Synopsis of Chapter Meeting on 16 Feb 2011

Division Z Governor Vincent Lim(ACCA TMC), Area Governor Mohamad Saddiqi(Nee Soon East TMC), Lim XueEn(NUS TMC), Abraham Ho(Chong Pang TMC), Navin Parwal(Marine Parade TMC) attended the Chapter Meeting on 16 Feb 2012.

Many of us celebrated Valentine’s Day 2 days ago and SAA of the evening Benjamin Gan requested fellow toastmasters to share on how did we meet our other halves. If a person is single, he or she could share something that is close to the heart, i.e. a pet or family member. Vincent informed us that his wife was his classmate, Leena’s husband her colleague sweetheart and Ida’s husband was actually staying at the next street from her house.

Shu Cheng presented her P2 speech(Organise your speech), "How to learn a new language". She shared with us the 3Ps she picked up from learning English which are Practice, being Patient and Perseverance. It takes 10,000 hours to master something new and there is no shortcut in life. By learning and practicing English daily, she has picked up a new language.

Our next speaker Xue En presented her P6 speech(Vocal Variety), "I had a dream". In her dream, her heart and brain were judges whilst her eye balls, nose, hand and legs, ears and mouth were vying to convince the judges on who is more important. “Mirror mirror on the wall, who holds the most important place in Xue En’s heart”. The verdict was that every part of the body was important and this is how a person can function.

Our third speak Joni gave her AP2 speech(Uplift The Spirit), "Steps to Excellence". She advised us on 5 steps to achieve excellence. STEPS – S(Self directed), T(Time), E(Enthusiasm), P(Preparation) and S(Supportive). In order to become a better speaker, one need to set his/her goals, take time to speak regularly and seize speaking opportunities. With preparation and supportive environment, one would be able to master the arts of public speaking.

Our final speaker Narvin presented his AP1(Warm up your audience) with a funny title, "Do I look like an idiot?" He shares with us the peculiarities of the English language.

Why some words are pronounced this way?

Laugh – Luff

Tough – Toff

Bough – Bou

Dough – Dou

Shouldn’t these words read the same?

Mouse – Mice

Louse – Lice

Spouse – Spice

First evaluator of the evening Mohamad Saddiqi commented on Su Cheng’s unbeatable dedication to learn the new language. Her speech was well organised, carefully crafted and it was an apt topic on how a person can learn a new language. On the other hand, Su Cheng must work on the volume of her voice, as it sounded a little soft. She could also improve on her introduction with a more impactful starting like “What can 10,000 hours do for you?”

Abraham Ho was the second evaluator and he evaluated Xue En’s speech. He felt that her speech was genuine, and there was a good use of vocal variety. However, she would need to use pauses to bring her message across. Her speech also lacked a main theme where she should have linked what happened in the boardroom to situations in life.

Third evaluator Vincent Lim reviewed Joni’s speech. He felt that Joni’s speech was passionate, authentic and there was no doubt in her speech. Joni can improve on her speech by focusing on emotional factors with the use of personal story. Her speech is more a logical nature, and would be more impactful with a emotional speech.

Our final evaluator Joni evaluated Narvin’s speech. Narvin delivered the stories of his speech confidently and the stories used in the speech tickled the audience. Narvin could have improved his speech by moving the stories used to the introduction; and could have used transition words to aid his delivery.

Merry, our table topics master introduced Valentine’s day related topics. Sherwyne drew the topic, “How to express love to someone you love”. She would cook; make desserts and snacks to show her love towards her mum.

Andrew’s topic was “There’s no remedy for love but to love more”. Love consists of being peaceful, joyful and patient. He advises us to enjoy what we are doing and to enjoy our toastmaster’s journey and fellow friends.

The next question was “You never lose by loving, you always lose by holding back”. Ming Sheng explained that this relates to how a person perceives long languages, by doing deeds and giving gifts.

Our last speaker Choon Liang picked the topic “Do you believe in celebrating Valentine’s Day?” Choon Liang celebrated Valentine’s day by showering his girlfriend a gift, and believes a celebration is vital as it makes her happy.

Our last and latest segment of the meeting is the General Evaluation. Leena Santore was our evaluator. She commended that the introduction of the meeting ties in with the theme of table topics.

She applauded how Abraham created to different scenario on how to approach a speech, Saddiqi’s attention seeking opening recommendation and how Vincent put a twist on a cliché, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with tying shoelaces” instead of “A journey of a thousand miles steps begin with a single step”

Next, Leena advised on the areas where improvments could be made. Firstly, the meeting started a little late.

Everyone should be in standing position before speaking. Often, she hears the sound of chairs dragging and a speaker has already began speaking which causes the beginning of an introduction to be missed.

Name tags should also be worn properly so it is easily readable, no clipped sideways to your clothing. That wraps up the chapter meeting. Please note of the following dates:

1. EXCO MEETING 08 2012 MARCH THURSDAY

7.30 - 9pm

@ Benjamin Gan's house. Address has been sent via email.

2. CHAPTER MEETING 15 MARCH THURSDAY

7 - 10PM

@ KATONG Community Centre

3. AREA Z3 INTERNATIONAL SPEECH & TABLE TOPICS CONTEST 2012

29 MARCH THURSDAY 7 - 10PM

@ KATONG Community Centre