468th Meeting Recap, or "Resolutions, Phones and Lip-smacking Laksa"

Best Prepared Speech: Darren Loh

Best Evaluator: Yew Runbin, ACS, CL

Best Table Topic: Shaun Li, ACS, ALB

President Gurmit kicked off the meeting with his Opening Address, in which he said that it's easier to achieve our resolutions, if we shared them. Also:

1. Know our why- Gives us a deeper sense of purpose
2. Specific and measurable checkpoints- by such and such a date, I will have lost x kg, or will have run y km
3. Don't just think it, ink it- A Stanford University study showed that by writing down goals and putting them where they are easily seen, chances of succeeding increase by over 70%

This is also relevant to Toastmasters. Eg we can book a project speech slot every 2 meetings.

The First Prepared Speech was by Toastmaster Terence Chong, P1 entitled “The Aspect of Life” He talked about his nervousness during presentations. And also his experiences in a nursing home where he learned perseverence by watching the residents walk and do their physiotherapy. Terence also likes classical music, watches soccer, and swimming. He wants to be an allied educator in MOE and is

glad to join Tampines Changkat Toastmasters, where the people are “very welcoming”

The Second Speech, entitled “Life Unplugged” was by Toastmaster Darren Loh. He related his recent holiday experience where he had to ensure that he had mobile phone during the entire holiday, his wife asked if he brought the phone charger and a 3 way multi plug to fit the foreign wall power sockets: the phones have become more important than passports!

In his “rest and relax” tour package, in the past, he would have asked for a map. But now, the first question is which telco offers the cheapest data plan, and people are queuing up for SIM cards.

He was constantly checking his phone for updates, and had to make a difficult decision- should they turn off handphone?

Darren's 3 year old daughter took to their family iPad like a fish to water, and so even in Taiwan, without the iPad- his “unplugged daughter” kept asking for the iPad, and phones so she could play with them. “Unplug and smell the roses!” was Darren's parting words.

The Third Speaker was Toastmaster See Shunwei, with his speech “Resolution, Make It Count”. Shunwei is an extremely energetic speaker who has an awesome voice, and he managed the energy of the audience by asking them to help him 'lubricate' his speech, ie applause!

He asked us to reflect for 15 seconds, the events of the past year, and gave us a few ways to make resolutions turn from dreams to accomplishments:

1. Big resolutions- eg resolution is to lose 10kg, but if not much progress, will default back to laksa and MacDonald's. We need small goals- checkpoints, otherwise we may lose sight and direction. The point is to “give yourself a pat on the back”. The ultimate goal could be to have a “Dancing chest” (muscular pectorals that can twitch in time to music. Or not. What's important is that they can twitch!).
2. Accountability – share resolutions with others. One of Shunwei's resolutions is to obtain his CC title before the end of this “financial year” (term).
3. Fear of change – some people have the fear of being laughed at. There's nothing to be afraid of. We are the author, creator and executor of our lives.

The fourth and final speaker was Toastmaster Richard Jia, who delivered a speech called “From chaos to order, logical order of things”

Richard talked about Organizing- how we should organize our physical space, emails and speech. He did his spring cleaning recently- his living room was “half empty” and there was a lot of clutter.

So this brings about the question: “How to start?” Answer: with Questions!

Ask these Organizing questions:

1. What's the OBJECTIVE? Why are we doing this? What do you want to achieve?

Is it to Increase efficiency? Make items easier to access?

2. PLAN: Split a bigger job to smaller tasks.

3. RULES: these are critical. Gives order to the inevitable chaos that will creep up. So for maintenance of the organized space, the most important step is to set up the rules. For different functions, you need to organize it differently, eg efficiency and aesthetic reasons. Important items need to be easily accessible. Also, mark the important items.

4. ACTION! The actual organizing, decluttering, and maintenance of the physical space.

EVALUATION SEGMENT

The First Evaluator, Shaun Li, ACS, ALB, evaluating Toastmaster Terence Chong's speech, said that he had highlighted various aspects of his life, employing a device called “speaking the obvious”, a natural, and pure speech. “This is all YOU”

Shaun said Terence is natural speaker who is sincere.

The Second Evaluator, our VPE, Ng Kin Foong, CC, evaluated Toastmaster Darren Loh, based on the analogy of a 3 pin plug. The pins were:

1. Facial expression- naturally done, posture was perfect
2. Gestures- he had a pretend suitcase, and showed an unplug movement
3. Recharging- What needed improvement: choose only one particular purpose, as the speech had more entertainment value

The Third Evaluator, Yew Runbin, ACS, CL, evaluated Toastmaster See Shunwei. She said his speech was humourous. She was so touched, so high on oxygen, and the speech was like a breath of fresh air.

Shunwei was charismatic, energetic, like in a Colgate commercial. The gems of his speech were:

1. Improved body language- dancing fingers, smack lips for laksa

2. “Oil” in the form of applause from audience

Areas for Improvement were: to diversify sources of information: using testimonies of ppl, in the crowd. Also to round off and mention “9 in 10 of you” – instead of 88%. Shunwei should also quote his sources, telling us where he got his data from.

The Fourth and final Evaluator was our Area S4 Governor, Zhuo Shuzhen, ACB, CL. Evaluating Toastmaster Richard Jia's speech, she made special mention of his excellent command of his English Language, wrote on the whiteboard and delivered the speech without notes. Areas for Improvement is that Richard could have provided a personal example of what he organized and how he applied the tips in daily life, as well as shortening the title to something like “Chaos to Order”

Table Topics Segment:

Table Topicsmaster Jack Chu gave us several one-word topics to choose from:

1. Character- Ted Chong, ACB, ALB
2. Wealth- Joe Wan
3. Family- Flora Fong
4. Relationship- Chan Chee Wai
5. Fitness/Marriage- Shaun Li, ACS, ALB

See you at the next meeting!

Carl Wong,

Vice President of Public Relations

Table Topics Master Jack Chu

IPP Ted Chong, ACB, ALB expressing his heartfelt feelings about volunteering (and going away for 6 months)

Toastmaster Joe Wan's glistening smile during Table Topics

Toastmaster Flora Fong talking about her promise to visit her Mum every quarter

Toastmaster Chan Chee Wai remembering something about his relationship with his girlfriend

Shaun Li, ACS, ALB combining fitness with marriage during Table Topics, the gist of which was "discipline"

Our General Evaluator Gladys Tye, CC telling us what we did wonderfully well, and our Areas for Improvement

Tan Mingjian, CC, who is Organizing Chair for our 21st Anniversary Celebrations on 18th Jan, telling us HOW MUCH FUN WE'LL BE HAVING FOR ONLY $10!!

Best Prepared Speech: Toastmaster Darren Loh's message about being unplugged while holidaying. That means no 'live' posting of selfies and checking Whatsapp every 5 minutes

Best Evaluator: Yew Runbin, ACS, CL. Isn't that the sweetest smile?

Best Table Topics: Shaun Li, ACS, ALB shows that you should combine the Table Topic of "FITNESS" with what the crowd (ie Coen Tan, ACS, ALB) wants, "MARRIAGE" to win a ribbon

465th Meeting (21st November 2013) or "Vulgar Toastmasters, Heart Guys and The Story of Jack's Jacket"

Best Prepared Speech:  Christina Ho
Best Evaluator: Cheng Kok (from AIA Toastmasters)
Best Table Topic: Gladys Tye, CC

The meeting opened with Club President Gurmit Singh, CC, telling the story of his friend, Jack, who had powerful body odour. Everybody else noticed except Jack. So Gurmit sat down with Jack and gave him honest advice. Jack didn't believe him at first, and said "Why are you the only one telling me this? Nobody else said anything" So Jack verified with another friend, who concurred with Gurmit's opinion. So it was more like nobody else DARED to say anything. Long story short, Jack got rid of his jacket and the world was safe.

Immediate Past President Ted Chong, ACB, CL, gave an educational talk segment about the Communication and Leadership Tracks in the journey towards Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).

The first Prepared Speech Speaker, Toastmaster Jack Chu (this is a different Jack from the story above) shared a 4-step process of happiness:
1. Remember an extremely happy moment in your life
2. Paint a picture of the happy moment in front of you, like in a large-screen TV and FEEL it
3. Reach out and grab the picture with your hand, together with the feeling
4. Put the memory into your heart with your hand action

Ideally, do this every day.

The second speaker, Toastmaster Peter Koh, started with an exercise where we tore a piece of newspaper into half 4 times. His point was that, since the instructions were vague, the results would also be unpredictable. I tore mine into 8 pieces, neatly. I must have missed a beat. Some others tore the newspaper into random shapes. The point was the variability of the results. Then Peter quoted Sun Tzu from "The Art of War":

“If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders ARE clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.”

An interesting side story: *Before hiring Sun Tzu, the King of Wu tested Sun Tzu's skills by commanding him to train a harem of 180 concubines into soldiers. Sun Tzu divided them into two companies, appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders. When Sun Tzu first ordered the concubines to face right, they giggled. In response, Sun Tzu said that the general, in this case himself, was responsible for ensuring that soldiers understood the commands given to them. Then, he reiterated the command, and again the concubines giggled. Sun Tzu then ordered the execution of the king's two favored concubines, to the king's protests. He explained that if the general's soldiers understood their commands but did not obey, it was the fault of the officers. Sun Tzu also said that, once a general was appointed, it was his duty to carry out his mission, even if the king protested. After both concubines were killed, new officers were chosen to replace them. Afterwards, both companies, now well aware of the costs of further frivolity, performed their maneuvers flawlessly. 
* sourced from Wikipedia

Next, Toastmaster Christina Ho talked about proper pronunciation and enunciation. She gave examples like "No sheet on my bed" and "He is a guy who is all heart" (mispronounced)

In the Table Topics segment, Gladys Tye, CC, talked about "the worst thing about turning 21", which she said, was planning her 21st birthday party. I remember my own 21st birthday party. A complete disaster- note to self: if you want to invite your friends, don't invite your family members. If you want to invite your family members, don't invite your friends.

CK from AIA Toastmasters talked about "the best thing about his life/job", while Jack Chu talked about the "worst thing about Toastmasters". Next, Kim Low, a Speechcrafter, had to put together a Table Topic using the words "slimy", "black magic", "general", "sock" and "drill". Finally, Speechcrafter Flora Fong talked about "the best time she's ever had", which was the time she studied in Belgium.

Newly-inducted members Jack Chu and Darren Loh (2nd and 3rd from left) with VPM Tan Mingjian,CC and President Gurmit Singh, CC

Best Prepared Speech: Christina Ho

Best Evaluator: CK from AIA Toastmasters

Best Table Topic: Gladys Tye, CC

President Gurmit Singh's closing address

460th Chapter Meeting (19th Sep 2013)

Meeting recap:

Best Prepared Speech: Joe Wan, P3: "What I Learned From Driving"

Most Improved Toastmaster: Ronnie Wang

Best Evaluator: Ng Kin Foong, CC

Best Table Topics: Jack Chu

Word of the Day: SPUR

Her Royal Highness Chong Cheng Lee, DTM, graced us with her presence as Toastmaster of the Evening. Having HRH as TME always ensures that the meeting is fun and lively.

Our Club President Gurmit Singh kicked off the meeting with his version of "The Starfish Story", which I first heard about a long, long, loooong time ago (from Stephen Covey's book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" I think). I understood it as "you can't save everyone, but you can save this one" however Gurmit's take on it is that we don't concentrate on completely overhauling ourselves, only change one bit at a time.

First-time Language Evaluator Gladys Tye shared with us the Word of the Day: "SPUR" which means the sharp, star-shaped thing on the heel of a cowboy's boot, used to make his horse go faster. Used as a verb, it means to jolt someone into action, or to act impulsively ("spur of the moment")

The first speaker, Ronnie Wang, talked about the coincidence in his life where he had an English Oral Exam a few days after his speech. What was unusual about his speech was that our VPE Kin 'volunteered' him when someone pulled out at the last minute. And that speech helped Ronnie's Oral Exam.

Next up was Shaun Li, ACS, ALB, who also talked about a coincidence of a different kind- how a girl he used to like, met and married another guy. But it was because he didn't go out with her on Christmas Eve, and she went out with someone else, and married that guy instead. Could it also be that Shaun told her, "I'm sure you'll find someone to date you" that day?

June Tan, CC, our third speaker, did an Advanced Project from the Persuasive Speaking Manual. She was playing the role of a Sales Promoter, and our very own Mr Tan (Coen) was her prospect. He said he would want to buy the product, Happycall Double-sided Pans from Korea, for his wife and in-laws. June managed to close the sale, selling 2 pans to Coen, I mean, Mr Tan.

Joe Wan talked about his lessons learned from driving:  Focus on the Positive and  Evaluate Quickly. I liked Joe's speech because of the personal stories and wisdom I have gained.

Matthew Er's P5 Speech about the experience of being jobless and eventually finding a job after months, was something that I could relate to, having been jobless myself once. It's strange because you're in a funk and nobody wants to hire you, unless you make a stand like Matthew did, and he got hired!

The Table Topics was about the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was appropriate for the occasion, because the day of the meeting was on the Mid-Autumn Festival. Table Topics Master Christina Ho chose a new format: reveal the first 3 questions for the first 2 Table Topics, and subsequently, the others would be as per normal Table Topics, ie we wouldn't know what the questions would be.

Best Prepared Speech: Joe Wan, P3 "Lessons I Learned From Driving"

Most Improved Speaker: Ronnie Wang

Best Evaluator: Ng Kin Foong, CC

Best Table Topics: Jack Chu

459th Meeting on 5th September 2013

Meeting Recap:
Best Prepared Speech: Tan Mingjian "Take The Next Step" CC P10
Best Evaluator: Roger Yap, CC
Best Table Topic: Jack Chu

Word of the Day: Ecstasy

President Gurmit Singh, CC, kicked off the meeting by talking about "The Power of Words", and he illustrated this by telling the story of a motivational speaker who could make a member of his audience angry or calm, just by using the right words.

Toastmaster Richard Jia did his P1 from the CC manual, "The Ice Breaker", by talking about how he came to Singapore, studied in NUS and how he got to his present job. He also explained about his personality profile.

Toastmaster Gladys Tye did her P8 ("Get Comfortable With Visual Aids") with her speech entitled "Law of Attraction", showing how grateful she is to have her parents and sibling, colleagues and us Toastmasters at Tampines Changkat. Aww. Also our brains eliminate the word "not", so if I keep saying "I do not want moths flying into my mouth", guess what I'll get? Moths flying into my mouth!

Toastmaster Carl Wong, CC, told the story of George Eliot's "Silas Marner", about a man preoccupied with gold and obssessive saving, who lost it all one day, but he instead got a child with golden hair, who brought much joy into his life, some unexpected happiness.

Toastmaster See Shunwei did his P6 (Vocal Variety) and talked about how laughter can boost our immune system, and reduce stress. Most fascinating of all, is his ability to laugh spontaneously!

Toastmaster Tan Ming Jian did his P10 (Inspire Your Audience) entitled "Take The Next Step", which is about stepping out of his comfort zone, and how he broke through his limitations to participate in the International Speech Contest a few months ago.

Table Topics Master Linda Huang, CC, gave "interview questions" as Table Topics, the likes of "Why are you leaving your current position of Project Manager?" and "What makes you a good telemarketer?"

September Baby: Desmond Ang, CTM

Best Prepared Speech: Tan Mingjian

Best Evaluator: Roger Yap, CC

Best Table Topics: Jack Chu