Yow Kia

What did I enjoy the most?
There was one session conducted by Kan Kin Fung (DTM), called “Lessons of the speech contest journey”. I applaud on his preparation of this topic. A lot of time, as contestants, we strived to give our best shot during the contest. However, we might ignore the importance of having a post-contest discussion. I would say that it’s a very insightful session, and the wonderful thing was the sharing from contestants (Kia, Charlene), test speakers (Geng Yoke) and contest audience. Those valuable comments would be guidelines for the contestants to take note for their future contests.

Who was the one left the greatest impression to me?
Of course, the credit has to go to Kin Fung. I just knew that he has completed all the advanced manuals NOT ONLY one time, but THREE TIMES! I like the way he analyzed the contests and also to give brief introduction of an advanced project 4 – “Presenting an award”. He studied the guidelines and objectives of the project with full attention and detailed analysis.

What did I do during the chapter meeting?
I was sharing what I’ve learnt throughout the Humorous Speech Contest.

Summary of the “Lessons of the speech contest journey”
Good Points (What were done right before and during the contest):
1) Use of effective Props.
2) Research through sources like internet, Youtube, attending contests.
3) Look for good mentors.
4) Make use of sentence arrangement to create more punch-lines.
5) Use visualization technique before the contest.
6) Practice a lot – Stage time!
7) Use of effective opening with Dancing steps. (the topic was about Salsa Dance)
8 ) Smile to the audience.
9) Pretend to be confident.
10) Clear points and direction have to be given at the beginning.
11) Connect with the audience.
12) Seek help for brainstorming.
13) During speech rewritten process, discard bad points and retain good points.
14) Sleep more to gain more energy.
15) Use of acronym for evaluation.

Learning Points (What have to be improved for future speeches):
1) The number of laughing points is not the only criteria
2) The use of English is important.
3) Have to improve continuously.
4) The message needs to be clearer. Make the message upfront and give the audience a clear direction.
5) Seek help from right mentors.
6) Use of more professional PROPs.
7) Ask audience to join in. (eg. Ask audience to join in dancing)
8 ) Add more humour.
9) Use more personal stories.

Language use
Good use of language:
- I will not let the cat out of the bag. (meaning: I will not disclose the secret)
- Drafting and crafting a speech.

Good use of humour:
- If you were a timer next time, please wear a shirt with green at the back, amber at the front and a red skirt.
- I’m not in humour. However, when I spoke, I heard some encouraging laughter, they’re forced to laugh.
- The timing sequence was not controlled well. Some went under shot, some went over shot, and some went NO SHOT!
- Someone commented that I didn’t fully utilize the stage. (She started walking around)