Spice up your speeches with "Quotes"

This is a collection of quotes from various sources :)

Quote Author When i say SORRY, It doesn't mean that i'm completely wrong and you are right,but it means that i value our relationship more than my EGO...! Anonymous If you do something and turns out pretty good, then should do something else wonderful, just don't dwell on it too long. Just figure out what's next" Steve Jobs In a day when you don’t come across any problems, you can be sure that you are traveling in a wrong path Swami Vivekananda Focus on the Small Hinges and the Big Doors Will Open Wide Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail Anonymous It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles Niccolo Macchiavelli Leadership Is Not About the Leader Anonymous Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless. Anonymous “It’s been said that a good leader inspires others with confidence in him while a great leader inspires others with confidence in themselves.” Anonymous You can't do good if you don't feel good. Plato The dream is not what you see in sleep… dream is which does not let you sleep Abdul Kalam You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things; the books you read and the people you meet.” Charlie Tremendous Jones You can’t fire a volunteer Anonymous You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration You don’t have to be great to start, but you’ve to start to be great Zig Ziglar You can achieve everything in life that you want, if you can help others achieve what they want Zig Ziglar The ignited minds of the youth is the most powerful resources on the earth, under the earth and above the earth Abdul Kalam Small things make perfection, but perfection isn’t a small thing Anonymous I refuse to lower my standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs Steve Gamlin "Dont share Ur Top Secrets with any 1 because,if U Urself cant Keep Ur Secrets Don't Expect Somebody Else 2 Keep it" Adolf Hitler No one in this world is perfect, if you avoid people for their mistakes, you’ll be ALL Alone Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. Voltaire The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been Albert Einstein Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail Ralph Waldo Emerson if you have one child, you are a parent. if you have two, you are a referee ! If egg is broken by force outside, life ends.  If egg is broken by the force inside, life begins Title is for a year, relationship lasts longer Saro Velrajan Title comes and goes, relationship stays forever Saro Velrajan Your trophy goes to the shelf, but the experience stays with you forever Saro Velrajan Small people use big words, big people use small words, servant leaders use the right words Saro Velrajan “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times !!” Bruce Lee Focus on your members and follow the numbers Saro Velrajan ‎'I' is the smallest word in the dictionary. Don't make it the biggest in your vocabulary! Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success… leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall Stephen Covey You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks Winston Churchill Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand, they listen with the intent to reply back Stephen Covey Change small, change often Difficulties in your life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realize your hidden potential and power. Let difficulties know that you too are DIFFICULT APJ Abdul Kalam If you judge people, you won’t have any time to love them Mother Teresa If you find this yet another place to work, you should find another place to work Anonymous Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds Albert Einstein Never play with the feelings of others, because you may win the game but the risk is that you’ll surely lose the person for a life time Shakespeare The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people – but because of the silence of good people Napolean I am thankful to all those who said NO to me. It is because of them I did it myself Albert Einstein If friendship is your weakest point then you are the strongest person in the world Abraham Lincoln We must learn to live together as brothers as we will perish together as fools Martin Luther King The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong Mahatma Gandhi It is very easy to defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone APJ Abdul Kalam If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need Warren Buffett Never depend upon single income, make investment to create a second source Warren Buffett Do not save what is left after spending , but spend what is left after saving Warren Buffett Never test the depth of river with both the feet Warren Buffett Do not put all your eggs in one basket Warren Buffett Honesty is very expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people Warren Buffett Successful people have all had to do things they didn’t feel like doing in order to get where they are. Rory Vaden You always get paid for how hard you work, but it’s not always right away. Rory Vaden Are we going to give up, or are we going to be the kind of people who stand up and do what it takes, even if we don’t feel like doing it? Rory Vaden When it comes to making commitments to other people, sometimes one of the hardest things to learn to say is no when we mean no. Rory Vaden We need to stop spending so much of our time trying to make the right decisions and instead start spending our time making decisions and then making them right. Rory Vaden The foundation of a disciplined life is integrity and doing what we say we’re going to do. Rory Vaden Procrastination is one of the most expensive invisible costs in business today. Rory Vaden In the absence of disciplined focus, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia. Rory Vaden Success is more a matter of choice than of circumstance. Rory Vaden We always pay a price for success. We either pay it now or pay it later with interest Rory Vaden Success is never owned. It is only rented and the rent is due every day Rory Vaden Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them Shakespeare Never be proud for what position you hold, because after a game of chess the king and the soldiers go into the same box Anonymous What is success? When your signature turns into autograph. APJ Abdul Kalam A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences Dave Meurer The good news is I'm fast. The bad news is I'm walking alone If you want to do everything to everybody than trying to do something to somebody, you won't be able to do anything to anybody Anonymous The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug Mark Twain There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you are commited to something, you accept no excuses only results. Kenneth Blanchard Contests are NOT meant to differentiate a bronze from a silver and a gold. Contests are meant to transform a golden ore into a golden ornament. Saro Velrajan The greatest leader is NOT necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. Ronald Regan When you have the commitment, capability can be built. Commitment is much more important than capability Saro Velrajan Don’t just delegate a task to a super star, create a super star by delegating a task. Saro Velrajan Let us also remove the word "negative" from our dictionary… the digital photographers have already removed it from theirs. Saro Velrajan Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step Martin Luther King Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover Anonymous Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'WOW What a Ride!' Anonymous If you don't know where you're going, any road'll take you there Anonymous Every role in Toastmasters has a purpose. If you are not learning anything by doing a role, you are not doing your role right Saro Velrajan Judges should be like God. People should believe in them and trust them, but should not see them. Saro Velrajan If you have to pick the best contestant as winner, you'll have to first pick the best judges. Saro Velrajan Leadership is not hunted, it is harvested Saro Velrajan When you harvest leadership, people will hunt for you Saro Velrajan

For a categorized list of quotes, drop me an email or leave a comment here with your email id. I'll send you the XLS.

An interview with DTM Saro Velrajan (article from CSF July 2012 newsletter)

AN INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY MY MENTEE TM PRIYADARSHINI FOR THE CHENNAI SPEAKERS FORUM JULY 2012 NEWSLETTER .... RIGHT AFTER THE COMPLETION OF MY DISTINGUISHED TOASTMASTER (DTM) JOURNEY !

1. WHAT IS THE SECRET BEHIND YOUR EVER CHARMING SMILE? 

I don’t worry about the PAST, I always plan for the FUTURE and I enjoy the PRESENT.  That could be one of the reasons for my happiness which gets exhibited as smile. When you are happy, you smile… When you smile, you are indirectly conditioning your brain to feel happy. I have been practicing this since my college days and this technique does work!

2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A MEMBER OF TOASTMASTERS?

Since 2006

3. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO JOIN TOASTMASTERS?

I finished my MBA in 2006. I realized that I can proudly say that I’m an MBA graduate, only when I can talk like a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). That was my inspiration to join toastmasters.

4. WHAT WAS YOUR INITIAL GOAL IN TOASTMASTERS?

I had the difficulty of expressing my thoughts in English. Though I studied in a English medium school, I never conversed with my friends in English. Even during college days, I never paid attention to develop my communication skills in English. So, I had the problem of always thinking in Tamil, translating that to English and expressing my thoughts. My goal was to get over that problem.

5. HOW DID YOU BECOME A DIVISION GOVERNOR? UR MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN MYSORE AT THE TIME OF ELECTIONS

I had just graduated as the President of CTM and not knowing what to do next. My mentor DTM Lalitha pulled me into mentoring Amazon Toastmasters club. That was the beginning of my leadership role outside the club. In Apr 2011, I was thrown into the ring for Division G Governor election – I hardly knew what the role demanded. I was a new face in the District stage. Thanks to the hard campaigning done by mentor DTM Lalitha and some of our Division G friends, I became the Division Governor.

The most memorable moment for me in Mysore was when I stood up from the floor and nobody proposed my name as the candidate for 20 seconds. If nobody had proposed my name in the next 10 seconds, I cannot nominate myself from the floor for elections. Thankfully, DTM Lalitha & TM Rajeev Nambiar proposed my name and I became eligible to contest in the election for Division Governor J I’ll never forget it.

6. WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED WHEN YOU WERE THE GOVERNOR OF DIVISION G AND HOW DID YOU HANDLE TO OVERCOME?

The key challenge that I faced during the initial days of my governorship was… getting people to work for our division activities. Being a new person in the role, I had great difficulty in finding people to whom I can delegate. I realized that “leading by example” is the best way to inspire people to come and help you.  The things that Sandhiya & I did for the first OTP in July 2011 is still fresh in my memory…  I remember serving snacks, moving chairs from one hall to another, setting up projector/screen. On seeing that, many toastmasters voluntarily came and started helping. At the end of the OTP, I genuinely thanked all the fellow toastmasters who helped in whatever little way possible … in Facebook (using the “SPOT” recognition technique… presented in my Inverted Pyramid workshop). That did the magic J

7. YOUR MEMORABLE MOMENTS BEING A DIVISION GOVERNOR.

Honestly speaking… all the time that I spent with fellow toastmasters are very memorable. I had the unique opportunity to work with a large number of toastmasters from a diverse set of clubs. 

Most memorable moments for me are

·         Youth Leadership Program that we conducted in Anjuman

·         Eloquence 2011 & Rhetoric 2012

·         OTP 2011 & 2012

·         All the demo meetings that we did in various places

8. NOW THAT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED DISTINGUISHED TOASTMASTER DTM STATUS ,HOW DO YOU FEEL?

Happy! J  

9. WHAT WAS YOUR BEST MOMENTS IN TOASTMASTERS?

My best moments are when I see my mentees participate in a contest or when they reach an educational milestone. The amount of happiness that you get is unmatchable.

10. WHAT IS YOUR NEXT ROLE AND GOAL IN TOASTMASTERS?

I haven’t spent much time thinking about my next role in toastmasters.

My goal is to continue to help our members and clubs - by serving as a mentor/coach.

11. SAY FEW WORDS ABOUT YOUR MENTOR/S AND MENTEE/S. DO YOU LIKE TO BE A MENTOR OR A MENTEE?

Today, I think I have 50+ mentees. On an average I review two speech scripts a day J Though I’m a mentor… I get to learn continuously from my mentees. The more projects they do… the more I learn from them. I like to be a mentor of my mentees… they are simply the best! They help me to continuously improve myself.

12. A MESSAGE TO ALL TOASTMASTERS AND NEW TOASTMASTERS

You’ll get the fullest benefit of toastmasters program only when you follow 3Rs.

• Regular – Regularly attend meetings & regularly do projects
• Research – Read books, read newspapers, attend educational programs, attend contests and continuously learn new things by research
• Rehearse – Rehearse multiple times before you do any performance in toastmasters

13. WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST ABOUT UR CLUB, CHENNAI SPEAKERS FORUM?

CSF is the 4^th toastmasters club that I’m part of. Here is the top 3 things that I like about my club:

·         A number of young toastmasters who are very creative

·         Club officers are very committed to continuously innovate and improve

·         Weekly class room sessions  (one of its kind!)

Attending CSF meetings is like drinking Boost. It gives you instant energy!

How to select a speech topic and write a speech script?

Speech Topics are EVERY WHERE!

How do I select a speech topic? How do I come up with a speech script?

If you are new to toastmasters, these are the questions that will linger in your mind. You may find it difficult to come up with a speech topic and to expand it into a full blown speech script. Don’t worry. It is very easy to select a topic and write a speech script. Speech Topics are EVERY WHERE…. This article is aimed at providing you some tips on coming up with speech topics and expanding them to speech scripts.


Also read: How to write attention grabbing speech introductions?

Sources for Speech Topics

“You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things; the books you read and the people you meet.” says Charlie Jones a famous speaker. It is very true. 

There are two types of speech sources:

             1.  Personal Experience – Interests, Career, Family, & Education

             2.  Reference Material – Websites, Books, Magazines, Newspapers

Also read: How do you pick the right speech topic?

There are so many topics that you can pick from your personal life and from other sources. Here is a list of topics from which you can do a speech:

1.         Your most memorable events from

o          Life

o          Student life / Childhood

o          College life

o          Professional life

o          Married life

o          Raising a kid,  etc.,     

2.         Your thoughts about

o          country, people, economy, donations, education system,

o          foreign countries

o          going green, population control, traffic, social service, health care

o          shopping malls, advertisements

o          sports, etc., 

3.         Your favorite

o          Vacation

o          Movie / Drama / Actor / Comedian / Director

o          Restaurant / Food items

o          Book

o          Hobby

o          Sport / Athlete / Sports man/woman

o          Leader or author, etc.,           

4.         Your thoughts about

o          time management

o          team work

o          performance appraisals

o          conflicts

o          project management 

o          quality

o          new year resolutions

o          training, etc.,

5.         Your

o          Goals… ambitions… dreams…

o          Principles… belief…

o          Role model / mentor 

Also read: Time Management - I don't have time to write my next speech

6.         Your thoughts about

o          Computers,

o          mobile phones,

o          electronic gadgets

o          television

o          online banking

o          credit  / debit cards / ATMs, etc.,

7.         Something that you read from newspaper, magazines, Internet, books etc.,

8.         Something that you learned by attending conferences, seminars, workshops, training programs, special courses etc.,

9.         Something that you learned from your work or real world experience that may be of use to others

o          Steps involved in buying a car, buying a house, building a house, making the best investment etc.,

o          How to hire best engineers for your projects? How to get the best out of your team? How to get the best performance rating?

o          How to effectively raise a child?

o          How to deal with relatives, friends, spouse, parents, colleagues, or boss?  

10.       Imaginary topics

o          What if you weren’t born in India?

o          What if you were the President / PM of the country?

o          What if you weren’t an Engineer and you were a doctor?

o          What if you got a million dollar in lottery?

o          What if you have to live for 100 years? etc.,

Also Read:  5 Wives & 1 Husband technique to write a Speech Script

You don’t have to be a born speech writer to come up with a speech script. The more scripts that you write, the better you are going to be. You can easily develop your writing skills… if you are determined to develop it. Sign-up for your next speech and start preparing RIGHT AWAY … and using the RIGHT WAY! 

Also read: International Speech Contests Topic Selection Ideas

Happy speaking ...