Hello everyone!
Sorry,...I'm not here to do self introduction. I have something to say about the weekly speaker session because I wasn't finished this afternoon.... (I really talk a lot...)
Apparently, we don't have many volunteers to be a speaker. Some say their English isn't good enough yet; some say it takes time to prepare, including collecting materials, making PPT slides, oral practicing/rehearsaling.
Indeed, I have to admit a well-prepared speech can be a time-consuming and brain-storming task, especially when many members in our club expect themselves to bring out the best performance when all eyes are on them. But what I would like to say is, we don't have to follow other people's foot steps, doing different speeches in almost the same form, for example, is PPT always a must? Do we always have to deliver messages with a lot of facts and numbers that people are not aware of?
Maybe not.
I believe the speaker session was meant for sharing our life and knowledge, while the speaker can practice English speaking and the listeners can learn something new as well. Then the topic doesn't always have to be serious or a bit too huge to digest. You can even sit in a couch and tell a good story (gosh I'd love to do that... just like 康熙來了...), or act like a host in a talk show. Find your style that suits you most and makes you relax. All of you must have tons of interesting stories or experiences, jokes, news to share.
Please don't say that you're not good enough or you don't know what you can tell us about. If you say so, the magic's gone. But if you just think for a minute or two, there's always something to say; it'll hit you like magic, and before you know, you're probably vomiting words out (ok that's just a ... um.. well..an exaggeration...).
In the United States, the "Show And Tell" activity is a simple and popular way many elementary school teachers use to train their young generation to deliver a speech. Some teachers still do that in high school. Children are required to bring something they want to talk about in front of the class. Sometimes the teacher will assign a theme for the coming week, and students spend the weekend gathering things and their thoughts together. On Monday, they may spend the whole morning or afternoon class doing Show-And-Tell, having each student come up in front of the class one after another, showing the item they brought and telling the class the stories or details behind.
Show-And-Tell is a very good way for starters, especially when some people think that a 30-minute or 50- minute speech is too big a burden to bear. Hence, I will be asking some people to do 10 to 15-minute short performances. This will be easier and less stressful to build up a mind that is accustomed to delivering a speech. Objections? No? Great~~~ You're all so lovely and I believe we'll have great moments to share.
Oh btw, please don't turn me down when I ask you to do a small talk in the speaker session. Thank you so much!
However, everyone needs practice, right? I truly hope everyone here could practice English and learn something new, just like what you said.
