Area C2 International Speech Contest - Great, Inspiring, Awesome!

14 March 2009

Now, think real hard.... Where was I on 14 March 2009? What was I doing from 2pm to 5pm? How could I have missed the Area C2 International Speech & Table Topics Contest?! It was just the perfect learning opportunity. Great SPEAKERS, Inspiring SPEECHES and Awesome FOOD, i tell you! XD

We are especially proud and honoured that Stamford College TMC hosted the Successful event. So... What happened? Who was there? How well did the event run? Erm..winners??

2.00pm- Event started with a light refreshment and fellowship session. Judges, role players and contestants were then ushered to different rooms to be briefed by their respective people-in-charge. President of Stamford College TMC aka Mr Joshua (the handsome man of Stamford) seemed to be totally in control of the situation. He was busy making sure that everything is in place and no last minute disruptions to interrupt the flow of the event. And...he succeeded!!!

2.30pm! The energetic Sergeant-At-Arms, Teresa Chin called the first session of contest to order. Then, we had the opening and welcome address by the Organising Chairperson, Mr Joshua. So fiery and energetic he was that he grabbed immediate attention and started the ball rolling.

2.40pm sharp. Time to kickstart the event!!! Ms Ivy Cherng as the Contest Chair explained the Contest & House Rules. Are the contestants READY?? Are the judges READY?? Is the audience READY??? (Weirdly, the judges were the most enthusiastic lot!!oops)

International Speech Contest......Here it comes!!!

Try guessing the first speaker...need a clue? The brightest of all (remember that the word bright has got 2 meanings- smart and shiny). Yes thats right...its none other than our Humour Tiger, Mr Stephen Fernando. As usual, he started off coolly with his topic "Our Life’s Mission". Using really uncommon speech style, he managed to captivate the audience and kept them hypnotized for 5 minutes and 23 seconds. He even shared one of his funny personal experience in which he offered to be a counsellor but ended up being advised to get a good counselling for his weird mannerism.(hahaha..serves him right!!)

Lucky number two was the young gentleman, Mr Ng Yau Hong. Quite confidently, he marched to the stage and without any hesitation, started his speech entitled "Life’s Journey". Although his topic resembled the previous speaker’s one, he did succeed in making his own mark. By adopting a serious speech technique, he made it different by injecting firm principles and ideas about life. A stark contrast from the previous speaker's style isn't it? That's what I call unique. And that's where we learn from all these confident speakers!

Next up was the tall, well-built man, Mr Robert Ram. Upon mention of his topic - "Quit Smoking".. huh? Smoking AGAIN?? Honestly, I was afraid the audience would get bored and uninterested (same old topic again and again.. is there no other better topics?) A HUGE MISTAKE! Hey..i meant I made a huge mistake! Right from the beginning, Mr Robert Ram performed in such a breathtaking fashion that all eyes were on him. It is evidently clear that he left a strong impact on the audience - fake it til’ you make it. And trust me..this man can even convince the devil to stop smoking!!! How did he do it? A smooth blend of vocal variety, body language, gestures, The Charming Smile...

Fourth on stage was the smart-looking young man, Mr Pooyan Fard. And guess what?? He had something that the audience wasn’t expecting at all –a story- about the Santa Monica bridge. Very few would disagree that stories are the easiest ways to capture an audience. Now combine that with Mr Pooyan Fard’s contemporary story-telling technique and his pleasant and clear voice. The result?? YOU GET BLOWN AWAY! (of course..his looks is a super super bonus for you ladies out there! hehe..) The audience? They really enjoyed themselves!!

Next, looking good in blue is our own club champion, Lim Sze Yue with his attention-grabbing title "A Shower of Shooting Stars". If looks can be trusted, it is extremely easy to underestimate this speaker’s skills. Lightning strikes for just a fraction of a second but the power is equivalent to a hundred nuclear bombs. And this speaker is just like that. I really wonder how he managed to insert so much of humour from the start to the end of his speech.(seriously, i think i cracked at least two of my rib bones due to excessive laughing...planning to claim the medical expenses from him though;). You won’t believe it..but he threw real money from the stage..(Unfortunately, I was just too far to grab a piece of the notes). Rest assured, it was of no offense nor meant for any discouraging intention. Just a pure act to enhance the flow of the speech. He emphasised his point pretty well too. At times of loss, you take a step back and you realise how blessed you are.

To seal it off, up came the last contestant, Mr Michael Pang with his title The Outlier. He began by explaining what is an outlier. According to him, outlier is a term used to describe something that is too different from the whole group. By sharing his personal experience (and other peoples’ as well), he managed to keep the audience entertained throughout his speech. "It does't mean if he or she's an outsider, you could ignore him/her. Look at the world of football, if one person falls, you lose a person to score goals." Simple and TRUE.

3.30pm, break time!!

Relieved, the international speech contestants headed for a quick "food time" along with everyone else. The burden is finally off the shoulder! Woo~hoo!!!

3.40pm, Table Topics Contest begins!

First on the hook was Mr Pooyan Fard. Topic of the day was "What is your Dream?" Without even the slightest hesitation, he started off by adopting Dr Martin Luther King’s "I have a dream" famous proclamation. He shared his thoughts on his dream to contribute as much to the society. A noble man with big heart!

Then, it was Ms Chua Siang Yin's turn for the 2-minute impromptu session. (Note that speakers were kept in a holding room beforehand. If you're still wondering how does this impromptu session works, do come along for our next meeting and get a taste of it first hand. You'll enjoy it!). Ms Chua took on the stage confidently and tells of her dream to be a better person.

Third was Ms Fatoumata Dibba (*claps* hey...our champion here we are talking about ;) who tackled the given topic with the eloquence that you never knew was coming. It was her first time in Area Contest level and she... She just impressed all of us! She declared she wants to become the "FEMALE OBAMA" ..(resembling the icon's successful run as an inspiring speaker). Her speech was the shortest- 1 minute 11 sec – but it packed so much punch that the we were really restless after her speech. Encore! Encore!!

Then came Ms Lim Lin. She not only presented her ideas to the audience but also motivated the audience to dream BIG. The dreams of Mr Conrad Hilton was shared with us and that he had made it happen. Very suave, very effective. Quite an achievement to do this in a maximum-pressure environment like the Table Topics Contest. And the biggest dream of all she says, is for her to see her daughter (who was present..) to be successful. Sweet love!

The fifth contestant, Mr Michael Pang listened intently to the topic before bringing the audience to "his world of dreams". He mentioned that his ultimate dream is to retire early and contribute to the community. Ah..what a dream..and he says if he could have the capability to travel around... Ah..what a wonderful life it would be!!

Last but not least, up came another handsome young man, Mr Suresh Yegambaran, who shared his love for money with all of us. He described how badly he wants to make his first million and continue with subsequent ones as fast as possible..(good luck!!!) Ultimately, of course Mr Suresh Yegambaran wants to contribute a chunk of his fortune to the unfortunate ones. Which makes me wonder..how big of a chunk would that be?? Hmm.. Well, he made his dreams clear and i cant help but give his speech a title.. CASH IS KING!! (I'm sure he'll agree with me on that!)

As a conclusion, everyone shared their deepest dreams without fear or favour..(though no one admitted they want to be the champion of the contest..hey, what were you guys thinking? haha..)

So.. you people out there.. What's YOUR dream??

3.58pm! Contest concludes.As the audience waited for the judges deliberation on the participants performance, certificates were presented to the role players and contestants as well. And here comes the climax of the whole event...

The winners are.....

INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST

2nd runner-up: LIM SZE YUE !!!
1st runner-up: ROBERT RAM !!!
Champion: STEPHEN FERNANDO !!!

TABLE TOPICS CONTEST

2nd runner-up: LIM LIN !!!
1st runner-up: SURESH YEGAMBARAN !!!
Champion: FATOUMATA DIBBA !!!

Congratulations to the winners and all contestants as well !!!

Million thanks to the chief judge, Dr Choong and his row of respective judges to make this event possible. Thanks to all guests, especially fellow Toastmasters from Klang Bilingual, IEM, MIHRM, NLP, PJ Hilton, CIMA, District 51 EXCO members and any others that I have left out. Thank you all for coming. Not to forget to all the SPEAKERS, thank you so much for the learning opportunity. Indeed, we have learnt a lot from all of you. The event wouldn't have been a success without your participation. AND AND AND the ROLE PLAYERs too!!! Here goes...

Thank You Mr Joshua George (Organising Chairperson), Ms Ivy Cherng (Contest Chairperson from Klang Bilingual), Mr Stephen Tey (Contest Chairperson from MIHRM)
Thank You Dr. Choong (Chief Judge from Taman Indrahana) and his army (:D) of judges.

Thank You Mr Marvin Lau (Timer from Extol), Mr Muthu Kumar Kannan (Timer from SCTMC).

Thank You Mr James Gan (Ballot Counter from Digi), Mr Mohd Hadzrin Shah (Ballot Counter form UEM Academy)
Thank You Ms Teresa Chin Mei San (the sweet-looking SAA from Intelligent Speaker, Cyberjaya) and also Mr Ritesh Ranjan (the smart, handsome SAA from MIM)


Special thanks to the Area Governer, Mr Michael Chan and also many many thanks to the organiser from Stamford College for providing a cosy venue for the contest. Again..Thank You all for coming. If i've missed out on your presence, do let me know ya!

It's been a long one. That's it from me. I'm signing off.
Oh..but just before that... XD

Fellow members, guests, and students of Stamford College, our next meeting is on the 24 March 2009 at Stamford College PJ, Jalan Barat. Come along and join the fun. We'd love to have you there!!

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any doubts of our meetings or any of our events. 24 March 2009 it is! I will see you there!

MUTHU KUMAR KANNAN
Vice President of Membership
Stamford College Toastmasters Club
stamford.college@gmail.com / kkuamnanra@yahoo.com

Meets on every 2nd & 4th Tuesdays, 6.30pm.


Quote of the Noon:
WE DON'T HAVE TO BE BILL GATES TO GIVE, WE CAN CONTRIBUTE IN OUR OWN WAYS.