Last Tuesday, the Brunei Speakers' Club meeting was quite a memorable one. As always, humor played a good part in learning the bits within the club. The guests were excellent and appeared to enjoy themselves. On top of that, the speeches, both impromptu & prepared ones, was very interesting and creative.
However, there is one part that stands over the rest; the 'farewell speech' from a long-time member who was leaving Brunei. It was something in his speech that made me think. He struck a note when he mentioned how he had observed younger members in the club improve their communication skills, making them highly confident and propelling them towards further personal growth.
And he was right. Gradually, without even noticing it, I had improved my speaking skills and my confidence is somewhat high. Today, I gave a presentation to a professional audience that I could never imagine 2-3 years back. Then another thought appeared; Why are speaking clubs not popular in Brunei?
I notice that there is a general misconception that there are 100+ members in the club while in reality, at present, there are 20+ members. In a previous contest, a reporter looked half-surprised that the number was not as large as he expected. Compared to Singapore where there are around 150 'toastmasters' clubs in that tiny island, Brunei has only 3 clubs. The argument of Singapore having a bigger population is probably valid but in all the 3 Bruneian clubs, the number of members are relatively lower.
Can it be that Bruneians are not really interested in enhancing their speaking skills, or perhaps they are not aware of the existence of these speaking clubs? Whatever the reason may be, I always felt that there is always a need to improve any individual's speaking skills, no matter how fluent the person can speak. Like other skills, it needs to be sharpened. And what better way to do it than in a safe and fun atmosphere.
In my experience in the Club, there are professionals and students who can speak well, and they have joined speaking clubs. There are also others who are slightly weak and more importantly, they wanted to improve. They too have also joined speaking clubs. So it must be a lack of awareness of the clubs or (my new theory), it is because of the 'myth of toastmasters clubs'. If it is the latter, let me attempt to refute these myths here.
1. "Speaking clubs are for fluent speakers only"
False, I've met a mixed bag of individuals who are quite fluent in speaking and those who are less fluent within toastmaster clubs in Brunei. The more important point is they want to improve their speaking skills and they understand that these Clubs can help.
2. "Speaking clubs are for snobs & people with suits"
Hehe...I can't help laughing over this one. When I was younger and long before I joined the club, I thought the same way too. Fearing that these were people in suits who gave outstanding speeches every week, I never joined the club until a few years ago.
Actually, we don't wear suits except in annual dinners or selected contests. Every Tuesday, we come to the club in casual smart attire. But yes, we do try to give good speeches. They may not be outstanding every single time but it's the learning process that counts. Where else can I learn by making mistakes? It is a safe environment.
3. "If I make a mistake or say something wrong, people will laugh at me"
A friend highlighted this to me a few weeks ago. I quickly answered back. "No, we don't laugh at people." Truth is, we have fun as we learn whether because it is a humourous impromptu speech or even in an accidental humour situation, we laugh it off together.
This is hard to explain in writing. One has to experience the meeting to understand this bit.
I hope any reader finds these myths to be false as they come to the meeting. Although I am in the Brunei Speakers' Club, there are 2 other toastmasters clubs in Brunei worthy of mention should any person in Brunei be interested to join or drop by. There is HSBC Brunei Speaker's Group (HSBC Staff only) and the other is in Seria known as the OTTERS TMC (Open to public) who regularly meet at the OGDC building.
For those interested in coming to the Brunei Speakers' Club (open to public), one can come as a guest to find out if it works for you. (Disclaimer: There is actually a guest fee of $5 just in case I implied that it's a free bit). We meet up at SEAMEO Voctech on Tuesdays at 7:15pm. See our website for details & contacts.
However, there is one part that stands over the rest; the 'farewell speech' from a long-time member who was leaving Brunei. It was something in his speech that made me think. He struck a note when he mentioned how he had observed younger members in the club improve their communication skills, making them highly confident and propelling them towards further personal growth.
And he was right. Gradually, without even noticing it, I had improved my speaking skills and my confidence is somewhat high. Today, I gave a presentation to a professional audience that I could never imagine 2-3 years back. Then another thought appeared; Why are speaking clubs not popular in Brunei?
I notice that there is a general misconception that there are 100+ members in the club while in reality, at present, there are 20+ members. In a previous contest, a reporter looked half-surprised that the number was not as large as he expected. Compared to Singapore where there are around 150 'toastmasters' clubs in that tiny island, Brunei has only 3 clubs. The argument of Singapore having a bigger population is probably valid but in all the 3 Bruneian clubs, the number of members are relatively lower.
Can it be that Bruneians are not really interested in enhancing their speaking skills, or perhaps they are not aware of the existence of these speaking clubs? Whatever the reason may be, I always felt that there is always a need to improve any individual's speaking skills, no matter how fluent the person can speak. Like other skills, it needs to be sharpened. And what better way to do it than in a safe and fun atmosphere.
In my experience in the Club, there are professionals and students who can speak well, and they have joined speaking clubs. There are also others who are slightly weak and more importantly, they wanted to improve. They too have also joined speaking clubs. So it must be a lack of awareness of the clubs or (my new theory), it is because of the 'myth of toastmasters clubs'. If it is the latter, let me attempt to refute these myths here.
1. "Speaking clubs are for fluent speakers only"
False, I've met a mixed bag of individuals who are quite fluent in speaking and those who are less fluent within toastmaster clubs in Brunei. The more important point is they want to improve their speaking skills and they understand that these Clubs can help.
2. "Speaking clubs are for snobs & people with suits"
Hehe...I can't help laughing over this one. When I was younger and long before I joined the club, I thought the same way too. Fearing that these were people in suits who gave outstanding speeches every week, I never joined the club until a few years ago.
Actually, we don't wear suits except in annual dinners or selected contests. Every Tuesday, we come to the club in casual smart attire. But yes, we do try to give good speeches. They may not be outstanding every single time but it's the learning process that counts. Where else can I learn by making mistakes? It is a safe environment.
3. "If I make a mistake or say something wrong, people will laugh at me"
A friend highlighted this to me a few weeks ago. I quickly answered back. "No, we don't laugh at people." Truth is, we have fun as we learn whether because it is a humourous impromptu speech or even in an accidental humour situation, we laugh it off together.
This is hard to explain in writing. One has to experience the meeting to understand this bit.
I hope any reader finds these myths to be false as they come to the meeting. Although I am in the Brunei Speakers' Club, there are 2 other toastmasters clubs in Brunei worthy of mention should any person in Brunei be interested to join or drop by. There is HSBC Brunei Speaker's Group (HSBC Staff only) and the other is in Seria known as the OTTERS TMC (Open to public) who regularly meet at the OGDC building.
For those interested in coming to the Brunei Speakers' Club (open to public), one can come as a guest to find out if it works for you. (Disclaimer: There is actually a guest fee of $5 just in case I implied that it's a free bit). We meet up at SEAMEO Voctech on Tuesdays at 7:15pm. See our website for details & contacts.
2 comments:
Greetings,
I am interested in joining this Speakers Club in Brunei.
Ive checked the website and found the event page to be updated last in 2008.
So my question is, if you could help me, is the club still active? and will there be a weekly meeting going on tomorrow> (Tuesday)
A quick reply would be much appreciated. Thanks and have a great day!
Yes, the club is still active. Unfortunately, some aspects of the website is still not updated or undergoing changes.
I heard that there is a weekly meeting tomorrow, as usual at SEAMEO Voctech starts at 7:30pm, but guests usually come in at 7:15pm as the club generally starts on time.
I hope the above helps.
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