion. I had come to the right place. South Delhi Toastmasters (SDTM) was chartered on 1 Feb., 2006 and soon I became a member. I got the chance to meet a large number of people from different cross sections of society. The speeches by Pradeep Dutt and Deepak Menon were classics and still reverberate in my ears. As time passed, the enthusiasm started to fade away and attrition became a norm. On the bright side, the club quality started improving. We reached the zenith under the leadership of Akshita who created history by becoming the youngest distinguished toastmaster. Then we faced a rude shock as the venue, where SDTM started and was cherished by all had to be vacated. The new place brought about a change of rules. In January 2016, an Executive Council (EC) took over the helm of affairs of the club. The mission was to create an environment, which encouraged members and guests to improve their communication skills. The team tried to improve the system and the club quality and we succeeded to a large extent. By: TM Rajeev Roy
WELCOME OF NEW MEMBERS!
MY EXPERIENCE AT TOASTMASTERS I joined South Delhi Toastmasters in July 2015. I was a guest for the first three meetings. Once I become a member, they welcomed me. My journey into the world of being a Toastmaster officially commenced after I gave the Ice Breaker, the first step to a much larger goal. I was always looking for a platform to enhance my speaking skills and this is one platform, which allows one to do the same. It is just not the speaking skill that grows but also we get the confidence when taking up various roles such as grammarian, ‘Ah’ counter, timer, evaluators for the speaker, general evaluators, Toastmaster of the Day. For a speaker, gauging the mood of the audience is his or her tool to being not just a good but also an effective speaker. Voice modulations, changing the pitch of ones voice, and adding the elements of humour is important so that the listeners are attentive. Feedback is always important for the individuals to grow, and learn from their mistakes. So the evaluators play an important role by following the CRC approach (commendation, recommendation, commendation). There is a concept of mentors at Toastmaster, which allows the new ones to learn from the veterans by not just getting advice but also seeing the way they speak, their body language etc. It is up to us to use this platform to raise the bar and grow in confidence to speak in front of an unknown crowd. So far I have learnt a lot. I participated in the Humorous speech contest and it was an amazing experience to be recognized by the members and guests. By: TM Aditya Sharma (VP- PR)
INSTALLATION OF NEW EC TEAM
MY FIRST SPEECH : A MEMORY Being on the podium in the front of 60 people would often shake me to the bone. It felt like the whole world was staring at me, right in my face. My loving friends appeared dreadful, fellow classmates seemed like an unmerciful censor and loving teachers became lambasting lions on the prowl. I used to get ‘butterflies in stomach’ before making an appearance. When I entered into professional life and push came to shove, I came across Toastmasters. I attended my first meeting as a guest, and found the concept and modus operandi of Toastmaster so fascinating that without any second thought, I decided to join the club. At Toastmasters, the table topic speeches kept me on my toes and prepared me to communicate effectively for out of the blue situations. Here, members were not only delivering speeches but the same took up the additional role of evaluators. I found a friendly counselor in the erstwhile dreadful evaluator. The CRC (commendation recommendation commendation) approach instilled a positive reinforcement of the Pygmalion effect into me. After attending a few meetings, I could feel how enriching experience is at Toastmasters. I was enraptured by the TMOD (Toastmaster of the day) moderating the meetings through innovative themes. I was opened to a world where someone speaks about Brexit and helped me to keep abreast of current affairs, while someone else swept me to a suburb of my country which has changed its outlook by the simple act of planting a tree on the birth of a girl child. When the meeting moved toward some serious track, the joke master will tickle the funny bone and lighten up the meeting. Reminiscing all these experiences, I could only wish why did not I join these enthusiastic toastmasters earlier. Nevertheless, I derive happiness from the saying “It is better late than never” and express my gratitude to Ralph C. Smedley for ideating and starting Toastmasters to train people in public speaking and leadership qualities. By TM Aakanksha Kirti
BASIC PUBLIC SPEAKING TIPS
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