C6 delivered on 090616

Won: the most improved speaker.

Evaluation by Brian:
1. Pause before deliver the speech, to get the ensure that your audience is concentrated on you. At the same time avoid rushing.
2. Maybe change the opening and offer more curiosity.
3. Try to conceal your smile. They are killers when you want to show sadness.

Language:
You don't say "offer companion"; you say "offer companionship."

----Script----

Today I want to tell a story about Paul, one of my best friends, who taught me the importance of offering companion to those that really matter to you in the last week of August, 2006.

August, 2006, in another long, hot summer afternoon, I heard my favorite ring tone ”Por Una Cabeza” (music). I took it, and there came my friend Austin’s voice. “Hey, Paul is dead. You know that?” “Stop kidding. This is not fun at all.” “No, I am serious. He is dead. He passed away this morning. He went to bed then never woke up. Just call his sister to make sure.” Ok, You wanna play. Let’s see. As his sister was my landlady one year ago, sure I had her number. In no time, I started calling. The first. There was no answer. The second, still no. The third, it went through. As I heard her voice on the other end, I knew it was real. She wasn’t crying. Her voice was not sad. It was…desperate. “Hi”; “So it’s real, huh.”; ”I see, when is the funeral?”; “September 1^st, morning, 8 o’clock?”; “I see, I, I’ll be there.”; “I’d love to. No worry. You take care, okay.”; “Yes, good bye, good bye.”

People say that the five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. To me the first stage was that afternoon. I called all the friends we both knew, hoping someone would wake me up from this nightmare. Maybe it’s a practical joke. Maybe by the day I arrived his funeral venue, he would simply jumped out from the coffin and shouted “surprise” with his mischievous smile. I meant that’s exact what he would do: setting up a party with all the details just for a birthday surprise. However, I did not get what I want from others. No. Either they have their days ruined by receiving the news from me, or confirmed the terrible news.

What happened next was even more dramatic 2 days before the funeral, I learned from the weather forecast that the strong typhoon, Bilis, was about to hit Taiwan exactly on his funeral day, September 1^st. When I was watching the forecast on TV, I thought it’s not him that tried to play tricks on us. It’s me that had been dreaming. However, if this was a dream, how could slapping or pinching never wake me up? I called his sister again to confirm if she would postpone the funeral. The answer was negative. Great! Paul. See! You always refuse to be ordinary. Til’ the end, you still make it special. That’s exactly like you!

That night, something happened. To tell the truth, I thought that wasn’t a dream, and I honestly hoped it wasn’t. I woke up and heard the wind and rain storming outside of my window. Paul was sitting on the edge of my bed. I was so happy to see him and shouted “Hey, so after all, you are still alive.” He smiled with profound sorrow, then shook his head. “So it’s real?” I was almost crying as he nodded. “Then will you be happy if I invite more friends to see you off?” He smiled, happily, then vanished. That’s the time that I was finally starting to believe all this. After all, you know, he told me in person.

On the day we met in the physical world again, he did not jump out from the coffin, shouting “surprise”. He was there, calm as always. Starting from that moment, I missed no important occasion of my great friends, as at least as I thought, he told me in person: he would be happy when we friends went and bid him farewell, wished him Godspeed. After all, maybe that’s what we really need in our life: companion from people that really matter to you. Yes, companion from people that really matter to you.

According to the Japanese Manga “One Piece”, the moment that people really pass away is when the world forgets them. In that definition, Paul still lives with me, every single day. Now the speech comes to the end, and I know my audience is going to clap their hands. This round of applause goes to you. Paul. May this round go to you.

To do list

1. Body Shape.
2. Pronunciation.
3. Preparation.

You win not because you are good, but because you pay more time and effort.

Goals

You know your goals.
Find a place that can meet up with them.
Serve your obligation.
Then change if you have to.

Toastmasters and Speaker Roles

June 2nd, 2009. Today I will be the Toastmaster of the meeting.
I was stopped from being toastmaster and the speaker at the same time for the worry of taking too many roles at the same time.
I thought I shuold be the one that knows the best how much I can take.

I mean, what I really want to say is this...
Only people who go to extremes get extreme results.
Extreme results are what I want; extremes are what I will do.

Evaluation Contest and Humorous speech contest

Fact:
1. Contest will be held in October, still 4 full months to go.
2. Haishuo will join both.

To do:
1. Finish a Script with purpose first.
2. Add humor.

Strategies:
1. For the prepared speech, be sure you find your personal speciality. The niche that no one can ever replace.
2. Evaluate every single speech in the following meeting as if you are assigned the job.
3. Evaluate your own speech every time after present it and have your evaluation script present on this blog.
4. Finish related modules and patterns of evaluation.

090522 An Insight

Don't blame on others for not giving you the suggestions and comments that you need.
They have perfect rights to say whatever they would love to.
Don't blame on others for not pointing out your weakness and flaws.
They might do so for your own good.

If you still need others to improve, then you are the one that needs to reflect and repent.
Who grants you the right to rely on others for your improvements?
That will be highly irresponsible.

Haishuo.
Don't be a loser.
Be responsible for yourself.
You don't have the right to show the performance that's not up to your standard.

Remember.
Dream. Responsibility. Reputation.

090522 Evaluation on C5

My C5 was evaluated by Justin Wu.
He made suggestions for better time control, clear message, main-purpose and practice more.

Yes, practice more.
I was really glad that he mentioned that to me after the meeting in private.
But to tell the truth, I would be happier if he blasted that out in his evaluation.

It's true that I didn't really practice that much on my C5.
After getting my script done, I had only practiced for 1.5 hours.
Indeed I had to practice more, and I was surely not satisfied with my performance.

To tell the truth, I had no specific purpose or message to deliver on that speech.
Or, maybe I should put it in this way:
My main purpose is to entertain my audience, and that's just what I really wanna do.
I should be myself. Do what I really want to do.

My C5 was an experiment, and the result was exactly what I expected.
I was wondering if I would still get that many praises and encouragements with poor performance.
The answer was yes, and that's not what it should be.
It was good for my self-esteem and proud, but not good for growth and improvement.

I am looking for a place where people will be devil's advocates to my performance.
I don't need that many encouragements.
That's why the time my pen wagging is always the time people talk about suggestions/improvements.
I should practice more, and show genuine improvements.
Am I good now? I might be.
However, if I do not excel myself, then I am nothing but a loser.
Don't be a loser. Haishuo! Outperform myself!

Am I doing something that even surprises myself?
Don't get up to the stage I you find my answers negative.