Telok Blangah Toastmasters Club

Word-of-the-Day (WOD): “Commemorate”.

Reason/Theme for Choice: The club visited just celebrated their anniversary so it is time to commemorate the pillars and founding members .

commemorate (/kəˈmeməˌrāt/)

Verb:

• Recall and show respect for (someone or something) in a ceremony’
• Serve as a memorial to.

Examples used during the meeting

• The festival commemorates the town’s founding.
• Each year on this date we commemorate our ancestors with a special ceremony.

Usage during meeting – For Improvement

• Table Topics is a volunteer type of thing –>Table Topics is a voluntary.
• Every year we have four time IT shows –> We have IT shows four times a year.
  
• Last weekend, one of my friends came from New Zealand –> Last weekend, a friend came over from New Zealand
• The print is nice –> The print is beautiful
• Because of today technology –> Because of technology today
• I studied in Tourism Management –> I studied Tourism Management
• Luck only happens when prepared comes with opportunity –> Luck happens when preparedness meets opportunity
• Everyone is easy borrowing money –> Borrowing money is easy for everyone
• It is too complicate to ask analysts –> It is too complicated to ask analysts
• Euro-Zone continue to borrow money to Greece –> Euro-Zone continues to lend money to Greece (** Lend “to” and Borrow “from”)
• Try to re-mention your points again –> Try to mention your points again (** avoid redundancy and double repetitions)
• Explain abbreviations used: GDP, CDD, HR

Usage during meeting – Good Use

• Let’s go splurge on really, really good food.
• A fabulous morning to everyone!
• It is a splendid morning indeed!
• It was a real learning journey.
• I seek the meaning and significance of HR.
• We wax and wane about everything.
• It evaluate with the ebb and flow, bringing bouquets and brickbats.
• I’m a real fashionista!
• Stress, Stress, Stess / Practise, Practise, Practise
• I found a job relevant to my education.
• The speech had conviction and sincerity.
• I am involved in shared services.
• “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift but not giving it.”
• “Yesterday is history, the future a mystery but today is a gift, that’s why it is called present”
• It was a big lapse in transparency
• “What is relevant, irrelevant; What is good, bad.. these are not important”
• How does it influence and affect you?
• Crisis in Chinese is made up of the characters “Wei”(危) meaning danger and “Ji”(机) meaning chance or opportunity
• The potential risk stems from high deficit and large government expenditure.
• Interesting terms or words used: Lumen (** has 2 meanings), Angina Pectoris

Word-of-the-Day (WOD): “Rejuvenate”.

Reason/Theme for Choice: We just celebrated our club anniversary and it was timely to remind ourselves that we need to find ways to rejuvenate our passion and love in public speaking and in our self-development.

rejuvenate (ri-joo-vuh-neyt)

Verb:

• Make (someone or something) look or feel younger, fresher, or more lively.
• Restore (a river or stream) to a condition characteristic of a younger landscape.

Examples used during the meeting

• We need to rejuvenate our self-esteem
• It will help us resuscitate and rejuvenate every aspect of our lives
• Coming here has rejuvenated my passion towards Toastmasters
• It was enlightening and rejuvenating to hear such great speeches
• Taking breaks can help rejuvenate our tired spirits and renew strength to charge ahead

Usage during meeting – For Improvement

• I have been struggled –> I have been struggling or I struggled
• Why I share this to you today –> Why I share this with you today
• Diving is a costly hobbies –> Diving is a costly hobby
• Find your “Kakis” –> colloquail usage meaning friends. To explain if audience may not understand such terms

Usage during meeting – Good Use

• Show action rather than verbalising it.
• We can see spectacular creatures underwater
• We think we are mighty beings who will never get sick
• We do not want to still work when we are old and frail
• We must grab hold of the positive points in his speech
• Some had big noses, some had small eyes, some were tall and others were round
• He resolved to see Eli the next day
• That is the very thing our society exalts
• We lead hectic lives and there are no shortcuts
• Those are simple words that convey simple ideas
• Personalise your speech and relate it to your experiences
• His speech was credible and believable
• Project 10 is the upper echelon of what all toastmasters first aim to reach
• We all need something higher, greater and beyond our dreams

Word-of-the-Day (WOD): “Mitigate”.

Reason/Theme for WOD: Throughout the course of that fateful day, I heard it spoken in office, over the radio and during lunch by people all around me. I heard it seventeen times. It is used so frequently nowadays that it is almost a “sin” not to know what that word is and what it means.

Mitigate (mit·i·gate/ˈmitəˌgāt/)

Verb:

• Make less severe, serious, or painful: “he wanted to mitigate misery in the world”.
• Lessen the gravity of (an offense or mistake): “That doesn’t mitigate your condescending arrogance”.

Examples used during the meeting

• Regular training mitigates the possibility of injury during actual competition.
• Storytelling mitigates loneliness
• Taking vitamin C regularly helps mitigate the onset of flu

Used during meeting – For Improvement

• We start with introduction of ourselves and it is better to have some background about ourselves –> “We start by introducing ourselves and providing some background about who we are”, avoid saying “ourselves” too often in just one sentence.
• I look forward for your next speech –> Should be I “look forward to”
• The microphone is often used to propagate your thinking –> Microphone as a medium “broadcasts your thoughts”, not “propagate”.
• “Orh Kueh” and “Sai Kang” –> means “Yam Cake” and “Menial Jobs” respectively. Suggest to quickly explain word used whenever uses of dialect and colloquial terms occur. The same principle applies to abbreviations (e.g. KL = Kuala Lumpur).
• The bell will be rang –> “The bell will be rung”
• I want to ask you all to share in my happy moments –> “I want to ask all of you to…”
• Your eye contact will be more easier –> “…eye contact will be easier”. “More” here is redundant.
• I would like to congrats Amy –> “I would like to congratulate Amy”
• Speaker said, while touching his shoulders, “My chest is now stooped” –>“My shoulders are now stooped”. Watch word use with body language.

Usage during meeting – Good Use

• With so much anxiety, she radiates tension.
• There lies the crux of this whole matter
• I am pondering my next step
• We need to see the divine spark in each other
• Her story is like a quilt that weaves a tapestry of tales
• Yearn for things and embrace Peace
• When you love someone, one is willing to sacrifice for that person, willing to perform acts of service for that person and willing to physically touch that person –> Sentence structure similar to “Power of Threes”.
• Corruption in an organisation is like cancer. It is hard to remove
• These are genuine grievances –> Use of Alliteration
• The rise of incidents precipitated a 5-year plan to tackle the problem.
• They thronged the museum.
• Central Park during Christmas had the smell of roasted chestnuts mixed with the sensations of endless youth and adolescent arrogance. –> Nice! Side note: “Mixed” is better used here than “juxtaposed” simply because it creates a sense of harmony instead of contrasts.