Forging Into February! (February 4, 2018)

Written by Charis Chen

Edited by Eunice Tan

// february fourth //

today was good

two lines we stood

observing

grinning

Today's meeting began on a cheery note, with Ian kicking off the meeting with a laughter-filled icebreaker where we were divided into two parallel lines. Each person had a partner from the line opposite them. We took turns to look away while our partner changed something about their appearance, before we turned back to face them and try to identify what they had changed. This activity was definitely a fun, yet important reminder to always be observant of what's around us! As communicators, this comes in crucial to being able to act or respond appropriately to what is happening around us!

words - be they fiction or fact

make an impact

so speak with reason

and say what's wholesome

Ranen then led us in a devotion centered around Ephesians 4:29.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Our discussion on words led us through questions such as, "What impact have you seen words make?" "What kinds of words should we avoid?" and "What kinds of words should we use?" My favorite part of the devotion was when Ranen had us share, within our discussion groups, ways we planned to encourage people in our life this week. I really appreciated getting to hear from both the coaches and speakers on ways they wanted to show care and appreciation for their loved ones.

hold that sneeze!

we're traveling to ancient greece!

learn to win them to your party

just remember - the key is brevity

Our Dad-Coach Session was led by Coach Daniel, who brought us back in time to Ancient Greece. With the aid of some photographs, he showed us places in Ancient Greece that were key locations in the Apostle Paul's mission career and explained the culture behind those places. One of them was the Areopagus, where murderers were charged and philosophers discussed ideas. In that day, a water clock was used - a clay vessel with water that would flow out for six minutes. These six minutes were interesting minutes; it was the time allotted to someone to present his ideas to the people. Together, we read Paul's speech in Acts 17, noting that it was most likely a speech he would have presented at the Areopagus. We identified parts of the speech where Paul had used the three modes of persuasion - logos, pathos, and ethos. In the passage, we see how Paul was careful to not just show logic, but also present the truth in a manner that appealed to the Athenians, and in a manner they could trust.  Likewise, we need to strive to be relevant to others as we communicate with them.

pause

not just at a clause

you've got to find a way

with your pauses to take them away

Pause. Yes, you're going to need it. Brace yourself for...

OnthefirstdayofChristmasmytruelovegavetomeapartridgeinapeartreeontheseconddayofChristmasmytruelovegavetomeTwoturtledovesandapartridgeinapeartree.OnthethirddayofChristmasmytruelovegavetomefivegoldenrings.OnthefourthdayofChristmasmytruelovegavetomeFourcallingbirdsthreefrenchhensTwoturtledovesandapartridgeinapeartree.

Now brace yourself again for...

On
the
first
day
of



Christmas
my

true
love
gave

to me,

A
par


tridge

in
a pear

tree.

Okay, I think we've had quite enough of that erraticism. I know I have. But that came not without a point. Jonique led us laughing into our YSG session for the week, for which we learnt about utilizing pauses in our speech. Pauses can serve many purposes; they can add interest, build suspense, create emphasis, and more. Used out of balance, however, it might leave a listener feeling breathless with confusion, or waiting in annoyance for your next word.

As has been wisely stated, learning without doing is dead, so we practiced using pauses in our speech. We each picked a passage to read to a partner with effective pausing at appropriate places. It was a pause-some time!

Don't stop pausing!

Pause for the time of eating!

Get the break you need

Stretch your hands and stomp your feet

And, we're back! We wrapped up our chapter meeting with two speech practices - a Public Advocacy by yours truly on reducing the stigma of mental illnesses, and an energy-filled Cultural Storytelling by the Toh siblings. It's been a long while since we've done speech practices at chapter, and I'm glad we're kicking back into it! Little reminders of how ICC is a safe environment to grow :'))

As Coach Joseph always reminds us, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions!" - Ken Blanchard

And that brings us to the end

Thank you, dear friend

For joining us again 

Stay tuned for more adventures that remain!

Teamwork and Learning for Days

Written by Charis Chen

Edited by Eunice Tan

- 17 September 2017 - 

Greetings, dear friends! We are more than halfway through September - doesn't time fly? 

Today's meeting commenced with an icebreaker that I led. Everyone was divided into two teams which then received different pieces of information, but had the same end goal. In addition, they were limited in their means of communication. For example, one group could only speak four syllables at a time! It was interesting to watch the interactions between the two groups! Through the activity, we were reminded that many a time we feel like others are against us when what is really happening is that we don't have the right perspective of things. One way to overcome that is to be willing to make compromises to achieve a common goal.

We were then led in a thought-provoking devotional thought by Speaker Ian, who shared with us the words of Maya Angelou, "...people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." 

Photo by Eunice Tan

As communicators for Christ, we need to build meaningful connections with those around us through our attitudes, words, and conduct. Ian challenged us to intentionally encourage three people in our lives this week. If you're reading this, I'd like to invite you to do the same!

Today's meeting was slightly different- we had some exciting plans! 

Oh, but before that, we must never forget- the Word From Dad session! Sound unfamiliar? Well, this chapter year, we have transitioned from having the Word From Sponsor session to the Word From Dad, and I must say it's been lovely having the dads in our chapter be even more involved, because they are wonderful role models! 

Coach Choong Ming shared with us about how as leaders we are to be the example, not be entitled to being followed. It involves being humble, especially when mistakes have been made. It is important for us to have the right attitudes, words, and actions that show character, love, and authenticity from the inside, in order to be a Godly leader.

In addition, Coach Joseph shared with us how a leader needs to manage a project by being sensitive and connected to his team members by managing the energy of the team to ensure their dedication to its cause.

Photo by Eunice Tan

And now, for the extraordinary part of today's meeting! We packed up early and headed to our respective cars!

Wait, you may ask. Why is that exciting? 

Well, today was our filming day for the video that we're working on! We drove to a nearby park, but it began raining, so we got to have tea and some discussions before filming!

Food + cool weather = happy people!

Photo by Eunice Tan

We had a blast filming! Here are a couple snapshots we got along the way!

Ranen's home-designed panning device

Photos by Eunice Tan

Thanks for joining us! See you soon!

P.S. If you'd like to get a sneak peek of the fun we had during our audio-recording session for the video from our last chapter meeting, here's your chance!

Journies, Squabbles and How America Got Her Name

Written by Ian Chan
Edited by Ranen Chan and Charis Chen
All photos by Ranen
Greetings!

We are almost through with our Chapter year! What an exciting year!
Our Chapter Meeting started with an interesting story from our Assistant Chair, Charis.

Next, we were led by Speaker Jern Ling for the Salesman Squabble icebreaker. Who knew so many of us were so good at squabbling? Everyone was given two slips of paper with an occupation written on one piece and an item on the other. The main goal is to sell that item on the paper to another person of the occupation noted on his/her slip of paper.

After the very noisy icebreaker, Speaker Eunice led the devotion on friendship. She shared about true friendship and how friends should show more care and concern for each other. After her sharing, she asked two questions:

1. How can you show care to your friends?

2. What can you change to show your care towards your friends?

As both our Chapter Sponsor and the Assistant Sponsor were not available, my dad shared. He started with a joke on how America got her name. Christopher Columbus took great delight in Chinese Cuisine, so he employed a Cantonese Cook. After months of sailing, the crew finally caught sight of land. When they did, they jumped for joy and shouted with renewed energy. During the great commotion on deck, the cook was preparing the evening meal. He was extremely puzzled to hear such a racket up above, so he ran up and asked the Captain "Ah! Me Lei Gah?" which means, "What is it?" in Cantonese. To this, the beaming Captain replied, "Ah! Me Lei Gah! America!" After the laughter, he shared with us 1 Peter 3:15: "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." The ICC training teaches us to articulate our faith and answering those who ask with gentleness and respect. ICC's Mission is "Ready For Influence." When we are able to give the right answer, we impact and influence those around us. We are blessed with the opportunity to sharpen our communication skills and use it for God's glory.

After the sharing, Speaker Jern Ling did her Speech #10, the last speech! Congratulations! I can see her growth as a speaker.

Next up, we had Speaker Jodie present her Limited Preparation. Jodie spoke with confidence. Great job Jodie!

Then Speaker Danelle presented her Interpretive from an amusing poem titled A Very Long Poem by Colleen Hooper. Great confidence and articulation, Danelle! Keep it up!

After the speeches, we had our long awaited dinnertime.

After filling ourselves up, we listened to Carlson and Lafayette present their speeches with great interest. Both of them have great potential! 

Our meeting ended after discussing the Chapter retreat. 

"See" ya next time! :D 

The Journey

Written by Jonique Chan
Edited by Charis Chen

- 16 April 2017-

Hello! Welcome back to Chapter Words ALIVE's blog! We started off with an icebreaker led by....ME!! This icebreaker was called The Perfect Square. In this activity, everybody stood in a circle with their blindfolds on while holding a long piece of rope. Next, they put it down and take a few steps backward. After taking their short walk, the confused participants had to form the rope into a square. Do you think that they did it? At first, I believed they would never. However, they soon turned the circle into an isosceles triangle, then finally into a square. Great job everyone! This icebreaker taught all of us that in order to achieve something we first must communicate well. 





1st: Circle

2nd: Triangle

Finally, an almost perfect square

Photo by Coach Daniel Toh

*   *   *

Next was a devotion led by Speaker Ranen about the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:9. He started by asking everyone this question, "What do you think of when you hear the word peacemaker?" Truthfully, when I heard this question I thought to myself, someone not like me! First of all, peacemaking means reconciling two parties who are at odds. Jesus was the first person to display peacemaking by bringing us to harmony with God by dying on the cross. After listening to this devotion I decided to try and show peacemaking in my communities the next time someone has a dispute. 

The Prince of Peace 

Clipart by Clipart Kid

Our Assistant Sponsor, Coach Choong Ming then gave us some wise words. He shared with us that if we do not abide by God's upright laws, what we do will not go well. We must always use God's ways and worldviews and not let our selfish ways rule over God's way. 

Photo by Jonique Chan

And then came the part that all of us had been waiting eagerly for....the Guild Induction Speeches!!! First up was Charis, with her YSG Journey presentation. Charis shared with us how ICC had impacted her for 3 years. She encouraged us not to give up and keep working on our portfolios even though it can be very troublesome, and to keep working even though it can be very frustrating.  

Photo by Coach Daniel Toh

Photo by Coach Daniel Toh

Awesome job, Charis! My mind was filled with the old memories I shared with this chapter while listening to her wonderful speech!

After Speaker Charis was Speaker Jern Yoong! He started by telling everyone how he didn't enjoy ICC at first but soon was encouraged to keep going on when he received an invitation to the International Tournament for his Duo Interpretation Presentation, done with his sister. 

Photo by Coach Daniel Toh

Speaker Jern Yoong's speech was funny, relatable and interesting! Great Job!!

* * * * 

Next, we had a YSG 1 Speaker present her much-dreaded Limited Prep.

Lee Xin did a really amazing job by speaking conversationally and confidently! 

Photo by Jonique Chan

Then we had my much-awaited DINNER-BREAK. 

GIF by MyProAna

After our yummy dinner, we came back again to hear thematic religious readings and cultural storytellings from the hardworking YSG 3 Speakers.

First was Speaker Ranen, with a Cultural Storytelling about the Baba Nyonya culture. The story had a twist at the end and was delivered very well! Great job, Ranen!

Then we had Speaker Eunice presenting another Cultural Storytelling about a Jew in China who didn't want an arranged marriage. The story was awesome! Excellent job, Eunice!

Last, but certainly not least, was Speaker Ian with his Thematic Religious Reading about courage. Good Job, Ian!

                                          Bravo to all the speakers who worked hard!!!👏🏻👏🏻

GIF by tenor.co

We closed our late session with a word of prayer and fellowship for the night. Thanks for joining us once again! Hope to see all of you again next time!! 

GIF by The Odyssey Online

Hard and Heart Work

Written by Toh Jern Ling
Edited by Charis Chen
2 April 2017                      

Welcome to today's chapter meeting!

We started off with Speaker Charis leading us with an icebreaker which was a similar to "Simon Says". We were separated into two groups and had to choose a Student Leader to head our team by coming up with a few sets of routines of four actions each, and teaching them to us. After that, each team shared their action routines.

Photo by Ranen Chan

Show-off time!!!!

  Photo by Ranen Chan

Team 1

  Photo by Ranen Chan

Team 2

From the icebreaker, we learned about the core value of innovation and community.

Next up was devotion time led by our Chapter Chair, Speaker Jern Yoong, who shared with us from the Beatitudes the verse, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." He asked us many thought-provoking questions and concluded by challenging us to think pure thoughts.

The word from our Chapter Sponsor, Coach Joseph was next. He started off by thanking the speakers for their HARD and HEART work in preparing for the tournament, and the encouraging and motivating coaches who burned the midnight oil just to give us pep-talks, edit our scripts and for just being there for us Speakers before, during, and after the tournament! Coach Joseph also congratulated Speakers Jern Yoong and Charis for taking up the challenge of accepting the invitation to the United States to participate in the International Tournament!

After thanking and congratulating, he reminded us about the ICC mission, which is, "A global community empowering next generation Christians to influence today's culture." He then shared that as communicators for Christ, we need to learn to speak and state our stands and convictions well enough to make the audience want to know more by asking questions. He then shared an acronym for giving impactful answers to the audiences who may have questions:

P -   Principles
O
E
M -  Metaphors
S

Due to the lack of time, Coach Joseph chose to share only the 'P' and 'M' types of answers for this week. The first letter, P, stands for Principles. A helpful guide for is to base the stand of our answers on principles, rather than dogmatic dos and don'ts. M stands for Metaphors. When the answers seem abstract, one can use a metaphor to illustrate a point. He shared with us about his own experiences using metaphors while conducting training seminars.   

  Photo by Ranen Chan

With the 'P' and 'M' letters, we were fired up to prepare to be ready to give effective and impactful answers to the questions that people might throw at us. Thank you, Coach Joseph! 

Breakout sessions followed- the YCCs and YSGs.

While the YCCers had their fun time learning, the YSGers did summaries of what our CAP speeches were about so that the coaches could ask questions based on our speeches. After our summaries, we broke off into small groups with different coaches who discussed and probed us with questions which people in other communities might have after listening to our speeches.

  Photo by Ranen Chan

Right after that, we had our first Cultural Storytelling Duo, presented by my brother and me. Our story was "Chu Ju's House" The topic was about favoring sons over daughters. We definitely made the audience laugh heartily!!

  Photo by Ranen Chan

Chu Ju! Go at once for the midwife!

  Photo by Ranen Chan

You will have nothing done with the baby girl?

  Photo by Ranen Chan

Talk of another child is foo-vishness!

With that, thank you so much for reading this and till next time, farewell! Adios!

This Week's Highlights

5 March 2017
Written by Jodie Tan
Edited by Charis Chen 

THIS WEEK'S ICC HIGHLIGHTS

AND NEWS!!!

This week, we had a most exciting icebreaker led by Speaker Ranen, called the Salesman Squabble!

I mean, who doesn't like to squabble? I know I do! Hee hee!
The Salesman Squabble is an activity where two people with different jobs try to sell each other ridiculous things, such as a giraffe to an ambulance driver, or a remote control to a fisherman.
The Salesman Squabble is a good activity because it teaches us things such as:

• Projection  

• Persuasiveness 

• Audience Analysis

Through this activity, we learnt about the ICC Core Values of Cultural Communication and Innovation.
After bargaining, persuading, and purchasing during the Salesman Squabble, Speakers Jern Ling, Jern Yoong, and Ian performed a short skit based on the Jesus' parable about the servant who was forgiven his debt but refused to forgive his debtor (Matthew 18:21-35).

Photo by Ranen Chan

Speaker Eunice then used the message of this skit to teach us about mercy. Being merciful is one of the things we can do to become more like God. It is not easy, but we can do it with God's help. Then, she asked us some questions for us to discuss with a partner.

1. Describe a time you showed mercy or were shown mercy.
2. In what situations would you feel it is difficult to show mercy?
3. How would showing mercy change the situation at your workplace or school?

Okay, I'm going to leave you to answer those questions yourself :D

Next, we had a word from our Chapter Sponsor, Coach Joseph! Woohoo! *clapping erupts*

Coach Joseph taught us about the old and the new. Different meanings! I see you're getting puzzled. We learnt that the old meaning of the word passion was "suffering." That is why the movie about Christ's suffering and crucifixion is called, "The Passion." However, passion now has a new meaning, which is to love something very much.

Coach Joseph encouraged us when he said, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions. I am working with champions, because all of you are willing to receive feedback to improve." 

Wow! I'm a CHAMPION!!

Another memorable thing he said was, "When you speak, speak SO clearly and loudly that the audience can hear their own thoughts." 

With that, he showed us a video entitled "Dare to Disagree" by Margaret Heffernan. (Video embedded below.) 

Then it was time for LIMITED PREP!! I know, we ABSOLUTELY love it!

COLD SWEAT!
Emoji by http://ottawacitizen.com

Three of us did our limited prep-- Danelle, Lee Xin and myself. 

Photo by Ranen Chan

Photo by Ranen Chan                                         

Next, our seniors presented their wonderful, knowledgeable, persuasive, computer assisted presentations! TA-DA! GO SENIORS!

 

Here is the list of speeches which our wonderful speakers presented! I’m sure they chose wonderful topics and worked hard on them! 1.  Jern Ling, on Homosexuality 

Photo by Coach Choong Ming

2.  Ian, on Genetic Engineering

Photo by Ranen Chan

3.  Charis, on Dating 

Photo by Coach Choong Ming

Photo by Ian Chan 

          Fun fact: Jern Ling and Lee Xin had birthdays recently, so the speakers signed them cards
          and created a treasure hunt for them to find the cards!

Thanks for reading! That’s all we have for today folks! See you next week!  Your wonderful author, Jodie Tan!

Buddies and Speeches

Written by Charis Chen
Edited by Ranen Chan

1, 2, 3, ROAR!!!

Today’s meeting started with a bang as Speaker Lee Xin led the icebreaker for the very first time! She split us into two teams for a round of Samson and Delilah. We were thrilled to play the game again, as it carried many memories for us-- East Asia events, YSG 2 graduation... the list goes on. But this time, there was a twist! Each team had to elect a leader, who would pick actions for the team during the game. Why? The two teams would face away from each other, and at the count of three, would leap around with their selected action. If a member of the team did the wrong action, the team lost a point! It was a suspenseful game, and we had lots of fun. Through this game, we learnt the importance of collaboration. What an exciting way to do so! But the fun didn’t stop there!

Photo by Coach Choong Ming

"Do you think you have a good memory? Can you tell us what you had for lunch last Monday?"

Photo by Ranen Chan

For our devotions, I led our Chapter in a review of what we had learnt about the Beatitudes and its message. It turns out, our Chapter members have quite a good memory! We talked about how blessing is a description of what someone is, not how they feel. We are blessed because we are in the Kingdom of God. However, this kingdom is neither tangible nor visible to those around us, and that’s why we need our Heavenly Identity Cards! What is this Heavenly Identity Card? It is the way we live our lives. :) In coming to Earth and dying to save our sins, Christ brought us a peace that others might not think of- not physical peace with no wars and conflicts, but the peace of reconciliation with God, and thus citizenship of Heaven.

The devotion was followed by a word from our Sponsor, Coach Joseph, who began his sharing with a shocking statement: "ICC is not about communication." For a moment we were stunned, but he quickly continued, "ICC is not about communication; it’s about conviction." How profound! He went on to share that nothing hurts a parent more than their children succumbing to negative influences and doing things behind their back. 3 John 4 says, "I have no greater joy than to see my children walking in the truth." He ended with a little food for thought: as Communicators for Christ, are we walking in the truth, and do we truly believe what we say?

Coach Choong Ming then taught us a little bit about the P of GOOP-- having respect for property-- by leading us in a pledge to respect and care for the property of our Chapter Sponsor since we use his property as our meeting place.

Photo by Ranen Chan

With that, it was time for... Resurrection time, also known as Practice round 1!

Oh, no, oops! I’ve just been informed that it wasn’t called Resurrection time because we were dead with fright. I apologize for the miscommunication. It was called Resurrection time because many of our YSG 3 speakers ’resurrected’ their YSG 2 scripts to practice for the upcoming tournament! Speaker Ranen resurrected his intriguing ’Cereal Killers,’ Speaker Eunice resurrected ’Two Guaranteed Ways to Kill the Joy of Learning,’ Speaker Jern Yoong resurrected the thought provoking ’Can Blessings be Dangerous?’ Speaker Ian resurrected his well-researched ’Evolution.’ Despite having heard the speeches so many times last year, none of us were bored of listening to them again. In fact, we enjoyed it very much, and to top it off, Speaker Jonique, for her first time, presented to us in her naturally entertaining manner, her YSG 2 Literary Interpretation, ’The True History of Little Golden Hood.’

Last minute prep...

Photos by Ranen Chan

After the hard work, we took a break. Speaker Eunice had an incredibly exciting announcement for us: the implementation of our brand new buddy system, planned by Coach Mei Nee and Speaker Eunice! We are truly delighted and look forward to bonding more with our buddies!

Coach Debra also had another announcement for us! We now have a new Coach in charge of the YCC section-- none other than Coach Lalitha, with Coach Mei Nee as her advisor!

What a lot of changes! We can’t wait to see what the rest of this year holds for us!

We then broke for dinner, during which we spent time with our buddies, combined buddy groups, and played games and answered questions to get to know each other better. It was such an enjoyable time!

After dinner, we gathered back in the living room, where Coach Joseph asked us what it means to be swag or swek. Speaker Jern Yoong enlightened us by explaining how swag is a term used by many young people to mean cool, and that swek is the Malaysianized version of swag.

Having had the definition for our word of the day, we jumped into Practice Round 2. I began with my feeble maiden attempt of a Thematic Religious Reading, but was followed by a line-up of amazing speakers from YSG 1 and YCC! Speakers Jodie and Danelle did their Limited Prep speeches, and despite not being prepared, they spoke with good poise and clarity. Great job! Finally, Speaker Carlson presented his YCC Informative speech about the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables, Lafayette shared with us about the importance of water, and Lee Yuan taught us about what lava is. All of their speeches were both delightful and entertaining, and we look forward to more of those in the future!

Photos by Ranen Chan

With that, we called it a day. Thank you for taking the time to join us on this meeting! Au revoir! See you soon!