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Session 90 - Mock Evaluation Contest

We decided that Evaluation Contest was nothing to be mocked at, so we held a mock contest where future contest participants got to hone their skills. We were expecting around 15 participants, of which 11 confirmed, 6 landed up, one of whom landed up late and missed the model speech, tried to manage with a video recording and then gave up. SAA TM Sweta kicked off the evening at 6.25pm. TM Suvojit was the Contest Chair and did a great job of managing the show. He explained the proceedings and introduced the contestants to the audience. There were 3 judges although there would be not competition results. The judges would instead give feedback to the contestants as to where they could have done better. TM Rajat, one of the judges, familiarized the contestants with the parameters on which judges score the contestants so that they could align their evaluations better. The model speaker was TM Raunak Rander, who for a maiden speech, delivered a creditable performance titled ...
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Session 89

Dhanteras, Bhoot chaturdoshi, Kalipujo, Diwali... you name it, this week has got it. No wonder our nattily dressed TMOD Shaleen declared the theme to be the incontrovertible one of "Festival Overload" . A box of Gupta Brothers laddoo's also mysteriously appeared, waved in by the magic wand of Prez Ashish Baid, who also mysteriously appeared for some time. Today's attendance was slightly on the thinner side, understandably so, tomorrow being Diwali night. At one point it seemed like the role players would also have to be procured from Gupta Brothers. However, the quorum was met and VPE did not have to emulate our godesses and grow multiple arms for multi-tasking. Session started a couple of minutes late, which was not frowned upon this time since the frowner-in-chief, the Parliamentarian, was late as well. The stand-in SAA, TM Nitin, did the honours of the non-nos and the welcome to the stand-in Prez. The session was called to order by TM Rupasree, who related a...
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Session 86

Four great speeches are all it takes to leave an audience speechless. And that's what happened today on a rainy evening at the 86th session. The SAA TM Suvojit did the usual justice to the kick-off by starting right on time and taking care of all the warnings that are sternly given to the audience. He also gave a mini-inspirational speech by calling our attention to the antics of the ant, its various qualities that are worth emulating. Stand-in President TM Vidwata told us how important it is to "sharpen the axe", that is to hone our skills through practice, something which is at the core of Toastmastering philosophy. She also took the oath, introduced all guests and called the TMOD on stage. Today's TMOD Shrradha had chosen as the theme a cryptic set of questions that sounded like a cry for a help: "Why me? Why this? Why now?" . She wove in the philosophy of volunteering without question, with her experience at a job interview and revealed gra...
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Session 84

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Some days are too good to be true, especially if we spend it in a festive mood, in the company of food and friends. We had a lovely session with three great speeches, rich evaluations and fun-filled table topics. AND we finished on time. Those who are missing the sessions are...well...missing them. Our SAA Suvojit kicked off right on time with a message to get out of our comfort zone. Our acting President, TM Rupasree, related to us a powerful inspirational story about how an eagle, after it is 40 years old, retreats to a secluded place and pulls out its talons and feathers in a effort to grow them all over again. We too sometimes need to stop, introspect and reinvent ourselves. A good message Prez. TMOD Sutanu had chosen as a theme - you guessed it - Festival, Food and Friends,  not unexpectedly with Durga puja around the corner. Tm Rupasree and TM Sutanu did a little play-acting in the beginning to kick-start this fun-filled session. He was energetic and funny and h...
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Session 83

As I sat in the departure lounge at Kolkata airport, watching aeroplanes taxi down the runway and take off, I appreciated the aptness of the expression "Run to fly". Truly, to get anything to fly high, be it an object, a person or an endeavour, we need to build momentum before it can take off. So it is in Toastmasters. The club needs momentum of size before it can take off. The member needs momentum of a certain amount of stage-time before he or she can take off. While the EC ensures size through renewals and new members, the mentors ensure stage-time by encouraging members to take roles and give speeches. No wonder Elite Toastmasters flies high on both fronts. Today's session started almost on time and our SAA TM Suvojit was back in his usal energetic self. He kicked off the session with an encouragement to all members to be a " Ringmaster of words ", so that words do their bidding to build up splendid performances. Acting President TM Rupasree, set t...
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Session 82

"What do you want a meaning for? Life is a desire, not a meaning." - Charlie Chaplin. This session of Elite Toastmasters was a blend of humour and philosophy, tied together by the TMOD's theme "Charlie Chaplin" : his life, his comedy and his vision of life. Additionally, a workshop on humorous speech was the diamond on today's necklave of events. The session was kicked off by the acting SAA TM Shaleen Basu, who energised the audience with the message Never Give Up, with an example of the lady from the railway station who became a co-singer with Himesh Reshamiya. Acting President TM Rupasree Biswas welcomed all to the session with the interesting idea that for something new to form, something else has to break: for cultivation the soil has to break, for harvesting the crops have to break, for a seedling to sprout the seed has to break. We need to keep on breaking out of our mould if we want to transform. A good message, acting Prez. TMOD Sar...
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Session 79

Have you noticed this interesting phenomenon? The harder it rains, the higher is the attendance! One can only ascribe it to genuine enthusiasm among members and a very favourable word of mouth that draws in guests in large numbers. The SAA TM Suvojit started the session on time with his usual infectious energy, with an exposition on sunlight and the uses of energy. President TM Ashish Baid declared the session open with his usual smoothness, giving an inspirational message based on the SAA's opening salvo. He also meticulously introduced the guests to the gathering. TMOD Kushal Batabyal had taken on a face-off proposition as theme: " Village life vs City life ". Illustrated graphically with his usual humor and intelligence, the subject of childhood roots was close to many people's hearts. As he introduced the role-players he also mentioned their predilection towards  either and the reason thereof. Thanks for bringing up an out-of-the-box theme, TMOD. ...
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