Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

District 92

Celebrating change
Divergent
Club No. 5843852 
Div J | Area J3
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

02
WHAT'S NEW AT HSR
Take a sneak peak into HSR's 
 new ventures 

05
PATHWAYS ROLLOUT
See how excited we are for
Pathways

09
ARTICLES 
Meet the poets and writers of
HSR Toastmasters Club

16
EDUCATIONAL
SPEAKERS 
Words of wisdom from
Educational Speakars
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

Editors's Note
Deepika Ghodki
Vice President, Public Relations

"If you get out of Toastmasters all there is to get out of Toastmasters, you’ll never get out
of Toastmasters" - DTM Salo Velrajan Toastmasters!

I believe that our life is like a Toastmasters meeting. Yes, similar to a regular meeting that
is divided into three parts - Prepared Speeches, Table Topics and Evaluation. In our lives,
we are prepared to face a lot of situations but many difficulties come without a prior
notice as well and then there is the evaluation part where we introspect, retrospect and
take the learnings with us while tackling the problems in future.

 Five months back, when I joined Toastmasters, I didn't have a lot of idea about how
would the journey be and what all would I be able to do. And here I am today writing the
Editor’s note. The journey so far has been truly enriching.  I can truly say that my
thoughts echo the quote I started this article with.

 In this newsletter, we have tried to showcase the poetic and literary skills of the HSR
Toastmasters Club and highlight the club achievements and events. It revolves around
the theme change which is a part of life. This theme has been kept in mind considering the
change in Toastmasters program with Pathways.  Hope you like the efforts. Will be all
ears for your feedback.

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

Vice President - 
Education's  Note
Shivika Mittal 

“The best way to be an efficient leader... is to leave the notion of you being a leader at the
door, whenever you enter your club.”

This is something that I heard and learnt from a renowned Toastmaster and often recall
while carrying out my responsibilities, as the Vice-President Education of HSR Toastmasters
Club, appropriately.

HSR Toastmasters Club is extremely special to me...It is a highly welcoming place,

constituting some gems called ‘HSR Toastmasters’. It makes me feel more like me, bringing
out the best in me, giving wings to my passion of public speaking.

But another very important thing that it gave me is an opportunity, to interact with
numerous wonderful people, from multiple clubs, who have a wide horizon of thinking that
amazed me every time I interacted with them.

Often, there are times when a choice has to be made and a decision has to be taken, when its
essential to motivate others even if I am myself skeptical. Coming out with flying colors in
such challenging situations, is what I have learnt at this platform, while performing my role.

We all at HSR Toastmasters Club, together take a step in this journey to add a new feather
to our cap every now and then.

If I have to summarize my experience of being a VPE so far, I would say, “Even if you become a
Leader, never stop being a Learner.”

I wish everyone a successful Toastmasters journey and happy learning!

ii
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

Event List of the Quarter 1

 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

What's new at HSR

SECRETARY REPORT READING

In every meeting the secretary makes a note of the

highlights of the meeting and feedback suggested  by HSR MoM

GE. This is read out before the start of next meeting

as key takeaways and action items and is  also
included in MoM. 

DIGITAL VOTING AND GUEST FEEDBACK

Gone are the days when we distributed paper

ballots and tallied them manually, gone are the days
when we had a guest book to capture feedback and
guest details, now everything happens with just a
click of few buttons.  

 YOUTUBE CHANNEL

HSR Toastmasters' YouTube channel was started with

an intention of capturing the memorable words
spoken in any meeting. This has enabled the members
to grasp the learnings of educational sessions even if
they couldn't make it to the meeting.  
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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

INSTALLATION CEREMONY

Passing the baton of

responsibility onto a new
INSTALLATION CEREMONY
team of highly talented
and motivated individuals

STORY TELLING 
CONTEST
CAKE CUTTING
Adding twists to old
classic fairy tales and
running will with your
imagination

"A Parody of Fairy

Tales" WINNER OF STORY TELLING CONTEST

WINNER OF TABLE TOPICS CONTEST

3
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018
MEET OUR
NEW
OFFICERS

ASAN KUMAR SHIVIKA MITTAL BHUWANESHWARI

SHIVIKA MITTAL
President VP - Education VP - Membership

DEEPIKA GHODKI ANIL KUMAR NARESH ERUKULLA

VP - Public Relations Secretary Treasurer

GOMATHI BALAN VAMSHI PAMPARI AJITH RAMAN

Sergeant at Arms Associate VP PR Associate Secretary

4
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

PATHWAYS
ROLL OUT AT HSR TOASTMASTERS CLUB

New ways of learning

TM Aalap Mehta
Pathways Guide and Ambassador

5
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

MEMORABLE
MEETINGS

LINKERS MEETING
with Vanguard
Toastmasters Club

Meeting #88
THE WORLD IS
YOURS

VALENTINE'S DAY
SPECIAL 

Meeting #83

LOVE IS IN
THE AIR

AND MANY MORE... 6

 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

CLUB CONTEST

I : Akash Agarwal
II : Shivika Mittal INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST

III : Vasanthi Prabhu

I : Vamshi Pampari
II : Abhishek Keelia 
III : Shivika Mittal
TABLE TOPICS CONTEST

UPCOMING

Areal J3 Contest 
 8th April
Division J Contest
20th April 

ROLE TAKERS

District Contest
 25-27th May

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

DCP Report
SELECT DISTINGUISHED CLUB

HSR Toastmasters Club became a Select Distinguished Club in

the previous term. We hope and intend to grow further and
become a President's Distinguished Club in the coming terms.

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

Quest for Happiness

Something that I yearned for

Yesterday, today and tomorrow,
But found my inner-self at war
And got some more sorrow.

It makes me restless
My mind and heart disaffirm,
hapless, hopeless and helpless
in my little room, I squirm.

Yes, I read, dance and sing

SOCIAL MEDIA
Travel, mingle and sleep,
FOLLOWERS
But no matter how much I swing
That loneliness always creeps.
VISITORS

I deny and laugh aloud

V E N DAnd
O R Stry
AN D to fall,
not
EXHIBITORS
Yet, always, somehow 
My eyes say it all.
MEDIA ATENDEES

Often, I comprehend
Deeply lost in my scantiness...
Will it ever come to an end,
This quest for happiness...?

TM Shivika Mittal

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

The Evolution of the Toastmasters Program

19th century: Ralph C. Smedley used to visit parties and realized that people did not know how to
raise a proper toast.

1905: The first Toastmasters demo meeting was held.

October 22, 1924: The first meeting of the Number One Toastmasters club in Santa Ana, California.

January 19, 1926: The second Toastmasters club was chartered in Anaheim, California.

August 11, 1927: Representatives of the five Santa Ana Toastmasters clubs plan the formation of a
"Federation of Toastmasters Clubs."S O C I A L M E D I A
FOLLOWERS

October 25, 1928: First manual for Toastmasters Clubs was designed and copyrighted by Ralph
Smedley. VISITORS

October 4, 1930: The name ‘Toastmasters

V E N D OInternational’
RS AND was adopted and officers were elected.
EXHIBITORS
October 4, 1930: Publication of ‘The Gavel’, the first Toastmasters magazine.
MEDIA ATENDEES
December 19, 1932: Toastmasters International got incorporated.

January 9, 1933: First Toastmasters club outside of California was established in Seattle,
Washington. 

April 1933: First issue of the ‘Toastmaster’ magazine.

July 6, 1935: District organization was instituted, starting with District 1 of Southern California.

January 29, 1938: Charter No.100 presented to the Century Toastmasters Club in Santa Ana.

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

The Evolution of the Toastmasters Program

August 1938: Inter-Club Speech Contest started. First winner: Henry Wiens of Reedley, California.

July 1946: District 18 of Scotland became the first district outside the United States.

1948: First TI Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws were published.

1950: The first "Certificate of Achievement" was issued for the new advanced course, "Beyond
Basic Training”.

June 1951: First Regional Conference was held in Des Moines, Iowa.

October 27, 1962: Dedication of a new

S O CWorld
I A L MHeadquarters
EDIA building in Santa Ana, California.
FOLLOWERS
March 1963: A district awards program is adopted, the precursor of the later Distinguished District
Program. VISITORS

1964: The first Able Toastmaster Award

V E N D(ATM)
O R S Awas
N D issued.
EXHIBITORS
1968: The first Competent Toastmaster Award (CTM) was issued for completing Basic manual.
MEDIA ATENDEES
August 1969: ‘Communication and Leadership’ manual introduced at the International Convention
in Cleveland, Ohio.

1970: The first Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Award was issued.

(DTM #1 is a D-47 Toastmaster)

August 1973: Membership opened to women.

1978: The multi-manual Advance Communication and Leadership Program is introduced.

1979: The first two Success/Leadership Programs were introduced.

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

The Evolution of the Toastmasters Program

1979: The first two Success/Leadership Programs were introduced.

1981: The Accredited Speaker Program began.

October 1982: Membership reached 100,000.

April 1989: Membership reached 150,000.

July 1989: The Distinguished Club Program, Distinguished Area Program, and Distinguished
Division Program were introduced.

June 1990: World Headquarters moved

S O C Ito
A LRancho
M E D I ASanta Margarita, California.
FOLLOWERS

January 1993: Toastmasters International chartered its 8,000th club.

VISITORS
June 1993: The High-Performance Leadership Program was introduced.
VENDORS AND
E X H I B I Tand
January 1997: The revised Communication O RLeadership
S Program manual was introduced.

July 1997: An improved two-track educational

M E D I A A T Erecognition
NDEES system began. The communication track
includes the CTM, Advanced Toastmaster Bronze, Advanced Toastmaster Silver and Advanced
Toastmaster Gold Awards. The leadership track includes the Competent Leader and Advanced
Leader awards. Requirements for the DTM awards also changes.

July 2017: Toastmasters International introduces a new program by replacing the traditional
program called PATHWAYS LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

TM Subhash Chandra

12
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

World's Greatest Marketer

We live in the age of consumerism. Every day we are bombarded with advertisements and
information about products we absolutely have no need to buy. But the irony is that we still buy
them. What compels us to spend our hard-earned money to buy them? Is it the product, or the
brand or the problem being solved?

When faced with a choice between two exactly similar products, the final decision to choose
between them boils down to their respective brands. For many, the perceived value of a brand is far
more valuable than the actual value of the product itself. Marketers alter our perception of their
brands to influence our purchasing decisions. They do this by taking advantage of how memories
are stored within our brains.

To explain the formation of memories German zoologist Richard Semon formulated the concept of
S O C Ior
the engrams, which are “The biophysical A Lbiochemical
MEDIA changes in our brain in response to external
FOLLOWERS
stimuli”. Every interaction we have with the outside world creates new engrams and this helps us
form our memories. This process is very important as this helps us in processing information faster.
VISITORS

To understand the use of engrams, look at the following pictures of chairs.

VENDORS AND
EXHIBITORS

MEDIA ATENDEES

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

World's Greatest Marketer

There are hardly any similarities between them and you probably have never seen such chairs
before. But it hardly took an instant for you to deduce their function as a chair. This is because of our
countless interactions with various chairs and the memories we formed with them.  Engrams help us
to understand our surroundings more efficiently, instead of trying to analyze and make sense in real-
time.

Think of it like Google. The Google search engine creates an index of all the pages on the web, so
when we search for something the search results take less than a second to show up. If it tried to
manually search every page on the internet every time we search for something, well you can
imagine what would be the load time.

Similarly, you form engrams of your friends and family members with every interaction you have
SOCIAL MEDIA
with them. You love some, you hateFsome,
O L L Ofind
W E someone
RS as inspiring and some as annoying. In the
case of celebrities, we usually perceive them to be larger than life because of their line of work and
popularity and a plethora of other possible
V I S I T O reasons.
RS We end up giving undue importance to someone
we never even met because every time we interact with them, either in person, or by watching their
movies and games, or seeing them in magazines and TV, our perception of them changes.
VENDORS AND
EXHIBITORS
A brand or a company is no different. Creating an impressive brand image is almost like taking an
ordinary person and turning him into a celebrity. Billions are spent by companies every year on PR
MEDIA ATENDEES
teams to improve their standing in our minds.

Building a follower base is what marketers do. There is one person who is a legend in the art of
marketing. His ministry must have been seen in person by around 60000 people 2000 years back.
But now, roughly one out of every three humans in the world claim to be his follower. Such fanatic is
his following that each year, thousands of parents name their kids after his disciples. He is none
other than Jesus Christ.

During ancient times philosophy was all the rage as they needed answers to many of the basic things
we now take for granted. For example, ancient Greeks believed that the turnout of the olive harvest
depended on the mood of the Gods. 

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

World's Greatest Marketer

A good harvest meant the Gods were happy and a bad one meant the Gods were angry. But a
philosopher, named Thales, realized that the harvests turned out well if they received enough
rainfall that year. He made use of this observation and monopolized the olive market and made a ton
of money. He didn’t need the money but he did so anyways to prove a point to the people.

The people then didn’t know right from wrong and looked up to such thinkers to learn. Many schools
of thought were birthed across the world, each with their own principles. Some of the notable ones
were the Epicureans, Stoics, Cynics, Socratics, Pythagoreans, Confucianists, Taoists and Buddhists
to name a few. Most of them focused on living a good life and had nothing to do with Gods or heaven
and hell.

But man is an emotional creature. Though we hate to admit it, a majority of the decisions we take
SOCIAL MEDIA
everyday are based on emotion rather F O Lthan
LOW onE Rlogic.
S Telling someone who stealing is a bad thing
won’t stop him from not doing it. But if you instill this idea from childhood that God is watching you
and will punish you in hell if you do something
V I S I T O R S wrong, he will be more wary of stealing again.

So many of those schools of thought have gone extinct and their names are now just vestigial words
VENDORS AND
in the dictionary representing a figment of what they used to mean. But Christianity withstood the
EXHIBITORS
test of time and its followers have actually increased in the past few centuries. Proof of one of the
greatest marketing genius in history.MEDIA ATENDEES

TM Vamshi Pampari

15
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

The Four Fs of Connection

Have you ever been in an audience where the speaker was so so boring, there was no connect at all
and you almost went to sleep or maybe you actually felt like telling him to get the hell out off the
stage!!!

Or maybe you've also encountered a fairly good speaker who you were quite interested in listening
to initially but soon enough you realized that all their communication was only centered around
praising themselves and their achievements.
You didn't feel the connection and that kind of pissed you off, didn't it?
SOCIAL MEDIA
Then what is it that a good speaker or
F Oeven
LLOWa fairly
E R S average speaker does to connect to his or her
audience in a much deeper way?
VISITORS
The answer lies in the Four "F's" of Connection...
By using them you can always connect with your audience in a much deeper and impactful way...
VENDORS AND
EXHIBITORS
The Four "F's" of Connection stand for:
1. Fears MEDIA ATENDEES
2. Failures
3. Frustrations
4. Firsts

Fears: Don't be all macho in front of your audience and show them that you are almost Superman!
In fact, talk about your Fears. It connects more with the audience and shows strength.
After all, Superman was also afraid of losing his loved ones, and that's what made him human!

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

The Four Fs of Connection

Failures: Don't shy away from sharing your failures. If there's one thing we all have in common - it's
that we all have failed at least one time in our lives. Actually more than just once for sure! Talking
about your failures even though it may be in a different area than your listeners, sure is one of the
best ways to connect. It makes it all real and they see you as one of them...

Frustrations: Well, if there's someone who hasn't ever been frustrated please show them to me! We
all get frustrated from time to time for as little things like the newspaper not arriving in the morning
to not getting the promotion that we so desperately wanted. Sharing your frustrations connects
with the listeners enormously as they as facing similar challenges and frustrating moments in their
day to day lives.

Firsts: This is my favorite. Although the irony is it's come at the end of the "Four F's". This is about
sharing your First moments in yourSlifeO C-I A
The
L MFirst
EDIA time of anything is special for everyone. Be it the
first time we snuck out if home, theFfirst
O L Lvehicle
OWERS we purchased, the first job, the first marriage...
Guess one is enough! as most married people would agree... :)
That's on a lighter note... VISITORS
Nevertheless, First are always special for everyone and sharing our Firsts strikes a chord in the
hearts of the listeners as they are reminded
V E N D O Rabout
S AND their own Firsts.
EXHIBITORS
Rather than taking the high ground and showing yourself as someone superior to your audience,
instead of being the person in the 'Suit',
M E D IBE the
A A T E'Empathticly
NDEES Suited' person sharing openly and
without inhibitions using this "Four F's" formula.

I can guarantee they will tend to LIKE you since they will FEEL they are LIKE you and you will
CONNECT in a deeper and more impactful way...

TM Akash Agarwal

17
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

Happy Contesting :)
As a visitor from another district, I was amazed at the hospitality, the commitment and the level of
positive energy shown by each member of the HSR club when I visited them. I usually have this habit
of observing a Toastmasters meeting and trying to glean something out of it, so that I can implement
them in my home club. In fact, I have incorporated quite a few of them such as the online voting app,
the meeting app and the reading of the MOM of the previous meeting. 

From the contest perspective, many members have a fear within them and think to themselves
“Contest – it’s not for me, I am afraid, or that the senior members pressurize you to win “. But
according to me, the contest is the place where we can self-evaluate ourselves. We try to bring out
our best on the stage, and how we do it is what matters.

My first advice is to look at the contest as a place to have fun. Experience being on the stage at that
moment and don’t pressurize yourself. SOC AItrophy
A L M E is
D Ijust
A a byproduct which will come to you when you
put in your maximum effort. The rules F Ostate
LLOW E R there
that S can be only one winner, but for all the other
members who didn’t qualify for next level, I say don’t lose your heart. Just work with your seniors
and mentors and find where you went V I Swrong,
I T O R Sanalyze it, correct it and come back next time with a
bang. 
VENDORS AND
Second, each contestant should keep
EXtrying
H I B I Tout
O Rnew
S things on the stage, as the contest is the best
place to try and step out of your comfort zone. Speaking in English was the biggest challenge for me
three years ago. But I took up the challenge
M E D I A and
A T Estepped
N D E E S out of my comfort zone. When I recollect
my first contest, my aim was to speak in English for just five whole minutes. The world today is very
competitive and the audience expects new messages from us. Let’s try to give them that.

So dear members take advantage of the contest stage. Give a try. Don’t pressurize yourselves and
don’t be afraid. Who knows, your message might be heard by millions who have never even heard of
you. Go go go. The Contest stage is waiting for your steps.

Happy contesting.

TM Sriram Venkatraman

18
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

Testimonials
Public speaking by everyone is not very natural in Indian culture. So is the
case with me. What could help me in moving in this direction?
I confirm that Toastmasters participation is the right thing to do.

The format is amazing, many flavours of public speaking e.g. role plays,
table topics, prepared speeches & feedback sessions.
After doing some role plays, I can seeing a lot of improvement and comfort
in delivering talk in front of wide audience.  

I am quite confident that it will definitely lead me to be a great speaker.

..
Praveen Digwal  (Member)

Like every other skill, public speaking also requires practice. Some people
are naturally good at it and the rest need to work on it. Be it as a student in
college or as a working professional we get only handful of opportunities
to be on stage and express our thoughts in front of an audience. To add to
this, we have the fear of being judged, being mocked at by our peers and
this fear unknowingly pulls us back. Toastmasters is a great platform that
solves the aforementioned problems by providing us with numerous
opportunities to overcome our fears, at the same time assuring us that we
are not made fun of. Constructive feedback from evaluators helps us focus
on our areas of improvement. Toastmasters also gives us an opportunity
to network and make new connections. Who knows, our next professional
opportunity might just be a conversation away with a fellow Toastmaster.
After joining the Toastmasters club and completing quite a few projects, I can testify that spending
time there has greatly improved my confidence in all walks of life.

Pratyusha  (Member )

Praveen DigwalIspeaking
recently joined HSR Toastmaster to work regularly on my public
skills. Club's Meetings are conducted in a very systematic fashion
and the members are very enthusiastic. This makes the sessions
interesting and engaging. Needless to say that the club exceeds my
expectations.

Abhishek Keelia   (Member)

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 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

Testimonials
'Toastmaters Club formation' - the mail read. It must have been sometime
in February '18. A small talk with the sender, though did not reveal much
information, created enough interest in me to Google the term.  Also, I
spoke about this unusual club to my friend Kunal. To my surprise he had
heard of it already. He spoke to one of his friends, who happens to be a
member of Toastmasters for over a decade. His experience urged us to
visit a club. We found that HSR has one such club and contacted TM
Deepika, who provided us with details of the HSR TM club and invited us
to visit as guests.

I have been an active participant of oratory events during my graduation.

There have been a few people whom I regard good speakers. But, the
speakers at Toastmasters' club were more proficient than many people I 
'had known before. I was surprised by the ease with which people spoke here. The way of conveying an idea
matters as much as, if not more than the idea itself - is one of the best lessons I have learnt about public
speaking. Words with emotions, voice modulation and the pauses are a few aspects that grabbed and held my
attention during the TM speeches. Both the meetings I attended as a guest have been memorable. During
these two meetings, I have met a few excellent speakers who are equally humble. Toastmasters seems to be a
great platform for self development and networking. Looking forward to be a member soon! :)

Bhaskar Joshi  (Guest)

Attending two meetings of the HSR Toastmasters Club as a guest has

indeed been a rewarding experience. In search of a platform to improve
upon our public speaking skills, me and my friend Bhaskar landed at the
HSR Toastmasters Club. Both times I have been thoroughly mesmerized
by the way speakers have delivered their speeches. I could not help but be
amazed by the great oratory prowess that people have developed by being
a part of Toastmasters. Both meetings had their own special highlights.
For the first meeting, we were treated with a delectable glass of Lassi that
made me fall head over heels in love with the Toastmasters' hospitality.
During the second meeting, I got a chance to hone my public speaking
skills before the gathering in the Table Topics section. It felt really great.
The feedback from the evaluators proved to be truly constructive and 
helpful. Indeed the HSR Toastmasters Club is a wonderful platform one can get to improve upon her/his
speaking skills and expand social circles by networking with a variety of people coming from different walks of
life. I now look forward to a long and healthy association with Toastmasters.

Kunal  Kamat (Guest)

20
COME
VISIT
US!
https://www.facebook.com/hsrtoastmasters/

http://instagram.com/hsrtoastmasters

https://twitter.com/hsrtoastmaster

toastmastersofhsr@gmail.com

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCApL
b5z-mDLMxtEVpa6EX6Q

Bhoomi Diagnostic Centre, 24th Main

HSR Layout, Bengaluru
 Vol 2 | Issue 1 | March 2018

District 92

Celebrating change
Divergent