Category Archives: KSTMC

Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC)

Frequently Asked Questions about Toastmasters

FAQ about Toastmasters

Have you ever wondered what happens at a Toastmasters club? Watch this video to find out, and share it with any of your friends, family or colleagues interested in improving their speaking and leadership skills.

The following are some of the FAQ about Toastmasters:

What is Toastmasters?

Toastmasters is an international, non-profit making organization formed to help people improve their communication and leadership skills.

Why do people join Toastmasters?

The most common reason given for joining Toastmasters is to conquer shyness, stage fright or fear of public speaking.

How much is the cost to join Toastmasters?

Very affordable – the cost for joining a Toastmasters club for 1 year is less than a 1-hour spa treatment in Singapore.

What kind of training do I receive in Toastmasters?

Toastmasters progress at their own pace through a professionally prepared program with a lot of hands-on experience. Educational manuals are designed to offer a step-by-step approach to speech organization and presentation.

How does Toastmasters help in my career advancement?

Research shows that people who can express themselves effectively advance further and faster in their career than those who have difficulty speaking. Toastmasters provides the tools you can use to improve your performance in a variety of situations.

What does Toastmasters membership offer?

* Unlimited opportunities for personal growth and career advancement based on improved abilities and broadened experience.

* Experience in leadership development through specific training and involvement in club administration and management.

* Build-up of self-confidence and self-esteem through the ability to conquer the fear of public speaking.

* Opportunity to develop a better understanding of human relations.

* Automatic subscription to “Toastmasters”, the monthly magazine with a wealth of knowledge about public speaking, to be sent to each paying member free of charge.

 

What activities are included in a Toastmasters meeting?

A typical Toastmasters meeting includes the following segments:

– Prepared speeches: Speakers will present their prepared speeches in accordance with the educational manuals designed by Toastmasters International. Usually, the time allowed for the speeches are of 5 to 7 minutes.

– Evaluation: Feedback will be given on the prepared speeches presented by the speakers to highlight to them their strengths and areas for improvement.

– Table Topics: This is the time to practise impromptu speaking, i.e. thinking on your feet without preparation.

– Ah Counter’s Report: Toastmasters is not just about speaking. It is also about listening. An “Ah Counter” is appointed at every meeting to pick up pause fillers such as “um”, “er”, “you know”, etc. uttered by the participants during the meeting.

– Language Evaluation: The “Language Evaluator” or “Grammarian” listens carefully and highlights to the audience the strengths and areas for improvement of the language used by the speech presenters.

Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speeches in a friendly environment. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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Updated Toastmasters Speech Series: Your Guide to the First 10 Speeches

Updated Toastmasters Speech Series: Your Guide to the First 10 Speeches

Here are some good public speaking resources:
“If you are not a Toastmaster, consider this an introductory public speaking course.”
“If you are a Toastmaster, this is your guide through the first ten speeches. For each speech project, we’ll look at tips, techniques, and wherever possible, written and video examples of speeches which demonstrate the goals.”

Toastmasters – Ten Speeches (at Ratana Ong’s Blog)
Here you’ll find the objectives for all 10 basic speeches and sample videos from toastmasters doing their speeches.

Andrew Dlugan’s “Six Minutes – A Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog” has a Toastmasters Speech Series.

In addition, here are some other public speaking resources for your reference:

Project 1 – The Ice Breaker Manual Guide
Project 9 – Persuade with Power Manual Guide
By DTM Kan Kin Fung, Division U Head Speech Coach 2005-2006

Competent Leadership Tracking Table

Setting Up A Speech Databank  (The Real Secret to Creative Speech Ideas!)
By ATMG Ng Seng Chuan

How to Do Project Evaluations?
Evaluations – Preparing and Delivering Effective Speech Evaluations
By Kim Chamberlain, 2002 District 72 Evaluation Champion

How Toastmasters Change Lives
By DTM Nathaniel Koh, Division S Governor 2006-2007

Practice is the key to helping you improve in public speaking.

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.
You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

Yetti
Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club
(Formerly Known As Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club)
Past Club President
District 80 Treasurer 2009-2010

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Public Speaking Tips: How to Be a Good Public Speaker

Public Speaking Tips : How to Be a Good Public Speaker

“When someone asks you to deliver a speech, what’s your initial reaction? If you are like most other people, it’s sheer terror! But this is quite unfortunate. For with a little bit of training and motivation, anyone can become a good public speaker.”  Check out the below article ” Public Speaking Tips – How to Be a Good Public Speaker “.

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.
You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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Public Speaking Tips – How to Be a Good Public Speaker
By Kajol Shafiq

When someone asks you to deliver a speech, what’s your initial reaction? If you are like most other people, it’s sheer terror! But this is quite unfortunate. For public speaking does not necessarily involve talking to a large audience. There are millions of people all over the world who don’t aspire greatness in the podium. Instead, as office managers, or team leaders, they are required to talk to a small group of people. But even that small task can send shivers down the spine of most group leaders. But the good thing is that anyone, with a little bit of training and motivation, can become a good public speaker. Truly, if you want to succeed as an effective public speaker, you will have to learn and adopt certain public -speaking strategies. Here are a few public speaking tips to make you shine in the podium.

1) Pick the right subject.You must choose a topic you are familiar with and which you have strong feelings. It is really disastrous to talk on something which is not your domain and you are very likely to make an ass of yourself if you do that. However, if you tread on known grounds, you will feel comfortable and confident to talk about your subject.

2) Organize your points thoughtfully and logically. Your talk must have a beginning–a brief introduction on what you are going to say; a middle where you elaborate on your topic; and an ending that summarizes on what you have just said.

3) Rehearse your speech in private. After you have planned your presentation, it is time to practise delivering it. Better if you do it alone. Remember, you are not initiating a discussion here. You will have to talk alone and logically present what you would like to say. Hence, you would do well to practise in front of the mirror like a seasoned actor. Be positive and try to “see” and “hear” the positive feedback you are going to get when you have them under your sway. Continue reading →

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Opening address – President’s Inaugural Speech on 26 July 2011

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.

You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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President’s Inaugural Speech on 26 July 2011 by Ramana Boyani

A splendid good evening to our district officers, my fellow Toastmasters and guests!

It is my privilege to be the President of Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters club for the term 2011- 2012.

Being the President it has increased my responsibilities and commitments. But I am very happy that I have an excellent team who are more committed and enthusiastic than me. With their support, I am sure we will achieve our club success.

I always believe the value of team work. I always believe my members dreams…and most importantly

I believe myself. With the experience as a Vice President Membership for the last term, I am fully confident that I can overcome all the challenges in the future.

On 20 Sept 2009, I got a call from one of my friends, and he invited me to a Toastmasters seminar.

My immediate response was “I am not interested in toasting or baking courses. Because my wife does not allow me to cook” : )  He said,” it is not about the cooking or baking..It is about toasting your public speaking skills”… hmmm.. That sounded good to me. After 3 days, I visited Chai Chee Community Club along with my friend. As usual the guests were called on to participate in the Table topics. I didn’t dare to step forward. After the seminar I had realized the importance of public speaking in my life. This is the programme sheet for that day. It was so simple… there was no president name and there are no names of the exco team… But I still preserve this… do you know why?….that was the place I got enlightened. I realized about my fear of speaking ….But after 2 years from that day, I am standing in front of you as a President of one of the leading Toastmasters clubs in Singapore. I am very thankful to the friend in my story who showed me the way. He is none otherthan our club member TM. Rao. Please give him a big round of applause!

“People who take initiative and work hard may succeed, or sometimes they may fail. But anyone who does not take initiative is almost guaranteed to fail”.

  • Initiative is often the difference between success and failure. Initiative is the first step to anywhere you want to go. My message to all of you…
    “You don’t have to be good, to start: you have to start, to be good”. I repeat…”You don’t have to be good, to start: you have to start, to be good”

 

Start your Toastmasters journey … I am sure, you will become a better speaker, a better listener, a better thinker eventually a better leader. Continue reading →

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Project 10: My Toastmasters Journey

Project 10: My Toastmasters Journey
By Ramana Boyani

On 23rd March 2010, I started my Toast masters journey, with my Project 1 Ice breaker. On that day I spoke about my 4D principle.

DESIRE…. DECISION……….DETERMINATION …and…….. DESTINATION……

A splendid good evening to my fellow Toastmasters and Guests…

Today I have reached my first milestone in the Toastmaster’s journey. My 4D rule really worked, in achieving this goal.

Because, I had a very strong DESIRE to overcome the fear of public speaking… I took a DECISION to join the Toastmaster club. On my first day itself, I signed-up as a member. I took the challenge of completing 10 projects in 12 months with a strong DETERMINATION…. With a blink of an eye, 12 months have passed. Today, I am at my DESTINATION of completing my final project to become a Competent Communicator.

Many people think that, they are not good at speaking …. They feel shy to talk to others. But I feel that every person has got a talent. Every person is like a diamond. Some are kept on the show like our US President Obama, and some are lying in the mud like us. The more you polish the diamond, the more it shines. Toastmaster is the best mechanism to polish your communication skills.

Toastmaster’s journey has changed my life in 2 aspects. :

1) Personally
2) Professionally

Personally… To do projects we have to read lot. Through that, we will gain knowledge. By giving speeches consistently, we can correct our mistakes with the help of, our excellent evaluators. Apart from that, we also learn time management and leadership skills

Professionally… Few months back, I attended a seminar on Construction law. During the tea break, I had a chat with the speaker Mr.Jonathan Choo, who is one of the leading Arbitrators in Singapore.

After few days, I sent an email to him asking whether he was willing to visit our office, to conduct a seminar on construction law. I know he is very busy man and a very expensive lawyer. To my surprise, he accepted my invitation and agreed to conduct the seminar at our office without any charges. I sent an invitation to all my colleagues, including our CEO.

With my Toastmasters experience, I arranged the meeting successfully. I did all roles like Toastmaster of the Day by introducing the speaker, Timer to help the speaker on his timing, Sergeant at Arms to arrange snacks for my colleagues, and Vice President Education, arrange the program,. I was very glad that my busy CEO attended the seminar.

Because I was very proactive, I secured more points in my Appraisal and received a big bonus during this Chinese New Year. I take this opportunity to give a big ‘Thank You’ to my Toastmaster club.

I strongly believe that, to achieve something you must be with the right people. The people around you must be very positive, supportive and have a lot of initiative. If you are with pessimistic people, you will never grow. Even if you want to improve yourself, the people around you will not encourage you.

There is an interesting story about this.

One day, a boy found an eagle egg, and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks, and grew up with them.

Thinking he was a prairie chicken all his life, the changeling eagle did what the other prairie chickens did.

He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects, to eat. He clucked and cackled. He could fly a little height from the ground with thrashing wings. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.

Years passed, and the changeling eagle grew older. One day, he saw a majestic bird flying in the sky, with its golden wings.

“What a beautiful bird…What is that? He asked his neighbor.

“That’s an Eagle, the chief of birds”… “But don’t give a second thought. You could never become like him” advised the neighbor chicken.

The changeling eagle listened to his neighbor and never gave it a second thought. After some years, he ends his life thinking he was a prairie chicken.

What about you? Are you content to scratch in the dirt, or would you rather soar in the sky? If you would prefer to soar, you have to be with the right people. If you stay with successful people, you will become successful.

To conclude, I suggest our guests to join us and be part of this wonderful Toastmasters journey. Dear my seniors, please continue your projects and polish your speaking skills by attending the toastmasters meetings regularly and consistently.

Friends… I assure you… you are with the right people at the right place…that is….our Kowloon Singapore Toastmasters Club.

Back to Toastmaster of the evening….

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You are welcome to visit our Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC) if you are living in Singapore.

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Pay It Forward and Make a Difference!

Hi, The following is my contest speech. The title is “Pay it Forward and Make a Difference!”
I want to share the message with you and hope that you will like it.
Yetti

Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speaking skills. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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KSTMC International Speech Contest 2011
Title: Pay it Forward and Make a Difference!
By: Yetti Chiu

Do you know more than 22,000 children die every day around the world?
That is 15 children dying every minute…
The main killers are poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.

We are lucky! We live in a well-developed country. We have plenty to eat. We have clean water to drink. We have a good health care system. Our children here receive proper education and grow up in a healthy environment.

But in many poor countries, people are starving. They don’t have clean water to drink. They are forced to drink dirty water and may get diarrhea or other sicknesses. But they cannot afford to see doctors when they are sick. That’s why many of them die of preventable diseases and illnesses. Very few children can afford to go to school. Children begin working as garbage pickers as soon as they can walk. Waste dumps are toxic, but there is no other choice. If those poor children do not collect money by selling the rubbish, they would have nothing to eat.  Quite often, gangsters force children to take drugs so as to control them. Some parents even have to sell their children into prostitution so as to support the rest of the family.

Yes, the world is unfair!
Don’t you want to make the world a bit better?
All children need love and care! They should have their basic rights and have the chance to receive a proper education.

Make a difference!

Some people may think…Yes, poor children are indeed very unfortunate. But it is impossible for just one person to change the world! Our ugly world is like that… It is a fact even though it is cruel. How can one person alone change the world? It is impossible…

Yes, one person’s efforts may not be enough to change the world…

But think about this statement: “I cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that I can do!”

The quote is said by Jana Stanfield at the “I Can Change the World Tour” in November last year. The tour was a program for a group of kind-hearted professional speakers to raise funds for homeless children by making use of their speaking talents. They want to touch lives and make a difference. They pay it forward, giving generously without asking for any returns.

You may wonder at the meaning of “pay it forward”. “Pay it forward” means somebody does a nice thing for you, and instead of paying them back, you “pay it forward” by doing a nice thing for other people. The words come from the movie with the same title.

The story is about Trevor, a 12 years old boy living in a small California town. He accepts the challenge that his teacher gives his class by coming up with a plan to change the world for the better. Trevor chooses 3 persons for doing those favours. Instead of having them pay back, he told them to “pay it forward” by choosing 3 other people for doing favours to.  It’s like a human chain letter of kindness. The idea is to positively change the world and make a difference!

Have you heard of the organization “Doctors Without Borders”?  The organization “rejects the idea that poor countries deserve third-rate medical care and strives to provide high-quality care to patients.” Some of the kind-hearted doctors, nurses and other volunteers make use of their professional skills to help people who are caught in crises around the world. They save thousands and thousands of lives every year. They pay it forward and make a difference!

If you have some kind of talent or professional skill, think about how you can make use of your talent or skill and make the world better. Make a difference!

But it does not matter whether one has a talent or possess a professional skill or not. Everyone can contribution if we have the “heart”.

We can all do our part.
We can donate some of our money to charities.
Why not sponsor a child?  Build a better world for the poor children…

At World Vision Singapore, it costs only Forty-Five dollars per month to sponsor a child. I think most of us can afford that.

Every little bit counts, any amount is welcome.

My husband and I have been sponsoring a few children in the past 12 years. We feel happy when we see those smiling faces from the photos of the children. They can get a proper education and a healthy environment for growing up because of the money that we donate every month.

One person may not be able to change the world, but we can change the world by one person at a time.  We cannot do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good we can do!

What might this mean for Toastmasters?

We are Toastmasters and we can speak. You may consider choosing topics that can make the world a bit better for your project speeches. Maybe you can influence some of your audience and make a difference. And your audience may influence some others and make another difference!

Why not start now, Pay it Forward and Make a Difference!

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