TM Amran, our Toastmaster of the Evening
Our Toastmaster of the Evening, TM Amran Jamaluddin began the meeting with his simple but purposeful smile. His tip of the day was – Don’t be scared of challenges. He welcomed role players. Firstly was TM Aziman Nasir who shared the theme for the evening’s table topics as the Table Topics Master; “Props and random objects placed in a box”, where speakers will choose a random object without looking at them to speak on.
Our grammarian of the evening, TM Pooja
TM Pooja Shivanand was the Grammarian for the evening. She said that she’d look at ‘Articles’. She gave examples of indefinite articles – ‘a’ & ‘an’. And definite article – ‘the’. Word of the day was – Exultant. With a mid 17th century Latin origin, the word means triumphantly happy or jubilant. Timer and Tip role was played by Reuben Chin, ACS, ALB advised us to “Always make time for audience reaction in your speech.”
TM Peng sharing the persons who inspired her
In the prepared speech segment of the meeting, TM Tieng Chwei Peng delivered her CC2 speech entitled “Who inspires you?”. She is not just inspired by famous people but also the everyday people she meets. She took 3 specific examples from her life where a Friend, Acquaintance and a Stranger gave her important life lessons. Her friend – Jenny, whom she met in boarding school inspired her to be consistently humble and kind. Her acquaintance – Leena was well rounded and inspired Peng that – it is possible to be good at multiple things. Her 3rd inspiration came from a Stranger – a homeless man who taught her that circumstances should not stop you from learning and achieving in life. Peng’s speech showed that inspiration can come from most ordinary of the people. All we have to do is look around us. A truly awe inspiring speech. Well done Peng.
Ling Ling, CL, showing how she played the piano
Our second prepared speaker, Lai Ling Ling, CC, who attempted the Touching Story project from the Storytelling advanced speech manual entitled “Piano”. She spoke of the 11 years she spent learning how to play the piano. An articulate & engaging speech, she used her spellbinding capability and play of words to mesmerize with sonic devices, voice texture and appeal to heart. Her dramatization of the “Fur Elise” piece in the beginning and towards the end of the speech were fantastic. A sincerely entertaining and touching story. Thank you Ling Ling for sharing.
Table Topic Speakers for the evening
Table Topics Master Aziman took the stage and led the table topics session. For his first impromptu speaker, he invited TM Julius Hong to speak on being “stranded in an isolated island with just Fererro Rocher Chocolate”. With an intelligent approach, Julius said he’ll use the first piece of chocolate to hunt for food, the second for building shelter, and the remaining piece as a rationing buffer.
The second impromptu speaker, was a visiting toastmaster Krids from Hong Kong. He was tasked to “exchange a Photoframe with an Outstanding Member pin” from TM Amran. Initially,Krids tried to negotiate Amran for the badge, but failed. Changing the plot of the speech, he promised to earn the – Outstanding Member pin himself with hard work and dedication.
Next in line was TM Adah Rani. Her “ideal birthday present was a 8 in 1 Screwdriver”. Sharing that she enjoyed building things as a child, it revived her dream of building her own dollhouse by hand.
Our guest Malek, the winner of best table topic
We had a guest Malik who spoke graciously on how he would “propose to his girlfriend using just a pack of breath mints”. Convincing the audience that breath mints inspires confidence from those who take them, his concluding line – “Darling I can not offer you an expensive diamond ring. But I can offer you one thing that’ll keep you happy in life – Confidence” won over hearts and placed him as the Best Table Topics Speaker for the evening. Congratulations to Malik.
Next, TM Sofiana spoke on why “a can of hair spray is a necessity when jungle camping” followed by the last of the speakers Chris Woo, CC who had to convince the audience why “a pair of Superman Socks is worth $1,000”. Both these attempts were very hilarious and articulate.
Closing the meeting on a positive note, President Chris urged the members to visit and support the other toastmasters clubs in Brunei. Look forward to next week’s meeting and wishing everybody a Selamat Hari Raya.
Written by;
TM Rahul Breh
Photography by;
TM Gerald Goh