It's Possible, Here & Now (Part 2 of 2)

In Part 1 we read the coverage of 3 great speeches evaluated during the Winning Speech Forum 2010 held on 06 February 2010. Let's move on to Part 2 ...


Never Too Late by Jim Key (2003)

Dreaming is fun, necessary and natural. We were meant to dream. We stopped dreaming as adults because we learnt that our dreams hurt. What did you dream? Why did you stop? It's never too late.

He ended his speech with the sign language for – "It's never too late to dream."

Evaluation

Jim had good usage of gestures and an impactful sign language conclusion. LeAnn thought that while the delivery was powerful, the speech development was lacking. She could not immediately identify the key message for this speech, as there appeared to be several messages. Ramdas questioned the value of the speech. Just dream and not act upon it? Geoff thought Jim had an exceptionally good voice, with 5 different shades of voice in his speech. For e.g. impersonating a child.

Ramdas Nayar

In Loghandran's opinion, acting and impersonating will help in his speech. "You must be the message, by being in character. If you have a don't care attitude about dressing, be prepared to lose!" He also asked us to use at least one powerful word e.g. epiphany, vortex of playfulness and spontaneity. Your speech will look like it was well researched.

Loghandran

Winner Acceptance Speech by Jim Key

For Jim Key, 2003 was his third appearance as an International Speech finalist. He explained why he did not give up after two attempts.

"You have no idea how I dreamt for this moment, how I longed for this moment. A friend asked why are you doing this? It's because I've shared my dreams with my children."

After an emotional pause, he continued:

"I wanted to be able to tell my children - in whatever you choose to do in life, if you fall short, it's not the end of the world. Even if you fail the second time, it will hurt, but it's not the end of the world. Because there can be a day like this, for you!"

Dr. Arulnathan presenting a token of appreciation to Organising Chair Loh Chia Hur

Group photo of the organizing team and panel evaluators

The event saw another award ceremony for the Half-CC ribbons. Here are the deserving Area W7 recipients.

Grace Lok of KPMG

Grace Loh of KPMG accepting on behalf of Ivo van der Kleij

Grace Lee of KPMG

Chee Yoong of Exact ADC

Contributed by Angeline Lee

It's Possible, Here & Now (Part 1 of 2)

Saturday 6 February 2010 was a day unlike any others. It was the day of the Winning Speech Forum, organized by Division W. What transpired? Four great speeches, panel evaluations and an emotional acceptance speech.

Scene at the registration counter

Part of the audience

Through the use of modern technology (DVD), we travelled through space and time to witness up-close and personal, 4 world-class, award-winning speeches:

Here and Now by Kyle Hall
The future is not what it used to be. The ability to craft the future is important. But when we try to live for the future, we sacrifice the opportunities of the moment, opportunities to appreciate the beauty of now, opportunities to connect with someone. Give yourself the gift of the present, the gift of being here and now.

Evaluation
A witty and humorous speech about Kyle's marriage proposal. It scored well for speech development and effectiveness. For delivery, Dominic felt this speech did not stir his emotions. He recommended that Kyle's shirt to be of a brighter colour instead of blending in with the dark backdrop.

Dominic Joseph

It's Possible by Otis Williams Jr. (1993)
Do you know where is the richest place on Earth? It's the graveyard. Full of people who never acted on their dreams, of books never written, of songs never sung, of ideas never shared. We are designed for achievement, engineered for success, destined for greatness. The time for action is NOW. It's possible, to live your dreams. It ended with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt,

"I choose not to be a common man ..."

Evaluation
Otis has a masterful usage of language and animated facial expressions. LeAnn thought that his presentation was too rehearsed. The conclusion with the Theodore Roosevelt's quote lasted 51 seconds, which was too lengthy in Geoff's opinion.

LeAnn Tang

Ouch! by Darren LaCroix (2001)
Darren started the speech by falling flat on the ground and stayed down for 30 seconds. A dramatic start to his speech. He ended with

"Think of failure as valuable negative information. It is the next step after the Ouch that is important. What's your next step? When will you take it? Go ahead and fall. Fall forward!"

Evaluation

Geoff thought the opening was attention-grabbing but Darren stayed down for too long. LeAnn noted that Darren used the Ouch word 13 times, fall forward 9 times. Darren has a colloquial style of speaking which was appropriate for his message. Dr. Arul who witnessed this speech first-hand, shared that Darren practised countless times to fall without affecting the microphone.

Geoff Andrew

Stay tune for Part 2.

Contributed by Angeline Lee

Multi-Level Details: International Speech & Table Topics Contest 2010

Clubs ISTT Contest
I am pleased to share with you that EXACT ADC Toastmasters Club has successfully conducted its club level International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest yesterday - the first club in Area W7 that produced the candidates for our next level contest.  Congratulations!

We will then witness the next club contests:

Ireka Toastmasters Club:
11 March 2010 (Thurs), 7.15pm, at SENI Galeri, Changkat Duta Kiara

Friendship Toastmasters Club:
16 March 2010 (Tue), 7.00pm, at Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club

Clubs that do not plan to have contest at the club level will send representatives to compete at the area contest.

Area W7 ISTT Contest
Date: 8 April 2010 (Thursday)
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Multipurpose Hall, Tiffany Kiara, No. 1, Changkat Duta Kiara, Off Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
 
Admission is free as each club will contribute RM100 for the contest (as discussed at the 2nd Area Council Meeting).  Further details will be provided by the Organising Committee.

Division W ISTT Contest
Date: 24 April 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 1pm - 6pm
Venue: Room 1.0, KDU College, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya
 
Tickets are on sale now from your respective Area Governors W1 to W8
@ RM15 per ticket (ON or BEFORE 15 April 2010), 
@ RM20 per ticket (AFTER 15 April 2010).
 
Value-added learning session: DTM Loghandran will be conducting a session on 'Deliver Skills and Contest'.  Please refer to the brochure enclosed for further details.

District 51 ISTT Contest  
Date: 23 May 2010 (Sun)
Venue: Miri

The champion of the Division Contest will represent Division W at the District 51 ISTT Contest.  

World Final 
Date: August 2010
Venue: USA