Write and Deliver a Great Speech!

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There are few quick notes when you are writing & delivering it, written by Bill Thompson.
1. Breathe, deeply & Relax your mind.
2. Think of what to write in the speech, considering who are your audiences, the settings, time given, and other relevant factors that are important.
3. Talk a topic that you are familiar with (if you are given a free-topic).
4. Scribble some rough ideas on what you are going to talk about, what you want the audiences to know; roughly about 3 main ideas, and don't forget about your thesis statement!
5. Start to develop your ideas in creative way whereby people could understand it better such as making it like a story! Conclude your speech either by calling them to action, motivating them to do something positive, and understand what you are trying to talk about.
6. Arrive early at the presentation area, talk to strangers and get to know them better. Talking to some of your audiences will make you feel a lot closer and less afraid when giving speeches later.
7. When you arrive at your conclusion, do not rush it as it is one of the most important part in your speech, which must have a 'bang' and 'wow' to the audiences and you.
8. Don't forget to smile at your audiences! You make both the audiences and you feel relaxed and less worried!
9. Enjoy the whole process when you are delivering speeches as it is the the most important instruction you must remember. Only then, everything will turn out fine.

sources: Thomson, B 2005, 'Write a Great Speech in 5-7 Minutes, Don't Agonize Over your Next Presentation, Associated Content Inc, viewed 30th Oct 2008,

Liew Hui Qing, Jaime

Do & Don'ts when everything goes wrong in your BIG day

Imagine that you are going to present your speech one day. You are so prepared; you rehearsed, you remembered what you are going to say, you have everything with you complete: laptop, battery extension, pen drive, basically everything you need to make your speech "a wow". Suddenly, when you arrived at the place where you are supposed to do the speech, you discovered that everything suddenly goes wrong. Your mike won't work, the lights were off, you can't on your laptop, the noise next door are loud. You starts to panic, perspire, running around like chicken with no head searching for whatever you think will help you. In such scene, you must remember a few do and don'ts! Written by Gene Perrett in Laugh Line Section, Toastmasters Magazine 2006, it talks about what you should and shouldn't do when everything goes wrong.

Don't!
1. Don't blow up! Control your adrenaline! Because things do not (suddenly) work that way, you must control how you going to react; in front of everyone else. When a problem arise, it's your problem. Take it as a responsibility and try to solve it, ask people (in charge) what you can do (if you don't know how to fix it). Be like a leader; the audience will then realize that by your action, they will know they should listen to someone like you.

2. Don't surrender to the situation! You must remember that problem is a temporary situation that will eventually go away; after you have solve it. When something happened in between of the speech, don't be bothered by the problem; continue what you prepared for the last few sleepless days and weeks for that speech. Don't let anything distract your attention.

Do!
1. Be sensible, maintain your dignity, don't throw tantrum if you are having problems. You have to remember that you are the focus in the speech, so the audiences will see you as who you are suppose to be.

2. "No matter how, the shows must go on", keep your sense of humour. When problem arises, try to make it as a funny situation which would bring laughter instead of hushes and yawns to the audience. Tell them it's ok to have the problem, tell them you are ok with the problem; and everything will be over in matter of seconds.

sources; Gene Perret 2006, Dos and Don'ts for When the Mike Won't, Toastmaster magazine jan 2006.

Liew Hui Qing, Jaime

as time passes...

today, i had a talk with 1of my best friend...we remembered a lot of memories we went through together...and we realised that we actually knew each other about 10 years or more than that!!! i am going to celebrate our anniversary this december!!!i met her when i was in primary school.. Actually we do not rememeber how we met each other.. But we have been became good friends since standard 5. It is not easy to maintain our relationship. We quarelled when we had different opinion. We cried together when we graduated from primary school. We laughed together when we were sharing our happy moments. We shared our secrets. The relationship is built as time passes. As time passes, i realised that we do not need to communicate a lot if our relationship is strong. She can simply catch up what i am trying to say although we do not see each other frequently. Perhaps we meet each other once a month. The bond within us is strong and unbreakable. I hope that our friendship will last forever...Cheers!!!!

Super Sunday

Do you know what Super Sunday is? Well, it's actually scheduled English football on Sundays. Tonight was Liverpool v.s Chelsea. Usually big games as such are watched at places that televise the match for large crowds. The atmosphere there is spectacular. It's where people come together for one reason-to support or boo football teams.

Personally, I'd go to Hartamas Square to watch big games. The food is good, the screen is huge, and they always play the 2 team's anthem before the game. People actually sing the anthem together. It's really fun. It's amazing how football unites us. We express differnt feelings together. For example, when the team we support is at the attacking mode, adrenaline rushes due to suspens. We clap for everything( depending on which team we support) when the opposition gets yellow or red cards, when our team gets fouled, when our team manages to clear the ball, we'd all be screaming if our team almost concede goals.

The best part is when our team scores. The atmosphere is really amazing. People scream and clap in delight. They even exchange hi-fives with people from the same table and different tables. It's like when your team scores, the stranger next to you suddenly becomes your best friend. It's interesting to see how one sport can bring tonnes of people together. Tonight, Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0. There were so many Liverpool fans compared to Chelsea fans. There will always be rivalry but in the end, we all go to watch good football.

-Peace-

Festival of Light

Firstly, Happy Deepavali to everyone! Deepavali is a major Indian festival- also known as the Festival of light. It is celebrated by Hindu's, Sikh's, and Jains across the globe. But because Malaysia is a multiracial country, it's celebrated by all Malaysians. We are not Chinese, Indian, Malay, Bidayuh etc.. We are Malaysians! I enjoy festivals as such, 1. because holiday! 2. open house 3. it brings us closer.
My favourite part of deepavali is Muruku! I dont know if I spelled it right, but it rocks! If I'm not mistaken, this day is to celebrate victory over evil and the uplifitng of spiritual darkness. That's probably why it's celebrated so "meriah". But then again, what's a celebration if it's not happening? On the festival of light, people celebrate by decorating their homes with lights, they have fireworks, and also have open houses(gathering of family and friends) .
Apart from serving awesome food, the gathering they have is to bring friends and family closer. It's really a great way to strengthen relationships,repair broken ones and also build new ones. Celebrations in Malaysia is beyond holding just one culture together. This is one of the ways we can overcome racial issues. It helps us see that we may be different in skin colour but we are all the same. We should treat each other with the same level of respect despite differences in race and culture. With that, I end this post by saying that all celebrations in this country rocks!
-Peace-

HSM3

HSM3 is finally out in cinema's. The day that most teen's have been waiting for. I said most-I'm not one of them. If you've been following, you should know what High School Musical is all about. It's a story about teenager's in high school. But what's different here is that they express themselves through singing. All the challeneges they face in high school, all the feelings they feel, they express it with their voice.
This show is not just about the pretty faces behind the scenes of high school musical ( Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashlee Tisdale) , it's also about sending a message to the audience. It's their way of communicating with young teens. Apart from entertaining, the songs they sing helps lift up the spirit of the audience, gives hope, and encourages them not to give up in life. Besides that, it shows that you'll always have your friends behind you.
There will always be speed bumps along the way but with support from the people you care about and the people who care for you, you'd definately pull through. It's always easier to remember a song than attending weird self help seminars and reading books. So the way they connect with the audience is definately one of the best ways to communicate!
-Peace_

Speech Preparation

Well, since more and more presentations are coming for this upcoming month; Nov in Week 12, 13, and 14, here's some tips i found in Toastmaster Magazine ed. July 2008 on "the Best ways to Prepare for a Speech" by Christopher Mortenson, ACB, ALB.

Firstly, the 3 magic words: "Practice Makes Perfect". Practice, Practice and Practice is always the key words to succeed in your speeches. By practising, you will understand what you are doing and naturally; by the time you are going to present your speech, everything comes out easily.

Secondly, depends on how many times you practice will gives an impact on how good is your speech. Allocate the correct timing on how much you should spend in your speech; for example, rehearse your introduction and conclusion rather than your content. People will generally remember most about your introduction and conclusion; and if you are prepared about what you are going to say, you shouldn't have any problem about the body content.

Thirdly, it's important to grasp on 'how' you have practiced, rather than 'how much' you have practiced. Find a spot whereby you can rehearse your speech without any interruption; along with your non-verbal communication. When you memorize your speech, do it as if you are presenting in on the stage; instead of just sitting around trying your best to memorize each and every sentence.



Liew Hui Qing, Jaime