Qatar Division of Toastmasters Set to Expand With Two New Arabic Clubs

Doha, August 19 (QNA) - Toastmasters Club (TMs), which endeavours to enhance communication and leadership skills of members, is set for expansion with two more clubs in Arabic language, to be set up over the next two months in the Qatar Division 'E' of the global nonprofit educational organisation. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Arabic TM Club Co-ordinator and President of Filcom International TM Club Hamad Al Nesf said, "Any person living in Qatar or outside who is interested in developing his or her public speaking and leadership skills in Arabic language can join the two TM clubs we are planning to launch over the next two months." Qatar currently has around 900 members comprising Qataris and expatriates in the 33 TMs clubs which includes one in Arabic - the Qtel Arabic TMs Club. Qatar TM Clubs are part of an Area. Each Area comprises on an average four clubs. There are eight Areas which make up Qatar which is Division 'E' and this in turn is part of District 20 comprising Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon and Jordan. Various districts in turn are linked to the global umbrella body that is Toastmasters International (TI) founded by Ralph C. Smedley. He held the first meeting in 1924 in a basement in a YMCA in Santa Ana, California, which subsequently grew to become TI as it is now recognised. During the early 1900s the word 'toastmaster' referred to a person who proposed the toasts and introduced the speakers at a banquet. Smedley named his group 'The Toastmasters Club' because he thought it suggested a pleasant, social atmosphere appealing to young men. Over 88 years the organisation, which hones members' speaking and leadership skills through learn-by-doing workshops and projects, has expanded to 280,000 members worldwide. These members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 13,500 clubs in 116 countries that make up the organization's global network. Qatar citizens and residents testify to the qualitative improvement in their communications and leadership skills after joining TMs. Qtel Public Relations Director Fatima Sultan Al Kuwari, who is a TM member since 2007, said, "Being a TMs has helped me a lot. Within the first few meetings I noticed the difference in my public speaking skills. It is a self-learning process since there is no instructor. Fellow members evaluate one another's talk or speeches on a given topic. This feedback process is a key part of the programme's success." Addressing an audience is the second most fearful event in the world after death, she said and candidly added, "I had goosebumps when I had to first make a public speech. Now I'm confident of facing any audience. I can speak clearly and confidently and express my opinions on any given topic." Asked how the instructorless and peer-evaluated learning programme works, Qatar TM Division 'E' Governor for 2012-13 Manzoor Moideen said, "A speaker can choose his/her topic which is based on the objectives mentioned in the Competent Communication manual. For example, the basic manual for developing communication skills has ten projects. The first project requires the TM to speak for 4 to 6 minutes, projects two to nine call for a speech over 5 to 7 minutes and the tenth project the time increases to 8 to 10 minutes. The speeches are evaluated by fellow members." "It is a friendly, flexible and hands-on experience since there is no tutor," said Al Kuwari. "You learn by listening and observing professional guest speakers and aspire to emulate them. There are many aspects of effective communication skills like voice modulation, pauses, body language, making eye contact with the audience and time management that a member can learn and sharpen." Qtel's Arabic TMs club officially joined the roster of Toastmasters International clubs worldwide in 2008. The Arabic TMs is the only such club among the 32 English clubs in Qatar and has one of the largest memberships with 42 Qtel employees on its register. Al Nesf who is an active Filcom International TMs Club member since 2009 said TMs has empowered his social interaction besides improving public speaking and narrated his experience of addressing the TMs Club in Japan earlier this year. "Thanks to TMs I could confidently speak to the gathering at the Yokohama Frontier TMs Club in Japanese language instead of English," said Al Nesf who learnt to speak this language at the Qatar Eastern Language Centre. "The TMs experience makes one confident. That is why I could speak there in Japanese language to an audience in western dress while I was the only one in my national dress." Qatar Toastmasters Club's (QTM) recently elected Vice President Education Williams Antony, sharing his experience, said, "When I started, I did not even have the courage to stand before four or five people, let alone a big audience. Now I can face an audience and speak confidently. So the benefits are tangible." QTM is the second oldest club in Qatar which was chartered on November 13, 1997 with 25 members from diverse communities. "Today QTM has 65 members and the club's good performance can be assessed from the awards. It has been as the 'Best Toastmasters Club in Qatar' for the last three years consecutively," said Williams. Since its inception, each year the club has won the Toastmasters International President's Distinguished Club Award many times, including this year. QTM club is a pioneer in holding various community programmes in Qatar. Since 1997 the club conducts annually the Speech Craft Program for adults and Youth Leadership Programme and Qatar Open Youth Public Speaking Championship for children aged between 12 and 18 years, he said. Indeed success is the focus of the TMs. "The target at the end of the road for any TM member through the Competent Communicator and Leader programme is to get the award of Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM)," said Al Nesf. "The winner receives a citation and a plaque which is the highest award. Success depends totally upon the person's drive and initiative. Some folks take one year and some take forever! Its is completely self-based learning programme." Al Nesf is also planning to start a youth leadership programme for students which fits perfectly with one of the core objectives of the State of Qatar's 2030 National Vision that of developing and building capacities of the human resources. "I'm targeting students in the 12 to 17 age group so that when they turn 18, they are ready to maximise the use of the TM system. One of the future objectives is to start a ladies only TM club, keeping in mind the local cultural and traditional sensitivities," he said. Being experienced TMs, both Fatima Al Kuwari and Hamad Al Nesf are encouraging other Qataris to join and reap the benefits of interacting and speaking in such a forum. "I'm trying to be an ambassador for Toastmasters and encourage Qatari men and women to join, particularly the youth who have joined Qtel rolls to develop their communications and leadership skills through Toastmasters," concluded Al Kuwari.(QNA)