Varieties of "Ahs" in public speaking

Toastmasters have ah-counters or members assigned to count the number of "ahs" a speaker makes in a single speech. Members who sprinkle a 5-7 minute speech with numerous "ahs" will most likely be penalized for doing this. The superfluous use of "ahs" could spring from it being a habit acquired over the years which had remained uncorrected until now.

"Ah" breaks the line of thought and actually means nothing. It probably gives the speaker a sort of a crutch, some sort of filler to fill some "dead air". But too much of this could sound very annoying.

How does one avoid this? Simple. Just do not use it. Whenever you feel the need to go "ah, ah, ah" just bite your tongue and keep quiet for that split second temptation. Instead of saying "ah" to fill the gap, just stop and allow silence instead of saying that killer word.

But beware. Ah,ah, ah...has several cousins. Some speakers can easily find other prop words which in effect actually means ah,ah,ah. What are the varieties of Ah? Here they are:

Ladies and gentlemen..

At the end of the day....

Madam Chair...

My friends....

You have anything more to add to the list? Feel free to add them here under comment.

overkilling "Madam Chair"

Every meeting as I listen and watch with amazement at my summer kids speak and debate with improved public speaking skills, I notice that while some had junked "ladies and gentlemen" and "at the end of the day" in place of "uh--uhmm.." some had sneaked in a new crutch in place of those redundancies and are now dotting their speeches with "Madam Chair" after every short phrase.

This being the case, Madam Chair, I strongly suggest Madam Chair, that using too much of this expression Madam Chair will blur the meaning or the message that you are trying to express Madam Chair.

When the overuse of this expression Madam Chair becomes too much Madam Chair we are actually "overkilling" the phrase Madam Chair and that if we do not do something about this Madam Chair to eradicate this nasty phrase Madam Chair then I am afraid Madam Chair that we might end up not saying anything Madam Chair.

Redundancies and unnecessary body movements seldom happen in the Oregon-Oxford type of debate where students get to do research, write, edit and practice delivering his or her specch a month or so before the debate.

got myself a new header

One of the latest blogs I had set up is called http://offbeatmom.blogspot.com which is going to be a depository of all the junk and dirt that come with living and thankfully from now on this blog will be spared from all those.

Thanks again to my son who helped me do the header and also to my daughter who took charge of setting up the ads, my latest blog is now online.

The illustration above shows the header of my new blog.

this girl knows her stuff

Curiousity and interest led me to this girl's blog and site which I got from Mylot community and from then on, I got hooked. I am impressed and lucky to get her links here as part of my list of resources. Her blog, http://www.beasavvywriter.blogspot.com contains very spontaneous and useful guides to becoming savvy writers. I got tickled brown reading her article on how to handle rejection letters---yeah, you can do service to the environment because there is such a thing as fruitful recycling and the blog handled this with a large dose of humor that one can't escape a good laugh. I am surely going to go back in order to read everything she got in there because this lady knows how to handle the language with such ease and smoothness, especially when read aloud, her articles just feel like ice cream to the mouth---nice and smooth.

I may be easy to impress, but there is no doubt about it--Ashley is doing an impressive job in that blog---lay-out, good; language, very good; variety of content, worth a daily visit.

Wait---Ashley has come up with a new site you don't wanna miss. I was there and I saw the great promise of http://www.bellevere.net. The first page gives an appropriate welcome with this phrase "beautiful soul, key to a gorgeous life". With this catch phrase, who wouldn't be enticed to stay and discover its hidden treasures? This site showcases the secrets to real Beauty, Love, Dieting, Fitness, REcipes and everything you need to have a beautiful life. It is a great site owned by one so intelligent and gifted.

Ashley knows what she is talking about as evidenced by her works. Links to both her sites are found in all my four blogs so anytime I want to give myself a break from the monotony of everything, I just make a visit to Ashley's blog and site.

Two thumbs up for this young lady!

The photo above features the front page of Ashley's latest website.

how do we make students speak up in class?

This is one problem many educators face today---making college students speak during class discussions. If a teacher is lucky he or she might be able to elicit the participation of one or two students in a class of say, 40 or 45. Whyyyyyy???



That is the big question.



Having dealt with different kinds of students for the past 25 years of teaching, I have heard students give almost the same reasons for this reluctance:



1) They are not used to it. They were never trained since elementary to high school to speak in front. The only time they spoke in front of their classmates was when they were asked by the teacher to recite the Panatang Makabayan from memory.



2) They are afraid to be ridiculed or laughed at when they make mistakes. This indicates low self-confidence resulting from poor or inadequate exposure.



3) Feeling of incompetence in speaking English which again is closely related to number 1 & 2.



When students are given more drills or practice in correct conversational English, this will give them the opportunity to use the language as often as possible and improve their fluency, thereby reducing their fear of making mistakes and developing them into better speakers of English.



However, this type of activity would need a lot of feedbacking from the teacher who should be actively listening and noting down errors in the students' use of the language. The teacher should not only sit there and listen to the students commit blunders and not do anything about it. The school did not pay her to just sit down, do nothing but wait for the bell. Her role is to improve students' performance. Feedback should be given at the end of every period, giving emphasis to the most common mistakes students make.



With such a class, the teacher starts with a motivation, reminding students what good speaking means, how important are audience contact and appropriate gestures, the significance of delivering the speech with a punch, the use of humor, poise, etc.



After a very good motivational opening, students begin their activity while the teacher should be actively noting down errors in language and delivery. Ten minutes before the time, the teacher goes up front to give the necessary feedback for the improvement of the students.

adjusting the curriculum towards conversational English

The reason why India is the top UK market call center provider is because schools there have adjusted their curriculum towards conversational English. The Philippines is 2nd only to India when it comes to catering to the North American market's call center needs. Why? Because our English curricula in the Philippines are not adjusted to the demands of the market. Take the following facts.

In 2004, there were 40,000 seats available in call centers for graduates who could speak good English. Eighty thousand seats were available in 2005 and the Department of Trade and Industry projects a doubling of the figures every year for the next five years.

No other industry in the Philippines is generating and providing as many job openings as the call center industry with salaries that are highly competitive.

But are schools delivering products that fit the demands of the market which is the call center industry?

It is sad to hear that out of 2,000 applicants, they will be lucky to get 5 or 7 real qualified graduates to work as call center agents who will be dealing with English-speaking clients 24 hours a day.

The solution that was proposed by a representative of Bigfoot Global Solutions Inc. is skills practice or conditioning students into practising the kind of work expected by the market.

One of the ways proposed is by giving assessment through conversational English, using oral examination as the testing format for prelims, midterms, or finals. Other activities such as panel quizzes, debate, oration, panel discussion may also be used by the teacher. The point is, to make the students speak and use the target language as often as every meeting.

This may raise the eyebrows of many traditionalists, but hey, we've got to get real. Our students will not be asked to write down their answers in a job interview. No, they will be using spoken English when they will be looking for work and they better start polishing this skill now.

It is only by doing this that schools can truly claim to be relevant to the times.

Happy Mothers' Day to all the Mothers in the World

Different countries have different dates honoring Mothers, but most countries, including the US and the Philippines observe Mothers' Day every second Sunday of May. It is going to be a big day for families to be together in greeting the greatest person in the whole Universe---our Mother.

We called our mother Nanay. When Nanay was alive she was the binding force that brought us her children together during special occasions like Christmas and birthdays.

My memory of her would always include that part of her which made people around her laugh. She was funny and continued to be so even when she was already a frail old woman. Nanay joined the Lord at the age of 82 but I have great and pleasant memories of Nanay.

Funny, strong, generous, hardworking, kind-hearted, understanding, sympathetic, loving, caring---almost too good to be true. Nay, we are proud to be your children and we are proud to have a mother like you! We miss you, we love you!

Flowers for you, Nay!

kicking, beating dogs

We do not kick nor beat our dogs. So when someone else in the house, like a helper, does this for no reason, we would be very angry. My son Mark who is a pet lover taught a lesson to one such person in the house whom he saw kicking our dog because she wanted to pass. Mark gave her a kick too for kicking our dog which was only sleeping in one corner but got kicked because the helper wanted to pass. This incident was repeated a couple of days ago by the daughter of our helper who just kicked our pregnant dog Lara for no reason. I mean, what's the problem with these people? Did they get kicked a lot by people in their own homes from wherever they came from to do this to creatures that are helpless? I instantly gave her a scolding, telling her that we do not kick dogs in our house, and therefore, because this is not her house, she has no business kicking our dogs whom we treat and consider as members of the family.

I think that people who exhibit cruelty to animals or helpless creatures should be punished. Cruelty to any form of life should never be tolerated in this society we call humane and peace-loving.

smiling at strangers

This is not one habit I have-- I mean, smiling isn't. That is why this afternoon I was surprised to find myself smiling at someone I did not know. Actually, my granddaughter and I were at Jollibee because she wanted some rice and steak and while we were waiting for the food to be served, Dewey, my granddaughter said something which made me smile. Along came a woman who saw me smiling and who smiled in return like we knew each other. She was actually a stranger to me and I found it weird that it seemed that I initiated that when I was only smiling at what Dewey said to me. Anyway, I thought, why not? It does not cost you anything to just smile at everyone you meet. It will make them wonder what is it you have in mind and what got into you. So lesson for the day: SMILE AT EVERYONE YOU MEET TODAY. It will cost you nothing but it will make this world (cliche) " a much better place to live in."

the mother of all diaries

This blog of mine is more than just a diary or journal for it records almost anything and everything. This is where I will be promoting my new blogs. Earlier I had given the links to my two new blogs at http://coolkidsparty.blogspot.com and http://speak4money.blogspot.com

which had to be born in order to put order in this personal blog of mine which has become the depository of everything. With my two new blogs, I will have more specific goals to pursue, but of course, this blog remains a hodgepodge of life's experiences. But there seems to be an aspect in each of us that awaits to be given recognition. It is this part of us which had remained a secret all these years---our embarrassments and failures, our scares and losses. We all have them but do we dare let the world know about them, our darkest thoughts and secrets? This blog, http://offbeatmom.blogspot.com is a woman's journey through a life of thorns and rocks.

This blog being what it is becomes the mother of all diaries.

will the many prohibitions lead to clean elections?

May 14 is one date Filipinos will have to watch. After six long years of silence Filipinos will be speaking up their minds in their ballots, trooping once again to their assigned precincts to cast their votes for the people who will again lead this country for the next 6 years. Do we dare make the same mistakes again?

While listening to TV Patrol tonight, I heard one newscaster enumerate the things that are not allowed this coming elections. Failure to follow any one of these could lead to 1 to 16 years imprisonment (if I heard it right), and disqualification for the candidates involved. It pays to know the things that are prohibited on election day:

1. Wearing of campaign t-shirts, caps, and other stuff bearing the name of a candidate.
2. Giving or receiving money from candidates.
3. Candidates giving free rides to voters.
4. No peddlers and other street hawkers are allowed to sell anywhere near the precincts.
5. Gambling of any sort during elections.
6. Drinking during elections.
7. No free food or feeding of voters by candidates.

Those are the only major guidelines I can recall. Look at all of them. If we can only strictly follow these guidelines, do you think this will pave the way towards a clean and honest election?

Yes. There is always hope for those who do not lose hope.

did an ad for radio with my son

Late this afternoon my son and I did a voice recording for a campaign radio ad. It came out just fine and I realized when I was doing the whole thing that it's been quite a while since I last worked for radio. It seemed like a million years ago when I was an active radio practitioner. I did newscasting, campus bulletin, Guest at Lunch and I had several radio names like Lady Love, Iya Tasing, Inday Tess, and Gramiraf. I was connected with two radio stations but my first stint was with DYWC, then later on I moved to Love RAdio. All these are part of a past that is hard to forget.

That is why when Atty. Saleto Erames, my candidate for Board Member, requested my son to do it, I readily volunteered to do bits of the script which the great man did himself. All in all, the production came out well. The ad will be aired early morning before the news, then at lunch time, and in the evening.

By the way, the photo above shows my son with a celebrity--that's not me.

snake for sale?

This morning while waiting for my turn to pay our electricity bill, I noticed a lady edging her way towards the cashier. She was obviously trying to sell something. When she turned after the guy at the counter said he was not buying, she was now facing me directly and it came as a shock to see her carrying a big two-gallon bottle with a huge snake inside. Was she selling snakes? My curiousity got the better of me so I asked her if she was selling snakes. She wasn't. In that large bottle was a big snake coiled and submerged in what seemed like water. The lady asked me if I wanted to buy. Buy what? Then she told me that she was selling medicinal massage oil in which the snake was soaked. She showed me the different containers and prices if I was interested to buy. Snake oil, according to her, is very medicinal. It can alleviate body pains when it is used as massage oil.

cool kids' party

A new site, http://coolkidsparty.blogspot.com , is one blog to visit when you want some party ideas or questions related to a party that you intend to throw. Queries or comments may be left under comments and quick response is guaranteed. This is also a great site for greetings of all sorts--you name it, this blog will publish it. You may also want your birthday or somebody's birthday to be noted. Just leave your username or real name, month and date of your birthday. We will take care of the party. In fact, a friend from Mylot, will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow and we are going to throw a party there. You are cordially invited. Please come as yourself.

coping with blackout

This one is tough. Coping with a scheduled power blackout from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. is hard to do. Anytime now this computer is going to go off, the fans will stop moving, the refrigerator will stop whining and the television will be mute. What do you do when everything seems to die around you? I have listed ways based on observation on how people cope with power loss:

1. The whole family hits the beach to enjoy the natural breeze from the sea.

2.One entire big family rushes to Bethel Guest House, one of the best hotels in the city, to have lunch and stay there until 5:00 to enjoy the coolness of the generator-run aircon.

3. Some would go malling, eat there and wait the whole time until everything is back to normal. Malls or big stores usually have their own generators so there should be no problem about dealing with the summer heat.

4. Stay home and make the most of it. Open all windows and doors to let the natural air in, find a good book to read.

5. General cleaning. Turn this blackout into an opportunity for you to clean your house. Make your house spot-free when power comes around.

6. If you are a student, do your school work outside. Bring a small table and a chair outside and do your work under a shady tree if there is any around.

7. Do your other house chores like marketing, cooking, setting the table.

8. Others would like to just simply lie in bed and sleep the day away.

If there are other more profitable ways of dealing with power loss, kindly leave them under comments.

a thousand "Ladies and gentlemen"

It is amazing to hear how young debaters, learning the skill of debating for the first time, had absorbed the bad habits of their predecessors. I do not only mean the dancing and the bouncing while driving their arguments but the profuse use of certain terms and expressions that can easily irritate the ears of the audience after listening to all of them.

In a short speech of 5 to 7 minutes, you would hear a deluge of "ladies and gentlemen" rattled by all 8 debaters. Multiply that by 7 and that's almost an hour of hearing "ladies and gentlemen" used freely all throughout. "At the end of the day" I thought I heard the expression a thousand times.

Another favorite expression which will most likely take the place of "ladies and gentlemen" is "at the end of the day" which I heard 20 times running second to everybody's favorite "ladies and gentlemen".

When their attention was called regarding the obvious and profuse use of "ladies and gentlemen", the new debaters have found another clutch on a new phrase, "at the end of the day".

Needless repetition and redundancy are discouraged anywhere whether in writing or public speaking. An expression should, as much as possible be only used once during the entire speech. Repeating it may not be a very good idea. Saying it more than twice will make you sound like a bore to say the least.

Excited

I am quite excited about my new blog on this same site. I will tell you its name later. As you might remember, I used to have still another blog but I have recently given it up because it failed to deliver its promise of paying. I have finally decided to have another one on this same site and true enough, in a matter of minutes, I was able to set it up, you may even want to view it now at http://speak4money.blogspot.com.

How is it different from this blog? I tell you. It is going to be very different because that one will be entirely devoted to ways and means of utilizing personal skills and talents to make money. There will be no personal crap there. It will be pure money talk.

We all want to achieve economic freedom, right? Will that day ever come? The answer is a cliche,"It is in your hands". Please make a visit to my new blog just because.

what is it about BP debating that makes students sway and rock while speaking?

I still don't get it. Is it the method of debating or the wrong training students are getting which makes them eat the words, speak too fast, sway and rock while speaking which I see rampant among those using the parliamentary style of debating? The skills or the manner is not there---poor audience contact, weak voice/delivery, rocking and swaying---what is that? There is too much haste in the delivery and the message, if there is any, is either lost in the effort or not understood at all. Students spend so much time and effort learning the wrong skills. In the end, it turns out to be a futile exercise teaching students the incorrect way by focusing only on the technicalities or format of the debate and neglecting to lay the important foundation of good public speaking or effective delivery which should be the end goal of all types of debate.

the manner AND the matter in debate

One cannot possibly separate one from the other without screwing the overall skill of a debater. He either has both or he doesn't. Judging from the way modern-day debaters are trained in the "latest" method of debate, I can easily see that much has been taken for granted. While it is true that the open display of stock knowledge in almost flawless rhetorics can put any traditional debaters to shame, but the manner by which these beautiful or erudite lines are delivered leaves many unsatisfied and confused.

What, exactly, is good debating? Is it just a mere show of knowledge, facts and stored information delivered in lightning speed because you have so much to say within only 7 minutes? In debates watched by a big audience, this kind of speaking is a no-no. Public speaking, as in debating for a big audience, requires proper pacing of phrases, appropriate gestures, and a lot of audience contact. No matter how well-researched or well-informed a debater is, but if he or she delivers her speech faster than the speed of light, looks everywhere except the audience, rocks and sways, uses only one hand to gesture, and whose voice lacks enthusiasm or power, then he better consider retiring from this activity.

ready to be mailed

Two winners had been picked for the "Guessing Game contest" earlier sponsored here and this is the prize of one of the winners who had already sent her forwarding address. This bag goes out to Greengal, a lady from Texas. I am awaiting for the other winner, Elk Hawk to send me his forwarding address so I can also send his prize.