CIPM TMC Newsletter 2022/23 Edition1

CIPM TOASTMASTERS CLUB NEWSLETTER BLOSSOM YEAR 2022/2023 - ISSUE 1

Table of Contents 03 Introduction to CIPM TMC 04 Messge from President & Editor 05 Message from Directors 06 Our Committee 2022/23 07 Toastmasters - Professionals 09 Our Special Meetings 10 Tribute to CIPM 11 Club Achievements 12 CIPM Gavel Club 13 A True Story - TM Charen 14 Humorous Speech & Speech 16 My TM Journey - TM Shemaya 19 Word Hunt - Season 02 Evaluation Contest - 2022 22 Personal Achievements 18 The 1st Speechcraft of the year 21 An Inspiring Article - TM Rohini 23 Motivational Article - DTM Arjuna

03 CLUB MISSION “WE PROVIDE A SUPPORTIVE AND POSITIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN WHICH MEMBERS ARE EMPOWERED TO DEVELOP COMMUNICATION AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS, RESULTING IN GREATER SELF-CONFIDENCE AND PERSONAL GROWTH” Mr. Rohitha Amarapala Chartered IPM Toastmasters Club on 19th May 2009 CIPM Toastmasters Club is a community club and leads into bringing individuals from a variety of backgrounds with the goal of growing the club along with their personal & professional development, while enhancing member engagement and networking through conducting themed meetings, joint meetings, entertaining outdoor meetings and participation in events hosted by the areas, divisions, district and beyond. Designed By: The Club meets every 2nd & 4th Thursday of TM Thilini Rajapaksha each month 6.00pm – 8.00 pm at CIPM HR HOUSE

Message from our President 04 As the President of CIPM Toastmasters Club, it’s a great pleasure and a privilege to address you with the first edition of Newsletter for the year 2022/2023. . We, CIPM Toastmasters Club take the pride to mention that we were instrumental in shaping the lives of our members, students and stakeholders in public speaking and leadership skills for last 13 years. We are always committed to give the best experience to our members by conducting quality meetings. As a team, the CIPM Toastmasters Club ensures that our educational meetings are filled with new knowledge and fun which leads to uplift the educational status of members and comradeship among members. TM Shanaka Wijewardhana This newsletter is a great opportunity for us to showcase our creativity and talents and publicize activities of our club in the Toastmasters fraternity and beyond. Further this piece of great work is a proof to demonstrate the wonders that we can do as a team. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to our Vice President – Public Relations and his team for their wonderful teamwork. Further my gratitude is extended to Exco members and our Toastmasters who supported in designing, proof reading and providing articles. Specially I like to thank CIPM for their helping hand in every step in our journey for the last 13 years. Finally, I would like to invite everyone who reads this newsletter to come and join with Toastmaster family to witness beauty of public speaking. Message from our Editor It is with immense pleasure that we are publishing our Newsletter - Edition 1 of the year 2022/2023. With the world running towards a trend of online life, our Toastmasters Club also has adapted to the trend to conquer and spread knowledge via the digital platforms. In addition to the explicitly proven Speaking skills, this Newsletter provides a great opportunity to our Toastmasters to express their expertise, views and skills through various forms of writings, drawings and digital creations. On the other hand, those of who read this Newsletter would be able to explore the activities of the Club, learn the facts, gain knowledge, and enjoy the entertaining contents of the Newsletter. TM Kirisanth Senthilnathan Hereby I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to all the Toastmasters who have decorated this blossom with their awesome articles and creative contents. Moreover, special thanks goes to the Toastmasters who all have put up their hands to publish the Newsletter successfully. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss Good Luck and Happy Reading...!!!

MESSAGE FROM 05 DIRECTORS DTM Nisal Weerakoon [Director of District 82] It is my great pleasure to pen down a few words for the CIPM Toastmasters Club Newsletter. A club charted in 2009 with 11 years of continuous \"President's Distinguished\" Status achievement. CIPM Toastmasters Club has continued its legacy by maintaining quality and excellence. As the club moves on with its journey this year, I urge the club members to maintain the quality and excellence of the club by playing an active role in club meetings and engaging in club activities. And continue the excellent momentum club has already built. I wish CIPM Toastmasters Club the best for a successful year. May you reach the pinnacle which you want to achieve. Lets us TRANSFORM TOGETHER as a TEAM! DTM Imalee De Silva [Director of Division C, District 82] CIPM TOASTMASTERS CLUB was chartered in MAY 2009. Since then thirteen (13) years have passed and the club has achieved steady growth in membership building and member retention whilst achieving the Educational goals and Awards. The Success story is the dedication and commitment made by all the members of CIPM Toastmasters Club with the true spirit of Leadership and Team work. As per the words of our founder of Toastmasters, Ralph C. Smedley, ring true to this day “We learn in moments of enjoyment.” It is important to focus on education, and to help members meet their goals, but be adventurous too as there is room to explore new ways of learning while having fun in a supportive environment. On behalf of Division C, my sincere appreciation and Best Wishes goes to all members of the CIPM Toastmasters Club for a Successful and an Enjoyable tenure 2022/2023. TM Treshan Galappaththy [Director of Area 3, Division C, District 82] A nurturing and fun filled club that is united in every aspect. That is what defines CIPM Toastmasters club. Charted over a decade ago the club has aged like a fine wine and has stood the test of time. Like John C. Maxwell once said, “We don’t mature momentarily, but over the long-term.” CIPM Toastmasters Club is a well-rounded club that has produced District Leaders, District Level Public Speakers and has earned a multitude of awards throughout the years. And I believe that the budding talent of the club along with the experienced membership will propel the club to achieve greater heights in District 82. I warmly wish the President, TM Shanaka and his team the absolute best for this tenure!! Resilient to the Test of Time

06 Meet our Committee 2022/23 President TM Shanaka Wijewardhana VP Education TM Dinusha Withanage VP Membership TM Yasasmi Gamage VP Public Relations TM Kirisanth Senthilnathan Secretary TM Gaya Rajapaksha Treasurer TM Ayesha Siriwardana Sergeant at Arms TM Rajika Perera Immediate Past President TM Charen Hulangamuwa \"The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is The Team.\" (Phil Jackson)

Passionate Toastmasters 07 Qualified Professionals TM Charen Hulangamuwa Working as an Assistant Manager - Human Resources Development. TM Shanaka Wijewardhana Successfully enrolled as an Attorney at Law while being an HR Professional TM Showmijah Sivathasan Working as a Business Analyst at Computacenter - United Kingdom TM Chathuri Abayaratna Celebrating 1 year as a Finance Officer at WCG Services in Vancouver, Canada. DTM Nehansa Weerasinghe Working as a Human Resources Manager at Champsoft (Pvt) Ltd TM Nirusan Thangavadivel Starting a new Career as HR Assistant at Sarasavi Exports Pvt ltd TM Gayal Rangajeewa Successfully completed 2 years as a Plant Manager at Ceylon Graphene Technologies Pvt. Ltd. TM Maheshi Fernando Completed 6 years at Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology Pvt Ltd TM Gaya Rajapaksha Graduated as a Master of Human Rights from University of Colombo TM Kavingi Perera CIM UK Qualified & Senior Process Associate at Infomate Pvt Ltd - John Keells Holdings TM Dinusha Withanage Employee of the Month twice this year working as an Executive Assistant Global/Sales Administrator at Nuaware limited, UK TM Thilini Rajapaksha TM Yamila Amit Master of Business Administration at Cardiff Metropolitan University, United Kingdom Serving as a District Coordinator at Planning Department, District Secretariat Colombo

08 DTM Arjuna Jayadarshana TM Yasasmi Gamage Celebrating 10th work anniversary at Successfully Graduated with IPD Colombo (Pvt) Ltd Diploma in Human Resource Management TM Ranjith Karannagoda Manager - food solution & customer care TM Rohini Gamage Winner of Creative Writing Competition Poetry 2022 organized by the English Writers Collective of Sri Lanka TM Thulani Pasqual HR professional with Diploma in Professional Human Resource Management & Diploma in International Relations TM Rajika Perera TM Kirisanth Senthilnathan Successfully passed Joined as an Application Developer Advanced at Human Resources examination DBS Bank Singapore TM Malya Wijayasiri Celebrating 4 years of experience at Ceylinco General Insurance Ltd TM Ayesha Siriwardana Successfully celebrating 19 years of experience in Finance Sector TM Uthayashankar Pararajasingham Inducted as a Member of Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyor TM Dulith Perera Successfully graduated from The Chartered Institute of Marketing TM Sandeepa Lahiru Serving as an Employee of Sri Lanka Ports Authority TM Ramani Jayawardana First female Administrative Director of The Parliament of Sri Lanka TM Shemaya Sandanayaka Dakshitha Bandarathilake Successfully completed 2 years as an Executive at OpenArc Systems Management (Pvt) Ltd Studying at Informatics Institute of Technology

09 We were able to explore and gather knowledge on T various interesting topics through the Themed H meetings conducted by our club. E M Although we were used to meet online during the E pandemic, we were fortunate enough to be back on D track with the physical meetings on 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month from 6.00pm to 8.00pm at CIPM HR House. More Meetings! Different Themes! Brainy Thoughts! Exciting Experiences! Life of a Toastmaster M E E T I N G S JOINT MEETING Collaboration Coordination Information Knowledge It was an amazing opportunity to share the knowledge & gain unique experience through the joint educational meeting with Pickme Toastmasters club. We look forward to many more. . .

CIPM - The massive tree it is today 10 The right seed, nurtured well, can one day become a mighty tree: and that is exactly the story of CIPM. Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka (IPM) founded in 1959 by a small group of professionals with the objective of developing and promoting the profession of personnel management, has now become an enormous tree that facilitates thousands of students, members and other stakeholders within the HR fraternity. IPM was awarded Chartered Status by the Government of Sri Lanka in 2018 through an Act of Parliament during the tenure of the then council of President Dhammika Fernando, in recognition of decades of yeoman service to the nation. CIPM Sri Lanka is a member of the Organization of Professional Associations in Sri Lanka and the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management and is affiliated to the World Federation of People Management Associations. CIPM has now expanded to 5+ Regional offices and study Centers, nearly 1400 corporate and affiliate Members and more than 9,000 Students. It is also considered as the pioneering and most recognized professional body in the Island when it comes to trend-setting in the HRM profession. Some of the greatest milestones within the past few months are as follows; The World HR Congress in Sri Lanka (WHRC), 2021 - The world’s most premier people event, WHRC 2021 was inaugurated successfully on 6th December 2021 at CIPM Auditorium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Being recognized as a CIPD UK accredited Study Center - Marking a historic milestone for CIPM Sri Lanka, took the institute a step further to raise the bar high in the professional education in Sri Lanka. Great HR Quiz 2022 - Organized by CIPM Sri Lanka for the 6th time, this is the only quiz dedicated to the Human Resource Management fraternity to uplift the knowledge and capacity of HR professionals, concluded on a high note with Ansell Lanka (Pvt) Ltd winning the Overall CIPM Great HR Quiz 2022 Champions Trophy, Sunshine Consumer Lanka claiming the 1st Runners-up Trophy and Seylan Bank PLC winning the 2nd Runners-up Trophy. CIPM is the leading authority on Human Resources in Sri Lanka, adapting to many changes throughout the years, continuously upholding the highest standards and best practices. As Antonio Brown said, “The journey is never ending. There's always gonna be growth, improvement, adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what's right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.” – and that’s what exactly CIPM is in the verge of achieving. CIPM has become that giant tree that it set out to be, impacting lives, livelihoods and the nation at large under successive governing councils and ambitious strategic plans are set to take CIPM to greater heights, while striving towards continuing this success story in the years to come. Content By: TM Kavingi Perera Mr. Ken Vijayakumar President, CIPM SL

11 CLUB ACHIEVEMENTS \"Winning once or twice is encouraging but winning continuously is empowering.\" - Rosabeth Moss Kanter Our CIPM Toastmasters Club was awarded with the prestigious \"Golden Club Award - 2021/2022\" at the Ovation 2022. Together we achieved all the milestones and made CIPM Toastmasters Club proud by winning the award. Our sincere gratitude to all our Toastmasters to make it possible and let's continue to achieve more . . The flyer made for thanking the crew served at club level Humorous Speech and Speech Evaluation Contest, had been selected as a top flyer of the month October by District 82 Toastmasters. This awesome flyer was designed by our creative TM Chathuri Abayaratna, Vice President- Public Relations sub committee mentor.

CIPM GAVEL CLUB 12 Gaveliers with Toastmasters 77tthh IInnssttaallllaattiioonn cceelleebbrraatteedd IInn ssttyyllee Handing out of certificates Pinning of badges The 7th Installation Ceremony of the CIPM Gavel Club was held on the beautiful evening of 1st of October, 2022 at the auditorium of the CIPM Premises with the young gaveliers radiantly dressed in Maroon and Black, to mark another fresh beginning of their journey. President of CIPM Sri Lanka, Mr Ken Vijeykumar graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The Program Quality Director 2022/23, DTM Mahinda Karunakara joined the event as the Guest of Honour along with other invitees. Toastmaster Dinusha Withanage took upon stage to induct the new members followed by the Installation of the Club Officers by TM Shanaka Wijewardena. Gavelier Adhiythya Dissanayake was installed as the 7th President of the Club. Gavelier Linuka Rodrigo was recognized as the Most Outstanding Gavelier for the Year 2021/ 2022. Content by: Gv. Suhansa Dodangoda OOuurr DDyynnaammiicc TThheemmeedd MMeeeettiinnggss The mummy wrap game Musical Chairs We at CIPM Gavel Club take a lot of pride in our themed Educational meetings, which are filled with fun activities for our gaveliers to take part in, followed by our educational sessions ( round robin session, table topic session and the prepared speech session). Some of which recently took place are the Halloween Themed Meeting and the Children’s Day Themed Meeting. TThhee GGaavveell CCoonn 22002222//2233 Gaveliers at the Halloween Themed Meeting Gv. Yasindya performing at Gavel Con 2022/23 This is an Annual two-day event organized by the All-Island Gavel Committee in which all the Gavel Clubs of Sri Lanka are invited to take part in. The Gavel Con 2022/23 was a massive success as hundreds of gaveliers took part in it and especially enjoyed the multiple events that were organized. Some of the highlights were the All Island Best Gavel Speaker Competition and Gavel’s Got Talent. The words of inspiration by the influential Keynote Speakers(Mr Chevaan Daniel, Captain Elmo Jayawardena) made it all the more memorable. Content and Design by: Gv. Thisath Senevirathne

Past is the lighthouse not a port 13 Just because a person smiles all the time, doesn’t mean their life is perfect. The smile is a symbol of hope and strength. 08th March, A day that is celebrated internationally, Women’s day. The company I work for, Women are given an important place and the day is celebrated officially. 2 days before women’s day I got a call from one of our factory managers inviting to judge the competition. I thought I should get the chance as it will be an opportunity for me. The day arrived, and the interviews started as planned, the 1st participant arrived. A middle-aged lady walked in and shared her story which took nearly 15 to 20 minutes. One by one everyone started to walk in and shared their stories. Different stories we had to listen from 17 years of young girls to 45 years of women, most of them were emotional even surprised us how these people have been living their lives. Some of the stories took good half an hour. The day went on until the last person came. A tall fair lady, with a beautiful red salwar, a gold chain around her neck, with a pair of bangles on her arms entered to the room with a big smile on her face. I was thinking what she got to say as she looks completely fine. She gave a warm welcome and asked us how our day was so far. We asked the same vice versa. Surprisingly, we got a different answer from her unlike the other participants. She said she was completely fine, born in Nuwara Eliya and currently live in Colombo. Including herself 3 in the family and all of them are girls. She is the youngest in the family, father was an estate worker and mother was a housewife. Had a hard time during younger days. Sadly, expressed that all what her father did was drinking from whatever the money he got and beating every day. Didn’t have anything to eat most of the days and when all other children wore slippers to school she went on bare foot. Some days she used to hide herself during intervals so that no one notices that she doesn’t have anything to eat. Most of the students laughed at her saying she had old clothes. Sooner she was married at the age of 13 to a 35-year-old man and realized he was not different to her father. All he did was to drink and beat her in the evening. She couldn’t live with him, hence went abroad to work where she lived happily and, on few occasions, came to Sri Lanka. Even on her return the old lifestyle continued. Thereafter got divorced and it was so easy since she didn’t have children. She never had a second thought of getting married again as all her life was getting beaten up by men. Years went by, one of her friends got a proposal, but rejected that person since he was dumb. But she decided to marry him thinking he will never be able to scold her. Once she got married, she understood he is worse than ever. Though he couldn’t speak he showed his anger through physical hurt. Life was frustrated, but now she has two children and does not want to get divorced. With all her sadness she continued, her home is not the happiest place she lives in and like to spend her time at the factory, talking to the sewing machine that she works with, it only knows the sorrow she has. Won’t let children suffer and her priority is them and will do whatever she can do to raise them up. All men who came into her life were miserable and made her life worse and she let it out her all the sadness she carried throughout in her life. We were speechless. A moment with glimpse of silence. She was not educated but her life experience proved us what she has got in. As Hellen Keller stated character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. TM Charen Hulangamuwa

HUMOROUS SPEECH & 14 SPEECH EVALUATION CONTEST - 2022 This year's Humorous Speech and Speech Evaluation Contest commenced at club level on 29th September 2022. TM Maheshi Fernando, TM Gayal Rangajeewa, TM Yasasmi Gamage, DTM Arjuna Jayadarshana & TM Gaya Rajapaksha participated in both contests while TM Rohini Gamage took part in humorous speech contest and TM Malya Wijayasiri competed in speech evaluation contest. Club Level Winners of the contest Humorous Speech Contest 1 Speech Evaluation Contest TM Yasasmi Gamage 2 DTM Arjuna Jayadarshana TM Gayal Rangajeewa TM Yasasmi Gamage DTM Arjuna Jayadarshana 3 TM Malya Wijayasiri

15 After the triumph in the club level contests, TM Yasasmi Gamage competed in both the contests at Area level while TM Gayal Rangajeewa and DTM Arjuna Jayadarshana contested in Humorous Speech Contest and Speech Evaluation Contest respectively. There was a notable achievement that all three of our members emerged victorious at the Area Level. Winners of the contest Area Level Humorous Speech Contest Speech Evaluation Contest 2 TM Yasasmi Gamage 1 TM Yasasmi Gamage 3 TM Gayal Rangajeewa 3 DTM Arjuna Jayadarshana Division Level TM Yasasmi Gamage reached the Division level Humorous Speech and Speech Evaluation Contest happened on 20th November 2022. She went on to mark our CIPM Toastmasters Club's name on top at the division level by crowning as the Champion of the Humorous Speech Contest. District Level Loading !

16 My journey starting from Good Morning… TM SHEMAYA SANDANAYAKA How was your first experience of public speaking? For me, it was indeed a nightmare. Given that I was infamously called “the silent killer” of my class, imagine the moment when I had to give an impromptu speech in front of my classmates. I stood there for what I received invaluable advice and guidance looked like hours and from my fellow toastmasters and finished off my speech specially my mentor – a well experienced with the 2 words “Good and active toastmaster of the CIPM morning”. The reason I Toastmasters club. One of the first couldn’t worry much was advices I got from my mentor was to see because I was pleased myself recorded delivering the speech, it with my writing skills thinking it would be might be unusual at first, but sooner or enough to express all my thoughts, until later I will get to know my strengths and the dread drilled my mind and made it weaknesses during the speech. It indeed clear that I was wrong. helped me to gain confidence and evaluate myself. Another advice that I got But how? What should I do to get rid of from an eminent toastmaster was that this fearful inner self? That was when I “Practice is the key: you have to practice saw the true wonders of an International until you feel that you won’t go wrong\". It community called “The Toastmasters”. It helped me to reduce my nervousness in took me all the courage to visit the CIPM public speaking. Toastmasters Club as a guest despite the feeling that public speaking shall not be the right place for a silent killer. However, inner self urged me to move on.

17 From delivering my ice breaker, securing What I love about Toastmasters is that the third place in the humorous speech nobody would laugh at you or blame you contest held at club level, participating for making mistakes but encourage you and witnessing the amazing speeches at more into taking up roles and delivering the humorous speech contest at area speeches which will boost your self- level, volunteering for the sub confidence while inspiring and committees of the VP Education as well encouraging you by providing valuable as Public Relations and playing the role feedback. Moreover, it uplifted the soft as the contest chair of the International skills I needed to carve the path to Speech and Table Topics Contest at the becoming a leader. time of writing this article, I can say that I’m humbly proud of the achievements gained within just a year into being a member of the CIPM Toastmasters Club. It’s easy to delete a word out of a paper, but it’s hard to take back a word flown out of your mouth Not to scare you, but that’s the reality: the power of the voice. I welcome all out there to join toastmasters to witness the power of the voice and master it! I believe in you.

18 CRAFTING SPEECHES AND SPEAKERS – SPEECHCRAFT 2022 The Speechcraft program is designed to improve communication skills; the most essential skill when it comes to developing personally as well as professionally. With the registration of ten individuals, TM Yasasmi Gamage and TM Malya Wijayasiri coordinated the CIPM Speechcraft program for ten consecutive Sundays from 11th of September 2022 to 13th of November 2022. Due to the economic turmoil that led to high transportation and logistics expenses, CIPM Toastmasters club once again faced the challenge of organizing it physically; hence moving on to the alternative solution of conducting it virtual for the second consecutive time. Despite having it in a virtual platform, Sunday evenings were rich with interesting speeches, colourful themes and valuable educational presentations delivered by veteran toastmasters. Prior to the commencement of the speechcraft, several potential speecrafters who spoke over the phone gathering details of the program, sounded nervous and confessed their inability and anxiety in public speaking. However, as weeks passed, they showed massive improvements as they were fully engaged in the program. Overall, the entire program was a success, all thanks to the members of CIPM toastmasters club that joined in to support and guide the speechcrafters throughout their journey. On the 13th of November, a speech contest was conducted, in which the speechcrafters demonstrated all what they’ve learnt on the art of crafting and delivering speeches. The three best speakers among them were chosen as winners with the support of the chief judge TM Charen Hulangamuwa and his team of judges. The evening ended with the highly satisfied speechcrafters providing their valuable feedback and agreeing to join hands with the Toastmasters in the near future. The 3 Winners of the Grand Finale Content by: TM Malya Wijayasiri 1 SC Rabiyah Badurdeen 2 SC Lakshani Perera 3 SC Hashini Mallikarachchi Design by: TM Dakshitha Bandarathilake

WHUONRDT Season 2 19 Hello Friends… Welcome back to an exciting crossword season! After my first crossword attempt which I did many years ago, it feels great to show up again and prepare the next challenge for you. As you can see, words related to Toastmasters are hidden in these white squares. So find them all! Don’t worry, these words are super easy! And guess what? Three lucky winners will walk away with an awesome GIFT! But first, let’s learn the rules & procedures of the game! This game is open for the members of CIPM Toastmasters Club only. Please email your answers to TM Chathuri at [email protected] and cc both TM Shanaka ([email protected]) & TM Kirisanth ([email protected]) in it. Deadline to send the answers - 20th December 2022. If we receive correct answers from more than three members, then there will be a draw to select three lucky winners. Draw will take place at a club meeting. Date will be notified later. If there are club members who are family members, their answer-submissions will be accepted as one submission leading to one winning chance. This is to give winning opportunities to all other members as well.

20 Across 01. One of the things a Contest Chair must plan for the Speech Contest. 02. A primary color used for TMI branding. 03. An acronym used to introduce a type of leadership training program. 05. This must be broken where necessary, under contest conditions. 10. A prop used by a well-known Champion speaker. 11. Country where the Toastmasters International Convention will be held in 2023. Down 1. Used by the judges to write down the rankings of the contestants. 4. An acronym used to introduce a type of training program targeted for children. 5. A type of disqualification at a speech contest. 6. This is a must-have at a club meeting. 7. A collection of clubs will form this. 8. The new 11th path launched in the Pathways program. 9. The most important category in the Toastmasters hierarchy. So are you ready….? Good luck and happy word-hunting! By: TM Chathuri Abayaratna, CC, ALB

21 By: TM Rohini Gamage DON’T FAIL TO TRY “It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.” When growing up as a youth, I repeated this quotation to my elder siblings, because the meaning was very clear to me. And even as at today, it still rings in my ears. My elder sister became an all-rounder. But I was the odd man out. The Irish nun who knows my elder sister’s capabilities, came to me, and persuaded me to join the best team for a rally. Sadly, our team lost, because of me. But to my surprise, the nun repeated the same quotation my parents used to say. “You did the best you could. Don’t worry.” To be honest, I was very sad about it, but as time passed by, that incident slowly disappeared from my mind. When I was in grade 07, next she made me enter a short story competition. To my surprise I won! This encouraged me and I realized writing is my forte. When I became an adult, I got married and my husband motivated me to write more and more. I won many prizes under writing category, and I kept on writing funny captions, articles whenever I was free. But currently I am not an active writer like I used to be. Yet, I did not stop from there. After my retirement, I said farewell to my teaching career. And one day my granddaughter asked me if I would like to join Toastmasters and enjoy the next phase of my life. And now I am not only a writer, but also a public speaker. Dear friends... life is all about ups and downs. Until you find your path in life, just keep trying. But if you fail, always remember… don’t fail to try.

22 Personal Achievements of our Toastmasters LOADING . . “Achievements of today are the stepping stones for the future ones.” - Invajy

23 Walk into the bathroom By: DTM Arjuna Jayadarshana A re you capable of Those who answered saying ‘no’ to If you can sing inside the bathroom my above question, could answer but not in front of an audience, then singing in front of an my next question. Are you capable let’s analyze the two scenarios. In audience? If the answer of singing inside the bathroom? Yes, both cases the words of the song is ‘yes’, then you can you read it correct! If the answer is are same, the rhythm is same, the stop reading this and ‘no’, then please note that you singer [you] also the same. What do something to belong to rare 2% of the world are the differences? The way we are develop your singing population as per Sean Hutchins, dressed, availability of water, and skills. If the answer is the Director of Research for the the presence of audience would be ‘no’, then please Royal Conservatory. He recently told a few differences to mention. Out of continue to read this British newspaper “The Guardian” these, which one makes us and by the time you that only around 2% of the human incapable of performing on stage? finish reading this, population doesn't possess the skills It’s the presence of audience. some of you, if not all of needed to determine the right pitch you should be capable to perform a song. Now the million-dollar question; of performing in front should the presence of audience of an audience. make us incapable of performing on stage? Do they disturb when we sing, do they approach us on stage and stop us from singing? No! They do absolutely nothing to stop us from performing. It’s what happened inside our head. The fear of failing in front of the audience, pushes us away from the stage.

24 Imagine you were singing inside the bathroom while your eyes were closed. Without your knowledge the walls of the bathroom started disappearing, and people started gathering around you. Your eyes were closed, and you were not aware of the presence of the audience. You would have continued to sing without worrying about them. You would have performed without letting the audience get in the way you perform. For many years now, people consider public speaking [and singing] as the number one phobia in the world. If we think for a moment, we could realize it’s not something the audience bring in with them. It’s something unreasonably we create in our heads when the audience is present. Therefore, those who are afraid of performing in front of an audience could try the following. You go in front of the audience but inside your head walk into a washroom and start performing. After a while you will realize there are no life-or-death matters in performing on stage. Then you will feel comfortable enough to come out of the bathroom and acknowledge the audience. If you do this once, then that should take your fear of performing in front of an audience, away forever! Don’t let the ‘audience’ be the reason for you to not perform in front of the ‘audience’! Happy public performing everyone!!

IT'S THE TIME TO JOIN WITH US TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL MISSION We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. CIPM TOASTMASTERS CLUB Club No: 01334805, Area 03, Division C, District 82 Location: CIPM, No .43, Vijaya Kumaranathunga Mawatha, Colombo 05, Sri Lanka Meeting Frequency - 2nd & 4th Thursdays of every month. From - 6.00 p.m - 8.00 p.m BECOME CONFIDENT IN A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE CONTACT DETAILS Vice President Membership - TM Yasasmi Gamage [email protected] +94 77 981 2821