With club officers arriving as early as 12.30 PM and eager to be trained, Division W TLI2 started on time at 1.30 PM. With TME Marian kicking off the show, we had speeches from Organizing Chair Angeline, Division W Governor Vincent and District 51 Governor Thanni.

For our Ice Breaker session, we had a Treasure Hunt for objects such as a Club Officer manual, an SAA, TI badge, TI name card and a Toastmaster pin. TLI Publicity Chair Kuok Sum summarized for us the learning points which are to hone our observation skills, to be resourceful and also to practice our communication skills.

In “Breaking the Vicious Cycle”, Lieutenant Governor Marketing DTM Ramdas spoke of the vicious cycle that all clubs have gone thru or are currently facing – low turn-out, poor quality meetings, low morale, resulting in fewer members. To overcome this vicious cycle, we have to identify the root cause. One way of doing so would be to answer the Moment of Truth (MOT) questionnaire which addresses the 6 dimensions of a club meeting.

Miracle Story presented by President Grace from KPMG KL echoed what we had just learnt from the “Breaking the Vicious Cycle” presentation. From a roaring start of 70 members, membership dwindled down. Charter President Raja Ahmad did not give up and continued with club meetings even playing multiple roles at times. Meanwhile, talented club members have won speech contests at Area level, Division level and even became District contestants. With the perseverance and effort put in by the Charter President and the current President, membership number has increased, and the club is now aiming for President’s Distinguished Club status !


Just before the break, the “Wonder Boys” of District 51 lead us in the Stretching Session. We were dancing to the song “Nobody” sang by “Wonder Girls”, the popular Korean singing group. Who would have thought that our District leaders are good dancers too?


After our break, it was time for the Moments of Truth break-out session. It was indeed challenging covering all 6 dimensions of MOT within 45 minutes, with participation from all club officers.


While the Area Governors were compiling the finding from the MOT session, club officers were treated to a special video presentation, “Magic Moments”. We learnt that there are many magical components to crafting and delivering a great speech.

In the MOT presentation of findings, Area Governors Siew Fun, Kang, Angeline, Janice and Soo Ling summarized the challenges and recommendations that were discussed during the break-out sessions.

In the Q&A session, there were several questions from the floor which our District Governor answered in his humble and simple manner. He reminded us that there many experienced Toastmasters willing to help. We just have to take the first step to invite them to our club meetings.


In his closing address, Division Governor Vincent announced the attendance of all 7 club officers of One World Toastmasters Club, the newest club in Division W.

Caroline from Exact ADC shares with us her experience of attending her first TLI training:

It was my first time attending a TLI session and I can only think of one word to describe it – Inspiring! Speakers talking from experience and sharing from the videos were definitely beneficial. The group session, where club members shared their own stories and struggles, made me realize that we were not alone in our battle to keep our club members’ interests going. Grace from KPMG was so kind to offer her contact details and was open to share further what they have done at their in-house club. It evidently shows that Toastmasters is indeed a place where members are helping each other, not just in public speaking but also in leadership and organizational skills.


Thank you to our hard-working TLI Team who has made this first-timer experience a memorable one !

Photos contributed by TLI Publicity Chair Kuok Sum