All In A Month's Work

My First Trophy Won This Year

Warning : This is a self-praise post 😀


If you attend a Toastmasters meeting and the person at the lectern says, 'now is the time we all look forward to - the table topics session!' - it is not what most Toastmasters look forward to, save for the seasoned ones. I've been toasting since 2007 and I still cringe a bit when the session is up.

What is Table Topics?
A table topic session is when speakers present short speeches under 2 minutes extemporaneaously about a given topic. The first time I tried to pronounce the word was a bit of a tongue twisting experience (and I love tongue twisters) let alone speak for 2 minutes off-the-cuff. Nevertheless, I always endeavour to tackle it whenever I am voluntold to do so. 😆

When a fellow Toastmaster asked me to participate in my club's Table Topics contest, I said yes after a brief moment of slight apprehension. I thought to myself since it's a new year and I haven't been active in speech contests in the past 2 years, I'd better say yes. If not, they may not want to renew my membership. 😅

So What Was The Topic?
All 7 contestants got the same topic.

You cannot change who you are but you can change what you do.

That was the topic given. From the moment the first word is uttered or a gesture made, the timer will start the timing device. I can't remember my speech word for word. I recall disagreeing with the statement and stated my reasons. I thought I would be nervous, stutter or be lost for words. I am proud to state that I calmly spoke and concluded my speech just after the amber light turned on indicating I have 30 seconds left. And so, I pulled through. If I had spoke under 1 minute or more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds I would have been disqualified.

What's The Point Of Table Topics In Toastmasters?
You heard about the elevator pitch?. If you are a salesperson, you would know for sure. It's all about gaining confidence to speak to anyone about any given topic without turning into a mouse. Therefore, Table Topics is extremely helpful. One can practice for a quick sales pitch, answering your boss wittily when he catches you by surprise with a tough question and especially when picking up girls (and guys). The last one is not recommended for married people.

Toastmasters has helped me tremendously in my communication and leadership skills. I acquired these important skills, which I consider living skills that schools do not teach. I learn alongside my BNI journey. Without Toastmasters, I wouldn't be an effective leader in my business community. Without BNI, I wouldn't be able to practice my communication and leadership skills in real life situations. And believe me, many times in the past I really used my Toastmasters skills to problem solve, negotiate and mediate.

Receiving The Award From My Club President



With The 1st Place Winner & The Champion of Ireka Toastmasters Club Table Topics Contest


For the past 2 years, I have been lazy and complacent. So, this year I took the challenge to bring myself out of complacency and restart my Toastmaster engine. I have 1 more presentation to go before I will level up in my leadership track and achieve the title 'Advanced Leader Bronze'.

I already warned that this is a self-praise post, right? To conclude, I took out all my past trophies, dusted them and took a picture. Why do I keep them? They are to inspire me to keep going in my Toastmasters journey. They also inspire my kids to go for whatever they want to achieve in school. And it works. My girl won trophies from public speaking, spelling and singing contests in her primary school.

My Treasures

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