Toastmasters at UTAR

Members at the UTAR Sungai Long Toastmasters Club meeting

The UTAR Sungai Long Toastmasters Club held its second meeting on 8 June 2016 at the Sungai Long Campus amidst a packed room of members. The UTAR Sungai Long Toastmasters Club was chartered on 1 April 2016 with 28 members, including three staff. The first meeting was held on 13 April. Both meetings were successfully conducted and well attended with invited members from other Toastmasters Club.

The Toastmasters Club in UTAR was initiated by lecturer Ms Janet Fernandez from the UTAR Faculty of Creative Industries. Ms Fernandez together with Ms Khoo Suat Hoong from the UTAR IT Infrastructure and Support Centre are both advisors of the Club. The Club is open to all staff, students and alumni. Meetings are held every second and fourth Wednesday of the month at Sungai Long Campus.

According to Ms Khoo, “The Club was set up in the university to help create awareness on the importance of good public speaking and communication skills for personal development and for career later on. Good speaking skills enhance one’s confidence and creates presence when speaking in a crowd. Public speaking is more than words, it is an art that incorporates so many other elements such voice, style, body language and intonation on top of language used to make a speech entertaining. There is so much to learn and it is a fun activity. I hope more staff and students will join the club.” It is also about networking with other Toastmasters Club members who share their experiences and knowledge during meetings.

Toastmasters Club meetings are very structured and well planned with several role players consisting of the General Evaluator, Evaluator, Table Topics Speaker, Assignment Speaker, Table Topics Master, Toastmaster of the Evening, Timer, Grammarian  and the Ah-Counter; each with a specific role. Members have chances to present their speeches (4 to 6 minutes) in an organised manner with a clearly defined goal and be evaluated constructively for improvements each time. It’s an excellent way to really improve speaking skills and overcome stage fright.

Membership is currently USD36 per half yearly with USD20 as registration fee and the fees are subject to changes by Toastmasters International. However, those who join now till September 2016 need only pay USD24 for half year subscription. Students are welcomed to join Toastmasters Club for an enriching experience in improving public speaking.

For more information, please refer to the links below: 

Toastmasters International: www.toastmasters.org 
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/utarsglongtoastmasters12345 

For registration, please contact Khoo Jia Sheng (018-7778191), email: sjkhoo0719@gmail.com