Engage, Enjoy, Excel - EXCELSIOR!! - T Ilavenil, Mysore Toastmasters

 I was fortunate enough to participate in the conference “Excelsior” held in Mysore on the 27th and 28th of August, 2016. This was the brainchild of the Mysore Area Director and advisors - TM Yashaswi, TM Rohit, TM Poovendhiran and TM Sagar.

The Toastmasters International conference is something each toastmaster dreams of attending. In most cases though, we do not have the funds or the time to travel across the world. The District 92, Area F4 Toastmasters are lucky enough to have a few “crazy ones” among us, as Steve Jobs said. They were crazy enough to achieve the impossible by bringing the International Conference to Mysore. This is the first event of this kind in the whole world.

The conference was organized professionally. The PR team - TM Darshini, TM Arjun, TM Saikat and TM Subramanya ensured that Excelsior was in the spotlight with posters and teasers on social media. The team at Infosys - TM Divya, TM Nawab, TM Shanawaz and TM Nikhil -  had really “sweated the small stuff.” I have faced problems with the security personnel in corporate organizations before. This time, however, it took less than a minute to collect my pass and make my way inside. Every tiny detail such as registration - done by TM Kavitha and TM Pujashree,  organizing lunch, transportation to the venue of the fun night, and ensuring optimal performance of the audiovisual equipment, was done with care.

Coming to the conference itself - the energy of conference chair TM Rohit was contagious and the message to engage, enjoy and excel was quickly taken up by the audience. The centerpiece of the conference - the videos - did not feel like recordings. The ambience of the room made viewing the videos an interactive experience. The session on “Improv” by TM John Zimmer had the audience in stitches, while demonstrating the importance of working as a team. His final message - to always tell your teammates “I’ve got your back”  - will stay with the participants for a lifetime. The next session - on storytelling by TM Kelly Swanson was informative, especially when she demonstrated how to tell a story written by another Toastmaster.

The videos were interspersed by activities, designed and conducted by the Fun Team - TM Dhairya, TM Syed, TM Divya, TM Srihari, TM Akanksha and TM Dorothy. The activities served as a workshop to test our toastmastering skills. They were expertly designed and ensured that the energy in the room remained high. The energy of the conference carried over to the Fun Night, where a wonderful time was had by all.

The second day brought us a brilliant educational session by District 92 Champion TM Ajay Chittaranjan. His session was highly interactive - so much so that the audience voluntarily postponed the lunch break! Having his family with us added grace to the occasion. The final event of the conference,  the World Championship of Public Speaking, held the audience spellbound, and had us debating the finer points of each of the speakers. At the end of the conference, Mr and Ms Excelsior were announced - TM Himanshu and TM Divya respectively. Keeping with the spirit of recognition in Toastmasters International,  every Toastmaster who contributed to the conference was felicitated by the Area Director.

Excelsior is a fantastic accomplishment, hopefully to be followed by more events which dwarf it. Let’s hear it for the crazy ones of Mysore Area Toastmasters, who know how to Engage, Enjoy, and Excel!