csf newsletter june 2013

SPEAKERS DIGEST

CHENNAI SPEAKERS FORUM

June 2013 www.chennaispeakersforum.com

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK 2

HISTORY OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 3

A JOURNEY TOWARD VICTORY – DTM NINA JOHN 5

CHALLENGE YOUR CHALLENGES WITH COOL –TM AASHISH

7

THE A'S OF LEADERSHIP 9

MAKINGS OF THE GO-GETTER – TM ARUN 11

LEADER 13

I RAISE A TOAST 14

DTM SARO SPILLS HIS TIME MANAGEMENT SECRETS 19

MY FIRST TIME 22

LET YOUR BODY FLOW –DTM KARTHIK SRINIVASAN 23

COFFEE WITH DARREN 25

INTERVIEW WITH THE PRO – DTM MALA MARTINA 26

IMPOSSIBLE 28

MENTORING MOULDS THE MENTOR!! – DTM RAJEEV NAMBIAR

29

HUMOUR EVERYDAY 31

CONGRATULATION……………!! 33

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

“Six months over like a helicopter

six by Dhoni”

It was fast, but did this six (months) contribute to the winning run? Yes, of course. When I recall our meetings from January to June 2013(“term”), my mind

flashes celebrations, special meetings and unique classroom sessions. To highlight few, Valentine’s day Contest, Women’s day- Special meeting with DTM. Nina john, Grand 75th Meeting Speeches by DTM. Saro Velrajan, DTM. Adithya Maheswaran and DTM Lalitha Giridhar followed by Roasting & Toasting Contest, and the recently held Pacha Kucha Contest- one of the first in the world of Toastmasters, Educational sessions at classroom by TM. Arun Sridhar about Story telling & Evaluation, TM. Pranshant’s Book review, Back to basic-Grammar by TM. Patt, “Understanding the Speaker”, Educational session by DTM. Rajeev Nambiar, Joint meetings with Infosys Toastmasters and the list go on. These enthusiastic and vibrant meetings reflected in our club roaster by adding 15 new members during this term. It is time to show my sincere gratitude to my entire Executive team for its contribution and team work, Special thanks to TM. Arna Chugani for guiding us in all important moments and last but not the least thanks to all our club members and Toastmasters across the city for their constant encouragement and sup-port. Also it’s time to welcome and support our new Executive committee team. My best wishes to TM. Aashish and his team to upscale CSF further. One question I encounter from my fellow Toastmasters is “What I learnt from my last 21 Months Journey as a club officer? One thing that I learnt is “WE CAN CONTRIBUTE RIGHT NOW”. Let it be our country, family, or Toastmasters, if we want to show your gratitude we got to show it now, right now, else we may never find time in future. Thanks again, TM. Vivekanandan President

Page | 3 SPEAKERS DIGEST CHENNAI SPEAKERS FORUM

Before anything… history first About 2,500 years ago in ancient Athens, young men were required to give effec-tive speeches as part of their duties as citizens. There were no Lawyers then, and since people sued each other frequently, it was important that each citizen be able to represent himself and his family. Aris-totle identified the basic elements of good speech and persuasion as ethos (credibility, believability), logos (logic), and pathos (emotional appeals).

Rome succeeded Athens and in the first century, Marcus Tullius Cicero rose to power. He developed what we call the five canons (rules) of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. He urged his students to seek all possible means of argument (invention), put those arguments in the order best suited for the situation (arrangement), use the best and most expressive

HISTORY OF PUBLIC SPEAKING By TM. Karthikeyan Elumalai


language (style), memorize the presentation (memory),and pre-sent the speech with the best gestures, expressions, and volume (delivery). Public speaking is presenting your thoughts and feelings in a meaningful way. Generally, there is a wrong perception that only people in sales or mass media need to be good at public speaking. However, the truth is that individuals from all walks of life have to speak in public at one time or the other. A kid reciting a poem in school or citizens expressing their opinions on any national issues or the president of a company addressing the staff are all different forms of public speaking. Public speaking also helps overcome fear, builds your per-sonality, and improves relationships. Yes, once you develop good public speaking skills, a marked improvement can be seen in your interpersonal skills, which in turn, will help you maintain a healthy relationship with your friends and family and effective in-teraction with your boss, clients and subordinates. It will enhance your advancement in your chosen profession. Finally, speaking with full confidence, credibility and conviction distinguishes you a leader!


1. You are seen as an inspiration to the women in toastmasters. What is your advice to the young women in toastmasters?

Women, as much as men, need

good communication skills in their pro-fessional and personal lives. Joining Toastmasters is an investment in your own learning curve, and it will pay off in the long run.We need more women in leadership positions -so ladies, please step up!

2. How does it feel to have led D82 to the No. 1.Position in the world. What/who made this possible?

It feels wonderful to be Presi-dent’s Distinguished District , more than the Number One, because it means more individual clubs worked harder at raising the bar for themselves. The ear-lier Number One position was depend-ent on a few clubs gaining more awards, among other things. This way,

By DTM. Nina John

INTERVIEW

A JOURNEY TOWARDS VICTORY


3. What is the secret of your success as a leader?

Didn’t take things personally,

was not afraid of making decisions, and kept the TMI values- respect, integrity, service and excellence as the guiding lights, integrity being the most impor-tant.

4. The first division Governor from

Chennai, the first DTM from Tamil Nadu, the first lady Governor of Dis-trict 82. What inspired you to break barriers?

Didn’t know they were barriers!

Just happened to do a few things, and later somebody else realized I was the first lady to do so. Incidentally, there were four of us who did the first CC around the same time, the rest did it a week later, together; the fact that all four were ladies was something to cele-brate.

5. What are the key moments you’ll

cherish from your term as District Governor?

The meetings with individual

club members at club meetings across the District; the outpouring of good

6. If you could do your term as Dis-trict Governor all over again, would you change anything?

May be this time I would push a little harder! 7. How did you manage taking care of family and work given that being Dis-trict Governor is virtually a full time job in itself?

Quite a tough proposition; sacri-ficed a lot of family social time. But that’s life and my family is proud of me so it balances out. 8. After a year like the last one, it

would appear that you’ve achieved almost everything there is to achieve. What continues to drive you as a Toastmaster?

Other Toastmasters! It’s wonder-ful to see how individuals are impacted by the movement, and to be an instru-ment in that transformation is truly a blessing. Giving back to Toastmasters can be done in many ways; I will al-ways cherish the relationship and I am proud to be a Toastmaster!


How is your dating life after the publicity Darren gave you in Ovations?

Haha.. that's a secret! :D

How often do you think challenging situations present them in one’s life and how often do you find you in such situations and do you think they increase as you move higher up in life?

You will face challenges when you venture out of your comfort zone. Every day presents a challenge in professional, personal life! Challenges will never cease until you decide to stop learning!

When a challenge presents itself and you panic, what is the next thing to do?

Try to calm down. If you are not going to calm down and trust yourself, it’s not going to go well but again that's another challenge! :D When you are calm, you will know what to do and things will fall in place! Trust and believe in yourself and the universe!

CHALLENGE YOUR CHALLENGES WITH COOL By TM. Aashish Amalraj

INTERVIEW


How to face difficult situations in a level headed manner? All hell is going to break loose at some point or the other if you

don't know where you are going or what you want. In any situation, if you can believe and see the end picture of what you are doing, that is all you need to maintain a level head. It doesn't matter what’s happen-ing around you, stick to the course. Don't worry if it is not happening the first time, it will come around.

How long does it take from being a nervous wreck in the face of diffi-culties to being a graceful person who takes everything in his stride?

Some people let things roll off their back, others cling on to things. While it is not easy to take everything in your stride, one can al-ways make an effort to not take things personally. There is nothing that cannot be worked out. Some things take time while some don't come around the first time. The transition comes when you realize it’s not THE END.

If everything comes with practice, do you have to create difficult situations for you or how does it work?

Yes, everything including confidence comes with practice! When an opportunity presents it-self, take it. It might be difficult but the learning through it will prepare you for the better.


The A's of Leadership

By TM. Pranav

True leader is a person who looks at things-

from various perspectives and puts himself in the shoes of various people. He takes decisions keeping not only himself, but others too in mind.

A leader is not a super human, he is as normal

person. The main problems a true leader faces are the lack of clarity while making a decision and tendency to bungle under pressure when a wrong decision is taken. We are not a master in all fields so we tend to have confusions and we tend to make mistakes and take wrong decisions. When such situations occur, a true leader must follow the two A's.


When in doubt, a leader must Ask (1st A) for help. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness. It is a stepping stone to great strength. When you ask for help there is a chance that you might get a solution to your problem. The chance might be as low as 1% or 0.1%. But if you do not ask for help, the chance you will get a solution to the problem is 0%. So, when confused, ASK for help.

When a wrong decision is taken, a leader must Apolo-

gize (2nd A). When a leader apologizes, it does not mean he is a loser. It means that he really cares for the affected people and he has the will to correct his mistakes. Apologizing makes the leader mentally stronger. Making mistakes may not be in your hands. But Apologizing is very much in your hands.

There are many types of leaders, but the leader you need to become is a true and credible leader. To become that fol-low the two A's.`


Q. What tips and sneaky ways can one use to get people to respect them? (Or) How would you have people to follow you when they have a difference of opinion?

I follow the 'Goodfellas' (or was it 'Godfather'?) slogan: "A kind word and a gun go further than just a kind word". Nothing works better than a bit of threat of physical harm :) Seriously though, there are no short-cuts to get people to respect you. You have to be inclusive, take everyone's inputs, listen carefully before making decisions. As long as people feel you've actively lis-tened to them they would appreciate you taking a different course of action; they may not be happy about it but they may eventually see your point of view.

Q. What are the benefits of being a leader?

I firmly believe that 'The hottest fires

produce the hardest steel.. You put your-self in situations that you never thought you could handle. As a result of this you become a better, stronger person.

By TM. Arun Sridhar

Making of the go-getter


Q. How do you handle it when a person who had been under your leader ship is suddenly above you and you have to do what they tell you?

The honest answer is that it will be difficult in the beginning. As long as the person is good at their job there should be no long term damage.

Q. What are the 3 most important traits you look in a person to call him a leader? a) They should definitely have clarity of thought. When you don’t know where you are or where you are going, you don’t have a chance of leading your team there. b) They should be action oriented; anybody can talk and strategies but one should be able to follow through on plans. A conference chair or contest chair who can get the job done is an example.

c) Ability to deal with diversity is also very important for me. By diversity I mean diversity in thoughts and styles. It takes different kinds of people to make a team successful; if you only look for people like you, you are setting yourself up for failure. Q. When do you think a leader should give up? Or should he?

I would recommend the book 'What got you Here Won’t Get you there' by Marshall Goldsmith for an exhaustive list of bad behaviours that a bad leader exhibit and how to correct it. It was a life changing moment for me to read this book. I believe a leader should get rid of the need to always get it right. When you make mistakes, accept and move on.


By TM. Thibakar

Leadership is nothing but social influence where one person supports and influences another to accomplish a task.

There are 3 key qualities for a leader: Honesty: Whenever you are responsible for a team of people, it is important to raise the bar even higher. Your business and its employees are a reflection of yourself. So, if you make honest and ethical behaviour a key value, your team will follow suit.

Confidence: Whenever things don’t go according to your plan, the most important thing is not to panic. It is the job of the leader not only to put out the fire but to also maintain the morale of the team. Keep up your confidence level, and assure that setbacks are natural but the important thing is to focus on the larger goal. Once a soldier said to Hitler.... Sir, enemies have surrounded us... and Hitler answered "that's the best... we can attack all around". This is the Confidence you need to show.

Commitment: If you expect your team to work hard and do a quality job, you’re going to need to lead by example. There is no greater motivation than seeing the boss down in the trenches working alongside everyone else, demonstrating to them that hard work is done on every level.

Leader

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a moulder of consensus”


TM. Padma Prabha

She is a very friendly and

whenever I had gone to her with

some problem, she had

comforted and motivated me and

had always managed to convince

me that I am stronger than my

problem. She is TM. Arna.

and I raise a toast to her.

TM. Vignesh Karthik An enthusiastic person whose enthusiasm always catches on me. She motivates in such a manner that when she is finished, I no longer need any motivation from an outside source because she had induced self-motivation in me. My toast is to TM. Arna. TM. Jeyaram

My toast is to beautiful

and spontaneous TM. Arna.

TM. Vivekanandhan I raise a toast to the Toastmasters Magazine from which I have learned a lot..


DTM. Rajeev Nambiar My toast is to TM. Gabriel. He is no more now but he is the person who taught me to look at life in the lighter side and taught me to move ahead no matter I win or lose. He saw the leader in me and coached me at a time when I had self-doubts and would shy away from leadership opportunities.

TM. Gouthan Varma One person who I have always looked up to, who has helped me shape my decisions and helped me raise my bar. A very good friend, someone who holds up a mirror with complete honesty. He had the belief in me which I didn't have in myself. Got a problem? Go to him. He will give the best solution that is possible. Thank You for fuelling me with the confidence and the belief which I didn't have before. My raise a toast to TM.

Pravin Mani

TM. Hamdan He has always called me up and motivated me to grow as a person. What I like the most about his is his cherubic smile and the ease with which he talks about anything and everything. My toast is to TM. Pravin Mani.

TM. Kavitha I am raising a toast to TM. Pravin Mani. I so

admire his gift of gab. I am so thankful to him for taking valuable time to help me out so very much when I was new in toastmasters and also for giving me very many opportunities.


TM. Uday Kiran

Because of joining

Toastmasters, I have gotten

friends who are likewise

invested in personal growth and

because of the better group I am

in, my improvement is drastic

and my career is moving up.

TM Anchaneya Sasthri is

the one who introduced me to

Toastmasters and my toast is to

TM. Anchaneya Sasthri

TM. Priyanandhan

My toast is to DTM.

Saro Velrajan. He is a

people person from whom I

received my emotional

support. He gave me so

many opportunities and all

those experiences are the

ones that make me perform

better.

TM. Suresh He is a very friendly person

who immediately gets along

with everyone. He puts in so

much of effort into whatever

responsibility he takes up. Just

observing him inspires me to do

better and boosts my confidence

to take on any opposition. My

t o a s t i s t o T M .

Priyanandhan.

TM. Anjana

My toast is to TM.

Aashish. I so like his frank

and clear ways – the go to one

for personal guidance. Also, he

is the one who gave me so many

opportunities.

TM. Rajesh

Natarajan

My toast is to DTM.

Saro Velrajan. Every time

he speaks, there is a takeaway

value. He is an inspiration and I

want to be a leader just like him.


TM. Arna

I raise a toast to DTM. Aditya. He is the best mentor one could have. he was the one who saw the potential in me, made me see it myself, and converted me to this confident person.

TM. Milton

My toast is to DTM. Aditya. He had been a motivating force who brought out the speaker in me. He is a river of knowledge and I like the flow of his speech the most.

TM. Ramesh He has an opinion of his own and he confidently expresses it without bothering about anything. I am both inspired and challenged by his s i n c e r i t y, ma t u r i t y a nd enthusiasm. My toast is to TM.

Pranav.

TM. Rajesh My toast is to TM. Pranav. He is a person who has the killer instinct. He does not give up easily and is one step ahead of the others.

TM. Sandeep Kanabar

Every t ime he speaks – whether as a role player or in Table Topics, I get my weekly dose of inspiration in those few minutes. All the self-help books teach me the theory but he teaches me the practical. He is a guy who humbly summons up all his strength to fight the odds against him and that is TM. Karthikeyan. E and I raise a toast to him.


TM. Karthikeyan Balasubramanian Whenever she got on the

stage, she had the audience

spellbound just by the way she

presented herself and by her

voice tonality. She modelled

good leadership which is my

constant inspiration. She is TM. Vasupratha and to her is

my toast.

TM. Jananee My toast is to DTM. Karthik Srinivasan.

When I joined Toastmasters, I was in my lows. Karthik, through his caring mentoring brought out the real, confident person in me

TM. Trilokesh A smile is what you will

always find on his face when

you go to him for help, a person

who I always long to see in the

audience, his honest attention

gives me extra fuel to cross

boundaries. When I go to him

with self-doubts he will tarnish

them. A friend, brother, and a

leader I look up to..my toast

goes out to TM. Rajesh

Natarajan.

TM. Kannan This toast is to a

very special person..... She has always been the passive supporter who has always forced to create a unique identity for myself. She was always there to help me with whatever I need, whenever I need. She was my path to CSF and now my way to

excellence. She is TM. Anjana Venkataraman.


Spills his Time Management Secrets

By DTM. Saro Velrajan

1. What is the secret behind people liking you from your very first interaction? I treat people, as if I’m meeting a good old friend after a long gap. I genuinely

listen to them and try to help them in whatever little way possible. Even if I see a district governor or a division governor standing near to me when

I’m talking to a new person, I don’t divert my attention towards the “biggie”. I continue to talk to the new person or will introduce the new person to the “biggie”. I’ll make sure that the new person gets my fullest attention and service, when I’m talking to them. I think I had picked up this skill by playing the role of the SAA religiously.

2. What according to you is time management?? What is your secret? “Time management” is not just about using your available time effectively. It is also about learning to say NO to certain things, prioritizing the critical vs. not so criti-cal tasks, spending time on tasks that are in line with your long term goals/aspirations, setting right expectations, keeping others informed when you anticipate slippages etc.,. 3. You are known for your mentoring skills, tell us how you manage to find time for your mentees in your packed schedule?

I allocate at least 2 hours for toastmasters every day and most of my time is spent in mentoring members and clubs

Consciously, I’ve stayed away from district leadership roles because it would prevent me from spending quality time with my mentees. I also don’t waste my time in “non-core toastmasters activities” like weekend picnic with fellow toastmasters J

Looking back, toastmasters has become more of a habit to me like walking, bath-ing, and eating.

INTERVIEW


4. What inspired you to be a time lover?? What is your routine for the day? Tell us about the time that you did so much work because of time management that you felt like superhuman?

I’m a strong believer of “Small, but continuous improvements done over a long period of time will produce HUGE results”.

I get up at 5.30 am and go to bed at around 9.30 pm. In the morning, I exercise, check my personal emails, read newspapers, FB comments, and review speech scripts. I leave home by 8 am sharp for my office. At office, I try not to get distracted by Toast-masters activities– If I know that a particular call is going to take 30 mins or so, either I don’t pick that call or I tell them that I’ll call them in the evening. I leave from office in the evening by 4.45 pm.

I spend 1 + 1 hour on my commute everyday and I use my commute time for Toastmasters calls. I reach home by around 5.45 pm. I spend some quick time with family (hardly 30 mins!) and start taking care of office emails & personal/toastmasters emails. When I find time in the evening, I write blogs (www.saroscorner.com) or read books. I’m yet to become a super human. May be, I was pretty close during the days that lead to our district conference - Ovation 2013. 5. If someone wants to manage time in the best possible way, but is not sure how to do it. What advice would you give that person with dreams to manage time?

Read “7 habits of highly effective people” by Steven Covey. He does a brilliant job of explaining how effectively you can manage time and prioritize your tasks. The book also tells you ways of achieving your dreams/goals in a systematic way.

6. Time and tide wait for no man; have you ever missed a tide???

So far, NO! But, I have a big dream to achieve in my life. You should ask me this question 10 years from now.

http://www.saroscorner.com


7. What is the reason behind you to continue being a Toastmaster?

Before I joined toastmasters, I was not good in spoken English. But now it has changed. The credit goes to Toastmasters. People who watch me speaking today wouldn’t believe that I had the problem of speaking in English once upon a time.

Toastmasters have given me so much in the last 7 years. I feel that being part of Toastmasters and helping youngsters learn communication/leadership skills is a way of serving the community. I continue to learn new things, by serving our members and clubs. These are the things that keep me active in Toastmasters.


By TM. Rajesh Velpandian M

y First Tim

e

Date: 05:06:2012 Time : 7 am Day: Sunday “Morning” I was in a deep sleep. Someone dragged me from my bed. It was my uncle. He

asked me to join him to the Toastmasters meeting that he always talks about. I was scared of public speaking and told him I would not come. But my uncle in-

sisted that I join him. Knowing my uncle, I knew there was no option left for me. “Ruby Hall” “Table Topic Session”

The moment I was called for table topics, I felt the whole world collapse around me. I could feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach... I blabbered something and quickly ran to my seat. But, to my surprise, I could hear claps for my speech. I was not sure if i had spoken well. Those claps, however, were definitely encouraging enough for me to come for the next meeting.

For a school student like me, Toastmasters was a very different experience. If I had given the table topics speech in my school, I would have been ridiculed and my class-mates would have ensured that I will never return to the stage for the rest of my life.

But in Toastmasters when I speak well, everybody appreciates. When I don’t speak well, nobody ridicules me. Everybody understands that it is a learning ground.

Thanks to the encouragement given... I won a ribbon the second time I gave a ta-ble topic speech. I may not be a seasoned speaker like DTM Rajeev, DTM Karthik Srini-vasan, or TM Arna. But I admire them and want to become an accomplished speaker like them.

When TM Kavitha requested for an article from me, I refused like a typical “schoolish” kid. But Kavitha said “Don’t miss opportunity that comes your way”. That gentle push made me write this article. In Toastmasters, you are never forced to do things. You are gently nudged.


INTERVIEW

Let your Body flow

By DTM. Karthik Srinivasan

1. You say you have accom-

plished all the things in your

bucket list. If a boon is given

to you, that you can add one

more to it and you will be

granted that for sure, what

will it be?

Everlasting energy and cheer,

so that I can spread it around

2. Can you break the ice for us

and tell us what body language

really is, everyone speaks about it

but no one has a clear definition

of it?

Body Language needs to be

differentiated from Bharatanati-

yam. It’s the natural movement of

the body in support of your

words and thoughts. To quote a

great man”, the harmony of

thoughts, words and actions leads

to happiness.” Anything beyond in

the name of body language be-

comes artificial.

3. What was the kind of body

language did the leaders you ad-

mired had, can you elaborate on

why you admired that particular

body language?

The only leader I admire is

the one that I meet on the other side

of the mirror. Let me tell you some-

thing everything about him is pic-

ture perfect.


4. You are known for your im-

promptus speech, how can one ex-

hibit confident body language in

an impromptu speech?

Let you body follow your

words and thoughts.

5. How to find one’s body lan-

guage style, what are the tech-

niques you would suggest to real-

ize ones style and improvise on it?

Not everyone has a smooth

body language and hence the need

to practice. Ideally, present your

script in front of the mirror and ob-

serve your body movements, actions

and expressions. Once done repeat it

again. This time exaggerate the

same movements, actions and ex-

pressions. Practice these exagger-

ated movements regularly. At the

time of presentation, duly comple-

mented by your nervousness, they

will come out in the natural form.

6. Generally people get influenced

by their most favourite person’s

body language and they try to

imitate it. What’s your opinion on

this?

Imitation is the best form of

complement. So if you really admire

someone please do go ahead. You’ll

be putting the person on a pedestal,

but you will still remain an imitation

never the original. You want to the

best… CREATE your own brand.

Be Original!!

7. Does a person develop body

language over a course of time?

Some people try to be conscious

about body language and it will be

clearly shown that they are faking

it….is it ok to fake it till one

achieves it?

Fake it till you make it – plus

refer to Point #6 above.

8. What is the reason behind you

to continue being a Toastmaster?

People like you - energetic,

enthusiastic and educating


By TM. Darren LaCroix

COFFEE WITH DARREN

CHAMIPION SPEAKER

1) Everyone is a good speaker, what it takes to be the best speaker? Be committed to be uncomfortable. Learn from the best, it saves you time. Champion’s think different, so think like a champion.

2) You are already a world champion of public speak-ing, why still in Toastmasters?

Toastmasters is a workshop where I practice my new scripts before I deliver them in front of the clients.

3) What is one suggestion you want to give to Toast-masters?

Stop writing new scripts. Repeat the old speeches and incorporate the feedback every time you do. Be-cause the great speeches are not written, they are re-written.


Q. As the PRO, you are the face of District 82. Is this a burden or a privilege?

It started as an element of surprise which turned into a sense of pride that privilege that people trusted in the fact that I could be the face of D82. I have enjoyed working as the PRO, more so because I have really benefited from TM and hence it was easy to be an ambassador.

Q. What targets did you set yourself at the start of the year. Did you achieve them all?

We had distinct targets 1. Flash mob- To attract the youth of TM. 2. Use the social media platform. 3. Try New age advertising by creating a teaser. We did achieve our targets.

Q. What visible differences do you see in the Toastmasters of D82 over the past year? Are they more PR savvy?

Absolutely, there have been TM’s who did not want to miss out the fun on FB and personally I have sat with some of them helping them create accounts, signing them up for the D82 group etc.

Talk With Mala

INTERVIEW WITH THE PRO

DTM. Mala Mary Martina


Q. What plans do you have after hanging up your boots as PRO. We were witness to a wonderful curtain raiser/PR s for Reverberation at Ovation last month. Is this your new baby?

I am enthused about doing Reverbs. It is a challenge and a journey I am looking forward to. The best thing about TM is that the opportunities are unlimited and I am just looking for more. [ I can feel the adrenaline rush while typing this out ]

Q. Please elaborate on the most interesting request/ date you’ve received/been on with a Toastmaster?

Interesting requests have come in the form of dance requests on fun night, movie dates but what I loved most is the fact that all the times I have been to Chennai, I have also made friends who have turned out to be friends for life.

Q. After a year like the last one, it would appear that you’ve achieved almost everything there is to achieve. What continues to drive you as a Toastmaster?

I love TM and have benefited and is benefiting from it to a great extended. Some of my very close friends are Toastmasters. I started two biz ventures out of what I have learned from TM. I have learnt to be a better mentor, listener, Evaluator etc. because of TM


Impossible By TM. Vignesh Karthik

The common attitude is, “If you got to establish yourself, show no mercy” but there is a fact most people forget. “Positive people don’t pull others down”.

Quite a while back, Japanese, in spite of being experts, had to pre-sent their product in US global market but the Americans allotted them very little space to showcase their product. They were dejected. Adding misery to misfortune, the same night their products was stolen.

The Japanese, instead of being crestfallen, came back strongly and said in spite of a huge array of products why is that only Japanese prod-ucts were stolen. They raised this question and the news became sensa-tional. The market value for the Japanese product shot up over night. They didn’t pull others but they conquered the market. They did this by just being positive.

Stay positive whatever the situation, and you will conquer the world.


MENTORING MOULDS THE MENTOR

INTERVIEW

1. Tell us about your split personality- one in FB and one in Toastmasters

Ha ha ha. Well to be honest you may call it split or something else but yes in FB I am a person who loves to live and see life on the lighter side but in TM I am a bit more reserved and inclined to myself. 2. How does mentoring help in your growth?

Mentoring is a two way process because the quality time you spend with your mentee the more it is the learning’s for a mentor.

3. What are the frustrations of mentoring?

I wouldn’t call it frustration but disappointment that the mentee at times does-n’t read the project objectives before writing their script. Another area where I find it alarming is when a mentee tries to be an exact clone of the mentor.

By DTM.Rajeev Nambiar


4. When and how can a person start mentoring? The day you feel and are ready to be one, in other words the day you are self-confident and feel that you can help a speaker or leader to enhance his or her own levels of performance that day you move into the shoes of a mentor. So the writing on the wall is to ask oneself this question- Am I really ready to be a men-tor??? 5. Does a person choose someone and mentor them or do you wait for them to come to you and ask you to mentor? Let the individual come to you because the most important aspect is for that person to have the confidence in you to become his or her mentor. 6. When you have so much on your plate how can a person balance and be a good mentor?

We are always having our plates full in our daily lives but you still find a hand full of individuals coming out on tops. If you really look at them closely you will realise and understand that they have a sound and solid plan of action. They prioritise and balance things very well


INTERVIEW

HUMOUR

EVERYDAY

By TM. Rajesh Natarajan

1. How has your sense of humour helped with girl friends?

If you meant "girl" as "friends" ;), I try to bring in smile on other's face through humour. After all being the reason for someone's smile is the big-gest gift one can receive.

2. How important do you think sense of humour is in any interaction? Ex-plain

People generally don't want in-teractions to be soo serious, too techni-cal all the time. In fact they consider it to be boring. Humour is a powerful tool which has the power to bring people close to each other.

3. How much effort do you put in to develop your sense of humour

On a contest perspective, yes. I work on various genre of humour keeping the audience tastes in mind. On a routine day, i don't allot time to de-velop sense of humour. The best way to develop your humour sense is by not to be very cautious about what other's will think about you. Be as you are in a con-versation and you will uncover the hu-mour quotient within you.

4. Do a top leader need a sense of hu-mour at all? Not just top leaders, humour is an im-portant ingredient of everyone's life.


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EDITORS

TM Kavitha

TM Jivitha Siddharthan

EX-COM MEMBERS

President: TM Vivekanandan

VP-E: TM Aashish

VP-M: TM Pranav

VP-PR: TM Trilokesh

Treasurer: TM Vignesh Karthik

Secretary: TM Padmaprabha

SAA: TM Uday Krian

CHENNAI SPEAKERS FORUM “Ruby hall”

Presidency club,

Ethiraj Salai,

Chennai-600 008.

Ph. No.: 89397 12507

5. Does humour help with the higher ups? Or should one be serious with them? Humour helps in any conversation. With reference to the question, it depends on the conversational style of higher ups 6. What are the advantages of having a rich sense of humour? With rich sense of humour, you are bound, - to cut deals easily, - to establish rapport with people, - to make an impact on other's lives by making them laugh and - to be mistaken as a expert in humour by people like Kavitha


CONGRATULATION !!!!!!

TM. Arna Chugani, charter president of Chennai Speakers Forum, 2nd runner up in Table Topic Contest at Ovations 2013

csf newsletter june 2013

Documents

dtm saro

dtm rajeev nambiar

dtm lalitha giridhar

victory dtm nina john

cool tm aashish

gogetter tm arun

special meetings

pro dtm mala martina