A Sudden Fragrant Flower

A great meeting naturally invites more reflection.

With uncertain ideas flying around even on the morning of meeting day (Monday) as to whether to have a meeting at all, and if so how! (thin attendance owing to many travelling members being the predominant reason) I hadn't in my wildest imagination expected the sensational session that was to follow as evening came.

And I must confess that the skeptic fox in me raised his head relentlessly as we approached meeting time - he reasoned: how can anything fantastic come about without adequate preparation?
For we know from experience that preparation always precedes a near perfect session - the only kind of session  worth attending.  However as much as I continue to believe in the value of preparation, I must point that both Sunil and Uma demonstrated  beautifully during Monday's meeting  another value that I most devotedly advocate: that our life experience and learning too, when consulted with commitment and sincerity can help us come up with a fragrant flower that can match the products of good preparation, which we can then offer to those around us. 

The session started with an enlightening address by Hari who donned the hat of the TMOD for the day. In his opening address Hari pointed to some facts w.r.to the prevalent economic climate -facts that leaders must ideally consult in order to take informed decisions. It was heartening to hear the audience agree that this information was of immense value. Following this Hari agreed to do a session titled "Reading the Budget"

And then came the sessions on Leadership done by Sunil and Uma  - and it must be remembered that it was originally Uma’s idea of choosing a Leadership topic with members facilitating discussions around the topic - thus with the compass of their wisdom guiding them, Sunil chose to facilitate a discussion around Leadership Styles while Uma chose Emotional Intelligence. 

Here are some of the knowledge and learning  I gleaned during the exciting, collaborative, joyous and engaging sessions: and please do add your thoughts in the comments section. 

 
Discussion 1:  X or Y?
Discussion Leader: Sunil
Sunil succinctly introduced the X and Y theory of  human motivation created and developed by Douglas McGregor 1960s. He described how these  theories described two contrasting approaches applied by managers. The general assumptions of Theory X being that  strict supervision, external rewards, and penalties were key while in contrast theory Y purported that motivating by using job satisfaction encourages workers to approach tasks (basically without direct supervision).

It was interesting to see how Sunil explained Maslow's hierarchy of needs pretty thoroughly when the need came for it, although it appeared to not have been part of his original plan. This to me demonstrated the value of reflecting time and again on what we have once learnt so that it comes handy during an unexpected time.  

Having explained the theories, Sunil opened the proverbial Pandora's box by asking members to comment on their preferences w.r.to leadership styles giving justifications for the same. 

What started as a gentle conversation soon almost took the form of a fierce and impassioned discussion touching not just on the theories that Sunil referred to but rather to a range of other related subjects such as the contradiction in the theories, whether or not they are to be treated as obsolete considering the swiftly changing modern world and at one point - hold your breath - even Donald Trump.

But it all certainly accounted for much learning, fun and reflection with Sunil making notes on the board and cleverly steering the discussion into hitherto unexplored territories. Here is the last word by members which hopefully gives an idea as to  how it all went: 

Uma: We cannot have a blanket theory when it comes to leadership.
Hari: It all depends on having a good system that includes cultivates good leaders and followers

Padeep: These theories will not be obsolete in the near future. They will always have value
Ram: Fundamentally these theories hold value however they have to be constantly tested considering the ever changing times. 
Saaj: A balance must be sought however never loosing sight of employee at all times

Sunil concluded his session pointing to the diversity as well as to the commonness in opinions.

Then came Uma who it must be pointed out was presenting at our club for the first time  - and I believe all will agree - has established herself as a tremendous resource for our club. 
Uma’s chosen topic was Emotional Intelligence.
She started with the clearly articulated Aristotle quote - "Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy"  which was not only powerful because of the wisdom it encapsulates but also because it superbly captured the essence of Uma’s topic. 

Her introduction to the topic was laced with interesting anecdotes - the most vivid to my mind being the one concerning her trip to Salzburg, Austria wherein the ever cheerful Driver of her hop-in hop-out tourist cab set her thinking with is consistently positive demeanor. Was interesting how she referred to the gentleman as "an urban ambassador of good behavior".

She further went on to describe two important aspects of Emotional Intelligence:

a. Understanding and managing our own emotions
b. Understanding and managing emotions in others

This was followed by an interesting activity of knowledge sharing concerning the "Why" of emotional intelligence. At one point in response to query  on assertiveness, Uma went on to depict assertiveness using creative X and Y axis plane. This was very interesting. 

Uma further explained the five elements of emotional intelligence based on one of the foremost theorists in the field -  Daniel Goleman:
1. Self-Awareness
2. Self-Management
3. Motivation
4. Empathy
5. Social Skills

She further went on to introduce another activity titled, "How do you demonstrate EI in daily life"
which accounted for another deep round of contributions and learning. 

Uma finally concluded by adding that one of the exercises the audience could practice before an impulse to orally react could be to reflect on the following questions before reacting:

a. Does this have to be said?
b. Does this have to be said by me?
c. Does this have to be said by me now?

Both of the sessions were for approximately 50 minutes each - which was a great pointer to the time to be allotted for such sessions in the future.

Members all agreed we must have more such sessions in the future.

Accordingly the for the next sessions it was agreed that we will have the following fragrant flowers:

1.     A session titled "Reading the  Budget" by Hari - 50 minutes

2.     A workshop titled  "Humorous speech-making" by Sunil - 50 minutes

Looking forward to your thoughts, feedback and comments. 

1st Meeting After Value Clarification

Dear Trendsetters,

Was a great first meeting after our value clarification session on 24 Oct 2017

At the outset thank you to all these amazing people for making it and also for your enthusiastic participation : 

Chandar, Pradeep, Vinod, Ram, Salar, Hari, Elango, Sunil, Mr.Mehta, Girish, Lawrence and also to our guest Tushar. 

The session started with our president Lawrence playing the role of Program Quality Leader (which is to replace the TMOD in our club); he started off by reminding us about the mission which we have all created for our club which is:

To help each other to become effective communicators, leaders, trainers coaches and mentors.

He also reminded us that the way to get to accomplish mission was by committing to continually demonstrate these values:

Values: Punctuality; Receiving Feedback; Giving Feedback; Sharing and Contributing; Regular Attendance; Active Participation; Quality Content

He further went on to explain the novelty we have introduced in our club - "the evaluation sheet" - this will help each member of the audience offer an objective feedback to the speaker by measuring the speach against its stated purpose (Specific and General) as submitted in the below form to the VP Education before the speech. I firmly believe that if we refine and continue this critical practice it will help us not only in Toastmasters but importantly  outside toastamsters - it can be the single determinant of a valuable and impactful speech. 

As with all initiatives there were a couple of teething troubles which Lawrence attempted to address by giving examples after each speech of how the specific and general purposes could have been improved. I believe members are better aware of the requirements now. In any case I'd request members to read Project 3 of CC (I have taken the key learnings from P3  and have appended it below this writeup so you can familiarize yourslef with the concept). I look forward to run a quiz in the Trendsetters group in order to ensure you have indeed learnt (P 3) how to define the purpose/objectives. 

Following this Sunil, Sajan (myslef) and Mr.Mehta gave our prepared speeches (in this order); The themes were that of storytelling, entrepreneurship and poetry.

I belive this is a rich and interesting combination of speech themes. The concept from Sunil "that there always exists a positive and parallell line of thinking in every situation and our destiny depends on having faith, seeing and following this positive parallel thought line" was beautifully illustrated by his sotries. 

And Mr.Mehtas recitation of the poem titled "You start dying slowly" - By Pablo Neruda was delivered with confidence and an unusualy strong passion.

As for my workshop on Business Model Canvas, please see if you can share in the comments section as to what you remember of value (after one day of  the session) as this can be a reliable testimoney of if and how this was beneficial to you. 

I felt the approach taken by the evaluators  Elango, Girish and Salar (respectively for Sunil, me and Mr.Mehta) were of distinctly different styles - Elangos seemed to focus on being tactful and thorough, while Girish seemed to focus on critical analysis and recommendations. And  Salar's evaluation  (for Mr.Mehtas poety recitation) seemed to reflect balance, wisdom and experience. These are my personal observations. Thank you all for your wonderful evaluations.

The session ended with Lawrence concluding with a reminder of our commitment to our mission and values.

The following memebrs have confirmed their speech for next session:

Girish

Ram

Sunil

Mr.Mehta

Thank you gentlemen and I look forward to have your filled in Speech Purpose sheets sent to me at the earliest. Please be sure to read the below and do brace ready for a quiz :)

The next session would be on the 28th of Nov.

Warm Regards,

Saaj

92839447

Specific and General Purpose

Introduction:

Every speech must have a general and a specific purpose. A general purpose is to inform, to persuade, to entertain or to inspire. A specific purpose is what you want the audience to do after listening to your speech. Once you have established your general and specific purposes, you'll find it easy to organize your speech. You'll also have more confidence, which makes you more convincing, enthusiastic and sincere. Of course, the better organized the speech is, the more likely it is to achieve your purpose.

As you plan a speech, you must be absolutely clear about what you want the audience to do or know at the end of your talk. Your speech must have a purpose. Once you know your purpose, all other decisions relating to the speech - what information to include, organization and delivery - are easy to make, since you will measure them against their helpfulness in achieving your purpose.

There are two types of purposes: general and specific.

General Purpose:  A general purpose is the broad intent of your speech. Most speeches fall into one of four general purposes:

1.       To inform. You present a speech to inform when you want your audience to learn about a new subject, develop a new skill or learn more about a subject they already know something about. Lectures, briefings and demon­strations are all informative talks.

2.       To persuade. A persuasive speech strives to change the audi­ence's attitudes or behaviors, or

3.       to convince the audience to accept or approve your point of view. Sales presentations and campaign speeches are examples of persua­sive speeches.

4.       To entertain. An entertaining speech strives to amuse or provide enjoyment for the audience. Humorous speeches are the most obvious kind of entertaining speech. However, any speech may be entertaining without being laugh-out-loud funny simply by including anecdotes, such as a speech about some unusual experiences you had while on a business trip.

5.       To inspire. Inspirational speeches ask people to achieve noble goals or ideals or reach their highest potential. They draw on emotions and sentiment. A commencement speech is a typical example of a speech intended to inspire.

Perhaps you've heard a speech that seemed to have two purposes - for example, an informative speech that also was entertaining because the speaker told some funny stories. Using humor doesn't mean the speech had two general purposes. The speech's purpose was to inform, but the speaker used humor to help convey his message. Although it's possible for a speech to have two general purposes, it's not recom­mended. Your speaking time is limited, making it difficult to effectively achieve two purposes. Also, your audience can be overwhelmed and confused when presented with too much information.

Specific Purpose: Suppose you are planning to give an informative speech about remodeling a home. This is a very broad purpose, and you would have difficulty adequately addressing the subject in a five- to seven-minute speech or even a 30-minute speech. Narrowing the general purpose into a more clearly defined specific purpose will make the presentation more practical and manageable for you, as well as more beneficial for the audience.

The specific purpose is a one-sentence statement about what you hope to accomplish in your speech. It should meet three criteria. The statement should be:

1. Worded from the audience's viewpoint. What do you want the audience to be able to do after listening to your speech?

2. Specific. The wording is precise.

3. Attainable. The specific purpose should be realistic and possible to achieve.

Write the statement from the audience's view­point. Instead of saying your purpose is "to inform the audience about remodeling a home," you could say, `After hearing my presentation, the audience will be able to identify the five steps in hiring a competent contractor." In a persuasive speech, your specific purpose could be, "After hearing my speech, the town council will approve the proposal to build an art center."

Be sure to keep the specific purpose reasonable. "After hearing my speech, the audience will be able to repair a bicycle" is not a realistic statement. This is better: "After hearing my speech, the audience will be able to do two simple maintenance tasks that will keep their bicycles safe "

Keep the specific purpose clear and concise. Write it down, paying careful attention to the verbs you use. If you are giving an informative speech, the specific purpose statement could include verbs such as compare, identify, name, prepare, analyze and list, while a statement for a persuasive speech could include verbs such as buy, contribute, join, offer and vote. Avoid using words like know, under­stand, recognize and be aware - they're vague and not readily measurable. The statement should be worded so that, after your speech, you could actually test the audience to see if you achieved your specific purpose.

Once you have written your specific speech purpose, you can decide the main points you want to make, the facts and ideas that best sup­port the main points, and the most appropriate speech outline to follow. Occasionally you may be tempted to digress. Be careful to include only the main points and supporting facts and ideas that directly contribute to your specific speech purpose.

As you write the speech, make its purpose clear to the audience. The audience wants to know what you are going to talk about, so the beginning of your speech should tell them this succinctly. The body of your speech should provide the information you promised; the conclusion should reiterate what you've told them. By the time you conclude the speech, the audience should be able to state in one simple sentence the specific purpose of your talk.

The value of Purpose:

Knowing your specific purpose and being able to effectively organize your speech to achieve that purpose provide a big benefit for you as a speaker: increased confidence. When you are clear about what you want to accomplish with the speech and the method by which you will accom­plish it, you feel better and more confident about yourself and your speech.

You may have discovered, too, that when you are interested in your topic and have strong feel­ings about it, it is easier to prepare and present the speech. Why? Because you are enthusiastic about the subject, believe in what you have to say and believe your audience will be interested in it, too. This makes you more convincing and sincere. When you are confident, enthusiastic, sincere and convincing, you have more credibility. As a result, the audience pays attention to you and is willing to consider your viewpoint.

When you speak on a subject that interests you and/or evokes strong feelings, you'll experience yet another benefit: You'll become so involved with your talk that you will forget your nervousness.

When you have a sub­ject that excites you, a clear purpose and well-orga­nized material, and you have rehearsed the speech so much that you are comfortable with it, you no longer have reason to be nervous.

Therefore you could do the following for each speech:

·       Select the speech topic or idea and determine its general and specific purposes.

·       Organize the speech in a manner that best achieves those purposes,

·       Ensure that your speech’s beginning, body and conclusion reinforce the purposes.

·       Fill the  general/specific purpose sheets and send it to the VPE

Club Direction Meeting

Friends, it was indeed amazing how we were all connected with a sense of purpose in yesterdays meeting. Here is a perspective about the same. Would be lovely to have your thoughts/comments.

At the outset I thought it was very kind of Dr.John to have joined us for one more meeting despite having multiple priorities seeking his attention and involvement (since he is leaving this week for India).

Dr.John also kindly offered us the invocation address which I felt was crisp, clear and inspiring. I thought it was interesting how he tactfully addressed any potential doubts possibly lingering in the minds of his audience by saying, "some of you may be wondering why is this guy still here, we gave him a send off party the other day";

The message in the invocation address was profound - that of learning to look at our knowledge/experience as a treasure that has been bestowed onto us, for which our gratitude will have been conveyed in full only when we eventually transfer it back to others. Further that we have to see beyond national, ethnical or other affiliations when we think about doing this transfer; with his example Dr.John illustrated and inspired us to consider that it is not only  possible but also necessary for the loop of knowledge to closed.  I thought it was interesting he used the world "Grateful" to describe his feeling towards the young doctor who he had mentored. This emphasizes the importance of his message- it suggests we can be grateful to whom we give,  because if not for their cooperation the act of giving wouldn't be possible.


The invocation session was followed by an intensely engaging workshop by our new President, TM Lawrence. The workshop was aimed at setting the much needed direction for the club. Lawrence facilitated the session with passion and clarity; a brilliant balance was struck between concept presentation, reflective questioning, individual and group exercise, all of which helped extract some very meaningful outputs (presented bellow). Above all, participants actively engaged in the session by querying and contributing.


After the workshop TM Saaj and  TM Girish thanked everyone and offered their concluding remarks.

Here is a description of the workshop outcomes:
All members contributed to the creation of the mission vision and values of the club.
Further all members also agreed to serve the mission of the club which is:
Mission of our Club
To help each other to become effective communicators, leaders, trainers coaches and mentors. 

All members also promised (by a show of hands) that they would demonstrate commitment to the club values we have together created, for only if we practice these values day in and day out will the mission be accomplished. And these values are:

Values of our Club : 
Punctuality; 
Receiving Feedback; 
Giving Feedback; 
Sharing and Contributing; 
Regular Attendance; 
Active Participation; 
Quality Content

Finally members also agreed that if the values were practiced day in and day out, it gives us a vision of an ideal we could achieve . This vision is: 

Vision of our Club: 
To become a trendsetter club that makes a difference by achieving mastery 

In summary all of the members have been wonderfully aligned and have agreed to demonstrate  commitment to the Club Mission, Values and Vision. Many thanks to Lawrence for the valuable session.

Further more, the below three aspects have been agreed:
Members will constantly align speeches with the Vision, Mission and Values. This will be done in the following three ways:
1. Each speaker will describe the purpose and objectives of their speech before starting preparation. For this speakers will take audience feedback in order to understand expectations before preparing speech
2. A "Club Values Alignment Auditor" role will be introduced in each session.
This role will critically evaluate if the club is aligned with the values and will give a report at the end.
3. After the report by the "Club Values Alignment Auditor"the VPE will facilitate a quick meeting to plan for the next session.

The following role-players have agreed to the meeting:
1. Sajan/Girish (Speaker/Evaluator)
2. Rajan Mehta/Salar (Speaker/Evaluator)
3. Sunil/Elango (Speaker/Evaluator)
TM Lawrence: Club Values Alignment Auditor

I urge the speakers to lead initiate conversation in social media groups to ensure they have gathered as many feedbacks about expectations from your session so you are not caught by the "Values Alignment Auditor"

Looking to have a fantastic engagement and progress towards our goals.
Sincerely,
Saaj