2. What’s in ?What’s in ?
Editor’s Note ……………………………………………….. 3
President’s Note ………………………………………….. 4
Division governor says …………………………………. 5
Area Governor says ……………………………………... 6
Pat on the back ……………………………………………. 7
Just celebrate your life ………………………………... 8
Toastmasters - Not just public speaking …....... 9
Proud to be a toastmaster!! ………………………. 10
Tweet It off!! ………………………………………………. 11
The Path I Chose …………………………………………. 12
A committed relationship ……………………………. 12
Installation ceremony ………………………………….. 13
TLI- ‘even eagles need a push’ ……………………….14
Education session by TM Ajay Chitharanjan ....14
Joint Meetings with Tech Mahindra …………….. 15
Tech Mahindra Contest ……………………………….. 15
Coronation - kochi ……………………………………….. 16
Humorous and evaluation contest at our club. 17
………………… 18
19 …………………
………………… 20
Editors: Chandana Srinivas, Manoj L
CGI Elite Speakers Forum
3. Editor’s Note
Renaissance, the process of revival, the journey that is in-
spired from the past, reinforces the present and moves to a bet-
ter, new future!!
Universe is constantly evolving, world is constantly transforming,
technology is constantly enhancing and so are we.. constantly
moving towards betterment.
Renaissance was not just one rational movement that occurred
once in the human history but something that keeps occurring in
every single process of improvement and there can be no better
place than Toastmasters to experience the Renaissance;
“Renaissance of the art of communication and leadership!”
Toastmasters movement has redefined, revolutionized and re-
formed the art of communication creating the realization of the
paramount importance of communication today and forever.
And this was the reason we chose the theme of our newsletter
as “Renaissance”
We at “CGI Elite Speakers Forum” are extremely glad to be a part
of and to do our bit for this wonderful movement of Renais-
sance.
It’s been a year that I joined Toastmasters and if I look back on
this journey, I get loads of memories, experiences, lessons that
have shaped to become the better person that I am today. It’s
a privilege to have been associated with our club and the
members of the club.
I’m grateful to have got this opportunity to work for this news-
letter and I’ve to thank all the club officers for their uncondi-
tional support and encouragement.
Also I would like to thank my co-editor TM Manoj to have de-
signed the newsletter beautifully according to the theme.
I also thank all the Toastmasters of our club who have done
their bit for this outcome.
As Leonardo Da Vinci quoted, “Learning never exhausts the
mind”
Learning is a continuous process of sailing in the vast sea of
knowledge that wards off ignorance from the ship called
mind.
Let’s sail together in this odyssey of learning, into the new
shore to a new beginning. Happy reading!!
3
4. President’s Note recently and most of the members were new, I got the oppor-
tunity to work with officers closely and gained immense
knowledge about the whole process. I’ve always felt that it is
important to understand the objective and motive of a Toast-
master’s club and work towards the quality and growth of the
club and its members than making the club more commercial by
losing its primary motto.
But today, when I hold the position of PRESIDENT, I’ve learnt
several lessons about leadership applicable in all phases of life.
I’ve realized that its left to the individual to become the kind of
leader he wants to be:
Who wants his team to reach heights and will do anything
for it. And doesn’t mind to become bad in the eyes of his/
her own members. And off course the team at the end does
achieves someone thing great.
Then there is another leader who wants his/her member to
understand that without them the team will not work and
take up the responsibility only in the guidance of the leader.
Most of the time this type of leaders are either hated or
loved in excessive manner.
Ultimately it’s the leader, who becomes the pied piper and its
left to him in which direction he takes his team to;
Talking about the team, I’ve always been privileged to work with
energetic and enthusiastic members at our club. Every member
of our club is a leader in himself. We learn together, grow to-
gether, work together and enjoy together!! We have come along
a great journey so far and expect to go miles ahead the same
way…
As we go further, lot of goals to be accomplished, lot of dreams
to live, I wish all the members of CGI Elite Speakers Forum to
keep up the same momentum further also and proceed to
achieve all the endeavors and heights in this wonderful journey
called “Toastmasters”.
I also heartily welcome all the new members of the club to join
hands in this wonderful movement.
All the best!!
Toasting my way…..
- Kalyani Majumdar
PRESIDENT !!! Well, that is a bigggg word.
When, I first thought joined Toastmasters, I did not even
know what the role of a President is? I just knew that this
role is similar to TMOD or timer and anyone can take it.
Yes, anyone can take it but then one need to have experi-
ence and courage to take up the role. Doing it for a
meeting or two is like speaking on the theme of the
meeting and welcoming but taking the role as an officer
changes the whole story.
I have always been interested to join Toastmasters and
got the opportunity once I joined CGI. I then became a
regular member and was trying to understand the func-
tionality of the club and since the club had started
4
5. Division governor says
Dear Toastmasters,
15 years ago when I walked into a toastmasters
meeting, more out of curiosity than with a learning mindset,
little did I know then that I will be hooked on to Toastmasters
for life. There had been several reasons which kept me en-
gaged, rather engrossed with Toastmasters program all these
years and perhaps will continue to do for the rest of my life.
Let me share few of them here.
At the outset, the initial charm was the format of the meeting
which provided me the platform to prepare and deliver
speeches and also be able to speak impromptu. In the subse-
quent years of my professional life, I always ensured that I
spend enough time to prepare and whenever required be
ready to speak on the fly.
The next thing which excited me was participating in various
speech contests. The spirit of competition invoked a fierce
desire to excel and emerge a winner every time. The process
helped me realize the value of coaches, mentors, prepara-
tion and most importantly to take winning and losing in my
stride.
One day, it suddenly dawned upon me on how I am leverag-
ing toastmasters for my leadership skill building. All the les-
sons on leadership which I had read about came to my res-
cue. Walk the talk, focus on outcomes and servant leadership
is what I practiced on at Toastmasters. Various club officer
roles, area and division level leadership roles, opened a new
vista for me where I started hobnobbing with some fine lead-
ers in the Toastmasters fraternity. That led me to my next
target of becoming a DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster).
The three magical letters DTM, generated a new wave of en-
ergy and got embedded like a software in my head. It was my
belief that if achieving CC (Competent Communicator) was
my cherished milestone, it was just indicative of me being a
literate (read matriculate, 10th
pass !) in Toastmasters,
hence becoming a DTM seemed equivalent of doing a PhD.
I vowed however, that my journey to DTM would be a mean-
ingful one. On the way, several programs like YLP (The Youth
Leadership Program ) which I conducted for young children
gave me immense satisfaction. Another program HPL (High
Performance Leadership ) I did was on eye donation. The
social impact was huge. Never have I ever though that Toast-
masters can also be a humbling experience and makes us a
socially responsible citizen.
Lastly, when it seemed that I have conquered Mt Everest by
becoming a DTM, I fathomed that it was only a self-
actualization goal. It was Me focused all these years. It was
thus time to give back to the organization which gave me the
confidence and respect. So first I took up the Chief Ambassa-
dor role for District 82, later District 92 comprising 250 odd
clubs in India and Sri Lanka. This gave me visibility in my own
organization up to CEO’s office and provided me an oppor-
tunity to help spread the new Revitalized Education Program
(REP) across the district over last 2 years. REP is set for a glob-
al launch mid next year.
This July 2015, I have taken up the leadership role as Division
I Director wherein Toastmaster Clubs in Electronics City fall
into my jurisdiction. There are more than 150 organizations in
Electronic city and my aim is to take Toastmasters to each one
of them. I have the desire, I have the will and I would spend
every bit of my energy to make it happen. With support
from my fellow toastmasters, one day Electronics City
will be a District in itself on the global map of Toast-
masters International.
Join me and be a part of the history in making !
- DTM Raj Kumar Bansal
5
6. Area Governor says
Lately, I have been pondering on what is that single
aspect that makes companies like Apple, Google, Face-
book etc so successful. Though each of these organiza-
tions have their special strengths and differential attrib-
utes, the most basic facet that make them great to stand
out are its people.
The work force at each of these companies are a class
apart from the rest. To put this in simple terms, these
organizations have 10x workforce. So, what do we mean
by a 10x workforce? An easy way to make the concept
crystal clear might be to state that these people are at
least 10 times better. A 10x workforce bring in humong-
ous results and this is what really make all these compa-
nies great.
Toastmasters International (TMI) is an organization that think
10x and prepares its members to be 10x. There is no other or-
ganization in the world that has brought in so much transfor-
mation for millions of people across the world, as TMI did in the
last 90 years of its existence. The whole curriculum of TMI, be it
the leadership or the communication track has been designed to
make its members 10x.
The initial 10 speeches that the member delivers to achieve his
or her competent communication manual certificate is a simple
example on what makes a member 10x times better. This is ap-
plicable for all leadership and communication tracks offered by
TMI. With each track, the members moves a level up.
Being closely associated with CGI Elite Speakers Forum for some
time now, I am awed by the club and its members. What has
been impressive is the energy, passion and commitment of eve-
ry member that I have interacted.
My humble request to the team at “CGI Elite Speakers Forum” is
to keep your energy oozing as always and leverage the commu-
nication and leadership track provided by TMI to be the 10x
leaders.
Continue your quest to be the next generation 10x leaders… The
future needs you… The future needs 10x leaders….
- Vineesh Sathianathan
6
8. Just celebrate your life
Have you ever wondered why a flower blossoms? Why
it gives fragrance? why is it beautiful? Or why rose is so
much admired in spite of its thorns? You might be aware
of the scientific reasons, but I have a personified answer
for you. It’s for joy, for pleasure, to celebrate its richness
and multiplicity. For most people, celebration is all about
series of grand moments or headlines. For me however,
it’s not just bounded by happiness but also about relishing
our trifles and tribulations, day-to-day struggles, a thirst
for grasping something that makes us feel alive.
We get into more troublesome instances because of in-
tently cribbing at the situations, than to zoom out and
celebrate what already is good in our life. We all are so
caught up in the pragmatic cycle of our everyday lives that
we forget to cheer the present. Can’t we look at the unfa-
vorable circumstances of life as being the seeds of future
greatness?
It’s wonderful that life has provided these stimulus for
more growth! We would never find a purpose and passion
if it hadn't been through that pain. The good or ill acci-
dents of life are very little at our disposal; but we are
pretty much masters what books we shall read, what di-
versions we shall partake of, and what company we shall
keep.
Oprah Winfrey has said
How true isn’t it? I think all of us have to embrace this atti-
tude. Carrying this new energy we learn to respond to situ-
ations than to react impulsively.
When we do what we love, our involvement creates feel
good hormones in sync with our body. It creates calmness
and refreshes our body and mind. Our life’s meaning
evolves. There is no greater gift you can give or receive
than to honor your calling. Life itself is a driving force that
takes us ahead. When we let go our fears, we ourselves are
in the current moment. This needs you and your apprecia-
tion as well!! Even allocating a few minutes of "me" time is
a treasured treat for most of us.
Discovering our purpose adds value to our feelings that
reveal our uniqueness. So set your visions high and watch
them unfold in front of your eyes!
Fall in love. In love with yourself. In love with your life and
celebrate it!!!
- Usha Raghurama
88
9. One of the biggest assumptions I see with Toastmas-
ters current reputation is that most people on initial in-
spection believe that it is simply a program for speakers
to get together and practice what, for most people is an
often unused skill. Since most people don’t do any public
speaking aside from the occasional meeting or toast at a
wedding, they see the (usually) weekly meetings as being
a considerable investment for unsure benefits.
Unfortunately what most people don’t understand is that
the skills learned in mastering public speaking and leader-
ship are core skills needed for dealing with other people.
These skills are the communication skills you use many
times every single day. Instead of thinking about doing a
big presentation with your toastmaster skills, think about
something as simple as talking with a group of friends.
Many people who have labeled themselves ‘introverts’ or
lack social skills can find Toastmasters to be a fantastic
place to rapidly improve their communication skills. Even
if you are currently a very sociable person, Toastmasters
can teach you to improve your skills and give you the con-
fidence that comes from being a competent speaker.
But if you just go to one meeting and see the prepared
speeches, this benefit of Toastmasters might not be ap-
parent. It took me several months before I really found
the intrinsic benefits to Toastmasters. Although the im-
provement to public speaking comes immediately, it can
take a little longer before you recognize the benefits it
has in all communication.
There is also a greater need for us to improve our listening
skills which most of us are horrible at; even during the most
basic of conversations like talking with your friends and fami-
ly. Coming to Toastmasters you gradually improve your listen-
ing skills.
Hence I feel, there is a greater need for revival among more
and more people in warding off certain illusions about Toast-
masters and understanding its primary motto.
There is always a constant need for enhancing the basic com-
munication skills in a very rational way.
Hence I feel, we should make more and more people to un-
derstand that Toastmasters is not just giving speeches, but its
about the basic life skills that we have to resurrect for the
betterment of one and all!!
- Harpreet Singh
Not just
public speaking
Toastmasters -
9
10. Proud to be a toastmaster!!
Toastmasters is not just about learning, it’s about living;
we started speaking since our birth but how to speak,
lead, entertain through speaking is what eventually every
toastmaster experiences here.
Toastmasters was a familiar term to me even before join-
ing the club, but ‘it’s a place for the ardent’ is what I real-
ized after joining.
Though I was good in speaking, was I a good communica-
tor? Once associated with the other toastmasters I envis-
aged where I stand,
Consequently, every toastmaster learns that, not being
best speaker, but being a better communicator, a better
leader and striving for the betterment of others and our-
selves is the vision of the Toastmasters.
As I always wanted to be a great orator I became a Toast-
master. But once I realized the essence of toastmasters, I
comprehended that it’s a place for revival, where you will
find the hidden or lost yourself!
The talent which you thought you lost ages ago will spark
up with this renaissance called Toastmasters.
Every role in Toastmasters teaches us to overcome our inhi-
bitions, table topics helps us overcome our doubts, fears
and prepared speeches help us carve our ability to speak.
So I would say, just attend Toastmasters meetings without
any expectations, don’t just constrain to the takeaways.
Expectations create boundaries, Toastmasters is limit less.
Being a toastmaster is ageless and infinite!!
Proud to be a Toastmaster !!
- Manoj L
10
11. Tweet It off
Hold on .. Disclaimer : I am not writing this article to
guide how to use Twitter and it has nothing to do with
one such social media application !
You might have heard some proverb, a phrase or a moral
story which emphasizes on this thought - “If you have the
question, you will have the answer”. All you got to do is
think. For only this effort of allowing your thoughts to
prompt for the answerable options, opinions and ideas
for the questions that test the possibility in arriving at a
final thought. Yes.. Think again!!
What’s been tried to say is that in those numerous
thoughts that pass by every day in one’s mind, capture
the ones that surprises you! And note it down or “Tweet
it off” some where. Because what you wouldn’t know is,
that thought is so precious to not let it fade . You may not
consider its value as you your self do not know if it could
be any precious or valuable!
And not only those thoughts are eligible to note down,
but also can they be any influential or experimental or
from the experiences you get to feel, see, hear, witness..
So, just note it down or say, “Tweet it off”.
Let me bring in context with ideas you want for delivering
a speech for a Toastmaster meeting..
I would like to mention again; Reminding that you are a social
animal; You have heard, spoke, listened, seen, witnessed, felt
many things many a times . . All you got to do now is .. note it
down or simply “Tweet it off”, because when you keep doing
it you would have formed a repository and unknowingly
would have registered it in your mind .
Only if you take it to consideration will it work. Whether you
take it to heart or you take it to brain or kidney.. Doesn’t
matter.. Take it to that point to remind you the best and
make it a point that it never fades till you rest.
Note that, every second is a learning if you make it, and most
the times it actually becomes “New Learning” or “New style
or form of learning” just because the same old concept that
was unfortunate to have not got in our senses before.
So next time when you receive a table topic, your mind first
automatically and sub consciously goes to that repository you
created to store the thought. Doubt it? then try it!
This beautiful job of Tweeting it off, what we have been call-
ing so far should not just be a dominant part of thought or-
ganizing, but should become the thought provoking and
eventually the thought registering process.
So next time you get to know something new, all you have to
do is just “Tweet if off” for yourself!!
- Pooja Mahesha
11
12. Newbies Speak
“A committed relationship”
My interests in communication, writing and the belief
how powerful words are, to transform lives were tapped
now and then on several occasions; but never did I give a
thought on improving myself on these. It’s not been that
long when my relation with toastmasters started, but yes!
from then I did know that this was going to be forever. As
we started our journey together, I comprehended that
there is more within me, more I can offer and also that
even though the first step is passion,
My initial days were all about meeting like-minded yet
unique artists by mind. The way toastmasters made me
connect and socialize made me dedicated to this Toast-
master-Me relationship even more. Each person in the
toastmaster family accepted me the way I was, for my
ideas and encouraged me for those little interests I pos-
sess, and so now I can see how much I have grown from
that embryonic stage.
Now that I’ve decided to be a committed toastmaster, I
have some sweet challenges that will take me to my
dream figure of a personality. Forever will this relation
sustain, forever will I be committed and yes eventually
forever will I be a “Happy Toastmaster”!! - Nitika Udaya
“The Path I Chose”
“All events that occurred in History were the outcome
of leaders’ actions whether good or bad, but there was one
thing common about leaders; they were all good speakers.”
I still remember the first day I attended the Toastmasters
meeting in our club. I entered the meeting room with sev-
eral questions in mind about how the meeting is conduct-
ed, but by the time meeting got over, I had realized that I
had chosen the right path for improving my leadership
skills. One more thing that I noticed and am glad about is
that, how members voluntarily take up responsibility of
conducting weekly meetings.
I also started taking up different roles for meetings and
involved in learning the proceedings of the club meetings.
All this made me step out of my comfort zone which is real-
ly a greater growth experience.
I feel speeches, table topics, joint meetings, the entire jour-
ney is a beauty in itself, which offers you a learning for the
lifetime if you wish to learn.
Toastmasters is the best example for it.
- Sabarinath Sivakumar
12
16. Joint Meetings with Tech Mahindra
Tamal represented our club at the tech Mahindra
contest and was the second runner up !!
Tech Mahindra Contest
16
17. Humorous and evaluation contest at our club
Tm Pooja won the humorous
contest and was the runner up in
evaluation contest.
Tm Chandana won the evaluation
contest
Tm Rashmi was runner up in the
humorous contest
17
