Synopsis for chapter meeting on 16 September 2010

Tonight there was a turnout of 12 members, 2 visiting toastmasters (Cynthia Koh from Tampines West and Victor Ng from IFPAS) and a guest Choon Liang, who had visited last month.

Our club Treasurer Elaine Tan kick-started the meeting by getting us to share what we would have done, had we not been at the meeting tonight. Most mothers would be at home with their kids, singles would be exercising or sleeping or even working OT. Everyone was glad to be away from those duties to be at the Toastmaster meeting.

Club President Nik Chua shared an inspiring story about a Korean grandmother who finally passed her driving test after 960 attempts in 5 years!! She was motivated to learn how to drive to fetch her grandchildren to the zoo. Her never-give-up attitude is an inspiration for all of us to keep reaching for our goals.

VP Membership Bruce Pei officially welcomed our two new members Leena and Shailaja during the New Members Induction. They were presented with a welcome gift of the book 'The FAQ book of Public Speaking' by Eric Feng.

Joni presented a ten-minute educational workshop on 'Evaluate to Motivate'. She explained that the AIM of evaluation was to give Affirmation, Improvement and Motivation. She suggested thinking along the lines of Content, Organisation and Delivery and to include up to 3 commendations and 3 recommendations in a 3.5 minute evaluation speech.

Three speakers were lined up tonight. First speaker Leena presented her debut Project 1 speech entitled "My Tapestry". She shared about her role as a mother, her love for travel and love for food, describing her life as an unfinished tapestry that the Master continues to weave.

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Second speaker Victor Ng, VPPR from IFPAS, presented a story for his P5 Vocal Variety speech about a mousedeer and a tiger, and how the clever mousedeer tricked the silly tiger three times with quick-witted thinking.

Third speaker Tarwin Lim shared about his recent trip to Taiwan in his P8 Get Comfortable with Visual Aids speech. There were many slides to showcase the places, food and people he encountered in Taiwan.

First evaluator Joni Siah commended Leena for her structure, sense of humour and sensational use of language. Suggestions for improvement included creating an impactful introduction through the use of vocal variety and dramatic gestures and dressing more formally.

Second evaluator George Goh commended Victor for his expressiveness, the distinct vocals used to represent different characters and for making go

od use of the stage. He felt the pace of the story was too fast and transitions from point to point were missing and suggested that he ended the story with a message for the audience to take home instead of ending abruptly.

Third evaluator Elaine commended Tarwin on his relevant use of colourful slides to showcase his trip, and the use of comparision between Taiwan and Singapore. She suggested a more masterful delivery for greater impact of the speech.

Table Topics Master Jesslin Ong focused on the theme of FEELINGS. Visitor Cynthia chose the word FURY and how she often experiences this with her daughter and husband, although it is a feeling she avoids. Visitor Choon Liang opines how standing in front to deliver a speech was AGONY, as well as other incidents like examinations and running a marathon. Shailaja shared how her experience as a full-time mother gives her great SATISFACTION. Nik Chua shared how we should live life with PASSION to avoid dull and dreary days. Bruce confessed that he experiences FEAR in Singapore everyday as his wife has problems communicating in English which is a barrier to her success in career, that is why he will give her foot massages to cheer her up.

Ah Counter Ben Xu presented a meticulous report highlighting the use of pause-fillers by all the speakers. Leena impressed with a 0 ah count.

The meeting ended with presentation of ribbons to the Best Speaker Leena Santore,

Best Evaluator Joni Siah and

Best Table Topics Speaker Bruce Pei.

President Nik Chua encouraged all to attend the Area Z3 Contest at NOL on 17 September 2010 Friday at 7pm to support the club representatives Joni and himself.

We are happy to announce that Choon Liang signed up as a new member of the club and will be presenting his P1 speech next month.