341st Meeting: Acres of Diamond

Sharing a special book from his mother, TMOD CJ led the attendees of Filcom's 341st meeting, in a journey towards finding one's treasures. Ganesh, our ever reliable Sergeant-At-Arms set the meeting spirit before handing over the floor to Joseph who welcomed the guests and officially opened the meeting. CJ then presented the meeting theme - Acres of Diamonds (a story of a farmer named Al Hafed), and introduced the role players who will help us in digging the Toastmaster's Gems.

THE BRILLIANT OF SPEAKING

Four thrilling Toastmasters unearthed the first toastmaster gem through their prepared speeches. Ginalyn, fascinated everyone as she shared her aspirations in her ice breaker speech entitled "I've Taken Action". Delivering his second speech is Lotfy who captivated the audience with his engaging thoughts on "Lifetime in a Hearbeat". Meanwhile, Diana for her Level 2 project spoke about leadership and shared her leadership style in her speech "Your President". Jessie on the other hand, gave us a taste of her life as a nurse in her informative and amusing delivery of "Staying Alive".

THE BRILLIANT OF THINKING

Uncovering the second toastmaster gem commenced with an educational session given by Rashed, our Table Topics specialist. Shyam headed the table topics session, asking the participants to pick one item in a treasure chest, each has a corresponding question. Nadim picked a bottle of water, Arjay got a watch, Lotfy preferred a candle, and Diana chose a book. Utilizing the techniques and tips from Rashed's talk, these four speakers practiced their thinking prowess and put their personal style in answering Shyam's questions.

THE BRILLIANT OF LISTENING

Joseph served as the General Evaluator and initiated the discovery of the third toastmaster gem - listening. Everyone used this brilliant, paying attention to the indispensable feedback of Dennis, Nadim, Fouad, and Arjay, to their respective prepared speeches, and Rashed on Table Topics. , Philip as Ah-Counter, Afajal as Grammarian, and Manij as Timer, delivered their role player's report, before Joseph gave his general evaluation of the meeting.

In the book, the farmer Al Hafed left his home and family, in search for diamonds, with the belief that it will make him rich and happy. Sadly, his journey only made him discontent and unhappy, and he died not knowing that the acres of diamonds are right in his own backyard.

BEST EVALUATOR: Arjay

BEST TABLE TOPICS SPEAKER: Lotfy

BEST PREPARED SPEECH: Diana

"Diamonds in their raw uncut form look nothing than what they look in the shops and that’s the point. Look around you. Look at your relationships, look at your job, look at where you live, and ask yourself. Have I seen all there is to see?" - CJ Rojas