the voice of ctc - inaugural edition
DESCRIPTION
The inaugural edition of Coromandel Toastmasters Club's newsletter, featuring a wide range of articles from 10 DTMs, 15 TMs and a celebrity guest!TRANSCRIPT
CO
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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 3
I S S U E # 1
THE VOICE OF CTC
WHERE LEADERS
ARE MADE
Inaugural Edition
Special
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TO
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QU
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T h e v o i c e o f t h e E d i t o r i a l t e a m 3
T h e j o y o f c r e a t i o n — T h e v o i c e o f t h e P r e s i d e n t 4
E d u c a t i o n a l s e s s i o n s a t C T C 5
T h e G e n e s i s — T h e v o i c e o f V P - E d u c a t i o n 6
M i l e s t o n e s i n t h e h i s t o r y o f C T C 7
T h e v o i c e o f W C P S 9
T h e v o i c e o f D i s t r i c t G o v e r n o r 1 0
T h e v o i c e o f I P D G 1 1
T h e o f v o i c e o f D i v i s i o n G o v e r n o r 12
W h a t i t m e a n s t o b e a T o a s t m a s t e r 13
T h e v o i c e o f A r e a G o v e r n o r 14
D i s c o v e r t h e l e a d e r i n y o u ! 15
C h i l l a x 17
T h e v o i c e o f D T M — K a r t i k S r i n i v a s a n 18
A r e y o u a n a n a l o g o u s D T M 19
T o a s t m a s t e r s 2 0 5 0 A . D . 20
B e i n g a T o a s t m a s t e r 21
E f f e c t i v e C o m m u n i c a t i o n 22
T o a s t m a s t e r s t o T r a n s f o r m 23
T o u c h o f d e a t h 24
M y i n i t i a l t r y s t w i t h t o a s t m a s t e r s 25
G a l l e r y 26
T e a m C T C 27
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 2
THE VOICE OF EDITORIAL TEAM
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 3
D ear readers,
It gives us immense pleasure to present to you the Inaugu-
ral Special Edition of Coromandel Toastmasters Club’s (CTC)
newsletter—The Voice of CTC.
If you have a glimpse at the world history, you can find a lot of
powerful and influential voices that changed the world - Adolf
Hitler, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela,
Barack Obama and much more! We at CTC believe that our
voice is the most powerful tool to make a difference. And hence
the name, “The Voice of CTC” for our newsletter.
This edition of our newsletter is very special because the articles
are of diverse nature. From the best wishes of WCPS Darren
LaCroix, the keynote speaker at Ovation 2013 to the wisdom and
thoughts of the DTMs, from the voices of budding Toastmasters
to the mind bending puzzles, there is a plethora of interesting
reads on your reading platter.
We express our heartfelt thanks to all those who contributed en-
thusiastically for this special edition of our newsletter by taking
some time out of their busy schedules.
CTC is a bunch of young, dynamic, enthusiastic and passionate
set of Toastmasters who are ready to go the extra mile to deliver
our best in whatever we do and our first newsletter is no excep-
tion.
Happy reading!
Chief Editor
TM Monisha M
Sub Editor
TM Anirudh N
Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.
Advisor cum Proof
reader
TM Madhavan N
THE JOY OF CREATION
THE VOICE OF PRESIDENT
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 4
E very Saturday when I leave home for an
hour one-way journey to Coromandel
Toastmasters Club, I ask myself – Did I join
Toastmasters 8 months back just to travel such
a long distance to attend the meetings of club
which has barely started? A club where the am-
bience is not at par with some of the other com-
munity clubs? Where the attendance is thin
compared to clubs like CTM that overflow with
audience?
The answer is, I joined Toastmasters only to
improve my public speaking skills. But then, I
got attracted to Coromandel Toastmasters Club
for the same reason many of the other seasoned
Toastmasters got attached to it – “The Joy of
Creation”. It is always a joy to watch a plant
grow and flowers starting to bloom. Parents will
say the same about “The Joy of seeing their
kids grow up”. An entrepreneur is also driven
by “The Joy of Creating something on
her/his own”. The entire team behind CTC is
going through “Joy of Creating something
from scratch”. The bonus is that everyone
gets credits from TMI towards each accom-
plishment
But “Creation” is not easy. As Robin Sharma,
the renowned leadership guru puts it, “Change
is HARD at first, MESSY in the middle and
GORGEOUS at the end”.
Replace the word “Change” with “Creation”,
and the result is the same. How has it been true
for CTC?
It has been extremely hard for us to get the
first 20 members required for chartering. It
took about 5 months for us to reach the
“20”mark. But we overcame this challenge by
focusing on 1 new member at a time.
The meetings were messy during the initial
days. There were not enough speakers, role
players, and last minute drop-outs were ram-
pant. The first meeting that I attended at CTC
had only 6 people, and each one of them had to
play multiple roles (I was the speaker and
grammarian for that meeting). We are working
on overcoming the “messy” situation by coach-
ing members about the roles and helping them
realize their fullest potential at Toastmasters.
We have just started and it is not time to talk
about “The End”, but the end of the first year of
CTC is going to be “Gorgeous”. We are confi-
dent that this team’s work will translate into
tangible results like DCP/Golden Gavel awards
and more importantly, intangible and long last-
ing positive benefits for each of the active mem
TM Madhavan Nampoothiri
Madhavan is the President of Coromandel Toastmasters Club. He is an
entrepreneur in the renewable energy sector and has more than a decade’s
experience in the energy sector. He has a Bachelor degree in Mechanical
Engineering from M.S. University, Tamil Nadu and MBA from Kelley
School of Business, Indiana University, USA.
Your past is just a story. And once you realize this, it has no power over you.
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 5
You must make a choice to take a chance or your life will never change.
-ber of the club.
All through this “creation” process, we have
been fortunate have the backing and guidance
of veterans like DTM Saro Velrajan, DTM Nina
John and DTM Kartik Srinivasan, to name a
few.
After creating a fully functional website and an
active PR machinery, we are glad to present to
you our inaugural Newsletter. The editors
walked the extra mile to get contributions from
the District 82 leadership team(DG, IPDG), Di-
vision Governor, Area Governor and several
CTC members. The icing on the cake is the mes-
sage from the World Champion of Public
Speaking Darren LaCroix.
Happy Reading!
EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS AT CTC
As the club mission of Toastmasters International goes, “We provide a supportive and positive learn-
ing experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills,
resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth”, we at CTC have been creating a lot of learn-
ing opportunities for new members to reap the benefits of Toastmasters. In order to provide an insight
into the Toastmasters movement and to get the knowledge of seasoned Toastmasters, a series of edu-
cational sessions on a wide range of topics have been held at CTC for the last two months. From script-
ing a speech to how to make a good speech a great speech, from handling table topics to evaluating an
speech, several DTMs and seasoned Toastmasters handled sessions at CTC. You can check the blog
posts of those sessions at http://coromandeltc.in/blog/
THE GENESIS
THE VOICE OF VP-EDUCATION
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 6
In November 2012, during my visit to a club as
the Area Governor, one of the club members
said that he was unable to concentrate in Toast-
masters because of official commitments and
suggested that it would be good if there is a club
in Tambaram. This conversation with him was
the spark for starting Coromandel Toastmasters
Club. After a discussion with my Division Gov-
ernor and IPDG, we decided to start the club if
we have the required number of members and
thus started the journey.
After initiating the plan, we started to scout for
like-minded people who are interested in this
noble cause. The first set of people who came
on board for this initiative was TM Arun of Infy,
TM Karthik and TM Monisha. Slowly we started
identifying potential members and venue for
the club. Here we learned a big lesson “Starting
a corporate club is easier than a community
club”. We managed to identify the venue by
Feb 2013 and finalized the venue. The best part
of the venue is that it is free of charge but we
decided to contribute an amount for students’
education. We also ran a contest to name this
new club and the Toastmasters fraternity gave
us the name Coromandel Toastmasters Club.
In Feb 2013 CTC started the journey by con-
ducting the very first meeting with 25 members
but after a couple of meetings we were back to
square one, hunting for people to run the show.
When the going gets tough, the tougher sur-
vives. That is when TM Madhavan came on-
board along with TM Anirudh and several edu-
cational sessions were conducted by DTMs for
the new Toastmasters. Thus CTC came up with
a bang. Today we are proud of the club since we
are the 1st club to have a website and to have
established strong presence on social media like
Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest even before
chartering.
Fellow CTCians, I assure that we will have a
great time ahead this year and the club will
scale greater heights.
TM Satish Vachaspathi
Satish is the Vice President – Education at Coromandel Toastmasters
Club. He completed his Post Graduate in Business Administration from
Symbiosis and is the working as a Project Manager in Ford.
When you know your WORTH, no one can make you feel WORTHLESS.
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 7
Keep your eyes open and your feet moving forward. You will find what you need.
MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF CTC
Initiation of the club
CTC wins the “Spirit of Ovation” Award at
Ovation 2013
CTC goes digital with the trackers on Google docs
CTC goes live on Twitter and Pinterest
CTC gets featured in the New Indian Express
http://newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Free-session-on-public-speaking-
skills/2013/06/27/article1654249.ece
Launch of the official website for CTC
http://coromandeltc.in
MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF CTC (cont…)
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 8
CTC’s website records 100 plus hits on the 5th day as
TM Rajesh Natarajan’s blog goes viral
Release of the tagline for CTC - Communicate to conquer
Release of Guest Orientation PPT
www.slideshare.net/coromandeltc/ctc-guest-slide
CTC’s YouTube channel goes live with TM Raghavan
Sridhar’s video
CTC is officially chartered (Club No. 03075300)
Do not give up. The beginning is always the hardest.
THE VOICE OF WCPS
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 9
W hat a pleasure to visit your coun-
try! What a wonderful experience to
meet the people of Chennai! The hospitality
that I received was second to none in the world.
I wish Coromandel Toastmasters Club well.
Please always encourage each other and recog-
nize each other's growth. We often do not see
our own. Always be there for the audience,
serve them before your own ego. Let go of being
perfect and be present. AND as always…
Stage time, Stage time, Stage time!
Darren LaCroix
Darren LaCroix is a keynote speaker, author, comedian and founder of The
Humor Institute, Inc. He is the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking
(WCPS). Darren was a keynote speaker at Ovation 2013 in Chennai this May.
To read more posts by Darren, check his websites DarrenLaCroix.com and
www.top10speakingtips.com
Success is not the position you stand, but the direction in which you look.
Coromandel Toastmasters Club bags “Spirit of Ovation” award at Ovation 2013.
THE VOICE OF DISTRICT GOVERNOR
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 10
I t was a normal day, when I was requested by
a college which consists of 8 clubs to visit
them and evaluate their speeches. I agreed to
do 5 evaluations, but turned up to see 8 speak-
ers. All of them were doing their project 9 or 10.
Unhappy about evaluating 8 speeches, I agreed
reluctantly.
I was in for a major surprise. Speaker after
speaker came up on stage and delivered their
speeches. It was obvious that none of them had
prepared well. Some of them read out speeches
while others forgot their lines and giggled on
stage. As they finished, they exchanged greeting
and congratulated each other on completing
their respective mile stones. They had taken it
for granted that the speeches would be passed.
I went to the stage and patiently explained
them the salient features of their speeches and
the areas of improvement. I added that while
Toastmasters International gives me no right to
fail any speaker, I would be happy if they re-
peated their speeches. I then asked them to re-
peat their speeches at their own interest and
said if they still wanted my signature in the
manual, they could obtain the same. I also
promised to make time and mentor their
speeches, if they so wished.
Nobody came forward. As I left the class,
nobody clapped. It was obvious that they hated
me. A few days later, one of the students ap-
proached me to be his mentor. Soon all of them
turned up.
A week later all of them gave their speeches in
various clubs and emerged as best speakers.
The clubs which collectively had produced only
around 10 CCs went on to produce 60 CCS.
The flood gates had opened. My office was
flooded with mentees almost every evening.
The joy when they completed their speeches
was also mine. I was nervous when they spoke.
Their words of gratitude filled my heart.
Mentoring is a priceless way of giving back. The
fulfillment I got is second to none. If you want
to become a better speaker, take up mentoring.
If you want to become a better human being,
lend your wisdom, your learning and experi-
ence the joy like I did.
It’s only when we give, that we receive.
It’s then the universe becomes one big family of
learners, enablers and receivers.
DTM Kumaran Pethi
Kumaran is the District 82 Governor for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka
and Sri Lanka for 2013—2014. He is the Proprietor of Sankalp Builders,
Bangalore. He has been a Toastmaster for the last 22 years, mentored
hundreds of Toastmasters and has held several positions in the District.
Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any better.
THE VOICE OF IPDG
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 11
T he Coromandel Toastmasters club is a
fledgling community club that is still try-
ing to establish itself. Many newcomers will ask
“Why should I join a new club when there are
so many established clubs? Won’t I
get better value for my money by going to a
club where everybody knows what they are
doing?”
The initial answer to this may seem to be that
older clubs provide more established customs,
but it is new clubs that give you far more ex-
perience and a shorter learning curve! Older
clubs need to fill up slots and chase members
for particular events, and each member of the
Executive Committee has their role cut out. But
in a new club, everybody pitches in to do all the
roles, and you will find both the camaraderie
and the expertise higher.
Every event in the community club, starting
with locating a venue, logistics, agenda, getting
new members, marketing is an exercise in itself.
You will find yourself practicing every project in
the Competent Leadership manual, on a regular
and daily basis. It is a golden opportunity to
learn team management, negotiation, persua-
sion, decision-making and leadership skills, all
of which are invaluable take-aways to your
personal and professional workplace.
Coromandel is especially fortunate in that it has
been established by some of the most commit-
ted members of the Toastmasters fraternity—
Satish Vachaspati, Monisha Monikantan, Mad-
havan Namboodri, Arun Kumar, Anirudh and
Jayan Narayanan. The ownership and commit-
ment displayed by each of these, plus the others
is amazing, and will have its own impact. Set-
ting up a club in such a different area has its
own challenges, but these are part of the game.
The best part about every club is its unique
culture - Coromandel has set a precedent by
inviting the best of the TM fraternity to deliver
educational sessions regularly. This insures
current club members get excellent input, and
word of mouth spreads about the benefits of
joining Toastmasters. The excellent promotion
about the speakers gives them good mileage,
and ensures more visibility for the club!
Coromandel is also the most ‘tech-savvy’ club in
D82, if not the world, with its presence on
Facebook, Twitter, blogspace and YouTube - I
wish Coromandel all the best in its journey, and
commend each member of the club for their
commitment to the Toastmasters’ movement.
DTM Nina John
Nina is the Immediate Past District Governor for District 82. With a
passion for training, coaching, mentoring and motivating, Nina is a life
skills coach, corporate trainer and academician with extensive experi-
ence in diverse segments. She was among those responsible for starting
the Toastmasters movement in Chennai and the first DTM in Chennai.
Life is like a cup of tea, it’s all in how you make it.
THE VOICE OF DIVISION GOVERNOR
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 12
D ear Members of Coromandel
Toastmasters Club,
Intelligence and capabilities are not enough;
there must be a joy of doing something beauti-
ful.
Let me first congratulate all dedicated mem-
bers of Coromandel Toastmasters Club (CTC)
and current club leadership team for conduct-
ing beautiful meetings and inviting senior
Toastmasters to conduct educational sessions
in order to inspire new members at CTC.
For the past one decade, Toastmasters move-
ment is going at a faster rate in Tamil Nadu
state; at present we have about 50 clubs which
includes Community and Corporate clubs. Very
soon we will expect to reach 100 (Century)
clubs in Tamil Nadu.
As a Division M Governor, I am very happy to
see the progress of CTC and very soon it’s going
to charter in Area M1, Division M of District 82.
CTC is strategically located in southern part of
Chennai and having its own location advantage
to attract major population of student commu-
nity in the vicinity of Tambaram and Chengal-
pattu region. Also we have a good number of
corporate clubs in the same region viz. CSC,
Infosys, CTS and Congruent clubs. CTC can lev-
erage the best practices from these established
clubs.
In Chennai, at present we are in the need of de-
veloping more “Community Clubs” in order to
spread the benefits of toastmaster movement
across various zones of Chennai Metropolitan
Area. I am sure that CTC will emerge as one of
the best community clubs in Division M in the
year 2013-2014. I wish this club will achieve
“President’s Distinguished” status from TMI
(highest recognition of meeting 9/10 DCP) in
its first year of inception and create an inspira-
tion to start some more new clubs with in the
vicinity.
The Chairman of Starbucks Corporation
(Successful American Global Coffee Company)
once said “To succeed you need to care more
than others think wise, you need to risk more
than the others think safe, you need to dream
more than others think practical and you
need to expect more than others think possible.
Based on my experience as a charter member &
Past President of one of the established
community clubs in Chennai – Success of a
Dr. Trinadha Rao DTM
Dr. Rao is the Division M Governor. By qualification a Ph.D (Systems
Engineering & Management) from IIT, Madras. By profession he is an
Associate Director (Projects) in India’s Leading MNC. By passion he is a
Toastmaster who has received the DTM award (The highest Leadership
Award from TMI)
Every day may not be good. But there is something good in every day.
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 |Page 13
club is as much about choosing the right loca-
tion and right leadership team for doing club
business right, aligning your passion with your
unique talents.
Coromandel Toastmasters Club has all the in-
gredients to establish as a successful club in
Chennai.
Wishing you all the best!
The distance between dreams and reality is called discipline.
B eing a Toastmaster means many things to
many individuals. For some it may be
spending valuable time on a week day or week-
end enhancing their oratory or leadership skills
and for some it may be a way to unwind from
the madding rush and stress of today's corpo-
rate work life. For me, well, Toastmasters has
been both; but with a difference. The differ-
ence, meaning, that I for once realized that
Toastmasters has become a way of life and a
place where we meet ordinary people who go
on to become effective and effi-
cient individuals. This is one platform where I
learnt that the more you observe others, the
more you can enhance yourself considerably.
Another reason is that this forum gives you the
feel that the learning curve never ends even af-
ter you have become a DTM. The reason being
you get to learn so much from a speaker who is
giving an Ice breaker than from a speaker who
is doing the advanced projects. The fact
that every meeting you attend does facilitate
you to enhance yourself as an individual on the
professional and social fronts is actually the
truth most of us fail to realize. So my dear
Toastmasters, now that you have joined this
movement use its resources to its fullest capac-
ity because your rise to the top depends on how
hard you dedicate yourself in mind and body to
this beautiful movement called TOASTMAS-
TERS"
DTM Rajeev Nambiar
Rajeev is currently a Gazetted Officer with the Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG) of India. He is a passionate soft skills trainer with excellent
communication & leadership skills and is totally committed to the learning
and development of participants.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A TOASTMASTER!
THE VOICE OF DTM
THE VOICE OF AREA GOVERNOR
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 14
W hile one was a master entertainer, the
other was a ferocious dictator. Two
enormously distinctive men in history shared
one peculiarly similar moustache! While Adolf
Hitler is iniquitously held as a coldblooded,
autocratic leader, Charlie Chaplin is regarded as
the Godfather of comedy who proposed that
you smile, even though your heart is aching.
From these two iconic figures in history we can
learn two entirely varied lessons.
Hitler was undeniably a good communicator
with respect to how he led his army and in-
spired people with his beliefs and ideas. He was
able to change people’s mindsets and effec-
tively motivated them to do what he thought
was good for the country. What a Leader needs
to learn from this is the fact that he/she needs
to be skilled enough to motivate his/her team
members to achieve targets and reach goals and
most importantly, to be a tough implementer to
ensure great results.
On the other hand, we have the master of en-
tertainment, Chaplin who can be regarded as a
great example for a leader to understand the
importance of laughter, optimism and cheerful-
ness at work. While getting the work done is
important, it is also important to know how the
work should be completed. Passing orders al-
ways doesn’t work.
In Toastmasters, Where Leaders are made, it is
best to imbibe the right balance of traits pos-
sessed by Hitler and Chaplin.
Coromandel Toastmasters Club is one special
club that had the leaders who possessed the
above qualities, supporting the club right from
day one. Commitment and Passion of each
Toastmaster in this club is exuberant! The way
the executive committee worked in building the
club from scratch to what it is now (near the
charter strength) is one other inspiring stories
that I would love to share with you in the forth-
coming editions.
I would like to recognize the effort spent by first
ever Editorial team of “The Voice of CTC” (TM
Monisha & Team), in putting together such a
wonderful newsletter. I wish the first edition of
the club newsletter reaches out to the general
public and helps them discover the benefits of
Toastmasters. Kudos!
TM Arun Kumar
Arun is the Area Governor for Area ‘M1’ and CTC falls under his area.
He works for Infosys as a Senior Associate Consultant. He has been a
Toastmaster for the last 2 years. Apart from being a Toastmaster, a pas-
sion that he would love to pursue is Photography! He is waiting to get
back behind his DSLRs view finder and capture nature!
You can’t change the tides, but you can learn to swim.
DISCOVER THE LEADER IN YOU!
THE VOICE OF DTM
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 15
W hat is your tag in Toastmasters?
It takes a million years for a charcoal to trans-
form into diamond. Are you a charcoal tagged
as diamond? Or are you a diamond tagged as
charcoal? Are you a charcoal tagged as char-
coal? Or are you a diamond tagged as diamond?
There are members who join the movement and
do not undergo any change and continue to re-
main as a charcoal. At the same time, there are
members who join as a charcoal and go through
a tremendous transformation into a diamond.
Toastmasters is a place where “Leaders are
made”. It is indeed true for me. Toastmasters
helped to me discover the leader in me and I
learned that “Leadership is harvested and
not hunted”. I’m sharing a few of my experi-
ences in Toastmasters leadership roles.
I see a number of Toastmasters who join the
movement with a goal to complete their DTM in
just 2 years. I call them as hunters. A hunter
wakes up one fine day and goes out looking for
a prey. If he is lucky, he can get something and
eat that for a few days. However, being a
farmer requires a lot of discipline. You’ll have
to plough the land, sow the seeds, water the
plants, remove the weeds and apply fertilizers.
The result that you’ll see is humongous. You
can generate food for a large community which
can eat for even months together. Developing
leadership is like harvesting.
I joined Toastmasters in the year 2006. I served
as a Sergeant at Arms (SAA) for 3 times, VP
Education 2 times, VP Membership once and
President once – before I stepped out of the
club and started taking roles at the Division/
District. One of the clubs that I was part of,
called TGIF Toastmasters, met on Fridays in
the mornings at 7 am. I served as the SAA for
about a year, there. I used to get up at 5 am in
the morning, get ready, have my breakfast and
drive to the meeting venue to reach there by
6.30 am sharp. I used to be the first person to
reach there – to setup the props for the meet-
ing. There are times when I used to wonder
“Saro! You are a Sr Development Engineer
working in a multi national company, earning
a handsome salary. Look at the kind of role
which you are doing in a Toastmasters Club.
You are doing the dirty work of putting up the
banner, ribbons and setting up the props etc.,
DTM Saro Velrajan
Saro is presently the Director—Technology at Aricent group, Chennai
and has a passion for public speaking, blogging and travelling. Recently
he was a speaker at TedX GCT, Coimbatore where he spoke about Self
Transformation through Public Speaking. To read more posts by the
author, visit www.saroscorner.com
There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream.
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 16
Is it really worth it? What are you getting by
doing this?!” In the one year that I performed
the role of SAA, I learned that “Every role in
Toastmasters has a purpose. If you are not
learning anything by doing a role, you are
not doing your role right”.
By playing the role of a SAA, I learned two
skills.
1. How to connect effectively with peo-
ple?
During my early days of Toastmastering, I was
finding it very difficult to talk in English. I had
the difficulty of thinking in Tamil (my native
language), translating that into English and
expressing my thoughts. Playing the role of SAA
helped me to communicate confidently with
people. One of the roles of the SAA was to meet
and greet members and guests. I was standing
at the door greeting members and guests. “Hey!
John… How are you? It has been a long time
since we met… I missed you in our club meet-
ings”… “Hey Matt… Welcome to Toastmasters.
So nice to meet you. How did you hear about
Toastmasters? The fact that you are here at 7
am in the morning shows that you are super
committed to improve your communication
skills”. I was not confident enough doing all of
this during the initial days – especially when
my brain was actively translating from Tamil to
English :-). However, true to Craig Valentine’s
words, “Fake it until you make it”, I kept prac-
ticing it. Eventually, I learnt the art of greeting
people and making them feel good/important.
It helped me immensely to connect with a cross
section of people – both new and old in when I
played the role of the Division Governor in the
year 2011.
2. How to make someone feel very im-
portant?
Most of the SAAs that I’ve seen describe the ta-
boo topics during the meeting and just abruptly
handover the control to the President by giving
a one line introduction such as “Ever charming
President”… “Our Enthusiastic President” etc.,
When I took up the role of a SAA, I learnt the
art of introducing the same boring President,
differently week after week. I learnt to intro-
duce someone based on the theme of the meet-
ing. During the later stages of my Toastmasters’
career, I was able to use that skill to appreciate
members based on their best attributes – look-
ing at the glass half-full, instead of half-empty.
There are times when I have done the running
around to organize speech contests – going all
the way to Parrys Corner to buy trophies, wait-
ing at the printing shop to print certificates,
buying mementos for role players, ordering
snacks etc., I never felt that I’m doing things
that wouldn’t “fit my title”. In fact, I was work-
ing as a “Sr. Product Manager” in a MNC at
that time. A firefighter runs into a burning
house when the entire population runs out in
fear. Similarly, when people run away from op-
portunities I ran towards them. Edison says
“Opportunity is missed by most people because
it is dressed in overalls and looks like work”. It
is very true.
Every opportunity that I used, every role that I
performed in Toastmasters – irrespective of
whether they are BIG or SMALL helped me to
transform from “What I was” to “What I am”.
Today, I can proudly say that I’ve harvested
leadership and the learnings are going to stay
with me forever. A charcoal goes through ex-
Keep going. Each step may be harder, but don’t stop. The view at the top is beautiful.
CHILLAX!
CALVIN AND HOBBES
SPELLATHON
How many words of four or more letters can you make
from the letters shown in the puzzle? In making each word,
each letter may be used once only. Each word must contain
the central letter. There should be at least one seven letter
word. Plurals, foreign words and proper names are not al-
lowed. British English Dictionary is used as reference.
Rating: 9 - Average; 10 - Good; 12 - Outstanding
WHATZIT?
Find the familiar phrase, saying or name in this
arrangement of letter
(Answers on page 21)
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 17
-treme tension, extreme temperature and ex-
tended time period to transform into a dia-
mond. You can become a diamond too! There
are acres of leadership traits buried in you.
Wear your farmer’s hat and start to plough the
field … to DISCOVER the REAL LEADER IN
YOU!
The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.
THE VOICE OF DTM
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 18
F REEDOM! FREEDOM!! FREEDOM!!
This seems to be the theme anywhere and
everywhere!
“Man is born free and everywhere he is chains”
said Rousseau, the Great philosopher.
“Freedom is my birth right” said the renowned
freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
But let us pause a moment and think about
what exactly is ‘Freedom’. It is the state of
being free or at liberty rather than in confine-
ment or under physical/mental restraint; in
other words, exemption from external control.
If you look at Indian Constitution, it talks of
‘Right to Freedom’ which includes “speech and
expression”.
For me, ‘FREEDOM’ means that I am OPEN
and not restricted by “FEARS”. FEAR is the
dominant factor that stops me from expressing
myself in an OPEN manner – fear of ‘am I good
enough’, ‘fear of being ridiculed and laughed
at’, ‘fear of being judged’ and above all, ‘fear of
failure’. The only way to cure me of this
disease called fear is “CONFIDENCE”; and
the only way to build the confidence is through
“COMMUNICATION”.
COMMUNICATION essentially happens
through a Coach, and to me this Coach is not
an individual, but the forum called TOAST-
MASTERS where great Communicators
Leaders are made, and where the main focus is
on building “CONFIDENCE”.
When I joined Toastmasters’ a few years back, I
had the arrogance to think of myself as a very
confident communicator. However, over the
past few years, I have learnt not just otherwise,
but also the way to improve myself as a more
confident (not arrogant) person. This is the
place where I learnt that Communication is the
bridge that connects us to others. When I am
confident and clear in my communication, my
relationships become more authentic, and this
is the forum that has taught me over and over
again that my responsibility towards communi-
cation results in my happiness as, at the end of
the day, I am a product of my behavior; my
behavior a resultant of my thoughts and words;
& above all, I AM THE CAUSE, CREATOR
& BENEFACTOR of MY HAPPINESS!
Netaji Subash Chandra Bose once said, “Give
me your blood I will give you freedom”. I, as a
Toastmaster, am telling you, “Give me your
word, I will give you freedom!”
DTM Kartik Srinivasan
With a passion for people, places and pleasure, Kartik started his career
in International Inbound Tourism (in other words, conducting and es-
corting overseas visitors to India), moved on to Sales and finally found
his true forte in Soft skills training.
How others see you is not important. How you see yourself means everything.
ARE YOU AN ANALOGOUS DTM?
THE VOICE OF DTM
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 19
W orld over public speaking and
communication skills resonate with the
term "Toastmasters". People from different
walks of life have spoken a lot about the bene-
fits of Toastmasters. While many have suc-
ceeded in developing their communication
skills, many others have learnt the art of leader-
ship skills. Here, I wish to do some plain talk
and preach a little.
I had this unique opportunity to learn commu-
nication and leadership skills by being a dedi-
cated member of CSC Chennai Toastmasters for
over six years. It was a tough task - juggling
work, personal life and Toastmasters. Yet, it
was one huge fulfilling and rewarding experi-
ence!
One of my findings during this journey was
about attaining the most coveted title – DTM! I
found a daring truth staring at me as I, like
scores of other Toastmasters, was doing a 100
meter sprint towards the DTM finish line. Are
you really improving your public speaking skills
Toastmaster Jayan? The answer was a blatant
NO!
Hence, I felt it is important to continuously
keep improving even if it calls for slowing
down, repeating the projects as many times as
possible, and when my heart says go, I move to
the next project! Like in any profession, a title
is a curse as much as it is a pride! The day I be-
came a DTM, the pressure on me to deliver the
best started mounting! In any Toastmasters fo-
rum, a DTM is always looked up and the expec-
tations from the audience is certainly high. At
that time, if you don’t meet or exceed the expec-
tations, then it’s an insult to the title.
So keep asking…. Am I an analogous DTM yet?
In short, each of us must strive hard to perfect
ourselves as a powerful communicator and the
best recognition one can get is when someone
sees us communicate and exclaims "You must
be a Toastmaster?!"
Yes, the moment of truth! You have achieved
your analogous DTM title! Work towards it
first! I am glad to be a part of Coromandel
Toastmasters Club and look forward to unlearn
and learn from the new breed of enthusiastic
Toastmasters! Cheers to good times ahead!
DTM Jayan Narayanan
Jayan is presently the founder and CEO of “TOSS THE COIN”, a new age
marketing advisory and outsourcing company based in Chennai. He is a
motivational speaker and spends his free time at colleges, industry fo-
rums and organizations conducting communication workshops, deliver-
ing lectures on varied topics around marketing.
Never let success get to your head. Never let failure get to your heart.
TOASTMASTERS 2050 A.D.
THE VOICE OF NEWBIE
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 20
I t is proven that success follows the one with
repository of knowledge and information.
People flock to such people who personify them
for guidance and advice. On this very word
“repository”, the modern concept of education
system and libraries were established and
evolved. Nations that spend efforts and money
on education and required infrastructure are
considered more advanced. But does mere re-
pository of information makes one knowledge-
able? Can a big library of books make a librarian
more knowledgeable than anyone in the town?
The ability of transforming a well read to an in-
tellectual is when there is a channel to transform
his knowledge into thoughts and when these
thoughts inspire and lead to actions.
India, the cradle of civilization, had several
thousands of Gurus and Gurukuls prior to the
concept of modern education system and associ-
ated infrastructure came in. This moderniza-
tion came only in late 1800s. Prior to it, not
having dedicated libraries and abundant uni-
versities was not because of difficulty in main-
taining it, but due to lack of very need of it.
The unique knowledge management system that
India widely created and successfully
maintained it was via developing high standards
in retention and transfer of it by “making self an
embodiment of knowledge” and developing the
skills required to transfer. The old adage sums
up this concept as – “Mukhe Mukhe Saras-
watihi”.
When knowledge is transferred in only way,
from face to face, and there is no “external”
physical storage involved, it enforces one to un-
derstand completely to easily retain it, establish
live feedback via questioning and discussions,
mandate the need of being present always, im-
prove the crypticality of the content to make
each letter or word a powerful component thus
reducing useless verbose.
Thank the God and the latest trends in the edu-
cation system. We are further deteriorating on
the concept of teacher-student bonding. Even
the concept of “so called” modern education via
universities and books is no longer mod-
ern. Videos started teaching us. TVs already
buzzing to teach us. Robots very soon will be
teaching us. When such advanced ways of teach-
ing will be bombarding you with core concept of
knowledge and information, and never focus on
the basic necessities of life like - Discipline, At-
tentiveness, Power of speech, Imagination etc,
where do you see the way for “Toastmasters” to
get failed?
TM Ravi Khandavilly
Ravi who is currently working at Accenture, is an avid fan of literature,
music and arts. He dabbles himself in short story writing and poetry as a
hobby. Ravi enjoys all forms of music, but has a third ear for Carnatic.
At home, he has been surviving with his wife (Madhavi) and 2 chip-
munks (Sarayu and Chanakya)
Life is like a roller coaster. It has ups and downs. But it’s your choice to scream or enjoy the ride.
BEING A TOASTMASTER
THE VOICE OF NEWBIE
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 21
L ast week, after finishing my CC3 speech, I
was thinking about the good things that
happened after joining toastmasters. There are
many benefits of being a Toastmaster. One of
the first thought that came to my mind was
having a mentor -mentee program. I wonder
how many people in the world have a mentor in
life, job, business or anything that matter. If I
have to start investing in stock market, I have to
read ‘n’ number of finance books, listen to a
dozen financial advisors in leading business
channels, browse through all Google hit pages
and have to monitor every rise and fall of share
prices of a company. At the end, all these piles
of information leave me haphazard. Then I
stick to the information and start trying my
own ways by trial and error methods. Consider
a situation, where you want to start your own
business in your home town, which is already
being managed by your dad’s friend. Will you
think he will share the business tactics and se-
crets, if he is not your well wisher? Definitely
No!!
But being a Toastmaster, gives you the privilege
and opportunity to draw the experience from
senior Toastmasters. You need not have to start
from the scratch. You can eliminate most of the
mistakes which your mentor has done or seen
during his journey. I always face difficulties in
selecting the idea or topic for CC projects. So
what do I do? I call up my mentor and ask him
some suggestions for topics. My mentor always
suggests with the topic, which will fulfill the
project’s objectives.
Mentor is not someone who does the ‘boss job’.
He is there to guide you, to become a better
communicator or leader in all possible ways. So
make the best use of the mentor -mentee pro-
gram offered to you with no cost. :-) Some-
times your mentor can become a life time friend
or mentor for your life time. Those are the in-
tangible benefits of being a Toastmaster.
TM Karthikeyan Kuppusamy
Karthikeyan is an engineering graduate with close to 4 years of experi-
ence in IT field and is currently working as a Senior Associate Consultant
in Infosys Limited, Chennai. He is the Secretary at Coromandel Toast-
masters Club.
Control you ANGER, because it is just one letter away from DANGER.
SOLUTIONS TO PUZZLES
SPELLATHON:
Award, aware, awed, draw, drew, sawed, swear,
seaward, wade, ware, ward, wear
WHATZIT?
Dr. Doolittle
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
THE VOICE OF NEWBIE
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 22
O nce I remember visiting a friend who lost
her 90 year old grandfather. I said, “Cheer
up, he had a peaceful death at 90” and I said it
with a smile on my face. My complete intension
was to make her comfortable. But I never
thought that the smile on my face and an opti-
mistic tone was the worst thing she wanted at
that point of time. I could see her getting more
depressed. (Maybe she thought I was making
fun). After a few days, I took her for a cup of
coffee to explain her my intensions and to
make sure she understood what exactly I was
thinking and wanted to communicate at that
time.
Effective Communication plays a key role in the
corporate world. Many companies, even the
Fortune 500, fail to deliver the right message
at the right time in the company’s hierarchical
structure. It is very important that we follow the
rules for effective communication depending
on the industry we belong. For example espe-
cially during meetings, the aim of the meeting
would be to set sales target, but the meeting
would revolve around a recent labor problem
that happened and the policy demands may be
discussed for that. In today’s corporate world, if
you can come to a conclusion during meetings,
communicate effectively and write mails which
are crisp and clear, you are a star. The techni-
cal proficiency is secondary.
Not everyone is blessed with a beautiful tone to
sing his message as a song by playing a guitar
and nail the message to the target audience.
Nor do we use presentations to communicate
on a daily basis. Most of the time, we just talk to
each other to convey our point across. So, be-
fore you talk, think twice and be very cautious
on what you talk and be aware of the environ-
ment too. There are very few basic rules one can
learn from Google / books. But at Toastmasters,
you can experiment and implement your learn-
ing.
Remember, in personal life, you might get a
chance to explain and correct yourself but in
corporate world it can be devastating and
sometimes it can cost your job!
TM Naresh Kumar B
Naresh is currently working in Renault Nissan. He hails from the city of Coimbatore and has a passion for cars. Public speaking is his new inter-est.
Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.
TOASTMASTERS TO TRANSFORM
THE VOICE OF NEWBIE
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 23
H aving joined the Toastmasters movement
a couple of months back and played only
two roles and delivered 2 CC speeches, I was
wondering what could I write for the inaugural
edition of Coromandel Toastmasters Club’s
newsletter.
I don’t think I will be sharing anything new
here if I have to write on communication / lead-
ership since the Lord Google gives infinite in-
formation. So I would like to share what I have
observed and learnt from my Toastmastering
period.
If a person joins Toastmasters in order to de-
velop his communication skills, the leadership
skills come as a bonus. And there are many
other hidden rewards that you will be able to
harvest only when you join and actively partici-
pate. For example, when a Toastmaster plans
for the prepared speech, a lot of self-
improvement and personality development ac-
tivities happen by default. He doesn’t realize
that it happens but the others will easily be able
recognize that they are gradually acquiring
these skills. Also while preparing a script, one
will improve the writing skill, improve vocabu-
lary, develop creativity by thinking on how to
shape the script, manage time and a lot more.
Also, when one rehearses or delivers a speech,
he practices & helps himself to overcome the
stage fright and master his style of delivery. Im-
promptu speech session helps to think on one’s
feet, packaging the thoughts instantly and de-
liver it in a short time. Also by taking in the in-
formative capsules in the form of educational
sessions by DTMs and contests, morph an indi-
vidual and transform him to a better human
being and a complete man.
I have heard people with addiction for drugs,
alcohol, books, TV, etc. But I got amazed when I
saw people addicted to Toastmasters. I have
seen many people who travel very far to attend
meetings and other club meetings as well.
This is one such forum which helps all who
joins and actively participates irrespective of
one’s age and sex. I have seen people holding
high positions in Toastmasters just to hone
their skills and similarly many people due to
their good amount of Toastmasters experience
have been promoted to higher positions in their
career/life.
Learning is a road without an end; you need to
travel with hope and interest. Toastmasters is
one such road which will lead you and trans-
form you for better life.
TM Harikumar A
Harikumar is the Treasurer at Coromandel Toastmasters Club. He is an
M.Sc IT and has around 15 years of work experience in the IT/ITeS in-
dustry
Adversity causes some people to break; others to break records.
TOUCH OF DEATH
THE VOICE OF “ITC”IAN
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 24
H e knew he can’t break – since his child-
hood he had dreamt of being in the army,
and he always knew exactly what and how he
wanted to serve his country. Just a year in the
service – it’s too early.
The sun was brutal and the forest ants had al-
ready found a way through the crevices of his
uniform. The pain and the irritation of lying on
the forest floor for two hours without being able
to move a muscle was excruciating. Every mus-
cle, every vein, every nerve in his body was tell-
ing him, ‘It’s time, give up’, and yet there was
the voice that told him, ‘No way, it’s too early’.
As he looked through the small aperture of the
metallic ring near his eyes, he saw two kids
playing in the courtyard of the house at the end
of the forest, he could clearly see their faces…
he could even hear their laughter… or so he
thought.
The metal around his finger had heated up vi-
ciously in the last few minutes, yet he did not
twitch a bit, he dare not twitch. Again the de-
bate, ‘Give UP’ … ‘No way’… but he heard none,
the only thing his mind has registered in the
last 15 minutes was two words – neither the
merciless biting of the forest ants, nor the bru-
tality of the sun, that gave the forest a smell of
burning leaves and flesh, but just two words,
that materialized a few inches from his left
ears… “Fifteen knots, south-south-west”.
His thumbs felt the burn from a tiny grove near
the tip. He gave a slight push and the gear made
3 clicking sounds which didn’t even pass to his
other ear.
And then he saw the black figure, through the
first window on the staircase. 1...2...3…second
window… 1...2...3…third window… 1...he softly
inhaled...2...he started emptying his lungs…he
felt the heat of the metal lever pressed hard on
his fingers…3…there was a sound… but before
his brain had fully registered the sound, his
partner saw the 7 feet tall man collapse like a
lifeless object. But he had seen the bullet press-
ing on skin on the side of his head, till it gave
away and the skull broke to reveal the red color
of death.
He blinked for the first time in two hours…
slowly lifted his head, shouldered his Dragunov
SVD, and said “where’s the next target?”
TM Subhadip Banik
Subhadip is a member of Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai who hails from
Kolkata. Two persons who inspired him in life are his dad and Abraham
Lincoln. He believes in setting and achieving smaller victories in order to
reach a greater goal. He’s a conversationalist and likes to meet new peo-
ple. During his leisure, he is engaged in reading books and photography.
An attitude of gratitude brings opportunities.
MY INITIAL TRYST WITH TOASTMASTERS
THE VOICE OF NEWBIE
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 25
T his April my project was in a lean period.
When one’s mind is idle (nearly idle in my
case), you know what one goes through. My mind
was running through various thoughts to do
something that will enhance my career and life.
As usual on the specific day of the week, there
was a mail from my corporate admin team on
weekly counseling session for employees con-
ducted by an external entity. I made my mind to
attend this session and get some benefit.
I went to the venue at the scheduled time. Un-
fortunately I could not find anyone in the venue
and there was no sign of anything happening
soon. I peeped into the adjoining room and found
someone speaking and a few others listening. I
was greeted enthusiastically. When I looked at
the board, it said some number of HCL Speech
weavers meeting. I had been looking forward to
attend Toastmasters for a while and so I jumped
in.
Few minutes after a fantastic speech, followed
the table topic session anchored by a fine lady. It
was interesting with topics revolving around per-
sonal experience. Motivated by the milieu, I ven-
tured out and spoke few lines on the topic after a
stumbling start. To my surprise, I was declared
the best TT speaker and got a chocolate. I was
excited about the overall experience.
Leveraging my lean period, I began to attend
Toastmasters meetings week after week regu-
larly and eventually became a member in May. I
continued to learn in all the meetings though I
did not get any award / chocolate after my first
meeting.
Time was ticking for my ice breaker speech. But I
could not progress because of various reasons.
Meanwhile, I got transferred to a new location in
Chennai and was worried that I will not be able
to attend my club regularly.
To my luck, CTC was in my vicinity. I started be-
coming a regular member and transferred my
membership here. Being a young club, there has
been a greater opportunity to learn, adding to it
the continuous education sessions from seasoned
DTM/TMs.
So when is my ice breaker speech? I am re-
minded by myself often and few fellow TMs. I
have gone through web of ideas. Coming up
with a script has been challenging especially
when you have perfectionist tendencies. I try
and recall this quote – “Be gentle and compas-
sionate with you”. As such I have informed my
mentor that I have planned it for 24th Aug. Dur-
TM Madhanlal
TM Madhanlal works as an Associate Business Manager in HCL Tech-
nologies. While trying to meet the demands to daily life, he is also trying
to discover himself and the ingredients of a happy and successful life.
Climb mountains. Not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 26
-ing a casual conversation with a fellow TM, on
general note he says “Don’t commit unless you
are sure. Deliver if you have committed”. It is
already past due date for this article. It’s time to
send this and shift my control to prepare my ice
breaker script.
Keep your eyes open and your feet moving forward. You will find what you need.
GALLERY
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 27
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 27
TEAM CTC
President
TM Madhavan Nampoothiri
Vice President—Education
TM Satish Vachaspathi
Vice President—Membership
TM Anirudh Narasimhan
Vice President—Public Relations
TM Monisha Monikantan
Secretary
TM Karthikeyan Kuppusamy
Sergeant at Arms
TM Rajesh Kapuganti
Treasurer
TM Harikumar Apparao
For more information about the team members, check their profiles at http://goo.gl/gBT4mA
If you wish to join the brand new and the coolest club in town, contact Anirudh—Vice President
Membership at +91- 9940382976 or drop a mail to [email protected]
H O W T O J O I N U S
Coromandel Toastmasters Club
Sitadevi Garodia Hindu Vidhyalaya,
Kalamegam Street Extension, Tambaram,
Chennai - 600059.
For directions to reach the venue, check http://goo.gl/PRwYrO
We meet every Saturday between 5 – 7 PM.
M E E T I N G D E T A I L S
THE VOICE OF CTC
SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 28
CO
MM
UN
IC
AT
E
TO
C
ON
QU
ER
J U M P O N T O O U R S O C I A L M E D I A B A N D W A G O N !