Best Prepared Speech:
Toastmaster Johnbosco Ng
Best Evaluator: Kenneth
Yeo, ACS, ALB
Best Table Topic:
Toastmaster Christina Ho
Word of the Evening:
NUANCE
First things first: our
Charismatic, Persuasive and Influential “Minister of Influence”,
Coen Tan, is now officially a Distinguished Toastmaster!
Congratulations to Coen!!
As acting Club President,
Ng Kin Foong, CC invited us to stage a “coup of the imagination”
(sounds like something from the 1970s Twilight Zone). He had fun,
learned how to craft 7 speeches in about 7 weeks, assisted in
Speechcraft and learned how to train. “Your real reason may not be
it (your real reason)” he said, and added “At the root of it, is
the desire for growth”
The first prepared
Speech, by Toastmaster Johnbosco Ng (CC P5, Your Body Speaks), was
about “The Scariest Place on Earth”! What is this 'scariest
place', I hear you ask? It's the South Korea Demilitarized Zone, or
DMZ. It is 250 km long and 4 km wide. It was the site of gruesome axe
murders, where Captain Bonifas who was ordered to cut down a poplar
tree, was ambushed by the North Korean soldiers. Johnbosco's tour
guide used one word to snap them out of the grim feeling:
“Lunchtime!” Johnbosco did an amazing job describing his
mouth-watering lunch (it was green spinach, but he made it sound so
delicious) and why he had to wear a helmet in the tunnels. Can you
guess why?*
The second prepared
speech by Toastmaster Woelly William (CC P1: The Ice Breaker) started
off on an amazing note: he said that it was his first Toastmasters
speech and we should all give him a big hand to help him overcome his
shyness! An accountant by profession, it didn't seem like he was new
to public speaking and looks comfortable on stage. He talked about
not letting fear 'take over our future' and likes the support and
encouragement from Tampines Changkat Toastmasters Club.
Coincidentally, he mentioned 'rolling a boulder up a hill', which I
was just reading about in Paul Allen's engrossing memoir, “Idea
Man”. The legend of King Sisyphus, who had been deceitful and
cheated Death twice, was that Zeus made him roll a boulder up a hill,
only to have it roll back down again, over and over.
Our charismatic
Toastmaster Ronnie Wang (CC P8, 'Get Comfortable with Visual Aids')
began his speech entitled “Four Seasons” by repeating a question
he is often asked: “Will you be here in Singapore long?” (Ronnie
is from China). And his answer? “It depends on whether I miss the
four seasons!” After a brief debate about how many seasons there
are in Singapore (personally, I think there are only 2: GSS and the
'Saving-up phase'. Right, ladies?), Ronnie showed beautiful images of
the four seasons. He also showed us an agricultural perspective:
Spring is 'Planting Season', and Autumn is 'Harvest time'. Summer was
a time to have fun outdoors ( I remember my first summer in the UK-
so many locals sat/sunbathed in the sunlight and I was asking myself:
“What's wrong with these people?” It made no sense to someone who
came from a tropical country) and Winter was a time to make Ice
Kachang. Seriously, winters are cold, especially when the wind blows.
It doesn't snow all the time in winter, though. To sum up the lessons
learned: “Life has seasons. Some winters are long, and some are
short. The best part? Spring always comes!”
We also had a special
segment about the Revitalized Education Program that Toastmasters
International will roll out. The current program needs improving
because it is confusing and there is not enough emphasis on
leadership. The new program will be simpler, leadership will have
more weightage and be more technology-centric (with usage of videos
and mobile applications). Interestingly, it will also feature
tailored learning while retaining the self-paced learning that we
have now. Want to know more? Click here:
http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/RevitalizedEducationProgram.aspx
Till next meeting, as Ng
Kin Foong, CC said: stage a coup of your imagination!
Carl Wong HL
Vice President of Public
Relations
*Answer to "Why wear a helmet in a tunnel?":
It's to avoid hitting
your head on the tunnel ceiling
 |
| Distinguished Toastmaster Coen Tan |
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| Acting President Ng Kin Foong, CC presents the coveted Ribbon |
 |
| A salute is in order |
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| Celebrating April's birthday babies |
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| Andrew Chen, ATMB, ALS sharing a light moment with VPM Tan Mingjian, CC |
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| Birthday wish! |
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| Break time with Johnbosco Ng in the foreground |
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| Ng Cher Khim, CTM, ALS from Toastmasters Club of Singapore, and our Area S4 Governor, Zhuo Shuzhen, ALS, ACB |
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| From left: Chia Choon Kiat, ACS, CL and founding member Michael Wee, DTM |
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| Coen Tan, DTM with Kenneth Yeo, ACS, ALB from Nee Soon TMC |
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| Best Prepared Speech: Toastmaster Johnbosco Ng |
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| Best Evaluator: Kenneth Yeo, ACS, ALB from Nee Soon TMC |
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| Best Table Topic: Toastmaster Christina Ho |
