Review of Meeting (17 January 2006)

Dogggone it! Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!

Another beginning and Bangsar Toastmasters are moving along! Our permanent venue for meetings is still the “House of Arts”, Jalan Abdullah, Bangsar.

On 17th January 2006, the Bangsar Toastmasters Club began its meeting with 13 members and 3 guests.

Members included ATMS S Muhendaran (President), CTM Ranjit Singh, (VP Edn), ATMB Lakhmichand (VP PR), CTM/CL Audrey (Treasurer), TM Shandini (Secretary), CTM Ivan Fong AC (Imm Past Pres), TM Bhavani, DTM Lourdes, TM Rema Paul, CTM/CL Rengan, TM Shanmugam, TM Sunitha, CTM Suriakumar

Guests were CTM/CL Ms Chong Huey Yee (General Evaluator), Mohd Byram Kuthoos and Mohd Norman Kamaruddin.

Theme: A New Beginning
Word of the day: Demure (modest, shy, reserved).

Role players are an invaluable group of people committed to keeping the meeting organized, purposeful and punctual.

SAA – TM Rema Paul
TME - TM Shandini
TTM – CTM/CL Audrey
TTE – ATMS Muhendaran
AH Counter - CTM Ranjit Singh
Grammarian – TM Bhavani
Timer - TM Shan
GE – CTM/CL Ms Chong Huey Yee

The Table Topics Master had prepared very interesting topics for the evening. All the speakers were equally good which made choosing the best speaker all the more difficult.

The topics were: Tell us something about
1. A Perfect Evening at Home
2. The Music You Like to Listen to
Speaker: DTM Lourdes
3. The Place You Would Most Like to Visit
Speaker: CTM Ivan Fong AC
4. What Kind of Work You Like Doing
Speaker: CTM Ranjit Singh
5. What You Want us to Know about You
Speaker: TM Bhavani


In the second half of the meeting 4 assignment speeches were delivered.
TM Sunitha broke the ice in her first speech about herself. All present got to know quite a bit about Sunitha, what she said and what I inferred! Quite the rebel, quite the wit akin to P G Woodehouse. However, very much the stand for the truth and justice! Sunitha was given a standing ovation for her speech! And well deserved too! Her evaluator was ATMB Lachmichand.

TM Shan is, I think, quite the radical. He has a skilful way of weaving analogies into his speeches. His speech entitled “Pride: Anger’s Best Friend” personified anger and pride that eventually do not do anyone any good. Well done Shan! His evaluator was CTM Rengan

Do you believe that “One way to prevent conversation from being boring is to say the wrong thing” (Frank Sheed)? Well, the one man who has mastered this art and won prizes with this style of speaking is none other than CTM Suriakumar. In his speech Toastmastering, Suria made it plain for all that toastmastering is a commitment. In other words: “Be like a postage stamp. Stick to something until you get there.” (Josh Billings) The next time you are in the vicinity come listen to Suria and others and be inspired. His evaluator was DTM Lourdes.

The final speech for the evening was “The Roast”, a speech from the Special Occasion Speaker Manual, delivered by CTM Ivan Fong AC. Ivan is a nice man!
His evaluator ATMS S. Muhendaran thought so too.

Awards were given to the following best speakers and evaluator,
Best table topic speaker : DTM Lourdes
Best Speaker : CTM Suriakumar
Best Evaluator : DTM Lourdes
Congratulations to all the winners!

The GE was impressed with the Bangsar Toastmasters Club. She thought the evaluations were purposeful and instructive. She also encouraged the club to maintain its high standards in speech delivery and mentioned that other clubs had a lot to learn from our Bangsar Toastmasters Club.

Overall, Bangsar TM club are a bunch of talented and inspiring members. What makes us even more special is the commitment to our Toastmasters promise we recite at every meeting. If you think we’re a demure lot, think again!

Next meeting is scheduled for 7th Feb 2006. Come join us!


by Audrey Fernando, CTM/CL