LE @ NUS Alumni TMC 8 JULY 2016 Chapter Meeting

Brickbats

Grammar

1) If I could, I will like to => If I could, I would like to

2) He wear his armour => He wore his armour 

3) whatever the person need to do => whatever the person needs to do 

Plural

1) to achieve our CC and CL goal(s) 

2) different interest (s)

3) common folk(s) in England 

4) I will get job(s)

5) Toastmaster(s) club 

Vocabulary 

1) Let's pass the time to the TME => Let's invite the TME to lead us in tonight's meeting.

2) Timer check that we don't go out of time => ... we don't go over time

3) Whether we have done any pause fillers => ... uttered any pause fillers

4) One young guy / those guys are good => one young boy / those people are good

5) Scared and fear of the problem => afraid of the problem

6) do you still feel the burst fire in your heart => do you still feel the fire of enthusiasm burning in your heart

7) how do I send the message to the people => how do I communicate the message to the audience

8) given gift => gift  (given is redundant)

9) if someone envy at you... => if someone envies you

10) the family was not close anymore, it just fall off => ... everyone grew apart 

11) I can deliver a speech one every month => ... deliver a speech once a month

12) my dad passed away and that really got me => ... that really shook me up

NOTE about the phrase "you got me"

TOP DEFINITIONs

 

(1) You have me with you no matter what forever.

Example: You don't have to worry about anything, you got me.

(2) a sarcastic response to a lame joke made at the speakers expense

Example:

Casper: Hey Jake, you know that cheeseburger you just ate. You thought it didn't have mayo, but I put it on there and you totally didn't know. 

Jake: (Rolling his eyes) You got me.

(Definitions and examples from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=You%20got%20me)

Sentence structure 

1) the reason we're here is because => We're here because... / The reason we're here is that...

2) why it become like this => how did things turn out like this

3) I love the way you opened your speech => I liked the opening of your speech

4) your body language you did appropriate => the body language used was appropriate

5) people taking gun going everywhere shooting everywhere => loose gun laws has given rise to random shooting sprees

6) Trump seems like he's going to give everyone everything => Trump is promising to meet everyone's needs

7) go down to the emotion, the spiritual and holistic => emotionally, spiritually and holistically

Pronunciation
kill vs keel (short vowel for /kil/ and long vowel for /keel/)
sword [sawrd, sohrd]  (w is silent)
seventh [sev-uh nth] (stick out your tongue between the teeth at the end)
thirteen [thur-teen] (stick out your tongue between your teeth in front)
trophy [troh-fee] 
passed [past, pahst] (ends with /st/ sound)

Bouquets

Alliteration 

1) Purpose to pursue 

2) Facts and figures

3) Fear factor 

4) Fairness vs freedom

Simile

1) He progressed rapidly like a rocket 

2) He can motivate and demotivate the audience just like turning on and off a switch

Rhyme

1) Creative and innovative

2) Envied vs pitied

3) Activate and captivate

Triad

1) Excitement, enthusiasm and energy

LE @ AIA TMC 14 April 2016 Chapter Meeting

Word Of The Day
synergy (noun) which means the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc.; synergism (from Dictionary.com)

synergic / synergistic (adjective)
synergistically / synergetically (adverb)

1) Naveena - It's wonderful to have so much synergy between both clubs.
2) Pei Lun - by adding lemon juice to water, you get a new synergy water 
3) Hyder - your speech was a synergy of .... (sorry, I failed to capture the beautiful words...)
4) Vidhi - synergistically (failed to capture the whole sentence)
5) Nathaniel - synergy between humour and sarcasm

Brickbats
(1) Grammar
- he teach me a few chords (taught)
- he touches my hand (touched)
- they hanged out (hung out)
- now that you guys have casted your votes (cast)
- how do vitamin c help us in our body? (does)
- how AIA has feed me (has fed)
- all qualifies for voting (all speakers qualify for voting)
- the list are wonderful (the list of evaluators is wonderful)
- it would have lead us (have led)

(2) Vocabulary
- there is this guy who is my classmate (boy)
- I really respect this guy (man)
- I would like to share with you guys (all of you)
- this satisfied feeling (feeling of satisfaction)
- to mention the objectives (read out)
- he had tattoos all over his hands (arms)
- out of so many occupations you can do (choose)
- oh my god...this is one hell of an energetic lady (This lady is both impressive and impassioned.)
- so beautifully and lovely (so beautifully and delightfully/excellently)
- I found the inner child in me coming up (I discovered my inner child)

(3) Sentence structure
- my life hangs in his hands (My life is in his hands)
vs hang in the balance = to be in a precarious situation, unsure of the future. (eg. His life was left hanging in the balance after being shot in the side.)
- I am fated with this company (I am fated to remain in this company.)
- really really temptation to want to pull you over (I was really tempted by the generous offers made by the other companies)
-  It was so accomplished and implementable (It is easy to accomplish and implement.)

(4) Pronunciation (hyperlinks from Dictionary.com)
opportunity click here to listen
acronym click here to listen
distinctive click here to listen
collagen (KOLuhjuhn) click here to listen
informative click here to listen
fill  vs feel
saga (SAHguh) click here to listen
emulate (EMyuhleyt) click here to listen
photographer click here to listen

Bouquets
(1) Alliteration
- digestion and detoxification (also a rhyme)
- helpless... hopeless (also a rhyme)
- constant companion
- milestones, mistakes and memories (also a triad)
- nurturing nature
- grace and gratitude

(2) Similes
- as busy as a bee 
- as hungry as a wolf
- if you have strip like Arjun, do it; if you have to dance like Linda, do it (also use of parallel structure)

(3) Rhyme
- not ever, never
- you become tougher, you become stronger
- Man gives you an award but God gives you the reward
- she's not only Punctual Lee but quickly
- begin strongly, not quickly
- beautifully and deeply

(4) Metaphor
- Linda Punctual Lee... Punctual is my middle name
- this is just an appetizer
- this life is not a rehearsal
- sweat and climbing are not good friends
- it's not just about the hardware but also the software (also use of contrast here)
- hunger was my constant companion
- recipe for success
- you will be a Mount Everest climber next time round
- roasted her so well that she appeared delicious

(5) Personification
- as though the oil and water were having a fight

(6) Triads
- white lie, gray lie or black lie (gradation of colours)
- those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened?

LE @ NUS Alumni TMC 8 April 2016 Chapter Meeting

Brickbats

(1) Grammar
- NUS Alumni Toastmaster Club => NUS Alumni Toastmasters Club
- most of the thing I wanted to do => most of the things I wanted to do
- where did the act of piracy took place? => where did the act of piracy take place?
- when Raffles hears this, he saw an opportunity => when Raffles heard this, he saw an opportunity

(2) Vocabulary
- A friend of mine psychoed me => A friend of mine inveigled me 
(NB. inveigled means to entice, lure or ensnare by flattery or artful talk)
- I anyhow join a few clubs => I randomly chose some clubs to join
- to do their projects => to present their projects
- so I will cut it short => so I will keep it short
- I did very bad in the first round => I did very badly in the first round
- save our asses => to save us from dire situations
- her lung was broken => her lung was damaged/impaired
- that made her adoption family => that made her adoptive family
- she doesn't want to bother the family => she didn't want to burden the family
- you do a great speech => you delivered a great speech
- you did a story => you shared a story
- three other things for improvement => three areas for improvement
- the point seems a bit lagging => the point seemed a bit lacking
- improve on your position => improve on your stance
- to marry someone that loved you => to marry someone who loves you
- that I felt in my opinion => I felt that ... (in my opinion is redundant)
- I will make things more easier =>  I will make things easier 

(3) Sentence structure
- Once upon a time, there was a email pop up => once I received an email
- anybody who come after me is new => any member who joined after me is considered a new member
- not long after he came to the earth => not long after she was born
- due to the finance reason, she was adopted by her uncle => due to her family's financial difficulty,...
- bring your speech into life => help to make your speech come alive

(4) Pronunciation 
(click on each word to hear the correct pronunciation... hyperlinks from Dictionary.com)
think 
mouth
mesmerize
anxious
especially
lilac
intrigue
allies
iteration
abrupt
detect
monotony
monopolize
Wang (rhymes with hung)
Vu (voo)

Bouquets

(1) Alliteration
Confident and convincing
Interview and immerse
stand steady
Projection, pacing, pauses, pitch, polished

(2) Rhyme
- fake it until you make it
- positivity and creativity
- educational and historical
- facts tell, stories sell
- innovate and create
- loving and dating

(3) Metaphor
- butterflies in my stomach
- colourless life
- could bring colour back into her life
- ballooned to 5 thousand
- eventually I saw sunlight in our life
- fountain of youth

(4) Repetition
- very, very very nervous
- wish me luck, wish me luck
- look forward, move forward
- do new things, try new things, learn new things
- born anonymously, live anonymously and die anonymously

(5) Triads
- encouraged, persuaded, enticed
- pleasant, natural and sincere
- when you're hungry, when you're thirsty and when you don't have what you want

(6) Quotations (Table Topics)
- Learning is an experience, everything else is just information. - Albert Einstein
- Don't go through life, grow through life (also showing parallel structure & contrast)
- Work hard, stay positive, get up early - it's the best part of life.
- The key to successful aging is to pay as little attention to it as possible
- There is only one happiness in this life - to love and be loved. 
- You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream.
- Success is nothing more than a few disciplines practised everyday.

Language Evaluation @ NUS Alumni

NUS Alumni Chapter Meeting 13 November 2015

Brickbats

1. Grammar
(a) plural

• NUS Alumni Toastmaster Club => NUS Alumni Toastmasters Club
• I could go oversea to study => I could go overseas to study
• I have three question => I have three questions
• A lot of thing can went wrong => A lot of things can go wrong
• will have many happy moment => will have many happy moments
• school holiday => school holidays

(b) tenses

• I still feel very happy for that => I still felt very happy about that
• A lot of us are stretch to the full => Many of us are stretched to the full
• I seek for help => I sought for help
• When the earthquake strike => when the earthquake struck
• In order to be qualify for voting => In order to qualify for voting

(c) subject-verb agreement

• Someone who is passionate about volunteer work and enjoy travelling => Someone who is passionate about volunteer work and enjoys travelling 

2. Vocabulary 

• fang xue le! => 6pm! Time to knock off! (Avoid using Mandarin, unless necessary and include translation)
• I am the TME for this evening. => I am the TME for tonight's meeting.
• for those who are doing their P1 speech => for those who are presenting their P1 speeches
• someone who will take care of our pause-fillers => someone who will take note of our pause-fillers
• you will hear the bell, in which you have to stop. => you will hear the bell, after which you have to stop.
• who doesn't not make wrong choices => who does not make wrong choices
• speak on the feet => think on your feet, speak off the cuff
• lame and nonsense stuff => lame and nonsensical stuff
• culture differences => cultural differences
• We should not feel sad of Singapore => We should not feel sad for Singapore

3. Sentence Structure

• Congratulations on completing your Project 1 and I just move on to your Project 2 speech => Congratulations on completing your Project 1 speech and I strongly encourage you to move on to your Project 2 speech
• Samsung is fighting against Apple. => Samsung can give Apple a run for their money.

Bouquets

1. Alliteration

• market mechanism
• bend backwards
• idleness is ideal

2. Rhyme

• We should not just survive; we should thrive.
• anything and everything is up for sale

3. Metaphor

• one of our club's newest collection (referring to a new member)
• People think that I bite. I won't bite but don't step on my tail.
• When I look back at this chapter of my life...
• Marketisation sharpens the sting of inequality.
• crowd out the values we seek to create
• You are the speech
• There is a big teddy bear in him. (referring to Lau Kwong Fook)
• Wisdom is the name they attache to four of your teeth.

4. Parallel structure

• No mountain too high, no river too wide
• moral and civic goods that market do not honour, and that money can't buy.

5. Vocabulary

• fixated on issues without caring about people's emotions => fixated means to have an obsessive attachment

6. Contrast

• Instead of letting changes happen to you, let the change come from within yourself.
• Instead of seeing change as negative, view it as an opportunity to learn a new skill.

5 TIPS ON FORMING ALLITERATIVE PHRASES

Alliteration refers to the repetition of the beginning sounds of words, as in “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”, “long-lived”, and “the fickle finger of fate”.  

Alliteration makes great tongue twisters! They also add lyrical beauty to your writing.

However, note that it’s the sounds of words that must repeat, not the spelling. Thus, ‘honest’ and ‘humble’ are not alliterative, neither are ‘charismatic’ and ‘charming’.

In Toastmasters Competent Communicator Manual project 4 How to Say It, speakers are encouraged to use rhetorical devices to enhance and emphasize ideas. Alliteration is one of the easiest rhetorical device to use.

Here are 5 tips on forming alliterative phrases to add impact and beauty to your writing:

(1) Adjective + Noun

This is the easiest way to form an alliterative phrase.  Take a noun and think of an adjective that begins with the same sound. Pair them up and hey presto! you get an alliterative phrase.

Here are some examples: “clumsy clown”, “sensational speaker”, “towering tree”, “bungling burglar”, “terrified teacher”, “gentle giant”,  “decadent dessert”, “pink panther”, “Magic Mike” etc.   

(2) Adjective + Adjective

Another way to form alliteration is by using two adjoining adjectives that begin with the same sound to describe the same thing or person.

For example, “big, bad wolf”, “that man is crude and crass”, “a confident and charismatic speaker”, "a poised and polished presenter", “the performance was entertaining and enthralling”, “an effervescent and effusive person”, “The storm was unrelenting and unstoppable” etc

(3) Verb + Verb

Another common way to form alliteration is by having two verbs that begin with the same sound.

For example, “He hemmed and hawed”, “the doctor poked and prodded me”, “the girl banged and bawled”, “frame and focus”, “mumbled and muttered under his breath” etc.

(4) Noun + Noun

Having two nouns that begin with the same sound is also a great way to alliterate.

For example, “tips and techniques”, “the next buzz and bing”, “the prince and the pauper”, "Superman and Spiderman" etc.

(5) Adverb + Adjective / Verb + Adverb

An adverb (usually a word ending with –ly) can easily be paired with an adjective or a verb to create alliteration.  

For the former, the adverb comes before the adjective.

For example, “disturbingly delicious desserts”, “exuberantly executed performance”, “painstakingly painted piece of art”, “disgustingly dirty socks” etc.

In the latter case, the adverb comes after the verb.

For example, “perspiring profusely”, “hummed happily”, “stared at me sinisterly”, “laughed light-heartedly” etc.

**************************************************************************************************

By using these combinations of alliteration, you can easily come up with alliterative triads or even your own tongue-twisters!

Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran! (from Dictionary.com)

Jolly Joni jests about jiving in jet planes jovially. 

When you come across any wonderful examples of alliteration while reading or listening to speeches, write them down in a notebook. This will become your treasure trove of alliterative phrases that you can refer to again and again for inspiration.

3 TIPS ON USING ALLITERATIVE TRIADS

Alliteration refers to the repetition of the beginning sounds of words, as in "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers", "long-lived", "short shrift" and "the fickle finger of fate".
(from dictionary.com)

A triad is a group of three, especially of three closely related persons or things. (from dictionary.com)

Put the two together and you get ALLITERATIVE TRIADS, that means groups of three words beginning with the same sounds. 

I love alliterative triads. I like to use them in my speeches and evaluations. It helps me to remember my points easily too!

Here are 3 tips on making alliterative triads work for you.

(1) Use alliterative triads as heading for the points in your speech. 
Let's say in your speech, you want to share three points. Think of three words all beginning with the same sounds that can describe these points succinctly.

Here are some examples from my own speeches:

3 things you lose when you have a baby: sleep, sex, sanity
(Read the speech Are You Ready? here)

3 things you put up with when you have a baby: pee, poo, puke
(Read the speech Perils of Parenting here)

3 ways to win a man's heart: food, fantasy, freedom
(Read the speech How to Train a Man here)

(2) Use alliterative triads to describe a person or thing vividly in your speech. 
You can use three adjectives to describe a person. For example, "John is a cool, calm and confident speaker", or "The dashing, dapper and debonair hunk caught everyone's attention."

A cafe used an alliterative triad to describe their offerings as "disturbingly delicious desserts". How cool is that?

(3) Use alliterative triads in your project evaluations.
Using alliterative triads in my project evaluations helps me to remember my points easily. In a club evaluation contest in 2010, I used 3 Ss for the commendations and 3 Es for the recommendations. 

I commended the speaker for her smooth delivery, sincerity and stories. The recommendations were expression, energy and effective use of grammar. (Read the evaluation speech here)

I also used this technique in the District 80 Evaluation Contest in 2010 which helped me to clinch the champion trophy! (Read the evaluation speech here)

By using alliterative triads, you can add value, verve, vitality to your speech. Try it! 

BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE

(Contest speech presented at Area Z3 International Speech Contest on 27 March at Katong Toastmasters Club)

Last year my friend gave me this book for Christmas because she knows that I love cakes. But what she didn’t know was that I can’t bake! When I flipped through the book, I would drool over each picture but to even think about baking them, I was overwhelmed to say the least. The recipes looked daunting and the ingredients list alone was enough to scare the living daylights out of me.

Good evening, fellow toastmasters and friends. Have any of you ever wished you could do something (like public speaking or paint or pole dance) but gave up trying even before you started simply because it seemed too daunting? Well, I totally understand how you feel.

It felt the same for me with regards to baking. My 3 best friends were wonderful bakers and would frequently whatsapp pictures of their culinary feats. And the worst thing? They would tell me how easy it is. How many of you here think baking is easy? Exactly my point! How can baking be easy? To prove her point, my friend Sharon gave us a hands-on demonstration at her house to bake Japanese light cheesecake. Her experience and deftness in measuring, sifting, beating sure made it look easy! 

I still had my reservations but I didn’t want to give up. A toastmaster never gives up! How else can you become a DTM? You must be Determined. I remember a quote by Henry Ford,

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.

So I was determined to learn baking. I decided to make a cake that did not require baking. Did you even know there was such a thing? Amazing isn’t it? I embarked on my ‘baking journey’ by making a no bake cheesecake.  I googled for recipes and watched some youtube videos, went out excitedly to buy all the ingredients and equipment and I was ready to go.

Crush some biscuits and mix with butter to make the base, put it in the fridge to chill. Make the filling by beating cream cheese with some condensed milk, vanilla essence and lemon juice together. Pour onto the base, put into the fridge to set for a few hours and viola, I have just made a cheesecake! It was life transforming!

Now I could eat as much cake as I wanted, whenever I wanted. Of course I also shared the bounty with my family members. I am happy to report there were no instances of diarrheoa or food poisoning. My success spurred me on and I volunteered to make a cheesecake for my brother-in-law’s birthday.  I made an oreo cheesecake which received raving reviews. After that, I made another one for my niece’s birthday. It started to have a snowball effect.  

mini chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting 

Later I moved on to baking cakes and cupcakes using cake mix. After I was comfortable with using the oven to bake, I started learning how to make cupcakes from scratch.  Tonight, I am delighted to share with you my handiwork.

This exciting journey in baking reveals how our attitudes affect our actions. Do you believe that you can do it? Then you can. You will do whatever it takes to make it happen! If you believe you can become a DTM, then you will become a DTM, because you will work hard to make it happen. I want to urge all of you, believe in yourself and you will become what you believe.

Is there is a mountain you want to climb? Go climb it. Is there is a marathon you want to run? Go run it. Is there is contest you want to win? Go win it! Don’t allow your fears, your doubts and your self-limiting beliefs to hold you back. If you don’t succeed the first time, try try again.

When I first became a toastmaster, I never thought I could take part in speech contests and win. The speakers at the first club I had joined were very strong speakers. Every year they would sweep the trophies. Nevertheless I kept taking part in contest every year until one year I was finally placed 2^nd runner up. A small victory.  Many years later, many contests later, and many small victories later, I emerged as champion at a club humorous speech contest, beating the strong speaker who has been winning every single year ( he was my mentor!). It was such a sweet success to savour, it’s not every day that you get to surpass your mentor. 

Now when club members tell me they don’t want to take part in contests because they are not good enough, I always tell them, To start, you don’t have to be good but to be good, you must start!

There are inspiring examples all around us, of people who have overcome the odds to achieve great things in their lives, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mendela, Nic Vijucic, because they believed in themselves, they didn’t give up.  We too can become what we believe. All we have to do is start somewhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s something as small as baking a cake, or as big as changing the world, just believe in yourself and start somewhere.

One flower at a time, a garden is created.

One brick at a time, a house is built.

One speech at a time, a toastmaster is shaped.

One contest at a time, a champion is born.