President & VPE with NTU Alumni Spore TM members
KKTMC & NTU Alumni Spore TM Club
KKTMC meeting on a Saturday? Unheard of! Well, it was until NTU Alumni TM Club from Singapore dropped an email to say that they would love to have a joint meeting with us! and so, the meeting was set! Last Saturday20 odd members from KKTMC, KK Advanced and UTC members came to experience this special joint meeting with 10 members of the NTU Alumni Toastmasters Club from Singapore! There was great camaraderie amongst the members and we found that though we have differences in the way we conduct our meetings – the objectives and the outcome is the same: to create a conducive, encouraging environment for members to practice and improve their communication and leadership skills!
first timer Invocator Christopher Shaw took up the challenge and almost forgot to let us drink when he proposed the 3 toasts:) He recovered swiftly and went on to share his story of Luck without looking at his notes! Commendable job indeed Christopher! Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM then took the stage as TME and got the evening rolling.
Instead of the usual Table Topics, we had an exciting debate! Motion: Tertiary Education is known to give a person the best chance of success in life. How far is this true?
TM Nora Ridzwan, as debate host, hosted the session and introduced both teams: Team A : Pro the motion led by Ivy Fung, ACB, ALB, Shariffah Chishty, CC (NTU, Spore), Vipula Manukularatne (NTU, Spore) and Jason Kung (UTC) and Team B: Con motion: Seng Cheong Chua, President of NTU Alumni Spore, Lim Mui Len, DTM(KK Adv), Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM and TM Chong Yeh Ming (NTU Alumni Spore. It was a heated debate with some really good points by both teams! We even had time for one comment from the floor (er-hum.. yours truly! Sorry guys, I had to say something since my rice bowl depends on people pursuing tertiary education!:)) The debate left us all tingling with excitement and mind whirling with great facts and emotions as we adjourned for tea break.
Of course tea break was another buzz as we mingled and got to know our guests from NTU Alumni Toastmasters a little better! Seng Cheong, President presented a 5min introduction on NTU Alumni TMC at the beginning of the meeting as well. Its encouraging to see how strong the club is and its focus on member growth having only been chartered in 2004. Thanks also for choosing KK as only your 3rd destination in the annual club visiting overseas trip! We exchanged souvenirs and KKTMC also gave our very own Sabah chocolates to the whole team from NTU.
We had 5 speakers with a mix of speakers from NTU and speakers from KKTMC! It was interesting to see the difference in speech preparation, evaluations (NTU members would go right to the front of the stage for the evaluation – I think this is great preparation for those us thinking about Evaluation Contests!)
1. Cheok Lay Ngo,CC (NTU Alumni) – ACB3 evaluated by Ivy Fung, ACB
Tired of being tired after a flight? Want to feel refreshed after an 8hour journey? Well, look no further because Lay Ngo has all the tips you can get! From demonstrating how to sit and exercise your legs, put hot towels on your tired eyes and even hand cream to ensure blood flowJ An entertaining and informative speechJ
2. Jamie Chieng, (KKTMC) CC8 - Happy Feet evaluated by Vipula Manukularatne, CC (NTU Alumni)
Being 20% of the world’s population to have duck feet or rather – flat feetJ Jamie told us emotional stories of how she struggled with balance, always clumsily falling over for no reason and acute back pains because of her flat feet! Vivid power point images helped us to visualize the strain flat feet can have on the rest of the body. We wish you all the best as you save for the custom made soles for your shoes and as you prepare to climb Mt. Kinabalu on hopefully – happy feet!
3. Chong Siaw Yen, CC (NTU Alumni) Presenting an Award – evaluated by Ronald Tang, ACS
Siaw Yen, from Special Occasions manual presented an award to ‘Winnie Chong’ for being the best employee of the year! For those of you who are usually called to be MCs for awards functions, do take note of the Special Occasions Advanced manual as it has many tips on how to approach special occasions speeches such as this oneJ
4. Mohd. Zaini (KKTMC) CC8 – ‘Conceptions and Inventions’ – evaluated by Cindy Ang, CC(NTU Alumni)
Another visual aid speech of the evening and Zaini went through the inventions and its inventors such from Microsoft (Bill Gates), the telephone (Graham Bell) and motorcars (Henry Ford). Succinct and encouraging evaluation by Cindy as she suggested perhaps a more interesting topic as well as encouraged Zaini to keep up the good workJ
5. Shariffa Chishty, CC (NTU Alumni) ACB1 a Folk Tale – evaluated by Dora Danny, ACS
Shariffa made us all feel like little children again as she told us the tale of Ali and the merchant of Baghdad! It was great to have so many advanced manual speeches this evening as our younger members could at least have an idea of the kinds of manuals that are available! Already we have a few members eyeing the special occasions manual and the lively storytelling one! Thanks Shariffa!
General Evaluator Azizah Sapari, ACB, CL, IPP of NTU Alumni adapted to KKTMC’s way of General Evaluation like a duck to water as she commented and encouraged each role player. She commented on the theme of Bring out the Magic and her verdict? The evening was simply magical!
Timer/ASAA Constantine Chong did an excellent job in keeping time and has a knack for sounding the 15secs warning bell:) Ah Counter Chong Yeh Ming from NTU Alumni was witty and precise in his Ah Counting and Grammarian TC Lim, DTM was generous in his evaluation of the use of English language – in the spirit of camaraderie, of course!
Humour Master Nora Ridzwan, first-timer in this role told her jokes like a pro and had us giggling and laughing all the way! This was again different from NTU Alumni as this role doesn’t even exist! They did agree that it was a great role to have as it prepares members not only for Humorous Speech Contests but the art of telling a joke is a very important social skill too:)
Best Speaker went to Lim Mui Len, DTM for her fiery response during the debate and the Best Team went to Team B – contrary to the motion!
Overall, a great joint meeting and hmm,…. perhaps we KKTMC should plan a return trip soon?;) Fancy a trip to Singapore by Air Asia anyone?
