tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82903741606615149412024-02-20T17:57:18.526+05:30Toastmaster SpeaksMy speeches at Daffodils Toastmasters Club, Bangalore, India.Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-47412096535085159932013-08-13T23:10:00.000+05:302013-08-13T23:10:32.341+05:30Interpretive Reading (Project 3) - Om Shanti Om (Let there be Peace Everywhere)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Om Shanti Om (Let there be Peace Everywhere)</span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>[Three compositions on World Peace]</i></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Lyrics: Buffy Sainte-Marie)</span></span> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">He’s
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He fights with missiles and with spears <br />
He’s all of 31 and he’s only 17.<br />
He’s been a soldier for a thousand years<br />
<br />
He’s a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain, A Buddhist, and a Baptist and
Jew.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You <span> </span>for
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">And
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fighting for Japan<br />
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<br />
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<br />
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He’s the universal soldier <span> </span>And he really
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<br />
They come from him. And you and me.<br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Imagine
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It's easy if you try<br />
No hell below us<br />
Above us only sky<br />
Imagine all the people living for today<br />
<br />
Imagine there's no countries<br />
It isn't hard to do<br />
Nothing to kill or die for<br />
And no religion too<br />
Imagine all the people living life in peace<br />
<br />
You, you may say <br />
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one<br />
I hope some day you'll join us<br />
And the world will be as one<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Imagine no
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I wonder if you can<br />
No need for greed or hunger<br />
A brotherhood of man<br />
Imagine all the people sharing all the world<br />
<br />
You, you may say <br />
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one<br />
I hope some day you'll join us<br />
And the world will live as one</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <b>Sarve Bhavantu Sukhina (May all be Happy)</b></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">(A Mantra from </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad</span> (1.4.14</span></span>))</span></b><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">May all be happy; may all be free from disease</span>
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">May everyone see good in each other and none have misery of any kind.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Let there be Peace, Peace & Peace</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Om Shanti Om !</span></span></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[<i>Date delivered: <span style="font-size: small;">August 10</span> 2013</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Advanced Communication Manual - Interpretive Reading</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Project 3 - The Monodrama</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></span>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> To understand the concept and nature of the monodrama</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>To assume the identity of a character and to portray the physical and emotional aspects of the character to an audience.</i></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Time: Five to Seven Minutes</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Comments:</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>This project on monodrama was somewhat outside my comfort zone. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Firstly my speeches are generally without theatrics . But here the requirements of the project demanded that I indulge in some sort of drama . </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Secondly as per the manual I was , preferably not supposed to read the text . But </i></span></span><i>I <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">simply did not have the time and inclination to memorize a long literary piece .</span></span></i> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Therefore I chose two short songs and one translated version of a mantra from Upanishads which I already knew by heart and which had a common underlying theme - the World Peace. I then interpreted them in a monodrama format under the title Om Shanti Om.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>It was well received and I was chosen as one of the Best Speakers of the Day.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>But my evaluator </i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>though very impressed</i></span> with my delivery was of the opinion that the compositions chosen by me were rather obscure (almost metaphysical ) for the audience consisting mainly of youngsters. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>I too feel that I could have explained the context of the compositions a little more in details (though by doing that I would have overshot the 45 seconds limit , the manual suggests for this purpose).</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>So I am trying to make some amends here by providing the audience who happen to read this post , some links which they can refer to:</i></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.creative-native.com/universal-soldier-annotated.php" target="_blank">Explanation of the lyrics of the song "Universal Soldier"</a></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Soldier_%28song%29" target="_blank">Universal Soldier - Wikipedia article</a></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_%28song%29" target="_blank">Imagine - Wikipedia article </a></i></span></li>
</ul>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finally some links to the You Tube videos of the songs </span></i><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWsGyNsw00" target="_blank">Universal Soldier performed by the songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie</a>. She first narrates how she wrote this song, then sings Universal Soldier.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmgMcjT_qqA" target="_blank">Universal Soldier performed by Lobo</a>. This is the version through which I got introduced to this song. </span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhq-yO1KN8" target="_blank">Imagine by John Lennon</a></span></i></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> ] </i></span></div>
Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-70213121814914784432013-03-14T22:44:00.000+05:302013-03-14T22:44:31.641+05:304 Years of Toastmaster Speaks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
5 Most Popular Posts during the Year <span style="font-size: small;">4</span> (Mar 1 2012 - Feb 28 2013) of this blog:</div>
<br />
<ol style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><ol>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2009/01/project-2-mobile-phones-early-days.html" target="_blank">Mobile Phones - Early Days</a>: (<b>1<span style="font-size: small;">159</span> page views</b>)
This was my CC Project 2 speech. At that time I was working for
Freescale and our business unit was developing wireless software for
mobile phones. So I had enough background to speak on the story of how
mobile phones evolved. </span></li>
<li><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2011/05/story-telling-project-5-struggles-of.html" target="_blank">Struggles of a Genius</a>: (<b>979 page views</b>) This is a Project 5 Speech from the Story Telling Manual. It describes the struggling days of the world famous mathematician S. Ramanujan. </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2009/12/project-10-speech-three-essential.html" target="_blank">Project 10 Speech - The Three Essential Qualities of a Toastmaster</a>: (<b><span style="font-size: small;">958 </span>page views</b>): </span><span style="font-size: small;">I
spoke about how I prepared and delivered all the 10 speeches from the
CC manual and what qualities a Toastmaster needs to have to achieve
this feat. </span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2009/04/project-5-speech-ragging-learning.html" target="_blank">Ragging - A Learning Experience</a> (<b><span style="font-size: small;">881</span> page views</b>):
This was my CC Project 5 Speech, where I spoke about how I was
ragged as a first year engineering student at NITK, Surathkal (then
KREC, Surathkal).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%20%201%20Speech">Cherished Childhood Moments</a>: (<b><span style="font-size: small;">646</span> Page views</b>) This was my Icebreaker Speech from the CC Manual, where I relived my good old carefree childhood days. </span></span></span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Other Statistics:</b></span></div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Unique Visitors: <span style="font-size: small;">6236</span></b> i.e. 1<span style="font-size: small;">7</span> visitors per day [Last Year : <b><span style="font-size: small;">5202</span> </b> (<span style="font-size: small;">14-15</span> visitors per day).]</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> Visitors came from <b>1<span style="font-size: small;">20</span> countries</b> [<b>Last Year: <span style="font-size: small;">107</span></b>] </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Page Views : <span style="font-size: small;">11336</span></b> [Last Year : <b><span style="font-size: small;">9843</span>]</b></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-46784384115126726902013-02-19T11:24:00.000+05:302013-02-19T11:24:00.281+05:30Interpretive Reading (Project 2) - The Pied Piper of Hamelin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">(<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Abridged Version of the Poem by Robert Browing</i>)</span></span> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hamelin’s Town in Brunswick, By
famous Hanover city; <br />
To see the townsfolk suffer so From a vermin, was a pity.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">II. <br />
Rats! <br />
They fought the dogs and killed the cats, <br />
And Bit the babies in their cradles,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And
ate the cheeses out of the vats, <br />
Made nests inside men's Sunday hats, <br />
And even spoiled the women's chats, by drowning
their speaking <br />
With shrieking and squeaking In fifty different sharps and flats. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">III. <br />
At last the people in a body To the Town
Hall came flocking: <br />
``It’s clear,'' cried they, ``our
Mayor's a noddy; <br />
``And as for our Corporation -- shocking
! ``Rouse up, sirs!<br />
Give your brains a racking ``To find the remedy we're lacking, <br />
``Or, sure as fate, we'll send you packing!'' <br />
At this the Mayor and Corporatio<span style="font-size: small;">n</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Quaked with a mighty consternation. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">IV.
<br />
An hour they sat in council, <br />
At length the Mayor broke silence:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">``It's
easy to bid one rack one's brain -- <br />
``I've scratched it so, and all in vain<br />
``Oh for a trap, a trap, a trap!'' <br />
Just as he said this, At the chamber
door was a gentle tap </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">V.<br />
``Come in!'' -- the Mayor cried, looking
bigger <br />
And in did come the strangest figure! <br />
<br />
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">VI.<br />
He advanced to the council-table: <br />
``Please your honours,'' said he, People call me the Pied Piper.'' <br />
``And as for what your brain bewilders, <br />
``If I can rid your town of rats <br />
``Will you give me a thousand
guilders?'' <br />
``One? Fifty thousand!'' was the exclamation </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span>Of the astonished
Mayor and Corporation. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">VII.<br />
Into the street the Piper stept, <br />
Smiling first a little smile,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As
if he knew what magic slept In his quiet
pipe the while; <br />
Then, like a musical adept, To blow the
pipe his lips he wrinkled, <br />
And green and blue his sharp eyes
twinkled,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And
ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered, <br />
You heard as if an army muttered; <br />
And the muttering grew to a grumbling; <br />
And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling; <br />
And out of the houses the rats came tumbling. <br />
Great rats, small rats, lean rats,
brawny rats, <br />
Brown rats, black rats, grey rats, tawny
rats, <br />
Grave old plodders, gay young friskers, <br />
Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins, <br />
Families by tens and dozens, <br />
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives -- Followed the Piper for their lives. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From street to street he piped advancing, <br />
And step for step they followed dancing,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Until
they came to the river Weser Where all plunged and perished! <br />
<br />
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">VIII.<br />
You should have heard the Hamelin people</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ringing
the bells till they rocked the steeple <br />
-- when suddenly, up the face Of the
Piper perked in the market-place, <br />
With a, ``First, if you please, my
thousand guilders!'' </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">IX.<br />
A thousand guilders! The Mayor looked
blue;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So
did the Corporation too.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Said
the Mayor with a knowing wink</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Friend,
we're not the folks to shrink ``</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From the duty of giving you something to drink,
<br />
``And a matter of money to put in your
poke; <br />
``But as for the guilders, what we spoke
<br />
``Of them, as you very well know, was in
joke<br />
``Beside, our losses have made us thrifty. <br />
``A thousand guilders! Come, take
fifty!'' </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">X.<br />
The Piper's face fell,and he cried, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">``No trifling! I can't wait! <br />
``Folks who put me in a passion </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> ``May find me pipe after another fashion.'' </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">XI.<br />
``How?'' cried the Mayor ``You threaten
us, fellow?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Do
your worst, ``Blow your pipe there till
you burst!'' </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">XII.<br />
Once more the <i>Piper</i> stept into the street, <br />
And to his lips again Laid his long pipe
of smooth straight cane; <br />
And ere he blew three notes <br />
There was a rustling that seemed like a
bustling <br />
Of merry crowds justling at pitching and
hustling, <br />
Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes came
clattering, <br />
Little hands clapping and little tongues
chattering, <br />
Out came the children running. <br />
All the little boys and girls, <br />
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls, <br />
And sparkling eyes and teeth like
pearls, <br />
Tripping and skipping, ran merrily
after</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The wonderful music<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>with
shouting and laughter. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">XIII.<br />
That joyous crowd at the Piper's back, <br />
When, lo, as they reached the
mountain-side, <br />
A wondrous portal opened wide. <br />
And the Piper advanced and the children followed, <br />
And when all were in to the very last, <br />
The door in the mountain-side shut fast. <br />
<br />
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">XIV.<br />
Alas, for Hamelin!<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">T</span>he
Piper and the children were gone for ever.</span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[<i>Date delivered: <span style="font-size: small;">February 16</span> 2013</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Advanced Communication Manual - Interpretive Reading</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Project 2 - Interpreting Poetry</i></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></span>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> To understand the differences between poetry and prose.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>To recognize how poets use imagery, rhythm, meter, cadence, and rhyme to convey the meanings and emotions of their poetry.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>To apply vocal techniques that will aid in the effectiveness of the reading.</i></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Time: Six to Eight Minutes</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Comments:</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>I chose this poem for interpretation for the following reasons:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>a) It is based on a very well known fairy tale which I thought audience would remember and relate to.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>b) The language is simple and quite contemporary considering the fact that it was written way back in 1842.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>c) It is known for its vivid imagery, wordplay and jingling rhymes, thus meeting almost all the criteria for this project.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>d) Has a very simple yet powerful message - Keep up your promises; else face dire consequences. (Some Toastmasters expect every project speech to have a message !)</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The original poem is three times longer than what I read out. I edited it to conform to the time limits specified for this project. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The unabridged version is available at <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/etext/piper/text.html">http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/etext/piper/text.html</a></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>I also found an audio rendering of this poem at <a href="http://media.libsyn.com/media/blogrelations/Audio__Pied_Piper_of_Hamelin.mp3">http://media.libsyn.com/media/blogrelations/Audio__Pied_Piper_of_Hamelin.mp3. </a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>It was very useful for my preparation for this project.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">To convey the mood of the poem ,I b<span style="font-size: small;">egan<span style="font-size: small;"> and ended my rea<span style="font-size: small;">ding b<span style="font-size: small;">y<span style="font-size: small;"> whistling three notes.</span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">These notes <span style="font-size: small;">are</span> actually the <span style="font-size: small;">opening notes of Richard Strauss's composition "Also Sprach Z<span style="font-size: small;">arathushtra" (1896) <span style="font-size: small;">which was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name</span></span>. This tune was also used <span style="font-size: small;">as the <span style="font-size: small;">o</span>pening theme for </span> the mo<span style="font-size: small;">vie 2001: Space Odyssey.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can hear th<span style="font-size: small;">is musical piece<span style="font-size: small;"> (from 0:20 onwards)</span> at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLuW-GBaJ8k">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLuW-GBaJ8k</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Incidentally these <span style="font-size: small;">are the very notes (Sa-Pa-Sa) which a beginner in Carnatic C<span style="font-size: small;">lassical Music lear<span style="font-size: small;">ns. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tak<span style="font-size: small;">e a look<span style="font-size: small;"> at</span></span></span> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQNbME26SrI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQNbME26SrI</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><i> </i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><i> </i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> ] </i></span></div>
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Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-5659234332943054592013-02-02T11:43:00.000+05:302013-02-02T11:43:02.164+05:30Interpretive Reading Project 1 - Four Wives<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[<i>I have came out of the one-and-half year hiatus and have resumed delivering project speeches. My goal is to achieve Advanced Communicator Silver (ACS) by mid -2014. This speech is the first step towards this goal</i>.]</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. <br />He loved his 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best. <br />He also loved his 3rd wife very much. He was very proud of her and always wanted to show her off to his friends. However, the merchant was always in great fear that she might run away with some other man. <br />He loved his 2nd wife too. She was a very considerate person, always patient and in fact was the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times. <br />However, the merchant did not love his first wife. She loved him deeply, but he hardly took notice of her and neglected her totally. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />One day, the merchant fell very ill. He knew that he was going to die soon. He thought about his luxurious life and said to himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be after my death!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />He asked the 4th wife, "I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company wherever I go after I die?" He expected her to say yes. But she answered, “My dear husband, I know you always loved me. But you are going to die. Now it is time for me to separate from you. Goodbye, my dear”. The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />He called his third wife to his sickbed and begged her to follow him in death. He said, “My dear, you know how much I loved you. Sometimes I was afraid that you might leave me, but I held on to you strongly. My dear, please come with me.' "No! Dear husband, how can I follow you? You loved me only for your own selfish sake. Life is so good over here! I'm going to remarry when you die!” replied the 3rd wife. The merchant's heart sank and turned cold. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" The 2nd wife replied, with tears in her eyes, “My dear, I pity you and I feel sad for myself. But I'm sorry; I can't help you out this time! I can only accompany you till the graveyard.” The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Three wives had refused to follow him after his death. Now he recalled that he had another wife, his first wife. He had not cared for her very much. He had treated her like a slave and had always showed much displeasure with her. He now thought that if he asked her to follow him to death, she would certainly say no. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />But his loneliness and fear were so severe that he made the effort to ask her to accompany him to the other world.<br />The first wife gladly accepted her husband's request. 'My dear husband,' she said, 'I will go with you. Whatever happens, I am determined to be with you forever. I cannot be separated from you”.<br />The merchant looked at his first wife closely. She looked sick from neglect and malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant regretted, "I should have taken much better care of you!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />And then he died! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The 4th wife is our body. We love our body day and night. We keep it clean, well dressed and well fed in the same manner the merchant kept his fourth wife. But unfortunately, at the end of our life, the body, the 4th wife cannot follow us to the next world. No matter how much time and effort we spend in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Our 3rd wife? The third 'wife' stands for our fortune, our material things, money, property, fame, position, and job that we worked hard to attain. We are attached to them. We are afraid to lose them and wish to possess much more. There is no limit. At the end of our life these material possessions cannot follow us to death. When we die, they all go to others just as the third wife told her husband “I'm going to remarry when you die!'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The 2nd wife represents all our near and dear ones - parents, sisters, brothers, wife or husband, relatives, friends. They are all helpful and sympathetic to us when we are alive. But no matter how close they were to us when we were alive, when we die at the most what these people can do is to go as far as the graveyard or cremation ground with tears in their eyes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure. Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Let us cultivate and strengthen our soul NOW rather than to wait till we're on our deathbed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">[<i>Date delivered: J<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">anuary</span> 1<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">9</span> 201<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3</span></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Advanced Communication Manual - Interpretive Reading</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Project 1 - Read a Story </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Objectives:</i></span><br />
</span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i> To understand the elements of interpretive reading.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>To learn how to analyze a narrative and plan for effective interpretation.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>To learn and apply vocal techniques that will aid in the effectiveness of the reading.</i></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Time: Eight to Ten Minutes</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Comments:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>I chose to read this story because its message closely resonates with my own views about life.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>The author of the story is anonymous. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>There are many versions of this story available on the internet. I combined the following two versions and I created the content for my speech by combining two such versions. These two versions are available at:</i></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><a href="http://www.indianchild.com/4_wives.htm" target="_blank">http://www.indianchild.com/4_wives.htm</a> </i></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/story/fourwives.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/story/fourwives.html</i></span></a></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i></i></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>] </i></span><br />
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Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-81141556076175197772012-03-23T17:09:00.003+05:302012-03-24T10:52:00.832+05:303 Years of Toastmaster Speaks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 5 Most Popular Posts during the Year 3 (Mar 1 2011 - Feb 29 2012) of this blog:</div><br />
<ol style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><ol><li><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2009/01/project-2-mobile-phones-early-days.html" target="_blank">Mobile Phones - Early Days</a>: (<b>1428 page views</b>) This was my CC Project 2 speech. At that time I was working for Freescale and our business unit was developing wireless software for mobile phones. So I had enough background to speak on the story of how mobile phones evolved. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2009/04/project-5-speech-ragging-learning.html" target="_blank">Ragging - A Learning Experience</a> (<b>980 page views</b>): This was my CC Project 5 Speech, where I spoke about how I was ragged as a first year engineering student at NITK, Surathkal (then KREC, Surathkal).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2009/12/project-10-speech-three-essential.html" target="_blank">Project 10 Speech - The Three Essential Qualities of a Toastmaster</a>: (<b>639 page views</b>): </span><span style="font-size: small;">I spoke about how I prepared and delivered all the 10 speeches from the CC manual and what qualities a Toastmaster needs to have to achieve this feat. </span> </li>
<li><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2009/07/project-8-speech-wisdom-wisdom.html" target="_blank">Wisdom, Wisdom Everywhere</a>: (<b>626 page views</b>): This was my CC Project 8 speech. A few days before I gave this speech I had read the book , "Like the Flowing River " by Paulo Coelho. It had several soul-stirring stories and articles, some of them formed the basis of my speech. I have posted <a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-flowing-river.html" target="_blank">my review of this book</a> in "<a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Bookworm Reads</a>", the other blog I write.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.in/2009/01/theme-speech-1.html" target="_blank">Theme of the Day Speech</a> (<b>621 page views</b>)</span>: This was my speech as a Toastmaster of the Day on the theme <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;">If Liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don't want to hear</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(George Orwell)"</span></span></li>
</ol></ol><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Other Statistics:</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Unique Visitors: 5202</b> i.e. 14 -15 visitors per day [Last Year : <b>3462 </b> (9-10 visitors per day).]</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> Visitors came from <b>107 countries</b> [<b>Last Year: 83</b>] </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Page Views : 9843</b> [Last Year : <b>7961]</b></span> </li>
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</div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-59471386565545674862012-03-22T10:23:00.000+05:302012-03-22T10:23:22.474+05:30Book Review - Confessions of a Public Speaker<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bookwo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1449301959&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a href="http://www.flipkart.com/confessions-public-speaker-8184048467/p/itmczzj4vm3h5zsv?pid=9788184048469&affid=INGopinblo" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://img1.flixcart.com/www/prod/images/buy_btn_3-16664.png" style="cursor: move;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last month I happened to read the book Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun. </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In this book he expresses his personal opinion on the art of public speaking through a string of humorous behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes based on his decade long personal experience as a public speaker. He also provides guidance on how to develop an appropriate mind-set for public speaking.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is the easy, honest, witty and conversational style, and the fine art of storytelling which makes this bestselling book an entertaining read even though similar pieces of advice have been offered in many other books. Therefore even if you know all the tricks in trade this book it is still an enjoyable read.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /> <br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Recommended for anyone who is connected with public speaking.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Links</b>:</span><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.in/2012/03/confessions-of-public-speaker.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My Review and Summary of this Book </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596802004.do" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Table of Contents </span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://oreilly.com/social-media/excerpts/9780596802004/public-speaker-butterflies.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Book Excerpt- Chapter 2 The Attack of the Butterflies</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.scottberkun.com/" target="_blank">Author's Website</a> </span></li>
</ul><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <b>Key Points from this Book:</b><br />
<br />
<u>Chapter 1</u>: I Can't See You Naked<br />
<ul><li>Best speakers make tons of mistakes. As long as message comes through, audience overlook many things. People with clear ideas and strong points are the ones we remember.</li>
<li>Mistakes will happen - what matters is how you frame your mistakes. Two ways to do it -</li>
</ul><ol style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><li>Avoid the mistake of trying to make no mistakes.</li>
<li>Know that your response to a mistake defines the audience's response.</li>
</ol><ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> Many of the mistakes you make while performing do not prevent you from keeping the audience entertained and providing a learning experience. It's the mistakes you make even before you say a word that matter more for e.g., not having an interesting opinion, not thinking clearly about your points, not planning ways to make those points relevant to your audience. </li>
</ul><ol style="text-align: left;"><ol></ol></ol><br />
<u>Chapter 2:</u> The Attack of the Butterflies<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It is quite natural and good to have some nervousness or anxiety before one begins speaking before an audience.</li>
<li>Fear of failure gives us energy to proactively prevent failures from happening.</li>
<li>Know your material so well that you are very confident about it.</li>
<li>Confidence comes from practicing and it makes it possible to improvise and respond to unexpected things - like hecklers, tough questions, bored audiences, or equipment failures - that might occur during the talk. </li>
<li>No matter how prepared you are your body will be somewhat stressed. That's OK. There are many ways to reduce such stress for e.g. getting to venue early, walking around the stage, sitting and/or talking with the audience before your speech etc. </li>
<li> If you can talk comfortably to people you know, then you posses the skills needed to speak to groups of people you don't know. </li>
</ul><u>Chapter 3:</u> $30,000 an Hour <br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There is some economic value to what good speakers on right topics do for people. It depends on how valuable the people in the room are to whoever is footing the bill.</li>
<li>It's more likely that people will come to an event featuring a famous person - even one they suspect is boring to listen to - than hear the best public speaker in the world (if that's his only claim to fame)</li>
<li>Speaking fees not only takes into account the time spent on delivering the talk. It also compensates for the time and effort the speakers spend in - gaining the expertise in their field, preparing and practicing for their talk and logistical issues.</li>
</ul><u>Chapter 4:</u> How to Work a Tough Room<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Most venues for speaking and lecturing in the modern world are dull, grey, uninspiring, poorly lit, generic cubes of space. Such venues can change lukewarm audience into tough ones.</li>
<li>Lecture rooms should be like theaters - semicircular rooms, not a square; stage a few feet higher than the front row, both to make the speaker on the stage easier to see and also to help them feel powerful; every row of seats higher off the ground before it to give everyone a clear line of sight; free of poles and blind spots; good lighting; soundproofed from the noise outside.</li>
<li>Density Theory of Public Speaking: The size of the room or the crowd becomes irrelevant as long as the people there are sitting together in a tight pack (however small), experiencing and sharing the same thing at the same time.</li>
<li>However tough the audience is, there is always one person who is least hostile towards you. Identify him and look at him for support whenever needed.</li>
<li>Sometimes speaker wrongly presumes that the audience is or will be hostile and behaves unpleasantly. This makes an imagined hostile audience a reality.</li>
<li>A tough crowd has to be interested in you to hate you. A hostile crowd gives you more energy to work with than an indifferent one. If you can figure out what it is they're interested in early on, it's possible to connect with them.</li>
<li>Audience are generally angriest about speaker's dishonesty. Show some integrity by speaking the truth on the very thing that angers them or even acknowledging it in a heartfelt way.</li>
<li>Great speakers are connection-makers, sharing an authentic part of themselves to create a positive experience for the audience.</li>
<li>An audience of just 5 interested people looks bad, yet it is better than having 50 uninterested people who want to leave the room but won't.</li>
<li>If you are truly afraid that you will be speaking to an hostile crowd, prepare yourself by asking the host how large the crowd is likely to be and what common questions might get asked. Make a request to speak beforehand to three people who are representative of the crowd. This will clarify whether your fears are real or imagined. During the speech mention the names of the people whom you talked to and what you heard from them.</li>
</ul><u>Chapter 5</u>: Do Not Eat the Microphone <br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The problem with most bad presentations is - lack of good private thinking by the presenter and not the speaking, the slides, the visuals or any of the things the presenter obsesses about. </li>
<li>As you plan your talk remember that the people in the audience have come because they - want to learn / wish to be inspired/ hope to be entertained/ have a need they hope you will satisfy/ desire to meet other people interested in the subject/ seek a positive experience they can share with others. Start with the goal of satisfying these needs.</li>
<li>The term "eating the microphone" is used in the speaking trade for speakers who are unprepared and wander away from anything the audience cares about in their talk. Avoid this situation by use your preparation time to strongly think through your speech beforehand so that most audiences are satisfied despite some minor mistakes during the delivery.</li>
<li>To prepare well:</li>
<ul><li>Take a strong position in your title.Such a title should highlight what you would tell if you had only one single point.</li>
<li>Think carefully about your specific audience. </li>
<li>Make your specific points as concise as possible.</li>
<li>Know the likely counterarguments from an intelligent, expert audience.</li>
</ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Create an outline of your presentation which is a narration in sequence of points that effectively support the title of your talk.</li>
</ul><u>Chapter 6:</u> The Science of Not Boring People<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A speaker must set the pace for the audience if he wants to keep their attention. For e.g. he can say "I have 30 minutes to talk to you, and five points to make. I will spend five minutes on each point and save the remaining time for any questions."</li>
<li>Start with a beat. Think of your opening minute as a movie preview: fill it with drama, excitement, and highlights for why people should keep listening.</li>
<li>Practice your material in front of a clock until you get the timing right. Remember if you're too lazy to practice, expect your audience to be too lazy to follow.</li>
<li>The simplest natural way to draw attention of the audience is to tell stories.</li>
<li>If people give an hour of their time to talk to them, they expect you to be confident in what you say and do.</li>
<li>Speak louder, take stronger positions, and behave more aggressively than you would do in an ordinary conversation but do not appear phony. Instead be a passionate, interested, fully present version of yourself. That's who your audience came to hear.</li>
<li>Transition between the slides are critically important. You have to know what's coming up next and summon the audience's attention at the right time to make sure they are all looking at or listening to you when the next thing you are going to say is funny, important, or powerful.</li>
<li>If your talk consists of several problems important to the audience, and you promise to release the tension created by those problems by solving each one, you'll score big.</li>
<li>Get the audience involved. Some ways to do so are:</li>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Ask for a show of hands whenever you need some information or opinion from the audience.</li>
<li>Ask some trivia questions and let people shout out answers.</li>
<li>Give them a problem to solve.</li>
</ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> Always plan and practice to end early.</li>
</ul><u>Chapter 7:</u> Lessons from my 15 minutes of fame<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>We are always performing. Most people say they're afraid of performing for an audience, but this is bullshit. You have an audience every time you open your mouth. It's just the question of doing it at the right level for the environment you're in.</li>
<li>Success often stems from the ability to make whatever medium (TV/ radio/ theater etc.) you're in feel like something simpler and often less formal. It's the art of making the unnatural seem natural.</li>
<li>Any time you are videotaped or recorded live without an audience, whether it's for TV or the Web, it's far worse being in an empty room than a tough room. The secret to speaking to an audience without one actually present is to forget the studio and ignore the cameras. Go to a place in your mind where you remember the last time you spoke to a live, friendly, interested group, and match that style of behavior and enthusiasm. Speak as if the same audience is listening, and you'll be fine.</li>
</ul><u>Chapter 8:</u> The things people say<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Things people say often mean something other than what you think they mean.</li>
<li>Feedback from the audience is a one-shot deal - either you make sense of it or you can't.</li>
<li>Any attention at all means you did something of value. But sorting out the value is not easy to do.</li>
<li>Most often people give mixed messages. You're on your own to sort out which bits of feedback matter, and more importantly, the differences between how you feel about how you did and how the audience seems to feel.</li>
<li>When talking to a speaker after his talk, most people will say nice, simple, positive things. As a result, there are thousands of bad public speakers running around under the impression that they're doing OK.</li>
<li>Considering how much we talk, we suck at both being honest with others and at listening openly and non-defensively when others are honest with us.</li>
<li>What people want from lectures is different from what they say they want, or what the organizers want them to want. </li>
<li>While listening to a lecture, most people are quite happy to just be entertained. A speaker can satisfy many audiences without providing much substance, provided he keeps them entertained and interested. The best teachers use entertainment as a way to fuel teaching, not simply to make their students laugh.</li>
<li>People are willing to assume credibility based on how and by whom the speaker was introduced.</li>
<li>Your appearance, manner, posture, and attitude matter. Every audience expects certain superficial things, and if you deliver them, the rest of your job is easier.</li>
<li>Enthusiasm matters. By being enthusiastic and caring deeply about what you say, you may provide more value than a low-energy, dispassionate speaker who knows many times more than you do. </li>
<li>Some of the real feedback speakers need:</li>
<ul><li>How did my presentation compare to the others?</li>
<li>What one change would have improved my presentation?</li>
<li>What questions did you expect me to answer that were unanswered?</li>
<li>What annoyances did I let get in the way of giving you what you needed?</li>
</ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Speakers can be set up to fail if they are asked to speak to people who hate them, or on a topic they do not care about.</li>
<li>A savvy speaker must ask the host,"What effect do you want me to have on this audience?"</li>
<li>The organizer must be clear about:</li>
<ul><li>What they want from the speaker.</li>
<li>What the audience wants from the speaker.</li>
<li>What the speaker is capable of doing.</li>
</ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Everyone - the speaker, the audience, and the organizer - should know how the speaker is going to be evaluated.</li>
<li>Some questions to ask the attendees after the talk:</li>
<ul><li>Was this a good use of your time?</li>
<li>Would you recommend this lecture to others?</li>
<li>Are you considering doing anything different as a result of this talk?</li>
<li>Do you know what to do next to continue learning?</li>
<li>Were you inspired or motivated?</li>
<li>How likeable did you find the speaker?</li>
<li>How substantive did you find the speaker's material?</li>
</ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Don't ask people to listen to something you haven't listened to yourself. </li>
</ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
<u>Chapter 9:</u> The clutch is your friend<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>All successful teachers must consider these four important questions:</li>
<ul><li>How many understand?</li>
<li>How many will remember later?</li>
<li>How many try to apply the lesson in the real world?</li>
<li>How many will succeed? </li>
</ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Anyone can teach anyone anything if you have two dedicated, reasonably intelligent people, one interested in teaching and the other wanting to learn.</li>
<li>Anyone trying to teach must:</li>
</ul><ol style="text-align: left;"><ol><li>Make it active and interesting:</li>
<li>Start with an insight that interests the student</li>
<li>Adapt to how the student responds to #1 and #2</li>
</ol></ol><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> Making it active and interesting:</li>
<ul><li>The teacher can achieve this through exercises, games, and challenges where he plays a supporting role rather than a primary role.</li>
<li>If your goal is to keep people interested, give them permission to let you know when they're having trouble following and are about to tune out. A speaker who wants to teach should see this kind of questions not as a sign of failure, but as an opportunity.</li>
<li>Keep the audiences' minds feel active by telling them relevant stories or showing them short and relevant movie clips </li>
</ul><li>Starting with an insight of interest:</li>
<ul><li>There is always a way - if one is as much as expert as he thinks he is - to forge a path for anyone to follow into a subject or skill. If he can't make that path, he doesn't understand his topic as much as he thinks he does.</li>
<li>Keep your hard-earned knowledge in mind, but simultaneously remember how it felt to be a complete novice. It's rare to achieve this balance, but it's what makes a teacher great.</li>
</ul></ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Adapting to how students respond</li>
<ul><li>You should build your lecture so it is possible to ask yourself, at different points during the presentation:</li>
<ul><li>Do they know this fact or lesson already?</li>
<li>Do they need me to explain this point in a different way?</li>
<li>Are they saturated with information and need a break or a laugh?</li>
<li>Are they too cocky and need a challenge?</li>
</ul></ul></ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>A few days after the lecture you can contact the audience again to find out:</li>
<ul><li>Do they have any new questions now that they're back at work?</li>
<li>Did they use anything you said? What happened?</li>
<li>Is there a topic that now, since they're back at work/life, they wish you'd covered?</li>
<li>Can they suggest ways to make the experience they had with you more active, engaging, or interesting?</li>
</ul></ul></ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>Good teachers listen as much as they talk, improving their material based on what they hear and studying to see if it had the positive effects they hoped. A bored teacher is merely someone who's forgotten he must keep finding ways to learn from his students, even if it's simply to learn where he has failed them as a teacher.</li>
</ul></ul><u>Confessions</u> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>If you want to learn the secrets of any performer, see his show twice. Then you'll notice how much of what seems improvised truly is.</li>
<li>There is value in something that's been said before being said again in a different way, or by someone new who can get away by saying truths insiders can't.</li>
<li>Someone has to leave the lecture, go back to his everyday world, and take the risk of doing something different with what he has learned. No speaker can ensure this happen.</li>
<li>Most of the research points to 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., high-volume, short-break, full-day seminars as a bad learning environment.</li>
<li>There will always be a shortage of good public speakers in the world, no matter how many great books there are on the subject.</li>
<li>Humor and insight come from paying attention, not from special talents.</li>
<li>Making connections is everything. It starts by either getting people interested in your ideas or showing how interested you are in theirs. The easiest and fastest way to do so is to be honest.</li>
<li>Expressing ideas is often the only way to fully understand what ideas are, and to know what it is you really think. Expression makes learning from the criticism of others possible.</li>
</ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><u>The little things pros do</u></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The confidence monitor - a device put on the front of the stage to show the speaker what slides are being projected on the screen behind his back. Helps in maintaining continuous eye contact.</li>
<li>The countdown timer - to check the time and calculate how much time is remaining for you to conclude your talk.</li>
<li>The remote control -to give complete freedom to move around the stage.</li>
<li>Give away stuff - to fill the front row</li>
<li>Microphone - best when clipped on to a shirt and the wire run under the shirt.</li>
<li>Badges - not needed for speakers</li>
<li>Work the camera - strike a rapport with the cameramen; while preparing, craft your material and slides with the web audience in mind.</li>
</ul><u>How to make a point</u></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The basic time-tested toolkit for making a point - <i>Logos</i> (Logic), <i>Ethos</i> (Character), <i>Pathos</i> (Emotion)</li>
<li>You can change the point you are making simply by changing which word you emphasize. Good speakers have a range of emphasis methods.</li>
<li>Being overly dramatic often kills the goal of connecting with an audience.</li>
<li>Sometimes when a room is silent, people pay more attention than when you are speaking. </li>
</ul></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>[Please feel free to leave your comments below or bookmark/share this summary]</b></div></div><br />
</div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-67966730363611959292012-01-15T19:41:00.000+05:302012-01-15T19:41:04.402+05:30Project 10 Speech - No Mountain So Steep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[Here is the Project 10 Speech (CC Manual) by Pannaga Prasad a fellow member of my club. This speech has so far been the best Project 10 Speech, I have ever heard in Daffodils Toastmasters Club]</i><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a photo of me as a 5 year old, speaking at our school’s Annual Day function in front of 100 students and 200 parents. I stepped down to resounding applause. Little did I realize that the next time I would speak so well was 15 years later. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
Good evening Toastmasters and guests.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
I was born at the same time 3 of my cousins were born. We spent all our holidays together, eating from the same plate, sleeping in the same big bed and playing only those games which needed 4 players. On one such holiday, my cousin Janu spoke to me in a weird way, pausing and exerting a lot of force to get the first syllable of a word out. So if her pet name was Janu, it was J – j – j - janu. She told me this was the new stylish way of speaking. A five year old’s mind is the softest sponge, absorbing every little thing that falls on it and since this tenet came from a beloved cousin of mine, the deeper I let it sink. Thus began the end of my fluent speech.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
I loved school except for the first day of the academic year when the teachers asked us to introduce ourselves. I would be seated somewhere in the middle of the class. As the introductions started from one corner, my nervousness would increase with each student who finished her turn. It would reach a crescendo when the girl sitting next to me stood up, spoke out her name, loud and clear. I stood up, looked at the teacher and started to say my name. P – p – p – p. No. It never came. My eyes shone with humiliation, pleading with my teacher for forgiveness. I couldn’t say my name. Someone else would say my name and I’d sit down, distraught, disconsolate and desolate.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
It is said that the key to happiness is good health and a bad memory. Since I was blessed with both, I was generally a happy child, despite being mocked at every time I stood up to read. On these days, I would come back home and read out aloud in front of the mirror, enunciating each word distinctly and with perfect diction. I said to myself, “Pannaga, the class doesn’t know what a fantastic reader you are. Show them”. Toastmasters, I finished my schooling without reading aloud a single paragraph in class. <br />
However, there were strokes of luck; like when I took part in the debate contest in the 9th std. My class teacher guessed that I could speak well. She also guessed I was not going to enter the contest. So she spoke to my mother and I was compelled to participate. I debated with a power I’d never known I had, speaking with gumption and gusto, coming first for all three sections. Everyone was astonished and couldn’t believe their eyes and ears. That day my heart sang with joy. <br />
<br />
Flying high, high, I’m a bird in the sky. I’m an eagle that rides on the breeze.<br />
High, high, what a feeling to fly, Over mountains and forests and seas.<br />
And to go anywhere that I please.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
But this was only a flash in the pan, Toastmasters. The soaring eagle folded its magnificent wings and was tottering on the ground again. My parents and friends gave me a lot of suggestions which I could never implement. I decided to seek professional help. I first went to a clinical psychologist, then to a special center for people with stuttering and finally turned to hypnotism and Neuro Linguistic Programming. Though these methods helped me to an extent, they did not provide a conducive environment for me to get over my arcane fears. I was surrounded by people who had problems and this unnerved me. So I got out of there and defiantly resigned to my fate. Who said that fluent speech was the be all and end all of the world? So what if I couldn’t speak well? I was a good human and that’s all that mattered. Or so I said to console myself.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
Then one day I met a friend of my parents’ who spoke about Toastmasters being a good place to learn public speaking. I, who was still on the lookout for that elusive cure, immediately looked up and found Daffodils. In my first meeting here, as is custom, the President asked the guests to introduce themselves. It was déjà vu for me. Those who were present at that meeting may not remember but it took me an eon to say my name. But I was happy because this was a platform for normal people. Here I was competing with people who not only spoke fluently but also with simplicity and style. My self-esteem went up a mighty notch and I knew this was where I could get back to being normal. If before I was met with sneers and jeers every time I stood up to speak, here I was met only with cheers and more cheers. Daffodils was in many ways, the proverbial teacher who appears when the student is ready. I was raring to go!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
I started attending meetings and began taking up the grammarian and ah counter roles. Though I was far from fluent, I patted myself on the back because I was mustering up the courage to come back and try again. And every time I fell, my Club laid out a bed of Daffodils to soften the impact. Gradually with the help of my mentor, I gained the confidence to deliver my Ice Breaker. I spoke well Toastmasters, fluently and without a trace of a stutter! I went home, elated, ecstatic and euphoric that I had returned from my self-imposed exile of 15 years. A quote by Albert Camus sums up my story. “In the depths of winter, I finally learned, there was in me an invincible summer”.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
Toastmasters, this speech is not about me. It’s not about what happened to me. It is about having a problem and overcoming it. We need to accept the challenges so we may feel the exhilaration of victory. There were days when I would wallow in self-pity, unable to fathom why it was that I couldn’t speak when everyone else could. And when they spoke, I would stare at their faces, marveling at how the words flowed freely from their mouths and feeling immeasurably sad that the same words formed a whirlpool inside mine and refused to come out. But now I can make them go as long as the river Nile, which flows across many a mile, spreading cheer and many a smile.</div><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“As a mountain you cannot grow. But as a human I can.” These were Edmund Hillary’s words to Mt. Everest after he failed to conquer it twice. Toastmasters, fluent speech was my Mt. Everest and today, I stand on top of the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>[Objectives of the Speech:</i></span><br />
<br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>To inspire the audience by appealing to noble motives and challenging the audience to achieve a higher level of beliefs or achievements.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Appeal to the audience's needs and emotions, using stories, anecdotes and quotes to add drama.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Avoid using notes.</i></span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Time: Eight to Ten Minutes</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Comments: Touching and inspiring content with excellent delivery. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>] </i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-37263922137886789862011-06-21T21:55:00.000+05:302011-06-21T21:55:35.675+05:30Speaking to Inform Project 5 - Ethics in Public Speaking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>[With this speech I completed all the requirements for getting the Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB) Award from the Toastmasters International]</i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">For this speech I have chosen a topic which is very relevant to each and every one of us.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Ethics in Public Speaking.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">What is Ethics? It is an abstract concept which raises lots of questions.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Is Ethics something which I feel is right or correct? Suppose I feel it is OK to use my office car for personal work, am I ethical?</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Does it mean being a God-fearing person? If I am an atheist does that give me license to be unethical?</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">If I follow all the laws of my country am I ethical? What if the laws are like the old apartheid law of South Africa?</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">What then is Ethics? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Ethics is a set of standards or guidelines for behavior. It tells us how we as an individual or as a member of a group or a professional body should act in a given situation. </div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University studied the works of many philosophers and ethicists. Based on this study it classifies ethical standards in 5 categories.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>The Utilitarian Approach</b> - any action which does more good than harm is ethical. For e.g. bombing the location where terrorists are hiding may cause death, injuries, and destruction of people, but it is for the greater good achieved in ending terrorism. </div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>The Rights Approach</b> - taking actions that best protects and respects the moral rights of people is ethical. For e.g. right to information, right to privacy. </div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>The Fairness or Justice Approach</b> - actions that treat all human beings equal or fairly based on some standard are ethical. For e.g. performance linked salary or bonuses in a company.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>The Common Good Approach</b> - actions which ensure common welfare conditions are ethical. For e.g. establishing systems for law and order, safety and health care, education etc.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>The Virtue Approach</b> - actions consistent with certain ideal virtues like honesty, compassion, self-control etc. are ethical.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Now let us come to the application of Ethics in Public Speaking.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">The book “The Art of Public Speaking” by Stephen E. Lucas gives five guidelines for ethical public speaking.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Guideline # 1:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Make sure that your goals are ethically sound. </b>We<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>need<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>to ensure<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>that whatever we trying to achieve through our speech are consistent with the ethical standards I just talked about. When in doubt one should ask himself “Will I be comfortable in truthfully declaring my goals or intention in front of a worldwide audience?” If the answer is NO, then the goals may not be ethical.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Guideline # 2</b>: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Be fully informed about the subject you are going to speak about</b>. “A speech is a solemn responsibility” said Jenkins Lloyd Jones. Imagine how badly a listener will be impacted if we unknowingly give wrong information or misleading advice in our speech.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Guideline#3</b>: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Be Honest in What You Say</b>. Honesty is the best policy. Public speaking rests on the foundation of the unspoken assumption that “words can be trusted and people will be truthful”. And I as a speaker should ensure that I don’t break the trust of the listeners. In my speech - I should not lie for a personal gain. I should not present a fudged data. I should not plagiarize someone else work. Only then I can be called honest.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Guideline# 4: Avoid Name-Calling and other forms of Abusive Language</b>. It demeans the dignity of an individual or a group and risks their right to be fairly heard.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b>Guideline#5 – The Last Guideline: Put Ethical Principles into Practice</b>. I should always practice what I preach. Otherwise my speech will have no credibility. I will be a hypocrite.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">The goal of public speaking is to inform, convince and persuade the audience. But definitely not by compromising on ethics! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">A good public speaking skill is a power, which comes with heavy ethical responsibilities. </div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Plato said “All the public speakers should be truthful and devoted to the good of the society”. </div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Yet so many excellent public speakers have often abused their skills. Hitler a powerful orator instigated Nazis to exterminate the Jews!</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">And that’s the ultimate reason why the power of spoken word should be kept in check by a strong sense of ethics.</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">I would like to conclude with a beautiful quote by Albert Schweitzer </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">“I can do no other than be reverent before everything that is called life. I can do no other than to have compassion for all that is called life. That is the beginning and the foundation of all ethics.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><span style="font-family: Arial;">[<i>Date delivered: June 18 2011</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Objectives:</i></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Research and analyze an abstract concept, theory, historical force or social/ political issue.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Present the ideas in a clear, interesting manner.</i></span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Time: Six to Eight minutes</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Comments: </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>My strong belief in ethics made me overcome my usual hesitation of delivering message-oriented speeches. However I took care to minimize using the word "you" to avoid sounding like a preacher on the pulpit.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>The speech was largely based on material available from the following sources :</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>1. </i></span><a href="http://www.scu.edu/ethics/"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Markkula Center for AppliedEthics, Santa Clara University</i></a><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. <a href="http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007256296x/student_view0/chapter2/">The Art of Public Speaking, Stephen E. Lucas </a></i><br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B97R8xAyQjveYzFmNTQ2NTEtMGMwZC00NzIyLTlkNTUtMjA5NGJlY2U2YmUy&hl=en_US">Download the Handout</a> prepared for the speech.</i><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">] </i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
</i></span></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-86202288054016899212011-05-23T16:35:00.000+05:302011-05-23T16:35:23.504+05:30Story Telling Project 5 - Struggles of a Genius<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Chennai, 1912</b>.</span></u><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Srinivasan, a student of Madras Christian College makes his way through the bye lanes of Triplicane. He is handsome, athletic youth with well developed muscles. Hence his friends call him “Sandow” after a very famous body-builder of those days. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow stops by a dilapidated house and knocks at the door. A short, uncouth, unshaved, young man with bright and shining intelligent eyes opens the door. His eyes lights up in recognition and he warmly welcomes Sandow into his house.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Addey Sandow va? Va Va! [Hello is it Sandow? Come, Come!]. Welcome to my humble abode!” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: “How are you Ramanju? Not seen you since you left Kumbakonam . I came to know you live here. So I thought I would drop in. What you have been doing all these days?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: Well Sandow it is a long story. I joined Pachaiyappa’s college. I excelled in Mathematics but failed miserably in all other subjects. This happened twice and so had to leave the college without getting my Intermediate degree. Since then I have been pursuing independent research in Mathematics.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: No wonder they all call you a genius! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: Me a genius! Look at my elbow, it will tell you the story.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: What is all this, Ramanju? Why is it so rough and black?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: Dear Sandow, my elbow has become rough and black in making a genius out of me! Night and day I do my calculations on slate. I wipe the slate every few minutes with my elbow.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: Why don’t you use paper to do your calculations?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: When food itself is a problem, how can I find money for paper? I may require four reams of paper every month.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: Tell me honestly, what do you do for your food? How are you surviving? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: After I left the college I lived in extreme poverty and was often on the brink of starvation. Then my Professor introduced me to Mr. Ramachandra Rao. He is the Collector of Nellore and also the Secretary of Indian Mathematical Society. I showed him my research work to him. Initially Mr. Rao had a doubt whether it was really my own work. He grilled me for a long time on elliptic integrals, hypergeometric series, and my own theory of divergent series. Finally he was convinced about my genuineness. He then asked me, “What do you want?” I said, “Sir, all I need is some job to take care of my basic need of some simple food so that I could pursue my research without worries”. From that day onwards that great man has been providing me with money every month.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: Then why do you worry?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: How long I can depend on others? I feel a deep sense of humiliation. Therefore I did not take the money from Mr. Rao last month.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: What a rash thing to do! What are you going to do now?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: Last month I applied for a clerk’s position in Madras Port Trust Office. In my application I mentioned that I could not pursue further studies after Matriculation and since then been devoting all my time to Mathematics and developing the subject. But I also said that I was quite confident that I could do justice to the job and requested them to hire me. And I attached a recommendation from a mathematics professor, who wrote that “Ramanujan is a young man of quite exceptional capacity in Mathematics".</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: So did you hear from them?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: Well I have good news. I got this letter from them. I have been appointed as a Class III, Grade IV accounting clerk. Pay is Rs. 30/- per month.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandow: Congratulations Ramanju! I feel so happy for you. Wish you all the Best! Well it is getting late, I should leave now. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan: Thank you Sandow. So nice of you to come and see me. We will meet again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">March 1<sup>st</sup> 1912. That was the day when Ramanujan came to know that he had got the job. It was the turning point in his life. Things changed for better after that. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramanujan joined Madras Port Trust Office. At his office, Ramanujam could easily and quickly complete the tasks he was given, so he spent his spare time doing research. His boss and colleagues encouraged him in his mathematical pursuits. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next year he sent his work to Prof. Hardy of Cambridge University. Greatly impressed by Ramanujan’s work Prof. Hardy invited him to England to pursue research. And the rest is history. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Within a couple of years Ramanujan was recognized as one of the greatest mathematicians of modern times. Unfortunately he died young at the age of 33 in 1920 after his return to India.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What happened to Sandow? This intimate friend of the genius Ramanujan went on to become a very successful lawyer in Dindigul. Not many people know about this. But I am sure about it because… I am Sandow Srinivasan’s grand nephew!</span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[<i>Date Delivered: May 21 2011</i></span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></span></div><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>To understand the purpose of stories about historical events or people</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>To use the storytelling skills developed in the preceding projects to tell a story about a historical event or person</i></span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Time: Seven to Nine Minutes</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Comments:</i></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had always wondered whether my Grand Uncle "Sandow" Srinivasan knew Ramanujan the mathematics genius, since both of them were contemporaries and belonged to the same small town Kumbakonam. Last year my cousin (Sandow's grandson) drew my attention to a short conversation between Ramanujan and Sandow Srinivasan described in the book "<a href="http://www.flipkart.com/b/books/ramanujan-man-mathematician-ranganathan-reprint-book-8170005574?_l=4iabO1mblWjYaaaANm6ppg--&_r=bp%20OywQfdMWriHOGgfczvA--&ref=aed532a5-f865-4868-99f8-b07c4ea58da4">Ramanujan - The Man & The Mathematician</a>". The author of the book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._R._Ranganathan">Dr. S. R. Ranganathan</a>, himself a mathematican and also a pioneer in library science was Sandow's classmate in Madras Christian College. This conversation is also available on the net:</span></i></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://yabaluri.org/TRIVENI/CDWEB/srinivasaramanujamoct96.htm">http://yabaluri.org/TRIVENI/CDWEB/srinivasaramanujamoct96.htm</a></i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/ramanujan.htm">http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/ramanujan.htm</a></span></li>
</ul><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For this project , I adapted the original conversation by making it more detailed. I added a couple of narratives by Ramanujan (Source: Wikipedia) about his struggle for survival after he had to discontinue the education, his meeting with Mr. Ramachandra Rao and his application for a position in Madras Port Trust Office. There were discrepancies regarding the dates and numbers in the original conversation which I corrected based on the information available in Wikipedia.]</span></i></div></div></div></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-62811251233803917472011-04-04T21:07:00.000+05:302011-04-04T21:07:56.814+05:30Speaking to Inform Project 4 - Slow Progress on the Competent Communicator (CC) Track :Facts and Figures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[Disclaimer: Speech based on the responses received during an online survey conducted during February 2011. Scenario might have changed and hence the facts and figures may not represent the real situation when you read this post]</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is Life without Challenges? Challenges lurk around every nook and corner. Our Club is no exception.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">As per the President and the VP-Ed the biggest challenge in our club is – the Members not giving speeches often enough and not progressing along the CC track.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I chose to do investigate this issue.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lord Kelvin has said, ‘When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind’. Hence I conducted an online survey to get real hard facts and figures behind this problem. I sincerely thank everyone who responded to the survey and provided valuable inputs for this talk.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I received 30 responses. It is a fairly representative sample in terms of membership tenure and the number of speeches given.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here are the facts and figures:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Speech Progress Rate is about 1 speech in every 4-5 months. CC Manual recommends at least 1 speech in 2 months. But only 4 members in their CC Journey are maintaining this rate. Why this is a major issue? Unless one gives enough speeches, one can’t be in a position to evaluate and mentor the speeches of new members. With very few evaluators and mentors encouraging and ramping up the new members and ensuring good quality speeches has become a daunting task.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Where do the priorities of the members lie? Only about 50 % of the members say that they can’t achieve their career and personal goals without good speaking skills. So giving speeches regularly is not really an absolute must for the remaining 50 %. Only about 60-70% of the members have indicated Toastmasters and Speaking Roles as their topmost interest apart from their work or personal life.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">For the members who really want to give speeches regularly is Daffodils providing a conducive and friendly environment? 73 % of the responses said that they were likely to recommend Daffodils on a scale of 9 or above. 37 % said that Daffodils had excellent mentors. These figures are good but needs to be better if we want to have a continuous flow of speeches by the members.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Now if the environment is not an issue what delays a member’s next speech? The top 3 roadblocks which account for about 60 % of all the reasons cited in the survey are:</span></span></li>
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Difficulty in Topic Selection</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Getting the Right Content</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writing the Speech</span></span></li>
</ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">So what does club needs to do to motivate and encourage members to give speeches? Nearly a one-third of the members felt that the club was already doing enough and the ball was in the individuals’ court to take initiative of giving speeches regularly. About 30 % were looking forward for more persuasion and encouragement to speak. The rest suggested more mentoring and educational sessions. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The three noteworthy suggestions I received apart from the above mentioned areas are:</span></span></li>
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Table Topics Master should give chance to new members or members who rarely speak.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">In every meeting at least one Committee member should be a Speaker, thus leading by example.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A website or blog to post all the speeches delivered by its existing speakers</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px;"> </span></li>
</ul></ul><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">To conclude here are my recommendations:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">1) Accept the fact that for nearly half of our member public speaking is NOT a MUST HAVE</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> Skill. They have other priorities. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Identify and Focus on the individuals who really need and seek help.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">2) Take more proactive efforts to create a sense of belonging among new members</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">3) </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Focus Mentoring & Educational Sessions on areas like Topic Selection, Finding Content and Writing Speeches</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Hopefully implementing these recommendations will encourage more speeches among </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">CC aspirants. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Silence is NOT Golden in a Toastmasters Club!</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" dir="rtl" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: right; text-indent: -0.25in;"></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>[Date Delivered: March 26 2011</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>* Prepare a report on a situation, event, or problem of interest to the audience.</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>* Deliver sufficient factual information in your report so the audience can make valid conclusions or a sound decision</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>* Answer questions from the audience</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Time: Five to Seven Minutes for the speech, and two to three minutes for the question-and-answer period.</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i>Comments:</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i>As mentioned in the beginning I had conducted an online survey among our club members which formed the basis of the speech. Some of the key questions asked during the survey were:</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i>1) What delays the delivery of your next project speech ?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i>2) How helpful has been your mentor's guidance ?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i>3) What the club can do to motivate/encourage you to give more project speeches?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i>4) How interested are you in Toastmasters in comparison to your other interests and hobbies?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To achieve your career and personal goals and aspirations, how important it is for you to acquire good speaking skills?</span></i></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6) In a scale of 1 to 10 how likely you are to recommend our club to your friends.</span></i></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></i></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I delivered the speech using power-point slides showing graphs as visual aids. The speech was well received and there were several questions which I handled well ]</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><i><br />
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</i></b></span></div></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-56147595722913061092011-03-05T00:01:00.000+05:302011-03-05T00:01:34.318+05:302 Years of Toastmaster Speaks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is now exactly 2 years since I started tracking the performance of this blog through Google Analytics.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is how this blog performed over the last year (<b>Mar 1 2010 - Feb 28 2011</b>):</span></div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Unique Visitors: 3462</b> i.e. 9 -10 visitors per day [Last Year : <b>2386 </b> (6-7 visitors per day).]</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> Visitors came from <b>83 countries</b> [<b>Last Year: 72</b>] </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Page Views : 7961</b> [Last Year : <b>6205]</b></span> </li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Top 5 page views were for the following speeches:</span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ol style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><ol><li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Ragging">Ragging - A Learning Experience</a> (<b>934 Page views</b>): This was my CC Project 5 Speech, where I spoke about how I was ragged as a first year engineering student at NITK, Surathkal (then KREC, Surathkal).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/">The Blog Home Page</a> : <b>727 Page views</b>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%202%20Speech">Mobile Phones - Early Days</a>: (<b>527 page views</b>) This was my CC Project 2 speech. At that time I was working for Freescale and our business unit was developing wireless software for mobile phones. So I had enough background to speak on the story of how mobile phones evolved. </span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%20%201%20Speech">Cherished Childhood Moments</a>: (<b>486 Page views</b>) This was my Icebreaker Speech from the CC Manual, where I relived my good old carefree childhood days. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%202%20Speech">Project 10 Speech - The Three Essential Qualities of a Toastmaster</a>: (<b>441 Page Views</b>): </span><span style="font-size: small;">I spoke about how I prepared and delivered all the 10 speeches from the CC manual and what qualities a Toastmaster needs to have to achieve this feat. </span></li>
</ol></ol><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Top 4 in the above list also featured in last years Top 5 Views in the same order (except No.3 & No. 4 which got switched over). </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No.5 is the new entrant, replacing last year.s No. 5<a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%208%20Speech"> Wisdom, Wisdom Everywhere</a>: ( my CC Project 8 speech based on some soul-stirring stories and articles from the book "Like the Flowing River " by Paulo Coelho. I have posted <a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-flowing-river.html">my review of this book</a> in "<a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/">Bookworm Reads</a>", the other blog I write.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">One of the visitor to this blog , liked it well enough to invite me to write a guest post in his blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/2010/05/toastmasters-program-experiential.html">Read More</a> about it. </span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div></div></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-71603136394680275092011-01-19T20:48:00.003+05:302011-01-20T22:55:55.910+05:30Story Telling Project 4 - A Pair of Tongs<b>[<i>This is my own adaptation of Munshi Premchand's original Hindi short story</i></b><i> -</i><b> Idgaah ]</b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is festival of Id today. Everyone in the village is very excited about it. They will be going to the mosque in the nearby town. There they will offer prayers and then have a gala time in the town fair. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mahmood is a portly boy from a well-to-do family. His pocket is bulging with coins, competing with his protruding belly. He is joyfully jingling them. He has twelve pice. He will able to buy lots of toys and sweets today with this money since we are talking about 1920s not 2010 !</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hamid is a four year old, poorly dressed, thin and famished-looking boy. Just 3 pice in his pocket! His father and mother died last year. He lives with his Granny Ameena who tells him “Beta, your father has gone to earn money and will return with sack loads of silver. Your mother has gone to Allah to get lovely gifts for you”. This makes Hamid very happy and hopeful. It is great to live on hope; for a child in these circumstances there is nothing else than hope. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However Ameena is sad. Mahmood is going with his father. How can she let Hamid go to the town fair all by himself? It is three miles from the village. What if he gets lost in the crowd? If she goes with him, who will go out to arrange for money? She wants to cook a decent meal for Hamid at least today on this festive occasion. If there is no money how can this be possible? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hamid says, "Dadi Ma, don’t worry. I will take care of myself. ".</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hamid joins the party of the villagers going to the mosque. After offering prayers in the mosque everyone embraces each other and then rush to visit the fair.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the entrance there is a merry-go-round strung with wooden elephants, horses and camels! “Enjoy Twenty-five rounds for just one pice !” cries out the merry-go-round man. Mahmood inspite of his huge bulk manages to rush and take a ride. Hamid watches him from a distance. All he has are three pice. He couldn't afford to part with a third of his treasure for a few miserable rounds.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then there is a row of toy-stalls with all kinds of toys; Splendid display! How lifelike!. They are priced at 2 pice each. Mahmood buys a few toys. All Hamid has are three pice; how can he afford to buy such expensive toys? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then come sweet shops. Mahmood buys halwa and gulabjammuns and gobbles them. And as if that is not enough he gulps down a tall glass of white, thick and creamy lassi. He then smacks his lips with relish. Hamid, the luckless boy has at least three pice; why doesn't he also buy something to eat? He looks with hungry eyes at Mahmood. Mahmood does not pay any attention.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next to the sweet-shops there is a hardware store. There is nothing here to attract the Mahmood’s attention. He goes ahead. But Hamid stops. He sees a pile of iron tongs.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hamid asks the shopkeeper, “How much for this pair of tongs?" "Six pice”, says the shopkeeper. Hamid's heart sinks. He steels his heart and says, "Will you give it to me for three?" and walks away lest the shopkeeper screams at him. But the shopkeeper does not scream. He calls Hamid back and says, “Ok Beta, for you only 3 pice” and gives him the pair of tongs. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hamid rests it on his shoulder walks proudly. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mahmood sees him and laughs, "Are you crazy? What will you do with the tongs? Is it some kind of toy? "."Why not?" retorts Hamid. "See I am carrying it like a gun; If I clang them it becomes a musical instrument”. He then flings the tongs on the ground and says, "Now throw your toys on the ground. It will be smashed to bits. If a drop of water fell on them, the paint would run. What will I do with toys like this? It’s of no use to me. Toys are a waste of money. You can have some fun with them but only for a very short time. Then they are gone. But my iron tongs are everlasting". Mahmood is speechless. He realizes that Hamid is right. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As soon Hamid returns home Ameena hugs him. She notices the tongs in his hand. "Where did you find them?" "I bought them for three pice”, says Hamid.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ameena scolds him “You stupid child!! Couldn't you find anything better than this pair of tongs? At least you could have bought something to eat or drink.” Hamid replies in injured tones, "Dadi Ma, every time you make rotis, you burn your fingers while taking them out of the fire. So I bought this for you. If you use it to take out the rotis, your fingers will never burn again. I thought you will be happy but you are getting angry.”</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The old woman's temper suddenly changes to love. She thinks “What a selfless child! What concern for others! What a big heart! How he must have suffered seeing Mahmood buying toys and gobbling sweets! How was he able to suppress his own feelings! Even at the fair he thought of his old grandmother.” </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ameena is choked with emotions. She breaks down. Big tears fall from her eyes. She prays “O Merciful Allah! Please Bless this Child”. How can Hamid understand what is going on inside her! After all he is just a 4-year old kid!</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>[Date Delivered: January 8 2011</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>To understand the techniques available to arouse emotion.</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>To become skilled in arousing emotions while telling a story.</i></span></li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Time: Six to Eight Minutes</i></span></div><div style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Comments:</i></span></div></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>When I read the guidelines for this project from the Advanced Communication Manual on Story Telling, immediately it struck me that Munshi Premchand's story "Eidgah" which had I read many years ago in my school textbook would perfectly fit the bill.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>I then hunted out from the internet an excellent translation of this story by Khushwant Singh. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>This served as a good starting point and I went about editing , adapting and adding my own literary embellishments. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The speech was well received and I won the Speaker of the Day award. My evaluator wrote in his evaluation that it almost brought tears to his eyes.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>My adaptation certainly does not do justice to the original or even its translated version. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>I had to edit out many excellent pieces in the story in order to confirm to the time limits, else the story telling session would have lasted at least for half-an-hour !</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>This is one of the most touching story which I have ever come across. At the same time it has ample doses of humor, satire and irony in it. Also an excellent study in child psychology.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>So if you liked my adaptation, I would strongly recommend reading the original story in Hindi at</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><a href="http://www.4to40.com/Story/index.asp?p=Idgaah&k=Hamid">http://www.4to40.com/Story/index.asp?p=Idgaah&k=Hamid</a></span>. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>If you can't read/understand Hindi, please read Kushwanth Singh's translation at</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.4to40.com/Story/index.asp?p=Festival_of_Eid&k=Eidgah_mosque">http://www.4to40.com/Story/index.asp?p=Festival_of_Eid&k=Eidgah_mosque</a> ]</i></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>You can also listen to the complete story being read aloud (by someone else; not me !) English in Google Videos </i></span><br />
<a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4424382591453458176#"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4424382591453458176#</i></span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><b>Trivia:</b> The Havells Cables TV commercial is inspired by this story, though context is somewhat different. Watch it in You Tube</i></span><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI5v4Bc2D-o"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI5v4Bc2D-o</i></span></a><br />
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</span>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-7668873881131007312010-11-26T01:19:00.000+05:302010-11-26T01:19:40.531+05:30Speaking to Inform Project 3 - Rock, Paper, Scissors<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>[Started by showing 3 gestures - a fist, an open palm and a V-sign]</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can anyone guess what my talk is going to be about?<br />
It is about a very simple age-old game which originated from China and then became very popular in Japan. It is called Rock, Paper, and Scissors. I first came to know about this game during my schooldays when I read Ian Fleming’s book “You Only Live Twice”. In that book James Bond & Tiger Tanaka, the chief of Japanese secret service play this game. <br />
Since then over the years I taught this game to my kid cousins, my niece and many small children. I got a very enthusiastic response from them. So if you want to keep young kids from getting into too much of mischief or want wean them away from computer games and TV serials which they have got addicted to, teach them this game. It will keep them occupied for a long time.<br />
So without much ado let us start understanding the rules of this game.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
This stands for Rock [<i>showed a fist</i>]; this stands for Paper [<i>showed a palm</i>]. Paper can cover the Rock [<i>covered the fist with the palm</i>], so it is stronger.<br />
This stands for Scissors [<i>made a V-sign</i>]. A Rock can blunt the scissors. So Rock is stronger.<br />
A Scissor can cut the Paper, so it is stronger than the Paper.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
Let us play a demonstration game now. Can I have a volunteer please who will play with me ? [<i>One person volunteered; incidentally she happened to be the Club President !</i> ]</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the count of three both of us will simultaneously show one of the three - Rock or Paper or Scissors. The winner of the show will be decided based on the rules just explained</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[<i>Played three shows. Incidentally I won the game 2-1</i>]</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
Now you know how this game is played. But mind you, it is more than a child’s game.<br />
You may think that the results of this game is random like a tossing a coin. But it is not so, since human beings are in control of what they will choose, there is quite a bit of psychology and strategy involved in this game. You can get to know about these strategies in the internet. One good website to go to is <a href="http://www.worldrps.com/">www.worldrps.com</a> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many Rock Paper Scissors competitions are held world over. Last year a film called “The Flying Scissors” was also made about this game.<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A few years back this game was used to settle a long drawn out a legal battle between two parties in a Florida court.<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once two famous auctioneers Christie’s and Sotheby’s were asked by a Japanese industrialist to play Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who will get the contract to auction the paintings which he had in his possession. Christie’s won the commission by choosing “Scissors”, since Sotheby’s chose “Paper”.<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We Toastmasters always expect a message in a speech so here it goes - Be strong (<i>Rock gesture</i>) ! Be Calm (<i>Palm gesture</i>) ! Victory (<i>V-sign</i>) will be yours.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><div><i>[Date Delivered: November 20 2010</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div><i>Objectives:</i></div><div><ul><li><i>Prepare a demonstration speech to clearly explain a process, product or activity.</i></li>
<li><i>Conduct the demonstration as part of a speech delivered without notes.</i></li>
</ul><div><i>Time: Five to Seven Minutes</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div><i>Comments:</i></div><div><i>For this project, I had made up my mind not to do a Powerpoint presentation, since the facility for the same is not guaranteed in our club . But it so happened on this day two other speeches were Project 8 speeches (Visual aid) from Competent Communicator Manual and the speakers had organized for LCD projection system to make Powerpoint presentations ! If I had known about this in advance, probably I also could have</i> <i>joined them !</i></div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Anyway my initial intention was to demonstrate any scientific principle through some common objects, but somehow I could not think of anything which would keep the audience interested.</i></div><div><i>And then one day it suddenly struck me to do a demo of Rock, Paper, Scissors Game. And when I surfed internet, I could find quite a few interesting facts about this game. So the topic problem was solved !</i></div><div><i>After this it was pretty much smooth sailing. My speech did not require any rewrites (normally I rewrite 4 to 5 times ) and I hardly rehearsed. Yet, I think this was one speech in which I was completely my natural self while delivering it in a very interactive manner. </i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div><i> I try to avoid giving a message as far as possible in my speech (unless of course it is a requirement of the project). I don't like to preach unless I can practice what I preach. </i></div><div><i>But the audience (at least in my club) expects a message in every speech. I don't see any reason why this should be the case.</i></div><div><i>The original intended ending of the speech was</i></div><div><i>""Do you know what message this game conveys? Why do you look for a message in every speech? There is no message. Just go and enjoy the game!""</i></div><div><i>But later I thought it would be better to introduce an element of self-deprecating humor at the Toastmasters by concocting a message out of blue when actually there was none. So I ended it as</i></div><div><i>"We Toastmasters always expect a message in a speech so here it goes - Be strong (</i><i>Rock gesture) ! Be Calm (</i><i>Palm gesture) ! Victory (</i><i>V-sign) will be yours"</i></div><div><i>And to my astonishment it was taken very seriously and I received appreciation for this concocted and retrofitted message by some members !</i></div><div><i>But I guess my disinterest in giving a message was very apparent since I got an evaluation which said that while the speech was good , I had hurried up the message part. It should have been delivered with more impact after a weighty pause ! </i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Fellow Toastmasters, give me a break ! Why can't we have just some simple fun without preaching or being preached !</span></i></div><div><i> </i> <i>]</i></div></div></span>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-44698556727000241672010-10-13T23:29:00.000+05:302010-10-13T23:29:15.410+05:30Story Telling Project 3 - Adam, Aman and Acharya<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“Aman, where are you my child?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Adam came back home from work, and called out for his son as usual. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">No response! What happened? Aman always used to come running, “Here I am Papa!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Aman was Adam's son </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"> on whom he showered all his affections.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">He called out again, “Aman!” . Deafening silence! Adam got worried.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">He called out once again, “AMAN”. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">This time his neighbor barged in angrily and said, “Why are you shouting at top of your voice and disturbing me? Aman is not at home, go out and find him!”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Adam went to Aman’s school and met the Headmaster and said “Sir, Aman has not come back from school.” The Headmaster said, “I think I saw him leaving the school with his friend Balu”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Adam then hurried to Balu’s house. Balu said “Uncle, he did not come here. He said he will be going to the library.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Adam then rushed to the library and found it closed. He was now really worried. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">He ran hither and thither like a mad man and asked every one he knew in the town, “Have you seen Aman?” Everywhere he would get the same response, “Sorry, we did not see him”. He then asked every stranger, and they all looked blank. “Who is Aman?” they asked him instead.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Now Adam was distraught and feared the worst. He barged into the police station. Inspector Acharya was on duty. Adam started wailing “I have lost my son. I searched him everywhere and can’t find him. Someone has kidnapped him. What I am going to do?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Inspector Acharya gave him a patient hearing and asked,”Adam, have you searched him in your own house?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Adam suddenly realized, “Oh No! I did not!” He then hurried home. There he found Aman sleeping peacefully in his room. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">What is the moral of this story?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">There are three characters in this story - Adam, Aman and Acharya.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Adam represents mankind. Aman means happiness and peace. Acharya means a teacher or guru.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Everybody desires happiness and peace of mind i.e Aman. But often the man i.e. Adam gets misled by all sorts of people mostly well meaning, but who themselves do not know the way to happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore he frantically hunts for it all around the world. And when he does not find what he is looking for he becomes restless and distraught. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A genuine teacher or a guru like Inspector Acharya will show him the right path. He will say, “Stop! Don’t waste time and effort in searching for happiness and peace in the outside world. Look within yourself. Observe your thoughts, your feelings, your emotions. You will realize that the true happiness and peace lies within you ! It’s all in your mind!”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </span></span></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>[Date Delivered: October 9 2010</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><ul><li><i>To understand that a story can be entertaining yet display moral values</i></li>
<li><i>To create a new story that offers a lesson or moral</i></li>
<li><i>To tell the story, using the skills developed in previous two projects</i></li>
</ul><div><i>Time: Four to Six Minutes</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div><i>Comments:</i></div><div><i>One day my younger sister then about 2 years old was missing. We desperately searched for her everywhere and feared the worst when we were not able to find her. And then suddenly we found her playing inside a big packing case in our own backyard.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i></div><div><i>There is also a saying in Hindi "Goad Mein Bachcha, Nagar mein dhindora", which means announcing to the whole town that you have lost your kid, when actually you are carrying it all along.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i></div><div><i>I also firmly believe that neither the circumstances nor the external objects are the cause of our happiness or sadness. It is we who choose to be happy or otherwise.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>I created this original story with based on the above facts. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>]</i></div></div></span></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-81383433497455184602010-08-04T23:59:00.000+05:302010-08-04T23:59:14.765+05:30Speaking to Inform Project 2 - The World of Rhetoric<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">How can I be a speaker who inspires; a speaker who successfully persuades the listeners; a speaker who generates enthusiasm?<o:p></o:p></span></span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">These are the questions which play upon every earnest speaker’s mind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The answer is simple. Use rhetorical techniques.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now what is that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Rhetoric is a way to attractively package the bland facts and deliver a speech that is memorable; a speech that creates an impact; a speech that strikes a chord with the audience. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Let me give you couple of examples.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Hamlet, a character in the Shakespeare’s play is very depressed and says “To be or not to be, that’s the question.” Now suppose instead of this Shakespeare had made him say “I can’t decide whether or to commit suicide or not”. Now tell me which one is a more powerful quote? Obviously the first one, though both mean the same.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Martin Luther King in his memorable speech said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” It created waves across America. But instead if he had said “I hope racial discrimination in America will disappear within a generation”. Would that have stirred the same emotions?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Effective speakers invariably make use of rhetorical techniques to get their message across.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Today I will give you three simple rhetorical techniques, which you can use in your speeches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Let us begin with a technique called<b> Contrast</b>. What is a Contrast? When you clearly bring out the difference between two things, you are creating a Contrast. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You can achieve contrast through comparison, like Aristotle who said “I count him <b>braver</b> who <b>overcomes</b> his <b>desires</b> <b>than</b> him who overcomes his <b>enemies</b>”. Here he is achieving contrast by comparing the bravery of two persons.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Another way to bring contrast is by introducing a <b>Pair of Opposites</b>. As soon as he landed on the moon, Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one <b>small step</b> for man; one <b>giant leap</b> for mankind”. Small step! Giant leap! What a stark and dramatic sounding contrasts!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Reversing the phrases</b> is yet another way to create elegant contrast. Winston Churchill once said “The optimist sees <b>opportunity in every danger</b>; the pessimist sees <b>danger in every opportunity</b>”. Just note how effectively he has differentiated between an optimist and a pessimist by reversing the order of the words “opportunity” and “danger”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now let us move on to another simple technique -<b> Question</b>. Ask the audience a question or a series of questions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It will reinforce your opinion. For example instead of simply stating that children are the sweetest gift to mankind, the great orator Cicero said “Of all nature’s gifts to the human race, <b>what is sweeter</b> to a man than his children?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Questioning will also make the audience sit up, think and wonder what the speaker is going to say next. For example, when Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain in midst of World War II, he said, “You ask, <b>what our aim is</b>? I can answer in one word. It is victory.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Did you will realize that I myself have used this Questioning technique several times in this speech?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The third and the easiest technique is appropriately called the <b>List of Three</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It can be three identical words for e.g. Three secrets of a great public speaker - Practice, Practice and Practice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It can be three different but related words as in French revolution slogan – Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It can be three phrases, which Mahatma Gandhi has used to define happiness. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><strike><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Research has shown that a three-part list creates an impression of completeness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></strike></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><strike>Lists with only two items sound inadequate and so the audience waits in anticipation for the third item. Therefore keep the most important point as the third item. And don’t create a longer list. You will loose your audience’s attention</strike>. [<i>I left out these lines, during the speech</i>.<i> I just forgot !</i> <i>Fortunately it went unnoticed !</i>]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Today I have talked about three simple rhetorical techniques – <b>Contrast, Question & List of Three</b>. Use them in your speeches to create an impact.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Some say, “I don't believe in empty rhetoric. Action Speaks Louder than Words!” Agreed! But I would add, “Words Generate Action!” Welcome to the world of rhetoric!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </span></span></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>[Date Delivered: July 31 2010 </i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><ul><li><i>Analyze your audience regarding your chosen subject.</i></li>
<li><i>Focus your presentation at the audience's level of knowledge.</i></li>
<li><i>Build a supporting case for each major point using information gathered through research.</i></li>
<li><i>Effectively use at least one visual aid to enhance the audience's understanding. </i></li>
</ul></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <i>Time: Five to seven minutes.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Comments: </i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>I chose this topic because I was sure everyone in the audience will be interested in knowing how to enhance their speech to make it more effective. They wouldn't be attending the meeting in first place if they were not !</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>The speech was based on Chapter 6, The Persuasive Power of Words from the book - Lend Me Your Ears by Max Atkinson. Please see <a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/2009/02/lend-me-your-earrs.html">my review of this book</a> in the other blog I write (Bookworm Reads)</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>The visual aid I used was a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1WZX9SNhjcP8NRJan66Hx6pNrLGy8ct4263VKqK1a4Y0&hl=en&authkey=CLKCqbcC">handout</a> which was much appreciated by the audience.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>The links to the audio/video files of some of the speeches I quoted from are :</i></span></span></div><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsrOXAY1arg">To be or not to be</a> (rendered by Richard Burton in Hamlet (1964)</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk&feature=related">I have a dream</a> (Martin Luther King's complete speech - Original Video)</i></span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCt1BwWE2gA">That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind</a> (Neil Armstrong - Original Video)</span></span></i></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/churchill.htm">Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat </a>(Winston Churchill - Original audio)</span></span></i></li>
</ul><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I tried to speak as close to the original as possible. The audience liked the excerpt from Martin Luther King speech very much. ]</span></span></span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i></i></span></span><span class="comment-body" data-li-comment-text=""><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-7494619048246640332010-06-12T22:09:00.000+05:302010-06-12T22:09:35.864+05:30Story Telling Project 2 - The Turning Point<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You have to be a good English speaker in this globalized world!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The very fact that all of you have taken time to come to this meeting shows that you all agree with me.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There was a time when I could not even speak one sentence in English fluently and correctly.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And then I met someone and the things became better. No he was not a Toastmaster, trying to recruit me in his club!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have to go back in time in early 70s when as a 10 year old boy I was growing up in a small town in Bihar, where my dad worked as an engineer.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Though I studied English at school, I was not at all fluent in speaking it. I used to speak in Hindi with my siblings and friends. I did not know even my mother tongue Tamil properly. This did not gel well with my dad. So one day he told me "I have nothing against Hindi. But when you talk to me and your mother, you should speak in Tamil only!” </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So my mother tongue got its due and I picked up a fairly passable Tamil. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But where was the "poor English" in the scheme of things? It was still lying neglected in my tongue space while I graduated to real colloquial Hindi as it is spoken in Bihar.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One fine day, a business delegation from England visited my father’s office. A dinner was organized for the delegates in the Company Clubhouse. Around this time I had just got interested in cricket, so my dad told me that there was a cricket player among the delegates.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I asked," Appa, can I also come with you? I want to meet the cricketer and take his autograph. ““No! Absolutely not! Kids are not invited", said my father and left.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A couple of hours later, he gave me a call and said. "If you want to come, come immediately. The dinner is over and everyone is going to leave soon.” My dad was always like that. Whenever I used to ask something from him, his first reaction was always NO. But soon he would have a change of heart and would do whatever I had asked for.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So flushed with excitement, I dressed hurriedly, grabbed the autograph book and rushed to the club. When I reached there I found a gentleman in his late fifties about to get inside a black Ambassador car. He would have left earlier. But my dad had requested him to wait for few more minutes and he was very kind enough to oblige. "The boy has come", said my dad and nudged me towards him. This was the first time I had seen a foreigner. I was awe-struck by his glowing fair skin and sparkling light-grey eyes. Nervously I shook his hands and held out my autograph book. He asked me in a typical British accent, "Well young boy, how are you doing?” It was like a bouncer that just went over my head. I could not make head or tail out of what he was saying. I just blinked. I asked him to repeat what he said. Nothing wrong in it, except for the fact that I had blurted my request in typical Bihari Hindi, “Hum samjhe nahin. Phir se boliye! “(I don’t understand. Could you please repeat?). Now it was the Englishman who blinked and looked confused.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My poor dad! He was highly embarrassed at my inability to communicate in English. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He told me, “You will get nowhere if I continue sending you to the local school. You have to speak better English if you want to have a successful career". </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And within a couple of years, he packed me off to a one of the best public schools in Bihar. It was expensive, but he did not mind that. My dad was prepared to undergo hardships in the best interests of his son.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By the time I passed out of the public school, I was able to converse fluently in English. This enabled me to effectively interact in my career with my colleagues and customers from different countries through the global lingua franca English. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sometimes I wonder how different things would have been if I had not met Sir Leonard Hutton that day. Yes, the man I had met was Sir Leonard Hutton. He was one of the best Test players in English cricket history. He once held the record of highest individual test score of 364. He was also the first professional cricketer to captain England. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The cricketing world may remember him for these achievements, but I would always remember him as a person who was kind enough to wait for me and indirectly instrumental in my improved spoken English.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>[Date Delivered: June 5 2010 </i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><i>To learn the elements of a good story.</i></li>
<li><i> To create and tell an original story based on a personal experience</i></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Time: Six to eight minutes.</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Comments:</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>This speech is based on a real incident, though as per the guidelines of the project manual I have spiced it up with imaginary dialogues and vivid descriptions (Reality was not that colorful !).</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The plain facts are as follows. I did grew up in Bihar speaking in Hindi most of the time and could not speak English fluently. And I did meet Sir Len Hutton and took his autograph (unfortunately I have lost it) as narrated in the speech. But the actual question which he asked was "Where should I sign ?". I replied in Bihari Hindi "Kya Cheez ? (What ?)". </i><br />
<br />
<i>Just couple of years before I met Sir Len Hutton, Indian cricket teams' magnificent test series win over England had got me interested in cricket. In that series Sir Len Hutton' s son Richard Hutton had played for England. So I wanted to meet Sir Len Hutton because he was Richard Hutton's father ! I had no clue that he was such a distinguished cricketer, though I knew that he was an ex-Test cricketer. </i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>It is also to a great extent true that my inability to communicate in English with Sir Len Hutton was one of the factors which made my dad to consider changing my school.</i><br />
<i>Sir Len Hutton </i><i>passed away in 1990.</i><br />
<i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<i>I have realistically portrayed my dad in this speech and the evaluator commented that his character came out well during my speech.</i><br />
<i>My dad is no more. He passed away when I was eighteen, while I was in my second year of engineering studies. I remembered my days with him, while delivering the speech and was almost choked with emotion when I came to the following portions in the speech </i><br />
<i>a)" My dad was always like that. Whenever I used to ask something from him, his first reaction was always NO. But soon he would have a change of heart and would do whatever I had asked for.</i>"<br />
b) "<i>My dad was prepared to undergo hardships in the best interests of his son</i>"<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Appa, I still miss you </i> <i>though it is nearly thirty years now since you departed ! </i><br />
<i>] </i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-15837698239870675762010-05-24T20:19:00.000+05:302010-05-24T20:19:04.880+05:30Toastmasters Program – An Experiential LearningGanapathy Subramanian runs the <a href="http://www.msacademy.in/">Management Scholars Academy</a> in Chennai, India which conducts training programs and workshops on the art and science of project management. He fully recognizes the value a Toastmasters program adds in developing communication and leadership skills of an aspiring project manager.<br />
<span class="ik">He invited me to post a blog dealing with this aspect on the Management Scholars Academy website.</span><br />
<span class="ik">You can read my blog "Toastmasters Program – An Experiential Learning" at<a href="http://msacademy.in/wordpress/management-scholars-academy-blog/2010/05/toastmasters-program-an-experiential-learning-by-dr-r-gopinath/"> http://msacademy.in/wordpress/management-scholars-academy-blog/2010/05/toastmasters-program-an-experiential-learning-by-dr-r-gopinath/</a></span><br />
<span class="ik"><br />
</span><br />
<h3 class="gD" style="color: #00681c;"><span email="ganapathy@msacademy.in"><br />
</span></h3>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-34023884104976819792010-04-17T22:31:00.001+05:302010-06-12T21:30:55.419+05:30Speaking to Inform Project 1 - Drug Development Process<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was involved with Drugs last year! Don’t be shocked. I was not a drug addict. I was not a drug peddler either. I worked for a firm which developed software solutions for world’s leading drug manufacturers. <br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When you fall sick your doctor prescribes drugs. You swallow them and get back to normal. But have you ever wondered what it takes to make these drugs? <br />
I came to know about the very fascinating and interesting process of drug development during my job.<br />
I am going to share what I learnt with all of you today. This will help you to appreciate better the effort involved in making the drugs that cure you.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
A drug lifecycle has 3 stages – Pre-Clinical R&D, Clinical Trials, and Post Marketing Surveillance.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
In Pre-Clinical R&D the symptoms and the causes of the disease are studied. Through extensive research, candidate drug compounds are identified. Sometimes these compounds are discovered accidently. <br />
This is how Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic -Penicillin. One day he forgot to cover the Petri dish containing the bacteria culture which he was investigating and went on a vacation. On returning he found that a mold had formed over this culture and destroyed it. This mold was Penicillium notatum which was found to contain powerful anti-bacterial compounds.<br />
Once potential drug compounds are identified, they must be isolated from their sources and produced in sufficient quantities for testing. For Penicillin this work was taken up by the researchers Florey and Chain.<br />
Isolated drug compounds are then tested on animals. Compounds found to be too toxic or ineffective are rejected.<br />
Drugs which seem promising are ready for the second stage – the clinical trials. But before they begin the clinical trials the drug manufacturer must obtain clearance from the drug regulatory authorities like FDA in USA, Drugs Controller General in India. This is because the drugs will now be tested on people. Volunteers are identified to participate in the clinical trials. All the pros and cons are told to the volunteers who sign up.<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Clinical Trials consists of 3 Phases.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Phase I the drug is tested on 20-30 healthy volunteers. This is to find out whether the drug has any obvious adverse reactions on human beings. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Phase II about 100 patients who suffer from the disease, participate. The researchers study the effectiveness of the drug and arrive at a proper dosage in this phase. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Phase III the drug is tested on several thousands of patients. This is to confirm the effectiveness, the dosage and the side effects of the drug. <br />
If clinical trials indicate that the drug is effective and safe, an application is filed with the regulatory body for approval. All the data gathered during the trials are also submitted along with the application. The regulatory body reviews all the information and decides whether the drug is sufficiently effective and safe to be marketed. If they approve, the drug is manufactured and sold.<br />
Florey and Chain did clinical trials with penicillin on wounded soldiers of World War II. Their amazing success inspired them to develop methods for mass production and mass distribution of Penicillin in 1945. Fleming, Florey and Chain received Nobel Prize for Medicine the same year.<br />
The final stage of Drug Development is the Post-marketing surveillance. The drug manufacturer, with the help of doctors and pharmacists must continuously monitor the use of the drug and promptly report any additional, previously undetected rare side effects to the regulatory body. The firm where I was working was developing software to computerize and automate this process. The regulatory authorities will withdraw approval if new evidence indicates that a drug may cause severe side effect.<br />
Thalidomide a sedative was sold worldwide in late 1950s. But then it was discovered that when pregnant women consumed it, it caused nearly 20,000 babies to be born with physical deformities. It was withdrawn from the market in 1961. The thalidomide tragedy brought in very strict regulatory norms for drug testing on pregnant women.<br />
The whole process of drug development takes between 2 to 12 years depending on the complexity of the disease and the drug compounds. <br />
It is a very rigorous and painstaking process. Drug firms research and test 10,000 substances before one of them could be successfully introduced into the market.<br />
Drug business is highly expensive and risky. It costs nearly $2 billion to introduce a new drug to market. And only one drug out of three introduced in the market recovers its development cost. <br />
<br />
This is how a drug is identified, tested and introduced in the market. <br />
Let me conclude by saying that the next time you recover from an illness, apart from thanking the doctor who treated you, also spare some thought and -<br />
thank the researchers who sweated out in their labs and the philanthropists who funded the research; thank the animals that were tortured during testing and the volunteers who participated in the trials; thank the regulatory authorities, doctors and pharmacists who rigorously monitored the process.<br />
They all ensured that you lead a happy and healthy life!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>[Date Delivered: April 10 2010</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Objectives:</i></div><ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><i>Select new and useful information for presentation to the audience.</i></li>
<li><i> Organize the information for easy understandability and retention.</i></li>
<li><i>Present the information in a way that will help motivate the audience to learn.</i></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Time: Five to Seven minutes.</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Comments:</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>As mentioned above the I chose to speak on the topic because I found the whole process of drug development very interesting when I first came to know about it.</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> I requested for Eight to ten minutes for this speech, since to give all the information in a easy to understand manner with examples and personal experiences it was virtually impossible to complete this speech within seven minutes as specified in the manual. I ended up speaking for nine and half minutes.]</i></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><br />
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</div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-2560015033612985202010-03-01T20:26:00.001+05:302010-03-01T20:31:40.410+05:30One Year of this Blog - How did it fare in the cyberspace ?A little over a year ago, when I was learning Web Analytics , I needed some web metrics to analyze. But I did not have a website of my own, so I started writing this blog.<br />
It is now exactly 1 year since I started tracking the performance of this blog through Google Analytics.<br />
Here is how this blog performed over the last year (<b>Mar 1 2009 - Feb 28 2010</b>):<br />
<ul><li>This blog had <b>2386 Unique Visitors</b> (6-7 visitors per day).</li>
<li> Visitors came from <b>72 countries</b> , the Top 6 countries being - India, USA, Canada, UAE, Singapore & Saudi Arabia.</li>
<li>Total of <b>6205 page views</b> , approx. 2 pages per visitor. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Top 5 page views were for the following speeches:</li>
</ul><ol><ol><li><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Ragging">Ragging - A Learning Experience</a> (<b>1015 Page views</b>): This was my CC Project 5 Speech, where I spoke about how I was ragged as a first year engineering student at NITK, Surathkal (then KREC, Surathkal).</li>
<li><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/">The Blog Home Page</a> : <b>700 Page views</b>. </li>
<li><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%20%201%20Speech">Cherished Childhood Moments</a>: (<b>348 Page views</b>) This was my Icebreaker Speech from the CC Manual, where I relived my good old carefree childhood days. </li>
<li><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%202%20Speech">Mobile Phones - Early Days</a>: (<b>314 page views</b>) This was my CC Project 2 speech. At that time I was working for Freescale and our business unit was developing wireless software for mobile phones. So I had enough background to speak on the story of how mobile phones evolved. </li>
<li><a href="http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/search/label/Project%208%20Speech">Wisdom, Wisdom Everywhere</a>: (<b>285 page views</b>): This was my CC Project 8 speech. A few days before I gave this speech I had read the book , "Like the Flowing River " by Paulo Coelho. It had several soul-stirring stories and articles, some of them formed the basis of my speech. I have posted <a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/2009/05/like-flowing-river.html">my review of this book</a> in "<a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/">Bookworm Reads</a>", the other blog I write.</li>
</ol></ol> Not bad at all for the first year of blogging. Hope to better this statistics, in this year !Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-37659400798243458122010-02-14T21:35:00.003+05:302010-06-12T21:30:25.564+05:30Story Telling Project 1 - All Fools Land<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>[With this speech I took my first step towards Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB) award]</i></span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Please relax and go back to your childhood days. And imagine yourselves as 8 year old kids gathered around your grandfather, eagerly expecting a story to be told. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Are you sitting comfortably ? Then I'll begin.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Once upon a time in a small town there lived a fool. His wife .....was also a fool !</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Every day they used to argue and fight. About what ? About who was a bigger fool !</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Their neighbors were tired of their noisy fights. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">One day they cornered the fool and told him, "Go and see the world. See how many kinds of fools are there in the world. What's the point of fighting like this?" </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">The very next day the fool set out on a journey. He wandered long and far till he came to a town. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">As he was entering the town, he saw some woodcutters coming down the hill, carrying a huge log of wood. They were huffing and puffing. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">He asked them, "Why don't you just roll the log down ? That would be much easier."</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The woodcutters said,"Oh yeah ! That's the very good idea. How come we never thought about it ? </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Thanks a lot ! We will definitely follow what you say.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">" They paid him some money for his advice.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">As he roamed about in the town he came across a house. It was almost noon. The sun had reached its zenith. He saw a lady sitting at the doorstep of the house with an empty basket in front of her.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He asked her, “What are you doing?"</span> </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She said, "Don't you see? It is very dark inside my house. So I am trying to bring light into my house</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. I am tired of filling up</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">this basket with sunlight and taking inside my house . But</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">my house is still dark." </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">The fool observed that her house did not have any windows. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">He said ""O, that's easy. If you pay me a fee, I'll fill your house with light." The lady agreed.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">He went into the house , made big holes on the walls. Light poured into the rooms. The lady was amazed. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">She was delighted. She gave him a hefty fee and also treated him with delicious and scrumptious lunch. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Then he wandered on till he saw a house with a terrace garden with lush green lawns. The house belonged to a milkman. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">He saw the milkman pushing, prodding and beating a buffalo. He was trying to get the buffalo to climb to the top of the house. The fool asked him, "What are you trying to do?" </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> "O, my buffalo is hungry. I want to let </span><span style="font-family: arial;">it </span><span style="font-family: arial;">graze on the terrace garden. But the buffalo is stupid. Even though I beat him, he won't climb onto the roof. What shall I do?", said the milkman. </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">"For a fee, I'd be happy to graze him," offered the fool. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Take </span><span style="font-family: arial;">it, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">here," said the milkman, giving him some money.</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The fool at once asked for </span><span style="font-family: arial;">a</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> ladder, climbed onto the terrace, cut</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">some of the grass, and threw </span><span style="font-family: arial;">it </span><span style="font-family: arial;">in front of the buffalo, who happily began to chew on it. </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">On his way back to his own town, the fool came across the same group of woodcutters whom he had seen earlier in the day. </span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">This time they were carrying the same log of wood up the hill. Clearly it was a very tedious job. They were huffing and puffing even more.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">"What happened ?", asked the fool. "Well we are following your advice. We are taking this log up the hill once again so that we can roll it down every easily", replied the woodcutters.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"> "Hey ! There are bigger and greater fools in this world", thought the fool.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">And then a brilliant idea struck him out of the blue !</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">He hurried home and came back with his wife.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">They both settled down in the town and lived happily for the rest of their lives.</span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">For they had become rich and prosperous by becoming management consultants to the town folks.</span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[<i>Date delivered: February 13 2010</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<i>Objectives:</i></i></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To tell a folk tale that is entertaining and enjoyable for a specific age group</i></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To use vivid imagery and voice to enhance the tale</i></span></span></span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time: Seven to nine minutes</i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Comments:</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The folk tale I told during this speech was largely based on the story called "<a href="http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft067n99wt;chunk.id=ch21;doc.view=print">Fools</a>" from the book "<a href="http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft067n99wt;brand=eschol">A Flowering Tree and other oral tales from India</a>" by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._K._Ramanujan">A.K. Ramanujan</a>.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However I blended in the incident of the woodcutters carrying the log of wood up and down the hill from a German folk tale which I had read when I was learning German. I also split this incident into two parts .Told one part in the first half of the speech and the other one towards the end.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The line in the beginning "Are you sitting comfortably ? Then I will begin." is actually the opening line of "<a href="http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/radio/lwm.htm">Listen with Mother</a>', a children's radio program that was broadcast every weekday afternoon from 1950 to 1982 by BBC.]</i></span></span></span>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-5950078310210065842009-12-07T18:53:00.005+05:302010-06-12T20:52:01.254+05:30Project 10 Speech - The Three Essential Qualities of a Toastmaster<span style="font-family: arial;"><i>[With this speech I completed all the requirements for getting the Competent Communicator Award from the Toastmasters International]</i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">“Say What You Did! Do What You Said”. This is my principle.<br />
I can motivate you to do something only if I have done it myself.<br />
Otherwise my speech will have no credibility. It will sound hollow and will fail to inspire you.<br />
However there is one achievement of mine that I can talk about with some credibility.<br />
<br />
In just a little over a year’s time I have managed to give all the 10 speeches from the CC manual.<br />
This is faster than the time normally taken by most of the members in this club.<br />
But there is no great rocket science involved in this achievement.<br />
If I can do it, so can each one of you!<br />
<br />
A Toastmasters club can help you to develop self-confidence and public speaking skills.<br />
But there are three essential things that you and only you can bring in as a Toastmaster.<br />
One – Desire to achieve.<br />
Two – Hard work.<br />
Three – Willingness to Learn<br />
<br />
You all understand how important public speaking skills are for your career and personal growth.<br />
You have all gathered here because you desire to improve upon it.<br />
But how strong is your desire?<br />
<br />
A man once asked Socrates, “What’s the secret to success”?<br />
Socrates instead of replying caught hold of him by his neck, pushed his head under the water and held it there.<br />
The man struggled and gasped for breath, but Socrates did not release him.<br />
When the man almost died, Socrates pulled him out and asked “ What did you want the most when you were under water?” The man replied, “Air”.<br />
Socrates then said, “Only if you want success as badly as you wanted the air, you will get it.”<br />
A burning desire is the starting point of your journey towards success.<br />
A small fire cannot give much heat. Likewise a weak desire cannot produce great results.<br />
Therefore I said to myself, come what may I have to become a CC within one and half years.<br />
Toastmasters, can you cultivate such a strong desire?<br />
Yes, you can! And so you should!<br />
<br />
Can a strong desire alone lead you to success? No! You must sweat it out.<br />
You have to plan, prepare and practice the speeches to the best of your ability.<br />
Remember that’s the promise you made when you joined Toastmasters.<br />
In my experience with all our other engagements like office work, studies, and family commitments it is a real challenge to keep up this promise.<br />
But as Epictetus, an ancient Greek philosopher said. “The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it”.<br />
I scheduled the dates for all my 10 speeches well in advance and tried my best to meet the deadlines.<br />
I spent most of my free time searching suitable topics and materials for my speeches.<br />
I wrote and re-wrote each speech at least 5 times, improving upon it every time, till I was fully satisfied.<br />
I used to record the speeches and listen to them while commuting to work.<br />
The week before a speech I used to rehearse at least 2 times everyday before the mirror.<br />
It was not easy. But if you want to become a CC there is no substitute for hard work. I worked hard to internalize the speech so that I could deliver it with ease.<br />
Toastmasters, can you work hard too? Yes, you can! And so you should!<br />
<br />
Your desire for success and your hard work must be supported by your willingness to learn.<br />
There was a woodcutter who used to work very hard but could cut only 2 trees per day.<br />
And then one day someone advised him to spend some time in sharpening the axe.<br />
Following this advice the woodcutter was now able to cut 4 trees per day.<br />
So sharpen your speaking skills by being open enough to learn from every Toastmaster, especially your mentors and speech evaluators.<br />
There is no end to learning. However good you are, there is always a scope of improvement.<br />
Even before joining Toastmasters I was quite experienced in public speaking. I had given presentations in my office; had presented papers in conferences; had conducted several training sessions; had delivered invited lectures in IIIT.<br />
Though these were generally well appreciated by the audience, I felt that I still had a long way to go.<br />
So I joined Toastmasters with a mindset of a beginner and with a sense of humility.<br />
I got my speeches reviewed by my mentors and incorporated their feedback.<br />
In fact I had prepared something else for my Project 10 speech.<br />
But on my mentor’s advice I willingly changed the topic and started all over again.<br />
I thankfully accepted the constructive criticisms from my speech evaluators and tried my best to improve on the areas suggested by them.<br />
All these helped me a lot in preparing and delivering my speeches. It also helped me in the presentations at my work.<br />
It was all because I had an attitude of a disciplined student and was willing to learn.<br />
Toastmasters, can you commit to learn? Yes, you can! And so you should!<br />
<br />
Let me conclude by reminding you that the Toastmasters program is a serious endeavor.<br />
A Toastmaster club is actually an educational institution not a recreation club though it appears like one.<br />
It provides its members an opportunity to develop oral communication skills, which will in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.<br />
However these are the three expectations from each and every Toastmaster.<br />
You must have a burning desire to become a CC at least!<br />
You must put in hard work while planning, preparing and practicing your speech!<br />
You must be willing to learn from your evaluators and mentors!<br />
<br />
If you are already meeting these expectations, then what are you waiting for?<br />
Arise, Awake and Deliver your next speech and the next and the next and Stop Not till you become a Distinguished Toastmaster!<br />
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">[<i>Date delivered: December 5 2009</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Objectives:</i></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>To inspire the audience by appealing to noble motives and challenging the audience to achieve a higher level of beliefs or achievements.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Appeal to the audience's needs and emotions, using stories, anecdotes and quotes to add drama.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Avoid using notes.</i></span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Time: Eight to Ten Minutes</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Comments:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>This has been the most difficult speech from topic selection perspective. In my association with Toastmasters for a over a year, I found that most of the speeches given by the Toastmasters tend to be very preachy. Well I don't have anything against it per se, but how many of us practice what we preach. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>So till now I had avoided giving such preachy speeches as far as possible because as I said in the beginning of the speech , "Say What You Did ! Do What You Said" has always been my principle. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>But this time there was no escape since the Project requirements demanded that I preach !</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>So rather than trying to inspire the audience to do something lofty which I myself have not achieved it, I choose to speak on how I completed the 10 speeches from the CC manual and what qualities a Toastmaster needs to have to achieve this feat. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>I was not sure given the trend of speeches being presented for Project 10, whether my simple and sincere speech will be viewed favorably by the evaluators. But on my mentor's advice and encouragement , I decided to go ahead with this.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>The rhetoric element "Can You ....? Yes You Can ! And So You Should!" which I repeated several times during my course of the speech was inspired by Barrack Obama's "Yes We Can!" refrain. And I was pleasantly suprised that on one occasion when I posed the rhetoric question "Toastmasters, can you commit to work hard ?", I received a resounding "Yes!" from the audience even before I coud say "Yes You Can !"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>On the whole I got good appreciation from the evaluator and the audience.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>]</i></span>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-79826840329184231952009-09-02T22:18:00.013+05:302010-06-12T20:50:11.516+05:30Project 9 Speech - Sponsor a Girl Child<i style="font-family: arial;">[Showed the poster of a small girl saying "My Parent's Can't Send Me to School, Can You ?]</i><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
Her parents can't send her to school. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">But You Can ! And I earnestly call upon you to do so.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Today I am going to talk about a project called "Nanhi Kali". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">This project is doing a yeoman service in ensuring the education of underprivileged girl children.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">In many parts of India, when a girl is born people mourn not celebrate! They consider them as huge economic burdens. They abandon them at birth. They marry them off as children. They don't see any point in educating them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Thousands of girls are forced to dropout of schools because their families cannot afford it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">For every 10 girls who enroll in Std I, only 3 complete Std X.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Education for a girl child born in a poor family is still a pipe dream. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">The Nanhi Kali project intends to change all this. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Nanhi Kali means "Little Buds". So friends here is your chance to transforms these budding girls to blooming flowers by joining hands with Nanhi Kali project.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">How can you help?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Sponsor a girl child. Be her guardian. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Give her the assurance that no matter what trials her family faces, she will never have to drop out of school.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Your sponsorship will provide her with books, stationery and uniforms. It will also be used to train her teachers to create a conducive environment in her school</span>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">You may ask what is the guarantee that my sponsorship money is well spent ?<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">It is a very valid question ! A project like this has to be run by trustworthy, effective and efficient people.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Nanhi Kali project is jointly managed by the Trusts created by two respected industrial houses - Mahindra & Mahindra and Dr. Reddy's Labs. These have the finest professionals in the development sector working with a sole objective to ensure that every girl child in the country can complete 10 years of formal quality education.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">On what basis do they select the girls for sponsorship ?<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">The girls who are selected are normally the ones who are enrolled in government schools; they belong to the poorest sections of society; their parents are illiterate ; they are the eldest girl in the family and have many siblings; they come from communities where deplorable practices like female infanticide, early marriage etc. are prevalent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Will you come to know about the girl you are sponsoring ?<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes. You will receive a profile and a photograph of the child . You will also receive half yearly updates about her.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">This is Lata, the child I sponsor and these are her progress reports which I have received over the years. </span><i style="font-family: arial;">[Showed the Photos and Reports]</i><span style="font-family: arial;">.<br />
It tells me about her academic performance, her extra-curricular activities, her health, her personality and her family conditions. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Ever since its inception in 1996, Nanhi Kali project has supported the education for more than 50,000 underprivileged children. But there is still a long way to go. So I sincerely urge each one of you to sponsor at least one child.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">How much it will cost ? It costs Rs. 1800 per year. Just Rs 5, per day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">For you this could just mean forgoing a cup of coffee or walking an extra kilometer instead of using a transport.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">But for this child [</span><i style="font-family: arial;">showed the poster again</i><span style="font-family: arial;">] this could mean an escape from being housebound; escape from being exploited as a maid or a child prostitute; escape from being married off early and possibly dying during childbirth!</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
<br />
Every moment, millions of underprivileged girl children are living with the hope that someday, some one would reach out to them with love to fulfill their dreams and aspirations.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">And each one of you can be that special someone ? Support Nanhi Kali just at the price of a coffee a day !<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">[Distributed among the audience 1-page fact sheets about Nanhi Kali project which had details on how to send sponsorship money]</span><br />
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">[ Date Delivered: Aug 29 2009</span><br style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;"></span><br style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Objectives:</span><br face="arial" style="font-style: italic;" /><br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><br />
<ul style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;"><li>Persuade listeners to adopt your viewpoint or ideas or to take some action.</li>
<li>Appeal to the audience's interests.</li>
<li>Use logic and emotion to support your position.</li>
<li>Avoid using notes</li>
</ul><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Time: Five to Seven minutes</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Comments:</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Readers of this blog post who would like to know more about Nanhi Kali Project may visit <a href="http://www.nanhikali.org/">http://www.nanhikali.org/</a> for more details.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Information on how to make donations to this project :</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">For Indian Residents : <a href="http://www.nanhikali.org/donate/donateregister.aspx">http://www.nanhikali.org/donate/donateregister.aspx</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">For US Residents: <a href="http://www.nanhikali.org/nanhikali/nk_usa.aspx">http://www.nanhikali.org/nanhikali/nk_usa.aspx</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">]</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></i>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-42297300714430412312009-07-19T20:56:00.009+05:302010-06-12T20:49:29.406+05:30Project 8 Speech - Wisdom, Wisdom Everywhere<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 100%;">”Water, water, everywhere, </span> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 100%;">Nor any drop to drink. "</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 100%;">These are the famous lines of Samuel Coleridge. However today's speech is not about drinking water scarcity. It is about acquiring wisdom.</span><br />
<div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Water is a basic necessity for your survival. It adds to years to your life. </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Wisdom is the next level of necessity. It will add life to your years.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">You can acquire wisdom from your teachers, friends, enemies, parents, strangers, animals. Almost from anybody.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">You just need to be open enough to receive it.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">But don't think only living things can teach you something. You can find your Gurus even in common day-to-day things.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">One such lesson I learnt from thus LCD projector. I have seen it giving technical problems to the speakers. So I decided not to give a power point presentation.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">I have brought my props. So let's get started<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;"><prop 1000="" currency="" note="" rs=""><</prop></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Here I took out a currency note and asked one of the Toastmasters in the audience></span><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">This is a thousand -rupee currency note. Suppose I say I will give it to you. Will you take it? Yes you will.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">What if I fold it and give it to you? Will you still take it? Yes you will.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">What if crumple it and throw it in a dustbin? Will you still take it? Yes you will.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">It doesn't matter what I do to this money. It is still a thousand- rupee currency note. It still has its value.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Similarly so often in your lives, you will be crumpled, trampled, ill-treated, insulted, and yet, despite all that you will be still worth the same. Don't let such things lower your self-esteem. Hold yourself high! </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><prop and="" eraser="" sharpner=""></prop></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><prop and="" eraser="" sharpner=""></prop></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Having held your self-esteem you need to be live in peace with the world. And to live in peace with the world, what better object can there to teach you that be other than this humble pencil.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;"><showed></showed></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">This pencil can write many correct answers, write interesting stories, and draw beautiful pictures. But can it do it all alone? No, it needs a hand to write.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Similarly you will be doing great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">guiding you. We call that hand God or a Supreme Power and for those who do not believe in God your own consciousness that always guides us.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Now and then, the pencil becomes blunt and can't write properly. So you must stop writing and</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">sharpen it.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;"><brought></brought></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">This makes the pencil suffer a little, but then, it becomes capable of writing again. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains, sorrows and setbacks, because they will make you a better person.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">What if you make a mistake while writing?</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;"><showed></showed></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">The pencil will always allow you to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes and correct it. This means you must be open to accept your mistakes and correct them.<br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Snack break is still some time away. But let us learn something from a very common foodstuff.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;"><showed> </showed></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />
</span></div><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;">Bananas! Believe me Bananas can teach you the meaning of life.</span><br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 100%;">I have three of them here - A Rotten one, A Raw one and a Ripe one.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 100%;">Rotten banana - Its life is gone. It is past. You did not utilize to the full. Now it is now too late! </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 100%;">Raw banana – This is the future. It is not ready yet. To do certain things you need to wait till the moment is right.</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 100%;">Learn to be patient where you need to be. They say "Sabr ka fal meetha hota hai". If you are patient, the results will be sweet.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="color: black; font-family: arial; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">And the Ripe Banana? This is the present moment. Make the best use of it. Just learn how to gobble it up without fear or guilt.<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">So friends don’t you agree that there is a profound wisdom underlying common objects.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">"Wisdom, Wisdom, everywhere,<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">In everything under the sun;<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Wisdom, wisdom, everywhere,<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">You just need to seek and learn. "</span></div><div style="color: black; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial';"><span style="font-size: 85%;">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-style: italic; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 85%;">[Date delivered: July 18 2009</span></div><div style="color: black; font-style: italic; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 85%;">Objectives:</span></div><ul style="font-style: italic;"><li><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 85%;">Select visual aids that are appropriate for your message and the audience</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 85%;">Use visual aids correctly with ease and confidence</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: 'Arial'; font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">Time: Five to Seven minutes<br />
<br />
Comment:<br />
This speech is based on several short pieces of writings by Paulo Coelho in the book "Like the Flowing River". I have posted a review of this book in my other blog "<a href="http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/">Bookworm Reads</a>". It is really a very good read.<br />
<br />
The thousand-rupee currency note part was based on the article -</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.symbianize.com/showthread.php?t=97618" style="font-style: italic;">Who Would Like this Twenty-Dollar Bill ?</a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The pencil part was based on - </span><a href="http://paulocoelhofanclub.multiply.com/journal/item/20" style="font-style: italic;">The Story of the Pencil</a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The banana part was based on - </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweeeetkiwi/3244384110/" style="font-style: italic;">Rome:Isabella returns from Nepal</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">]</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</span></span><br />
<div style="color: black; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial';"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span></span></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-5669235881923020462009-06-14T00:22:00.009+05:302010-06-12T20:48:44.216+05:30Project 7 Speech - Electronic Voting MachineHow many of you voted in the recent elections?<br />
Conducting free and fair elections in our country, the world’s largest democracy is a Herculean task.<br />
But once again we have done it successfully!<br />
One of the major reasons for the success is the Electronic Voting Machines viz., EVMs.<br />
EVMs did play a very major role in ensuring free and fair elections in a very effective and efficient manner.<br />
Let me share with you some interesting facts to support my viewpoint.<br />
For those of you who voted, these facts would reinforce your belief in our electoral system.<br />
For those who did not vote, it would clarify some of your doubts about our electoral process and the EVMs.<br />
<br />
Whenever a new technology is introduced, most of us are skeptical about it. So was the case with EVM too. There were lots of concerns about its reliability, integrity and security. Let me tell you how the process of electronic voting and the features of EVM addressed these concerns.<br />
<br />
The first and foremost concern - Is EVM a tamper proof device?<br />
Yes it is! I can neither change the software program embedded in its chip nor manipulate the data in its memory.<br />
<br />
What if someone manages to pre-program the chip in one’s favor?<br />
No! This won’t work because EVMs are allocated to polling stations in a random manner. As a programmer I will not know beforehand to which polling station a specific machine will be sent.<br />
<br />
As a candidate how can I be sure that everything is OK with EVMs used in my constituency?<br />
Before the polling begins the presiding officer will prove to the candidate’s agents, that the machine’s memory is blank and will also demonstrate the proper working of the device.<br />
<br />
What if booth is captured while polling is going on? How can an EVM help here?<br />
EVM as a device cannot eliminate booth capturing, but it minimizes the risk.<br />
A vigilant polling officer, can press the "close" button on the EVM to prevent recording of any vote, if he sees intruders entering the polling station.<br />
Assuming the booth gets captured, in the paper-based voting system the intruders will rapidly stamp hundreds of votes in their candidate’s favor within 5-10 minutes and run away before the police force arrives. But with EVM based voting, the machine will not allow them to cast more than 5 votes per minute. This means it will take 30 minutes to cast 150 votes. This gives police enough time to come and catch them.<br />
<br />
Can EVMs work in a remote area where there is no power?<br />
Absolutely! EVMs run on batteries and have no dependency on the power supply.<br />
But what if the batteries get discharged?<br />
The polled data in the EVM will remain intact even if the batteries get discharged fully!<br />
<br />
You saw in these elections that all the results were declared in just half-a-day. I remember the days when it took at least 3 days for all the results to come in. It was the deployment of EVMs that drastically reduced the turn around time.<br />
<br />
And now get ready for some more interesting facts and figures.<br />
Do you know that more than 13 lakhs EVMs were deployed in the recent polls? Barring some minor isolated problems, they all worked successfully.<br />
Do you know that the deployment of EVMs saved us nearly Rs 200 crores, as we avoided consuming nearly 10,000 tonnes of ballot paper! Consequently we have saved 2.4 lakh trees! Because each tonne of paper requires 24 trees to be cut down.<br />
<br />
<br />
So EVMs helped our economy, environment and democracy!<br />
<br />
Now for the best part. EVMs are indigenously designed and manufactured in India by BEL, Bangalore and ECIL, Hyderabad. Mr. S. Rangarajan, the electronics engineer in BEL, who headed the EVM development team, was also a very famous author of several Tamil science-fiction thrillers. He wrote under the pen name Sujatha. He once said, “EVM is one invention I shall be as proud of as my writings”.<br />
<br />
We too must feel very proud of the way India has effectively and efficiently developed and deployed EVMs and demonstrated its commitment towards ensuring free and fair elections.<br />
<br />
However feeling proud is not enough! EVMs on its own cannot ensure a successful democracy. We as responsible citizens of this country should make it a point to vote in each and every election! Let us all convince as many people we can to vote in every election and ensure a successful democracy.<br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">[Date Delivered: June 13 2009<br />
<br />
Objectives:<br />
<br />
* Collect information about your topic from numerous sources<br />
* Carefully support your points and opinions with specific facts, examples and illustrations gathered through research.<br />
<br />
Time: Five to Seven Minutes<br />
<br />
Comment:<br />
Most of the facts and figures presented in the speech are sourced from the website of <a href="http://eci.nic.in/faq/evm.asp">Election Commision of India</a> and internet archives of many leading newspapers of India.<br />
An ad display in HDFC Bank requesting its customers to opt for receiving account statements through e-mail instead of paper statements, highlighted the fact that 24 trees are cut down to manufacture 1 tonne of paper. I used this information in this speech to highlight the fact that savings of 10,000 tonnes of ballot paper resulted in preventing 2.4 lakhs of trees from being cut down]</span>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036459496728595186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290374160661514941.post-76836036469025277632009-05-20T17:53:00.006+05:302010-06-12T20:48:16.552+05:30Project 6 Speech - Michael's StoryToday I am going to tell you a story. Just a simple story about a young man called Michael.<br />
<br />
Michael was madly in love with a beautiful young lady Michelle. Infatuated by her, he spent all his time trying to woo her. “Michelle, my jewel”, he would say, “I love you! Can’t you see, what you mean to me? I’ll always be true so please love me too”.<br />
<br />
Michael’s persistence bore fruit. They got married. But friends, marriage is not a bed of roses. Both the husband and the wife must work hard to make it a success. Michael worked hard to earn money. Michelle too worked hard. Worked hard to blow up Michael’s hard earned money!<br />
<br />
And then one day Michelle wanted a diamond ring, which poor Michael could not afford. He tried to talk her out of it. “Michelle, my jewel. Is this our real need now? Why don’t you wish for some simple pleasures in life which requires little money”? Michelle got angry and walked out of the room. Thus seeds of discord were now sown in their happy married life. Michelle started nagging Michael everyday for the diamond ring.<br />
<br />
Then one day Michael lost patience. “True, I am not able to get you a diamond ring. But I have been a very considerate and loving husband. I am not demanding as a man, why don’t you love me for what I am. If you are stubborn, I am afraid we will fall apart. Life is very short and there is no time for fighting, my dear. Either we can either work it out or say good bye”.<br />
<br />
Next day Michelle left Michael. Michael was heart-broken for he still loved Michelle very much. As time went by Michael lost interest in life. He started drinking to forget his sorrows. He was fired from his job. His debts skyrocketed .He was surrounded with troubles.<br />
<br />
He called on his friend and unburdened his sorrows. “ Only the other day all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks they are here to stay. Oh why she had to go? I said something wrong. Oh I long for those days when we were so happy! Help me if you can I am feeling down. And I do appreciate you being around. Help me get my feet back on the ground. Won’t you please help me?”<br />
<br />
The friend took Michael to a life coach. The coach said, “You got no cash, got no style, got no girl to make you smile. But don’t worry be happy! Whenever you worry you come and meet me, I will make you happy”. But inspite of repeated visits to the coach Michael’s worries never ceased. But the coach became richer and happier at Michael’s expense.<br />
<br />
Finally Michael decided to end his life. He was about to swallow an overdose of sleeping pills. At that moment he heard a sermon in the radio.<br />
“Pray to God to grant you serenity to accept things you cannot change.<br />
Pray that he grants you courage to change the things you can.<br />
Ask him to teach you how to accept hardships as the pathway to peace.<br />
Trust that he will make all things right for you.<br />
If you surrender to his will you will be a happier man!”<br />
<br />
This stopped Michael. He started praying everyday and tried his best to the teachings of the sermon. Within few months his life changed for better. He had given up alcohol; He had got back his job; He had paid off all his debts. And then he met a woman who was very understanding, considerate and was a great source of strength and support to him. He lived happily and peacefully with her for the rest of his life.<br />
Friends, that woman was none other than Michelle who had realized her shortcomings and had turned over a new leaf.<br />
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
[<span style="font-style: italic;">Date Delivered : May 16 2009</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"> Objectives:</span><br />
<ul style="font-style: italic;"><li>Use voice volume, pitch, rate and quality to reflect and add meaning and interest to your message.</li>
<li>Use pauses to enhance your message.</li>
<li>Use vocal variety smoothly and naturally.</li>
</ul><span style="font-style: italic;"> Time : Five to Seven minutes</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Comment:</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">The story narrated above in this project speech is my first attempt at story writing. Story seems pretty mundane, a typical soap opera . But it gave me ample opportunity to exhibit a range of vocal variety expressing love, firmness, anger, sadness etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">My creativity, if I may say so was in stringing together the lyrical content of several popular songs into the story. The dialogs in this speech were inspired by the songs of </span><br />
<ul style="font-style: italic;"><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles">The Beatles</a> viz; <a href="http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/beatles-lyrics/michelle-lyrics.html">Michelle</a>, <a href="http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/beatles-lyrics/love-me-do-lyrics.html">Love Me Do</a>, <a href="http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/beatles-lyrics/can_t-buy-me-love-lyrics.html">Can't Buy Me Love</a>, <a href="http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/beatles/we_can_work_it_out.html">We Can Work it Out</a>, <a href="http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/beatles-lyrics/yesterday-lyrics.html">Yesterday</a> and <a href="http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/beatles-lyrics/help-lyrics.html">Help</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.fansoflobo.com/lobo-bio.html">Lobo</a> -<a href="http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/l/lobo/love_me_for_what_i_am.html"> Love Me For What I Am</a></li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_McFerrin">Bobby McFerrin</a> - <a href="http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bobby_mcferrin/dont_worry_be_happy.html">Don't Worry Be Happy</a></li>
</ul><span style="font-style: italic;">The sermon heard by Michael in the radio is based on the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer" style="font-style: italic;">Serenity Prayer</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr" style="font-style: italic;">Reinhold Niebuhr</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br />
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