A toast to the Toastmaster

"In its highest and purest form, public speaking is about motivating and inspiring the audience to think, feel or do something differently. This is best achieved by way of narrating a personal story and giving the audience the gift of an actionable, uplifting, take-home message,” believes Sharookh Daroowala of Vancouver. He was among the nine finalists at the World Championships organized in Kuala Lumpur on August 23, 2014 by Toastmasters International, an organization devoted to communication and leadership development. From an original pool of 35,000 contestants from 126 countries, Daroowala earned the first place in six rounds to reach the finals. As explained on the website of Toastmasters, the contestants had "advanced to the finals following a year-long process of elimination through club, area, district and semifinal competitions.” The criteria for judging the contestants was on the parameters of contents, organization, voice quality and gestures.

Sharookh Daroowala (center) with his Toastmasters Trophy

"Letter to a son” was Daroowala’s topic for the finals where he expresses his concerns on learning that his son Rohaan will be leaving the parental home to strike out on his own. Ultimately he advises Rohaan to pursue "timeless treasures that never tarnish.” For the semifinals he spoke on "I M Possible” and related how the "impossible” dream to become a table tennis champion became a reality after following his father Jemi’s advice. In each of the initial six rounds, "my story was the same but the message and the A-ha moments kept getting tweaked.” As he confessed in his speech, the solo practice sessions on a round patio table at home against a brick wall taught him to "break down my mental wall… start focusing on the ball instead of the wall.”
Toastmasters, with a membership of 313,000 across 14,650 clubs globally is "the world’s largest organization dedicated to producing better thinkers, listeners and speakers,” states Daroowala who during his 18 years of association has found an improvement in his public speaking, leadership skills and networking. Being twice declared the public speaking champion of British Columbia, Daroowala excels in prepared and ex tempore speech. This organization being open to those who have completed 18 years of age, "typically members attend a club meeting once a week for one to two hours and then apply the learning to their daily lives…My situation is atypical because I’m a member of three clubs, coach a fourth… Speaking and leadership are central to my professional life as a mediator of disputes, keynote speaker and a presentation skills coach.”
Among the other outstanding Toastmasters who have made a mark are Dinyar Daruvala from Singapore, Sam Mehta from New York and Rustom Kevala from Florida. At the last convention in Kuala Lumpur "out of 3,000 delegates there were only two Parsis and both of us were named Daruvala!” Sharookh conveyed to Parsiana. Referring to his Parsi roots he notes, "I was blessed to come factory-installed with the Zoroastrian value system. No matter where we live in the world, we take with us an innate sense of decency, honesty and integrity. Our faith is our constant companion.” When his mother Kumi, currently president emeritus of the Rustom Baug Association, had organized the first All Parsi Elocution Competition 50 years ago, Sharookh, then aged 10 years, had taken part in the event, he recalls.
After he earned his degrees in commerce, law and banking, he left India at the age of 24, and worked as a banker for 16 years with postings in London, Hong Kong and Vancouver. Thereafter he spent the next 20 years as a consultant and entrepreneur in the hospitality and real estate fields and has helped Zoroastrians in Vancouver with career counseling, getting jobs, starting small businesses, and conducting public speaking and youth leadership courses, mentions Sharookh. Acknowledging the support he has received over the years from his parents, wife Rukhshana, sons Rohaan and Rishad, and extended family and friends, Sharookh refers to his mother as a "tremendous role model, trail-blazer and a giant in the Parsi volunteer community. Even from a distance I marvel at how she keeps reinventing herself and changes lives at age 88.”