choosing a proposition for debate

Some topics may be too broad or too narrow for a debate. It is important that the proposition or resolution should be timely and controversial enough to allow the debaters to put into maximum use their argumentation skills. No topic is too elementary for debaters so long as the issues are debatable. If it is for academic exercise tackling issues that are of direct concern to the audience will naturally attract a bigger crowd of listeners.

Issues related to health, work, family, communication, education etc. are never too small for any debater. One wrong notion debaters have in choosing the topic is to only choose issues related to law and politics, such as political dynasties and republic acts that only concern a few and which majority of the audience cannot relate.

A word of advise: if you have not tried debating on what to you are small topics meant only for "grade schoolers" or "high schoolers", then, don't attempt to jump into big topics that do not directly affect you lest the debate will turn out to be one big bluff.

the worst things that could happen on stage

There are events that are beyond anyone's control and they could happen at times when they should not. I am talking about problems and inconveniences that occur during a major program or show. What can be done?

1. power failure or blackout ---- if there is a generator, no problem, but when you only depend on the city's power supply, then I think the show has to wait or if the brownout will take the whole day, it has to be postponed to another date which sucks

2. natural calamities --- strong rains, wind, thunder, lightning, earthquake, fire or what-have-you----if you're safe inside a sturdy building maybe you can go ahead with the show after you have consoled the audience that everything is all right and under control

3. stampede --- which leads to people getting hurt or killed----should you go on with the show?

4. bomb scare----a bomb scare is suddenly announced in the middle of the show, should you go ahead?

5. performers collapsing on stage --- I've seen one dancer falling to the floor in the middle of a dance number and the other members just went on with their gig unmindful of what happened.

6. no audience----a singer appeared to a concert where he was supposed to perform only to be told that the show is cancelled because only 5 people bought tickets. Did the performer cancel the show? You bet he didn't. He went ahead and performed in front of these 5 people.

when you have nothing to say..

They call it "mental block" or "mental black-out". Whatever. It happens when you stand in front of many people and you just don't know what to say to them. Eeeekk! This can be truly embarrassing! What do you do when it happens?

Hard question. When you are right there in front of a big crowd and you don't know what to say, do the following:
1. Smile, wave at the audience, and say something. Say "Hi" "How are you?". This will slowly flush out the jitters that are making your mind go blank.
2. Start talking about why you are there. What are you supposed to do there in front of them? Talk about it. Are you supposed to sing? Deliver a speech? Tell them.
3. By this time you should already be able to warm your mind so that your thinking juices will start flowing.
4. Let go of all inhibitions. The audience won't bite you. Just let your mind go and try to focus it on the topic of the moment.

Never, never allow mental block to rule you and cause you undue humiliation. Pick up yourself and simply focus.

when there are two hosts

In a show or program with two hosts the organizers should make sure that these two people who will take charge of the show can very well work together or have beautiful chemistry together. Otherwise, they could turn the show into a disaster.

This is what happened to a show we watched last night. The two hosts weren't in synch with each other, they were working their own separate ways, and they merely followed the flow of the script in their most lifeless style.

The show had a lot of waiting or gaps. In cases like this the hosts, especially if there are two of them, should come in and fill in the gaps. One of the two hosts tried to do this by doing some adlibs but his co-host just killed him each time and was very poor in responding to his attempts to save the show.

The emcee makes or unmakes a show. In this case, the show failed dismally for getting the wrong hosts.

The master of ceremonies is key to the success of a show. Poor or lousy hosting equals flop. The two hosts last night obviously failed in these areas:

1. They had no teamwork, they did not know what they were doing.
2. Poor audience contact. They were not there.

With that I say, when you can hire one good host, do it. But make sure he is a good one. Never sacrifice the quality of your show for unprofessional or amateur hosts.

scheduled for an interview?

Expecting an interview can be like awaiting a bomb to explode----scary. How do you prepare yourself for it? Here are simple tips:

1.Consider what you will wear. You have to look your best in order to make a good first impression. But keep everything simple, neat, and appropriate.

2. Know what the interviewer or company is like and what it wants. Be ready to answer questions related to its product or service.

3. Review your own credentials or qualifications. Be ready to sell yourself using your qualifications.

4. Practice your walk and your talk. Face the mirror and flash your most sincere and intelligent smile and look.

5. Be confident and positive that you will be able to pass this interview.

There you go my basic tips for you to remember when appearing for any life-changing interview.

the read speech

A speaker, especially a beginner, may opt to read his speech before the audience. This is all right provided he knows how to read it effectively. Reading a speech effectively means being able to deliver the message in an effortless and spontaneous manner. The audience does not notice that you are actually reading the entire speech because you have done it with maximum audience contact.

Reading a speech is not just plain reading a speech. The speaker has to engage his whole being in conveying the message in the most effective way. He stops at the right time and looks at the audience much of the time. He uses gestures and lots of eye contact. He sees to it that everything is understood from start to finish.

A read speech is not at all that simple because it requires that the speaker who uses this method knows how to really read well.

speaking is a bit like driving

Speaking or communicating, whether publicly or privately, is much like driving. You need FOCUS or full undivided attention while doing the task in order for you to achieve a unified and well-substantiated speech.

A speaker shouldn't stray from the main topic. He should be able to stir every line of his speech into a unified piece by staying focused. There are, however, speakers with very little concentration span. They flutter from one idea to another without connection or repeat one idea over and over again for obviously lack of what to say. It takes practice and the ability to listen to the advise of professional speakers to make one become a very focused speaker.

Only two things should occupy the mind of the speaker while giving a speech:

1. the message

2. the audience

So you have a message to deliver----- do it sincerely from the bottom of your heart and mind. Look at your audience and give them the message.

flaws in extemporaneous speaking contests

Extemporaneous speaking is one of the best methods of speech delivery. The speaker here is given enough time to do research and read exhaustively about the topic. However, there are flaws to this when this method is used in inter-school contests. One, the student might not understand that preparation is not memorization. Extemporaneous speaking is not oratorical because the latter is memorized. While it is true that speakers are given ample time to prepare for an extemporaneous speaking activity, it should not result to the memorization of any piece based on the given theme. The general theme is where the sub-topics will be based and not the topic itself. The contestant should talk about the sub-topic that she picks and not about the general theme which serves only as guide while preparing for the said activity. Failure to work on the picked sub-topic will make the contestant off-topic.

Organizers of extemporaneous speaking contests should have concrete rules and guidelines that the contestants will follow. For instance, part of the rule should be the contestant's reading of the topic picked. This can even be tricky you know because there could be some unscrupulous contestants who might pretend to read out a topic that wasn't given by the committee. To prevent this kind of fraudulence from happening, a member of the committee should, after the 3-minute preparation, get the piece of paper and read the topic to the audience before the contestant starts his speech.

In a recent extempo contest a few constestants "forgot" (?) or missed to read their topics so that the judges while listening to their beautiful speeches weren't guided as to the relevance of the speeches. In order to avoid this, a member of the organizing committee should do the reading of the topic itself when their 3-minutes' preparation is up.

stage jitters

We all have them whenever we face a big crowd. The knees shake, the hands tremble, our brows sweat even if the aircon is high, and the tongue is tied------stage fright! What better way to end the ordeal than to die or melt right in the very piercing eyes of those people in front of you. But no, you have a grade at stake, or a job, or a speaking career that could crash before it even took off. How do you deal with stage jitters?

I have actually discussed this in one of my blogs (now in archive) but I would like to do it again for the benefit of those who feel that their life is about to end because of a scheduled contest or speech which involves speaking in front of many people, as in a crowd in a gymnasium that could hold 2,000 people! This could really blow you off!

First, settle down. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Repeat this several times while awaiting for the moment when the emcee or host will now call you on stage.

How do you deal with stage fright? In order to minimize the impact of nervousness, prepare for the event. If it is a speech contest or any speaking engagement, make sure that you thoroughly prepare for this long before and not just at the last minute. Little or no preparation will always give us maximum jitters so avoid that. Prepare by reading, reading, reading about the subject that you will be discussing like a pro. Yes, good preparation will give you authority and will make you more or less an expert on the area. You should be the only person stocked up with much information on the topic. There is nothing more nerve-wracking than to know that there is someone in the audience who knows the subject far better than you do. No way should you let this happen. Be overly prepared and by this I mean researching and reading.

After doing the first part, the most gruelling part in public speaking, write out an outline or a speech draft. Follow an order in your speech like how do you want to start it or end it? Make sure that your outline is exhaustive enough to cover all the areas you need and that there is unity in it. Then PRACTICE. Using your outline, deliver your speech in front of the mirror and try to be your own critic. Do this thrice. When you feel you are doing well, you are now ready to face your audience. One thing to bear in mind always is to relax and not to forget to give your message to your audience. Feel nervous? Relax. That's normal. It will go away after the first few lines.

You and only you can conquer your own stage jitters. Amazingly, the best antidote for this is not a secret----preparation.

answering the phone

Companies usually have their own spiel, especially call centers, in receiving phone calls. However, they revolve around one and the same formula. Usually, the catch is to sound pleasant and accommodating. You are the company's emissary and therefore are expected to make a good impression. So what do you do when the phone rings? Pick it up of course after the 2nd or 3rd ring and say the company ID, your ID, greet and offer help. This happens quite fast you are not even aware that you have given four steps in doing it. Let us have a real phone call. The phone rings. You pick it up and say:

Pinoy Bodies, this is Joan, good morning. How may I help you?

Glitter World, this is Anne, good morning. Is there anything I can help you with today?

Dozen Roses, good morning. This is Jane, may I help you?

You could concoct your own combination but the items are basically the same---ID, greeting, offer help. If it is a residence the formula could change a bit like this:

Hill's residence, this is Jill, good morning.

Wayne's residence, good morning, this is Shanti.

The phone is still one of the most reliable methods of communicating with someone. If we know how to use it properly in business, it could bring in huge revenues for your company.

Communication

Communication is a very powerful tool. It can make or unmake mankind. Wtihout it, all the inventions and advancements in technology wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be enjoying the phenomenal success of the virtual world in making nations just a click away from each other. Had the likes of Bill Gates kept their discoveries to themselves, we would not be enjoying all these comfortable advancements in communicating with people in other countries the fastest possible way.

People who have the power to communicate with others effectively will go a long way. They will have the best jobs and the best positions because people who can communicate well will be able to sell themselves effectively.

Companies and even individuals spend much in training their new hire the proper ways of interacting or connecting with people aside from the traditional newspaper or television style.
People are now getting online as an interactive way of marketing products and services. The internet is the most amazing communication tool to date. It has changed many areas of people's lives. It has changed the traditional concept of advertising. Advertising today using the internet is less costly and more targetted. Advertisers can now access the homes of people who need their products or services.

Topics for Extemporaneous speaking (Part 1)

Topics for any extemporaneous activity vary depending on the theme or occasion. If it's for a class use, there could be plenty of issues that you may want to include in this activity like the advantages of disavantages of the internet, the risks of child abuse, globalization issues, divorce, gay marriage, animal rights, saving the environment or global warming, junk food and so on and so forth. When I used this method in my classes I was able to come up with 62 different topics which I individually wrote on small pieces of paper which I rolled for my students to pick. It is so easy to think up of topics for this activity. It's anything goes from garbage to religion to reincarnation.

It is different when there is an occasion like English Week, or Accountancy Day, or Nutrition Month and you have extemporaneous speaking contest as one of the highlights of the celebration because you need topics that revolve around the theme of the affair. This is what I am going to start here-----a series of suggestions on possible themes to be used on certain occasions especially done in school.

If you have any occasion in which you might want suggestions as to theme and topics, you may leave your comment here or use the message box for your concerns.

Here are some suggestions. I would like to work on one occasion at a time. Around this time schools have just celebrated Nutrition Month and are now preparing for the celebration of Linggo Ng Wika (Pilipino Week). My suggestions will be in English of course.

Theme # 1: How do we make the Pilipino language more relevant to the fast-changing time?

a) How can the Pilipino language adapt to the language used in the internet?

b) With the sudden influx of call centers requiring good English from our graduates, do you think our national language should support and give way to the schools' efforts to respond to the demands outside?

c) More and more Filipinos are becoming exceptionally good in the Universal language but very poor in their own native tongue. What do you think of this? Is this good or bad for the individual and for the country?

d) Our very own telenovelas and TV shows are the best places to learn Pilipino. React to this. What happens to the classroom?

e) There is a need to revamp the Pilipino language in order to make it more responsive to the demands of the time. Discuss.

f) One of the best ways to improve our economy is making Filipino as our medium of instruction. Discuss.

g) Let us be more nationalistic. Instead of encouraging our students to speak a foreign language or English, schools should encourage students to speak our very own language on campus and off.

oratorical vs. extemporaneous style of speaking

There is a big difference of course. Oratory is more formal in language and overall body movement while the extemporaneous style allows for blunders in words and deed. Oration is something memorized and which takes at least a month to master and synchronize the mastery of the piece with appropriate gestures. Everything is studied, every move and every word and there should be no mistake about the purpose of the speech which is to convince or persuade. The extemporaneous method has more freedom in that nothing is memorized. The speaker here of course has had enough time to do research or study the topic to be discussed but how the goods will be delivered (language and style) will be determined at the moment of delivery. Errors in language and public speaking skills are seen in the second method. There is the tendency to be choppy in the course of delivering the speech extemporaneous style because connecting ideas into a harmonious piece is not like a walk in the park. As the speaker labors and struggles for the next thought, gaps and breaks flaw the speech and if the speaker is just beginning to learn the tricks, this can be one laborious experience for the audience.

One who is good in oratory may turn out an imbecile in the other style and vice versa. It takes hard work, long training and practice to be adept at both.

some flava here, please!

This blog needs some kind of flava to attract people to stay-----this, according to a blog reviewer plus all the other stuff I need to do which simply implies total overhauling. LOL---that would be overly hard for me to do considering my "expertise" in the area of design and lay-out. But I am going to do a few adjustments here like devote more time in discussing youth lingo. Yeh, I will stretch the coverage of this blog to include the different varieties of a language like maybe throw in some new gay words or maybe punky words to add flava and color to this seemingly formal and classroom type blog.

Okey. I give in. I will shed off the long gown and wear my jeans and t-shirt as I am wont to do when I go out of the house. Honestly, I'm more comfortable in everyday clothes. So this is it, this blog will still talk about the same subject-----communication-----but in more informal manner. No more the long face of an earnest school teacher.

I need some spicing up and some blood in this blog----I really need to do a little snooping around to hear the latest youth slang.

magazines, pocketbooks, textbooks

In college a student is privileged to borrow a certain number of books for a certain number of days. If a book is only good for two days and you haven't read it within the period allowed, one can always have it renewed. One simply has no reason not to be reading in college. Magazines, newspapers, books of all sorts are available for borrowing but it seems that some books have gathered dust and remained untouched all these years. Why? The internet. Students seldom borrow books nowadays because of the internet which has made them lazy actually. Some have not even seen what a book looks like. One particular student of mine did not know how to locate the name of the author and publication company. It's just incredible but this is what is happening to most of the students now. They always use the internet as ready excuse to not go to the library or to not borrow any book.

Okey. Libraries have updated their facilities and services and have, inside its area, a special room for those who would like to surf or do research online. Yes, libraries have computers available to students who have work to do online. But this fact still does not make students borrow books. Students always opt to use the easy way and you will notice them flocking in the computer area while the periodicals and the card catalogues sections now look like they're facing extinction. The rows and rows of book shelves with myriads of knowledge stored and locked within the pages of books now look like tombs in the middle of the night----dead silent and seldom visited.

I belonged to a generation of students who actually got hold of real books to gain information. We carried these heavy books from school to house and vice versa. It was a different kind of time because the search for knowledge seemed to be more challenging and more real.

Today's students pride themselves of being able to gain access to knowledge the fastest way through the internet. All sorts of cheating can happen with this method of seeking knowledge where there is very little or no control at all in the materials one can get his hands on. Verifying and checking is not easy as there are innumerable sites that offer free information and materials. In short, students coming up with dishonest papers would become common. Learning will thus be greatly diminished.

Magazines, pocketbooks, books.....I prefer those in which I can use a page marker and in which I can highlight and write some notes on the margins.

I discovered reading quite late

I was already in Grade V when I discovered the world of reading---not by myself, but from other classmates who would not stop talking about those Grimms' Fairy tales. They'd borrow and take home books from our small public school library and talked about them the following day. I became intrigued so I got into the fad and borrowed my first book. I read it in one sitting for everything was so captivating. I borrowed my second book the next day and finished it again on the same day. From then on, I got myself hooked. I could no longer stop myself from borrowing a new book each day until the day came when I had already borrowed and read all the books in English. Now that was a real letdown, so I turned my attention to books written in our own native language. Yes, I borrowed all of them too because of this "thirst" which I needed to quench everyday.

From books, I have switched my attention to magazines which I'd buy from time to time. I did not buy them regularly because that would be too expensive. Sometimes I'd just read them in the library. (more next post)