Toastmasters International, Division-B, District-79, in association with Dubai Men’s College Toastmasters Chapter are pleased to invite you to an exciting journey of learning.

Special Presentations by Mark Hunter, 2009 World Champion of Public Speaking!

Mark Hunter is the current World Champion of Public Speaking. He won this title at the Toastmasters International Convention held in Connecticut (USA) in August 2009. Mark comes from Brisbane, Australia. A Toastmaster since 1994, he was five times Australian Champion before becoming the World Champion. Passionate about Toastmasters, he firmly believes in the organization’s capacity to provide personal and professional development.

Mark is a school principal and owns a business as life and executive coach. He trains organizational leaders in the science of coaching for performance development. He presents keynotes, workshops and educational sessions for organizations at home and abroad.

Mark had an accident in 1975, and has since used a wheelchair. He was the first primary school teacher in a wheel chair in Queensland, and is the only school principal in Australia using a wheelchair. He is a strong advocate for people with a disability. He has persisted when times were tough, and persevered when those around him would have him do otherwise. He is both an optimist and a risk taker. He has traveled the world, is passionate about life and lives it accordingly. He is excited about coming to the UAE to meet with hundreds of Toastmasters.

The Sessions

Session 1: “The Mark of a Champion!” Nov 20, 2009 (Friday),
Time: 3 pm – 6 pm

In his presentation Mark will share his journey as a Toastmaster and journey to being the World Champion of Public Speaking. He will discuss those elements of a speech, which he believes make a real difference for an audience and present the speech that won him the World Championship.

Charges: AED 50/- per person (Toastmasters and Guests)
Venue : Dubai Men’s College (Main Auditorium), Academic City, Dubai

Session 2: “Tomatoes, an Apple, and a Coconut” on Nov 21, 2009 (Saturday) – (From a Good Speech to a Great Speech) Time: 7:30 pm – 9:45pm

In this workshop for Toastmasters, Mark will analyze and deliver the speech with which he won the World Championship of Public Speaking, at the International Convention in Connecticut (USA) in August this year. He will speak on having a winning attitude, the use of humor, cohesion in writing, writing for milestones, being authentic, and maximizing who you are. With contest preparation going on full swing, Mark will give fresh insight on content selection and development, hints for writing, and what to do just before beginning your presentation. There will be opportunity for discussion and Q&A.

Charges: AED 50/- per person (Toastmasters and Guests)
Venue : Al-Futtaim Training Centre, Rashidiya, Dubai.
(Limited Seats: Only 100 – First Come First Serve Basis)

Kindly pre-register with your Club by November 15, 2009! Pls contact any of the following persons;

Imran Akhlaq (Dubai), Mob: +971 50 5145919, Email: imran@amg.ae

Dhananjayan / DJ (Dubai), Mob: +971 55 8163071, Email: dhananjayan.munirathinam@gmail.com

Pesan Kumar (Sharjah & NE), Mob: +971 50 4539244, Email: pesankumar@gmail.com

Salim Sayyid (Abudhabi / Al Ain), Mob: +971 50 6612486, Email: salim.sayyid@ali-sons.com

Omana Kallarakkal (Abudhabi / Al Ain), Mob: +971 50 6119747, Email: omana@adma.ae

Read more about Mark Hunter in Toastmasters.org

Mark Hunter’s winning speech

A Sink Full of Green Tomatoes
MARK HUNTER M.Ed. Admin., B.Ed., ATM., Cert. Coach.

Literature is literally littered with lively legends. Amongst them rides Don Quixote – the Man of La Mancha. An idealistic knight who fought for the rights of others and dared to dream the impossible dream.

Mr chairman, ladies and gentlemen, while I dare not sing that song for fear it could be your nightmare, I like many of us here have dreamed impossible dreams. But to make one of my dreams even remotely reachable, I had to learn an extraordinary lesson, perhaps a lesson for us all.

At the age of 22 an accident changed my view of the world completely. Before the accident, I saw the world from an invincible 6 feet high, now I see it from the height of the consummate navel gazer.

In my new position, short and seated and recycled, I soon faced discrimination in work and life, so I became a modern day Don Quixote fighting for the rights of those with a disability. Many, many times , I would don the armour of righteousness, mount my trusty grey horse Eeeha! (work with me here), raise my lance, and charge into hell for my heavenly cause, dreaming of a world where discrimination no longer existed.

But at other times, I would retreat, exhausted and just want to be invisible.

For many years as I championed this cause, I faced this problem: “Do I want to fit in, or do I want to stand up, stand out and stand fast for who and what I am; do I want to be same or different?

I became consumed by this dilemma and desperate for an answer. I turned to books, coaches, meditation, you name it – I did it, I even searched in the bottom of a few bottles of scotch – I eventually found my answer where many of our life’s most important questions are answered.

My Grandmother’s kitchen was filled with the aroma of freshly cooked bread, and the quiet rhythmic chopping of vegetables was the only sound to be heard. On the bench, gleaming upturned jars were begging to be filled with her world famous tomato relish – well I thought it was world famous – my grandfather, Poppy, always said it could be used as paint stripper. I too would laugh at his mischief. Nana, in all her wisdom and with all her love, would merely smile.

A splash was followed by her silent invitation to look in the water filled sink. A wildly bright red apple had accidentally tumbled in, and was bobbing amongst a dozen green tomatoes. Nana said, “Mark, look in the sink. What do you want to be?” I looked at my choice – to be the one apple or one of many tomatoes- and I remembered thinking…

Who looks at fruit and veges and becomes philosophical?

So how did I answer grandmother?

As I watched her, I finally understood her wisdom. “Nana”, I said. She stopped, turned, and waited. “Nana, I want to be the water.

She turned back to her work, and I am sure I heard her smile.

She knew I had found my answer. That you can’t change the world by charging around like an idealistic knight. You change it from here, by being the water. You see water embraces everything completely. It does not differentiate young from old, black from white, tall from navel gazer. It simply encompasses all.

And what is this water if is not a unique definition of love. A definition reflected in Deepak Chopra’s work, where he writes ‘for love to be real it has to flow out and around that which is loved’. This water is liquid love. When I am the water, no, when we are the water, the need to fight the good fight no longer exists. The need to work out whether we are the same or different no longer exists. When we love with the intimacy of water, difference doesn’t exist.

It’s what this liquid love does. What happened in that kitchen allowed me to replace the passion of youth with the wisdom of my grandmother and so with my new understanding I began to change my world from in here

Ladies and Gentlemen: In an ordinary kitchen, I learnt an extra-ordinary lesson. One which enabled me to take off my armor and get off this horse – not literally. I learnt from my grandmother that it doesn’t matter how we are different. It’s how we love that matters. So this morning, I offer you her wisdom. In a sink full of green tomatoes and one wildly red apple, there is so much, so very much to be gained from being the water.

Before you get any funny ideas let’s get to know what it exactly is!

What is Toastmasters?

From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. The nonprofit organization now has nearly 235,000 members in 12,036 clubs in 106 countries, offering a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

Most Toastmasters meetings are comprised of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for an hour or two. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian.

There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.

Good communicators tend to be good leaders. (http://www.toastmasters.org/)

I have been with Toastmasters since 2004 and it has been a fantastic time. I found out about Toastmasters from a friend of mine, Zaheer who attended one in Saudi Arabia. I immediately searched for it, found out what it was and attended a meeting near my house in Sharjah.

I didn’t know what to expect, so I just went ahead and played along. It was a group of roughly 15-20 like minded people gathered for a sole reason. To develop their personal speaking and leadership skills by helping each other.

The mission of a Toastmasters Club is as follows:

The mission of a Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.

There were  engineers, accountants, businessmen, students and even housewifes. These people wanted to develop their speaking skills and to develop self confidence. Self confidence is something most of us lack in. This is mainly due to fear. Fear of what people think of us, how we are performing, fear of the unknown and a whole lot of fears. We now live in a world where people see us by the way we communicate. Communication plays a major role in our homes as well as the work place.

I went that day expecting it to be just another useless meeting trying to lure people into something. This was a club called Lagoon Toastmasters Club (http://lagoontoastmasters.com/). This club is based in Sharjah, UAE. Everyone I met there were very friendly and were constantly encouraging one another. Every small effort was appreciated by all. Speaking in front of many people is not a joke. Some literally wet their pants! I was asked to introduce myself in front of all and I did it with a little difficulty. A lot of things crossed my mind – what will they say, think, am I talking nonsense etc. I don’t know what I said. But in the end, everyone just clapped and made me feel that I had achieved something great. One thing led to another and in the end I ended up joining the club as a member. There are so many experiences which have had an effect on me after I became a regular.

The best way is for you to find out yourself. So go to a club near you and make use of this wonderful organization to help yourself to overcome fear and develop self confidence.

To find the nearest club in your area please click this link – http://www.toastmasters.org/find/

Toastmaster Clubs in Sharjah, Toastmaster Clubs in Dubai, Toastmaster Clubs in Abu Dhabi