Malaysia Day themed meeting on 19.9.2014.

Good morning HTMs (OMG it’s that pesky VPE again…;-P)!

Here is my take on our club’s Malaysia Day themed meeting on 19.9.2014.

We had a fun time (When is our club’s meeting ever not fun?) from the moment the TMM said “Good morning TMs!”.

Even though there were only 8 of us with some doubling up on roles, the meeting went smoothly and the Malaysian flag fluttered proudly, although there was no wind blowing in Lestari other than the air conditioning.

TM Syaiful held us captive with his onslaught of table topics in his first ever role as the TTM. Here are some of the TTS highlights…

After being caught taking pictures when the TTS started, I was asked to speak first on the topic of a place in Malaysia that is a must visit. Piras CC, CL also contributed with his thoughts on going for a gastronomical adventure in Penang. Thankfully, all of us just had our fill of breakfast grub. TM Kamala very much later joined in on this by referring to Penang as a treasure trove of Malaysian history.

The next round of topics in the TTS was about local movies, Mus ATMB, CL talked about classic P Ramlee movies & TM Rhyrita also followed suit with her take on P Ramlee’s “Tiga Abdul” and the family values that we can take home from that movie. TM Muazmir also contributed to the same topic and told us how he was ambushed, during his golf game on Sunday, to go watch “Ribbit’ by KRU Productions with his family. If he had to write about that experience, TM Muazmir said his essay would be filled with “ZZzzzzzzz…”. The final topic in the TTS was about the advice you would give to your 10 year old self. Happy to take that trip, TM Kamala said she would tell her 10 year old self to get her hair straightened and TM Rhyrita would advise her 10 year old self, to stop reading books with poor lighting so that glasses would not be part of her adult self.

We had the privilege of hearing TM Kamala’s 6^th Project Speech and she filled us in on all the extraordinary moments and people in her life leaving us to conclude whether TM Kamala is indeed extraordinary…

TM Muazmir, in his 5^th Project Speech, shared with us his recent episode with bladder stones and made us all cringe listening to the graphic details of the pain he had to endure…no more TM Muazmir…no more please…

The meeting came to a close with reports from the GE and his team & some wise words from Mr President, Piras CC CL.

Some highlights from the report of the GE, Mus ATMB, CL –

1.     Anchor yourself when you are delivering a speech. Only move with a purpose.

2.     A nice number for a meeting would be between 10 – 12 HTMs.

3.     Familiarise yourself with the requirements in the CC Manual for each Project Speech before delivering one.

4.     Have blind Table Topics!

Some highlights from what Mr President, Piras CC CL shared with us –

1.     Remarkable improvements seen in TM Kamala & TM Rhyrita are the results of attending HTM club meetings regularly.

2.     Do not fall into the trap that it is alright to speak English good enough to transmit what you need. We must aim to speak English proficiently.

Awesome meeting! Thank you to the 7 that attended!

Please see attachment for full meeting log. Thanks for reading till here.

At your service,

N.Juliana Ismail

2014 – 2015 VPE

HASiL Toastmasters Club

TM Meeting 11/2014 (11/72014)

Good afternoon fellow Toastmasters!

We had a really fun meeting this morning. Although TM Piras, our newly appointed Club President and TM Ravi were marginally late, they arrived in time to make the meeting more complete.

During the meeting, we talked about TM Ranjeet’s ravenous appetite for plane food and about vacationing. I introduced everyone to the concept of a staycation and we though TM Kamala’s house would be a great venue for a TMs staycation!

There were discussions about bombs made out of fermented soya milk, the finer points of the Thai Miss Universe, coveted black boxes (of which TM Muazmir could not get enough of), delicate butterfly cocoons and a trip down memory lane on the history of smartphones by a TM voted as having the most sexy voice among all members! We also discovered that we are all better off as crackpots!

Thank you to all who took the time to be there.

The winners for today are –

1.   BEST SPEAKER                    :       TM RAVI

2.   BEST TABLE TOPIC SPEAKER :       TM AINA

3.   BEST EVALUATOR                :       TM RANJEET

Thanks everyone!

 

 Hope to see you at the next meeting.

Thank you, enjoy your lunch break!

At your service,

N.JULIANA ISMAIL

VPE – HASiL TOASTMASTERS CLUB

HOW TO INFUSE HASIL TOASTMASTERS CLUB WITH VITAMIN 'C'!

Over time, many clubs fall into the doldrums. It’s possible for meetings to become a bit stale, for members to lapse into a routine pattern each week. Sometimes it’s a result of the sameness of the room, identical meeting formats, or the absence of enough new members to infuse your club with new energy. Over the years I’ve watched clubs succumb to lethargy. Yet the remedy is as easy as a little dose of vitamin C:Creativity.

Administer this vitamin to your club once every four to six weeks, and you’ll see its life force return stronger than ever. Paula Tunison, DTM, past International Director and three-time District 55 Governor, agrees. “Toastmasters is like a love affair. Everything is exciting at first and then, if you’re not careful, it can become dull and routine. Changing your meetings helps to keep it exciting.”

Here are some of the many ways you can introduce freshness, fun and vitality into your meetings:


• A different room layout. Many times we accept the room layout as a given: the placement of the lectern, chairs and tables. For a change of pace, try reversing the location of the lectern before the next meeting. If possible, put it at the opposite end and feel the difference. Other variations: If your lectern is at the narrow end of a long table, try placing it in front of the wide side. Or consider removing the table and holding the meeting in a circle or semi-circle, a chevron or some other configuration of chairs. Remember, environment informs experience. Add flowers, a scent or some fun decorations for further effect. Create a new environment and the experience will surely feel fresh and exciting.


• A joint meeting with another club. Find one that meets nearby at the same time. You can host them for one meeting, and they can reciprocate another time. It’s exciting to entertain guests who already know the Toastmasters traditions. The extra people and energy from this joint meeting doubles your fun!


• A grab bag meeting. Designate your next meeting as a grab bag where, upon the arrival of members, all meeting roles are drawn from a bag filled with slips of paper. Use a fill-in-the-blanks agenda, or a flipchart or whiteboard where you write in the roles chosen from the bag. Any member may end up as Toastmaster, speaker or evaluator. The drama adds a layer of excitement as even the “prepared” speeches feel like Table Topics.


• Theme meeting. Turn a normal meeting into a special event! Recently one club in the United States held an Academy Awards meeting where the Toastmaster wore a tuxedo, the Table Topics were related to movies and the winners gave acceptance speeches! Another club honored the American baseball season with a meeting in which each member assumed a baseball-related role, the Toastmaster became the manager, the General Evaluator became the head umpire, speakers became batters and the Topicsmaster became the pitcher. Members fielded topics. If your club tries this, you can dress the part as well!

Other themes may relate to topical holidays or current events of a local, regional or national nature. Celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan, Independence Day in your country or even a club, district or company anniversary.


• Costume parties. These types of theme meetings are especially stimulating. You can wear masks and costumes for Halloween, caps and gowns at graduation time, or go green for St. Patrick’s Day. Adornments abound depending upon the theme for your party.


• A time machine. Your costume party or theme meeting can be tied to a historical period. At this meeting people dress like a past generation: platform boots and silk shirts with wide lapels for the ’70s, bobby socks and leather jackets for the ’50s, or even the Gatsby look from the roaring ’20s. You’ll find a new energy comes with such wardrobes. Or go back further: the Renaissance era, Roman or Greek empires or even the Stone Age. Perhaps you’d rather fast forward to the year 2058 or 3008? When the time comes, come in character.

In addition to dressing for a particular epoch, use related language, phrases and speech topics. Methinks you speaketh the King’s English fits in your Elizabethan era. For the Roaring Twenties, your closing thought may end with “twenty three skidoo.” And your Table Topics and speeches can relate to the themes of the era as well.


• Go Hollywood! Themes abound from the world of motion pictures. Whether you take your inspiration from Hollywood, India’s Bollywood or the movies of Hong Kong, you’ll find wonderful ideas from films as diverse as The Matrix, the Harry Potter series, Jodhaa Akbar, Ratatouille or The Forbidden Kingdom.


• A progressive story. The Topicsmaster begins the fun and it’s continued by all the members. Collectively, you will tell a story designated by the Topicsmaster. This requires listening skills, creativity and quick thinking to complete. Each member contributes a sentence or two in the co-creation of a new story.


                    “Toastmasters is like a love-affair. Everything is exciting at first and then,
                    if you’re not careful, it can become dull and routine. Changing your
                    meetings helps to keep it exciting.”
                                                                                – Paula Tunison


• A debate. Your Table Topics can have two participants arguing alternate sides of an issue. Or plan a debate with numerous “candidates” for a fictitious election to involve as many members as possible. Another alternative: You can ask Table Topics respondents to argue both sides of an issue. Decorating a table with politically themed bunting is optional.

We The People, a club in Reno, Nevada, allows a Table Topic responder to rebut the previous participant’s topic as a debate activity. This builds listening skills and persuasive skills and also challenges listeners to think more, as divergent points of view are posed in the successive responses.

Even the prepared speeches for such meetings can take on a campaign tone, tackling issues and vying for the hearts, minds and votes of club members.


• A television newscast brings the world of journalism to your club. Your Sergeant at Arms can give the countdown until you go live and also be the “voiceover” that introduces the newscast. Your Toastmaster of the day is the anchor, with Table Topics and General Evaluator as your Sports and Weather co-anchors. Speakers become field correspondents with reports, etc. You can even turn some roles into commercials.


• A speech marathon! Help your members earn their educational awards as you dedicate an entire meeting just to prepared speeches. For clubs with a lot of members and the constraints of a one-hour meeting time, this periodic pumped-up housekeeping event helps more members speak and shortens the wait time between speeches. It’s educational for audience members to see multiple speeches in rapid succession. These popular events can be staged at a regular club meeting or scheduled in addition to your regular meeting time and place.


• A reverse meeting. Once a year, say on April Fool’s Day, you begin with the closing thought, hear speech evaluations before the speeches, and generally reverse the order of your entire meeting. Once in a blue moon this fun variation of the usual meeting format is refreshing and fun. Give it a try!


• The mute button. In this meeting it’s all done without sound. You can mouth the words to your speech or topic, but focus on communicating with facial expressions and gesticulations – use body language. A less ambitious version: Turn Table Topics into charades.


• Every day is a holiday somewhere. There are event calendars such as Chase’s Calendar of Events that provide fascinating and timely themes you can build meetings around. For example: Sept. 24 is National Punctuation Day (www.NationalPunctuationDay.com) in the USA. For that week’s meeting, ask members to discuss punctuation used in their speaking. Many holidays have their own Web sites to help you understand their origins, meaning and intent.

• Tall tales are terrific. Once in a blue moon, or every April 4 in the U.S. (“Tell A Lie” day), you can dedicate a meeting to embellishment, aggrandizement and bald-faced lies. Everyone can get into the act. Your speech introductions, speech contents, Table Topics and more can play fast and loose with the truth. Make outlandish claims, issue representations of gigantic proportions and pull each other’s legs for comedic effect. Then, just to confuse your audience, throw a bald-faced truth into the middle and see if they detect it! Make Pinocchio proud.

During Table Topics, play True or Lie. For some, this is easy. For others, less so!

2014 First Meeting of 2014

First meeting of the year was held on 15th January 2014.