University Malaya Toastmasters Club Speechcraft 2014

UM Toastmasters Club

Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests

September 10, 2014

It’s a beginning of a new term and University Malaya toastmasters club is having Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests.

Join us for the fun evening, filled with humor and laughter.

Date: September 10, 2014

Time: 7:00 to 10:00 pm

Location: Red Cube, 2nd floor of Block D, faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya

Free admission with refreshments.

Meeting No: 156

Theme: Rising Star

Word of the day:Benevolence

What does RISE stand for? According to ACS, ALB, Jing Yi, it embodies Respect,Integrity,Service and Excellence.

ACS, ALB, Jing Yi,

Before the moment of transition, on top of the itinerary were 2 project speeches respectively undertaken by TM Jacky and TM Shafinas. 

No, you didn't hear it wrong. Time flies and the meeting, was in essence, an AGM.

Rise as you should! TM Jacky, with his speech, Hero, to be or not to be, surged to the stage as Superman. the figure that only parades across your TV screen. No joking. Jacky was a literal superman, albeit in a different way and the slight difference - J instead of S in front of the chest. 

Indeed, everyone can be superhero without those super-power. All it takes is a willing heart to make this world - replete with realism - a better place. Let's have faith. Be a hero to yourself and last but not least to yourself no matter how tough the life is.

Project Speaker TM Jacky

Next, it was a drama session - still a speech session in essence. With the title The Orphan, TM Shafinas enriched her speech with vivid body language. The description was so detailed as if you were in the setting. The heart-wrenching story of a stray kitten was ended with a heartening note, that it was finally found and adopted by a caring girl.

Project Speaker TM Nur Shafinas 

After a rather hearty refreshment with new kind of food dotting the table, CC Yik Ming and his team summed up the past term with reports.  Then, came was the solemn session where energetic new faces rise to the occasion while the weary ones stepped down as a mark of the end of their tenure. The new committee was formed in a peaceful and amicable manner.

Refreshment 

 ACS, ALB Jing Yi's farewell speech sounded more like a eulogy. It was hard for her to put her passion and dedication to serve in the capacity of Area Governor to rest. Wherever she heads next, it is sure that she can look back with a great sense of pride.

ACS, ALB Jing Yi giving her farewell speech

It is much anticipated of how her successor-to-be, CC, CL Ing Ting would fare given the excellent service she had delivered as the club's VPM.

CC, CL Ing Ting

Good luck to the new committee.

New committee

It is time to put down the pen. Till then!

Meeting No: 155

Theme: Time Management 

Word of the day: Punctual

Time is of essence. This can't be anymore stressed!

TM Chern Ken, the Toastmaster of the Evening conducted the introduction session with members sharing their experiences and tips regarding time management. There were some lamenting that time management was a myth. Indeed, to turn myth into reality, it requires great adherence to schedule and discipline!

Next, it was the Table Topic Session conducted by TM Jacky. 

Among the attempts at Table Topic that deseerved highlight was none other than CC Rishi's, Expressing his loathe towards the deadline and schedules that often wear people out, CC Rishi proposed that it was best if there was no such thing as time management and one could live his life at the pace he desired.
CC Sara - the first speaker in Project Speech session, with her title Meena Bazaar shared her experience of joining a fun fair held in her school in Pakistan. 

Life's Greatest Blessing. What else, right? CC, CL Ing Ting's speech was replete with profound values that love top them all. Presenting it by way of analogy, she drove home the message that "if there is love, all others - success and wealth will fall in place".

Lately, there has been a lot of vices against women. In a bid to help people protect themselves better, CC Rishi spoke on how simple tips can work great in times of danger and emergency.

Lastly, CC Rathippriyah shared the story of Mahathma Ghandi and the inspiration he had enacted throughout his life.
After an energizing refreshment, audience were all ears for the comments and suggestions on areas of improvement. As usual, with DTM Dr. Devi taking the helm, the evaluation was never short of motivation and great substance.

CC Rishi was about to share something valuable given that the surrounding was so unsecured and personal safety was at stake.

Miss Laughter, ACB Wei Chin, the first Table Topic Speaker.

Guest Yee Yuan surged to the stage in the Table Topic Session.

Guest CC Rathippriyah the winner of project speech

TM Nur Shafinas was lively in the Table Topic Session

“Beginning of a great day begins a night before.” 

                                                                                                   ― Sukant Ratnakar

 

Meeting No: 154

Theme: Mother's Day

Word of the day: Grateful

In line with the theme, the meeting was stared with a round of gratitude to our respective mothers. Indeed, we are all truly indebted to the loved and only one who has tirelessly nurtured us.

The gratitude to the mothers was extended to Table Topic Session.

To guest Yee Yuan, her mother was like a harbor and refuge, sheltering him from the searing sun and torrent rain out there before he became a full-fledged ship.

To CC, CL Jing Xian, the best way to express love to her mother was to be as economical as possible. Googling up a nice picture coupled with words of gratitude would suffice. What a peculiar yet a creative, modern way of celebrating the Mother’s Day!

As for TM Pei San, she celebrated the day with marked importance with the food cooked by her mom. The saying that ‘mothers never retire’ is true indeed.

As for TM Nicholas, the best gift he could give to his mother was flower as her mother was   flower enthusiast.

Proceeding to Project Speeches, TM Nicholas presented his speech with the title The Lion Whisker. Ever craving for potion that could transform you to be a great lover? Try plucking a lion’s whisker. It teaches you 3 fundamentals of love which are persistence, prudence and patience.

Next, CC, CL Fatimah cautioned us with her speech to “Drive Safely”. Take note that there must be no alcohol before driving and mobile phone during driving.

It was UMTMC's honour to have CC Rathippriya to be the General Evaluator of the meeting. With the wealth of experience she possessed, the audience had benefited a lot from the Evaluation.

Meeting No: 153

Theme: Expecting the unexpected

Word of the day: Startled

Things often go out of expectation. The rain, the red hot sun, the water shortage…

This trait of life had yet again been highlighted by CC Wei Chin’s car-breaking-down experience. Perhaps she should have expected that it needs constant check-up and maintenance. In another words, do expect the unexpected..

CC Wei Chin sharing her car-breaking-down experience

After a round of cries of disappointment, or in certain cases, joy over the unexpected, came the Table Topic Session.

What is TM Jacky became a mad scientist one day? Nothing bad would happen as Jacky’s latest invention was a transformer technology readily to be incorporated into the modern modes of transports. Problem of traffic jam would have been solved. What’s next, not-so-mad and ethical scientist?

What if one day lion is not the fierce creature that you are impressed upon but a lion that preaches good deeds?

Given a choice, CC,CL Fatima would choose to become the king of the Jungle as it symbolizes great personality  and character.

Table Topic speaker CC,CL Fatima.

Next, Jing Yi cheekily shared how one can become a millionaire and be declared bankrupt just in one day. Tip: Just go to any country that has small currency notes and let economic reality shows you how one can literally transform from numerous zeroes behind the figure to mere nil.

Table Topic Speaker Jing Yi

Pencil, to CC Rishi, is not merely a pencil but also something to be tossed, a good source of ideas and good appettizer if only you are willing to make the first bite. TM Jacky, the first project speaker introduced something novel by talking on Graphtology. In layman terms, it was about how your signature was intricately linked with your personality. One literally understands himself or herself better after listening to his speech!

First Project Speaker TM Jacky introduced the concept of Graphtology

TM Jacky's  speech topic, what your signature says about you.

Ever wonder how does the hype of selfie all come about? CC Rishi led all of us to probe its history and the psychology behind the selfie. Coming into being in 2012, the word “selfie” was later ranked as word of the year and even secured a place in Oxford Dictionary 2013. Besides, CC Rishi also shared with the audience tips to take a nice selfie.

Project Speaker CC Rishi explained about Selfie.

This session was ended by CC Fatima’s sharing of how a slight change in attitude and the manner of discourse can make a drastic difference in relationships. All it takes is awareness and sensitizing yourself to another’s feeling. It is a simple yet profound gesture that can light up the whole world.

Team of Evaluators 

TM Jacky winner of Project Speech

Table Topics winner CC Rishi

A round of fruitful evaluation came as a nice wrap-up of the meeting. Not to forget the nice food served during the refreshment which never failed to be a feature of the club!

Food served during the refreshment 

Meeting No: 152

Theme: What If

Word of the day: Envisage

At times, life can be dull. 

In the war between dream and reality, idealistic human beings are the one who suffer the most.

Some choose to surrender themselves to the gritty realism while some continue to wage the battle to achieve the utopia they crave.

Whatever category one is in, occasional spice-up of things in life is a must. In this aspect, the words ‘What If’ are a game changer. Let’s envisage no further than UMTMC.

ACB, CL Joseph, a much helpful guest from TARC Toastmaster Club joined the meeting as a Table Topic Master. 

TM Nicholas was the first challenger that rose up to the Table Topic Session and got a question which invoked a poignant memory. Conceding that he didn't fare well in Biology during secondary school’s times, currently Nicholas envisages not a single failure in his tertiary education.

Failure can be frustrating. What if you could turn the clock back and be given a chance to re-choose the path? TM Jacky firmly turned down such potentially life-changing opportunity and vowed he would stay put with the path chosen. A great chemical engineer is in the making!

What would CC, CL Wei Chin do had her got a windfall which made her a millionaire? Having been agonized by the disruption of water supply, Wei Chin promised to invest heavily in water supply facility so that this God-given asset can reach every part of the world which needs it.

What would Aaron, a guest do if he was alone with Mr. Obama in an elevator? Being a person who is concerned with the planet he resides, he would ask the president questions about world issues. Having said that, it might take a technical failure of the elevator to get those questions satisfied!

The next topic was interesting. Any unusual turnout or slip up might be considered as overstepping the boundaries of educational topics. Take this. What if one day you woke up to find CC Yik Ming, the president lying just beside you? Well, TM Pei San said nothing unusual happened. This marked the end of the session.

As for project speeches, TM Jacky gave his debut speech with the title One Step Closer. After participating several meetings by UMTMC, Jacky gradually did away with the initial prejudice towards Toastmasters Club. Now he envisages a future with this club.

TM Nicholas shared his authentic experience with the native people in a rural area called Pantos, Pahang . His sharing drove home a clear message, that all of us should always be grateful.

CC Chen Long illustrated a story which reminded everyone something – that Mother’s Day is just around the corner! Well, pretend to be a good kid if all this while being a true one is too much for you!

Next, it was the much awaited refreshment session. With the variety of the good food, one would often lament that 10 minutes were never enough.

Then came the great pantheon of evaluators led by ACS, ALB Eric. Dr. Tilah offered valuable advice on Nicholas’s speech while DTM Dr. Devi took either pain or pleasure in amending the crude expressions made throughout the meeting. It was true that in ACS, ALB Jing Yi’s words that Jacky didn't look in anyway like a first-timer throughout his speech.

Toastmaster of the Evening

Speech Evaluator

Speech Evaluator

Speech Evaluator

Project Speaker TM Nicolas 

Project Speaker CC Chen Long

Nice job, Aaron!

Winners

Deliciously nice!

Group photo

What if you had the opportunity to emerge as a great speaker by joining Toastmasters?

Meeting No: 149

Theme: Challenges

Word of the day: Fascinating

One of the many ways to relish challenges in life (instead of shying away from them) is to attend any Toastmaster meetings.

Not only will you learn that challenges are merely a thing of mental perception of obstacles which can be easily overcome by positive thinking, you will realize that challenges represent opportunities too.

After the arrival of guests, it was the usual routine of introduction of guests and members. Indeed, we were proud to have ACB, CL Yeow Honn acting as the General Evaluator of the meeting.

Next, it was the Table Topic Session which had seen the surge of several ready-and-up-to-challenges-members to speak off the cuff. It was indeed a fascinating sight.

Then, came the project speeches. TM Nicholas led the session by presenting a profound topic with the title ‘Go Beyond Politics’. Instead of being carried away by the negative words spewed out by the politicians, people should always first resort to reasoning and always value peace that does not come easy.

Next, it was CC, CL Yew Yi’ time to uplift the spirit of the room. With the title – Just Do It, Yew Yi gave an encouraging speech on overcoming one’s fear in Public Speaking. Novices would find that public speaking does bot really deserve that much of fear.

The session was ended by CC, CL Fatimah’s speech. The book lover shared her affair with a book which had greatly inspired her. The profound inspiration was translated in her speech which, in turn, enlightened the crowd.

After a rather hearty enlightenment, came the evaluation session led by ACB, CL Yeow Honn.

Throughout the session, not only the General Evaluator was generous with his compliments, he, too, proffered some valuable suggestions for improvement.

Audience was all ears during the meeting

Members of UMTMC were enjoying themselves in the refreshment

Yeow Honn was sharing with the crowd his tokens of advice for improvement.

Jacky was voted as Best Table Topic Speaker. Keep it up!

Yew Yi appeared as the Best Speaker for Project Speech.

“Happiness is not the absence of problems; it's the ability to deal with them.”

― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free