Gamuda Rise NewsletterGamuda Rise NewsletterEmelyn Lee
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Mirosha has high regards for Gamuda Toastmasters’ positive influence and expanding membership.
Toastmasters International District 102 representative, Mirosha Somasundram regards Gamuda Toastmasters as a “star corporate club” among its peers as she witnessed growth in its membership.
“The positive vibe of Gamudians can be felt whenever I participate in their meetings. They are unstoppable, they strive to make a difference in their club members’ lives,” Mirosha said when I recently contacted her.
Toastmasters International was founded in 1924 by Ralph C. Smedley. The word “toastmaster” refers to a person who proposed the toasts and introduced the speakers at a banquet.
Smedley named his group “The Toastmasters Club” to reflect the social atmosphere among peers. Today, this network has close to 300,000 members across 116 countries.
Gamuda Toastmasters, in line with Toastmasters International’s vision, seeks to inculcate public speaking skills.
For seven years, Gamuda Toastmasters has and continues to help Gamudians embrace their stage presence and speak their minds in a safe space.
Hakuna Matata meeting @ South Gate, KL! One of our themed meeting sessions where we (temporarily) forget our worries.
The club, as of today, has close to 30 in membership. It believes one does not stop learning. In November 2019, the “Art of Effective Speaking” workshop offered a crash course on public speaking and saw the recruitment of eight new members.
“So, what’s in it for me?” you may ask. Well, Gamuda Toastmasters activities are designed to have its members to think on the spot.
In a recent Table Topics session, members answered impromptu questions such as “Should women act like Doraemon at home?” and “What is life like under the Movement Control Order (MCO)?”
Fledgeling members of Gamuda Toastmasters Club, guided by seniors’ evaluation, gained insights into WHAT is appropriate in formal and casual conversations and also HOW to say it well.
The mentor-mentee system facilitated knowledge-sharing to help members become better versions of ourselves.
Yours truly has gone from being hardly communicative to be more confident in sharing my ideas and passions via the club’s social media postings and poster designs. After serving two years as a committee member, the execution of my administrative tasks has also improved.
Gamuda Toastmasters gives new members the opportunities to take on executive committee roles. From there, they gain first-hand experience in being responsible and supportive as a team in planning and executing goals.
Earlier this year when the global COVID-19 pandemic worsened, Malaysia had, on 18 March 2020, imposed the MCO to lower risks of viral infection. Many economic and social activities came to a halt.
Despite MCO, it didn’t stop us from celebrating Gamuda Toastmasters Club’s 7th Anniversary via Zoom.
Gamuda Toastmasters, however, went online via the Zoom video application. It gave us the opportunity to improve our skills as orators because there is a lot to think about when you are speaking on camera to an audience instead of being physically present.
On 1st April 2020, we held a virtual toast, via Zoom, to seven years of Gamuda Toastmasters. Here’s to more collaborative activities with other clubs. Who knows, you may find new business contacts, if not friends!
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