My Second Pair of Eyes

Project Speech 8 - Using Visual Aids. This project was delivered on the occasion of the a club's humorous and evaluation contest, as a test speaker. The experience of having 5 evaluation (4 from contestants and 1 from silent evaluator) was simply refreshing, especially when you hear differing opinions  of the contestants. This is certainly the true spirit of the toastmasters program - evaluations that reflects the evaluators' personal views that are sincerely presented for the benefit of the speaker. All photos are copyright to the author.

Contest chair, distinguished guests and fellow toastmasters, a very good evening to one and all. Recently I acquired a second pair of eyes and an extended brain. What? You might say, did I do an eye surgery or something? And did I get myself into an accident and crashed part of my brain? No, no, nothing that exciting and sensational. I simply bought a Camera (prop), a Digital single lens reflex camera, DSLR for short.These are typically used by professional photographers. Now, how is this thing my second pair of eyes and an extended brain? Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to show you the magic of photography!
 
A camera is gadget that operates similarly to our human eye. It makes photos just like how we human eyes capture images around us. Take a look at this diagram 

Source: Pasadena Eye Associates, http://www.pasadenaeye.com/faq/faq15/faq15_text.html

This is a camera (point) and this is a drawing of a human eye (point). When we want to take a picture, we press this button, and this opens the shutter, very much like us opening our eyes. Light from the object enters through our pupil (in the camera's case - the aperture) and our brain begin to see the image as it was formed on the retina, similar to the camera film in the past and of cos the memory card in the modern digital format. When we release the button, we shut the eye again, and the image is being blocked out. So isn’t this wonderful gadget my second pair of eyes or what?
 
And how does this gadget become my extended brain? It is because the photos that I took at that point in time are saved in the memory card or subsequently in the computer me allow me to store it forever! Well, not forever, but certainly longer than my leaky memory could last. Sometime down the road, when I needed to recall a place, a time or an event, all I have to do is to check my photos and it would trigger the memories of that wonderful moment. So, this gadget helps to create an external hard disk of the most precious memories in my life. And it is precisely for this reason that I took up photography in the first place – to capture the fleeting moments in our lives.
 
About one year ago I picked up photography, and decided to take this hobby seriously so armed with my newest camera I joined my first basic photography course to learn how to operate this thing and of course, how to take a good picture. I found out this second part of eyes can do certain things better than my original pair of eyes!  There are camera tricks that I can perform with ease.
 
For example, in camera, we can set the depth of field to make your picture looks either crystal clear or in a state of dream. Let’s take a look at this first example – this is a stock of flower taken in Bangkok Thailand before I took up photography class.

This is a very clear picture with everything in focus, the flower in the foreground, the pagoda in the background and everything else as well. It is a well-take picture, for my very first attempt at taking flowers. I was quite pleased and was patting myself on the shoulders. However, after taking photography class and got more exposed to what a camera can do, I realized that this is actually a very boring picture! It is nice, but not fantastic for it has no specific selling point. Everything in this picture is screaming for your attention – The flower, the pagoda and even the green textured roof! So how can I improve this picture? First, I have to decide what is the focus, what exactly do I want people to see – the flower, so everything else is not important, so I somehow have to make the rest disappear! The way to do this is to change the depth of field by adjusting the aperture, represented by a F-number in the camera. The aperture is essentially the hole at which light travel (point to lens), and as we explain a min ago it is very similar to the pupil in our human eye. When you reduce the F-number, it allows less light to come in, and therefore, creating an image that focus only on the subject that you wanted people to see. This (picture) is the final result - an example of having only one area being in focus. 

This is a stalk of flower taken in the Singapore Garden Festival held last months, but really it does not matter where, it is this particular heart of flower that matters for this picture. Magical isn’t it? The camera created this flower in a dreamy state and froze it in the moment, to be captured on film.
 
The second camera trick I can perform with this gadget is to capture more than one thing at a time! This is a fantastic feature that our human eye cannot do. You know how we always say that we cannot turn back time? Certainly we can’t, but we can capture time using the camera. Take a look at this fireworks photo, I took this during last month's NDP. 

It captures one burst of fireworks, which is great. I am very pleased with myself. However, consider this. What if I can capture more than one burst of fireworks? Our human eye can only see what is presented to us at that moment and never anything prior or anything after. Therefore we have to rely on our leaky memory to remember what we saw during the entire session. But hey, guess what, the camera can do this for you... Like this! 

This picture is taken during the previous year NDP and it captures a total of four bursts of fireworks. Isn't that a neat trick? How do i do that you might ask, well, with a use of a black card (demo) and wallah! You got each moment captured at precisely the right moment on the same image!  So you see, there is no need to rely entirely on our own memories, the photos will serve as extended memories to us to capture the whole splendor of the fireworks display.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, there are many more tricks I can do with the camera, and I am barely starting out. So far I have been very pleased with this second pair of eyes and extended memory, something which I will certainly exploit further. As Eudora Welty, the award-winning American author in the 19 century said "A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away". That is exactly what I wanted to do, and I hope you would join me to pick up this pair of eyes to capture the beautiful moments in our lives.
 
Thank you. Contest Chair.

Stopping Time

Project Speech 7 - Research Your Topic. Delivered at the project clinic using iPad to show the pictures, effective only in a small group and not at formal chapter meeting due to the limitation of the iPad. The objective is to demonstrate the joy of photography through quotations, examples and illustrations taken from various sources. All photos are copyright to the author. 

My fellow toastmasters, if, you have a fairy godmother and tonight, if you are granted one wish, any wish under the sun, what will you wish for? Ladies and gentlemen, if I have that one wish, I would like to ask for the power to stop time! Anyone watched X Men 2 the movie? In the movie Prof X stopped time and caused all the people to freeze in that moment. I would like to have that power, to stop time in its track and freeze everything around me. But for what purpose? Certainly not to conquer the world.. But to capture the most beautiful moment for just a second longer! Guess what? I do have that power you know... Through the use of a camera!
 
One and a half years ago I picked up photography, and decided to take this hobby seriously.  I bought my first Canon DSLR, and took my first basic photography course to learn the foundations of taking a good picture. Taking photos you might say, is such a unless hobby, after all, what good does it do to keep all those pictures? Ah, but little do you know, the job as a professional photographer is gaining popularity in many parts of the world. Take United States for example, a study conducted in July this year by the bureau of statistics showed that the profession  is projected to grow by 13 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. So you see, being a photographer does pay! However, my motivation to take up photography is not about making money, but to stop time and capture those beautiful things that I see onto a digital format, my extended memory.
 
The first thing that I would like to take photos of is the beautiful landscape and scenery that I came across when I travel.  I remember when I traveled to Greece last year, I came across a great place of rocks in the air – the Meteora. It is one of the most extraordinary places in the world.  

As you can see, it is a series of sandstone rocks rise from the surrounding plain like tall lumps of clay on a potter’s wheel, as though waiting to be mould. Today the Holy Monastery of Great Meteora  is the largest of the monasteries built on top of Metéora, amidst the vertical rock faces. 

The picture showed the sheer magnificence of the building and the natural landscape around it and Wow! Isn’t it mind-blowing? There are many other great wonders of the world that I would love to capture, as such the Great Wall of China, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Halong Bay in Vietnam. The ability to capture these sites at its best and most grand in my pictures became my first motivation to take up photography.
 
Besides taking landscape pictures, my next photo target is people, portraits. I always have an inquisitive mind, and when I was young, I used to look at an aunty or an uncle, their expressions and wondered what they are thinking, what kind of lives they lead and what their characters are like.. for I am sure, each and every one of the people that I met in my life has such rich life stories to tell and experience to share. Well, my curiosity is never really satisfied but extended by the use of photography. Take this man for example, on his weather beaten face you can see the lines on his forehead, the deep set eyes staring ahead, the unshaven face. Such strong features created an aura of mystery, strength and character. Plain t shirt and faded jeans all added to this image.

That is the power of photography, it tells you much more than you actually see on the surface, so long as you care to look in detail and let the photo guide your imagination. Not all photos of my subjects are mysterious and dark, I capture moments of innocence too - this picture is the best that I have taken so far, for children are notoriously difficult to photograph.  See the childlike delight in this little girl's face and feel the happiness that she felt at that moment? If I am the child's mother I would be so totally moved by this picture. All this made possible only by stopping time through photography.

  What else would I like to take pictures of? Well, something that we do every day, every few hours in fact! Food... Since eating is Singaporean's national past time.  According to the popular history of photography, food photography used to be restricted to its commercial values, where you see pictures of dishes used in restaurants menus and sign boards. However nowadays taking photos of food is becoming a fashion trend, and you can even see youngsters doing it, and the next thing you know, they are posted on Facebook. A dish can be made to look as plain or as delicious, all depends on how you take the picture. For example, the old fashion way is to take the picture from above, as is. This is a good example.

 Can you see what dish is it? Not only is it plainly and badly taken, the picture is also too overexposed to figure out what it actually is. However, if you would change the angle, and take care to capture the light and colour of a particular dish, it can be so vivid and clear that it looks simply fantastic! Just like this picture. 

Don't you think that it looks delicious? Let you in on a secret, this is a part of a birthday cake and it is really too sweet for my taste. So you see yet again the power of photography? Nowadays I take only pictures of good food to remember a gastronomically good time, or savor a dish once again... even if it is only on the iPad.
 
So ladies and gentlemen, landscape, people and food. These are the three things that motivated me to take up photography. As Eudora Welty, the award-winning American author in the 19 century said "A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away". That is exactly what I wanted to do, and I hope you will join me one day, to stop time, in our lives, from running away.
 
Thank you.

A Date with A Woman

This story comes through an email, and touching story that reminds us that we must not take our loved ones for granted. When was the last time you spend time with them?


After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said I Love You but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you. The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.

That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. 'What's wrong, are you well?' she asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.

'I thought that it would be pleasant to be with you,' I responded. 'Just the two of us.' She thought about it for a moment, and then said,'I would like that very much.'

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she too seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.

She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's. 'I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed.' She said, as she got into the car. 'They can't wait to hear about our meeting'.

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the first lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Large Print.

Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw mom sitting there staring at me.
A nostalgic smile was on her lips. 'It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,' She said. 'Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor,' I responded. During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation, nothing extra-ordinary, but catching up on recent events of each others life.

We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, She said, 'I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.' I agreed.

'How was your dinner date?' asked my wife when I got home. 'Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,' I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to do anything for her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt
from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: 'I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; But nevertheless, I paid for two plates. One for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. "I Love You, my Son.'

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: 'I LOVE YOU!' and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than God and your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till 'some other time.'

Act Now Before You Regret.

Will You Take Me Home?

6000 – that is the number of stray dogs that have been put to sleep each year, statistics from the ministry of national development.
250 – that is the number of unwanted dogs that SPCA received and about half of them are abandoned
$500 to $2000 – that’s the cost of buying a dog
$0 – that’s the cost of adopting one
 
President, Toastmasters, and guests, these are the staggering statistics that we see today with regards to the Local stray dog scene. Due to the sheer number of stray dogs that we faced today, increasing efforts are needed to house them and sometimes, even to put them to sleep.
 
Non-profitable organizations have sprung up over the years by kind souls to help cope with the situation. Noah’s ark is one of them. It was set up by Raymund Wee in 1995 as an animal shelter for dogs, cats and even horses, to care for those that are sick, injured and abandoned. The Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) was established in December 2000 to improve the welfare of stray and abandoned dogs in Singapore. And there is SPCA … These are the few prominent organizations that are working quietly but diligently to help with the situation.
 
Now the government and organizations are doing their parts to cope with the stray dogs situation, what can we as individuals do to help? I say- one dog at a time!  But how? Allow me to share with you my personal experience as an example. I have 2 dogs, one which I bought from a pet shop and another adopted. I bought my first dog because of love at first sight. This I shared during my P2 project, and of cos, out of ignorance for current issue that we faced in Singapore. After being more exposed to dogs, dog care and also the local dog-owner community, I came to realize the problem and that the right way is to adopt rather than buy. As such my second dog, that is adopted from an accidental litter of 8.
 
10 years have I lived and cared for my beloved dogs. Yes, to be a responsible dog owner is hard work - ensuring that they are well fed with lots of exercises so as to maintain good health. Every night I need to ensure I reach home in time to feed them, their one and only meal in a day. Each night, I diligently wash the toilet as they are house trained. Each night, I bring them out for a walk for fresh air and exercise. If I need to travel I need to find someone to replace me and my duties for each day. Isn’t it hard work? All these pain and toils, is it worth it? If I have another chance to choose, will I still choose to be a dog owner? The answer is YES! for all 3 questions.
 
Why am I still so convicted after 10 years of hard labour? Precisely because dogs are Man’s Best Friend. They are my best friend, they are my pride and joy, and I cannot live without them.  Every night I open the door to 2 smiley faces, crazy with joy of my return. Every night, I get the chance to cuddle 2 very obliging warm bodies, knowing that everything is alright with them around. Every time I feel sad for whatever reason, they are the ones that will come and console me.  Even time when I am upset with them for messing up the house, I can never stay angry for long when I stared into their pearly innocent eyes.  It looks as though my dogs are dependent on me for all their needs, but I know, deep down in my heart, I depended on them emotionally as much as they depended on me physically.
 
If dogs are so wonderful, why are there so many of them being abandoned? Ah… but we humans have souls that are dark and unpredictable… well, I believe that is just one of the reason. Most of the time owners buy dogs without thinking far ahead and understanding the full commitment.  Some buy them for birthday gifts, especially for their children, and yet others buy them purely for their cuteness. Needless to say, after a while the novelty wears off and the  once cute puppy became a naughty and destructible monster around the house. They became a burden to the whole family and are no longer wanted.
 
With  a little education, research and knowledge on how to correctly take care of the dogs and train them well, they will add immense joy into your life. They will be the only family member that remain loyal to you all their life, and certainly the only ones that would never talk back in any argument. Truly, till death do they part from you. Very soon your heart will be filled with love for this tiny ones and you will realise that having another small delicate animal in your life is a most wonderful thing!
 
Even then, why buy? Please – adopt! There are so many wonderful puppies, currently being housed in SPCA, Noah’s Ark and ASD. These dogs are no less perfect or cuter than those sold in the shops. They give you the same undivided love and attention and they promise a life time of devotion. What's most important is that it practically cost you nothing to adopt them, as compared to buying a so called pure bred from pet shops.
 
Are you convinced? Will you adopt a dog and share your life with it?  Let me give my plea a final push by sharing excerpts from this touching poem with you:
 
Will You Take Me Home – Credit - taken from a pet forum by a person named Laura.
 
I am a stray, out on the street,
Trying so hard not to get beat!
I often have to fight to stay alive,
It is a struggle, just to survive.
 
I am so alone out here, so tired and cold
This was not how, I was supposed to grow old!
No one comes to give me food,
It's not nice here, in my neighborhood.
 
I don't know what happened! Or why I am here!
What happened to my people that use to hold me so dear?
Now I am so alone and tired and cold,
Is this how I am going to grow old?
 
Could someone just stop from a busy day?
One kind word could someone say?
To a animal so scared and alone?
And perhaps find me a place in your home?
 
Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, if this poem touches you a wee bit, please say yes to adopting a dog.
 
Thank you. TME. 

This is delivered as a P9 speech in the Toastmaster's Exco Meeting. Was not in tip top condition when it was delivered, and it is the first time I did not rehearse and time my speech before the actual delivery, as a result, I missed the chance to recite the poem, thinking that I do not have enough time, when the whole speech lasted on 6 min 30 secs. This proved that rehearsing is absolutely important to ensure a good delivery!

PS: all information on the organisations are taken from the respective website. Special credit given to the especially moving poem written by Laura. 

Running Away

Birthdays to me have always been a dread. My birthday that is. And this year, I faced the same problem of having to decide how to spend this most dreadful day of the year. My fellow toastmasters, a very good evening. Today, allow me to share with you how I actually spend my birthday this year.
 
Now I have to confess I hate birthdays. Oh don't get me wrong, i love celebrating other people's birthdays, with cakes and songs and parties and presents! But I simply hate mine. It is just ladened with too much emotions and memories and unaccomplished birthday resolutions that I just feel like running away!  And so I did just that this year! I ran away to the woods, like snow white running away from the wicked queen. So where did i go? I went and climbed a mountain.
 
Gunung  Arong is situated in Mersing, Johor, about 2 hours of bus ride from the woodlands checkpoint. It is a recreational forest area with a mountain peak of 225 metres high. Yep, only 225 metres high. The hike has a rating of 1.5 out of 5, by the adventure club that organized this; it is beginner's level . I thought, I am fit, I work out very regularly, and therefore this would be a walk in the park! So I signed up. Truly, ignorance is the best motivation! I simply under-estimated the mountain.
 
At 6 am in the morning I dutifully waited at the gathering point with a lot of anticipation for an unusual day. As I knew no one there, I had great opportunity to make friends! See, I get a party on my birthday too, just that they did not realize they were invited. I sat with an Indian lady and both of us became fast friends even after the hike.
 
With me being all geared up for my hike, I was very eager to get to my first stop after entering Malaysia. But even before we reach the destination,I got just a little bit worried. The organizer for the hiking group started describing the various mountains and their challenges, and one of them was leeches! Yeeekks! I have never seen a real leech in my life, and I really do not want to have any of those blood suckers on me! So I listened very attentively... Fire is the only way to kill them if you meet one. My lighter was never very far from me during the whole trip. Thank goodness, even with the wet and humid weather that day, there were no sightings of these suckers and I did not get the chance to burn anything. Oh well, there will be next time...
 
The second hurdle I need to overcome was the river crossing. The description of this hike at the website stated a short river crossing of around the height of less than 1 metre. Alright, I tell myself. Easy enough, I just need to waterproof my back pack and wad through the river. But haha! God saw to it that I certainly will have enough excitement on my birthday. Due to the intermediate rain that hardly stopped during the week leading up to my hike, the water from the South China Sea swelled the river that led inwards, and lo and behold, the water level had rose to close to 2 metres! You can imagine the swearing that my organizer did when she reached the river banks! She is afterall standing tall at a great height of 150cms.
 
After we swam across the river, with the guys carrying the backpacks over their heads, we finally reached the bottom of the mountain. The time then was around 11 am, and by the organizer’s standard, we are truly very very far behind our intended timing. And so we started our 2 hrs ascend immediately, wet clothes and all!  Plodding through the rainforest was an unusual experience for me. The air was humid and dense with the smell of rotten leaves on the ground, and the tall trees spread out their canopy to provide us the shade, which also caused our clothes to remain stubbornly wet and sticky on our skin. As the path led on, our group of 28 hikers formed a single file and gradually those who are truly fitter will lead the way ahead. Needless to say I led to way too, counting from behind that is. However I really did not mind being the last as it gave me time to truly experience nature and be part of it, even for a while. It was then that it dawned on me, while we think we were conquering the mountain, was it actually the other way around? The mountain and nature conquered us instead. We could have left our footprints along the muddy road, but rain and other natural forces saw to it that they were erased in no time. Man had thought he is capable of everything, but he did not realized that nature does not really care what he does at all. That really put me in perspective of me, my life, and what i thought are my great achievements in life. With these self-cleansing thoughts running through my head as I plodded along following the long trial, I gained so much, not just physically, but also mentally and to a certain extend spiritually as well. That, to me, was the best birthday gift I can ever get.
 
As we climbed higher, we were able to glimpse through the thinning tree tops and saw the magnificent view beyond the mountain. That motivated each of us tremendously and our anticipation for the full view at the summit rose with each step we take. After 2 hours of throttling and plodding and hurling ourselves up the slippery slopes of Gunung Arong, we finally made it! The peak was everything that was promised to us, with panoramic views of the South China Sea and it's neighbouring islands. God knows I deserve an even better reward... Pulau Tioman! I can see Pulau Tioman, because God saw it  fit to part the clouds and allow the sun to shine through just as we were resting at the peak. Breathtakingly beautiful, the island looks as though it beckons us to go there to enjoy its deep blue sea. God knows we all need a good bath!
 
So, my dear fellow toastmasters, did I lose out by running away during my birthday? Of cause not! In fact there was so much I gained out of this experience. I will gladly run away again even on other days, for the rewards and treasures in nature were more than beyond expected. It was indeed a very memorable birthday for me, one which i had no regrets and will gladly experience it again.
 
Thank you. 

P6 Delivered on the occasion of the project clinic. Total 7 mins with a few sections being cut as this is too long. Achieved the objectives of pauses, tonal variable, body language etc. Still need to work on grammar. Also the paragraph on reaching the mountain peak gave a false conclusion, so need to work on the organization. Ah counter? Uncountable...

PS: people and references are all mine.
 

Atonement by Ian McEwan - An after-thought

This story has an "unbalanced" structure that one would not have expected if you know very little of the story or the movie. The first part happened entirely in 1 day, whereas the second part is a long journey of war time stories and descriptions. The last part jumps to where Briony was 77 years old, and all things are now past.

The style is not what I normally would take to, given that I cannot relate to the intensive "discovery" of the world that little Briony was going through in Part I. As the events unfold, I began to form impressions that Briony is very self-absorb little girl who believed that the world needs to revolve around her and her tightly controlled world of make-believe.

A single stroke of jealousy was my thought, when Briony finally got the chance to punish the Robbie for choosing her sister rather than her. It was a very subtle theme well hidden until revealed only in the second part, amidst the war time horrors that Robbie was undergoing. I ran out of patience half-way through the narration. A pity to miss the more intricate part of Robbie's growing up but, nonetheless, the style really isn't one that captivates me enough to sustain the whole section.

"The writer is God". This is essentially the essence of the last part, the point to put across by Ian McEwan. This is a reflection that great novels are written where real tragedies lack. In the world of Robbie and Cee, they may very well be reunited and lived happily ever after. However, that would quite plainly make this novel very much less that extraordinary. Fairy tales leave no long impressions as tragedies do. So yes, in the world of make belief and master pieces, the write is God.

Shared during the monthly book club discussion 29 July 2012, and published in Goodreads.

Survival 101

DG, AG, Presidents and fellow toastmasters. Tonight I would like start my speech with a quick poll - how many of you have attended a concert before? Any concert - orchestra, pop singers, rock band? (show of hands) How many of you have attended a concert, but not as an audience, but as a performer on stage? ( show of hands) My question to you is - how did you do it? Survived the "ordeal" and performed successfully? ( if no one - have you ever wonder how did the performers do it?)

Recently I had the chance to do just that- perform on stage, and I barely survived! I am part of a semi commercial choir called Vox Camerata, made up of volunteers with a passion for singing. Every year we throw a concert to the public and invite our friends and family members to a night of beautiful choral music.  3 weeks ago, on 30 June 2012, the concert hnamed A Summer Soirée was my first concert on stage.... And i survived! For a beginner who zero stage experience and who is extremely shy standing in front of an audience, it was really no mean feat for me! I was so happy I survived it that I decided to develop a survival 101 guide to it, and tonight, I would like to share with you 3 tips on "How to survive a concert looking like a pro".

Survival tip no 1 - tame those butterflies! For any first timer going on stage, the first thing you would notice immediately is the glaring spot light, that make you extremely self conscious, on top of the fact that you are already carrying a whole bag of butterflies flying around within your tummy! Well, fret not,  a good friend of mine once told me that whenever I feel nervous on stage, I can use a trick - that is to imagine that the audience are all naked! So, if they are sitting there naked, they should be the ones embarrassed, not me!  At the start of concert, I tried this trick to some success. It nearly made me laugh, which helped to ease my tension a it. Hmmm... I wonder if I could use this trick for my toastmasters speeches? But that would be another different topic.

Survival tip no 2 - keep a poker face! After you conquer those butterflies you might actually get to relax and survey the whole concert hall. This is probably the time start searching for familiar faces in the audiences. But be careful less you get distracted, because the only person  your eyes should be looking at is your conductor! Many times, my conductor, being back facing the audience, had to grab our attention by doing this ( fingers).  We really could not blame him for being so attention seeking that night. Also, please resist any thing that will make you laugh. I remember one lady of our group very nearly tipped over her file in nervousness. Even if the file actually fell onto the floor, you must maintain your poker face, pretend nothing has happened and everything is under control.

Survival tip no 3 - have a broad beautiful smile. During the second half of the concert, disaster strikes! We were doing the carpenter piece - We've only just began- At a very awkward cadence of the piece,  the whole choir lost their key and could not blend together! It was a moment of total embarrassment and panick. From the audience, you can see some who caught on to that that started squirming in their seats; and some other started to smile. For those who are perfect pitched, we were so sorry we just killed them on the spot. That section of the piece would probably sounded like the screeching of breaks that pierced into their ears. We can literally see some of them tightened their grip on the side of their seat! And so, what should you do if you go off key? Smile! Smile a broad grin like this is the most beautiful piece you have done, and pray for the ending of the piece to come quickly! So for those who are tone deaf and clueless what just happened, check out our smiles. When you saw our broad grin, you'll know that something's wrong; and after the concert you can pretend you know all about it and talk intelligently.

Ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you that if you follow my survival guide, you can go through any concert looking like a pro.  That night we sang to a full house and are even good enough to get to do our encore piece. Now if you still don't believe me, come join me at my choir Vox Camerata, and test of the tips yourself! I guarantee you, you will not be disappointed!

This speech was delivered at the Toastmasters Chapter Meeting. Evaluation - This is project 5 - your body speaks. There is not enough body movement and expression.

Own evaluation - in a bid to prevent myself from being to exaggerated, I have toned down too much, and missed achieving the desired effect. Also, the speech is too short, mainly because I forgot some key sentences and had to make up some new content on the spot.

Need better content management next time...