Club Officer Installation Ceremony - 2014/2015

Toastmasters@Hope Club Officer Installation Ceremony was held on 19 July 2014. The outgoing club officers were thanked for their work and relieved of their responsibilities. Our new Exco team comprises of the following club members:-

1. Club President - Melvyn Goh
2.Vice President (Education) - Simon Goh
3.Vice President (Membership) - Vince Lee
4. Vice President (Public Relations) Xinni Chen
5. Secretary - Susan Lim
6. Treasurer - Yong Tau Tan
7. Sergeant at Arms - Aswin D. Valiyaveettil

Congratulations!

Exco Team 2014/2015 (Simon-not present) with Immediate Past President Ching KW (far left)

Group Picture in celebration of our Club anniversary

Melvyn - our newly appointed Club President

TM@Hope was awarded District 80 Presidents Distinguished Club

Achiever's Day 2014

Toastmasters@Hope had our own Acheiver's Day on 7 June 2014. Our Club President Ching opened up his place for the inaugural event, followed with amazing food and BBQ afterwards, not forgetting the wonderful durians from John Sih!

Achiever's Day was indeed as it's name suggested as Ching delivered his speech to achieve his DTM and Sharon delivered hers to achieve her ACB.

Congratulations Ching and Sharon!!

Our Incoming Division Governor Kenneth and Incoming Area Governor Clement also came to enjoy the awesome food!!

Toastmasters @ Hope 53rd Chapter Meeting - August 3rd, 2013

Live The Moments Of Truth

TMD Sharon Siow began the round of introduction by inviting everyone to share one good thing that they want their loved ones or themselves to do. Ching wished for his son to to get married, Vince wanted his wife to lighten-up on shopping, John wished for one more day in a week, Daryl wished for his loved ones to win a million dollar lottery, Shahnawaz wished for hugs instead of texts from his daughters and Zahira wanted to garner more courage to do her future projects.

In his opening address, Ching introduced audience to a DOSE approach and encourage members to enjoy their toastmasters journey by staying the course to maximize the learning experience:

D – Doing their project speeches and other assignments regularly

O – Observing other seasoned toastmasters performing various roles and learning from them

S -  Sharing your experience with other toastmasters because when you share you gain more.

E – Enjoy every moment of the toastmasters experience

John Tan in his LE role introduced two words which are often mis-used:

 1. Adapt (verb – used with object) -  To adjust oneself to different conditions, environment etc. To adapt easily to all types of circumstances.  

2. Adept (adjective/noun)

A – very skilled, proficient, expert

N – a skilled or a proficient person, expert, having a natural ability to do something that require skills.  She is a shrewd consensus builder, adept at winning local support.

ADEPT was the word of the day.

Prepared Speeches

Shahnawaz in his ‘off the cuff’ advance manual specialty speech compared life with ultra endurance race and shared 3 lessons of life:  1. Connecting long term aspirations with short term success, 2. Continue to make honest self-assessment of ones skills and 3. Aim to improve 1% every day by joining toastmasters.

Lee Zheng Xiang in his P2 speech ‘Embracing the Differences’ - started by showing us a paper bag which to everyone's surprise contained a high heel female shoe….he mentioned that his wife has 20 such pair of shoes.  He then went on and draw interesting parallels of men and women brains and how each processes the information – Men stores information in compartmentalized square boxes hence takes long pauses while transitioning from one topic to other while, women store and process information in a super highway format hence smooth, non-stop and relentless transitions from one subject to other.   Men needs space, women needs love but despite their differences men and women are living together harmoniously with the help of this wonderful word of ‘compromise’.  I think that’s why Vince is also putting up with 20 + pairs of shoes.

Xinni in her P3 speech ‘Do not get impulsive over McToy’ started by putting up a question on ‘who in audience queued up for Mctoy and Hello Kitty toys?’ – almost everybody said yes. She talked about people’s silly interest in owning a hello kitty with no mouth or Despicable Me’s McToy with one eye.  Then she went ahead and beautifully linked these wants with Maslows’s five hierarchy of needs from most basic (physiological) to the most pressing needs (self actualization). She mentioned that most people do such stuff to satisfy their self esteem needs by showing off to their friends and families their prized purchases and possessions. Most people feel that these impulse buying sprees give them sense of recognition, emotional control and internal happiness.  Xinni urged audience to become smart consumers and start saving instead of impulse shopping and become happier person….WASTE NOT - WANTS NOT

Rajesh Khanna in his P5 speech, ‘Gain massive advantages from any workshop’  encouraged audience to follow his six points strategy to maximize the benefits from any workshop.  1. Give level 10 attention by being mentally present, 2. Don’t be a spectator, be a player – participate to reap the full benefit. 3. Don’t confuse beginning with ending and attend generally with a mind that you are here to gain new knowledge/ideas to work on your problems. 4. Don’t just be photocopies be a photographer – be an active listener.  5. Use air filter action and pick up key actions, ideas and resources from the workshop to refer  at an appropriate time.  6. Put your learning into action and do it for 21 days to make it part of your routine.

Aswin in his P5 speech, ‘My favorite City’ talked about New York (NY).  He mesmerized the audience by portraying a very fuzzy, fun and friendly image of NY despite of being a jungle of concrete and steel. His vivid portrayals of NY skylines, larger than life billboards and use of phrases like ‘Aswin was in wonderland’ captured our imagination and ignited a desire in us to visit the Big Apple … ‘A City with a Soul’ as Aswin calls it.

RaviKumar in his P6 speech titled ‘Bella’ told us a lovely story of a beautiful girl named Bella whose father remarried after her mother died bringing home a selfish  stepmother and her two pampered daughters.  They were very harsh with Bella and made her do all the housework.  One day Bella got the opportunity to attend Prince’s Party with the help of fairy grandmother who transformed her into a princess for a night with a magic.  The magic ended at 12:00PM and Bella had to leave the party in a rush and while doing so left her shoe. Prince used that shoe to tack down Bella and one day reached her home where despite of Bella being in maid’s clothes he insisted on her trying the shoe, which was a perfect fit. He then brought her back to castle and made her his queen and they lived happily ever after.

 Project Evaluation

1^st evaluator Ching  was impressed by Rajesh’s stage presence and maturity. He noted Rajesh’s purposeful movements, eye contact and body gestures, which was effectively used by Rajesh to accentuate key points of his speech. He encouraged Rajesh to use  3 -4 points instead of 6 point as it is difficult to follow so many points in a seven minute speech for audience.

2^nd Evaluator Anthony Leung evaluated Shahnawaz and Xinni:

Shahnawaz -  Anthony liked the thought process and structured approach used by the speaker especially the comparison of life with an ultra endurance race.  He commented on the purposeful way Shahnawaz linked the speech to his Toastmasters journey

Xinni  speech brought back old memories for Anthony where his wife made him queue up for hello kitty toy and how he hated it.  He loved Xinni’s topic selection, which resonated well with everybody.  He encouraged Xinni to manage her time better by practicing more to ensue that she finishes her future speeches within the stipulated time.

 

3^rd Evaluator Daryl Tan commented on  Vince’s effective use of prop to invoke and grasp audience’s attention. He loved the analogies used by Vince to describe men’s and women’s mind as square boxes and super highways.  He recommended Vince to use the full speech allocated time of the speech (finished in 5:30 sec vs. 7 mins allowed) to beef up his conclusion by reinforcing it with some more examples of how men and women can live more harmoniously despite such stark differences.

4^th Evaluator Shahnawaz loved Ravi’s vivid picturization of New York and commented on the short and punchy words he used to portray a warm and fuzzy picture of NY.  As a recommendation for improvement Shahnawaz gave GPC acronyms to Ravi,

G – Ground firmly while speaking and avoid unnecessary swaying as it might distract audience, P- Practice and Rehearse more to make the speech delivery look natural, C – Beef up Conclusion by giving some additional pointers on when is the best time to visit,  affordable travel options etc.  

5^th John evaluated Ravi on his P6 ‘Your body speaks’. He loved Ravi’s powerful voice and how he used it to convey his message. He suggested Ravi to leverage on his voice and could play the voice of Bella, the protagonist of the story or king to inject more fun and life in his speech.  He also recommended Ravi to deliver his speeches within time by practicing more.

Language Evaluation

John Tan started his evaluation by commending on the language gems (a tagline first coined by DTM Richard Sng) used by the speakers. He sighted few examples… Ching’s use of four-letter word DOSE to convey short and impactful message.   Use of the contrast words  ‘compelling’ and ‘draining’, comparing life with the ultra endurance race, use of adjectives gusto and gumption.   ‘Strike fear in  some people and ignite fire in others’. Comparing Men’s and women’s brains as square boxes and highways. Comparing camera vs. photocopier to paint a picture on being selective….I came, I saw and was conquered….Aswin in wonderland…captivating and mesmerising. 

John highlighted few language germs (a tagline first coined by DTM Richard Sng) or the pronunciation errors and encouraged speakers to take note. Level ten vs. level term, today I brought paper bag along…along redundant….stored vs. stocked….we have finished prepared speeches…finished overuse word replace with concluded or completed…people get impulsive buyings…could be improved - ‘ people at times display impulsive buying behavior’

 

Best Speaker – Zheng Xiang

Best Evaluator – John Tan  

Regards,

Shahnawaz Lalani

Vice President Education 

Toastmasters @ Hope 52nd Chapter Meeting

July marks the beginning of new term 2013-2014 for the Exco.  Daryl in his maiden toastmasters of the day appearance energized and engaged the audience with his funny stories and anecdotes. He started off by asking everybody to share one good thing that happened to them in the last few weeks.

Rudy Tan, our Area Governor installed the new Exco in a colourful ceremony.

   Incoming President Ching in his opening address shared his vision, which he summed up in a line     - “Living the moments of truth”. 

Ching articulated the club motto for new Exco term in six points :

 1. First impressions – Extend warm welcome to guests and members. Take them through the toastmasters concept and meeting formats 

2. Member Orientation – Guide the new members on various project requirements and help them setup their development / project completion goals

3. Fellowship – Build fellowship and support system to encourage each other in their learning journey

4. Variety of activities – to keep the members engaged and connected.

5. Program planning & organization – Close coordination with all to ensure club programs are planned in advance and supplement member’s development goals.

6. Achievement recognition – celebrate / recognize success of members achievements with gusto and gumption.

John Sih in his LE role introduced us to a noun ‘VERVE’ - means liveliness, enthusiasm, vigor, talent.  ‘Only a writer of ‘verve’ could make this potentially deadening subjects compelling.

Prepared Speeches

Shahnawaz in his Advance Project 1 – Specialty Speeches toasted the two ‘Iron Ladies’ and past presidents Catherine and Sharon who mentored him in his toastmasters journey. The ladies highlighted to him in several occasions that toastmasters journey require dedication, time and effort and the learning path maybe filled with obstacles, hurdles and frustration but it builds a tremendous bounty of success for those who persists and persevere. Their continuous support and encouragement kept Shahnawaz going and he thanked and saluted them in his toast.

Vince in his Ice Breaker Speech shared his childhood stories with the audience. He talked about how as a younger sibling he used to get bullied by his elder sister in getting him to do household chores. His eyes lit up when he talked about how proud he was of his father who despite of limited means worked extremely hard to provide for the family by driving bus for 14/15 hrs a day for 20+ yrs. Vince who has kids of his own now has a goal to be respected by his kids like his own father.

Project Evaluation

1^st evaluator Richard Sng provided a very succinct and relevant feedback to Shahnawaz on his Toast.  He highlighted the requirements of certain formalities for the toast like formal attires, use of proper wine glasses and requesting audience to stand and join the toast and raise their glasses in unison. He liked the use of personal anecdotes about Shahnawaz’s Toastmasters learning journey and how he was supported in his quest by the two iron ladies. Richard liked his sincerity, conviction and generous eye contact given to audience during the toast.

2^nd evaluator Rudy Tan was very impressed with Vince and commented on how confident and poised he was in his first speech.  Rudy talked about the smoothness and flow of transitions in Vince’s speech as he took the audience through his various childhood stories. Vince didn’t use notes at all.  In recommendations, Rudy suggested Vince to consider beefing up his conclusion by recapturing and re-emphasizing the key points of the speech to drive home the message. Longer eye contact with audience was another area where improvements suggested

Table Topics

Table topic session led by Simon Goh challenged audience to speak on non monetary benefits of professions they were completely unfamiliar with and then asked to compare these professions with their own jobs.

Linda Lee -  Undertaker vs. Insurance Agent

Daryl Tan - Environmentalist vs. Financial Accountant

John Sih  - US President Barrack Obama vs. Public Speaker/Trainer

Ching -  Banker vs. Teacher

Sharon Siow -  Soccer Player vs. Mom/Toasmaster

Michael Lau - God vs. Retiree Rvs. A

John Sih was voted best Table Topic Speaker for drawing fascinating comparisons between President of United States and his own job as a public speaker/trainer. He mentioned that each time the US President speaks he has a message for everyone that enriches listeners mind with knowledge and ideas. As a public speaking trainer he works with his students to help them improve their speaking skills by setting-up a goal to make subsequent speeches better than the prior ones.   

Language Evaluation

John Sih started his evaluation by putting up a light bulb on his palm which magically lighted up without any electrical power. He said failure is not in falling down but staying down and encouraged everyone to keep improving and keep speaking. 

John commented on speakers excellent use of vivid imagery, alliterations, triads and outstanding language by singling out few examples like …send shivers up my spine, dedication, time and effort…tremendous bounty of success….my mom is crying and mumbling in anxiety…sparse audience…air of decorum…multiply their joy…knees use to buckle at the sight of a needle….make an obscene amount of money….you do what you like and like what you do.

Word of the day, ‘Verve’ was used by Shahnawaz in his toast

Mistakes /other language shortfalls -  speaking of the cuss vs speaking of the cuff.  Presidents opening address – club has only one president. Use of acronyms VDO, CFO must explain once as to what such terms mean as some of the audience member may not be familiar with them.  True public speaker – use of ‘true’ is confusing.  Speaker mentioning my name is ….my name is redundant, as TME has already introduced the speaker.

Pitfalls in several words pronunciation were highlighted.  These included Spiker vs. Speaker.  Gestures, Celebrity, Three, Opportunity   

Ah Counter -  Sharon Siow

Timer - Benjamin Ting

Ice Breaker Award -  Vince

Best table topic speaker:  John Sih

Closing Remarks by President Ching “start living the moments of Truth”

Next Meeting -  August 3rd, 2013

Regards,
Shahnawaz Lalani
Vice President Education