And so I decided that TONIGHT is the excellent time, while my memories and ideas are still fresh and they're flowing like streams of waterfall. Strangely, this urge has always come right after I've finished speaking (especially in Toastmaster), giving presentations, meeting important people or whatever extraordinary things that rarely crop up in my constant-and-boring-unless-you-challenge-yourself life.
Let me start with the two events this morning. I met these two important professors (with very different expertise though).
The first one, I met him coincidentally and should I say initials? or full name, ok...let's call this prof Mr. B:P *some of you guys may be able to guess, he's quite a popular one;P*. We accidentally met at the parking lot near MAE's workshop while I was on my way to meet the 2nd Prof. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw him was, "Aaah I know he knows French, what about greeting him in French then..." So I said,"Bonjour Monsieur..comment çava?" (which means "Hello Sir, how are you?") Blablabla....and at the end... I think he said,"Hey, I'm still reading your blog. It's quite interesting." I was ASTOUNDED (my jaw almost dropped when I heard it). I was like,"What?? he reads my blog? seriously?" *I'm flattered* Mhuahuahua...enough with this self-admiring-narcissistic comment. Let's talk about the 2nd important person I met today.
This second person is obviously my FYP supervisor, whom I always "terrorized" these past 6 months. "Sir, how about a meeting this Thursday? What do you think of this model? Am I in the right direction? What are the objectives? etc etc etc..." I shall not *again* bore you with my FYP story.
The reason why I bring him up in this post is because of his comment on my tendency in communicating (especially with him or other ppl that I think are highly respectable). I have so many feedback on my speaking and communicating skills today that I want to record it so badly for my future reference. That's why I'm writing this now ^_^. Bear with me, will you? It was his comment on my tendency to talk to myself a lot. Don't get me wrong, I'm still mentally healthy, I just have this old habit of thinking too much, some ppl call it: being thoughtful:D or maybe in chinese 自言自语(zi yan zi yu = speak one's thoughts aloud, think aloud). It will show up whenever I'm in a midst of deep thoughts or in the middle of understanding something (or in a remorse:P). I wasn't in my best spirit this morning, so this old habit just appear out of the thin air without any notice. He also told me to ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONs. I have always wanted to become a person who can ask the right question at the right time without portraying much ignorance. I always hold back my question 'coz I think TOO much ("I can find the answer if I search more by myself, let's not bother him by asking this silly question"--> said the voice at the back of my mind) OR I couldn't phrase my question OR when I don't know "what I don't know". Are you following my trail of thoughts here?
Never mind...just let me blabber this time. So there are two things in the morning, with the highlights of:
1. Prof B said --> He reads my blog!!!!
2. FYP Prof said --> I talk to myself a lot and that I have to ask the right questions *still wonder how to do it...*
What happened during the rest of the day?
Another equally interesting thing happened this evening. I did my P2 (second speaking project --> organize my speech) in Toastmaster Club....Yay yay yay!!!!!
If you notice the title of this posting, that was my speech title *wink wink, scroll down if you want to know more* :D:D:D. Btw, I got another comment from ppl before the meeting, he said I have this 大姐 feeling/aura (da jie = sisterly aura). He said it was the way I take care of something and maybe the way I talk...*swt*
Yeah, I received so many weird comments today (which I normally don't care much, but being the old self-conscious and thoughtful me. made me think about it too seriously...gossssh!! arrrghh...i don't want this bad habit appears again tomorrow...noooooooo!!!!)
After the meeting, I received bunch of comments, critics and recommendations on my speech. Let's have a review! ^_^
(+) and (-) I have a strong opening but lack of impact at the conclusion.
--> I guess I worried too much about exceeding the time limit that I rushed my conclusion, I also scrapped out my other intro with 6 different languages...which at the end, become one of the recommendations *sigh, a bit of regret for not doing that intro in 6 languages, well it's over now*
(+) I have good use of English
(+) I have clear voice and pronunciation, good voice projection
(+) I have good eye contact --> but there were times that I have to peek at my small note and lost the contact for a while, maybe i didn't rehearse enough?
(-) I deliver the wrong message to the audience by hesitating in a small part of my speech --> I must be more confident next time, I guess this time, I was talking about something that is very dear to me, my real obssession and I somehow was second-guessing my own ability, maybe that's why I appeared not so convincing*sigh again*
(c) I can make more use of the stage (walking around, etc)
(c) I can add in more transition sentences in the conclusion to make a good impact.
(c) I have to notice my hand gestures and use them appropriately in my speech --> shall find out more on this, not exactly sure how.
(c) I might want to pose question when all the audience are silent, not when they're chattering
(c) I need to make a strong conclusion by summarizing the points in main body, use the power of redundancy/repetitive words.
I didn't get the best speaker of the night award but I'd like to rate myself as an 8 out of 10 (i don't wanna be too harsh on myself so let's rate it like that^_^ stressed outT_T)
The following is my script: (which has undergone several vigorous editings --> my writing skill is downgrading...must jiayou!!!)
My Love Affairs and Obsession (With foreign languages)
Have you ever been in love and obsessed with something? Do you have some activities or hobbies that can always rejuvenate your spirit whenever things don’t go your way? Do you have this particular thing that you always do consistently and passionately? …. (Responses from audience)… Good evening fellow toastmasters and guests. This evening, I want to share with all of you about these inexplicable LOVE AFFAIRS and OBSESSION with foreign languages and how I reaped the good benefits of what I’ve sowed.
As most of you might have realized, my mother-tongue is not English. I am Indonesian and all Indonesians speak Bahasa Indonesia as our national language. Since we only have one national language, knowing second or third language is a great advantage. Therefore, I am now challenging myself to learn more than just two or three. My personal obsession is to be fluent in five more languages apart from Bahasa Indonesia, how about you?
Ever since I was seven years old, my parents put me into two language courses, Mandarin and English. My father always said that if you want to understand the world and become global, you must understand English and Mandarin, because they are the two widely spoken languages in the world. At that time, I didn’t really understand the meaning of going global and understanding the world, “Daddy, what are you talking about? These languages are just too difficult. I don’t think I can last for more than two weeks.” That’s what I thought when he first told me to study these languages seriously. But guess what? I was WRONG.
I found that my interest towards learning foreign languages has grown exponentially in the last ten years. I fell completely in love. I think that languages are intricate and fascinating at the same time. Intricate because they are difficult to master and there are so many rules involved, fascinating because there’s beauty and characteristics in each language. Recently, I found out that my ultimate driving force of learning different languages is the desire to understand others, others who don’t speak the same language, and others who don’t have the same culture with me.
I am so grateful that I have obeyed my father’s advice and vision. I am now conversant enough to speak and literate enough to read and write in good English. As for Mandarin, it was not easy to learn it for the first time. I learned Mandarin from the basic: from writing, reading, listening, speaking and even learning how to look for characters in the dictionary. I also learned a lot by watching movies, listening to music and conversing with my teacher. I’ve learned it for more than 10 years and I still think that Mandarin is the number one most difficult language among the other languages that I’m learning now.
I also have several other love affairs with French, Japanese and Korean. The moment I heard that NTU offers these languages as electives, I took the leap and learned them one at a time. Last year was the time for me to reap what I’ve sowed. After I finished my French language level 3, I got a chance to go to France on a summer study program and I couldn’t wait to practice my French. I was astounded by the fact that I could understand a small portion of what they’re saying. Although it was just a small portion of understanding, the feeling I had at that time was indescribable. I was energized and I want to be fluent in every language that I’m learning now. I, personally, think that for you to really master a foreign language, you must have the perseverance, passion and most importantly the flair in languages.
Do you think you have these three qualities? If you do, please take the leap, challenge yourself and start learning other languages. Maybe you will enjoy learning and then falling in love with them too. Just like me. Thank you. Back to you, toastmaster of the evening…: D
Have you ever been in love and obsessed with something? Do you have some activities or hobbies that can always rejuvenate your spirit whenever things don’t go your way? Do you have this particular thing that you always do consistently and passionately? …. (Responses from audience)… Good evening fellow toastmasters and guests. This evening, I want to share with all of you about these inexplicable LOVE AFFAIRS and OBSESSION with foreign languages and how I reaped the good benefits of what I’ve sowed.
As most of you might have realized, my mother-tongue is not English. I am Indonesian and all Indonesians speak Bahasa Indonesia as our national language. Since we only have one national language, knowing second or third language is a great advantage. Therefore, I am now challenging myself to learn more than just two or three. My personal obsession is to be fluent in five more languages apart from Bahasa Indonesia, how about you?
Ever since I was seven years old, my parents put me into two language courses, Mandarin and English. My father always said that if you want to understand the world and become global, you must understand English and Mandarin, because they are the two widely spoken languages in the world. At that time, I didn’t really understand the meaning of going global and understanding the world, “Daddy, what are you talking about? These languages are just too difficult. I don’t think I can last for more than two weeks.” That’s what I thought when he first told me to study these languages seriously. But guess what? I was WRONG.
I found that my interest towards learning foreign languages has grown exponentially in the last ten years. I fell completely in love. I think that languages are intricate and fascinating at the same time. Intricate because they are difficult to master and there are so many rules involved, fascinating because there’s beauty and characteristics in each language. Recently, I found out that my ultimate driving force of learning different languages is the desire to understand others, others who don’t speak the same language, and others who don’t have the same culture with me.
I am so grateful that I have obeyed my father’s advice and vision. I am now conversant enough to speak and literate enough to read and write in good English. As for Mandarin, it was not easy to learn it for the first time. I learned Mandarin from the basic: from writing, reading, listening, speaking and even learning how to look for characters in the dictionary. I also learned a lot by watching movies, listening to music and conversing with my teacher. I’ve learned it for more than 10 years and I still think that Mandarin is the number one most difficult language among the other languages that I’m learning now.
I also have several other love affairs with French, Japanese and Korean. The moment I heard that NTU offers these languages as electives, I took the leap and learned them one at a time. Last year was the time for me to reap what I’ve sowed. After I finished my French language level 3, I got a chance to go to France on a summer study program and I couldn’t wait to practice my French. I was astounded by the fact that I could understand a small portion of what they’re saying. Although it was just a small portion of understanding, the feeling I had at that time was indescribable. I was energized and I want to be fluent in every language that I’m learning now. I, personally, think that for you to really master a foreign language, you must have the perseverance, passion and most importantly the flair in languages.
Do you think you have these three qualities? If you do, please take the leap, challenge yourself and start learning other languages. Maybe you will enjoy learning and then falling in love with them too. Just like me. Thank you. Back to you, toastmaster of the evening…: D
That's all from me today...must wait patiently for other interesting things to come my way!!^_^
Salut!
Bisous (with kisses),
Sien
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