Area 2, Division H, District 20 Oct—Dec 2014 Newsletter, 2nd Issue
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FIND OUT INSIDE
COVER STORY — AIM FOR SUCCESS
ABOUT 500TH MEETING
FLIGHT TO FITNESS
UPCOMING EVENTS
AND MANY MORE……..
President Speaks ……………………………………………………. 3 Editor Speaks ………………………………………………………. 3 VP Education Speaks ……………………………………………….. 4 Flight to Fitness …………………………………………………….. 5 Design the life you dream…………………………………………… 6 100 days of learning—A District 20 Initiative……………………… 7 Words Introduced by Word Masters …………………………..…… 7 The Grand Event—500th Meeting …………………………………. 8 Hand on tips for Toastmasters …………………………………...…. 12 Few Award winning table topics during Club Meetings………...….. 13 Aim for SUCCESS ……………………………………………...…. 14 Once a Toastmaster, always a Toastmaster …………………...……. 16 Health Corner—Child Obesity ………………………………….… 17 Member’s Progress ……………………………………………...… 18 Club Meetings—Highlights………………………………… ……
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Photo Gallery ………………………………………………...…… 21 Upcoming Grand Event……………………………………….…..
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Fun Time ……………………………………………………….....
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Days to remember …………………………………………….. …
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About Us ………………………………………………...……….
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ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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In keeping with the changing times, where shot is beautiful, our Cub has a new name:
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS—1950 formerly ABU DHABI CHAPTER –1950 We however, are committed to maintain and build our Club on strong principles for which our Club has been known for.
CLUB MEMBERS FEEDBACK ON ISSUE 1 OF CLUB NEWSLETTER POSITIVE: Attractive & colorful. Presented true nature of our Club. Not only me, colleagues of mine also liked it. Good articles. SUGGESTION: Addition of jokes. Articles with personal experiences.
Friends,
Our Cub was recently renamed as Abu Dhabi Toastmasters, which is an apt name for the first ever Toastmasters Club of Abu Dhabi as well as in U.A.E. The Club has a history of more than nineteen years. Our Club provides a very conducive platform for the new comers and nurtures their talents to perform better, with the continued guidance of Senior Toastmasters who have
a plethora of experience . The Vice President Education plans 3 meetings well in advance, which ensures that all the members get proper allocation of speaking slots and other role plays. Individual development is our key focus. The mentor – mentee relationship is so cordial and members take good benefit out of it. While we move on to the New Year, as always, our commitment and desire is to make our meetings more attractive and enjoyable. A survey among our members to improve the meeting quality was undertaken in Nov 2014 and positive aspects are implemented. Our VP Public Relations has come out with yet another feather in her cap, the second newsletter of the year. As always, she has once again done a splendid job. Enjoy Reading … TM ABY HANS
Dear Readers, It is really hard to believe that I am working on putting together the 2nd issue of our Club newsletter just days after releasing the first Newsletter. Time does indeed pass so quickly. This effort too has been a challenge, hard to meet, but an enjoyable journey. The feedback I got from fellow Toastmasters on the 1st issue of the Newsletter gave me immense encouragement. It was music to my ears. The selection of the cover story for this issue was not difficult, it relates to what we practice in our Club which is to Speak with confidence, courage, emotion and sentiment for success not only as Toastmaster but as a human being also. No one is born with these qualities and especially confidence, however it can be gained by practice and changing our approach. If we are focused and advance confidently towards our dreams, we will definitely meet with success. Language is the one tool we use to move ahead in life and to speak with confidence is the first step towards achieving success and getting closer to our destination. My journey as VPPR and as Toastmaster is bringing many positive changes in my attitude and approach. I now accept taking responsibility easily and
strive to do my work diligently. I hope my efforts will attract the reader’s attention. I look forward to your suggestions and articles for the upcoming Newsletter Issue 3. MTM Saima Imran
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At the outset, it gives me pleasure to convey that our Club has already achieved the SELECT DISTINGUISHED STATUS. In keeping up with the rich tradition of the Club we hope to be the President’s Distinguished Club by the first quarter of 2015. I thank all the members for their active help and support so far and anticipate the same for the coming months.
DISTINGUISHED CLUB
We are getting ready to welcome the contest season, an opportunity to showcase your speaking skills that you mastered in our Club meetings. We also plan to conduct some education sessions on contests in the coming months. It’s a pleasure to be the VP education of such a great Club, I do enjoy preparing the 3 meeting agenda, slot members for speaking and other role plays, monitoring members progress, attending council meeting etc. I suggest you inform me whenever you want speaking slots or specific role plays. I also request members invite their friends and colleagues to the meetings so that we will have more and more new members in our Club.
VP EDUCATION TM SASIKUMAR NAIR
The Distinguished Club Program (DCP) is a recognition program administered by Toastmasters International (TI).TI tracks the progress of clubs in meeting educational and membership goals and recognizes clubs based on the number of goals achieved during the period July 1 through June 30. Clubs can achieve 10 possible goals. The DCP works hand-in-hand with the club mission by providing a structured, supportive meeting environment that is productive and fun for all the members. As members set and meet educational goals, they develop confidence and critical communication and leadership skills, inspiring others to do the same. The club’s focus on individual and collective achievement also helps build team spirit and club pride that is infectious and self-sustaining.
DCP Award Distinguished Club Select Distinguished Club President’s Distinguished Club
Goals Required 5 of 10 goals 7 of 10 goals
9 of 10 goals
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” Helen Keller
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“An escalator can never break: It can only become stairs. Sorry for the inconvenience”. I saw this strange message on a sign board near an out of order escalator. I walked upwards.
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All of us take the stairs when the elevator is out of order. But have we intentionally tried to take the stairs? Well there are many health benefits for using stairs. It improves cardiovascular fitness. It is good for our musculoskeletal system. It reduces the risk of heart diseases, stroke, cancer, obesity and type 2 diabetes. It promotes weight loss and is good for muscles and bones. It is good for cholesterol management. It increases our aerobic capacity. It improves leg strength and reduces the risk of osteoarthritis. It improves our bone density. It releases tension. Every time you climb a flight of stairs your body releases chemical endorphins, a type of neurotransmitter, making you feel happy and calm. Here are few statistics. Stair climbing requires 7 times more energy than taking a lift. You can burn a calorie for every 10 upward steps and one for every 20 downward steps. Just 7 minutes of stair climbing a day reduces half the risk of heart attacks over 10 years period. Every 2 flights of stairs, climbed per day can reduce nearly 3 kg of weight per year. One hour of stair climbing burns 500 calories. Double step climbing is much more beneficial. UK depar tment of health has classified stair climbing as a vigorous physical activity and recommends as an alternative to jogging and aerobics. They have partnered to develop and install a mobile App called “StepJockey”. This software can even rate any building for step walking like 3.5 calories per floor or 4.5 calories per floor etc. The Canada Stair Climbing Association empowers individuals to get fit by climbing stairs and promote support groups.
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
One day I was getting out of the lift in my 5th floor office and noticed my secretary suddenly rushing out from the staircase. “Hi Ruth, you started using stairs? Very Good”. She said, “Sir, I didn’t put on makeup today, there is a camera in the elevator”. My uncle has retired from gulf with a handsome saving of 90 kg self weight, high BP, cholesterol, and diabetes. The Doctor and his wife persuaded him with all methods to get him work out in a gym, jogging, walking etc and failed in all attempts. Finally his wife set up a small gym at home. Well at the end the equipment's became cloth hangers. Then she went to an astrologer. The astrologer advised her to go to the nearby temple, pray there every morning and evening: and advised a daily offering regime too. She came to my uncle and said, “see I have low BP, I may faint down, you must accompany me to the temple. Out of love to his wife, they walked a kilometer and climbed 108 steps up and down every morning and evening to the temple. He reduced 5 kgs in a month and got better cholesterol and sugar levels by default. Dear Readers, use every opportunity to climb stairs, to your office, to your residence, while shopping and in public places. This will help you to compensate for any regular exercise that you may miss. Please use the stairs when you go home. If you cannot climb all the stairs and if you don’t have a clever wife as my uncle has, at least take the lift from the second floor. Stairs are flight to fitness.
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
By: TM NARAYANA PILLAI
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LEARN THE NUMBER 1 REASON: WHY MOST PEOPLE DON’T MASTER WHATEVER THEY’RE AFTER FASTER. If there were an opportunity to get to the cutting edge of your life faster would you go for it? Appreciate the next story, because it will transform your path to success from a complicated winding road into a simple shortcut. Have you heard of Toastmasters International, the organization that helps people improve their communication and leadership skills? I’d qualified for the Toastmasters district final, and if I won, I’d be competing against the world’s top 90 speakers. That meant I could be one step away from the chance to be crowned world champion of public speaking! One step away from being at the cutting edge of my speaking career. Sitting on my couch preparing for the final, I smelled my wife’s cooking from the kitchen. It was supposed to be a family night. “Are you going to skip another meal to work on your speech?” “Honey, it’s only a week away. This is my quick ticket to success.” My wife pointed to my son tugging at my leg. “Why not take a break?” “I can’t, I have so many unanswered questions. What parts of the speech should I keep and what should I cut, how do I keep my speech under the time limit…”
When I looked up she’d gone to the playroom with our little boy. She yelled back, “Honey, you really need to ASK someone who knows.” Ever had your ego prevent you from asking some very important questions? A few hours before the event, I ran into a Toastmasters veteran of 20 years. In his strong British accent, he said, “Oudi, you look like you haven’t slept.”
“It’s not just my sleep I’m missing, I miss connecting with my son. All I’ve been doing is working on this speech.” “Still looking for answers this late in the game, are we? Come on, Oudi, you don’t want to be late.” “Yeah, for my own funeral.” I scanned the audience of nearly a thousand people. My heart seemed to be beating out of my chest. “Knock ’em dead,” said my British friend. How much time had I wasted reviewing unanswered questions in my head? My questions still didn’t have answers, so I wasn’t any closer to mastering public speaking. My doubts were confirmed when I lost. All those months I’d neglected my family, too busy to play with my little boy, and still my chance of being at the cutting edge vanished. I ran into my British friend after the competition. He said, “Oudi, at that level, it’s not what you do right but what you do wrong that counts. Didn’t your coach tell you that?” “I didn’t want a coach. I was embarrassed to admit I needed one. I thought I should’ve been able to figure it out for myself.” “Well, Oudi, I guess you’ve learned an important lesson: you always master it faster by asking questions.” After I took some time to reconnect with my family, I remembered my friend’s phrase about “mastering it faster by asking questions.” I wrote down my long list of questions and searched hundreds of possible speech coaches and training programs for the answers. After deciding on what I figured were the two best speaking coaches out there, I enrolled in their world class certification program. My new mentors were Craig Valentine, a former world champion of public speaking, and Dr. Mitch Meyerson, a psychiatrist and author who’d appeared on Oprah. Not only did they answer my ques-
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NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
tions, they made me a far better speaker than any amateur competition could have. My Toastmaster friend was absolutely right. You always master it faster by asking questions. Today, I’m a far better speaker but I’m a man who’s still afraid: not of asking questions, but not asking them. I’m only afraid of not asking the questions that will get me closer to the results that inspire me. So what do you want to master faster? What questions are you holding onto? What do you risk by keeping those questions to yourself? You guessed it: you risk not getting the answers you need. You waste precious time reinventing the wheel and you risk putting your key relationships on hold.
If you keep questions to yourself, you risk mastering it slower. Find a home for questions and you accomplish more, become more and get to the cutting edge faster. Dr. John F. Demartini, a mentor and friend, says the quality of our life is based on the quality of our questions.
Why not take a moment to list a few of your highest priority questions related to helping you get your most inspired results? Next, identify who will most likely have your answers. Now give yourself no more than a week to find a home for your questions so you’ll inch closer to mastering whatever you’re after faster. By: TM Oudi Abouchakra
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In the recent days we have been bombarded with email forwards titled ‘100 days of learning’ from our VP(E) Sasi Nair. 100 days of learning is the brain child of our talented, committed and passionate District 20 Lieutenant Governor Education and Training, DTM Sujit Sukumaran. The 100 days of learning was born out of his idea that if we wanted our District to be more powerful and educated, we had to increase the awareness of key concepts and fundamentals, which at present were known to only long time members or certain senior Toastmasters. Therefore DTM Sujit thought , why not showcase the talent of Toastmasters from all the 7 countries ( UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan & Lebanon) which constitute our District, with a piece of education at a frequency of thrice a week. This unique initiative which started on 22nd Sept 2014 will run for 100 days where you will receive a fully modifiable, free-toshare presentation on educational topics of interest within Toastmasters. So far we have already received a wide variety of presentations on new member orientation, speech writing, body language, vocal variety, about CC manual, advanced manuals, CL manual, Contest chairs, Judging, PR etc – each presentation prepared by a Toastmaster from one of the 7 country representing our District. I have never seen this type of effective learning in my 16 years as a Toastmaster. These presentations are a treasure to keep and a resource which we all can use during our Toastmaster journey, either for educating ourselves or others. This 100 days initiative which started with PPT presentations, as days progress, this will include podcasts and screencasts. Hats off to our District 20’s unique initiative.
Completed 37 days of learning. Some interesting topics covered:
Include humor in speech.
Manage stage fear.
World Championship of public speaking
What competing does to you in terms of refinement.
Art of debate
Structure & Deliver an effective speech Secrets of speech writing legends
Work with words
Every speech a winning speech And many more you can find in 1oo days of learning. Keep learning, educate to elevate! “Knowledge increases by sharing but not by saving.”
By: TM Loyola Pinto
Kamari aka Lyrikal
Lets look in to the meanings:
GREGARIOUS FORTUITOUS
VERACITY
SIMPATICO
LODESTAR
Fortuitous (Adjective): Happening by chance
Gregarious (Adjective): Convivial, Sociable
Veracity (Noun): Truthfulness, Accuracy
Lodestar (Noun): Role model, Ideal
Simpatico (Adjective): Compatible
“As vocabulary is reduced , so are the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you can describe, the number of the things you can identify! Not only understanding is limited, but also experience. Man grows by language. Whenever he limits language he retrogresses!”
Sheri S. Tepper
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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Abu Dhabi, Sep 23, 2014: Abu Dhabi Toastmasters, 1950 the Mother Club of UAE hosted its prestigious 500 meeting on 23rd September in the Grand Ballroom of the lavish premier five-star business lifestyle hotel, the Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi situated along the famous Corniche stretch in spectacular style. Abu Dhabi Toastmasters, 1950 was established in
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
1995 by Mr. Vijay Manikoth and Dr. B.R Shetty. It was the first Toastmaster club in UAE and was responsible for the formation of Dubai Chapter and several other clubs thereafter. The club has produced some of the finest speakers, leaders and who’s who of Toastmasters.
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The meeting theme “Flying high” included outstanding role plays with Toastmaster Loyola Pinto at the helm as Toastmaster of the Evening. A series of superb presentations of Abu Dhabi Chapter over the years through the sheer brilliance and painstaking efforts of Toastmaster Abraham Thomas were highlights of awesome meeting.
ries of friends and old timers whose love and dedication strengthened the Toastmaster movement in the United Arab Emirates, changed lives for the better of thousands of Toastmasters over the years and made better human beings of all of us who were fortunate enough to join this program that was initiated by ‘the one and only Ralph Smedley. We had the unique opportunity to watch Toastmasters International President DTM Muhammad Murad walk the talk in his presentation with an equally superb introduction of his by TM Abraham Thomas through yet another fine presentation showing the International President in some amazing nostalgic photographs.
Going down Memory Lane with some of the Past Presidents like TM Vijayan Manikoth, TM K.S. Manian, TM George Ambooken, TM N. Sekar, TM Ravindra Verma gave us Goosebumps and we relived through them some of the golden moments that led to the growth of our Club.
The Project speeches of our talented Toastmaster Oudi Abouchacra and the charming and affable Madam Toastmaster Ingeborg Kuyvenhoven had powerful messages. Also, we had some clinical and constructive evaluations by two of our outstanding Toastmasters Sanjay Vissa and Bharat Mehta. Every role play be it the Sgt at Arms, Thought for the Evening or Greet Master or Videography was done with great enthusiasm. The start of the meeting was intriguing and very exciting wherein an “Abu Dhabi Chapter” Airplane Flight AD1950 was shown taking off and finally landing with the dashing Pilot Loyola Pinto making a grand entry to “fly start” the meeting. Loyola Pinto as the Pilot performed his role with his usual gusto spiced with humor and elegance. The video showing all the former past Presidents in Pilot dresses effectively conveyed the theme of the meeting in superb style. Kudos to TM Abraham Thomas for this brilliant idea and his untiring efforts to produce this video that was loved by one and all. The meeting was graced by the President of Toastmasters International Distinguished Toastmaster Colonel Mohammad Murad, Founder Vijay Manikoth, District 20 Governor Yasser Suleiman, LGET Sujit Sukumaran, LGM Saquib Khan and many other elite Toastmasters and guests from across the United Arab Emirates. It was heartening to see and meet some of the finest Toastmasters from United Arab Emirates bringing back a flood of pleasant memo-
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
The felicitation speeches of District 20 Governor Yasser Sulaiman, Division H Governor DTM Sunil Kottarathil and Area Governor TM Anna Maria added flavor to the meeting. The Commemorative Issue of “Speaking Up” was released by our VP PR Saima Imran whose painstaking efforts are truly laudable and appreciated. The meeting was livestreamed by husband and wife team of TM Althaf and Reena. The welcome and closing remarks of Club President Aby Hans once again demonstrated the fact that our leaders are indeed “Servant Leaders” who don leadership roles with exemplary services to the members though their selfless and untiring efforts. All attendees were presented with a pure silver coin minted specially for the 500th meeting. There are many things in this world that are valuable … work, family, health, possessions, and so forth. But it could be argued that the most valuable thing you’ll ever have in this world … outside of your health … is your TIME. My heart goes out to the Toastmaster volunteers of our Chapter, to the Sponsors and event attendees for gracing this meeting in spite of their very busy working and business schedule. Sparing their precious time to be a part of this milestone 500 meeting deserves the highest praise. Abu Dhabi Chapter Club 1950 will forever be grateful to them and will always hold them in high esteem.
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
By : TM Salim Sayyid
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TM Aby Hans, TM Loyola Pinto, TM Abraham Thomas, TM Bhojraj Mane, TM Umakanth, TM Sabin, TM Jason, TM Salim Sayyid,TM Michael, TM Mayank, TM Rizvi, TM Althaf, TM Bharat, TM Sudha Datta, TM Elroy, TM Abdul Sattar, TM Faiz.
TM Loyola Pinto
International President—DTM Mohammed Murad TM Abraham Thomas
TM Bharat Mehta
Dist. Governor DTM Yasser Sulaiman
TM ABRAHAM TM Faiz
TM Sudhir Shetty
TM Mayank TM Umakanth
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TM Sanjay Vissa
TM Sanjay Vissa
TM Salim Sayyid
TM Oudi Abouchakra
TM Abdul Sattar
TM Jayakrishnan T.K TM Aby Hans
TM Aby Hans
ACB ANA MARIA OPALER
DTM Mohammed Murad Ms. Reena Althaf
MTM Saima Imran
TM VIJAYAN MANIKOTH
MTM Ingeborg
LGM DTM Saquib
DTM Sunil Kottarathil
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
TM Sarvotham Shetty
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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Make your club a lodestar by participation and speaking up from the heart. Be a wonderful speaker by engaging the audience as much as possible in your speech. Avoid being a copy cat, have a blast on the stage in your own way with your own unique style. Good leadership and team work are vital contributors towards the success of a Club. Be a good speech writer by making habit of having an ear for story and an eye for detail. Focus on your gestures as it increases confidence and connection with audience at right time. Give a call to action, it will act as a tool to conclude your speech in a better way. Try to nourish yourself as much as possible before you are a leader, once you are a leader work on growing others. As soon as you join toastmasters, set target for your goals both as competent communicator and as a competent leader. Take the words of your evaluator and your mentor seriously. Think confidently, speak confidently, react confidently, be motivated and focused to achieve SUCCESS.
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MTM ELIZABETH VAZ — If you were a box of cereal, what would you be and why? Meeting Number 503
Table Topics are impromptu speeches. The purpose of the Table Topics section is to help members think on their feet and speak on a given subject for between one and two minutes. It also allows speaking opportunities for those who are not programmed for other roles on the Agenda.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the littledeath that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. Frank Herbert
TM ABY HANS — The Club is renamed to Abu Dhabi Toastmaster, share your views as Club President with members. Meeting Number 504
TM ABRAHAM THOMAS — If average TM SALIM SAYYID — “Management is doing things right; human life span was 40 years, how would leadership is doing the right tings” - What is your view on this. you live differently. Meeting Number 506 Meeting Number 501
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“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” – By Plato
Confidence and Courage are the vital ingredients in speaking up with others. Speaking up with confidence and emotion permits us to speak what we know and believe. Aristotle said, “Courage is the first virtue because it makes other virtues possible.” Courage is not only human virtue but business virtue as well. Effective speaking is a blend of confidence, courage and human emotions. These all together leaves a miraculous effect on human minds. I believe that words are strong, that they can overwhelm what we fear when fear seems more awful than life is good.” Andrew Solomon Fear of ridicule and embarrassment hinders in communicating effectively with others. Trouncing these type of obstacles is the key to success in speaking up with confidence, courage and emotions. Flourishing individuals always hunt for new-fangled vocabulary to make its conversation most effective. Effective conversation is one which is conveyed with selfconfidence and feelings. Body language plays a vital role in supporting communication. Non vocal practice acts as the root of speaking. No two individuals are alike, all we need to do, is to find out that something different in us. If you speak from your heart, expressions will automatically appear in a sweet and natural way. Speech wisely supported by good body language, results in an awesome outcome. “Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” Sigmund Freud
Positioning body in influential stances represents the level of confidence a person is having. Feeling the scenario while speaking is involving emotion in it and making it effective. Secrets of speaking up with confidence, courage and sentiments are:
Ego control. Firm Body Language Smile on face. Long pauses. Direct eye contact. Convey your opinion with assurance. Visualize success. Speak loudly. Avoid slang language. Use emotions when required. Use real examples. Make yourself ideal for you.
“A good speech should be like a woman's skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” Winston S. Churchill Good speech requires lot of practice, memorizations by linking to facts, avoiding repetition of ideas and focus. Good timing is also important, you should not speak when you are tired. Rest and relaxation stores up energy. Try not to do things which dull your energy and eat well before speech. Dress up neatly and look graceful. Come on the stage with a smile as if you are welcoming the audience. Don’t stand behind furniture and use the stage appropriately. Think confidently, plan confidently and act confidently. This is the key to success for a good speaker.
Confident and emotional speaking pattern is one which is supported by strong and confident body language.
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tional sincerity will help more than anything else.
“The ability to conquer nervousness and speak up with self-confidence is not difficult to acquire. It is not a gift bestowed by Providence on only a few rarely endowed individuals. Everyone can develop his own latent capacity if he has sufficient desire to do so.�
Language and communications also act s a useful tool to reach goals and speak up the way we want to and have a positive impact on audience. Speaking in public for successful implementation of ideas require expression of confidence and sen-
- Dale Carnegie While speaking up, it is very important to be clear. Avoid using technical terms when addressing a lay audience, ideas should be put in a language plain enough for anyone to comprehend. Good speech is structured in such a way that same phrases are not used twice. Also too many points shall not be covered in a short speech, have 3 or 4 points only.
"When you talk, you give yourself away. You reveal your true character in a picture which is more true and realistic than anything an artist can do for you." - Ralph Smedley You may never be able to speak without some nervous anxiety just before you begin. But, if you will preserve, you will soon eradicate everything but this initial fear and after you have spoken for a few seconds, that, too, will disappear. Thinking wisely in public speaking work helps in doing things necessary to bring success. Good speech involves speaking up from the heart with a touch of sentiments and emotions. Talk to your listener just as if you expected them to stand up and talk back to you. Put your heart in to your talk. Real emo-
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timents. Staying up beat and positive thinking is the root of every expression. This is what we are always aiming at in Abu Dhabi toastmasters, 1950. We practice and encourage to Speak up with confidence, courage, emotion and blend of sentiment. We endeavour to make you a successful and polished individual.
By: MTM Saima Imran
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I heard some senior Toastmasters always repeating the phrase, once a Toastmaster always a Toastmaster, I w as w onder ing how co uld this be true, after all Toastmastering does not come free, there is Club membership fee that one has to pay as a Toastmaster and the time one spends every fortnight for the Club meetings. As my doubt persisted I thought of exploring this myth further. Let me start with myself, I joined Toastmasters in 2008, and I must say that I am lucky to join a club which is the mother of all clubs in UAE. Later I realized the Club you choose is important as the culture of Club and attitude of members matter a lot in your journey of mastering communication and leadership skills. When I attended my first meeting I could see many senior Toastmasters actively participating in the meeting. At that point in time my thought was why and what this 50+ greyed plumy Toastmasters were trying to accomplish, perhaps trying to accomplish a late goal of achieving communication and leadership excellence? After a few meetings, as I got to know the Club well, I could understand their passion and commitment towards Toastmaster movement and the ever increasing zest of furthering their communication and leadership excellence.
For me joining Toastmasters was a survival attempt as I was very poor in public speaking and which was the likely cause of putting a well paid job on the firing line. So my prime intention was to join Toastmasters, master my communication skills, kill my public speaking fears and get out within the earliest possible time. During this period I found out many senior toastmasters in Abu Dhabi Toastmasters have been in the Club for 10 to 15 years. I couldn’t believe this. This led to some confusion in my mind, rather amazed as
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
whether this journey of communication is long and something internal. As my journey of communication progressed, I got more familiarized with the Toastmasters movement. I realized that the Toastmaster fraternity is big and large, far and wide. I came to know that there are positions like Area Governors, Division Governors, District Governor, District Council, Council Members etc. I also witnessed the clamor and enthusiasm of senior toastmasters to attend DTAC . Still the question remained, “ Once a Toastmaster, always a Toastmaster” ? I now completed 6 long years being a toastmaster, I made reasonable progress in learning public speaking skills and be more confident on stage. I continue to be a Toastmaster, besides being a Club officer with prospect of becoming a President of Abu Dhabi Toastmasters. Why I continue to be a Toastmaster? I spent almost AED 4000 as club member fee so far and spend almost 325 hours in Club meetings., still why do I continue? I asked this question to a few senior Toastmasters why they continue to be Toastmasters even after completing all the milestones in the communication even after completing the ultimate milestone of DTM. Each of them have their reasons such as passion, enthusiasm, make new friends etc. My take is that Toastmasters isn’t a forum to develop just your communication and leadership skills. It is a great self development platform, the journey of self development never stops which is coupled with passion, enthusiasm and above all it becomes of part of life and living. So once a Toastmaster always a Toastmaster, now my doubt is over what about your’s? I Salute the founder
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
By: TM Sasikumar Nair
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It is said that the way to prevent obesity is not to allow kids to become overweight in the first place. But it takes a multi-pronged approach that has to start with parents. Kids are just too young to understand the consequences of obesity. Lisa Ling Dear Readers and Toastmasters, we as parents are responsible for the brought up of our children and we must pay special attention to eating habits of our kids. Childhood obesity has become a global epidemic, but it is not easy to treat. Now a scheme proven to help children shed pounds by asking them and their families to make numerous lifestyle changes has been adopted across the globe. A paediatrician claims a pilot project has made a significant breakthrough in the battle against childhood obesity. The scheme, in one of the towns , has treated 1,900 patients and helped 70% of them to maintain normal weight by adjusting about 20 elements of their lifestyles. The way it tackles all aspects of the children's lives - and those of their families sets it apart from traditional "small steps" approaches to losing weight. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three children are now overweight and the incidence of obesity amongst adolescents has quadrupled over the past 30 years. The scheme, urges other nations to learn from their experiences in confronting this global health challenge. "In general, obese children are neglected. They are often lonely and many of them don't participate in activities with their peers. They lack self-confidence. With this scheme there is a real hope they can lose weight and have a good quality of life." Obesity is an illness that is very hard for children to fight on their own. We should create the environment and tools with which the children and their families can overcome this. We should vigorously target the passive time spent playing on computers or watching television. Some children are glued to their screens for up to 12 hours a day and the limit, should be two. Their entire life needs to be changed, because they tend to be lonely, tend to be ashamed of themselves so they need to do this, and to interact with other children in their daily lives. Participants also have a set bed time to ensure more sleep. Previous research suggests this helps counter obesity by regulating hormones and reducing the urge to eat unhealthily when tired. The programme isn't easy. But the results are gratifying‌ Lets not make our children eating giants. By: Elizabeth Vaz The picture on left represents the ECG of a healthy individual. I don’t know what a doctor shall say about it, but as a human being I can say that if there were no ups & downs in your life, then you are already dead. Each one of us has our own share of success & failure. In order to taste that much wanted sweet cup of success, we have to drink at least one bitter cup of failure. Without the downs in your life, the ups would mean nothing. Every struggle in your life has shaped you into the person you are today. Be grateful for your hard times, as they make you stronger. Pray to the almighty that your ups & downs shouldn’t be a straight horizontal line anytime soon!!! TM Sabin Satyapalan
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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MEETING NUMBER 501: (Oct. 07, 2014) Toastmaster of the Evening: TM Devkusum Datta THEME: SECRET OF HAPINESS Best Speaker: TM Oudi Abouchakra Best Evaluator : TM Loyola Pinto Best Table Topic Speaker: TM Abraham Thomas Specialty: Wonderful table topic session by MTM Devi
MEETING NUMBER 502: (Oct 21, 2014) Toastmaster of the Evening: MTM Devi Narayan
THEME: COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY
Best Speaker: TM Sanjay Vissa
Best Evaluator : TM Salim Sayyid
Best Table Topic Speaker: TM Mayank Gupta Specialty: TME interaction with audience attracted attention of all Toastmasters.
MEETING NUMBER 503: (Nov. 11, 2014) Toastmaster of the Evening: Mohammed Rizvi THEME: PUNCTUALITY Best Speaker: TM Narayana Pillai Best Evaluator : TM Abraham Thomas Best Table Topic Speaker: TM Elizabeth Vaz Specialty: 1st meeting after renaming the Club. Survey done for improving club meetings.
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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MEETING NUMBER 504 : (Nov 18, 2014) Toastmaster of the Evening: TM Sudha Datta THEME: EXCUSES Best Speaker: MTM Devi Narayan Best Evaluator : TM Salim Sayyid Best Table Topic Speaker: TM Aby Hans Specialty: Heart touching opening message by President TM Aby Hans.
MEETING NUMBER 505 : (Nov 30, 2014) Toastmaster of the Evening: TM Salim Sayyid THEME: CELEBRATION Best Speaker: TM Sabin Satyapalan Best Evaluator : TM Loyola Pinto Best Table Topic Speaker: MTM Saima Imran Specialty: “Hard Talk” by TM Sanjay Vissa for importance of feedback on Newsletter. Gifts by TME for role players.
MEETING NUMBER 506 : (Dec 16, 2014) Toastmaster of the Evening: TM Faiz Mohamed THEME: RESPONSIBILITY Best Speaker: TM Binsal Abdulkader Best Evaluator : TM Sanjay Vissa Best Table Topic Speaker: TM Salim Sayyid Specialty: Homemade cake by MTM Elizabeth for Christmas Celebration.
MEETING NUMBER 507: (Dec 30, 2014) Toastmaster of the Evening: TM Loyola Pinto THEME: FORGET RESOLUTIONS Best Speaker: TM Binsal Abdulkader Best Evaluator : TM Abraham Thomas Specialty: New year celebration, games by TME and MTM Elizabeth Vaz.
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS , 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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IT’S TIME FOR DTAC— MAY 2015 Lets gear up — Be the Winner by participation with full spirit and enthusiasm in Club Contests for DTAC—2015 for: International Speech Contest Humorous Speech Contest Table Topic Contest Evaluation Contest Contact : VP Education TM Sasikumar Nair
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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Word Timber E T P
E M N
I O C
How many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown? In making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain a centre letter and there must be at least one 9 letter word. No plurals or verb forms ending with ‘s’. Good = 16 Very Good = 24 Excellent = 32 or more
9 2 4 5 9
4
6 7 1
4 8 1 9 5 6 3 2 7 2 9 1 5
7 4 2
5 3 8
4 4 6
Complete the grid so that every row , column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
Customer : Waiter ! there is a fly in my soup Waiter : That’s all right sir, he won’t drink much
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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Aby Hans Mohammed Akram Sanjay Vissa Santhana Anandraman
Srinivasan Ramasamy
Abraham Thomas Loyola Pinto
Mohammed Rizvi Rasheed
Ingeborg Kuyvenhoven Elroy Vaz Mohammed Azaza Musa Ekirirweira Balraj Ilavenil Santhosh Muraleedharan
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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OUR MISSION The mission of a toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.
Wonderful Meeting by Toastmaster of the Evening TM Rao D.A on Jan 27, 2015 and TM Faiz Mohammed on Feb 10,2015. Don’t miss.
My new year resolution: “Attain few project management qualification & do exercise regularly to keep myself physically fit.”
My new year resolution: “Ignore the negative issues, instead use my time more productively.”
If your New Year resolution is:
Then it’s your time to join us!
Come and join us now: Alternate Tuesdays From: 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm At: Foodland's Restaurant Airport Road, Abu Dhabi Website: http:// ad1950.freetoasthost.info/
ABU DHABI TOASTMASTERS, 1950
CONTACT: VP MEMBERSHIP : TM UMAKANTH DEVARAJAN MOBILE; 0507806414 EMAIL: dumakanth@npcc.ae EDITOR: VP Public Relations: MTM SAIMA IMRAN NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2
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