Wonderful news! We are meeting at 12:15 BST on Sunday, June 14! We are meeting on Zoom! Click on this text to join the chat room. If that doesn’t work on your device, the Meeting ID is 631 522 4568 and the password is speakers.
We had a lot of fun this academic year, and we are excited to transition into the next one. To make the transition as smooth as possible, we need to assemble a committee of dedicated, lively, and trustworthy students. If you will be an Imperial student or staff next year and you wish to be in the committee next year, please apply by clicking the button below.
If you wish to apply, please briefly explain why you would like to serve Imperial College Speakers and which role you would like to be considered for. The following roles are still available:
- President
- Vice President (VP) of Membership
- VP of Education
- VP of Public Relations
- Sergeant At Arms
- Secretary
Descriptions about the roles outlined above can be read by clicking the button below.
Our last meeting’s Word Of The Day was:
Definition: present, appearing, or found everywhere.
Example: iPhones and the Internet are ubiquitous technologies.
Table Topics
Chuka Nwobodo completed a Pathways project by facilitating Table Topics Master. What is a Pathways project, you might ask? Find out by clicking this sentence.
Kenny said he was notoriously bad at art, but he can still be appreciative of it as it is the “ultimate reflection” of human expression.
Conversations are the most expressive form of art, according to Anand, as they are “usually impromptu” and closest to the heart.
What do you see in the following image?
Subhajit saw concentric circles that reminded him of electrons or atoms. However, he acknowledges that there will be many interpretations for this painting.
Srinivasa showed us the figurines he sculpts in his pastime during lockdown. He also notes that we have some unique mixture of 64 types of art styles.
Mounica (Best Table Topic) believes art is beneficial to help inspire creativity and generate happiness.
Prepared Speakers
Would you rather have Dreams or Goals? It’s a trick question! Ruslan Saleh explained how, ultimately, they “are related”.
Ruslan wished she knew this when she was younger, as she was guilty of making some mistakes. For example, she didn’t care which college she went to or which course she took. As long as she got a good job, she thought that was all that was necessary.
She spent a year looking for a job before finding one as an English teacher… secretary! Ruslan now advises us that we “shouldn’t start dreaming small” lest you become a zombie with “no dreams, no hopes”. The positive cycle of having lofty ambitions and achieving them, by learning languages for instance, will create more and more happiness.
In Fire and Ice (not a Game of Thrones reference), Murtaza Zee describes the traits of “fiery” and “cool” people.
A cube of ice in a glass of water on a hot Summer’s day has no regard for its form and is content and stable with whichever it takes. Similarly, “cool, calm, and calculated” people go with the flow of life and do whatever it takes to please everyone. A fiery person, on the other hand, is typically aggressive and is “maybe a leader”.
However, they may probably “lack friends” whereas cool people “get along with everybody”. Cool people may not be able to put forth their feelings in fear that they might upset others. The solution is subjective. Sometimes we need to be fiery, sometimes we need to “agree to disagree”.
The World Needs You! Li Xian Yip (Best Speaker) donned her graduation clothes to inspire us to venture into the world not in pursuit of the destination but to fall in love with the epic journey that awaits us.
You are about to become the newest cohort of alumni. How do you feel? Now, we might have thought that Li Xian was “supposed to dispense tidbits of wisdom”. However, she became a singer, not a teacher. In fact, Li Xian didn’t even go to university to study music theory or anything like that.
Nobody ever knows for sure where their destiny will take them. We need to open up a little and understand that anything can change. It’s the journey that matters. The end is “utterly insignificant”; just show up! Thirdly, “it’s not about you”! Well, it is about the world, and the world needs you, so it kind of is, albeit indirectly. This is “a free and empowering truth.”
Evaluations
Belinda evaluated the Table Topics.
Kenny successfully “tied” his experience with art with his appreciation for it.
Belinda was surprised by Anand’s unexpected answer to his question!
Subhajit gave a good interpretation.
Belinda is delighted Srinivasa likes his own artwork, instead of a clichéd famous painting.
Mounica ended with a “good take-home message”.
Kenny evaluated Ruslan’s speech.
Her hand gestures were “very good and captivating” and expressed her passion.
She could work on her English language. For example, “dream high” was supposed to be “dream big” or “aim high”.
Her vocal variety demonstrated an energy that showed she wasn’t a zombie!
Anand evaluated Murtaza’s essay.
The metaphor of fire and ice was “thought-provoking”.
He could consider adding (but not forcing!) humour.
His vocal variety was “vibrant”.
Subhajit evaluated Li Xian’s parody.
Subhajit especially liked her expressions and eye contact. After all, how can we be motivated if she didn’t radiate energy?
The personal examples she could have used had to be lost due to the speech being shortened.
Well done for taking the speech seriously and wearing the outfit to complement it!
Nazaruddin (Best Evaluator) evaluated Chuka’s performance during his Table Topics session.
Chuka demonstrated that he listened attentively by summarising the speaker’s message at the end.
He did not spend the same amount of time introducing each speaker. A good idea would be to use two or three sentences for each introduction.
He also shared his emotional response to each speaker, which made each summary more personal.
Mounica acted as our General Evaluator.
Kudos to Ronnie Zhang for facilitating three roles at once! Fortunately, President, Sergeant At Arms, and Toastmaster were a good combination of roles to perform simultaneously.
Everyone should aim to arrive early to “check technical issues”.
The Timekeeper did a great job at showing the times of each speech alongside the time frame allotted for each speech.