Vol 3 | Issue 1 | Sept 2018

DISTRICT 92

Rise To Shine

Club No. 5843852

Div J | Area J2
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRESIDENT'S NOTE PAGE 1

VP - EDUCATION'S NOTE PAGE 3

LIST OF EVENTS PAGE 4

INSTALLATION CEREMONY PAGE 5

OUR NEW OFFICERS PAGE 6

DCP REPORT PAGE 7

ART OVERFLOW PAGE 8

WHY TOASTMASTERS WORKS PAGE 9

THE LADDER OF LIFE PAGE 11

CHAOS BY DESIGN PAGE 13

NATURE'S BEAUTY PAGE 15

INCLUSION THROUGH TOASTMASTERS PAGE 16

TESTIMONIALS PAGE 17
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PRESIDENT'S NOTE
TM Shivika Mittal

HSR Toastmasters Club is much more than just another community club. Our
palette is overflowing with exemplary talent, out-of-the box ideas, passion for
the spoken word and an ever-increasing desire to improve ourselves as better
public speakers and leaders.

We are a club which is growing multi-fold and the highly multiplying number of
guests and new members which we witness every week, leaves us overwhelmed
with delight.

We add a new feather to our cap with every club award won, every educational
award filed for a member, each new member becoming a part of our family
and even with every first speech that a new member delivers.

And recently, we had an altogether a different kind of achievement when our

VPE, TM Deepika, and a veteran member, TM Subhash, were selected from
District 92 as coaches for Leadership Development Program. I wish them good
luck for their endeavors.

Our members try to leave no stone unturned so as to make our meetings

more intriguing and here are some of the different ideas
introduced/implemented in our club:

One special theme-based meeting every month

Acknowledging Mentors
WhatsApp group of weekly Role-takers
Best Listener award
Table-topics with twists
Go Digital with E-voting

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PRESIDENT'S NOTE
TM Shivika Mittal

As we know, behind every successful toastmasters meeting, there are efforts

of many Role-takers. And behind every milestone that we achieve, there is a
never-ending guidance of our pole star, one of the founding members of this
highly energetic club, ex-President of HSR Toastmasters Club, TM Vasanthi.
We learnt walking on this path by holding her hand and always look up to
her whenever we reach a dead-end or are at a crossing.

Here, I wish everyone a successful Toastmasters journey and happy

learning!

Lastly, I would like to leave you with my personal belief.

Never let your flame of passion die

...waves of worldly-obstacles are not so high
Let the match sticks of efforts amplify
...even in darkness, you will emerge like a firefly.

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VP - EDUCATION'S NOTE
TM Deepika

October 1, 2017. That is the day when my term as a member of HSR Toastmasters
Club began. I remember that I joined Toastmasters with the sole intent of
becoming a better speaker. Well, little did I know that this journey had something
else in store for me. People often confine Toastmasters to public speaking and
communication. "Where Leaders are Made" is often ignored. And I had done the
same. Leadership was never a driver for me to attend a Toastmasters session.
However, about 9 months back, when I was presented with the opportunity of
becoming a VP PR, I was quick to lap it up because designing posters was my
hobby anyway.

As my term as a VP PR began and I became a part of the executive committee, I

realized that if there is one role I should run away from, that would be VP of
Education. VP Ed seemed to be the most challenging, effort taking and time-
consuming role. But as fate would have it, this note is being written by me in the
capacity of a VP-Ed. And this is the beauty of Toastmasters. You let it guide you and
it will present enough challenges to make you stronger. I had never thought in my
wildest of dreams that someday I would lead a group or I would be looked upon for
advice. Three months back when I began my term, it seemed like an impossible task.
But with time things started to fall into place. Over the span of past 3 months, I have
learned the art of persuasion by convincing members to take up roles, the skill of
crisis management by dealing with last minute backouts and the power of planning.
The sense of satisfaction that dawns upon after pulling off a successful meeting is
beyond compare.

Undoubtedly, HSR Toastmasters has been nothing short of a wish-granting factory.

Each new meeting is a new learning and every new member is a new asset that
really sets this club apart. My journey might have just begun but am sure that the
weekly dose of motivation that I get from HSR Toastmasters Club will take me
forward for many more years to come.

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EVENT LIST OF THE QUARTER

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INSTALLATION
CEREMONY

Our officers taking the Oath to serve the Club

Ex-President TM The extraordinary

Vasanthi with Area cake that we
Director TM Anirudha couldn't resist!

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OUR NEW OFFICERS

TERM - JULY 2018 to DECEMBER 2018

TM SHIVIKA TM DEEPIKA TM SHILPI

PRESIDENT VP EDUCATION VP MEMBERSHIP

TM DHAIRYA TM AJITH TM ABHISHEK TM SANDEEP

VP PR SECRETARY TREASURER SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

TM GOMATHI TM NARENDRA TM STANLEY

ASSOCIATE VP EDUCATION ASSOCIATE VP PR ASSOCIATE VP MEMBERSHIP

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DCP REPORT
 VOL 3 | ISSUE 1 | SEPTEMBER 2018

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ART OVERFLOW
Roronoa Zoro by TM Vamshi Pampari

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WHY TOASTMASTERS
WORKS
TM Aditya Nishtala

The title may be misleading because it implies that I know the answer. I don’t.
However, I do know that each Toastmasters meeting just works. We’ve all felt
it, that warm glow at the end of every meeting. Especially when we have
delivered a speech or done true justice to a role or were lucky enough to
speak at table-topics.

I wonder if it’s something to do the with the standardized format of the

meeting. It's rigourous and yet offers room for serendipity, especially in the
table-topics section. The toastmasters meeting is the perfect amalgamation
of prepared and impromptu public speaking. Sometimes I hear a hard-hitting
speech that has a deep impact on my psyche. Then the rest of the meeting
pales in the shadow of that speech. I am fortunate to have experienced this a
couple of times. Even if there are no such brilliant performances, each
meeting leaves me with the feeling of contentment and warmth.

Maybe the reason for that is the community spirit of the members. We come
together every week with the common goal of finding our voice and learning
the art of conveying our message effectively. In many ways Toastmasters is
a microcosm of the real world. It is vast and complex. There are multiple
layers of structure in the form of Districts, Divisions and Areas. It favours
excellence over mediocrity. This is evident in the periodic Contests that
generate so much excitement.  

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WHY TOASTMASTERS
WORKS
TM Aditya Nishtala

And yet, I feel it is kinder and more forgiving than the real world.
Mistakes are pointed out by evaluators in the meeting itself. However,
all evaluation or feedback is made in the spirit of Ubuntu, the African
philosophy which says “I am because we are”. Evaluation is designed to
motivate speakers and guide them on their journey to become a better
communicator.

I find that Toastmasters works best when all rules and guidelines are
followed in letter and spirit. Well-prepared speakers and role-takers
really make the meeting come alive. I find this happening every single
time at the HSR Toastmasters Club. The standard of the meeting is the
true wealth of the club.  

The reason why Toastmasters works so well may lie at the intersection
of philosophy, social sciences, anthropology, psychology and countless
other disciplines. I am neither qualified nor interested in discovering
why it works. I am content to accept it as a fact of life. Anyway, I’m too
busy trying to win a certificate at the next meeting of the HSR
Toastmasters Club.  

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THE LADDER OF
LIFE
TM Prathyusha

The night is darkest and I promise you the dawn is coming” says Harvey
Dent in the movie Dark Knight. From times unknown, this spirit of optimism
has transformed the face of human society. Emancipating the working
class from the tyranny of monarchy, abolishing slave trade, freeing a
nation from 300 year colonial rule, all of these remarkable achievements
demanded insatiable spirit of optimism from the leaders and challenged
the status quo. The change was not easy, but thanks to grit and gumption
of the forbearers, the human societies rose to shine and started their
journey to embrace egalitarianism and liberty.

6th September, 2018 is a red letter day as Indian Supreme court’s five
judge constitution bench unanimously held that part of Section 377 of
Indian Penal Code that criminalized consensual sexual relationships
between adults of same sex or otherwise, in private, violated the
constitutional right to equality and dignity. Contrary to populist opinion,
the court has upheld the true spirit of Indian constitution by recognizing
homosexuality as a variation of sexuality and not an aberration. This
landmark judgement is giant leap for LGBT community and in general
for Indian society to rise against the social stigma and unleash its true
potential.

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THE LADDER OF
LIFE
TM Prathyusha

In spite of umpteen intersexual and homosexual references in mythologies

across the world, the society was reluctant to accept the third gender, due
to which LGBT community lived in an environment of constant fear, dogma,
ignominy and oppression. Even in the recent history, the genius of Alan
Turing met with unjust conviction, Oscar Wilde’s eloquence was tarnished
with criminal charges, Anthony Perkin’ sexuality was a guarded secret.
Societal reformation did come, albeit slowly and called for numerous
sacrifices from leading activists like Barbara Gittings, Vikram Seth, Sonal
Giani and many others. Sexuality can never be a prison for human
potential, on the contrary it defines the human spirit and empowers it to
rise up and shine.

As an Indian citizen, it is a moment of immense pride to witness our country

ushering a new era for LGBT communities and truly upholding
Rabindranath’s Tagore vision.

"Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake"

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CHAOS BY DESIGN
TM Rajat

Most of the people from an early age live the life sequentially, starting with
grade 1, 2, then grade 12, college, job, and realize that by the age they reach
60+, they are broke.

I am in a project management profession, what I do is try to bring some

‘structure to the chaos’. The words like process, frameworks, governance are
the most common words in my dictionary. I have been teaching people to
prioritize, plan, literally asking them to do the tasks sequentially.

Lately, I spoke to a few entrepreneurs, who also happen to be millionaires. The

one common theme I notice in them is that they love chaos and don’t have very
high regards to the so-called ‘structured’ way of working. 

They do multiple things simultaneously, they juggle, create chaos and are
comfortable living in the chaos. I tried to relate this concept to ‘Startups’ way of
working.

In the meeting, executives decide to launch an idea and the very next moment they
decide the ‘launch date’ too. No one has thought about the ‘how-list’, dependencies,
rules, regulations etc. and execution starts by backtracking the ‘launch date’.

In every follow-up call, the leader keeps pushing for the date (non-negotiable,
drop-dead date are the buzzwords) and this behavior brings people to speed,
brings the parallel thinking, the birth of innovative ideas and the majority of
times, the idea goes ‘live’ within the ‘launch date’.

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CHAOS BY DESIGN
TM Rajat

The point is people are conditioned with sequential thinking because of which
they do too little things. In case, they start simultaneous activities, they become
overwhelmed and soon they drop the ‘simultaneous activities’ and come back
to their comfort zone.

“In a case for too many days and weeks, you are not becoming over-whelmed,
than you are not growing.”

The day people become ‘aware’ that being over-whelmed is good, being in
over-whelming state is a friendly state, start challenging themselves, participate
in new things, stretch out of the comfort zone. That day they will find they are in
a different league.

Chaos brings innovation, a different way of working. The entrepreneurs,

leaders, businesses are successful because they embrace the chaos. Living in
Chaos comfortably is the habit. 

“You don’t decide your future, you decide your habits and your habits decide
your future.”

Well, I see myself in a transition state and my common phrase ‘Conquer the
Chaos’ is shifting to ‘Chaos by design’.

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NATURE'S BEAUTY
TM Nagendra

"Look deep into nature, and then you will

understand everything better"

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INCLUSION THROUGH
TOASMASTERS
TM Anirudha

Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. – Ryunosuke Satoro.

In this era of turbo charged social-media and ever increasing opinion based
individualities, perhaps the very social fabric we need isn’t cultivated. The
debaters have to be either black or white, the outlines either hard or non-
existent, the stories either academic or fiction. What we could benefit from; is
inclusion. Inclusion isn’t just about inviting others, it is about listening and
understanding the stories each of us bring along.

A toastmasters club is one such social forum where members from different
vocations, cultures and traditions share and listen to each other’s story. It is
therefore no wonder that this forum is gaining momentum and we witness
guests pouring in each time they feel a need for belonging. It is where they
listen to ideas that may resonate their own or perhaps bring out a different
perspective.
It is sanctimonious forum where the speaker or the story isn’t judged, but
instead the speaker is encouraged to become better in telling his or her own
story.

We are all part of this huge movement to help people overcome the fear of
public speaking, to be able to tell their stories to the world and to become
more confident communicators. This is the pedestal our society needs and I
am happy that it found me.

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TESTIMONIALS

One of my wish was to become a great public speaker. But I did not know
how to develop and practice my skills. I came to know about Toastmasters
through my workplace.Toastmaster is the exact place for a person to
develop the skill of speaking. The members of HSR Toastmasters club
encourage alot for speaking. This is the place where you can feel free to 
practice your speech. The best part is every prepared speech will be
evaluated by experienced speakers. Joining  HSR Toastmasters club was
the one best thing I did this year to develop me a better person.
TM Hitha

I am terrible at public speaking and the fear has lurked in me forever. I’ve tried
various means to understand what is it that makes me tremble in front of an
audience. I’ve attended motivational speeches, role plays etc.. and none of them
had that secret sauce. It was not until recently that I started getting exposed to
Toastmasters Clubs around me and I wondered what was done differently here,
and after my very first meeting at HSR TMC I was completely convinced that it’s
all an organized effort and it’s about practice and being involved, and there is
no place like HSR TMC where it is done to absolute perfection.
I now completely believe in the saying: “Take chances, make mistakes. That's
TM Stanley
how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice
being brave”

I had heard of the toastmasters community from my friends and  finally

joined the HSR toast Masters club  about 2 months back. During my visit
as a guest I got to see the TM meeting format and met some really
friendly, like minded people who were aiming for the same goal as I was
i.e. to become good at people speaking. During the first visit itself I knew
that this is the place I would want to be part of. Its been wonderful last two
months full of learning and developing skills needed to be a good public
speaker. I am looking forward to  exciting times ahead as a toastmaster. TM Narendra

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TESTIMONIALS

I always used to imagine myself as a confident speaker on stage. But

whenever I got those chances, I ruined it. I got uncomfortable the
moment I saw audience. This was one of desires I always wanted to work
upon. I was serching through various places and then I heard about
Toastmasters Club. I joined HSR Toastmaster Club. This club is full of
energy. Here, I met like-minded people who are also here in a hope to
see the better version of themselves in future. Hope I may see the same.
TM Suraj

I was very nervous before joining Toastmasters and was thinking

whether it is my cup of tea. I was wrong.. Actually it is like everyday
morning tea which is refreshing and make you energetic throughout
your personality. Nice ambience, segment of speeches, table topics,
evaluation process everything was new to me. And fabulous people
surrounding provide invaluable improvement tips for your personality
development which is really a great experience. For me, Toastmasters
is an untrodden path with varied experiences and surprises altogether
TM Nagendra
which is cherishing. I wouly say a fantastic journey liess ahead with
Toastmasters.

HSR Toastmasters has been energetic and scintillating radiances of

inspiration for me in each and every meeting. The ecosystem is so
supportive that one cannot miss any small opportunities of showing
up and shining! Getting a hesitation person like me hooked up in to
the meetings say a lot about all the toastmasters. Given I have
embarked on this journey, I am hoping to see myself a
transformed, an elegant and impromptu public speaker and good
TM Prasad
communicator

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COME VISIT US

Sarvam Restaurant Every Saturday

20th Cross, HSR Layout 4:30pm to 6:30 pm

https://www.facebook.com/hsrtoastmasters/

https://www.instagram.com/hsrtoastmasters/

https://twitter.com/hsrtoastmaster

https://www.meetup.com/HSR-Toastmasters-Club/

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 Vol 3 | Issue 1 | Sept 2018

DISTRICT 92

Rise To Shine