1 December 2015 - In a Gentle Way, We can Shake the World

This is our second JOINT MEETING with School of Hard Knocks Toastmasters Club with the theme" In a gentle way, we can shake the world". 

Each and every day, we’re inundated with stories about how the world is going to hell. War, poverty, pollution,politics… all manner of atrocities are flung at us from all directions, and it’s enough to draw even the most lighthearted person into a pit of despair. Of course none of us can change the entire world all by ourselves, but by making small amendments in our own lives and encouraging others to do the same, a snowball effect occurs that can affect the entire planet in a time. For example, spreading the positivity to the people around you, speak up & take action towards non-humanity, joining volunteering work to advocate eco-friendly living or do some community work to give a hand to those in need...With all these small actions by each and everyone of us, we can shake the world, in a gentle way  

So, do not underestimate the little efforts by everyone, it will make a change! 

Toastmaster of the evening, CC Loke, CC introduces the guests and role players. 

First Timer, Table Topic Master - Stanley Lo gently shakes the crowd by his thought provoking table topics.

Sivadas attempting table topic - What are the life lessons in the theme that you learnt? 

Alex sharing her valuable feedback with the table topic speakers 

President of SOHK, Eng Ze Ru participating in the humor session : Why is Santa Claus from Hong Kong? 

Because he is Cantonese..... Ho... Ho...Ho..... 

First speaker, Wong Kah Mun attempting his CC#8 Get Comfortable with Visual Aid 

Title: Case Study, Literature 

Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity. 

He shared a poem by Josie Greveling, a source of inspiration, strong conversation towards environment. 

Second Speaker, Choong Yew Siing attempting his CC#6 Vocal Variety 

Title : How Long? The Life Long Learner

Agloe was fake – a deliberate fake. The mapmaking company was putting together a road map of New York State, and wanted to make sure that all its hard work wouldn't just be copied over by its competitors. 

When people see this town in the map, they expect something there. But why do we look at something now? Why not look beyond it? 

Agloe - An Imaginary Town Becomes Real, Then Not. 

Yew Siing gently enlightens fellow toastmasters by reiterating the importance of the way we see the world from different perspectives. The education opportunity acts like a telescope for us to see at a wider scope. 

Yew Siing ended his speech with a nice quote by Steve Jobs:

Third Speaker, Eng Ze Ru attempting his CC#7 - Research Your Topic. 

Title : Don't Reject 

We learnt from Ze Ru how to manage stress with "ACT" - Acknowledge, Commitment, Therapy. 

Panel of prepared speech evaluators

Edrea Poh, CC

Ng Lai Leng, CC

Benz Chan, CC 

Award time !!!

Best table topic speaker goes to..... 

President of SOHK, Eng Ze Ru! 

Best prepared speech goes to..... 

President of SOHK, Eng Ze Ru (again)! Well Done! 

Best evaluator goes to.... 

Edrea Poh, CC. Well Done! 

Many thanks to the role players: 

Grammarian, SY Phang 

Ah Counter

Timer - Lim Terng Fui 

Last but not least, our beloved General Evaluator, Eddie Lai all the way from Air Products Toastmasters Club. This is definitely one of the most hilarious evaluation I had. 

As usual the club meeting ended with photo taking session and networking time! 

And, this is our favorite, Speaker's Corner @ The School, Jaya One. 

Word of the Day: Legacy 

Meaning: Something handed down or received from an ancestor or predecessor

Example of Usage: Non-violent civil disobedience is Mahatma Gandhi's legacy of peace to the world 

Cheers,

Ng Lai Leng 

Vice President of Public Relations of Term 2015/2016

17 November 2015 - Learn, Unlearn and Relearn

Life is a lifelong journey. Unlearning and relearning does not mean that one should forget the things we learnt. It simply means we learn it again at some point in time in our life. Unlearning happens when we are open to new perspective to the things we already know. Relearning happens when we accept a new perspective and appreciate our knowledge from that perspective.

Our TME ---> Our elegant and eloquent lady, Edrea Poh, CC 

We are honored to have Johan Ooi from D'Utama Advanced Toastmasters Club, who is also the Semi-Finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking to share his journey to World Championship of Public Speaking 2015 at Las Vegas.That's where he learn, unlearn and relearn his Toastmasters's journey, definitely an inspiring experience for us in Friendship Toastmasters! 

Did he win? Did he lose? Yes, certainly it was a winning moment for Johan! 

Our first project speaker, Keny Tai delivered CC#4- How to Say It. 

Title : The Enchanting Cinque Terre Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃiŋkwe ˈtɛrre])

For a while, all of us thought we were in Shakespeare's Literature class. She introduced us to Cinque Terre, which consists of five villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. A lovely place that one must not missed in Italy! 

 Vernazza

Our second project speaker, Chor Chee Hoe, ACS, ALB delivered CC#4- How to Say It 

Title : We Love, We Care, We Share

Our Immediate Past President believes in the power of people. Everyone of us can make the world a better place. Chee Hoe introduced the voluntary body to distribute meals to the homeless around Klang Valley. 

If you have nothing to do at 5.30pm on a Sunday evening, why not volunteer at Dapur Jalanan? They gather every week at Jalan Panggung to serve food to the needy. 

Check this out: 

http://poskod.my/cheat-sheets/soup-kitchens/

Our third speaker, Alexandra Lau, ACB, ALB delivered Advanced Communication - The Entertaining Speaker - Resources for Entertainment
Title : In ROJAK We Trust

Alex effortlessly connects everyone with our favorite "Abothen".... "la".... "meh"......
Inevitably, Malaysia is a such a unique country with a unique language!
In fact, this has been our identity. Should we "la.....' or not to 'la......'.

Panel of speech evaluators comprise of:

Esten Tan, CC

Tan Lay Theng, ACB, ALS

Johan Ooi, CC, CL

Award time!!!!

Best Prepared Speech Goes to........ Chor Chee Hoe!

Best Speech Evalutor Goes to..... Johan Ooi! 

Last but not least, a big thank you to our General Evaluator, Mathew Philippose, CC,CL all the way from Money Mastery KL Toastmasters Club 

21 July 2015 - Life's a Marathon, not a Sprint!

This is a beautiful analogy for living life, not just running a race. Angela Duckworth, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania in her psychology research found that Grit is the one of key success factor in one’s life.

Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality.

As with endurance running, life requires the same thing from us that a marathon does, to endure till the end, without quitting at any point before the finish line, and without cutting corners. It is about never giving up, being persistent and resilient. Their passion and commitment towards the long-term objective is the overriding factor that provides the stamina required to "stay the course" amid challenges and set-backs. Essentially, the grittier person is focuses on winning the marathon, not the sprint. 

The audience were inspired that "Grit" is the true recipe to success. 

Table topic master, Tan Geok Ean, CC challenged the members on topics around the theme for the evening. 

Visiting Toastmaster, Yap Poh Soon from TTDI TMC was the first volunteer to take up the Table topic challenge - "Between failure and giving up, which would you choose?". 

Visiting Toastmaster, May Ong from OUM TMC got a cycling picture where she shared her experience when she was younger.

Keny shared with us how Richard Brandson inspired her to do something exciting in life.

Visiting Toastmaster, Patrick from TTDI TMC was given an Apple picture and he passionately shared Steve Job's success story.

Last but not least, our president, Benz Chan shared how he learnt from his past experience. "Mistakes are proof that you are trying".

Our first project speaker, Wong Mi Shan delivered CC#1 - Icebreaking speech. This soft spoken lady shared that she is a strong believer of gender equality. We know more about her, at least we know she plays the guitar instead of piano!

If I weren't afraid..... 

Second project speaker, Edrea Poh delivered Advanced Communication Manual - Public Relationship. Edrea shared her personal experience in Toastmasters, from personal development to gaining speaking competency. 

The Toastmasters

Guess what are they watching???

We had a special clip for Timothy and Mi Shan, a clip that captures all the memories we had in Friendship Toastmasters. 

Cheers! 

Special cake for the lovely couple..... All the best to both of you! 

I always believe absence makes the heart grow fonder ;p

Last but not least, special thanks to our General Evaluator, Sue Ding, DTM, District Governor. Sue Ding shared a very detailed 'general evaluation' with us. She complimented our SAA, Keny for being thoughtful and ensuring guests are well taken care of all the time, not forgetting keeping them well fed too! She was impressed by the strong bond that we have among the members, and this is even more apparent when the Tim and Mi Shan's farewell clip was played during the meeting. Well done, Friendship Toastmasters! 

Sue Ding has provided valuable feedback to us, and we hope to see you again!

A meeting will never be complete without a group picture of everyone! 

In conjunction with our theme, we would like to share this motivating talk by Angela Duckworth: 

Click me! Link to Youtube

Something we can learn from the cute ducklings: 

Cheers,

Ng Lai Leng 

Vice President of Public Relations of Term 2015/2016