MoM - 3 Feb 2010: Life is Beautiful

It was raining cats and dogs, yet the meeting started on time. At this time, we got to know a New Zealander guest – Charlotte. Her presence boosted our spirit even more. So who cared about the unfriendly weather outside? ^^

Then, our VP Membership (TM Billy) inducted Gianina by bombarding her with ‘difficult’ questions. To conclude, she said “I do, I do, I do” and became Toastmasters Gianina officially.

TM Juwati took the role after Induction and performed her first Toastmasters role. She told us the meeting theme this time was based on the old movie, which always reminded her “Life is Beautiful”. She hoped we’ve got to experience like it and thanks to her endless enthusiasm, we experienced a beautiful meeting then.

During Table Topics session, CC Rina let each of us to get a fortune cookie at first. The lucky one had the opportunity to taste the sweet cookie and to experience “thinking on our feet” when they got the bonus question inside the cookie. The lucky T/T participants were: TM Jessica, TM Nina, TM Rama, TM Niken, Charlotte.

During a prepared speech session, we learnt from 4 great speakers. TM Billy took the lead first and he shared shocking information through “The Dark Age of Japan” (BM#7 – Research Your Topic). He said Japan’s condition in the future could be dominated largely by elderly only due to the extremely low birth rate in the country. Do you know Japan has higher number of pets than children?

As a second speaker, TM Jessica did her BM#9 – Persuade with Power. She raised the bar by asking all of us to be more open-minded about nudity. She showed a couple of magnificent pieces of art to challenge our minds. Looking at such perfectly done nude statue, sketches and pictures - what would you think?

The third speaker was none other than our seasoned Toastmasters, ACG CL Boon. He has finished the entire communication track in Toastmasters, yet we hadn’t had enough learning from him. So we requested him to do another speech and he delivered a touching speech. ACG CL Boon made us to think on how we have lived our life until now, he shared us his personal experience and he closed with a meaningful quote: “It’s difficult to do the right thing to do, but it’s more difficult to know what’s right to do”

The last speaker was TM Rama. He did his BM#10 – Inspire Your Audience. He talked on how important body language when delivering a speech. He began with personal stories then ended with valuable tips to improve our body language. Have videotaped it, then watches it without any sound. If the body language tells clearly about the things you’re talking about, then you’re at the right spot. As usual, TM Rama has never failed to throw cool jokes when delivering a speech and he entertained us while he inspired us at the same time. After finishing this project, TM Rama has earned his new title (CC) : Competent Communicator Rama Tidball. *Hurray*

Since the T/T contest was around the corner, CC CL Martin volunteered to give all T/T participants a short and effective review during evaluation. Then each individual evaluators delivered their evaluations: CC Niken, ACB ALS David, DTM Arlan, CC CL Martin. During GE evaluation, ACB ALS David gave us an in-depth and valuable evaluation on the local clubs.

The Halls of Fames were: TM Rama (Best T/T speaker), CC CL Martin (Best Evaluator) and CC Rama (Best Speaker).

A great news just before the meeting was closed: next meeting will be a special Valentine theme. Be prepared to enjoy a meeting which is full of surprises. Dresscode: Pink/Red for girls and Blue for guys. Until then ;)