Speaking for 300

I'm not a natural at public speaking.

In fact I was this awkward kid, who loved people, but was scared to talk to them.

Fast forward a couple of years, when I got to Sembawang Secondary School,  and I got the chance to be the emcee for our school's official opening. It was a grand event, one attended by our current President, Dr Tony Tan. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise as our guest-of-honour, Dr Tony Tan...," I said in my best speaking-to -important-people's voice. My English teacher was the one who picked me and she'd give me lessons on how to speak. We went into the art and science of it - pauses and intonation - speaking with feeling, with meaning and getting people's attention.

I loved it.

I was still awkward of course. I get nervous in front of a crowd. My voice was trained and if you heard me, you'd never think I was nervous, but one look at my body language you could see I was uncomfortable. Slowly, in Junior College, I sort of grew up, and started to grasp who I was and what I stood for. I became a bit more sure of myself.

Fast forward to last Thursday, when there was a town-hall meeting with the management. It was more of a gathering, with close to 300 employees in attendance and we kicked off the programme with a presentation I prepared. Needless to say it was not very well-rehearsed as I was responsible for other parts of the event. I was busy as hell. Other than scribbling a few words here and there... I really could have done more!

But you know, when the time comes, you've just got to do it! I knew some key ingredients - I had to be myself, have a personality. It's okay to be nervous, I was even comfortable enough to express it. (There was a point where I garbled "memorable" and then corrected myself before asking everyone to excuse me because I was ridiculously nervous.)It's a way of getting the audience to relate. Of course, I used my best voice, the only thing I was most confident of. I interacted with a few key people, taking them by surprise, for which I publicly apologised but it made it more entertaining and engaging. I got a few awkward moments as well (something I've never completely shaken off). For that I'm glad I have a bad memory cos I don't cringe that much when I think back at the entire experience.  The segment was the company's proudest moments and there was rather generous applause most of the time. I'm glad that the audience got it. I'm glad I had a chance to do it because the only way to get better at speaking is by doing it often.

During refreshments I went around and spoke to some familiar faces and I was really touched by their kind words. Needless to say I enjoy hearing good things about myself, but having people from interns to managers expressing similar sentiments about how they enjoyed the presentation really made everything worth it! There were warm smiles and warm handshakes all around. For me it's a huge highlight, a milestone at work and something I'd love to continue doing.

I was only half-joking when I told a colleague that this was a great way to prepare for my next job as a DJ. ;)