Jet Yang Koh
Candidate for Division C Director District 102
Bachelor of Information Technology & Systems ( Monash University)
Event & Wedding EMCEE Courses (MC JO Academy)
Certificate in Baking(Part-time > Malaysian Institute of Baking)
Toastmasters member since: 2017
Toastmasters offices held and terms of service:
• Vice President of Public Relation 2018 – 2019
• Area Director C5 2020 – 2021
• Club Coach for MC JO Community (Kota Damansara) TMC 2020 – 2021
• Vice President of Membership 2021 – 2022
• Vice President of Education 2021 – 2022
• Assistant Division C Director – Program Quality 2021 – 2022
• D102 District Pathways Chair 2021 – 2022
Toastmasters honors and recognition:
• Dynamic Leadership Proficient (Completed on 10th January 2019)
• Area Support Award (AD C5 2020-2021)
• Virtual Summit Contribution (30th Oct – 1st Nov 2020)
• D102 Speakathon Ambassador 2020 – 2021
Relevant work experience and how it relates to Toastmasters and your role as a District leader:
Being a teacher is like the leader in the class, imparting knowledge to the students and also the role model to students. Same as in Toastmasters where you are leading a team of members and Area Directors, imparting your leadership skills and knowledge to them, but also lead them with your own style. Not only that, a teacher needs to have a good sense of timing so that all planned events will be able to execute on time.
This mean that I can use the skills that I have learnt in being a teacher and apply in Toastmasters, skills include time management skills, people management skills and also leadership skills.
What experience do you have in strategic planning?
A teacher is just to teach, very simple. That’s what I thought until the first day I stepped into my new school as a teacher. My seniors shared to me how to plan lessons plan effectively so that you will be able to keep your syllabus and lessons on track.
It’s the same as Toastmasters whereby as a leader, you need to plan your division’s events so that the members of the divisions will be able to block their dates for the events. Of course, there will be some district events coming along the way. So, as a Division C Director, one needs to plan strategically and effectively so that division’s events will not clash with district’s events. If it clashes, then proper changes & procedures will need to be made as soon as possible.
What experience do you have in the area of finance?
To be honest, I am not good in managing finances and I am still learning until today. However, I got the opportunity to become the Division C Finance Manager (2019 – 2020), overseeing the funds in the division. This has helped me to understand more how to manage both personal and also other funds.
What experience do you have in developing procedures?
Being a teacher is not just to teach your student, but also have to keep on thinking and improving your teaching. Not only that, 40 minutes per period is not enough to deliver a full lesson. So, I have to keep on brainstorming an effective way on how to deliver my lessons effectively to the students.
Same as Toastmasters, I will use what I have learnt at my workplace and use it in Toastmasters so that I will be able to effectively plan for a successful event OR effectively deliver my message to my audiences.
What lessons did you learn from previous leadership positions?
As a leader, one needs to constantly check on the members’ progress and organize workshops to cater the members’ need. A leader should be a listener and understand the needs of the members and do not act as he / she wishes. Not only that, a leader should also practice self-love and with sufficient self-love, the leader will not burn out but can continue to serve as a leader to others.
Adding to this, a leader should not tire himself by taking on a lot of leadership positions. This is one painful experience to learn because once you have too many leadership positions on hand, you will not have time for yourself.
In your opinion, what are the District mission’s major objectives and how would you work to achieve them?
To support all clubs under the district and helping the clubs to achieve their mission; to inspire non-Toastmasters members in realizing the importance of having leadership skills, communication skills as well as public speaking skills.
I would work with leaders, both in TI and also clubs to brainstorm the solution to help the clubs that are facing problems.
I will also try to charter new clubs under my division so that more and more non-Toastmasters members get to know about Toastmasters and the importance of public speaking in this era.