21/06/2025
21-Jun-25: Gavel Chapter Meeting #3
An inspiring blog by our Gavelier Reyansh Kishore (YL), capturing the spirit and spark of our June meeting.
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On June 21st, our Tampines Changkat Gavel club kicked off with a bang. We are networking 30 minutes earlier than usual. This is because we were busy bonding with each other by playing a round of Bingo!
This wasn’t just any ordinary club meeting. We had new members joining us, so we decided to begin the session by doing a fun round of Bingo organized by Gavelier Sreshta Saravan. This was to break the ice, and know each other better. It was the perfect way to start, smiles, energetic, and lighthearted.
After that, Gavelier of the day, Dharamveer Atodaria, introduced the meeting with his usual confidence who began by greeting and welcoming everyone and announcing that we would be moving on to the prepared icebreaker speeches.
This time, we had 4 prepared icebreaker speeches where members introduced themselves and shared their stories with us.
Gavelier Anushka Chetan spoke about why she joined the Gavel Club, telling us about her hopes and her wishes for becoming a better speaker.
Gavelier Shresta Saravan spoke about relatable and thoughtful speech on procrastination, which some of us, well most of us secretly related their experiences with hers.
Gavelier Glenn Marcelino took us into his childhood memories and talked about his uncle’s STEAM lab, a tech haven where he could access many games for free. It also left quite a few of us wishing we had an uncle like that!
And finally, Gavelier Aditiya Kaushik shared his vibrant passions - football, cricket and his love for cooking and baking- telling us about his diverse and exciting interests.
Each speech was unique and genuine, making it a memorable moment not only for the speakers, but for all of us listening.
Following the speeches, Gavelier Jeevat Singh gave the timers’ report, keeping track of everyone’s speech time to help us stay on schedule.
Then it was time for the Best Speaker Vote. All Toastmasters, Gaveliers, and guests participated by writing their votes on small pieces of paper. The votes were then collected and counted by Gavelier Aditya, Gavelier Saharsh, and myself, Gavelier Rey.
After we voted, we had a special break, not your usual one! There was a mun tower ordered by Ms Priya, candles, munckins, and everyone gathered to sing “Happy Birthday” to our Club Adviser, Distinguished Toastmaster Kin Ng, who recently turned- oops, classified! . It was a sweet and joyful moment that brought everyone even closer.
Next, we moved on to the Evaluations, where experienced Toastmasters gave valuable feedback to help the speakers improve:
TM Dipika Mishra evaluated Anushka’s ice-breaker speech.
TM Kelvin evaluated Sreshta’s ice-breaker speech.
TM Hyder Taufik evaluated Glenn’s ice-breaker speech.
DTM Chia evaluated Adithya’s ice-breaker speech.
Their feedback were encouraging and constructive, helping the new speakers grow and improve their speaking skills.
Once the break ended, it was time for one of the most fun parts of the meeting — Table Topics! This part of the meeting was introduced by Gavelier Gayathrii Manikandan, who brought great enthusiasm and clarity as the Table Topics Master.
Each participating Gavelier had to blindly pick a slip from a sack, with each slip containing a surprise question. The challenge was that they had to deliver a speech lasting between 1 and 2 minutes, with no preparation, just thinking on the spot
The Table Topic speakers were:
Gavelier Vidhyut Vijaybabu
Gavelier Shivaansh Sudhir Mahamun
Gavelier Prasanna Karthick
Gavelier Skanda Karthikeyan
Gavelier Neil Sidharth Prakash
Gavelier Jeevat Singh Khroad
Gavelier Joshua George Manjakkal
And finally, Gavelier Reyansh Kishore — me!
Each confident speaker brought their own unique style and creativity to the stage, making the session engaging, and a true test of quick thinking and public speaking skills.
After that was the vote for the best Table Topic Speaker which was to be disclosed at the end of the meeting
Following that was the Language Evaluation, conducted by Distinguished Toastmaster Chong Cheng Lee. She delivered a thorough review, not only evaluating the language used by the prepared and table topic speakers, but also offering insights on the evaluators' and Gavellier of the Day’s language. Her observations were helpful and encouraging, giving all of us useful tips on how to improve our vocabulary, clarity, and grammar.
Then came one of the highlights of the day — a workshop on "How to Speak with Charisma" by Toastmaster Hyder Taufik, two-time National Champion for Public Speaking in Singapore
In his enthusiastic and confident style, he shared many practical tips on how to become a more charismatic speaker. One key thing not many of us knew that really mattered were gestures. The message was the power of gestures — how even small movements can have a big impact on the audience’s attention and connection with the speaker. He showed us many examples of this and explained it thoroughly
He also opened up about his own first experience with public speaking, sharing how nervous he had felt at the time. But through his story, he reminded us that mindset is everything. If we approach the stage with a positive attitude and believe in ourselves, we are already halfway to delivering a great speech. He did this by showing all of us a physical exercise where we twisted our bodies as much as we could, went back to our normal position, closed our eyes, and imagined that we twisted much more. After the imagination, we tried it again, but this time, we twisted way more than the twist we tried before imagining. I’m still in shock. How did that happen? But as Mr Hyder Taufik said, its the mindset.
It was a very inspiring and knowledgeable session and I, personally have a lot to take home.
After the impactful workshop by Hyder Taufik, we had the General Evaluation led by Distinguished Toastmaster Michael Wee. He gave us valuable feedback on the overall flow of the meeting and shared practical tips that many of us hadn’t really thought about before. He spoke about the importance of knowing how to address different people in the room whether they are guests, Gaveliers, or Toastmasters. He also taught us how to properly greet an audience at the start of a speech and also how to end with confidence and clarity, leaving a strong impression.
His calm and insightful advice helped all of us see that even small changes in how we speak and connect with our audience can make a big difference.
After the insightful General Evaluation by DTM Michael Wee , we moved on to the Award Ceremony — always an exciting way to end the meeting!
Best Prepared Speech went to Gavelier Aditya Kaushik for his confident and passionate delivery.
Best Evaluator was awarded to Toastmaster Hyder Taufik, whose feedback was both encouraging and informative.
And the Best Table Topic Speaker… was ME! Gavelier Reyansh Kishore! Yayy! It was such a proud moment and an unforgettable way to wrap up the day.
With cheers, applause, and lots of smiles, the meeting ended with a bang. Another amazing session filled with learning, laughter, and growth. See u next time Gavel Club!
