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Why toastmasters?

Written by Rano Iskandar on . Posted in toastmasters, Social News

 

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Ramona J. Smith from District 56 (Texas, USA) on finishing first place in the World Championship of Public Speaking® at the 87th Annual Toastmasters International Convention
 

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The top three speakers in the World Championship of Public Speaking® at the 87th Annual Toastmasters International Convention
 

Congratulations to Ramona J. Smith from District 56 (Texas, USA) on finishing first place in the World Championship of Public Speaking® at the 87th Annual Toastmasters International Convention, held in Chicago, US recently.

Sherrie Su, District 88, and Anita Fain Taylor, District 47, finished in second and third place respectively in the World Championship of Public Speaking®. Congratulations to the top three speakers!

This is an annual event where Toastmasters International Convention culminates in the final round of the International Speech Contest, where the World Champion of Public Speaking ® is chosen. In this exciting event, 10 contestants from all over the world deliver 5 to 7 -minute speeches that are evaluated by a panel of experienced Toastmasters. After a year of competing in club, area, district and semifinal competitions, these contestants have advanced for the chance to win this prestigious accolade.

It’s like winning a World Cup trophy and once you become a winner, everything changes depending on how you plan yourself. Some champions become guest speakers in toastmasters’ conferences and other conferences outside toastmasters context.

I had the privilege to invite two World Champion of Public Speaking ® Dananjaya Hettiarachchi (2014) from Sri Lanka and Darren Tay (2016) from Singapore to Brunei back in 2016 for the Brunei Toastmasters Convention. Also that came to Brunei was the Past International President of Toastmasters International (2014-2015) Mohammad Murad who has such a lovely personality from Dubai.

Back in 2014, I had the honour to witness the Annual Toastmasters International Convention in Kuala Lumpur, the first time it was held outside America. It was my first ever toastmasters conference and I was just a new member then. Around 18 toastmasters from Brunei flew to Kuala Lumpur to support the convention as well as one of our club member who made it to the semi-finals of International Speech Contest, Chris Woo. He won the semi-finals and made it to the finals where he was up against the then champion, Dananjaya Hettiarachchi.

 

 

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World Champion of Public Speaking ® 2014 Dananjaya Hettiarachchi was in Brunei Darussalam back in October 2016. He called Aziman Nasir, the current President of Brunei Speaker’s Club, to the stage during his educational session.
 

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One of our Brunei Speakers’ Club member, Jidun Dollah, has been a toastmasters for over two years. He has accomplished himself being the first Pidato speaker and now a featured comic on Bruhaha Comedy show, entertaining hundreds in the audience. Toastmasters have definitely made him a better speaker.
 

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Clovis Lai, the co-founder of Brunei Speakers’ Club (founded in 2001), Farhan Jafar Ali, past President of the Brunei Gavel Club and Stuart Lee, former President of Brunei Speakers’ Club and Brunei Advanced Speakers Club. Stuart was also a Humourous Speech champion and mentored many speech champions.
 

 

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The time when Toastmasters International turned 90 years and we celebrated it back in 2014
 

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Allen Ang (centre) is one of the leaders for toastmasters in Brunei Darussalam. During the Brunei Conference 2016, he won the Humourous Contest. He has been an active member for The Brunei Advanced Speakers Club and currently holds the position as Club Growth Director for Brunei, East Malaysia and Indonesia for the term 2018-2019.
 

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World Champion of Public Speaking ® 2016 Darren Tay was in Brunei Darussalam and it all began when I FB msg-ed him hours after he was crowned the champion. The rest was history.
 

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Chris Woo made us proud for Brunei Toastmasters where he became the only toastmasters from Brunei to be featured in the finals of World Champion of Public Speaking in Kuala Lumpur in 2014. His semi-final speech “Listen” still lingers in my memory. Such a powerful speech!!!
 

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The time I joined the Toastmasters International Convention when I signed up as a member after a few weeks
 

It has been a while since I talked about toastmasters on my blog. People always think that toastmasters is just about public speaking. I would say that it’s only 50-60% of the component of toastmasters. Everything else is about leadership and building a support system for members to grow as an individual.

It’s always nice to hear incoming guests sharing their positive feedbacks on what they have learnt during our weekly toastmasters meetings. It’s also nice to see recurring guests which show their interest in wanting to improve their communication and leadership skills and not many associations provide these soft skills on a weekly basis like toastmasters do.

Being a toastmasters for four years have shaped me to be a better speaker and articulating the right message especially when you are giving feedback to another person. This is a huge lesson for me, giving authentic feedback and not offending the receiver even if I think my message conveyed is considered polite. Toastmasters allow me to redefine the tone of my message to a more receptive manner and this will help to bring a more supportive relationship among members and guests.

My biggest milestone was being the organizing chairperson for the Brunei Conference back in October 2016. It was rewarding but never short of challenges. The conference itself was a huge success. On a side note, it also tested my leadership skills and even friendship matters were also being challenged.

To be honest, I wasn’t keen in leading a team. I had my shares of bad experiences when I was a President of Western Michigan University Twinning Program Council back in Sunway College and I ended up creating more enemies than friends. It took me many years to once again revisit the fear that I’ve kept under the rug – to lead a team. This time, I would say I handled it much better than my college stint. A few bumps here and there but after two years, my friendship with my committee is still intact and never compromised.

I really thanked toastmasters that opened up my self belief and also to the friends who have been an awesome support system for me.

As I gained more confidence, I courageously took up executive roles as the Vice-President of Membership and Vice-President of Education, the following term, to further learn the ropes of being a leader. Being a procrastinator, I was able to shift that habit and learn to be more discipline and most of all, to plan and execute. I won’t say that I am totally out of the procrastinating habit but I have become more aware and able to make wise decisions and take actions swiftly.

I have been a toastmasters member for the Brunei Speakers’ Club since August 2014 and it is the best decision and the best investment I have made this decade. Now my goal one day is to be an educator (giving entrepreneur talks and maybe, being an emcee for an event).

So if you are keen to be part of toastmasters, you can drop me a line 8677773 or 8387773 or you can Direct Message us on instagram @bruneispeakersclub or visit our official website or simply attend our weekly meetings, every Tuesday 7:30pm at Seameo Voctech.

 

 

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One reason why I reconnected and rejoined toastmasters. Thank you, Seng Yee, for believing how I can really grow as an individual.
 

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A mentor who believed in me and supported me unconditionally. He pushed me to newer boundaries and I am glad I am more courageous than before. I miss you, brother, and you’re always in my prayers.
 

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Toastmasters is not about communicating and leading. It’s also about bonding among members and friends and we do outside activities as well.
 

 

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One of our guests, Zaki Mohiddin, who appreciates the toastmasters session
 

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A workshop which is priceless and do sign up. Allen Ang always gives a good presentation/workshop 😀
 

World Champions coming to Brunei

Written by Rano Iskandar on . Posted in toastmasters, Social News

 

World Champions coming to Brunei 
 


When you are climbing a mountain there is a summit , in life all you find is an endless wall. You can take the easy way and slide endlessly into the darkness or take the hard way and climb into the eternal light. Either way, there is no end to how far you can fall nor how high you can climb – Dananjaya Hettiarachchi. Image taken of Dananjaya Hettiarachchi’s Facebook page.
 

He’s known as “Dan” by many and I’ve been following his journey on IG and Facebook and even on the internet. Though he was a champion two years ago, he still is one of the most sought speakers around the world. He has been traveling around the world and his next date will be Brunei before he heads off to Amsterdam (Holland), Hiroshima (Japan) and Richmond (USA) to cap off the year. Awesome!!!

If you meet him in person, only one word to describe him – charismatic (and super cool). He has been in a journey of toastmasters or public speaking for 10 years. He loves to inspire the thousands in bettering their communication skills and he is very popular in schools.

The Brunei Conference committee is very privilege to have his presence in Brunei on 28th October to 29th October. We are certain that his presence and his keynote speech will have a positive ripple effect on the audience and hoping for more youth to attend the conference.

If you are interested, please reach me at 8677773. Tickets are available and the prices are BND 120 and BND 35 for secondary students or BND 50 for tertiary/university students (29th October, Saturday session 9am to 4pm), BND 50 for the Speech contest (30th October, Sunday 8am). If you are interested also in attending the dinner, it will be BND 50 for Friday, 28th October and BND 50 for Saturday, 29th October.

This is slated to be the biggest toastmasters event ever hosted in Brunei Darussalam because we have three world champion speakers – Willie Jones, Dan the Man and reigning champion Darren Tay. So yes, sometime to look forward to and the target audience will be the youth, working class, teachers, parents, students, professionals, government officials and entrepreneurs.

A big thank you also to the sponsors, partners and supporters of this event – Brunei Shell Petroleum, Progresif, Brunei Gas Carriers, Brunei Tourism under the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, RYS Entertainment, Armtrix Enterprise, NBT, BIG magazine, AKK Design, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Rizqun International Hotel, Aiking (03), Royal Brunei Catering and many more. I would also like to acknowledge the Ministry of Home Affairs for approving this event.

So once again, If you are interested, please reach me at 8677773 and you can read more details here on our official website.

 


He has been a busy man with many cities he has visited this year alone
 


Dananjaya with Supatra Lee, a Brunei Speakers’ Club member
 


My photo opp with Dananjaya last year in Kuching.
 

Another champion making its way to Brunei is Darren Tay. Back in August, Darren Tay, was crowned the 2016 World Champion of Public Speaking in Washington DC and his story revolved around bullying. ’Im still amazed the fact that the past three winners of the World Champion of Public Speaking have come from Asia. Amazing feat!! First we have the charismatic Dananjaya Hettiarachchi (from Sri Lanka) who won in 2014 and he will be invited for the Brunei Conference in October. The following year was Mohd Qahtani from Qatar in 2015.

Looking at his resume, I’m pretty impressed for a man of his age (only 27) to achieve many things. According to his website, he is a prolific public speaker, debater and professional trainer. He founded the Public Speaking Academy in 2009 and has led the Academy to scale great heights in the school and corporate domains; including the successful organization of the annual National Public Speaking Competition since 2010.

He even won the Toastmasters International District 80 Speech competition in 2009, 20012 and 2014 for Speech Evaluation and Table Topics. Amazing feat indeed. He has also published his best-selling public speaking guidebook “Express to Impress” in 2012 and looks forward to subsequent publications in the future.

So it’s a done deal that he will be delivering a workshop in Brunei this October. If you are interested, please reach me at 8677773 or email at bruneiconference2016@gmail.com and you can read more details here on our official website.

 

Darren Tay receiving the champion award last August 2016 at Washington D.C.
 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s not all. In conjunction with the Brunei Conference 2016, we will be hosting the final leg of the Humourous Speech Contest and Speech Evaluation Contest on the final day of the Brunei Conference, slated for Sunday, 30th October. Another awesome news is that two of the finalists are members of Brunei Toastmasters (Area K6) as they won their rights when they became champion in Division level two weeks ago at Kota Kinabalu.

Allen Ang, a representative of The Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club, won for Humourous Speech Contest. With his winning speech ‘My Dream Job’, he told hilarious tales of the hardship of being a salesman and shared silly situations that induced fits of laughter from the audience. Pooja Shivanand, a member of Brunei Speakers’ Club, won in the Speech Evaluation Contest. She is one of our talented evaluators in Brunei toastmasters and it’s no surprise she made it this far. So both contestants will have to fight it out again in Brunei Darussalam to vie for the District Champion in Humourous Speech and Speech Evaluation.

On his victory and competing in the finals, Allen, a Permanent Resident in Brunei, said, “I’m blessed and grateful for the opportunity to speak in front of my hometown. The contest in KK was very fruitful, as I got to meet people who believe that contests stimulate progress, both in communication and leadership skills.”

Pooja, who lectures for the Microbiology course at the Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, commented, “I gratefully acknowledge the support and encouragement of Brunei Toastmasters… I consider myself fortunate to represent Division K right here in Brunei. I eagerly look forward to this opportunity to showcase Brunei talent.”

The District 87 Semi Annual Conference in Brunei will also see World Champions in Public Speaking conducting educational workshops on Communication and Leadership Skills, with networking opportunities at the Gala Dinner.

The conference, open to the public, will take place from October 28 to 30. For more information, visit www.d87bruneiconference.com.

 


Pooja Shivanand won the Speech Evaluation Contest in Division level two weeks ago and now the District Contest awaits her
 


Sophia came 3rd while Roselind came 2nd in the Speech Evaluation Contest in Division Level
 


Allen Ang won Humourous Speech Contest on Division level for the second time. He won it two years ago, also in KK. Now he will compete in the final leg in Brunei Darussalam.
 


Pooja and Allen with their mentor Stuart Lee. All the help really paid off 😀
 


The Brunei toastmasters members
 

The incoming Executive Committee feted

Written by Rano Iskandar on . Posted in toastmasters, lifestyle, Social News

 


The members of Brunei Speakers’ Club during the installation night at Parkview Hotel. A few members were not present.
 


The incoming Executive Members of Brunei Speakers’ Club during the installation ceremony. It was conducted by Stuart Lee, our Area Director for K6 (far right)
 

Finally after the three months into the term, Brunei Speakers’ Club had its installation night for its executive committee (Exco) for their members. This was the session where the Exco for the term 2016-2017 will be pinned (with their respective pins) on their suits to formalise their respective roles in the club.

This term Executive Committee for Brunei Speakers’ Club are:

President – Jordan Yau
Vice-President of Education – Gerald Goh
Vice-President of Membership – Rano Iskandar
Vice-President of Public Relations – Rahmat Tarsat
Secretary – Heidi Rahman
Treasurer – Aziman Nasir
Sergeant-at-Arms – Awfa Nawawi
Immediate Past President – Chris Woo

The ceremony took place at All-Seasons restaurant at Parkview Hotel and I was happy that this place is ideal for hosting corporate dinner events. Furthermore, the guests commented on the wide variety of dishes and they were tasty too 😀 So I would highly recommend if you have corporate dinner events to give this place a shot.

We were also privileged to have a visiting toastmasters guest from Kota Kinabalu, Laurence Dumling, who recently visited Brunei to deliver a workshop at Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club meeting and also at Sekolah Menengah Sayyinda Abu Bakar to inspire the students.

There were some light entertainment such as table topics on toastmasters members and a speech by Awfa on “Korean Madness”.

Incoming President Jordan Yau delivered a special roast to outgoing President Chris Woo who is now our Immediate Past President. Chris Woo also gave his remarks on his exco members (Macalister Mak, Jordan Yau, Supatra Lee, Gerald Goh, Pooja Shivanand, Aziman Nasir). Chis also awarded two BSC members – Dalton Lim (The most improved toastmasters of the Year) and Rano Iskandar (Toastmasters of the Year).

A big thank you to those who showed up last weekend especially members from OTTERS (Naj, Allen and Hazwan). Another shout out to Nur Ahmad, Donna Karen Balthazar-Lim and Derby Teo as returning members of BSC.

If any of you are interested to attend our weekly meetings, you can drop by Seameo Voctech every Tuesday 7:15pm and witness/observe how we run our meetings and be part of it too. It’s the best place to learn soft skills on communications and leadership in a supportive environment. Don’t worry, we don’t bite and I will be taking care of guests that attend our meetings. So you are in safe hands 😀

You can follow updates on their Facebook Page or their official website page and also on IG @bruneispeakersclub

 

 


Rahman Tarsat sworn in as Vice-President of Public Relations
 


Chris Woo, Immediate Past President pinning the incoming president, Jordan Yau and vice-versa
 


Around 40 people showed up last weekend. Thank you for the support.
 

 


Syatrah Roslan of BSC and Hilman Omar of UBD Toastmasters were the emcees of the night. Great job too 😀
 


Naj, one of a great supporter of toastmasters from OTTERS.
 


Dalton Lim being awarded The Most Improved Toastmasters of the Year and Rano Iskandar being awarded The Toastmasters of the Year
 


Dalton Lim with his family friend and mentor Shawn Cassidy Narcis
 


The group photo
 

 


Thank you UBD Toastmasters members for supporting our installation
 


The sworn in Executive Committee of BSC with Area Director, Stuart Lee
 


The guests having a great time last weekend
 


What do they have in common? They are all teachers. Thank you, Laurence (center), for touching other people’s lives
 

Contact RA

ranoadidas (a) gmail.com
Instagram & Snapchat @ranoadidas
Contact: +6738677773

About RA

A blogger since 2002, using platforms from blogspot, joomla and now currently wordpress. A readership that stands on average of 20,000 visits per month. Also on active on social media platform on IG, Facebook and Snapchat (@ranoadidas)

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