In the second AWDS Signature series talk, we tackled the fear of public speaking and how to be an effective speaker. The session was held on 25th May 2019 at Violet Oon Satay Bar and Grill in Clarke Quay and was well attended by doctors and dentists. As a result, we welcomed several new AWDS members to our ever- growing community!
Over lunch, we enjoyed tasty Peranakan fare such as chicken satay, ngoh hiang, kueh pie tee and chap chye, amongst other dishes. During the one-and-a-half-hour workshop, our guest speaker, celebrated toastmaster, Ms Maxine Teo, gave us innumerable tips and pointers on “Turning Serious Topics into Compelling Stories”.
Highlights of the workshop included:
- Gaining greater awareness of our strengths and weaknesses in our public speaking skills.
- Learning a simple, yet impactful format to turn serious messages into compelling stories.
- Knowing how to engage the audience, and sustain their attention.
- Building confidence to use visual aids to aid us, not replace us.
Whilst standing in front of an audience and speaking freely may come as second nature to a gifted few; most people cower at the sight of multiple faces watching their every word and move. I for one, often resort to reading off my carefully prepared slides in order to avoid eye contact with the very people I seek to engage – namely during talks for General Practitioners, members of the public or even my fellow sub-speciality colleagues. With Maxine’s guidance, we learnt how to connect with an audience and incorporate personal stories and human emotions into delivering an effective and powerful message.
This was no doubt, in part due to Maxine’s indomitable attitude and at times, plain hilarious personal anecdotes on public speaking. Feedback on the workshop was extremely encouraging with all our attendees remarking how they benefited from the session. One of our new members found Maxine’s tactics so helpful, she even taught her children to apply them when organising their answers in school!
We wish to thank Alcon Singapore for their generosity in supporting our event. All our attendees went home with full bellies and hearts, after an afternoon connecting with old friends, and making new ones.
