9th July Meeting - Break Free, Be Who You Really Are

The 9th of July meeting started off on a somewhat serious note - a little somber and serious than usual. Perhaps it was because there had been a long traffic jam to Mid Valley and the heavy downpour outside meant that the long lines of cars were even longer than usual? Couple that with that nasty flu virus going around, and claiming the health and sanity of two of our members (who actually   came to the meeting regardless), and General Monday Blues, and it's no surprise that it might have seemed like the meeting was going to be drawn-out affair.

But one thing that we're very good at doing here at Mid-Valley is turning the meeting around. If the start did come across as a little serious, our stalwart Immediate Past President Ang Chee Yong turned the game around by putting the meeting right in its place - on the Fun & Exciting drive, and with the Full Throttle switch on.

That's Chee Yong for you - he knows how to control the meeting to achieve the best possible result given the mood and atmosphere in the room - which is why he made for a great and attentive Toastmasters of the Evening (photo courtesy of Shin Li):

Chee Yong adding the Toast in Toastmasters!

Because this was our first meeting of the 2012/2013 term, our new President, Travis Lai took to the stage for the first time, letting the audience catch a glimpse of what was in store for the whole year with a well thought-out Presidential Opening Speech (photo courtesy of Victor Ong):

Travis Lai, giving his Presidential Address

Timothy Nakayama, victim of the flu virus, started off the meeting proper with an Invocation Session revolving around finding your true self, likening the journey to an explorer sailing across an ocean (photo courtesy of Shin Li):

Don't play with fire, kids.

The stage then welcomed the second flu victim, Penny Choo, who despite being in a world of pain and hurt, gave us a charming Humor Session (photo courtesy of Victor Ong):

You better laugh... or else!

Our Table Topic was a little late (no doubt due to the pesky traffic!) so Chee Yong steered the meeting in the right direction, by going straight to the Prepared Speeches.

And as you expect from a meeting at Mid Valley Toastmasters, we always have a healthy number of speakers, with this meeting seeing no less than 5 Prepared Speeches being showcased onstage.

The speakers are, in this order (Photos courtesy of Shin Li and Victor Ong):

Jun Han telling us about those Monday Blues... and how to get rid of them!

Sheryl Chieng and her cute brioche Turtle! She shows us why it's Toastmasters and not "Tossmasters".

Dominic telling us a story on how to breathe life into a seed...or not.

Keith - telling us how Toastmasters can make our lives a little better, a little more productive.

Moses - regaling us with the wisdom of Solomon.

And then, our Table Topic Master, Roslyn Fam (from Indrahana Toastmasters Club), who had already arrived by then, gave us a very, very challenging Table Topic Session. A smorgasbord of speakers tried their hands at this tricky, tricky session (photos courtesy of Victor Ong and Shin Li):

"Heh, heh, heh. Now to unleash my Table Topics on them." - Or that's what we think Roslyn is saying...

Jesslyn

Edmond

Amy

Jee Aik

19-year-old Pei Lim

After the Table Topics, we had a short break where we managed to lay our hands on some much-needed grub and a little chit-chat here and there - and then were headed back to one of the most important sessions there is in a Toastmasters Meeting - Evaluation Session!

Our GE, big brother Hong took over the show from Ang Chee Yong (photo courtesy of Shin Li):

Showing 'em how it's done!

And then we came to the Evaluators themselves (photos courtesy of Victor Ong and Shin Li):

Victor Ong - a precise and insightful evaluation on all our intrepid Table Topic speakers.

Travis Lai evaluating Jun Han's "Monday Blues"

Keith Ho evaluating Sheryl and giving her some tips for improvement.

Timothy Nakayama, giving his evaluation for Dominic's Story-Telling Speech in the form of a story.

Victor Ong takes the stage again to offer his insights to Keith's Advanced Speech.

Shin Li evaluated Moses -we don't have a photo of her because she happened to be the ones busy snapping the photos this night. Thank you, Shin Li - all the way from Ipoh Toastmasters Club!

After the great evaluations from our experienced Toastmasters, we came to the close of the meeting with the GE (Hong) and his team giving their invaluable feedback. Big thanks goes out to Winson Tan (Grammarian), Lisa Khoo (Ah Counter) Vivien Lim (Timer)

The Awards for this meeting were given out to (photos courtesy of Travis Lai and Winson Tan):

Pei-Lim - Best Table Topic Speaker

Dominic Teoh - Best Project Speech Speaker

Timothy Nakayama - Best Evaluator

It was a meeting that showed us that we don't need to stick to the current mood or environment, that with the right attitude and positive energy, we can turn around a meeting to make it the BEST meeting it can be. All it takes is the willpower to make that change.

See you all for the next meeting on 23rd July!