Affirmative Feedback vs Constructive Feedback

Written by Ranen Chan
Edited by Charis Chen
All photos by Coaches Debra and Michelle

Greetings!

Our chapter chair, Jern Yoong, open the meeting with a warm welcome before leading us into the icebreaker. We were divided into two groups. Each group had to pick a core value, then prepare and present a skit that illustrates that core value. The icebreaker was fun and forced us to think on our feet and be creative. It also helped familiarize us with some of the core values.

Once we had settled down, speaker Ian led the devotion. He shared with us what it truly means to be meek. Meekness, unlike what some people think, is not weakness. Rather, meekness is controlling your strength and not misusing it. It is power under control.

Coach Joseph then related to us about how the CEO of a successful IT company once told him that every time a young person joins his company, he makes them cry – and that they later thank him for it. He went on to say that they cry because whenever they do a project or assignment, he gives them honest feedback, which often includes the fact that they have not done well enough, and they cry because they are used to being praised and being told they are the best. Eventually, however, the employees thanked the CEO for his honest feedback and improved in their jobs. The moral of the story? Affirmative feedback is important, but constructive feedback is even more so. It is crucial to improving and becoming better.

Next, the YSG and YCC had their respective breakout sessions. Speakers Ian and Eunice were in charge of the YCCers. Ian said, “During the YCC Session, Eunice and I attempted to tire the energetic YCCers with 30 jumping jacks, which was obviously not enough to tire them out. Anyway, the bunch of lively kids quickly settled down eager to learn more public speaking skills. They were cooperative and were excited to answer questions. We taught them about Limited Preparation and reviewed eye contact and dramatic pause. They also learnt the importance of smiling and how it can be used in their speeches. It was fun to work with those lively YCCers!”

Meanwhile, the YSGers, led by speakers Jern Yoong and Charis, learnt the importance of impromptu speaking. They also gave us some tips for Limited Preparation speeches. They shared that one of the ways to organise our speeches is to:

  a) tell our audience what we’re going to tell them,
  b) tell them, and
  c) tell them what we told them. 

Got that? That means that first, we tell them what we’re going to be speaking about (just a brief outline or thesis statement), then we present the body of our speech, and finally, we summarize what we just told them. We could also use the 5 paragraph model- an introduction, 3 points with examples, and a conclusion.

After that, we practiced our impromptu speaking skills by asking the coaches questions, and having them ask us questions. Besides helping us learn to think on our feet, this activity also helped us get to know each other a bit more.

Before we went for teabreak, Coach Joseph had Coach Han Ming come up. He then used a technique which he called “Scanning Windows” to engage him in conversation. It was a list of different questions relating to aspects of a job that can be used to get to know someone better.

Then, it was time for teabreak!

When teabreak was over, several speakers practiced their speeches in the chapter. First was Ian, who shared his testimony of how God helped him to embrace his handicap.

Next were Jodie and Lee Xin, who confidently presented their “Hello, my Name Is…” speeches.

Lee Yuan then gave her humourous speech about the “Vinder Viper.” She spoke clearly, with good enunciation.

After that, Carlson shared his camp experience with us, while Lafayette talked about God’s love. Although they were young, we could sense their confidence and the enthusiasm in their speeches.

All the speakers did a good job, especially those who were new to ICC. Bravo!

After all the speeches, Jern Yoong closed the meeting and dismissed us. 

The coaches then had a meeting, while speakers Eunice and Charis led the speakers in their first practice of the chapter presentation.

And that brings us to the end of our last meeting of September! We hope that you enjoyed reading this blog post!