President’s Blog: 14th Training Meeting 26th Jan’10 simply RESPLENDENT!

Dear Fellow Toastmasters,

RESPLENDENT was certainly apt to describe the exuberant and resplendent atmosphere at last night’s meeting!

35 members and guests filled our now familiar Celyn Hotel with lots of love in the air! As GE Dr. Siva said, the love just came a little early pre-empting our next Valentine’s themed meeting on 9th Feb 2010!

Invocator Paul Mathew, CTM began with a smile in a song! With his melodious voice reverberating around the room, leaving us all with a smile on our face – the meeting of smiles and love began! New member TM Veronica Lubinti courageously took up the role as TME for the first time and passed with flying colours! She swallowed her nerves and bravely led the meeting in her soft spoken way, warming us up by asking each of us what colour describes us! Pink – romantic and sweet. Black – serious and practical etc… hmm, after the way the meeting went that evening, I think we were all in the ‘pink’ mood!

Table Topics Session was with a touch of difference as I wanted to incorporate some tips of how to answer table topics in a contest environment, in preparation towards our club contest the following week! All my questions were contest style material and some past year questions such as ‘Better Safe Than Sorry’ Area K 2007 question answered confidently by Freda Wu, CC, ‘It is better to have loved than never to have loved at all’ answered by Shahar Banon, CTM. Louis Tham, DTM our evergreen Toastmaster and past President who never fails to visit the club whenever he’s back from KL, answered ‘If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be and why?’ to which now we know that being a short banana or long banana doesn’t really matter as long as you’re yellow and happy!;) Kevin Lim, ACB answered last year’s club contest question ‘What do you treasure most in life’ and new member TM Lorena Binisol attempted her first table topic talking about her role as a writer in ‘The Pen is Mightier than the Sword’. To round it up, Paul Mathew, CTM eloquently talked about his family, career and sports in ‘Love, Strength, Courage – If you could only have one, which would it be and why?’ The tips I added in between topics which I also gathered from the speakers are:

1)      There is no need to thank the Table Topics Master / Contest Chair when you begin – this eats into your time as the timing starts the moment you open your mouth or make any gesture which is a form of communication towards the audience.

2)      Once you see the red light – start wrapping up and conclude your topic! There is no point going onto point 2 or 3 by that time as no matter how poignant or good it may be, once the timing exceeds 2:30secs, you will be disqualified.

3)      Try to think of personal stories which you can relate to within the topic – this is always a winnerJ and brings the audience into your story when you speak. It makes for a more interesting 2mins than just grasping the air for facts or opinions.

Speeches:

1. Effy Chung – CC3 ‘How to live a happy life’ – evaluated by Lily Chin

Sweet unassuming Effy charmed her way into our hearts, telling us the secrets of a happy life – 1) Love yourself 2) Listen to yourself 3) Think positivelyJ well structured and organised which earned her high marks from first time evaluator Lily Chin as well. Well done Effy and try to control your nerves next time round. We won’t eat you up and don’t let our senior noisy members intimidate you;)

1. Jamie Chieng – CC5 ‘My Parents, My Heroes’ – evaluated by Nora Ridzwan

Who knew that body language speech could be so meaningful and poignant? TM Jamie showed how creatively it can be presented as we followed her through her childhood years of learning to ride a bicycle, trying out for the school’s basketball team and climbing Mt. Kinabalu – going through the ups and downs of life, all the while with her parents’ love and support to carry her through every threshold. Her amusing antics was truly entertaining too! We could feel with her as she fell many times off her bike, and when she didn’t get into the school team even after jumping hoops. And of course, when her legs felt set in stone after coming down the mountain. Well done Jamie and truly, you’re blessed to have such loving parents are yours!J

1. Kevin Ng – CC1 ‘Master of my fate’ –  evaluated by Dora Danny, ACS

Our newest university graduate has high hopes and dreams! About to enter the working world, he decided that before he goes back to Australia to apply for a job with the army / marines, he should brush up his public speaking skills and self confidence first! What better way than to plunge into his ice-breaker and even entering the Table Topics Contest on 2 Feb’10! Someone who believes in being the Master of his fate and captain of his soul, Kevin started with a creative opening about seeing the prettiest girl in the world at 10yrs of age, which led to a car accident that changed his outlook in life – that pretty girls are dangerousJ An ambitious young man who has just completed his double degree in Biomedical Sc & Psychology, plans to enter Graduate Medicine after a gap year in the army! All the best in your career Kevin and keep Toastmasters in your life ya? It’ll make a differenceJ

1. Sylvia Maten – ACS6 ‘Poetry reading’ – evaluated by Richard A. Gontusan, DTM

XLIII. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…”
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Not only did our Immediate Past President Sylvia Maten ATM-B  read the above poem with such passion and intent, she created the atmosphere by dimming the lights, putting on soft, classical music and really got us all in the mood of love as she read one of Elizabeth Browning’s most famous poem.  Now we know to whom the poem was written about and the background behind it all. Thank you Sylvia! You’ve brought poetry reading in KK Toastmasters to another level! It’s a really high bar you have set for the rest of us to emulate!

And so, with love poems being read, love stories being shared during table topics session, it certainly seemed like Valentine’s came early to KKTMC!  There were so many take home magics to capture throughout the evening.  GE Dr. Sivakumar Kumaresan, CC summarised the evening well by pointing this out and for noting quite a few of the magical moments:

1) Impromptu role playing: a Toastmaster is ALWAYS prepared!

Joanna Liew, stepped in last minute as Humour Master when the actual role player couldn’t turn up. She not only had ready jokes from previous humour sessions but could quickly scribble jokes she could remember.  This is what I call the Toastmasters spirit! Always being prepared!

Because of that, she swiftly handed her Ah Counting sheet to Kevin Lim, ACB who took over her role as Ah Counter and carried out the role.

Louis Tham, DTM stepped in to read the word of the evening, RESPLENDENT after Grammarian Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM realised that the word he printed out was actually one prepared by Louis in 1995! Imagine the longevity and staying power of Toastmasters! J

2) Table Topics with a difference:

It is possible to combine table topics session with a mini workshop and hopefully the session helped to answer some questions about the ‘how to’ in a contest environment and encourage everyone to join up!

3) First timer role players / speakers:

Well done to First timer TIMER – TM Andy Wong, evaluator Lily Chin, TME Veronica Lubinti and TT respondent Lorena Binisol

My take home magic of the evening comes from Effy’s speech where she quoted ‘Vision without mission is just a dream, and mission without vision is just wasting time’. How true! We’re already more than half way through our term and only 10 more meetings to go! What is your vision for 2010? Have you begun on your mission with a vision? Don’t just let it be a dream or waste your timeJ

See you all Tuesday 2 Feb 2010 at Celyn Hotel as we see our brave members turn their visions into reality with a mission to do their best at the Club level International Speech and Table Topics Contest! Bring your family and friends!

Bring out the Magic!

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine

2 Feb 2010 (Tue) Club International Speech and Table Topics Contest!

2 February 2010 (Tue)
Celyn Hotel, City Mall
7:30pm
Entrance fee: RM15.00
Contest Chairperson: TM Joanna Liew

Come and support our members as they bring their speaking skills to the next level! We’ll need to be their audience as they inspire us in the International Speech contest and boggle our minds with their quick thinking in the Table Topics contest! come and bring friends!

President’s Blog: 13th Training Meeting 12.01.10

What a start to 2010!!

With Guru and evergreen and humorous Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM as our TME for our 1st meeting of the year, there was never a doubt that we would kick off to a roaring start to Twenty Ten!

Invocator Dora Danny, ACS wished us all Happy New Year as she began the meeting which boasted over 10 guests including Alvin of IEM Toastmasters Club:) We welcom new member TM Andy Wong who joined up after his 3rd meeting believing it’s never to late in life to start Toastmastering! Welcome welcome! We look forward to his ice-breaker where you can learn how he can look so vibrant and young with 7 children!:) He also bravely answered his first Table topic on what he though about unplanned and spontaneous holidays!

Bakar was again in his element, warming up our brains with questions like – what is the most selfish two letter word – ME. What is the loveliest four letter word – LOVE etc.. but our brains couldn’t quite count after he reached – 8 letter words..;) It certainly woke our minds up in time for the ever creative Table Topics Master Freda Wu, CC to take the floor. 9 questions were fielded and some repeated as she weaved in her thoughts, words and stories; challenging us to truly think on our feet! From talking about our expectations for 2010, answered by long lost member Kevin Lim, ATM-B (we’re so glad to have you back Kevin!) to ‘If you know what you want i life, but are too busy doing something else, does that make you a failure for inaction or makes you know what you want in life?’

*Phew! Talk about needing to have listening skills to decipher that in a moment and start babbling your answer:) But it was concisely answered by Yee That Hian, DTM who simply said, ‘don’t be half hearted in reaching your goal, if you want it, weigh the options, gather the facts and then go for it!’  But the vote for Most Improved Table Topic Speaker went to Dr. Sivakumar Kumaresan, CTM for his skillfully answered the question ‘If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, is it a duck?!’  Dr. Siva talked about relationships (yes, his favourite topic:)) and of how sometimes men may look uninterested, but actually they are! haha! So, he’s saying that if it looks and sounds like a duck, it’s probably not?! Gotta read deeper girls!  TT Evaluator Karen Kua, CL evaluated concisely and praised Freda whilst suggesting that perhaps shorter, more concise questions would confuse her respondents less!:)

We adjourned for our tea break with our minds stimulated and still trying to decipher Freda’s many interesting and creative questions:) Our speakers for the evening were 3 dynamic ladies, namely:

1) Lorena Binisol, CC2 ‘How Exercise Changed My Life’ evaluated by Ronald Tang, ACS

Lorena bravely told us of how at a young age of mid-30s she was diagnosed with osteoporosis! The agonising pain in her lower back and her determination to rid of the pain and win back her health! Hours at the gym, exercising and eating right did not just literally take the pain away and cured her, but changed her lifestyle as well! Now we have a walking, living and vibrant example of how determination, discipline and the  will to improve or be cured can be done! Well done Lorena! We’re so proud of you! Now we all know that osteoporosis can hit anyone at any age anytime if one does not have enough calcium! So, everyone eat up your calcium and let’s hit the gym with Lorena!:)

2. Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC ACB2 ‘How to Market Yourself’ – evaluated by Sylvia Maten, ATM-B

Speaking from Entertaining Manual project 2: Resources for Entertainment, Melissa truly entertained us all and kept us glued to her every word as she seemingly breezed through her speech.  She conversationally told us the story of Mr. Handsome’s many ways of proposals – whether direct marketing, tele-marketing or public relations, before bringing home her three main points of how to market oneself

1) Know your strengths and uniqueness ie, if you’ve got it, flaunt it:)

2) Always make a good first impression! you don’t get a second chance to make that first impression! Apparently there is no such thing as an unattractive person, just a lazy person! So groom well, speak well and behave well.. at all times! You never know to whom you are making that big first impression!

3) Be a Toastmaster! Amen! to this valid point:) Melissa says it’s through Toastmasters where you widen your network, get to know people from all walks of life, and at the same time hone speaking and leadership skills so vital to our self-image, personal improvement etc.  There is no end to the benefits of Toastmasters, right Melissa?:)

Special mention to her evaluator Sylvia Maten, ATM-B for an excellent evaluation as she picked up on Melissa’s strengths of her easy-going conversational style and suggested ways of enhancing her vocal variety to give her speech that extra oomph! very valid point as its tough to evaluate an already good speech:)

3. Nora Ridzwan, CC6 ‘The Makings of a Champion’ evaluated by Yee That Hian, DTM

Our dancing pharmacist did it again! Not only did she dance and move across the stage yet again but this time with all the vocal variety she could muster (*CC6’s objective IS vocal variety in case you were wondering!). Nora inspired us all by announcing that this year, she has taken up competitive dance sport at the ‘young’ age of 28! Opening by painting the picture of being in the heat of the Finals of the Latin Dance Sports Sabah Open – hearing her number being called and walking sexily and elegantly to the dance floor to take her place – Nora brought us into her world of latin competitive dancing as she trains hour after hour to perfect that step, responding to the shouts and commands of her dance teacher.  She shared how she had to change her mindset from classical ballet: ‘just pull up and feel your centre’ and classical poise to the suddenly sexy, saucy ‘feel the music! go down more, attack!!’ *phew!! What a speech and what a champion already in the making! So, next Sabah Open, expect a whole group of Toastmasters shouting out as the finalists are called on ‘144! 144!’ yes, that’s you, Nora!

Humour Master first timer TM Jamie Chieng gave it her all with an interesting and humorous set of jokes on real-life lawyer lines, cute anecdotes and new refreshing jokes! Well done Jamie! Grammarian Richard A. Gontusan, DTM truly raised the bar yet again in his meticulous yet entertaining Grammarian report.  His well prepared word of the evening ‘Ameliorate’, was a full A4 page with all deriratives of the word carefully explained out.  Now, THIS is what you call, a well prepared word of the evening sheet:)  A true Grammarian and we gain so much as members because of his attention to detail.  Timer Constantine Chong, CTM kept time excellently and was not afraid to ‘clink’ the glass as a warning to those who got very close to the 30secs overtime mark! Ah Counter TM Mohd. Zaini didn’t miss anyone out in his  report and GE Kathryn Rivai was magnanimous in her evaluation of the whole proceedings. Her only disapproval was Bakar’s not so perfect dance moves…;)

My Take Home Magic of the evening was aplenty!! I almost couldn’t choose between the 3 wonderful speeches as all had so much value and depth! and then there were the many gems of phrases and insights from the Table Topics and of course TME Bakar with his many asides and jokes between presentations…  but I had to choose one!  And its from TM Nora’s inspiring speech: To start training competitively at any age for any sport or skill is admirable. She almost inspired me to start competitive swimming up again!……I said, almost!  Because it just gives you such an energy: There’s nothing like having a goal to achieve, training vigorously for it, spending time and effort to perfect that step, that stroke, that speech.  And this is what we’re doing here in Toastmasters as well. We may not train 3 – 5hrs a day, but we’re here twice a month, 3hrs at a time religiously to practice speaking and listening skills after a hard day’s work!  Why? because it’s worth it. There is no greater satisfaction than knowing you’ve worked hard at something and doing your absolute best when you stand up there to present your speech, or play a role.  And we’re honing not just a simple skill – but a life skill of speaking and listening which we use every day!

So, let it be your goal in 2010 to train your communication and leadership skills through Toastmasters – commit your time and effort to practice that speech over and over again, perfect that sentence, that gesture, that stage presence; or play a role and challenge yourself to try a role you haven’t done before.  Because at the end of the day, the satisfaction of having done your absolute best, knowing you’ve given it your all is the ultimate! It’s worth it.  Will you join me in this challenge this year?

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine

Happy Birthday January 2010 babies!

Birthday wishes are in order again this January 2010! Please join me to wish Happy Birthday to bothVitus and Lorena this new year!:)

yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine

Vitus Kualah 5 Jan

Lorena Binisol 6 Jan

President’s Blog 12th Training Meeting: Christmas theme! 22.12.09

You better watch out, you better not ‘ah’, you better speak up ‘cause I’m telling you why…. DG Ritchie’s coming to town!

Yes! For the first time in 10 years, the District Governor graces our meeting!  And what better ocassion than our Christmas themed meeting on 22.12.09! DG Ritchie, fresh from touching down to KKIA to spend Christmas in his hometown made a point to visit KKTMC and played the role as General Evaluator! What a priviledge and the best Christmas present any President or club could ask for!

What a rapturous and joyful celebration meeting it was! From the colourful red and green decor of our Celyn hotel venue to the green and red printed programme elements and of course our exclusive KKTMC Santa hats… the Christmas mood was definitely in the air!

Invocator IPP Sylvia Maten started us on the right mood by imploring us to give and be generous in this season of giving.  Our TME Santarina Joanna Liew then bounced magically onstage and got us all to sing carols to really get the Christmas mood in full swing! Feliz Navidad…. feliz navidad….:)

It was then handed over to Table Topics Master Florence Majanil-Liau, CTM who gave out 9 gifts with 9 table topics all relating to Christmas to Toastmasters and guests who have been naughty nor nice by not volunteering;) Although kudos to Guest Gary Chow from KL Money and You Toastmasters club for volunteering for the first topic! Having 9 to 10 topics a sesson this term is quite the norm now this term but as DG Ritchie commented, it is the first time he’s attended a meeting with 9 topics! So well done members! Let’s keep the topics magic burning!

We celebrated a rapturously sung Happy Birthday to our December birthday babies who were present – namely Florence, Cindy and Johan whose birthday actually fell on that day itselfJ The bithday cum Christmas cake was a specially ordered cherry charo pie.

Speakers:

1) TM Joanna Liew – CC5 ‘Dance Like a Pro’ evaluator: Karen Kua, CL

For the first time this term we have a double player! Gutsy, enthusiastic and pro-dancer Joanna Liew introduced herself and transformed into ballroom dancing queen as she ‘rumba-ed’ her way into our hearts and minds for the next 7mins! Wanna dance like a pro?like me? She cheekily teases and then launches into the 3 easy steps to dance like a pro Practice, Passion and more Practice! So everyone, pull-up! Buttocks in! Tummy in! Let’s dance!

Loved the way she meticulously prepared the timing of the dancing, arranging for Cindy to cue in the music at the beginning and at the end whilst giving us a valid 3 point speech that indeed enhanced her body language and certainly made her body speak more than one wayJ Congratulations Joanna! An excellent project completed!

She then promptly resumed her role as TME by introducing our two ice-breaker speakers for the evening!

2) TM Luis Kee – CC1 ‘It’s All About Me!’ evaluator: Cindy Hiew, ACS

Our shy yet bold in heart new member Luis joined us in early September and we applaud him as he bravely steps up to openly share with us his life story.  From humble beginnings to now working in KPMG as an accountant he realises the importance of public speaking and promptly joined KKTMC after visiting practically ALL the clubs in KKJ His enthusiasm and zeal to learn is admirable as his evaluator Cindy rightly commentsJ You’re on the right path Luis! Keep it up!

3) TM Alex Yong – CC1 ‘Me’ evaluator: Dora Danny, ACS

Many of us may sometimes take for granted the convenient location of Celyn hotel, City Mall to our various homes, but Alex certainly knows the effort it takes to improve one’s communication skills! Being based in Keningau and making the trip down just to attend a meeting takes more than just a passion to improve! Alex was a former Keningau Mandarin Toastmasters member and having mastered the skill in Mandarin, has decided to join KKTMC to practice his English speaking skills. A thoughtful and deep ice-breaker where he openly shared his fear of dying since a child and how he has learnt to overcome this fear by gaining self-confidence and being brave enough to step out and try new things! A keen student of psychology, we look forward to more psychological insights from our member from Keningau!

Humour Master Guru Richard A.Gontusan, DTM showed us why he is one of our Gurus by challenging himself to another level! He bravely tested out his new and fresh jokes on a fairly critical audience and came out unscathed and victorious! We laughed and guffawed and are reminded of how as Toastmasters, we need to continually challenge ourselves to better our own standards… thank you Richard! Definitely one of my many Take Home Magics of the evening.

Then it was time for the verdict… we sat in eager anticipation as DG Ritchie Chong, DTM stepped into his role as General Evaluator.  Did we, KKTMC President’s Distinguished Club for the past 18 years meet the mark? We needn’t have worried.  Gracious as ever, DG Ritchie, our 3^rd DG from Sabah not only commended and encouraged us but noted the many gems of members we have in the club – e.g. Johan Lee who as ASAA rushed in to play his role, rushed out to celebrate his birthday and Winter Festival with family and then rushed in again to call the meeting to order before again rushing out! Same with SAA Constantine Chong who also had to entertain family for Winter Festival but still came in to set up the meeting and at the end to clear up.  What commitment, what dedication which you can hardly find.  Thanks Ritchie for noticing, we’ll take care of our gems! Thanks Johan and Constantine for showing the way too!

We had a total of 4 guests, including a past Division Governor from KL Gary Chow and another guest Chris who promptly joined the club and paid for his membership! I don’t know whether it was the magic of the season or Toastmasters but I like to think it was bothJ So with Chris joining us we now have 11 new reinstated members this term! Only 9 more to meet our target of 20 this magical term!

Presents for the evening went to Best Dressed Lady Joanna Liew, Best Dressed Gentleman Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM and a special KKTMC Bring Out the Magic T-shirt was present to DG Ritchie for coming all the way to attend our special meeting. 3 special Toastmasters velvet ribbons courtesy of TI and given by DG Ritchie was also presented to the following:

1. Best Speaker: TM Joanna Liew for her ‘Dance Like a Pro’ project
2. Best Table Topic Speaker: Richard A. Gontusan, DTM for answering the topic “If you could write a letter to Santa, what would you request for?” Richard answered eloquently that he would ask for Santa to give everyone the desire to give.

1. Best Evaluator: Cindy Hiew, ACS for her excellent evaluation on Luis Kee in his maiden speech.

My Take Home Magic that evening were plenty!

a)      Joanna Liew – for her attitude as TME and speaker – not only did she graciously seek out all role players and speakers (even when many turned her down due to holiday season) but she did it without any assistance from myself or others in the EXCO and did it smiling and enthusiastically and whilst preparing her speech too! Oh, by the way, she was also stung on the foot by a bee just two days prior to the meeting!  You’re my heroine this season Joanna! Future TMEs, learn this wonderful attitude from this young lady!

b)      Richard A. Gontusan, DTM – for his role as Humour Master and reminding me to continually challenge my own standards.  Also his innate ability to nod and encourage speakers during their speeches.

c)       DG Ritchie Chong – Apart from his pearls of wisdom and on TI rules during his GE comments, I noticed the way he applauded harder and longer for every role player / speaker…something we can learn from. As a Toastmaster in the audience, our job is to encourage and listen to everyone who speaks.

What was your take home magic?

Well, that was it! Christmas 2009 come and gone! Thank you Santa for bringing us DG Ritchie this term to make our Christmas meeting all the more special! See you all next year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas Caroling & Fellowship 12thDec’09

O Come O ye faithful!

Yes it was Christmas at KKTMC again and what a Christmas caroling it was! My family and I have just moved into our new home at Bukit Warisan and prepared it in time for our FIRST party exclusively to KK Toastmasters and a few close Skyline SIB friends of mine!

We sang a total of 10 carols, had sumptuous food, even more desserts, including 3 different home-made cakes; numerous house tours and many trips up and down the elevator:)  We ended with our Florence as our Santarina giving out our presents as she called out our numbers ala lucky draw with a dash of X’mas spirit:)

Thanks all for coming and making our first SAA outing and Annual Caroling so memorable and special!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Jasmine

President’s Blog: 11th Training Meeting 8th Dec’09 Brimming with joy!

Dear Fellow Toastmasters,

The evening was simply brimming with joy and excitement!

Our 20 strong audience which included 3 guests were all brimmed to the full with valuable take home magics to pick from.

Though the numbers were unusually small for KKTMC meetings, the company and the value of the meeting still remained as high as ever! TM Lily Chin as first timer TME executed her role couragously and was well prepared with script, lines and all things a TME should be:) Her warm up got us all discussing our New year resolutions which led very well to Table Topics Master Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC’s session.

Melissa shot out 10 questions and showed the professionalism of a TT Master as she linked and related the questions one after another – from how you spend your holidays, to Christmas, New Year resolutions – to make or not to make? to how facebook has changed our lives and even what global issues would you like to discuss?! What a pro and such an entertaining session! If you want to learn how to be a TT Master, take some lessons from this maestro right here! Well done Melissa.

Speakers:

1) Ronald Tang, ACS6 -Live life to the fullest! (Humorously Speaking manual project 2 – Leave them with a smile)

Aiming to achieve his DTM by March 2010, our past president Ronald truly showed the way by completing yet another speech project, inching ever closer to the prestigious title – DTM! He shared the antics of his elderly parents, especially his father and though we laughed with him as he joked about the funny incidents, he also managed to weave in a message of their value,our respect for them and moved us to live to the fullest everyday!  Thanks Ronald! I look forward to calling you Distinguished Toastmaster in the coming year!

2) Jasmine Leong, ACB – Successful Club Series (for ALB)

We only had 1 manual speaker and I therefore took the opportunity to complete my 2nd leadership project towards my ALB with a session on Successful Club Series- How to be a Distinguished Club. I felt it was apt to speak about this as we have so many new members who probably have no idea what we mean by ‘DCP’ or what we in the Executive committee actually do:) It is important to share with them that our club too has our goals set out for us by TI and to better inform them about the tools TI provides online, through the monthly magazines etc.

I ended by ensuring my message was brought home by giving out copies of our calendar year for the 2nd half of this term – ie,Dec’09 – June’10 and encouraged everyone present to write down their goals, when they would do their speech project / play a role / attend a convention/participate in the International & Table Topics contest….*phew! The 2nd half of this term is going to fly past in no time! But as they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!:)

For those of you who missed the meeting and the handout, feel free to email me jasmineleong@iec.com.my for a copy so you can start planning your goals for the 2nd half of this term!

First Timers:

Our Humour Master was a first timer- new member TM Effy Chung! What a joker and what a courageous act too! She indeed tickled our funny bones with fresh new jokes and her own brand of humour! We presented her with Best Humour Ribbon for her effort, well deserved! Other first timers in various roles were TM Jamie Chieng, as Ah Counter and TM Veronica Lubinti as Timer.  I think we sometimes see these roles as less important than the more prominent roles of speaker/evaluator/table topics master but I want to highlight the difficulty of these roles- having to pay attention throughout the evening is quite an arduous task and one that will truly improve your listening and observation skills:) So well done to all our new members for taking up the roles!

Another first timer worth mentioning is none other than our Immediate Past President Sylvia Maten,ATM-B. For the past 7 years as a member she hasn’t attempted the role of the Grammarian….but on 8th Dec’09… move away seasoned Grammarians Christine and Richard – Sylvia has arrived!  As General Evaluator Yee That Hian, DTM rightly said – first time as Grammarian and what a commendable job!  It just goes to show that Toastmasters can truly bring out the magic in you.. if you would just step out and embrace it. Sylvia was smart to have seasoned Grammarian and Guru Richard A. Gontusan, DTM by her side to guide her through her inaugural Grammarian role!

Sylvia was my Take Home Magic of the evening! Her courage to step out and take the challenging role of Grammarian, though slightly insecure about her command of the English Language, epitomises the spirit of Toastmasters! This is what it is all about!  When you feel you are not good in something, be it English Grammar, listening skills (Ah Counter), giving constructive feedback, speaking, leadership skills and even making people laugh (Humour Master) etc… then take up the challenge to play that role, present that speech. Because in a Toastmasters club, it is safe to do so.  We will help you along, pull you up when you’re down or just be there to support you as you step out and master these life skills.

Right! half of the term has passed – what are your goals for this 2nd half? What skills would you like to master?  Let’s continue to Bring out the Magic!

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine

Happy Birthday December Babies!

Dear Fellow Toastmasters,

Let’s wish our December birthday members a big Happy Birthday this festive season:) May the special season of Christmas and New Year bring forth blessings, joy, hope and love as you celebrate your special day!

Bring Out the Magic!

Jasmine

Cindy Hiew, ACS 28th Dec

James Wong, CTM 6th Dec

Johan Lee 22 Dec

Mohd. Zaini – 9th Dec

Florence Majanil-Liau 8th Dec

President’s Blog: 10th Training Meeting, 24th Nov’09

Articulately conducted!

Yes! 8 new members were articulately and officially inducted into our KK Toastmasters Club! Please help me to officially welcome:

1)      Lily Chin

2)      Effy Chung

3)      Louis Kee

4)      Mohd. Zaini Nanyan

5)      Kevin Chin

6)      Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC (from Sandakan Toastmasters)

7)      Chin Li Cheng (from Sandakan Toastmasters)

8)      Veronica Lubinti

There are a couple more members such as Jamie Chieng, Bernie Chan, Alex Yong, Karis Chong and Jonathan Phun who were not able to be present last night so we will be inducting them at the next induction ceremony.

With the membership induction ceremony out of the way, we were ready for yet another fun-filled, hilariously funny and enjoyable meeting!  TME Johan Lee jovially bounced onstage in his usual casual demeanor (having rushed in at 7:30pm on the dot with the freshly printed programme elements;)) he calmly led the warm up session of ‘Chinese whispers’ which ended in me proclaiming my beauty to the world which apparently was not the initial whisper and TM Nora too saying something different from her side! Ahh…the art of listening…!:) Great warm up Johan!

The evening was full of acronyms which made it easy to remember and take home our own magics of the evening! It started with Invocator TC Lim, DTM with his EAR – Experience, Abstract, Reflect – asking us all to reflect on the importance of listening skills…. It tied in well with TME Johan Lee’s warm up of Chinese whispers!

Table Topics Session led by TM Nora Ridzwan was hilariously funny and I had tears in my eyes from all the laughter! From imagining you’re the family’s pet hamster (answered animatedly by Sylvia Maten ATM-B), convincing passengers of a crashing plane to give you the one and only parachute on board(answered by Chin Li Cheng), to contemplating on whether staying at a nuclear plant site was good for health.  TM Nora had the wheels of our brain turning and the sides of our tummy aching from laughter! She also had a bag of items where respondents had to pick an item of which Nora would then ask a question of. One of the most memorable ones were perhaps Yee That Hian’s DTM super power sunglasses (see through?;)) or the engagement ring Cindy Hiew, ACS picked up and had to convince Yee to marry her! Cindy implored the unconvincing Yee that he should marry her as she’s has a Masters degree, to which Yee replied ‘hmm, but then you’ll be Master over me!’ J

Speakers:

1)      TM Joanna Liew  CC4 ‘An OATmeal a day…’ evaluated by Sylvia Maten, ATM-B

Who would have thought an oatmeal a day would make you a better you?!  Joanna teased us with that creative title to lure us under her captivating spell as she animatedly described her days at school prefects’ camp! Obediently running 2hrs with her school bag, Adapting to the filthy, dirty drains as she and fellow prefects crawled to the other side and enjoying Teamwork as her teammates made pulling a ton of tyres much lighter!

Thanks for the entertaining stories full of life messages Joanna! Truly, an OATmeal a day, makes you a better you!

2)      TM Veronica Lubinti CC2 ‘The Positive Side of Depression’ evaluated by TM Chin Li Cheng

Who would have thought that depression could have a positive side? As Li Cheng, her evaluator rightly commented, we are so proud of Veronica! Only her 2^nd speech and though she understandably hesitated at times, she managed to pull through and openly shared how bouts of depression during her early life made her stronger, appreciate little acts of kindness and gave her the zeal to improve herself and actively think positive. We salute you for your courage to share such a personal story, Veronica! You are definitely on your way to becoming a competent speaker! Well done!

3)      Dr. Sivakumar Kumaresan ACB 5 Sell a Product: ‘A Slice of Heaven’ evaluated by Yee That Hian, DTM

Ok…. Collectively now, let us all take a deep breath and …….sigh…… we were literally given a slice of heaven as Dr. Siva weaved his way into our imaginative minds with his sultry, calm voice, describing the most beautiful, therapeutic, aromatic and invigorating health spa in the world! Or at least, he made it sound so! We could feel the passion and love as he caressed each descriptive word and took us away on a journey within that slice of heaven.   Instead of launching into the product, he started with ‘let me tell you a story’, and from then on, we were lost in his slice of heaven! Intrigued by the Nanyang culture and letting our senses be taken away on this journey of relaxation, blend of cultures and just … sigh….yes, it was hard to come back down to the glaring lights of Celyn Hotel and switch back to our Toastmasters mode again! Now, we’re just waiting for the magic word –FREE treatment at this slice of heaven for KKTMC members?! Or at least your favourite Mdm. President?;)

4)      TM Kelvin Low CC7 ‘Who wants to be Successful in Life?’ evaluated by Jasmine Leong, ACB

As I said in my evaluation, one would have thought Research a Topic speech would be about financial situation, mortgages etc., which is right up Kelvin’s expertise.  So to hear Kelvin tackle ‘success’ as a topic of research was certainly refreshing! Speaking like a pro incorporating all the skills gained from previous speeches, Kelvin did everything right! From grabbing our attention by showing a seemingly ‘successful’ businessman who is now spending 150yrs in jail, and then launching into 3 stories of friends and celebrities could be termed successful due to Belief in themselves, Taking Action and Asking the Right QuestionsJ A masterful speech! We’ll miss you Kelvin as he embarks to create his own success story to KL for the next 4yrs.

5)      Cindy Hiew, ACG 4 ‘The Roast’ evaluated by Ronald Tang, ACS

Our TM Johan Lee was truly in the hot seat as Cindy roasted Johan effectively, even to the point of singing ‘Only You’ and a host of other cheeky anecdotes of our TM Johan!  Well done Cindy! It’s never easy to roast and tease someone and yet make them feel special and encouragedJ A skill worth acquiring indeed!

GE Richard A. Gontusan, DTM was as thoroughly, alert and articulate as always! Not only did he add on to what our evaluators said about our speakers, but also made apt suggestions and timely reminders on the hallmarks of Toastmasters in terms of timing, role players and especially on the role of a TME, which goes beyond announcing speakers or next item on the programme but should also prepare introductions of the speakers to further enhance the MCing skillsJ Thanks Richard! Pearls of wisdom as always!

Our new members are really leading by example in embracing their membership and taking on roles immediately! 6 out of 8 new members who were inducted played a role or presented a speech!! TM Effy, playing the Timers’ role for the first time, sharply kept time and even tinkled the glass every so often to remind speakers their time was up! TM Mohd. Zaini played his first role as Ah Counter and put his listening skills to the test effectively. TM Lily Chin called the meeting to order as ASAA, TM Chin Li Cheng, evaluated TM Veronica Lubinti on her CC2 encouragingly and showed such skill in evaluating as a first timer and Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC led the way as Grammarian!  Let us learn from our new members on the art of taking on challenges and making use of your membership by taking up a role or speaking at the next TM meeting on 8^th Dec’09 (Tue).

Due to time limit, we opted not to have a Humour Master and launched into the general evaluation of 5 evaluations and awarded Best Speaker award to Kelvin Low, whereas Best Evaluator ribbon went to Yee That Hian, DTM.

Special Announcements:

1)      Special presentation of the Outstanding Toastmaster pin went to TM Kelvin Low for his outstanding work as SAA this past 6 months. He has been the pillar of KKTMC’s venue and registrations at meetings. He has actively participated in all areas, including the daunting Club Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests of which he emerged Champion in the Humorous Speech Contest!  He will be furthering his professional financial certification in KL for the next 4 years but vows to complete his CC within the term to help KKTMC in its DCP Goals!

Never has such an enthusiastic member deserve the Outstanding Toastmaster pin more than TM Kelvin Low, and for serving only 6 months! Thank you Kelvin for your service, your fine example of embracing the Toastmasters programme and your excellence in carrying out whichever role you step into.  We will miss you!  All the best!

2)      Grammarian and Word Master role:

We have decided to combine this role, after Angeline Lee of Friendship Toastmasters KL shared that in her club, the Grammarian is also responsible for choosing and preparing the Word of the Evening.  We tried it out on Tuesday and verdict is…… we liked it! So from now on, the Grammarian will play a dual role in also introducing and preparing the Word of the EveningJ A perfect match!

3) Nov’09 Birthday Babies Cake Cutting Celebration:

Of course we also celebrated our Nov’09 Birthday Babies with a delicious cake – photos below as evidence:)

*Phew! Sorry, report a little long this time but there was just so much to tell!  My Take Home Magics are in 3s!  EAR, OATmeal and Believe, Take Action, Ask Questions!

What was your Take Home Magic? Leave it as a comment belowJ

See you at the next meeting 8^th Dec’09 (Tue) same place, same time with new member TM Lily Chin as our TME!

Let’s continue to Bring out the Magic!

Jasmine

After meeting 2nd show @ Old Town

After meeting 2nd show @ Old Town

President’s Blog: 9th Training Meeting 10th Nov’09(Tue) FANTABULOUS!

Dear Fellow Toastmasters,

Fantabulously fantabulous! That was precisely the feel of the whole proceedings of our 9th Training Meeting at Celyn Hotel, City Mall!

With 29 members and guests present, the atmosphere was riveting with anticipation for yet another fantabulous meeting! It fantabulously began with new member TM Bernie Chan as ASAA and inspirational thought of the evening by Invocator T C Lim, DTM – urging us all to look, search and find that take home magic to treasure! With that inspirational thought in our mind, the stage was set for TME Nora Ridzwan to get the ball rolling!  But first I had to step in for a warm-up game of coordination… hmm, realised we Toastmasters need a little more practice to know how to pat your head with one hand and roll your tummy with the other! I’m sure it’ll come in handy during a Body Language speech!

Table Topics Master Joanna Liew got us all excited by announcing her session was going to be so easy! She simply asks a question, and we answer! uh-huh.. yeah right!  Then off she went, shooting fantabulous questions about 1Malaysia, turning to Spiderman, do a 2min pitch for votes to win Malaysian Idol, ‘Rumours – in one ear, out from many mouths’, Celebrity v. Papparazi – which side are you on? and many many more!  All 10 respondents, including an enthusiastic guest Clive Chai spoke. The best part was that Joanna had a message for each question she presented, e.g. put yourselves in other peoples’ shoes and er… voting for your Mdm. President to be the next Malaysian Idol…J

Speakers:

1. Veronica Lubinti CC1 – Ice Breaker Evaluator: Sylvia Maten, ATM-B

From the shy little girl who lived with her grandparents and hid in the kitchen busying herself with chores whenever there were guests around… Veronica has truly stepped out of her comfort zone and gathered up all her courage to share her life story with us! Hesitating and trying to control her nervousness at first, she broke through and completed her speech within 6 mins, concluding with her desire to master one of the most important life skills in life – communication! Well, Veronica, you have come to the right place! We’re so glad to have you with us!

1. Melissa Betsy Jimilin, CC  – ACB1 – Got a Couch? Evaluator: Cindy Hiew, ACS

www.couchsurfing.org Write this website down and your dream to travel the world on a shoestring budget comes true! Melissa truly entertained us with her first hand experience of hosting travelers in her own home for free, getting to know people from all over the world and then travelling to countries like Germany, Belgium etc.. hosted by couchsurfers too! So, got a couch? Log on and find out how you can really travel all 195 countries in your lifetime, whilst being sweet on your budget too!

1. Mohd. Zaini – CC3 – The Meaning of Your Performance Evaluator: Constantine Chong, CTM

If you think you didn’t do well, someone did worse. If you think you did well, someone did better. So why compare with others? Bottomline is, just compare with yourself because that is when you perform your best!:) Thanks Zaini for that profound insight! You are practicing that yourself by improving each time you speak and comparing with your own standard and performance! Well done on keeping to your time limit this time and for a good solid organized speech! Keep it up!

1. Kevin Chin CC3 Safe? Or is it? Evaluator: Dr. Sivakumar Kumaresan, CC

When you’re out in KK.. look left, look right, be aware of potential threats! KK is not as safe as it may seem! I think we may need to employ Kevin’s bodyguard services! He spoke on the many unfortunate incidents of unassuming people in KK. From road bullies, to snatch thefts and to his own personal experience of being haggled by ‘Pilaks’ in Centre Point, Kevin gave us tips on the need to Be Vigilent and Act Wisely. Thanks Kevin! We’ll be on the lookout from now on! KK is safe in your hands!

Our Best Speaker Ribbon went to Melissa Betsy Jimilin for her entertaining couch story!

We ended bang on time last night so please give yourselves a pat on the back and a big round of applause to our strict but smiling Timer Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM! Christine Yap, DTM also changed her usual role of Grammarian or Evaluator by taking up the Ah Counter role!  We also had a special guest role player from Friendship Toastmasters Angeline Lee, CC as Grammarian. Her slightly different style and approach was refreshing.  She also shared the slight difference between the two clubs which was very valuable e.g. having an external GE, having the Grammarian choose the word of the evening and many more!  I hope this will be the start of many inter-club visits and exchanges!

Our GE Kelvin Low showed a maturity beyond his Toastmasters years too! Only a year into Toastmasters and already speaking and evaluating like a seasoned member! Thanks Kelvin for showing the way and for aptly evaluating the whole proceedings of the meeting. He also noticed the efforts of Word master Johan Lee including the origins of the word Fantabulous which was generously used throughout the whole evening. Special mention must also go to Humour Master Chin Li Cheng, playing her first role at KKTMC after transferring from Sandakan – Li Cheng had us all in stitches especially with her Britney Spears joke… you’re going Stronger all the time Li Cheng! Looking forward to hearing you in your speeches:)

Take Home Magic of the evening: So many gems again especially from the many messages from TTM Joanna and our 4 speakers… but I still had to choose just one and it’s from Dr. Siva during his Table Topics answer about 1Malaysia – ‘Know yourself first, only then can you work on uniting with others and becoming One!’  What was your Take Home Magic? Jot it down in the comment space below!

‘Let’s continue to Bring out the Magic!

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine