On a fresh cold night during the first BSC TM meeting of the month of March 2019, a new seed was sown that will be the flowers of tomorrow. BSC greeted a new addition to the BSC family, TM Syahnur Nizam.
With new friends mixing with old friends returning in the form of Rano, Hui Ting, Ida, Syatrah and Sharon, it was a cheerful night to behold.
Guests
At 7.39pm our SAA TM David Lim called upon our 2-lovely guest for the night.
- Our 5-time returning philosophical guest with a key for storytelling & golden heart Ravi.
- Our 2nd time returning guest with a point to prove the determined womenpreneur Era.
Toastmaster of the Evening takes control of meeting
After SAA David’s passionate club and guest intro he then called upon the club, giving our beautiful & witty TME Awfa Nawawi a rousing applause. Shining bright as ever TME Awfa Nawawi shared with us her thought of the day which is to “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can”- Arthur Ashe.
Roleplayers
To spread the positive learning experience TME Awfa Nawawi had her trusted team of Evaluators & Roleplayers.
In her ranks she had the luminous personality of TTM Lai Ling Ling, CC joined by the effervescent bubbly personality of TTE Syatrah Roslan, SR3, there was no doubt it was going to be a bright & sparkling night.
The GRM of the night was TM Kelvin Lai. Joining him was President of BSC and new dad AHC Aziman Nasir, ACB, ALB. Our TMR of the night was our passionate teacher with an ever-present smile on her face Rahmat Tarsat, CC.
The GE of the night was Spicy McChicken lover Hilman Omar, ACB.
Word of the Day
Our GMR Kelvin Lai’s word of the day was:
Retrospect
Looking back on or dealing with past events or situations.
E.g. In retrospect, I could have practiced my speech two more times.
Retrospective
A habit or character, that likes looking back at the past.
E.g. That retrospective person is often lost in thoughts.
Tip of the Day
TMR Rahmat Tarsat’s timer tip of the day was to show you are listening but not just with our ears but with our body language to show support.
Prepared speech session
We had one prepared speech for the night which started at 7.54 pm by Reubin Chin, ACG, ALB. The speech was Reuben’s L2P1 of his Dynamic Leadership pathways. Evaluating him was Gerald Goh, ACG, ALB. Reuben’s speech was titled “Push Gently”
In his speech Reuben highlighted the hardest balancing act for leaders which was harsh vs lenient.
He pulled the audience’s attention off the bat by having the audience participate by raising their hands and asking questions (How many of you think…), followed by statements from the audience’s perspective (I know what you’re thinking…)
Reuben’s 1st Question was
- How many of you think you have to be harsh?
After asking the question, Reuben answered it by saying, “I know what you are thinking, “If I’m not harsh things don’t get done!””.
Reubens’ 2nd Question was
- How many of you think you have to be lenient?
After asking it Reuben answered it by saying “I know what you are thinking, “Why so harsh?!””.
Reuben recalled how back in 2017, when he was the moderator of a leadership forum, the people were unhappy. With conflict being rift in the forums, as the moderator he began to worry about how he was going to sustain the forum. Who was right, the “hard caps” or the “soft caps”?
He began to panic until he met a monk named Suprano who was like Allen Ang, the buddha of Brunei. The monk advised him to push but gently.
Reuben then shared with us the 3 different people who helped to shape his life.
- Mr Todo his first enterprise boss was a soft leader. He shared with Reuben the importance of “ikigai” (a reason for being), but at that time he was doing something very important. Chasing girls. After the failed enterprise, Mr Todo still encouraged him and even brought him a box of delectable oranges during CNY and told him to try again. He taught Reuben the importance of clarity of purpose.
- Olivia who pushed Reuben to become the number 1 salesman of SEA was a hard leader. She taught Reuben to have clarity until he reached his goals
- Shawn Narcis, who would ask for favors in the gentlest and subtle ways was a mix of both soft and hard. He taught Reuben to be both hard and soft, push but gently.
Reuben said that leadership is like flying a kite, if the string is too tight the kite breaks away & we lose the kite, if the string is too loose it won’t fly. Therefore, in order to be an effective leader, one has to be a mix of both and push gently.
Table topics session
- TM Heidi Sia Rahman picked the Rose.
“Either complain that roses have thorns or rejoice that thorns have roses”.
In her speech Heidi shared with us her experiences with her harsh boss who always demanded weekly reports which was very annoying. Her harsh boss was someone who would push someone to the edge in front of everyone, sometimes to the point of tears. After her harsh boss left, Heidi reflected that in retrospect that although her boss was harsh, what she did had value and she is now better able to manage her team now thanks to her.
- TM Hui Ting who picked the Daisy which is a common medical weed.
“One person’s weed is another’s wallflower”.
In her speech Hui Ting shared with us how for the past two weeks she become a crazy plant lady. She bought 7 plants. Among them was a Peace Lily which was the hardest to bloom. After trying in vain to make it bloom, she decided to give it to her accountant, Madam Chua. After one week of taking care of it, Madam Chua managed to make the Peace Lily bloom. Hui Ting noted how one person’s rubbish is another man’s treasure, depending on how you see it
- TM Salih Jamaluddin picked the Lily.
“Flowers last for a moment a memory last for a lifetime”.
Salih shared his experience in Japan, during a late-night train ride where he met a friendly and wise old man. They conversed about Brunei and his goals in life which was to be happy and successful. The old man shared with Salih a quote that he took to heart and still lives by. “Sometimes the best way to be happy is to make others happy”. Salih has since overcome his depression and thanks to that he is now happier. Happiness is contagious and he feels himself laughing more.
- TM Syahnur Nizam’s topic was “Every flower must go through dirt to blossom”.
Syahnur highlighted the importance of hard work in order to achieve one’s dream. For example during his form 6, his exams started in Oct/Nov and he started his preparations in January. He was even active in ECAs where he joined the student counseling club. Eventually his heart sweat tears, bore fruits and he managed to achieve 2 distinctions.
- Guest Era picked the Sunflower.
“In the darkest of days she will stand tall”.
Era shared with us her anguish upon being laid off last year from a job she was very passionate about. She didn’t know what to do and she lost her self confidence in everything, but thanks to family support she began to see things differently and now in her darkest of hours she will stand tall and create her new future by joining courses and starting her own business.
- Guest Ravi’s topic was “Flowers that bloom in adversity are the most beautiful of all”.
Ravi agrees with the quote and notes that achievements should be measured in acumen and not background.
- TM Rano Iskandar picked the carnation which is a common Mother’s day flower.
“All flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today”.
Rano shared how years ago when he came as a guest thrice feeling already accomplished. He thought he could talk and converse with people. However, he then found out he was not a good listener and he didn’t know how to structure a speech. So, he decided to join the club, to learn and relearn through repetition and thanks to that fateful decision he made back in 2014 he is now the flower that he is today.
We had a total of 7 amazing table topic speakers for the night, though there can only be one winner, as we casted our votes, TTM Lai Ling Ling closed off things off in style with an inspiring quote which is to “Don’t wait for someone to give you flowers, plant your own garden!”
Break time
We then had a brief break at 8.30pm where we enjoyed cute tiny pastries, grapes & refreshing watermelon.
Evaluation session
The meeting continued with the evaluation session at 8.40pm led by GE Hilman Omar.
For the Reuben’s speech his evaluator Gerald Goh, ACB, ALB, notes that his delivery, eye contact & body language was good, but he could do better if he had added how he felt when he was being bossed around by the 3 different personalities.
For the table topic evaluation led by TTE Syatrah Roslan, she notes that:
- Heidi did well interpreting and explaining the topic. It was relatable. a point of improvement was perhaps to summarize the content better.
- Hui Ting did well to explain her speech in chronological order. The content was good and she stuck to the point.
- Salih did well using descriptive language. Some points of improvement are to try to focus on one point and summarize it better.
- Syahnur did well with his intro, content and conclusion. A point of improvement is to explain why he wanted to work hard for his A levels.
- Era got to the point & had a very positive impact.
- Ravi did well on stage. Some points of improvement were to get to the point, make everything cohesive and relate them better in the conclusion.
- Rano did well in his opening and got to the point. A point of improvement is his story could be fleshed out more.
The Best table topic Ribbon was won by TM Hui Ting.
Despite her long absence Hui Ting shared with us the importance of practicing and even though she won on the night, there is still room for improvement and she learned she could still get to the point quicker.
GRM Kelvin Lai noted that the word of the day was used 3 times by Gerald, Reuben and Ling Ling. Kelvin advised when using triads focus on increasing the energy like a rocket ship. He also noted that the use of imagery, contrast and metaphors was done very well for the night.
AHC Aziman Nasir advised to slow down, make sentences short, keep practicing and breathe to reduce crutch words. The winners of the no crutch words award were Ravi, Rahmat and Reuben.
The best evaluator Ribbon was won by AHC Aziman Nasir.
AOBs
- There will be 2 speeches at UBD TM next week by TM Dalton and TM Pranika Lama. The venue will be at Progressif level 2.
- PTE Tutong needs judges for their oratory contest on the 11th April 2019. Those interested please contact Rahmat.
Next week’s TME will be Aziman Nasir. Do contact him to keep up the momentum, keep coming, do more speeches and keep improving.
See you all next week. Cheers!
Written by TM David Lim