Written by: SuperUser Account
9/20/2008 8:00 AM

Event: IPA "Express Yourself with Confidence!" Seminar
Workshop 1: The Power of Speaking Impromptu in All Occasions.
Date: Saturday, 20 September 2008
Time: 2-4pm
Venue: 37 Yu Li Industrial Building #09-04, Geylang Lor 23
Photos: Click here!

First step into public speaking By YOHANS GOZAL

"Sixty seconds from now, get set… go!"

Imagine someone timing you every time you are about to speak. It could only get worse if you have to do it right before 25 pairs of watchful eyes seated in front of you, ready to criticize you at the end of your speech. Nerve wrecking, is it not?

That’s probably how most of the participants must have felt when they were individually called up to speak in front of a similarly nervous group of people at the recently held IPA speech workshop last Saturday, Sep 20.

Participants walked into the venue as early as 15 minutes before the workshop began. After a quick registration of attendance, the participants got themselves into the classroom where our guest speaker, Mr. Philip Chan greeted and chatted with them, putting their anxious selves to ease.

It amused me to observe how most of the participants, upon entering the classroom, gave a quick scan of the room and almost without fail, opted for seats at the back rows. It reminded me of the scenario in high school back in my hometown Jakarta. Front seats were always the least popular choice back then.

"Perfect!” I thought to myself; we have the right people attending this seminar.

The class began with Mr. Chan introducing himself as the speaker of the day and then briefed the participants with the workshop’s agenda to allow participants to get some ideas on what they can expect to learn by the end of the workshop. Before long, Phillip seamlessly covered topic by topic. Some of the things he shared with us were Understanding The Fear of Public Speaking and How to Overcome It. Also, he taught us The Art of Negotiation; a modern life-saving skill you will want to have at your disposal, bargain your way in or out, get what you want, when you want it and how you want it done.

After an hour long of an informative session, we had a short break. Ice breaking session was then on! Participants were seen chatting away, exchanging name cards and having a good time while helping themselves to the array of scrumptious pastry, puff and pudding specially prepared for the evening.

Opening the second session of the workshop, Mr. Chan explained the three factors one needs to remember when speaking in front of other people. These are Verbal, Vocal and Visual, with the latter being the most significantly powerful when used correctly. The class was divided into groups. Each group wrote down a question on a piece of paper, and a lucky participant who was picked randomly to come up to the front and answer the question in 60 seconds. When the time was up, Philip would then ask a member of the audiences to evaluate the speaker's verbal, vocal and visual cues.

Coming to the end of the workshop, Mr Chan told a story about a pastor who was seen walking down a street in Geylang one day, causing rumours to spread. The rumour got so big and awfully wrong, it was later on reported in the media that the pastor was doing some “hanky-panky” business in Geylang. It was only later did they find out that there was actually a small church located in one of the street corners in Geylang which the pastor headed.

The moral of the story was: a message, when being passed around through an unclear channel is bound to turn out differently from the original. To prove his point, Phillip asked everyone to stand up next to each other, forming a big ‘U’ inside the room. He then whispered a message to the first person in the line and this message was whispered from one person to another and the last person was to write the message on the writing board in front of the class.

Lisani, the last person in line, wrote the following on the board: "Gua Kurang Tau.. Apa ya? Hmm.... Haha," thus causing much laughter in the class. The original message turned out to be: " I saw three frogs kissing three toads outside Raffles Place"! Well, it couldn't get more wrong than that!

The class ended shortly. Everyone was packing up and getting ready to leave when I noticed something. Everyone had this smile on their faces that seemed to say, 'That was fun! I can't wait for the next class!" This realization drew the exact same smile on my face.

Here are what participants said about the first workshop:

"The seminar was so interesting, enriching and full of energy. Mr Chan is a great speaker and he made public speaking look easy and fun. It’s two hours... but I can't get enough it! I am definitely looking forward for the next session. “
~ Ari, system analyst

"I have thoroughly enjoyed myself with Mr Chan's training and the friendly ambience and of course, the snacks!"
~ Gloria, owner of a children development centre

"I think the seminar was good, the examples given by Mr Chan was relevant and good and so was the food, they were good!"
~ Lisani, marketing executive

The next session will be Workshop 2 - Saturday, 18 October 2008 on Building Beautiful Bodies For A Powerful Delivery: Learn The Art Of Power Speaking! For more details please click here

(Photos by Yohans Gozal. Yohans is in the IPA Events division and is one of the organisers for this event.)

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