Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Rhinos, Lions, and Elephants! (June 1, 2014)

Written by Eunice Tan
Edited by Eliza Tan

Last Sunday, we experienced another fantastic and worthwhile ICC Chapter meeting! We started out with a fun and amusing icebreaker.Using our palm first, then with one finger, we tried to tear a paper into two.


Photo by Eliza Tan


Listening to Coach Joseph explain the icebreaker.

Photo by Eliza Tan

Photo by Eliza Tan

Laughter and smiles were present in every corner of the room! Surprisingly, tearing the paper into two with one finger was much easier than with our palm, because the focus point was concentrated in one specific area. In the same way, focusing our energy on one point is necessary to accomplishing our tasks effectively!

After a great time of worship, we watched part one and part two of the P3+R3=C3 videos created by the Speak First chapter. The videos were humorous and it showed how important this formula is in our lives as we speak as cultural communicators.

Photo by Eliza Tan

My sister said that she set the wrong camera mode here, but this is pretty funny. :D

When the videos were done, Coach Alfred questioned us that if we had to become animals, would we like to be rhinos, lions, or elephants? Unfortunately, no one wanted to be a fat elephant, so it was just between the rhinos and the lions. The 'rhinos' and the 'lions' had to explain why it was better to be that animal than the other. Thinking on the spot, rebutting the opposition, and avoiding stuttering were some hard parts in our mini debate. But with the help of our team mates, we succeeded! It was a great experience and we certainly learned more about debating and limited preparation.

Photo by Eliza Tan

Coach Alfred also taught us how to match our pitch with our words, and to focus emphasis on important words in a sentence. He provided us with entertaining and helpful exercises that aided us in projection and expression to bring the story or speech to life!. We had a pleasant and well used teaching session!

Photo by Eliza Tan

Speakers diligently taking notes:
Photos by Eliza Tan


All of us knew what was coming next... Limited Preparation! The first batch of YSGers did a great job in their limited preparation speeches! They were well prepared and had very interesting points! Well done, YSG!


My sister, Eliza's, topic: What does it mean to you to be joyful?

Photo by Eliza Tan

My topic: What is beauty?

Photo by Eliza Tan

Charis' topic: What is a leader?

Photo by Eliza Tan

Nathanael's topic: Stop and smell the roses.


Meanwhile the BPSers had their Show and Tell! 

(A coach's comments are written in blue)


The BPS speakers have done much better. A lot of good improvement especially in their confidence and initiatives.

Photo by Foong Chee Keong (Coach)

Olivia volunteered to be the first to present. That takes plenty of courage. She had sufficient, interesting details and good eye focus. Well done, Olivia!


Photo by Foong Chee Keong (Coach)

Debbie spoke more confidently and did much better than the last time! Great job, Debbie!


Photo by Foong Chee Keong (Coach)

Jonique was very well prepared for her speech. She had lots of confidence! You have done well, Jonique! 
Keep it up!


Photo by Foong Chee Keong (Coach)

Elliot had a very interesting story to tell, and he was confident. Well done, Elliot! Good work!


Photo by Foong Chee Keong (Coach)

Evan was well prepared and his story was interesting too. Good eye contact and confidence was shown. Good speech! 
(P.S. Notice the little hamster [sooo cute] and its maze? How creative!)

When the YSG and BPS sessions were over, we all grouped together again and watched part three of the P3+R3= C3 videos! It was comical and important! We really enjoyed it!

Photo by Eliza Tan


Photo by Eliza Tan

Coach Joseph concludes the meeting.


After the meeting, the YSGers gathered to discuss some ideas for a movie as a new project! We are really looking forward to it!

------------------Some additional photos!------------------

Photo by Eliza Tan

Jonique

Photo by Eliza Tan


Photos by Eliza Tan

 Jern Ling and Jemima

Photo by Eliza Tan

Charis

Aaand.....Evan's little friend made a special appearance at the end of the meeting! 


Photos by Eliza Tan

As my sister commented, such a bundle of furry cuteness <3

We had a wonderful time of learning, fellowship, and sharing! We can't wait for our fifth meeting!

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

A New Venue and More Presentations! (May 24, 2014)

Written by Eliza Tan

Sorry this is quite late! The blog post of our fourth meeting will be coming soon!

Our third meeting (hooray!) was held in a new venue, kindly provided by Hope EFC through BPS Coach Chee Keong and Coach Pei Yin. :) We are really grateful for this new location and we also thank God for our hospitable previous hosts, Coach Choong Ming and Coach Honey, who hosted us in their home!

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

The icebreaker: short 30-second discourses between pairs of speakers and coaches on the topic "Should everyone have pets?" using the PM (Plus Minus) format.
You can bet there were plenty of perspectives!

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Hehehehe don't tell anyone, but I think........(kidding! :P)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Our devotion started off with a thought-provoking question: do you know what the number one complaint of employees about their bosses is? (k I won't keep you guessing)

Hypocrisy. 

....definitely a vital but often neglected topic.

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

If we are honest with ourselves, hypocrisy is something we all struggle with. It's a simple thing in theory, really, doing what you say. The devotion served as a great reminder to rely on God's strength and to be aware that we represent Christ daily through our testimonies as His ambassadors.

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

We had great small group discussions examining practical ways to avoid hypocrisy:

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Nathanael Chong

Coach Alfred gave us some great tips on the three important factors of public speaking, vocal (voice), visual, and verbal (content).

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

We learned a lot on pacing and varying our volume intensity through vocal variety.
And as usual, Coach Alfred taught us some pretty memorable voice exercises! 

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

To everyone's anticipation, the continuation of the YSG introduction speeches finally commenced! 
All the speakers did an outstanding job, surprising and impressing all of us!

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Jern Ling gave beautiful descriptions of her life and family. With great pitching, tone, and hand gestures, she certainly captured the audience's attention with her speech!

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Ian wowed the crowd with his ambitious plans to be a comedian! His riddles certainly kept everyone on their toes.

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Jern Yoong spoke with much clarity. He certainly possesses a lot of badminton skill and shows commitment in his ardent practice, aiming to become the world's first after Datuk Lee Chong Wei! (woot)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Ranen's hobbies, hand-made creations, and self-written books riveted our attention. His creativity certainly holds a lot of potential.

Aaaaand for the BPSers' very FIRST speeches!!! They certainly did a wonderful job. :D 

(A coach's comments are placed in blue)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Elliot, who courageously did the first presentation, spoke clearly and memorized Scripture well.

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Debbie spoke with good expression and memorized a long story. There is potential talent in her.

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Evan did well with good poise and voice volume. He was also able to memorize Scripture well.

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Olivia had good courage and eye contact in delivering her presentation. She memorized sentences as well. 

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Jonique had great expression and voice volume in reading a paragraph from a story book. She made us want to know more about the story.

Receiving feedback from coaches:

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Smiles and laughs :)

Photo credits: Chan Choong Ming (Coach)

Praise God for another wonderful and blessed chapter meeting!