The Oxford Dictionary defines language as “the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way.” Language is the thread that binds humanity. It enables us to give shape and structure to our thoughts, to express and exchange our ideas, and to voice our emotions and opinions.

The High-Performance Leadership project or HPL as we commonly refer to it, is an action-oriented program that helps members develop their leadership skills in real-life situations outside the club. It involves leading a team through an extended period of time to achieve certain aspired goals.  An HPL no doubt lays emphasis on leadership, but its success relies heavily on effective communication too.

Have you ever shied away when your Vice President, Education asked you to be an evaluator?

Have you ever heard a speech and wondered – “What improvement could I possibly suggest?”

Most of us have experienced at some time or the other, the persistent knock of intuitive thoughts, the nagging presence of a gut feeling. We have heard of people with distinctive powers of intuition or a Sixth Sense, heeding to their inner voices. It is said that great leaders have an acute Sixth Sense that helps them look beyond the obvious and make decisions that do not follow conventional thinking. There is a mystique about them, and such people are held in the highest, and sometimes, reverential esteem. It is also true that they are often branded as unpredictable, mercurial, or even as mavericks.

‘A Leader’ is a term tossed around to mean different things in different situations. Probably a word with as many definitions as the number of perspectives, leadership is a concept that has been and is being constantly researched. 

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want” — Zig Ziglar

Have you noticed how some friends, family, and acquaintances reach out to us only when they need a favour? We engage in uncomfortable small talk, waiting and wondering, “Now what do they want from me.”

The year 2020, changed almost everything in our lives, including the way we conducted Toastmasters meetings. Covid-19 struck and we were forced to move into the world of virtual meetings. We struggled to select the right platform and understand the mechanism of virtual meetings, but we finally succeeded.

Lockdowns, meeting restrictions, job losses, despair, pain, agony, and even death…………

When Covid-19 hit us, it was like being struck by a tsunami where no one knew how to act; it was a mega-disaster by all measures.