Blog - NUS Toastmasters Club

Fireworks, plastic bags and posters [22/09/2015]

September 27, 2015
by tsewei

The 3 things we most often forget in our life, fireworks, plastic bags and posters

In today’s meeting, there was a common thread I found within all the prepared speeches, which is the things that occasionally slip our minds during the busy schedules of our everyday life. Listing them in no particular order, they are our friends, family and the willingness to step out of our comfort zone.

Carolyn who was doing her Project 1: The Ice Breaker, gave an insightful account of her not too typical holiday in Daocheng/Yading, which she described as one of the most challenging encounters of her life. She had to cope with snow and hailstorms, physical exertions while at the same time getting use to the altitude sickness due to it being 4411m above sea level. To put this in perspective, she gave the example of Singapore’s highest point, Bukit Timah Hill, as being a mere 163m above sea level. What made this trip meaningful to her though, was her encounter with her tour guide, an elderly uncle with a horse that brought her around during her stay there. His sunny disposition, despite being located in such a harsh impoverished area, gave her strength to appreciate the journey and that the most difficult roads lead to the most beautiful sceneries, showing photographs of the amazing natural vistas. Ending off with a meaningful quote, “a ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what a ship is built for”, joining NUS Toastmasters to her is another step in being out of her comfort zone and I am sure this is a start of another meaningful journey.

Another Project 1 speaker, Sammel, had a similar theme as well. Starting off by giving a frank account of how a school presentation gone wrong (finishing his 50mins speech in 5mins) led to him being given the nickname “The Flash”, he chose to react positively to it by joining NUS toastmasters. He set a goal for himself to speak weekly as he believes that only through practice, can one develop the skills and confidence necessary to face such an encounter again. His sincerity can be seen in him volunteering for the table topics beforehand despite having his speech after and reflects his determination to become a better speaker and if this continues, perhaps his nickname would be a reflection of how he is super-hero like in the future, being able to think on his feet.

On the topic of family was Wang Jun where he explained the origin of the Mid-Autumn festival and the mooncake being a symbol of family togetherness. When he was young, he was mostly concerned with whether there was that tasty yolk in the center of the mooncake for him to enjoy and the sipping of tea while admiring the moon was lost to him. However when he grew older, he understood the real meaning of the festival, of spending time together and growing family bonds. This is reflected with everyone sharing a slice from the same mooncake, and it was an enlightening thought which I had not considered beforehand.

Last but not least was Ardina’s Project 9 on the importance of friends after going through high school/jc life. During her junior college years, she felt she was overly focused on achievements and did not take time to expand her social circle. This was felt keenly during her birthday and when she was sick, where she felt almost invisible with no one showing concern. Mindful of this, she begun to be more friendly and active in university and to her surprise, she easily found people who were of the same course and had shared interests with her. She thus exhorts us to step out of the small circle of our comfort zone to the large circle of the wider world, “where the magic happens” and hopes we would not make the similar mistake of thinking that achievements are everything.

Concluding, the lesson I took away from today was that sometimes it takes a mistake or negative experience to realize what we need to improve on and through NUS Toastmasters, we can hear from people who already made them and reflect on whether we are in the process of committing a similar one. The effort and sincerity of the speeches shone through and that’s what makes me come down for every chapter meeting.

To end off, I take Tse Wei’s half sung one-liner from Katy Perry, “do you ever feel, like a plastic bag?”. NUS Toastmasters is the place to step out of your comfort zone where everyone is welcome and together we aim to express ourselves better and be like fireworks in the sky. Happy recess week everyone!

(P.S: When you next meet Perry, our member and not the famous singer, commend the NUSTM poster for its stunning aesthetics as he designed it)

Contributed by: Ng Jian Yao (PR Subcom)

Chapter Meetings

15th September 2015: Anyway X5

September 27, 2015September 27, 2015
by tsewei

Anyway x 5

I was pronounced guilty of 5 Anyways (amidst other “uhs” and a “basically”) by the Ah-Counter in my room. This somehow tickled me so much that I doodled it down on the Agenda paper. Isn’t it interesting how something like that slips past our ears as we speak? Especially how many times we repeat a word when we were certain the last time we said it was last speech, last week, last month, maybe last year. “Definitely didn’t use this in the last sentence, let’s naturally say it now!” I’m exaggerating but it is from these little things pointed out by the attentive Ah-Counters that we learn and notice our small quirks. Anyway, I for one seem to love the word ‘anyway’ so in a salute to that, here are 5 anyways from the night.

1. “Anyway, table topics aren’t meant to be serious.” I admit that as table topics master I might have pushed my questions a little further and some proved to be an unconventional challenge (sorry guys!) but the enthusiastic response certainly turned it around. Serious quotes were questioned (“The author says that dreams are a maze – I think he got confused in his own and wrote this quote!”), weird scenarios were realized (in response to being ruler of a new land – “Welcome to Pug Land!”) and direct questions were answered (“My dream holiday plan is to fly somewhere (anywhere) and communicate with people.”). We laughed, we talked and we listened. Table topics are something different and each speaker seized the chance to speak and have fun, “stressful” as it may appear.

2. “Who’s nervous anyway?” Our prepared speakers were simply natural on stage. They exuded confidence and divulged us in a wide range of topics – from Halloween to Nature, Friendship to Phone Culture. Needless to say, we left with a better understanding of each area, and each speaker.

3. “But anyway, do take note of this.” After a casual break, we returned to the room for Evaluation Reports. We heard concise and effective criticism from the evaluators, each providing feedback and advice for their respective speaker and collectively, for everyone. Strengths were recognized and suggestions were given. Like the Ah-Counter, the small things pointed out are helpful to any speaker and a step towards better communication and presentation.

4. “Here are the reports anyway.” Ah, the moment of truth. At the end of the meeting, the Timer and Ah-Counter are invited to report the timings of the speakers and the “counted-ahs”. As a senior mentioned, the timers keep us on track and the Ah-counters keep us aware. Yours truly was one of the “heavy offenders” whilst someone was reported to have the high score of “0” (something we all strive for, perhaps?)

5. And in closing, “Contribute in any way you want.” Educational Awards were presented and announcements of recruitment for each committee were made. This was a reminder of how each member can contribute to our community and club. Be it speeches, holding appointments or even just being present, everyone is integral to the club. Truly, we can all contribute in any way we want.

I have hereby brought my grand total of “Anyways” to 10 at this point but overall, the true 10 should be given to the chapter meeting for being another wonderful one. At every meeting, we leave with new discoveries and new ideas – this one was no exception.

Here’s to minimizing my “Anyways” and maybe writing less words but basically – be a Toastmaster anyway, any way and of course, your way.

Contributed by : Alicia Lim

Educational Materials

Julian Treasure TED Talk: How to Speak So That…

September 16, 2015July 20, 2017
by wenxi

I’m a huge fan of both the NUS Toastmasters chapter meetings and TED talks for the quality of the speakers and the topics on offer. I always leave with a feeling of somehow having been enlightened. This particular speech, made by Julian Treasure is an absolute goldmine of knowledge.

I feel that this is a speech that every toastmaster should watch this video and internalise the easy to apply techniques offered by Julian, especially those looking to hit all the right notes in their P6: Vocal Variety. I wish I had stumbled across this great resource before I tackled my P6 several months ago, but it’s never too late to learn how to effectively manipulate vocal variety to enhance one’s message.

Julian embodies great confidence with his authoritative voice. His first few words, in a low register: “The human voice,” followed by a very quick summary about his speech objectives, draw you into his world. Setting the stage for a quick intro to the fundamentals of public speaking skills, which sometimes, the most advanced speakers forget to apply. Julian’s speech, peppered with appropriate humour, left me wanting more. He describes the human voice as a toolbox, with many useful gadgets that we have at our disposal. Such metaphors enhance learning by giving us a more visual image of what is being said and makes his message memorable.

Julian brought up many skills/keyword that we have all come across at some point in our live and explained them quickly, not going into too much detail. He was successful in covering a great variety of skills but I would have preferred to hear some of them in greater depth. He, however, was probably rushed for time and the number of topics he touched in ten minutes, and the way in which he emphasised their importance in delivering a message, was quite incredible. So, after watching this video, there is a definite need to do your own further research to enhance your understanding of each of these skills.

If there is one skill I picked up that really caught my attention, it would have to be the effective usage of pauses. Being a Toastmaster, the suggestion of eliminating the ums and ahs really struck a chord. Julian is an exceptional speaker and his sincerity and conviction in delivering a message show that he truly believe in what he is saying. I believe that every one of us in NUS Toastmasters has what it takes to achieve that level of inspiration, and that is something we should strive toward. And that,…as they say in the TED community, is truly an idea that is worth spreading.

The recommended TED talk by Julian Treasure on How to speak so that people want to listen can be found at https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_how_to_speak_so_that_people_want_to_listen?language=en#.

Written by:
Selvam Ramanathan

As a Toastmaster...

Finding my voice at NUS TM

September 14, 2015
by wenxi

When I joined NUS Toastmasters Club a year ago, I expected to improve my public speaking and leadership skills. Looking back over the past year, I have not only become a better speaker, listener and leader but also had an amazing experience beyond my expectations.

Even though the chapter meetings are held on Tuesday nights after a long day’s work, I am instantly re-energized by the energy and the enthusiasm in the room. It never fails to amaze me how every meeting is run in a systematic and orderly manner so that the members and guests can make fruitful use of the time during the meeting. I think it’s a fantastic idea to start the meeting with table topics which is both the most fun and scary segment. It succeeds in breaking the ice and setting up the stage for the rest of the meeting, with new members and guests often volunteering (more like being volunteered) to be the victims only to find out – ‘Hey it isn’t so bad after all’.

The passion with which the members deliver their prepared speeches motivates me to do better every time and put more effort into my own speeches. The evaluations segment is my favorite part of the meeting, I have realized that the best way to complement your own speech preparation is to evaluate more often and listen to more evaluations. The evaluations have helped me identify my traits as a speaker ( the good and the bad ), many of which even I was unaware of. I cannot stress enough the importance of taking on appointment roles such as TME (Toastmaster of the evening), SAA (Seargent at Arms), Timer, Ah Counter and many more, each of which helps you hone a unique set of skills that you can readily apply in other aspects of your life.

For me, the real benefits have come from being involved with the club beyond the regular chapter meetings. Seeing your fellow toasties give their very best at the speech contests is both inspiring and makes you feel proud at the same time. Being involved in bench-marketing and facilitating workshops pushed me out of my comfort zone and do something I have really wanted to do – share my Toastmasters experience with others and convince them to try it for themselves. It is great fun to convey to people that we are not a cooking club. Thanks to the very active PR committee, I was also able to visit a number of other clubs in Singapore and experience different club cultures (NUS TM tops them all obviously!!). The camaraderie and support among the NUS TM members is no joke and it creates a conducive environment for all the members to learn and grow together while enjoying every moment of it.

In NUS TM, there is a genuine and sincere effort to bring value to the audience (who chose to spend their time listening to you) and along the way, this attitude has triggered something unexpected in me. As I brainstorm for my next speech content, I tend to find a little more about myself and what kind of message I want to deliver to the audience. Through NUS TM, I am slowly finding my voice and learning how to own it. NUS TM is a great failsafe platform to be unapologetically you and try new things you have always wanted to, but never took the first step because you were afraid of failing or people judging you. I am grateful to all the members and especially to the EXCO for making my first year at NUS TM into something I will cherish for life. Looking forward to many such years, I will sign off with an evaluation of my NUS TM experience in true Toastmasters spirit – what was good, what could have been better and what was the best.

The good – A multitude of opportunities to improve any personal development skill you can think of.
The could have been better – Food…maybe.
The best – Amazingly awesome club atmosphere.

Written By
Sindhu Shetty
13th Sept, 2015

Educational Materials

Roseline Torres Ted Talk: What it Takes to Be…

September 14, 2015July 20, 2017
by wenxi

Dear fellow Toastmasters,

Are you aware that leadership is also a crucial key track in your Toastmaster’s Journey? During every chapter meeting, members do not just take on speech projects, but also take on appointment roles such as Timer, Evaluator, Toastmaster of the Evening and so on. These roles allow you to develop essential leadership skills such as time management, teamwork and effective communication. But, leadership definitely extends way beyond that! When we go to work, we might have to develop our potential further and encounter certain situations where we would have to lead a large group of people in a decision making process and so on.

Roseline Torres is Boston Consulting Group’s resident expert on leadership and even left her previous job so that she could study about the topic of leadership in greater details. She shares a 9 minute Ted Talk speech on what it takes to be a 21^st century leader. In this Ted Talk, she highlights that there are key differences in becoming a leader today, especially with the increase in the flow of ideas and communication. She rose up three effective questions in her speech on what it takes to be a great leader:

1) Where are you looking to anticipate change?

2) What is the diversity measure of your network?

3) Are you courageous enough to abandon the past?

Watch this short clip: http://www.ted.com/talks/roselinde_torres_what_it_takes_to_be_a_great_leader?share=13aade675f on how Roseline talks about the various characteristics needed for a leader to succeed today and come out from the past conventional ways!

Written by:
Keerthana Paramasivam

Chapter Meetings

8th September 2015: Why I choose to come down…

September 12, 2015September 12, 2015
by tsewei

Why I choose to come down to NUS Toastmasters.

Last Tuesday, the 8th of September, was my second day of work. However, I always remember that Tuesday nights are reserved for NUS Toastmasters. Despite living 20 MRT stations far away, I felt that I have to take this opportunity to go and learn more about my speaking skills. Late as I might be, I came just when it started.

It was there when I heard from our club treasurer, Perry Chia, opening the meeting saying that on this Tuesday night, we could choose to be at home, going out with friends, or maybe studying, but instead, we choose to come to NUS Toastmasters.

Although I just came in as a member without any appointment roles, I reflected on why I chose to come here, and I felt that I have to speak up. With that in mind, I volunteered myself for the Table Topics session. Turning the fear of speaking that builds up inside me into courage, I raised my hand, stepped to the front and did an impromptu speech. This is where I felt the magic of speaking. As I speak, it feels as if I am releasing all the fears of speaking. The warm atmosphere of NUS Toastmasters makes me to enjoy speaking on stage as well, spurring me to go on. Surely, that was the only chance for me to speak, but by listening to the prepared speeches and the evaluation, I definitely learned valuable speaking pointers as well.

As the meeting was concluded, everyone gathered to put their eyes together on members who achieved the educational milestones, and indeed I was convinced that NUS Toastmasters is indeed a good environment to learn speaking skills. Every journey begins with a single step, and the journey to become a better speaker begins with a speech. I truly am grateful that I have taken the step towards becoming a better speaker by doing a Table Topics speech today. I believe that I can still improve my speaking skills, and look forward to coming here again on Tuesdays.

Written by : Michael Yonathan

Reviewed by: Neoh Tse wei

Educational Materials

Tips on Becoming a Better Public Speaker

September 8, 2015July 20, 2017
by wenxi

Public speaking is something each and every one of us has had to do in our lives. It is something we cannot escape from no matter how much we fear it. It is crucial to success in our careers, helps us improve our communication, become a better leader and communicate our ideas across to other people. Want to learn how to improve your speaking today? The following article highlights tips from professionals on how to become a better public speaker:

The recommended article Want To Be A Better Public Speaker? Do What The Pros Do.can be found at http://www.forbes.com/sites/susantardanico/2012/05/29/want-to-be-a-better-public-speaker-do-what-the-pros-do/. All rights belong to the original author.

Written by:
G. Vishua Priya

Educational Materials

Communicate Your Way To Success: Lesson Learnt from Big…

September 8, 2015July 20, 2017
by wenxi

Have you watched the movie “Big Hero 6” before?

If you have, you would agree with me that it was fantastic!

If you have not, it’s okay! I just watched it during the NUS Alumni Family Day two weeks ago.

One of the main protagonists in the movie named Hiro, was a gifted creator or robots. He had an older brother, Takeshi, who was as talented as Hero and attends the best robotic academy in town. Initially, Hiro built robots just for fighting purposes, but later, he was inspired by his brother to dream bigger and attend the so-called “nerd school”. In order to enter the nerd school, Hiro had to present his invention during the recruitment fair, and this is the part of the movie that I would love to share with you, let’s click on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSkuzg7YCo8.

When I watched this part, Toastmasters was the first thing that crossed my mind. Notice that Hiro had a stage fright, and stuttered at first. The audience started to ignore him and left. However, after receiving encouragement from his loving brother and his friends, he presented stupendously and was offered a place in the academy!

“How you say it” is as important as “What you say”. Hiro’s speech engaged the audiences’ senses. Notice that when he presented, he did not only tell the audience what “microbots” were, but also demonstrated to them how they work. The perfect combination of excellent speech crafting and choreography enchanted his audiences and caught an investor’s attention. Regardless of who we are, a scientist, an engineer, a social scientist, an artist, a businessperson, or even a musician, all of us need to communicate our ideas effectively. Often at times, we come up with breakthrough and brilliant ideas, but we have trouble connecting with our audiences and delivering the ideas to them. Here in NUS Toastmasters, we have an education structure that will help you build your confidence and competence in speaking, one step at a time. We have the basic 10 Projects in the Competent Communication Manual, from “The Ice Breaker” to “Inspire Your Audience”. After completing 10 basic projects, you can move on to select up to 6 from a palette of 15 Advanced Speech Manuals, each having its own specialisations, to further polish your speaking skills in different areas of expertise.

Speaking in public may be scary, but the fear can be subdued with the support of your family and friends. In NUS Toastmasters, we are like a family. We encourage and motivate one another to improve, one step at a time.

Navigate around our website to get a feel of who we are and what we do. Enjoy the educational resources written and posted by our dedicated members. If you have any query, or if you want to know how you can be a better speaker, listener, thinker and leader, we welcome you to contact any one of our Executive Committee members.

Let us work together, Let us grow together, and together, let us achieve our dreams.

Written by:
Andrew Anthony Tjoa

Educational Materials

Secrets of Speaking Confidently

September 8, 2015July 20, 2017
by wenxi

As the top one fear in the world, the mental and physical challenges posed by public speaking are tremendous to many of us, especially for those who do not use English as their native language, just like me. The nervousness we experience on the stage not only affects our fluency in delivery, but also undermines our credibility as a persuader or convincer. Are there any way to make ourselves appear assertive and confident in front of audiences even if we do feel the butterfly in our stomach?

The answer is a firm YES! In the following article 5 Secret Looking Confident While Speaking in Public, Nikki Stone highlighted 5 useful tips which I frequently applied before making a speech. I would recommend you to really put these tips into practice, as no a milestone could be achieved and no barrier could be overcome without your persistent input of time and efforts.

The recommended article 5 Secret Looking Confident While Speaking in Public can be found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nikki-stone/confident-public-speaking_b_4058830.html . All rights belong to the original author.

Written by:
Wenxi Yu

Chapter Meetings

25th August 2015: How did one night change my…

September 6, 2015September 12, 2015
by tsewei

25th August 2015, Demonstration Meeting

On the evening of Tuesday 25 August 2015, we had our demonstration meeting for this year. Students and prospective members came down to find out more about what the Toastmasters’ journey is like, gain a better idea about what happens at a chapter meeting, and register for membership. This year, the crowd was massive, filling up the greater part of LT 27 at Science, which is one of the largest lecture theatres in NUS; several of our speakers for the day cited that they had not had the experience of speaking in front of such a large crowd before.

The meeting has hosted throughout by lively emcees Tan Kang Rui (CC) and Elaine Sam (CC). It kicked off with a welcome address by our club President, Nathaddeus Tan ( CC,ALB ) and a very interesting and engaging explanation by Crispin Rodrigues (DTM) about the role of a Language Evaluator and several small, important, not-commonly-known details about certain words and their usage in English among other things. The word of the day, ‘amplify’, was announced, and the speakers were supposed to try to illustrate good use of this word in various forms, in their speeches. Next, our club Mentor, Wekie Tay (DTM) further lightened the atmosphere with his speech ‘Taking the Terror out of the Talk’, which helped set the mood for the guests to participate in the next segment of the meeting- Table Topics.

The Table Topics segment was hosted by our alumnus Darryl Lee (ACB,ALB), who enlightened the guests about table topics, including the fact that they were so called because they were topics pertaining to small, impromptu talk which commonly arise at a table setting, such as over a meal. After a demonstration by a club member, Hariom Jani, two guests braved the stage to speak on the table topics, which were on the theme of ‘life in NUS’, which was very fitting for the guests as it ensured that almost everyone should have something to say on the topics. Then there was voting for the better of the 2 guest table topics speakers and the winner was awarded a ribbon ‘Best Table Topics Speaker’ in recognition of this.

This was then followed by our prepared speech segment and speech evaluations. The 2 prepared speeches were on Project 1 and 2, as this should help the audience know better about what they would be doing soon if they joined as a member; the speeches were done by Ho Fuk Kin (CC), about his changing his major in NUS, and by Jaysree (CC), about the sugar in common drinks. Before the evaluations, two of our members, Jun Han (CC) and our former VP Membership, Christina (CC), shared with the audience about their personal stories, journey, and experiences with Toastmasters. Then the evaluators, Sergio Rinaldi (CC) and Teo Hui Juen (ACB,ALB) respectively proceeded to present their feedback to the prepared speakers.

Finally, the Language Evaluator and the Ah-counter, Keerthana , presented their reports, as well as the timer Weizhe (who had in fact been announcing the time taken by speakers throughout the meeting as needed). Keerthana had been noting the pause-fillers used by the speakers throughout their speech and announced at the end which pause-fillers were used and how many times they had been used by each speaker. Not surprisingly, our club mentor Wekie Tay had managed to use the word of the day the most number of times of all the speakers. After these reports, Wekie delivered a lively speech on the value of communication, ‘How Communication and Leadership Can Help You Succeed’. Then club president Nathaddeus gave the closing address, summing up the meeting and inviting the guests to proceed outside to have some refreshments, mingle with members of the club, clarify any doubts, and register for membership.

It was a memorable demonstration meeting, made possible by the hard work of the EXCO and also of all the members who had volunteered to help out at the meeting in various roles. We signed up many new members and are looking forward to integrating them into the club and have them start speaking and improving, becoming better speakers, listeners, thinkers, and eventually leaders.

Written by : Ananya Das

Reviewed by: Neoh Tse wei