Hey there folks!
It was a scorching hot afternoon as I
made my way down to Anchorvale TMC’s 51st Chapter Meeting. It was
held at Sengkang West Zone 'D' RC Centre instead of the usual venue
at Anchorvale CC, which was undergoing renovations. Being unfamiliar with the
new venue, I made a few wrong turns before finally arriving at the RC Centre.
My fellow club members were milling around outside, sweating in the sultry
heat, as we eagerly awaited our turn to use the room.
Club President Roger, CC CL opened
with an intriguing story of a boy who chose to feed imaginary fishes in a hotel’s
swimming pool instead of feeding real koi in a pond outside the hotel. This was
because his parents forbade him to venture too far, and so he decided to
pretend there were fishes in the pool that he could feed. The next story was
about a man who lost his phone in a dark field, but decided to search for it in
the well-lit street next to the field. Roger then posed a stimulating question,
“in our quest to improve ourselves, are
we focusing on the right areas?”
With that in mind, it was time for the
prepared speeches. As always, a wide range of topics were covered, showing the
diversity of members’ backgrounds and interests. Ken spoke
about the recent mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and the
different ways we could contribute to disaster relief efforts. I spoke about
the fear of public speaking and how it might be due to the imposter effect. Rizal discussed
the idea of success and what it might mean. DD Daruvala DTM presented
lessons we can learn from the fall of the
once-mighty hand phone maker, Blackberry. Hareesh bravely described the differences between
men and women.
After the
refreshment break, our evaluators gave many insightful comments and useful tips
on how to improve in public speaking and livening up a speech. We moved on to
table topics, helmed by Saleena. To our surprise and excitement, instead
of the usual “pick a topic and deliver a
short speech” style of table topics, we had a “story-telling session”. Saleena started off with a scenario
and each speaker was to continue the story. The last speaker was to end with, “and I was glad to finally be home.”
Despite the sometimes confusing twists
and turns that the storyline took, most of the participants spiritedly volunteered
and spoke enthusiastically. It was heart-warming to see everyone enjoying
themselves, especially our youngest guest Likitesh, who made
everyone roar with laughter when he endearingly declared himself "the CEO of Panasonic" during his
turn. Well done for a refreshing form of Table Topics
Saleena! We certainly look forward to seeing more creativity from our members.
Perhaps it is not surprising that
Anchorvale did take home the Star Award for recruiting more than 20 new members
in the 3rd quarter of the fiscal year, as announced by Roger in his closing
address. As a first-time visitor commented, the club has a warm and welcoming
vibe and it was easy for her to feel at ease. I have the same sentiments as a “three-month-old” member myself, which is
why I signed up in the first place.
Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club is indeed
focusing on the key aspect of what a toastmasters club should have; providing
a supportive environment for its members to learn and grow together.
But don’t simply take my word for it, come on down for our next chapter meeting
on the 10th of May 2014 and experience the hospitality yourself.
Thank you to all appointment holders and visitors!
Congratulations to Award Winners!
Best Prepared Speech: Hareesh, TM
Best Project Evaluator: Jenny Au DTM
Best Table Topics Speaker: Likhitesh
Article contributed by: Rachel Heng, TM
Suresh the proud daddy watching his son claim yet another Best Table Topics Speaker Ribbon
Hareesh, as usual impressing us like a pro
DTM Jenny, our beloved Club Mentor never fails to impart priceless words of wisdom
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