Sergeant at Arms, TM Macalister Mak started the meeting on time at 7:30PM. His voice brings in a fresh gush of energy to this otherwise seemingly quiet day for this very vocal club. This is because we have fewer members in attendance as most of them are travelling to Bali for the Semi-Annual District Conference.
Toastmaster of the Evening, TM Sharon Ong
TM Sharon Ong brings the smile and energy as the Toastmaster of the Evening. “Learn to accept that you make mistakes. Do not be daunted by them. After all mistakes are our best teachers.” This was told by club president Chris Woo, CC as a piece of advice to Sharon sometime back.
Table Topics Master, TM Julius Hong
Grammarian, TM Pooja Shivanand
Table Topics Master TM Julius Hong, introduces the theme for the evening’s session as ‘Defining Moments’ while Grammarian TM Pooja Shivanand introduced the Word of the Day as “Off Hand”.
Ah Counter & Who Said What, TM Rahul Breh
Timer & Tip, TM Macalister Mak
TM Rahul Breh played the role of the “Ah Counter and Who Said What”. Our “Timer and Tip” was TM Macalister Mak and his tip of the day was that time is very important and for everyone to respect everyone’s as well as their own time.
TM Faiz Zailani describing his incompatibility with the UK weather
TM Faiz Zailani was the first speaker, comparing his stay in the UK and growing up in Brunei. Explaining the dreary, cold and damp weather he found there as well as living standards to be more expensive than Brunei. He ended his speech with concluding that his own country, Brunei is not so bad after all and is a wonderful place to live in the company of his family and friends.
Jordan Yau, CL on ways to avoid impulse purchases when shopping
Jordan Yau, CL attempted his CC7 speech. The theme of his speech was on why we end up impulse shopping. From the confusing layout of a shopping complex to the bombarding of loud noises and bright colours, the shopping experience is designed to stun our senses. Jordan points out that all these are in the name of making you buy more. He mentions that we should not go shopping hungry, thirsty or tired, wait 20 minutes after arriving at a mall before we purchase anything, and to always use cash.
Best Table Topics Speaker, TM Rahul Breh
After the break we had our Table Topics Session where Table Topics Master Julius chose to have the speakers recount different defining moments in from pasts. The audience cheered and clapped for all the participants enthusiastically as each speaker attempted their topic. Rafi & Jack professed their love for their cars. Jason, Mervin, Ayman, Afiq were among some of our guests who spoke eloquently on the topics given to them but it was Rahul who won the Best Table Topics Speaker ribbon by sharing the story of his darkest moment.
Best Evaluator, Stuart Lee, ACB, CL
In the absence of the Club President, VP Education Jordan closed the meeting by expressing his thanks to fellow Toastmasters from other clubs in Brunei for their show of support by taking on meeting roles. The upbeat energy and success of the meeting would not have been possible without their help.
Written By;
TM Rahul Breh
Photography By;
TM Macalister Mak