Dance with Wolves & You'd Lose Your Innocence!

Play with fire and you'd get burnt. Dance with wolves and you might lose your innocence. The converse is just as true, when you lose your Innocence, you'd learn to dance with wolves. Don't get us wrong, "Dances with Wolves" and "Innocence Lost" were two separate speech projects but one could not stop to wonder that they are related in some way. The former were delivered by yours truly (Chee Yoong) as part of my CC Project 5: Your Body Speaks while the latter was delivered by Toastmaster Abdul Rahman as his ACM: Humorously Speaking Project 1 : Warm Up Your Audience.

"Dances with Wolves" shared stories about thiefs who preyed on material gains. These ‘wolves’ may be living near us, working with us or even those that we depended on for protection. Do we know who they are? Maybe the next speech will touch on 'Tigers' instead to match the mainstream celebrity hot topic.

"Innocence Lost" touched all of us deeply with stories of how we have evolved to be less tolerant over time as we matured. When we were young, we had less 'barriers' towards people of different race and religion but as we grew, we began to be constrained by 'social practices' and guided to see things through a contorted lens.

With the honour of playing Toastmaster of the Day, I opted to continue with our newly found tradition, the signature clap. Our Madam General Evaluator Toastmaster Lay Choo commented that this is indeed something special that Exact should continue. She also shared many suggestions with us on our speeches, evaluation and things that we can consider to incorporate.

Our Madam General Evaluator, Toastmaster Lay Choo from Sime. Thank you for sharing your evening with us.

Speaking about special, we saw an exciting Table Topic session conducted by Toastmaster Abdul Rahman. Mystery Mayhem was the overall theme whereby participants had to complete a story and let their imagination run wild. It saw 5 courageous Exactians exercising their prowess at table topics with stories on drug checks at a club, Batman scolding his butler over his suit, ghosts, maid and stalker. Thank you to Loon, Yuen Kai, Andrew, Joyce and myself (feels weird to thank myself) for participating. We believe that the overall experience gave Toastmaster Stefanie, who was our TT Evaluator a wonderful first visit to Exact. She had many a wonderful comment for us as well including how to make table topic story-telling more convincing. Toastmaster Loon won the best table topic speaker.

Our Ah Counter, Toastmaster Joyce, delivering her table topic.

Our Table Topic Evaluator, Toastmaster Stefanie from our neighbour, DDYPC. We will remember her advice for every Toastmaster to "story-tell".

Toastmaster Loon receiving the Best Table Topic Speaker certificate from our President, Yuen Kai.

In the interest of sharing, Toastmaster Andrew conducted session to share the learning points from the judging forum in TLI2 with everyone. It started off with the video playback of the winning international speech by Toastmaster Ong Swee Keat. Toastmaster Andrew then shared about the judging criteria as well as the opinions noted by the Judging Forum, Dr. Arul, Stephen Fernando and Geoff Andrew on the Speech Content, Delivery and Language respectively.

Toastmaster Andrew who shared his evaluation on the Advanced Speech by Toastmaster Abdul Rahman.

Toastmaster Loon sharing his opinions on the Speech delivered by Toastmaster Chee Yoong (me).

With that we concluded our Meeting #63, which happened to be our LAST meeting on Tower 2 KLCC. Join us as begin our new journey in a new office, our FIRST meeting in G-Tower - noon, 26 Jan 2010.

Until then, take care.

Our Timer, Toastmaster Toh delivering his timer's report.

From the left, our Grammarian, Toastmaster Kasey, Table Topic Master, Toastmaster Abdul Rahman Shah and our President Yuen Kai.

The photos above can also be found in our Photo Gallery.

Taken from Exact ADC Toastmasters blog. Contributed by Chee Yoong, Lai.

How to be a Winner - Find out on 6 Feb 2010

As we all know, the International Speech Contest is approaching and as our aspiring contestants, we want you to

LOOK YOUR BEST, DO YOUR BEST, BE YOUR BEST

If you are wondering how to BE YOUR BEST as a contestant, look no further. Division W is organizing The Winning Speech Forum just for you, where you can learn more on speech development, effectiveness, speech value, delivery and language.

In this forum, four world champion speeches will be shown and subsequently discussed, scrutinised and dissected by DTM LeAnn Tang, DTM Dominic Joseph, DTM Geoff Andrew and DTM Ramdas Nayar. As a contestant, you will definitely gain by learning how to prepare and deliver a winning speech.

If you have not decided whether to be a contestant, this forum is still the right forum for you to learn from, as all the areas covered in our Competent Communication manual will be presented and discussed. You have nothing to lose and additional knowledge to gain by joining us at this informative forum on how to prepare and deliver a winning speech, whether for your prepared speeches or as a future speech contestant.

Join us at the Winning Speech Forum and learn from past winners. You too can be a winner and better speaker, for every speech that you deliver.

The details of the forum are as follows.

Date : 6 Feb 2010 (Saturday)

Time : 1.30pm – 5.30pm

Venue: Uptown Conference Centre, Level 12, Tower A, Uptown 5, Petaling Jaya

Single ticket is sold at RM 25 (including lunch). For now (up to 16th January 2010), Division W is offering a group package of RM 20 per ticket for any group with 6 people or more (RM 120 for six tickets). Not to worry though, if you could not gather 6 people or more in your club. Please inform me of the numbers and I will match you up with other Toastmasters so that you can still benefit from the group price. Tickets will be a fix price of RM 25 each after 16th January 2010.

The last day to book the tickets for the group package expires on 16th January 2010 (5 days from now). So book your tickets NOW from Loh Chia Hur, Tan Lay Theng or Cheong Kuok Sum. When you make your booking with us, we will instruct you on how to make the payment. We will pass the tickets to you once the payment is made. You can reach us at:

Organising Chair

Name: Loh Chia Hur

Email: chiahur@gmail.com

Phone Number: +6016 650 0856

Marketing Director

Name: Tan Lay Theng

Email: laytheng@gmail.com

Phone Number: +6012 254 5095

Asst. Organizing Chair

Name: Cheong Kuok Sum

Email: kuoksum@gmail.com

Phone Number: +6012 689 3511

Name: Janice Lee

Email: janice_ladycanary@hotmail.com

Phone Number: +6012 668 3291

Name: Lee Soo Ling

Email: sooling.lee@ireka.com.my

Phone Number: +6012 216 3868

Name: Angeline Lee

Email: angeline.lee@thetasp.com 

Phone Number: +6016 660 0342

Contributed by Tan Lay Theng, Area Governor W7

Division W Winning Speech Forum

Ever have the feeling that something is missing from your project speeches?  Ever wonder how you can put in that extra ingredient to give a memorable speech – a speech that the audience will take home and remember for a long time to come. Is there any area where you would like to improve on? Yes, the Competent Communications manual provides us a systematic and organized guideline to produce and deliver a good speech, but practice and experience helps to add in that spice.  Practising is definitely within our control. What about experience?  How much experience can we gain from the ten project speeches? What better way than to leverage on the experience of other more proficient speakers. Thus, we shall learn from the best; from International Speech Champion speakers.

Division W brings to you four International Speech Champion speeches in the upcoming Winning Speeches Forum. In this forum, you will get to view winning speeches of World International speech champions and listen to Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM Dominic Joseph, DTM Geoff Andrew, DTM LeAnn Tang and DTM Ramdas Nayar) discuss the speaker's strengths, weaknesses and delivery techniques that could be applied in the preparation of our project speeches. Particular attention will be focused on the speech development, delivery, effectiveness and language – all the areas covered in projects 1 to 10 in the Competent Communications Manual.

DO NOT miss this fantastic opportunity to learn from the masters and awe your audience in your future speeches. Who knows, you may be the next champion!

The details of the forum are as follows.

Date :  6 Feb 2010 (Saturday)
Time :  1.30pm – 5.30pm
Venue:  Uptown Conference Centre, Level 12, Tower A, Uptown 5, Petaling Jaya

Single ticket is sold at RM 25 (including lunch). For now (up to 16th January 2010), Division W is offering a group package of RM 20 per ticket for any group with 6 people or more (RM 120 for six tickets). Not to worry though, if you could not gather 6 people or more in your club. Please inform me of the numbers and I will match you up with other Toastmasters so that you will still benefit from the group price. Tickets will be a fix price of RM 25 each after 16th January 2010.

The last day to book the tickets for the group package expires on 16th January 2010 (5 days from now). So book your tickets from Loh Chia Hur, Tan Lay Theng or Cheong Kuok Sum before the time runs out for the group package price. Please make your booking with us and we will instruct you on how to make the payment. We will pass the tickets to you once the payment is made. You can contact us at:

Organising Chair

Name: Loh Chia Hur

Email: chiahur@gmail.com

Phone Number: +6016 650 0856

Asst. Organizing Chair

Name: Cheong Kuok Sum

Email: kuoksum@gmail.com

Phone Number: +6012 689 3511

Marketing Director

Name: Tan Lay Theng

Email: laytheng@gmail.com

Phone Number: +6012 254 5095

Name: Janice Lee

Email: janice_ladycanary@hotmail.com

Phone Number: +6012 668 3291

Name: Lee Soo Ling

Email: sooling.lee@ireka.com.my

Phone Number: +6012 216 3868

Name: Angeline Lee

Email: angeline.lee@thetasp.com 

Phone Number: +6016 660 0342

Contributed by Tan Lay Theng, Area Governor W7

First CIMA - KPMG KL TMC Joint Meeting

1st Joint Meeting between CIMA Toastmasters Club and KPMG KL Toastmasters Club was successfully conducted on Wed, 6 January 2010 at CIMA’s office. It was a friendly, warm and mutually helpful meeting.

For the pictures, have a look at the following doc.

Mesyuarat Pidato 21 Disember 2009

Sebelum tahun ini berakhir, ada satu lagi perkara yang ingin saya lakukan. Satu perkara yang sungguh mencabar memandangkan penguasaan Bahasa Malaysia saya memang tidak mengkagumkan. Saya terasa ingin menyertai mesyuarat Toastmasters Pidato.

Secara kebetulan, pada pagi ini saya diberitahu mesyuarat Pidato mungkin akan diadakan pada malam ini. Setahu saya, Puan Zaharah adalah Koordinator Pidato and beliau mungkin tahu tentang mesyuarat Pidato ini. Jawapan beliau kepada pertanyaan saya seperti berikut:

“Ya, ada mesyuarat Pidato KL. Mesyuarat bermula 8 mlm. Makanan dijamu jam 7.30 mlm. Jemputlah datang. Salam, Zaharah”

Selepas menerima berita ini, saya teragak-agak pula. Patutkah saya menghadiri mesyuarat ini sedangkan bertutur dalam Bahasa Malaysia bukan suatu perkara yang paling mudah bagi saya ? Kemudian, terfikir pula kalau tidak cuba, memang tidak akan tahu selama-lamanya.

Pada pukul 7.50 malam, saya tiba di tempat mesyuarat iaitu di Wisma UOA Pantai, Jalan Pantai Jaya. Kami menjamu nasi lemak untuk makan malam sebelum memulakan mesyuarat. Saya telah bersetuju mengambil peranan Pengira Penggunaan Ah (Ah-Counter). Saya memang tidak berkeyakinan mencuba peranan yang lain seperti

Ucapan Inspirasi (Invocation)
Pengacara Ucapan Spontan (Table Topics Master)
Pelawak (Humour Master)
Penilai Penggunaan Bahasa (Grammarian)
Penilai Perdana (General Evaluator)
Penilai Ucapan Spontan (Table Topics Evaluator)
Penilai Ucapan (Speech Evaluator)

Sememangnya, inilah kali pertama saya menyandang peranan Pengira Ah. Saya tidak pernah mencuba peranan ini dalam mana-mana mesyuarat Toastmasters sebelum ini. Cabaran yang seterusnya ialah menjalankan peranan ini dalam pertuturan Bahasa pula.

GEMPAR adalah perkataan hari ini (Word of the Day). Ini amat sesuai untuk mesyuarat Pidato terakhir tahun 2009 kerana mesyuarat ini sungguh mengemparkan. Ia diacarakan oleh pengacara (TME) yang penuh bakat and bersemangat. Pengacara mesyuarat ini tidak asing, tidak lain lagi ialah Mohd Hadzrin Shah, Gabenor Kawasan W2. Ucapan beliau penuh dengan kata-kata yang indah. Malangnya, saya tidak memahami kesemua ucapan beliau (dengan istilah-istilah yang indah tetapi asing kepada saya). Jadi saya meminta penilai Bahasa yang berpengalaman, Puan Zaharah, untuk memberi sedikit penerangan selepas mesyuarat kami berakhir.

Hadzrin Shah adalah Pengacara, Pelawak and Penilai Ucapan Spontan

Dalam sesi ucapan spontan, setiap hadirin diminta mengambil bahagian. Walaupun penuh dengan keraguan, saya mengambil bahagian juga. Saya tidak pernah rasa ucapan spontan adalah perkara yang mudah walaupun bertutur dalam Bahasa Inggeris untuk mesyuarat Toastmasters Friendship. Apatah lagi untuk mencuba dalam Bahasa Malaysia!

Leganya perasaan saya apabila dapat berucap 1 minit 30 saat dalam ucapan spontan pertama saya di Kelab Pidato KL. Kami bergelak ketawa semasa sesi ucapan spontan, terutamanya ketika mendengar ucapan pengacara kami, sebab beliau memang hebat dengan persembahannya yang penuh dengan jenaka.

Sesi ini disusuli oleh ucapan project ke-5 Pergerakan Tubuh daripada buku panduan Pemidato Cekap (Competent Communicator manual) oleh Puan Zaharah. Ucapan beliau yang bertajuk Pengarah Syarikat penuh dengan semangat dan maklumat untuk para penonton. Sesi Penilaian pula amat menarik bagi saya kerana ia suatu pengalaman yang berbeza. Ini adalah pertama kalinya saya mendengar kata-kata seperti ucapan yang jitu dan lancar, dan juga imbasan mata.

Abu Bakar Ngah adalah Penilai Perdana

Selepas mesyuarat malam ini, saya terima pula utusan yang menarik daripada pengacara yang menggemparkan:

Dari: Hadzrin Shah
Tarikh: Selasa, Disember 22, 2009 12:03 AM
Tajuk: Kelab Pidato KL - Mesyuarat GEMPAR KE-14 pada 21 Dis 2009

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian,
Sepantas kilat dan setangkas halilintar yang menyambar, saya ingin
Ucapkan berbanyak-banyak terima kasih kepada ahli-ahli dan tetamu yang hadir pada mesyuarat hari ini. Anda semua telah membuat mesyuarat kita gempar!

Namun, ada satu tugasan yang saya gagal lakukan. Saya kini berasa amat kesal dan bersalah. Akan tetapi takkan saya biarkan nasi menjadi bubur, jangan sampai harapan terkubur. Maka, ingin sungguh niat di hati untuk mengucapkan....

SELAMAT HARI JADI KEPADA NAIB PRESIDENT PENDIDIKAN DR KAISAN!!!

Semoga hidup saudara terus berbahagia. Hari jadinya ini yang keberapa, itu tanyalah pada tuan yang empunya.

Kini akhirnya selesailah tugas saya. Sekian, terima kasih.
Kita jumpa lagi tahun hadapan!

Hadzrin
Pengacara Mesyuarat terakhir 2009

Saudara saudari sekalian, kalau anda ingin mencuba mesyuarat Pidato, layarilah
http://pidatokualalumpur.blogspot.com/

Untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut lagi tentang masa dan tempat mesyuarat. Saranan saya ialah cubalah sekurang-kurangnya sekali, memang tidak akan menyesal.

Sekian sahaja laporan saya mengenai lawatan ke Kelab Pidato KL pada 21 Disember, menghadiri mesyuarat Pidato terakhir tahun 2009 yang memang menggemparkan.

Hasil nukilan Angeline Lee

TLI2 – Behind the Scenes

Mon, 23 November 2009
Mail from OC of Division W TLI2 with the following request:
Each AG will prepare and deliver an inspiring speech (8-10 min) on “How I have personally benefited from the Toastmasters Educational program”. Please prepare the 8-10 min speech for our rehearsal on 29 Nov 2009.  

My question to OC:
About the standby AG role, would I be presenting the speech on 29 Nov  or just have it ready for 12 Dec in case it is needed ?

Reply from OC:
You would be presenting the speech on 29 Nov, so that you could also be ready if you need to replace any AG on 12 Dec 2009.

Wed, 25 November 2009
Received the daunting news that I am no longer a standby AG, it is quite confirmed that I will be one of the replacement AG for TLI2.

Fri, 27 November 2009
Having recovered slightly from the daunting news of Wednesday and today being a public holiday, I began writing the inspiring speech.

Sat, 28 November 2009
Finally completed the speech, but not too sure whether it has enough inspiring moments in it.

Sun, 29 November 2009
We arrived on time for the AG rehearsal session at Klang Bilingual TMC meeting venue. Seven of us presented our speeches. Everyone provided feedbacks. Division Governor explained what he wanted us to achieve during the 8-10 minutes speech. The objective is to inspire and motivate club Exco members to continue their hard work as club officers. We only have 6 more months to complete our responsibilities. 

Area Governor W4 Cheong Kuok Sum, delivering his inspiring speech. On his right is Assistant Division Governor in Education, Vincent Hor

Division Governor Soh Fong Wai listening intently to the feedbacks provided by the participants in the AG rehearsal session. Next to him is Area Governor W5 Christine Khoo

Area Governor W2 Mohd Hadzrin Shah (left) discussing with Vincent Hor regarding feedback for his AG speech. Looking on is Area Governor W8 Henry Fu

Afterwards, we were treated to seafood dinner, as a reward for our ‘hardship’. It had been a slightly stressful day for me. It always is when I have to deliver a speech but the good thing is I had the opportunity to know the Division Council members better.

Fri, 4 December 2009
As we did not have time to discuss this item during our 29 Nov AG Rehearsal session, we had a meeting today to discuss on the questions to be asked for the Q&A segment of the AG break-out session.

Sat, 5 December 2009
A few of us attended Division C TLI2. For me, I wanted to observe how the AG session would be conducted and also to have a preview of what we would be getting for our TLI2 session. LGET speech was definitely motivating. We had presentations on ‘Parliamentary Procedures’ and ‘Conflict Management’.

After the TLI2 session, while I was chatting with Lay Theng on our observations, DG Ritchie stopped by to have a very brief chat with us before rushing off to the airport to Penang for another TLI2 session the following day.

Thur, 10 December 2009
OC Lay Theng and Division Secretary Soo Pon were at Menara AIA for a final inspection of the venue and to check out the rooms allocated for the AG break-out sessions.

Fri, 11 December 2009
I did a final touch-up and practice session for the 8-10 minutes inspiring speech.

Sat, 12 December 2009
We arrived at Menara AIA at 8.30 AM as requested by our OC.

Part of the preparation work prior to start of TLI2 at 10.30 AM

As I walked into the auditorium after ending my duty at the registration counter, DG Ritchie was speaking on romance within the Toastmasters fraternity. Taken aback, I was wondering whether I was at TLI2 since I did not expect him to be speaking on this subject at all. In fact, I do not recall that this was part of his speech for Division C TLI2.

Our District Governor, Ritchie Chong.

Four days later, the mystery was solved. We found out that our Division Governor had jokingly told DG that his speech was always about statistics and facts. DG decided to accept the challenge of doing something different and presented an impromptu segment on Romance.

The Forum – Judging of International Speech Contest was not part of TLI2 mandatory training program. Our Division Governor had decided to have this item as part of Division W TLI2. It would be useful as we prepare for our International Speech Contest. It was a very educational session for me.

From left to right, facilitator Ramdas Nayar, Dr. Arulnathan, Stephen Fernando and Geoff Andrew

Lastly, my thoughts about TLI2
It has been a slightly stressful day for me. Being on duty meant missing out on certain parts of TLI2. However, my attendance at Division C TLI2 did help to close the gap. I have learned a lot from the judging forum and now feel more confident to take up a judging role if the opportunity presented itself in the future.


Contributed by Assistant Area Governor W7 for Marketing, Angeline Lee

Division W TLI2 at Menara AIA

After serving as club officers for five months, Toastmasters of Division W met in the second Toastmasters Leadership Institute training (TLI2) session at Menara AIA on 12 December 2009. As our reward, we found ourselves broadening our networks, exchanging knowledge with fellow Toastmasters and perking our ears listening intently at the wise words of our Toastmasters veterans.

Attendees to the TLI2.

Lieutenant Governor of Education & Training - Peninsula Thannimalai Letchumanan ACB, CL flew in from Penang despite the fact that Division S was having its TLI2 and his whole family had gathered at his Penang residence. He confidently spoke without visual aids and set the scene on the Importance of Club Success Plans.

LGET-P facilitating the sharing of the feedbacks from the Break-Out sessions by the respective Area Governors or representatives.

Then, all of us had an interactive Break-Out session with our respective Area W1 to W8 Governors or their representatives;

• W1: Assistant AG W7 in Marketing, Angeline Lee ACB on behalf of Area Governor W1 Syamala Murigiah CC
• W2: Area Governor W1 Mohd Hadzrin Shah ACB, CL
• W3: Assistant Division W Governor in Marketing Chan Guan Leong CTM, CL stood in for Area Governor W4, Loh Chia Hur ACB, CL
• W4: Area Governor W4 Cheong Kuok Sum CC,ALB
• W5: Area Governor W5 Christine Khoo ACB, CL
• W6: Area Governor W6 Ng Lay Choo ACB, CL
• W7: Area Governor W7 Tan Lay Theng CC, CL
• W8: Area Governor W8 Henry Fu ACB, CL

Area Governor W7 Tan Lay Theng with members of Area W7 during the AG Break -out Session

The overall consensus was that Toastmasters provides a conducive environment for members to improve their communication and leadership skills, learn new things and in return, achieve personal growth and improved self-confidence. Current practices and suggestions to retain existing members as well as recruit new ones include proper mentoring, organising mini workshops and invitation to external General Evaluators for their constructive feedbacks. 

Area Governor W2 Hadzrin presenting the result of Area W2 AG Break-out session

District Parliamentarian Dr. Arulnathan, DTM shared on the election and proxy processes of Area Governors and Club Officers. Now equipped with a better understanding, we are in a better position to handle the next election.

Toastmasters Leadership Institute Chairman R.S. Sandrasegaran, DTM touched on Conflict Management. In this interesting session, attendees were asked to complete several questions to check if their individual character personify a Collaborative Owl, Accommodating Teddy Bear, Compromising Fox, Competing Shark or Avoiding Turtle.

After that, in a reverse Table Topics session, the audience threw pressing district-related questions to our District officers, District Governor Richard Chong DTM, LGET-P Thannimalai Letchumanan ACB, CL and LGM-P Francis Ng, DTM and TLI Chairman R.S. Sandrasegaran, DTM.

The Il-Divo group aka District Officers addressing questions from the audience.

This was followed by the Half CC Award presentation ceremony which saw Division W Governor Soh Fong Wai DTM presenting ribbons to 9 Division W members who started their ice breaker speech on 1 July 2009 and completed five or more Competent Communicator manual projects by 30 November 2009.

Division W Governor Soh Fong Wai presenting the Half CC Awards.

In the Judging of International Speech Contest Forum facilitated by District Mentoring Chair Ramdas Nayar DTM, the limelight fell on Dr. Arulnathan DTM, past champion of District 51 Humorous Speech Contest Stephen Fernando and District Marketing Committee, Awards - P Geoff Andrew DTM. They divulged insights on the evaluation of speeches:

• 50% Content (speech development, effectiveness and speech value),
• 30% Delivery (physical, voice, manner); and
• 20% Language (appropriateness and correctness).

Those present had the privilege to see District 51 International Speech Champion 2009 Ong Swee Keat on DVD and hear the Judging Forum panel’s evaluation. This was an opportunity to learn tips on improving the preparation and presentation of a speech. Those who would like to learn more can register for the upcoming International Speech Contest - The Winning Speech Forum 2010 on 6 February 2010. You can find more info here.   

After presenting tokens of appreciation to the speakers and organisers of the event, Division W Governor Soh Fong Wai DTM wrapped up the day and acknowledged that it was a good sign that more than half the audience were still present after four hours.

Overall, TLI2 proved to be an enlightening, entertaining and educational experience for me. Kudos to Organising Chair Toastmaster Tan Lay Theng and her team for making this a successful event!


Contributed by Elaine Tan, Friendship TMC

Magical Evening at ING

The 11th meeting of the ING Leadership Toastmasters Club was held on the 2nd of December 2009. The meeting started out like any other Toastmasters meeting with the meeting being called to order by our ever faithful Assistant Sergeant at Arms, Gary Goh, who is always on top of his game when it comes to timing.  We then had a short opening address by our Acting President, James Lee.

Toastmaster of the Evening Tan Lay Theng introducing the role players

After the Toastmaster of the Evening, Area Governor W7 Tan Lay Theng introduced all the role players, the first highlight of the night, the Table Topics Session commenced. That session was anything but conventional as the Table Topic Master, Yazlin came up with a great idea to make a volunteer pick four random words/phrases and make a story out of those words. Can you imagine telling a story by using words like, “Fat Russian Lady, hot cakes, bespectacled girl and seafood buffet”? We had eight creative volunteers who were brave enough to make the audience laugh their guts out.

Table Topics Master Yazlin and Paul, doing his table topics speech

Table Topics Evaluator Joshua delivering his verdict on the table topics speakers. Looking on are (L-R) Table Topics Master Yazlin, General Evaluator Sabariah and TME Tan Lay Theng

The prepared speeches segment was next on the agenda with two guest speakers. They were Johnny Tai from Ambank Group Toastmasters Club and Angeline Lee from Friendship Toastmasters Club. Johnny delivered his 6th CC manual speech, entitled Black Magic which was very attention grabbing and entertaining. Angeline presented her 5th project for the Advanced Communication Manual with the speech title My Journey of Magical Transformation. It was very inspiring and motivating especially for the members of the ING Toastmasters Club who are still in our infancy stage of our Toastmasters career.

Right after the prepared speeches session, a special presentation session was conducted by Lee Soo Ling, Assistant Area Governor in Education and Training. She presented an informative and personal speech which gave the audience a better understanding on the benefits of the Competent Communicator and Competent Leadership manuals. She highlighted to us, how both manuals have helped her to be better speaker by just going through the projects. Angeline, Assistant Area Governor in Marketing, on the other hand, gave us an introduction to the Area W7 Connect blog.

Grammarian Lionel Loh delivering his report. On his left is Evaluator Gan Teong Hock

Timer Chan Sook Jen delivering her report. She is flanked by Ah-Counter Yeong Yoke Wan and Gary Goh

Subsequently, the speech evaluator for Johnny, none other than our Toastmasters of the Evening, Tan Lay Theng gave extremely constructive feedbacks to Johnny for improvement. Angeline’s evaluator, Advanced Communicator Bronze, Gan Teong Hock commended Angeline for her exemplary effort as well as ways for her to further improve her speech. The General Evaluator, Sabariah from UKAY Toastmasters Club, gave us a very comprehensive evaluation of the entire meeting which was constructive and not too overwhelming.

General Evaluator, Sabariah delivering her evaluation

Following the evaluation session James presented the award of best Table Topics Speaker of the evening. The award went to Tan Ai Hoong for her extremely humorous impromptu story which filled the room with laughter. The meeting was then wrapped up by James with yet another inspiring speech that was complemented by an equally inspiring video from Britain’s Got Talent. Do check it out if you are interested!

Acting President James delivering the closing address

Special thanks to all the guest speakers and role players, as well as all the members of the ING Toastmasters Club members who made this meeting a success.

Contributed by Lionel Loh, ING Toastmasters Club

From zero to ten in 1.4 years

Strangely enough, I was not as nervous as expected. Of course, this was my tenth speech and yes, yes, a thousand times yes, I’ve gained more confidence each and every time I delivered a previous project speech (or table topic or evaluation for that matter). However this time I should be more nervous. This time I was expected to inspire my audience, doing something I’ve tried to avoid so far: sharing personal opinions and inner thoughts.

All my nine previous speeches have been on - what I would consider - ‘safe’ topics such as sports, objects, events, situations or other non ‘inner space’- invading matters. But now, I have challenged myself to share bits and pieces of myself rather than generic and general information. And you know what? Not only did I conquer a deep, dark and lingering fear, I delivered my best speech ever!

My speech had zero speech crutches (whereas an average of 10+ would be my norm). The flow of words for the first time came from my heart and not from a sheet of paper. Speaking from my own beliefs was easier than I had ever imagined. And to top it off, all the accumulated feedbacks from the past 1.4 years since my 1st speech seemed to merge back into this one speech. Ah, the sweet taste of personal victory. Doing something outside of my comfort-zone and doing it with the best efforts and intentions paid off really well for me and inspired me to do this more often.

With the taste of victory fresh in my mind and heart, I realized that getting to this milestone had been a fun journey as well as the feeling of being surrounded by the terrific and great people of KPMG KL Toastmasters Club. I owe my gratitude to so many of them for their support, help, coaching and mentoring to get me to this point. It’s impossible to thank them all individually but special credits go out to our highly regarded President, VP Education, PR, Treasurer, Secretary and other super-active members, including our external guests and visitors.

Is this the end of my Toastmasters journey, I’ve been asked? At first I thought it would be: "Mission Accomplished". But having done the ‘unthinkable’, it feels only right to continue with the winning streak and elevate myself to new, greater heights.

Contributed by KPMG TMC VP Membership Ivo Ramon.

A Daring Adventure or Nothing

The meeting was like a ladies' night. First, we had two lady guests from Friendship Toastmasters Club, Assistant Area Governor in Marketing Angeline Lee and Area W7 Governor Tan Lay Theng. Second, there were only 3 gentlemen out of our cozy gathering of 13. Third, we indulged in cupcakes, cheesecakes and chocolates, instead of our usual nasi lemak dinner.

Note to self: Should host bona fide ladies' nights (free drinks, ladies?) if gentlemen don’t turn up in generous numbers.

The meeting was kicked off smoothly and promptly by Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Victoria and Vice President of Education and acting President Grace Loh. Then, controls were passed to Vice President of Membership Ivo Ramon. As the Toastmaster of the Evening and Grammarian, Ivo introduced our guests, role players, project speakers and the Word of the Day (“glitch”). Although this was only my 4th Toastmasters Club meeting, I have already heard of and personally witnessed his reputation as the ever calm and smiling speaker. Hence, despite having the guts to forget to introduce Angeline for her Special Session on Area W7 Connect and Table Topics Evaluator’s Report, he was quickly forgiven.

Note to self: Must master Ivo’s charm, so that I may escape scot free too.

TME Ivo who has a running bet that no one has won yet - to pronounce his full name correctly - Ivoramon Van der Kleij

Enjoying Ivo's TME mastery

Angeline’s talk on Area W7 Connect introduced a brilliant website (which is this particular one you are currently visiting) that collects and shares information among different clubs in Area W7, such as meeting details at various Toastmasters clubs and inter-club events. This educational talk was subsequently followed by a stimulating Table Topics Session held by Table Topics Master Andy Khoo. By throwing in surprise words that participants were expected to incorporate into their 2-minute speeches, Andy’s special twist made the speeches highly entertaining and unpredictable.

Note to self: Will try using suspense to prevent my colleagues from becoming bored of my fortnightly attempts at the Competent Communicator (CC) Project Speeches.

Jasmine listening intently to the question from Table Topics Master Andy

Tonight, three heroines delivered Project Speeches: I did my CC Speech 3, my same name friend Grace Lok performed CC Speech 6 and my first mentor (aka Speech 1 evaluator) Nik Joanita presented Advanced Speech 1. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement to talk about how to improve the way we make decisions in life. I spoke on living life like a daring adventure; Grace’s speech urged us to reevaluate ourselves in face of Armageddon; Joanita’s speech illuminated the mind-mapping techniques used to choose a suitable holiday destination.

Note to self: Could our unintended synchronisation support the theory that women have intuitive powers?

Grace Lee delivering her speech on "A Daring Adventure or Nothing"

Grace Lok asking an intense question - will you live your life differently ?

After a 10-minute break, we reconvened for the evaluation session led by Lay Theng, the General Evaluator for tonight. First, Grace Loh, Looi Ee Li and Angeline offered concise and helpful feedback to the Project Speech speakers. Second, Ivo, Tay Shin Ying and I gave our respective reports on English usage, unnecessary utterance and time performance. Third, Lay Theng shared a detailed evaluation on the overall running of tonight’s meeting. One of her many valuable recommendations that particularly impacted me was to create a reaction whenever the “Word of the Day” was used. Thus, I could not resist hitting my Time Keeper’s bell when she shortly mentioned “glitch.” Lastly, Grace Loh presented the Best Table Topic Speaker Award to Ivo, Best Project Speech Speaker Award to me and closing speech to bid everyone a good night and safe journey home.

Note: I was touched by the sincerity and encouragements of my colleagues once again. Thank you for your kind words and gestures. May we carry on the noble mission of our club to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth!

Our General Evaluator, Tan Lay Theng, giving us an elegant evaluation

Ah-Counter Shin Ying delivering her concise report

Grace Lee providing a Glitch-free Timer's report.

Join KPMG TMC's Meeting on 9 Dec 2009. Click for more info.

Contributed by Grace Lee, a new member of KPMG TMC