The Mirror Effect: August 2022

AIA Toastmasters held its speech evaluation and table topics contest on the 11th of August 2022, drawing a healthy crowd of around fifty people. Attendance within the club itself ran lower than usual, given the meeting fell during convention season with many members overseas, but a strong contingent from Tampines Changkat Toastmasters, the club’s de facto sister club, alongside considerable support from friends across District 80, filled the gap comfortably.

The Appointment Holders

Amos Yio served as Contest Chair. Eric Tan served as Contest Toastmaster. Tay Tiam Theang, DTM, served as Chief Judge. Yuniati served as Test Speaker. Delton Teo and Loh Hao Yi served as Tally Counters. Clara Tan, DTM, and Li Shan Shan, DTM, served as Timers. Chng Pia Kim and Chia Hong Loon served as Sergeants-at-Arms. Ariel Wu served as Photographer. Rominia Leonard served as Event Creative Director.

The Contestants

The contestants across both contests were Eric Tan, DTM, Kevin Lim, Linda Lee, Rominia Leonard, Shirley Chia, and I.

The Test Speech

Yuniatu, delivering her first speech outside her own club, spoke on our invisible bag, filled with the cares of the world, and the need to put that bag down. She told the story of a classmate whose poverty and ill-health went unrecognised until his funeral forced the realisation, a speech carrying genuine pain, a shared experience of loss, and the epiphany that produced it. Acquitting herself this well on unfamiliar ground, in front of an audience larger than her own club, is not a modest achievement.

I will be honest; I fell asleep during the test speech and did not hear it. I got the gist of it from the other contestants, especially Eric Tan, DTM, and reconstructed this after the contest.

Veterans and Newer Members, Side by Side

Eric Tan, DTM, and Linda Lee are contest veterans, and both set a sterling example for newer members competing for the first or second time: Rominia Leonard in her first contest, Shirley Chia, and Kevin Lim in their second. They have made the club proud.

Every club appointment holder was organising a contest for the first time. Amos Yio put together a tight, well-run programme, with clear mentorship from Chng Pia Kim, who also serves as Club Secretary and Division Administration Manager. One of the Sergeants-at-Arms, Chia Hong Loon, had joined the club only a few days before taking on the role, which says something more flattering about the club's onboarding than most organisations manage in their first month with a new hire.

The Results

Speech Evaluation Contest:

Winner, Eric Tan, DTM; First Runner-Up, Terence Nunis, DTM; Second Runner-Up, Linda Lee.

Table Topics Contest:

Winner, Eric Tan, DTM; First Runner-Up, Terence Nunis, DTM; Second Runner-Up, Kevin Lim.

The winners and runners-up will represent the club at the Area contest. I should note I was an undeserving winner. I fell asleep during the test speech because I was tired after a long night. I went up on stage and winged my evaluation, talking about connecting to the audience or some nonsense because I had no idea what Yuniati said. That worked.

Terence Nunis, DTM | Division Advisor, District 80 Division M | Club Advisor, AIA Toastmasters | Past President & Founder, Awesome Toastmasters