ohmytoastmaster

[ohmytoastmaster]

The Chutzpah of Creative Toastmaster Meetings

Pardon me, I am old school and would be considered naive by a younger crowd of Toastmaster leaders in our District. Since Leadership is something I have never sought in Toastmasters, I have resigned to fate about any “Distinguished” appellations that are bestowed upon assiduous and diligent toastmasters- Speakers as well as Leaders. However in the month gone by I considered calling myself as an ATM, not an automated Teller Machine but an “Appalled Toastmaster”. The reasons behind my appalled self are as follows: I enjoy obscurity but more than that I enjoy a good toastmasters meeting. And by Good, I don’t want to indicate the Good Old Days TM meetings, the physical meetings where people used to revel in each other’s company and the applauses or laughter were not restricted to virtual reactions that are not audible to the Speaker. What grief!! But I did enjoy the Zoom Meetings too. The license to attend TM meetings across the globe. However that is not the sole reason for which a Zoom Meeting is likeable. It just broadened the spectrum of views, perceptions and ideas I could hear or listen to as a Toastmaster.  The reason I joined TMs and continue to be associated with it is that it gives me the opportunity to listen to people from various backgrounds- social, professional and ethnicities.

“But Online Meetings have become Boring”... that was a declaration that I heard in a Toastmaster Leadership Training convention. It was a special session. As soon as I heard those words, My heart broke.. Shattered into Pieces

And solutions suggested were Filters, dancing to Bollywood numbers.. Basically bring Chutzpah to a meeting.  Chutzpah like Secularism is a deluded and misinterpreted term in Indian context. Chutzpah does not mean masala or spice in a Chaat but Extreme confidence/ audacity.  And if Toastmasters are told that their meetings are devoid of chutzpah... There ain’t a bigger invective showered on us as a community of public speakers. I am not against the idea of Fun or engaging in innovative visual medium but I am certainly against the idea that these are substitutes to a good speech.

Yes, you might be tired of listening to speeches or the regular sessions but I firmly believe that only good speeches have managed to sustain my interest to pay 2.5 years of bi-annual non reimbursed Membership Fees of USD 45 (attending for 3.5 yrs now). Arijit/ Oreojit, you are imposing your view. Yes, I might be.. what you seek is not what others seek.

But it is the only reason why I would make all arrangements to listen to a Manjula, Sreeja, Girija, Rajesh (Hoodi TM), Samauel or Venu from Kagadaspura TM Club or a Sesha Kiran or TM Agniv and Rohit Koka’ speak. Arijit, everyone is not a gifted speaker. Yes, that’s the reason why I end up coaxing rookie or novice members from my club or Rajkot TM Club to speak or helping friends who believe they are not good enough to win a contest. The sincerity, the will to shun their discomfort, these are the things I love about Toastmasters. And these are the things that are going absolutely unnoticed. The district’s focus seems to be organizing a variety of Area or Division or District events that are mostly attended by District Leaders. Take the case of an event organized on Pathways which was mostly attended by District Leaders and aspirant District Leaders. It should have ideally targeted new Toastmasters from the 161 clubs, the district boasts. But it is fun to pander to those in authority than to the unknown and uninitiated. Online meeting or Physical meeting as a Toastmaster you will always have fun as long as you are learning, listening, participating, reaching out to new people and unconsciously becoming confident or extremely audacious in the process.

[ohmytoastmaster]

VP Membership and Forex Volatility

My job requires me to watch CNBC  Awaaz 18- a Hindi business news channel on a weekday basis. It is one of the most popular Indian business news channels as it gives the best stock market updates and financial analysis on Indian industry and business. The trade advice, recommendations and advice are mostly accurate and thus sought after by intra day traders and investors. (That the channel is currently owned by the richest person in India and primary benefactor of investor interest and decisions probably helps.)

However at times the discussions in the newsroom can be bizarre. One of the anchors Hemant Ghai probably tries to be funny and ends up making statements like “ I see rise in stock prices of United Breweries as the weekend is approaching and it is a long weekend and thus we can expect the UBL stock to outperform today.” Or sample this “Jubilant Foods (Indian franchisee of Dominoes Pizza) has given incredible results, probably my colleague Pradeep Pandya had pizza for dinner last night.”

Barring these supposedly lighter vein advices, it is mostly informative.

Well just 2 days back, a piece of trading news caught my attention as the newsperson announced- “TCS is doing well today. It can be chiefly on account of the fall of the rupee against the US Dollar. 80% of TCS revenues comes in US Dollars.. The INR has fallen to….”

A fall in US Dollars is mostly well received in Bangalore (home to more than 200 toastmaster clubs) and a city that exports IT enabled services. A drop in INR indicates larger revenues (as it bills its Head Offices for it’s services in US Dollars).

But I panicked at the news. The reason behind my panic was not on account of that I had traded against the US Dollars or had sold of my TCS options/ equity or import services or goods from abroad. The panic was on account of the fact that I am the stand-in VP- Membership of Hoodi Toastmasters Club- a club we are trying to charter since August of this year (and it’s already mid November 2019).

We are still 4 members short and have about 5-6 guests promising to pay for the last 1 month. No hard feelings.

It is just that I hate the INR fall against the USD.  It brought in the memories of the first time I tried paying my membership fees. The club had a new VP- Membership and I had applied for membership in July and had to pay for 8 months instead of the usual 6 months. There was a lot of delay in the processing of my fees and during this period the Indian Rupee tanked. Every week the then VP- membership an affable Arpita Mishra would request me to pay the extra amount on account of the hike of US Dollars.

“Arijit, I am sorry but….”

The only solace was that the sorry was evident in her voice.

Well since 16 members have already paid for the club fees at INR 72, any increase in USD (fall in INR) forex rates would mean that I would have to follow the footsteps of Ankita and apologetically ask members to pay the extra amount.

I closely monitor the US Forex rates and sincerely pray that the INR outperforms the USD that would help the club marginally. The finance guy inside me also ponders whether we should start keeping Toastmaster Fees as derivatives.

And probably one day a fall in USD (hopefully in September/ March) would urge  the CNBC Awaaz 18 newsperson Hemant Ghai to observe “Today the US Dollar is falling against the Indian Rupee. It will bring a smile to the VP- Membership of all the toastmasters club.

#toastmasters

[ohmytoastmaster]

All the Difference

The primary reason behind joining the toastmasters was to make friends. However for as long as 1 year, I was not aware of the membership fees. Apparently it does not help to have a friendly VP- Membership at the job.

One of the compelling reasons to join Toastmasters as a member was to participate in various interesting contests conducted by the club and Toastmasters International. One such contests that I participated was the Division level Tall Tales contest earlier this year.

The key objective of a tall tales contest is to provide participants with an opportunity to create an original, highly improbable, humorous tale.

I am the kind of person who gets overwhelmed easily. And that exactly happened as the proceedings of Electrified- a joint event by 3 divisions (Areas C2, D4 & E4 of District 92) went underway. The quality of humor and imagination of the distinguished guests, event chairs and the emcees made me anxious. Will I be able to engage the crowd in a similar manner?

Just then the contest chair for Division C- Navneeth informed the audience that the objective of a tall tales contest is to provide an opportunity to learn by observing the more proficient speakers. This one sentence made all the difference. I sat down calmly and made down notes of the speaker and the audience engagement techniques that were employed. The voice, the timing of the jokes, can the audience connect with the script, the laughter distribution during the speech and the most important- are you (as a speaker) enjoying??

I was the 8th contestant that day and the fourth and final from area D4. Though nervous, I still fathomed some confidence from the script blessed by ace toastmasters from our club Simaab, Bharath (Humor Contest champ) and Vignesh.

All the observations were keyed in during the performance. Once the audience started laughing, I did my best to ensure that the laughter did not die down. I made fun of them and similarly they made fun of me esp. a gesture that went horribly wrong. I acknowledged the error, they roared in laughter. After the speech, the contest chair and I grazed cheeks- an Italian gesture. The crowd laughed louder.

I returned to my seat to be congratulated by Toastmaster Rockstar- Deepak Justin and other proficient speakers.  That audience engagement was rewarding in itself and the later results of being crowned the winner of Division D4 was pleasant. 

The key takeaway from a contest or any toastmasters meeting is the process of learning through observation. You evolve not only as a better speaker but learn to appreciate the intricacies as a speaker, listener and as a professional. That makes all the difference.

[ohmytoastmaster]

Mastering the TMOD

There is one idea in Toastmasters that I am absolutely committed about- Meeting with a Difference. And the person on whose shoulders this responsibility falls upon is- The TMOD/ Master of Ceremony (Emcee).

The TMOD has to ensure that the meeting being conducted or rather hosted by him/ her makes an impact on the audience. It should inspire the audience/ fellow members to keep coming back to the club meetings and take roles or deliver speeches and ensure that each and every meeting is a new experience altogether.

I might sound idealistic and probably undermine the fact that Toastmasters is a 1 hour exercise in an already tightly scheduled routine for most of us. Conducting meetings in a corporate set-up is another headache as supervisors/ colleagues perceive Toastmasters meetings as a Time-pass recreational activity.  However there are two points one should take into mind:

The toastmasters meeting and membership has a cost element (USD 45) either paid by the member or the corporate organization.

Toastmasters is an endeavor towards improving inter-personal and soft skills at a job which are essential in a corporate environment.

Conducting meetings with a difference hence ensure that there is a return on your investment. A meeting with a difference enthrals people and ensure that others are more willing to participate and take responsibilities.

Every toastmaster of the day has his/ her style. Some like to impart knowledge, some like to keep it simple, some like it elaborate. All of these methods of preference are accepted. However I would like to give a set of pointers to ensure a meeting with difference:

Coordination

Every TMOD should coordinate with the VP-Education, the speakers, the role takers. He/ she should know the requirements of the speaker and convey the same to the venue coordinator/ chair.

Theme

Select a theme that you are committed about. Convey the idea to the speakers, grammarian who will select the word of the day related to the theme, Table topics maters- who will select themes based on the topic.

Know and remember the Names of role takers or speakers:

One of the most embarrassing moments, a toastmaster can do is Forget the name of the speaker. It is not only embarrassing for the TMOD but also for the speaker/ Role Takers who are adding value to the meeting. Not remembering their names portrays that you do not acknowledge their efforts in being part of this meeting.

Break your content into Parts

The TMOD comes on stage at various times in a meeting, he/ she should thus have the theme broken into various sections. The seasoned toastmasters ensure that their content is in lieu of the various stages of a meeting. They come with a beautiful introduction and after the speeches, a beautiful middle- before introducing table topics masters and later an end that resonates with one and all.

Have Beautiful Intros:

Usher into adjectives, spread word, brand the participating speakers and role takers that they feel special and inspired before coming on the stage. A warm introduction ensures that a nervous speaker is comforted and feels comfortable before coming to express himself/ herself.

Spring a Surprise:

It is important to surprise the participants- the speakers, the role takers and the audience. Reward them if you have deep pockets. Even a small gift makes a difference. I was one of the sought after TMODs at Caterpillar Toastmasters Club. The reason was not that I was exuberant but yes; generous definitely- would gift the INR 5 Cadbury’s dairy milk. Though slim and minimal sweetness, the chocolate would ensure that the crowd returned to their home/ cubicle with a smile. Just keep a tab of people attending the meeting.

And most importantly... Keep the party rocking!!

[ohmytoastmaster]

Goodbye

Friend: Hello, how is Bangalore? How is the new workplace?

Me: The city is lovely, great weather… beautiful trees.. ehh.. No one to talk with…  No one talks in office.

Haha.. must be tough for you, unable to talk with people… But you hunt people and talk with them. You will find new friends.

The above was a conversation with a friend from Mumbai, a city I had gleefully left. I liked Bangalore, not that I was new to the city but the pace of the city seemed to suit me.

My supervisor was a reticent chap and the whole floor was undergoing a period of tumult, organisational restructure. People were busy with transitions and getting a hold of their new responsibilities and in this process I did not find anyone to talk with. Plus I realised contract employees are outcasts.

One fine day I came across a flyer informing about a Toastmasters Ice breaker Marathon in the 2nd floor of the building. Intrigued I entered the place and was greeted with a handshake and the wide warm smile of Sony.

Apparently people were coming on stage and introducing themselves and talk for a few minutes. A guy would suddenly wave multi hued cards. And then we were invited to participate and talk for 2 minutes. 

I had come late for the meeting and was not aware of the golden rules of a toastmaster meeting. On the given topic, I spoke rather confidently but then mouthed the F word. People applauded. I returned back happy. After a period of 1 month did I get to speak and that too with a sizeable audience heeding.

One must come here often.

That was my first toastmasters’ meeting. A year and half later I was informed by the general evaluator for that meeting and of most meetings Mani sir that I had used the F word thrice. Apparently he was quite miffed about it. 

The enthusiasm to attend the meetings never died. Sony and his successor Sabarish were always welcoming. The club would see the coming of more enthusiastic members like Dilip , Anoop, Suri and Abhijit.

I was getting a hang of the roles and responsibilities of a toastmaster. Don’t be blunt or brusque. Smile, shake hands and have fun. It was such a treat listening to the wonderful speeches of Sony, Simaab, Senthil, Rajath and Melvita. Laugh uncontrollably to the speeches of Bharath and Santhosh.

Eventually I became a member in July 2018 and took to delivering speeches and new roles with renewed fervor.  And then come October I met with an accident- A new supervisor. In December, I was asked to leave. I left my workplace in shock and heartbreak. But I was still comforted by the warmth and welcome exuded by Abhijit and Vignesh. My membership with the club relinquishes this March and so does the association that has rendered wonderful memories.

 I am thankful to all of you.

#caterpillar #goodbye

[ohmytoastmaster]

Movie Recommendations for Public Speaking

Movies are a visual medium of the story telling process and thus draws awe and admiration from an audience spanning generations, classes at a global scale. There are several attributes to a Movie- Acting, screen-play, direction, music, cinematography etc. And each attribute either solely or collectively generates an interest and liking to this century old medium of story telling.

I enjoy watching movies particularly so on the big screen. I also enjoy discussing movies with friends and peers and love to heed and suggest movie recommendations. My favourite genres in movies are biopics (Gandhi, Amadeus, A beautiful mind), period dramas (Gladiator, Katiyar Kaljat Ghusli), Boxing (Ali, Cinderella Man), War (Saving Private Ryan and Letters from Iwo Jima), Legal Dramas and of course Rom-Coms (Notting Hill, Band Baja Baraat).

However let me draw your attention to a particular genre that might interest toastmasters- i.e. toastmasters/ public speaking genre. I would like to recommend you to a couple of movies that stresses or rather depicts the importance of Public Speaking in society and even polity. There is a common thread in particular to the 3 movies.

Two of the three movies are based on true stories. All the 3 movies are brilliantly created and are an absolute delight to walk several times over.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

Starring Robin Williams as John Keats- an unorthodox teacher of English in an elite school- Welton High. The school follows a strict code of conduct and discipline that it considers is essential to produce the best students across America. However Keats (Robin Williams) makes an impression on his class with his non conformist style of imparting lessons on literature and life. Though he makes a quick impression on most of his students, a shy Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke) makes slow progress. Todd is unable to express himself freely at first but with the steady encouragement from Keats and his diligent room mate Neil Perry, he learns to enjoy and forget his burden of emulating his elder brother’s feats (a former student at Welton). These inspired students then go and revive a Dead Poets Society where they learn to express themselves freely either through poetry or music.

How Todd transforms from a reticent student to a student who discovers his own voice and protests against a wrong forms part of the story. Admirers/ students of English literature or poetry (Emerson, Whitman etc) are most likely to enjoy this movie. My favourite part of the movie is when Todd Anderson comes out of his shell as he composes a poem spontaneously in the class as Mr Keats takes a lesson in self expression.

The Great Debaters (2007)

Great Debaters (directed by Denzel Washington) is based on a true story of how a debating team from Wiley College comprising of American African fight against racial prejudice and emerge victorious in debating contest against much fancied institutions like Harvard. Mentored by Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington)- a black professor of literature and debate coach, the team comprising of Henry Lowe, Samantha Booke (with an ‘E’) and James Farmer (a 14 year old boy) learn the intricacies and nuances of debate, self control and expression and go on and beat much fancied debating teams including Harvard. Set during the 1930’s, in an America where racial prejudice and mob lynching of blacks was a routine affair, the team comprising of young Black debaters capture the imagination of the black community and debating society makes for a heart wrenching watch. The movie also makes case for Civil Disobedience inspired by Gandhi.

The movie quotes are absolute gems. "Debate is combat, but your weapons are words.”  “I have a moral right to resist either through violence or civil disobedience. You better pray I choose the latter.”

The King’s Speech (2012)

While the earlier 2 movies were based on students who learn the importance of expressing themselves, The King’s Speech is also a tale of a student albeit a King- King George VI (portrayed by an Colin Firth) who to cope up with his speech impairment meets a speech therapist Lionel Logue. This is an hilarious movie of a King and his subject, also a student and teacher, and tale of 2 men who fight together their personal struggles. This is a delightful movie and the speech exercises imparted by Lionel Logue make for a hilarious watch. Though a subject, the speech therapist Lionel Logue does not care for the tantrums and unwillingness of his student- King George VI and transforms the reluctant prince to a confident speaker.

Of how a reluctant and hesitant stammering prince who likes to play the second fiddle and be present in the backdrop rather than grabbing centre stage becomes the King of England and tries to instil confidence in his subjects is the crux of the story.

Conclusion

Often, the people who join toastmasters are reluctant speakers and dread the idea of speaking to a larger audience. They seek to set out on their toastmasters journey to become better speakers. The above mentioned movies share the ideals of mentorship, discussions in a peer group and the importance of practice and effort to become a confident person and speaker.

These movies and toastmasters is all about how to overcome this reluctance of speaking to a larger audience and coming out of one’s shell. 

(Images: Internet)

#toastmasters #the great debaters #the king's speech #dead poets society

[ohmytoastmaster]

An Unfair Contest

What amuses and bewilders me at times that people chase or rather look forward to take up office bearer roles in various clubs or associations. I have always shied away from such positions. Or probably given my histrionics, I have also not been offered such roles.

Last evening, I found myself witnessing elections in a club. Since I am not a member of the club I was  not eligible to participate either as a candidate or cast a vote. The roles on offer were of associates to VP-membership, secretary, Sergeant at arms, VP public relations and treasurer. However if a candidate failed to get elected for his or her favoured (desired) position,  he or she could opt for other roles.

Well the proceedings went forward and the candidates who pitched themselves well were aptly elected.

And then came the final role for associate treasurer. A member had made two attempts but failed to secure a win at both of them. The member did not opt for the treasurer’s role initially on the premise that she is from an engineering background and the position involved an understanding of finance or accounts.

There is a term that I have learnt from (or in)  my workplace. Based on that I urged the engineer lady to stand for the position which she did a tad reluctantly.

Pitted against candidates who actually had finance backgrounds and some acumen, the lady had dim chances to win. Her first opponent had made a strong pitch for himself and sounded quite confident to win it hands down.

But I love unfair contests and always cheer for the underdog.

The lady went on the dais and in her brief pitch said “To be frank, I don’t have a financial background or accounting knowledge but as an engineer I am attuned to learn on the job and engineer change.”

Mild laughter from the audience.

Then with a sheepish smile on her bespectacled face, she remarked, “Only men have been elected so far, guys let’s get some DIVERSITY on board….”

No one heard the next sentence. The assembled crowd went berserk with laughter. The loudest one was from the first candidate who knew his chances had reversed by now.

The lady engineer and I exchanged thumbs up, now sure of a victory. Boy,  I love unfair contests!!

#toastmasters

[ohmytoastmaster]

What the Hook

One of my favorite evaluators in the toastmaster’s circuit - TM Suri while delivering his evaluation/ critique makes it a point to stress on the hook. In his trademark cadenced, groovy style he announces, “Right at the start, you got the crowd ‘hooked’ with the story…” “The playful interaction with the audience created an interest that had me ‘hooked’”.

The question that arises in my mind while heeding to his usually meticulously crafted evaluations is “What is the hook?”

The dictionary defines the hook as “a thing designed to catch people’s attention.”

Is it a ‘bait’?

In fishing- Yes and in Public Speaking- Yes again.

In public speaking, a hook can be devised in multiple manners- theatrics- a soliloquy, a trembling voice, a story, a boxer’s stance/ shadow boxing, or it could be as plain and simple as a “Do you…” query? Any speech device that draws the attention of the audience can be a hook.

Is the hook an important/ indispensable tool in a speech?

Remember as a toastmaster in an average speech, the audience is giving 7 minutes of his/ her valuable time to the speaker. It is thus a responsibility of the speaker to enthuse your crowd. And the hook is the perfect device to ensure the crowd makes the most of the 7 minutes you have to offer.

The Hook is a popular terminology in the sports of both cricket and boxing. Though the two sports are entirely different in nature, the technique of hook uniquely retains a common bond. In both the sports, the hook is a technique that the best of the boxers or batsmen deploy to inflict the maximum psychological impact and shatter/ dent the confidence of opposite boxer or bowler to a great extent. It not only dents the confidence of the opposite rival, in both sports the rewards of a well-executed hook is a maximum- knock out (in boxing) or 6 runs (while batting in cricket).

Similarly in public speaking though there is no intention to dent the confidence of the audience, the impression/ impact a good hook makes on the audience is considerably rewarding.

Positioning the Hook

When do we deploy the hook? Positioning a hook in a speech is absolutely up to your discretion. In general, people like to use the Hook right at the beginning. However it is not mandatory to do so. Though it pays to draw the interest of the audience right at the beginning, a good hook comes with a certain responsibility. You have to keep the remainder of the speech as absorbing as the introduction.

A hook can be effectively used even in the middle of a speech; it can be used as an element of surprise- preferably pleasant to flabbergast the unsuspecting audience. Introducing it in the middle is often going for the kill. It requires one to exercise caution as well as skill while devising the decoy to your hook 3-4 minutes in the middle of a speech.

Conclusion

The impact thus created by a good hook not only helps to garner attention but also the respect/ admiration of the person at the receiving end- be it a bowler/ boxer/ your audience. Executing effective hooks thus requires skill and confidence. These 2 attributes can be mastered only by practice and observing the nuances from seasoned public speakers.

Well then for rewarding returns carry the hook in your speech and fishing expeditions.

#toastmasters #speech writing #hook

[ohmytoastmaster]

The Stage of Caterpillar Toastmasters Club

The stage is an exalted place that lures one and all for the rewards it promises. The rewards vary from attention, appreciation, freedom and the purest of them all- the contentment of self-expression. However while approaching the stage an air of ambivalence sets in and engulfs us with a sense of self-doubt.

This sense of self-doubt can result in a more damaging effect on our outlook especially in the contemporary professional environment where focus is increasingly shifting towards technical prowess coupled with strong communication abilities and soft skills.

To this effect, the Caterpillar Toastmasters club is a gainful platform to effectuate public speaking and instil confidence among its participants. Amidst the hustle and bustle of Wednesday afternoons and Thursday evenings, one has been extremely fortunate to be audience to some stirring speeches (prepared and table topics) ranging in a wide gamut of topics peppered with either humor or deep contemplation.

The bonhomie and healthy competition among fellow toastmasters brings the best out of them. The input from the evaluators including the timer, Ah-counter and grammarian is noteworthy and irons out the discrepancies that creep in while presenting our speeches.

The Caterpillar Toastmasters club celebrates the stage in all its earnestness and to be a part of its celebration is a rewarding experience in itself.

#toastmasters #caterpillar