8th December 2019, Aloft, Thamel: There’s a famous saying in the corporate world – ‘What if we invest in our employees and they leave? What if we don’t and they stay?’ A Toastmasters Club fits in the first bit of the saying – the part where corporates invest in their employees via the educational and leadership programs offered by Toastmasters International. With the same aim of sharing the benefits of Toastmasters, a Meet & Greet was organized for well known corporate houses and professionals on 8th Dec 2019 hosted by Division A for District 41 in the presence of International President Deepak Menon, DTM. The evening was hosted by Area A2 Director, Ravi Mainali.
Mainali began the evening’s agenda by briefly going through the benefits and history of Toastmasters in the corporate sector. District 41 Director Jennifer Ghosh, DTM welcomed all the guests mentioning her brief journey in the organization. Division A Director, Suman Shakya, DTM further highlighted the importance of Toastmasters in corporate organizations by mentioning how organizations are no longer individual sports. Shekhar Golchha, representing the Golchha Group shared his story of how Toastmasters took him from being barely able to stand for 15 seconds while speaking to addressing over 200 people regularly.
President Menon talked about the gap between abilities gained in school and the skills needed to be employable and also to be the highest performer. He shared that Toastmasters can be one of the most cost effective ways of bridging this gap. A question and answer session followed after Menon’s address where curious professionals opened the floor for questions and discussions.
‘Toastmasters is a learning laboratory.’ – Deepak Menon, DTM
The night was also about felicitating corporates and individuals in Nepal who have contributed towards the Toastmasters movement here. Receiving the Committed Leader Award was Bhuvan Dahal, CEO of Sanima Bank.
He was awarded for his initiative, support, and personal involvement with the fraternity in Nepal.
Corporate Appreciation Award was presented for outstanding and dedicated services in fostering corporate Toastmasters Club in Nepal. Receiving this award were Ajay Shah, CEO of Laxmi Bank and Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank. Laxmi Bank Toastmasters was the first corporate club in Nepal and Standard Chartered Bank Nepal
Toastmasters Club began in February 2017.
The event was formally closed by District 41 Club Growth Director, Ranjit Acharya, DTM with his closing remarks which echoed the importance of Toastmasters for professionals.
After the formal end, the informal networking over cocktail dinner began where guests including senior Rotarians, professionals, media personalities gathered together to exchange their ideas and curiosities about Toastmasters. Guests had words of praise for carrying out the event that brought together the corporate world and Toastmasters where each of them could understand more about the organization and put forward any existing confusions.
Learning more about the movement in Nepal and the world, guests were now more confident about Toastmasters.
The event was successful in generating 5-6 strong corporate leads inviting Toastmasters for a demonstration meeting and orientation.
By Alfa M. Shakya, PI3, Editor, Division A Photo Courtesy Neha Amatya, CL
Published in Inkspire Issue 3. Click here for the full newsletter.