2nd Speech - My Last Working Day

Don’t you get emotionally drenched on your last day? Be it your last day of school, last day of college or last day of your work. Doesn't it feel totally different on your last day?

Madam - Toastmaster, fellow members, esteemed guests, my one such experience was on 9^th Jan 2009 -My last working day in my first organization.

I woke up early that day, took shower, ate early breakfast and was ready to leave for office. As usual, before stepping out of the door, I looked at the mirror to make sure I was properly dressed and suddenly I went into flash back.  I started remembering my joining day 4 years back, I standing in front of the same mirror, admiring myself, ID card hanging around my neck and the glow of achievement and success in my eyes. After all, I was joining one of my dream companies.  I had learnt the meaning of self-dependence here, my first step into the professional world. There were so many things to remember, my first project, my first salary, my first overseas assignment and the list was endless…

What do you think, you are Tom Cruise? What are you looking at for so long? My friend screamed from one corner of the room….I suddenly returned from my flashback and said... Nothing dude, I am leaving for office now, see you in the evening and I stepped out.

As soon as I reached near office premises, I saw a beautiful, bright and a top class building; the office building never looked so beautiful before. When I reached my cubical, I saw my workstation, my computer, my chair, it appeared as if they were designed only and only for me. I sat on my chair and looked around; people were busy doing their work, few talking over the phones, few completely engrossed in their monitors. They all were looking so different and beautiful. I wanted to talk to each one of them, knowing that I won’t be able to see them again. I wanted to live each and every moment of the day.

After completing few exit formalities at my desk, I went to the library to get a last glimpse of it; the library was as quite as always been, but it never appeared so calm and peaceful before. I sat there for good 30 mins and felt like mediated. After that, I went to rec room where I used to play table tennis with my friends. I looked at the table and felt as if the table was inviting me to play one last game. Everything was so mesmerizing; I was getting so emotional about anything and everything on that day.

When I returned to my desk, it was already 4:00 PM and I realized that it was time to say good bye to my colleagues, my friends. I thought I was a grown up man and saying good was not going to be big of a deal, but I was totally wrong, it was one of the toughest thing of the world. With the heavy heart and wet eyes, I said “See you later” to my friends and walked out of the building forever.

After reaching home, I took a deep breath and said to myself- what a day!! I had never felt so content and happy before. It was certainly one of the best days I had lived in years. And the reason was very clear, I lived my day to the fullest, enjoying each and every moment of the day.But the question is – Do we need to wait for the last day to live like this? Probably not!!  So why don’t we live TODAY to fullest, and make beautiful stories for TOMORROW.

Madam - Toastmaster.


That was 2nd my speech. One step at a time, there was a definite improvement I could feel in my speaking. I was so present there, connected perfectly to my audience. So glad that I could deliver it with great intensity...People liked it so much that I was awarded the best speaker of the day.. Every one was amazed to see that it was just the second speech of mine and I was already in the race of participating in club contests. I was so happy to hear that.. Here are few feedback comments from my fellow toastmasters. :-)

1st Speech - The Ice Breaker

Do you remember what career you dreamed of having when you were a kid? I was reading an article the other day and I found that most of the American kids aged between 5 to 7, want to be superheroes (For the record, most of them want to be spider man). It put a pleasant smile on my face as it took me to my childhood days and I started remembering, what was my dream job as a kid? And did I end up getting one? 

Mister Toastmaster, fellow members and esteemed guests. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Manoj Prasad Naudiyal. Doesn't it sound, lots of alphabets, put together, in no particular order.. And when it comes to pronouncing it, I am sure that the toughest tongue twister would sound very easy to you. When my parents gave me this name, believe me, they had no idea, that one day, I would come to this part of the world and be such a pain.. So what should we do now, I think I have a solution for it, You guys can call me Noddy. My friends call me that. Noddy is a short version of my last name Naudiyal. You might also know that Noddy is a popular cartoon character,( but my friends don’t call me that because I look like him)..  

I was born and brought up in the city called Dehradun in northern part of India. Dehradun is a beautifully valley in the foothills of Himalaya and is famous for its scenic beauty and pleasant weather. The city is also known for its large cantonment or army base area. I grew up watching the disciplined life of army all my childhood. As a teenager, I was mostly fascinated with their royal life style of army officers. Playing polo in large green field, to driving that royal class convertible jeep, were few exciting things among many. All these things had a substantial influence in my life, and needless to say I was inclined to be an army officer.

After my high school, I appeared for National defense Academy exam (For your information - The academy produces the best army officers for the country). So I appeared for this exam and I failed miserably. One year later, I made another attempt, and you know what…I failed this time too. In the retrospection, I realized that I was joining army for all the wrong reasons.. Joining army means going for the most responsible, courageous and respectful job. It needs lots of bravery and sacrifice to serve the nation. And there I was, far away from the reality, thinking, that army is about playing polo. 

After this episode, my parents advised me that I should continue my studies and see how life unfolds in the coming years. I humbly accepted their advice and took admission in an engineering college. In year 2004, I graduated with a computer engineering degree and got a decently paid job in a software firm. Since then, it’s been 10 years, and I have had a wonderful time working with different multinational companies. I had a privilege working with so many intelligent and smart people across the globe. I am a software Architect by profession and am truly- truly passionate about my work. OK, maybe not that much passionate.. 

Well, that’s about it, but before I conclude my speech, I want to circle back on the article I started and leave you all with a food for thought. We all love to ask our kids what they want to be as grown up, and when they say superheroes, astronauts or super model, we share a good laugh and we forget about it. But, how many of us..how many of us, make some conscious efforts to make them realize that such a job does not exist and if it does how can they get it?

Mr. Toastmaster. 


That was my speech. I know it wasn't impressive and I could have had a much better one. But trust me, there is a huge difference between writing a speech on a paper and delivering the same on a stage. I didn't want to write something that I couldn't deliver with same intensity. It was my first public speaking experience and I wanted to start on a lighter node. I am very hopeful that I learn and grow with every speech I deliver in this journey of mine. Here are few feedback comments from my fellow toastmasters.