toasted tidings march 2015
DESCRIPTION
Newsletter of Qatar Toastmasters Club Vol 10 Issue 3TRANSCRIPT
Qatar Toastmasters Club Office Bearers 2014-2015
President TM Rukhsana Khan
VP Education TM Sarita Jacob
VP Membership TM Nevine Kamel
VP Public Relations TM Senthil Kumar
Secretary TM Azeez Mohammed
Treasurer TM Biju Mathew
Sergeant at Arms TM Cipriano Collado
Publisher TM Rukhsana Khan
Editor TM Thomas Joseph
Sub Editor TM Senthil Kumar
Proof Reader TM Rukhsana Khan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
QATAR TOASTMASTERS CLUB
DOHA, QATAR
EMAIL: [email protected]
WWW.QATARTOASTMASTERS.ORG
Mission of a club
We provide a supportive and positive
learning experience in which members are
empowered to develop communication
and leadership skills, resulting in greater
self-confidence and personal growth.
Page 10 Welcome our new members
Page 11 Members Progress Chart
Page 12 Breaking the ice! :
An article by Andrew Dlugan
Page 14 Pause for a moment:
An article by TM Azeez Mohammed
Page 17 Featured : The Iron Lady
Page 21 Genuine Evaluation- The need of the hour An article by TM Williams Antony, CC,
ALB
Page 23 Club Contests
Page 24 Area Contests
Page 25 Gavel Contests
Page 27 A brief report on Qatar Open 2015 :
Prelims
Page 29 Myth-busted : A must read !
Page 32 Golden memories
Page 33 On a lighter note
Breaking the ice!
TOASTED TIDINGS 12
Ice breaker (or Icebreaker) is a term which de-
scribes an activity which reduces tension and anxie-
ty in a group.
Thus, it is fitting that the first Toastmaster speech
project is titled The Ice Breaker.
This article of the Toastmasters Speech Series exam-
ines the primary goals of this project, provides tips
and techniques, and links to numerous sample speech-
es.
Why is This Speech Important?
The Ice Breaker speech has three aims:
1. Introduce yourself. Your ice breaker speech topic
is you – something about your life, your job, your
hobbies, your unique interests, your family, or any
combination of these. You are an absolute authority
on this topic, and everyone in the audi-
ence will learn something about you.
2. Begin to conquer the fear of speak-
ing in front of a group. It is nervewrack-
ing when speaking in front of a new
group. If you feel this nervousness, re-
member that a Toastmaster audience is
always supportive and understanding. No-
body is grading you, and nobody will
mind if you stumble through 99 “Um”s
and “Ah”s. If you get up, say something,
and sit down, you have succeeded in this
project.
Provide a “base line” of your current strengths and weaknesses. Some new members have no public speaking experience, while others have years of presentations behind them. No matter where you fit into this spectrum, your goal is to improve from your starting point. This first speech helps club members gauge your current strengths so that they can make specific recommendations to help you improve.
Tips and Techniques
The Competent Communicator manual has a wealth of
helpful advice. You can download a PDF version of
the first project from the Toastmasters International
website.
Here are a few other things which may help you:
Ask for Help If you have a mentor, don’t hesitate to
ask them for help. If you don’t, feel free to ask any other
club member. Perhaps they can share what they spoke
about for their Icebreaker. Perhaps they can help you se-
lect a topic. Perhaps you can practice it privately before
the meeting. All other members have gone through the Ice
Breaker before, and can provide words of encourage-
ment.
Practice Helps You don’t need to practice the speech
35 times, and you don’t need to have it memorized. How-
ever, your nervousness will be reduced considerably if
you give it a couple of practice runs out loud (even if
your only audience is you).
Timing The recommended time for the Ice Breaker
speech is four to six minutes. It may seem like a long
time, but in later projects, you’ll start wishing you had
much more time to deliver your message. Don’t
worry too much about going under or over time.
Just aim for somewhere in that range.
Notes There are no rules on the use of notes.
If you need notes, use them. If you don’t need
notes, don’t. Either way, don’t worry about it.
It’s okay if you read your ice breaker from a
script (just try to look up once in a while), if you
refer to cue cards, or if you talk without notes.
Don’t Expect to be Winston Churchill
This is your first challenge. Nobody expects you
to be a world-class orator. Just do your best. Once you
have established your “base line”, then you can aim to
raise your skill level in future projects.
Speak Up and Slow Down Two common effects of
nervousness are mumbling words and racing through the
speech. Try to avoid these, but don’t worry if you can’t
help it.
Humour Reduces Your Nervousness If you are
comfortable incorporating humour into your ice breaker,
go for it. The laughs from the audience will reduce your
nervousness. An easy way to do this is to make a self-
depracating joke at the start. (If nobody laughs, don’t
worry about that either… it’s something to work on later.)
“Nobody
expects you
to be a world
-class orator.
Just do your
best.”
A must read for new joiners By Andrew Dlugan
Breaking the ice! (Cont…)
TOASTED TIDINGS 13
Apologizing You may feel an urge to apologize to your audience (e.g. for uttering too many “Um”s, for losing your place, etc.). There is no need to do so! Of-ten, the audience doesn’t notice the little glitches, and it is much better for you to ignore them too.
Topic Ideas for Your Ice Breaker Speech
Although your broad topic is yourself,
there are numerous angles to take, and
several ways to organize your speech.
Don’t worry too much about the organiza-
tion of the speech; later speech projects
(especially #2 and #3) encourage you to
focus more on that. However, having said
that, one of these ideas may help you
overcome writer’s block.
Idea #1: Chronological
For many people, a series of chronological snapshots
of their life is the easiest to write and deliver.
Idea #2: Topical
Discuss a series of elements of your life to provide a
“sampling” of your life. For example, you could open
up by talking about your family, then discuss your ca-
reer, and conclude with your hobbies.
Idea #3: Common Thread
Select a common thread that runs through your life,
and share brief stories where this common element
appears. It might be a signature phrase, a philosophy
that guides you, or even something obscure like pea-
nut butter. (i.e. imagine stories through your life
where peanut butter played a role)
My own Ice Breaker speech followed this general
structure. It was titled “Andrew of All Trades – Master
of None” and touched on several examples where I
have breadth, but not depth of knowledge.
Idea #4: One Key Event
Focus on one critical event which took your life in a
completely different direction.
Idea #5: How I Got Here…
A combination of #1 and #4, explain the series of de-
cisions or events that brought you “here”, where
“here” might be the place you currently live, the job you
currently have, the life you lead, or the decision to join
Toastmasters.
Andrew Dlugan is the editor and
founder of Six Minutes. He teaches
courses, leads seminars, coaches
speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide
by PowerPoint. He is an award-
winning public speaker and speech
evaluator. Andrew is a father and hus-
band who resides in British Columbia,
Canada.
Some examples of Ice Breaker speeches
Written Examples
http://acottageindustry.typepad.com/
a_cottage_industry/2008/02/the-icebreaker.html
http://thebioimp.blogspot.com/2008/06/words-have-
power.html
https://attractingsuccess.wordpress.com/2006/09/05/
icebreaker-speach-toastmasters/
Video Examples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTv_4G2yUjk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAVHX9SJEIM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUYy5qFaKYs
Qatar Toastmasters celebrate the International Women’s Day at the Radisson BLU Hotel
Qatar Toastmasters inducts 8 new members on 15th March 2015
Qatar Open in the news
The first round of the 18th Qatar Open: Youth Public
Speaking Championship saw a cross section of Qatar’s
high school students speaking on the topic “The best in-
vestment you can make is in yourself”. The Qatar Open is
a nationwide public speaking contest organized by Qatar
Toastmasters Club for students aged between 13 – 18
years. The prelims were hosted at Birla Public School.
“Qatar Open is one of the main ways Qatar Toastmasters gives
back to the local community,” notes Rukhsana Khan, President
of Qatar Toastmasters Club and Chairperson of the Sponsor-
ship Committee, “This event is fully aligned with the principles
and national strategy embodied in the Qatar National Vision
2030. By providing a platform for confident self-expression, it
unlocks human potential. Public speaking empowers the stu-
dents to achieve their aspirations and equips them with vital
skills to contribute to society. At QTM we believe we are train-
ing today’s youth in Qatar to face the communication and lead-
ership challenges of tomorrow.”
Qatar Open Chairperson, Nevine Kamel, said: “This year there
was tremendous response particularly from leading independ-
ent schools and international schools. The top 10 schools
which sent the most students were Birla Public School, Mi-
chael E. DeBakey High School, DPS Modern Indian School,
American School of Doha, the Lebanese School, Ibn Khaldoun
Preparatory Independent School for Boys, Doha Modern Indian
School, M.E.S. Indian School, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Preparatory
School and Doha College”.
Since there were many first timers taking part Qatar Toastmas-
ters Club conducted a free workshop hosted at Doha College
and facilitated by Nevine Kamel who herself is a freelance
trainer and HR consultant. The students benefitted from the
expert training on the basics of public speaking, types of
speeches, and the judging criteria that they would need to con-
sider while writing their speeches.
Kamel said “The workshop is an added feature of Qatar Open
to ensure that all competing students have access to the same
information needed to start their journey towards the coveted
Qatar Open 2015 - Preliminary Round
TM Nevine Kamel, Qatar Open 2015 Chairperson
A brief report
TOASTED TIDINGS 27
title of “Qatar Open - Youth Public Speaking Champion”.
The workshop was very well-received by students, parents
and teachers who found it very useful and informative.”
At the prelims event Nevine Kamel briefed the participants
about the rules and regulations of the contest. The briefing
was followed by a motivational address by Rukhsana Khan
who highlighted that their decision to participate was a re-
flection of the contest theme: The best investment you can
make is in yourself.
Over 140 had students registered online for the contest. A
good number came forward to take their first step towards
championship victory. The contestants were divided in 7
groups each with a dedicated panel of seasoned judges
from toastmaster clubs across the country. The top 5 con-
testants from each group made the cut to proceed to the
semi-finals. Competition was stiff but the young orators
impressed the judges with their inspiring speeches. One of
the judges commented, “We were surprised to see the level
of competency in the first timers and judging them was not
an easy job.” From the prelims 35 participants were picked
to proceed to the semi-final round which will take place on
17th April. The top 10 from the semifinals will qualify for
the final round on 8th May at CNA-Q.
Participants and parents alike praised the way the contest
was organized and remarked how much they enjoyed it.
One parent described it as “an excellent experience for the
child” and participants acknowledged it as “one of the big-
gest contests in Qatar”. Many participants acknowledged
the contest as an effective way of
overcoming stage fear. Bilal Ah-
med, a student at DeBakey High
School observed, “Public speaking
is one thing that many people are
afraid of – crowds and stuff like
that. If you build on that at a young
age then you won’t face challenges
when you’re older.”
Participants and teachers also
emphasized the value of public
speaking as a means of increasing
self confidence. Majda Tamimi, a teacher at DeBakey High
School, said,” it increases their confidence and their public
speaking skills which is so important nowadays. Especially the
world has become so small, people are living everywhere, so
for them to be encouraged, to be able to speak in front of peo-
ple, of all kinds, from everywhere in the world, I think it’s very
important.”
The event was coordinated by dedicated members of Qatar
Toastmasters Club and other toastmaster clubs who support
one another in true toastmasters’ spirit. Khan expressed that
the sense of satisfaction which volunteers get, proves the club’s
tagline “When you give…you get much more.”
The semi-final round on 17th April will take place at Birla Pub-
lic School and the Grand Finale on 8th May at the College of
the North Atlantic - Qatar.
Contd…
TOASTED TIDINGS 28
It’s really interesting how certain “rules” get made and
passed around, and eventually these myths are thought to
be fact. Here’s a few I’ve found. These are all FALSE. If someone tells you what’s below is required, they are incor-
rect, and I’ve included links where possible to the TI web site. Many of these were gathered from a discussion on
the Facebook members group.
Contest myths
1. You can’t be a contestant in April/May if you haven’t
paid your membership renewal by April 1, or in October/November for October 1 dues. (There’s a two-month grace
period for both clubs and members where they’re still in good standing and eligible for all benefits of
membership.)
2. Telling someone you’re interested in being
appointed Area Governor next year disqualifies you from competing. (No, the rulebook allows
even announced candidates for appointed office
to compete until they take office.)
3. For the international contest, your 6th speech
can be the contest speech itself. (No, the rulebook says “a member must have com-
pleted at least six speech projects in the Compe-tent Communication manual prior to the club
contest”.)
4. A speaker who misses the draw must speak
first, or last, or any specific place when they eventually show. (This is obviously unfair, as it
effectively allows a speaker to pick their place in the order, and we know later speakers have
an advantage.)
5. Prepared speech contestants cannot (or must)
leave the room before/after they speak. (No, they’re free to come and go during the minute’s silence, just like any oth-
er audience member. Table topics and evaluation contest-ants must stay out until their turn, but once they’ve spoken,
they’re also free to come and go.)
6. You can’t wear a generic Toastmasters pin in a contest.
(The rulebook does not mention this, but the rulebook does
say you cannot add rules. It is a good practice to remove any-
thing showing office or educational award level, but cannot be
required.)
7. You have to address the Toastmaster or Contest Chair during a speech or at a contest. (Also not in the rulebook, but a com-
mon custom, and some judges may mark down a contestant
who does not follow this myth.)
8. The contest emcee stays standing at their seat after introduc-ing the speaker until the speaker acknowledges them. (See
above.)
9. You can be disqualified from a speech contest for stepping
outside of the speaking area. (Again, not in the rulebook, but a common custom, and speakers who go outside the box might
be marked down by some judges who believe in this myth.)
10. You cannot re-use a contest speech in another contest. (No,
you can use any speech or any variation of a speech at any level, as long as it’s your speech, until the
World Championship of Public Speaking final round, when the speech must be “an entirely new and differ-
ent speech than given in any International Speech
Contest since January 1 of that same year.”)
11. You can charge speech contestants to participate.
(No, as this would constitute an additional eligibility requirement, a new rule, and is not permitted. Charg-
ing for a meal or any other participation outside of
the contest is permitted.)
12. Contest judges must be trained. (No, the contest rulebook does not say this, and rules cannot be add-
ed. A chief judge could well prefer a trained judge, but they cannot be required to pick only trained judg-
es.)
13. Judges must use the scoring criteria on the ballot.
(No, this is a guide, not a requirement, but I would
avoid selecting judges who do not use the criteria.)
14. The tie-breaker judge is not required, they are never used. (Obviously, they are, or they would not be re-
quired, and ties among the voting judges is not unusual.)
15. No one can leave or enter the room until the ballots are col-lected (or tabulated). (No, only silence is required, the same as
between speeches.)
By Mike Raffety, DTM, PID
For the international contest, your
6th speech can be the contest speech itself.
(No, the rulebook
says “a member must
have completed at
least six speech pro-jects in the Competent
Communica-tion manual prior to the
club contest”.)
A must read!!!
TOASTED TIDINGS 29
Speech myths
1. The top fear of Americans is public speaking. (Another myth; it’s not even in the top 10 in most actual
surveys.)
2. 70 (or 93) percent of communication is non-verbal. (A
myth resulting from a misunderstanding of an academic
study.)
3. You can’t use certain types of speech at a meeting (sex, religion, politics). (TI has no rules limiting topics, but
some clubs do. The key is to be re-
spectful.)
4. You can fail a
speech and have to redo it. (There is no
pass/fail, you always get credit for try-
ing. An evaluator might suggest a re-do,
but it cannot be re-
quired.)
5. You can’t change
the timing objective in the speech project.
(All objectives are goals, not require-
ments, see above. If the agenda and VPE
or whomever controls the agenda has
enough time for a longer speech, it’s OK
on occasion. It’s more important to have a timing objective, and strive to
meet it, it doesn’t have to be the manual timing. I would not generally recommend a shorter time, as that reduces the
learning opportunity.)
6. It is required that you talk about yourself in your Ice
Breaker speech (see above).
7. You have to finish one manual or award before starting
another. (No, you can work in any manuals or awards you like in parallel. You can start in an advanced manual be-
fore finishing your CC, though it’s not recommended. You just can’t file an award until all prerequisites are complet-
ed.)
8. You can’t evaluate a speaker who is more advanced than you
are; a beginner just starting on their CC manual cannot evaluate
a DTM. (There are no TI requirements on who can evaluate
whom, though some clubs set rules.)
9. You have to do all 15 advanced manuals before doing any
over, or for another DTM. (No, the rules say that each DTM must be with six different advanced manuals, but each DTM
can use the same six, a different six, or any mix-and-match as
other DTMs a member may have earned.)
10. You can have a meeting with just speeches, no evaluations. Only the written evaluation
is necessary. (Both a written and oral evaluation
are required, though the oral evaluation could be deliv-
ered privately afterwards.)
11. You shouldn’t thank the
audience. (Sometimes it is quiteappropriate, but it prob-
ably shouldn’t be the last
thing you say.)
Club operations myths
1.Voting in a member is the
only way a member can be voted out. (Not required at
all, you can vote someone out regardless.)
2.Only the Sergeant at Arms can open or close the meeting.
(Do whatever works for your club.)
3.Table topics evaluations are a standard and required part of
the program. (No, they’re not in the standard program, though
many clubs find them valuable.)
4.Advanced clubs must require dual membership, or must re-
quire a CC, or anything else. (No, it’s up to the club to decide and enforce what the membership requirements might
be. WHQ only takes an interest a the time of charter, when at
least 17 members must be dual, OR 17 non-dual.)
Contd…
TOASTED TIDINGS 30
5.District officers have authority over your club. (Area
Governors and the like can only coach and advise. If
there’s a legal issue, contact only WHQ.)
6.Responses from WHQ must be followed. (No, only the written documents with policy and protocol, and manuals,
and the like, are mandatory; responses from individual WHQ staffers are great advice and should be strongly con-
sidered, but are not mandatory unless they point to a writ-ten rule somewhere, as they have not been reviewed and
approved organizationally. They do make mistakes,
they’re human.)
7.All HPL projects must be approved by the District Gov-ernor (or someone else outside the club). (Only the HPL
guidance committee and club VPE have to sign off.)
8.If your HPL project fails, you cannot get HPL cred-
it. (No, if your guidance committee signs off on it, if
you’ve learned something, then the HPL is a success!)
9.Club meetings (or district events) must start with a prayer and/or pledge of allegiance. (No, this is a club choice, and ob-
viously not right for all clubs. Do consider how these rituals
might make guests feel though; be inclusive.)
Mike Raffety, DTM is a Distinguished
Toastmaster from Iowa. He is a Past
International Director for Region 5. He is a IT
Performance professional. He is a
toastmaster since 2000 (14 years). He holds
an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of
Management.
Contd…
Date Event Time Venue
17th April 2015 Qatar Open 2015 Semi-Finals 3 PM to 6 PM Birla Public School
19th April 2015 Qatar Toastmasters Club Meeting # 393 7 PM to 9:30 PM Radisson Blu Hotel
24th April 2015 Division Q Annual Conference 8 AM to 6 PM Radisson Blu Hotel
1st May 2015 Division E Annual Conference 8 AM to 6 PM College of the North Atlantic, Qatar
3rd May 2015 Qatar Toastmasters Club Meeting # 394 7 PM to 9:30 PM Radisson Blu Hotel
8th May 2015 Qatar Open 2015 Finals 5 PM to 8 PM College of the North Atlantic, Qatar
28th - 30th May 2015 District 20 Annual Conference Agenda not released Dubai Women's College, UAE
12th - 15th August 2015 Toastmasters International Convention
2015 Agenda not released
Caesars Palace Hotel , Las Vegas, USA
TOASTED TIDINGS 31
ENVISIONED FUTURE
“To be the first-choice provider of dynamic, high-value, experiential communication and leader-
ship skills development.”
MISSION
We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.
REFERENCES
Toastmasters International Website : http://www.toastmasters.org
Internet search engine
DISCLAIMER
This magazine is published for internal circulation among the members of Qatar Toastmasters Club,
to promote the ideas and goals of Toastmasters International. Editor does not take the responsibil-
ity for the authenticity / opinion of the articles / authors, published. Toastmasters International and
its logos are trademarks registered in the USA, Canada and many other countries.
GO GREEN
To save the trees and to leave planet earth with all its flora and fauna to our future generations,
this magazine is circulated to members only electronically. Think before you print this.
FEEDBACK
Your valuable feedback is very important for us to improve further as for every Toastmasters ac-
tivity. Please remember to send your feedback, comments, suggestions etc. to
[email protected] or [email protected].
Thank you!