Interests, Pastimes & Hobbies: January 2021

Monday, January 18, 2021

5/8 Gains From Toastmasters: Connecting with Like-Minded Passionate Learners

This is the 5^th of 8 posts sharing on why I like being a member of Toastmasters(TM).

Have you ever felt like you need to meet people outside your day-to-day circle?

You’ve come to the right place – Toastmasters!

A warm memory from 2017.

For myself, I came from an engineering background. Some people term engineers as being square. 😊 Half true! There are ‘squares’ in every profession.

I’m a sales engineer. Hence, I meet people from engineering/production/maintenance departments of a manufacturing company as well as contractors and operators. At times, I meet the R&D team, at times purchasers and at times, finance, if only it could be more often, which means I get more good old cheques to collect.

At a Toastmasters (TM) meeting, I meet entrepreneurs, bankers, IT personnel, students, retirees, among others. Regardless, we were once terrible speakers and we all have the passion to learn and support each other in our TM tracks. Even if a member is based in the US, Europe, Asia or Oceania, we share the same passion and always greet international guests with warm welcomes.

At my club, Super Speakers Toastmasters Club in KL, Malaysia, we assign new members to mentors, as their special guardian angels particularly in the first few years of being a Toastmaster. Back in 2012, I was assigned to a lady who looked like me, sounded like me but WWWAAAYYY more experienced, more lively more giving than me. There’s more. She’s more productive, more sassy and definitely has more memory cells than me. It’s superb for her age of 60+. She has consistently volunteered me into roles and applauding me as I delivered my speeches and participated in contests. At her age, she still works, and she’s a voluntary line dance teacher to her friends and neighbours. As a 2^nd term president of a local Lions Club as well as a past Toastmasters EXCO of a string of roles, she’s been a great role model to me, not just in my TM journey but as a person, leading a colourful life, while making a difference in the community.

Then, I’ve got a mentee who is an emcee herself with Astro, a local major broadcasting company. I’ve never come close to knowing someone from the showbiz until I joined Toastmasters. She’s a self-initiated and eloquent speaker, yet maintains her humble self. If I’d like to improve my pitching and persuasive skills, I know where to go, as she demonstrates and sells on a TV shopping channel. As the saying goes, you are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with. I think I’m in good hands.

There are many ways we can meet people outside our working lives. TM is one of them. Members are people wanting to improve themselves regardless of age and background. While doing so, they help others to improve as well, as here in Toastmasters, we learn in moments of enjoyment.

Through my 3/8 gains posted earlier, you’ll learn more on why being a TM opens up an opportunity to give.

Are you looking to meet people outside your circle too?

Want to check our next meeting out?

Follow our Facebook page at

‘Super Speakers Toastmasters Club’

This is my 5^th gain as a member of Toastmasters. Stay tuned to fine out 3 more.

*A.S's current location*

Day/ Date: Sun/ Jan 17th, 2021

Home in KL

-Just like everyone else, A.S is wondering when she could get on a plane again. :)

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Sunday, January 3, 2021

4/8 Gains From Toastmasters: Opportunities to Learn the Art of Leadership

This is the 4^th of 8 posts sharing on why I like being a member of Toastmasters(TM).

Speaking of TM, many of us, myself included, associate it with speaking, especially in our earlier years of joining. We did not join TM, aspiring to improve in our leadership skills.

Over the years, I’ve learnt that speaking and leadership comes hand in hand. Especially when I’m delivering a speech with a message to inspire others, it is only better received if I’m speaking from a position to service. For example, if I were the VPE and would like to inspire new members to start their Pathways’ project speeches, I’d tell them a story about how I first started and how anxious I was before I got over the fear. Compare this with if I were a member, showing up at meetings only when I am delivering a project speech, and delivering the same speech telling juniors “in order to improve, you should do this, and that” .

As the new member, which speech would have a better impact on you?

Every speaker's dream audience

Personally, as someone from the sales engineering profession, I have been working independently most times. I guess it is the same with people who works in other sales profession, in the lab, as well as IT personnels, where one doesn’t collaborate much in a team in his/her day-to-day work.

As a TM member, I have been given ample opportunities to:-

a) Mentor new members

b) Take up EXCO positions i.e Sargeant At Arms (SAA), Vice President Public Relations(VPPR), VicPresident of Education (VPE), President

c) Become an organizing chair and form my organizing team to put together successful contests

While I am not a born leader, these experiences of working with fellow members of diverse age group and backgrounds, are great practices to help me to collaborate better with my co-workers, and to inspire and motivate them towards accomplishing a common goal.

To many fellow members, these opportunities allow them to sharpen their leadership skills in-line with their aspirations to progress into managerial positions at their respective workplaces.

TM gives me the opportunity to take up leadership roles I would otherwise not have, had I not joined TM. These roles are essential experiences to build up my soft skills collaborating and motivating others towards accomplishing a common goal.

Many of us are not keen on leadership roles and often keep it on the side, but over the years, I’ve learnt that in order for my message to become more acceptable, I need to speak from a position of service, to help them achieve their goal, and help them see that their contribution is significant towards accomplishing the bigger vision.

Are you looking for opportunities to practise and sharpen your leadership skills?

Want to check out our next meeting?

Follow our Facebook page at ‘Super Speakers Toastmasters Club’

P/S: We have entered the year of 2021! Happy new beginning everyone. May this new year bring you joy, abundance and great health!

This is my 4^th gain as a member of Toastmasters. Stay tuned to fine out 4 more.