Public Speaking for Beginners Workshop

Tampines Changkat Toastmasters Club, in collaboration with Tampines Changkat CC, undertook an initiative to help the general population in the art of public speaking. As a result, we had the workshop titled "Public Speaking For Beginners" on 28th January, 2016. The workshop was conducted by master trainer Toastmaster Ng Kin Foong. However, before we get into the details, I believe that it is my duty to inform the reader of the credentials of the trainer.

Toastmaster Ng Kin Foong runs a training company titled Radiant Owl Consultancy Services where he trains people on different aspects of communication and interaction. Having several years of this experience under his belt, he is extremely popular in the toastmasters circuit as a mentor, speaker and evaluator. He has achieved the titles of Advanced Leader (Bronze) and Advanced Communicator (Bronze) in the toastmasters circuit and has also been awarded the Triple Crown award last year. In addition, Toastmaster Kin Foong manages a make-up training company, thus proving that he can manage his time extremely well.

Let us now jump into the main course of tonight's meal: the training. The training was free of charge since Tampines Changkat Toastmasters Club and Tampines Changkat CC were aiming to help the public. It was a general walk-in event. Naturally, the attendees ranged from seasoned toastmasters to residents of the Tampines area walking in to see if they could learn how to interact with large crowds. Needless to mention, there were a lot of people and, knowing Toastmaster Kin Foong's reputation, this was not unexpected.

The evening started with Organizing Chair Toastmaster Zhuo Shuzhen introducing trainer Ng Kin Foong, followed by Kin Foong's famous "Chickie Introduction". For those not familiar with this introduction method, Toastmaster Kin Foong specializes in helping the audience break the ice by making them use a prop to introduce themselves. This method has always proven highly effective in helping the audience quell their nervousness when speaking before a crowd for the first time. 

The introduction session was followed by the theoretical session where Toastmaster Kin Foong spoke about how to go about the art of public speaking with special emphasis on the different methods of speech organization. One of the main attractions of the workshop was the promise that the audience would learn how to craft a speech in fifteen minutes. Trainer Kin Foong shared the tips and tricks of the trade and provided handouts to help the audience generate ideas to speak. This was followed by a very interesting exercise. The audience was made to write a speech in about ten minutes. Then, they were divided into two groups and made to deliver the speeches to each other in the presence of the trainer and other experienced toastmasters. This exercise proved to be a great success and quite popular with the audience. The final portion of the training involved some guidelines on body language and vocal variety since these are essential tools for a public speaker. In addition, trainer Kin Foong shared further follow-up material with the audience via email.

The workshop in itself was a great success. However, what was more successful to watch was the growth in confidence of the attendees, especially the first-time speakers who never thought that they could craft and deliver a speech. This is the kind of confidence that trainers yearn to build and that Kin Foong has helped build time and again. Tampines Changkat Toastmasters Club and Tampines Changkat CC have been extremely successful with the workshop.

In case you feel that you need improvement with your public speaking skills, please feel free to drop in to our club. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm. Keep watching this space for more news, views and opinions on Tampines Changkat Toastmasters Club.