Katong Toastmasters Club

Our club enjoyed a new beginning as we held our first physical meeting at Katong Community Centre on 15 July 2021 after more than a year of online meetings and it was amazing! We were delighted to have Division Z Director Yip Lixian conduct the EXCO installation. Our new EXCO team consists of Joni, Rachel, Emi, Haifa, Swarna, Eliz and Fook Tiang. Three speakers were featured: 1. Wanxuan's Icebreaker speech “Words of wisdom” She’s a Malaysian who came to Singapore to study 9 years ago and is currently working in an architectural firm. 2. Chu Fook Tiang's speech “A New Beginning” He is a free-lance Tourist Guide who is licensed to conduct guided tours in four languages: English, Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia. 3. Geri's speech “This purpose stuff? It’s hard!!” She is a chocoholic who recently realised that no, eating chocolate doesn’t count as a life’s purpose. Our three evaluators Lydia, Yau Hong and Linda gave insightful and impactful feedback to affirm and h...

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...

  We had a stupendous & splendid chocolicious Willy Wonka-themed meeting tonight! Members and guests brandishing their favourite chocolates!  SAA Lydia started the meeting promptly by greeting everyone and getting guests to introduce themselves and share about a time when they got lucky and won something. Club President shared the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory briefly and how Charlie was a boy who remained humble despite his win. He was able to share his windfall with the rest of his impoverished family. The key takeaway: Happiness is not just having what we want, but sharing what we have. We were delighted to induct 6 new members into our club, led by VP Membership Ida Lee. We welcome Rachel, Haifa, Sharon, Bee Bee, Emi and Fook Tiang into our Katong family! LE John Poon shared “flamboyant” as Word of the Day, and we happily tagged it to people and speeches, as in our flamboyant Club President. First speaker Sharon in her Icebreaker speech “Little Star, Big D...

We had an enchanting and spooktacular evening with members donning different crazy hats or Halloween get up.  Here's our Toastmaster of the Evening Rubin looking very enigmatic in her witch's hat and glittery mask, guiding us through the night's proceedings. Our enigmatic TME Rubin Club President Swarna completed her Innovative Planning L5 Speech "Mirror, mirror on the wall" as her opening address. She reflected on her learning journey in pursuing the Innovative Planning Pathway and the many lessons on leadership she has learnt. "Mirror, mirror on the wall" by Club President Swarna We had three Icebreaker speeches from our new members Haifa, Rachel and Bee Bee, as well as a Level 2 speech from Effective Coaching Pathway by veteran member Malcolm Chen. Haifa related a story that affected her deeply. Months before her O level exams, she was diagnosed with Hepatitis A, a viral infection that caused her liver to become enlarged and inflamed. She had to be ho...