Toastmasters Derek and Diane Break the Ice

Newbie Toasties Derek Dee and Dianne Tang wowed the crowd during our last meeting with their powerful and engaging Icebreaker Speeches! Their styles of speaking were oceans apart, yet they managed to reach the same end -- a thunderous applause!

Derek’s speech, “My Journey”, gave us a peek into the journey that was his life. Reflecting the styles of poems and sonnets from the seventies and eighties, Derek’s speech was almost melodic! With his calm and relaxed voice, he took the audience on a journey with him. His vivid use of words painted a picture of growing up during the “Martial Law” era, producing his first rock concert at the age of 13, his career, his failed marriage, his children; his life! As he spoke, you could almost feel like you were being taken back in time with him. Even his attitude exuded that 1970s aura! Some would call it his “Rock Star” attitude; but, come to think of it, he may just be BNT’s version of a Rock Star!

In stark contrast, Dianne’s Icebreaker speech was a witty and humorous discourse of why she loved “Romance Novels”! Her speech captured our hearts from the get-go! She talked about how those sometimes sappy and cheesy romance novels have actually influenced her life! She had the courage, the gumption to connect her life’s learnings with the novels she read! In a witty and endearing manner, she explained that she learned about the way men think and how to use this to her advantage; about sex (not that she did it, of course) and even about true love! Dianne showed all of us that those romance novels we sometimes look down on can actually be good for the soul!

But what was most impressive about Dianne’s speech was that she was not scheduled to deliver a speech that night, This is not to say, however, that she gave her speech night yet she gallantly volunteered to deliver her speech anyway! She exuded an attitude that has been infecting BNT and its members for several months now; a “gung-ho” attitude that has made every member of BNT go beyond their best to ensure that we “MAKE THE MOST OF BUTTER N’ TOAST!”

Derek and Dianne, YOU ROCK!

- Enrique Salvador E. San Agustin