Happy holidays dear friends.
Festivities just around the corner, and yet the Brunei Speakers’ Club is still holding it’s regular meeting. Lots of cheers, bright faces, and as always, great energy!
A perfect personification of that representation would be our Toastmaster of the Evening, Seng Yee. ‘For together we stand, divided we fall’; proving not just by sharing her thoughts of the day, but also maintaining the uplifted energy throughout the night to make sure all is entertained.
‘Pay attention to what you pay attention to’ a tip shared by Timer Ong Yin on focusing our minds to where it matters most. That wordplay couldn’t be as clear and as concise, which directly brings to our word of the day which Grammarian Jordan have introduced – Lucid.
UBD Toastmaster Gary Goh attempted his CC5 speech at BSC with ‘My Gym Rules’. Today, this walking tall tree is 85 kilos heavy and proud of whom he is today. There are three rules he keeps close to heart: Focus! Go hard or go home! Be stronger than your excuses! The second rule came from a big man at the gym (apparently also called big man at the gym). He has shown us it isn’t about how fast you go, it’s about how far you go.
UBD Toastmaster Gary speaking with his body
The next two prepared speeches is a power play, between Reuben Chin’s ACB5 ‘No Man Is An Island’ and Ruey Chong Narcis’ ACS6 ‘Thank You’. The two were presenting an award and accepting an award respectively for their Special Occasions speech manuals.
Reuben, always the enthusiast showed a lot of personal and determined appreciation to the gravity and seriousness of the occasion in this speech. He had been perplexed on the process of forming the UBD Toastmasters Club and shared that Ruey had always been there to support him, not just as his mentor, or as the Club Sponsor nor the Area Governor, but as a friend.
Reuben tells us about UBD Toastmasters Club’s unsung heroine.
Ruey, after hearing Reuben’s speech, requited with even more gratitude, especially towards those who were involved in early stages, hand on chest as a thankful gesture. The sincerity in her encouraging voice and motherly nature left us all with fluttering hearts and the room in awe. She has indeed created a ripple that goes on to touch other people. Truly a worthy recipient of the award.
Ruey giving an acceptance speech
Moving on, Gerald Goh had a theme of ‘songs’ as Table Topics Master and a number of speakers shared on stage about family, change and New Year resolutions in mind.
Tan’s ‘Scorpion – Winds of Change’ shared on how happy he was to be able to spend the holidays back home with his family this year as opposed to missing out last year. He won’t be going without granting his son’s wish though: bringing him five packs of Nasi Katok back to Malaysia. In Malik’s ‘Sam Cook – A Change is Gonna Come’, the second time guest says he’s treated with the attention of a girl in BSC, wished for a High Definition Television as his new year resolution.
Peng’s perspective of ‘Taylor Swift – Shake It Off’ has taught him that in life, things that bring you down should always be brushed off. He transformed from a 36” balloon waistline to a 30” confident young man. He also shared a wonderful quote with everyone; ‘Drop the stone and let the butterfly fly’.
Lastly, Syafiq ended with ‘Kelly Clarkson – Stronger’ where it wasn’t about physical strength but the determination to get out of the country for opportunities and competition. Ever the Mama’s boy, Syafiq will grow up keeping his inner boy in tact.
The Table Topic Winner was first-time guest Peng. Deserving of the title, he exclaimed that words were flowing beyond his control during his impromptu speech.
First-time guest Peng wins the Table Topics
In the Ah Counter & Who Said What report by Supatra Lee, her listening skills has proven that even seasoned Toastmasters can slip up with several clutch words. It still didn’t bring any spirits down; in fact it encouraged other speakers for their chance to improve on their speaking.
Supatra, Ah-Counter for the evening
AOBs included a reminder of Project Labuan by Genevieve Lai for interested parties. Ambassador Shawn Narcis shared with everyone that while overseas on holiday, you can always locate a Toastmaster club nearby through the official website http://toastmaster.org/
Some of us have English as a first language, while others second or third. We can’t control that fact, however it doesn’t mean we don’t put in effort to improve. Everyone’s starting point is never the same, but set your own finish line. That is how our Vice President of Education Allen Ang adjourned the meeting.
The quality of seasoned members shone through when Shawn evaluated CC5 with big entertaining movements, followed by an unscripted evaluation by Allen for ACS6. These highlighted the standards that all in the Brunei Speakers’ Club aim for.
Shawn’s entertains with an evaluation of Gary’s CC5
Hosting the last meeting of the year, Amran will the role of TME next Tuesday.
Written by:
TM A’aqiil Ahmad
Photography by:
TM Chang Seng Yee & TM Farhan Jafar Ali