What? it’s 2019 already?!

Wow! It has been 10 years since I started this wordpress site during my presidential term!

I would like to announce that not only am I still an active member of Toastmasters but now the club meets at my very own company studio – IEC, still on every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month!

Presidents and EXCOs have come and gone but we are still one of the most vibrant clubs in KK! So if you want to visit, drop me an email jasmineleong@iec.com.my and I’ll connect you with the current EXCO team:)

Keep growing, keep speaking and keep leading!

Best rgds.,

Jasmine

Move, Express, Inspire! 2010-2011 Term

Dear all,

Hi there from the desk of your Immediate Past President and your current Area K1 Governor 2010 – 2011:)

I’ve been getting lots of comments asking how to join our KK Toastmasters Club so let me note down the how and who to contact:)

President 2010 – 2011 Ms. Nora Ridzwan fonteynora@gmail.com

Vice President Membership 2010 – 2011 Ms. Joanna Liew joan5486@gmail.com

You can also email me Jasmine Leong, IPP 2010 – 2011 jasmineleong@iec.com.my

We meet every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at Celyn Hotel, City Mall  at 7:30pm sharp.  We usually end around 10:15pm with a short break in between.  Entrance is RM15 for guests and members alike.  This includes refreshments.

 To get more details on how to join us, please come to our meetings as a guest and get your membership forms from our VPM Joanna. Registration is RM120 (one-time payment) and Annual Membership fee is RM220. 

Come and join the magic!

Yours sincerely,

Jasmine

President’s Blog: 24th Meeting 22.06.10 The Magic Lives On…

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Well… Fellow Toastmasters, Ladies and Gentlemen….. This IS it!! The Final Training Meeting of the term 2009 -2010 has come and gone…

So….did we bring out the magic?…… drum roll….. a resounding YES!!!:) We HAVE transformed:)

There was an air of excitement, expectancy and tinge of sadness as yet another term comes to an end. I now have to get used to not going up to the lecturn at the beginning and end of meetings!:)

As I took my final stride up the long walk way to the lecturn as your President 2009 -2010, my mind wandered back to the many, many magical moments of the term.  One of my favourite take home magic was from the earlier meetings ‘don’t improve 100% in a day, improve 1% every day.’

When I first took on Presidency of the club, I knew I was going to grow and learn exponentially in my communication and leadership skills. I just didn’t realize how much.  I will have to rephrase that line – in Toastmasters, with every speech we present, with every role we play – whether it’s in the organizing committee or a role player – we improve not 1% but at least 30% every time. 

Datuk Adeline Leong, DTM started with a very apt thought of the evening – Tolerate, Accept, Celebrate diversity. When you celebrate diversity as we do in KKTMC– that is true success! With the 20yrs anniversary in large letters behind Datuk, we certainly epitomize that phrase as we would not still be standing so strongly after 20yrs had we not celebrated diversity!

TME Nora Ridzwan, CC then appeared and vowed to magically transform us that eveningJ Her warm-up consisted of getting us all to think back to what were our personal magic moments of the year – Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC chose to highlight TM Veronica Lubinti and TM Mohd. Zaini Nanyan as they truly transformed speech by speech – from nervous first timer speakers to steady, confident oratorsJ Richard A. Gontusan, DTM chose to focus on the Toastmasters Spray musical performed in Miri – we truly put KKTMC on the map and were the talk of the convention and also Joanna Liew’s, CC10 speech where she inspired everyone to not just go for your dreams and do it, but do it well.  TM Bernie Chan on the other hand kept Valentine themed meeting closest to her heart and loved Melissa as TME with her many varied one liners throughout that very pink meeting. Ah, the memories! Great warm-up that immediately put us in a nostalgic and sentimental mood.  But the evening was not just to reminisce, we still had a final meeting to conduct!

Quirky Table Topics Master Johan Lee a.k.a. Mr. Personality as coined by TME Nora lived up to his name as he suavely shot out questions 8 questions with 10 respondents! Perhaps ‘suavely’ is not quite the right word (images of Johan mouthing ‘what’s that member’s name?’ flashes through my mind). It all added to the fun atmosphere created! One of the more memorable sessions was the debate!  Bakar aka. Obama confronted Datuk Hassan aka. British Petroleum (BP) CEO on the oil spill fiasco.  Bakar was merciless in demanding for an explanation from our BP CEO. However, one sentence from Datuk Hassan “I apologize and therefore I resign” was enough to put paid to ‘Obama’s’ strong accusations. Quick to the rescue was ‘Vice President of BP’ Kevin Lim, ACB and the repartee between the three men was hilarious!  TT Evaluator Christine Yap, DTM managed to mention every single respondent in her evaluation as well as commended Johan on a quirky but entertaining job well done.

Just before the break we commemorated our club’s 20^th Anniversary with a cake-cutting ceremony singing ‘Congratulations, and celebration…. Na na na na na na na na na na na naaaaaa…;)’  We had quite a few past Presidents present and invited all to come up to cut the cake.  Just as fate would have it, we were also celebrating June birthday babies and guess how old our new member Mohd. Hanif was turning? 20yrs as well! 2 in 1! The candles were put into good use!

Speakers:

CC3 – Christopher Shaw – ‘Smart Saving Tips for Better Living!’ Evaluated by Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM

Wait a minute, did I read that right? Didn’t Christopher already present this speech? Yes, you’re right! This is Chris’s 2^nd attempt at speech no. 3 as he wasn’t satisfied with his first attempt. His reason? ‘There’s no point in moving on in your manual if you’re not satisfied with your last attempt!’ Well done Christopher! Such is the transformation of Toastmasters! Christopher was much more prepared 2^nd time round as his evaluator Bakar commented, he has now gotten the point and ready to tackle his next speech project.

CC4 – Sophia Hong – ‘One Step At a Time’ evaluated by Jamie Chieng, CC

Sophia relayed her arduous journey through the jungles of undiscovered Maliau Basin – a haven right under our noses in the thick of Borneo! Complete with photo slides as she narrated her ‘one step at a time’ 10hr trek into the centre of Borneo researching the many new species of plants and wildlife. Interesting topic Sophia! As her evaluator Jamie aptly pointed out, for the speech to be better, do away with the photo slides and make us ‘see’ the pain and the images through your body language, as required by the objectives of CC4.

ACS graduation project – Sylvia Maten, ATM-B ‘Better Speaker Series’ (Preparing Your Speech)

*Ring *Ring (Sylvia picks up her handphone) ‘Hello? VPE Nora again?! what? Speech? Ai yah! Not prepared oh! How? Nevermind, hantam saja lah! Chin chai chin chai, who cares anyway?’

With that dramatic scenario our IPP Sylvia introduced her workshop topic on how to prepare your speeches! Entertaining, articulate and valuable tips as she reminded us the importance of speech preparation and why we do it. She said and I quote:”If you want to be a good speaker, practice 30x. If you want to be a District speech champion, practice 100x and if you want to be a World champion, practice 300x!” Nothing worthwhile comes easy but the results speak for itself! Thank you Sylvia for that timely reminder! Everyone take note! Especially for our 23 new members who have joined us this term.  With that presentation, Sylvia is now an Advanced Communicator Silver Sylvia Maten! Congratulations!

ACG10 – Spellbound in Dubai (Humorously Speaking Advanced Manual) – Ronald Tang, ACS, evaluated by Yee That Hian, DTM

Now you see him, now you don’t, then you do againJ  Ronald was so spellbound by his speech, he was tongue-tied for a moment! But such is the magic of Toastmasters that we the audience gave him a chance to regain his thoughts and when he did, he presented it flawlessly! Our Past President told of his recent holiday in Dubai humorously and wittily! With the lavish lifestyle of Dubai, upon reaching the airport he was asked: ‘Anything to declare?’ to which he sheepishly replied ‘yes, I declare bankruptcy!’ Don’t worry Ronald, you’re anything but bankrupt in Toastmasters! We now declare you our 15^th Distinguish Toastmaster of KKTMC! Congratulations!

Humour Master Joanna Liew, CC comically acted out all her jokes and is fast becoming one of our resident humour master! General Evaluator Casey Leong, DTM truly brought out the magic in his evaluation, not only evaluating the meeting but the whole term!  His memorable moments of the year were the THIS IS IT! Division K Convention (spotting an MJ move – just in case we didn’t know which convention he was talking about;)) and the camaraderie, fellowship and teamwork of Toastmasters Spray Musical performed at the District 51 Miri Convention. This is what Toastmasters is all about – bringing out the confidence in members to do and be whatever we want to be!

 ‘Ooo – ee – oo – ah ah’ (think Witch Doctor song) Ah Counter Bernie Chan, – was so meticulous that GE Casey wondered if she heard anything else that evening! Strict ASAA/Timer Karis Chong kept everyone on their toes and on time, even to the point of ‘shooing’ everyone in after the break – some with their anniversary cake still halfway in their mouths! Grammarian Richard A. Gontusan, DTM our Picasso of Grammarians showed us how to get so many words in just 3 mins. And we heartily applauded our educational goal award recipients Sylvia Maten, ACS and Ronald Tang DTM as they came up to receive their TI pins. 

My Take Home Magic of the evening: ‘For every minute you stand to speak, you should spend an hour preparing,’ by Winston Churchill.

Tall order? You bet! Worth it? Definitely! Why do we do this? Just as a magician spends hours, sweat and tears to perfect a single magic trick, so a Toastmaster should prepare an hour for every minute we stand to speak.  Because, then and only then can we bring out the magic. This term 2009 -2010, with every speech presented, every role played, every table topic attempted, you have taken that magical step to transforming from the person you once were to the person you are meant to be.   Thank you for bringing out your magic!

TME Nora shone in her role as TME and if the quality and standard of evening was anything to go by, we are in for an exciting year ahead under a very capable, President 2010 – 2011 Nora Ridzwan, CC. Be sure to come and witness the changeover at the 19^th installation banquet 10^th July 2010 (Sat) @ Pacific Sutera Ballroom, 7pm.

It’s been an honour to be your President.  May you continue to bring out the magic in the term ahead as you move, express and inspire under Nora and her new EXCO.

This is your President 2009 – 2010, signing off for the final time… Thank you for bringing out your magic!

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine J 

24^th Training meeting 22 June 2010 : The Magic Lives on….

Well… Fellow Toastmasters, Ladies and Gentlemen….. This IS it!! The Final Training Meeting of the term 2009 -2010 has come and gone…

So….did we bring out the magic?…… drum roll….. a resounding YES!!!:) We HAVE transformed:)

There was an air of excitement, expectancy and tinge of sadness as yet another term comes to an end. I now have to get used to not going up to the lecturn at the beginning and end of meetings!:)

As I took my final stride up the long walk way to the lecturn as your President 2009 -2010, my mind wandered back to the many, many magical moments of the term.  One of my favourite take home magic was from the earlier meetings ‘don’t improve 100% in a day, improve 1% every day.’

When I first took on Presidency of the club, I knew I was going to grow and learn exponentially in my communication and leadership skills. I just didn’t realize how much.  I will have to rephrase that line – in Toastmasters, with every speech we present, with every role we play – whether it’s in the organizing committee or a role player – we improve not 1% but at least 30% every time. 

Datuk Adeline Leong, DTM started with a very apt thought of the evening – Tolerate, Accept, Celebrate diversity. When you celebrate diversity as we do in KKTMC– that is true success! With the 20yrs anniversary in large letters behind Datuk, we certainly epitomize that phrase as we would not still be standing so strongly after 20yrs had we not celebrated diversity!

TME Nora Ridzwan, CC then appeared and vowed to magically transform us that eveningJ Her warm-up consisted of getting us all to think back to what were our personal magic moments of the year – Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC chose to highlight TM Veronica Lubinti and TM Mohd. Zaini Nanyan as they truly transformed speech by speech – from nervous first timer speakers to steady, confident oratorsJ Richard A. Gontusan, DTM chose to focus on the Toastmasters Spray musical performed in Miri – we truly put KKTMC on the map and were the talk of the convention and also Joanna Liew’s, CC10 speech where she inspired everyone to not just go for your dreams and do it, but do it well.  TM Bernie Chan on the other hand kept Valentine themed meeting closest to her heart and loved Melissa as TME with her many varied one liners throughout that very pink meeting. Ah, the memories! Great warm-up that immediately put us in a nostalgic and sentimental mood.  But the evening was not just to reminisce, we still had a final meeting to conduct!

Quirky Table Topics Master Johan Lee a.k.a. Mr. Personality as coined by TME Nora lived up to his name as he suavely shot out questions 8 questions with 10 respondents! Perhaps ‘suavely’ is not quite the right word (images of Johan mouthing ‘what’s that member’s name?’ flashes through my mind). It all added to the fun atmosphere created! One of the more memorable sessions was the debate!  Bakar aka. Obama confronted Datuk Hassan aka. British Petroleum (BP) CEO on the oil spill fiasco.  Bakar was merciless in demanding for an explanation from our BP CEO. However, one sentence from Datuk Hassan “I apologize and therefore I resign” was enough to put paid to ‘Obama’s’ strong accusations. Quick to the rescue was ‘Vice President of BP’ Kevin Lim, ACB and the repartee between the three men was hilarious!  TT Evaluator Christine Yap, DTM managed to mention every single respondent in her evaluation as well as commended Johan on a quirky but entertaining job well done.

Just before the break we commemorated our club’s 20^th Anniversary with a cake-cutting ceremony singing ‘Congratulations, and celebration…. Na na na na na na na na na na na naaaaaa…;)’  We had quite a few past Presidents present and invited all to come up to cut the cake.  Just as fate would have it, we were also celebrating June birthday babies and guess how old our new member Mohd. Hanif was turning? 20yrs as well! 2 in 1! The candles were put into good use!

Speakers:

CC3 – Christopher Shaw – ‘Smart Saving Tips for Better Living!’ Evaluated by Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM

Wait a minute, did I read that right? Didn’t Christopher already present this speech? Yes, you’re right! This is Chris’s 2^nd attempt at speech no. 3 as he wasn’t satisfied with his first attempt. His reason? ‘There’s no point in moving on in your manual if you’re not satisfied with your last attempt!’ Well done Christopher! Such is the transformation of Toastmasters! Christopher was much more prepared 2^nd time round as his evaluator Bakar commented, he has now gotten the point and ready to tackle his next speech project.

CC4 – Sophia Hong – ‘One Step At a Time’ evaluated by Jamie Chieng, CC

Sophia relayed her arduous journey through the jungles of undiscovered Maliau Basin – a haven right under our noses in the thick of Borneo! Complete with photo slides as she narrated her ‘one step at a time’ 10hr trek into the centre of Borneo researching the many new species of plants and wildlife. Interesting topic Sophia! As her evaluator Jamie aptly pointed out, for the speech to be better, do away with the photo slides and make us ‘see’ the pain and the images through your body language, as required by the objectives of CC4.

ACS graduation project – Sylvia Maten, ATM-B ‘Better Speaker Series’ (Preparing Your Speech)

*Ring *Ring (Sylvia picks up her handphone) ‘Hello? VPE Nora again?! what? Speech? Ai yah! Not prepared oh! How? Nevermind, hantam saja lah! Chin chai chin chai, who cares anyway?’

With that dramatic scenario our IPP Sylvia introduced her workshop topic on how to prepare your speeches! Entertaining, articulate and valuable tips as she reminded us the importance of speech preparation and why we do it. She said and I quote:”If you want to be a good speaker, practice 30x. If you want to be a District speech champion, practice 100x and if you want to be a World champion, practice 300x!” Nothing worthwhile comes easy but the results speak for itself! Thank you Sylvia for that timely reminder! Everyone take note! Especially for our 23 new members who have joined us this term.  With that presentation, Sylvia is now an Advanced Communicator Silver Sylvia Maten! Congratulations!

ACG10 – Spellbound in Dubai (Humorously Speaking Advanced Manual) – Ronald Tang, ACS, evaluated by Yee That Hian, DTM

Now you see him, now you don’t, then you do againJ  Ronald was so spellbound by his speech, he was tongue-tied for a moment! But such is the magic of Toastmasters that we the audience gave him a chance to regain his thoughts and when he did, he presented it flawlessly! Our Past President told of his recent holiday in Dubai humorously and wittily! With the lavish lifestyle of Dubai, upon reaching the airport he was asked: ‘Anything to declare?’ to which he sheepishly replied ‘yes, I declare bankruptcy!’ Don’t worry Ronald, you’re anything but bankrupt in Toastmasters! We now declare you our 15^th Distinguish Toastmaster of KKTMC! Congratulations!

Humour Master Joanna Liew, CC comically acted out all her jokes and is fast becoming one of our resident humour master! General Evaluator Casey Leong, DTM truly brought out the magic in his evaluation, not only evaluating the meeting but the whole term!  His memorable moments of the year were the THIS IS IT! Division K Convention (spotting an MJ move – just in case we didn’t know which convention he was talking about;)) and the camaraderie, fellowship and teamwork of Toastmasters Spray Musical performed at the District 51 Miri Convention. This is what Toastmasters is all about – bringing out the confidence in members to do and be whatever we want to be!

 ‘Ooo – ee – oo – ah ah’ (think Witch Doctor song) Ah Counter Bernie Chan, – was so meticulous that GE Casey wondered if she heard anything else that evening! Strict ASAA/Timer Karis Chong kept everyone on their toes and on time, even to the point of ‘shooing’ everyone in after the break – some with their anniversary cake still halfway in their mouths! Grammarian Richard A. Gontusan, DTM our Picasso of Grammarians showed us how to get so many words in just 3 mins. And we heartily applauded our educational goal award recipients Sylvia Maten, ACS and Ronald Tang DTM as they came up to receive their TI pins.

My Take Home Magic of the evening: ‘For every minute you stand to speak, you should spend an hour preparing,’ by Winston Churchill.

Tall order? You bet! Worth it? Definitely! Why do we do this? Just as a magician spends hours, sweat and tears to perfect a single magic trick, so a Toastmaster should prepare an hour for every minute we stand to speak.  Because, then and only then can we bring out the magic. This term 2009 -2010, with every speech presented, every role played, every table topic attempted, you have taken that magical step to transforming from the person you once were to the person you are meant to be.   Thank you for bringing out your magic!

TME Nora shone in her role as TME and if the quality and standard of evening was anything to go by, we are in for an exciting year ahead under a very capable, President 2010 – 2011 Nora Ridzwan, CC. Be sure to come and witness the changeover at the 19^th installation banquet 10^th July 2010 (Sat) @ Pacific Sutera Ballroom, 7pm.

It’s been an honour to be your President.  May you continue to bring out the magic in the term ahead as you move, express and inspire under Nora and her new EXCO.

This is your President 2009 – 2010, signing off for the final time… Thank you for bringing out your magic!

 

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine J

President’s Blog 23rd Training Meeting: Vociferous!

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We donned our Bring out the Magic T-shirts and had a vociferous training meeting as we head towards our final leg of the Term 2009 – 2010!

TME Melissa Jilimin, CC began the meeting with a fun warm-up of finding ludicrous things in 1 min – ie. 1 cent coin, something brown, a passport photo etc… and had the usually composed members scrambling for items; just to have the pleasure of winning! Table Topics Master Yee That Hian, DTM did a brilliant job in conducting one of the best sessions of the year in my eyes as a total of 11 topics were asked and answered! Yes, you read it right! A whooping 11 table topics! I think we just made history! So amongst the unusually small turnout of 20 last night – more than 50% members were given the opportunity to answer a table topic! Christine Yap, DTM as TT evaluator also made history of her own, by being able to comment on ALL 11 speakers within the 3mins alotted to her:)

*President’s Note: I think we sometimes gloss over the importance of table topics. At times the warm-ups or club business reports take up so much time that TT session is squeezed into just 3 – 5 questions. Some of us also seem to  ‘hide’ when the TT session is being conducted (ie: looking up, down, under the table… anything to avoid the piercing gaze of the TT master:) and fidget impatiently for the clock to turn 8:30pm before we can sign in relief and look forward to the manual speeches!

Table Topics Sessions is one of the KEY training component of the Toastmasters programme. It is mostly in a TT session that we learn to think and speak on our feet.  A lifelong skill we joined Toastmasters for. Every guest that has entered the meetings have always been impressed by the TT sessions (perhaps not so much with the responses but with the environment we create to learn this skill;) How many people would voluntarily put themselves in these nerve-racking, mind-freezing situations?!). So I would like to encourage the incoming EXCO for 2010 – 2011: Aim to have up to 10 Table Topics a session -and just watch members grow exponentially in speaking and thinking on our feet!

2 speakers:

1) Effy Chung CC4 – Mabuhai! evaluated by Jamie Chieng, CC

Using simple yet vivid words to describe her recent holiday to the Philippines (Such a nice boss to allow staff to go on holiday in their first year of employment, don’t you think?;) I wonder who she is…) Effy impressed us all when she spoke confidently and sweetly about interesting Manila city – from the transport on a tricycle, being cheated by taxi drivers and shopping under tight security! Kudos to the effort she put in letting her English teacher improve her grammar in the speech to meet the objectives of CC4, and internalizing her speech so well! You are well on your way to becoming a Competent Communicator Effy! Well done!

2) Sylvia Maten ACS10 – The Play “Cinderella” (Interpretive Reading manual) evaluated by Richard A. Gontusan, DTM

Our IPP and Area K1 Governor Sylvia then ‘wowed’ us again with her extravagant display of ‘how to prepare for a speech project!’ Again, she transformed into a fairy godmother (complete with a magic wand), and brought her own transistor radio for background music as she narrated and acted out 4 main characters: Narrator, Step Mother, Cinderella and Fairy Godmother in “Cinderella – the Play” for all the 10yr olds at heart in the audience:) For 15mins we were transported into fairytale land as she made one of the most popular Disney fairtales come alive.  TME Melissa had to correct just one minor detail – apparently the fairy godmother didn’t say ‘Abracadabra’… but sang…

“Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Put ’em together and what have you got
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!
Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
It’ll do magic believe it or not
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!”

With a wave of that magical wand, Sylvia is now just one project away from being awarded her ACS!  She’ll be presenting her ‘Better Speaker’ or Successful Club project at the final meeting of the term… and then Abracadabra! Advanced Communicator Silver Sylvia Maten will appear:) yes, better start practicing that tongue twister of a name now…Silver Sylvia, Sylvia Silver… 😉

So, to sum up the speeches in three words… “Mabuhai!” Said Cinderella...:)

Ah Counter TM Karis Chong was so enthralled by the speakers during the first 30mins of the meeting that she generously forgot to count our many pause fillers:) After being gently proded she went straight to work and still managed to count quite a number of ‘ahs’ and ‘erms’:) Keen listening ears Karis!  New member ASAA/Timer TM Mohd. Hanif did a very commendable job as first time timer and ASAA! We actually finished on time due to his excellent time keeping, even with the technical malfunction at beginning of meeting – our green light broke but thank goodness we had a spare in the cabinet:)

Grammarian TM Johan Lee, also a first timer in the role, commented well on the grammar of the meeting and General Evaluator Dr. Sivakumar Kumaresan, CC as usual was classily composed and encouraging:) He always makes you feel good about yourself and yet manages to pick up on the nuances of the evening – he commented on the double acts /repartaire between speakers – ie. Yee and Christine, Johan and Richard etc. etc..:)

My Take Home Magic?  All 11 table topics! Just having 11 2min impromptu speeches is enough to inspire you! Completing mind stimulating!:)

Only ONE more meeting to go this term!!  Please come on 22nd June 2010 as we celebrate the final meeting of a truly magical year!  We’ll also be officially celebrating KKTMC’s 20th Anniversary so it will be a double celebration! See you there!

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine

President 2009 – 2010

Bring Out The Magic

President’s Blog 22nd Training Meeting:Kotobian Tadau Tagazo Do Kaamatan! 25/5/10

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Kotobian Tadau Tagazo Do Kaamatan! 🙂

Happy Harvest Festival to all our fellow members celebrating this season! I trust you are all enjoying the long weekend and festive season only the state of Sabah can enjoy:)

We had a festive training meeting led by our Harvest Festival King, Paul Mathew, CTM:) The meeting started off with a very hyped and excited report of the District 51 Convention just held in Miri 21 – 23rd May 2010. (See separate Post for full report and video compiled by Melissa Jilimin, CC – or if you have facebook – it’s flooded with photos from Toastmasters Spray musical performed by KKTMC and many more photos from the convention).

I then invited our newly elected LGM – Lieutenant Governor Marketing Richard A. Gontusan, DTM to share with us some inspirational words after winning the hotly contested LGM post for newly formed District 87 at his 4th try:) Richard epitomises the phrase ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again!’ Thank you Richard for inspiring us with your indomitable never give up spirit! It is high time Division K was represented at the top of the District!

Harvest Festival King Paul then opened the meeting with a very appropriate sumazau procession, accompanied by members wearing the traditional kadazan costume. It was a beautiful opening and got us all up and dancing (which seems to be part of KKTMC now!) as a warm up.

Paul then headed straight for the 4 speeches as we had to cut out the table topics (yes, everyone was extremely disappointed;)) due to the AGM to be held after the break:

1)      Sophia Hong CC4 “Home Sweet Home” evaluated by Kevin Lim, ACB

Our WWF environmentalist became Sabah Tourism’s undiscovered advertiser as she revealed the wonders of Sabah through her research. Did you know they have found 120 new species on the island of Borneo just in the last year or so? Amazing! We look forward to hearing of a new species named ‘Opisthostoma Sophia-sophia’J As Kevin your evaluator has noted, perhaps you could have practiced it more so that you can include the photo montage you prepared but didn’t get a chance to show us due to time limitJ Perhaps you could show it to us in your next speech?

2)      Mohd. Hanif CC1 “Opening Doors” evaluated by Jamie Chieng, CC

The audience was in for a treat of beautifully chosen words and metaphors as Mohd. Hanif shared the doors he has opened in his life.  From opening his first door of life and entering naked into the world and the many doors of life he has opened since then – including the door of failure – when his SPM grades weren’t as expected.  The first to open the door in his family of 2 other siblings – he says they devoted their lives to making each other miserableJ What a beautifully woven speech and so meaningful! He ended by stating that his life has been a series of opening doors. Here is his opening quotation:

It was Lawrence Clark Powell who said, “My life has been a series of opening doors into wonderful new rooms – wonder, but not without fear, pain, and sorrow, and always with the voice of the Lord reminding me that nothing is free and must be paid for by service to others…”

And ended with: So through this all, life has taught me something very important: To open that very door, you must find your own key towards it.

Thank you Hanif ! It was so pleasing to the ear to listen to such beautiful woven words! I can’t wait to hear your next speech!

3)      Bernie Chan, CC3 ‘How did I survive in a Call Centre’ evaluated by Shahar Banon, CC

‘Hello, may I help you?’ Bernie entertained us with amusing experiences of working in a call centre in New Zealand and at the same time gave us her 5 Survival tips should you ever find yourself working in a call centre!

a)      Learn your product and be familiar with it

b)      Speak slowly and clearly

c)      No personal apology unless it is directly your fault. Say “I’m sorry about the situation….”

d)     Make sure your HOLD button is on if you need to check on anything (or let out frustrated cries and curses no one else is supposed to hear;))

e)      Do not take any abusive calls and threaten to hang up if they continue using abusive words.

So there you have it! Bernie’s very own Survival kitJ Thanks Bernie and as Shahar your evaluator noted, perhaps next time just focus on 3 survival points and elaborate on them to ensure a clearer and smoother flow of your speech.

4)      Christopher Shaw, CC3 ‘Smart Saving Tips for Better Living’ evaluated by Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM

Smart Chris gave us up to 9 saving tips on how to save our dollars and cents especially when out shopping! From making a list of what you need, not what you want (to the dismay of the shopaholics in the audience), to planting your own vegetables. His prompter Wesley was excellent in mouthing and sometimes saying the words out loud so that Chris could continue without notesJ Excellent job Wesley! And well done Christopher! That’s how we train ourselves to do without notes and courageously face the musicJ Abu Bakar as his evaluator rightly pointed out that perhaps Chris could have categorized the points and focus on 3 main points and elaborate on them. It’ll help make the speech more focused and will be easier to internalize as well.

*President’s Note: The CC3 speech objective is Get to the Point – so to all future members tackling this speech project, try as much as possible to have the maximum of 3 points, then elaborate those 3 points with a personal story or an example to bring home that point.  With 5  – 9 points in a speech, it is difficult for the audience to follow you and remember all the points J

General Evaluator TC Lim, DTM spent minimum time as we were running behind time. He evaluated most of the speeches again in his usual nurturing and teaching style and gave valid points for improvement as always.  Grammarian Florence Majanil-Liau, CTM was sharp to rejoice in Mohd. Hanif’s many beautiful phrases and Ah Counter Constantine Chong, CTM was meticulous to catch everyone’s pause fillers. Invocator Stanley Joibi, DTM who was recently awarded the DTM medallion from District Governor Ritchie Chong, DTM at the convention of course shared the significance of harvest festival and stand in ASAA/Timer Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC was quick to take over Veronica’s role when Veronica called in saying she would be coming in late. Thanks Melissa for showing why Toastmasters should always be ready to step in when needed!

My Take Home Magic of the evening was definitely by our newest members Mohd. Hanif’s speech : ‘if you want to open the doors of your life, you need to earn your key to it.’

We then quickly reorganised ourselves and conducted the AGM 2010 within the estimated 1hour – 9:40pm – 10:40pm. Great time keeping fellow Toastmasters!  A detailed report and minutes of the AGM will be emailed to all but I’m proud to say that we have made a handsome profit this year, even with the decision to write-off a few old and lost assets from way back when.

See you at the 2^nd last meeting of the term 8^th June 2010(Tue) – it’ll be Bring Out the Magic T-shirt day so please wear your T-shirts with pride.

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine

AGM 25th May 2010 (Tue) 9:00pm Celyn Hotel, City Mall

Let’s see whether this year’s EXCO has brought out the magic:) Come for the AGM as we say goodbye to this term’s EXCO and hello to our new team! The AGM will commence right after our condensed Harvest Festival Themed Training meeting…

President’s Blog 21st Training Meeting 11.05.10 – Another CC!

Joanna Liew, receiving her CC pin

Dear Fellow Toastmasters,

Another Competent Communicator !

The meeting was abuzz with newly crowned Competent Communicators and the crowning of yet another Competent Communicator, as we get closer to achieving President’s Distinguished Club for yet another year!

Invocator Lily Chin said it short and simple when she encouraged us to live simply, be simple. AG Sylvia Maten, ATM-B also presented a short address as our Area Governor urging us not to be complacent even though KKTMC is the role model of all clubs! We must not rest on our laurels! She congratulated us on achieving Distinguished Club status as of 30^th April 2010, which means we’ll be one of the many Distinguished clubs going onstage at the Miri District Convention 21 – 23 May’10!

TME Jamie Chieng, CC one of our newest CCs then took the stage and led us in one of the most inspiring meetings of the term. Our Table Topics Master TC Lim, DTM epitomized the word of the evening ‘nurture’ by preparing topics specifically geared towards chosen speakers, especially our new members! He succeeded in getting at least 7 of us to answer his sometimes mind boggling questions and kudos to him on ensuring our newer members get a chance to practice thinking on their feet! Shahar Banon, CTM gave a succinct TT evaluation and hopefully gained some tips on how to answer table topics as she prepares to represent Division K at the District Contest next weekend!

Speakers:

1)      Sylvia Maten ACS 9 – Monodrama ‘Pocahontas’ – evaluated by Jasmine Leong, ACB

After the break, the meeting room was suddenly transformed to a forest as plants adorned the stage, LCD screen flashed scenic pictures of streams and mountains and the lights dimmed as our very own Pocahontas emerged from the wings (it was actually from the toilet – but oh well, the effect was there!)

As the first lines of music came on, Sylvia burst into a poetry as she recited the lines to Colours of the Wind.  Truly enchanting and mesmerizing! I commented on how I appreciated the extent to which Sylvia goes to when presenting a speech, and suggested ways to invoke more emotion into the words as a monodrama is supposed to bring the audience into the emotions of the character she portrays. Excellent monodrama Sylvia, our true princess!

2)      Sophia Hong, CC2 – Scuba Diving – evaluated by Karen Kua, CL

Our always happy and smiley Sophia related her eventful ordeal of learning to scuba dive and swim 20 laps of the pool just to pass her Bachelors course! Thanks for sharing Sophia and just be careful of the time limit in future as we would love to hear your prepared conclusion! I’m sure your swimming skills improved after those arduous 20 laps!

3)      Joanna Liew, CC10 – ‘Dreams to Reality’– evaluated by Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM

Our dancing queen truly inspired us all with her singing, her emotions and her always entertaining humour! Speaking from the heart and telling us the stories of her friends, family and herself; she told the evergreen message of how we need to hold onto our dreams, do it and do it well.   She challenged us to never give up, … just like how she is holding onto her lifelong dream of becoming a wedding planner even after obtaining the hard earned CPA certificate! I love the message of not just dreaming and doing but doing it WELL!

We will Joanna! Thanks for inspiring us to do so! Her graduation speech was not without some drama! Our Timer made a slight error in the timing and hit the red light 3 mins too soon! However, Prez Jas came to the rescue and insisted that she completed her speech! So glad she did so as her last paragraph was the most inspiring and truly brought the message home. Completing her speech also meant she met the actual time requirements and is now a Competent Communicator! Well earned and well deserved Miss Competent Communicator Joanna!

4)      Karis Chong, CC2 – ‘a Friend in need is a friend indeed’ – evaluated by Yee That Hian, DTM

Karis charmed us again with her quirky style and entertaining topic of how to find true friends in life! Thanks Karis and we look forward to more entertaining stories with strong messages from you.

Grammarian Bernie Chan has gained more confidence being 2^nd time Grammarian – keep it up Bernie! Ah Counter was 1^st timer Mohd. Hanif, who didn’t wait for the ink on his membership form to dry before jumping into a role! Well done and great listening skills for such a new Toastmaster! He even got all the TM titles right, when he gave his report!

Timer 1^st timer Jonathan Phun apart from the slight error on speech timing was also impeccable as Timer.  I must commend him on his courage to lead the applause when one or two speakers really went overtime after several warnings.  Humour Master role was also taken by Jonathan as the original role player sent apologies at the last minute and Jonathan had our funny bones tickled!  General Evaluator 1^st Timer Nora Ridzwan, CC also newly crowned CC and incoming President, showed us why she has the caliber to be our next Prez as she seamlessly evaluated, encouraged and motivated us during her general evaluation! Well done! We can’t wait to move and inspire with you next term!

My Take Home Magic came from our graduating CC Joanna Liew – I want to not only live my dreams but do it well!! And I hope as President I will end my term on a high note as well with your help!

Only 3 more meetings to go before the new EXCO takes over! Do try to come and support the AGM which will be held on 25^th May 2010 (Tue) 9pm after our short Harvest Festival themed meeting in the first half.

Let’s continue to Bring out the Magic!

Jasmine

Joanna Liew, receiving her CC pin

President’s Blog: 20th Training Meeting 27 04 10 – 2 Competent Communicators!

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Dear Fellow Toastmasters,20th Anniversary Cert TI

Happy 20^th Anniversary KKTMC!!  As I blog about the 20^th Training meeting of the term 2009 -2010 – the mail arrived my office and I found a beautiful certificate from Toastmasters International congratulating KKTMC on reaching its 20 year milestone as of 1^st March 2010!

It is indeed a privilege to be president of a club so rich in history, high in standard and with so much depth in its members.  Who else can boast of having 16 DTMs and over 70 odd members every year?!

We had more than just our 20yrs anniversary to celebrate on Tuesday!  2 members graduated from their TM titles to the coveted and hard –earned Competent Communicator Titles!

Please join me to congratulate:

1. Nora Ridzwan, CC
2. Jamie Chieng, CC

With their education goals met, we have not achieved Distinguished Club Status and only a speech or two away from earning President’s Distinguished Club status yet again!

The training meeting was led by Dora Danny, ACS, ALB who in her usual enthusiastic and professional manner, warmed us up with a memory game (I always admire the amount of preparation Dora goes through for the warm up and TME role!). Not only did she test our visual memory (I found I am terrible at it!) she also had ready sweets, chocolates and goodies for everyone!

My invocation was focused on Fruit for Thought and I reminded everyone on the importance and benefits of eating fruits on an empty stomach! The Table Topics Session was another nerve-racking session as Karen Kua, CL shot question after question to members such as do pretty girls always get rich men? What animal do you fear most and how social media has taken precedence over newspapers.  She certainly got our thinking caps going!

TT Evaluator Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM was generous in his comments as ever and commented on the various speakers as well – especially on seasoned speakers so that we can continue improving our thinking on our feet skills!

New Member: We have another new member who has joined KKTMC!!  Please warmly welcome TM Mohd. Hanif who has been a guest for the past 3 meetings and has decided that this is the club for himJ He is currently an ACCA student and has already signed up to be Ah Counter at the next meeting!

Speakers:

After the break we prepared to be inspired by our 4 speakers who were:

1) Joanna Liew, CC9 ‘Save Water ‘ evaluated by Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC

Anybody persuaded to save water?!  Joanna for once turned serious as she illustrated the importance of water in our lives and how water is diminishing from our earth! Once gone.. it’s gone! What will our future generation look like? A prune?!!;) Even in the midst of such a serious topic, Joanna still managed to inject her sense of humour appropriately and painted images we could all remember (‘my precious….’ Smeagal).  She definitely persuaded everyone to turn their taps off whilst brushing their teeth (did you know you can save up to 11L of water just by doing that?!) and spend less time singing to yourself in the shower! Thank you Joanna! And we look forward to your graduation speech next meeting!

2)      Nora Ridzwan CC10 ‘Move, Express, Inspire’ evaluated by Richard A. Gontusan, DTM

Are you ready to move, express and inspire with in-coming President Nora next term!!  She spoke as a seasoned speaker worthy of the CC title and weaved in her inspirational message of self-transformation due to Toastmasters! She joined KKTMC merely 2 years ago and went from normal member to Secretary to VPE and now incoming President! How did all this happen?! From inspiring a young ballerina ‘I wanna be just like you!’ to now being inspired by her fellow members who have supported her on her TM journey, Nora is well on her way to becoming the youngest President of KKTMC! We’ll move, express and inspire with you next term Nora!

3)      Sylvia Maten, ACS8 ‘Oratorial Reading’ evaluated by Shahar Banon, CC

For the next 10 minutes we were transported to the World Congress where we heard one of the most influential women leaders of all time – Senator Hilary Clinton! Sylvia delivered a speech Hilary made about the plight of women and held us all spellbound by the power of the words spoken and the truths in content. It is rare to be able to witness and listen to the whole speech by such a powerful woman. Definitely left a mark in my heart. Thanks Sylvia! Excellent reading! So much passion and I learnt so much from that speech too.

4)      Jamie Chieng, CC10 ‘Blessings in Disguise’ evaluated by Yee That Hian, DTM

Jamie certainly fast-tracked her journey to becoming a Competent Communicator  within a year of joining as a member! She spoke on how sometimes life’s challenges and knocks are blessings in disguise and teaches us to appreciate the lessons learnt for future successes!

General Evaluator Freda Wu, CC playing the role for the second time to meet some of her CL requirements was crisp and encouraging this time roundJ She also noted on the different styles of speakers we have and wrapped up quickly in her general comments when she realized she was out of time due to some role players exceeding their own time! Timer Christopher Shaw must be commended for his excellent time keeping and for having the courage to stick to the ‘applauding’ once a role player / speaker speaks overtime!  Well done Christopher and all future Timers, let’s follow Christopher’s lead!  Ah Counter Veronica Lubinti was detailed and succinct in her report and Grammarian Christine Yap, DTM was her usual commanding self in correcting our grammatical errors of the evening!  Humour Master TM Johan couldn’t make it at the last moment and so TME Dora, ever prepared covered Johan by telling us a funny story of an unfortunate speakerJ

Most Improved Table Topics Ribbon was specially presented to TM Datin Anna Au for her excellent response to ‘a man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships’. She commented that this is evident especially in spiritual leaders who in fact have nothing and yet are so rich in relationships. Thank you Datin Anna for such a beautiful and poignant answer.

CC ribbons and pins were also presented to our two CC graduates Nora and JamieJ

See you all at the 21^st Training meeting of the term where you will witness yet member presenting her graduation speech and turn into a Competent Communicator!!  Don’t miss it!!

Let’s continue to Bring Out the Magic!

Jasmine

President’s Blog 19th Training Meeting 13.04.10 Amplified!

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Dear Fellow Toastmasters,

The meeting was amplified with 6 speakers, 3 of them racing against the clock to achieve their educational goals before the term end!  Only 5 more meetings to Go! Go! Go!

The programme elements were with a difference as we worked to fit in all 6 speakers, 6 evaluations and squeezed in 6 table topics too! We also had 6 staff of SuriaBumiria S/B who are soon to be members and another 6 guests from other companies! I’m not kidding – just look at the guest list attendance and count them;)

So with our lucky number 6 for the evening, we were off to a great start!

Invocator Jamie Chieng as first timer did her 3 Toasts confidently and shared her thought of how we should slow down and smell the roses – we should never be too busy for lifeJ

TME yours truly then led a crisp warm-up of reminding everyone to sit right, stand right and ‘find their centre’ as we checked our posture and learnt how to sit like a ballerina not just to look good but for health reasons:) We then did something radically different and omitted the explanation of roles, word master reading and went straight into the Table Topics Session led by first timer Andy Wong. 6 questions all shot out like a pro as Andy made us ponder on questions such as global warming, food and exercise! TT Evaluator Dora Danny, ACS, ALB was gracious in her evaluation and commended Andy on a job well done. She also gave points for improvement to our respondents which may have been a little intimidating but rest assured, it is mainly for those of us who are seasoned Toastmasters and are thinking about contesting in a TT contest:) For those of us whose goal is just to stand up and say something audible and comprehensible at a TT session – by just standing up and speaking, that is an achievement in itself:) After all these years, Table Topics still gives me butterflies!

6 speakers:

Before break, we slotted in 2 speakers:

1. Veronica Lubinti – CC3 Can Money Buy Happiness? evaluated by Florence Majanil-Liau, CTM

well, can it? our very own Imelda Marcus who has a fetish for beautiful shoes confessed that money does help, but in the end made us realise that money, although can bring happiness. It only does to a certain point. Love, integrity, honesty – all these values can’t be bought by money and is the source of happiness:) Well done Veronica! She is slowly but surely transforming from a shy girl and blossoming into a confident lady… we hope you will be able to buy as many shoes as you want soon!

2. Nora Ridzwan CC9 – Floss the Boss! evaluated by Melissa Betsy Jilimin, CC

Do you floss? If you don’t, do you realise that brushing only cleans 60% of your teeth? (sorry, is that right Nora? you may have to correct some facts:)) .  our VPE Nora brought us through the valid facts and truths on flossing (having a sister as a dentist certainly gives her authority to do so!) and made us all check our teeth for unwanted green vege. or bacteria sticking out! But…doctor, do we have to floss every single tooth? No, of course not.. just the ones you want to keep!  hehe… So, floss is the boss!  Nora is just one away from her graduation speech CC10 so do come next meeting 27.4 and see her inspire us!

After Tea Break:

3. Joanna Liew, CC8 – Dress up or Break up! evaluated by Richard A. Gontusan, DTM

If you have yet to do your CC8 – Visual aids project.. I hope you were taking notes from our Treasurer Joanna!  Talk about preparation and going beyond the speech objectives’ requirements!!  Not only did Joanna ‘dress up’ for the occasion but brought a whole rack of clothings, displayed different pairs of shoes, earrings, and accessories, accessories, accessories!!  Now we know how to turn a slinky, sexy red dress into a presentable office dress with a simple jacket and belt!  Thank you Joanna! For showing us just what it means to ‘prepare’ for a speech:) Great job!

4. Christopher Shaw, CC2 ‘If I Knew it Earlier’ evaluated by Freda Wu, CC

Speaking from his many touching real life experiences as an insurance agent, Christopher shared the importance of forward planning. We definitely do not want to be in a situations of his unfortunate clients who did not heed Christopher’s advice and omitted to insure their cars, life, etc.  Great job on organising your speech and putting the personal stories to enhance the message Christopher!

5. Jonathan Phun, CC3 ‘Oops I Did it Again!’ evaluated by Karen Kua, CL

Jonathan entertained us with his many embarrassing moments in life (who can ever forget them!) and made us squirm with him, emphatize with and laugh with him as well! He made us all remember our own embarrassing moments but helped us to realise that it doesn’t really matter, it just makes us human. So just accept it and move on in life:) don’t let the embarrassment be an excuse to stay in that embarrassing state!

6. Ronald Tang, ACG7 ‘Make it Happen’ evaluated by TC Lim, DTM

Some people want it t happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen!  Ronald certainly is on his way to make his DTM happen this term! Only 3 more speeches before he will be awarded the highest title in Toastmasters International – Distinguished Toastmaster!  Entertaining us with a ‘make them laugh’ speech from the Humorously Speaking manual, Ronald roasted the Singaporean ‘kia su’ attitudes.  TC Lim as his evaluator was right on the money when he commented that perhaps we should choose topics that doesn’t ‘make fun’ of other cultures if possible:) That’s the challenge of humorous speeches:) Nonetheless, a good effort as Ronald steps closer to the realm only few have gone before …. DTM!:)

Since we omitted the explanation of roles earlier it was interesting to see whether our guests managed to catch onto what Ah Counter Lily Chin and Grammarian Sylvia Maten, ATM-B was doing throughout the evening. and guess what? They did! Through the clear explanations and reports of our role players, guests were able to follow the programme and even commented they wanted to join the club to take note of their pause fillers! Thanks Lily for your keen ear and Sylvia for a job well done as the Grammarian! She even had a dictionary next to her and ‘professional’ grammarian Richard sitting beside her as well as back up;) That’s what you call preparation! GE Abu Bakar Sheriff, DTM was crisp and precise in his evaluation and helped ensure the evaluators kept to their 3 mins time limit:) We almost had a clap down;) Kudos to first timer Timer Wesley Koh for keeping excellent time especially with the slightly different programme elements.

Well, that was it! 6 speakers, 6 Table topics, 12 guests later… we learnt that if you want to be happy, use your money to buy life insurance! If you don’t want to be embarrassed, make sure you floss daily and accessorize, accessorize, accessorize and hope you’re not a Singaporean when Ronald is making a roast on you;)

Take Home Magic of the evening: Notes! Notes! Notes! No! No! No! Out of 6 speakers, only 2 threw away their precious notes… I know it can be daunting to do without notes and the fear of going blank in the middle of a speech is terrifying.. but we’re here to help! It’s in a Toastmasters training meeting setting where you can try to go without notes and not have to be embarrassed by it because we’ll be there to encourage you and help you overcome this.  It does affect the flow of speech if you keep looking down and pausing everytime you forget your line. Plus, you lose connection with the audience immediately when your eyes lingers to that piece of paper.

If you do feel it’s too much to go from notes to no notes straight away, then pass your notes to your evaluator or to someone at the front to ‘prompt’ you whenever you get stuck. Start with baby steps.  This is a vital part of the TM training and we are not doing our jobs as your executive committee if we continue to let you ‘hide’ behind your notes:) The magic can’t shine through lah….;) So…. notes, notes, notes… No! No! No!;)  Sorry, but this is what you can call ‘tough love:))’

See you all at the next meeting where we will be witnessing not one, but 2 graduations speeches as we countdown towards the end of 2009 – 2010 Term!

Yours in Toastmasters,

Jasmine

President’s Blog: Joint meeting with NTU Alumni Singapore 10.04.10

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?