Southern Voice
The Official Newsletter of the Metro South Alabang Toastmasters’ Club
Start of Something BIG
Enjoy . Achieve . Inspire
WHY I JOINED TM?
by Cesar Gustilo, TM
Joining Toastmasters was a plan I
had 17 years ago. I was in Singapore
then attending a leadership
conference when one of the speakers
suggested that one of the best ways
to hone your speaking skill is to join
a Toastmasters’ club. Yes, it took me
17 long years to search for a suitable
club and to join it.
My one reason why I joined this club
is for my “personal development.” I
felt I needed a boost in developing
my personal skill in speaking and
leadership so that I can better serve
the communities I’m currently
involved.
That simple decision helped me a lot
because I’m recently exposed with
people who are 20 miles ahead of
me. They have also challenged and
mentored me to always give my 101
percent. I have even quipped my
wife by telling her that, “The
members I engaged with are
addicted to excellence.” Thank God I
joined Metro South Alabang
Toastmasters!
TM Mission: “We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders”
metrosouthalabang.toastmastersclubs.org
Maiden Issue # 1 . 28 October 2017 . Series of 2017
GUEST TO PROMOTER
by Raul de la Vega, DTM
“A lot of Toastmasters Clubs like to say
what a great club they are.” They have
fun meetings, the members enjoy each
other’s company, there are terrific speech
projects delivered every session. But if
they are such a good club, why is their
membership still at 9, and only 6 or less
are attending? This is where you might
want to look at the Net Promoter Score of
your club. It gauges how loyal your
members are, by conducting short 2-
minute surveys. How to calculate your
Net Promoter Score is based on a single
question (although pros ask more than
one question, but that’s for another time).
“On a scale of 0-10, how likely is it that
you would recommend Metro South
Toastmasters to your friends, family or
business associates?”
Member that give you a 6 or below
are Detractors, a score of 7 or 8 are
called Passives, and a 9 or 10 are
Promoters. 
๏ Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal
enthusiasts who will keep buying and
refer others, fueling growth.
๏ Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but
unenthusiastic customers who are
vulnerable to competitive offerings.
๏ Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy
customers who can damage your
brand and impede growth through
negative word-of-mouth.
The idea is to think how you could
make promoters out of members or
guests.
For guests, some ideas are:
๏ Welcome them warmly;
๏ Introduce them to the officers and
members before the start of the
meeting;
๏ Have an officer of member sit next to
the guest to explain what’s going on;
๏ Hand them a program and
Toastmasters magazine;
๏ Set expectations about Table Topics
before inviting them to participate;
๏ Start the program on time.
For members, some ideas to give them a
good experience include:
๏ Welcome them warmly;
๏ Introduce them to the guests and
visiting Toastmasters;
๏ Involve them in the program;
๏ Assign a mentor to guide them in
achieving their goals;
๏ Listen to what they have to say or
offer;
๏ Be respectful;
๏ Provide accurate data;
๏ Be timely in helping out
I’m sure you have your own ideas. Give
everyone who visits the club the most
positive happiest experience. Have you
turned a guest into a promoter?

CHAPTER 1
by Anne Macalintal
“Anne, for the meeting later with the
brand heads you can just speak in
Taglish if you want"
The words that were spoken to me
by a colleague before our dreaded
meeting with our internal business
partners. While I know that she's
supportive of me and that she meant
well, I felt embarrassed the moment
I realized other officemates
overheard what she had just told
me! I wanted to shrink in pain!
H o w e v e r, b e i n g t h e m a t u r e
individual that I am, I could not
blame her. I always tell my friend
how nervous I am every time I need
to present to the board at
management meetings and so on. So
I vowed to go back to ACT
Toastmasters club to hone my public
speaking skills. I joined ACT in Oct
2015 but after 2 months in the club, I
requested to take a leave to finish
my masters. I finished my masters
last June 2016 but I would always
find an excuse to defer rejoining the
club. It took a friend to insult me to
finally convince myself to go back to
ACT.
Last Nov 2016, I rejoined the club,
armed with so much enthusiasm
and motivation to complete my
Competent Communication track.
I’ve always wanted to speak of
topics that would inspire others and
share my learnings, beliefs, and
experiences.
TM Mission: “We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders”
It is a blessing that about the time
that I re-joined the club there were
so many other like-minded and
inspiring individuals in the club
who motivated me to finish my CC
last June. I was mentored by no less
than  ACS Lespar Aquino, now a
member of BF Community
Toastmaster Club. Les' dedication,
motivation and support paved the
way for me to be able to finish my
Competent Communicator.
I thought that I would just finish my
CC then I could rest on my laurels
but I had another think coming :
there’s still so much more to learn,
not only to improve the speaking
ability but also the leadership skills
which a Toastmaster embodies, after
all the Toastmaster ’s tag line
is:  “Where Leaders Are Made”  - so
it’s not only about effective speaking
skills but Better  Leaders with great
speaking ability. So as for me, this
is  Chapter 1 of my Toastmaster’s
journey then  onto the path of
DTMship!
"Ours is the only organization
I know dedicated to the individual,
we work together to bring out the
best in each of us and then
we apply these skills to help others.”
RALPH SMEDLEY
Founder of Toastmasters International
2017-2018 MSATC Officers
Genevieve Badiola, CC
President& Treasurer
Anna Lynn Macalintal, CC
VP Education
Guillerma Flores, CC
VP Membership
Cesar Gustilo, Jr., TM
VP Public Relations
Marites Siapno, TM
Secretary
Marites Siapno, TM
Treasurer
Raul de la Vega, DTM
Sergeant-at-Arms
Congratulations to our
Best Prepared Speech Speaker
(Magin Flores),
Best Table Topic Speaker
(Tess Siapno)
and Best Evaluator
(Cesar Gustilo) for our
October 14 club meeting.
Toastmaster’s
Journey
I wasn’t born a leader. They were all
around me though. In the community,
at work, at school. Leaders were
everywhere. They were the heads of
families, coaches of teams, business
leaders, mentors, organizational
decision-makers.
I admired these leaders. They influenced
who I was and who I was becoming.
Whatever they did professionally or
how they became what they were, I
aspired to walk in their footsteps. And,
so, I committed myself to becoming one.
Finally, it came to me. It wasn’t just
what leaders knew that enabled them
to lead. They had a voice. They could
tell their story. They could listen and
answer. They didn’t just accomplish,
they communicated. So I set out to find
my voice. Learn to process information
on my toes. I needed to learn to listen.
Learn to give feedback—and accept it.
I needed to organize, plan, deliver,
follow up. I needed a place where all
the ingredients were there, and someone
would guide me along the way. I found
that place. I found a community of
learners and the path to leadership.
I am a leader—and I was made.