Educate Thyself
The Real Story behind a Toastmaster
Toastmasters is a term that will perplex many; a term that requires a fair amount of explanation when used with the uninitiated. Yet it is a term that was hardly alien to me. For I was privileged to have sat through one particular morning assembly with a very special guest; a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) who was invited to give us a little pep talk about public speaking. It was the year 1997, when I was still in junior high.
In line with the objectives of the educational system then, students are generally well prepped for academic assessment but not so for the rigors of public speaking. Yet it was never really an issue given the sporadic debates and oral examinations that peppered a theory heavy focus on education. Back then, public speaking was the least of a student’s worries.
The focus was slightly disrupted in high school when the much dreaded general paper called for an ability to think and put words into coherent arguments. However, the capacity to vocalize those arguments took a backseat in contrast to the beauty of the written word.
Come college and you will realize that it is still fairly easy for a non-business student to get on by without a proficient set of communication skills; and this is especially true in the schools of engineering.
The turning point came during my sophomore years, when I interned at an esteemed bioresearch institute in the heart of one-north. As per the organization’s protocols, all interns, or Youth Research Participants as they like to call us, are required to give a short 5 minute PowerPoint presentation of what we have done at the end of our attachment. No biggie, I thought to myself, and I went ahead with minimal preparation.
The actual day came and I was to be the last speaker. Heart fluttering, I sank into one the ergonomic chairs that dotted the conference room as I lay in wait for my turn to get this over and done with. During that time I stole peeks at my script to assure myself that everything was in order while I sat through some of the most abysmal presentations that I have ever experienced. The rest of my compatriots were also shifting uneasily in their seats while the mechanical ticks of the clock personified the agony of both speaker and audience. Tick, tick, tick. My turn at last. Within minutes, I was on my last slide. Customary yet unenthusiastic applause rounded up the session.
As I was making my way back home, emancipated from my final obligation to the institute, I thought back on the apparent lack of quality presentations that day. Presentations by fellow Youth Research Participants. Presentations by students from the two biggest universities on this island. Dreadful presentations by people with a mean IQ score above a 120. Epiphany struck and my resolve formed. Regardless of my performance that day, I was determined to become better so that no one who invests their time in me will have to suffer through what we just did.
Toastmasters came to mind and I signed up in a heartbeat...
Chen Junsheng served as Vice President Public Relations (2008-9) of the Radin Mas Toastmasters and as Vice President Education and Publicity Officer in the 60 member strong NTU Toastmasters. His uncanny drive and contributions won him the honor of being voted as the NTU Toastmasters Club Toastmaster of the Year in 2007.
His credentials include: coaching over 160 students from St. Andrew's Junior College and Swiss Cottage Secondary in public speaking and presentation, emerging as club champion in the NTU Evaluation Speech Contest 2007, emceeing for the Singapore Street Festival 2008, and hosting the Induction Ceremony for the Nanyang Fellows Class of 2008.
Junsheng holds a bachelor's degree in Bioengineering from the Nanyang Technological University and has been a Toastmaster since 2006.
The Radin Mas Toastmasters, Singapore, have been developing public speaking and leadership skills through practice and feedback since 2000.
Toastmasters is a term that will perplex many; a term that requires a fair amount of explanation when used with the uninitiated. Yet it is a term that was hardly alien to me. For I was privileged to have sat through one particular morning assembly with a very special guest; a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) who was invited to give us a little pep talk about public speaking. It was the year 1997, when I was still in junior high.In line with the objectives of the educational system then, students are generally well prepped for academic assessment but not so for the rigors of public speaking. Yet it was never really an issue given the sporadic debates and oral examinations that peppered a theory heavy focus on education. Back then, public speaking was the least of a student’s worries.
The focus was slightly disrupted in high school when the much dreaded general paper called for an ability to think and put words into coherent arguments. However, the capacity to vocalize those arguments took a backseat in contrast to the beauty of the written word.
Come college and you will realize that it is still fairly easy for a non-business student to get on by without a proficient set of communication skills; and this is especially true in the schools of engineering.
The turning point came during my sophomore years, when I interned at an esteemed bioresearch institute in the heart of one-north. As per the organization’s protocols, all interns, or Youth Research Participants as they like to call us, are required to give a short 5 minute PowerPoint presentation of what we have done at the end of our attachment. No biggie, I thought to myself, and I went ahead with minimal preparation.
The actual day came and I was to be the last speaker. Heart fluttering, I sank into one the ergonomic chairs that dotted the conference room as I lay in wait for my turn to get this over and done with. During that time I stole peeks at my script to assure myself that everything was in order while I sat through some of the most abysmal presentations that I have ever experienced. The rest of my compatriots were also shifting uneasily in their seats while the mechanical ticks of the clock personified the agony of both speaker and audience. Tick, tick, tick. My turn at last. Within minutes, I was on my last slide. Customary yet unenthusiastic applause rounded up the session.
As I was making my way back home, emancipated from my final obligation to the institute, I thought back on the apparent lack of quality presentations that day. Presentations by fellow Youth Research Participants. Presentations by students from the two biggest universities on this island. Dreadful presentations by people with a mean IQ score above a 120. Epiphany struck and my resolve formed. Regardless of my performance that day, I was determined to become better so that no one who invests their time in me will have to suffer through what we just did.
Toastmasters came to mind and I signed up in a heartbeat...
Chen Junsheng served as Vice President Public Relations (2008-9) of the Radin Mas Toastmasters and as Vice President Education and Publicity Officer in the 60 member strong NTU Toastmasters. His uncanny drive and contributions won him the honor of being voted as the NTU Toastmasters Club Toastmaster of the Year in 2007.
His credentials include: coaching over 160 students from St. Andrew's Junior College and Swiss Cottage Secondary in public speaking and presentation, emerging as club champion in the NTU Evaluation Speech Contest 2007, emceeing for the Singapore Street Festival 2008, and hosting the Induction Ceremony for the Nanyang Fellows Class of 2008.
Junsheng holds a bachelor's degree in Bioengineering from the Nanyang Technological University and has been a Toastmaster since 2006.
The Radin Mas Toastmasters, Singapore, have been developing public speaking and leadership skills through practice and feedback since 2000.
