Self Belief is the key

Her Excellency Mrs. Nagma M. Mallick, the High Commissioner of India to Brunei capped the night with a powerful message to the audience – show conviction when you believe in yourself

Rozana Yunos, President of the Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club, did a marvellous job as the SAA and also uplifted the mood to kick off the meeting

What a night to cap off and to start the weekend! The Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club hosted their 2nd meeting of the term and this time, it was held on the Presidential Lounge on Level 8 due to a wedding event on Level 4.

Stuart Lee stood in for Allen Ang ,who was supposedly the host (toastmasters of the evening). However, Allen is currently in Surabaya for a workshop. As usual, Stuart started with a bang and I liked how he paced the evening as the sessions were behind schedule. This is a good reference for future TMEs at at a BASC monthly meeting should the event starts later than scheduled.

Madam President Rozana was articulate in her opening remarks and praised the growth of certain members who have excelled in their growth and contributed back to the community as a leader and a communicator.

There were many first moments to talk about here. It was the first time the club opened to visiting members to be part of the moderating session. Pooja, whose forte is in evaluation, was invited to evaluate Theressa’s inspirational speech. Speaking of Theressa (a UBD Toastmasters member), she became the first non-member to present a prepared speech in a BSC meeting and wow, she did not disappoint at all.

You may heard the clichè of taking things for granted but Theressa’s delivery gave it a new perspective that will stick in our minds. I was moved and inspired by her vulnerability and awarenesses. Truly salute your journey as a nurse and now we know the reason why. Do check out her speech once it’s uploaded on the UBD Toastmasters youtube channel.

Another competent speaker, Delwin Keasberry aka @bruneitweet finally presented his 5th speech (body language) and I was hoping he would share of his WWE fan journey *lol* I found his story quite entertaining, reviving his teenage years with his friends and being in trouble with the authorities. A poised speaker at best, Delwin nailed the objectives with ease and now he is 5 speeches away to earn a pin. Keep it going, bro 😀

The host of the evening – Stuart Lee

Delwin Keasberry shared a funny childhood story and wowed the panelists on his objectives (body language)

Pranika Lama and Elizabeth Sim as evaluators for Delwin and being moderated by Chris Woo. Very insightful analysis and I’m amazed how observant they are. Pranika claimed that she enjoyed that session very much.

Many smiles during the course of the night

One of the best inspiring speeches I’ve heard in a long time. I do agree with Pooja’s evaluation on Theressa’s speech – “I was quite involved and moved too”. Congratulations, Theressa, on your CC10 project (Inspiring Speech) and I never experienced a prolonged applause after a speech. You deservedly earned that.

The evaluators were inspired by Theressa’s speech and they felt empowered

Yani who has been a toastmasters for 10 years, presented a workshop on empowering the youths and this is such an appropriate topic to bring up. With many adults in attendance, Yani unveiled some pointers based on her experience in empowering others and these are very relatable to the audience. Now with her 2 year old daughter empowering her, Yani has opened up more awarenesses and feeling empowered too.

The moderation sessions were great and it was nice to see Pranika back in action again in the moderation panel. Chris Woo, as usual, fitted the occasion as a principal moderator and the audience benefited from the analytical feedback from the four evaluators on Theressa’s and Delwin’s speeches.

The night was capped off by a powerful message by the guest of honour Her Excellency Mrs. Nagma M. Mallick, the High Commissioner of India to Brunei. In a nutshell, she urged us to believe in ourselves and show conviction if necessary. Her speech, in itself, was pretty inspirational and hoped the guests in attendance will take something back and inspired to speak out in what he or she believes in.

Yani Hepnie conducted a workshop on empowering yourself and others. I enjoyed this session very much too.

Heidi Rahman made a conscious choice to attend the BASC meeting in final minutes and she enjoyed it

The guest of honour was a former toastmasters member too

Gerald Goh shared how he empowered others at work

The young ladies have made an impact on their clubs and also at other clubs. Great leaders whom I admire and aspire to be.

This was shot number 6. It’s never easy to satisfy ladies when it comes to perfection in photos :p

The toastmasters members and guests at last night’s meeting. Datin Faridah is our dedicated, perpetual guest 😀 Thank you so much for your support to BASC for all these years.