Photos @ 18 Jan 2011

Report by Angeline Lee, VPE

The Courage to Conquer

From left: Past President Freddie Yap who is TME, Kim Chow and Past DG Ho Fong Ming, DTM, the GE.

We were in excellent hands with TME Freddie Yap conducting our “Courage to Conquer” meeting professionally, complete with well-prepared introductions. “It takes courage” said our TME, “to say I am sorry, to say I love you, to say I will. It also takes courage to attend club meetings.”

From left: Ian, Emily, Victor (ITC Bintang TMC), Angeline & Jess (Unitar TMC)

In line with our meeting theme, Invocation Speaker Wai Yee conquered her fears of public speaking and presented a thought-provoking speech that ended with “Confront your fears. Get to know your fears. You will then be able to conquer your fears.”

VPPR Alexandra took our club meeting to new heights with her creativity. She rewarded Table Topic speakers Ian, Tony, Wai Yee and Vincent with specially designed Friendship bookmarks which contain the Table Topics: courage to lead, courage to be truthful, courage to let go and courage to take risk, etc.

Friendship bookmarks designed by VPPR Alexandra.

For the first speech project of the evening, Past President Lay Theng delivered a timely speech on “Yes, I will, IPP” to persuade us to take up club officer roles when asked to do so by Immediate Past President Ben who will soon be serving as Chairman of the nominating committee.

Jess Foong from Unitar, presented her Vocal Variety speech on “What You See”. There was no trace of fear as she delivered her speech, in which she incorporated the voices of various characters.

For my speech on “New Year, New Confidence”, our GE and my evaluator Kim were happy that a speech from the Public Relations manual had been selected, providing an opportunity for our members to learn from this manual. Not only that, I had fun playing the role of radio talk show guest on “Friendship FM”, being interviewed by radio host Alexandra.

From left: Past DG Ho Fong Ming, Andy, Tony, Victor, Jess, Wai Yee

Our General Evaluator is no ordinary DTM. She is DTM Ho Fong Ming, our District Governor for 2003/2004. She was District 51's CEO when there were 7 countries in the District. Her dedication to serve is unquestionable as she stopped working for one year and worked full time as our District Governor during one-year tenure.

The Evaluation Session was conducted flawlessly by our elegant and affable GE. She was quick to praise her team of evaluators consisting of Victor (from ITC Bintang), Angeline, Tony and Kim, Grammarian Zaiton, Ah Counter Emily and Timer Andy.

She complimented Table Topics Master Alexandra on her creativity and flexibility. She was impressed with our newsletter containing the President's message and our ability to run the meeting in line with the meeting theme.

President Zaiton presenting a thank-you card to GE Fong Ming

Here are the award winners for this evening:
Best Table Topics Speaker – Tony Lim
Best Project Speaker – Angeline Lee
Best Speech Evaluator – Kim Chow

Tony is Best Table Topics Speaker

Kim is Best Speech Evaluator

Using the carefully prepared slides by VPM Chee Hoe, VPPR Alexandra did a marvelous job in creating excitement amongst us when she finally announced that the front runner for Friendship’s Membership Recruitment Campaign is none other than Past President Tony Lim !

We had a walk-in guest, Rosalie from Netherlands. As a trainer, she is interested in joining Toastmasters to improve her spoken English, as it was not her mother tongue. She found this meeting just right for her, as both Lay Theng and my project speeches were about Toastmasters.

Rosalie giving her feedback

Our next club meeting on 25 January is our International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest. It takes a brave heart to be a contestant and we will be witnessing the “Courage To Conquer” performances from Freddie, Chee Hoe, Ben, Alexandra and Sivadas in a few days’ time. Join us and find out who will take be crowned as the new International Speech Champion and Table Topics Champion of Friendship !

Newsletter_Volume 9 Issue 11

FRIEND'S CONNECTION

Volume 9 Issue 11

Newsletter was initiated by Mohamad Abdullah, DTM, in 2000

Ben Fong took over as editor from 04 July 2006 to 20 October 2009

Angeline Lee was the editor from November 2009 to June 2010

Alexandra Lau is the current editor

Page 1 (Click image to enlarge)

Page 2 (Click image to enlarge)

Meeting Programme_18 Jan 2011

Click image to enlarge image

Notice of Meeting

Angeline Lee, VPE cum Area W3 Governor

From: Angeline Lee [mailto:angeline.lee.sl@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 9:23 PM
Subject: Friendship 18 Jan 2011 Meeting - The Courage to Conquer

Dear Friendship Members,
It has been one week since our last meeting and soon, it will be time to meet again. For your entertainment pleasure and learning experience, we have secured two experienced Toastmasters for this The Courage to Conquer meeting.

Our Past President Freddie Yap, an eloquent speaker and evaluator, is our courageous TME.

Our GE is Ho Fong Ming, DTM, our District Governor for 2003/2004. She was District 51's CEO when there were 7 countries in the District. Her dedication to service is unquestionable as she stopped working for one year and worked full time as our District Governor during her one-year tenure. If you wish to know why she was willing to devote one year of her life to Toastmasters, I strongly suggest that you talk to her before or after our club meeting. I’m sure she is more than willing to share her experiences with us. She is also eager to guide us on areas of improvement for our club meetings.

Invocation speaker Wai Yee, Table Topics Master Alexandra, Grammarian Susan, Ah Counter Emily, Timer Andy, speech evaluators Tony and Kim have also fearlessly said ‘yes’ to their respective meeting roles. For project speeches, Lay Theng will be doing her third speech, and we have Jess Fong from Unitar Toastmasters Club, and yours truly, doing speeches from two advanced manuals.

Every meeting is an opportunity to learn, to grow, to conquer our fear of failure. Although there are butterflies in my stomach, I am looking forward to conquering my fears of "Will I be ready in time for my project speech?" and "Will I be able to give a blockbuster performance?" one more time. During our last meeting, Kim has reminded us about the 3 P (prepare, practise, perform) for any meeting assignment that we undertake. Thank you, Kim for that timely reminder.

Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Past Presidents. Thank you Ben, Freddie, KC, Kim, Lay Theng and Tony for attending our meetings regularly and helping the members continuously to conquer their fear of public speaking and taking up leadership roles in the club. Without your support, it would be harder for us, and I hope the rest of Friendship members will join me in recording our appreciation to our courageous Past Presidents.

See you on the 18th for another great meeting!

Your VPE,

Angeline

Photos @ 04 Jan 2011

Report by Angeline Lee, VPE

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

With TME Sivadas in charge of our “Servant Leadership” meeting, we started and ended on time - our time management reputation intact for our first meeting for 2011. Invocation speaker, Past President James told us that no institution can survive if it needs Superman to organize it. In his opinion, Friendship is still going strong after 10 years.

For Table Topics, Wai Yee prepared a set of profound statements for us to speak on
• We must be silent before we can listen
• We must listen before we can learn
• We must learn before we can prepare
• We must prepare before we can serve
• We must serve before we can lead

Wai Yee requested each table topics speaker to pick the next table topic speaker. In this manner we had James, Dalani, Lavinia, Yi Hoong and Susan speaking on the above topics.

The first prepared speech of the evening was delivered by Susan. This was her 2nd speech it was an intriguing “Allow Only Good Thoughts and Good Feelings”. Every morning, she starts her day resolving to be happy and having good thoughts only. We were most intrigued by her belief: “I am happy and grateful now as money comes easily to me in an increasing quantity on a continuous basis”. That certainly kept our attention till the end of her speech!


Susan presenting her speech project

Michelle from KPMG KL Toastmasters Club presented her second speech from the Storytelling manual. It was indeed a “Let’s Get Personal” story as she told us of how romance started on a trip to Bali and how a yellow dress set the scene for a romantic end to an enchanting evening.

Our third speaker, VPM Chee Hoe, presented his favourite topic in the Successful Club Series, “Finding New Members”. Our hard-working VPM who is also busy working on his membership campaign drive, delivered his presentation in a relaxed manner. He even injected humour into his speech. We laughed when he explained that more members means more fun and more funds for the club. He suggested that we wear our Toastmasters pin which is a good conversation starter. He also recommended that we leave our Toastmasters magazine at the dentist deliberately.


Chee Hoe giving his presentation

During the break, Past President Kim Chow gave us a few useful pointers on the placement of the projector, notebook and lectern. She showed how speakers should position themselves on the stage. She also recommended the purchase of a remote control for the slideshow. Thanks to her input, I believe our speakers will develop a more effective presentation style using the projector. Thanks, Kim, for sharing your expertise with us!

Our General Evaluator, Francis Ng DTM displayed his sense of humour when he explained that evaluation is (1) just the personal opinion of the evaluator, and (2) if we do not agree with the evaluation, we refer to (1).


President Zaiton presenting a thank-you card to Francis Ng DTM

Table Topics Evaluator Ben Fong gave a comprehensive and encouraging report that served to motivate the speakers. He said that all the Table Topics speakers were winners because they had the courage to stand up and speak out.

Dalani is Best Table Topics Speaker. Congratulations!

Lay Theng was eloquent in her motivating evaluation speech. In her opinion, Susan’s speech was of value to the audience. She recommended that Susan enrich the content by telling the audience how to start generating good thoughts in their lives.

Kim’s evaluation of Michelle’s speech was a blockbuster. In her opinion, a Storytelling speech requires showmanship. It must have a dramatic start and a dramatic finish. The speaker should not speak at the rostrum and the key to delivering a blockbuster performance is to prepare, practice and perform.

Here are our four guests who attended the “Servant Leadership” meeting:

Chee Hoe’s guest


Susan’s guest


James with his two lady guests. The GE, Francis Ng, is on the right.

Thank you everyone for being a part of Friendship’s first meeting for 2011. Our next meeting is on 18 January with Past President Freddie as our TME. He will lead us in “The Courage to Conquer” meeting and I certainly look forward to conquering my myriad fears of speaking in public.


Group photo

Newsletter_Volume 9 Issue 10

FRIEND'S CONNECTION

Volume 9 Issue 10

Newsletter was initiated by Mohamad Abdullah, DTM, in 2000

Ben Fong took over as editor from 04 July 2006 to 20 October 2009

Angeline Lee was the editor from November 2009 to June 2010

Alexandra Lau is the current editor

Page 1 (click to enlarge)

Page 2 (click to enlarge)

Meeting Programme_04 Jan 2011

Click to enlarge image

Notice of Meeting

Angeline Lee, VPE, cum Area W3 Governor

From: Angeline Lee [mailto:angeline.lee.sl@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2010 10:41 AM
Subject: Friendship 4 Jan 2011 Servant Leadership Meeting

Dear Friendship Members,
Belated Christmas greetings !

Two more days and the 2011 will be upon us. Perhaps you are thinking, wondering and pondering whether 2010 has brought all that you wished for. It’s never too late, to be the speaker and leader you dreamt of becoming.

For our first meeting in 2011, many Friendship leaders have stepped up and said yes to the various speaking roles and meeting roles. Thank you for helping us to have a great start to our Servant Leadership meeting.

Grammarian Alex has decided on Probity as the Word of the Day. VPM Chee Hoe will be presenting his favourite topic Finding New Members from the Successful Club Series. KC will be inspiring us with his Invocation speech, Susan will be doing speech no. 2 and Vincent has plans to bring 2 to 4 guests to our next meeting.

Happy New Year & happy holidays, everyone & see you on 4 January 2011 !

Best regards,

Angeline, VPE

Newsletter_Volume 9 Issue 9

FRIEND'S CONNECTION

Volume 9 Issue 9

Newsletter was initiated by Mohamad Abdullah, DTM, in 2000

Ben Fong took over as editor from 04 July 2006 to 20 October 2009

Angeline Lee was the editor from November 2009 to June 2010

Alexandra Lau is the current editor

Page 1 (Click to enlarge image)

Page 2 (Click to enlarge image)

Photos @ 21 Dec 2010

Report by Angeline Lee, VPE
Make It Happen

For our Christmas meeting, we spared no effort to set the scene for a memorable year-end meeting for 2010. VPM Chee Hoe and Treasurer Wai Yee helped to set the Christmas mood by providing Christmas music, Snow Cupcakes and even brought along a Christmas tree! VPPR Alexandra distributed Christmas hats and we had Christmas ornaments on loan from HELP Toastmasters Club.

Vincent & his guest, with KC

From top left - Owen, Angeline, Jason (HELP), Abe, Daphne and Susan

With our various guests arriving from Exact ADC, KPMG KL, DU Advanced, HELP University College and Ernst & Young’s Toastmasters Clubs, we were all set to Make It Happen (our meeting theme) on 21 December 2010. The only thing missing was snow, which we compensated for by having a white dress code, evoking a White Christmas.

Ladies in white - Caroline (Exact ADC), Emily, Wai Yee and guest Lai Yee

Susan, Andy, Chee Hoe, Michelle (KPMG KL) and KC

Sivadas, Andy, Chen Choon (E&Y), Ivan (HELP), Andrew (Exact ADC) & Angeline

Our specially invited guest speaker on Vocal Variety is a highly sought after speaker. Not only did TLI Chair Dennis Wee enlighten us on VAPPIT (volume, articulation, pitch, pause, inflection and tempo), his exuberance, enthusiasm and energy level brought the meeting to a new high. Many of us were impressed with his presentation. Jason, one of his fans, declared that he is a hard-core fan of Dennis.


Chee Hoe trying out different speaking rates during the Vocal Variety presentation

Next we had interesting twist to our usual Table Topics Session. Table Topics Master Chee Hoe provided music and we were quick to pass the box to the next person before the music stopped. Pairs of performer and speaker were randomly selected in this manner, with laughter throughout, at the looks of relief on everyone’s faces when the box had left our hands. Our laughter continued when Sivadas proposed to KC and KC emphatically said “No!” followed by his adroit explanation as to why he will never say yes.

Our winning team was Jason who acted as Marilyn Monroe and Freddie who correctly guessed that Jason was thrilled to meet the girl of his dreams at a shopping centre.

Freddie is Best Table Topics Speaker

Jason is Best Performer for Table Topics Session

For the prepared speech segment, Michelle brought us an enchanting “That Fairytale” story, the classic fairytale of Cinderella and her evil stepmother and stepsisters. Evaluator Freddie praised Michelle for making use of skills learnt in the CC manual for this Storytelling speech. VPPR Alexander exhorted us to excel and strive for excellence in her “Persuade With Power” speech. Evaluator Jason liked her engaging manner of posing questions to the audience and recommended to end the speech with more energy, as she persuaded us to take action.

General Evaluator DTM Renganathan, was our Santa Clause. Not only did he provide gifts of motivating words of praise and encouragement, he also gave gifts in his recommendation for areas of improvement. In particular, he highlighted the placement of projector and lectern which hindered the movement of speakers.


President Zaiton presenting GE Rengan with a gift

After the speech evaluations by Freddie and Jason, Grammarian KC reported on the usage of “Permeate” (word of the day). Ah Counter Wai Yee and Timer Andy also presented their respective reports. It was Andy’s first experience as a Timer and he has volunteered to take up this role again in the next meeting to improve on his presentation skills.

For the lucky draw, luck favoured two of our guests and they walked off with a smile after collecting their prizes !


Chia Her (E&Y) wins the lucky draw prize

Owen with his lucky draw prize

It was an amazing Christmas meeting with many guests helping us to have a great “Make It Happen” meeting. Thank you everyone, for making this a very memorable and enjoyable meeting. We couldn’t have asked for a better ending to year 2010.


Thank you everyone for a very happening “Make It Happen” meeting!

Our next meeting is on 4 January 2011 with the meeting theme “Servant Leadership”. Let us start off the year with new resolutions to further improve on our speaking and leadership skills !

Meeting Programme_21 Dec 2010

Click to enlarge image

Notice of Meeting

Angeline Lee, VPE, cum Area W3 Governor

From: Angeline Lee [mailto:angeline.lee.sl@gmail.com]

Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 6:11 PM
Subject: Friendship 21 December Meeting - Make It Happen

Dear Friendship Members,
As announced on 20 November, our next meeting is on Tuesday 21 December 7 PM !

We are celebrating Christmas, with the meeting theme Make It Happen and the dress code will be white. Although we have no snow (unless we have a Christmas miracle), that will not stop us from having our very own White Christmas celebration.

We will have a mystery speaker sharing with us how to incorporate Vocal Variety in our speech presentations. This person is not only a dynamic Division Speech Contest Champion, but an entertaining and enthusiastic Toastmaster as well. There shall be no more clues given on this mystery speaker. Find out who this person is when you attend our Christmas meeting !

We shall also have guests from Ernst & Young, HELP and Exact ADC Toastmasters Club. Michelle Yip from KPMG KL Toastmasters Club will be presenting a speech from the Storytelling manual while Susan and Alex continue their journey to obtain the greatest title in the world - the CC title.

Apart from the sumptous buffet dinner, cupcakes and lucky draw prizes that awaits you, Table Topics Master Chee Hoe promised something special for us for the table topics session. Grammarian KC's chosen word of the day is Permeate. I hope the Christmas spirit is permeating you as you read this mail.

So what are you waiting for ?

Make It Happen, join us on 21 December at Bukit Kiara.

Best regards,
Angeline, VPE