New Beginnings...

July marks the beginning of the new term 2013-2014 for the EXCO. The audience was asked to share about new beginnings in their own life. Some have started on new job assignments (Parul, Nicholas, Richard and guest Chenny), a few members had started on new exercise regimes (Joni – sixpacks in 6 weeks, Shahnawaz and Elaine) and some have exciting developments in their relationships (Choon Liang and Roann are getting married! Congrats!!)

Ida, in her opening speech, opined that happiness has no boundaries. She shared some personal stories about how her friends have found happiness in different places, through different ways. Though her friends may be miles away, her thoughts of them are near.

Prepared speeches

In her P2 speech, Shalini spoke about how anger is just another emotion. She shared an incident which made her angry and highlighted 3 reasons that cause anger: unmet expectations, personality traits and fears.  Anger can cause physical, emotional and social problems. Ways to overcome it include removing oneself from the situation, or engaging in physical sports to release the anger. Shalini concluded her speech with a quote from Buddha:

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal

with the intent of throwing it at someone else;

you are the one getting burned.”

Nicholas, also presenting a P2 speech, tried to convince us that forex was the best way to retire for life. He shared a story about how his friend at 50 was retrenched and left with little to support his teenage children and fund a second home mortgage. That set him thinking about how to remain financially secure to retire comfortably. After considering franchise options, property and stocks, he found out about forex trading from a friend. The advantages of forex trading include huge potential market of $3 trillion and growing, freedom to trade anytime, anywhere using online resources, and being able to leverage on 1% of margin of capital.

P3 speaker Roann persuaded the audience to sleep more and live longer! She related a story about Ranjan Das, a young CEO, who was highly active and athletic, yet died at the age of 42 due to cardiac arrest. Reason? He only got 4-5 hours of sleep.  She then highlighted the benefits of getting sufficient sleep, 7.5 to 9 hours as recommended by researchers: weight loss, prevent cancer, improve heart health, increased stamina and longer life span. Roann was voted Best Speaker for the evening.

Chee Hoo, a member of NUSS Toastmasters Club, presented his P5 (Your Body Speaks) speech entitled “It’s never too late to get into a relationship.”  No, he wasn’t talking about boy-girl relationship, but his relationship with the Gold Coast Marathon.  He relived the momentous event with vivid details and shared how he finally achieved his dream of completing the marathon.

Table Topics

The Table Topics session led by Mohd Saddiq saw speakers grappling with weighty issues.

• What is the most important thing in your life? – guest Geri Kan
• As a leader, is it more important to be loved or to be feared? – Elaine
• Would you rather run away and live, or stand your ground and die for your beliefs? – guest Chenny
• What do you notice first in a person? – Parul
• Would you follow your heart and do what you love, or follow your head and do what is right? – Choon Liang

Newcomer Chenny was voted best Table Topics speaker for sharing her story about how a piano performance traumatized her so much that it gave her a phobia for speaking in public.  She is hoping to confront the fear by not running away from it but hopes she won’t have to die for it.

Project Evaluation

1^st evaluator Jane Quah, from NUSS Toastmasters Club, commended Shalini on her choice of topic which was relevant to the audience. The speech was well-organised and easy to follow.  She encouraged Shalini conclude her speech in a strong and confident manner.

2^nd evaluator Choon Liang enthused about Nicholas’ clear projection of voice, his interesting topic and the flow of speech with clear transitions.  His recommendations for improvement include reducing 5 benefits of forex trading to 3 points and elaborating on the points, avoiding jargon that the lay person won't understand (e.g. bull market, bear market) and sharing personal stories to back up the claim that forex is the best way to retire.

3^rd evaluator Shahnawaz applauded Roann’s use of questions to engage the audience and how she was able to get to her point clearly.  He shared 3Ps to help her elevate her speech to the next level: pacing - slow down when making a point to allow the audience time to absorb it; pitch – use different pitch and tone of voice to express different emotions and pause between transitions.

4^th evaluator Saddiq expressed disappointment over the misleading speech title in jest and went on to identify how Chee Hoo had used gestures to emphasize parts of the story appropriately and effectively.  He also recommended that the gestures could be more firm and rigid to add more impact to their effect.

Language Evaluation

Language evaluator Richard Sng divided his evaluation into 3 sections:  shortfall, windfall and pitfall.

Shortfall included redundant words such as ‘I would like to share with you…’ , and ‘My name is …’ when the TME had already introduced the speaker.

Windfall refers to outstanding language use such as ‘the run was great, but the walk was better’ (duality); ‘wherever I want, whenever I want’; ‘right call, right place, right time’ (repetition); ‘got up, washed up, dressed up’; ‘colour, flavor, glamour’ (triads).

Pitfalls in pronunciation were also highlighted. They included words like ‘Korea’,

‘savour’, ‘abandon’, ‘specific’ and ‘grasp’.

Awards

Best Speaker: Roann Kuan (P3)

Best Evaluator: Mohd Saddiq

Best Table Topics Speaker: Chenny

Upcoming events

26 July 2013             Workshop: The Science of Evaluation | The Art of Humour

                                    6.30-9.30pm

15 August 2013 Humorous Speech & Evaluation Contests 7-10pm

Thanks for another enriching, enlightening & educational chapter meeting!

To view more photos taken at the meeting, click here