Joint Meeting Grassroots & Anchorvale CC Toastmasters

Joint Meeting

Grassroots & Anchorvale CC Toastmasters 

27th April 2019, Saturday

Together We Can Achieve More!!!

The Famous American author, political activist, and lecturer, Helen Keller once said "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Grassroots Toastmasters Club & Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club together proved the statement right, by jointly conducting a wonderful session with alacrity*.

The session was kickstarted by SAA Valli. Everyone introduced themselves and echoed with the theme of the session “Together We Can Achieve More!!!” by sharing their own personnel experiences on how there is strength in unity. Anchorvale TM Club President Chee Sian during his Presidents’ address shared his memories of visiting Grassroots Club and shared how everyone should be alacritous* by getting out of our comfort zone by doing things which challenges us (including visiting other clubs!). TMD Jenny introduced all the role takers and briefed about the meeting proceedings.

First Speaker Trinh (Pathways Level 1 Project 2 Evaluation & Feedback) spoke about Goal setting and achieving goals with practice and consistency. Second Speaker Dany (Pathways Level 1 Project 3 Researching & Presenting) took us through an aromatic journey by sharing all about “Coffee”. Then came in Francis (Pathways Level 2 Project 5) who spoke about cross cultural understanding and shared few anecdotes in relation to Filipino accent. It was then Frank Perera’s (SR1 Pathways Level 3 Project 7) turn to speak about different styles of negotiations. Raymond (DL2 Project 8 Get Comfortable with Visual Aids) enlightened everyone by sharing importance of retirement plans. Finally Pang In Tiam (AP3 The Demonstration Talk from the “Speaking to Inform”) gave a demonstration of an application to keep kids away from mobile games!

After an array of impressive speeches, it was time to have refreshing break. Members and guests filled their tummies with pizzas, cake, fruits and a refreshing sweet potato dish prepared by Jenny.

During the evaluation session toastmasters Jeff Lin, Wee Chee Sian, Mugan, Hu Richen, Valliappan Selvamani, and Thomas Lee, evaluated respective speakers precisely and sublimely. Evaluations were followed by Table topic session, wherein TTM Yuen Cheok Pui (who bravely took the role for the first time) brought in interesting topics and encouraged participants to speak on the topic for 2-3 mins. Many volunteered and shared their thoughts on beguiling topics posed to them. Language Evaluator Deepthi then shared good languages usages and highlighted few grammatical errors speakers made during the session. Aaron presented the Ah counter reports and Timer Shu Rong who was keeping check on time throughout the session, presented the timing report.

It was time for results. Chee Sian called upon the valiant winners and handed over the ribbons.

Best Speaker: Francis

Best Evaluator: Mugan

Bes Table Topic Speaker: Lex

The President of Grassroots TMC Jennifer Lee presented the closing address, shared her valuable thoughts about the joint session and adjourned the meeting.

Indeed, it was a successful and awe-inspiring joint session.

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

--Henry Ford

alacrity

/əˈlakrɪti/

noun

synonyms: eagerness, willingness, readiness; enthusiasm, ardour, fervour, keenness, joyousness, liveliness, zeal; promptness.

alacritous

/əˈlakrɪtəs/

adjective

brisk or lively.

137th chapter meeting recap: By Valliappan

It was a very hot sunny afternoon. That too on a school holiday. Nothing can stop our toastmasters from attending the 137th chapter meeting held at Anchorvale CC Falcon room on 23rd Mar 2019.

The chapter meeting was started at 2:00 pm sharp by our Sergeant at Arms, Narayana Rao. He started with an ice breaker question on “What made us attend the toastmasters meeting even though it is a school holiday period?”. Members shared that they love to be in Toastmasters meetings to get rid of their routines and also to learn something new. Some members mentioned in a lighter fashion, that they were in the meeting as they were single or have had accepted roles for the chapter meeting and forced to be there. With all the laughter, the stage was handed over to the Toastmaster of the Day (TMD) , Rusman Hadijanto. 

After briefing the meeting structure and introducing the appointment holders (Hilda - Timer, Marc - Ah Counter, Valli Kasinathan - Table Topics Master and Valliappan - General Evaluator), the TMD welcomed our president Wee Chee Sian for presenting his opening address. Chee Sian mentioned about the importance of public speaking and the 3 possible outcomes of the speech. The speech that we practiced, the speech we actually gave and the speech we desired to give. He stressed the importance of practice to make the speech better and also invited members to take up leadership positions in the next EXCO term starting from 1st July 2019 onwards. He also excited the members by telling about the special chapter meeting to be held on 27th Apr at our club in partnership with Grassroots club.

The TMD was exemplary and did a commendable job by inviting the speakers for their prepared speech by mentioning their speech title, interests and leading the applause. The four speakers for the day were Ponnuchamy, Jeff Lin, Helena and In Tiam. Ponnuchamy impressed everybody with his stupendous ice breaker speech and also shared us about the book “The Answer” , the first book he had read from title page to the last page and inspired all of us to read the book. Jeff Lin spoke about his experience as a “Protege”. The next speaker Helena Lim scared the audience by throwing a fake snake at the crowd, to demonstrate the fear and explain about how to overcome fear in those kind of situations. She also urged everybody to learn to do First Aid. The final speaker In Tiam did a role play with his cutie princess Jung Yi, to persuade her to take up roles in her school events.

Hilda did her role as a timer diligently and provided her timer report. There was no voting for the best speaker as only 3 speakers were qualified for the voting. TMD announced the next exciting segment which was the Refreshment Break, giving opportunity for the members to network with each other while having sumptuous food and a lovely rainbow cake. Our special thanks to Jenny Au, for bringing Papaya for the refreshment.

Following the break, the evaluation segment started and our competent evaluators Narayana Rao, In Tiam, Freya and Chee Sian gave their incredible evaluations to the speakers and  also helped them with some tips to improve their speeches. Unfortunately there was no voting for evaluation as well as only 3 evaluators were qualified.

Valli Kasinathan being the Table topics master came out with various questions for the table topics revolving around women, in lieu of the Women’s Day celebrations in March. As usual our club members and guests volunteered themselves to take up the challenge and there were close to 10 table topics speakers.

Special thanks to Marc, who accepted to take up the Ah counter role on the spot with great spirit. He did an exceptional job by listening very attentively throughout the meeting to capture the pause fillers and repeated words and provided a detailed report.  The last segment was the General Evaluator report provided by Valliappan. He appreciated what went well during the meeting and gave suggestions on areas that could be improved. 

Finally Chee Sian presented the best Table Topic Speaker award to Desmond and DTM Andrew Kwan.

Everyone felt happy for a well spent weekend afternoon and dispersed home.

Bye to all, till we meet on 13th Apr for another great session !

Blog post for 136th Chapter Meeting:By Joseph Lum

Blog post for 136^th Chapter Meeting

With the euphoria from the recent International Speech, Speech Evaluation and Table Topics contests still in the air, the 136^th Chapter Meeting got off to a great start as the Sergeant-At-Arms, Sathiyamoorthi, called the meeting to order and invited everyone to recall a life-changing personal experience that involved stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Filled with gratitude, numerous members shared about how joining the Toastmasters had made a big, positive difference in their lives – probably something which everyone present could not agree with more, based on the nods and smiles around :) Even the beautiful weather outside the cosy RC meeting room seemed to concur!

After a nice, welcoming introduction by Jeff who was the Toastmaster of the Day, Chee Sian, our club president, addressed the meeting and shared the good news that Zulhafni and Francis would be representing our club at the Toastmasters competition on 20 Mar 2019. Amid the cheers and applause, Chee Sian also invited and encouraged everyone to attend and lend support. We wish Zul and Francis all the best!

After that, Valliappan, the Grammarian cum Language Evaluator of the Day, introduced the Word of the Day, “euphoric”, and motivated the audience to keep improving their grammar and vocabulary so as to achieve more effective communication.

Next was the first major segment – and the most highly-anticipated part – of the Chapter Meetings – the prepared speeches. There were a total of five[1] – by Claire, Hilda, Zhaomin, Rusman and In Tiam. I could sense that the audience was feeling almost euphoric while being treated to a healthy feast of topics – ‘superfood’ Kale (Claire), inspirational movies (Hilda), managing stress (Zhaomin), negotiation technique (Rusman) and cost-effective cloud storage solution for personal use (In Tiam).

After that was the makan break. I must say that it certainly met its objectives – feeding the attendees with delicious food contributed by Jenny, Claire (Kale salad) and other members, plus providing opportunity for everyone to interact and catch up with one another, as well as get to know the guests better and invite them to join our club.

With euphoria (yes, again!) after the physical nourishment, the second major segment of the meeting – Speech Evaluations – commenced. The first member to present the evaluation was Helena, followed by Joseph, Valliappan, In Tiam and lastly, Rusman. It was a great learning experience which benefitted not only the speakers, but also the audience and even the evaluators themselves, as everyone picked up useful tips.

Finally, it was time for the third and last major segment of the meeting (and probably the most “feared” one) – Table Topics! A total of six persons courageously participated, including Francis who took the opportunity to practise for the upcoming competition :) The others were CP, Mark, Assella, Bryanti and Souvik. It was truly a battle of nerves – not against others’ but against their own – as they picked and fielded questions lovingly prepared by our Distinguished Toastmaster and mentor, Jenny :)

Before Chee Sian wrapped up the meeting, the attendees also benefitted from the valuable findings shared by the Ah Counter, Francis, and the Grammarian cum Language Evaluator of the Day, Valliappan. We gained so much from the meeting!

In his closing address, Chee Sian shared a piece of good news – following the EGM held before the meeting, the monthly membership fee has been reduced from $18 to $16, in view of the healthy financial position of the club. The audience ruptured into loud applause!

Last but not least, we congratulate Claire who was voted Best Speaker, Joseph who was voted Best Evaluator and Francis who was voted Best Table Topic.

Thanks everyone who made the meeting possible and so enjoyable and fruitful!

Blog post happily prepared by Joseph :)

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[1] Andy was unable to make it at the last minute and sent his apologies.

Recap: 135th Chapter Meeting

They say that the 5^th day of Chinese New Year is believed to be the birthday of God of Fortune and so people celebrate with a large banquet. It seems it is not untrue.

The 135^th Anchorvale Toastmaster chapter meeting was again another extraordinary gathering of club members highlighted with a banquet of excellent speeches and of course, the iconic prosperity toss, lo-hei.

Still in festive and upbeat mood, the meeting was commenced by Sergeant-At-Arms Shubhangi asking how everyone celebrated Chinese New Year. There were many interesting answers from the club members. Majority enjoyed the reunion among family members and friends and relished delicious foods as they gave and received Ang Bao. For non-Chinese members, it was a good 2-day breather; a time to rest and recharge.

Our genial host, Toastmaster of the Day, Dinesh then set out the agenda for the meeting and subsequently introduced the club president, Chee Sian for his opening address.

It was a powerful remarks from our president as he talked about the greatness of African runners who dominate the world’s stage in any long distance races. These are runners who trained and invested tremendous amount of hard work to achieve excellence. It was a moving speech and key takeaway was if we focus on a specific thing and work hard for it, then we can achieve success beyond what most people achieved. It is never impossible.

Next, Language Evaluator, Ebnu set foot on the centre stage to share his “fantastic” experience in a flight simulator. It was an eventful experience to him, that none of the superlative words can describe. Thus, he introduced the word of the day, “fantastic”. He encouraged all speakers to adapt this word.

The 5 prepared speeches were one of the highlights of the meeting. It was started off by Hong Tee who spoke about an inherited blood disorder called Thalassemia. She said that if both parents are carriers of Thalassemia, then there is a greater chance of inheriting a more serious form of the disease. She left off her speech with a call to action to everyone to be vigilant and take precautionary measures.

Francis and Andy were the second and third speaker, respectively. Both talked about leadership styles. Francis kicked off his speech with a funny anecdote of a leader and demonstrated his democratic style of leadership through storytelling. Andy, on the other hand, started off with cool approximation of a leader. He discussed there is never one-size-fits-all leadership style. And the best style is your style and being genuine to yourself.

Rusman, the 4^th speaker orated that a good understanding of communication style allow us to learn how to react most effectively when confronted with a difficult person.

And last but not the least, In Tiam spoke about the ability of any organisation to manage constant change through Agile Methodology.

The meeting then took a “yummilicious” break to toss for prosperity and enjoyed pizza buffet. When it resumed, project evaluation began. Evaluators Anthony, Sajith, Valliapan, In Tiam and Zul assessed the speeches and gave valuable feedbacks and improvement pointers to the speakers.

The most exhilarating yet exciting part of the meeting was next. Table topic master, Sajith presented Chinese New Year related topics .As always, new members come first and so Souvik, our freshest club member took the stage. As if it was not his first time, when asked what he can teach on CNY, he enthusiastically talked about teaching the correct way of breathing. Jeff Son’s Yu Kang shared about the most exciting thing he did during CNY which was prawning with his dad. Anthony recalled kinship is everything and it is what he cherished about CNY. Valliapan thought that when people we love are still around, we should not take them for granted.

Language Evaluator Ebnu praised and shared his observation for the prepared speakers that day. When concocting a speech, he suggested not to stop at first draft. Be deliberate. And as the speech is improved, use triads to emphasize a point and practice good vocabulary. If plausible, search for good metaphors and link it to your speech. Be creative by playing with words, he added.

President Chee Sian in his closing remarks shared about the usefulness of the Anchorvale Toastmaster club blogspot. In particular the links where to download the evaluation forms. Club members are encouraged to visit the blogspot for announcements, meeting recaps, and book review, among others.

And finally, before the meeting ended, President Chee Sian awarded the best speaker ribbon to Francis, the best evaluator to legendary Zul and best table topic to dashing Anthony.

It is definite that our 135^th chapter meeting captured the attention of the God of Fortune and therefore all club members are ensured of his favour and good fortune for themselves and their families in the year ahead. Gong xi fa cai.

Penned by Francis

Sengkang West Bursary Education Awards 2019 - written by In Tiam

Sengkang West Bursary Education Awards 2019

Outstanding school students were recognized for their success at this year’s Education Awards Ceremony, which took place at the Anchorvale CC on 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th January.

Anchorvale Toastmasters Club members Alice Ow, Pang In Tiam and Norman Tan represented the club as the emcees to host and facilitate this grand event with Dr. Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State for Health & Transport, Grassroots Adviser to Sengkang West GROs. 

The ceremony saw school students from the Sengkang West receive their certificates and cheque for their achievements in academy results.  This year saw record numbers of awardee, more than 3,000 awardees across more than 30 sessions of the ceremony.Sengkang West Zone A, B, C, D, E, K, and L Bursary Education Awards was held on 12 and 13 January 2019.  Sengkang West Zone F, M, J, N, AVNC, FVNC and EMA (Zone A - N RC) Bursary Education Awards was held on next weekend 19 and 20 January 2019.

Our emcees had given a very strong, effective and high energy opening to kick start the event. Followed by a keynote was delivered by Dr. Lam and highlighted Sengkang West has the most awardee compare with other area and various efforts to grow our talents. 

Our emcees then warmed up the crowd and invited all awardee to give a big hug and thank you to their parents.  They continued to engage the awardee and interviewed them.

‘Without support from my parent, I won’t be able to achieve so much.  I want to tell them how much I love them’, said one of the awardee. 

Besides the award presentation and photo session, our emcee also collaborated with Sengkang West RCs and Anchorvale Youth Executive Community (YEC) members and share a lot of events which are happening now.  Awardee and family also actively visit YEC booth to find out more details.

It was wonderful 4 days for our emcees to step up and host the event for 9 hours continuously every day.  It always seems impossible until it is done.  Yes, they did it and entire ceremony was conducted successfully. We would like to take this opportunity to say a BIG THANK YOU to Alice Ow, Pang In Tiam and Norman Tan....and to Anchorvale TM club!

-In Tiam

Book Review: "The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie"- written by Ram

I was nervous;

My palms were sweaty; and
I had butterflies in my stomach.

This is how I felt one day, when I was standing in front of hundreds of students at a school event. All these years, I always tried to avoid all situations wherein I would have to be on a stage or speak in public. But something got into me last year, and all I wanted was to learn and improve my public speaking skills, and that is when toastmasters came into my life’s journey.

There is a Buddhist proverb,

“When the student is ready, Teacher will appear.”

Do you have Glossophobia?

Forget about you and me, even Google is scared of public speaking. Check out the first fear it lists out in search results. (hahaha)

Well, some individuals may feel a slight nervousness at the very first thought of public speaking, while others experience full-fledged panic and fear. Same was the case with me; I hated giving public speeches; but then it vanished when I joined Toastmasters Club in October 2018.

It was 8th December, Christmas special chapter meeting, Anchorvale TM's club president, Chee Sian took up a role of Santa Clause and gifted 3 books on public speaking written by Dale Carnegie to club members, and I received "The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie".

The book is indeed a classic, published in 1915, and covered basic lessons of public speaking. Though the book was published 100 years ago, it’s clear that nothing has changed over the years in terms of information, tips and tricks mentioned in the book to become a better speaker. All the tips mentioned in the book about how to make your content better, and the ways to articulate it more effectively, the methods to enhance voice and tone, the importance of rhetoric’s etc it just perfect.

The most important message shared in the book is very simple and straight forward. You must learn to speak by speaking; Practice, practice and PRACTICE.

Each chapter has extensive exercises but I'm not sure of their effectiveness without a mentor to check the results, or the progress. While reading initial chapters, I managed to answer the questions given at the end of every chapter but eventually I skipped I felt the need of mentor/evaluator to cover the exercises.

Overall, this book is wonderful resource especially if you are beginner. It covers vital aspects of speaking in public; showing up, standing confidently on stage, getting rid of monotonous tone, effective body language etc. For new people who want to enhance their craft, this book will help as it gives ample explanation and importance to all the skills needed to improve. I think, once you start speaking in a group, you may start referring from this book and then you can measure yourself as to how are you doing.

Key take away from the book

MASTER YOUR FEAR

Giving a speech isn’t a matter of becoming fearless; it’s a matter of mastering your fear.

Consider below 4 Basic factors to be an effective public speaker

1.      Be Absorbed by Your Subject.  If you feel deeply about your subject you will be able to think of little else. Concentration is a process of distraction from less important matters.

2.      It’s equally important to have something to say. If you haven’t prepared your material and practiced your speech, doubts and misgivings are sure to assail you the minute you open your mouth. To avoid this, the author advises memorizing at least the first few sentences of your speech.

3.      After preparing for success, expect it. Expecting success doesn’t mean you should be overconfident and complacent. Rather, maintain your humility – not a cowering, servile humility, but a sort of vibrant humbleness, an eternal openness to improvement. Cast aside your self-involved fears, and be willing to succeed.

4.      Assume Mastery Over Your Audience. If you assume it you can almost invariably make it yours. If you assume the negative you are sure to be negative.

MASTER YOUR PRESENTATION SKILLS

The below ideas help in engaging your audience.

Hammer your Monotony tone; How would you feel if someone plays only one key while performing on piano? You may wonder why this guy is hitting only one key all the times, why can’t he use other keys! People will feel same when we use same tone across our speech.

Then, what would be the solution? Emphasis is a matter of comparing and contrasting your speech’s central ideas and a basic way to do that is to stress important words.

Practice your way to effective body language; but it would be wonderful if gestures come spontaneously out of true feeling. 

The next way to use your imagination is to image the speech you’re about to give. In other words, prior to delivering a speech, you should create mental images of how that speech will go.

EXERCISES TO BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

How to Develop the Carrying Power of the Voice

·         It is not necessary to speak loudly in order to be heard at a distance. It is necessary only to speak correctly. If you will only use your voice correctly, you will not have much difficulty in being heard.

·         A hard-fought basketball or tennis game is an efficient way of practising deep breathing.

·         Voice is a series of air vibrations. To strengthen it two things are necessary: more air or breath, and more vibration.

·         Breath is the very basis of voice. As a bullet with little powder behind it will not have force and carrying power, so the voice that has little breath behind it will be weak. Not only will deep breathing from the diaphragm.

Purity of Voice

·         This quality is sometimes destroyed by wasting the breath. Carefully control the breath, using only as much as is necessary for the production of tone. Utilize all that you give out. Take in breath like a prodigal; in speaking, give it out like a miser.

Voice Suggestions

·         Never attempt to force your voice when hoarse.

·         Do not drink cold water when speaking. The sudden shock to the heated organs of speech will injure the voice.

·         Avoid pitching your voice too high--it will make it raspy. A wide range will give you facility in making numerous changes of pitch.

·         You can make even a whisper audible to all if you place your voice correctly.

·         The way to do this is to pitch it forward.

·         Practice this by holding your hand before your face and forcefully saying words such as “crash,” “dash,” “whirl” and “buzz.”

·         Do not form the habit of listening to your voice when speaking. You will need your brain to think of what you are saying--reserve your observation for private practise.

Concluding Hints

·         No urgency.  Haste shows lack of control.

·         Do not apologize, it won’t help. Go straight forward.

·         Increase your vocabulary.

Conclusion:

There’s only one way to become an effective public speaker: practice, practice, practice. That being said, there are techniques that’ll help you succeed. For starters, avoid monotony by effectively using emphasis, let your gestures emanate from sincere feeling, turn your audience into a crowd and improve your voice by deep breathing. Finally, test your arguments and the arguments of your opponents, and use imagery both to prepare for and to construct your speeches.

But, what happens if you keep practicing wrongly, you will end up perfecting wrong way. And joining Toastmasters club helps you build that confidence in front of audience. If you don’t know where to start or how to start, Anchorvale TM Club would be right choice.

Quotes from the book:

• Practice, practice and PRACTICE; If no one else will listen to you, listen to yourself
• Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice.
• The worst punishment that human ingenuity has ever been able to invent is extreme monotony, solitary confinement.
• If you believe you will fail, there is no hope for you. You will.
• The first sign of greatness is when a man does not attempt to look and act great.
• You must learn to speak by speaking.
• Speech-giving isn’t a matter of becoming fearless; it’s a matter of mastering your fear.
• Concentration is a process of distraction from less important matters.
• Buildings have need of a good Foundation that lies so much exposed to the Weather.--WILLIAM PENN.
• One day Ennui was born from Uniformity.--MOTTE.
• "Get your principles right," said Napoleon, "and the rest is a matter of detail."

Ram

133rd Chapter Meeting Recap

New years are all about fresh starts and new beginnings, however it’s also a great time to take stock of the year behind before looking ahead. Our Sergeant-At-Arms, Narayana, kicked off the 1^st chapter meeting of the year by asking us to state our 2018 New Year’s Resolutions, whether we’ve followed through with them, and our new New Year’s Resolutions for 2019. 

While many of our club members shared their wish to be more physically active and to improve in their public speaking skills, some were understandably reluctant to make new resolutions for this year given their struggles to stick with their last year’s resolutions. 

Nevertheless, with hard work and determination, I’m sure we’ll follow through on all our resolutions this year! #famouslastwords

Instead of some fancy speech telling us how great the New Year is and to make this our best year yet, our Club President Chee Sian decided that actions speaks louder than words—he used the President’s Opening Address to list down the many exciting events open to members to partake in in the coming weeks! Some are listed below (you may contact him for more details/to sign up if you’re interested):

•        Master-of-Ceremony position for Education Awards (19^th/20^th Jan)
•        Toastmasters International Speech, Evaluation and Table Topics Contest (23^rd Feb)

Next came the prepared speeches. Hilda gave her icebreaker where she spoke fondly of her encounter with a handsome blue-eyed Irish boy in Halong Bay, and how he gave her an unexpected lesson on trying new things, even if it scares her. Zhaomin regaled us with travelogues of her perilous trekking adventures in Nepal and farm stay in New Zealand. She also urged us to be open to new experiences instead of merely creating strict New Year Resolutions & plans. Andy (this meeting’s Best Speaker!) shared about his unique AirBnB experience in Osaka where he happened to stay, unknowingly, in the slums and red-light district of Japan! O.o He lived to tell the tale, and convinced us to give both Japan and AirBnB a try this year.

From the Advanced Manuals, In Tiam let us in on Project Skyrocket. He gave us an in-depth and very informative sharing on how to skyrocket to the top of our field using Steve Job’s style of presentation and persuasion. Last but not least, Chee Sian got us laughing with his topic on ‘Reputation Management’, where he recounted how he kindly advised a schoolmate with the same name as him to change his song choice for the school talentime, leading that schoolmate to win runner-up in that contest and thus giving Chee Sians a good name in that school.

After the break, our experienced and competent evaluators Deepthi, Rama, Valliappan, Norman and Salma (this meeting’s Best Evaluator!) gave the prepared speech speakers (and the rest of us) many helpful and invaluable tips on how to better our presentations. Their suggestions on how to improve speech content, speaking style and presentation slides were both enlightening and constructive!

Next was the most exciting segment of the day—Table Topics! Facilitated by none other than our Table Topics master Valli, who gave us a range of new year-themed table topics to choose from. 

The co-winners for Table Topics were Sakinah—a young first time guest to Anchorvale CC Toastmasters Club, and Hemant—our resident Table-Topics-first-speaker! Sakinah recounted the times when she lent a helping hand to others in the past year, and Hemant expounded on the benefits of having New Year resolutions, even if we break them.

Special thanks to CP Yuen—new member and first-time Timer, and Sarah Ong—first-time Ah Counter for their wonderful Timer and Ah Counter’ report! And of course not forgetting our trusty Toastmaster of the Day, Rusman, who facilitated and held the whole meeting together!

#Happy133

-Written by Audrey Lim