Preparations to be Prohibited!

The word 'preparation' is, in my opinion, extremely over-rated. I cannot for the life of me understand people spending so much time on such a trivial thing as 'preparation'. We all have the same 24 hours per day. Just imagine the amount of time we could add to our day and life if we could simply do away with the time and effort spent on this useless 'preparation'! Not only do we waste time in preparation, we extend it further preaching others and reaching out for stories to emphasise the the importance of this not-so-important habit of the humans. In today's world of high technology, who really cares about the wood-cutter who spent half the day sharpening his tools to be more productive than the hard-working fellow woodcutters who went straight into action. It is a high-tech World that we live in, the World of Chain-Saws and Electrical Equipment; and there are specialist outsourcng available for every aspect of the term 'preparation', for whom it is the core business. Isn't it better to leave 'preparations' to the professionals, for a person to perform his/her task effectively without time wastage?

Sure, there would be people queued up from here to kingdom-come to tell you the importance of "preparation". Don't you study for your exams in schools and colleges; don't you prepare for interviews and dates; don't you prepare for speeches and presentations; the list goes on and on. The World is full of the people with self-doubt who will convince you that the only way to survive is 'TO PREPARE". Buy Insurance right now, lest you die the next minute! Go right ahead, buy yourself a nice coffin, you might die any minute!

These are the same people who will never ever let you enjoy a single moment of your life, with threats and worries of impending doom. The minute you realise you actually enjoy something, whether it is an abstract moment, a fleeting thought, a beautiful fellow-human walking on the other side of the road, your favourite item in the menu of the roadside restaurant - these are the people who will mob up and scream at you - "WATCH OUT! IT IS NO GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH, CONSCIENCE & FUTURE! STOP YOUR PLEASURE RIGHT THIS VERY MOMENT, AND SPEND EVERY MINUTE OF YOUR EXISTENCE WORRYING ABOUT THE FUTURE - PREPARE!"

Remember, "today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday". No matter how much you fret and fumble, tomorrow will inevitably become today, and you will jolly well take care of it when you are there. So why waste all the joyful moments of today worrying about tomorrow? For God's sake, give yourself a break, enjoy yourself. Enjoy your life; you only live once!

That now brings me to all the melodrama associated with Meetings, Contests & Conferences. Is it really necessary for every single individual associated with such events to spend days & nights preparing for something that will eventually happen? If so, what is the point of all the Table Topic practice that we get in club meetings? Isn't it designed just to cover such eventualities? Don't we proudly boast of Toastmasters capability to wear multiple-hats at any moment?

Why? WHY? WHY????"

And that brings me to the end of my lamenting :)

Have a preparation-free day!

Cheers!!

KARTIK (ACB)

(Kartikeyan Srinivasan, Area G1 Governor - Member of Chennai Toastmasters Club)

Eloquence 2011 Beckons with Open Arms!!

Let's Talk Taboo

Are Taboo Topics really forbidden by TMI?

Members often hear from other Toastmasters that speeches concerning politics, religion and sex are forbidden by Toastmasters International because “such controversial subjects are not appropriate.”

This is not true. Toastmasters International does not prohibit any speech topic, content or language.

Toastmasters International recognizes that club members may learn much about the world around them from listening to others’ speeches on a variety of subjects. This variety can add interest to club meetings and stimulate thoughts and ideas. For these reasons, Toastmasters International does not place restrictions on topics, content or language of any speeches. TI also recognizes that a club is comprised of a diverse group of people and recommends members be sensitive to this diversity and use good taste and responsibility when selecting speech topics, content and language.

While Toastmasters International has no organizational restrictions along these lines, each individual club does have the right to limit speech subjects, content and/or language, with the consensus of its members. Club leaders should guide their members on how to observe good taste and sensitivity in the context of that particular club. To accomplish this, it’s a good idea for clubs to use their websites to advise members and guests of any policies that have been decided. Presenting this information on a club website will help to maintain consistency as leadership changes. Additionally, it allows transparency and clarity for club members so they can periodically review the established practices of their club.

Authenticity Link : http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/OfficerResources/PoliciesandProcedures/You-Cant-Talk-About-That.aspx



Hello and Welcome :)

Welcome to the Blog of District 82 Division G Toastmasters. You may have chanced upon this page by accident. Or maybe you found the URL in some Toastmasters forum/article and decided to click it. Or maybe someone recommended this Blog to you. Regardless of how you got here, we sure are glad that you did :)

Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective communication a worldwide reality. Through its member Clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening, and thinking -- vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human understanding, and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually expand its worldwide network of Clubs, thereby offering ever greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs. 

This Blog is run by, for and of the members of the TM Clubs belonging to Division-G District 82 of Toastmasters International. In due course of time, we aspire to move into a dedicated website of our own. But till then, we hope to make this a one-stop-notice-board to keep the world informed on what's cooking in the Div-G Kitchen. 

If you are a toastmaster already, part of Div G or otherwise, or a layman hoping to join this world-wide movement someday, feel free to drop in suggestions or ideas in the comments section of our Blog posts. You can also write to us at D82DivisionG@gmail.com.

Members of Division G - Dist. 82 are welcome to contribute articles, pictures, jokes, poetry, art or even their project speeches which they would like published. We will gladly post them here paying due credit to the members. Club officers can offer templates of Excel Sheets they use to track their member's progress, send in samples of 'Minutes of Meeting' that were done beautifully or even advertise for milestone meetings and contests by sending in their posters. If any club would like a member honoured for completion of a manual (CC, CL, ACB, ALS, DTM etc..), just mail us the details. Anything and everything to do with Toastmasters that will help other members or even bring a smile or their face is considered appropriate content for this blog. I hope you get the drift :)

I will leave you with this thought. A candle that shares its flame with another doesn’t lose any of its own. Knowledge only grows when shared. We hope to make this blog a Gold-Mine of knowledge – on communication and any topic under the sun that needs communicating.

Welcome to the Division-G District 82 Toastmaster’s Blog Site. Let the Learning Begin!!