Katong Toastmasters Club

Our club's first online Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests 2021 concluded on a high note on Thursday 21 January 2021 and culminated in an awards and appreciation dinner on Sunday night. We had six contestants for both contests, with several new members taking the plunge. Many thanks to the guidance of our chief judge Michael Rodrigues and assistance of tally counters Ida & Roann, timers Defriceni & Rosalind, SAA Aarti, Zoom Masters Swarna & Michael Yonanathan, test speaker Tu Yu and contest chair Joni Siah. Congratulations to all our participants and winners! The contest champions and first runners-up will represent our club at the Area Z3 Contest on Saturday 13 March 2021. Contest results: Katong TMC Humorous Speech 2021: 1st: Rachel Kee 2nd: Harleen Sidhu 3rd: Lydia Ng Katong TMC Evaluation Contest 2021: 1st: Malcolm Chen 2nd: Eliz Wong 3rd: Geri Kan 1st online contest for Katong TMC Humorous Speech Contest trophies Evaluation contest trophies Test speaker Tu Yu

We kick-started 2021 with an awesome evening of listening, learning and laughing together! Six sensational speakers shared about their experiences: from baring all at an onsen, wonderful journey of learning languages, tips for healthy living, art of storytelling, how our state of mind affects our communication to developing a communication plan. Professional event host and emcee Jackie Lin engaged us with a workshop on how to present with more than words. He expounded on the importance of using pitch, pace, power and pause to add vocal variety to our presentations. This was well demonstrated by a video clip of Louis CK's comedy act. We were also privileged to have visiting Toastmasters Belinda Lee, John Tan, Doreen Neo and Jenny Au evaluate our members and share insightful and helpful feedback for their improvement. Kudos to Rachel on her debut evaluation! Congratulations to the Award winners for tonight Best Speaker: Lydia Ng Best Evaluator: Jenny Au, DTM

Club President Swarna started her opening address with a rhetorical question: "Why are we so fascinated by superheroes? Because they stand for integrity, honour and everything else that we hope to embody everyday." She goes on to share personal anecdotes and a story about a brave mother who scaled the walls of an impenetrable fort to get to her son out of sheer desperation. Love helps us overcome our fears and when we are able to use love as the motivating force in our lives, we become superheroes in our own ways. Club President Swarna giving her Opening Address Chu Fook Tiang in his Icebreaker speech "Earth, Fire and Wind" entertained us with stories about his growing pains and aspirations in becoming a multi lingual tour guide during the current challenging pandemic situation. We were wowed by his animated visuals coupled with his flamboyant and dramatic style of presentation. Yau Hong gave us an insight into what it's like to be wheelchair bound in his speech