A congregation of master speakers

Good evening Toastmasters and guests!

The author, speaker and entrepreneur Jim Rohn once said:

If you just communicate, you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.

Each one of us is on the path from just getting our message across, to working miracles through effective communication. With this in mind, I participated in Crescendo '25, the Annual Conference of District 121.

It was a 3 - day conference, which began on Friday, May 16th. The Conference began in the best possible way!

Our District had invited DTM Dhananjay Hettiarachi, who had won the World Championship of Public Speaking. Dhananjay conducted an educational session on Friday evening.

DTM Dhananjay spoke with power and conviction. He described the hurdles that he faced, when he took the difficult path from being one among the many, to becoming the World Champion of Public Speaking. Further, Dhananjay spoke about what it takes to keep the spark alive, after entering the spotlight.

My takeaways from Dhananjay's speech were:

1. Build endurance before you get recognition;
2. Keep your goal in sight, regardless of the obstacles.
3. Look for mentors within your Club;
4. Be open to taking mentorship from Toastmasters outside your Club;
5. Take sustained guidance from mentors to overcome obstacles.

Dhananjay emphasized the necessity to behave like a champion off the stage, so as to be a credible champion on the stage.

The next day, I got ready with a renewed sense of anticipation. There would be two Contests today!

The first was the Contest of Evaluation Speeches! The Test Speaker had the hallmarks of an engaging speaker. He used facial expression, variety of tome and pitch, gestures and made use of the stage space.

For the Speech Evaluators, it was a challenge. They had to dig deep, to identify areas in which the Speaker needed to improve.

The evaluators demonstrated the Sandwich Method of evaluation, with the 3 Rs: Review, Reward and Respond, effectively.

The Contest provided an opportunity to witness an appealing speech, as well as insightful evaluations by the best Evaluators of our District! 

The Table Topics contest was held on Saturday afternoon. 

During the Table Topics contest, it was a pitched battle between the contestants. Certainly, they did not fight face to face on the stage. They fought to win the hearts of the audience and the judges.

Both in content and delivery, each speaker exhibited a difference in tone, pitch, language, gestures, facial expressions and movement on the stage. Some speakers used tone, pitch and language exquisitely, while others moved gracefully and sometimes emphatically, to complement their words.

The speakers' skills were such that I felt they were giving prepared speeches!

If Saturday had given me a treat in terms of learning, Sunday promised to give even more to listen, watch and imbibe!

To begin with, there were two educational sessions. 

Our first invited speaker was Anushka Jaisinghani. Anushka described her journey as an entrepreneur in packaged snacks. Though Anushka is not a Toastmaster, she personified fluency in speaking and graceful movement. While speaking, Anushka walked towards the tables where we were seated. This gave me the feeling that Anushka was one of us, and that if Anushka can achieve something, I can achieve something too!

Our second invited speaker was Ullas Kamath. Mr. Kamath guides family managed businesses to flourish. Mr. Kamath chose to speak from the stage. However, he made no less an impact than Ms. Jaisinghani.

Mr. Kamath spoke about a number of social issues, including gender equality at home. He urged the men in the audience to more involved in matters related to the home, including household chores. Mr. Kamath used powerful words to drive home his message.

The second session on Sunday provided a grand finale to Crescendo '25.

Conference participants made a beeline for their seats, soon after lunch.

The Contest of Prepared Speeches began at 2 p.m. The speakers not only kept the audience enthralled, but also made us think deeply about the topic. It was a feast of oratory combined with adroit use of the variety of supporting skills. Most speakers spoke from their own experience. 

For example, one speaker spoke about her experience as an adopted child. Her adoptive parents were much older than her biological parents, and this placed her in an unexpected situation. She narrated how she accepted these situations in spite of feeling uncomfortable at times. In course of time, she felt grateful to her adoptive parents who gave her a home and showered their love on her.

Another speech that was memorable for me was about the pitfalls of maintaining false prestige. The speaker described a few situations in which he put on the appearance of prestige. For example, at large gatherings, he avoided standing in a line for the buffet, preferring to remain hungry instead. This attitude put him to trouble on numerous occasions. Eventually he realized his folly and mended his ways.

At Utthishta, we encourage using gestures and movements to support the speech; at a few other Clubs, the speakers use dramatic gestures and fast movements that are as important as the speech itself. At Crescendo, I got the opportunity to see this variety of use of the tools available to a speaker. 

Toastmasters and guests, Crescendo '25 was as much about leadership as it was about public speaking.

As Conference Chair and Co-chair, TM Amith Ananda and DTM Pandiarajan ably led the preparation during the run-up to the Conference! They were assisted by a team of committed Toastmasters who handled Registration, Logistics, Souvenirs, Delegates, Hospitality, Sponsorship, Finance, Public Relations, and yes, the Fun Night also! With DTM Bharati Shevgoor and DTM M. N. Pai as Mentors, the entire team coordinated with each other and with external parties, to ensure that the Conference was conducted smoothly in all respects.

The District Leadership trio: Director DTM Savitha Salian, Program Quality Director Gokul P. Menon and DTM Nitasha Kumar, Club Growth Director have played a key role over the entire year, in their respective areas. This was reflected in the high quality of all the three Contests at Crescendo 25. 

Each speaker at Crescendo made an impression on me. I felt enriched by the speakers on all the three days of Crescendo. The American clergyman Joel Osteen said, 'You can change your world by changing your words'. I urge you to take part at the Area, Division and District level conferences, to get closer to working a miracle, and changing your world!

Toastmasters, will you participate in the next Conference?