New Speechcraft Course - Crash Course in Public Speaking

Hello. I am Angela, President of the club, in the red, waving at you. In the foreground is Faith, pretty in pink. The two others are members of the club. More about them later. Fist let's look at Toastmasters Worldwide.

Singapore - clubs now

USA - clubs now

UK - clubs now
What and Where is Toastmasters International?
You can go to Toastmasters International clubs all over the world or join an online club but if you are in Singapore you can join my club - more about this in a moment.

What is it? The History of Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International started in the USA to help people learn public speaking and gain confidence. The not for profit organization spread to the English speaking UK and then Europe - and finally travelled to Asia, like me. You can find clubs worldwide and once you are a member of one club and have a little experience you are welcome at other clubs worldwide.

Angela Lansbury's Expertise
I know a lot about Toastmasters and giving speeches because I lived in the USA and attended the world championship finals in the USA. Singaporean Darren Tay was the worldwide winner in a previous year.

I am still a member of Harrovians in London; and I am a member of three clubs in Singapore. My Singapore clubs are two advanced clubs and one weekly online club which has members and guest speakers from the USA, UK, Europe, and Asia, notably Hong Kong and Singapore.

If you are interested in public speaking for work or confidence, come and join my club. I am President of Braddell Heights Toastmasters in Singapore and we are running an enlightening and entertaining Speechcraft programme starting December 4th 2019. That's a Wednesday evening, at Braddell Heights Community Club, right near the Serangoon MRT underground railway station, exit F, just a few steps to your right and you are in the right place.

What does it cost?
Let's look at your choices. Braddell Heights is a bargain. You could join the biggest public club in Singapore, at the Sheraton Hotel, the first three Mondays in the month, which normally costs about 500 Singapore dollars for the year, plus small extra sums like another $10 for their Christmas party with turkey. One of the universities has a larger club for students of their college only, at a lower price. At the biggest clubs you might have to wait a month or two before you get to give a speech, and you might not have a chance to introduce yourself for half to one minute nor give a two minute speech on table topics. A smaller club such as Braddell Heights gives you more opportunities to practise speeches.

If money is not object, join the big club as well as mine. Other clubs meet only once a month, so if you miss one month because of work or holidays that's two months without any learning or networking or socialising.

I am a member of two advanced clubs. The first club I joined was Braddell Heights Advanced. I joined for three reasons.

1 I lived centrally, then near Little India, and Braddell Heights was central and next to an MRT station and easy to find. Secondly it was a bargain.

Bargain For You
2 All Toastmasters clubs are a bargain, compared with many weekend courses which give you six hours of teaching and no follow-up.
But Braddell Heights is one of the lowest prices.

The price was lower than the biggest club, only $180 dollars. (Singapore dollars.) I had already paid the additional first year joining fee of $40 dollars which gets you registered onto the Toastmasters International website and gives you the monthly magazine.

3 Braddell Heights met twice a month, unlike the other Advanced clubs which met once a month.

4 I had a warm welcome from veteran Kan Kin Fung, who mentors everybody in the club and happily sits with you at break time or after meetings telling you how to enroll, give a speech or do any other role.

As President of Braddell Heights Advanced I am in charge of organizing the programmes, helped by our VPE, Vice President of Education. She is a lively lady. You must see her. She won first place in all four of our recent club contests. The other speakers were also excellent.

Angela Lansbury, President, in the red Toastmasters tee-shirt, back right. Faith, winner of two contests is front right in pink. Behind Faith, standing, in black, is Arinjay who was first runner up in the contest.  Front left is Sylvia Ang wearing blue. She was the second runner-up in both contests.

What Will Speechcraft Teach You?
Speechcraft at Braddell Heights Advanced is a crash course aimed to ensure newcomers have all the basics and acts as a quick revision for those who joined later in the year and want to keep practising their skills. It covers these:

Dec 4
1 Prepare to speak professionally. Introduce Yourself - The Icebreaker Speech - by Angela Lansbury. Angela - that's me, a bouncy, blonde with a British accent. My Toastmasters titles are:

I go to about six or seven speakers' meetings a week, sometimes two a day, an in-house Toastmasters' group at lunch time and an evening group at a Community Club. I have judged at many speaking contests and have several trophies and dozens of ribbons for best prepared speech, best table topics (impromptu speeches) and best evaluator. I also do language evaluations.

2 Impromptu Speaking - by Lim Tong Lee, DTM, which means Distinguished Toastmaster. He has been the Chief Judge at contests.

He is tall dark and handsome. Warm and welcoming. Toastmasters of the evening (Master of Ceremonies) as well as leader of one of the speech training sessions.

3 Pathways - by Kan Kin Fung, another Distinguished Toastmasters, handsome, smiling broadly like a Cheshire cat, a bald Cheshire cat, as he is fond of remarking.

Guess who this is.

Choose your path in Toastmasters International Pathways - and your path for the next year and in life.

Potluck Fun Food
The club provides a small amount of savoury food. We rely on food contributions to augment this with fruit or cakes or seasonal goodies.

Dec 21 Same venue, Braddell Heights Community Club but Saturday afternoon, 1.45-5 pm.
Storytelling and Xmas party.
Storytelling - by Thomas Chen CC and CL. He is President of Kampong Kembangan club and a member of NTU and Pasirisians clubs. He frequently wins ribbons for Best Evaluator of speeches.
Facts tell, stories sell.
Thomas Chen will entertain you with his anecdotes, alliteration and acronyms.

Potluck food. The club provides a small amount of savoury food. We rely on contributions to augment this with fun foods, fruit or cakes, shop bought or home made or seasonal goodies.

Make sure you get on our WhatsApp group because our January 1st 2020 meeting is on a different date at a place.

Our January meetings are held jointly with two other clubs, Cheng San and Tiarel.

We have also lined up an English teacher, Celine Goh, President of another club, to give us a workshop on the English Language.

Later meetings include combined meetings with Cheng San toastmasters and Tiarel.
https://www.meetup.com/Braddell-Heights-Advanced-Singapore-Public-Speaking-Meetup/events/

About The Author
Angela Lansbury, not related to any other people of the same name (13 on LinkedIn!) is the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches and Toasts by Ward Lock/Cassell and is currently writing a book on Improve Your English.

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Google Local Guide eg Braddell Heights Community Centre, Singapore, and worldwide activities

Club Tampines West, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
How do you give brief but useful information about a Community Club in Singapore or anywhere?
First, how do you find it? Google maps. The map on the nearby MRT station. Look for a large building with the sign club outside.

Answer
I wrote this about Braddell Heights Community Club in Singapore and the nearby MRT underground station.

DIRECTIONS
From Serangoon MRT take escalators to exit F (fewer escalators than the other set of escalators which exit to the shopping mall). Along the corridor you emerge by bus stops. The Community Centre (changed name to Community Club in 2018 to sound more friendly) is a large building, same side, to your right, on the corner. Compact building with office, signboards and lift the lobby.

ACTIVITIES
Open to all. Non-members pay slightly more. Many activities are courses such as martial arts, Lion Dance group, singing, crafts, for children or adults, seasonal events. However, you can often drop into either the Mandarin speaking Toastmasters' International speaking club or one of the three English speaking Toastmasters clubs held on three of the five Saturday afternoons each month.   

EATING
No eating place is inside but a hawker centre is diagonally across the road junction beyond the HDB housing block; or go back to Nex shopping mall beside Serangoon MRT railway station. 

I could say much more for the Google reader, but the text would be too long for Google browsers. What else have I not said? This community club is one of my two favourites, because of its nearness to the MRT (trains every three to five minutes) and the number of English language activities. My other favourite is Cairnhill, near Newton MRT, with about nine English language Toastmasters clubs plus one Mandarin and one bilingual English and Malay.

You could also check out the Community clubs website which lists the clubs all over Singapore. 

PHOTO
I am in two minds about putting up a photo.

Inside the atrium of Braddell Heights Community Club. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Useful Websites (Alphabetically by country)

EUROPE / GERMANY
The Rathaus, not a rat house but what we in the UK call a town hall. Normally the historic building is on the main square of each city. The big basement with columns and carvings usually has a bustling cafeteria serving reasonably-priced local food. Signs on walls and tables tell you about activities and local events.















Bremen town hall or Rathaus. Source Wikipedia article on Bremen. Photo by Pederec.

I remember that Bremen in north Germany has a typical, striking basement cafeteria.

In France the town hall is called the hotel de ville.

SINGAPORE
https://www.pa.gov.sg/our-network/community-clubs
TOURIST INFORMATION
https://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do-singapore/socialiser/?cmp=SEM_LEISURE-EATDRINK-NIGHTLIFE
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
singaporeair. com

CLUBS
toastmastersinternational.com/find-a-club

UK
Cities have events and activities in town halls, Arts Centres, churches, church halls, colleges, public libraries, pubs (the whole pub or a room upstairs), restaurants, schools, and theatres.  Look for the free newspapers in racks outside railway stations, in Tourist Information Centres, 
and in supermarkets and outside newsagents and the shops of estate agents (property agents).

USA
Just google 'community centres near me' and you will get suggestions for each city.

Author 
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Ginger Tea - Where to try it - and order in Tamil

Problem
What is it?

Answer
Unlike the ginger tea which I make in England, using a Twinings tea bag, which looks like a herb tea, ginger tea from a hawker centre in Singapore looks like a regular brown tea.

The first taste was pleasantly gingery. However, I soon forgot the taste. If you don't like ginger, that would be a good thing.

I do. I drank most of the drink without even noticing.

But that was because I was so engrossed in the conversation.

I had it at the hawker centre across the road, diagonally, from the Braddell Heights Community Centre, near Serangoon MRT (train station), on the circle line, and Nex shopping centre in Singapore.

The stall was Indian. Afterwards, one of our group ordered a big platter of food for our group of six to share. It was mee goreng, fried rice, but with egg and vegetables. Vegetarian but not vegan, so only five of the six of us were able to eat it. I could not see any egg. It came up with onion and ketchchup on the side.

To my surprise I ate some of the onion. I was hungry. I think that with curry or peeppery food you soon fail to notice the ginger flavour or any other flavour in your tea.

My general principle in Singapore is to eat and drink the same as the others. This has several advantages. If I don't like mine, one of them will finish it off. They will be able to explain the contents, the ingredients. They will be able to translate the meaning of the name of the food or drink.

I do not risk ordering something more expensive that everybody else. I can wax enthusiastic about their favourite food. I feel part of the group. I do not feel they are ordering something special for me.

The others ordered for me in Tamil. They spoke Tamil and so did the owners who were serving the food.

They also explained to me why Tamil was chosen out of two possible Indian languages. They claimed that Lee Kuan Yew heard from two groups who wanted their language chosen as the fourth official language, the one for the Indian minortiy. Lee Kuan Yew responded, "The Tamils supported me in my fight for independence, therefore they deserve to be rewarded with their language being chosen."

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

National holidays - what's open and shut and why? A Singapore story.

Problem
I once took a holiday to a foreign city for a long weekend, hoping to visit a museum and a restaurant on my last day. Unfortunately, they both closed on Monday.

Singapore
In Singapore, on Tuesday 29th May 2018, I tried contacting people in Toastmasters. Nobody was answering. Why?

From the emails and chats with others I know that in the UK Monday was a bank holiday. America had Thanksgiving. Singapore has Vesak Day on Tuesday.

But surely there must be places which are open? What about other religions, such as church groups?

Answer
Finally, somebody texted me the answer. In Singapore, most Toastmasters clubs meet in Community Clubs. Two of the busiest are Braddell Heights Community Club near Serangoon MRT (train station) which has four clubs, Braddell Heights 1, Braddell Heights II, Braddell Heights Advanced, and Mandarin.

Cairnhill Community Club, almost adjacent to Newton MRT, has about eight clubs, a Mandarin speaking club, a bilingual Malay and English club, a French club, and several English speaking clubs including Cairnhill, Star Millenium Advanced, Filcom for the Filipinos keen to improve their English, and the Vietnamese club and IPA, the Indonesian Professional Association. I have been to the French Club, Francophone, and English speaking clubs.

You would think that like restaurants, Community Clubs would choose to open on National Holidays. Apparently not. Offices and public buildings are closed.

Community centres, although they have outdoor sports areas and open-sided indoor sports areas, are run by offices. Presumably, they also need cleaners to check the toilets every hour. So with those holding the keys to the room also on holiday with their families, the meeting rooms are locked and the clubs cannot meet.

Thanks to the person who enlightened me.

The moral is, don't wait until the holiday and try ringing around because you might get answerphones , recorded information, instructions to ring back after the holidays and phones not answered. When you see a holiday coming up, check in advance what will be open.

visitsingapore.com
singaporeair.com (Singapore Airlines)
https://www.ishopchangi.com
http://www.changiairport.com/en/shop-and-dine.html
http://www.goodwoodparkhotel.com/durian-fiesta-2018-,promotions_viewItem_1341-en.html

visittheusa.com

visitbritain.com

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Prata Wala, food ready signal

Problem
How do customers know when food is ready at a restaurant where customers collect their food from the counter? At some coffee bars in London, England, the server simply shouts out a number. But often you don't hear because of the noise level, or you busy yourself doing other tests while waiting. You only get your food after retuning to ask when it will be ready. This causes clutter, delay, stress, food not hot, customers cross, risk of other customers taking the wrong order which looks similar.

Answers
Queues in government offices rely on everybody watching numbers electronically overhead. The change of numbers may be accompanied by a signal.

I have seen several variations on my travels.

Stories
In the USA in the Sixties a restaurant had little flags on every table with a number. A skating server brought the food.

For restaurants in Singapore, here is the device which you as a customer carry to your table. It signals food will be ready by showing a small red or green light. However, you have to keep watching, and to know what red or green means. Is it red for not ready and green for ready?

I must confess I was looking at the device and puzzling over this when I heard somebody call out, "Masal dosai!"

I assumed that you were supposed to eat with your hands.
I forgot to collect or ask for cutlery. They didn't tell me it was the other side of the till. Another customer told me I could wash my hands and pointed to the basin.

My bill told me that I was at Prata Wala restaurant at New shopping Mall. I remembered it from a year or two ago. It is above Serangoon MRT. Open plan by an escalator and noisy but some people like a buzz.

Angela Lansbury,  travel writer and photographer.

Angela Lansbury travel writer and photographer.

This system I observed used in Prata Wala restaurant, Nex, Singapore.
It is above Serangoon MRT.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author and speaker.