Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club 150th Chapter Meeting - 23rd November 2019

It was my privilege and honor to be the Toastmaster of the day for the MASSIVE DAY for the Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club, i.e, the 150th Chapter meeting. The venue was the ever familiar and comfortable, Conference Room Falcon, on the third floor of Anchorvale Community Club. Some of the members were kind enough to come early and decorate the room with colorful balloons and wall decors to make the occasion memorable. A good number of members from the club were in attendance along with guests. Competent Communicator and Competent Leader, Thomas was the visiting Toastmasters from Kampong Kembangan Toastmasters Club. 

Pleasant and cordial, Freya Gwee, the Sergeant-At-Arms (SAA) for the day started the meeting with the ice breaker session. Since the theme of the meeting was the 150th Chapter meeting, she asked everyone in attendance to write a word that comes to their mind about the Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club on a slip of paper available on the table in front of them. She then asked everyone to introduce themselves and let others know the period for which they have been associated with the Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club. After the ice breaker session, it was my turn to take charge of the meeting as the Toastmaster for the day. I was doing the role for the first time for the Club and the occasion was momentous, so I was thrilled but decided to reign in my enthusiasm to conduct the meeting smoothly. I started by introducing myself and then spoke about the purpose of a Toastmasters Club and the structure of a Chapter meeting for the benefit of the guests. I spoke about the sessions to follow, i.e., Prepared Speeches, Evaluation of Prepared Speeches and Table Topics with a 30 minutes break after the Prepared Speeches for refreshments. Next, I introduced the appointment holders for the day. Club member, Strategic Leadership 2, Francis, was performing the role of Timer, Dynamic Leadership 2, Andy was performing the role of Ah Counter and visiting Toastmasters, Thomas, was performing the role of Language Evaluator. After that, it was time for our unassuming and affable Club President, Competent Communicator, Valliappan Selvamani, to give the Opening Address. The Club President spoke about how he has got over his shyness and introversion by joining the Club and narrated his experience with the Club over the last 8 years. He urged everyone to come forward and grab the opportunity, as a member of the Club, to improve their public speaking and communication skills. Next, it was turning for the Prepared Speeches session. We had five marvelous speakers, who presented the following speeches:

Name	Prepared Speeches	Title of the speech
Seela, TM	L1 P1 Icebreaker speech	3 things I have learned in the 3rd decades of my life.
Nagarajan, TM	L1 P2 Icebreaker speech	The importance of reading books
Jeff Lin, DL3	Dynamic Leadership L4 P11	Negotiate the best outcome
Joseph Lum, TC3	Team Collaboration L4  P10	Team collaboration
Claire Yeo, IP1	Innovative planning  L2 P5	L.O.V.E.

Seela

Nagarajan

Joseph Lum

Jeff Lin

Claire Yeo

It was an superb session and each speaker was very well prepared and did a terrific job. Timer Francis, then read out the Timers Report and everyone qualified for voting for the Best Prepared Speech speaker. This was followed by voting by the attendants in Menti.com. Guests and members having difficultly used voting slips to cast their votes. 

After the the second speech, Language Evaluator, who was running late, introduced the word of the day  “Invigorating“ and urged everyone to use the word in the subsequent sessions for the day.

After the Prepared Speeches session, it was time for a refreshment break. The Club Present cut a cake to commemorate the 150^th Chapter meeting of the Club. Members and guests mingled and networked during the break.

Club President Valliappan cutting the cake for 150th Chapter meeting 

The the second part of the meeting started with the Evaluation of the Prepared Speeches. The five evaluators who performed the role were as follows : 

Name of Speaker	Prepared Speeches	Name of Evaluator
Seela	L1 P1 Icebreaker speech	Valliappan Selvamani, CC
Nagarajan	L1 P2 Icebreaker speech	Rusman Hadijanto, DL4
Jeff Lin	Dynamic Leadership L4 P11	Muthu Ganesh, CC, CL
Joseph Lum	Team Collaboration L4  P10	Wee Chee Sian, ACB, ALB
Claire Yeo	Innovative planning  L2 P5	Jeff Lin, DL2

Chee Sian

Muthu Ganesh

The Prepared Speech speakers got a lot of valuable feedback and suggestions for improvement for incorporating in their subsequent projects. Timer Francis, read out the Timers Report and everyone qualified for voting as Best Evaluator. This was followed by voting by the members and guests.

Finally it was the turn of the session for which everyone was eagerly waiting,i.e., the Table Topic session. Toastmaster Mark Wong performed the role of the Table Topic Master for the day. In line with the theme of the meeting, the topics included the number 150, for e.g., the topic for Francis was “ What is that you can't part with even for $150k “, the topic for one of the guest was “ Can you survive with a monthly income of $150 in Singapore “? In between, there was a surprise section, where the Club President, randomly took out 3 slips from the slips that everyone had filled up with a word describing the club at the beginning of the meeting. The three speakers, as per the randomly selected slips, were then told to give an impromptu speech about the word they had written about the Club in the slip. The lucky speaker was Jeff Lin, Joseph Lum, and Freya Gwee. The Table Topic session was really enthralling and Mark did a fabulous job with some exceptionally “invigorating” topic.

Timer Francis, then read out the Timers report and everyone qualified for voting as Best Table Topic speaker. This was followed by voting by the members and guests.

Guests participating in the Table Topic session :

Next, Ah Counter Desmond, who was covering Andy, who had left early for prior appointment, gave the report about the pause fillers like “ Ah”, “ Um”, “ Okay”, You know “ etc that the speakers had used during the sessions. 

The Language Evaluator, Thomas, congratulated all the speakers who had used the word of the day “Invigorating“ in their speech and also informed everyone about some of the good usage and misuse of the language during the meeting.

Finally it was time for the Club President to give the Closing Address and hand over the award to the winners for the day.

The Best Prepared Speech Speaker award went to Claire Yeo.

The Best The evaluator award went to Muthu Ganesh.

The Best Table Topic speaker award went to Samuel.

Group Photo

It was a very fruitful and riveting meeting and everyone went back happy and satisfied. For me, it was a great experience to anchor a meeting for 3 hours and I look forward to more such opportunities in the near future. I would also request members, who have not done this role, to take it up in the future for the great exposure and experience it provides in public speaking.

Article by: Samrit Das, TM
Published by: Rusman Hadijanto, CTM, CL, DL4

Joint Meeting 14th Dec 2019

Little announcement: 

We won't be having our regular meeting on 14th Dec 2019 at Anchorvale CC, instead, we will be having a joint meeting with another club at their venue (strictly for members only). 

For further details, members can check with our VPEs or through members WhatsApp group. 

Thank you and have a great day ahead😀

Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club 145th Chapter Meeting 24th August 2019

The 145^th Chapter Meeting served both a reminder (coming of Teacher’s Day on 1^st September 2019) and reminiscent of the teachers we have all encountered. Our Sergeant-at-Arms of the Day, Valli Kasinathan, CC, asked all of us present, to tell about the teacher(s) we are most grateful to, during the ice-breaking session. While many cited teachers we met in our school days, some extraordinary ones mentioned include trainers, supervisors; next of kin and relatives such as mother, uncle; as well as people whom we do not know personally such as television personality and motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins.

SAA of the Day, Valli Kasinathan, reminded us about Teacher

                                     

Our Toastmaster of the Day, Sathiyamoorthi, ACB, next invited our Club’s President, Valliappan, CC, to give us the opening address. Coincidentally, Valliappan’s message of ‘continuous learning’ and ‘sharpening our axe’ binds close to the idea of having good teachers to guide us. Beside giving well known exemplary figures such as the first Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew (who continued to learn Chinese in his 90s) and Albert Einstein, Valliappan also recounted his own 80 year old aunt who managed to gather 200 women in stitching a large crochet, breaking a world record, as an example of the importance of never ending learning.

Our Language Evaluator, Aaron Ting, DTM, Division D Director, from Chua Chu Kang Toastmasters Club uniquely introduced a prefix – ‘pro’ in place of the usual Word of the Day. ‘Pro’ is to take something forward, eg. progress, promise, proposal, prolific, procession…. Members in the meeting were encouraged to use words with the prefix ‘pro’ in their speeches.

Like the stars constellation used by olden days sailors in their navigation, Audrey Lim, PM1, spoke fondly about her mentor who, like her “north star” that “lights up” her path forward, guided her well. Bharathamma, IP2, showed us her persuasive skills in selling a Samsung dishwasher machine to Rusman, DL4. Her convincing words stem from her painful experience in the past, having paid for a damaged dishwasher due to errors in operating it. She stressed the importance of having one that is user friendly in her sales pitch. After being ‘sold’ on the dishwasher, it’s Rusman’s turn to sell us on the great value of joining a Toastmasters Club. Good fortune came when his supervisor encouraged him to join Toastmasters. He saw and is still seeing change in himself with his confidence build up in speaking, volunteering to present to customer, and even received three job offers after acing in the interviews. Woohoo! Claire Teo, IP1, spoke about the 2 Ps (passion and perseverance) and 3 Cs (communicator, courage and confidence) needed in a leader. Leader can exist in any place, be it school, family or workplace. Like what Rusman had mentioned, “leadership can start even in an organization such as a Toastmasters Club”.

Bharathamma (right) selling dishwasher to Rusman (left)

 

We are doing our part to be environmentally friendly. We are going paperless. Our Timer, Andy Ang, DL2, introduced menti.com for online voting immediately after the completion of the prepared speech segment.

The refreshment break is another opportunity members get to let the hair down for a while and bond over good food and leisure conversations. Our Club mentor, Jenny Au, DTM, ever the one spoiling us with her delicious Lontong, in addition to the pizzas we have during this bonding period. The singing of a birthday song for those born in the month of August and sharing of the birthday cake amongst members filled our stomach to resume our meeting proper.

The Club is indeed fortunate to have guest speaker, Eric Tan, DTM, from AIA Toastmasters Club to share with us “Pathways Management for Leaders”. Answering commonly encountered questions such as “Can we not go through ice breaker, evaluation and feedback, researching and presenting again when we go to another path?” with an earnest “Why not practice again?” Eric points to the value of Pathways with examples of how it enriches our personal development. The Persuasive Influence path is one example. This path requires one to keep a journal daily, recording notes on how to maintain a positive outlook. Eric noted some members still continue to keep the journal after completion of the path. Eric ended on a high note with an advice not to ditch the materials of the old curriculum. These can be used as speech workshop materials.

Guest speaker Eric Tan shares “Pathways Management for Leaders”

Norman Tan, ACB, CL, felt like he is in a leadership symposium when evaluating Claire’s speech. Paralleling it to the likes of Martin Luther King and Aung San Suu Kyi, the speech strives towards a higher platform too. Norman suggested personal or historical stories to be incorporated with quotable quotes to make the speech better. Souvik, TM, compared Audrey’s speech delivery to a hammock with a good blend of highs and lows. He thought Audrey could slow down her pace for the audience to better capture the essence. Ponnuchamy, TM, applauded Bharathamma on the use of humor to engage the audience. He encouraged her to use better vocabularies to fill the room for improvement. CP Yuen, TM, proposed an introduction upfront to the audience, on what to expect in Rusman’s speech. He would also like to hear how Rusman can use the experiences mentioned in the speech to impact Rusman’s subordinates.

Our bubbly Table Topics Master, Freya Gwee, TM, prepared a list of interesting questions coupled with just as cute pictorials to our brave takers:

Diya (Sathiyamoorthi’s young daughter) - What made you laugh this week?

“Meet my friends”

“Teacher’s funny words”

Youngest brave soul of the day, Diya, with Table Topics Master Freeya

Saabry - What are some recent compliments you received?

“Photos taken by me received positive feedbacks”

Shamil - Are you a television monster?

“Was ever glued to a particular TV program”

Samrit - How would you describe your childhood?

“Memories of childhood mostly on studies”

“Ever attempted crickets, a sports popular in India.”

“Was ever in an intensive crickets training camp for 3 months”

“Realized cricket as a sport is not for him”

Samuel - How do you spend the majority of your free time?

“Mostly on studies or exercise”

“Observed some people engaged in bad habits”

“And even developed into an addiction like gaming”

“Advised free time should be used wisely”

Cute pictorials too from our bubbly Table Topics Master, Freya Gwee

First time Ah Counter, Marc Wong, TM, has been listening attentively while the meeting is in progress, capturing the pause fillers used by all speakers. His diligence was shown in his concise Ah Counter report. Well done Marc!

Language Evaluator, Aaron Ting captured several good use of words and phrases such as “profound”, “mentoring is a push in the right direction” and even offered his own personal favorite “live as if you are to die tomorrow”. Aaron ended his language evaluation with a highlight and reminder on the importance of pronunciation.

  

A very ‘Pro’ Language Evaluator, Aaron Ting

General Evaluator, In Tiam, CC, complimented on the Club’s program sheet (agenda) on being colorful and user friendly with the QR codes included for guests to easily go to the Club’s blogspot and Facebook page. Another first for the Club, the introduction of menti.com to vote was highlighted. In Tiam encouraged the Club to continue the good work to innovate and inject unique elements at times into an otherwise normal chapter meeting.

Guests Saabry and Aaron were asked for feedbacks on the Club’s meeting by our Club President, Valliappan, towards the end of the meeting. Aaron described the Club as warm, friendly, encouraging, with good applause for affirming every speaker’s effort.

Drumroll….. and the awards go to……….

Best Prepared Speech: Rusman Hadijanto, DL4

Best Project Evaluator: Souvik Chowdury, TM

Best Table Topics Speaker: Samuel (guest)

  

Congratulations to (from left) Rusman, Souvik and Samuel

With the resounding and eventful close of this meeting, see all of you on 14 September 2019, our 146^th Chapter Meeting. Cheers!

Cannot do without a wefie by Club President, Valliappan

Article by: Wee Chee Sian ACB, ALB

143rd Chapter Meeting 27th Jul 2019 recap

The session was kickstarted by Sergeant-At-Arms, Freya Gwee (myself). Yesterday, Singaporeans above the age of 50 raced for HUAWEI smartphone promotion at S$54, this was sure a trending & conversation starter; this prompted my ice-breaker topic:  Are you a Brand or a Price-conscious person?

Clearly, our members are mature adults with Quality & Reliability as their deciding indicators. These are perspectives we hold and we do things differently so let us live & let live.

Being tasked with dual roles, Toastmaster of the Day (TMD) is one of the most valuable experiences in our Club. It was a challenging role where TMD is the host to put the entire meeting together based on the schedule and to run an upbeat, lively meeting. I decided to jump on.

The success of every chapter meetings required supportive members, introducing the appointment holders of the day.

·        Language Evaluator, Jenny Au (DTM)

·        General Evaluator, Pang In Tiam (CC)

·        Timer, Audrey Lim (PM1)

·        Ah Counter, Andy Ang (DL2)

Today, our humble Club President, Valliappan, presented an inspirational speech on how an IT professional reached out to a stranger, transforming life and change for the better. The first step to change someone’s life is to care. There are a thousand ways to show someone you care and people can do great things when they know that at least one person cares. It gives us hope and strength to face the future, and inspire them towards a better life.

In our Club, we care for everyone who shares the interest to learn & be a better person than you were yesterday.

Before we started, Language Evaluator, Jenny Au, plays an important role in helping all members improve their grammar, vocabulary and noting good use of English words/phrases.  

Word of the Day: Flexible 
Members are encouraged to be creative thus do be willing to make your speech plans flexible (adjective) by using the given Word of the Day, this is another way to improve one’s adaptability and flexibility (noun) by thinking on your feet.

Upcoming was the Prepared Pathway speeches by the speakers who decided not to take the audience seat this time!

1.      Speaker: Wilson Lee (TM) 
Pathway Level 1 Project 1 Ice Breaker 
Title of Speech: Life's 2nd Chances

Evaluator: Rusman Hadijanto (DL3) 

Wilson had his first speech at the age of 13yo but fear consumed him, joining Toastmaster gave him a 2^nd chance to conquer his fear.  Graduated with a diploma in Engineering but the passion in Accountancy, he dived in when given another chance and graduated with BA (Hons) Accounting.

2.      Speaker: Marc Wong (TM)

Pathway Level 1 Project 1 Ice Breaker 
Title of Speech: Ice Breaker.  

Evaluator: Deepthi Vasan (IP1)

Marc amazed us with his curiosity about the cycle of ice (solid, liquid & gas stages) since he was a kid. The Internet unlocked a world of opportunity and together with his Internet friend, Google, he has been always crystal clear about his life, his visions, and goals.

3.      Speaker: Ebnu Etheris (CC)

Pathway Level 1 Project 2 
Title of Speech: The pain & joy of doing research. 

Evaluator: Wee Chee Sian (ACB, ALB)

Ebnu completed a Master’s program & all he remembered was “Writing thesis was painful” however he was determined for Ironman Triathlon & took up Sports Physiology studies to understand the human body! The audience broke into spontaneous laughter when he revealed the mantra “No pain, No gain” doesn’t work at all.

Right after our refreshment break, 3 seasonal evaluators took their stand. Evaluation is the heart of the Toastmasters program.  Rusman Hadijanto (DL3), Deepthi Vasan (IP1) and Wee Chee Sian (ACB, ALB) observed the speeches & offer evaluations of speakers’ efforts; speakers were advised to receive with an open mind. 

The last segment of the chapter meeting, also nail-biting one for most: TableTopics. It was only by standing here; one realized the overwhelming feelings of anxiety and brain freeze.  Table Topics Master of the Day, Hilda Xie, came out with quotes from famous & memorable movies.

A round of applause for today’s guests: Samrit, Samuel, Andrew & Pravin for being spontaneous and our members Hu Richen, Margaret, Desmond Chong & Audrey Lim.  

Congratulations to our award winners! 
Best Prepared Speech: Ebnu Etheris (CC)
Best Project Evaluator: Wee Chee Sian (ACB, ALB)
Best Table Topics: Desmond Chong (TM )

    

Lastly, I ended my role as TMD; taking on this role for the first time allows me to better understand the Club procedures and with more opportunities to come, it definitely shapes my presentation style, time management, and public speaking skills.

Thank you

Written by Freya Gwee.

Recap: 142th Chapter Meeting by Freya Gwee

The session was kickstarted by the new team of EXCO 2019/2020, starting with Sergeant-At-Arms, CP Yuen; asking all to share the experience of stepping out of the comfort zone and doing something for the first time. From Swimming, Ski-ing, participating in singing contest, wake-boarding and more, our members are learning something new to experience the first-timer adrenaline!

 As the Toastmaster of the Day, TMD, Sarah Ong said

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. By Walt Disney”

So fellow members, do be courageous to explore the unfamiliar and reclaim the joy of learning.

New President, Valliappan, presented a meaningful speech on how National Day Parade, led by example, by collaborating with Zero Waste SG; a new not-for-profit and non-governmental organization dedicated to help Singapore eliminate the concept of waste, and accelerate the shift. For example, from distributing lunch bento boxes to buffet spread, thus reducing unimaginable of plastic waste. Similarly, members are encouraged to suggest or recommend any suggestions to improve the Club functionality. Small steps to big changes.

Next was the crafted Prepared speeches by the confident members. There were a total of six (6) by Joseph Lum – How good is it to have a mentor, Bharathmma – The boy who costed his life, Rusman – Organizational Changes, Wee Chee Sian – The Folk Tale: Journey to the West (Chinese: 西遊記; pinyin: Xīyóu Jì), In Tiam – Diffusing Verbal Criticism & Ebnu Etheris –  Finding Balance.

Following the end of the prepared speech segment, a short refreshment break gave us the opportunity to mingle with members & guests.

The project evaluations segment came right after our refreshment break. Narayana Rao, Norman Tan, Pang In Tiam, Hilda Xie, Jeff Lin and Wee Chee Sian gave their opinions on the respective prepared speech speakers. 

Finally came my favourite segment of the meeting, both nerve-wrecking and adrenaline rushing – TableTopics! Table Topics Master of the Day, Tee Lee Hong, prepared with a purpose – To help members think on their feet with glares of anticipating audiences. A total of 8 courageous fellows took the opportunity to challenge themselves! A round of applause for Sathya, Samuel (guest), Pravin (guest), Wilson, Desmond, Freya, Jeff and Sarah.

Appreciation to helpful members:

·        General Evaluator of the Day – Valli Kasinathan,  

·        Ah Counter – Andy Ang and

·        Timer – Wilson Lee, for their contributions.

Before Valliappan wrapped up the meeting, congratulate to:

·        Wee Chee Sian who was voted Best Speaker,

·        Norman Tan who was voted Best Evaluator,

·        14yo Samuel (guest) who was voted Best TableTopic.

·        Joseph Lum who progressed to next Level.

Club President, Valliappan, expressed his heartfelt gratitude who made the meeting a successful, fruitful & eventful one.

Thanks everyone.

Post written by Freya Gwee