We improve ourselves by victories over ourselves. There must be contest, and we must win
– Edward Gibbon
Contestants at Crescendo 2015 exhibited the same spirit. Each contestant gave his/her best at the contest and proved to themselves that victory is not what matters, it is the will to give their best till the very end.
Hear it straight from the horse’s mouth on what went into their preparations and interesting experiences while being associated with toastmasters.
International Speech Contest-Winner
TM Deepak Justin
Two times DTM, TM Deepak Justin has been a Toastmaster since his college days. He’s the Founder, President, Mentor, Sponsor and active member of Deejays Toastmasters club. This seasoned toastmaster swept away the title of the Division C International Speech Contest with a brilliant speech, fueled by his suave personality. This will be DJ’s third stint at a District level finals on the run.
Most of us have heard you on stage before. At the end of your speeches you always leave the audience feeling motivated. But what is the motivation behind your speeches?
Life itself. Life is the greatest teacher and motivator. All the trials and tribulations have a treasure hidden for us to discover. That is the fodder for my speeches.
What’s the next step? Now that you have your speech title or the message you want to convey,how do you go about preparing your speech?
I prepare for my speeches “inside out”. I delve into my life and meditate on the inside for a significant insight. When I hit the light bulb moment, I reach out on the audience and try to make it endearing to them incorporating all the basic oratorical skills. Your message needs to connect with the audience or else you are just rambling some personal issue about which the audience wouldn’t care for.
Do you have a mentor whom you owe your success to?
More than, anybody I am infinitely grateful to God Almighty because he has always been graceful in helping me connect the dots and fill the blanks not only in my speeches but also in all the chapters of my life. When it comes to toastmasters I have been influenced by each and every Toastmaster I have met. Like Lord Tennyson said,
“I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’
Gleams that untravell’d world whose margin fades
For ever and forever when I move. “
– Lord Tennyson
The last year at the district conference, you came in second to the winner who eventually went on to be the world champion of public speaking. What is the one thing you admire about Dananjaya the most?
Well there are so many things to admire from the World Champion. He has a life that is so rich of diverse experiences. He is so uninhibited in sharing his life’s learning. And above all he has a style of his own. I don’t think he has ever tried to be a Darren Lacroix or a Lance Miller. He has created his own unique identity.
You have now created a niche of your own in the toastmasters’ fraternity, so what is the one message that you would like to give others who are aspiring to be where you are today?
The Toastmasters movement as the founder put it is a learning laboratory. So experiment as much as you can within the framework of raising your own standards.
Secondly there is a difference in wanting to be a good speaker and liking be a good speaker. The difference is passion. There are people who walk in the fraternity and say I want to be a motivational speaker in one year, a world champion in 2 years and the best trainer and so on. Those are wants. There is nothing wrong with that. But when you are driven by wants alone, you pressurize yourself and forget to enjoy the journey. So be passionate about every speech. Be passionate when you present to every audience. And at the end of the day enjoy the applause. That is the greatest gift of Toastmasters.
Table Topic Speech Contest – Winner
TM Saveen Hegde
Saveen S Hegde from Deejays Toastmasters club has been a part of the fraternity for 4 years now. This young man known for his artistry of tickling his audiences mind has contested thus far at the District level humorous speech contest 2012, 2013, 2014 and has also been a tough contender at the 2013 table topics contest. Let’s see what he has to say about all of his experiences.
How has being a part of contests helped you?
Any contest brings out the best in an individual provided we’re able to channelize the pressure in the right direction.
What according to you is the best thing about the toastmasters’ movement?
The beauty of the toastmasters’ community is that it allows you to learn from so many different people without any restrictions. Secondly, there are a lot of well-wishers who stand by you when you don’t succeed. It’s the same set of well-wishers who are responsible for the success.
What is the one lesson you learnt during this contest season that you believe will help you the most during your future contests?
Each time the contest teaches you something valuable. Just before the contest, one of mentors told me, “Deserving to win the award is more important than actually winning it”.
International Speech Contest – 1st Runner Up
TM Nishanth P.K
Power cut was never a deterrent for TM Nishanth. Winning second place in International prepared speech contest, he said that there was another twist in his participation. In his area level contest, he secured third place. Since the second place winner had to back out due to personal commitment, TM Nishanth got his slot in this division level contest. He had participated in last division level humorous speech contest and secured second place in 2014 division level Table topics contest.
International Speech Contest- 2nd Runner up
TM Prasanna T Kumar
TM Prasanna Kumar shared his inspiration story about 5 % pushing. The idea started from a television program in Animal planet wherein he got to know that every pup pushes itself 5 % towards the task. He was happy that his dramatization of pup was well received amongst the audience. He secured third place in International prepared speech contest.
Table Topic Speech contest- 1st Runner up
TM Kausthubh Rajendran
TM Kaustabh secured second place in table topics contest. In the past, he had participated in division level International prepared speech contest. This was his third time division level participation in Table topics contest. When asked about the first thought that crossed his mind on hearing the topic, he replied it was “Spirituality”.
With Just 9 months into Toastmasters, TM Kaushal participated in his first division level table topics contest. He felt that the topic was generic, valid and apt topic for division level contest. He regards that Toastmasters has helped him to improve his communication, leadership and public speaking skills.
Table Topic Speech contest- 2nd Runner up
TM Mahesh Kolar
TM Mahesh Kolar, a member of Toastmasters International from the year 2002 incidentally bumped into toastmasters while he was looking for an opportunity to hone his speaking and leadership skills, and has been in love with Toastmasters ever since. He believes that toastmasters help in raising the self-esteem of members and that is what roots him to toastmasters. In his perspective he is MADE for extemporaneous speaking and he believes that delivering a prepared speech is not his bag of chips. He is now the charter President of the Dhwani Toastmasters Club and is looking forward to participate in many such competitions in future.
The Pit Stop - District 92 