Public Speaking Workshop 2010 - The Star, HSBC and English Speaking Union

http://the star.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/3/29/Sarawak/5950680&sec=Sarawak

This is my third year workshop with the Star, HSBC and English Speaking Union. Its organised as an annual event. SEGI College was the venue this year. Last three years it was at INTI. I was told that Star owns SEGI Group.

The format was different, more like reality show such as, 'so you think you can dance'  (now on TV) and 'the American Idol'.

1st day was the audition and the second day was the workshop. The audition was over a bit earlier than planned and I managed to go the International Education Fair to support our booth, though my schedule was over the previous day.

with the two other judges, me the chief..KIV (wait and see ..perhaps the sad thing to do..)

a small section of audience......our booth at the Educational Fair...Kevin is so busy .... 

Bits:
* Ist day I was very early and Second day I was bit late. I only blame the taxi driver.
* Impromtu topics were good.(true love, floods, Choices, Bollywood and more..) We were surprised with the way Joel spoke on flood..he related flood to anything that is overflowing in matter...so debating..he is a debater in school. Bollywood caught everyone's attention- a Chinese speaking on Bollywood with the facts and statistics..it was fun..
* The F & B was good especially the coffee....mhumm....
* The Hall was very small compared to ours.
* The staff at the canteen were friendly (customers service)
* A special vegetarian chicken (sweet and savor) was decorating my table..(so nice of the person)
* Umah, as usual planned everything very well..
* More yellow board - too many KIVs...
* Two of the contestants got red color..sad thing to do..But what to do lah...

Oh..I am done with the workshops one after another and few other events in one month...now shifting my mode...

Overstated words with understated meaning...

"Trust me, the word trust is overstated". I realized after I said it.  Instantaneously, we all laughed. It was in my MGT class today. And again, twice this evening I heard '' trust me" and "trust is so important".

How many times we have heard 'trust me'? Trust - too big a word to be uttered just like that. I really wonder if they truly mean when they say it. Both in personal life and at work place. Trust is the manifestation of sincere thoughts about one another on one another, I believe. It can bring miraculous changes in our life. It is a crucial factor to boost your morale in workplace. Once you loose trust, it takes years to rebuild it, trust me. (You can trust me) Oh, what a world we are living in! I laughed when I heard 'oh, we are very open, we can discuss anything in each other presence'. Excuse me?

Do you know what is the common cause of  families falling apart? - Trust. I am pretty sure, you know more than I know about relationship break ups - Trust. Do you know how many companies are having internal crises? - Trust. Some companies are successful - Trust. You can make impossibilities possible. It is like winning a girl's heart, not easy. (By the by, I learnt from my students even winning the girl's heart is easier than thought! That's sad, shouldn't happen).

Having said that, I would love to trust you, but how could I?

Sorry - I am sorry to say, I don't believe in the word anymore. From Bill Clinton to Tiger Woods and Tony Blair to my dear Mr T, the unknown, are never afraid to use. It has become a ritual, like many other. They know that a simple sorry can not make things right. But still they say it. They are not ignorant of their doings and that is the best part. Even the said sorry is not genuine to trust. Oh, yeah, it is human to err. Let me remind you of two things: 1) it is not human to err repeatedly and 2) I thought you are humans with a difference - educated to enough to know the right and wrong!

Stress- once the word had a medical connotation and now it is like any other word. I was surprised when a 17 year old student told me, "I am stressed Ms Sentha". I doubt if she hardly lived enough to be stressed! Every one of us are here to prove something or other, always chasing the impermanent things. Well, impermanent things is again very subjective. At the end, it depends what we want. One cannot escape from being stressed these days. Well we only can manage stress. During the discussion, a student asked me," Ms, how can we not be stressed?" I smiled. I don't know if he knows how much stressed I am! I told him to prioritize and to take things one at a time. You can't imagine walking with two legs up. And that's not walking.

If you are not stressed, you are not having a busy life. Well, since you said it!

Of course, there is a small group which does not belong to this category. They don't even care to say sorry. Let us not worry about them. And, there is another group - news channels. An overstatement of everything - catastrophe ever in the decade, the biggest loser ever in history, ever and never, etc., etc.

Anything that is overdone looses its meaning. If you really mean - prove it please, it is good for you.

Babylon revisiting...

Have you ever wondered though you would love to have your old life or olden days, you somehow feel it is impossible?

I just had a feeling of that. It happens to me, when I listen to some songs, when I read books by certain writers, and when I watch some movies. At times when I speak to my old friends, like Kutti and not forgetting rainy days. And the feeling is very refreshing like rain.

Suddenly I felt there was a longing to visit the sweet old days, even briefly. Very nostalgic. Perhaps, an attempt to bring back a hidden part? Or to cherish something which is not anymore?

But, why is it so impossible? You just think of it, then the thought vanishes as swiftly as it comes. It doesn't stay longer as we desire. Or we are too busy to savor it with the issues of today's and tomorrows.

It is not escaping into the past, fearing of the present and the future. Its different. You will feel that there is the you still wanting to take life as it is, waiting to be adventurous, getting every chance to enjoy life as careless as you can.

The mystery of time...unresolved puzzle....

Watching the world go by...

Bringing the best under stress has become an old adage to me. The theory is simple - the work style changes as we change. This is happening to me shockingly frequent. Its beyond learning lessons...and I know.

The flight missed me once again, leaving me 3 full solid hours before the next flight. In this trip, I deliberately avoided taking one important thing which I always carry along with the travel documents- book. And there is no bookshop in Kuching Airport. Well, it is pretty small.

There was a sudden halt in the schedule and this unexpected free time. Starbucks coffee and muffins  helped me for sometime as I was digesting the fact. It was hard, of course, but there is one thing; I mastered my Conscience, from asking haunting questions and learnt to swallow things.

I was watching people moving here and there. Sometimes, it is just interesting to see people around you. Men are many kinds! They are just who they are. Especially in places like this. They don't take any conscious effort to impress people.

Long time ago, a Father and I were waiting at the gate of a church for my sister to arrive. The wait was four hours and more. We were making fun of everything and everyone on the road. And fours passed by like four minutes.

The best place to watch people is the road. I don't know why. But it is interesting. Vehicles and people; of all sorts..walking here and there with some purpose and to some destination.....and you are there watching them. Mhum...

Unlike Chennai, the world in Kuching is too small to sit at one place. I have two more hours to go and, I am changing my location to get a different view....