Melange by Toastmasters Club of Pune North East

Inside this issue:

From Editor’s Desk

President’s address

Don’t get influenced 4 Snaps

Budding Toastmas-

Fellowship

Out of the box thinking

Listener’s quiz

Chasing the dreams

Increasing the prob- 11 ability of success

Livin’ la vida loca

Club Status

December 2015

Volume 1 Issue 4

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From Editor’s Desk Dear Readers, Christmas & New Year Greetings!

TM Suyash Agrawal, CL

“The real journey of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes” -Marcel Proust

It gives me an immense pleasure to pen down my thoughts for the final edition of bulletin’15. What we started as a very small endeavor has grown into a big enterprise - Toastmasters Club of Pune North East has made its mark by successfully conquering the milestones over the past couple of months. The dedication, passion and drive to carry out events in a structured manner has propelled the club to its present position.

The previous bulletin ‘Voyage’ displayed our journey as sailors in the vast ocean striving to conquer one milestone after another. This journey has been transformed seamlessly into a potpourri of eternal moments. The glimpse of these moments is covered in this bulletin – ‘Mélange’. WAIT! Don’t take out the dictionary. Let me be your Grammarian. ‘Mélange’ means a varied mixture or a motley assortment of things. Here, it means a collection of varied moments which will remain entrenched in our hearts forever.

‘Mélange’ covers the ongoing journey of NE club which is filled with thrills, learnings, competitiveness & delightful camaraderie. Before I break my silence over the contents of different articles present in this edition, why don’t you take a solo journey through these interesting articles? I am sure that the moments covered throughout will make you feel that you are not alone but a part of those.

Enjoy reading | Your own Mélange is waiting for you. Cherish it!

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President’s address

TM Swapnil Madhukar Bhagat ACG, ALB

I am handing over the torch to my successor with as much humility and pride as I experienced when I received it from my predecessor six months ago. I could be at the helm of this prestigious club for six months and I fully enjoyed the task that was entrusted to me. It was challenging but those challenges expanded my horizon and made me a better person. I could discharge my duties to my heart’s content and the cooperation and assistance I received from one and all were of immense significance. Everyone extended a helping hand and the activities we planned and executed were fully in accordance with the aims and objectives of the club. We took great care to evolve each and every member of the club in a very special manner. No doubt the bonds between the members have been strengthened and we are moving on the right path with a renewed vigour and fresh dedication. The relevance of this club in the present world of crisis, turmoil and alienation needs no special mention. Speech and ideas greatly matter in the new world. As the late management guru Peter Drucker rightly pointed out that the world is in a crisis because people do not know how to communicate with precision, accuracy and allegiance. We miscommunicate and make a mess of everything. Ideas and excellent communication are the powerful tools to clear the mess. Those who can speak well can play a greater role in uniting the world on the anvils of peace, equity and justice. The goals of the toastmasters club are aimed at true empowerment of every person who inhabits this planet. I extend my best wishes. Let there be more and more light on our path.

“A LEADER takes people where they would never go on their own.” - Hans Finzel

Thank you .

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Don’t get influenced so easily With internet becoming bigger as every second passes, people have gotten a better chance to present their point of view to the world. The other methods are popular too like authoring a book, conducting various workshops, giving speeches, through training but not as easy as uploading something on the internet.

TM Niteash Agarwal ACG, ALB

Everyone has an opinion on the things around us. When I search for a product, the top few searches include links to sites which have reviews on them or someone has written a blog on them. The number of followers, likes, share, etc. actually make it a credible one and I end up buying that product even though there could be a better one. As my usage behaviour is tracked, next time the results are more customized, promoting unwanted things, creating demands for what is not required. In short, influencing us in a way that helps achieve their hidden agenda be it money, unrest in the society or any other thing. The way our generation is evolving nowadays, 1. They are accustomed to get everything in our hand from A to Z for a task to be done. 2. They don’t want to get out there in the field and research on their own. 3. They are becoming too dependent on others. 4. They don’t really look for the person’s credibility providing the information. If something is on the internet with good likes and shares, they start following, in fact they adopt their ideology. Companies, groups and people are taking a good advantage of this to get their needs fulfilled. I am not against seeing these videos, reading the articles or being influenced through any other medium. I just feel we should be more careful as,

“We learn best in moments of enjoyment.” - Ralph Smedley

1. We don’t know the aim of the person. He / She might have a hidden agenda. 2. We don’t know how credible the content is even if they have statistical data to show. 3. The number of followers does put them on the top, but that bigger number is at the risk of being narrow minded and losing on creativity.

To summarize, I would say whatever you come across/hear ‘Think before you act’ on it.

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Eternal moments...

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Budding Toastmasters

TM Shivangi Patil “Words, Words…do no harm; Works exceptionally a wonder charm…”

TM Shivangi Patil

My sister was the force of nature who introduced me to the toastmasters club, the wordplay and the zest the fellow toastmasters bring to each session did the magic!!! For me, A moment later I tossed a coin and made a choice to become the "Wordsworth of the Extempore". It has been 8 weeks already and the voyage is nothing but mélange of the wonderful experiences.

TM Mohit Gupta I work in financial services industry and passionately believe in the spirit of Toastmasters. I feel that clear and concise communication is of prime importance in today's world when everyone is struggling with time management. I love travelling as I find it an enriching experience. In my spare time you can find me reading travel blogs or planning my next trip.

TM Mohit Gupta

TM Surendra Nemia I am post graduate working in Armed Services. My future aspiration is to enter into politics and bring social changes in society. Toastmasters is a platform that can help me in honing my skills at public speaking because effective speaking skills makes a politician impactful. My family consist of my father who is a farmer & social worker and my mother who is caring Homemaker . My father is a source of inspiration to me. TM Surendra Nemia

TM Abhishek Rajput I am 23 year old and my childhood memories are about challenges I took, questioned the stereotypes while moving ahead at my own free will. All my bruises & scars are result of my fearless & rebellious streak, which in turn have made me a risk taker. Currently I am deliberating about my life in whole, but I am ready to take up new experiences that will come my way, because it was Imagination that brought Human Race into existence and it Imagination which will take us where we want to be in life. TM Abhishek Rajput

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Fellowship at TMCPNE :) Any club is a social congregation where people assemble for certain common purpose. Toastmasters club fits into this definition and there itself the comparison with any other form of club ceases. Toastmaster international has certain unique set of core values and each toastmaster vows to abide by them. They are R-I-S-E R—Respect for individuals TM Hemant Joshi ACB, ALB

I—Integrity S—Service to members E—Excellence Nowhere ‘SELF’ is seen. Although here, the more you give, the more you get.

“You can profit by the wisdom of others, and you can give them full credit.” - Ralph Smedley

Toastmasters clubs are highly disciplined with specific format and structure which separates it from other club. Each club is a team of individuals who support each other to ‘RISE’ and accomplish communication and leadership goals. But to facilitate this, team members need to gel with each other, & develop a camaraderie that creates a conducive climate for learning in Toastmasters club.

This need is recognized by our club. Geographical location constrained our members to find a place to meet over a cup of coffee and exchange our ideas while getting to know each other. In one of the meetings, members decided to break the ice and start the much needed fellowship. We explored a good place to assemble after the meeting at ‘Dorabjees’ outlet closer to our club. But, we came to know that the counter gets closed at 8.30 PM, exactly the time when our meeting ends. But being Toastmasters, we had to respect their adherence to time. Toastmasters know how to find a solution to every problem when a goal is set. Hence, without being evasive, all the members present readily agreed to have a sip of tea at ‘chai tapari’. TM Ajay, TM Senthil, TM Ujwala, TM Nasreen, TM Rukhman , TM Shivangi were present for first such kind of fellowship. We enjoyed the friendly association with the people who share each others interest. It gives me immense pleasure to believe that this tradition for our club will continue for many more years to come. Long live TMCP-North East!

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Out of the box thinking The other day I was thinking that to make things more exciting in toastmasters and different from the same old way of performing a role, be it the Ahh Counter, Timer, Grammarian, Sergeant at Arms and Table Topics Master why not inculcate a twist. Why not push the bar to make meetings worth looking forward to a whole new level? TM Tanvi Shah

In this light, I did something entirely new in each role I took up. When it was my turn to become the Sergeant at Arms in one of our meetings, I finally thought it was time to put my ideas into actions. As a Sergeant at Arms apart from welcoming the guests and specifying the rules I used the theme in my role. The theme was ‘Illusion’ that meeting. I thought it would be great to do a small activity based on the theme. I researched on the theme and found 2 small puzzles based on optical illusions.

“Uncertainty is a sign of humility and humility is just the ability or the willingness to learn.” - Charlies Sheen

The next role I took up was the role of the Grammarian. Again that craving of doing something different shot within me. So as a Grammarian, I decided to play a game (that I made up) using the Word of the Day by calling two volunteers. The name of the game was “Who Hesitates First”. It was like a small rapid fire round where both the volunteers must make sentences using the Word of the Day back to back, and who ever hesitates first lose the game. Finally the third role that I took up was the Table Topics Master. Once, I made the table topics a little different by keeping famous quotes as the topics which was something not done before. Another time, when I was the Table Topics master, the theme of the meeting was “Music”. So, I decided to play some familiar sounds like a baby giggling, a song about friendship, the famous cricket sound (IPL Hoot), and a song from the movie “Swadesh” relating to Patriotism. This gave the meeting a new spin and put a sparkle in everyone’s eyes. People enjoyed speaking about these familiar sounds and music making it an entertaining table topics session. This is how I aced the different roles I performed.

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Listeners’ Quiz : How do you learn listening skills at Toastmasters?

At TMCP – NE club we have tried the Listeners' Quiz a few times due to the limited time available for the meetings. In my opinion, the Listeners' Quizmaster role can be encouraged particularly when there are few prepared speeches. New Toastmasters members can start their Toastmasters journey with a good role. Everyone can hone their listening and facilitation skills. TM Sadanand Konchady CC, CL

The speech may have been well delivered and meet the objectives of the speech. But can the audience recall your key points correctly? You can check if the speech was memorable by having a role player exclusively prepare about half a dozen creative questions for this purpose. As a Table Topics - Listen, Think, Speak. 1. Listen to the topic 2. Think of a response. 3. Deliver a short speech. As a Speaker - Think, Speak, Listen. 1. Think of a topic. 2. Deliver a speech.

“Appreciate

3. Listen to evaluator's comments.

good people.

As an evaluator - Think, Listen, Speak.

They are hard to

1. Think about topic.

come by. “

2. Listen to speaker. 3. Give feedback to speaker.

Kushandmizdom The listeners' quizmaster listens meticulously to all the speakers. It builds the listener's skill in quick manner without making/referring notes and the quiz tests the audience memory. The fun part in the role is when the quiz master pops up questions for the audience and the audience gives multiple answers to the questions. In short, relax and have fun. Try being the quizmaster without referring notes to make it even more challenging…Bonne Chance!

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Chasing the dreams At the outset, I want to express one thought, “Toastmasters is not just what we learn, but how we live.” Who is a leader? What are the leadership skills? Am I a leader? Such questions get prominent place in our mind almost every time. Leading life by adding quality and depth to our living moments is a big challenge. The moments simple, innocent and splendid are all that are our own, and how to make them meaningful, memorable and magnificent is a problem before everybody. What makes a leader TM Swapnil Madhukar Bhagat ACG, ALB

different from others is how passionately, creatively and resolutely, he or she makes use of this great asset of time. All the great leaders who enriched our lives, and did wonderful things throughout their lives, were people who thought independently, and acted with a sense of purpose. They were dedicated, disciplined and diligent. We have got much more to learn from them. Each person has his or her own talents and abilities. We must develop them in our own special manner. By blindly following a group, we cannot shine in life. A drop of water in a lake has no identity, but if it falls on a lotus petal, it will shine like a pearl. In the same way, we must choose our own platform where we can bring out our best and perform beautiful and wonderful things. We have the power to brighten our days and shape our destiny. Success is our birth right. Success must become a habit of the mind. Every right action leads us to success. It is rightly said that “nothing succeeds like success”.

“Chase your

We should not forget that “slow and steady wins the race”. So there is nothing even if we are slow,

passion not

but let us not stand still. We must always move ahead with a new vigour, fresh vision and enhanced

your pension.”

capabilities. We have the tools, but if we do not use and sharpen them, we will not get the result. An umbrella cannot stop the rain, but it can protect us from rain. In the same way, we cannot stop so

-Denis Waitley

many things in life, but we can face them with proper preparation. If there is a will, there is a way. We must be ready to suffer, sacrifice and struggle. Selfishness is a vice. We must believe in our own strengths. “Strength is life Weakness is death” Dear toastmasters! A teacher opens the door of knowledge. But we have to enter that treasure house ourselves, and must live there and explore the possibilities. The same way toastmasters open the door of knowledge. But we have to enter that treasure house ourselves, and must enliven each and every moment and explore the possibilities. I also remember the proverb “necessity is the mother of invention”. Let us feel deeply the necessity to excel in life by using this platform effectively. Excellence is not an accident; it is the result of an intelligent effort. Our path ahead is arduous, but we must not forget the spirit of toastmasters which will help us to become a shining pearl in this world and bring a meaningful life to live. Let us RISE (Respect, Integrity, Service, and Excellence) to bring light into the lives of others by following the core values of toastmasters international. We have no time to stand and share, let us march ahead with a vision. “Don’t follow your dreams, Chase them”.

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Increasing the probability of success A comment by a speaker in a panel discussion sparked off the ideation process which resulted in this article. I could ‘connect the dots’ to a series of incidences which have happened over the last couple of years to support the main concept.

TM Ajay Hiraskar

Today we talk about the concept of ‘Increasing the probability of success in any endeavor; I have included several real life anecdotes experienced by people known to me. Many folks undertake critical tasks without understanding the factors which can increase the probability of success. They therefore expose themselves to the vagaries of the outcome driven by multiple factors, most of which are outside their control. What if one could ‘load the dice’ in ones favor to increase the likelihood to achieving the outcome one desires? People call this luck, but I personally believe that you can influence your own luck if you can understand the concept of ‘increasing the probability of success. In any case this is not propagation of unethical practices or indulging in underhand techniques & therefore one can use these concepts in everyday life. So what are the mantras for ‘increasing the probability of success?

“Party Hard, Make mistakes, Laugh endlessly. Do things you are

Focus on the critical factors and invest in them is the first mantra. When we need to accomplish something we are normally distracted by the many things which might impact an outcome & the attempt to focus on many or all of them leads to a situation where the desired outcome is missed out. It is far better to focus on the critical few and invest in them. Identifying the critical factors can be a tough task in itself, but a rational analysis will always yield the top factors and it makes better sense to invest the majority of your time, money & energy on these few factors. A very successful serial entrepreneur shared with me recently that he has ensured faster ramp of the many businesses launched by him, by investing early in building a very strong sales engine. In one his companies the first hire was a head of sales, who had a very strong track record and tangible credibility in the market. This ensured that the company was able to rack up very early successes in acquiring customers globally and this contributed in a major way subsequently to listing on the NASDAQ and a very profitable exit after acquisition by another company. In a tech start-up the focus inevitably is on the product or service being offered and on creating a better ‘mousetrap’. It is far better to ensure that you have a minimum viable product and then align the final output to what paying customers actually want.

afraid to do. After all, You're only young once.”

Output is only an outcome of smart Input is the second one. A recurring problem seen by me is that positive outcome is expected from only token inputs. Unfortunately the reality is that when the required result is significant in size, input needs to be similarly smart & sustained. If one does not identify the amount of input required the possibility of assuming that certain actions are not working is higher & one could drop them before hitting the ‘tipping point’. Focus on the critical factors is a good starting point, but this needs to be supported by a systematic process which measures progress and helps one to maintain the path of sustained effort. A friend was disheartened by the lack of progress in his job change search & a change of approach went a long way in helping him get his next assignment. Instead of applying to all kinds of jobs, he worked on a most systematic effort by first isolating roles where he would be in a position to add value with his experience and background. Then he followed this up with customizing his resume to highlight relevant elements & creation of a covering letter where he enumerated fitment to the specific requirements of the advertised role. In parallel he also invested time & effort to network within his target companies that he wanted to work with. This might seem to be a ‘no-brainer’ but it is surprising that so many experienced folks forget the fact that they themselves are brands & should market themselves with the needs of the target market in mind. Changing your attitude might seem very simple but it has far reaching implications in terms of the success one can achieve. Now many folks would say that this is psychological mumbo-jumbo & that anyone would put in efforts only expecting a positive outcome. If we examine this in more detail, it would be surprising to note that we have many self-limiting assumptions of what we can or cannot do. Also past experiences condition us to adopt certain attitudes about people or situations. A young management student was unhappy with his summer internship as he felt that there was nothing challenging in the work being assigned to him. On the verge of leaving the organization, he was advised to turn the situation around by analyzing how he could add value to the organization due his own previous experience. This resulted in a situation where he was able to propose an ap-

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proach to build visibility among prospective new customers. Since he had previous exposure to this, he was able to take on the responsibility & add value to himself as well as the organization.

TM Ajay Hiraskar

Giving is as important as getting might seem irrelevant to this article, but one would be surprised to note that so many opportunities can emerge from adhering to this concept. Most times people are focused on what they need & focus only on getting it, but helping others might also create avenues for you to get to what you need. Obviously one does not have to do this exclusively all the time at the expense of your own goals or tasks. A young entrepreneur known to me invests a small portion of his time to helping out initiatives in the start-up ecosystem. This might consume some of his personal bandwidth & time, but I have seen him benefit from the industry connects it gets him and this culminates in signing up corporate customers for his services. The visibility that he creates for himself also goes a long way in establishing the credibility of his business when pitching to new investors / customers. Now even if they do not know him directly, they are plugged into the larger ecosystem in various ways & positive referrals go a long way in ensuring positive outcomes. Another student was facing a challenging situation getting an internship in a foreign city in the course of completion of his further education. Interestingly one of the most interesting options within his own city came his way only due to the fact that he was sharing info about other opportunities with a larger audience in his university. If he had not been willing to share out info & help others, he would have missed out on this opportunity. I hope that this article resonates with your own experience & knowledge and affirms something which you already practice. It would be great if you can share your own comments on other factors which can ‘increase the probability of success. Look forward to hearing from the other Toastmasters.

“The Best Memories Come From The Craziest Ideas.”

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Livin’ la vida loca!

The Theme of the day is an integral part of Toastmasters meetings, which enables all participants to connect with a particular idea and express themselves in various roles --- Toastmaster of the day, Table topics master, speakers and guests.

TM Sadanand Konchady CC, CL

Recently at our Toastmasters club meeting we had the theme “Livin' La Vida Loca”. Incidentally, it is one of the famous songs of Ricky Martin, a Puerto Rican singer. It was one of the first Latin Pop hit songs which was released on March 23, 1999. The title and lyrics are in Spanglish, a combination of English with a sprinkling of Spanish. The title literally means living a crazy life. The splendiferous quote of William Purkey was the inspiration for the theme: 1.. Dance like nobody is watching.

“The moment when you want to quit, it

Love like you have never been hurt.

Sing like there is nobody listening.

Work like you don't need the money.

Live like it is heaven on earth.

In Toastmasters meetings a vital element is trying out new ideas whether as a speaker or a role player. A crazy idea may just be the revitalizing spark to get everyone to shine as speakers or role players. The Toastmaster of the day as the host or hostess of the meeting needs to be energetic, by selecting a rousing theme of the day and narrating a captivating story.

is the moment when you

Why not try Livin' La Vida Loca? Live life king size!

need to keep

Just speak from the heart with passion and the world will listen!

pushing.”

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Club Status

Toastmasters Club of Pune - North East Symbiosis Law School Airport Road Pune Email: ec.tmcpne@gmail.com

Editorial Team TM Suyash TM Nasreen TM Senthil

TM Shivangi TM Sadanand TM Subramaniam

WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE

https://www.facebook.com/TMCPNE