Area 65


    An Adventurer with Strong Will power

    Interviewed by: Saleh Abdullah Alkhamyasi

TM Manoj S Ranade has been living in Oman for sixteen years with his wife Nehal. The Couple have two adorable children Kaneesha and Ronith. Manoj hails from Ahmadabad, India. Armed with an MBA in Marketing, a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering and extensive professional experience he works at Saud Bahwan Group as Deputy Senior Manager at Ford Sales.

 

This Toastmaster is serious yet light. He is a go getter with a deft touch of humor. TM Manoj is one of those who are credible because he insists on setting the track right and capitalizing on his own uniqueness. This year he was flitting like a butterfly as a contestant, mentor and dedicated seasoned toastmaster.  Away from the day to day engagement he is passionate about photography and automobiles the two things his wife envies the most simply because they drag him away from home. 

 

 Let us talk met this passionate toastmaster whose strong determination and will Power set him apart as a role model to share his experience with us. We caught a hold of him at Oman Annual Toastmasters Conference –OTAC 2013 where he was chairing a Table Topic Contest. He cheerfully welcomed our invitation and our conversation with him took the following direction:

 

·       I was quickly able to grasp that this is one forum where I could share ideas & viewpoints with likeminded people and at the same time, effectively channelize the extra energy that I had in me to learn something new.

·       My Toastmasters journey has been full of milestones. Each session that I attend is a milestone in itself as there is always something new that I learn at every session.

·       As I moved up the hierarchy of various roles, one thing I have learnt is that Communication Track of Toastmasters is much attractive, enriching & full of learning as compared to the leadership track.

 

·        A lot more could have of course been achieved as the hunger for Education & Training remains perennially unsatiated.

 

·        The learning that can be derived out of contest participation is absolutely unparalleled and it would be my sincere request to each Toastmaster who has attained a reasonable level of confidence, to start participating in Contests.

 

·        For those who take loosing seriously my advice would be “Just Chill”. Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is. And as long as you have wanted to win and did put up your best effort surpassing your own expectations, that is important.

 

·        This experience as a President is what transformed me into a leader that I am today, trying to influence people and making them rise to the best of their potential.

 

·        if every senior Toastmaster in the Division takes it on himself / herself to mentor at least three budding TM’s or help a new club during its nascent stage, the success our Division would achieve would know no bounds.

 

·        The other approach that I tend to follow towards self development is to spend maximum possible time with my children.

 

·        Past International President Helen Blanchar’s words “If you get out of Toastmasters all there is to get out of Toastmasters, you’ll never get out of Toastmasters”.

 

 

When and why did you join toastmasters?


I joined Toastmasters in April 2007. Initially, entries to the SBG Toastmasters (a Corporate Club) were restricted through nominations by Dept. Heads. However, I didn’t have the patience to wait for my turn and my curiosity saw me attending one of the sessions as a guest. That’s it! I got hooked on to TM right from that day. I was quickly able to grasp that this is one forum where I could share ideas & viewpoints with like minded people and at the same time, effectively channelize the extra energy that I had in me to learn something new. The mutually supportive & positive learning environment that Toastmasters offers has made me fall in everlasting love with this wonderful movement.

 

What are some milestones you have achieved in toastmasters?

 

My Toastmasters journey has been full of milestones. Each session that I attend is a milestone in itself as there is always something new that I learn at every session. To recall a few momentous milestones, my P1 speech, my award winning speech at out club’s Centennial Session Celebrations, my P10 speech, my various Club Officer roles, the Area 65 Contest of 2011-2012 in my capacity as an Area Governor (by far the best TM Contest in Oman, in terms of event organization & execution) and thereafter my recent winning of the 1st Runner’s Up Award in the Area 65 Evaluation Contest 2012-2013.

 

What roles did you serve earlier? And what are the lessons learnt from that roles?

 

VP-Membership, VP-Education, Club President, Area Governor, Asst. Div. Governor (Education & Training). As I moved up the hierarchy of various roles, one thing I have learnt is that Communication Track of Toastmasters is much attractive, enriching & full of learning as compared to the leadership track. This, by far has been my biggest lesson.

 

Tell us about your role as ADG Education & Training Last year?

 

As ADG Education & Training I was able to render a strong support to the IPDG Mohammed Salar in terms of fulfilling the Education & Training needs for the entire Division. We were able to successfully complete the Club Officer Training for all Clubs in the Division; we held the Judges training twice before the contest season and also had held few other exciting training programs. A lot more could have of course been achieved as the hunger for Education & Training remains perennially unsatiated.

 

Tell us about your experience as a contestant? And what is your advice for those who take loosing seriously?

 

My experience as a contestant has been simply amazing. It has been a top of the world experience each time that I have participated in any contest. The learning that can be derived out of contest participation is absolutely unparalleled and it would be my sincere request to each Toastmaster who has attained a reasonable level of confidence, to start participating in Contests. For those who take loosing seriously my advice would be “Just Chill”. Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is. And as long as you have wanted to win and did put up your best effort surpassing your own expectations, that is important. The fun & learning lies as much in participating as in participating & winning.

 

Toastmasters is where leaders are made. Relate this to your experience as president of your club?

 

My role as President is what has made me what I am today in Toastmasters. Our Club follows a schedule of weekly club meetings and hence to come up with a new, inspiring speech every week was a tough challenge to begin with. Initially for a month or two, I used to get tensed up as the D Day approached every week. But thereafter it became fun. I started looking out for the inspirational happenings in my day to day life and grew eager to convert them into a short inspirational speech at the next TM Session. I actually started looking forward to the D Day every week. I was able to influence Toastmaster members & other people attending the sessions as guests during those initial 3-4 minutes of every session. This experience as a President is what transformed me into a leader that I am today, trying to influence people and making them rise to the best of their potential.

 

Our Theme this year “Touch to Transform” how did you contribute to make this a true reality in our Division?

 

Touch to Transform”  is a very vibrant and personalized theme which appeals to each and every Toastmaster member. I salute the current Div Gov Yasser and his wonderful team, not only for choosing this wonderful team, but also living it at every interaction that the Division has with each & every member of the Toastmasters fraternity of Oman. As a part of my little contribution to this, I chose three fellow Toastmaster members whom I felt I could “transform” by me “touch” and believe me I have been quite satisfied with the success I have met. Mentoring the newly formed SAB TM Club (which was formed under my Area last year) & offering them a helping hand towards the threshold of success at which they are at today, has also been my modest contribution to the “Touch to Transform” theme of the Division. The reason for stating this here is just to illustrate that , if every senior Toastmaster in the Division takes it on himself / herself to mentor at least three budding TM’s or help a new club during its nascent stage, the success our Division would achieve would know no bounds.

 

Tell us about your reading habit & what are you reading at the moment?

 

I am not that much of an avid reader. I prefer looking at & learning from real life experiences rather than sticking into a book to derive inspiration. I fall back to reading only when I don’t have much outdoor adventure to do or at times to show my wife that I am upset (lol). Nevertheless, the one book that I have been attempting to complete over the last few months is “Building Left Brain Power” and it would surely take me a few more months to overcome the challenging task.

 

What other approach do you follow in developing yourself?

The other approach that I tend to follow towards self development is to spend maximum possible time with my children. Believe me, “a child is the father of man” and my home stands testimony to this famous adage. Expressing the minutest of the human feeling and persevering with every need & want is what I keep learning from my eight year old son.

 

What is your advice to the budding toastmasters?

 

 Attend every session, take up roles as frequently as possible, deliver speeches at a steady but long enough intervals wherein you are able to raise the bar for yourself to see an improvement in each speech and at the same time, your audience (fellow members) look forward to seeing your next speech (believe me this is extremely motivating). Take part in as many contests as possible. Be adventurous. Try your hand at areas which you perceive as you are weak at, be it humor or table topics. If you feel you are weak at it, take it head on.

 

What is your feedback on OTAC this year?

Let me say first & foremost, it was a well planned & executed event.  The time element was well managed and it has resulted in a great difference and made people at ease. Of course if it was complimented with a good professional workshop, something like the Lance Miller one that we participated in recently it would have been extremely sensational.

 

A last word you want to conclude with


Past International President Helen Blanchar’s words “If you get out of Toastmasters all there is to get out of Toastmasters, you’ll never get out of Toastmasters”.

 


Area Governor's Message

AG Robin Anand
AG Robin Anand
Toastmaster Credentials

ACB ALB
Immediate Past President
Have worked as VP Education and VP PR
 My Promise...

Mission - Establish a mutually supportive culture among all the clubs and leverage each other’s strengths and Achieve more together

Vision - A wonderful fraternity of clubs where members learn from each other and spread the learning and joy of toastmasters around them in the society.

Values - Integrity, Service to member, Fairness & Respect for every member

I would achieve the above by

Sharing my rich experience of working with a club like Saud Bahwan Toastmasters and leaders like DTM Ramesh and DTM Harish.

Have a close relationship with all club officers and help them achieve their goals

Plan a lot more inter-club events within area with objective to create more interest in sessions 

Plan critical educational sessions for the area after assessing the learning needs of each club

Try and establish a new club which could add more colour to the toastmaster’s fraternity within the area

Celebrate the toastmaster’s spirit by organizing the best Area contest we can

Make Area 65 an area we all love to be in...


My Team


Area 65 Team 2012


Assistant Area Governor Education and Training – Stephen Brass
Assistant Area Governor Marketing – Sri Ram Hari
Public Relations Officer – Manoj Baijal
Treasurer – Manoj Chacko



Area 65 Clubs

Morison Muscat Toastmasters

 
Saud Bahwan Toastmasters
 
 
MBP Toastmasters


Muscat Overseas Toastmasters
 

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