Semi-Annual Convention at Macau November 2009

Had a wonderful and fruitful trip to Macau! One of the best conventions and best travel companions I've ever had! Looking forward to our next trip to Bangkok next year!

dress for success

Gave a talk on "Dress for Success" at a Speechcraft Workshop organized by Buona Vista Toastmasters Club and received compliments from my club members as well as the participants. It was really enjoyable and I'm already thinking of doing a sequel to the talk.

I realised that this topic about Image and Personal Grooming is a huge topic and there are many areas to explore. Impressionistic Branding is an up and coming "IN" thing which is what differentiates anyone from everyone else and it should not be overlooked and taken for granted.

However, I realise that it takes 2 hands to clap and when it comes to dressing. People can be as stubborn as a mule! Well, the first criteria for dressing for success is that desire. If there is no desire to change, it can't work, no matter how many times I coach them.

And the other criteria for dressing for success is the eye for details. And my goodness, when it comes to colours, not everybody is gifted with differentiating colours with the slightest different in tone or texture. Well, can't help it for people who are born colour-blind. But worse, for people who are born with poor taste. I think that such things are really beyond me.

I remember one ex-colleague ever told me that she thinks that VPL is sexy. And my jaw just dropped, almost right to the floor. Well, for those who are uninitiated, VPL stands for "Visible Panty Line" and it is one of the top 10 image destroyers for ladies. And I'm surprised of the number of working ladies out there who are not aware what is VPL and happily walking around with one. And worse still, believe that it is sexy. Gosh. I really can't stomach that.

But then, if you observe people walking on the streets, which is one of the things I love to observe while I'm shopping, is that you will be amazed that there are people who wear the ugliest things in Orchard Road, which I believe must be their favourite pieces. People's taste do vary quite a lot! Then again, people appreciate art differently. And I must say, whoever came up with the phrase "Beauty is in the eyes of the Beholder" is a genius.

semi-annual convention 2008

Attending the Semi-Annual Convention gave me a totally perspective of the Toastmasters Movement, the meaning of international. It really reminded me of my AIESEC days when we receive delegates from other countries. This year, the Semi-Annual Convention is held here in Singapore and we were privileged to have with us delegates from Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand. It was really amazing how we can make friends with people from other countries in just a couple of days. The bond that ties us together is our passion for toastmasters. It really warms my heart to meet so many like-minded people.

The only reason I decided to come for the convention is to attend the Gala Dinner held on Sat evening as I was receiving an award for leading my club to President's Distinguished Club last year as the club president. It really felt great to be up on the stage to receive an award once again. It's an encouragement and this really stirred me on to lead my Area to President's Distinguished Area this term as Area Governor. It is a challenge.

I'm so inspired that I signed up to go for the Convention in Hong Kong and Macau next year. And not forgetting the next one in Bangkok in 2010. I'm on fire for toastmasters. And I'm enjoying every minute of it!

daily dose of toastmasters

The recent news of the unstability of the financial sector in the US market seemed to have a large impact on the participants in my classes. Well, I can understand why they are in a dampened spirit. Since the negative news came on, their phones never stopped ringing. So did mine. As such, I have to double or triple my positive energy in class to keep their spirits high, well, it was difficult. And having a bad throat at this most crucial time does not help at all.

As the participants happily sucked away my positive energy like a dry sponge being dropped into a pool of water, I have to quickly replenish myself so that I can maintain that pool of water from evaporating, but it seems that the rate of suction is much faster than the rate of replenishment. I am looking out desperately to source for my replenishment.

And how glad I am to be heavily involved in the Toastmasters Movement, where positive energy is overflowingly abundant. This past week, is Toastmasters Contests daily week. Someone joked that I should set up a Toastmasters club named Everyday Toastmasters Club! And I'm sure I will have many active members. This week alone, I've seen at least 3 familiar faces at least 3-4 times this week. And not to mention I've just only met them at least 2-4 times last week. Yes, there are lots of toastmasters fanatics out there whom I salute. I just love toastmasters!

birthday surprises!

I've got a few birthday surprises this year.... and I think that I'm expecting a few more to come... Wow.. all of a sudden, I feel so loved. Maybe this is the "fruit of my labour"? For the past year, I have made more friends than anything else, and living up to my daily motto of "A friend a day". I remember one close friend exclaiming that she was really surprised that I have so many friends and true enough whenever she goes out shopping with me, we will always bump into one of my friends. Sometimes, we can bump into a few of my friends. Oh well, you must agree with me that Singapore is really small!

My biggest surprise was one that was hand-delivered right up to my office in person. How sweet can that be? It was not how expensive or how delicate the gift was, but the thought and effort that was put into it. It is amazing how someone whom I met only a few months back can know me so well to choose a gift exact to my taste. This is definitely not something that could happen by chance.

My next biggest surprise was the gift from my colleagues. The gift was a gaming software that I was looking for since last month. I only ever casually asked my colleague once on whether he knew where I could get it from. The effort and thought was something that touched me, given that I had only been working with them for less than a year. They are the most positive, enthusiastic and fun-loving people I had ever worked with. The positive synergy is what kept the team alive! It's a place I'm going to stay on for a long long time. My source of motivation comes from the people I work with and not really the work itself. And I finally found the place where I belong. My colleagues rock. They're really a cool bunch to work with and hang out with even after work. I feel so blessed. Thank God.

Guess how I spent my birthday?

I visited Masters of Eloquence Toastmasters meeting from 12 to 2pm, joined them for their exco meeting. Then rushed back home to change out of my suit to something more casual, rushed out to meet my mom for a movie -- 10 Promises to my Dog! It was a fantastic show. Had desserts. Sent my mom home. Then got a message from my Division Governor David to say he's visiting Pico Toastmasters Club. Looked at my watch, thought for a moment. Since it would only take me 15 mins to drive down, I decided to pop by and take a look and pass the namecards to David at the same time. And guess what, I met Sau Ying there, and decided to like discuss with her how we can organize our area contests together. Kill three birds with one stone!

And I feel so awesome. Such is the accomplishments I had packed my time to the brim. I'm so proud of me. Lol. I love me. Happy Birthday to me.

a busy holiday?

After 9 months of working consecutively, finally, this month, I'm taking annual leave on 2 different days. Unfortunately, instead of getting some long awaited rest, I will be busy with Toastmasters on both days!

Oh well... till next month then... :(

What a busy holiday!

(This oxymoron just so aptly describe my situation that I cannot help but add this in!)

so, what exactly is an oxymoron?

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side; a compressed paradox.

The original oxymoron is "sweet and sour" (oxy = acid, sharp and moron = sweet, soft) -- nowadays "bittersweet" is more common. Anything that looks contradictory or paradoxical but is true; "a contradiction in terms" means that one part or other is likely to be untrue.

Take for instance: "The bulldog is pretty ugly as compared to other breeds." The phrase "pretty ugly" here is an oxymoron. How can something be pretty and ugly at the same time? Pretty means attractive. It also is used as an intensifier to indicate a moderately large amount, as in “He is pretty hungry/tired/excited, etc.” When it is used in the second sense, but juxtaposed to a word that contradicts the first sense, we are aware of both senses at once, and an oxymoron results. Awfully pretty is the same thing in reverse.

Get it?

oxymorons

Oxymorons are two words used together which have, or seem to have, opposite meanings.

... war games... ... silent scream... ...deafening silence... ...cruel kindness... ...mournful optimist... ...working vacation... ...least favourite... ...constant change... ...still moving... ...pretty ugly... ...ill health... ...nothing much... ...good grief... ...forgotten memories... ...almost exactly... ...act naturally... ...true story... ...safety hazard... ...original copy... ...random order... ...old news... ...only choice... ...liquid gas... ...dry wine... ...second best... ...awfully good... ...true lies...

speechcraft workshop 2008

Introduction of the Speakers

Jensen Siaw
Jensen is a life coach, certified NLP practitioner, trainer and radio co-host all in one. With a masters degree in Mass Communication from NTU, he also lectures at tertiary institutions in communication and business-related topics. Having gone from a school dropout to emerging top in his undergraduate degree programme, he takes special interest in motivating others to achieve their full potential. Jensen has appeared on several episodes of Channel U Talkshow "Crossfire" and co-hosted radio programmes on FM93.3 and FM100.3. Interested to know more about Jensen, please click to visit his website at http://www.speak-for-life.com/

Barry Tan, DTM

Barry was awarded with the DTM award - the highest award given by Toastmasters International upon completion of both the communication and leadership track, in a short span of 2 years. From 2006-2007, he served as President of Punggol Toastmasters Club, Area U2 Governor and Club mentor for Insead Toastmasters Club. In 2007, he was awarded the Area Governor of the Year for District 80, Champion and 2nd runner-up for Area U2 and Division U Speech Evaluation Contest respectively and NUS Student Achievement Award. The wow factor is that Barry has just turned 22 and he is currently a 4th year medical student at NUS.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for the Speechcraft Workshop NOW!!!

shanshine.com

I visited Money Mastery Toastmasters Club last night as a language evaluator and surprisingly met new friends and more new friends. Amongst the new friends I've made, there is a special girl who gave a speech on positive psychology that caught my attention. Young, enthusiastic, bubbling with so much positive energy, you will never be able to escape the "shanshine" that glitters all over. I'm swooned. Literally.

Check out her blog at http://www.shanshine.com

The Shanshine Girl: Yip Pei Shan

first blog pick for 2008

I met my fellow blogger Choo Choo at NUSS Toastmasters International Speech and Table Topics Contest last night. And we were discussing on how a speech could get very boring when the speaker starts telling us his life story or spouse or children without any speech value to the audience. Yes, we need to read widely to be able to give speeches with more depth and many are unable to do so and especially during table topics session.

Our discussion led on to the common blogs that we've been reading (of course, the fact that I got to know Choo Choo through my blog still amazes me till this day) and one particular blogger bored us with nothing but his gf's photographs all over his blog. Somehow he's a pretty intellectual guy yet his blog lack substance. I shall not mention names over here, but you smart readers probably could make a pretty good guess.

Anyway, I'm not going to dwell on how boring his blog became. But I've got to say, there are still many blogs with substance and worth reading. And I found one which I would like to share with all of you. His name is David and he came up with this term called the self-improvement junkie and I thought that was pretty cool. I don't mind being called a self-improvement junkie! Lol. I just can't help but to write a comment there.

His blog posts are pretty thought-provoking and it is a nice journey to breeze through his inner thoughts, so true and so intriguing. Many times, similar thoughts probably went through our minds but how many people actually take time to ponder over such thoughts and blog about it. I guess I like the style of writing and it will be added to my daily blog reads.

Click here to explore David's Dreams and get hooked.

*David is a trainer with Adam Khoo Learning Technologies and also a fellow toastmaster and blogger. I suppose he is also a self-improvement junkie. :)*

contests season

I think that the contest season is the busiest time for all toastmasters and especially stressful to those who are not participating in the contests. Because this group of people will be busy taking on appointments to be either the organisers or judges for the contests. As each club has their own contests, and there are area contests and division contests going on, this period of time is crazy, especially the judges.

Besides organizing my own club contest, I'm involved in a total of 15 other contests. There are some hot Chief Judges around who are involved in 20 to 30 contests!!! This is considered the norm for them every contests season and I must applaud them for the dedication in the toastmasters arena. These are the people who ignite my passion for toastmasters and kept the fire burning.

On the other hand, of course there is in existence another group of people who do not involve themselves in the organizing or anything, yet, these are the group of people who criticize the organizers for not providing better refreshments, for contests starting late, demanding everything out of everyone else etc. Yet, when you ask them to serve, they shy away by giving all sorts of excuses. These people ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Anyway, I always believe that those who give are more blessed than those who receive.

joke

Just thought to share this joke that I heard from Toastmaster Sam Chee Yee with my blog readers. I had a good laugh.

***

Three insurance agents were boasting about whose company is the best.

Agent from Company A: " My company is good. My company covers from basket to casket."

Agent from Company B: " My company is better. My company covers from womb to tomb."

Agent from Company C (with a smug look): " My company is the best! My company covers from erection to ressurrection!"

inspirations from toastmasters

When Juey approached me to be the next president of Buona Vista Toastmasters Club, I was apprehensive at first to take up the role, as I had only been a toastmaster for a year. I eventually agreed to take up the role after being inspired. And I want to share my inspiration to those who wish to be inspired.

***

Inspiration 1:
I was inspired by the President of Toastmasters International. He wrote about the struggle between deciding to step up as president or concentrate on participating and winning in the speech contests. He actually spoke to many of those more senior in the toastmasters journey and get many opinions before making the decision.

He was enlightened when someone asked him what was his original intention of joining the toastmasters club. His answer was simple: "To improve his communication skills." So that person said, "You have answered your own question. Go ahead and take up the challenge to be the President." He was bewildered for a while. But that person continued, "As a president, you get the most number of chances to speak. At every club meeting, the president has to speak at least twice doing the opening and closing address. Sometimes also presenting awards to the members."

He took up the position and has never regretted his decision.

Inspiration 2:
I asked Barry Tan, the current president of Punggol Toastmasters Club, for his opinion on whether I should take up the position. In my heart, I was a little apprehensive about leading the club which consists of many members who are more senior than me, whether in terms of age or their toastmasters journey.

Barry's reply was simple. He asked me to name him the hierarchy of Toastmasters and who is at the top of the hierarchy. Naturally, I thought he was going to mention President of Toastmasters International, or at the very least, in the division level, it would have to be the Division Governor. His answer surprised me. "Members are on the top of the hierarchy. As President and exco member, even the Division and Area Governors, they are chosen to serve the members while in office. The members have the right to vote for people they believe to be able to serve them well. So if your members think that you are able to serve them as president, just take up the challenge." These are not really the exact replica of what he had said, but the gist of what he was trying to tell me can be summarized in 2 words: "Servant Leadership". The same way Lord Jesus is. And I knew in my heart that God had spoken to me in a very special way and He reminded me of his great love for me. And in the same way, he was trying to put me in a position to learn in practical ways the true meaning of "Servant Leadership".

***

When Kristina Sharmini, the incoming Division U Governor, approached me to take up the challenge to be Assistant Governor in Education & Training, since it was my biggest dream to be a trainer, I accepted the challenge immediately. And I know this will definitely be a decision I will never regret.

Opportunity may not come knocking on your door twice.

maiden debut as language evaluator

Right now as I'm typing this post, I'm having a pretty bad cough, sore throat and totally no voice. Very much as I wanted to talk but the piercing pain in my throat is quite unbearable. And I can barely utter even a single word. All that came out were some airy sound that made my throat so ichy that the coughing starts all over again. Sigh.

Nevertheless, this morning I still went to Tanjong Katong Girls' School for the Gavel Club Meeting - essentially the same as a Toastmasters Club Meeting as a Language Evaluator. I was invited there by the famous body language guru, Distinguished Toastmaster Mr John Sih. I was glad to be there to do my debut maiden role as a Language Evaluator. It was an exhilarating experience to see many young ladies with such confidence in public speaking. I was glad I was able to complete my speech with much grace and minimal coughing.

Please pray for me for speedy recovery, for my sake and for your sake. Or else, you would not have any post for entertainment until I am well again. That's all for now, folks. Till then.

sour day turned sweet night

My day started not so beautifully with a drained body and weary mind at a branch meeting on a Saturday morning. This is the worst combination ever. And the hot blazing sunlight added to my misery by leaving me a migraine as the piercing light shone through my sunglasses while I drove to office. I need a new pair of shades. One with better coverage and UV protection.

The fact that the meeting ended an hour late caused me to miss the bulk of the prepared speeches for the Division U International Speech Contest. I was only in time to hear the last speaker. A more unfortunate event happened during the break when ATMB/CL Edward Ma approached me. To my greatest dismay, he asked me if I could stand in as the Sergeant-At-Arm for the Table Topic Contest did not turn up. I did no mind helping out but that meant that I would not be able to listen to any of the Table Topic Contest Speeches as I was guarding the rest of the contestants at the other room. The only consolation was that I had the privilege to entertain the nervous contestants as well as Jasmeet's(one of the contestant) baby in the same room.

It was rather a wasted trip for me as my main purpose was to be there to give support to Cherlene and Ms Kam. Quite sad that I did not get to hear both speeches. And I forgot to mention that this guy who had been pestering me for the past few days for an appointment to sell me something appeared at the contest! After I told him yesterday that I did not wish to meet him, he still hung around me like a shadow trying to get my attention. Oh my goodness, how grateful I was when Barry noticed and kindly came to my rescue during the break. I almost pulled out my hair but I was glad I kept my cool.

***

The day ended on a happy note when we went together for dinner at Riverview Hotel. Thanks Ms Kam for the treat.

After dinner, Barry and myself decided to look for a quiet place to hang out. We drove around and ended up at Great World City. It was a pretty decent place for a nice chat over coffee albeit the stuffiness due to poor air-conditioning. It was funny that there were so many things for us to yak about and time passed by too quickly. The next time we should plan for the venue earlier in advance instead of wasting too much time thinking of where to go. We still ended up past midnight though we had initially planned to go back earlier to rest. Oh well. It was too fun to remember the time.

inspired

I had waffles, scrambled egg and a strawberry for breakfast! Photo taken by Barry's phone camera with surprisingly good resolution.

Barry asked me along to Teach Me Toastmasters Club as a project evaluator and as we were enjoying our breakfast in Delifrance, he told me that Teach Me TMC is a very special club. He was really amazed by their enthusiasm and undaunting spirit. I listened with my mind looking forward to the chapter meeting, the same excitement I have before visiting a new toastmasters club.

It was a short 10 minutes drive and we were just on time. Most other TMCs almost never start on time and I thought we were early. Little did I expect the room to be filled almost to the brim when I stepped in. What shocked me even more was the fact that the room was almost 80% of them in the room were either wheelchair-bound or seated with crutches. They were mostly youths in their late teens or early 20s. I took a deep breathe as Barry introduced me to the Club President who was a young malay lady welcoming me with a bright smile in a wheelchair.

I sat through the club meeting with a heavy heart. I couldn't help but notice this boy in front of me could barely sit upright in his wheelchair. His mother had to be around to take care of him, despite being crippled herself. My heart wrenched in pain as I saw his arm with only skin and bones. I bowed down my head and uttered a prayer to the Lord to ask for His healing hands to be upon everyone in the room. I took out my notebook to jot this as an additional daily prayer item as I fought back my tears.

This is a special club indeed. Although they were physically handicapped, but they were all full of vim and vigor. Their undaunting spirit touched my heart deeply. How many of us can still have that unfaltering determination to live on despite such mishaps at such young age?

Yet, there are able-bodied people around us who are spiritually handicapped. Hypocrites and backstabbers ought to be ashamed of themselves. Such irony. I will leave this topic to another blog post. Sorry for digressing.

Thank you Lord for reminding me of how blessed I am. Thank you Lord for reminding me to pray for people who are less fortunate.

my tenth speech

Free Hugs, Anyone?

"I had been living in London when my world turned upside down. My whole family was killed in a car accident and my world came crashing down. I had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney airport, all I had left was a bag full of clothes and a world full of troubles.

As I stood there at the arrivals terminal of Sydney airport, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, all I wanted was someone out there waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.

But I was there all alone. There was no one to welcome me back. No place to call home. I became a tourist in my hometown. I felt so lonely I wanted to cry, but there was no tears. My tear ducts had dried up long ago. I yearned so much for someone to just give me a hug. I needed one so badly.

So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held the sign aloft, with the words "FREE HUGS" written on both sides.

I stood there for a whole 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. People were too busy in their footsteps and too engrossed in their own lives to bother about me. Although our paths crossed, we remained as strangers. I stood there like a panel of glass. I was simply transparent to the passerbys. I waited and waited.

Finally, I felt a light tap on my shoulder after a seemingly long wait. I turned around to find a petite lady who told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter who died in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, put my arms around her and gave her a long tight hug. And when we parted, there was a smile on her face."

This is the true story of Juan Mann, a man whose sole mission in live was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal. So phenomenal that when the video clip was launched on Youtube.com, the hits reached 1 million in 6 days!

How many of you actually hug your parents? Or your siblings? Or your friends? Most of us do not. In Singapore, as in most Asian countries, it is not in our culture to show our affection by hugging. It is not in our culture to outwardly express love. But sometimes, all we need is just a hug on our bad hair days. According to research, babies who are hugged more grow up to become more confident and successful adults.

Do you know why when we keep donating to charity organizations such as Salvation Army, etc, children in the third world country still die? They die not because of hunger, but because nobody hug them.

I want to encourage you to give your loved ones a hug today. You will not know how much a hug can brighten someone's day. Sometimes, a hug is all someone needed. Give someone a hug today!

***

The very first comment from my evaluator, Barry Tan (AC-S, CL) was that my speech was so touching that he had to fight back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. As he ended his evaluation and awarded me the ribbon to congratulate me for completing my tenth project to get my title as Competent Communicator, he asked me for a hug and I graciously returned the warm embrace.

Many of the rest of the toastmasters came to me during the break to ask me for a hug and I gladly practiced what I have preached. Many of them came to thank me for the inspiring speech. I'm glad to be able to touch some lives today.

Indeed, life is about how we can touch someone's life and make a difference. I strive to do that in all my speeches. That's my mission as my toastmasters journey move on to another level.

challenge

Received a call from Barry, AC-S, CL, President of Punggol CC Toastmasters Club to invite me to speak at his club tomorrow instead of next month as one of the members gave up his speaking slot at the last minute. I quickly checked my schedule and agreed to be a speaker and project evaluator.

Have to perform my perfect stint of writing and memorizing my speech within a day again. My only challenge is that it is an 8-10 mins speech which I'm supposed to inspire my audience.

*hums a lovely tune in my head for some inspiration*

life is full of surprises!

Winning the Best Speaker Award on Division U's Achievers' Day really came as a pleasant surprise as I delivered my 8th speech from the basic communications manual.

I was evaluated by a panel of 5 evaluators. It was not easy when 5 pairs of eyes were really focusing on me during my speech delivery.

Surprises does not come alone.

What surprised me most was when Mark Lee (evaluator for body language) asked me to stand up during his evaluation to commend me on my power dressing.

I was wearing a black suit with grey skirt and a simple strand of pearls, not forgetting my toastmasters pin on my collar. What was more surprising was when Mark mentioned that he was impressed by my matching 4-inches black heels and contrasting silver nail polish on my toes! And how he noticed I used the heels to increase my height to aid in my speech delivery! I never thought that a guy could be SO observant to take note of such details. I'm highly impressed but I blushed too hard to smile graciously back.

I always thought I was the only freaky geek who bothers to put in effort and thoughts on such details, like what clothes and shoes to wear to aid in my speech delivery. Most of the time, I wore power suit during Toastmasters Club meetings as this is a formal event. The only time I did not wear a suit was 2 days ago as my speech topic was on a lighter topic on hamsters. Nevertheless, I still wore a pretty blouse with pants with perfect makeup and hair which won a compliment from Jensen.

***

On a side note, congratulations to Ms Kam for getting the Best Speaker Award from the Advanced Communication Manual and achieving the ACB title.

Also congratulations to Ee Chuan on getting the Best Speaker during Division Z Achievers' Day and achieving the ACB title.

Wow. Bloggers are also yakkers. They can't stop writing and can't stop talking. :)