We all
struggle to be at the acme of our lives but along the way do we tend to lose
ourselves?
And so
theme was raised, Be Your Best Self. The final meeting of the term in which we
all discovered not just ourselves but our best selves before we stepped into
the new term.
The world
of the day was of course “Acme” because that was the destination while
self-love was the journey.
The meeting
began at sharp 7.15 where our dedicated SAA, Olvia Chen, PM1 brought us through
the opening with the Toastmasters’ Promise as well.
Following,
the Acting President, Chitirra, welcomed the guests, allowed the Grammarian to
introduce the word of the day “Acme” and invited all for a round of
introduction revolving around the theme and the word of the day. The very many
opinions that came around in order truly was an eye-opener and food for
thought. There were so many perspectives at which one could view the theme.
Despite
being the last meeting of the term and as much as the ambience would have been
one that wasn’t as upbeat we always have Ken Chan, DTM with his monkey business
and appetizing humour as the Humour Master to save the day. Laughter is always
in the air with this epic Toastmaster who is always true himself and to the
club. An epitome of being one’s best self.
As the mood
was set, the floor was passed on to the Toastmaster of the Evening, the
ever-ready CP Lau, ACS, ALB. His brief on Toastmasters and leading us through
the night was unique and original. Another example of being the best and being
one’s self.
The role
players of the evening were, KT Chok, PM1 as Grammarian, Crystal Chen, ACB, ALB
as Ah-Counter, Serena Kong, ACB, CL as Timer and the veteran Toastmaster S K
Ratnam, DTM from Extol Toastmasters as General Evaluator.
Upon
defining their roles, the session moved to the exciting Table Topics ™ session
by our Table Topics ™ Master, Shain Anand. Yet another exceptional individual,
this Toastmaster decided to give a little twist to the Table Topics ™ with his
originality by giving us story starters to attempt at rather than the usual
topics that require our opinions on things. We saw the potential of members and
guests who attempted with regards to their humour and story-telling skills.
The
assigned speech sessions then commenced with yet another speech by Ken Chan,
DTM. This time he was completing his CC#10 for the umpteenth time for he never
stops revising whilst rejuvenating us all. His topic “Say Something Sweet” said
it all as he brought smiles to our faces as he reminded us that kindness was
one of the keys that would bring forth abundance to us all. When I received a
compliment from the Toastmaster next to me, I felt beautiful and when I
returned a compliment to the Toastmaster next to me it felt even more out of
this world. An inner peace that was borderless from being the reason behind
someone’s smile.
The next
speaker was Dato’ Dr. Mary de Silve, PM2 attempting her 1st project
in Level 3 of her Pathway. “The Dangerous Companion”, almost like an oxymoron
was her title, it left us curious to know who it was. It left us even more
baffled when we found out it was our phones. Now, we all knows these
smartphones are pretty dangerous but when laid out with facts and more details
by Dato’ Mary, it really did leave us a little intimidated and together we
promised to be a little less friendly with that constant companion of ours.
Last but
not least, we had with us Dr. Srikant repeating his 2nd project from
Level 2 of his Pathways.
“Sailing in
Indonesia” was the speech he did once with the theme Effective Body Language.
As he figured there was room for improvement in this he made his 2nd
and much better attempt at it while sailing us through his sailing trip in
Indonesia.
As it was
the final meeting of the term, the VP of Education, Chitirra, decided to do a
basic presentation on the new Toastmasters education programme which is the
Pathways. A 20 minute session on how a member could kick start and progress in
Pathways was done by her just before the break.
After an
extremely short break, the session resumed with the evaluations sessions.
Nevermind not having ample time to eat during the break for we had a hearty
session with our expert evaluators, all of whom display their best selves while
giving an evaluation. The session began with our General Evaluator, S K Ratnam,
DTM inviting K L Loh, ATMG over to give the evaluation on the Table Topics ™
speakers. Following, we had in order of the speakers, Ron Yeap, ACB, CL, Hj.
Hashim, DTM and E K Yeo, CC, CL evaluate the speakers respectively.
After a
simple open evaluation, the role players gave their brief reports and the
session commenced with our General Evaluator giving his kind feedback on the
overall proceedings of our meeting.
The Acting
President, Chitirra, then proceeded to give out the awards to the best speakers
for the night. Due to time disqualifications however, no voting was done for
the Project Speech speakers. The best Table Topics ™ speaker however went to
our guest, Mr. Simon from MIHRM. The best evaluator as always went to our
charismatic Hj. Hashim, DTM. Yep! He was the Toastmaster next to me and that
was the compliment I gave him. I’ve not quite seen someone who gives an
evaluation with so much swag and style like he does!
Announcements
made, appreciation done, the meeting drew to its closure with everyone giving
their best pose of their best selves at the group photo.
You see, at
the end of the day, it’s not about who you were but how you were and I’d like
to end with the very impactful philosophy that the 2006 World Toastmaster
Champion, Mohamed Ali Shukri goes by. Always remember that you are the one and
only you in this world. You’re unique, you’re amazing and so be it. Be your
best self. Now go be awesome and see you in the next term folks!
J
Blog writer: Chitirra
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