Tuesday, July 07, 2009 x 7/07/2009 11:35:00 AM
I have finally completed my Competent Communicator manual yesterday, at Toastmasters Club of Singapore. 6 July 2009 - truly a night to remember. The icing on the cake was that I won Best Prepared Speech Speaker for the first time! It was a great feeling to receive those two gold medals..! I thank all my fellow Toastmasters who have been with me on this journey along the way, to achieving this award, and also those who worked with me in the EXCO. I must say it has been quite a journey since December 2007, when I first joined as a member.I've learnt many things about public speaking, applying many skills and concepts taught in the Competent Communicator Manual, what I'd learnt in Communications class at SMU, and from observing the more experienced speakers.
It all culminated in yesterday's speech (I spent about 3 weeks working on it - as the great Mark Twain said - "it takes three weeks to prepare a great impromptu speech", what more a prepared speech.
While doing the speech I have reflected on my toastmasters journey and what I've learnt, and I realize that there are several things that are different in speechcraft than in the written word.
KISS
When we are speaking, with have to KISS - Keep it Simple, Stupid! This is because the audience cannot remember bombastic words, or words with too many syllables. When first write your speech, it's ok to write it like prose. But remember to read it aloud and adapt it to the listening ear. If you read it and it sounds convoluted, change it! summarize, cut until you get the bare essence, with words with as little syllables as possible. Case in point - "Why use a long word when a diminuitive word will suffice?" can be onverted to "why use a long word when a short one will do?" You get the idea.
Also, brevity is the soul of wit. Just come up with a point, give an example, relate its significance and move on. No need to dwell on a point too long, unless its important.
Repetition is OK - especially for important points
Unlike writing, repetition is good in speaking for it emphasizes the point. When I first started, I thought repeating my points would make me sound long-winded. But my communications professor said that if a point was important, keep repeating it to the audience and they will get the message. Everything else -e.g. examples, anecdotes, quotes, are just an afterthought- the meat in between the sandwich.
i.e. tell them what you are going to say, tell them, and tell them again!
Organization is everything
The way you organize the speech is perhaps the most important. What is your message?
What is the purpose of your speech? Your speech is like a building - it requires a strong foundation. otherwise, it will be going nowhere. It is no good just to "data dump" the audience with random facts, anecdotes and quotes. You must be clear of your bottom-line- what are you driving at? Build your speech around those points, and repeat to re-emphasize. A great general structure (which i use constantly) is as follows :
WHAT : are you talking about - introduce the topic
WHY: is this topic important to the audience? What benefits can it bring to them?
This is perhaps the most important part of the speech, and it is great to bring it in early to lock in their attention.
HOW : Go into factors 1,2 and 3 to tell the audience what you wanted to tell them.
Opening and Ending
These are the most crucial parts of your speech. You need a great opening to get the audience's attention. This ensures they will pay attention to what you have to say for the next 5-7 minutes. Then, you need a great ending to ensure they remember the message of your speech. Generally, you can start by asking the audience a question, rhetorical or not, share an interesting fact or anecdote, or start with a quote.
The power of threes
Use the power of threes to your advantage. It is a rhetorical device called tricholon. For some reason, it sounds really nice when spoken, there is a strange, nice-sounding symmetry when things are said in threes.
e.g. "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" (Caesar)
e.g. "Block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand"(Obama)
Also, use alliteration to your advantage. "Block by Block, Brick by Brick, Calloused Hand by Calloused Hand"- the B by B, B by B, CH by CH. It gives a nice ring to your speech, helping the audience remember it, albeit unconsciously. You can perhaps adapt it to your speech.E.g. mine was on doing your best for toastmasters project , so I said :
fulfil your toastmasters dream "word by word, speech by speech, project by project".
(adapted from Obama's excellent speech - brick by brick etc).
Should you memorize?
Generally, its not advisable to memorize your speech word for word, to the T. It not only puts unnecessarily stress upon yourself, doing so is practically impossible!
Rather, write out your speech in point form with the important points (shown below) and say it to yourself at least 6-8 times before giving the speech proper. It doesn't have to go word-for-word, as long as you get the general idea out. Generally, it's good to start with a finalized version at least three days before the actual speech. You can say it in the bathroom, in the car, even on your way to the presentation!
Timing
Timing is all important. The key to keeping within time is to rehearse your speech multiple times, while keeping track of the time. If, during the actual presentation you overrun, cut short a paragraph or two (the audience won't know!). If you are ahead of time, you can speak slower, throw in more anecdotes (good to keep some extras handy) and generally enjoy speaking with the audience.
Project 10 : Achieving Success with Toastmasters.
Pause fillers
Sometimes, we hesitate when we speak, and say things like "uhhh... ummm... OK..."
generally, it's no good to say these things while speaking. it shows that we are unsure, and ill-prepared. It also makes the speech unclear to the audience, and may annoy them. There are 3 Ps that can remedy this - Practise, practise, practise. Once you are fluent, zero-pause fillers are possible.
Here is the Outline of my Speech :
Achieving Success with Toastmasters
Why are we here today?
• For the good food? For the company? To become great communicators?
• All of the above! But speech focus on becoming great communicators.
• Achieve dream of becoming great communicators
• Great opportunity today , a new beginning for the EXCO,for ourselves to reflect and set goals for ourselves
I’m here today to share with you how Toastmasters can help you achieve this dream. But first, you have to challenge yourself. I will address the concerns that you may face, tell you why it is necessary for you to challenge yourself, and lastly, share some tips with you on how to do so.
Why is it important?
• Professional and personal success depends on it
• Professional success = communicate with superiors, colleagues, clients
• • Personal lives = we want great relations with our friends and family
• To excel in whatever we do -> we need communication skills
• Barack Obama => won the US election against all odds, despite background, joins the ranks of Winston Churchill, JFK, Martin Luther King
Address Fears and concerns
• “Know your enemy and know yourself and you will win all your battles” –Sun Tze
• Fear of public speaking -#1 fear ->
• Fear greater than death
• Jerry Seinfeld, rather be in casket than deliver eulogy
• Congratulations for confronting it
• Not enough time to juggle priorities
• work, study, play
• Time-starved world
• Treat toastmasters preparation as a chore, secondary activities
• Give up after project 1? don’t put heart & soul into prep? terrified of table topics?
• It is understandable, but each of us needs to conquer this mountain of doubt
Why a change of attitude is necessary
• People expect more of their leaders, especially communication
• Previously, leaders communicate through only one medium – radio, newspapers
•
•
How can you do it?
• Learn from experts
• I can see further because I stand on shoulders of giants
• watch the way experienced toastmasters speak
• E.g. I watched a distinguished toastmaster speak on SEX, table topics
• For success you need Skills, Enthusiasm and the X-Factor
• Read books by experts, e.g. Earnest Speaking by Ernest Chen
• Youtube, watch World champion speakers in action, be inspired
• Practise, practise, practise
• It takes three weeks to prepare a great impromptu speech – Mark Twain , what more a prepared speech
• 10,000 hour rule – Gladwell’s outliers
• Bill Gates, Beatles, professional athletes/musicians
• Not that successful people are more intelligent than others – once they reach a certain threshold, it’s the number of hours they put in
• Constantly evaluate yourself
• Even George Bush wasn’t spared!
• Evaluation by California Toastmasters Club
Call to action.
• Chinese proverb : journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Obama builds the American dream – “block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand”
• We build our Toastmasters dream “word by word, speech by speech, project by project”
• If we persevere, the possibilities are endless
• And we may end up as great a speaker as Obama
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 x 6/30/2009 12:20:00 AM
I've always been inspired by a book called the New Buffetology ever since I read it two years ago in National Service. It's by Buffett's former daughter in law, Mary Buffett, and David Clark. it details how Warren Buffett selects equities, how he thinks.I'm not sure to what extent it reflects what Buffett thinks, but it certainly got me thinking (in contrast to what conventional investment theories tell you).
Anyway, I hope to share with you what I've learnt from this very interesting book, which is available at Kinokuniya and Borders (a new edition just came out recently).
Here is my condensed version of the book :
1) choose the correct industry
find an industry that is relatively stable.
Such industries are simple- those that people need everyday.
e.g. Fast food, furniture, drinks, pharmaceuticals
as such, people will continue to buy these as they need these things.
and chances are, they will choose the "branded" company for these.
E.g. soap-> Procter and Gamble, fast food - >Mcdonalds or Yum! Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut)
industries not to go into :
airlines, automobiles, financial institutions, information technology
this is because these industries are highly unpredictable and subject to fluctuations. they are also highly complex and hard to understand.
for example, when the IT bubble came in 2000s, investors laughed at Warren Buffett for not buying such stocks. there were IPOs of companies who had not earned a single cent. But since Warren did not know much about such companies, he did not buy. Guess who had the last laugh when the bubble burst several years later!
Why not banks?
the assets of investment banks are the people. when the know-how and contacts built up by employees in these banks leave, they take along all these with them, leaving the organization with nothing. in contrast, in a franchised fast food business for example, even if the CEO is an idiot (I quote directly from the book), the company will still survive due to the system in place, and the relatively simpler operating mechanism.
also, high technology companies need to constantly spend money to innovate in R&D, and there is high costs involved, eroding shareholder base.
the mechanism is such that :
profits go into retained earnings
retained earnings can be used for further growth
retained earnings can be used for share buybacks (treasury stock), which increases Earnings per Share
2) choose a company with a durable competitive advantage
ie if you think of it
Coca Cola - been here for the past 80 years, still the #1 soft drink in the world, #1 beverage
Hersheys chocolate
Mcdonald's fast food
Walt Disney Entertainment
Nike sports
i.e. companies that have been #1 since your grandparent's time , and will be #1 even when your grandchildren are born
contrast this with an IT company, Yahoo! , which was a darling a few years ago, but now Google has overtaken it.
financial indicators of a durable competitive advantage
Return on equity constantly above 12% (12% being the average return for US stocks)
Return on total capital above 12%
risk level
Debt levels not more than 3x net income
In addition, there are seven more criteria in the book (not with me now) that makes up Buffett's ten points of light in a company-> helps you to filter through a suitable stock to buy.
3) buy when a minor crisis hits the industry or company
usually such an event will depress the share price, making the company with strong fundamentals sell at a discount. e.g. Buffett's purchase of American Express
4) hold it forever (unless some irreversible crisis happens to it - detailed in the book)
if all goes well, the profits should continue to go into retained earnings (on the balance sheet). the company should have a history of share buybacks to increase EPS.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INVESTING AND TRADING
There is also a section on Mr Market.
You may notice some people track the market everyday - the STI, Dow Jones index , whatever. Apparently, Mr Buffett doesn't do so. He gives the analogy of Mr Market knocking on your door everyday , offering you a price for the equity. and Mr Market is irrational - sometimes the price is high, sometimes low.
The book says he doesn't trade everyday in the market. Rather, he spends his time reading annual reports, ValueLine and other forms of research. He makes sure the fundamentals of the company are strong before buying, and makes sure he understands the entire operations behind the business before buying. If you constantly trade, you will erode your profit margins by paying the brokerage fees of buying equity.
The irony , according to the book , is that people who have Rolls-Royces drive to wall street to take the advice of those who take the subway to work! ie. fund managers are paid a commission to buy and sell equity, so they have an interest to ask you to buy and sell. but that is trading, not investing! note the subtle difference.
interestingly, George Soros, another renowned investor, has the totally opposite investment philosophy compared with Buffett. He makes his money by timing the market (if i recall correctly, Warren is still richer than Soros), according to a book called the Winning investment habits of Warren Buffett and George Soros. According to Blink, a book by renowned author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell, George Soros is so good at timing that he gets a backache when it's time to make a move in the market!
Here's some food for thought for those who are thinking of an investment strategy.
Please let me know if you have comments, feedback or the like, will be more than happy to discuss!
Friday, May 01, 2009 x 5/01/2009 12:57:00 AM
Here's an article on why you should join toastmasters.What is Toastmasters?
Is it some sort of baking club? or some wine club? No! It's actually a public speaking club where you practise your public speaking skills. It was founded in USA in 1924 by Ralph C. Smedley who wanted to have a club to train members to speak in an informal, supportive and friendly environment. He called it "toastmasters" to attract people to join the club.
I've been a Toastmaster since December 2007, and I'm currently the Treasurer of the Toastmasters Club of Singapore. Now, why should you join? you may ask. Firstly, we all have to make speeches at many points in our lives, whether formal or informal. It could mean a next promotion, making a loved one happy, or simply entertain friends! There are so many contexts in which public speaking is useful.
Joining a public speaking course could be a first step, to learn the ropes of public speaking. However, you need an avenue to practise! At Toastmasters, you have to complete 10 project speeches, each focusing on a particular area of speechcraft, before attaining the most basic rank of Competent Communicator. These areas of speechcraft includes the icebreaker, how to organize your speech, how to incorporate vocal variety, effective use of visual aids, persuasive as well as inspiring speeches. After you have delivered your speech, you will be evaluated by more senior and experienced toastmasters, who will highlight your strengths and also point our some recommendations for improvement. With these pointers, one can bear them in mind and move forward from there.
There are also extensive networking opportunities in the Toastmasters Club. People from all walks of life join - from financiers, corporate trainers, government officials, teachers, doctors ... the list goes on. You not only get to enrich your life by hearing real life stories and experiences, you also get to interact with likeminded people on a regular basis, and learn best practices from the best. Things which we are usually not conscious about, such as pause fillers (the "errs, umms, OKs"), time management, and correct use of language (pronunciation, enunciation and language use) are brought out through observance and language evaluators.
I have found my toastmasters journey a relevant, useful and enjoyable one. It helped me to become more confident in my presentations in university, interacting with working adults on a regular basis and also made me more conscious of the techniques used by the very best speakers communicate their point.
Toastmasters will also help you achieve success. My communications professor once told us that that there was a significant correlation between effective communication skills and higher salaries. Technical competence can get you only so far, but if one were to motivate others, communication comes a long way.
You can also create history.The eloquence of great speakers such as Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and most recently, Barack Obama, brought them to prominence in history. It is said that Winston Churchill's powerful and inspiring words were the weapons that won Britain the war. John F. Kennedy's memorable lines motivated an entire generation - ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. Obama's eloquence , and "Yes, we can" also made him the first African-American Commander in Chief of the United States of America.
Of course, joining Toastmasters is a commitment. As the great investor Warren Buffett said, some things just take time - like investing in a business - you cannot expect its share price to appreciate overnight - it takes months, or even years! Likewise, improving one's public speaking skills takes considerable amount of practise, evaluation, and re-working. Sometimes, you'd have to sacrifice leisure time during the weekends, for example, just to practise your speech. But in the end, it will all pay off, as you improve and become the speaker you want to be!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 x 11/11/2008 05:35:00 PM
a new grey and blue blogskinThursday, November 15, 2007 x 11/15/2007 08:58:00 PM
GREETINGS FROM CAMBODIAHey guys!
I'm writing from Cambodia... currently on a work experience trip...
this is a nice place to be... the people are really friendly, and life is more simple and straightforward ... took SilkAir to Phnom Penh, capital of this city of 14 million people, 1 hour behind singapore, on a 2 hours flight from Changi... its so fast, like travelling to Malacca from Singapore. I was chatting with my cousin on the plane and time just flew by.
The large extent of globalization can be seen here... The international air port is run by the French (as Cambodia was a French protectorate last time), and huge NOKIA and VISA billboards hit you in the face once you enter the immigration area... The overhead televisions were screening a National Geographic show on Martial Arts... and my cousin told me that the French baguets here are really nice to eat...
once you're out of the airport, its busy streets all the way to the city centre.. on the street are masses of second hand cars, mainly SUVs (presumbly because of previous bad road conditions), imported from Korea, USA and Canada... and flurries of motorbikes, scooters and bicycles weave dizzyingly around... the traffic is really crazy man.. in the SUV you feel like you're whizzing in a Millenium Falcon past all those X-Wings of motorbikes... and everyone seems impervious to it... its so matter of fact ... and its quite difficult to cross the road, because to move one has to inch forward- the right of way is the one that arrives first - no tempers are lost - honks are merely friendly reminders to warn others to watch out, i'm here! instead of in Singapore, where honking means one is asking for trouble (maybe a spanner to the head). Also, if there is a motorbike accident, a minor one, the people just dust themselves off and continue on their journey! And the traffic rules are adhered to, barely... sometimes you might see a car coming from the opposite direction on a one way street! but no tempers flared - everyone just goes about their own business, content. And 1 motorbike can seat up to 5 people, or 20 if there is a wagon attached. People even transport huge, oversized goods on behind their motorbikes - e.g a guy with hundreds of empty food packets for delivery occupied the diameter of a truck on the narrow street i was traveling on...
I went for lunch at Lucky Burger - which is Cambodia's answer to Burger King. They have even more variety than BK - offering pizza and cherry pie on top of the usual burgers. The fries were exceptionally good - not oily, and remain straight and turgid when left for a while, unlike your usual fries (this is specially imported from USA). The food choices are like your typical fast food joint anywhere in the world. There is also Lucky Supermarket - which is just like your typical supermarket, offering all the things that you could see back home.
Very impressive indeed.
And I attended a wedding, which was great. Cambodian weddings are different from local ones as once you fill up a table of ten, food is served. once you're done, you can leave - no waiting around for late relatives and friends to arrive. we went at 6pm, by 7pm we were out, after some friendly conversations with a local tourist agency chairman and a Chinese businessman. The food was like a Chinese wedding dinner though - there was shark's fin, fried rice and crab soup. surprsingly, there was rendang too... which was very good - the texture of the meat was very very nice... yum... and the appetisers was a pizza like thing, assorted pastry (french influence i guess).
Would wanna go to visit places if i've got the time - Angkor Wat, the Killing Fields etc. Also visit Siem Reap and Kampong Cham if possible.