1 Looking Back DPRO Lynda Neo, ACB/ALS

2 Reflections From Our District Officers District Governor Mike Rodrigues, DTM

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

3 Activities / Events

District Workshops 2011-2012 DPRO Team

Be a Better Judge

Mind your Language

Image of a Public Speaker

Division L Toastmasters Awareness: Capital 95.8 Interview Div L Assistant Governor Marketing Tan Hwee Yong, ACS/ALS

Division T Toastmasters Awareness Div T Assistant Governor Marketing Peter Keusgen, ACB/ALB

Annual Convention May 2012 - WOW DPRO Team

BUDDHIST FELLOWSHIP Toastmasters Club Fanny Baey & Ratna Juita

Div T Speechcraft for Monks Thawesak Thadajariyawong, CC

19 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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30 Special Features

Voices from First Timer Contestants

詹静坤

梁端庭

Akracha Phraprasert

Saowalak Yoo-dee

Methee Nutnonthri

Michael Wee

Starting Toastmasters Young Yang Huilin, ACB

A Rewarding Journey Vincent Lim, DTM

Reflections of District Champions Anne Marie Gutierrez, DTM

Communicating with the Media & Postings on Social Media LGM Pradeep Kumar, DTM

Six Packs Manoj

Speaking Off The Cuff Brahmakumar Balakrishnan, DTM

Toastmasters Etiquette DPRO Lynda Neo, ACB/ALS

38 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 mysales and marketing career then, I did speak everyday but I knew I needed to be a more polished and refined speaker! I really didn’t know there’s this movement called Toastmasters and so at theend 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 thecategory 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 witnessedclassmates 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 I’m pretty ‘one-track 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, monthsand years, turned into customers & profits for me & my company!

10 years ago, I didn’t 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 GovernorMarketing. 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 thestuff 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 ournewsletter.

by Lynda Neo, DPRO

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MESSAGE FROM D80 GOVERNOR: by Michael Rodrigues DTMDistrict 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, itis 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 oncommitted 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 inthe 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 mostvociferous 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 ourMembers 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. Iam, 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 developmentand 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 DTMDistrict 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, presentedtheir 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/herCC/CL/AL/AC again & again and clock in the DCP point for one’s 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 topolish 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.

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MESSAGE FROM IMMEDIATE PAST D80 GOVERNOR: by Aziz Mustajab DTMImmediate 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 mayfind 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 educationalprograms. 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, andsubordinates. 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 ALSDistrict 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 tojoin 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 DistrictSecretary 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, andpreparing 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 andtedious.

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 80Directory.

As with all other matters, passion, pride and patience will see you through your job.

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Be A Better JudgeDPRO 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 trainingworkshop is to help participants learn the judging process and the correct use of the Judge’s 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 Judge’sGuide 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, speaker’s official position, speaker’s 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 club’s 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.

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Mind Your LanguageSpeech 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 assessor’s expertise. Therefore the better a Speaker you are, the better anEvaluator 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 abetter 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 Vowelsand 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 ofchocolate 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 howgrammars 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 LanguageEvaluator”. 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.

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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 enticethe 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 theaudience, 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 theimportance of first impression, she quoted Albert Meridian’s 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 thatwill 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 theirbare-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 weredelighted 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 domake a lasting impression.

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Division L Toastmasters Awareness: Interview by Capital 95.8

在８０区的公关ＬＹＮＤＡ ＮＥＯ 的穿针引线之下，Ｌ区终于有机会在９５。８城市频道上介绍与推广华语讲演会。这是有史以来Ｌ区华语讲演会第一次在空中接受访谈，真是可喜可贺。

我在Ｌ区总监吴仰正博士的邀请下接下这任务，在２月２３日早上出席９５。８城市频道访谈节目。当天早上八时我与总监吴仰正博士准时抵达广播电台。当时有位和蔼可亲的女士前来迎接我们到播音室，让我们有宾至如归的感觉。来到播音室，我们看到美丽大方的ＤＪ高逸蕊小姐正在播报新闻。接着下来，在广告播报时她告诉我们有关她要提问的问题，以及讨论与访问的各个细节。很快的节目开始了。在访谈的过程中我回答了两道问题，其中问及我为何加入华语讲演会以及讲演会是采用何种方式来训练公众演讲的？Ｌ区总监吴仰正博士也在访谈中谈及华语讲演会的发展以及对未来的展望。其实讲演会所涉及的问题绝非可能在短短的三十分钟内，以三言两语就能交代清楚的。许多问题都需要大家一起探讨，共同努力。

访谈结束之后，没想到听众的反应热烈。许多听众都很感兴趣，可见讲演会确实有市场，只是缺乏一个正式的宣传管道，让广大的民众认识。这是一个良好的开端，借此机会把华语讲演会通过９５。８城市频道介绍给公众人士，希望有兴趣者能前来和我们一起在这个大家庭中，共同学习华文华语以及沟通与领导的技巧。

陈惠榕ＡＣＳ，ＡＬＳＬ区市场助理总坚

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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 stillswabbing 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 manyother 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 ourguests gained insights into what Toastmasters is all about. They won't all join immediately, but they'll be able to recommendToastmasters 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 ofToastmasters and wouldn't know where to start to improve their public speaking ability. So the Toastmasters Awareness Day iseven 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 differenceand 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 asignificant 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 couldcommunicate any time anywhere. Email was used at times to send files, and update plans. The constant communication not onlyhelped 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 ourautonomy, 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 theirleadership 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 interviewedabout 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 ofToastmasters as a place to learn leadership and public speaking. Irrespective of the effectiveness, this was definitely the best fun in marketingToastmasters Awareness Day and we all learned about TV interviews. None of us had been on TV in Thailand before this.

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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 intoaccount 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 friendwas 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 longerperiod (about a month) at a lower ad spend per day, rather than have a short campaign. Then, Facebook members will see the adtagged with, "three of your friends are attending" which makes it more effective. Also, we found that pay per click was far more costeffective 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 teamhanded out the flyers at the U Chu Liang Building and surrounding office areas, because this was the building where we were going tohost 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 asspeakers, 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 theshow 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 Tgained 23 new members in the week following the seminar, which is a 5% increase from our membership at the time. We like tothink that the showcase seminar contributed to this hike. But as always with Toastmasters, the greatest benefits of this showcaseseminar were reaped by the participants. It was a great lesson in organizating, motivating, marketing, and showmanship, and we allbenefited from each part.

Peter Keusgen ACS/ALBAssistant Governor MarketingDivision T

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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 companyas 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 timeI 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 letme 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 knewimmediately that was exactly what I needed, so I signed up immediately for the club’s Speechcraft Program. It gave me the jumpstart to my public speaking career. Through Speechcraft, I wasintroduced 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 wasstressful 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 didn’t fit in. I had very fewfriends 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 resultsfloundered. 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 somethingabout my predicament. I started developing my social skills by reading self-help books, and observing others. I applied what I’ve 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 withthem 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 Iwas 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 soulto 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, abest-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 thequality 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 amtoday. 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 amfortunate 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 journeyof 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 SecretIngredient 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.comWebsite: 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 paythe 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, Itreasured 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 speakingskills.

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 madebecause 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. Myfocus 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 particularspeech, 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 competencywas 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 speakat 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 audiencetoday, you will get better tomorrow, as a result of that experience.”

But that’s 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 isbecause 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. Anddo 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 perceivesyou as the expert, you will naturally get paid as one.

Here’s 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 intopeople’s 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 copiestill 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 inher 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..."? Icouldn'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 logoprinted on the bright yellow clothe behind her. I said, "Yes, I would like to sign up for the Toastmasters."

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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 platformwhere 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 aboutwanting 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 towardthe 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 toexplore 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 distinguishyourself 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 peopleworking 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 refineyour 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. Itwas 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 PersonalEmpowerment, Communication Competency as well as Strategic Communications in the Personal, Professional and Business arenas. He is also award-winningSpeaker and editor of Public Speaking and Communication website, The Shy Speakers' Guide to Success on Stage. A Toastmaster since 2006, Gary attributes oneof the reasons for his rapid development and growth to his participation and involvement within the Toastmasters Circuit. Gary now dedicates his time buildingand expanding his business interests in training, which includes Toastmasters and other professionals who are exploring the Training Industry as possible careeroptions. 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 elitistassociation, just for highly accomplished speakers. How could I, a mere mortal who failed miserably at school debating contests possibly hope tosucceed 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 aboys’ 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 levelClass as lead speaker against a nearby girls’ school. In those days (longer ago than I care to remember), we had no public speaking coaching. Debateswere run on an infrequent and irregular basis. Needless to say, my performance was far from stunning and I departed the event, red faced, defeatedand dejected. My confidence with both girls and speaking reached an all time low and remained there for many years to come. Although I waseventually 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 onme 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 Ibecame 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 IIToastmasters 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 meetingwas 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 beenmissing 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 leadershipaccomplishment 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 reachedDTM: It’s 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 I’ve witnessed have spurred me on to much greater heights. Mynegative self perceptions on speaking in public have evaporated. I have a new-found confidence, knowing that I have the competence to survive. It’s now been a year since I left formalemployment, sufficiently liberated to start my own training practice in cross-cultural connecting. I’m happier, have more control over my life, greater self esteem and confidence – all thanks toToastmasters and SIM II! The road ahead may not be paved with gold, but it’s 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. Here’s how to grow through Toastmasters: • Participate at every opportunity, no matter how daunting it appears. Unless you’re 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 variousactivities. 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 enoughto 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 I’ve 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 makesmy 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 don’t need to come to club meetings because you practice it “all the time” (or youthink you’re 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-longjourney.

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 thesecrets of their professional excellence. Although these mentors have expressed their views in different words, there are somecommon denominators when we distil them. These common denominators come in the form of the 3 Ps that have helped meprogress 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 weset 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 answerto 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 toocan 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 thefield 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 chosenfield. 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 requiretime 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 withother 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 astellar 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 inboth 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 HwuiDTM of Tampines Changkat Advanced Toastmasters Club 2011 District 80 Champion for the Table Topics Contest2012 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 areyounger 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 throughthe 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 Toastmastersstrongly benefits youths younger than 18 years old asmuch as it does for older members, for public speaking isan essential life skill that is best nurtured from young. Thisis especially relevant to our student members, becausehoning their speech-making skills during Toastmasterssessions allows them to stand out among their peersduring school presentations. Their leadership capabilitiesare strengthened as well, for Toastmasters train them toplay many roles and take up various responsibilities to helpin 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 secondaryschool, 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 aboutbeing 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 makingskills 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 foundher niche in witty, tongue-in-cheek speeches that are creative and rich in information. During her term as VPPR, May takes charge of our club’s public image, chaired the recent InternationalSpeech 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 beingher school’s 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 herAdvanced 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 orspeech. 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 hasgiven 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 ofpublic 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 wonderfulenvironment, 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 everyoneto 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 Club’s International Speech and Table Topics Contest. This is done in order forjuniors 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 TimahC.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 zeropublic 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 myconfidence 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 amcomfortable 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 Toastmastersendeavor.” In an increasingly competitive and globalized world, possessing great speaking and communication skills will definitely give us an edge over others. Our young members recognizedthis, 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 motivatedto 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 andempowered 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, DTMHumorous 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 SpeechContest. The champion was then also newly minted Distinguished Toastmaster, Anne Marie Gutierrez, who did all the ladies proud with her stellarperformance 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 tookthe Championship for the Table Topics Contest and First Runner-up for the International Speech Contest. She next went on to wow the judges to winthe 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 27May 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 oneof 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 haschanged 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 friendshave 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, oneneeds to go through hours or practice and hence, one needs persistence and perseverance in order to fulfil one’s 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 greatestdevelopmental 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 differentcommittees. 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 thespeech 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 upthousands 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 werelacking in previous terms. This is to be expected as our District matures and with the implementation of policies by Toastmasters International to ensure that theDistrict is properly equipped with the tools and acumen to face existing new challenges and possible challenges in the horizon; such as social responsibility anddealing 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 asMediacorp 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 networkingsites. 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 socialmedia.

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. Theywill 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 inaccuracieshave 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 ToastmastersInternational. 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 Clubthat 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/orSenior 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 happento 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 publishedwithout the District’s 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 whichyour 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 issomehow mesmerised, listening attentively and willing to follow the speaker’s direction. When the speaker says “Do you agree with me?”. The audience roars “YES!”. Then thespeaker says “Repeat after me, ‘Abracadabra’”, audience repeats “’Abracadabra’”. Why do people in the audience oblige obediently? Why don’t 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 ofToastmasters International, is a manual called The Entertaining Speaker. Many speakers feel they are not ready to do entertaining speeches, because they don’t think they have the requisiteskills. 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 Itoo 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 anyonecan 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 moreentertaining. 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 andpractical 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 theseingredients 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 people’s 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 andtone 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 buildingtechniques 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, thatthey 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. Icall 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 variedbackground. 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 beentertained.

Manoj Vasudevan ACB CL2010 District 80 Humorous Speech Champion2010 People’s Association Humorous Speech Champion2011 District 80 Evaluation Speech Champion2012 Semi-Finalist, World Championship of Public Speakingmy@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 casttheir 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 usedto 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 handletable 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 achapter 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 couldhave 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 pigeonsto 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, isto 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 increaseour 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 canuse 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 theirnative 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 befluent 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 theArabic 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 havecaused 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 world’s firstTamil 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 fromEnglish 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 threelanguages. 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 howthe ‘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. Asthey say, “Practise makes perfect.” In my next article, I will share tips on another area in public speaking.

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ReferencesSpicer,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 world’s 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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