Money Mastery-KL Toastmasters Club (#8141): #385 Pathway

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Laozi

Keeping in mind Laozi’s inspiring words, we, Money Mastery KL, started the new term’s first meeting with a bang. As Toastmasters International is on the verge of implementing Pathways, we decided to use Pathway as the Theme of the Day for our 385th meeting. As the new club officers had taken charge for the first time, the electrifying atmosphere was palpable.

The ASAA of the meeting was Mandy Chan. But, due to some work related reasons, she was unable to make it on time. Hence, Manish Kumar Jha, CC took charge of the meeting as acting ASAA and called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM.

As usual, the ASAA narrated the house rules and helped to recite the Toastmaster’s Promise. Thereafter, he invited the new President Wendy Sim CC to the dais to give her first President’s address of the term. Oh boy, everyone present there welcomed her with a thunderous applause!

Initially, she looked a little tensed but she gathered her composure and led like a pro. Then, she Invited the Grammarian, Chitirra, to introduce the Word of the Day, Palpable, which means visible or noticeable. After that, everyone present there were asked to introduce themselves using the word of the day.

Subsequently, the President handed the meeting over to the Toastmaster of the Evening (TME), Mathew Philippose CC, ALB. Like always, he imparted his energy into the meeting and everyone present there. He started with giving a brief introduction about the History of Toastmasters International. After that, he went on to introduce the role players for the meeting

1. Grammarian: Chitirra
2. "Ah Counter”: Shain Anand
3. Timer: Joel Silas
4. General Evaluator: Lee Meng Tze, DTM

Up next, it was the time where the Invocation Speaker Ron Yeap, ACB, our Immediate Past President, inspired the members for the meeting.

The clock striked 7:55 PM and it was time for the impromptu session, but in a Toastmaster’s dictionary, it is termed as Table TopicsTM Session. With our Table TopicsTM Master Serena Kong ACB on stage, following guests took up the challenge to speak on the prepared topics about the theme of the day ‘Pathway’.

After that exciting session, the TME took us to the Assigned Speech session.

Speaker 1: Ken Chan DTM. He was doing his first project from the CC manual. This was the 8th time he was doing his CC manual and we could see that perfection in his speech. He shared stories from his childhood in an inspiring way. He was given a standing ovation for the ice breaker speech as per the club culture.

Speaker 2: Yap Ooi Yee. She was doing her 7th project from the CC manual. Her speech was all about how Google’s creations have changed the world and made our lives easier. Her research on Google gave everyone a better insight on Google.

Speaker 3: Foo Fung Jiun. He has reached the 9th project from the CC Manual. His speech was about handling emotions at work. The points he made during the speech would have definitely persuaded everyone present there to implement the tricks he suggested.

Speaker 4: CP Lau ACB, ALB. He was doing his 2nd speech from the Advanced Communication Manual. His speech was about his travelling buddy who helped him to plan his trip in an effective way. The travelling buddy was none other than Google Maps. He shared about the different options that Google Maps provides.

After the assigned speech session, a short break was taken for everyone to have some refreshments. After ten minutes, ASAA of the meeting, Mandy Chan called the meeting to order and handed over the control to General Evaluator Lee, Meng Tze, DTM. She invited a string of evaluators and role players for the evaluation session.

Ron Yeap, ACB was the first to present his evaluation on the Table TopicsTM speeches. Like his invocation speech, his evaluation was also inspiring to the speakers as he pointed out their strong points and the areas of improvement.

Next, the assigned speech evaluators Manish Jha CC, EK Yeo CC, CL, Hj. Hashim DTM and Tan Ben Hoe CTM, CL were invited to present their evaluation on the assigned speeches. Their constructive evaluations not only motivated the speakers, but also helped other members present there.

Then, the role players of the meeting, i.e. Grammarian, Ah Counter and Timer, presented their respective reports. The General Evaluator then summarized the meeting as a whole and gave her feedback about the meeting. With that, she handed over the control to the TME for the remaining sessions.

TME invited the President Wendy Sim to give away the awards for the best performers.