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7/21/2019 Pulse Issue02

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CONTENTS

The District Governors Address 5 34

36

39

41

15

18

26

28 47

Chaos or clarity in newsletters?

You choose!

Report from the International

Convention at Kuala Lumpur

The woman behind Reverbs

2014

Exclusive Interview with the

World Champion of Public

Speaking 2014

The mantra to success from

DTM Aditya Maheswaran, Run-

ner-up, Semi Finals, Interna-tional Speech Contest

DTM Deepak Menon, Interna-

tional Director, Region 13, on

the power of preparation

How to speak from your life

and memorize speechesChange the world with Toast-

masters

Milestones of Toastmasters In-

ternational this year

In my interactions with the members

of different clubs so far this year, Ive

found that preparing a newsletter at any

level is looked upon as a dreaded activ-

ity. But I would like to differ from this

common thread of emotion because

newsletters, if used wisely, can serve as

a vibrant representation of everything

your club, area or division stands for. It

can bring out its strengths and illustrate

the many different activities that were/ will be conducted by that particular

unit, sealing itself in our memory for life.

Do read this issue to know more on how

best you can prepare a newsletter that

achieves this purpose.

After highlighting the importance

of Planning in the first issue of Pulse,

it was a no-brainer when I sat down to

think about the theme of our second

issue; for when we look at the process

of accomplishing anything in life, prep-

aration serves as the foundation to a

strong plan. And hence, heres your key

to the robust foundation of preparation

that will benefit you in Toastmasters,

and otherwise.

We hope you enjoy reading it as

much as weve enjoyed preparing it for

you. If you have any feedback to share,

do write to me at:

[email protected]

Happy reading!

TM Noorain Mohammed NadimNewsletter EditorDistrict 82

THE EDITORS DESK

The patrons of District 82 (left to right): TM Sudash Liyanage, Lieutenant Governor - Marketing (LGM),DTM Sastharam Ravendran, Lieutenant Governor - Education and Training (LGET), DTM Balraj Aruna-

salam, Second Vice President, Toastmasters International, and DTM Yusuf Jeevunjee, District G overnor

The year 2014 has been phe-

nomenal for District 82. Weve

not only had the honour of

having one of our very own members

accomplishing the monumental vic-

tory of winning the World Champion-

ship of Public Speaking, but weve also

had an effective and efficient leader

from amidst us climbing the leadership

ladder in Toastmasters International. Ifeel immensely privileged to be a part

of this district the home of TM Danan-

jaya Hettiarachchi, the World Champion

of Public Speaking 2014, and DTM Balraj

Arunasalam, the Second Vice President

of Toastmasters International because

it is here that communication and lead-

ership have travelled hand in hand to-

wards the pinnacle of success.31 49The Founder of Toastmasters

International leaves a message

to ponder

The power of props


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150 plus Sri Lankans, were bask-

ing in the reflected glory of our historic

achievement. The only regret I have is

that the Tamil Nadu section of District

82 was very poorly represented at this

convention because it was a fantastic

learning opportunity that could have

been enjoyed at a relatively low cost.

However, there was a deeper mes-

sage in all the excitement...and thatcame in the acceptance speeches given

by both our champions. They both

spoke of their humble beginnings,

their early trials and tribulations, the

challenges they faced, and the need to

immerse oneself in the Toastmasters

movement to improve confidence, self-

esteem, knowledge and focus.

There is no alternative route to suc-

cess. As Robert Kiyosaki once said, The

size of your success is measured by the

strength of your desire, the size of your

dream, and how you handle disappoint-

ment along the way. Add to this de-

termination, hard work, and thorough

preparation, and we have the formula

for success. It is my fervent hope that

within the next three years, we have an-

other World Champion of Public Speak-

ing from District 82. I am confident we

can do it, if we work at it. The message is

clear - we are participants in what is per-

haps the greatest training programme

in the world, and if we all are prepared

to commit the time and effort, and to

put in the hard work, the path to glory is

open to all. Its up to us!

DTM Yusuf JeevunjeeGovernorDistrict 82

COMMIT TO SUCCEED

August 23, 2014 was a red letter

day in the history of District

82. It all happened that day at

the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The morning started with a resound-

ing victory for Dananjaya Hettiarachchi,

who was crowned the World Champion

of Public Speaking. What uproar there

was when the results were announced!

It was euphoria to the point of hysteria!

Hardly had the din died down when

the elections at the business meeting

resulted in our own Arunasalam Balraj

being elected as the Second Vice Presi-

dent of Toastmasters International.

Once again, the uproar erupted, and the

air was thick with emotion, with many

tears of joy being shed, and the sense

of euphoria continued unabated. The

members of District 82 who were pre-

sent at the convention, in particular, the


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with trivial work. He says this is the

type where we feel like we have done

a lot of work, but in reality we havent

actually done anything much. He adds,

this is where we are simply busy being

busy.

3. Priority Dilution: Rory then ex-

plains the third type, where we allow

our attention to shift to less important

tasks. In other words, we are distracted.

When Rory finished his session at the

International Convention, I was thor-

oughly convinced that at the end of the

day, every effort mattered and making

sure that we were able to do this to our-

selves every day also mattered.

May it be contests, educational ses-

sions, or milestone meetings that you

are planning for your club; may it be a

life changing project at your office, or

life taking project at home; planning

and preparation are most important in

order to get to your goal.

Take some time to think about the

two points I have mentioned in this ar-

ticle comparisons and procrastination.

I hope it may change your life for the

better, like it has helped improve mine.

All the best with the contests, and good

luck for this new quarter! Let us aim

higher, plan smarter, prepare harder, de-

liver better and celebrate grander! Letsdo it, District 82!

DTM Sastharam RavendranLGETDistrict 82

need to do is with how I dealt with

time may be two years back, or six

months back. That will not only be

a measuring tool for me to improve

myself, but also, it will motivate me to

help myself. Somehow, I only realized

this when I was at the convention.

One of the biggest pre-learning tips

Ive learnt is to understand the nature

of comparisons, before we start to plan

and execute some kind of a project.

The next lesson that I have learnt re-

cently is actually a deeper understand-

ing of procrastination. Now, most of us

are very good at this, I dont know how

we all turned out to be this way, but I

can say hands down that most of the

younger generation these days have

become victims to this. Thanks to Rory

Vaden, I was able to devote sometime

to think about this. Rory says there are

three kinds of procrastination:

1. Classic Procrastination: The most

common type where we consciously

delay what we know we shouldnt be

delaying. He even says that this is the

kind that we all know of; in fact, we be-

lieve that this is the only type. He also

adds that some of us are territorial clas-

sic procrastinators meaning, we are

probably doing office work, but we

delay household work, or something

like that in order to accomplish one task .

2. Creative Avoidance I liked the

way he had named it. The more danger-

ous of the procrastination types, where

we end up unconsciously filling the day

and clubs already getting Dis-

tinguished, and even Select Distin-

guished! Wow! That, indeed, was fast.

But I must admit these were probably

the best four months of my life in Toast-

masters as I have personally learnt a lot

of new things, stretched my goals a bit,

challenged myself a little more and defi-

nitely met new people and made quick

friends.

With the focus now shifting to con-

tests and conferences, I thought that

I could take some time to share some

of my learnings from the International

Convention that I believe are most valu-

able when it comes to preparation and

execution. Somehow, an average man

never spends too much time in intro-

spection, and this is something that I

have realized is integral for continuous

self-development. We fail to constantly

try and reinvent ourselves and eventu-

ally, we feel exhausted and demotivated

to do something. At such a juncture, we

probably will add oil to the burning fire

by comparing ourselves with friends,

family members and sometimes, even

mere acquaintances, beating ourselves

over it. Of course, this is a natural way

in which our minds react to the growing

tension brewing within our heads.

What I have realized, in the course

of all this learning in Toastmasters, is to

never compare ourselves with anyone

else. The only comparison that we ought

to do, or rather the only comparison

that is healthy, and will help us better

ourselves is a comparison of our pre-

sent selves with our past selves. If I ever

wanted to be better at time manage-

ment, the only comparison I probably

LETS AIM HIGHER

It just feels like we were discuss-

ing on action items to start a fresh

Toastmasters year. Now, its al-

ready November and we are done with

the first quarter. Whew! That went fast;

really fast.

July, August and September have

been real busy months at the District.

Starting from our officers and judgestraining programs, and then to Emer-

gence and a lot of international expe-

riences from Kuala Lumpur - these four

months have been simply busy. They

have also been great for us to plan for

the entire Toastmasters year, drafting

budgets, working on the District Suc-

cess Plan and seeing our selected/elect-

ed officers start their leadership journey.

What has been amazing is watching our

members already submitting applica-

tions for various educational awards,

and clubs

We fail to constantly reinvent our-selves and eventually, we feel ex-hausted and demotivated to dosomething.


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AN ACTION PLAN

Ifeel on top of the world as I reach

you through this second issue of

our newsletter. District 82 created

history in the world of Toastmasters. I

believe its the first time that Toastmas-

ters of the world witnessed a leader of

outstanding stature, DTM Balraj Aruna-

salam, getting elected as the Second

Vice President of Toastmasters Interna-

tional, and a World Champion of Public

Speaking, Dananjaya Hettiarachchi,emerging as grand winners all this

from a single district in a singular con-

ference.

I tend to believe that the said record

is hard to be repeated; and even if so, it

will only be possible for members of Dis-

trict 82, provided we plan and set a goal

to create another World Champion of

Public Speaking from our district within

the next three years. The hacked quote

- Failing to plan is planning to fail, is by

far the worthiest motto to be successful

in our journey. The three laws of success

begin with planning and establishing a

definite goal. Secondly, embarking on

the action plan with adequate prepara-

tion, a positive frame of mind and self-

confidence is critical. Thirdly, staying

focused in directing yourself and your

team until you reach your goal is the

deal-cincher.

Therefore, I urge our Club Executive

Committees to collate all Toastmasters

International and District 82 initiatives

to be achieved during this year into a

single document. This will help compre-

hend the ultimate target of the club at

a glance. For example, let us take the

membership development programs

introduced for a club in this year:

gizing, planning and unwavering

commitment to reach their set goal, or

vision. Therefore, as leaders, let us take

a note of the importance of planning

towards the success of our members,

club, area, division and district, thereby

making District 82 the bench mark for

the world of Toastmasters.

DTM Sudash LiyanageLGMDistrict 82

ship growth and retention, will be

yours. Hence, prepare action plans for

every aspect, form teams, delegate

tasks, improve enthusiasm and inspire

the membership to reach a particular

target.

If you ask the two of our own cham-

pions - DTM Balraj in leadership, and TM

Dananjaya in communication, they will

certainly vouch that their success stories

involve a tremendous amount of strate-

1. Under Distinguished Club Pro-

gram (DCP) - Need to add 8 new mem-

bers within the year 2014/15

2. Under the Golden Gavel Re-

quirements - Need to win at least 2

membership awards ( 10 new members)

out of the 3 (Smedley, Talk-up and Beat

the Clock) awards

3. Under the new Eight-80 for

Season 1 Need to add 8 new mem-

bers and have 80 per cent retention of

the July 01 member base

4. Under Eight-80 for Season 2-

Need to add 8 more members and have

80 per cent retention of the December

31, 2014 member base

If you look at these as the ultimate

membership development goals of

your club, success, in terms of member-

PUBLIC SPEAKING #101


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WELL BEGUN = HALF DONE

District 82 has been on the

Toastmasters map for close to

a decade now. It has been a

trendsetter every year with exceptional

achievements in membership and edu-

cational goals; and this is the ultimate

reason why District 82 split twice in the

span of four years.

With all these etched hard in our

minds, initially, we were all a bit reluc-tant to take up different roles in the

District Public Relations team as it was

very hard to match up to th e work of our

predecessors. May 2014 was the month

when we knew that we will be working

with a team of young men and women,

headed by the Public Relations Officer,

who was just 21 years old. It was the

first time our District had entrusted a

big responsibility to a very young Public

Relations (PR) team. We were under the

pressure to perform because we hadnt

proven our bit yet.

Our team was given the liberty to

start things from scratch, because of

which we were able to revamp the Dis-

trict 82 website, the District Facebook

Page, the Communication Processes,

and create Whatsapp groups. Two

months went by like a flash, what with

late night Skype calls, frequent mail ex-

changes and hangouts at DTM Sasthar-

ams office. When the clock struck 12 AM

on July 1, 2014, a brand new District 82

website was launched, and the first issue

of Pulse, our District Newsletter, was re-

leased during the same week. We also

saw the release of our official Facebook

fan page on Day 1 of the Toastmasters

year.

Four months into the Toastmas-

ters year and here we are:

Our Districts Public Relations strat-

egy was discussed as a case study in the

District PRO forum.

The PR team has successfully cov-

ered the International Convention 2014

on Facebook and on our website, with

a minute-by-minute update on all the

events.All the manual processes of submis-

sions have been replaced with automat-

ed processes, making the District web-

site inch a step closer on becoming the

central hub of District 82s activities.

Words cant explain the achieve-

ments of the District 82 PR team. So,

here are some numbers:

A snapshot of the District 82 PR teams

performance in the last four months.


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District Design Team TM Pranav

Vinod Kumar, TM Laxmi Priya, TM Nisal,

TM Saketh, TM Sundaresan Sekar, TM

Pradeep, TM Abhishek Mazumder, TM

Pratima Yadav

Well begun is just half done as we

know that sustaining this pace will be

the toughest task for us. With all the

hope, we wish all the Toastmasters of

District 82 a well connected year!

TM Vidiya Prasanth

Webmaster

(On behalf of the District 82 PR Team)

It is not just the effort of three or

four officers; it is the hard work of these

leaders who make our District 82 flag fly

high in terms of public relations:

District Webmaster Team TM

Vidiya Prasanth, TM Kush Tripathi, DTM

Sastharam Ravendran, TM Pranav Vinod

Kumar, TM Sandeep Kumar, TM Sunda-

resan Sekar, TM Sai Divijender, TM Feroz

Mohammed

District Social Media Team TM

Kush Tripathi, TM Pranav Vinod Kumar,

TM Vidiya Prasanth
http://www.d82.org/


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GOING INTERNATIONAL

What does the word interna-

tional mean to you? To me,

the word was redefined

in just four days, thanks to the Interna-

tional Convention at Kuala Lumpur in

August this year. Every time I would turn

my neck, I would see a person from a dif-

ferent nationality; when I turned again,

I saw another person from yet another

nationality.

An International Convention is an

annual conference hosted by Toastmas-ters International to celebrate the next

set of leaders and the World Champion

of Public Speaking. However, I felt that

this years Convention was an exception.

Heres why:

1. Out of 2,200 registrations, 1,450

were first timers.

2. The World Champion of Public

Speaking was our very own Dananjaya

Hettiarachchi from District 82. With his

victory, he is now the first Asian to

have won the title.

3. Our very own DTM Balraj Aruna-

salam was elected the Second Vice Pres-

ident of Toastmasters International.

4. This was the first ever Interna-

tional Convention to have been held

outside USA.

The Convention was also very spe-

cial because we had managed to win

many accolades:

1. District 82 was recognized yet

again for our outstanding performanc-

es, and for having achieved the Presi-

dents Distinguished District status.

2. The Lieutenant Governors of

Marketing received the Excellence in

Marketing award, while the Lieutenant

Governor of Education and Training re-

ceived the Excellence in Training award.

All this made us feel awesome!


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under one roof on topics ranging

from how to structure a speech, and how

to create a niche in an industry, helped

all feel intellectually empowered.

The Contests- There is no camera in

the world that can capture the atmos-

phere of 2,200 people sitting silently

in the grand auditorium, with nervous

energy and excitement, listening to one

speech after another. My favourite part

of the convention was the address by a

lady who has left a lasting impression in

my mind - Dato Rohana Rohzan, CEO of

the number one company in Malaysia -

Astro Entertainment. When she spoke,

we all felt the struggle, the pain and the

sacrifices she had to make over her 15-

year journey. She was the recipient of

this years Golden Gavel award.

From this convention, I also learnt

some interesting facts:

1. Region 13, which comprises of

Asian Countries, is the fastest growing

region for the last four years.

2. Did you know that Zig Ziglar,

Antony Robbins, Robin Sharma, Carolyn

Kepcher and even Steven Covey were

Golden Gavel recipients?

3. The President - Elect position

cannot be contested; only the Second

Vice President and the First Vice Presi-

dent positions can be. This is to make

sure that the President who will beelected on to the Board would have

had at least a years experience as a Vice

President.

I really wish and urge you to save INR

2 lakh for next years convention in Las

Vegas. Its not much, if you plan prop-

erly. You have eight months to go!

DTM Sastharam RavendranLGETDistrict 82

Wow! On the one end, I was proud to

represent my country and on the other

end, I was a little disappointed. India

had close to 50 representatives at Kuala

Lumpur (KL) this year; that, out of a total

Toastmasters strength in India of 12,500.

I have consoled myself with the thought

that Indians like to think big and hence,

we are gunning for the conference in

Las Vegas next year.

For those of you who hadnt attend-

ed the conference, Ive prepared a quick

report. This can be divided into four sec-

tions:

The Grandeur - I have never in my

life seen an auditorium as grand as the

one at KL. The glittering lights on the

ceiling couldnt match the glitter of all

the diamonds in the world. The strong,

sternly and magnificent stage reminded

us of the beauty of a lion, who com-

mands respect from its people.

Silence when required, laughter ring-

ing through the air, energetic applause

- it was magical. The inauguration cere-

mony unfolded and saw the hoisting of

flags by different countries. The closing

ceremony saw all Toastmasters turn into

kids at a candy store when they saw the

wide spread of food that would satisfy

even Kumbakaran for a lifetime. They

danced like no one was watching; and

trust me - no one was watching.

The Elections - We have elections

too at the Convention for posts of the

International President and the Interna-

tional Directors. This year, our very own

Balraj won the election and will be the

International President in two years.

The Education- This often miscon-

strued word was like a breath of f resh air

at KL. Back to back educational sessions


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WINNING WITH WORDS

Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

World Champion of Public

Speaking (WCPS), 2014 is

a 30-year-old motivational speaker and

human resource development special-

ist from Sri Lanka, who holds the dis-

tinction of participating eight consecu-

tive times in the annual International

Speech Contest before winning the

much-coveted title in August this year.

Hettiarachchi, who represented Tamil

Nadu and Sri Lanka at the competition

organised by Toastmasters International(TI), was in Chennai recently to deliver

keynote addresses at multiple confer-

ences. With this victory, he is now the

first Asian to be crowned the champion

of this competition, beating over 33,000

contestants from around the world. Ex-

cerpts from an interview:

Tell us about your childhood, the

background ingredients that have

made you.

I was born in Nuwera Eliya, a beauti-

ful city located in the hills of central Sri

Lanka. My dad was a planter and my

mother was a hotelier. I was a medio-

cre student for most part of my life. In

my younger days, I spent time with the

wrong company and turned into bit of

a thug because I thought being aggres-

sive would help me gain respect. I was ar-

rested when I was 18 years old because I

had assaulted someone. My mom came

to see me when I was in remand and I

had never felt so ashamed in my life. Irealised how I had never achieved any-

thing substantial and how I had let my

parents down. I wanted to change that.

This was the turning point of my life. It

was at this time that my dad took me to

my first date with destiny a meeting

at a Toastmasters club in Colombo. This

changed my life.

What are you first experiences in

public speaking?

I first contested as a public speaker

in 2006 when South Asias Best Speaker

Contest was held for the first time in Sri

Lanka. I delivered a speech and thought

I would win. But the results declared that

I hadnt even made it to the fourth place.

After a couple of months, the President

of my Toastmasters club called and

asked me to participate in the World

Taped Speech Contest conducted by TI.

I thought he was mad to ask me as I had

just failed miserably. Then, my mentor at

the club, Balraj Arunasalam, asked me to

participate. As I could not say no to him,

I gave it a shot. Three months went by

and one fine morning, TI called, telling

me that I had won. I was invited to the

US to attend TIs International Conven-

tion and it was there that I first saw the

World Championship of Public Speak-

ing. One part of me said that it was im-

possible for me to get on that stage. An-

other part yearned to compete and win.

What was holding you back from

winning the first eight times youd

tried?

I think it was my fear of speaking

English before foreigners. In 2011, I

cleared the fourth level of the Interna-

tional Speech Contest (held in Mysore,

Karnataka) for the first time. I went to

Las Vegas for the semi-finals of the con-

test and five minutes before I got on

stage, I realised that I was going to talkto a room full of foreigners. I grew ex-

tremely conscious because English was

not my first language. I froze and I did a

horrible job on stage. In 2012 and 2013,

I made it to the semi-finals again; but I

still didnt make it to the finals. Last year,

I went to USA two weeks in advance

and practiced my speech several times

before an audience of native English

speakers. This helped me overcome my

nervousness.

Why was winning the World Cham-

pionship of Public Speaking so im-

portant to you?

Besides what my mentors and loved

ones wanted me to do, my mind was

also in two places when my son was

born. A part of me told me that my time

was up and now I had to focus on my

kid. Another part of me wondered what

my son would think if I would give up.

This year, I competed for my son.

What would you advice people

pursuing their dreams?

If you dont quit on your dreams,

then your dreams wont quit on you.

Life will first break you, drag you, and

then cut your spirit into a million pieces.

Then, when youve proven that youre

still willing to fight for your dreams, you

will achieve whatever it is that you want

in life.

This article was first published by TM

Noorain Mohammed Nadim in The

Hindu on October 26, 2014.

I had neverachieved any-thing substan-

tial. I had let myparents down.I wanted tochange that.Thats whenToastmastershappened.


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THE PRINCE OF PERSEVERANCE

Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

swears by perseverance.

Having contested eight con-

secutive times at the Toastmasters Inter-

nationals (TI) Speech Contest, he beat

over 33,000 contestants from around

the world to be crowned the World

Champion of Public Speaking (WCPS)

in 2014. He is the first Asian to win the

coveted title and has represented both

India (Tamil Nadu) and Sri Lanka at thecontest over the years.

In his contest cinching speech, I see

something, Dananjaya shared how, for a

very long time in his life, people around

him saw something in him; but they

could never figure out what it was. As

a result, he lived a desultory existence

during his early years. He reminisces, I

was a mediocre student for most part

of my life, and my school life was noth-

ing short of turbulent. I spent time with

the wrong company and I had turned

into a bit of a thug because I thought

I could claim respect from people that

way. I was arrested when I was 18 on

charges of assault. My mom came to

see me in remand and I had never felt

so ashamed in my life. I realised how I

had not achieved anything substantial

and I wanted to change that. This was

the turning point in my life. I came back

home and started studying to get into

university. However, I didnt make it. I

was lost and I didnt know what to do

with my life. It was at this time that my

dad took me on my first date with des-

tiny a meeting at a Toastmasters club

in Colombo.

Public speaking was never Danan-

jayas ambition. However, those around

him believed in his ability. He elab-

orates, When I walked into the Toast-

masters club that evening in 2004, my

life changed completely because it was

there that I met some amazing people,

including my mentor, Balraj Aruna-

salam. He saw me speak at the club

and he walked up to me and said, Kid,

I see something in you; but I dont know

what it is. Lets try to bring it out. This

was the first time that someone evertold me that they saw potential in me.

I was really happy, and soon after, Aru-

nasalam took me under his wing. For

the next few years, my life was all about

speaking.

It is not uncommon to wonder why

the title of the WCPS meant so much

to Dananjaya, who, by then, had al-

ready established himself as an accom-

plished speaker over the years. He elu-

cidates, In 2006, I won the World Taped

Speech Contest that was organised by

TI. I was invited to attend their Interna-

tional Convention in US and I was blown

away by what I saw. It was there that I

had first seen the International Speech

Contest. As I was witnessing it, one part

of me said it was impossible for me to

get on that stage. Another part of me

yearned to get there and become the

WCPS. I returned to Sri Lanka a changed

man because I had now seen what suc-

cess looked like. I went back to school,

finished my exams, got into a private

university, and started studying. I was

hungry to achieve something in life, and

in the next five years, I did my degree,

my MBA, and started my career in HR.

While perseverance is a delectable

ingredient in the recipe for success, it

does come with a lot of peer pres-

sure. Fortunately for Dananjaya, the

support of his loved ones kept his appe -

tite for victory going. Contesting con-

secutively every year put me under a lot

of mental pressure. I started off as the

underdog. People loved me and my per-

severance. But when I failed to win year

after year, my critics started questioning

my ability as a speaker. A lot of people

wanted me to stop trying. Fortunately

for me, I have always had a inner circle

of strong people in my life who kept my

confidence going.

In order to master the art of public

speaking, the champion has made innu-

merable sacrifices. He shares, In 2010,

after losing the WCPS four consecutive

times, I decided that if I had to win, I had

to go all out. I quit my job and decided

to become a full-time soft skills trainer

because I wanted to spend time

practising my skills before an audience.

Things werent smooth then, as I had

just got married and I was struggling to

support my family financially. I decid-

ed to give up; but my mentor and wife

pushed me to finish what I had started.

In my 10 years as a public speaker, Ive

spoken for over 9,000 hours on stage

and spent over `4 million on coach-

ing myself, but most importantly, Ive

sacrificed my time with my family and

friends.

Those who know Dananjaya vouch

for the intense practice and preparation

he undergoes. He says, I start preparing

for my speech by first thinking of a mes-

sage I want to deliver to my audience. I

write it innumerable times until I think

it is easy to remember and recall. Then, I

start building the content of my speech,

and practise, prepare and rehearse

my delivery on stage. Then, I close my

eyes and visualise how I will deliver my

speech. I do this multiple times until

I know what exactly I will be doing on

stage. A day before the contest, I lock

out everything my family, friends,

and phone, and get into a private zone

before I finally deliver my speech on

stage.

Today, as he basks in the glory of

his hard work, Dananjaya reveals how

being the champion can be challeng-ing too. He divulges, When youre the

WCPS, people expect pearls to fall out

of your mouth every time you speak.

Thats the responsibility of your title. Im

willing to work hard to deliver my best

to my audience because I know where

I want to go now. I want to become the

worlds best motivational speaker.


Noorain Mohammed Nadimin The New

Indian Express on November 09, 2014.


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24 25Pulse | 2014Pulse | 2014

Public Speaking 2014. What is

your goal now in Toastmasters?

My goal is to give back as much

as I can to the organisation that has

helped me graduate from the worlds

best public speaking university as its

top student in 2014. Now, I am at the

base of another mountain that is much

bigger than Toastmasters. I am going to

stop to catch my breath and then, it is

time to climb to the summit again. At

the top of this mountain, lies the title of

the worlds best motivational speaker. I

want to achieve that now.

While competitions help us un-

cover the hidden potential in us, on

the flip side, it also unleashes a lotof

stress in our lives. How do you de-

stress before a contest and keep your-

self motivated?

You dont de-stress; instead, you let

the stress break you. You fall to the floor,

cry, kick, scream, shout, and when you

are done, you pick yourself up again, or

ask someone to give you a hand.

Behind every successful man,

there is a woman. Does this quote

hold well in your life? How?

Every word of the quote is true.

My wife, Himasha, is the goddess that

keeps the devil at bay.

What has been the biggest learn-

ing that Toastmasters has given you?

Public speaking can also save a per-

sons life. TOAD TALK


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NO SHORTCUT TO PREPARATION

In Toastmasters, what do you

prefer - a prepared speech, or a

Table Topic? Why?

Presently, I challenge myself to treat

prepared speeches as table topics! I usu-

ally ask the Toastmaster of the meeting,

or my designated speech evaluator, to

provide a speech title just before I go

to the podium to speak. The challenge

lies in ensuring that I meet the time and

speech objectives, as well as do justice

to the topic. It trains and prepares me

for what I end up doing on a number of

occasions speaking impromptu when

I attend meetings, functions and events.

A word of caution: Do not try this

method of delivering prepared speech-

es unless you have achieved at least one

Advanced Communicator Gold (ACG)

award the tried and tested way pre-

paring and rehearsing your speech well

ahead of your speech slot.

A famous quote by Benjamin

Franklin says, By failing to prepare,

you are preparing to fail. Do you

believe in this quote? Please explain

your stance.

I believe this implicitly. There is no

shortcut to preparation. As I stated

earlier, even when I present prepared

speeches impromptu, I am preparing for

the occasions when I shall need this skill

the most. Whether its Toastmasters or

outside Toastmasters, meticulous plan-

ning must precede implementation

and that is a sure fire way of achieving

success. This cannot be left to mere

chance or luck.

For instance, when you join Toast-

masters, rather than ramble aimlesslythrough the program, you can make

the most of it by planning your goals

and charting a course for yourself with

the help of your mentor for achieving it.

Plan for success and you will not fail!

As the International Director of

Toastmasters International, you

have to constantly travel and deliver

speeches for different purposes in

different countries. Do you prepare

for every speech you deliver? If yes,

how do you find the time?

This is precisely where my prepara-

tion, as I mentioned above in response

to your first question, comes in handy.

Speeches that I deliver are usually im-

promptu and crafted to fit the occasion

that I am called upon to speak. However,

presenting a workshop or delivering a

keynote address requires a significant

amount of prior preparation. I make the

time for this preparation irrespective of

however busy I might be, as I owe this

to my audience. As regards availabil-

ity of time, I firmly believe that there is

enough time and more for things that

we want to do and never time for things

we dont!

When it comes to preparation in

contests, it is said that too much of

preparation can hamper your speech.

Is this true? If yes, how much is too

much?

This a fallacy spread by lazy people!

Ask the World Champions of Public

Speaking and they will confess to

you that they practiced their winning

speeches over five hundred times, some

over a thousand times. By practicing

and rehearsing a number of times, you

inculcate a speech to such an extent

that it becomes a part of you. There is no

number that can be defined. When you

find that the speech speaks itself with

spontaneous body language and emo-

tions flowing from it, you can say youare ready for the contest.

Many a times, we fail to prepare

well for the roles we take up at the

club level as we underestimate their

importance. Can roles at the club level

be treated with such nonchalance?

We join Toastmasters to enhance our

skills. We learn and hone most of these

skills by attending meetings and partici-

pating in them by performing roles that

are on offer. If we treat these roles

casually or with nonchalance, we are

doing injustice to ourselves. Whether

the role we perform is that of the Toast-

master, General Evaluator, Timer or Ah

Counter, each role provides us a learn-

ing opportunity. A core value that we

learn and follow in Toastmasters is dedi-

cation to excellence. Prior preparation

and aiming for excellence ensures that

we achieve the purpose for which we

joined Toastmasters and at the same

time, provides every member a high

quality experience.

Can you please share an example

from your life (professional / Toast-

masters) when being prepared had

saved your day?

There have been innumerable occa-

sions when we have had members drop

out from roles at the eleventh hour. As

a practice, I have as back up, a handy

supply of table topic questions, a word

of the day, as well as other materials

that can be used by anyone who takes

up that role at the last moment. The

result is that the meeting is presented

flawlessly without the audience realiz-

ing the last minute changes that have

taken place. Planning obviates embar-

rassment and leads you to the glorious

path of success!

The International Director of Region 13 for 2013 - 2015, DTM Deepak Menon, talks to the team ofPulse on why preparation is essential for success, and how all roles at the club are integral for a mem-

bers growth.


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SPEAK FROM YOUR LIFE

If you want to write or speak about

life, you need to not only study life,

but to live it! Obviously, not eve-

ryone has the opportunity to take up

every job and every position that they

would like. But do what you can. Move!

Move from one position to another,from one career to another. Expand

your experiences, at least for the first

half of your adult life. The famous author,

Ernest Hemingway, went on various ad-

ventures so that he could experience

things he thought were worth writing

about. Consequently, he could write

about everything - from war, to big

game hunting, and fishing, to bull fights

in Spain. He could put himself into the

picture not as a theorist, but as one who

had lived the life.

Remote preparation is the stuff we

draw on as we sit down to compile a

speech. It involves not only the actual

remembered experience, but the re-

membered words and phraseology; the

language of that time. When one speaks

of the sea and talks of just abaft thebridge, decks awash, she was beam-

ing under, wind shriek ing through the

mast and funnel stays, the words well

up spontaneously. They are not an af-

fected thing. They are not artificial. The

ex-sailor can speak this language. Or,

Control, this is Speed bird 702, our po-

sition is Juliet 30 at one five, flight level

three three zero, If youve worked in

Airways Operations, this was once your

language. This entire vernacular is grist

to the mill as one stands before an

audience and uses dialogue to enhance

a speech or story. It wells up naturally.

So, what are you to do if you want

to steadily become better and better

at being able to come up with riveting

ideas for you speeches as the years pro-gress? It has already been said: gain

wide experience, keep gaining knowl-

edge. Youll pick up new areas of ex-

pertise; and new words will be added

to your Spoken Vocabulary. As you day

dream and visualize experiences from

your past, your ability to visualize will

strengthen. With that will come greater

creativity. All of this is Remote Prepara-

tion. Be aware of it. Use it and youll

continue to enjoy your experiences,

never running out of ideas as to what

to talk about, and what to bring to the

hearts and minds of your audience.

Here are a few steps that you can

follow while preparing for a speech:

Step 1: Remote Preparation

All your acquired knowledge,

wisdom, wide experience, and lots of

reading will help you in this step. The

older you get, the more Remote Prepa-

ration youll have to draw on. Your life

story comes into this. Unlike so many

life pursuits, the beauty about speaking

is that generally, the older you get the

better you get.

Step 2: Intermediate Preparation

Here you become aware that you

will likely need to present a speech on

a given subject matter some months

ahead. So you begin your research and

background reading. You fill you mind

with the subject matter but do not nec-

essarily make any notes or records. This

might be simply what your employer or

client expects of you - work knowledge.

Step 3: Immediate Preparation

You now have a date on which you

have to present. Start immediately. De-

termine and then define your subject in

one short sentence. Write it out, read

it out loud, memorize it. This sentence

is your most important key. Make sure

this definition is clear and memorable.

Next, think yourself empty on the

subject and write down every ideawhich immediately comes to mind on

pieces of paper and not in a note book.

Keep each idea or key phrase sepa-

rate. When done, place them in a file or

manila folder (not a computer file) and

sleep on it. Let your subconscious mind

provide you with more ideas and sub-

ject matter. Be sure to record whatever

your mind presents to you. Keep a pad

of paper and a pen handy at all times.

Even if the idea pops up in the middle of

the night, or when youre taking

a shower or eating a meal, be sure to

record it. After a while you will have lots

and lots of ideas pertaining to the sub-

ject. Probably too much!

Step 4: More Immediate Prep Work

A few days later, lay all your notes

and pieces of scrap paper out on a

table. Place the specific and defined

subject sentence at the top. It is your

reference. It is your key. Look at all of

the notes taken and toss out any which

do not match up with what is written in

that definition. You might toss out 50%

- even 80% of those notes. But what is

left will form the bones of your speech.

You now have the potential structure.

Now sort those notes into order.

Sort them in the way you think it would

be best to present them. Pick out no

more than three main points. You may

feel you need to supplement those

points. Place the relevant supplementa-

ry points beneath each of the three main

points. Bear in mind smooth transitions

from one point to another. When this

is done, write a number on each piece

of paper.

Using those scraps of paper in the

order youve now placed them in, write

or type out the speech in full. When

done, read it through as you would de-

liver it; time it as you do so with a stopwatch. Record it, if you can. Play it back

so you can hear it. Do this two or three

times.

Next day, read it through and time it

again. Play it back again. Now highlight

the key sentences or the first few words

of every paragraph. These are the words

which will allow you to recall the con-

tent of those paragraphs. Print these

words on a piece of cardboard in letters,

DTM Tom Wareof District 70 wrote to Pulse to share his tools, tricks, tips and techniques to preparinga successful speech.


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30 31Pulse | 2014Pulse | 2014

big enough to be easily seen at a

glance. Now go through the speech

again, using only the key words or sen-

tences to jog your memory. Time this

as you do it. Record and play back. The

words you come up with will not be

identical to the written version. That

does not matter. It is the essence of themessage which counts. The next day,

just use the cardboard and its keywords

and go through the speech a couple of

time.

To make sure you remember for the

long-term, repeat your practice but in a

particular way. Do your rehearsals in the

following manner to make sure you re-

member what you speak for long, with-

out memorizing it word-for-word:

Day 1 (3 times)- Day 2 (twice) - Day

4 (once) - Day 8 (once) - Day 15 (once)

- Day 25 (once)

You will find you can remember

something for months, even years if you

use this method. I go over a lot of my

old speeches every two to four monthsto keep them fresh. Sometimes, I dont

look at them for years, but theyre still

there.

When youre nearing the big day,

go through your speech without any

prompts at all. Time it. When youre

confident you got it all pretty right, you

are ready to go. After all that work, that

speech is yours. You will perform well.

Good luck!

LEGACY FROM THE FOUNDER

When our Executive Director

asked me for a special mes-

sage for the 40thanniversa-

ry issue of The Toastmaster, it reminded

me of the minister who was asked if it

wasnt about time to for him to prepare

a new sermon, instead of harping on the

same old subject every week. The minis-

ter replied, I have several new sermons,

but I dont think I will give them until the

congregation uses the old one first. Iwould like to remind you of some of the

principles that have helped reach our

40th anniversary, and to suggest that if

we continue to practice them, they will

help us to reach our 60th, at least.

Lets keep it simple. Our basic train-

ing program presents the fundamental

principles of public speaking. These are

the eternal verities of effective oral com-

munication. Quintilian and Aristotle rec-

ognized them. Many men have writ-

ten about public speaking in the inter-

vening centuries, but they have not

changed the simple basic principles, nor

have they added very much to them.

Toastmasters is a do-it-yourself

activity. We dont have an instructionmanual for everything you do or say

in your club; nor should we have such

manuals. Dont be afraid to use your

imagination and initiative. Our motto

encourages better listening and better

thinking because these habits result in

better speaking. Listen to others and

evaluate their thinking - then form your

own conclusions and speak for yourself.

Toastmasters is based on belief in

the individual - and his ability to im-

prove himself. Many organizations ask

the individual to sub-ordinate himself

to the group. Ours is the only organi-

zation I know that is dedicated to the

individual. We work together to bring

out the best in each of us, and then we

apply our skills to help others.

Let us never forget that we learn

in moments of enjoyment. Fellowship

is important in Toastmasters. Our mem-

bers stay in their clubs because they

like each other and they are learning to-

gether.

If you observe these principles, I

wont need to prepare a new message.

Toastmasters will serve men for years to

come.

Dr. Smedleys last general message to Toastmasters appeared in the 40 th anniversary issue of The

Toastmaster in October 1964. Read on to know the principles he encouraged Toastmasters to practice

in order to excel as speakers and leaders.


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34 35Pulse | 2014Pulse | 2014

CHAOS OR CLARITY? YOU CHOOSE!

In Toastmasters, Ive found that

there is one role that always strikes

fear in the hearts of many. There

are no brownie points for guessing the

correct answer because Im certain you

all have got it right - Newsletter Editor.

Be it at the Club level, Area level, Divi-

sion level, or even at the District level

(Guilty as charged!), Newsletter Edi-

tors transform miraculously from being

happy and tranquil Toastmasters into

an exasperated version of themselves,thanks to all the associated pressure

that comes with the job. From convinc-

ing members to contribute articles, to

getting the indentation in your newslet-

ter layout to behave, everything in the

beginning seems to not work in your

favour.

But you dont have to worry so much

because pretty much like all things in

life, with the right attitude and strate-

gies in place, your role as the Newsletter

Editor can be an immensely rewarding

experience. Heres what Ive learnt in my

experience as the Newsletter Editor at

the Club and the District level:

Select a theme Instead of keeping

a generic theme for the content of your

newsletter, it always helps if you can

pick a theme and bind all your content

around it. When content is theme-driv-

en, Ive found that members are inter-

ested to contribute articles, and hence,

they are also eager to read the newslet-

ter when it is published. For instance,

for our District 82 newsletter, Pulse, we

had decided to weave the theme of our

four issues around William Wards quote

Four steps to achievement: Planpur-

posefully. Prepareprayerfully.Proceed

positively. Pursue persistently.

While the first issue focused on the

importance of planning your goals as

communicators and leaders at the be-

ginning of the Toastmasters year, the

second issue will constitute content

that highlights the importance of prep-

aration, what with the contest season in

full swing at the District. This has helped

us generate a lot of buzz around the

newsletter, and we hope that with every

issue, were able to convert our mem-bers into regular Toastmasters newslet-

ters readers.

Team Talkies As the Newsletter

Editor, avoid being in the following ex-

treme zones:

Doing all the work all by yourself

Delegating work to many people

Both these scenarios can add more

challenges to your already challenging

role. So, its best to delegate work to a

small team of able members. You can

brainstorm with them on different ideas

and allocate work according to individu-

al skills and capacities.

How much is too much Some

clubs release newsletters on a monthly

basis simply because it means more

points on the awards score board. While

the people behind monthly newslet-

ters have to be commended for the ef-

forts they put towards making them,

sometimes, in the run for quantity, qual-

ity may lose out. If this happens, then

chances are members may lose interest

in reading your newsletter altogether.

Now thats a huge gamble! Pick a time

frame of publication according to your

capacity and make sure quality

always gets precedence in your news-

letter.

Market it right As a member of my

club (Chennai Toastmasters Club), Ive

always been amazed by the quality of

newsletters churned out by members.

But thanks to a dear friend in Toastmas-

ters, it was only recently that I had real-

ized how our marketing efforts to pro-

mote the newsletter were nothing short

of dismal! While we did circulate our

newsletters among members, we failed

to see how our newsletter could also be

used to convert guests into members by

showing them what they were missing

out on, and to help non-Toastmasters

understand the power of this platform.Ever since this realization dawned on us,

weve been trying to set things right by

sending our newsletters across to all our

guests, and by promoting it on social

media platforms.

Expect the unexpected Some-

times, as the Newsletter Editor, you will

find that nobody adheres to the dead-

lines youve set for them. As a result,

your schedule for the publication of the

newsletter may get hampered. Thats

why always make way for unexpected

deterrents by effectively allocating your

time for the collection of articles. If you

want someone to submit an article on

X date, then make sure you commu-

nicate this clearly to them, send them

a reminder at least 4 days before X,

and hope for the best. This trick almost

always seems to work, and if the odds

still dont work out in your favour, then

get in touch with a senior member from

your team and ask them to intervene.

This would help you get the job done.

The job of a Newsletter Editor re-

quires an immense amount of skill, not

just in terms of editing, designing and

grammatical skills, but also in terms oftime management, delegation and ef-

fective communication. Remember, its

the lack of clarity that creates chaos and

frustration. So chart out your plan and

watch your newsletter create positive

waves of news across divisions and dis-

tricts.

TM Noorain Mohammed Nadim

Newsletter Editor

District 82


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THE WOMAN BEHIND REVERBS 2014

How and when did you start

preparing for the confer-

ence?

We had started planning for the con-

ference about 3-4 weeks before Ovation

2014. The first job I did was to find my

Co-conference Chair. After a massive

search operation that involved scanning

the length and breadth of the District, I

found TM Ilangathir. We thought on the

same lines of what we wanted to offer

people through the conference, which

was value for money, and so, our focus

was in place. Then, we went about form-

ing different core teams. We would have

action items for every team and regu-

larly, we would check if these tasks were

being done.

What inspired you to take up the

role of Conference Chair in a confer-

ence of such large magnitude?

I was looking for a leadership oppor-

tunity like this so that I could hone my

skills. Ive always felt that in Toastmas-

ters, we have many forums to test our

communication skills; but it is by play-

ing roles in conferences like this that we

can actually put out leadership skills to

test.

What were the biggest challenges

you faced during the conference?

Firstly, Ovation 2014 was a huge hit

and so, the expectations for Reverbera-

tion 2014 were really high. The biggest

challenge was to therefore meet those

expectations. Secondly, I felt it was quite

challenging to bring Toastmasters from

two countries, i.e., Tamil Nadu and

Sri Lanka together, and make them feel

at home in the conference. To overcome

these scenarios and the geographical

barriers, my team and I would meet often

and when this would not be possible,

we would Skype, and stay connected

over the phone as much as possible. The

third challenge was arranging sponsor-

ships for the conference. This was really

difficult as most organizations are will-

ing to offer funds for mainstream ac tivi-

ties like cricket; but its very hard to find

the same enthusiasm for communica-

tion and leadership programs. We spent

a lot of time in identifying the right tar-

gets, and then, in convincing them to

sponsor us. Instead of just promising

them visibility in our event, we went a

step ahead and offered to conduct soft

skills training for their employees.

According to you, how was Rever-

beration 2014 different from other

district conferences, and previous

editions of this conference?

This was the first t ime that a confer-

ence of this size was priced so low for

members. Also, it was the first timethat a World Champion of Public Speak-

ing had conducted an educational ses-

sion at a semi-annual conference in our

district.

Personally, what were the high-

light moments of organizing Rever-

beration 2014?

If you look at us a team, none of

us had ever worked with each other

before. In spite of that, against all odds,

we bonded well and accomplished our

goals for the conference. I also loved

how people from the different regions

of our District were so warm and helpful,

volunteering and helping us immensely

in any task for the conference.

In a tte--tte with the team of Pulse, TM Vijayalakshmi Soundararajan, the Conference Chair of Re-

verberation 2014, the semi-annual conference of District 82, that was held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu,

on November 15 and 16, 2014, shares how the bond between her team added the Midas touch to the

conference.

Left to right: TM Ilangathir, Co-conference

Chair, DTM Sastharam, LGET, TM Vijay-

alakshmi, Conference Chair
http://www.d82.org/reverbs2014/


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38 39Pulse | 2014Pulse | 2014

WINNERS - REVERBERATION 2014

All smiles (Left to right): TM Ilangathi r Venugopal, Co-conference Chair, TM Vijayalakshmi S., Con-

ference Chair, Winner - Humorous Speech Contest 2014, TM Keishara Perera, Second Runner-up, TM

Arfath Saleem, First Runner-up, TM Susheela Saravanan, Representative from Radio One, DTM Yusuf

Jeevunjee, Governor - District 82, DTM Sudash Liyanage - LGM, and DTM Sastharam Ravendran - LGET

The gladiators (Left to ri ght): TM Rahul Shankar, Contest Chair, DTM Sastharam Ravendran, LGET, DTM

Sudash Liyanage, LGM, DTM Yusuf Jeevunjee, Governor - District 82, Winner - Evaluation Contest 2014 -

TM Sridhar Ranganathan, TM Sandun Fernando, First Runner-up, TM Jehan Perinpanayagam, Second

Runner-up, and Chief Judge, DTM Niroshan Nadarajah

MEET THE WORDSMITH

He came, he spoke and he con-

quered this line best de-

scribes Aditya Maheswarans

impact as an orator, if his performance

at Toastmasters International Speech

Contest (ISC) this year is anything to

go by. The 27-year-old emerged victo-

rious as the Second Runner Up in the

Semi Finals after battling it out against

several first-rate speakers across suc-

cessive levels of the contest, building

a spot for himself at the Oscars of Ora-tory the prestigious World Champi-

onship of Public Speaking (WCPS) 2014.

A Toastmaster for over nine years now,

he went on to achieve the title of Dis-

tinguished Toastmaster (the highest

award conferred by Toastmasters Inter-

national on completing all communica-

tion and leadership projects) at the age

of 23, making him one of the youngest

members to have accomplished the

feat. He has also been a TEDx speaker

and a recipient of the Young Achiever

Award from the Rotary Club of Chen-

nai Galaxy in 2011, inspiring many with

his thought-provoking speeches and ef-

fortless performance on stage.

Success in contests didnt come easy

to him for he lost at the club level when

he first participated in the ISC in 2008.

In 2011, he participated again and got

placed second at the division level.

Aditya brought truth to the adage third

time lucky, by hitting the home run and

making it to the WCPS this time. He cur-

rently works as a Leadership Consultant

for Hay Group, Mumbai.

His mantra for success? A simple

yet powerful message in your speech

is critical to touch the hearts of the au-

dience and thereby win contests. He

elaborates,

elaborates, My speech at the con-

tests this year, The scratch, is based on

a real life incident. I had bought a new

car which got scratched on the very first

day. I felt really bad about it. That got me

thinking that if a scratch on a car could

cause so much anxiety, then what about

the invisible scratches we create, con-

sciously and unconsciously, in our rela-

tionships with people? Thats how my

speech came to life.

To choose a good topic for your

speech, he suggests to notice the events

happening around you. Observe the in-

cidents in your life and find a message

that will help impact the audience. We

all have great stories to share. In just

the last couple of hours, there may be

a handful of incidents that you can turn

into a beautiful speech. We simply dont


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40 41Pulse | 2014Pulse | 2014

notice this and fail to connect the

dots. For example, someone picking

up a piece of paper from the street and

throwing it into the bin can make a

wonderful story on accountability and

responsibility.

One of the biggest challenges most

speakers face on stage is being unable to

connect with the audience. This, in turn,

hinders their confidence and makes

them question their effectiveness. The

answer, says Aditya, lies in shifting the

focus from yourself to your audience.

When I had first started participat-

ing in speech contests, I would see the

whole exercise from my point of view.

I would ask myself if my speech had a

message, if I had included gestures and

vocal variety to my speech, and so on.

But now, Ive learnt that in order to de-

liver a speech that makes an impact, I

need to see it from the audiences per-

spective. Two factors play a critical role:

impact and connect. Every minute of

your speech must create some impact

on the audience. When you successfully

connect with them, theyll feel like they

are a part of your life through your stor y.

Aditya believes enlightenment

dawns from the journey rather than vic-

tory itself and adds, My biggest learn-

ing from contests can be summed up in

these words Conclusion is what you

arrive at when youre tired of thinking.Ive learnt that a speech can always be

improved at every level. Even if I deliver

the same speech 10 more times, there

will be 10 more elements that can make

the speech better. My second lesson has

been that it is relatively easy to achieve

95 per cent of excellence in your speech.

But when youre competing against top-

notch participants, it is critical that you

achieve that five per cent of excellence

too. This can be quite stressful, as every

hand gesture and every bit of your voice

modulation matters. So it is impera-

tive that you strive to achieve excellence

and not just focus on delivering a good

speech. Thirdly, Ive learnt that humil-

ity plays a large role in your success. By

competing with many speakers of great

calibre, you realise that you have a long

way to go.

His groundwork for success stems

from hard work and preparation. With

respect to the content of my speech,

firstly, I spend a lot of time contemplat-

ing on the message I want to leave the

audience with. Only when I can articu-

late that briefly, in about 20-25 words,

do I start scripting my speech. I spill all

my thoughts out on a paper without

worrying about the word limit. Then, I

cull out what needs to stay in my story.

When it comes to rehearsing my speech,

I spend a lot of time with myself and

mull over the speech in my mind.

Adityas definition of contests is

simple. Contests, irrespective of the

level, are always hard. But if you think

you have a good message to convey and

create an impact on the audiences lives,

youll feel happy with your speech and

you wont be able to wait to deliver it. To

make sure I leave a mark, Im not going

to focus on any other question but this

if the speech I deliver will be the last

speech of my life, what message would I

like to leave for the audience? Once I amable to answer this question, half of my

preparation will be done.

For more insights on the art of ef-

fective public speaking and leader-

ship, you can follow DTM Aditya Ma-

heswarans Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/adityaspeaks


Noorain Mohammed Nadimin The New

Indian Express on July 21, 2014.
https://www.facebook.com/adityaspeakshttps://www.facebook.com/adityaspeaks


22/27

42 43Pulse | 2014Pulse | 2014

DO YOU ACT ON STAGE?

It was 2 AM in the morning. I was

awakened from my deep sleep by

a high pitched noise. Angry, I woke

up and began looking for the culprit;

it was my one year old baby daughter

who was crying in her shrill voice. I held

her in my arms, and gently rocked her.

Her innocent gaze turned into sparkling

eyes. She became a chuckling chime in

no time! It was the most blissful moment

for any father at that time of the morn-

ing. No strings, no hidden motives - Hergenuine and sincere smile melted my

heart.

Sincere smiles and sincere words can

leave a pleasant etch in any soul. Day in

and day out, how many fake smiles do

we encounter? We do recognise them,

dont we? Sometimes, we might forget

the same fact while preparing our

speeches. We want to insert a little bit of

this and a little bit of that to dramatise

our speech. Sometimes, we force points

into our story and connect them some-

how to complete our act on stage. Do

we really need to act? Depends on the

type of the speech, one might say!

What are the lessons we could learn

from the best speakers in the world?

The World Champion of Public Speaking

2014, Dananjaya Hettiarachchi stressed

that, A speech should be conversation-

al, rather than being dramatic. He was

certainly sincere on stage. His speech

was centered on the facts near and dear

to his heart.

How about the style of Mahatma

Gandhi? Sincerity and honesty were the

jewels of his great charisma, as a result

of which, a whole nation followed

his path.

Barak Obama, a largely unknown

figure about a decade ago, delivered an

electrifying speech at the Democrats

convention in Boston. Towards the end

of his address, an emotionally height-

ened crowed could not stop applauding

for him.

Personally, I always had the dilem-ma of remembering the words of my

speech, remembering the sequence

of the flow and remembering when to

trigger my gestures. I learnt some im-

portant lessons through my journey as

a Toastmaster, thanks to my mentors.

Here are th three rules I follow to deliver

a successful speech:

1. Select a topic which is near and

dear to your heart. You have a personal

interest in it and so, it is very easy to re-

member.

2. Know what you are going to talk

about very well. If you know your story

in and out, you will have the best of con-

fidence on stage.

3. Be sincere to yourself. Itll project

genuine gestures and expressions auto-

matically.

Is there any better choreography

one can have other than this?

TM Chamara Peiris

DFCC Toastmasters

Colombo, Sri Lanka


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44 45Pulse | 2014Pulse | 2014

CHANGE AS YOU SEE

- A girl;

- A 20 year old girl;

- A 20 year old girl with an ALB;

- A 20 year old girl with ALB and ACB;

- A 20 year old girl with an ALB and

an ACB, who was a runner up at the Divi-

sion Level for two consecutive years;

- A 20 year old girl who is a final year

law lecturer at her campus!

Alright, now you may bring your lips

together, breath and take a sip of water.And please, kindly note that Im not kid-

ding. How old are you, may I ask? Well,

does it matter?! should be your answer

now!

Im born in a part of the world where

people get shocked when the amount

of achievements do not match conven-

tional age standards. I wouldnt say any-

thing I achieved at Toastmasters was a

piece of cake. I accept that I was a born

talker. A parrot, indeed. But I was never

a speaker until I joined Toastmasters at

the IPM Toastmasters Club. Ever since I

joined this Speakers Community, I real-

ized that everyone is a great talker, but

not everyone is a great speaker. To be a

speaker, is hard; and that is the simple

truth.

To be able to grab the attention of

the people you are addressing, and to

make them stare at you, like there is no

Miss Universe like you for those 5 to 7

minutes, without letting their hands

reach their phone, has never been an

easy task either! I would say it is Mission

Impossible!

Have you ever heard yourself when

you speak? Do you know how you even

sound when you speak? Do you listen

to yourself when you speak? Because if

you havent, then you sure would have

missed that head or two of t he audience

staring at their smart screens but nod-

ding like they are listening.

When you listen to yourself while

you are speaking, it opens up an-

other avenue for you to change your

speech accordingly - may be to pause,

slow down, hurry up, and throw a bitof drama, mix a bit of vocal twists and

turns to grab the attention of the audi-

ence. This is because you will be very

alive and attentive as you speak and so,

nothing will go unnoticed. Therefore,

you can change your speech with some

variations. For example, as soon as you

see a yawning member of the audience,

give them a significant amount of eye

contact; or, you could ask a rhetorical

question or two to someone who is star-

ing at the smart screen.

Please note that this theory of -

Listen as you speak, change as you see

requires a lot of preparation. So first,

get a good speech written down. Time

it and practice it, and get comfortable

with your speech so much so that, you

yourself can pull the breaks without slid-

ing on the road of confidence. Prepare

now for this challenge. Consider this the

next big challenge at your Toastmasters

club. Soon, you will have any audience

in your pocket, be it at work, school or

home.

TM Naushalya Rajapaksha

IPM Toastmasters Club

Colombo, Sri Lanka

MESSENGERS OF ALPHA

It is contest season again! Its that

period of the year when Toast-

masters is bustling with life and

energy. Contestants, role players - eve-

ryones preparing! At our club, contests

are conducted with a lot of pomp and

splendour and we always strive to pull

in a huge crowd. This year, we managed

to gather a crowd of 200+ people for our

clubs (TCS Maitree Alpha Toastmasters

Club) Humorous speech and Evaluation

contest, a feat achieved thanks to thededication and support of the PR cam-

paigns undertaken by our PR Team. So

how did we do it? How did we prepare

for the contest? Read on to find out.

One of the benefits of being a corpo-

rate club is the fact that your club acts

as a community within a community.

Our club was a part of an even greater

club, the corporate club. TCS Siruseri is a

huge campus cluttered with as many as

35,000 corporate employees. With a me-

re three clubs within its premises it

was safe to say a huge portion of the

campus was still fraught with non-Toast-

masters. They were the audience we tar-

geted. The PR campaign was aimed at

creating awareness and roping in new

members. So how do we spread the

word? How do we create awareness?

The Executive committee held a

meeting and decided on three pivotal

campaigns:- The Posters

- The PR announcements

- The Bookmarks

Alphas annual humorous speech

and evaluation contest was looming just

around the corner. Amongst the vari-

ous responsibilities of the PR team, the

preparation of the poster to promote

the event was one. After a few failed at-

tempts, an idea hit us! What could be

catchier than the great stalwarts of com-


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46 47Pulse | 2014Pulse | 2014

edy inviting you to a have a hearty

laugh! Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy,

Mr. Bean - yes... the pioneers of comedy

occupied our posters, inviting all to wit-

ness the humour battle! We made sure

that our poster would promise an even-

ing of endless laughter! Next came up

the question of where these posters

had to be put up. We asked ourselves,

Which are the most frequented places

in Siruseri? And all of us had the same

answer - the cafeterias!

We stuck copies of the posters at all

the cafeteria entrances! And when the

D day finally arrived, it was evident that

our judgementhadnt gone wrong... the

house full auditorium spoke for itself!

As a part of the campaign, the PR

announcement played a crucial role in

roping in the audience in huge num-

bers. The Siruseri campus is huge with

six different blocks distributed across 75

acres of land. So how does the manage-

ment pass on information? Simple! They

make announcements through inter-

coms. And we decided to use it to our

advantage. We sought permission from

the upper level management at TCS,

Siruseri and prepared a script. The an-

nouncements were done on two differ-

ent days, on the day of the contest and

on the day before.

Here was what we said, People saylaughter is the best medicine; but if

you laugh for no reason, you will need

a medicine. Tomorrow you will have

plenty of reasons to laugh out loud.

Keep waiting till you hear more from us.

The interesting opening line tickled the

humour of everyone listening. With the

first days announcement, we evoked

the curiosity of the crowd by not reveal-

ing the nature of the event. The guests

had a great time exercising their imagin

-nation, trying to guess the occasion.

On day two we pulled the elephant

out of the magicians hat with the an-

nouncement: - The wait is finally over!

We use ROFL and LOL in texts but today

you will experience these in real. The ul-

timate laughter riot is here. TCS Maitree

Alpha Toastmasters presents the annual

club Humorous speech and Evaluation

contest at GS9 HR auditorium. See you

all there. Statutory warning: Beware of

side effects such as stomach ache.

The announcements were a huge

success. On the day of the contest, the

entire auditorium was filled with claps,

giggling sounds, bursting rounds of

laughter and occasional whistles with

Alpha speakers delivering their speech-

es. We wanted to give something to the

guests who visit us once a week and

keep them engaged with our club in

some way. The PR team gave it some

thought and decided on a simple ye

powerful solution. We came up with a

dozen interesting bookmarks designed

with catchy humorous quotes and de-

tails of the Annual Humorous and Evalu-

ation competition on the overleaf. The

book marks were given out to all the

guests. We also requested the TCS li-

brary to give away the bookmarks along

with the books being borrowed. This

had a huge impact on reaching a great-

er pool of audience.

On the day of the contest, we were

surprised to realize that not a seat was

vacant. We had a full house! Needless to

say, the Club Contest was a huge suc-

cess!

TM Sharath and TM Sampradha

TCS Maitree Alpha Toastmasters Club

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

LETS CHANGE THE WORLD

Afresh Toastmaster and guest

may not realize the limitless

potential that a Toastmasters

Cub has to offer an individual. It is usu-

ally seen by many as a chance to attain

the title of Competent Communicator

or Competent Leader in order to adorn

ones resum under the Accomplish-

ments section; a low-cost method for

self-improvement and enhancing em-

ployability. A passionate and prepared

Toastmaster with a purpose, however,can simply change the world.

Experiencing life by the sidelines

is fairly safe and comfortable; it is the

comfort zone from which an individual

watches the risk-takers become admi-

rable leaders and have soulful relation-

ships. If most of your life is spent watch-

ing soap operatic TV shows, and you

wishing to live vicariously through the

characters, you know that you are not

fully experiencing life or meaningfully

impacting anyone. Toastmasters tends

to pull you out of this rut and prepares

you for a life-changing journey ahead.

All forms of life except us, the most

sentient beings, are already aware of the

callous carnage we have inflicted upon

our so-called home. Weve disrupted the

climatic balance causing droughts and

floods; weve exhausted coal, oil and gas

for fuel and to build fancy buildings and

roads; weve poisoned most of our crops

and animals to supply them profitably

in bulk; weve used up every plot of land

and natural shade to build malls, taste-

less apartments and factories, and the

list goes on. We have all noticed these

apparent changes to the planet unless

we have been living under the metaph-

orical rock, which by now would

surely have eroded as well. This is the

bigger picture, which we need to prom-

ulgate and instill in all the minds of the

planet.

Creating this awareness should be

a fairly simple task to be accomplished

with the advancement of social media,

which has enabled us to live in an intri-

cate social web of instant information

but ironically, has left most of us emo-tionally disconnected and extremely

closed when it comes to opening up our

real selves to our fellow beings. We have

absolved all responsibility, played the

blame game and do not treat mother

earth as our only home. The fear, anxi-

ety, Im not good enough attitude, ego,

and caustic competition are the feelings

shared by the leaders of today. It is the

feeling of being separate, not truly con-

nected, resulting in feeling hurt and

alone as resounded by the advocates

of Spirit Science. A Toastmaster has the

power to bridge the gap, bring people

into the same space, the space from

where we all feel connected and from

this space, heal the world.

When we join the club and have al-

ready realized the causes and effects of

the concerns of our world, we are already

on the halfway mark to changing it. Ac-

tively participating in the Toastmasters

club is a start and then comes the prep-

aration. Preparation for projects, evalu-

ations and roles all immensely assist in

creating your new world. You can never

be too prepared. En route to changing

the world, hopefully your words of in-

spiration and persuasion have become

your mantra. You have internalized the


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49Pulse | 201448 Pulse | 2014

structure, words, vocal variation and

body language of your speeches; all a

part of preparation as you may not get a

second chance to positively entice and

inspire your audience. When changing

the world, there is always a fine line be-

tween the Toastmasters activist who is

seen as a cuckoo gone over the edge,

and an inspirational leader who man-

ages to rip the veil of deceit that we are

all comfortable with to present the grim

reality underneath.

He who is best prepared can best

serve his moment of inspiration. - Samuel

Taylor Coleridge

The Toastmasters program opens

your heart and soul to the people around

you, causing the fear of expressiveness

to dwindle the more a Toastmaster pre-

pares for speeches, participates in the

club and engages in activities. Chang-

ing the world may seem at first to be an

overzealous, highly ambitious task, but

all you need is a strong passion and the

right amount of preparation in order to

persuasively articulate your thoughts. If

you manage to move enough people

and form a movement, the healing

process should spread like a virus and

turn into an epidemic. Malcolm Glad-

wells book - The Tipping Point, explores

a theory on how little things can make

a big difference. The good news is that

we are currently experiencing a shift in

consciousness where dictators are over-

thrown, organic food is being grown, and

spirituality is being proven gradually by

science. We all have ideas and notions

on how the world should be changed

for the better, but when delivering an

inspirational speech of eloquence, strik-

ing the right ethical chord to resonate

and cause attunement within the group

is key. Let us start generating electricity

for free, reduce our carbon footprint by

reducing the

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