My Icebreaker Speech at Toastmasters- Change

Hey All,

Joined Toastmasters International and gave my first speech aka Ice Breaker recently...

This was the speech I'd prepared..however I didn't give the exact same speech and let myself speak easy.

Let me know what you think...

Watch this space for more such speeches as I've decided to document them in my blog..;-)

Cheers,
Suzie

Change!!

Change, is inevitable. The sooner you realize this and embrace it, the easier it will be for you to deal with.

Most of us are resistant to change, and this is due to the fact that we are comfortable where we are in our lives and change means an alteration of that state of comfort.

I’ve always resisted change all my life until the time my sister was born. This was until a couple of years ago when I realized that everything in life is temporary but for change.

I have a sister who is 11 years younger and with her birth, a lot of things changed in my life. I grew up overnight and was the “older one” even though I was only 11 when she was born. Getting adjusted to having a sibling around after 11 years of being the only child, was a major change.

To quote another example of my resistance for change – I had the opportunity to study in 11 academic institutions throughout South India. This is because my dad had a transferrable job so we kept moving to different cities every few years. At first, it was really exciting to move to a new city and experience a whole new culture but on the flip side I noticed that I was left with very few friends and over time, I lost touch with them. Although, now I feel I should have been born 20 years later, in the era of Facebook and Twitter but I guess it’s never too late!

After several such moves, realization dawned on me and I accepted the fact that losing friends and relationships was just part of the deal. That’s when I started looking at the positive side of it. I got to study in some of the best schools and colleges and developed a very cosmopolitan outlook towards life. I ended up learning several languages and the constant change also helped me learn more about different cultures. I realized very early on in life that no matter how culturally diverse each of us are, deep down we’re one and the same-just humans of a different color, different creed and different background but tied together with the same set of emotions.

The constant change in my life has helped me switch academic and career streams seamlessly. Here I am a Management and Law Grad donning the role of a Project Manager for a Financial Services major! 10 years from now, don’t be surprised if you see me as a Top Chef in my own swanky and chic restaurant!

The essence of my story is that change has helped me broaden my perspective in life and has opened a plethora of opportunities that I thought didn’t exist before! Most of us in this group live away from our family and it is not easy to move and adapt to a new life but I realize that having done so, I have given myself the opportunity to not only re-discover myself but also actively pursue my interests. The very fact that I want to change myself as a person was the reason for me joining Toastmasters and this very change has given the opportunity to speak in front of all of you!

As they say, it’s all in the mind, if you can tune your mind a little bit, you end up seeing the world from a whole new angle!

And remember, change is growth, both intellectual and emotional!