Toastmasters is a practising ground.

Our first meeting of Ramzan was on August 4th, 2011. It was a one hour meeting. Attendance was impressive. Around 20 people were present out which six were guests. Our Sergeant-at-rams, TM Neel observed the Toastmasters pledge. The Professional Toastmasters Club also observed a moment of silence in the memory of Late-TM Hassan Javed Khan. He died last year in Air Blue incident. He was the treasurer of the Karachi Toastmasters Club and Prime Minister of the Youth Parliament. May Allah bless his soul. For the firs time, the logo of Professional Toastmasters Club was printed on the agenda.



Toastmaster of the meeting and the Presiding officer of the meeting was Madam TM Dr. Avan. Table Topics session was performed by Madam TM Hera and General Evaluator of the meeting was TM Jumani. Table topics were evaluated by TM Sajjad.

The theme of the meeting was Ramzan and Madam TM Hera made five flash cards and they were placed on the table, upside down. Speakers were invited and asked to pick a card and then the assigned topic was explained to them. TM Jaan Ali was asked to speak on, ‘why generosity in Ramzan only.’ TM Fazal was asked to speak on, ‘overeating in Ramzan.’ Young TM Taimur was assigned the topic, ‘Rise in temper in Ramza.’ TM Emaan was to speak upon the topic, ‘Inequality highlighted in Ramzan.’ And TM Panjwani was given the last topic which says, ‘Getting late for Iftar.’



There were three speeches in the Prepared Speeches session. TM Panjwani presented his speech from the advance manual of Public Relation. He presented his Project one and his evaluator was TM Shahrukh. The name of the project was ‘The Goodwill Speech’ and the title of his speech was ‘Toastmasters.’



Madam TM Neel presented her Ice Breaker from the Competent Communicator manual. Her evaluator was TM Nadym. Her opening was very powerful. She said, ‘around 20 years ago, there was a lady expecting a child on 28th of October. But on 8th of October, there was a Piya-Jam-Hartal (Shutter-down Strike). That impatient child could not wait anymore and came ten days earlier. That child has been impatient ever since then.’ TM Nadym adored her approach and said that this kind of approach disarms the listeners.



TM Fahim presented his project one form the advance manual of Speaking to Inform. His evaluator was TM Avan amd someone rightly pointed out that past president was being evaluated by the current president. The Title of his speech was, ‘Writing to Succeed.’ He mentioned six principles of business writing which are:
a) Focus
b) Purpose
c) Meaning
d) Substance
e) Structure
f) Clarity

Our General Evaluator, TM Jumani quotes TM Jamil that Toastmasters is a Practising ground. He was right because here we have more opportunities to learn, grow and morph.



Guest comments were by Nayab, Emaan, Elena, Sarah, Mairah and Steve.



Winners and runner-ups were presented with the certificates. Winner of the Table Topics was Emaan and runner-up was TM Taimur. Winner of the prepared speeches was Madam TM Neel and runner-up was TM Fahim.

morph into something very special.

On July 28^th, 2011, attendance was very thin but every present member and guest did his best to make this meeting a success. TM Neel started the meeting by observing the Toastmasters pledge. Toastmaster of the Meeting was TM Shahrukh and Table Topics Master was TM Fahim. Table Topics were evaluated by TM Fazal.

Dual roles were performed by most of our members. TM Jameel performed the roles of Grammarian and Ah-Counter. TM Fahim performed the roles of Vote Counter and Timer. And TM Fazal was the Word-Master. Word of the day was ‘Hope.’



In the Table Topics Session, TM Fahim played 23rd July highlights of Football match between Malaysia and Singapore. He divided the audience in to two groups. One group supported the Malaysian team and the other cheered for the Singaporean team. The supporters of the Singaporean team were asked to support the policy of encouraging and bringing in the foreign talent. Malaysian supporters were asked to speak on the policy of the Malaysian team of encouraging the local talent. TM Neel, TM Stevie and TM Jameel were the supporters of the Team Singapore. TM Fazal, TM Jaan Ali and TM Shahrukh were cheering for the Team Malaysia.

There were three prepared speeches. First speech was delivered by TM Fazal. He repeated his speech which he presented in the humorous speech contest and won the second place. His speech was evaluated by TM Steve. The title of his speech was, ‘Life is a box of chocolate.’

The second speech of the programme was presented by TM Jaan Ali. He presented his project three from the Competent Communicator manual. The title of his speech was ‘Forgetting Thankfulness.’ His speech was evaluated by TM Fazal.

The last speech was delivered by TM Shahrukh. He repeated his Project three form the advance manual, Humorously Speaking. The title of his speech was ‘something lost and something found.’ He was evaluated by TM Jameel.

TM Jameel was the General Evaluator and he pointed out many areas of improvement which will help us improve the performance of our club. Some points which are worth mentioning are:
a) The proper place of the Toastmaster of the Meeting is among the audience and not at the back of the speaker.
b) Toastmaster of the meeting should first readout the objectives of the speech, mention the time to the timer, announce the name the speaker and then announce the title of the speech.
c) The General Evaluator should evaluate the evaluators.
d) In Table Topics session, always, first invite an experiences Toastmaster so that the rest can learn from him.
e) And the evaluation session should also be timed.

Our guest Stevie Davies also shared his thoughts with us. He said that in communication, words are 7% but the body movements are 72%. He agreed with the use of exaggeration in a humorous speech and that the Toastmasters will help us morph into something very special.


Winner of the table Topics Session was TM Shahrukh and TM Jameel was the runner-up. Winner of the Prepared Speeches was TM Jaan Ali and TM Shahrukh was the runner-up.

I am loving it, don’t be evil and just do it

Our meeting on 21^st July, 2011, was a success. Our Sergeant-at-Arms started the meeting by observing the Toastmasters Pledge. The meeting was presided over by Madam TM Dr. Avan. Some issues regarding our club were discussed. Toastmaster of the Meeting was TM Bakshi and Table Topics Master was TM Adnan. General Evaluator was TM Fahim. Table Topics were evaluated by TM Neel.

Roles were performed by TM Taimur as the Ah-Counter, TM Jaan Ali as the Word-Master, TM Nadym as the Grammarian and TM Fahim was the Timer and the Vote-Counter. Word of the day was ‘Express.’

In Table Topics Session, speakers were asked to choose from the given brands and to speak on their slogans. Following are the given brands:

1) McDonald: I am loving it

2) Google: Don’t be evil

3) Nike: Just do it

4) Levies: Quality never goes out of style

5) Kodak: Share moments, share life

6) Nokia: Connecting people

7) Toastmasters: way of life.

Some interesting facts were brought to our attention. TM Aqeel told us that Nike is in fact a name of winged goddess of victory in Greek mythology. TM Nadym told us the Kodak was the first to introduce 3D-photography and TM Fahim told us that Google started as a simple search engine but challenged the monopoly of Microsoft.

There were four speeches in the prepared speeches session. First speech was delivered by TM Aqeel and it was evaluated by TM Shahrukh. He delivered his Project 9 from the Competent Communicator manual and the title of his speech was ‘Good Company and Bad Company.’ He said, ‘aligned with the people who are stretching, seeking and searching higher goals in life.’

The second speech was delivered by TM Dr. Avan. She delivered her final Project from the Interpretive Reading manual. She was evaluated by TM Bakshi and she read Mr. Jinnah’s address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11^th August, 1947. She beautifully reminded us all about Jinnah’s vision to maintain law and order, rooting out bribery, nepotism, corruption and for equal rights to all citizens.

Third speech was presented by TM Shahrukh from Humorously Speaking manual. He presented his Project three and he was evaluated by TM Fahim. The title of his speech was ‘something lost and something found.’

TM Nadym presented the last speech from the Competent Communicator manual. He presented his Project three: get to the point. The title of his speech was ‘Takaful.’ He was evaluated by TM Dr. Avan. He explained us very beautifully that Insurance is not Haram (forbidden) in Islam but the process behind it is not in accordance with the Islamic principle. This impediment can be overcome.

Winners of the Table Topics was TM Fahim and TM Nadym was the runner-up

Winner for the Prepared Speeches was TM Nadym and TM Shahrukh was the runner-up.

fear is nothing but a sensation

All the petrol stations were shut down, protests were being launched and panic can be seen everywhere in the city. However, Professional Toastmasters were able to conduct the meeting on July 7^th, 2011. TM Adnan said that the contribution was little but it was strong. There were only four members so multiple roles were performed by everyone. The flow of the meeting was missing but each member tried his very best to perform the assigned role to the best of his abilities, with dedication and conviction.

The toastmasters pledge was observed by TM Jaan Ali. TM Shahrukh presided over the entire meeting. The theme of our meeting was ‘Economic Reforms.’

Toastmaster of the meeting was TM Shahrukh. Table Topics Master was TM Panjwani. TM Adnan was the General Evaluator. Table Topics were evaluated by TM Shahrukh.

Roles were performed by TM Jaan Ali as the Ah-Counter; TM Panjwani was the Vote Counter; TM Shahrukh was the Grammarian and TM Adnan was the Timer and the Word Master. Word of the day was ‘Creativity.’ TM Adnan said, ‘Fellow Few Toastmasters’ while he was explaining his role. That was literally true.

TM Panjwani assigned two topics to all the three speakers. Topics were related to the reforms and each speaker was asked to answer the four following questions:

a) Where are we now?

b) Where we want to go?

c) What is the ideal situation?

d) How to achieve it?

TM Adnan was asked to speak on ‘Electric Crisis.’ TM Shaharukh was asked to speak on ‘Good Governance.’ And TM Jaan Ali was asked to speak on ‘Inflation.’ TM Jaan had no idea what inflation was but he spoke brilliantly. The reason for this was that every topic was clearly explained by TM Panjwani and this facilitated all the speakers.

In the second round of Table Topics Session, TM Adnan was asked to speak on ‘Economic Growth.’ TM Shahrukh was asked to speak on ‘Law and Order Situation.’ And TM Jaan Ali was asked to speak on ‘Education for Everyone,’

We received a phone call from TM Khalid during our 20 minutes break. He informed us of the situation outside and asked us to be careful.

In our Prepared Speeches Session, three speeches were delivered. First speech was delivered by TM Adnan. He presented Project Six from the Competent Communicator manual. He was evaluated by TM Pajwani. The title of his speech was ‘Be Original.’ He said, ‘the easiest thing in the world is to be yourself.’ he concluded his speech by saying, ‘born original and don’t die a copy.’

TM Jaan Ali repeated his Ice Breaker from the Competent Communicator manual. He was evaluated by TM Shahrukh. He said, ‘I am the only child but my friends are my siblings.’ He also shared with us that he is learning Chinese and believes that in future, Chine will rule the world.

Last prepared speech was delivered by TM Shahrukh and it was evaluated by TM Adnan. He repeated Project Nine form the Competent Communicator manual and the title of his speech was, ‘My City Burns.’

As the General Evaluator, TM Adnan appreciated the courage of the members who were able to make it to the meeting and also hoped that all the members who weren’t able to attend the meeting were safe and have reached their homes safe and sound. He very rightly said that fear is nothing but a sensation.

Winner of the Table Topics session was TM Jaan Ali and TM Shahrukh was the runner-up. TM Shahrukh was the winner of the Prepared Speeches session and TM Adnan was the runner-up.

by doing it professionally and honestly

With all the dedication and sincere efforts, our meting on 30^th June, 2011, was made successful. The attendance was thin but members performed dual roles and some even joined us in the second session but every commitment was honoured.

Presiding officer of the meeting was TM Shahrukh. In absences of Madam TM Neel, TM Mansoor executed the duties of Sergeant-at-Arms. TM Khalid was the Toastmaster of the Evening. Madam TM Shabana was the General Evaluator but she had to leave and her role was taken up by TM Shahrukh. TM Tahir was the Table Topics Evaluator.

Roles were performed by TM Aqeel as the Ah-Counter, TM Mansoor as the Timer, TM Tahir as the Vote Counter, TM Shahrukh as the Grammarian and TM Sajjad was the Word-master. Word of the day was ‘Focus.’

Table Topics Session was conducted by TM Adil as the Table Topics Master. He assigned some very interesting topics and speakers were asked how they will handle that particular situation. TM Fazal was asked, ‘As a doctor, what would you do for Pakistan?’ TM Shahrukh was asked, ‘How will you handle three girlfriends if they all know about each other?’ Madam TM Shabana was asked, ‘what will she do if she had lost all her luggage at the airport?’ TM Khalid was asked, ‘how to excel as an entrepreneur?’ he replied by saying only through hard work and by doing it professionally and honestly. TM Tahir was asked, ‘what will he do if his flight was five hours late?’ TM Mansoor was asked, ‘how will he react in a traffic jam caused by the VIP movement?’ TM Panjwani was asked, ‘what immediate measures will he take for Pakistan?’ He replied very wisely that no one realises the actual problem and that is a real problem.

TM Sajjad joined us very late but he was assigned a topic, ‘how to shift a responsibility from your head to other?’

Three speeches were presented in the Prepared Speeches session. First speech was delivered by TM Panjwani and it was evaluated by TM Sajjad. The title of his speech was ‘Communication Secrets.’ He presented project ten from the Competent Communicator manual. He said in his speech, ‘we must learn to say no.’

Second speech was by TM Shahrukh and it was evaluated by TM Fazal. The title of his speech was ‘Here and Here.’ He presented project two from the Humorously Speaking manual.

TM Aqeel presented project eight from the Competent Communicator manual. The title of his speech was ‘Thoughts become things.’ He was evaluated by TM Khalid. He said in his speech, ‘we can do it if we can visualise it.’

The winner of the Table Topics session was TM Panjwani and TM Mansoor was the runner-up. Winner of the Prepared Speeches was TM Aqeel and TM Shahrukh was the runner-up.