Anchorvale CC Toastmasters 92nd Chapter meeting on 13th August 2016

Celebration Joseph Schooling’s Olympic gold has come True

Today, on 13th August, Joseph Schooling made history in realizing his dream of Olympic gold, he also realized the dream of many others. Some people say it's the biggest birthday present for Singapore's 51st birthday. Not only did it bring about our happiest moment but it also reminded us of how a dream can become true.

We all have a dream, but how do we make a dream come true? Today Joseph Schooling has showed us how to do it:

1 First of all, dream big with a very specific target result.
When we have a dream, it will not likely to become true if we just leave it or forget about it. We need to make our dream very specific. When it became a specific target with details of what you need to do and plans on how to achieve it, our dreams will come closer to us.

2 Secondly, separate your dream into smaller goals you could achieve one by one.
What are the resources, skills that I need in order to achieve my dream? Who should I ask for advice? Where should I get started? What should I start first?
Dreams can be very big, but if we break it into smaller pieces and achieve it one by one. It will become easier. By doing so we can plan the right things to achieve and get closer to our dream.

3 Do enough research on how to do it, find teachers, mentors. Work out the correct way.
Acquiring the right knowledge is very important, it will help you understand what to do and how to do it. We can find it from books, internet or even ask a mentor.
4 Last but most importantly: Determination and Persistence.
We all know Joseph Schooling’s dream was when he was a kid, and it took him many years to achieve it. What we’ve learned from him is never give up, and be patient with ourselves. By pushing through hard times, we will surely see small success one by one.
Celebration at Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club 

At Anchorvale Toastmasters, we gathered together to celebrate and share our thoughts. Alice from Wonderland has prepared us non-alcoholic wine and Pizza. We do believe food brings happiness. :)

Speeches at Anchorvale Toastmasters are always interesting, as people spend a lot of time to prepare and wish to provide the best for everyone. We had people talking about their dreams, how to handle their experiences on projects, interesting topic of selling health products. Things that we can learn or relate to in our own lives.

Evaluation of the projects gave a lot of suggestions on improvements for public speaking. We heard about how to project our voice, how to make use of the stage fully, how to engage the audience, and most importantly how to control pauses. Using pauses for emphasis, conveying humour, or conclusion. Sometimes, pausing also shows the confidence of the speaker and makes the audience feel more relaxed and confident. 

Our Table Topics Master was our Humorous Speech Contest Winner, Riz Masurekar. He prepared topics based on a very interesting theme: Job interviews.

Such topics are truly relevant to everyone’s life. We all go through interviews no matter if we are looking for job or looking for potential investor/customers. Everyone in the room was engaged because there were plenty of questions which gave almost everyone a chance to try it out.

It was a wonderful afternoon well spent with our members of Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club. Please join us for our next meeting, a special Hackathon Chapter Meeting whereby we will be discussing issues and concerns the club faces in a brainstorming session that involves everyone. It promises to be an exciting, enlightening and enriching session, so please do join us on the 27th of August at Anchorvale CC, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Falcon from 2pm to 5pm for another awesome afternoon with Anchorvale.

Written By:
Angela Cai, TM

Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Humorous and Evaluation Contest 2016!

: A Collection of Anecdotes :

"The wind was cold, the tribes people covered in thick cloth, shivering and awaiting what would come next. Some call this the day of judgment; some live for this moment, but for most of us mortals, this was a day to fear. Welcome....to Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Humorous and Evaluation Speech Contest 2016l Of course, with that tongue in cheek introduction, the atmosphere in the air was more electric than cold, with members dressed in their best cloth. With another bumper set of 7 contestants vying for the iron throne, the audience was in for another roller-coaster ride"

-       -    By Zulhafni Zulkeflee, ACB

"As members of the organizing committee blazed about getting the venue ready, the audience was slowly streaming in, all eagerly awaiting an exciting extravaganza. Meanwhile the contestants could be seen in a dizzying array of pre-contest moods. Some were intently rehearsing by the stairs or the alley way, some were freely mingling and laughing with other toastmasters and some just sat in deep thought, but all equally and anxiously awaiting their turn to shine in the spotlight.

It was a fabulous way to start a Saturday. Because nothing is better than an Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Humorous and Evaluation Speech Contest.

With the room brimming with bright energy, our contest chair, the charming Sindu began rounding up the contestants to conduct her briefing to draw the ballots. Here we go, the show begins! Sit back and enjoy the ride. It promised to be a tempting and tantalizing treat." 

-      -   By Salma Begum, ACB, CL

"Looking like Aishwarya Rai. A dream of millions of ladies including our dear Salma. Enough for her to spend over RM$3000 on facials, only for her to realise her skin pores are like the aftermath of volcanic eruptions. Eeeewww! Don’t take what the service industry says too literally please!

Filled with naivety, Hareesh and friends wanted to eliminate drinking problems in their hometown. When confronted with a huge, wife-berating drunkard, dear Hareesh was so frightened he could only remember to ask for directions. “Change the world!” but “at your own risk” of course!

Dozing off in a laboratory gave Senthil a dream, of him being a sleeping beauty. No kisses from anyone to wake him up though.

Being called “pig loves you” in Chinese is about as non Halal as Zulhafni can be. Talking about food, there’s another name for alfresco dining these days. Hawker center, with their Michelin Star stalls.

Honesty is the best policy. Our Riz took it to an unprecedented level. When asked who killed Benjamin Franklin, he replied honestly “not me”.

The live performances Alvin gets to enjoy follow from his little one’s “entourage”. And it starts in the shower room. Father and son relationship blossomed into full time celebrity management."

-            -      By Chee Sian, CC, CL

And then comes our mysterious speaker Wei Bin from Bishan TMC, with his hilarious speech titled “How much should you spend on first date?”. His speech provided everyone with insights on various options to spend from $1000 to $0, also on where to spend - locations like McDonalds, Changi Airport and even your grandmother’s funeral. Yes, you read it right… your grandmother’s funeral is also in his list for best location!

Behold our warriors <Hareesh, Zul, Riz, Salma, Benjamin, Alvin, Norman>, who took charge of the battle field to evaluate Wei Bin’s speech, each warrior presenting their brilliant skills and provided their inputs on body language, vocal variety and use of the stage floor, it was great to hear so many evaluations and everyone was floored

- By Sridhar Maroju, CC

As the Chief Judge entered the room, a deathly silence descended across the room. All chattering and small talk ceased. He held out a piece of paper and Sindu took it, her hand trembling slightly. The long wait was finally over.

..

Sindu glanced down, her eyes widening as she saw the results. Triumphant, she looked up and roared, "OUR HUMOROUS SPEECH CHAMPION IS RIZ MASUREKAR!!"

The room burst into euphoria and celebration as our newly crowned Champion stepped forward to receive his trophy. The excitement was feverish but it died down quickly. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the next annoucement - the Champion of the Evaluation Contest.

Sindu, her smile beaming, her eyes glinting, announced to the crowd "AND NOW, OUR EVALUATION CHAMPION IS ZULHAFNI ZULKEFLEE"

The atmosphere in the room exploded as everyone cheered Zul on to receive his prize. The cheers and chants were deafening, as we ushered in our two Champions. Featuring brilliant performances from the other Contestants, what a Contest it has been today! 

-       - By Norman Tan, CC

And alas, a closing message from our beloved Club Mentor, Jenny Au

The Humorous Speech & Evaluation Contests held last Saturday, 23 July 2016 was engaging, exciting and entertaining.  It was very encouraging to see so many toastmasters and guests (approximately 50) supporting our club’s Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests.  The Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contestants exhibited their speaking skills very well drawing the audience roaring with laughter and energizing the whole atmosphere in the room.  Feedback from the judges was that they had a hard time deciding the winners for both contests because their performances were of very high standards.

It was the first time that we had the honour to have Mr Raymond Chua, Seng Kang West CCC Chairman presented the prizes to our top three winners for both contests.  Kudos to Sindu, the Contest Chair for being an excellent host of the event and Muthu, the Organising Chair and his team in planning, organising and executing the event successfully including the yummy home-cooked food!

Congratulations to all the contestants for participating in the challenging contests.

Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club is always raising the bar for more challenges and successes….

Jenny Au, DTM

Once again, a big shoutout to everyone who has helped made our Contest such a success, especially to our friends, guests and fellow appointment holders! Thank you!