Saturday, August 30, 2008

Our Next Meeting Details (September)

Hi all,

The month of September is the 'bulan Ramadhan' where our Muslim friends will be fasting for the whole month before celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Thus, we will push up the starting time of meeting from 5.15pm to 4.30pm (just for the month of September) in order to give way to our Muslim friends to break fast. The following is the detail of our meetings in September :

Date : 3, 10, 17 and 24th September 2008 (every Wednesday)

Time : 4.30 pm

Venue : BTEC 001, Block C, Education Faculty, University Malaya.

All members, guests and anyone who would like to have a look on our meeting for the first time are welcomed.

UM TMC.

Fifth Meeting - Merdeka!!!

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Yes, it's the merdeka spirit just around the corner. It's our 51st National Day on 31th August 2008, the 51st year of independence. After the first election was held in 1955, the Alliance won 51 out of 52 seats contested, which was headed by our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. The Allliance made efforts to make Malaysia an independent country that was finally achieved on 31st August 1957. It's our fifth meeting on 24th of August 2008. Our theme for the fifth meeting was 'Merdeka'.

The word of the day was 'liberated' - to release from or to set free. Example of sentence: Our country was liberated by the British in the year 1957. Unfortunately, not many of the guests or members used the word in the meeting that day. Dear members, we really need to improve the usage of word of the day in the upcoming meetings.

The meeting was started at 5.36pm with the first agenda - President's welcoming speech and followed by Table Topic session by TM Kimmy Foo. There were 10 questions of table topics and everyone had the chance to participate in the session. Some of the questions were -

'Which do you prefer, shopping mall or 'pasar malam'?
'Which do you prefer, ABC or ice cream?
'Which do you prefer, apple or durian?

Table Topic Speakers






I'm sure many of us were hungry after hearing those two questions. Dear President, perhaps we should have refreshment before the meeting if these questions to be appeared again in some other meetings, just a thought of mine. Our Table Topics Evaluator of the evening was Competent Leader Henry Fu from the Metropolitan Bilingual Toastmasters Club. Thank you CL Henry Fu. We really appreciate it.

Next was the project speeches session. The speakers were as the following:

1) CC Project 2 - 'Which is better - 1 or 20? by TM Rishi
2) CC Project 4 - 'Saying No' by TM Deborah Chow






TM Rishi described about the pros and cons of buying a condo at 1st floor and 20th floor. On the other hand, TM Deborah explained the several methods to say 'no' without hurting someone's feelings. TM Deborah actually did some research and homework on this title for a week without enough rest to see the true response of people (TM Rishi) saying the word 'no'.

Not to forget, our General Evaluator, DTM Vincent Hor, suggested us to have some penalties for using the words which is not in the English dictionary (such as ah, erm, ok, etc.) as there were some major contributors in the meeting. Thank you DTM Vincent Hor to give us the support we need.

Guess what? In the meeting, we have two best table topics speakers with same amount of votes - TM Grace Kang and TM Deborah.....congrats girls....


Photos with Jalur Gemilang




Jee Aik, our guest from HELP University College


TM Rishi,
VPPR,
UM TMC.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Oh Mii, That's Great!

Today, I've visited Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII) Toastmasters Club meeting.

Being among the earliest, I got to meet with some of their members including their current president, CC Leong. They were very friendly and the meeting environment was awesome. I found the place a very conducive training ground for those who are planning to climb the corporate ladder. Their meeting ran on a slightly more strict but relaxed setting. And they claimed to have the best food in town compared to all other toastmasters club. I can testify that their food was really great. However, I can't say it's the best in town as I have yet tried all of clubs' and it won't be fair to judge so quickly. Their meetings are conducted in such a way that they try to train themselves for board meetings. So, their meetings are really good for learning.

Oh, I almost forgot, I met my "relative" there too. He is Adam Fung. My original surname happens to be Fung too but somewhere went wrong with the IC, so my father ended up with Fun. The Chinese character is the same as well and we are both Hakka. I surely will talk to my father regarding this. What a small world we live in. Then a little bit later, came a lady whom I emailed with for some other matter. She recognised me because of my unique name. Again, the world is so small.

Anyway, it was a great evening and I look forward to visiting more clubs, and to have members of other clubs visit us too. Hope to see you all on Wednesdays.

Wishes of peace and happiness for everyone.

by
TM Fun Mun Wah
Secretary,
UM TMC.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Giving a Speech in Hilton.

Ever dream of giving a speech in a luxurious hotel, with people listening to you and applauding loudly for you despite that you are only an amatuer speaker? Dream no more and make it come true!

Here in UM Toastmasters International Club, we have the opportunity to do it. Two of our members went over to Hilton to give their speeches today, namely TM Teo Bee Guan and TM Kimmy Foo. Other than giving speeches, us as visitors, get to play roles such as grammarian, ah counter and timekeeper as well. I was given the opportunity to play the role of a timekeeper this evening. And Matthew, who is TM Grace Kang's brother and was visiting a toastmasters club's meeting for the first time, was given the chance to be the grammarian. And during the table topic session, TM Grace Kang and her brother, Matthew, both volunteered for the challenge.



After the table topic session, TM Teo Bee Guan gave the first speech, which was on the words "simple" and "simplify". According to his speech, simple means clear and concise while simplify means taking away elements to make things easy. So, we were told to be careful if we are making things simple (clear) or simplifying things (easy).


The next speaker, TM Kimmy, told us an enchanting yet slightly sad story about little Cinderella who had 2 evil aunts. The story told of how the evil aunts looked down on Cinderella and her mother, while her mother patiently taught her the proper values she should hold, and not to hold grudge against her aunts.

See, they were listening intently


And, note that we have only two speakers for the meeting, and both are from UM Toastmasters International Club! It was so generous and helpful of them to hold a meeting just for us! After the speeches, we proceeded to the evaluation session. During the evaluation session, we heard many useful comments and tips that can help us improve our speaking skills from the more experienced toastmasters. It was a great learning experience that you can hardly find elsewhere.

Finally, we came to the announcement of the best table topic speaker. And the winner is...







Matthew!



Congratulations, Matthew. It's a good start. We do hope to see you joining toastmasters soon.

Isn't it great, to be able to speak with people listening intently, receive applauses, learn and then get more applauses? This is the enthusiastic and joyful learning atmosphere we create in toastmasters clubs. Come join us in our next meeting. Details on the next meeting will be out soon, so do come back and check on us often.

Have a nice day.


by
TM Fun Mun Wah
Secretary,
UM TMC.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Cancellation of Meeting on 20 August 2008

Dear all,

Due to the upcoming semester break of UM, the meeting scheduled on 20 August 2008 will be cancelled. We will have our next meeting on 27 August 2008. We regret for any inconveniences.
Looking forward to meet you in the upcoming meeting.


Regards,

UM TMC

Fourth Meeting - The 60's Flashback

Now we have completed the fourth meeting which was held on 13 August 2008. The theme of the day was 'the 60's Flashback'. There was something special about the meeting - there were 'polka dots' at the front part of the room and one of our officers wore a 'polka dot' outfit. I'm sure those who came for the meeting know who I'm referring to - yes, it's our Seargeant-at-Arms, Grace Kang. Kimmy and Deborah also wore something like 60's. For guys, maybe we are not willing to wear the bell-bottoms, as our first table topic speaker, George, said - 'let it be left in the 60's'.


Our word of the day was 'Blast'. It means enjoyable and exciting experience. Example of sentence - 'We may have a blast at the upcoming Avril concert'. Actually, all of us used the word blast in the meeting, especially during the introduction session that was conducted by our Toastmaster of the Evening, TM Kimmy Foo. It's a good move by Kimmy to use the word of the day.

The meeting was started at 5.28 pm. Our first session, the table topic session was conducted by TM Grace Rebekah. The questions was hidden behind the 60's outfit picture cuttings. It was a creative idea by Grace Rebekah. The titles of the table topics session were -

1. George - 'Bell Bottom Jeans'
2. Yee Liong - 'Would you go Afro? Why and why not'
3. Lawson - 'Flintstones or Spongebob Squarepants'
4. Poh Lim - 'Mini or Midi'
5. Hadi - 'Gender Equality'

Personally, I really like the topic 'Flintstones or Spongebob Squarepants'. It's totally two different cartoons, one is a simple cartoon with man powered car, and another is a complicated one where you might be thinking whether the kids would understand or not. After the table topic evaluation, the project speeches session up next. Our speakers are:

1. CC Project 1 - 'Who am I' by TM Pang
2. CC Project 2 - 'Masquerade' by TM Grace Kang
3. CC Project 3 - 'Blood is thicker than H20' by TM Deborah Chow

Keep it up, girls.

Our General Evaluator was CC Khoo Suat Hong (MAICSA TMC), and our speech evaluators were DTM Vincent Hor (MAICSA TMC), ACB CL Christine Ong (Midvalley TMC). Thank you evaluators for giving us the support we need.

Finally, it's the award giving session for the best table topic speaker........table roll....table roll.....



HADI!!!



Congrats, Hadi!




The meeting was simply superb.




Regards,



Rishi

VPPR

UM TMC.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Third Meeting - Graduation

It's our third meeting for the semester 1 2008/2009. The theme of the day was 'Graduation'. Why we chose this theme? Well, it's the season of graduation in UM. In easy terms, graduation means that one have succesfully completed his/her studies, thus being acknowledged.

Our word of the day was 'zealous'. Zealous means eager or keen. Example of word - Our guests in the third meeting were very zealous to participate in the table topics session. The Seargent-of-Arms, TM Grace Kang called for meeting to be started at 5.39 pm. After a brief welcoming speech by the President, the meeting was taken over by our TME, TM Teo Bee Guan.


Our happy TME, Bee Guan.


The table topic session was quite different in this meeting as the questions were placed in some devices so that there would be no room for speakers to choose questions. I would say it's a great idea from our Table Topic Master, TM Grace Kang. It was a surprise that all the participants of this session spoke over the time limit. They really enjoyed speaking in front of the audiences. It's a positive sign of our participants to be a good public speakers in a very short term. The table topics evaluation was held as soon as the end of the session by ATMB Foong Weng Tuck.

Our table topic speakers



1. Eddy



2. Bee Fong



3. Hadi



4. Joanne


The members who did their project speeches are as the following:

1. Project 1 : Ice Breaker - by Deborah Chow

2. Project 2: Organize your talk - by Grace Rebekah

3. Project 3: Your Body Speakes - by Kimmy Foo

Our general evaluator of the evening was ATMG Oi Wah, and our speech evaluators were ACB CL Christine Ong, ATMG Oi Wah, and ATMB Foong Weng Tuck. Our first time 'Ah counter', Fun Mun Wah gave a very precise report - it showed that he is a good listener.


ACB CL Christine Ong as our evaluator



ATMG Oi Wah as our evaluator


Finally, it was the award giving session to the best table topic speaker - drum roll....drum roll....



JOANNE !!!


Congratulations, Joanne!!!!!

Our next meeting is on 13 August 2008. Hope to meet you all again.

Regards,
UM TMC.
Post retouched by,
Fun Mun Wah

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Humourous Workshops

Dear members,

We have been invited by Deloitte KassimChan (DKC) Toastmasters Club for one of their workshops entitled "How To Prepare A Humourous Speech". The speaker is the current TLI Chairman, Dominic Joseph who was a Champion speaker at contests held at Division and District (51) level.

Details are as follows:

Date: 7th August, 2008 (Thursday)
Time: 6.45pm
Venue: Level 17, Uptown 1, Damansara Utama

An outline of what will be covered:

1.Speech Contest Manual / Speech Contest Rulebook.
2.Judging Items.
3.My Views On Speech Preparation.
4.View a World Champion Speaker.

There will be an Q&A session. Contact me if you wish to attend as I have to inform DKC of our attendance.

Of course, if you cant attend the aforementioned workshop, there is another one organised by Division W. Details are as follows:

Date: 27th August 2008, Wednesday
Time: 7pm
Venue: Women Institute of Management (Tmn Tun Dr Ismail)
Fee: RM20

Personally, I think this is a very good opportunity for all of us. Not only we get to meet a champion speaker, but, we are also able to get some pointers from him. Another factor of an effective speech is one injected with humour.

Contact me at kimmyfoo@gmail.com if you are interested in attending any of the workshops mentioned above.

Cheers!

TM Kimmy,
President,
UM Tmc

Friday, August 01, 2008

Second Meeting - An Inconvenient Truth

The second meeting of the new semester was held on the 30th of July 2008. 'Accelerate' was chosen as the word of the day. Why did we choose the word 'Accelerate'? It is defined as 'make or become quicker'. As students, we may need to accelerate our delayed assignments to pass it up on time. Unknowingly, using the definition of 'accelerate' in our daily life. As for our theme of the day, 'An
Inconvenient Truth'.

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Awaiting patiently..

The Sergeant-At-Arms, TM Grace Kang announced the meeting to be started at approximately 5.30 pm. Then, the club president, TM Kimmy Foo, gave a welcoming speech to the guests and demonstrated the Toastmasters way of clap!!! Now, that's something new to be seen in the club.

The session was then continued by TM Grace Rebekah, the Toastmaster of the Evening, with brief explanation on the history of the Toastmasters International. She then introduced all the role players of the meeting.

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Toastmasters Club was founded in the basement of.....

Next is the table topic session. Our Table Topic Master of the evening was TM Deborah Chow. There were four speakers who participated in the session. The best thing that happened in this Table Topic Session is where our President, (please let me repeat that - yes, the President) who was also a table topic speaker for the evening, grabbed all the card titles from the Table Topic Master and chose the easiest one!!! Anyway, the speakers were:

Fun Mun Wah - Sunshine or Rain

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Sun and rain..

Neo - The Happiest Day of My Life

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..my first love

George - Mother Nature and I

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..6 degrees of separation

And lastly TM Kimmy - The Change I Can Bring to the World

The next session - Project Speeches! Here are the speakers of the evening.

1. Organize Your Talk Title - "Time and History" by TM Teo Bee Guan on his second speech

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Stephen Hawking wrote in his book..

2. Ice Breaker Title - " This, is me" by TM Grace Kang on her first speech

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My principles in life..

3. Ice Breaker Title - " Simply Simple" by TM Rishi on his first speech

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My Nokia 3210 rang in the bus..

Good job dear speakers!! All of you spoke confidently.

The meeting was then handed to the General Evaluator, DTM Vincent Hor, from the MAICSA TMC.

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You must listen to what daddy has to say..

First was the Table Topics Evaluation, where ACB CL Christine Ong from Midvalley TMC gave her evaluation on the 4 Table Topics Speaker. Then followed by speech evaluation by CTM CL Alice Liu, ACB CL Christine Ong, and ACS CL Meyyappa Manickam.

Next were reports from the Ah Counter - TM Kimmy Foo, the Grammarian - TM Rishi, and the Time Keeper - TM Teo Bee Guan.

After general evaluation from DTM Vincent Hor, the session was handed to TM Grace Rebekah for the Award Ceremony - Best Table Topic Speaker. The Best Table Topics Speaker of the day......drum roll.......drum roll.....

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GEORGE !!!

Congratulations George!

Last but not least, TM Kimmy gave the closing speech and thanked everyone who came to the meeting. She also thanked all the evaluators for their support.

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Can't wait for the next meeting.

Regards,
Rishi,
VPPR,
UM TMC.