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.

Speech Craft: The New Stage

Professionals Toastmasters Club organised a Speech Craft programme at Deaf & Blind School & College - IDA RIEU Welfare, which consists of four sessions. We are thankful to Madam Rukhsana, English Teacher at the school for blind, and Madam Uzma, the Vice Principal of IDA RIEU, for their co-operation and major assistance.

The title of the programme was ‘The New Stage.’ Eight students participated in the programme out of which seven were visually impaired.

Details:

Title: The New Stage

Venue: IDA RIEU Welfare, School for Blind.

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Coordinator:

Muhammad Shahrukh Shahnawaz

Participants:

a) Aliya Fatima

b) Safira Dolad

c) Shoaib Akhtar

d) Nisma Aalm

e) M.S. Ghori

f) Syed Ali Faizi Naqvi

g) Humna Yameen

h) Muhammad Farooq

Assisted by:

a) Neel Kanwal Shahnawaz

b) Hira Mannan

c) Ibad Haider

d) Dr. Avan Aga Bejan

e) Maneckji Apoo

f) Farid Siddiqui

a) Session 1

The first session was held on 8^th Oct, 2011. The programme was introduced to the participants and the assistants. After allowing the participants to interview each other for about 1 minute and 30 seconds, they were then asked to introduce each other. The coordinator then discussed the importance of the good public speaking skills. Topicmaster introduced the Table Topics session to the participants. Shahrukh and Hira were invited to speak on the assigned topics as a demonstration for the participants. Then Shoaib Akhtar, one of our participants, was asked to speak for the first time. Educational presentation was conducted on ‘Selecting a Speech Topic.’ After the discussion of assignments for the next session and Evaluation, the session was adjourned.

b) Session 2

The next session was supposed to be on 15^th Oct but the school was celebrating the ‘White Cane Safety Day.’ Therefore, it was postponed to 17^th Oct, 2011. After welcoming all the participants, Table Topics were conducted by the Topicmaster and four participants were asked to speak on the given topics. Participants for Table Topics were Humna, Aliya, Farooq and Faizi. ‘Ice-Breakers’ were presented by seven participants. Participants for the ‘Ice-Breakers’ were Aliya, Safira, Farooq, Shoaib, Nisma, Ghori and Faizi. Educational presentation was conducted on ‘Introducing a Speaker.’ After the discussion of assignments for the next session and Evaluation, the session was adjourned.

c) Session 3

The third session of Speech Craft: The New Stage was held on 22^nd Oct, 2011. We started off by welcoming the participants, assistants and advisors. Topicmaster conducted the Table Topics and invited four participants. The participants for the Table Topics were Shoaib, Safira, Nisma and Saad. ‘Be in Earnest’ speeches were presented by all the eight participants. The participants of the ‘Be in Earnest’ speeches were Shoaib, Farooq, Aliya, Safira, Nisma, Faizi, Saad and Humna. Participants who evaluated the speakers were Safira, Farooq and Ghori. Our visually impaired participants used Braille and Nuance TALKS&ZOOMS, which is a software application for mobile handsets used by the visually impaired to listen the screen text, for evaluating the speakers. Educational presentation on ‘Speech Organisation’ was presented. After the discussion of assignments for the next session and Evaluation, the session was adjourned.

d) Session 4

The last session was organised on 29^th Oct, 2011. Participants were introduced with the guest speaker and the President of the Professionals Toastmasters Club by the coordinator while welcoming everyone. Topicmaster conducted the Table Topics and invited three speakers. The participants for the Table Topics were Humna, Aliya and Farooq. ‘Organise Your Speech’ speeches were delivered by six participants. Three participants evaluated the speakers. Participants for the evaluation were Nisma, Humna, Shoaib and Aliya. Our visually impaired participants used Braille and Nuance TALKS&ZOOM to evaluate the speeches. Ibad was the guest speaker and spoke about the benefits and facing the fear of the public speaking. Dr. Avan, our President, was invited to present the participants with the certificates. After the Evaluation and invitation to join the Toastmasters, the session was adjourned.