Toastmasters' Speech Project # 1 (Ice Breaker)

The Tale of My Personal Expedition


Dear Mr. Toastmaster of the day, fellow Toastmasters and distinguished guests

It is my pleasure to give you some insight into myself and my family. I hope this will enable you to know me better and thereby establish a mutually beneficial relationship.

I would like to present the tale of my expedition as follows. First, I would like to briefly mention about my family background. I will then talk to you about my childhood and school years. Then I will take you through my university studies followed by the details of my professional career. Finally, I would like to mention some of the qualities and practices I value in my life and also about those who have helped me to become who I am today.

About my family: I come from Sri Lanka and happen to be the only boy among the four children of my parents. I have three sisters. My father was the Headman of the Village, a powerful position at that time as he was in charge of the law and order of entire village. My mother was a house wife. All my sisters are married and settled outside Sri Lanka. About my immediate family, I am married and we have two daughters. The elder daughter is studying for her BSc (Honours) in New Zealand. The younger daughter has just completed her high school and is to join her elder sister in New Zealand next year. My wife is a medical doctor who has worked in Saudi Arabia including the SCECO clinic. At present, she is working in a private hospital in Sri Lanka.

About my childhood: I initially studied in schools around my hometown and then was admitted to a popular government school near Colombo. I spent my remaining school years in this school and when I left, I was the school’s head prefect.

On completion of my high school studies, I received a government scholarship to study Mechanical Engineering in Russia. I earned the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with honours. I am still fluent in Russian. After my studies in Russia I moved to England and completed another Master’s in Production Engineering.

After completing studies in Russia and England, I returned to Sri Lanka and started my career as a Production Engineer. I worked for five years in Sri Lanka and joined SCECO in 1982 as a Planning and Scheduling Engineer. I was attached to SCECO-East’s Resource Planning Department. I held various positions in the department including the post of Superintendent of Budgets and Programs Division which was responsible for the Company’s Capital Program. I was also Business Line TQM coordinator directly reporting to the then Vice President, Mr. Tariq Al-Betairi.

I left SCECO in 1997 and joined the Open University of Sri Lanka as a Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering. I subsequently moved to New Zealand to read for my PhD. The PhD thesis was on Instructional Design for Computer-Based Learning.

After completion of my PhD, I rejoined SCECO in October 2005. I am now attached to the Transmission Asset Development Department as a Senior Analyst.

I also actively participated in the Arabian Gulf section of the American Association of Cost Engineers. I became a Certified Cost Engineer in 1985. I was the section president in 1993/94 and represented the section in the Annual Meeting in USA and presented a paper there. I also was in-charge of the certification course for a few years.

I would also like to share with you some of the things I value and practise in my personal and professional life. By no means, I am perfect in these practices or values, but I strive to do my best.

1. I like to associate with people from different countries and to speak at least a few words in their language.
2. I like to be professional in everything I do.
3. I like to be punctual in all my dealings
4. I like to continuously improve my communication skills.
5. I like to write on management and e-Learning topics
6. I like to share my professional knowledge with others and like to groom young professionals.
7. I like to be a life-long learner.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents who taught me what is right and what is wrong. I am eternally grateful to them for showing me the path to success.

With this, I hope, you were able to get a glimpse of my personal expedition. I look forward to maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship with you all.

Thank you and good luck!

Mr. Toastmaster of the day