Toastmasters journey is a marathon, not a sprint

Synopsis of Chapter meeting on 19 April 2012

We were delighted to welcome 4 walk-in guests into our midst: Karina, Shamala, Garth and Glenn. Rajendra also brought his whole family along. What wonderful support. We love having cheerleaders!

Ben Xu opened the session with a round of introductions getting everyone to share their favourite foods. We found out who were the cake lovers (Leena & Joni), chocolate fanatic (Justin) and foodies (Elaine, Ida, Benjamin).

TME Justin shared about a momentous event that happened on 19 April back in 1897. It was Boston's 1st marathon run. From this, he shared the analogy that our Toastmasters journey is a marathon, not a sprint.

Ida in her opening address shared a story about a Vietnamese boy who rejected the rules of rice planting and ended up with withered lifeless stalks of rice and an aching body. Pearls of wisdom for us to mull over: If you follow the rules of life, you will reap what you sow. Today's oak tree was yesterday's nut planted in soil. Today's reality was yesterday's dream.

VPM Leena conducted the New Members Induction, where we welcomed 4 new members Shahnawaz, Rajendra, Roann and Gongping into our Katong family. Welcome guys and gal! We are so thrilled to have you on board.

Prepared speech segment:

Shahnawaz in his P1 speech shared about his phobia for blood and how that was overcome when he witnessed the birth of his first child. Rajendra, in his Icebreaker speech, shared about his struggles in life and how he worked hard to break the cycle of poverty to achieve the comfortable life that he now enjoys with his family in Singapore. Shucheng, in her P3 speech, shared personal stories about her choices in life and urged us to follow our heart as our time on earth is limited and should not be wasted. In the words of Steve Jobs : "have the courage to follow your heart"

P5 speaker Merry exclaimed that the best teachers in the world are children. She shared 3 wonderful lessons her daughter has taught her: a positive can-do spirit, forgive and forget, and honesty. P6 speaker Leena enthralled us with her vocal variety in her speech about The Power of Movies - how they can entertain, educate and elevate our spirit, citing The Sound of Music, Schlinder's List and The Pursuit of Happiness as examples.

Evaluation segment:

Peter commended Shahnawaz on his preparedness, presenting the speech confidently without any use of notes and weaving pockets of humour into his speech. Thomas commended Rajendra on his thoroughness in sharing his life story and the positive, uplifting ending note about having the rebel in us alive and kicking. He rec0mmends the use of effective eye contact and clearer transitions.

Joni highlighted Shucheng's strengths as strong intro and conclusion, use of relevant stories and sincerity. She suggested a proper stage-setup (e.g. move the table away) and starting strong by getting the audience attention before uttering the first word as some areas for improvement.

Benjamin enjoyed Merry's speech about her daughter and what she had taught her, as well as the ending quote. He recommends the use of more varied body language, such as stomping to show anger.

Richard commended Leena on her clarity, intensity and audibility. She was expressive and her voice displayed vibrancy and vitality. One area of improvement was placing emphasis on important words to create impact.

Table Topics Segment:

Table Topics Master Benjamin gave us mind-boggling and mind-blowing paradoxical quotes to ponder over and expound on:

1) We have cleaned up the air but polluted the soul.
2) We have learnt how to make a living but not a life.
3) We plan more but accomplish less.
4) We write more but learn less.
5) We have conquered the atom but not our prejudice.

Shamala shared on Topic 4 about how as a lawyer, she is constantly bombarded by the need to write lengthy emails which she suspects nobody reads anyway. Her exasperation was so eloquently expressed that she won the Best Table Topics Speaker ribbon! Well done!

Voting results:

Best Speaker: Leena Santore

Best Evaluator: Richard Sng

Best TTS : Shamala