January 2016 – Hazwan Kamarulzaman

Hazwan was the President of Brunei Speakers’ Club for the term 2014/2015 and started his journey as a BSC EXCO member from the term 2013/2014 as Sergeant-at-Arms . Graduated with a degree in Economics, Hazwan is currently working as a civil servant at the Department of Economic Planning and Development. As a character who loves challenges, he has started doing Parkour.

How did you first hear about Toastmasters?

My friend mentioned a club where, “people practice speaking on Tuesday evenings” one day. I got curious and that’s how I discovered Toastmasters.

Why did you join Toastmasters?

I visited Toastmasters and heard speech evaluators gave specific methods for speakers to improve how they say their words. I knew those skills would be useful so I joined Toastmasters to learn them.

How long have you been in Toastmasters and how have Toastmasters helped you so far in your professional life?

I’ve been a member since April 2013. I feel comfortable doing presentations, I feel comfortable leading group discussions, and I feel comfortable speaking with colleagues and associates regardless of who is around or involved. No matter the position people hold professionally, people are people and Toastmasters taught me how to communicate with them better.

What was your greatest challenge as BSC’s President for the term 2014/2015 and how did you overcome it?

Inspiring and motivating the members to pursue their Toastmasters goals was the greatest challenge. It’s easy to simply say what members should be doing in our club meetings but motivating members to want to take those actions for themselves required a lot of mutual understanding, and mutual respect. I learned that to inspire and motivate others, a leader must put in the time and effort in getting to know the individual members personally and understanding their individual motivations. Only with this mutual understanding and mutual respect can a leader inspire and motivate others.

Currently, you hold the record for doing the most number of speech evaluation in BSC. Tell us why you enjoyed taking up this role.

Lol, surely this only applies as a record for a specific time period. There are other members who do countless speech evaluations and you can’t help but associate their faces with speech evaluations. I’m looking at you, Allen Ang. Personally, it feels strongly rewarding to do speech evaluations. It is challenging and the stakes are high when one does a speech evaluation. Though it’s only natural since the rewards of doing speech evaluations are so much. High pressure, high rewards. I thrive on the challenge.

Previously, you were famous for visiting all Toastmasters club in Brunei three times a week. This can be quite daunting and tiring. What is your source of motivation to keep going?

FAMOUS?! Haha, I love that! I enjoy attending Toastmasters meetings. Just attending a meeting and seeing others learn and grow is inspiring. I’ve learned so much from all Toastmasters clubs in Brunei. They’ve given so much to me, I feel it’s only fair to give back as much as I can.

Recently, you have taken up an extreme sport – Parkour. What inspire you to do it?

Parkour is not necessarily an extreme sport. Since I’ve started doing parkour, I feel stronger and more energetic. I’ve learned to jump farther and higher, I’ve learned to climb and push myself over walls. I can continue to push the boundaries of my capabilities and that keeps motivating me to do parkour. Plus, jumping and monkeying around is heaps fun!

What are your goals in Toastmasters for this term (2015-2016)?

I am prioritizing doing storytelling speeches. Taking audiences on emotional rollercoasters through my spoken word is excruciatingly difficult for me. I want to be able to do it and I will keep practicing until I can.