a man of all seasons

The last meeting of the Professional’s Toastmasters Club was on 15^th December, 2011. The venue of the meeting was Beach Luxury hotel and the theme of the meeting was ‘Enjoy Life.’

Toastmaster was TM Shahrukh and Topicmaster was TM Bakshi. General Evaluator was TM Fahim and Table Topics Evaluator was TM Nadyeem.

The team of the General Evaluator included TM Junaid as the Timer and the Vote Counter, TM Fahim as the Grammarian, TM Neel as the Ah-Counter and TM Hammad as the Word-Master. Word of the day was Picture.

Topics assigned by Topicmaster were amazing. TM Shahrukh was asked to speak on his favourite weather. TM Hammad was asked to speak on his favourite food. TM Nadeem was asked to share with us his favourite type of dressing. TM Fahim was asked if he likes traveling. TM Neel was asked if she likes to socialize. And TM Annie was asked if she likes to party.

Two speeches were delivered in the Prepared Speeches session. TM Annei delivered her Ice Breaker and she was evaluated by TM Panjwani. TM Aqeel presented his project 10 for the Competent Communicator manual. His evaluator was TM Ibad and the title of his speech was Communication.

Important observations were made and shared in the Evaluation session. TM Fahim, as a Grammarian, shared with us that instead of socialising, intermingling should be used. And TM Nadeem, as the Table Topics Evaluator, shared with us that instead of saying ‘a man of all weathers’, it should have been ‘a man of all seasons.’

TM Jaan joined us late but he was assigned a topic at the end of the meeting by TM Nadeem. He was asked to speak on his Beard.

The winner of the Prepared Speeches session was TM Annie. And the winner of the Best Table Topics award was TM Fahim.

A cup of tea with a friend.

Our meeting on 1^st December, 2011, was wonderful. Meeting was called in order by the Sergiant-at-Arms, Madam TM Neel. Madam TM Dr. Avan, our Presiding officer, welcomed everyone including the guests, Annie and Junaid.

The Toastmaster was Madam TM Dr. Avan and Madam TM Neel was the Topicmaster. TM Shahrukh was the General Evaluator and his team included TM Bakshi as the Table Topics Evaluator, TM Khalid as the Timer, TM Hammad as the Vote Counter, TM Adnan as the Grammarian, TM Maneckji as the Ah-Counter and Annie as the Word-Master. Word of the day was ‘Kind.’

The theme of the meeting was ‘My Passion.’ Topicmaster assigned the topics to each participant in accordance with the theme. TM Bakshi was asked to explain that where does satisfaction lies? TM Jaan was asked to speak on the topic, ‘what is happiness?’ He shared with us that we should be happy when we have failed but after trying. He also asked us to appreciate little things in life like a cup of tea with a friend. TM Sameer was explained that life is to give and to get but he was then asked that will he still be willing to give if he doesn’t get. He shared with us a research about people who give back are truly happy. TM Adnan was asked to speak on the topic, ‘how to perform a task for spreading smiles?’ he said that smile is contagious and that it is a little curve that will straight everything else. TM Hammad was asked to speak on how to spend million dollars? Our guest Junaid was asked to share with us his passion and why? He said that if you don’t have passion in your life, it is useless. He said that Skill Development was at the top of his list of passions. TM Khalid was asked to answer a simple question of where does your passion lie? He said that there is no limit to ones satisfaction as there is no limit to the sky. Ones life will come to an end as soon as he is completely satisfied.

There was only one speaker in the prepared speeches session. TM Shahrukh repeated his project eight from the Competent Communicator manual. He was evaluated by TM Jaan. TM Jaan is visually impaired but he read out the objectives and evaluated with the help of writing in Brail.

In Table Topics, TM Hammad was the Runner-up and our guest Junaid was the winner.

Our next Meeting will be on December 15^th, 2011.

don’t over commit

Our meeting was on November 17^th, 2011. The venue of our meeting was Beach Luxury hotel. The theme of the meeting was ‘Goal’ and it was called in order by the Sergeant-at-Arms, Madam TM Neel and then she hanaded the charge to Madam TM Avan, the presiding officer of the meeting.

Toastmaster was TM Shahrukh and Topicmaster was TM Fazal. General Evaluator was Madam TM Neel and her team included TM Avan as the Table Topics Evaluator and Grammarian, TM Ibad as the Timer, TM Nadym as the Vote Counter, TM Tauseef as the Word-Master and TM Jaan was the Ah-Counter. Word of the day was 'Fain.'

Some very important decisions were made in the meeting. The frequency of the meeting has been reduced to twice a month. Professionals Toastmasters will now conduct its meeting on alternate weeks. Another important decision was regarding our advertising campaign by TM Adnan. And TM Jaan is now our new VP Membership.

Topicmaster made sure that topics were according to the theme of the meeting. Our first speaker was TM Jaan and he was asked to share his dreams and big goals. Madam TM Neel was compared with B.B. (Benazir Bhutto) and was asked to tell us about her goals in life. TM Nadym was asked to share those goals which he will determine in order to make his company progress and vibrant. He shared with us his rules that ‘don’t over commit’ and 'don't promise what you can't keep. And most importantly, he said that he would always stand for ethics and moral values of his profession rather than becoming profit hungry. Our guest Talha was asked to explain a dream for a useful goal in life. TM Fahim was asked to share with us the advice he will give to his client companies in order for them to realise there goals. He told us that companies like Apple and Nike have done more then just slogans and by actually differentiating in the market. He gave us the example of Shan Masala. TM Tauseef shared us the importance of money in ones life. TM Hairs was given the title of Brandmaster by the Topicmaster. TM Ibad was asked to speak his goals related to Banking industry. He shared with us the fact that Pakistani families abroad are not supporting Pakistani students to study abroad. This kind of practise, he said, was common in Indians and he wishes to start the culture of sponsoring our dedicated students who desire to study abroad. TM Adnan beautifully answered to the assigned topic and said that his priority is his family.

In prepared speeches session, there were two speeches. First speech was delivered by TM Haris and he was evaluated by TM Adnan. He presented his Project one: Ice Breaker for the third time from the Competent Communicator manual. His opening was mesmerizing when he quoted Julius Caesar by saying that I came, I saw, I conquered. He mentioned Hashim Amla and Ibn-e-Zuber as his ideals.

The second speech was delivered by TM Tayyab and he was evaluated by TM Fahim. He also repeated his Ice Breaker from the Competent Communicator manual. He mentioned about the back benchers, Moses being shy when it cam to speaking in public, also quoted and Quran and mentioned that he desires to have four wives since his father has done so well by having just one.

An educational presentation was presented by TM Shahrukh. The name of the programme was ‘Evaluate to Motivate’ and it was from the Successful Club Series.

In Table Topics, TM Nydem was the runner-up and TM Haris was the winner.

In prepared speeches, TM Tayyab was the runner-up and TM Haris was the winner.

Table Topic Bakra

The first meeting after Eid-ul-Azha, of the Professionals Toastmasters club was on November 10^th, 2011. Thin attendance was the issue of the day but the resilient leadership of our members and attendees protected us from its perils.

Meeting was called in order by the Sergeant-at-Arms, Madam TM Neel. The Presiding Officer was Madam TM Dr. Avan. The theme of the meeting was Eid-ul-Azha. The dedication and efforts by Toastmaster of the evening, Madam TM Neel and Topicmaster, TM Adnan were the real reasons for the success of the meeting. TM Jaan was the General Evaluator.

Madam TM Neel decorated the entire room with pictures of goat, cow, sheep etc to give it a look of a Bakra Mandi (Market for selling the animals for the purpose of sacrificing on Eid-ul-Azha). She also divided the audience into three teams. First team, Team Cow, consisted of TM Maneck, TM Haris and TM Jaan. Second team, Team Goat, consisted of TM Fazal, Madam TM Dr. Avan and TM Adnan. The third team, Team Sheep, had TM Shahrukh and TM Hammad. She asked all the teams to come up with reasons of why they should not be sacrificed on this Eid. And at the end of the meeting, every team was asked this question and Team Goat failed to convince the Toastmaster/Butcher of the evening.

The Topicmaster, TM Adnan prepared the Table Topics Bakra on the pattern of M-TV Bakra. He had prepared a PowerPoint Presentation but VP-Education, TM Shahrukh, couldn’t take care of the projector. However, the Table Topics Session was a success. TM Shahrukh was the Funny Bakra and then the Angry-Bakra. TM Neel was the Jealous-Bakra. TM Fazal and TM Jaan were the Ghost-Bakra. TM Avan was the Angry-Bakra and then the Sad-Bakra. And TM Haris was the Style-Bakra.

Team of General Evaluator included TM Haris as the Grammarian and Word-Master. Word of the day was “Pragmatic.” Madam TM Dr. Avan was the Timer. TM Hammad was the Vote-Counter. And TM Sharukh was the Ah-Counter. With the permission of the General Evaluator, Ah-Counter also reported the number of “Pauses” while submitting his report. This practise was introduced by the Central Park Presenters club in Burnaby (October, 2011 issue of Toastmaster Magazine). TM Shahrukh was the Table Topics Evaluator and also the Speech Evaluator for a Prepared Speech.

In the Prepared Speeches session, Madam TM Avan presented her Project four from the Interpersonal Communication Manual. The title of her speech was “Motivate.” She performed the role playing exercise with Madam TM Neel. The scenario was Madam TM Avan was the teacher and Madam TM Neel was the student who couldn’t complete and submit her assignment on time.

Winner for the Table Topics was TM Haris and Madam TM Dr. Avan was the runner-up. Winner of the Prepared Speech was Madam TM Dr. Avan.