A GRADIENT OF NITK TOASTMASTERS VOLUME 5 NO. 1 // DECEMBER 2021
TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL Toastmasters international is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of 16,800 clubs in 143 countries. Since 1924,Toastmaster International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders International mission We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders Our Core values are centered around : Integrity Service Respect Excellence
NITK TOASTMASTERS CLUB Our club was founded in March 2017 with the intent to empower students to become better communicators, better public speakers and better leaders. We have come a long way since then, with over 175 successfully completed meetings under our belt. We are a club filled with passionate and motivated public speakers who strive for perfection in the art of speaking and leadership. Members of this club continuously learn the necessary skills to manage people and gain knowledge of how to manage priorities. In addition to these skills, our mission is to make each member realise their inner potential of public speaking. Our members bring a cumulative experience of about 10 years in the Toastmasters Organisation and are well equipped with the knowledge and art of public speaking. Apart from this almost all our members have leadership experiences in various facets of their lives. One of the key qualities of NITK Toastmasters Club is that all the members of this club grow to be leaders in their respective fields of expertise. We strive for quality and make sure that every member of this club is fully aware of all the goals and opportunities. The Toastmasters community is not just for the development of the speaking skill, but rather the development of a person as a whole, it is a way of life. NITK Toastmasters Club takes pride in this matter and hence is the best place to learn the art of professionalism and adaptiveness. Join one of our regular meetings on Sundays at 10:30 AM on Microsoft Teams to find out more! Contact: Adithya Kannan (President, NITK Toastmasters Club): +91 9967736481 Riya Shah (VP Membership, NITK Toastmasters Club): +91 9011940624
04 AREA DIRECTOR'S ADDRESS 06 PRESIDENT ADDRESS 07 FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK 08 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 10 EDITORIAL TEAM 11 HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON 13 LIFE THROUGH COMMUNICATION 15 THE STORY OF MY (NITK)LIFE 17 CANNONBALLS FROM THE STRATOSPHERE 19 PAN-(UNDO)-MIC 22 MEMBER INTRODUCTION 23 SPECIAL MEETS 24 ACHIEVER'S SECTION 25 TESTIMONIALS 26 DCP REPORT
There was once a young woman who worked for a merchant who lived on top of a hill. She worked as the merchant’s laundress and every day she had to walk down the hill to collect water from a stream. She had two pots to carry water, which she hung upon a pole she could carry over her shoulders. With time, one of her pots got a slender crack along its side. She observed the cracks on the pot and decided she could still use it. It is with immense pride and honor that I write to you, the members of NITK Toastmasters Club as your Area Director. All of you are bright and energetic students who embrace Toastmasters and implement the program to the fullest. The club has been doing extremely well and year after year, it just keeps getting better and better. You have proved, time and again, that creativity is your key to success and it is rightly so. As you work towards bringing out this Newsletter, I would like to share a story that I closely relate with the theme. Every day, the woman carried those pots down the hill to the stream, filled them to the brim, and walked back up the hill. By the time she reached the house, the cracked pot would be only half full while the other pot delivered a full portion of water. The cracked pot glanced at the other pot and saw water filled to the top, and it began to feel desolate. The full pot was proud of its accomplishment while the cracked pot felt ashamed and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it was meant to. seulB dna seuH | 4
cracked pot perceived to be a failure, it spoke to the lady. “I apologize for my flaws. The crack on my side has made me useless. I spill half of the water. I'm no good!” The lady felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and she said, “But pot, you don’t understand, You haven’t been paying attention. Look around you. As we return to the master’s house, I want you to look at the path we traverse”. The next time when the lady carried the water up to the hill, the pot carefully observed the path. For the first time the pot stopped looking inward and instead looked out. On his side of the trail, the pot noticed beautiful flowers growing in abundance. While the other side was still dry. Toastmasters has taught me that every one of us is unique and we have our own flaws. And it is our little quirks and faults that make us and the world so interesting. Every hue has a purpose and every artist has access to those hues. Make the most and best use of it, be it in your personal life, at your profession and even in Toastmasters. Color your world, let it dazzle and become an inspiration to those around you. As you, NITK Toastmasters continue to paint canvas with the various hues, I wish you the very best and I can’t wait to see the beautiful pictures that you have in store for us. TM Daryl Rodricks Area F2 Director As the women reached the top of the hill, she asked “Did you notice the beautiful flowers on the path? They are only on your side of the path. I had always known about your cracks and I took advantage of it to water those beautiful flowers along the way. Without you being just the way you are, the path uphill would not have this beauty.” The cracked pot was overjoyed. All its sadness was gone. It understood that the very thing he thought to be his flaws turned out to be a blessing for the flowers along the path. 5 | seulB dna seuH
Wading through the wilderness of the world, we often find ourselves unable to communicate our thoughts effectively. Toastmasters has always been a platform where we can improve this skill. At NITK Toastmasters, we try to enforce the same and make sure all the members get the opportunity to try and test new skills to learn and grow as a leader. The past six months have flown past, and the club has gone from strength to strength. In the past few months, there had been a lot of uncertainties with the world opening up to the offline mode slowly taking small calculated steps to ensure the safety of everyone. But there was not an ounce of change in the internal environment and proceedings of the club.We have utilized the boons given by the online mode and have collaborated and held joint meets with clubs not only from outside the locality but also with clubs abroad. There were also different kinds of fun activities, which made learning and growing a fun process. All this gave considerable impetus to the collaborative learning atmosphere of the club in addition to the awards. This has been possible because of the constant effort from the executive committee. I can say with absolutely no doubt that I have this incredible team of motivated individuals with amazing talents with whom the club will see newer heights. Without the unwavering enthusiasm of the members, who kept taking up roles and giving speeches, the club's growth wouldn't have been possible. The journey so far has not only been educative and filled with learnings, but it has also been fun and enjoyable. I can confidently say that NITK Toastmasters has made me a better leader and speaker. Each member has a hidden potential inside him, and at this club, they get the opportunity to unlock it. So this message is to all the Members of NITK Toastmasters. In the words of Henry Ford, "If everyone moves forward, success takes care of itself." So let us grow together and reach newer heights! TM Adithya Kannan President, NITK Toastmasters Club seulB dna seuH | 6
Toastmasters, life, like the movies, needs color to add the much-needed magic. Not just the bright, happy yellow, the warm, comforting blue but also the elegant, yet lifeless, black and scary and overwhelming red. Over the span of the last 20 months, we have seen life and its different colors, hues, and of course the blues. This edition of our newsletter captures all the hues and blues that we saw together as a team. Happy reading! 7 | seulB dna seuH With Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman in the lead, 1957’s super-hit black and white Bollywood movie, Pyaasa, captured all the right emotions and made it to the list of evergreens. Yet, how many of us have actually sat down to watch it? What did it have different from the movies today? Did it lack something, something magical?
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