Hazwan as our Toastmaster of the Evening
Our Toastmaster of the Evening, Hazwan Kamarulzaman, ACB, ALB, began the meeting by revealing his desire to be an educator who is able to effortlessly persuade people. He shared that to achieve one’s desire, one must take up the opportunity to speak every week as well as taking on leadership roles to better oneself.
The majority of visiting Toastmasters were from OTTERS, attending the meeting in support of their member, TM Sandy Tan, who was scheduled to deliver her speech. As Toastmasters we are always there for each other; supporting not only members of our own clubs but also members of other clubs. This peer-learning environment is fundamental for us to essentially grow. Thank you for coming, OTTERS!
Supatra presenting the word of the day
TM Pooja Shivanand Breh, our Topic Master for the evening introduced her role and topic theme: Food – because the act of thinking and speaking harnesses brain activities which are fueled by food. The meeting started shortly after our Grammarian of the evening, TM Supatra Lee, introduced the word of the day “cordial”, an adjective which describes one as warm and friendly.
Timer and Tip Jason Koo, CC, ALB advised us to “Take a deep breath to calm you nerves during speeches.”
Aziman sharing his engagement with people
In the prepared speech segment of the meeting, TM Aziman Nasir delivered his Ice Breaker speech entitled “One Step at a Time”. He began with an introduction of his life experiences that brought him to the current juncture in life which leads to him becoming a Toastmaster. As a 28 year old, he professes his love for Japanese food, burgers and spaghetti. Raised by a classic textbook family he followed the social norm of getting his education, a job and next – a wife. Previously a UBD graduate in Policy Studies, he enjoyed doing presentations because of the Question and Answer sessions. But as a bassist in a band, he realized he couldn’t bring up the hype of the crowd with a microphone when he performed at Jerudong Park. In 2010, Aziman frequently engaged with people from all walks of life instead of being confined to desk duties. For the past 2 years he felt a pang of nervousness when he goes on stage to give a speech but his confidence grew. In 2012, Aziman’s colleague rallied 200 Cosmopolitan College students for a large scale community work with an inspirational speech, “These are the people who will color our nation’s future”. Upon hearing that speech, Aziman felt he didn’t have it in him to deliver spontaneous and natural inspirational speech. At that point, he avoided drafting speech scripts; relying on speeches written by someone else. However, he felt that it should stop. Hence, he is now a Toastmaster, striving to be a better public speaker. Congratulations Aziman on completing the first step.
Sandy delivering her speech about a her0, her dad
Our second prepared speaker, TM Sandy Tan, delivered her CC2 speech entitled “Heroes”. She began by asking the floor who came to our minds as a hero. Some answered Batman, Superman and Papa Shawn. She continued by revealing her hero; someone who cannot fly or have super strengths but someone ordinary – her dad who has always been with her in times of need. Unlike stereotypical superheroes, Sandy’s dad superpowers include cooking delicious dishes for her, saving anyone from a car breakdown and replacing electronic devices using a credit card.
Not unlike Baymax from the movie Big Hero 6 both physically and essentially, Sandy’s dad always tries his utmost best to provide her a safe and happy environment to grow. Without fail, her dad cares for her whenever she is unwell; guides her through darkness and holds her when she cries. He lets her find her own way after making bad choices, but picks her up when she falls. He scolds her when rules are broken, but always has pride in her whenever she succeeds. Sandy ended her speech by urging us to cherish our selfless fathers. Congratulations on completing your CC2 project.
TM Pooja led the second half of the meeting as the Table Topic Master with food themed questions. Our first Impromptu speaker, Ruey Chong Narcis, ACB, ALB, was asked what kind of food she would serve at her own restaurant. She shared that in Australia she managed a Japanese restaurant and found that she enjoyed serving people. But when Ruey got into the business of things, she realized that serving one type of food isn’t enough. That is when she envisioned her “4 corner” restaurant which serves western food, specialty food and finger-food. She ended her speech humorously by revealing that despite her visions, she cannot cook.
The second impromptu speaker, TM Elaine Tsang was asked whether water should be sold in bottles or should it be free. She said that she believes water should be free, relating how water is ridiculously expensive in parts of Europe and Asia. Elaine felt that companies make too much money selling bottled water.
Ada, a guest, was asked which of her favorite food she would like to eat every day. She shared that when she was unwell for a week, she craved the meatiest spaghetti that was cooked by her dad with love.
“Food you would not eat and why not?” was the question given to TM Tatiana Maerova. Whenever her best friend Kate slept over, her dad would ask if they wanted chicken soup or Pelmeni, a Russian dish. However the girls would usually have leftover soup because 3 of the most common food stored in the fridge are cooked carrots, chicken soup and milk. Over the years Tatiana grew bored having chicken soup and Pelmeni.
The fifth impromptu speaker, a guest, Jidun was asked if food is a personal affair or a communal one. Jidun, as a person who works for a company that promote healthy food, said that he prefers to have meals alone because some people might be unaware of how unhealthy certain foods are. To maintain his health, Jidun tells the waiter to reduce salt and sugar in his order because he is not willing to wait for 20 years to find out if he had been eating healthy or not.
Thedoric receiving his Best Table Topic Ribbon
TM Theodoric Chong agreed that wastage of food should be fined by law in the future when food is scarce. Offenders ought to be fined by money as well as food by depriving them of it for a year so that food will be cherished. Theodoric relates to a story told by Tatiana of her grandmother’s hardships during war when food was rationed and scarce.
Our last impromptu speaker, TM Amran Jamaludin was asked “Do you eat to live or live to eat?” His reply to that is to be human who live to eat rather than eat as much as possible to live only to be slaughter like livestock.
Aziman receiving his Ice Breaker Ribbon
Upon receiving the floor back from the General Evaluator, Hazwan advocates us to not rush progress “because each step reveals a new horizon.”
Reuben and Allen delivering their closing remark
The Vice President of Education and Vice President of Membership, Allen Ang, ACB, ALB & Reuben Chin, ACS, ALB shared the floor for the closing remarks. As VPM for 52 weeks, Reuben is proud to have brought in 16 members during his term. He accredited the success to not only the Executive Committee but also to the members for contributing to high meeting standards.
Guest comments
Allen announced that the Brunei Speaker’s Club has achieved President’s Distinguished Club by scoring 9 out of 10 Distinguished Club Program points and 5 out of 6 education points. In order to attain perfect 10s and 6s, the club needs 2 more members to complete Competent Communicator project no.10. He closed the meeting with saying that if leaders were to inspire members to speak and evaluate, he/she must do the same.
Written by;
TM Gerald Goh
Photography by;
TM Rahul Breh/TM Gerald Goh