Donkey years ago, I was a selfish person (By the way, I was not a fishmonger. I didn’t SELL FISH! Haha.. very funny??). I didn’t like to share. Why did I have to SHARE? What could I get from sharing? I always had that kind of stupid thoughts. Very strange huh..??!! THAT WAS KIA!

After I entered into society, to start working… I have discovered the beauty of SHARING. I have discovered that through sharing, I’m actually learning. It’s a different kind of learning process. Ultimately, sharing will establish a Win-Win situation between YOU and the PERSON who YOU shared with.

Once in a while, I do share my Toastmasters Journey with my friends or colleagues. Today, I just brought my friend - Jack to Singhealth Toastmasters Club Chapter Meeting. When I reached home, I planned to blog something about my friend. This idea struck my mind to open a new category called “Influencing Non-Toastmaters”. In this category, I will share about the thoughts of the people that I have brought to attend Toastmasters Club. Let me count.. how many friends I had tried to influence…… Oh no, I can’t recall at all!!! Perhaps you should ask, how many friends who I successfully influenced to join Toastmasters Club? Er… Sad to say that, NONE OF THEM is a Toastmaster NOW!!! No problem, I will not give up influencing them…

Jack and I have the same background; we were Chinese-educated since primary school up to high school. Recently he just got a new job as a Sales Engineer. Understanding that masterly communication skill is important in Sales, he decided to find ways to improve his communication skills. Knowing that I’m quite active in Toastmasters Movement, he asked me about Toastmasters and immediately he agreed to follow me to visit Singhealth Toastmasters Club.

Before Meeting:
Jack: You are not very familiar with the people in this club, are you?
Kia: No, I’m not very familiar with the people there. This is my first time to this club.
=> He was quite observant. I mentioned to him before that Toastmasters Club is also a place to network, to know more people. However, I only talked to a few people during break time. Perhaps, I should be warmer and take initiative to talk to more people.

During Meeting:
Guess what?! He presented his first Table Topic in his life! I have to admit that he did a great job as a first-timer. In fact, until now, I’m still very scared to volunteer myself to take part in Table Topic session. I always stumbled during Table Topic presentation. And he did it! Congratulations!

During Break time:
After completing my evaluation preparation, I went out and saw Jack was talking to an experienced Toastmaster - Linda. She was sharing with Jack the benefits of Toastmasters. Thank you, Linda!

After meeting:
We were taking MRT together. We chatted a lot!
Jack: Are the best speaker awards always given to inexperienced Toastmaster as a token of encouragement?
Kia: The best speakers are voted by the audience. I have to admit that my spoken English was not the best, but a good evaluation is about the encouragement and the suggestions for improvement that you have given to the speaker. Some evaluators have very good command of English language but no content. And yet, they can easily impress the audience. To be a great speaker, we must not only focus on language but the content. That’s the reason why I’m in Toastmasters to improve my English Language.
=> Jack asked a very cleverly structured question. The reason is I was the Best Evaluator of that night. Perhaps, he felt that I was not the best evaluator. It was out of my expectation though.

We were discussing whether speaking good English is indeed necessary.
Jack: It will be quite strange if I speak good English with my friends.
Kia: Sometimes I felt that too. Even most of my customers don’t speak and write good English.
=> So, what’s the conclusion? In my opinion, speaking good English will increase your own credibility. By listening to two great leaders, one speaks with good English, another one speaks with bad English, who is likely to impress, motivate and inspire you? The answer is obvious - the one who speaks good English. Honing speaking skill doesn’t take hours, days, months…. It takes years to hone impeccable speaking skills. Hence, we have to start early and START NOW! We really don’t know, when is our turn to give a speech in front of public… If you had a choice.. Do you want your speech to sparkle or to stumble? I’m sure you know your answer clearly.

Kia: How did you find the session?
Jack: It was kind of boring in the beginning, but it slowly became interesting, especially during the language evaluation.
Kia: You felt boring was because you are not a Toastmaster. If you are Toastmaster, you may have your own role during the club chapter meeting, for example giving a prepared speech, evaluation, etc..
=> Actually before I joined TMC, I felt the same thing too. Sometimes, it’s kind of boring. But, the ultimate goal for me is to improve my communication and leadership skills. I find that Toastmasters Program really helps a lot in developing one’s communication and leadership skills. The journey in Toastmasters will only become more and more interesting and exciting after you cultivate your passion in Toastmasters. How to cultivate passion in Toastmasters? –> ACTIVELY participating Toastmasters chapter meetings and events.

Kia: I will go to Bradell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Club (BHA TMC) Chapter Meeting on coming Saturday. Do you want to join?
Jack: Is there any great speaker?
Kia: Yup! Of course! The language evaluator - Kin Fung is one of the pillars in BHA TMC.
Jack: Wow! That would be great! He is an incredible speaker!
=> It seems like having a great and influential speaker in chapter meeting does help to encourage Non-Toastmaster to join Toastmasters Club.

Do you think Jack will join TMC?
I would say… Very high chance! I will let you know when he has joined TMC!