Area U1 Governor 2009/10, Lorraine Chin, CC

Congratulation to Buona Vista CC Toastmasters Club member, Lorraine Chin, CC for the appointment of Area U1 Governor 2009/2010.



Lorraine has been a member of this club for past 2 years and has served in various appointment in the club's executive committee.

Division U Governor 2009/10, Jerlynn Ang, CC/CL

Congratulation to our Division Governor-Designate, Jerlynn Ang, for successfully elected to the office of Division U for the term 2009/10.


Division U Governor 2009/10 - Jerlynn Ang, CC/CL

Buona Vista CC Toastmasters Club appreciates Jerlynn's hardwork and passion to the Toastmasters community. Her dedication has helped her rise through the ranks from Club Secretary to Club President, on to Area Governor and now Division Governor. Congratulations and we look forward to your leadership.

Multiple NEWs, Multiple HAPPINESS

Started from Apr 09, we have our chapter meeting in NEW meeting room in NEW community club building. HAPPY!

In the April and May chapter meetings we had many visitors and seen many NEW faces. HAPPY!

We have 4 NEW members just joined in! HAPPY!

Nitar, Daylon, Juliet and Zhen Hua, you are warmly welcome to our club and thank you for bringing happiness to us.

We have a NEW blog created for our Buona Vista Toastmasters club. HAPPY!

I am very HAPPY to share my HAPPINESS.

Tracy

Best speakers for May 2009 Chapter Meeting

Best Prepared Speech - Daylon Soh


Best Table Topic

Congratulations to all winners

Project 1 – Ice Breaker: My Maxim

A very good evening to Visiting Toastmasters, Committee Members, Distinguished Guests and fellow Toastmasters.

What's MAXIM? One of the best selling men's magazine circulated worldwide with explicit content, crude jokes, scantily-clad women and a subject which I'm definitely not going to cover today.

Webster Dictionary's definition: a general truth, fundamental principle, or rule of conduct

My maxim is a simple 4-part philosophy I follow that complements my principals. One which would help unify my goals and my life.

PART 1: LEAD WITH EMPATHY
Being a leader isn't always about leading people. It’s also about taking charge of your own life. To lead with empathy is to lead a life that empathises with the life of others, improving the quality of your relationships.

I lead an uninspired lot of soldiers back in camp and we're always required to execute instructions swiftly. How do I ensure things are done? I could punish them for every sign of defiance or I could listen and understand more about their needs. I chose the latter and as I approach the day where I'm about to leave the army, I'm quite hopeful to remember a group of buddies I know I can count on for many years to come.

PART 2: EXCEL WITH CLASS
Albert Einstein once mentioned, "Genius is 1% inspirations and 99% perspiration." Excellence comes with hardwork but to remain humble of your achievements requires even more from you as a person. To excel with class is to remain gracious despite being bask in glory and ensure continuity in excellence while not forgetting humility.

As a young boy, I often gloat at my fiercest academic competitors whenever I scored in exams or tests. Even as I tried to win their approbation, I got none. As I grew older, I realised that the true measure of excellence doesn't come from winning awards or competitions. It comes from giving your best and leaving the world a little better; be it a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition. I'm still tempted to gloat at others sometimes but whenever I'm tempted, a young boy will always tap and give me a gentle reminder.

PART 3: ACCOMPLISH WITH ZEST
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," exclaimed Ralph Waldo Emerson. To accomplish with zest is to complete every task with great joy and enthusiasm.

Standing here as a 22-year old adult and looking back, I've realised that the most memorable times of my youth were ones where I took charge and find the joy in accomplishing something instead of just going with the flow. I remember the first time I picked up a paint brush, 5 years ago, and finished a painting about this big. It took me 2 days and 2 nights and I nearly gave up. But I found renewed zest with every little part of the painting I complete, be it the reflections on the river or the texture of the trees. At the end of it, my enthusiasm peaked as I was giving my first painting its finishing touches, the sense of accomplishment is priceless.

PART 4: DUTY WITHOUT REGRETS
We are all duty bound to fulfil one or more roles in society. Be it as a parent, a child, an employee or a National Servicemen like myself. It my not be for honor, glory, fame or fortune but we all have our obligations.

I've spent close to 2 years serving this nation and honestly, it’s a thankless job; alot of hard work and perseverance especially when you're out in the field training in the jungle. But I never looked back, not because my maxim says, "DUTY WITHOUT REGRETS" but rather I chose to make the best use of my time while at it. Think about it, as a parent, a child, an employee or simply a subject of God.

You have a choice to...

LEAD WITH EMPATHY
EXCEL WITH CLASS
ACCOMPLISH WITH ZEST
DUTY WITHOUT REGRETS

That is my maxim in life.

My fellow toastmasters, what will be your maxim in life?

Daylon: Thanks to Mr. Terry Teza for evaluating this project. Feedback is strongly encouraged!

Word of the Day - May

Voracious -
vo⋅ra⋅cious [vaw-rey-shuhs, voh-, vuh-]
–adjective
1. craving or consuming large quantities of food: a voracious appetite.
2. exceedingly eager or avid: voracious readers; a voracious collector.

Synonyms: These adjectives mean having or marked by boundless greed: a voracious reader of history; a gluttonous consumer of fine foods; a rapacious acquirer of competing businesses; a politician ravenous for power.

Dictionary
Merriam-Webster

- by Jerlynn Ang, CC/CL

New Members

Buona Vista CC Toastmasters Club warmly welcomes 4 new members to the family.

Nitar, Daylon, Juliet and Zhen Hua.

Tracy Ma

Ladder of Inference Model (roots in anthropology)

Objective: Make your interpretation of observations made and conclusions drawn from human interactions explicit. This ensures that actions taken from observable 'data' and experiences are objective and not laden with your coloured lenses of deep seated beliefs and values.

Taken in human interaction context, the other party will be able to 'meet your mind' somewhere at the bottom of the ladder. Both parties will then be able to have a meaningful inquiry into which part of the ladder the other party is at.

This is a useful exercise as we all have our own opinions. Consider the story of 3 blind men who were examining an elephant.

The 1st blind man happens to grope the elephant's trunk and declares that the elephant is long and slithery like a snake.

The 2nd blind man bends down and felt the elephant's leg before saying that the elephant is like a tree trunk.

The 3rd blind man feels for the elephant's ears and says that the elephant is very thin like something else.

In a sense, all the 3 blind men are right in their truth of an elephant. However, the truth about their elephant is partly wrong because they do not enquire into other people's frame of reference.

Learn to balance advocacy skills and inquiry skills with this model today!

Top of Ladder
1) I take Actions based on my beliefs.
2) I adopt Beliefs about the world.
3) I draw conclusions
4) I make Assumptions based on meanings I added.
5) I add Meanings (cultural & personal)
6) I select "Data" from what I observe
7) Observable "Data" & Experiences
Bottom of Ladder

Reflexive loop from top of ladder to bottom of ladder (our beliefs affect what data we select next time)


Enjoy this discourse and happy learning! :)

Ronald

Compilation of Contest Table Topics

1. Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.

2. He who pays the piper calls the tune.

3. Give a person an inch and he will take.

4. A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is just putting on its shoes.

5. Nothing is totally black and white in this world. Many times, it's grey.

Courage

Courage is not having no fear, but being able to act even when there is fear.