To provide a mutually supportive

and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop

oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth

1. President Speak 2. Ovation 2009 3. What have you got to lose? 4. Indomitable spirit of Toastmasters

5. Tip-Tap-Toe 6. Know thy T’master 8. Kudos!! 9. Inside-Out

"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.”

William Butler Yeats Images Club No. 858173

Vol. 1, Issue 2; Feb 2009 President Speak JPKU Toastmasters is a place where we celebrate creativity. I believe that creativity requires the courage to let go of our inhibitions and by letting go of our inhibitions we discover the joy of being us. Creativity fosters a positive mutual learning environment where the speaker and the listener both benefit from each other. Moreover, I completely agree with Scott Adams that creativity is to allow you to make mistakes. Therefore, let us all embrace creativity, make mistakes, create a positive learning environment, shed our inhibitions and become better leaders and communicators!

Parul Purwar

Mission of the Toastmasters Club

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

J J PP KK UU Images Feb 09 Editorial Team

Deepak Dewani Chief Editor

Juhi Chawla Assistant Editor

Division C, District 82

Always Ahead…

Balraj Arunasalam District Governor—2008 / 09

District—82 Toastmasters International

The President and members of JPKU Toastmasters Clubs such as yours are a role model to many clubs and members of our district. JPKU Toastmasters achieving President’s distinguished status consecutively for the past three years demonstrates the leadership ability and commitment of your club. It has also shown that your club continues to develop leaders who are focused and committed. Leaders staying focused are the biggest service that the club could do to its current and new members. Members feel proud to be a part of a successful club. Successes of a Toastmasters Club largely depend on the quality of its educational meeting. One meeting of your club that I attended almost two years ago is still in my memory, only because of its quality. I can imagine how your club would be doing currently, with all those members I met then still being active. Your club members, such as our LGET Deepak Menon, DVG Vinay Jain, AG Jyoti Narula and many others have not only led your club but they are also dedicated leaders in our district. My sincere congratulations to every one of you for making your club an outstanding club in our district. I invite you to Colombo so that you can celebrate all your achievements by “Dancing on the Rainbow” at Ovation 2009.

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”

Benjamin Franklin

Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

Be There…. Ovation 2009, the annual District 82 conference is being organized on 22nd-24th May at Mount Lavinia Hotel, situated a few miles from the bustle of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The Organizers of Ovation 2009 have put in a great effort to ensure that it will be one of the most educative and enjoyable conferences in recent times. A conference that you, as an active Toastmaster, should not miss. DTM Pat Johnson, 2nd Vice President of Toastmasters Interna-tional, trainer & motivational speaker will be the Keynote Speaker at the conference. Other well-known international toastmasters, as well as our own toastmasters, will also be sharing their great wealth of knowledge with us. So what are you waiting for? For details on how to register, please contact Parul Purwar (parulpurwar@gmail.com) or Abhishek Bajaj (abhishek@jpku.com)

What have you got to lose? - Dr. Ritu Arora, M.D.S., D.T.M.

(Vice President Education, Delhi Advanced Toastmasters Club)

"Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.”

William Penn

“No, it can’t be done,” said people to a man named Thomas, as he kept on failing at his experiment. Had he given up, today we would be still living in the dark. He failed for a thousand times until finally he made a bulb that could glow. And what did our hero Thomas Alva Edison have to say? He said he had learned 1000 ways that did not work until he found the right technique. Often we do not try for fear of losing, but even if we lose, aren’t we winning? Winning experience, winning friends, and winning sympathy.

“Oh you were good !” “Hard luck, but there is always a next time.” “The judges were partial, I liked what you said.” These are the words I have so often heard, naturally, after losing contests. And what has it got me… plenty of friends. I was a teenager, when I first stepped in for a state-level speaking contest, with shaking feet and sweaty palms, and I asked my mentor and sounding

board, “Do you think I should participate, uncle?” His answer was simple, “What have you got to lose?” and that was that. Sure enough I lost the contest, well actually came second, but lost the first place all the same. But I had won! Overnight, I was the queen of the college with my picture in the papers, acknowledgements and smiles from passers-by, and a lot of applause wherever I went. I had gained popularity and I had gained friends. But the best part of all, I had gained experience. After that there was no looking back. Needless to say, I had gained confidence. The winning streak continues still. People usually ask me, “What if we do not win?” My answer is simple. You guessed it, “What have you got to lose?”

If you think you are losing your face or reputation by losing a contest, admit the fact that you were not good enough in the first place. The problem is that we are looking at our loss so subjectively that we do not look at anything else. Not even at what we have gained due to the loss. We keep staring at the closed door instead of looking at the new windows that are opening for us. “How do you do it?” people often ask me. Well it’s as simple as 1, 2, 3. 1. Think laterally. 2. Think without boundaries and limitations. 3. Think of what you are going to gain. We have to find what works for us, and what we can improve about ourselves. The secret behind converting a loss into a win is what we gain out of the experience. A famous doha reads: “Jin dhoondha tin pahiya, gehre paani paithi Main bhapura duban dara, raha kinare baithi.” Which means, “Those who strive, conquer by jumping into the waters, and I, scared of drowning, sit at the shore empty-handed.” Every day is a new beginning. Go on, give yourself another chance. In life there are no guarantees. Do we stop picking roses because a thorn could prick us? Do we stop walking because we might fall? Do we stop swimming, because we might drown? Do we stop driving, for fear of having an accident? Do we stop trying just for fear of failing? Then why do we stop believing in ourselves? Why do we stop taking more chances? Why do we stop participating in contests or experimenting in life? Find the technique that works for you. What have you got to lose?

Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

Message from VP-Education

"When you deliver your speech, the only one who hears every word is you.” George Torok

Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

January 19th 2009, a day when JPKU Toastmasters added another feather to its cap by achieving an unforgettable milestone, a hat-trick of being the "President's Distinguished Club”. I still remember the moment when I proudly sent out a note to our Immediate Past District Governor Venkat, with the subject line “JPKU is once again no. 1 in the Golden Gavel race”... I can also remember those mesmerizing days when I used to check (almost on a daily basis!) how much goals have we

achieved, and how many more to go! Being the VP-Education of this eminent club is exciting and every moment of being on the job makes me feel proud. For now, like everyone else, my eyes are glued on to the ongoing International Speech Contest. We are advancing well, with two of our champions Ritu Arora and Rachit Kaul making it to the Area level contest (that was a nail-biting competition I must say!), and Ritu showing us once again on 21st Feb just why all of us are in awe of her oratory skills. Ritu is through to the division level contest in both prepared speech and Table Topics categories after a scintillating performance in the area level contest. I’m now sure that at least one top spot in the division competition is not too far away from us. Go Ritu go.....we are so looking forward to 15th March. Abhishek Bajaj

The Indomitable Spirit of Toastmasters

Reverberations 2008, the semi-annual conference of District 82, held in Chennai on the November 29th & 30th, 2008 was a perfect display of the never-say-die spirit of Toastmasters.

Despite the ghastly and gruesome terror attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 and the fear and destruction caused by Hurricane Nisha in

Chennai two days before the event, about 200 toastmasters made it to the event - making it a runaway success.

Toastmasters in North and Far North Queensland (District 69) make great sacrifices to travel to conferences. During the weekend of 8th Feb 09, due to rising flood waters, many of the registrants had to pay to fly

or go to extreme lengths to get through the floods including using a huge truck (see image on the left) that could actually get through the roads (often at least 1 meter or 3½ feet over the road). 10 Townsville

Toastmasters waited for hours by the side of the road for 24 hours before a small window of opportunity made it possible to get

trucks (only) through.

Hail the Indomitable Spirit!!

Ten Tips on Impromptu Speaking

Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

1. When you first hear the topic smile. This will help you feel good

and look confident. 2. Immediately decide if you strongly like it or strongly hate it. Then

go in that direction. Your emotion will fuel your thoughts. Don't sit on the fence - watching someone sit on a fence is so boring. But watching them jump into the corral and wrestle the bull - that is a lot more entertaining.

3. One approach is to state, 'There are three things that come to

mind about this topic', even if you cannot think of three things when you start. As you speak you will be searching for three key ideas. It helps give you apparent structure. If you run out of time to list all three, announce that you will explain more another time.

4. Try the pro/con method. State the pros, then state the cons. This can be confusing to the

audience about where you stand on this topic. To give your position - be stronger on one side than the other. You could even make fun of the opposite side by mocking their views. Be very careful with this because sarcasm turns people off and can turn them against you.

5. When your mind goes blank and you don't know what to say next - smile, look at the audience and

pause. They will review your last words and reflect on how profound they were. The one or few second pause is powerful and it gives you time to plan your next words.

6. If the pause and smile don't get you going - repeat the topic or your last point in a profound way.

You could even repeat it more than once. This is like revving your engine. Your thoughts collect then suddenly your mouth engages again.

7. Look for a lesson you can find in this word. Relate this word to a book you read, a TV show, a

movie, the daily news, a community project, your work or your hobby.

"Most speakers are afraid of silence. It is such a powerful and understated weapon when delivering your speech.” Peter Urs Bender

Tip-Tap-Toe Tips for Toastmasters

8. Everybody has family. Bring your family into this topic. It is the universal way to relate to everyone. When you talk about family be sure to use names - it makes a stronger emotional picture for the au-dience.

9. Use the topic to segue to your main message. Politicians do this all the time. If you ask them about

corruption in their campaign they talk about why you should vote for them and all the great things they did for the community. Make it a smooth transition and the audience will go with you.

10. Build in humour early, because when the audience laughs with you, they relax and so do you. Plus

that gives you a shot of confidence. Bonus tip: Speak slowly - it gives you time to think.

- George Torok (George Torok is co-author of the international best-seller “Secrets of Power Marketing”. He works with organizations and individuals to help them grow. He provides consulting and speaking services. The above tips have been picked from the free resources library on his website www.torok.com)

The month that was…

...at JPKU Toastmasters

Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

"Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all.” Sir Winston Churchill

Know Thy Toastmaster

Ambarish Srivastava

Born in 1978 , Ambarish did his B.Tech. and M.Tech. from IIT Delhi. He then pursued research for three years and realizing that he was not cut out for research, he gave it up. He taught in an engineering college for about a year and then joined FIITJEE Limited as a Physics Teacher, where he is presently working as a Faculty Trainer. In the year 2007 he read a book titled "Megaliving" by Robin Sharma in which the author recommends joining Toastmasters for anyone interested in improving his / her communication. This impelled Ambarish to join the JPKU toastmasters club in Sept 2007. Ever since he has joined the Toastmasters, he believes that he is constantly undergoing "Kaizen" which is a Japanese term meaning "The best is still in the making".

What does Toastmasters mean to you? A transformation machine. In my case, the raw material was a rather diffident and shy personality and the output (or rather the work in progress) is a person with a higher self esteem, higher self confidence and a better understanding of the world in general. Toastmasters is also a firsthand proof to me of the saying "Seek and you shall find, knock and the doors will open" and also "down the rabbit hole into the wonderland!" Has there been a positive change in your life af-ter joining TM? Definitely! My salary has tripled, I am seen as a very posi-tive employee in my company and now I am on the national map of the company (most people in my company know me for my active participation in meetings and conferences). My boss congratulated me for achieving the CC award and I am in a position to dream bigger.

How would you react to people having the view point that TM is like any other "coaching centre" claiming to make you proficient in communica-tion skills? I have not seen any other coaching institute and having seen Toastmasters I have no desire to see one either. All I can say is that it has worked for me and therefore I believe that it will work for anyone. It is not a classroom but a straight "hands on" training, it is like teaching swimming by actually pushing one in to the swimming pool (of course the life guards are all around to help you out). You cannot be coached for contesting in WWE wrestling championship by just showing you the videos, you yourself have to do the weights training and actual wrestling and that I believe is the modus operandi at Toastmasters. What does a CC mean to you and how significant is achieving this milestone at TM? It means a lot to me. It is a proof of my hidden potential and it says to me "Ambarish, you too can do it! Buck up

boy!" On my way to becoming a DTM I feel more energetic than I was at the beginning of this journey in the Toastmasters, and I believe that the more I work the more energetic I would feel. Of course I feel immensely proud in looking at the CC certificate on my office desk, it talks to me a lot and very often. Its favorite three words are "Achieve! Achieve! Achieve!" What is the next goal you are eyeing? Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB) and Competent Leader of course!

"Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Have you ever heard the adage that communication is only 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal, i.e. body language and vocal variety? You probably have, and if you have any sense at all, you have ignored it. There are certain "truths" that are prima face false. And this is one of them. Asserting that what you say is the least important part of a speech insults not only the intelligence of your audience, but your own intelligence as well. The whole objective of most speeches is to convey information, or to promote or defend a point of view. Certainly, proper vocal variety and body language can aid the process. But by their very nature, these ancillary activities can convey only emphasis or emotion. The proof? Although today we presumably live in a visual world, most information is still promulgated in written form, where vocal variety and body language play no role. Even the "interactive" Internet is still mainly writing. The vast majority of people who surf the Net do so looking for texts, which they may interact with via hyperlinks, but it is still essentially text. Likewise with a speech. If your words are incapable of getting your message across, then no amount of gestures and tonal variations will do it for you. You are still obliged to carefully structure your information and look for "le mot juste" (the best words or phrases) to express what you want to say. So just what does this "7% Rule" really mean? The origin of this inimical adage is a misinterpretation, like the adage "the exception that proves the rule". This is something else people say without examining it. If you believe that this is actually true, I will demonstrate at the end of this article that it isn't. But first things first. In the 1960s Professor Albert Mehrabian and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), conducted studies into human communication patterns. When their results were published in professional journals in 1967, they were widely circulated in the mass media in abbreviated form. Because the figures were so easy to remember, most people forgot about what they really meant. Hence, the myth that communication is only 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal was born. And we have been suffering from it ever since. The fact is, Prof. Mehrabian's research had nothing to do with giving speeches, because it was based on the information that could be conveyed in a single word.

Subjects were asked to listen to a recording of a woman's voice saying the single word “maybe” three different ways to convey 1) liking, 2) neutrality, and 3) disliking. They were also shown photos of women's face conveying the same three emotions. They were then asked to guess the emotions heard in the recorded voice, seen in the photos, and both to-gether. The result? The subjects correctly identified the emotions 50% more often from the photos than from the voice. In the second study, subjects were asked to listen to nine recorded words, three meant to convey liking (honey, dear, thanks), three to convey neutrality (maybe, really, oh), and three to convey disliking (don’t, brute, terrible). Each word was pronounced three different ways. When asked to guess the emotions being conveyed, it turned out that the subjects were more influenced by the tone of voice than by the words themselves. Prof. Mehrabian combined the statistical results of the two studies came up with the now famous - and famously mis-used - rule that communication is only 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal. The non-verbal component was made up of body language (55%) and tone of voice (38%). Actually, it is incorrect to call this a "rule", being the result of only two studies. Scientists usually insist on many more corroborating studies before call anything a rule. More to the point, Prof. Mehrabian's conclusion was that for inconsistent or contradictory communications, body language and tonality may be more accu-rate indicators of meaning and emotions than the words themselves. However, he never intended the results to apply to normal conversation. And certainly not to speeches, which should never be inconsistent or contradictory! So what can we learn from this research to help us become better speakers? Basically, nothing. We must still rely on what good orators have always known. A speech that is confused and disorganized is a poor speech, no matter how well it is delivered. The essence of a good speech is what it says. This can be enhanced by vocal variety and appropriate gestures. But these are auxiliary, not primary.

Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

Debunking the 7% Rule, Public Speaking's Most Pernicious Myth - Philip Yaffe

Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He cur-rently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. He is also the author of the recently published book In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional. The above is an abridged version of his article picked from www.articlesbase.com

"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.” Rollo May

Stars of the Month at JPKU

• Best Speakers— Ambarish Srivastava, Neeraj Aggarwal, Roshan Suhail,

Deepak Menon • Best Tabletopics Speakers—Nikhil Sheth, Rachit Kaul, Neeraj Aggarwal,

Rohit (Fluorators Club) • Best Evaluators—Deepak Menon, Roshan Suhail

Ritu Arora Winner: Area C1 Table topics Contest

Runners-up: Area C1 International Speech Contest

Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

Kudos!!

Rachit Kaul Winner: Club level Table topics Contest

Runners up: Club level International Speech Contest

"I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I Love to play"

Boris Becker

• In the program year 2008-09, District 82 of Toastmasters

International has added 1,352 new members as of Feb 28, 2009 (with 4 more months to go before year end). This gives our district the distinction of the 5th highest new member addition amongst all the 18 "Districts Not Assigned to Regions" (DNAR). District 82's percentage contribution of new members in the entire DNAR region is a healthy 8%.

• Division C holds the distinction of the highest number of

individual educational achievements (48) in District 82 in this program year so far. And the icing on the cake is - about 50% of those achievements have come from Area C1!

Bravo!

Did you know?

Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

"If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.” Woodrow Wilson

Inside-Out The Book Review

From the back cover Kittur is on India's south-western coast, between Goa and Calicut, is a small, undistinguished everytown. Here, an illiterate Muslim boy working at the train station finds himself tempted by an Islamic terrorist; a Dalit bookseller is arrested for selling a copy of The Satanic Verses; a rich, spoiled, half-caste student decides to explode a bomb in college; a sexologist has to find a cure for a young boy with a mysterious disease that may be AIDS. Across class, religion, occupation and preoccupation, Kittur is mapped. What emerges is the moral biography of an Indian town in the seven-year period between the assassinations of Prime Minister Gandhi and her son Rajiv. With the cartographer's precision and the novelist's humanity Aravind Adiga composes a group portrait of ordinary Indians in a time of extraordinary transformation. Keenly observed and finely detailed, Between the Assassinations is a triumph of the voice and imagination. Read it for: Adiga's fresh humour and wry observation. The precision with which a small town in south of India is conceived and mapped is brilliant. Especially impressive is the vivid and lively description of the geographical contours of the town and the way that description has been interspersed in the overall theme of the book, which is power relations - between rich and poor, master and servant, high caste and low caste, majority and minority. In fact, Some of the stories, particularly those in the first half of the book, work well only because of the depth of Adiga’s characterization of both person and place. This is Adiga's second book after The White Tiger which clinched the Booker Prize. And this one, with truck loads of expectations around it, does not disappoint at all. Excellent storytelling through a simple and lively language.

Between the Assassinations Author: Aravind Adiga

"Word of the day" from a few of our meetings this last month: 1. Fabricate (verb) - Put together out of artificial or natural components or parts Usage: The company fabricates plastic chairs - Make up something artificial or untrue Usage: The facts presented in the court to defend the claim seem to be fabricated 2. Erudite (adjctv.) - characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly Usage: The winner today is an erudite speaker who has great command over the language and a flair for exquisite vocabulary Bonus word of the month (in line with the Valentine's spirit last month!): 3. Concord (verb) - Go well together; be in accord or agreement Usage: Both philosophers concord on this point - Bring into agreement or accord Usage: Concord the conditions for the marriage of the Prince of Wales with a commoner

Words of the Month

Eye On It Up & Coming Events—please mark your calendars:

Our Team is Growing... Images—Feb 09

J P K

U

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” Rudyard Kipling

Where do we meet? Vivekananda Vihar, Opposite J.P., Kapur & Uberai, Chartered Accountants, LGF C-4/5 Safdarjung Development Area, New Delhi, 110016

When do we meet?

Every Saturday, 12:30pm

Whom to contact?

For all membership and PR queries, please contact:

Harsimran Punj (VP, Membership): +91 98185 60035; punjsimran@yahoo.co.in

Juhi Chawla (VP, Public Relations): +91 98915 65060 ; myselfjuhi@yahoo.com

Come & See us in action

Our Executive Committee • Parul Purwar: President

parulpurwar@gmail.com

• Abhishek Bajaj: Vice President, Education abhishek@jpku.com

• Hasimran Punj: Vice President, Membership punjsimran@yahoo.co.in

• Juhi Chawla: Vice President, Public Relations myselfjuhi@yahoo.com

• Shraddha Nakra: Secretary shraddha.nakra@gmail.com

• Sona Pakhi: Treasurer sonapakhi09@gmail.com

• Manoj Kumar: Sergeant-at-arms manoj.k8@gmail.com

Nikhil Sheth, member since Feb 09 “I'm a software engineer working with an MNC in Gurgaon since one year, just started with my career. In my observation in college and then at work, I've seen that despite having good technical skills, as engineers we aren't so apt at communicating with a wider range of people...I came to know about Toastmasters through a friend and was hooked after attending a couple of sessions as a guest. From table topics (my favourite part!) to prepared speeches to all the evaluations, one meeting packs in all the ingredients required to make one a good speaker...all in all a comfortable, inclusive and fun-packed environment.”

Devesh Trivedi, member since Feb 09

“I got to know about Toastmasters accidentally on the internet . After attending my first meeting , I just knew that it was

going to be a long term association. The thing that I like the most about JPKU Toastmasters is its friendly environment. Guests are

treated nicely and it does not take long for a new member to de-velop a sense of belonging to the club. I look forward to becoming a

good speaker and also have lots of fun at JPKU.”