Gurney-Hydro Toastmasters Club

How innovative are you?  As shared by our VPE during the recent meeting, with Industry 4.0 in full swing, being innovative and doing things outside the norm is very important to ensure you stay competitive. Otherwise, you could one day potentially, find yourself being replaced by robots. Going round the table during introductions, it was clear that our participants for the night have very creative ways to think outside the box in their daily lives. And with only one speaker attempting the prepared speech for the night, we had to think outside the box to give value to our participants by asking or own professional speaker, Hayley James to conduct a mini seminar. Hayley conducting her seminar on "How to Enhance your Stage Presence" Hayley's seminar was all about enhancing your stage presence.  She started off by walking the audience through her process of getting everyone's attention to focus on her.  Then once she has everyone's undivided attenti...

Prost!   Lift up your mug and toast to life, food, friends and beer! Our members and guests got introduced to Oktoberfest during our meeting.   We decided to have some fun and celebrate the most famous beer festival with – what else – but beer and sausages courtesy of our Datin Joanne Tan. We also had girls in dirndls.   Hey, we’re not called the most happening club for nothing *wink* We only had one speaker for the night, our guests, Kitsh.   His ice breaker sang praises to his mother and all the people who have shone a light in his life.  He also encouraged his listeners to embrace their true self even though people may disagree with them. This was followed by a very informative sharing session by our VPE, Sheryl on Oktoberfest.   She delved into the history of the festival, the customs and traditions and how it went from a celebration of a royal wedding (bet you didn’t know that) into the world’s biggest beer festival. O...

"Nothing is certain in life except death and taxes," so says the quote. So what can you do to make sure you live your life in a way you would be proud of so that in the end, you can say you've really lived and not existed? One of the ways is a bucket list, a list of things that you want to do like travel to far off and exotic places, a skill that you've always wanted to learn or doing something so big that it seemed like an impossible feat to accomplish. Here are some of the things that are in our attendees' bucket list: Go to Disneyland Travel around the world Move to New York Go on an adventure once a year Go to a third world country to do charity work Own their first home These are all worthwhile dreams to aspire to and we really hope you guys achieve them. We had two speakers for the night. Speaker #1: Preezzilla Tan Finally, this very successful real estate agent did her speech on something that she is very passionate about - investin...

Most of us practically grew up with the television as our best friend.  In effect, we many many "best friends" through the shows that have entertained us throughout the years. Young or old there is definitely a TV show that has remained fondly in our memories, characters that have inspired us and stories that made us say to ourselves, "One day, this will be me." What is yours? Speeches for the night: Speaker #1: Cheong Xin Ni Xin Ni's speech gave us a reminder to treat our loved ones better.  It's amazing how we treat people outside our families with courtesy and respect yet treat those who should be closest to us like a second thought.  Very good effort for her CC6. Speaker #2: Hayley James Welcome back Hayley!  Our resident professional speaker gave a very insightful speech about the way our brains work.  We can see why she is such a sought after trainer. Speaker #3: Aw Win Chan Our guest for the third meeting in a row, Win Chan's spe...

What an inspiring meeting we had!   Even though the group was considerably smaller than normal, nevertheless everyone contributed positively to discussions and we learned from each other. We all have voices in our heads.   This is our inner voice, our gut instinct or in other words, our inner guidance system, if you will.   But sometimes that voice gets drowned out by all the noise in the world like peer pressure, work stress or our own feeling like inadequacies.   Imagine how powerful we can become if we listen to that voice. We had three speakers for the night. Speaker #1: Michelle Lalitha Michelle did her ice breaker speech and what a refreshing take on this assignment it was.   Rather than doing a speech about herself, she told a story about hope and strength of bamboo that is stronger than steel. Speaker #2: Angelov Tan Angelov did the third assignment of his Pathways Level 1 which is the research project.   His speech about co...

There is no denying the connection between music and our moods.   There will be times when we need a little pick me up to go that extra mile and the first thing that we reach for, is that piece of music that reminds us of our worth, that we have what it takes to reach our goals. That is our fight song. Marathon runners certainly understand this concept.   Listening to empowering music helps them shut off the world and their pain as they push to finish their race. We had 3 speakers for the night. Speaker #1: Angelov Tan Angelov did his speech from the previous meeting on languages for the second time as part of his Pathway Project 2.   He certainly blew the crowd away with the revised version which was better.   This is the benefit of a good Toastmasters evaluation.   If the speaker takes advantage of a good evaluation, he can improve by leaps and bounds. Speaker #2: Win Chan Our guest speaker for the night talked about the different ...

It's football season with the FIFA World Cup being telecast live all over the world.  Even non football fans catch the fever and enjoyed a game or two, at home or at the local pubs and mamak. Therefore it is not surprising that we had a very enjoyable football themed meeting with our President and VPE coming in football jerseys. Our speakers for the nights: Speaker #1: Angelov Tan Angelov did Project 2 of his Pathways Level 1 on the topic f languages.  Not only was his speech interesting, his animated hand gestures made it come alive. Speaker #2: Sheryl Lee Sheryl also did Project 2 of her Pathways Level 1 speech on the struggles she faces as a banana Chinese living in Malaysia. For Table Topics, our President took up the challenge and put forward questions that are just as suspenseful as a juicy football game.  Even then, the participants gamely took up the challenge and provided their own creative spin in their answers. Thank you everyone who attended, ...

There is always a reason to celebrate, according to the attendees to our meeting. Most people only celebrate the big milestones in life like a decade older, new job, new house, new car…but what about the little milestones?   Those are also reasons to celebrate, are they not? Life can be so much more fun if we give ourselves permission to make every little moment an occasion to commemorate. With that in mind, our three speakers for the night celebrated another notch of progress in their Toastmasters journey. Speaker #1: Cheong Xin Ni Xin Ni weaved a riveting tale of her journey to become a licensed driver.   She had the audience transfixed from beginning till end with her energetic delivery and animated facial expressions.   Well done, Xin Ni! Speaker #2: Darren Saw Darren presented his revised speech on Tinder that is part of Project 2 of Pathways, Level 1.   He managed to retain the humor from his first version while incorporating all ...

It was a spicy meeting as we moved to a new location and we had people who are meeting us for the very first time. Every once in a while we need to do something different or at a spur of the moment to make life more interesting.   This can be taking a new route to work or try out a new dish or new hobby.   You’ll never know where that will lead you – new hobby, new favorite dish, new favorite hangout, new friends or even new opportunities! In our case, it was moving to a new location with the aim of introducing the Toastmasters experience to a new group of people. The meeting started off with a sumptuous dinner generously sponsored by our President.   This was followed by our assignment speeches by 3 speakers: Speaker #1: Darren Saw Darren gave a very interesting speech about Tinder and how people who use the app differ from country to country.   We would also like to congratulate Angelov Tan for   doing his first evaluation. Speaker #...

Unity is what allows a group of ordinary people achieve extraordinary results.  It's when everyone works together towards a common goal that amazing things happen. Just look at what happened in our beloved in the last few weeks and the days leading up to the prophetic day when we elected a new government.  It is indeed heartwarming to see Malaysians coming together offering rides to other Malaysians to go home to vote.  Then there are those from overseas who offer to carry the votes from other Malaysians back, coordinating with complete strangers to ensure their voices are heard. That is indeed unity and the sentiment was echoed in our meeting. Three speakers for the night include: Speaker #1: Joanne Tan Our Datin finally started Pathways with her ice breaker.  It's to see more of Gurney Hydro's members getting on Pathways. Speaker #2: Sheryl Lee Congratulations to Sheryl for completing her ACB with the fifth speech from the Interpretive Reading manual...

Life teaches us many great lessons.   The questions is, do we take heed?   Some people learn their lessons well, while others have to learn it over and over again before it sticks. Things like learning to chill, taking the time to enjoy a sunrise each morning among other things.  Hey, the work will still be there, so will the hustle and bustle of life.  But claim these few moments, even if it's 10 minutes a day as your own and appreciate all life has to offer. And the heartaches - they teach us the most valuable lessons often times.  They are the ones that we learn the best. Thank you, Table Topics Master for your thought provoking questions.  They are most relevant to our theme and got participants to reflect on a deep level.  Their sharings were so personal, raw and definitely very, very profound. For assignment speech, we had only one speaker this meeting: Sheryl Lee who attempted her ice breaker from Pathway Level 1.  We would a...

We had an interesting topic last meeting – whether to mess with a treasured (some would say sacred) tradition or is it fine to innovate and create something new out of it? Masterchef UK judge Gregg Wallace certainly raised the ire of many Malaysians with his criticism of this beloved dish but on the other hand, he did encourage the creativity of others who have created their very own version of rendang chicken. Our Table Topics involved themes such as whether to embrace change or hold on to traditions and cooking/food in general.   Participants tried their best and had fun during the session. It was also a smaller meeting with just one person attempting the assignment speech.   This time we have our VPE, Jeremy Soh doing his overdue speech from the advanced speech – Special Occasion Speeches.   Jeremy’s first assignment was Mastering the Toast in which e honored our Queen S in a touching tribute to her contributions to the club. If you would lik...

Every once in a while we come across a situation where we are given the opportunity to become more than what we thought we can be. It’s the time when we get to up our game, take bigger risks, fill bigger shoes, do more than we would normally do – it’s when we STEP UP and take ownership of things, be it personal and professional. Probably the most famous example of stepping up in history was during World War II.   At that time, most of the men in the US were drafted into the army.   In order to ensure that the economy continues to function at home, the women went out to work.   They built airplanes and weapons, they filled up the factory lines and the services industry previously solely dominated by the men. For the first time, women proved that they can be equal partners with the men. In our lives we have opportunities to step up all the time.   It’s a matter of doing what needs to be done to get things done.   It doesn’t matter if it is not...

In our last meeting we decided to talk about everyone’s favorite topic: FOOD! Living in Penang, which by popular consensus is the food paradise of South East Asia (although our close neighbors may disagree), there is no shortage of food available in all hours of the day.   There is no shortage in terms of variety too. Therefore it’s no wonder that a whopping majority of attendees claim that they live to eat, with char koay teow and belacan chicken wings topping the charts as their favorite food. Our table topics also focused on food.   Amongst questions asked were the memories that their favorite food evoked, healthy eating, date meals and sustainable eating (sorry, Chulan). For the assignment speeches, the following were the members who did their speeches: Speaker #1: Jonan Congratulations to Jonan for finally doing his Ice Breaker speech.   Jonan talked about his childhood attending various schools, including one overseas and his interests pla...

Our theme for the previous meeting was Empowering Others.  This theme is something very close to our hearts because Toastmasters is all about empowering people to be the best that they can be.  All attendees also agreed that by empowering others, we also empower ourselves. What an inspirational night! The following were the speakers for the night. Speaker #1: Samuel Ch'ng With Chinese New Year coming up, Samuel shared his views on the taboos and beliefs that the Chinese people have in relation to the festival.  His sharing was funny and insightful at the same time. Speaker #2: Angelov Tan Our resident Angel of Love was his usual humorous self.  Angelov's speech was based on Dory of Finding Nemo.  His speech encouraged attendees to look at the bright side of things and never give up.  When things get tough, "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!" Speaker #3: Chulan What a marvelous guest speaker we had vising from Penang Toastmasters Club....

Is there anything missing in your life? We all want so many things, even though we already have so much: - The perfect partner - The perfect job - The perfect house - The perfect car - Yearly vacations - More hours in the day to accomplish things But imagine what all these things are to a refugee.  For them, they just want to be close to their loved ones.  Even if they can have 5 minutes to see for themselves that their loved ones are well, that is more than enough for them. After a lively discussion on our theme, it's on to the assignment speeches. Speaker #1: Samuel Ch'ng Samuel gave his signature humorous speech on his New Year's resolution to get fit and his observations of the people he sees at the gym. Speaker #2: Bryant Oon Oh wow, what a title for his speech - F###!  It definitely got everybody to pay attention.  Bryant was redoing his CC10 and his title definitely got people to pay attention.  The title actually stood for "Food" an...

Kickstarting our meetings for the year 2018, we decided to go with the theme, "Living on the Edge", because after all, outside your comfort zone is where life begins. We definitely agree on this and Toastmasters is where people get to constantly continue to push their limits, expanding the so called "edge". This is evident in the assignment speeches for the night: Speaker #1: You Wan Xuan Wan Xuan spoke about the horrors of war in Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  She had been to Japan recently and shared the knowledge she gained whilst visiting the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. Speaker #2: Bryant Oon Bryant did his CC10 with the aim of inspiring the audience.  He didn't only give a speech, he went above and beyond by singing, something not seen very often in a Toastmasters Meeting. Speaker #3: Sheryl Lee Our resident Game of Trones wiki did Assignment 2 from her Advanced Communicator Speaking to Inform Manual on The Wall from the series which intrigued ev...

Well guess what?  It's our last meeting for the year 2017! What a year it has been for Gurney Hydro Toastmasters Club, from changing venue to KDU Penang University College to getting new and enthusiastic people as our members. For this meeting, we recollected our fond memories for 2017 as well as hopes for 2018. And because setting resolutions is a thing for new years, our Table Topics Master ensured that members set achievable goals that are realistic by calling them "Strategic Plans" instead of resolutions. We hope that 2018 will be another great year and hope to see you at our next meeting. Last but not least, we were honored to welcome DTM Simon Tan back with us for this meeting.  DTM Simon did his Pathways speech and certainly inspired some of us to want to attempt their own Pathway in 2018. If you would like the opportunity to hone your public speaking skills as well as learn leadership skills, join us for our bi-monthly meetings on every 1st and 3...

Welcome to the first edition of our new TM Insider series.  This series will give you insights on some of the things you get to do once you join a Toastmasters club and things that go on behind the scenes to make a meeting successful. This post will focus on the concept of "Club Hopping" or "Clubbing" as it's commonly called in Toastmasters circle.  This is not the type of clubbing that involves alcohol lol *wink*. Clubbing in Toastmasters is where members from one club visit other clubs.  There are various benefits of clubbing both for clubs and members. 1. Building Relationships Perhaps the biggest benefit from clubbing is the opportunity to build inter-club relationships.  In order for clubs to continue to grow at a  healthy rate, they need the support of other clubs to run meetings, hold contests and maintain a continuous flow of guests.  Inter-club cooperative events are very common amongst Toastmasters clubs. 2. Improve the Running of Yo...

It was a smaller and more intimate crowd in our last meeting, but nevertheless, we still had a lot of fun and learning. The theme for the night is "What are you made of?" and as always, our attendees have their own take of what they are made of.  We all can agree that we have limitless potential for greatness and if we truly believe in our abilities, we can tap into that strength. We are happy to note that 2 of our members have moved on to the advanced level manuals (the Interpersonal Communication and Interpretive Reading manuals).  Other members are also proceeding ahead in their assignment speeches.  Can we hope to have at least a few more DTMs in our club? We would like to thank all members who took the time to attend our meeting, although it is the holiday season.  Special thanks to our guests from Keysight Toastmasters Club and KK Lim, our Area Director for making an appearance. If you would like the opportunity to hone your public speaking skil...