I was tied up with school work but managed to pull off a not-so-perfect (in my opinion) speech for my P3-Get to the Point project yesterday evening. I presented the memorized wrote-it-in-a-not-so-excellent-mood script and I never edited this (can be seen below). I didn't religiously follow it during my speech either. Maybe I should just strive for a point-form preparation, more of an impromptu type perhaps? Hemmm...*thinking*
Anyway, here's my 'defective' FULL script + the EVALUATION I received. This is also for my personal record ^_^. Au revoir!!
Bisous,
Sien2
加油吧！！
Bonne chance!!
がんばってね！！
Finding Your Cup of Tea
As Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a German philosopher and physician once said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” You must love what you’re doing. You must find your cup of tea.
Good evening club president, district officers, fellow toastmasters and guests. Often times we heard people say, “This is NOT my cup of tea. I don’t think I’m in the right course…I want to have another career…I don’t like my job...” Now, how can you find YOUR cup of tea? What is it that you enjoy doing? According to the Dictionary of English Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions, 'cup of tea' is an idiomatic noun which can be defined as "a task, topic, person or object well-suited to a person's experience, taste, or liking"
First of all, let me briefly share with all of you, fellow toastmasters, on how I realized that engineering is not exactly my cup of tea and then the TWO MOST IMPORTANT THINGS that you must know before you start looking for your own cup of tea. It has been one year and five months since I discovered the working life of an engineer through my Industrial Attachment. Although I had a fabulous 22-week attachment and met some extraordinarily nice people, I discovered that my passion and interest are not in Engineering. I did fairly well in my coursework these past three and a half years but I just can’t picture myself working as a professional engineer for the next 25 years. I realized that I want to be recognized as a professional in some other area. This attachment period was a major turning point for me and I had finally understood the TWO IMPORTANT THINGS worth-remembering and I’m about to share them with you in just a second. (Again, searching for the book in my bag, show the audience…) this book has inspired me so much that I started taking my chances, taking control in changing my own direction. After reading this book, I started “owning” my own life.
The first crucial thing to remember is the fact that you have unlimited possibilities out there. You have potentials way beyond what the university can teach you. I’ve heard a story of an engineering graduate that became a successful financial planner later in his life, after spending a comfortable 8 years as a project engineer in a multinational company, a story of an accountancy graduate who started his own restaurant simply because he loves eating good food, a story of an engineering graduate who became a hotel manager in a famous hotel chain, and many other inspiring stories. They have explored a totally different thing merely because they’ve found their cup of tea, regardless of what they study in university. They made those courageous decisions because they love what they’re doing. I strongly encourage you to abandon the limitations that you’ve put to yourself and start exploring.
The second equally important fact is that you can be what you want to be as long as you believe in yourself and you have done your “homework” in finding your cup of tea. Your homework is to discover your values in life, your unique interests, your strengths, your talents, you name it!! You will never realize your extraordinary potentials until you did this homework. This is what we always understand as “a soul-searching activity”. You have to know yourself and don’t let the people around you, not even your parents, friends, boyfriend or girlfriend; make all the decisions for you. You have to take charge, because you are the only one who knows what’s best for yourself. So will you promise me to start doing this homework now? (At your own time…)
After knowing these TWO FACTS; the facts that you have unlimited possibilities and you can be what you want to be, I encourage all of you to look for various possibilities, explore your own interests and strengths and I hope you can eventually find your ‘cup of tea’; be it an activity or a career that you enjoy doing. Don’t let what you study in university; limit your career options and the things that you can do for the rest of your life. You have to own your own life and take that sip from your own unique cup of tea. Thank you. Back to you Toastmaster of the Evening^_^
Rating method:
5 = excellent
4 = above average for the speaker's experience level
3 = satisfactory
2 = could improve
1 = needs attention
a) The general purpose of the speech was clear --> 5
Comments: To inspire people to find their perfect cup of tea in life. Clear!
b) The specific purpose of the speech was clear --> 5
Comments: How to find their cup of tea. Clear!
c) The speech organization supported the speech's specific purpose --> 4
Comments: Link to the beginning, body and conclusion back to your purpose, e.g: This is how you can find your perfect cup of tea.
d) The main points and supporting material contributed to the speech's specific purpose --> 4
Comments: Props were used to reinforce ideas, instead of gining just two points, use the "power of 3" and give the audience 3 points on how to find their perfect cup of tea.
e) The beginning, body and conclusion reinforced the specific purpose --> 4
Comments: Conclusion could be stronger, end with a bang!
f) The speaker achieved the specific the specific purpose --> 3 (T_T)
Comments: Should concentrate on 1 or 2 example of people and tell the audience how did they find their cup of tea, audience can relate better
g) The speaker appeared confident and sincere, with minimal nervousness --> 4
Comments: Confident, convincing, sincere with good use of emotions
h) The speaker didn't rely on notes throughout the speech --> 5
Comments: No notes were used. Good!
What could the speaker have done differently to make the speech more effective?
--> Use the floor space more effectively so that you can incorporate a greater range of audience, same goes for the eye contact, look at every single audience, not just those in the middle. Use the "power of three" for your points.
What did you like about the presentation?
--> The use of props to entice the audience's attention. Confidence portrayed by you. Topic was relevant and audience could relate better well to it. The use of personal experience to endear the audience. It was a warm and entertaining speech.
Some more complements I received ^_^ hehehe...
- I have a good command of English
- Good use of emotions
But I had more problems with:
- Memorizing lines and then lost my eye-contact once in a while, need to learn how to just pause and look at the audience, don't lose eye-contact! Then just continue speaking...
- Explaining my specific purpose
- Ending with a bang???? *still need to learn...*
~~ La Fin ~~
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