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Looking Back Reflections From Our District Officers

DPRO Lynda Neo, ACB/ALS

District Governor Mike Rodrigues, DTM IPDG Aziz Mustajab, DTM District Secretary Goh Sor Hoon, ACG/ALS

Activities / Events
District Workshops 2011-2012 Be a Better Judge Mind your Language Image of a Public Speaker Division L Toastmasters Awareness: Capital 95.8 Interview Division T Toastmasters Awareness Annual Convention May 2012 - WOW BUDDHIST FELLOWSHIP Toastmasters Club Div T Speechcraft for Monks
Div L Assistant Governor Marketing Tan Hwee Yong, ACS/ALS Div T Assistant Governor Marketing Peter Keusgen, ACB/ALB DPRO Team Fanny Baey & Ratna Juita Thawesak Thadajariyawong, CC DPRO Team

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Special Features
From Toastmasters to Trainers Coen Tan Eric Feng Gary Guwe Chakrit Achava-Amrung Isra Smitabindu Nick French Lee Jin Hwui

A Touch of Inspiration
Voices from First Timer Contestants Kenneth Tung Melvyn Goh Michael Leow Modak Neil Han Samuel Tan Sherwyne Tan Ted Chong Panjarat Kittiamornchote

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Special Features
Voices from First Timer Contestants Akracha Phraprasert Saowalak Yoo-dee Methee Nutnonthri Michael Wee Starting Toastmasters Young A Rewarding Journey Reflections of District Champions Communicating with the Media & Postings on Social Media Six Packs Speaking Off The Cuff Toastmasters Etiquette
Yang Huilin, ACB Vincent Lim, DTM Anne Marie Gutierrez, DTM LGM Pradeep Kumar, DTM Manoj Brahmakumar Balakrishnan, DTM DPRO Lynda Neo, ACB/ALS

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Newsflash
Toastmasters Awareness: PA Roadshow New Toastmasters Clubs Semi-Annual Convention

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Looking back What is time ? Some would say : time is the stuff of which life is made up of. I can still vividly recall how elated I was 10 years ago, when I found out that Raffles Town Club was conducting a sample meeting to form a club to help members become better speakers. In my sales and marketing career then, I did speak everyday but I knew I needed to be a more polished and refined speaker! I really didnt know theres this movement called Toastmasters and so at the end of the sample meeting, without hesitation, I registered & became a Charter Member of the Raffles Town Toastmasters Club. In the 10 years of my journey in Toastmasters, I attended club meetings regularly & took on leadership roles faithfully & met important goals & expectations objectively. I certainly belong to the category of people who would see myself through from start to end should I embark on something. As an example to put my point across, in taking commercial courses after school, I witnessed classmates who will quit halfway, midway or along the way, but in my case, I will see myself through, no matter what! Even when I was working in direct sales for an office equipment company, all the sales staff in the department resigned from their jobs one after another except me!! Some of my colleagues merely followed suit after their peers left. Perhaps you can say Im pretty onetrack minded and that helps me stay focussed until my goals and objectives are met! And as they say : as you sow, so shall you reap.I truly can attest to this saying in my sales and marketing career. Those prospects I had dutifully & faithfully pursued for days, weeks, months and years, turned into customers & profits for me & my company! 10 years ago, I didnt have the slightest imagination or inkling that I will be serving the District as your current District 80 Public Relations Officer & in the new term, your Lieutenant Governor Marketing. Fervently, I believe what is within me has seen me through this term & undoubtedly, it will continue to see me through as I face more challenges in Toastmasters and in life ! Fellow toastmasters, district leaders and officers, if you have seen yourself through the term successfully, achieving your goals and objectives, kudos to you! I will give myself a pat on my back & more so to my DPRO team namely, Ching Kwock Wing, Karen Tan & Martti Dumangeng for the great spirit, hard work, effort and for all the time. This is the stuff the District 80 Public Relations the team is made up of ! Many thanks also to Div T Public Relations, Isra Smitabindu & Div L Secretary, Jane Ho for co-ordinating all the great articles for our newsletter.

by Lynda Neo, DPRO

MESSAGE FROM D80 GOVERNOR:

by Michael Rodrigues DTM District 80 Governor 2011-2012

Dear Toastmasters of District 80, This is the final District 80 Newsletter for this term and I would like to commend the District PRO Team for a wonderful job in producing the 3 District Newsletters. For some of us the end of term is received with mixed-feelings. After all, 12 months is really not very long to accomplish all that we wished for the District. On the other hand, it is long enough for the trials and tribulations we have had to go through. Whatever it is that you feel about the end of term, you need to understand that the District depends on committed Toastmasters to come forward to serve our Members. Yes, committed to the effort of making the District a more conducive environment for our Members to excel in the Toastmasters development and to enjoy it at the same time, so that they will also want to serve the District in return. Many of us prefer to enjoy the journey and watch the various events go by but are not prepared to serve our Members. Most of us who prefer to sit back are also the most vociferous when it comes to complaints about the very service we receive. I urge you to come forward to serve the District should you feel that more can be done for our Members and at a better Quality of Service. I leave this term with sadness and regret that I was unable to materialise all the District Goals as set in our District Success Plan. For this I sincerely apologize to all our Members. I am, however, pleased that my personal goal to bring peace to the District has been achieved. I thank all those who have contributed one way or another to the development and achievements of the District for the term 2011-2012, and I hope you will continue to support the next team of District Officers similarly.

MESSAGE FROM D80 LGET:

by Patrick Oei DTM District 80 LGET 2011-2012

Wow, its almost the end of this term and we are elated to see so many members breaking the boundaries to excel in the Area of Communication as they prepared, presented their prepared speeches, and Leadership as they took up various roles in various capacities. I thought at this juncture, I would like to reiterate what you can do to help your clubs to excel in accomplishing the goals for your club. Any member can present his/her CC/CL/AL/AC again & again and clock in the DCP point for ones clubs again and again. One does not need to complete his/her DTM to present the CC again. Why does one do it? You do it because, first, you can assist the club towards achieving another DCP point, and second, you can continue to sharpen the saw, as you continue to polish your speaking skills, and finally, you also become a good role model for the newer members to emulate. I look forward to an even more bountiful new term as you and your club members continue to excel in your Communication and Leadership Skills.

MESSAGE FROM IMMEDIATE PAST D80 GOVERNOR:

by Aziz Mustajab DTM Immediate Past District 80 Governor 2011-2012

I may be "drifting out" of the Senior District Officers line-up pretty soon and "sliding up" to join the ranks of "Past District Governors". At times you may be disheartened or discouraged by the slow progress you are making and the many obstacles you are facing in your Toastmasters journey. At times you may find Toastmasters activities boring, dull, time-wasting. Here's my final IPDG message for my dear fellow Toastmasters in District-80. Stay the course. Never give up. Recall the day you signed up for membership. Why did you sign up? You were attracted by and impressed with the Toastmasters educational programs. You decided there and then that this was just what you needed. You desired to improve yourself by being confident in the presence of your supervisors, peers, and subordinates. You wanted to be a good communicator and leader. A beautiful dream. Don't let go of that dream. Stay the course. And never ever give up!

D80 SECRETARY 2011-2012 Speaks:

by Goh Sor Hoon ACG ALS District 80 Secretary 2011-2012

I remember in my teenage years; office work was not my dream. I dreamt to be a nurse, and I worked towards it. I was a Critical Care Unit Nursing Officer. I left the hospital to join another as a Clinical Quality Executive. It was here, that I picked up my computer skills in Word Office, Power Point and Excel, these skills have come in handy for my District Secretary appointment. Many members have asked me how it is like to be a District Secretary. In the Macmillan English dictionary, a secretary is someone in an office who works for someone else and who does jobs such as arranging meetings, making phone calls, and preparing letters. And, is the member of a committee who writes letters and keeps records of meetings. To some, this is not a glamorous job, it is a background job; boring and tedious. Yes, tedious! Compiling the District 80 Directory was tedious. I needed passion to drive me, I needed pride to do a good job, and I needed patience to work with the Division & Area Governors and Club Presidents. Boring.when I had to comb through the pages checking for errors. Exhilarating! When I received compliments on the District 80 Directory. As with all other matters, passion, pride and patience will see you through your job.

Be A Better Judge
DPRO Team Trainers - Patrick Oei DTM & Albert Lim DTM Judging can be quite a challenge. Imagine assessing a series of fine speakers in quick succession. How to tell the difference and choose the rightful winners? The purpose of this timely training workshop is to help participants learn the judging process and the correct use of the Judges Guide and Ballot. This training workshop helps toastmasters to define and refine their judging skills. Participants in the workshop were briefed on the eligibility of contestants, the speech subject and preparation. Duties and responsibilities of all Contests Officials were also discussed. Video case studies based on past contests were used to enhance learning .All participants were given a copy of the Judges Guide and Ballot to help them become familiar with the judging criteria of speech contests and the judging procedures. Being accurate, fair, trustworthy, knowledgeable and a good listener are the qualities of a good judge. On the other hand, speakers official position, speakers status (champion or the underdog), halo effect, prejudices and personal preferences are some of the barriers to Judges objectivity. Doubts clarified - Takeaways from the workshop Minimum of five Judges plus a tie-break Judge at Club and Division contests and a minimum of seven Judges plus a tie-breaking Judge at Division contests. A contest can have two Contest Chairs one for each segment. Only for International Speech contest, the participant must have completed at least six speeches from the Competent Communication manual prior to the club contest. A charter member of a club chartered prior to July 1st may compete during the new term without having completed six speeches in the Competent Communication manual. Once you have judged in another clubs contest, you are not allowed to compete in your club. However, you are allowed to judge when you are not placed to go on to the next level.

Mind Your Language

Speech Improvement & the Art of Language Evaluation Ng Seng Chuan, ATMG, a Speech Consultant conducted this District workshop in his usual lively, engaging enriching and educational manner. Three succinct points about language evaluation were highlighted. First, an assessment is worth only the value of the assessors expertise. Therefore the better a Speaker you are, the better an Evaluator you will be. Next, the Toastmasters programme is about peer education, that is, we learn from each other. There is no expert in the Toastmasters movement. Lastly, you can become a better Speaker, you can become a better Evaluator and you need to aspire to becoming that better Speaker or that better Evaluator. Seng Chuan was engaging, and his speech was peppered with his unique style of humour. The bulk of the time was spent on pronunciation issues like: the th sound, and the sound of Vowels and Terminal consonants. He also highlighted the mispronounced and the stress pattern in speech. The workshop was made even more enjoyable by getting volunteers to pronounce a list of words with the bait of a bar of chocolate as rewards. Ninety per cent of those who volunteered were unable to obtain a perfect score. This shows how much the Toastmasters in our district need a workshop of this kind. Another useful tip we learnt from him was the key factors in the effective use of language. They are precision, clarify and colour. Common grammatical problems in language, which many of us tend to commit, were covered. We are all guilty of singularising the plurals and pluralising the singular. Many examples of how grammars have been misused were demonstrated. The workshop ended with an interesting epilogue. To sum up the essence of what a Language Evaluator should endeavour to be, all of us were made to say the Pledge of the Language Evaluator. Here is the excerpt: Listening humbly to those who are more competent so that I may be enabled to model my practice after theirs; Listening carefully to fellow Toastmasters so that I may avoid the pitfalls and the mistakes myself; Listening sympathetically so that others may know they, too, can learn from my own mistakes.

The Immaculate Speaker Image of a Public Speaker

The last workshop of the District entitled The Immaculate Speaker was conducted by Patricia Lum, DTM. This is the most appropriate workshop to end the whole series of training with. To entice the buyer, the packaging of a product is important, to woo the audience, personal grooming is important, because it creates the right image. In order for the message to get across to the audience, a public speaker must groom and speak well. Patricia did a fabulous job. The workshop was lively and educational. She built great rapport with her audience and peppered the presentation with humorous anecdotes. To emphasize the importance of first impression, she quoted Albert Meridians rule of communication The look (physical communication) takes up 55%, the tone (verbal communication) 38%, the talk (content) 7%. We learnt that non-verbal communication amounted to more than 50%. During the workshop, we learned about the factors that formed our image and the destroyers of our image. We also learnt about the different face shapes and the kind of spectacle frames that will match our face shape. Throughout the workshop, we were given many tips on how we could improve our personal appearance. According to a survey, women who wear make-up have a competitive edge over their bare-face colleagues. We also learnt about the wonders and the language of colours and how we should complement our clothes according to our natural colours. The men in the audience were delighted as Patricia shared with them the colour schemes of clothes and ties to harmonise with their attire. Patricia ended her session with her very apt quote by CoCo Chanel: Dress badly and they remember the clothes. Dress well and they remember the person. There you have it, our dressings do make a lasting impression.

Division L Toastmasters Awareness: Interview by Capital 95.8

Toastmasters Awareness Day, February 5th, 2012 Division T (Thailand) held its annual Toastmasters Awareness Day in February this year, having twice postponed the date due to flooding. Even though many of our senior members were still swabbing out their houses, and many of our target audience were still living in temporary accommodation, we decided to press ahead with the event and advertise Toastmasters while many other organizations and events were inactive or cancelled. The event was a success by most standards: each of the organizers benefited from it, each of the participants enjoyed it, and our guests gained insights into what Toastmasters is all about. They won't all join immediately, but they'll be able to recommend Toastmasters to a friend who is in need of public speaking training. And that's a key point for Thailand, because unlike Australia, Singapore, and America, most people in Thailand have never heard of Toastmasters and wouldn't know where to start to improve their public speaking ability. So the Toastmasters Awareness Day is even more important here in Thailand. Here's what we believe contributed to our success: 1. Getting the right team together Everyone's been on teams where some people didn't pull their weight, or someone wanted to do everything. So we put together a team of Toastmasters who really wanted to make a difference and had the energy to do so. The team consisted of the Assistant Governor Marketing, Division Public Relations Officer, Division Secretary, and two Area Governors. 2. Determining the leaders and the bosses Leadership was taken by the Division PR Officer and Assistant Governor Marketing, more because of the positions than anything else. Each of us was boss of a particular part of the project, but nobody was boss of the team. That gave each of us autonomy and a significant sense of responsibility. 3. Communication and coordination Around 90% of our communication was through Whatsapp. This was new to me, but worked out to be ideal because we could communicate any time anywhere. Email was used at times to send files, and update plans. The constant communication not only helped with the coordination, but as each leader put together his part of the project, the rest of us were inspired to further develop our own projects. 4. Support from the senior leaders Even though I put this at #4, it's obviously a key factor for success. Division Public Relations Officer Isra was instrumental in securing full support from our senior leadership team to ensure our autonomy, financial support, and advice whenever we needed it. 5. Marketing We marketed through 4 media: emails, TV, Facebook, and flyers. Email: Division Public Relations Officer CC Isra used her extensive network to target Thai and foreign companies where employees would speak English, and would benefit from improving their leadership and communication skills. Television: Division Public Relations Officer CC Isra organized two segments on ASEAN TV where AC Pipat, CC Bright, and AC Peter were interviewed about Toastmasters and were able to give a strong plug for the Toastmasters Awareness day. We doubt this event was effective marketing for the Toastmasters Awareness Day itself directly, but we certainly expect it to help raise awareness of Toastmasters as a place to learn leadership and public speaking. Irrespective of the effectiveness, this was definitely the best fun in marketing Toastmasters Awareness Day and we all learned about TV interviews. None of us had been on TV in Thailand before this.

Facebook: AC Peter designed a Facebook advertising campaign which seems to have been successful in bringing in 20-40 people. The key factor with Facebook, which we hadn't taken into account as we should have, is that it is for social networking. Ok, that's obvious. But interviewing some participants, it seemed that the most successful ads were the ones that showed a friend was attending an event. So the key to Facebook advertising is to get as many members as possible to sign up for the event, and then advertise it over a longer period (about a month) at a lower ad spend per day, rather than have a short campaign. Then, Facebook members will see the ad tagged with, "three of your friends are attending" which makes it more effective. Also, we found that pay per click was far more cost effective than pay per thousand impressions. Flyers: The team designed and printed flyers based on previous designs we'd used for competitions in the past. Members of the team handed out the flyers at the U Chu Liang Building and surrounding office areas, because this was the building where we were going to host the event. Why market far away when you can market close to home? 6. Expanding the team Although we started with a team of just five, we needed a team of around 20 for this event to work as planned. Each of us recruited members of our own clubs and other clubs to come aboard as speakers, sergeants-at-arms, test speakers, and panel participants. 7. Expanding the event It's usually a bad idea to expand the event at the last minute. However, we had an opportunity to staff a free table at the Canadian Education Fair and put a Toastmasters flyer in each of the show bags for prospective students to pick up. This expanded our reach by around 500 English speaking students. 8. Follow up Following the event, we sent emails to each of the participants who signed up on Facebook, which is a great tool for event follow-up. The result It's impossible to measure exactly how successful we were with the showcase seminar. One metric that's interesting is that Division T gained 23 new members in the week following the seminar, which is a 5% increase from our membership at the time. We like to think that the showcase seminar contributed to this hike. But as always with Toastmasters, the greatest benefits of this showcase seminar were reaped by the participants. It was a great lesson in organizating, motivating, marketing, and showmanship, and we all benefited from each part. Peter Keusgen ACS/ALB Assistant Governor Marketing Division T

Finding My Voice in Toastmasters

Speaking is my life. I am living my life passion and my dream job as a professional trainer and speaker today. However, I very nearly did not make it this far. Earlier in my career, I had worked in jobs in Human Resource Development, but I was serving mainly back-end roles. My first opportunity to be trainer came when I joined a large retail company as an in-house trainer. However, three months into the job (which was the probation period for me), I have yet to deliver my first training session because I suffered from stage fright every time I stand up to speak before an audience. In my fourth month, my boss took me aside and said that if I had not conducted my first training session, she could not confirm me and would have to let me go. I had to do something about it quickly. As destiny would have it, on that same week, a friend of mine invited me to watch a speech contest with him. I was glad I did because that was my introduction to Toastmasters. I knew immediately that was exactly what I needed, so I signed up immediately for the clubs Speechcraft Program. It gave me the jumpstart to my public speaking career. Through Speechcraft, I was introduced to the basics of speech delivery, and I benefited from the experience of delivering my first 3 speeches. Subsequently I went on to deliver my first training at work, and although it was stressful for me, I enjoyed the process. I was confirmed for the job, and I went on to spend two and a half years there. Besides helping me in my career, toastmasters is also a journey of healing for me. People who have seen me in Toastmasters may find it hard to believe, but I am actually an Introvert. When I was growing up, I was a socially awkward child who didnt fit in. I had very few friends in school and never knew how to make friends. I was always depressed. My lowest point came when I was in secondary school, my depression affected my morale, and my results floundered. I saw more of the school counselors than I saw my teachers, and was even told to take time away from school to recover. When I went into Junior College, I decided to do something about my predicament. I started developing my social skills by reading self-help books, and observing others. I applied what Ive learnt and gradually expanded my social circle. However, although I began to make more friends, confidence in my ability to relate to people was still lacking. I knew many people in school, but I was never able to build relationships with them at a deeper level. At large social gatherings, I usually choose to remain quiet for fear of being judged. At work, I found myself always being interrupted by my bosses or colleagues when I was speaking at meetings. I was still dissatisfied and I knew I needed to develop my communication skills if I were to make the leap to the next level professionally and in my relationships. I found it at Toastmasters meetings. I get the opportunity to speak my mind uninterrupted and also receive encouraging feedback on how I can improve. It takes a lot of courage to bare my soul to an audience whom I may not know intimately well. But, by sharing and being authentic, I develop more courage and my confidence grew. One of my favorite quotes is from Scott Berkun, a best-selling author and speaker, Good public speaking is based on good private thinking. I cannot agree with this more, because the ability of someone to communicate is an indication of the quality of his thoughts. Here in Toastmasters, as I spoke up more, I grew as a person. Today, I am living my life passion by being able to share my experiences and empower thousands of people through what I do. Toastmasters has been instrumental in my growth to where I am today. I continue to hone and sharpen my communication skills by consistently doing my speech manuals. I am still an introvert after all, and making friends still take effort on my part, but I am fortunate that Toastmasters provides me with a safe environment and fertile ground with opportunities to network and develop my EQ and social skills. I look forward to continuing this journey of self development, and helping others find their voice too.

About Coen Tan, ACB, CL: Coen is a Speaker, Trainer and Coach in the field of Communication Skills. He fully believes that the Ability to Communicate Well to Influence Others is the Secret Ingredient to Success in Business, Work and Personal Relationships. He is also the Founder, Director and Master Trainer of Ministry of Influence, a Training and Coaching Company providing courses in the areas of Persuasive Speaking, Leadership Communications, and Sales. To date, he has trained more than 10,000 Individuals over 6 years in Sales, Leadership and Presentation Skills.

Email: coen.tancm@gmail.com Website: http://coentan.com

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How To Get Paid Handsomely As A Professional Speaker by Eric Feng It has been three years since I embarked on a career of professional speaking. Compared to the veterans, I am one of the youngest yet my corporate clients are willing to pay the same rates to engage me. I also had the privilege of coaching high-profile business leaders including the former Executive Director of Asia Pacific Ecomomic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat in public speaking. And if there is one contributing factor to my success as a speaker, it has to be the stage time I have clocked at Toastmasters. I fervently believe that the best speakers are always on stage, just like the best swimmers are always in the pool and the best tennis players are always in the courts. Hence, I treasured every speaking opportunity I had at Toastmasters. There was even a period of time when I was attending five meetings a week, just so I get to sharpen my speaking skills. Even when I was studying in the States for a year, I went ahead to shop for a club alone. It was scary but necessary. And it turned out to be one of the best choices I have made because not only did my English improved significantly, I even got to represent my Division for their Humorous Speech Contest. It helped that I was not in a hurry to achieve the grand titles because they are just titles. So what if you are a Distinguished Toastmasters, but you do not speak like one. My focus back then was on getting better at every speech I delivered and I took my evaluators feedback seriously. Say there were three things I need to improve for a particular speech, I will pick an area (say timing) and find ways to shorten it yet making it more impactful. I will then arrange for an opportunity to re-deliver the same speech. Only when I am truly satisfied with the timing, I will move on to the next area of improvement. Hence it was not surprising for my club membes to hear the same speech for months because to me, technical competency was more important than titles. One of the questions I get asked a lot is this, Eric, I love speaking but how do I get paid as a speaker? Below are two things I focused on which has helped me get paid handsomely as a speaker. 1. Stage time, stage time, stage time You got to make sure you are at least ten times better at speaking than an average person out in the streets, in order to be paid for speaking. If an average Toastmasters is speaking once a month, you got to speak at least ten times a month. As 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking, Darren La Croix has aptly pointed out. It is not about how good you are today, it is about stage time. If you get up in front of your audience today, you will get better tomorrow, as a result of that experience. But thats just half the equation. Speaking a lot will not get you very far in the speaking industry unless you are using the stage time to hone your skills. Specifically, your stories, humor and analogies. This is because the better your stories, humor and analogies, the more you get paid! And this is where your evaluators come in. Instead of seeking validation seek education. Experiment with their advice and be rigorous in getting better. Here are three questions that I constantly ask my audience: (i) What do you like best about my speech and why? (ii) If there is an area to improve which will make a significant difference, what would that be? (iii) What is your favorite part of my speech and why? 2. Be an expert in one topic Clients these days are not just paying for delivery, they are paying for expertise. If you are speaking on too many topics (say leadership, social media and pet grooming), you will be paid at best, a mediocre fee. And do not ever fall into the trap of choosing a topic that will get you paid the most because ALL topics will get you paid the most as long as you are THE expert. Instead, ask yourself which topic are you most passionate about? Passion will cause you to spent ridiculously long hours in that topic, which will inevitably make you an expert. And once the market perceives you as the expert, you will naturally get paid as one. Heres the best marketing tip I have heard thus far which has given me significant visibility not just in Singapore but in Malaysia and China: Be so good at what you do that the world cannot ignore you. Many people think that being a professional speaker is glamorous. I beg to differ. Your speaking annoiting has a much deeper purpose. It is not to exalt yourself. Instead, it is to bring light, hope and inspiration into peoples lives. Will you be that speaker that the world needs today? About Eric Feng Eric Feng is a public speaking coach to clients from well-known companies like Microsoft, Credit Suisse, FedEx, Prudential and Shell. He is also a bestselling author of 'Get To The Point, which has sold 12,000 copies till date. Regarded by the media as an expert on public speaking, he is regularly interviewed on national TV and print. For more public speaking tips, visit www.ericfeng.com

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I could still remember that fateful day. I was walking through the maze of booths and varsity CCAs when a petite young lady popped up next to me. Where she came from I didn't know, but in her eyes, I saw both hope and hesitation - sure signs and symptoms of a day of meeting and experiencing strangers. Almost too politely, she asked, "Would you like to join the Toast..."? I couldn't really hear what she said. She could have very well asked if I would like to join the Toasting Class set up by "Ya Kun"... But I gave her the words that sealed my fate, persuaded by a logo printed on the bright yellow clothe behind her. I said, "Yes, I would like to sign up for the Toastmasters." ================================= I had long heard of the Toastmasters from my friends in the training circuit. After two years of volunteering as an education and training facilitator, I was on the lookout for a place and platform where I can develop myself professionally, particularly in the areas of speech, communication and management. I knew I had to develop myself in those areas because I was serious about wanting to pursue my passion in business or to make it as an Educator in the private or public domain. Either way, I need to learn how to speak Better! Over the years, my path tended toward the latter, and I've been blessed to have benefited from some keen insights derived from living the life of a trainer in the education business. If becoming a trainer is something you're keen to explore too, the following pointers should be helpful: 1. WHAT's Your Point? Expertise: We live in a sophisticated society in which people are continuously searching for solutions to better their lives. What solutions can you bring to the table? And how will you distinguish yourself and your services, and make them accessibly to your audiences? Can you offer them something in-depth and insightful? Or are the things you offer easily available elsewhere? Your ability to offer something special will be a key reason why people engage you.

2. WHERE Are You? Exposure: The training business is, in essence, a business. That means it is also subject to the laws and mechanics of business. Regardless of whether you are a one-man team or have people working under you, you are not exempt from the need to market yourself. In that sense, you must put yourself forward for other people to see you, know you, before they can engage you. Nobody will buy you if they don't know that you exist. 3. Seize Every Opportunity to GROW Experimentation: The Toastmasters provides a fantastic, open platform for you to step on and grow. It's a place where you can experiment with different strategies, gather feedback and refine your material. It's also a wonderful platform for you to hone your leadership and management capabilities. I'd personally benefited from running the NUS Toastmasters Club as President twice. It was there where I managed to fine-tune and further hone the marketing and selling skills that I derived from my work with the earlier companies and developed my people-management skills. These were opportunities that I never had previously, but opened up to me when I took up the challenge(s) with the Toastmasters.

About Gary Guwe, ACB: Gary is the Lead Trainer, Managing Director and Chief Programme Designer for Speak! Ventures Pte Ltd - A pioneering company specializing in Personal Empowerment, Communication Competency as well as Strategic Communications in the Personal, Professional and Business arenas. He is also award-winning Speaker and editor of Public Speaking and Communication website, The Shy Speakers' Guide to Success on Stage. A Toastmaster since 2006, Gary attributes one of the reasons for his rapid development and growth to his participation and involvement within the Toastmasters Circuit. Gary now dedicates his time building and expanding his business interests in training, which includes Toastmasters and other professionals who are exploring the Training Industry as possible career options. For more information on becoming a trainer, email gary@garyguwe.com

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Taking the Toastmasters Leap

For twenty years of my life I avoided Toastmasters. Big mistake! For some reason, I had the erroneous impression that Toastmasters was an elitist association, just for highly accomplished speakers. How could I, a mere mortal who failed miserably at school debating contests possibly hope to succeed amongst such a band of super stars? I acquired a public speaking stigma during my teenage years. As a child with no siblings, and went to a boys only school I had little interaction with the opposite sex. My first major encounter at age 16 was when I was instructed to represent my O level Class as lead speaker against a nearby girls school. In those days (longer ago than I care to remember), we had no public speaking coaching. Debates were run on an infrequent and irregular basis. Needless to say, my performance was far from stunning and I departed the event, red faced, defeated and dejected. My confidence with both girls and speaking reached an all time low and remained there for many years to come. Although I was eventually able to find a soul mate, my public speaking competence and confidence remained rock bottom. I had a career in commodities marketing but I that discovered this was not for me. My true passion in life is teaching and training. But how could I achieve this nirvana burdened with such a heavy baggage of negativity? It dawned on me that I desperately needed to improve my presentation skills in order to succeed in this competitive world. One day, whilst at work I was sitting at my desk doing nothing (over the years I became quite good at this), an email blast from The Singapore Institute of Management dropped into my inbox. Lo and behold, it was promoting an upcoming chapter meeting of the SIM II Toastmasters Club. It was pitched at newcomers with a desire to improve their skills in a friendly, supportive environment. I garnered my courage and attended the event. The SIM II meeting was an eye opener. To my surprise I noticed that many members were learner speakers like me. I signed up on the spot! That was six years ago. With this came the realisation that I had been missing valuable personal development experiences and that catch-up time had arrived. I religiously attended meetings and set myself the goal of achieving a speaking or leadership accomplishment each calendar year. As I write this, I am on the verge of reaching DTM, the highest title in Toastmasters. One of my fellow club members wryly commented when she reached DTM: Its like doing a PhD! I can certainly attest to that, but looking back it has been a rewarding and fulfilling experience. Over the years, the valuable learning techniques, networking opportunities and thought provoking Toastmasters speeches Ive witnessed have spurred me on to much greater heights. My negative self perceptions on speaking in public have evaporated. I have a new-found confidence, knowing that I have the competence to survive. Its now been a year since I left formal employment, sufficiently liberated to start my own training practice in cross-cultural connecting. Im happier, have more control over my life, greater self esteem and confidence all thanks to Toastmasters and SIM II! The road ahead may not be paved with gold, but its certainly looking very rosy. Looking back, I was fortunate enough to leverage Toastmasters to the full, taking advantage of the package of learning opportunities it brings. Heres how to grow through Toastmasters: Participate at every opportunity, no matter how daunting it appears. Unless youre challenged you cannot grow. Set speaking and leadership goals. Achieve them, on time, in full. Take advantage of the wider Toastmasters network. Visit other clubs and attend District educational workshops and conventions. Enter club speech contests and strive to win. Competing in higher level Area and Division contests is a great growth experience. Accept roles in organising and running events. With committed input these can be wonderful learning opportunities. Many people join Toastmasters expecting to turn into scintillating speakers overnight. But it takes time, perseverance and put in effort.

Thais Taking the Toastmasters Leap Too!

In the beginning, members join Toastmasters to improve their confidence and presentation. After a while, they develop leadership and friendship through various activities. Eventually, if one stays long enough, he/she becomes a trainer by sharing his/ her experience to others. I am fortunate to stay with Toastmaster long enough to reach this point. Training others is a rewarding activity like nothing else. Stay and share . Soon You will know what I mean. Chakrit Achava-Amrung, DTM - Suvarnnabhumi TMC

The skills Ive learnt as a TM are hugely beneficial to my career as a trainer. Whatever the content is that I want to deliver to my class, having learnt delivery skills makes my job all the more effective. Many times, when the content is new or complex, I could put aside the worries about the delivery, and really focus on the content. Having said that, when you have 100 training days a year, you are prone to think you dont need to come to club meetings because you practice it all the time (or you think youre too tired to come), which is WRONG! You soon see yourself staying the same place with that mindset trap. Being a good communicator is a life-long journey. Isra Smitabindu, CC - Siam TMC

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3 Ps TO PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE
Throughout my career, I have the good fortune of having many mentors whom have been very willing to share with me the secrets of their professional excellence. Although these mentors have expressed their views in different words, there are some common denominators when we distil them. These common denominators come in the form of the 3 Ps that have helped me progress in my professional life. The 3 Ps being: Passion, Practice and Progress. Passion. This is the first P we need to address to achieve professional excellence. To ensure sustainable excellence in anything we set out to do, we must first know what we are passionate about. Passion is akin to the fuel that provides for the sustenance of what we choose to do. But how do we know what we are passionate about? Here are 3 questions we can ask ourselves to help us determine our sphere of passion (if the answer to all 3 questions is "Yes", you are off to a great start!): 1. Is it aligned with my beliefs and values system? 2. Is it something I would do over the long-term? 3. Is it possible for me to build my career around it? Practice. Whilst some experts may have been gifted with natural talent to excel in their chosen field with minimal effort, the rest of us can take heart with the fact that we too can be experts in our chosen field. The secret lies in the amount of effort we chose to invest in ourselves (natural talent notwithstanding). Hence, the importance of choosing the field we are passionate about. As Malcolm Galdwell said in his best-selling book "Outliers", we need at least 10,000 hours of practice before we can gain mastery in our chosen field. The key lies in practicing the right methodology rather than the wrong one. Excessive practice in the wrong methodologies would form negative habits that would require time and effort to unlearn. Progress. After gaining mastery in communications and leadership practices through the Toastmasters education programme, we need to build upon this foundation with other essentials. For example, to be an effective trainer in the field of leadership, we can start by serving in various leadership roles available in the Toastmasters movement. Thereafter, we need to progress to the next level by applying these competencies learnt in the corporate world, many of whom are not Toastmasters. Once we have established a stellar track record and clocked sufficient success stories, we are on our way to being a great trainer. Not only can we communicate our ideas in a Charismatic way, our success in both the Toastmasters movement and the corporate world underscores our Credibility and the Currency of our competencies. In summary, the 3 Ps to professional excellence: 1. Find out where your Passion lies and build your career around it. Do what you love and you would never have to work a single day in your life. 2. Practice as much as you can to hone your expertise. Always be on the lookout for opportunities to do what you love. Get feedback so that you can improve. 3. Chart your Progress by practicing your passion beyond the Toastmasters movement and stake your claim to success in the corporate world! Thank you for the privilege of sharing and I wish you every success in your progress in practicing your passion.

Article Contributed by Lee Jin Hwui DTM of Tampines Changkat Advanced Toastmasters Club 2011 District 80 Champion for the Table Topics Contest 2012 Winner of the Capita Award for Best HR Manager in the HRM Awards

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Starting Toastmasters Young

Yang Huilin, ACB Bukit Timah C.C Toastmasters Club has definitely come a long way since it was chartered in 2005. Currently, we have 41 active members, 10 of which are junior members, or Toastmasters who are younger than the age of 18. Having these junior members is a unique feature of our club. They can be as young as twelve, and we usually see a large influx of them during our annual Speechcraft workshops. They go through the complete Toastmasters journey, just like normal Toastmasters, and despite their age, we hold them to the usual standards during evaluation to encourage them to deliver quality speeches. Our executive committee believes that Toastmasters strongly benefits youths younger than 18 years old as much as it does for older members, for public speaking is an essential life skill that is best nurtured from young. This is especially relevant to our student members, because honing their speech-making skills during Toastmasters sessions allows them to stand out among their peers during school presentations. Their leadership capabilities are strengthened as well, for Toastmasters train them to play many roles and take up various responsibilities to help in the running of our chapter meetings and the club. One of our junior Toastmasters, Soh Lisha, gained so much from Toastmasters that she proceeded to set up a Gavel Club in her secondary school, Dunman High School, to spread the benefits to her peers. Our approach toward youths has reaped tremendous results. We see our teenage Toastmasters improve by leaps and bounds, and in turn, our junior members have only positive feedback about being in the Bukit Timah C.C Toastmasters Club. Our Vice-President of Public Relations (VPPR), May Tay, who turned 18 just this term, said: Toastmasters provides me with a safe and nurturing haven in which I can develop my speech making skills at my own pace. It is thanks to the encouragement and experience of other members in the club that I have grown and developed over time as a leader and speaker. Needless to say as well, the skills and knowledge I picked up during club sessions have proved useful in numerous classroom situations and school events. Over the course of her two years in Toastmasters, May has found her niche in witty, tongue-in-cheek speeches that are creative and rich in information. During her term as VPPR, May takes charge of our clubs public image, chaired the recent International Speech and Table Topics Contest 2012 for the Club, and currently looks forward to visiting more clubs and gaining wider exposure to public speaking and leadership. One of our first few junior Toastmasters, Helen Lin, has also achieved tremendous progress since joining the club. After just one year, she had the confidence to step up to the challenge of being her schools valedictorian speaker and presented a speech to her peers, their parents and teachers. She has completed her Competent Communication Manual, and is looking forward to her Advanced Projects. Helen has this to share with other Toastmasters: In our lives, we increasingly find that we need to make use of public speaking skills, whether it is giving a presentation or speech. Personally, in school, as students, we need to make many presentations and I always get stage fright because I did not know how to address so many people! However, Toastmasters has given me a chance to master these skills and to hone them in chapter meetings. I find the projects really useful, because they are sequenced in such a way that we can learn different aspects of public speaking! For example, I could first learn how to organize my speech, then how to use body language and finally how to deliver a convincing speech. Also, Toastmasters is a wonderful environment, where everyone is supportive and encouraging of each other! I really look forward to the fortnightly meetings and I feel that Toastmasters provides a great opportunity for everyone to learn from each other and improve! Another special feature of our club is that we organize our very own Junior Speech Contests in collaboration with the Clubs International Speech and Table Topics Contest. This is done in order for juniors to gain the experience of participating in a contest. The winner of our latest Junior Club Contest, Anish Date Milind, has this to say: I have had a very interesting journey with Bukit Timah C.C. Toastmasters Club. Back in 2008, I honestly had no inkling as to what would be in store for me as I attended my first Toastmasters meeting. I started off like most Toastmasters do, with zero public speaking confidence and little faith in the program. Oh boy, was I wrong! Slowly but steadily, with strong support and encouragement from all club members, I began to build up on my confidence and speaking skills. The symptoms of stage fright started disappearing! Today, I can communicate to large crowds of people without fumbling. I have become a good listener and I am comfortable within my multi-cultural social circle. Without Toastmasters, it would have been almost impossible for me to achieve this! I am looking forward to continuing my Toastmasters endeavor. In an increasingly competitive and globalized world, possessing great speaking and communication skills will definitely give us an edge over others. Our young members recognized this, and desired an avenue for self-improvement, which they found in Toastmasters. They see the value of Toastmasters, and this is why they joined and continue to stay on, driven and motivated to excel in our mutually supportive environment where collaborative learning takes place. At Bukit Timah C.C Toastmasters Club, we believe that every club member can be nurtured and empowered to achieve greater heights. We open our doors to all so if you are interested, do drop by sometime!

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Queen of Humour and Kaypohism

Anne Marie Gutierrez, DTM Humorous Speech Champion 2011 At long last, a woman has for the first time in the eight years of District 80 history to clinch the Championship for the District Humorous Speech Contest. The champion was then also newly minted Distinguished Toastmaster, Anne Marie Gutierrez, who did all the ladies proud with her stellar performance of the plight of being a woman at the District Humorous Speech Contest in November 2011. Again this year, she swept the Championships for the Club International Speech Contest and the Table Topics Contest. At the Area Contests, she took the Championship for the Table Topics Contest and First Runner-up for the International Speech Contest. She next went on to wow the judges to win the Division Table Topics Contest! She still needs to scale the peak of the table topics contest which was topped by three gentlemen yet again on 27 May 2012. Anne Marie will have to pull all the stops to repeat history again by being the first woman to clinch the titles of the rest of the speech contests! What draws Anne Marie to compete in speech contests? Here is her response: I have always been inspired to push myself to be the best that I can be and Public Speaking is one of the challenging and interesting platforms to do so. Thus I participate in contests to put myself to overcome my fears and to put myself to the test. By being the first woman in District 80 to clinch the coveted title and I do feel very blessed and privileged to sail through the many battles to end up victorious. My life has changed in the raised profile as more clubs are asking me to be the Master Training at their clubs and to share my Toastmaster journey. The journey is pathed with trials and tribulations yet I am filled simply with gratitude. I have my parents and family to be thankful for as they are very supportive. Good friends have always guided and advised me. Good friends who are there to help and rally by me, through thick and thin, through wins and losses, are all precious and hard to come by! Gratitude is the base inspiration for interesting and captivating content and also should be considered the catalysts. However in order to build an effective presentation, one needs to go through hours or practice and hence, one needs persistence and perseverance in order to fulfil ones potentials in speaking skills. I believe everyone has their strengths and developmental points. My greatest strength is Kaypohism as I love to know more and to learn more. Entailed by that is my greatest developmental point easily distractible and I need to focus. The key for me is to be disciplined to go through all the manuals the basic to the bronze to the silver to the gold manuals and also to challenge oneself to serve in different committees. The most memorable journey was the one to the finals of the Humorous Speech Contest. All my friends pitched in to give suggestions as to the ways to spice the speech and to add laughter. I am very inspired by the selfless sharing of my friends in the movement. Now five years into the journey as a Toastmaster, I have clocked up thousands of hours of sweat and tears in practice, perspiration and inspiration in speech crafting and loads of spicy seasonings of fun, laughter and friendship! To conclude and final words to share enjoy the Wealth of wisdom, compassionate camaraderie and gracious giving. Practise, listen, learn and evaluate self and others critically and constructively. Continue to enjoy the Toastmasters journey win or lose and no matter what!!

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PRACTICE NOTE: COMMUNICATING WITH THE MEDIA & POSTINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Pradeep Kumar, DTM There have been many notable achievements made by the District this term in terms of having processes in place and adoption of best practices which were lacking in previous terms. This is to be expected as our District matures and with the implementation of policies by Toastmasters International to ensure that the District is properly equipped with the tools and acumen to face existing new challenges and possible challenges in the horizon; such as social responsibility and dealing with the media. Be it conservative media, as in Radio, newsprint, television or new social media such as Facebook, Blogspots, LinkedIn etcetera etcetera. One notable accomplishment for the District this term has been the promotion of the Toastmasters program and the role of District 80 in news media such as Mediacorp Radio and local dailies such as the Straits Times and Berita Harian. Whilst on the one hand this should be seen as a course of celebration on the other, perhaps less obvious is the responsibility that comes with dealing with the Media and promoting the Toastmasters program on social media and social networking sites. We must not allow our enthusiasm to run riot as it may and probably will have undesired consequences which may impact the workings of the District and its membership which you are part of. Below are some brief pointers on what you should do, not do or issues you should be aware of when communicating with the Media or when making your next online posting through social media. 1. When you are approached by the Media regarding Toastmasters in our District, inform your Lieutenant-Governor of Marketing and District Public Relations Officer of this immediately. They will guide you through the process and be your gate keepers to ensure that all representations made to the Media are factually accurate. Do not go on a frolic of your own for once inaccuracies have been published they cannot be retracted. And if the inaccuracies are published through social media, they may be perpetuated by going viral. 2. If the purpose of the Media communication is to promote the good work done by a particular club, please ensure that the club is featured in the context of the District and Toastmasters International. The Club should not be made to appear as an entity on its own. Remember, your club is formed pursuant to the constitution and by-laws of Toastmasters International. If the Club that is being featured has yet to be chartered, make this abundantly clear from the inception and continuously reinforce this point. 3. In all of your communication with the Media, beware that you are not immune from the Copyright and Defamatory Laws of your country. Legal action may be commenced against you and/or Senior Officers of the District and/or Toastmasters International. 4. You as a member of District 80 have a vested interest to ensure that if any misleading communication to the conservative Media or social media is brought to your attention or if you happen to chance upon it, bring this to the attention of the Senior District Officers. Prevention is always better than cure in such matters for if inaccuracies or legally objectionable material is published without the Districts prior knowledge, salvaging the situation will be a lot harder. 5. To err is only human. If you make a mistake be the first to take responsibility and inform the District of this. The problem will not go away if you hide you head in the sand. The damage which your actions may cause to the District may be irreparable.

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Six Packs
Have you noticed speakers who entertain audiences? They are able to connect with the audience and maintain their rapport throughout their speeches. The audience is somehow mesmerised, listening attentively and willing to follow the speakers direction. When the speaker says Do you agree with me?. The audience roars YES!. Then the speaker says Repeat after me, Abracadabra, audience repeats Abracadabra. Why do people in the audience oblige obediently? Why dont they ask Why should I repeat? The audience is spell bound, transported to the world of the speaker and revelling in the exhilaration of the entertainment. After watching such a speech or performance, many people are amazed and say: That was fantastic. That was so entertaining. How does he do that? Among the Advanced Manuals of Toastmasters International, is a manual called The Entertaining Speaker. Many speakers feel they are not ready to do entertaining speeches, because they dont think they have the requisite skills. They think; I am not funny! I am not humorous. How can I be entertaining? Most Toastmasters fear The Entertaining Speaker manual and settle to do easier projects. There was a time I too felt so. Perhaps, we need to remember, what Marie Curie said: Nothing in the world is to be feared. It is only to be understood. I believe Entertaining speeches are something that anyone can deliver, if they really understand the basic ingredients. After analysing several effective entertaining speeches, I formulated a systematic approach, which anyone can use to be more entertaining. I named this formula SIX PACKS, which constitute eight basic ingredients. During my Entertaining Speaker workshop, organised by District 80, I had provided detailed examples and practical application for each ingredient, which is beyond the scope of this article. However, I will try to highlight the key points, about each ingredient that forms the SIX PACKS. When these ingredients are used in the right mix it gives birth to an effective entertaining speech.
Stories - Use story telling techniques Imagery - Make the narrative as vivid as possible, to paint a picture in peoples minds. Xpressions - Remember that audiences are swayed by both ear-catching verbal expressions and eye-catching facial expressions, which are synchronized with the mood, rhythm and tone of the speech. Participation from Audience - The level of audience reception, is a measure of audience entertainment. Speakers can interact with the audience using various rapport building techniques like asking questions, making them laugh, making them do some activity. All of these help the speaker to gauge the extent of audience engagement Anecdotes - I strongly believe personal anecdotes are at the core of entertaining speeches. Many aspiring speakers are convinced that their life is plain, dull and monotonous, that they do not have any entertaining personal anecdotes. Many anecdotes are in fact not entertaining by itself. The trick is to make it entertaining. I like to share a technique that I formulated and frequently use. I call it the ORANGE technique, which stands for the following. O Observe, R- Relate, A Arrange, N Narrate, G Gesticulate, E Exaggerate Detailed demonstrations are provided during my workshops. The essence is to connect the unfamiliar with the familiar. It is a skill that can be easily learned. Captivating Narrative - Develop a narrative that brings our story alive. Keep varying - Many of the same is monotonous. Many of the different is entertaining. Vary voice, position, gesture, movement and body language Suspense - Build anticipation and be unpredictable.

I have analysed several entertaining speeches before I formulated the SIX PACKS formula. I consistently use this technique in my speeches for the effective entertainment of audiences of varied background. I share this in the hope that every Toastmaster can benefit from the SIX PACKS formula and make their speeches entertaining to audiences. Remember, audiences like to be entertained. Manoj Vasudevan ACB CL 2010 District 80 Humorous Speech Champion 2010 Peoples Association Humorous Speech Champion 2011 District 80 Evaluation Speech Champion 2012 Semi-Finalist, World Championship of Public Speaking my@thoughtexpressions.com

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Speaking Off The Cuff

Brahmakumar Balakrishnan, DTM Humorous Speech Champion 2011 Fellow toastmasters, have noticed you that often at Toastmaster chapter meetings, once the Table Topic master calls for volunteers, most people tend to look away or cast their eyes downwards to avoid being called up? This stems from their inherent fear of saying something silly or embarrassing, as they are unprepared for table topics. I used to be like one of them that until I started visiting other clubs and attended courses. In the process, it dawned upon me that there are techniques and strategies to handle table topics. Today, I share with you a technique known as the time. This technique uses chronology- (i.e. the past, present and the future) to speak on a topic. I recall a chapter meeting where a speaker was stumped for a few moments when he was shown the telegraph lines by the Table Topic masters. In this instance, the speaker could have deployed the time technique. He could have used the picture to speak about how communication has evolved over the ages - how man moved from using pigeons to phones to the internet to communicate. Then, he could have concluded by sharing his opinion of how communication would develop further in the future. The technique would be most effective if the speaker has a good knowledge of history, which brings me to the next point. Every speaker needs to build up a bank of knowledge on different topics. One way, is to read up on topics as diverse as astrology, botany, cooking, economics, geography, history, information technology, literature, medicine, politics, sociology and so on. Another way to increase our knowledge would be to cultivate the habit of collating and collecting newspaper or magazine articles for future reference. The Readers Digest is another good source. Let us see how we can use the time technique on another table topic: Can One Be Effectively Bilingual? In ancient times, people were usually restricted to a geographical region and spoke only one language- The Chinese spoke Chinese; the British spoke English and South Americans spoke their native tongues. With conquests and colonisation, people had to learn the languages of their imperial masters in addition to their mother tongues. Over time, it was common for people to be fluent on two or three languages. Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian Nobel Prize winner for Literature was fluent in English and Bengali. Today, Muslims over the world are familiar with the Arabic language, their native tongue and probably English or some other colonial language which they had inherited. In countries, like Malaysia, Indonesia, or Thailand, national policies have caused minority ethnic groups to be fluent in the official language and their native tongues. In Singapore, our top political leaders are fluent in three languages. When we formed the worlds first Tamil Toastmasters club in 2001, our fluency in Tamil and English was beneficial to us as we had to translate from scratch the manuals, the appointments holders and the procedures from English to Tamil. In the future, with increasing globalisation and transmigration of people across continents, it would become even more common for people to be fluent in two or even three languages. This can be seen in Australia, which is encouraging her students to learn Mandarin as a second language to cope with the economic rise of China. The above examples illustrate how the time technique could be deployed to answer table topics. To be an effective table topic speaker, one requires an indomitable spirit and a fervid desire to excel. It is not an impossible task. As they say, Practise makes perfect. In my next article, I will share tips on another area in public speaking. =============================================================== References Spicer,K.(2001).Think on your feet. Think on Your Feet Inc. Ontario: Canada Brahmakumar, DTM, hails from the Singapore Tamil Toastmaster Club (STTC), which is the worlds first Tamil Toastmaster Club. He has been a Toastmaster since the year 2000. For the reading pleasure of our Tamil Toastmasters, the Tamil version of this article appears on the next page.

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