We have reached into the third month of the 2017/2018 term and Toastmasters [of the Evening] (TME) are now familiar with handling PowerPoint slides for the meeting’s agenda. TME Supatra Lee shared her excitement in experiencing her first attempt using paperless agenda. It appears the decision made by President Pooja Shivanand, CC, ALB, for paperless agenda is reaping benefits for members and guests, and of course, there is less wastage of paper and printed materials.
Tonight’s meeting at Brunei Speakers’ Club was full of “plaudit” ('Word of the Day'). Our new guests, Andrew and Faridah, settled quickly and enjoyed the meeting.
TM Ida (far left) and TM Hui Ting (far right) brought guests
Rano Iskandar, ACB, ALB, volunteered to open the meeting as Acting Sergeants at Arms (SAA). He sparked the meeting with high enthusiasm and kept the introduction short and crisp. Supatra continued where Rano left off and the energy just flowed seamlessly as she introduced her role players and speakers.
Supatra shared a relatable lesson in her ‘Thought of the Day’.
“Time waits for no one. Don’t take too long to react when opportunities comes.”
She was approached for a role but she delayed her decision making. By the time she decided to take the offer, the role was already taken. Hence, her advice was not to drag the decision making process when opportunities arise.
Supatra as TME
The meeting was full of zest, and was also filled with different type of speech projects from icebreakers to a researched topic.
First up was TM Masridah Hj Mahmud (favorably known as Ida) who courageously shared about failures and successes. Through insecurities and perseverance, she had a rollercoaster journey. One interesting point came to mind and it was when she revealed she received her first pay check at the young age of 16. However, education was still the main driver in her youth and her turning point came when she was a granted a scholarship from the Brunei Government to complete her Bachelor degree. Hungry for more, she sought for a scholarship to pursue her Master. Along the years, she has learnt that every failure is a step closer to success. It was no surprise that she was voted the Best Speaker of the night and it was also her first ever prepared speech in Toastmasters.
Ida (left) wins Best Speaker
Aziman Nasir, ACB, ALB, revealed one personal fact on his new journey as he broke the ice for Pathways in his speech entitled, "Life is an RPG":
He is...
....the second son of Nasir.
The acronym stands for role-playing game and Aziman showed the similarities between how life and RPG are connected. In our life, we develop skills to better ourselves. The same applies to a gamer’s character in RPG. We could tell that Aziman is fond of the popular game series ‘Final Fantasy’ and he cleverly associated the act of ‘leveling up’ a character’s attributes over time whenever our characters execute activities. We concur with Aziman’s statement that it is not about being the best of the best, but being better today than yesterday.
Mei Ann and Aziman on CC7 and Level 1 Pathway, respectively
Who would have thought a speech topic on blood could be interesting enough for the audience!? TM Lim Mei Ann excelled in her delivery of historical knowledge of blood and captivated the audience with her storytelling style to bring us down memory lane, back to the Romanov Dynasty, a dynastic rule lasting about 300 years ago. There are blood disorders when any cut or nose bleed, and even a bruise, can be fatal. In the Romanov Dynasty, this fatality was exemplified by crown prince Alexei Nikolaevich, who had to be very cautious with his every step to avoid cuts and bruises. Thanks to technology and invention nowadays, such blood disorders can be treated but unfortunately, Alexei’s luck ran out back then with no proper treatments about a century ago. A 'bloody brilliant' researched story by TM Mei Ann on blood!
Pooja Shivanand, CC, ALB, conducted the Table Topics session and here are the things we learnt about the random speakers. In a twist of perception, Reuben was the one who had “dirty feet” (and it was not the floor that was dirty). Peng values credibility and results in a workplace more than charisma and talking big. Sophiana shared her interest in music and playing a cello was one of her bucket list items. Our guest Andrew spoke about how failure is an ingredient to success. Nabil was lost for words and ended up sharing about how he needed to have the courage to speak up when he felt foolish paper-colouring a cat. Rahul bagged the 'Best Table Topics' ribbon as he entertained us with the use of body language and vocal variety on his lack of preparation for the upcoming humorous speech contest in a week.
Rahul wins Best Table Topics
It was a fitting end to the night’s meeting when the President gave her closing remarks. Pooja shared inspirational thoughts to the members who will be partaking in the Humorous Speech and Speech Evaluation Contests in the following week. Despite the high number of participants and increased competition, when contesting, it boils down to preparation and giving the best one can in the contest. It’s not so much about numbers, or about winning or losing. It’s about the willingness to prepare oneself better and to develop.
Few notes of interest:
- Ong Yin, CL, bagged the Best Evaluator ribbon for evaluating Mei Ann’s CC7 project, and it was her first time evaluating CC7.
- It was also TM Hajah Haryati Haji Abdul Gafur’s first time to do a speech evaluation as part of preparation for the Speech Evaluation Contest.
- TM Wong Hui Ting took up her first Ah Counter & 'Who Said What?’ role with an encouraging report.
- There were 17 BSC members who attended. Let’s continue this spirit of showing up.
Writer: Rano Iskandar, ACB, ALB
Photographer: Rano Iskandar, ACB, ALB
Proofreader: TM Lim Mei Ann