Twenty ALAF (A BIBD Initiative) recently participated in a Public Speaking Workshop with the help from the Brunei Toastmasters held at TED Talk area, Level 2, PGGMB Building in Bandar Seri Begawan.

The one-and-a-half-day workshop on 16th & 17th September 2020, was conducted to help the students to develop self-confidence, improve communication, content structuring as well as public speaking skills in preparation for their upcoming English oral and written exams.

Participating ALAF students were given an immersive educational experience where they learned how to communicate with different people, appreciating the importance of public speaking, learning to properly structure their speeches, how to speak with a clear purpose, as well as working alongside their facilitators in crafting their own speeches and presenting in front of the workshop attendees.

There were 7 Brunei Toastmasters members who conducted the Public Speaking workshop. Brunei Toastmasters is a collection of 4 different Toastmasters club in Brunei with the sole aim of helping members of the public to improve their communication and leadership skills. The 4 clubs are Brunei Speakers’ Club, UBD Toastmasters Club, OTTERS Toastmasters Club and Brunei Advanced Speakers Club. And the facilitating Toastmasters members who participated in conducting this workshop were:

1. Lai Ling Ling, Sharon Lim, Ted Jee (from Brunei Speakers’ Club)
2. Yani Hepnie, Nina Kifrawi (from Brunei Advanced Speakers Club)
3. Shahudha Abdulla, Afiq Ahmadsafri (from UBD Toastmasters Club)

One of the students Shamimi when asked said: “The event was very fun. I learned how to speak better English and also think faster as previously I will take a day to think about a topic but now I only need awhile before I can speak more confidently.”

Area Director of the Brunei Toastmasters, Lai Ling Ling when asked for her comment said: “It’s always great to help BIBD Alaf with communication and leadership. Every cohort is always very enthusiastic about learning and it’s such a joy to come in and be able to share what we know about communication and leadership.”

The workshop ended with an appreciation prize giving ceremony where Puan Hajah Nurul Akmar bin Haji Mohd Jaafar, Chief Marketing Officer of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam on behalf of BIBD ALAF presented gifts of appreciation to the facilitators.