Project Evaluation of AP5

One week after presenting my AP5 The Abstract Concept, I had the opportunity to evaluate the same project speech at NUSS TMC.  Voted Best Evaluator!

The speaker's topic was Marslow's hierarchy of needs.  As I mulled over the points to commend and recommend, I remembered Wekie Tay's powerful use of alliterative triads which helped him clinch the championship at the Area Z3 Evaluation contest 2009.

As I played around with my points, alliterative triads came into play as well, to my absolute delight.

This was what I included in my evaluation.

COMMENDATIONS: 3Es

Encompassing - The speech encompassed different aspects of informative speech such as definitions, examples, visual aids and a quotation.

Explanation - The concept was clearly explained and illustrated with a diagram to demonstrate the hierarchy in the different needs listed.

Example - An example was used to demonstrate how the Marslow's theory of hierarchy of needs can be applied to the workplace environment, showing its relevance to our daily lives.

RECOMMENDATIONS: 3Ps

Placement of laptop - Logistics setup is important.  Place the laptop where you can easily view the slides from it without having to turn your head to view the slide on the projector screen.

Pictures - Include more pictures in the powerpoint presentation as pictures speak a thousand words.  The slides were too wordy.

Personal anecdotes - Include these in your speech to enliven and energise your speech.

In conclusion, continue to use the 3Es to excel in your presentation and consider the 3Ps to make your presentation more powerful, and you will be on your way to becoming an impactful informative speaker.

Journey to ACS Award

Here is a record of the ten speeches I had completed to achieve Advanced Communicator Silver award.

STORYTELLING MANUAL

1 The Folk Tale (7-9 min)
Hansel & Gretel
evaluated by Clifford Ess on 27/1/2005 at NUS Alumni TMC

2 Let’s Get Personal (6-8 min)
The Road to Recovery
evaluated by Michael Wee on 7/8/2008 at Tampines Changkat TMC

3 The Moral of the Story (4-6 min)
One Step at a Time
evaluated by William Chew on 15/1/2009 at Katong TMC

4 The Touching Story (6-8 min)
The Baby That Never Was
evaluated by Ler Wee Meng on 16/4/2009 at Katong TMC

5 Bringing History to Life (7-9 min)
From Darkness Into Light
evaluated by Christine Lim on 14/1/2010 at Kampong Glam TMC
(2nd attempt)


SPEAKING TO INFORM MANUAL

1 The Speech to Inform (5-7 min)
The Power of Repetition
evaluated by Pradeep Kumar on 11/12/2009 at AIA Changi TMC
(2nd attempt)

2 Resources for Informing (5-7 min)
Perfect Your Pronunciation
evaluated by Lau Kwong Fook on 1/4/2009 at AIA Alexandra TMC

3 The Demonstration Talk (5-7 min)
Origami 101
evaluated by Gea Ban Peng on 6/5/2009 at Braddell Heights Advanced TMC

4 A Fact-Finding Report (5-7 min)
Understanding Lower Back Pain
evaluated by Michael Wee on 6/5/2010 at Tampines Changkat TMC

5 The Abstract Concept (6-8 min)
Understanding Acupuncture
evaluated by Ler Wee Meng on 17/6/2010 at Katong TMC

Now on to 10 more speeches for AC Gold award!

AP5 The Abstract Concept

I presented my final project from the Speaking to Inform manual on 17 June 2010 at Katong.  The topic selected was "Understanding Acupuncture".

Took 2 days to memorise the script and rehearsed repeatedly to get the timing right.  The script was too long and I edited it a few times to get a satisfactory length.  Nevertheless, most times I rehearsed, the timing was either dangerously close to 8 min 30secs or exceeded. 

On the day of the presentation, Wee Meng had thoughtfully brought his Powerpoint remote control and I could use Ben's laptop to present my Powerpoint slides.  I believe I went quite fast as the speech ended by 8 minutes! 

I was voted Best Speaker that night.  What joy!  What a sweet ending to my Advanced Communicator Silver journey!

Wee Meng's tips for improvement:
(1) Placement of laptop to allow easy viewing so I don't have to turn back to look at the screen.
(2) Having one slide per point instead of 3 points to a slide.
(3) Instead of having a blank screen for one part of the speech, include some pictures that match the speech content.
(4) Show the slide first, then start speaking, not the other way round.

Malcolm has videotaped Wee Meng's evaluation of my speech:
Katong Toastmasters Club Best Evaluator on 17 June 2010 Katong TMC meeting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amz_40oDGrU

Language Evaluation @ ACCA

On Tuesday 15 June 2010, I went to ACCA TMC to take on the role of LE.  It was my first visit to the club and due to a busy day at work, I only managed to arrive at 8pm.

Richard Sng had helped to present the Word of the Day: galvanise (verb) on my behalf.

This was probably the worst LE I had ever presented.  When I went up, I was so nervous that I did not know how to begin.  I actually felt self-conscious about offending people while presenting the brickbats.  At the end, I had not prepared a climactic conclusion and instead ended lamely by saying "Well done, er (long pause while trying to recall what club this was) Cairnhill Toastmasters Club." when it should have been "ACCA Toastmasters Club"!!

What a fiasco.  This is what lack of practice can do to you.  It's time I buck up on my LE presentation. 

My last LE was in April at Toa Payoh Central TMC.  I managed to present it with powerpoint, making it structured and easy to follow. 

There is always room for improvement.  Don't let a minor setback get you down.