Katong Toastmasters Club

A Simple Life

2012-01-29T04:29:00.000-08:00

Hi mates,

Below is my P6 speech that I’ve prepared/presented, inspired by Gareth Stein’s Racing in the Rain. For your reading pleasure.

Often, I wondered. I wondered how life would be if I am slightly different.

In my world, I can only see things in black, grey, blue and white. I see green as grey, red as black.I would love to chew and enjoy the sight of a red apple. My tongue is long, flat and loose. It is an ineffective tool for pushing food around in my mouth whilst chewing. I have no words that I can rely on, and gestures are all I have. I attempt to speak but humans classify it as barking. But at least they take care of me. My name is Rufus.

I can’t remember much of my family. I didn’t even know who my parents were. After I was born, I was placed in a bucket with my brother. It was a terrible experience. I heard rain drops and thunder, and we were out in the blistering cold traumatised and hungry. After an hour of whining and being soaked in rain, we were picked up by a lady.

The lady gave us milk and took photos of us. Soon, she informed us that she has posted our pictures on the internet, and hopefully someone would adopt us. She named me Rufus.

A few days later, she passed me to Choon Liang, and that was the last time I saw my brother and the lady. Choon Liang brought me home and introduced me to his family. Choon Liang, like me, has a brother. He is staying with his parents and has a pretty girlfriend.

On weekdays, I am left alone at home. I would spend hours doing nothing, wandering from room to room, napping from spot to spot. I could only stare out of the window and watch random birds fly by. I yearn for the house to be bustling with people.

Sometimes, Choon Liang would leave the television on for me to watch. I would climb onto the sofa and make myself comfortable. There are 101 television show s to watch! My favourite is the Disney cartoon channel. I love the cartoons like Ben 10 and Phineas and Ferb. I was told that variety is good, so I do watch discovery channel and Spanish football. It allows me to broaden my knowledge.

I do get nagged at when someone realised that my fur were all over the sofa. My favourite time of the day is to accompany the parents to watch Taiwanese talk shows. Taiwanese girls speak in a cute, high pitched tone, and they are nice to look watch too.

Because of the experience I had earlier, I am terribly afraid when it rains. I would shiver uncontrollably and often, the people at home would call me a scary cat. I do not understand why they call me a cat when obviously I am a dog. I tried to correct them many times but all I can give was a disapproving look. How I wish I could shout “I am a dog, and I have a voice”.

I am also very intrigued by the human behaviour. There is this thing called the personal computer, where they will spend hours typing or watching. They are able to communicate with one another using this website called facebook. It’s very puzzling because I see a lot of pictures, and they communicate with each other using words. Since they are able to speak, wouldn’t it be better to talk to each other?

I tried using facebook, but my paws are too fat for the keyboard and I can’t remember any alphabets after C.

Another item I find baffling is the motorised vehicles. They seemed to love it so much when there in it, but hurried away once the vehicles come to a stop. The interior of the vehicle must be kept clean, and often it smelt too clean for my liking. I dislike taking the vehicle as it always makes me my head spin. Once, I puked in the van and received a stern scolding from my owners. This is the reason why I always like to take a piss at tyres when I go for walks.

Also, I am made to wear a dog tag. It does not add much weight to me, but I disliked wearing it. I know it contains my name and address, but I don’t see humans wearing any tags and from of identification stating their details. This is so bizarre to me. Why must humans discriminate against dogs?

I understand that Choon Liang is in toastmasters, and it would be so cool if he wrote a speech about my life. How I wished I could develop the ability to speak. I would just need to speak to him for 5 minutes, so he need not rack his brains for ideas on what to present for his next project.

Synopsis of Chapter Meeting on 15 Dec 2011

2012-01-29T03:32:00.001-08:00

SAA of the evening Merry started the session by asking what each individual would want for Christmas. She received some funny responses like wanting to keep 2 front teeth intact, for the turkey to turn out well and to shed some weight.

Game Master of the evening Choon Liang flashed seven alphabets (E, W, E, T, A, S, R) and divided the audience into two teams. The objective of the game is to form as many words as possible using the seven alphabets within two minutes. i.e. Are, Ate, Eater, Erase, Sweater. Subsequently, Choon Liang issued some Santa hats for the audiences to wear during the session.

For the prepared speeches, Justin Fong presented his P3(Get To The Point), How social media has changed crisis communication. He explained that everyone is using social media on a daily basis, and through platforms like emails and blogs, this has changed the environment. Everyone has the power to tell the world a thought or an idea.

Next, Kok Peng gave his P4(How To Say It) speech, A tale of two cities. He started the speech by asking if the audience read Charles Dicken’s novel on A tale of two cities. His own version of the story revolved around Mumbai and Beijing. He vividly explained his experience of taking a train in India and his internship as a baker in Shanghai.

The third speaker was Leena. Her P5(Your Body Speaks) is titled New Year, New You. It is time to set new goals and she shared five simple steps to achieve resolutions for the New Year. The five points are to 1)Picture reaping rewards, 2)Plan your resolutions, 3)Understand the Pitfalls, 4)Share your goals with People and 5)Prize, reward every step on the way. She urged everyone to create a vision and work towards it.

Last but not least, Chee Leong staged his AP1(The Effective Salesman). He shared with us how a good promoter should sell their products by using the acronym BAR, building rapport, asking questions and recommending. He also explained that how consumers are enticed by the samples, visuals(articles, charts) and price(buy 2 get 1 free).

After the break, Nishant began the evaluation for Justin’s speech. Justin had achieved his speech objectives with a clear and specific purpose. He also uses relevant content like the use of email and facebook. However, he would need to work on his speech organisation.

Malcolm evaluated Kok Peng’s vivid and humorous P4 speech. Malcolm commented on his good use of language like naïve, jaded and confident and “jumped onto the train like a rage bull”. There was also a good use of vocal variety. One point to take note for Kok Peng is that he managed to relate 5 senses(hearing, touch, smell, taste and sight) on his experience to India, but did not do so on his experience to China.

Our next evaluator Seh Leng commented that Leena appeared confident and assured. Her speech was organised into 5 main points and Leena uses rhetorical devices. She also ended her speech with an acronym. Leena must note not to look down at the floor and there were 2 moments that she was caught trying to recall her speech.

The final evaluator was Joni and she evaluated Chee Leong’s AP1 speech. Chee Leong has an effusive attitude and manages to create humour. He also uses acronym to allow the audience to follow his speech easily. In order to bring his speech up a notch, Chee Leong should ask more questions(to interact with audience) and avoid overloading information to the audience.

For the language evaluation, Language evaluator John Sih performed a magic trick before listing the below pointers:

Commendable usage of English

- naive, confident and jaded(triad)

- illuminated through the cracks in the room

- swell up like a balloon(simile)

- catching a train is just like jumping onto an enraged bull

- he who fails to plan, plan to fail

- devise and revise your plan

- effusive attitude

- bring your presentation up a notch(tactful use of words)

To Note:

- pronunciation of project as a noun or verb

- price versus prize - emphasize on the C and Z

- open palm instead of open hands

- repeat instead of just repeat

Synopsis of Chapter Meeting on 17 Nov 2011

2011-12-21T07:56:00.001-08:00

6 visiting toastmasters attended the club meeting. They were Narvin(Marine Parade TMC), Stanley(NUSS TMC), Letchumanan(Bedok), Christine, Othman and Tracie(NOL TMC).

For the prepared speeches, Justin Fong presented his P2 speech (Organize your speech), Military Leadership, Best Practices for the Business world. He spoke confidently about 3 leadership skills, a) understanding commander's intent, b) decision making and c) after action review. He equated doing business as fighting a war, and with the right leadership skills, one can meet and satisfy the demands of consumers. His speech could be found at "http://voices.yahoo.com/leadership-best-practices-proven-military-leadership-7471684.html"

Our next speaker presented her P3 speech (Get to the point) entitled My Financial Independent Goal. She is a property agent and she discusses her beliefs using the acronym SMART. She urge the audience to Save, Maximize capital appreciation, use Advantages in leveraging, employ Rental yield and perform Timely entry and proper management. With this set of principles she believes everyone would be able to achieve financial independent.

The third and final speaker Ben Xu shared with us his P10 speech (Inspire your audience), Embrace mandarin, embrace the future. He highlighted that mastering the Chinese language has made Singaporeans unique, and this also allowed Singaporeans to tap into the Chinese market. Ben also quoted numerous examples in his speech, like Jim Rogers migrating to Singapore to enable his children to pick up mandarin.

1st evaluator Narvin commended Justin's choice of topic as relevant and applicable to audience, and liked that the speech was split into 3 key points. Justin achieved the speech objectives. However, Justin would need to quote more examples, like what happened to companies that did not adapt the principles.

2nd evaluator Stanley applauded Merry as a credible speaker. Merry's speech was well prepared, with examples supporting her points. She also used an acronym in her speech. Merry could improve her speech with better use of gestures, prepare props in advance and try to connect with the audience better by understanding how to relate the speech to the audience.

3rd evaluator Letchumanan congratulated Ben on completing his project 10. Ben highlighted numerous aspects of the Chinese language, and made references to Lee kuan Yew, Jim Rogers, Chins history and how mandarin is applicable to an economic advantage. He also uses a wide range of vocabulary. Ben would need to appeal to the emotional needs of the audience and should quote examples that the audience can directly relate to.

For the table topics session conducted by table topic master Leena Santore, Leena introduced props consisting of different hats (see below picture for a vivid description).

Othman chose the toque and cheekily used the props on the table to demonstrate a cooking class. Malcolm took the pirate's hat, and informed us that one of his favorite movies is pirates of the Caribbean. He was proud that the movie, Pirates of the Carrabin mentioned Singapore. Su Cheng picked the baseball cap, and shocked the audience when she told us she took up baseball as a hobby previously. Tracie fancied the construction worker safety head gear, and told us her dream of wanting to be an engineer. Last but not least, Benjamin chose the straw hat and discussed about his love on country music. He loved the lyrics of country music, and the lyrics always surrounded the theme love, life and family.

Language evaluator Christine shared with the audience on thee "keep" and "kick it" for this evening session.

For the good use of language:

- Slowly but systematically

- Love, life, lust

- Impeccable use of language

- In life, we wear different hats (reference to the table topics session)

- Kindness begets kindness

- Embrace mandarin, embrace the future

We should note and prevent the use of the below:

- Pronunciation of kiss versus keys

- switch the light on

- Financial independent or financial independence

- Pronunciation of the word "project"

- P10 project is to inspire the audience, not expire

November Chapter Meeting:

Best Speaker : Justin Fong

Best Evaluator: Navin Parwal (from Marine Parade)

Best Table Topics Speaker: Benjamin Gan

EXCO MEETING 8 DEC 2011

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Katong Toastmasters Club

2nd EXCO meeting

8 Dec 2011 7.30pm

Present:

Ida Joni Justin Choon Liang Leena

Ben Xu Merry Cynthia

AGENDA:

1. Update on DCP

1.1 Two CCs / Two more CCs

Ida and Ben Xu have completed 10 projects.

Choon Liang and Leena will aspire to complete 10 projects by June 2012.

1.2 One AC / One more AC

Benjamin Gan has one more project to get ACS award.

Joni Siah has 5 more projects to get ACG award.

1.3 One CL

Ida will aspire to complete her CL projects by June 2012. She will liaise

with Joni to fill the gaps.

1.4 5 new members

=> Leena will follow-up with Janice Koh who visited in Nov 2011.

=> Ad in SouthEast Newsletter - quarter page - Ida will follow-up.

=> Distribution of flyers in Tanjong Rhu area - Leena will follow-up.

=> Give a talk at Dunman High School or Laselle to invite students?

=> Ad in Indonesian website - Ida will work with Merry

1.5 4 officers to attend COT 2 on 14 Jan 2012 Sat 2-5.30pm @ AIA Changi

=> Justin, Choon Liang, Ben Xu will attend the COT.

=> To confirm if Ida or Malcolm can make it.

2. Treasurer's Report

Please refer to handout. We have a balance of $2092.62 in our club account as of 30 Nov 2011. Our monthly spending is around $60 on food and tokens for regular chapter meetings.

3. Plans for 19 Jan 2012 meeting

It's 4 days before CNY. So we shall move out meeting to 12 Jan 2012.

Tentative assignment as follows:

Speakers: Merry P4, Choon Liang P6, Ben Xu P8, Joni - AP5

Appointment holders: An Lian - Timer, Cynthia - Table Topics Master

Justin - TME, Leena - General Evaluator

4. Upcoming events for Jan - Jun 2012

4.1 International Speech & Table Topics Contests

15 March 2012 - All members to participate

4.2 Area Contest planned on 31 March 2012 Sat to be held at Katong CC.

To check with Area Gov Mohd Saddiqi if we could change the date to 29 March 2012

Thursday evening - Ida

Joni to book the room for the event.

We will order the food for the event.

4.3 Potluck Lo-hei cum Taboo session at Joni's house 8A Sommerville Walk S(358199)

- 27th January 2012 Friday 6pm

- All members are welcome to bring their spouses and kids.

5. AOB

To update the change in club officers list online - Joni

or email clubofficers@toastmasters.org the changes.

The meeting was adjourned at 10pm.

SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTER MEETING ON 20 October 2011

2011-11-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

Toastmaster of the evening Malcolm Chen started the evening by requesting fellow toastmasters and guests to share quotes that are germane and meaningful to their lives. Many quotes were exchanged and one of the more interesting quote shared was “Good, better, best, when the good is better, try to make it best”.

Shu Cheng began her maiden speech “My Journey” and her speech depicted her journey into Singapore after receiving a scholarship. Stepping out of her comfort zone, she embraced challenges in Singapore and managed to make many wonderful friends.

Our next speaker Leena presented her P4 speech titled “Everything I learnt, I learn from my first job fair”. She enlightened the crowd with her encounters in the job fair, like the importance of an elevator speech and a firm handshake.

Choon Liang presented his P 5 speech on “Close encounters”. He shared 3 of his memorable encounters with children, and was glad that he was playing a part in the growing up journey of the child he met.

Last but not least, Joni’s AP4 speech on the “Perils of parenting” and she enticed the crowd with her 3Ps, pee, poo and puke. She also advised that parenting is not easy and one must face the sacrifices and challenges.

The next segment was the project evaluation and Ming Sheng evaluated Shu Cheng’s P1 speech. He commented her good use of language but she would need to improve on her eye contact as our eyes are the window to our souls.

2^nd evaluator Yew Jin applauded Leena’s speech as clear, concise and compelling. The topic chosen was also germane to the audience. Leena mentioned numerous disadvantages of networking in her speech and she would need to include advantages as well.

3^rd evaluator Navin commended Choon Liang on his entertaining and engaging speech. Choon Liang must improve his gestures and incorporate role play in his speech.

4^th evaluator Sam highlighted Joni’s use of vocabulary and vocal variety. Joni needs to improve on her facial expression as she appears happy throughout the speech. Facial expression could be varied to show her agony in looking after her children.

Best Speaker Leena Santore

Best Evaluator : Navin Parwal

To view photos taken at this meeting, go to

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150417869006798.409927.119437361797&type=3

Word of the Day - Chapter Meeting on 20 October 2011

2011-11-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

“Germane” was the word of the day. Language evaluator Benjamin Gan advised that it could be used as a direct replacement for the word “relevant”.

ger·mane adj \(ˌ)jər-ˈmān\

Definition of GERMANE

obsolete : closely akin

: being at once relevant and appropriate : fitting germane to the discussion>

Examples of GERMANE

facts germane to the dispute
germane to our discussion of the facts of the case>
The press material for this film contains some notes made by the Dardenne brothers during the shooting. Such material is usually disposable, but these notes are germane.. —Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic, 3 Feb. 2003

Project 5 - Your Body Speaks

2011-11-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

Objectives:
-Use Stance, movement, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact to express your message and acheive your speech's purpose.
-Make your body language smooth and natural

Time: Five to seven minutes

Close Encounters by Choon Liang Yeo

Good evening fellow toastmasters, ladies and gentlemen

How many of you here like kids?

How many of you here are afraid of kids?

For me, it’s a love hate relationship.

Children, they bring us love, laughter, life and but they can also cause us to be traumatised, terrorised, and terrified. I do not have any children but my experiences with children over the past few months reconfirm the fact that kids can bring us both joy and fear.

This evening, I shall share with you my 3 encounters.

My first encounter was with a 2 year old boy named Louie.

That afternoon, I was invited to my colleague’s house for lunch. He needed some company as his wife is out of town and I was supposed to share the burden of babysitting.

Throughout lunch, Louie was running around, screaming and yelling. The irritable sounds disrupted the tranquillity of my meal. “What a nuisance” I thought. How I wish I could stuff a piece of rag in his mouth.

Somehow, my colleague seemed to sense my irritation. He suggested that he needed to wash his car and asked whether Louie would love to help. Louis nodded his head, and ran off to the bath room.

I sat there with my colleague for the next 15 minutes and I did not hear a word from Louie. I wondered what the boy was doing in the bath room. Out of curiosity, I walked to the bath room and Louie was there with his little toy car. Oh, that’s his interpretation of washing a car. Washing his “toy” car. All the frustration vanquished at that moment.

My next encounter is with an intelligent 5 year old boy Jayden.

I hitched a ride from my friend and her son Jayden was with her that night. Jayden began naming the capital of every country. This little boy started naming the countries that begin with, A, B, C, D and so on.

He went Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Chile. Woah! what a smart kid!

Later, he challenged me to name capitals of country. I asked him what is the capital of Britian, and he said London. Good! Now, it’s his turn to ask me. What is the capital of China? Beijing. How about the capital of Czech republic. Prague.

Next, he asked me what is the capital of Spain is. I froze for a second. Is the capital Madrid or Barcelona?

Both states are well known for their fearsome rivalry in football, is the capital Barcelona? I pondered for a quick 3 seconds, and somewhere at the back of my mind, the answer is Madrid. Madrid, I blurted out. Jayden gave me a smile.

Phew, I got it correct. I would need to do some revision on capitals of various countries before I meet him again.

Before I alighted, I teased Jayden. I told him that I will be visiting later in the evening and would be spending a night at his place. Around 10 pm that night, I received a text message from my friend. Jayden was asking where was I? I felt guilty teasing him!

Recently, I was invited to the Lantern Day celebration of my girlfriend’s friend. She is happily married with 2 kids, Aniq and Annisha, who are 7and 4 years old respectively. This is 3rd encounter with kids.

Once I stepped into the house, I was greeted, Uncle Choon! Uncle Choon! What? Don’t call me uncle, call me GorGor(way of addressing elder brother). Before I could take a seat, Aniq came to me with a net and a little plastic fish tank.

He wanted me to teach him to catch a bird? I tried to explain to him that it’s impossible to catch a bird with his small net, and further, he wanted to place a bird in his little plastic fish tank? My words fell on deaf ears, and he took my hand and headed towards the lift.

We spent the next 15 minutes searching high and low for a bird, but there wasn’t a single bird in sight. Was that a blessing or misfortune? No birds in sight saved me from attempting to catch a bird in public, but not seeing any birds meant we must spend more time looking till we found one!

Luckily, my ever trusty girlfriend came down shortly and dragged the “boys” up for dinner. I was saved for a moment.

After dinner, it was Annisha’s turn to torment me. She played, dolling up Uncle Choon. She placed a tiara on my head and burst out laughing. Aniq came and taunted me, calling me “Girly, girly.” I took the tiara off, and she would place it on my head again.

She even wanted to apply lipstick on me. I was brave enough to stop her this time.

As a kid, I would celebrate the Lantern festival by lighting rows of candles and placing them into lanterns. Once my parents are out of sight, these lanterns would mysteriously catch fire. This lantern festival was slightly different, as I ended up babysitting and being terrified.

Children. They are such a joy to watch, living in their own world, happy and carefree. I am glad that I am playing a part in their growing up journey. 10 years down the road, Uncle Choon will be around to reminisce the good old times.

890 words

AP4 A Dramatic Talk (The Entertaining Speaker Manual)

2011-10-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

Objectives:

Develop an entertaining, dramatic talk about an experience or incident.
Include vivid imagery, characters and dialogue.
Deliver the talk in an entertaining manner.

Timing: 5 - 7 mins

THE PERILS OF PARENTING by Joni Siah

How many of you think that babies are cute and adorable? Do you know why babies are so cute? They've got to be, otherwise parents would have long given up on the arduous task of caring for a baby!

In my previous speech on Parenting Part I, I shared about the sacrifices of parenting: sleep, sex and sanity. Today, I will share with you Parenting Part II about the perils of parenting.

There are perils you have to face as a parent. This is encapsulated by the 3Ps: pee, poo and puke.

Let's start with the first P: P for pee. Some of you may think there's diapers, what's there to worry about right? Wrong!!! Diapers do not cover all emergencies. Even with diapers, your baby can leak. If you don't do a night change, the monumental pee dischage can overflow. I have lost count of the number of times I've had to change bedsheets in the middle of the night, stumbling and fumbling around, cursing and swearing most of the time. The next morning, I will invariably wake up looking like Oscar in Sesame Street - grumpy and grouchy.

Toilet training is also a nightmare. I have lost count of the number of puddles I've had to clean up in various parts of my house. Having read online that having a readily available male role model is key to teaching boys how to pee successfully, I arranged for the dad to have some pee bonding time with his son. After watching dad perform, little Joel gives it a try next to the big guy at the big toilet. To make the whole experience more fun and rewarding, we even threw in a few pieces of O-shaped cereal like Cheerios to help him perfect his aiming.

Pee is bad, but poo is worse. Once when I lifted my baby out of the bathtub after his bath, before I could dry him, he promptly pooed all over the towel and my thigh!! I was petrified and panicking, and in a real dilemma: should I clean baby first or clean myself first?

When I was toilet training my younger boy, he took a long time to master the art of pooing in the toilet. He preferred the standing position. Everytime he stands very still with this grimace on his face, you know, it's poo time. Once when I was out shopping at Centrepoint with him, he suddenly stood very still. 'Uh oh!' I thought to myself. 'Jayden,' I whispered, 'are you pooing?' He just remained like a silent statue, perhaps he was too frightened to answer me. I touched his backside and felt a lump, hard as a rock. 'Aarggghhh!' I let out a scream in my head. Quick as lightning, I took Jayden by his hand and quickly led him out of the shop towards the nearest toilet before any other shopper could smell something fishy.

On some occasions, Jayden would tell me, 'mommy, tummy ache' and before I could react, the smell of explosive poo wafts to my nose. I would throw away all his soiled underwear because I could not bear the thought of having to wash it. Once my mom caught me in the act of throwing away his underpants and soundly chided me for being so extravagant. 'You so rich ah, can wash and wear again, you throw away!' Then she proceed to soak the undergarment in a pail of water. Soon you could see brown murky things swimming around in it, attracting flies. Disgusting!!

Then there's the 3rd P for puke. There are 3 things you need to know about puke: first, it happens without warning; second, it happens very fast; and third, you better clean it up very fast. Twice when our family went to Genting for short trips, my two sons took turns to puke during the coach rides. We scrambled around for tissue paper to clean up the mess quickly and thoroughly in case the bus drive came along and condemned us to cleaning duty.

Another time, my son puked all over my car's front passenger seat without warning. Even after cleaning up the mess, the stench lingered for days. I found it so intolerable that I sold off that orange Toyota Vios and replaced it with my current red Toyota Vios.

What is my purpose of sharing with you my wealth of experiences as a parent? It is not to deter you from Parenthood. I would not want PAP coming after me for insurgence. It is to let you know that parenting is not for the faint-hearted. There are sacrifices and perils involved. Are you ready for these challenges?

There are two things in life many people rush into without being fully aware of what it entails. The first is marriage and the second is parenthood. I wish you happiness and awareness in finding your perfect partner and having cute and adorable babies, pee, poo and puke regardless.

823 words

GO Formula in Handling Table Topics

2011-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

We were privileged to have Gerald Ong from Hong Kah North TMC to lead in Table Topics Evaluation at our October chapter meeting - a first in Katong TMC. This is practised in clubs in other countries like Australia, London and Guangzhou.

He shares with us GO Formula in Handling Table Topics:

Technique 1: PREP

Position: This is what I think

Reason: This is the reason why I think

Example: This is the example how it works

Position: This is the reason why I think what I

think

Technique 2: Past, Present, Future

The Past: What do you see in the past?

The Present: What do you see in the

present?

The Future: What do you see in the future?

Technique 3: Problem, Cause, Solution

The Problem: This is what it is wrong

The Cause: Here’s what we came about

The Solution: This is what we can do about it.

Technique 4: Tell x3

Tell: them what you are going to tell them

Tell: them why you told them

Tell: them what you have told them

Technique 5: Story

Story Sells, Information Tells

Story strive to have; Moral Value, Plot,

Scene, Action, Dialogue, Conflict

Technique 6: The Balance

Neutral Point

Take the Middle Path

Explain 2 views

Neutral Point

Technique 7: The Pendulum

Agree or Disagree

Explain 2 views

Agree or Disagree

Technique 8: The Parallel

Stand / View Point

Use of analogy to support your stand

Stand / View Point

Technique 9: The Alternative

Stand / View Point

Provide Alternative View

Stand / View Point

Where do we get ideas?

• Own Experiences

• Encounters

• Books, News, Magazines

• Movies, Videos

• Internet

• Toastmasters Club

Get Outstanding:

• Your stand must be clear

Great Organization

• Your structure can be easily noticed

through the various techniques

Ace

• Work your way towards becoming an Excellent Table Topics Speaker

Opening Address 20 Oct 2011

2011-10-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

There is a saying that "Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion." I like that.

How many of you would like to become great speakers?

Then you will need the right dosage of passion to get going.

To help you determine your current level of passion, here's a little quiz.

If your answer is never, you get 0;

if your answer is sometimes, you get 1 point;

if your answer is always, you score 2.

Here are the questions:

1. Do you prepare a script in advance for your speech or presentation?

2. Do you rehearse your speech at least 3 times?

3. Do you have someone to mentor you?

4. Do you reflect on each speaking experience and think about how you could have improved on it?

5. Do you jump at every chance to speak or present at work or in toastmasters etc?

6. Do you quiver with anticipation and volunteer yourself when the table topics master asks for a volunteer?

7. Do you participate in speech contests actively?

8. Do you attend workshops whenever you can to upgrade your speaking skills?

If you scored 0 - 6, please put up an ad to find your missing passion before it disappears.

If you scored 7-11, good! You're half way there but you can pump it up further.

If you scored 12 - 16, great! You are passionate about speaking and you're on your way to achieving great things in the near future.

We will want to speak well for different reasons and Toastmasters provides the platform for us to grow and develop as speakers.

Oprah Winfrey once said:

"Do the one thing you think you cannot do.

Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time.

The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire..."

Come mount the high wire with me.

Let's tumble together, and more importantly,

let's reach greater heights in our speaking journey together with passion!

by Joni Siah (VPE)

AREA Z3 HUMOROUS SPEECH & EVALUATION CONTEST 2011

2011-10-04T07:59:00.001-07:00

(Justin, Ida, Joni and Choon Liang)

It was a great experience competing at an area contest. Although Justin and myself did not manage to proceed to the next round, both of us enjoyed ourselves; and more importantly gained much experience in the contest.

We live to fight another day and this is just one of the many stepping stones to victory.

KATONG TMC H&E CONTEST- 15 SEP 2011

2011-10-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

Our Club Contest Winners.
Benjamin, Justin and Choon Liang(Leena not in picture)

Would like to thank everyone for making the Club Contest possible.

SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTER MEETING ON 16 JUNE 2011

2011-07-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Guests and visiting toastmasters graced the club’s Chapter Meeting on 16 June 2011. Johnny and An Lian were guests visiting a toastmaster’s club for the first time. Visiting toastmasters were Carin, Shuzhen, Goo Yin from AIA TMC, Daniel and Abraham from Vietnam TMC, Robert from NUSS TMC, John from NUS TMC and James from NUS Alumni TMC.

SAA Joni Siah welcomed everyone to the enchanting evening, and requested the audience to share something that had brightened up their day.

Thereafter, our Club President Ida Lee gave us the opening speech. “Do you ever feel you live life the fullest?” she asked. Ida highlighted the story of Mark Hunter (World Champion of Public Speaking 2009) during the District 18 Conference. Mark became paralysed during a car crash and could never walk again. He tried to fit into the new world but was faced with devastation.

One day, he was attracted by the wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. It was grandma preparing the meal. Grandma requested Mark to look into the sink, and asked him what he could see. There is a cooking pot filled with water, while there are tomatoes and apples floating in the pot. The apples stick out like a sore thumb. Am I the apple?

After staring at the pot for some time, he realised that he is not the apple. He is the water that embraces everyone and makes everyone float. This thought led him to his status today and not someone who will easily give up.

Goo Yin, our language evaluator surprised everyone with the word of the day, “Fire”. The word could be used as a noun or verb and could be expressed easily. This led to the use of the word of the day by almost every speaker.

The next segment was the prepared speeches. Merry presented her P2 speech, “The Travel Gem”. She shared with us the 3Cs of Padang, the sCenery, Cuisine and Culture. The beautiful Padang beach that stretches 10km accompanied by the mesmerising sunset, the origins of Nasi Padang and the unique horn roof buildings.

Choon Liang presented his P4 speech, “The Magical Cs”. He shared with us the criteria in looking for a diamond, which are the Cut, Clarity, Colour, Carat and Certificate. He also advised that there are many rings to be bought, like the proposal ring, wedding ring, "suffering" and "enduring".

The last speaker Daniel delivered his AP5 speech, “Ghost of Christmas Past”. He brought us back to 1972, where the bombing campaign took place in Hanoi. He narrated the real life experiences of Nam, whereby Nam experienced the tragedies of losing his family and town.

The next segment of the program was the project evaluations. Robert praised Merry’s speech for being well-structured, and there was proper transition for her 3Cs. It achieved the objectives of the project and there was even the use of sun glasses as props.

However, she should ask more questions to allow more communication with the audience. A short pause would also help her in the transition.

Shuzhen commended that Choon Liang’s speech captivated the audience’s attention, was organised and jargons were well explained. She also advised that a visual image needs to be painted, and Choon Liang should slow down while speaking. He should also not pass notes to the audience during his speech as this would divert attention from his audience.

Ben, our next evaluator mentioned that Daniel’s speech was very heart warming, and it was a personal topic as he is from Vietnam. Daniel managed to arouse the imagination of the audience. He could improve by emphasising more on the sounds and movements during his speech, and at some parts of the speech, he was speaking too soft.

Next, we moved on to our table topics segment. As Father’s Day is round the corner, Table Topics Master of the day Carin Soh introduced topics with men-related themes.

Malcom, our timer for the day gallantly volunteered himself to be the first to speak. His question was “If diamond is a woman’s best friend, who is man's best companion?” He grumbled on what men can do after spending a fortune on diamonds. Life is full of suffering and men will be drinking in the pubs.

The next question was “Men makes better leader”. A leader provides for the community, James answered. He also mentions that female performs a better job at leading, citing his mum as an example. The mum cared for his education, and made him a better man.

“A good husband equals a good father”. Joni opined that the two just doesn’t add up and it is not mathematically possible! The definition of a good husband is someone who dotes on you when you are feeling down whereas the skills and needs of a good father is entirely different. Men are not good with babies and do not know what to do with them.

Our next contestant, John was poised with the question, “Every successful man has a woman behind”. In his family, his mum stayed at home while his dad was the bread winner. He wittingly ends this speech by stating that is true that every successful man has women behind, while every unsuccessful man has 2 or more women.

An Lian took up the challenge and tackled the question, “Taking care of the family is a men’s duty”. She disagrees with the statement and says that is should be a shared responsibility. The leadership should be shared among the men and women, Dad taking care of the financial needs while the mum looks after the children.

Johnny answered the last topic, “Men should be the main breadwinner”. There is a shared responsibility in bringing in the dough, but the question arises when who should be the one spending it.

Language Evaluator Goo Yin, our language evaluator started off correcting some basic errors. In a greeting speech, are there guest (a person) or guests (a group)? We’re in a toastmasters club not a toastmaster club. A toastmaster club would consist of a person. He also indicates that toastmasters should stop using words like actually, basically. These are words that are overuse and keep toastmasters at a basic level.

Next, he introduced two categories, Bees Sharing Songs and Bees Stinging Sounds. Good usage of English are listed under Bees sharing songs while the areas for improvement are listed under Bees Stinging sounds.

Bee Stinging Sounds

· Padang, the Travel Gem – NOT Padang, the Travel Germ

· Delivering, attempting his project 4 – NOT Doing his project 4

· Families started gathering together again – Redundancy as gathering means together

· Swept away everything in his path – NOT Swept everything on his path

· Next segment of the session – NOT Next segment of the program

· Dad having his own business – Incorrect sentence

Bee Sharing Songs

· Heart to heart chat

· I did something right but it was not intended

· Gained soulful insight from influential speaker

· Cut, clarity, color, carat and certificate

· Fire in the heart

· A splendid evening

· Fire topics with your thought

· Diamond is a woman’s best friend; wine/beer is man’s best reason.

· Not mathematically possible

Best Speaker: Daniel Tran

Best Evaluator: Benjamin Gan

Best Topic Topics Speaker: Joni Siah

Please check out our blog for more Katong Toastmasters updates!

EXCO MEETING 7 JULY 2011

2011-07-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

The following is a summary of what we discussed at our first EXCO meeting on 7 July 2011:

1. Members' Education Track & Progress
1.1 Educational goals

4 CCs : Ida Lee, Ben Xu, Yeo Choon Liang, Leena Santore

1.2 Personal goals

Number of speech projects members wish to complete in the next 12 months:

Joni Siah: 7; Ben Xu: 5; Malcolm: 5; Leena: 5; Yeo Choon Liang: 5;

Cynthia: 2, Elaine Tan: 2

1.3 Mentoring System

Everyone is generally happy with the mentoring system. Malcolm will be assigned to mentor new member An Lian.

2 Membership

2.1 Distribution of brochures

Malcolm and Choon Liang will distribute 500 brochures around our neighbourhood (Kampong Arang, Jalan Batu etc)
Leena and Cynthia will distribute another 500 brochures in their respective neighbourhoods in September.

2.2 Membership fees

Membership fees will be pro-rated at $12 per month but for a 12-yr sign up, the amount is $140.
New members will be required to pay $30 one-time registration fees.
New members who sign up near to October (our fee collection month) will be encouraged to sign up for 12 months plus till September the following year to ease the Treasurer's job of collecting fees.
I have reflected this information in our club website http://katongtmc.freetoasthost.ws/membershipinfo.html

2.3 Membership application

Treasure will sign up for new members with TI online. Elaine will go through with Merry on how to do this.
VPMs or any other EXCO members who get a new member to sign up should hand the new member's particulars to Treasurer for online application.

2.4 Banner

Ida notes that our club's publicity banner outside the CC walls looks old and will design a new banner to replace it.
Budget is $100.

3 Events pipeline

3.1 Event dates to note

Please find a list of our chapter meeting and club contest dates in our blog

http://katongtoastmasters.blogspot.com/2011/07/event-dates-2011-2012.html

and website http://katongtmc.freetoasthost.ws/appiesnet/appiescal/cal1/index.cgi

Please note the upcoming Humorous Speech & Evaluation Contests should be on 15 September 2011 and not 22 Sep as printed in handout. November chapter meeting should be on 17 Nov and not 22 Nov.

3.2 Humorous Speech & Evaluation Contests

We will continue our collaboration with NUS Alumni TMC to organise each other's contests.
Choon Liang has kindly volunteered to be organising chair for the next contest.
Contestants for Humorous Speech Contest include Ben, Malcolm, Choon Liang, Joni, Ida and Bruce.
Contestants for Evaluation Contest include Elaine, Joni, Cynthia, Choon Liang, Malcolm, Benjamin and Leena.
Members who are not taking part in the contests will help out as appointment holders.

3.3 Area Z3 and Division Events

All important area and division event dates have also been posted in the two links above.
First event is COT training. Joni and Malcolm will attend the COT training on 9 Jul Sat at 1.30pm at AIA Alexandra. (This has been completed)
All other EXCO members are strongly encouraged to attend the make-up COT training to understand their roles thoroughly and to network with toastmasters from other clubs. Please bring along the club namecards for exchange.

4 Any other matters

4.1 Inviting speakers from other clubs

We will put aside 4 speaking slots for each chapter meeting. In the event that we do not have 3 speakers, VPE Joni will open invitations for TMs from other clubs to speak at our clubs.

4.2 Visiting other clubs

Joni will invite club members to go on club visits with her.
Once members are comfortable with another club, they can initiate their own visits in future to do speeches or to take on appointment for CL projects.

4.3 Change in email

Please note that Ben's email has been changed to xuhaitao@ciwe.com.cn

4.4 Access to TI website to conduct club business

There was uncertainty about this issue. Elaine will check her previous records and get back to us. (This action has been completed)

The meeting was adjourned at 9.30pm.

EVENT DATES 2011-2012

2011-07-06T03:26:00.001-07:00

CHAPTER MEETING DATES 2011-2012

21 July 2011

18 August 2011

15 September 2011 (Humorous Speech & Evaluation Contest)

20 October 2011

17 November 2011

15 December 2011

12 January 2012 (Note: 2nd Thurs instead of 3rd Thurs due to CNY on 23 Jan 2012)

16 February 2012

15 March 2012

19 April 2012

17 May 2012

21 June 2012

AREA/DIVISION Z EVENT DATES 2011-2012

1. Club Officers' Training I

09/07/11 (this Saturday)

Venue: AIA Alexandra

Time: 1:30pm - 5:30pm

2. Humorous Speech & Evaluations Contest

Area Z3: 01/10/2011

Division Z: 22/10/2011

3. Division Z Club Officers' Training II

14/01/2012

4. International Speech & Table Topics Contest

Area Z3: 29/03/2012 (@ KATONG CC)

Division Z: 14/04/2012

5. Achievers' Day

09/06/2012

SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTER MEETING ON 19 MAY 2011

2011-06-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

For our club's 6th Anniversary, we had invited Craig Teo as our Guest Speaker and 4 visiting toastmasters: Daniel Tran from Vietnam TMC, Lee Min from Singhealth TMC, Florence Boey from Toa Payoh Central TMC and RIchard Sng from Tiarel TMC.

SAA Leena kick-started our chapter meeting by reminding us that the June school holidays is around the corner, and requested the floor to share with one another their most memorable school holiday. Items shared were video gaming, overseas trips, the 80's kampong life and spending quality time with family.

Benjamin Gan, our club's Charter President, gave us the opening speech. He shared with us the history of the club, an appropriate theme for the club's 6th anniversary. The club was initially located at Singapore Swimming Club, where sumptuous food was always served during meetings.

The club ran into a brick wall when the management of the clubhouse realised that most members of the Toastmasters Club are actually non-member of the clubhouse. Katong Toastmasters Club was told to vacate the location.

Although the members were sad to leave, we soon found a new home at Katong CC. It was marriage made in heaven! Thereafter, we began to hold our monthly chapter meetings at this new home.

Next, our guest speaker Craig Teo presented the topic, "The Power of Numbers". He informed that using our birth date in the format of DD/MM/YY, we can derive general characteristics and traits of ourselves. He also shared with us on what numbers from 1 to 9 represents, and how the number links to the yin and yang of metal, water, fire, wood and earth. It can be used to Profile a Person and the accuracy is up to 90%.

After the informative talk by Craig, we moved on the Table Topics segment. Table Topics Master Zhuang Yan used the letters K,A,T,O,N,G to label the six mystery topics that he had prepared.

Daniel chose the letter T and told us one thing that he would like to know in the future. Placing kinship as his primary priority, he would like to know how his family will do in the future and wishes that they remain strongly bonded.

Leena had the opportunity to tell us what superpowers she would like to have. She would like to have the power to heal, both physical and emotional healing. This is particularly relevant to her as she can't bear to see her young children fall and get hurt.

Lee Min's topic was to select a place she would like to revisit if she could travel back in time. She explained that she would return to her childhood years. As a 5-year-old girl, she was happy, innocent and worry-free.

Florence was challenged that if she has no fear, what would she like to do. She informed us that she is a fearless person, and did gymnastics when she was young. The rigorous training gave her many scars and through gymnastics, she has nothing to fear about.

Richard was posed with the topic on what habit would he like to break. He informed that his habits include sleeping late, and multi-tasking, by reading, listening and watching television at the same time. As he is comfortable with his habit, there is no habit he wants to break.

The next item on the agenda was the prepared speeches. In Bruce's P5 speech, "Kung Fu", he provided us with the spectacular live demonstration of using nunchaku. The motivation to learn Kung Fu is to maintain good health, and at the same time to use the strength to keep his family safe. He concluded that perseverance can lead to success, just like the journey of a toastmasters.

In Daniel's AP4 speech from the Humorously Speaking manual, "Single but Available", he shared about the experiences he had with his unreasonable ex-girlfriend and demanding supervisor. He wanted to be the perfect boyfriend and had to work long hours to earn as much as his female counterpart. In the process, he had to endure the endless ranting from his supervisor. Soon, he learnt that joining a toastmasters club was a sound decision. It taught him communication skills to deal with difficult people. He proposed a Competent Lady Killer course and after 10 lessons, one would be qualified as a distinguished lady killer.

1^st evaluator Lee Min praised that Bruce's body really speaks, and because he was speaking about his interest, the speech was excellently prepared. Bruce appeared very confident and was accompanied by many kicks and punches. However, he would need to maintain more eye contact with the audience and explain the purpose of the nunchaku.

2^nd evaluator commended Daniel for bringing laughter to the audience. His speech included several jokes and anecdotes to stir up laughter. He has achieved the purpose of the speech but he must link his jokes to the short stories and give more elaboration on his ideas.

Ah counter Merry wrapped up the night with her meticulous report of a whole list of words and sounds (ah, um or er) that we uttered instead using pauses.

Best Table Topics Speakers: Richard / Florence Boey

Next event will be our club monthly chapter meeting on 16 June 2011.

To view photos taken at this meeting, go to http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150251437516798.365772.119437361797

PRESIDENT'S OPENING ADDRESS 21 APRIL 2011

2011-05-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

Good evening District Governor Aziz Mustajab and fellow toastmasters. It is, for me, a great privilege and honour to be installed as your president of Katong Toastmasters Club.

The position and role of the president, glamorous as it may sound, calls for being fully committed and having a deep sense of responsibility.

I would like to begin by thanking the previous committee team members of 2010, for having taken us through a very rewarding and eventful year.

A very special vote of thanks should go to Nik Chua, our immediate past president, and Joni Siah, (who is now our VPE in the new term), for their very valuable contributions. They have done us proud.

It is to Toastmaster Joni’s credit, that she has brought much glory and recognition to our club, by winning the championship award for the Best Evaluator in District 80 Competition of November 2010. And there a more great news.

Through our 3 talented members, Cynthia, Benjamin and Joni, whom participated in the recent Area Z3 International Speed Contest and Table Topics Contest on 31 March, they are now proud trophy winners.

We look to each and all of them for inspiration and their winning techniques, to prepare ourselves for the next round of contests on evaluation skills.

Our purpose is education and training. But our dream and aspiration is to realize our leadership ambitions and goals. To realize your potential in becoming a better speaker and a leader, you will be self-motivated to produce the best results and to be part of something great!

How can we build a great team?

Great teams run on the … F.A.S.T. track.

Focus

I think many of us lose our way after a while and think of Toastmaster as just another monthly get together meeting. Intention only confirms the purpose. It is your passion who is the ‘driver’ to fulfill the intention.

Alignment

Our efforts should be aligned in helping each other. Be mindful of every fellow member’s needs and limitations. We must work closely to be a strong and supportive team.

Synergy

Visit other clubs to network and interact with others. Create synergies for forging networking. By engaging, we also widen our social circle and broaden our horizon.

Trust

The fundamental building block of every great relationship and team spirit is trust. When a problem arises let us put our efforts together with faith and trust, and we will be able to come up with the best solutions.

It is said that a journey of a thousand miles, begins with the first step.

Let us begin the first step with a sense of mission and direction.

It is not about the destination, but the journey.

SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTER MEETING ON 21 APRIL 2011

2011-04-21T22:41:00.001-07:00

There were 2 guests Xiang Zhen and Brice and 3 visiting toastmasters District Governor Aziz Mustajab from Civil Service College & Siglap TMCs, April Tan from ACCA Singapore TMC, and Steven Choon from Joo Chiat Culture TMC.

SAA Joni welcomed everyone warmly and invited everyone to introduce themselves and share about one thing that had brightened their day. These included the bright room, being able to attend the meeting, and having DG Aziz grace the meeting.

The meeting kickstarted with the installation of incoming EXCO by District Governor DTM Aziz Mustajab. Each officer held the gavel in turn and promised to fulfil their duties to the best of their abilities. The following officers were present:

President Ida Lee

VPE Joni Siah

VPM Leena Santore, Cynthia Koh

VPPR Yeo Choon Liang

Secretary Zhuang Yan

Treasurer Merry Tjandra

SAA Patrick Ang

In her opening address, incoming President Ida motivated us to become a part of something great. Great teams run on FAST track. F for Focus, A for Alignment of our efforts to meet members' needs, S for Synergy found in fellow toastmasters outside of our club, and T for Trust, the building block for a great team.

The prepared speeches segment featured 3 speakers. 1st speaker Merry Tjandra shared about her hometown Padang, well-known for its pristine beaches and delicious food. Nasi padang originated from Padang and is cooked only once a day. The culture in Padang is such that the woman is the head of the family.

2nd speaker Zhuang Yan asked the question "Do you have a religion?". Is it still relevant in today's world that is dominated by science and technology? Religion is often a reflection of heritage and family life, passed down from generation to generation. It is a moral guidepost and a comfort in times of catastrophe. He ended with the quote: "Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair."

3rd speaker Leena gave us insights into the "five love languages" that are universal: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gift, acts of service and physical touch. She encouraged us to log on to the website http://www.5lovelanguages.com/ to assess our dominant love language, and to get our loved ones to do the same, so we can learn to speak each other's love languages.

1st evaluator April Tan commended Merry on having a clear opening and closing for her speech and for presenting it without using notes. She recommended having a strong opening such as using visual images or questions. The pictures used were too small and were distracting, causing loss of eye contact.

2nd evaluator Patrick Ang commended Zhuang Yan on projecting confidence and having strong speech content. Recommendations include better pacing and improved dressing. The pace was too fast and the presentation could be slowed down. The dress code can be more formal, in other words, dress to impress.

3rd evaluator Steven Choon highlighted Leena's confidence and excellent use of language. She was able to achieve the speech's objective of speaking to inform competently. The anecdote used in the opening could be changed to be more appropriate for the speech content. The speech title could be more indirect and intriguing to arouse the audience's interest.

For the table topics sesson conducted by Table Topics Master Joni, the topics centred around first-time experiences. Cynthia told us about her first kiss... it must have been a mountain-top feeling and tasted moist, or bland depending on what she had eaten. It gave her a chance to savour her long-ago romances.

Brice regaled us by recounting how his first date went. He troubled about how to dress and having to ask mom for money to buy Canvas shoes for the date. And how the candle-light dinner somehow went awry.

Xiang Zhen shared his impression about his first toastmaster meeting (which was the current meeting). He told us how scary it was arriving at 7pm and seeing an empty room. Luckily he was rescued by an 'aunty' who welcomed him and his friend, and then he enjoyed the food. He thought the English used was superior compared to the level of English he was used to in polytechnic.

Nik recounted his first trip overseas to Genting Highland and how he missed out on enjoying an outing to the casino as he was underaged.

Patrick shared a recent experience where he took part in a contest 'the most weirdly-dressed person'. He undressed to reveal fig leaves and did a song and dance about women being too complicated to be understood, which won him the first prize.

Language Evaluator Benjamin highlighted the excellent use of language. Some examples included:

"Its popularity has waxed and waned through time" (alliteration)

"to add insult to injury" (alliteration)

"speak to be heard, to be followed, to be understood" (triad)

"trader by day, agent by night" (contrast)

Mispronounced words included : 'thus', 'conduit', 'specific', 'triads'.

Ah Counter Cynthia gave a detailed and meticulous report of the pause-fillers uttered by the various speakers that night.

VPM Leena & President Ida jointly announced some exciting membership incentive schemes: New members fees for the 1st year will be reduced from $180 to $160 with a further reduction to $140, thanks to generous sponsorship of $20 by Charter president Benjamin Gan. Registration fees will also be reduced from $40 to $30. All other existing members will also enjoy a $20 discount on fees renewals in October this year.

Any member who brings a guest who signs up as a member, will be rewarded with cash vouchers of $10 or $20, depending on the sign up period (6-mth or 12-mth).

President Ida will also sponsor two tickets to the District 80 Semi-Annual Convention from 11 Nov to 13 Nov 2011 at SRC, YWCA & Hotel Fort Canning, each worth $248 for the two most deserving club members who have shown improvement in their speaking skills and been consistent in attending meetings.

Best Speaker Leena Santore

Best Evaluator : Patrick Ang

Best Table Topics

Speaker : Patrick Ang

AREA Z3 INTERNATIONAL SPEECH & TABLE TOPICS CONTEST 2011

2011-03-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

NEWSFLASH:

Joni, with her speech OMG about 'One Moment of Glory', clinched the 1st runner-up award at the Area Z3 International Speech Contest tonight.

Our club representatives for the Table Topics Contest, Benjamin and Cynthia, were thrown the topic: "Rumor travels faster, but it don't stay put as long as truth" by Will Rogers. Benjamin came in as 2nd runner-up and Cynthia was 1st runner-up for the Area Z3 Table Topics Contest.

Congratulations to all three contestants!

A big thank you to our Katong supporters Ida, Nik, Thomas and Leena (not in picture) for your presence, which made all the difference!

Katong ROCKS! Let's keep our light shining bright.

PRESIDENT'S OPENING ADDRESS 17 FEB 2011

2011-03-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the "Ups" and "Downs" of Life

Since I took over the role as President of Katong Toastmasters Club (Katong TMC) in June last year, life has been a roller coaster ride.

I remembered when the previous Executive Committee members met at Joni’s house (who was the President at that time) to discuss the new team to lead the Katong Toastmasters Club, I was initially hesitant but was finally persuaded by the members to be the next President for Katong TMC. I was also assured of the continued support of the members who were present there. However, I made a “mistake” by failing to ask the members the most important question before I agreed to take up the post: “How long would you be committed to support me?”

Over the next few weeks, we had at least half of the members quitting the club for various reasons. Immediately, I fell from a “high” (having just been appointed to an important post) to a “low”. The survival of the club was my immediate concern. My commitment as President was wavered and I began to doubt my “intelligence” in taking up the role.

At the peak of my worry, out of the blue, we had four visitors who came along for one of our Chapter meeting and took up membership immediately with us. This was a tremendous boost to my morale and soon my optimism was again on the way “up”. Over the next few months, I continued to experience the “ups” and “downs” as I tried to ensure the monthly Chapter meetings go on smoothly and the remaining members stay committed to help to steer the club through rough times.

Through these 8 months as President of Katong TMC, I have learnt and grown in the process and my life experience has been enriched as a result. Despite having to deal with the challenges of running a toastmasters club, I am beginning to enjoy my role more.

"Ups and downs, all part of life, just like roses and thorns, I have come to love them all" (Osho)