Vistana TM: Record Breaking

Vistana Toastmasters Club had its meeting on 25 Jul 2008. The meeting was made merrier and lively with the participation of 12 guests from the Hong Leong Group lead by Mr. Lee Sooi Keong as well as our Distinguished Toastmasters (DTMs), Zaharah and Sue Ding. This was a record breaking for Vistana Toastmasters club as we had the most guest attendants for the first time.

Madam President, Sarimah, touched on the subject of Kaizen or continuous improvement, which all of us need to inculcate in our minds and make it a way of life, in order to improve our communication and leadership skills.

TME Kula spoke about how famous personalities had passion in their hearts to improve themselves in public speaking.

Table Topics and Humour sessions were handled by Gunendran, and there was a mix of topics which everyone had an interest in. Some of our guests, although shy, gave it a try and showed that they can stand in front of an audience and deliver their thoughts. Gunendran’s jokes had everyone laughing their hearts out.

Assignment speakers, Tee and Sabrina showed our guests that they are capable of delivering their speeches with confidence, and with practice, anyone can speak so as to inspire and captivate their audience.

DTM Zaharah gave an impressive briefing on history of TM to our guests who were convinced that Vistana TM is the place where they can sharpen and enhance their speaking and leadership skills.

DTM Sue Ding talked about mentoring and how this could be of great help to new members who may initially face difficulty in preparing their speeches, etc...

In relation to role playing, there were always some members volunteering their service to make the meeting a successful event.

The meeting ended at about 11 pm.

Your TME
Kula/……….

D'Utama TM:President's Speech - Happy New Term

More than three weeks (since 1st July 2008) have passed; D’Utama Toastmasters (DUTM) Club has entered a new era for the term 2008/2009. Despite that my Presidential write-up is fantastically behind schedule, I felt that it’s never too late to pen my words into action and shared my story with anyone and for everyone to read. Furthermore, it is a blessing that the DUTM members are very forgiving people in nature.

After I have officially married my "wife", we have decided to proceed with our ultimate objective and mission to raise a "healthy family". Firstly, she has given me instant and spontaneous "children" and they grew up very, very fast. For a newly and inexperience "non-biological father", I was foretold and forewarned by my "ancestors" that it would not be easy to accommodate every child’s requests and demands!

So what shall I do to upkeep this family’s well-being? Ah-ha! An idea came by like a gentle breeze, whispered to my ears and enlightens my mind. It’s called "ACTS".

They said, "all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy" and "all play and no work, makes Jack a lazy boy". So having a balance of fruitful and beneficial Activities for the family is mother of all necessity. For example, the Club would need to layout appropriate seminars or workshops, to organize friendly and get-together fellowships, and each regular Toastmasters meeting should be exciting; if not great, so that members (and even guests) can appreciate its values and goodness.

In order to exercise these activities effectively and efficiently, every member could learn to Communicate with one another. Because if there is no two-way conversation between "father and child" frequently and purposefully, then how would either party is going to know and understand the other person’s feelings? To alleviate any unnecessary and unhealthy conflicts and/or misunderstanding, both parties would perhaps talk more openly with an open mind.

But I’m sure DUTM members would not adopt the NATO (No Action, Talk Only) principle. To be a successful and proficient speaker, each member must Take action for his or her own good cause. For instance, it would be advisable and encouraging for members to take up role play voluntarily for each Toastmasters meeting, to participate actively in the Club’s assigned workshop and/or projects and ready to sign up as would-be contestants for every Toastmasters annual contests. Henceforth, a lot of emphasis is placed on individual’s ownership to be more self-discipline, self-motivated, and self-initiative. So let’s walk our talk through this journey.

Be mindful that through our sincere deeds, we sacrificed much of our time, effort or energy, knowledge, and maybe money; to help, to coach, to guide, and to teach others patiently, who may be less fortunate than we are. In short, we learned how to Share on whatever we have with others because it is through our generosity and sincerity in giving, we receive more in return; in a mysterious ways, unknown to us. Therefore why keep it to ourselves if we have abundant resources at hand?

To sum up the "ACTS", our theme for 2008/2009 for DUTM Club is "Taking Chances to Share". Whether we seized every opportunity that comes by or to create any opportunities; when there is none, our learning curve should be sharing, giving or passing our ideas, thoughts, and feedbacks for the Club and among the members to grow and to improve on; so that we can be better, stronger, and wiser than yesterday.

Therefore, let’s make it happen by turning it into a reality to reach our dreams and goals!

Written by,
Calvin Lim, ACB
President of 2008/2009
D’Utama Toastmasters Club

25th July 2008

"Taking Chances to Share"

Upcoming event: Evaluation Workshop by Area B1

Dear Fellow Toastmasters,

Do you find it hard to be an evaluator? How do I give an evaluation that is motivating yet constructive? Want to be the next champion evaluator?

Mark this date "26th July 2008 (Sat)" for the Evaluation Workshop brought to you by Area B1.
Please find the details of the workshop on the flyer attached (click on the flyer for enlarged view).

A Night of Achievements!

A Night of Achievements!

D'Utama Toastmasters Club conducted their second meeting for the term 2008/09 last night (17 July 2008), and it was indeed a Night of Achievements. It was a great achievement for the first time Role Players starting from the Toastmasters of the Evening (TME), TM Peter Yu. I could see he was restraining his usual brazen self to show due respect to the culture and rules of the club - a challenge when taken. This young dynamic man took the stage & the meeting was full of energy and gusto - a truly rocking good time!!!

We saw our newest member, Belinda See in her second meeting as a DUTM member taking on the role of the Time Keeper for the first time. Though being on the job for the first time, she carried her duties very well by showing "no mercy" with the bell on some of our Speakers who went over the time limit. Time Management IS IMPORTANT, and the meeting ended on time partly due to that !!

We also had Nor Asylynna Lee who took the challenge of being the Table Topic Master (TTM) for the first time, and she conducted a very interesting session with by encouraging 6 Speakers (2 of them were Guests!). Well done !!

A real treat to the members were seeing old friends again, namely Julia Mellors, and Paulynn Yu who had left the club to Overseas to further their career and studies respectively. This goes to show that relationships established in a Toastmasters club is not just a professional one but also a personal one as well.

The meeting had a session called 'The Star is Born' where the birthdays of those in the months of May, June & July were celebrated.

(picture: _DSC00040.JPG)from left to right: Karine Koh, Goh Sheen Yee, Jason Chew, Paulynn Yu

Personally, I would say the highlight of the evening was when our dear member, Vice President of Education Toastmasters (VPE) Teoh Chun Ming completed his 10th Speech from the Competent Communicator manual. Self-confidence, Perseverance and Optimistic character are the traits we always see in Chun Ming. For those of you were not able to make it to the meeting, no worries as you can view first hand here:

Teoh Chun Ming's 10th Speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x2bVv647Us

Evaluation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEkUS-Hb16U

Another Members achievement to be acknowledged is Competent Toastmasters (CTM) Competent Leader (CL), Henry Fu who has completed his two Advanced Manuals to attain his new title of Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB). Henry Fu also have complete his High Performance Leadership (HPL) and is one step closer to achieving his Advanced Leader Silver (ALS). A prime candidate for District service next term.

(picture: _DSC00054.jpg)President Calvin Lim ACB presenting the AC ribbon to Henry Fu, ACB CL.

Last but not least, the heartiest congratulations to Immediate Past President (IPP) Jack Leong CTM CL for leading the D'Utama Toastmasters Club to being the President Distinguished Club by achieving 10/10 in the Distinguish Club Program (DCP). The IPP attributed the award to the members and thank all the members for their contribution and commitment to their respective personal growth that lead the club to the award.

(picture: _DSC00055.jpg)Current President Calvin Lim ACB presenting the trophy to IPP Jack Leong CTM CL.

Besides the Regular Meeting, I have got to know there three (3) Guests have submitted their applications to be Members of D'Utama Toastmasters Club after meeting the club's membership criteria. Congratulations !!! to the new applicants, and to the new Vice President of Membership, Tan Kooi Ching, CC.

In summary, CONGRATULATIONS to
VPE Teoh Chun Ming, Competent Communicator (CC),
Henry Fu, Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB), Competent Leader (CL),
D'Utama Toastmasters Club, 10/10 President Distinguished Club recipient, and
Happy Birthday May, June and July babies !

Truly, a Night of Achievements!

Yours Truly,
Johnson Yike ACS ALB
D'Utama Toastmasters Club

Vistana TM: Unforgettable

Unforgettable

11 July 2008, a date which is unforgettable for most of Vistana Toastmasters club members especially me. On this day we embark our new term for Toastmasters journey as we are having the first Toastmasters meeting for the term. It was a scintillating start for us as we continue our aspiration to become the leading Toastmasters club in Kuantan and East Coast. Our club President Sarimah's opening speech share with us her an inspirational notion about not to procrastinate things that can be done today.

The opening speech truly an invocation speech for all of the twelve members and guest that night. The speech also reminds me to complete this newsletter as soon as possible. This is the first Vistana Toastmasters newsletter to be put in our blogspot which is www.divisionb.blogspot.com. What a pressure for me! Anyhow it is really was an honour for me and I must thanks our Area B4 Governor ACS, ALB Johnson Yike for that. He is the one who come out this brilliant idea to put our newsletter in the blogspot.

Table Topic session by Toastmasters Poh Lin is an unforgettable session for me as I share a deeply personal "secret" in that session. What deeply personal "secret"? You may ask! I guest you have to be there on that night to know my "secret". Hahaha! It was a fruitful session for all the Table Topic speakers especially we have a guest Miss Karti from BASF Petronas sharing her first Table Topic experience. It good to know that the level of English has substantial improve as it was point out by Table Topic Evaluator Kula and Grammarian Poh Lin.

It really an excellent start from the term as we have 3 assignment speakers pursuing their Competent Communicator award on that night. This means we are one step closer to achieve 4 CC for this tem and at the same time achieve 2 DCP point. We have Sabrina with her Project 5 entitle "Unforgettable moment", Kula's Project 7 entitle "Threat to planet Earth" and our president Sarimah's Project 6 entitle "Anecdotes is my life". Wow! What can I say? Kudos to all the three assignment speakers for a job well done. I truly enjoy all the speech especially Sabrina's Project 5 as I was her assignment evaluator that night. For me it was Sabrina best speech so far as she demonstrates her speech with articulate body movement, facial expressions and eye contact to enhance her speech.

To sum up I must say it was an unforgettable Toastmasters evening for me as it was my first TME role for a long time. The meeting starts at 8.02pm and end on 10.15pm respectively which was a good sign but still got room for improvement. It the mid of excitement I forgot to ask the members and guests to vote the best assignment speaker and best evaluator. A truly "unforgettable" night for me. Many thanks to all the role players and speakers that make the meeting a success. Special thanks to Area B4 Governor as his role as General evaluator and his constructive feedback. Hope to have another outstanding meeting on 25 July 2008.

Courage to Make a Difference

Your TME
Vince Lim
11-07-2008

Upcoming workshop: Role of Chief Judge and Contest Chair


Dear members,

What should I do when I am the Chief Judge or Contest Chair?
How should I go about with the briefing for judges or contestants?
How should I handle the complaint filed?
And more that I should know as a Chief Judge or Contest Chair....

A workshop that you should not miss on role of Chief Judge and Contest Chair on 01/08/2008.

Kindly find more details in the flyer attached (click on the flyer to have an enlarged view). Confirmed your attendance today! Limited seats available.

Upcoming workshop - Workshop on High Performance Leadership


Dear members,

Sharpen your leadership skills now...
High Performance Leadership (HPL) is the premier handbook for leadership.
How do I go about it?

Join us at Stamford College on 11/09/2008 for workshop on High Performance Leadership.
Kindly find the details in the flyer attached (click on the flyer so you could get an enlarged view).

Limited seats available. Confirm your attendance today!

10 Tips for Public Speaking

Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and even beneficial, but too much nervousness can be detrimental.

Here are some proven tips on how to control your butterflies and give better presentations:

1. Know your material

Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more about it than you include in your speech. Use
humor, personal stories and conversational language – that way you won’t easily forget what
to say.

2. Practice. Practice. Practice!
Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control
filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the
unexpected.

3. Know the audience
Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends
than to strangers.

4. Know the room
Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual
aids.

5. Relax
Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, smile and
count to three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-
thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm.

6. Visualize yourself giving your speech
Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience
clapping – it will boost your confidence.

7. Realize that people want you to succeed
Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They’re
rooting for you.

8. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem
The audience probably never noticed it.

9. Concentrate on the message -not the medium
Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and
your audience.

10. Gain experience
Mainly, your speech should represent you — as an authority and as a person. Experience
builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the
experience you need in a safe and friendly environment.


Source of article: Toastmasters International

Air time - D'Utama Advanced Toastmasters Club Installation Dinner

Dear Members,

D'Utama Advanced Toastmasters Club, the Preferred Advanced Club will be holding its Installation Night soon! Come and be part of the group that learn hard and play hard! Details of the installation is as below:

Date : 2nd August 2008 (Saturday)
Venue :
Royale Bintang Hotel, The Curve
Time : 7.30pm
Food :
RM80.00 (cost)
Theme :
Time To Ponder - Time To Remember

Book your attendance with:
Foong Weng Tuck (016-225 1626)
Nancy Liew (012-376 9523)
Lee Wei Seong (016-212 0322), Organizing Chairman

Air time - Tall Tale Contest by Speakers Dream Toastmasters Club

Speakers Dream Toastmasters club
Invites all Toastmasters to a
A TALL, TALL TALE CONTEST

The Speakers Dream Toastmasters club will be organising a Tall Tale Contest on 14 July ,2008(Monday) at - Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam (KGPA) 1st Floor Kiara Room. The contest is open to all toastmasters with participation limited to 10 participants . This will be on a first come first served basis. This is an opportunity to discover your talents and another platform to display skills acquired in Toastmasters.

The Contest Chairman
The contest chairman is DTM K.Loghandran
(District 51 International Speech Champion-2008)

What’s a tall tale ?
A tall take is a fictional story with exaggerated details. We all crave a good "yarn" every once in a while, The best and the funniest liars will be there .There know that you will be able to suspend your disbelief and allow the speakers to entertain you with their creative skills of yarn spinning.

Prizes
Prizes shall be award for 1ST 2nd and 3rd positions.Certificate of participation will be given to all participants

Rules
The Toastmasters contest 2008 rules for tall tales contest shall apply

What do you need to participate?
- must be a member of good standing
- pay a fee of RM10
- it would be great if you could bring your members/friends/guests to support you with a small
fee of RM10 per person for refreshments

Please call Siew Chien 012-3113026 for further details.

Extract of the rules
The Tall Tale contest is very similar to a normal meeting except that
all speakers that day will be regaling us with a 3 to 5 minute long tall tale of their own making.

* Contestants must prepare their own three- to five minute speech, which must be substantially original and certified as such to the chief judge by the contestants prior to the presentation of the speeches. Any quoted material must be so identified during the speech presentation.

* The speech must be of a highly exaggerated, improbable nature and have a theme or plot. Humour and props may be used to support or illustrate the speech.

Shah Alam Toastmasters Club

Shah Alam Toastmasters Club
Club number : 8969
District : 51
Established : 05/01/1997
Meeting Time : 7.15pm, 2nd & 4th Tuesday
Venue : Shah Alam Club, No. 1A, Jalan Aerobik 13/43, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Club memberhship: Open to all
Contact Person : President - Tengku Shaifudin (019-235 7842)
Email Address :
TengkuShaifudin@maa.com.my

Division B Club Officers Training (05072008)

Dear Members of Division B and members of sister divisions,

Our Club Officers are trained and we are moving forward! The 4 hours spent during the Club Officers Training are too short indeed, but that will not stop all of us from connecting with each other...via meetings, mobile, email, msn and the BLOGsite....Yes! We had officially launched Division B first blogspot during the officers training, here it goes....http://divisionb.blogspot.com.

We were showered with great news brought to us by Lieutenant Governor Education & Training, Richard Chong ACS CL that Division B has achieved President's Distinguished status for term 2007~2008. BRAVO to all the Division B Council term 2007~2008 under leadership of Division Governor Sharmini Ariaratnam, ACS ALS for their commitment and dedication. Achievement by Areas are as below:

Area B1, Area Governor: Dennis Wee, ACS CL
President's Distinguished Area

Area B2, Area Governor: Soh Fong Wai, ACS ALB
President's Distinguished Area

Area B3, Area Governor: Andy Ching Kian Hoe, CL
President's Distinguished Area

Area B4, Area Governor: G. Jayam, ATMG
Distinguished Area

Congratulations!

Check this out, our footprints at Stamford College ........
http://picasaweb.google.com/divb0809/DivisionBClubOfficersTraining05July2008

and check out what Lieutenant Governor Education & Training, Richard Chong ACS CL has to say about our Club Officers Training......in his blog....

Vistana Toastmasters Club


Vistana Toastmasters Club (Kuantan)

Meeting days : 2nd & 4th Fridays

Meeting time : 7.45pm

Meeting venue : Vistana Hotel, Kuantan, Jalan Telok Sisek, 25000 Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur

Contact Persons : President - Sarimah (sarimah@psdc.gov.my)

VP Public Relation - Vince Lim, ACB (KWLim@ocbc.com)

D'Utama Toastmasters

Message from the Area Governor: Johnson Yike, ACS ALB
{Addressed to D'Utama Toastmasters Club}

Greetings D'Utama, I'm 'FIL'.

During our Club's (D'Utama) Installation Nite last Saturday (28 June 2008), our esteemed President Calvin Lim ACB has liken D'Utama as THE Bride, he is the Groom and the members are his Children. What's missing in this lovely family picture? Well I'm FIL … the "Father-In-Law", and for those of you who are married, what is the one thing any Father-In-Law wants for his children? Nothing more than the very best! And I believe your President and the new Executive Committees is that! The VERY BEST!

I would encourage you to support your new Exco as they will undoubtedly work very hard to support you. And while I may be the B4 Area Governor, I am first and for most a proud member of D'Utama Toastmasters Club!!! and all of you will have my support.

D'Utama is THE great club, what makes a club great?
"Is it because of the awards that the club achieved year after year?"
No, those are by-products of what makes the club great

"Is it because of the fantastic refreshments we are going to partake in a few minutes time?"
Maybe, and we have our SAA to thank for.

What makes this Club, D'Utama so great, it's because of you, you, you … All of you Members and Guests alike are what makes this club great. Over the last 3 years I've made so many friends within and outside the club. We share our experiences, common goals, and parts of our lives together. There is a bond between myself and quite a number of you. Wouldn't you agree?

As the term (2008/09) begins, this is my Promise to you,
I'll help those 'yet to be strong', AND those are 'Strong' to be Stronger.

So set your Goals and Targets high, and keep the fire burning. As your President shared his theme "Taking Chances to Share", I would too encourage you to take EVERY chance to share.

I'm looking forward to a fantastic new term … and I encourage you to do the same !!!

THANK YOU.


Best Regards,
Johnson Yike, ACS ALB
Area B4 Governor
D'Utama Toastmasters Club
Club Website: http://www.dutm.org