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This page contains reports of our public programmes and other exciting events! View specific programmes only: All programmes: The Complete Presenter™: Mastering PowerPoint & Visual Aids
This was the first time we conducted this course. There were 5 participants only - all males! As this was a first attempt, we had much to learn through trial and error, basically in trying to figure out the best course flow. It was good we had a small class for this first session as it allowed us more space to experiment. What eventually transpired was quite different from what was planned, but it worked well. All the participants did their "homework" and brought along their pre-crafted presentations. After presenting it for the first time, the trainer went straight into evaluating their PowerPoint slides. Later, he expounded some general guidelines for creating great slides. As the participants presented, the trainer also helped them with their delivery style. For the second round of presentations, most participants delivered the same but a much improved version of their earlier presentation (they were given time to make changes). They were also taught to make their presentations more exciting by being enthusiastic and using vivid words.
Everyone was happy in the end but now we need to revamp the course flow and the workbook for future use. Hopefully, we will discover the optimal approach after several attempts. Reported by Sandy Tan
This programme was a first-time in 2 ways. It was the first time we organized this course on weekdays (Monday & Tuesday). Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), the response was equally good compared to when we had it on weekends. It was also very interesting that the participants actually arrived at the venue earlier than they did on weekends, despite the heavier traffic. Next, it was the first time that we got "delegated" to a bigger seminar room at Crystal Crown because our usual room was already booked by some other party. In the end, we found that the bigger room was better despite our earlier reservations. 9 participants registered but only 8 made it. 4 were sponsored by their respective employers, 2 paid for themselves, and another 2 were their own bosses. The females were outnumbered this time by 2 to 6. The programme proceeded smoothly. As usual, in the end, everyone could speak with confidence and style. Here are some photos of the participants delivering their speeches:
In any case, I think the most excited person was the trainer himself as the following photos show:
It took us a year to establish the credibility of this programme and we just hope that things will get better and better! Reported by Sandy Tan
It certainly wasn't our best programme of the year, but it was great that we actually conducted it despite having 5 participants only. We kept to our initial plan while the rest of the population were on holiday somewhere...
However, I can't say for sure if it wasn't the best programme from the participants' point of view as each one received much personal attention and coaching. We also managed to cover the syllabus fully. I was pleased with the participants' progress over the 2 days. There was a Philippino among the participants. At first I wasn't quite sure if he would benefit fully from the course as it was tailored to correct the typical pronunciation mistakes made by Malaysian speakers of English. It was interesting to discover that the Philippinos (at least some of them) make roughly the same pronunciation mistakes as we Malaysians do. It turned out that the course was very relevant to our dear participant. We had much fun with the plosive sounds until all the speakers were exhausted puffing out air! English is a difficult language to speak! We even had enough time for a role-playing activity.
As usual, the trainer Azmi Shahrin was excited and passionate about the whole thing. Besides that, Sandy Tan also conducted one of the modules on th, v and z sounds.
This session was definitely worth having and we must have more sessions next year (we had 5 this year). We must find ways to popularize this course. Most people don't understand what it is all about hence the poor response. Hopefully our graduates can also assist to spread the good news. Reported by Sandy Tan
It would be an understatement to say this was a difficult programme to organize! Despite the large number of enquiries, the actual registration was low for a variety of reasons. In fact, there was supposed to be another session for primary school children on 23 & 24 Nov, but due to low numbers I had to combine the 2 sessions for ages 11-16. Anyway, we decided to focus our positive energies on those who actually registered and not on those who didn't. Eventually, we had a good programme and a great time. Here are the 10 cute participants:
As usual, since we had only 2 days to "work on" the participants, some manhandling techniques were necessary:
Other highlights included the debate session and the "graduation ceremony" which was attended by many parents and family members. Each participant gave a speech, after that, certificates and prizes were given away. I was exhausted but felt appreciated when one of the parents openly thanked me (in her speech) for fetching her 3 daughters on both mornings from KL Sentral (their took the train from Putrajaya). It was good to know that my efforts were not wasted. We hope that the response will be better in times to come. Bonus photo:
Reported by Sandy Tan
This was one of the easiest programmes for me as the organizer due to the good response. Besides private individuals, several companies also sent their staff (1 or 2 staff per company) to attend the training. So it was "full house" with 10 participants and for the first time we had to turn down a few who came later. However, only 9 persons made it eventually as one was unwell on the first day of the programme. The most important skill that the participants learned on the first day, as is normally the case, was the use of hand gestures. Participants were taught to hold out their hands when speaking and to let the hands move naturally according to the rhythms of their speech. This made a big difference as the speakers now looked more confident, eager and sincere. They also said they felt more free to express themselves when holding out their hands. One participant commented that he had managed to "solve" his long-standing problem with the use of hands!
The other very obvious improvement was standing still while speaking. In the beginning, many of the participants moved around too much - some shifted their feet, some swayed left and right and so on. But eventually they stopped doing that. Then came the fine tunings in terms of eye contact, vocal variety, correct pronunciation, etc. For group activity, we had a debate with the usual "shouting" and noise making. This was to force particiapants to speak in a loud and clear voice and with emotion. For me personally, I enjoyed a "new" video shown by the trainer. It was a video of our current PM Najib giving a speech. He had great vocal variety and hand gestures! All these videos inspired us to become better speakers ourselves. Perhaps more interesting for the participants were the videos of their "before" and "after". It was encouraging for them to compare (at the end of the programme) how they were at the beginning and at the end of the 2 days of training. Everyone agreed that they looked much better now. Congratulations to all who attended and to the trainer Azmi Shahrin! Reported by Sandy Tan
Kursus ini telah dibuka kepada orang awam buat kali pertama! Walaupun bilangan peserta hanya 6 orang, ia sudah dikira baik memandangkan bulan Raya masih belum tamat! Peserta terdiri daripada 4 perempuan dan 2 lelaki. Selain dianjurkan untuk kali pertama, kami juga menjalankan kursus ini di tempat baru. Antara kelebihan tempat baru ini ialah ia menyediakan bilik-bilik solat yang dikhususkan. Makanan juga mudah didapati. Kami bersarapan pagi di OldTown White Coffee yang berdekatan dan makan tengahari di Restoran Nasi Kandar Ibrahim Maju. Walaupun terdapat beberapa lagi tempat makan yang berdekatan, para peserta memilih untuk menjamah masakan mamak!
Untuk kali ini, semua peserta sedia memiliki serba sedikit pengalaman menyampaikan ucapan di khalayak ramai. Namun, peningkatan yang dicapai sungguh mengkagumkan. Pada akhir hari pertama, para peserta mampu menggunakan gerakan tangan yang menarik serta suara yang lantang, sekaligus menjadikan pidato mereka lebih bertenaga. Pada hari kedua pula, tumpuan diberikan kepada tatapan mata, cara berdiri, kepelbagaian suara dan lain-lain.
Para peserta amat berpuas hati dengan peningkatan masing-masing. Seorang peserta mengatakan bahawa kaedah latihan yang digunakan adalah sangat berkesan walaupun ianya mudah. Para peserta juga seronok mendapat tumpuan peribadi yang lebih dan masa berlatih yang banyak dek bilangan peserta yang agak rendah! Salah seorang peserta juga merupakan ahli Kelab Pidato Perdana Kuala Lumpur. Diharap peserta lain turut mendaftarkan diri sebagai ahli kelab ini agar dapat terus berlatih dan terus maju! Dilaporkan oleh Sandy Tan
We expected this to be our worst-attended programme but it turned out to be te best-attended. We had 12 participants in this session, which was the maximum allowed. This could be due to the huge discounts given to Muslim participants during this fasting month. The other reason was that we had 4 participants from Public Mutual. I got a scare on Day 1 when I arrived because the hotel forgot to set up our room! Luckily, they managed to set it up (though not perfectly) in 15 minutes.
On Day 2, I arrived earlier to check but the room was nicely set up already. However, one particpant fell sick and couldn't attend, so were were left with 11.
My feeling is that the class was a bit too big and we were always running out of time. Next time, I will insist on 10 participants only, though the published maximum is 12. (Initially I insisted on 10, but the last 2 were very keen to attend and were very disappointed when I said "no", so I let them in.) Anyhow, I was pleased with the progress made by each of the participants as I could see their obvious progress and they were happy about it too. Major improvements were made in the area of reducing verbal crutches, speaking louder, hand gestures and stance. The weather was good and I took a walk about the hotel. Hmm... wish I could be lying on the hammock instead of sitting in class!
The hotel also compensated our "uneaten meals" (due to fasting) with buka puasa vouchers. On Sunday, Azmi and I had dinner there. Unfortunately, he rammed into someone's car on the way home and the car was badly damaged! Aaarrgh! Thank God he was unhurt.
In conclusion, I am happy with the programme but sad about the accident which was partly "caused" by it. :( Reported by Sandy Tan
For 5 full days, Azmi Shahrin and Sandy Tan attended the Train The Trainer programme organized by Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB), the body responsible for administering the Human Resources Development Fund in Malaysia.
The training provider which conducted the programme this time round was Brownland HResources Sdn. Bhd. The main trainer was the lively and cheerful Mr. Wong Peng Yam.
16 participants attended this session. Full attendance was compulsory to qualify for the certificate. It was quite tough especially for those who were fasting! But everyone managed to survive. The 5 modules covered were Characteristics of a Competent Trainer, Fundamentals of Adult Learning & Training, Fundamentals of Training Needs Analysis, Designing Training Programmes, and Conducting Training Programmes.
On the final day, each participant had to deliver a 15-minute presentation on a suitable topic. This presentation would count for 50% of the assessment; the other 50% of the marks would come from the written tests. Azmi presented "Exploding Your Way To Better Pronunciation" while Sandy Tan presented "3 + 1 Rules Of Taking Good Photographs". Some thought she was a professional photographer, but actually she was not. For this presentation, Azmi was given a full score of 50 by Mr. Wong while Sandy got 40/50. For the combined score, Azmi got 97.5% and Sandy got 87.5%.
At the end of the programme, everyone was eager to go home but not before exchanging cards and contacts. We are now waiting for our certificates to arrive. With the certs, we shall be one step closer to registering ProSkills Trainers as an approved training provider with PSMB. Lastest update: The certificates were received on 5 October! Reported by Sandy Tan
This was the most smooth sailing programme so far! For the first time ever, we had full registration of 10 participants! And I didn't have to work extra hard to persuade them to sign up. They were more than willing to register because they really wanted to learn. Interestingly, we had 2 students (siblings) join this programme, also for the first time. And despite their being a very small percentage of the population, 2 Singhs joined the class! Despite the large class, we progressed faster than ever through the syllabus! This was probably due to the participants being fast learners for one reason or another. Because of this, we had more time for additional activities which afforded more practice. In one activity, each participant had to name a favourite personality and then give a self-introduction as if they were that personality. In another activity, the participants had to share their craziest ideas of what they would do if they were given $1 billion. It was really funny. Of course, the participants had to speak with correct pronunciation as they made the presentations.
This time round, even I had to get into action when 2 participants were sent to me for one-to-one practice. One of them was later selected as the "most improved" participant which made me quite proud. Basically, I am very happy with this programme. Little stress, great success! Hope this continues... Bonus photos:
Reported by Sandy Tan
Wow! I say "Wow" for 2 reasons. Firstly, despite the herculean effort we put into setting this programme (including distributing flyers), we managed to recruit only 3 college/university students. Secondly, I miraculously managed to convince 4 more persons to join the class at short notice, so we didn't cancel and it turned out to be one of the best sessions we ever had!
It also turned out that the 3 students were soccer fans supporting 3 different clubs. This matter became the subject of some speeches (and counter speeches) which made it all the more fun! Oh yes, we had our first foreign participant. Noel Kituto from Kenya had been wanting to attend our class since March but was unable to due to outstation work assignments. I contacted her and she was very willing to join the students' group. Two other participants were returning graduates who wanted a refresher.
At the end of the programme, Noel commented that the trainer Azmi Shahrin was like a "healer". Throughout the programme, he had gently coached each participant, brought out the best in them, and not let anyone give up. I am sure the rest of the participants felt the same way. In short, I am glad we went ahead with the programme. However, we have to think of more effective means to recruit more participants in this category for future sessions. College and university students are at the threshold of a new chapter in life where they will need public speaking skills like never before! We must reach out to help them! Reported by Sandy Tan
So finally, after a space of nearly 4 months, we have moved the programme back to Crystal Crown Hotel, PJ. It was a lively session with 8 participants from different backgrounds united by the desire to empower their lives through public speaking skills. Two came from outstation - Penang and Kuantan, respectively. One participant was sent by his company to attend the course to prepare for an upcoming major presentation. Another participant was invited to attend to preview the course fo her company. As usual, the participants learned a lot and were transformed by the trainer's magical touch as they went through rounds of practice. For me personally (who had sat through the programme many times), the most exciting part was when the trainer showed some new videos of our local politicians speaking. Yes, Azmi is always full of surprises and new tricks!
At the end of the programme, some of the participants expressed regret at not having attended the programme earlier. However, they were comforted when told that we had started to actively conduct public programmes only in early 2009. So they did not miss very much! As the saying goes, all's well that ends well. I guess it's true for this programme. We are just so glad to have met and impacted the lives of 8 precious fellow human beings. Reported by Sandy Tan
It's hard to believe that this was already the third public session of this programme since its debut in February. Again, there's the feeling of satisfaction and fulfilment upon its completion. This round saw 8 participants - 3 Toastmasters, 2 lady managers, 2 English language lecturers and 1 retiree. We are thankful to Politeknik Merlimau, Melaka for sending the two lecturers albeit at very short notice!
It turned out that two of the participants had attended programmes on English pronuncation before. However, according to them, the courses were quite "academic" and the lessons didn't quite get into their system. Our programme, however, afforded lots of practices and drills to drill the new way of speaking into them. Besides the constancy of a good programme, we also benefitted from the constancy of the excellent trainer Azmi Shahrin who flew back from Kuching late on Friday night. I am really amazed at his enthusiasm because he always gives his best under all circumstances. Whether well-rested or exhausted, and whether we are making a lot of money or just breaking even, he would still give his level best to help the participants. This session was no exception.
All in all, I feel happy about this session and I hope that things will get even better. Bonus photo:
Reported by Sandy Tan
Kursus ini tidak dibuka kepada awam, sebaliknya ia dianjurkan oleh Kelab TM Ibu Pejabat untuk anak-anak kakitangan Telekom. Ia diadakan di Menara Telekom, Jalan Pantai Baharu. Kursus ini telah dihadiri oleh 10 peserta yang terdiri daripada 9 anak warga Telekom dan seorang lagi yang dibawa masuk oleh ProSkills Trainers.
Ini merupakan julung kali kami menggunakan buku kerja yang baru dan nama kursus yang baru iaitu "Bebas Bersuara". Sungguh bertepatan nama ini, kerana para peserta yang pada mulanya tidak berani bersuara telahpun mampu menyuarakan isi hati dengan bebas di hujung kursus. Seperti selalu, ibu bapa telah dijemput menghadiri majlis penamat di mana anak-anak mereka telah masing-masing menyampaikan sebuah pidato. 3 pemenang terpaksa dipilih daripada kalangan 10 pemidato yang hebat. Rata-rata, tiada ibu bapa yang menyesal kerana menghantar anak ke kursus ini!
Setelah selesai semua, kami pun pulang ke rumah dengan perasaan puas. Semoga ada lagi peluang pada masa-masa akan datang untuk mengadakan kursus ini. Dilaporkan oleh Sandy Tan
Last year, when we were drawing up plans for the Dare To Speak™ Public Speaking Programme, we deliberated on whether to have a programme for primary school children. We knew it wouldn't be easy to "handle" these kids. This was proved true in the just-concluded programme which was attended by 7 girls and 2 boys (why so few boys?). On the first morning, the participants were sullen and unresponsive. Some refused to open their mouth and had to be coaxed to speak more and louder. But after the initial hurdle, we had a great time and everyone performed well.
There was more trouble on the second morning when one of the girls cried and one boy got angry and kicked the trainer 3 times and spilled Milo on his (the trainer's) pants! I had to bring the boy to a separate room and use all my psychological powers (i.e. counselling skills) to get him back on track. Thank God that in the end we and the participants managed to pull through and presented a good show to the parents during the "graduation ceremony". Many parents attended and it was a great encouragement to us and to the children.
All in all, do we say it's worth it? I am not so sure... hehe... but at least I am proud that we upgraded the food - first day's lunch at Mama Chops & Papa Grill (Western) and second day's lunch at Rempah Garden (Malay). Bravo for the economy!
Reported by Sandy Tan
One of the most challenging programmes ever! It was initially called off due to the lack of participants but eventually we decided to go ahead anyway. We worked very hard to bring in more participants but most people couldn't make it on those dates. With one week to go, we had only 5 persons registered. That was when we decided to move to a less costly venue. In the end we had 7 participants.
It was a blessing in disguise as we found this very interesting training facility in Damansara Utama. It was just above OldTown White Coffee where we had our meals on both days. No need to worry about food. Free parking on weekends. Moreover, we had the entire place to ourselves. We certainly intend to use that venue again for some of our future programmes!
We had a great time as usual. We were glad we went ahead with the programme. Otherwise we would have missed the wonderful time and the wonderful people.
I think this programme underlined our commitment to our participants to go ahead with the scheduled programme rather than to cancel. This commitment will continue... Reported by Sandy Tan The Right Sound™ English Pronunciation Programme
This session has reminded me of the harsh reality of life - that we are always multitasking and trying to squeeze out time to learn new skills. Nine participants were supposed to attend. One day before the programme, one person had to pull out due to a last-minute business trip. Eight persons made it on the first day. However, in the afternoon, one of them (the only secondary school student) had to attend Add Maths tuition while another had to leave for a prior engagement. On the second day, we were left with 7 participants as one person could not turn up at all due to a last-minute change in her class schedule. Another participant had to come in late and leave early as his children were ill. These interruptions affected the morale of the group in a small way but the situation was well handled by the trainer. In the end, the 7 participants who graduated had achieved something to be proud of. The programme was an eye-opener for all. The dictionary was well used as participants had to check up on the pronunciation of so many words. They saw with their own eyes that they had been speaking the wrong way in all these years! Well, with practice and persistence, it's still possible to relearn and rewire...
So, despite my earlier intention of cancelling all future sessions due to poor response, I guess we will continue for the sake of individuals who are still keen to learn. Reported by Sandy Tan
If I could sum up this programme in a few words, I would say it was simply amazing! It didn't begin so well, though. Five days to the event, I had only 4 participants. After working super hard, we managed to round up another 3. We also got 2 bonus (unexpected) participants out of the blue who just called to sign up. So we had 9 in the end. This time the results were even more amazing. "Soft-spoken" participants with numerous bad habits (when speaking) were transformed into brave souls who could speak their minds with competence and style. The highlight of the programme was the final session where participants were given a selection of topics to deliver a speech on. They could choose to be the leader of a political party, the CEO of a company, a headmaster/mistress, George W. Bush on the eve of the Iraqi invasion or Saddam Hussein on the eve of the same. Well, no one selected the last 2 topics and the trainer had to assign the topics to some participants. We had a good laugh.
The trainer Azmi Shahrin also received "unexpected" praise from one of the participants who had attended many training programmes in the past. He said that Azmi was able to infuse positive energy into the participants by gently coaching them compared to many trainers who made the participants feel disheartened by showing off what they knew. He summed this up with an interesting phrase: "I don't care how much you know until I know how much you care." He also commented that the programme was very effective as participants had a lot of real practice time and the trainer was able to tell them authoritatively step by step what to do. Ok, I better not go on and on or else Azmi's head will grow too big... All in all, like I said earlier, it was simply amazing!! Bonus photos:
Reported by Sandy Tan
With each programme concluded, we reach another milestone. However, I have to say that even programmes with the same "name" can turn out very differently. This is because each group has its unique dynamics. In this latest group, there were a new noisy and boisterous participants and we had to adapt accordingly. For group activity, we had a debate where the proposal was that "women are better leaders than men." The guys were made to propose (support) while the gals had to oppose. What's more, listeners were allowed to cheer or jeer the speaker and throw paper balls at them. In the midst of the excitement, even the quiet ones raised their voices above the noise and braved the paper balls to present their views.
Still, the highlight of the programme was the final session where parents were invited to attend and watch their children deliver a final speech. Some participants spoke about their parents' love and sacrifice for them, and told their parents how much they loved them. It was a touching moment for all.
We were glad that everyone was happy in the end, including the several participants who were not happy at first, being forced by their parents to attend. Eventually, everyone felt it was worthwhile. Reported by Sandy Tan
The debut programme was attended by 8 participants. Many of them travelled long distances to make it - a headmaster from Ipoh, two English language teachers from Seremban and Kuala Kangsar respectively, another participant from Kuantan, and a last minute replacement who happened to be visiting from Sarawak. Being the one who designed the course, I was relieved that the modules turned out to be just nice (not too long or too short). The trainer Azmi Shahrin did a great job at making all the parts fit together. The participants improved a lot in the short time we had. They were amazed that they didn't know they had been speaking English the wrong way for so many years. Well, it's not too late to change! We enjoyed ourselves tremendously.
Actually, the two English language teachers were "spies" who came to check out whether the programme would be beneficial to the students of their respective schools. Given the very positive reviews from them, we look forward to conduct the programme at the two schools in the very near future. The experience gained in this programme will also help us make minor amendments to improve the syllabus. We do hope that Malaysians will realize more and more the importance of this still little-touched subject. Reported by Sandy Tan
The past few months had been a roller-coaster ride for me. In organizing this programme, getting in the participants was the most difficult part. Out of the many who were interested, (only) 9 eventually made it there. However, the positive outcome made the "hardship" worth it. The participants showed dramatic improvement. Initially, they spoke with many speech crutches ("ah", "um") and nearly no hand gestures. At the end of the programme, their speeches were smooth and stylish too! It was almost life-changing and made me feel like I had done something important! One participant told me, "This is what I expected, what I was looking for." I also overheard him tell another participant, "This is better than a motivational course where you get motivated only for awhile. Here you actually learn something."
This programme was also a milestone for the trainer Azmi Shahrin. While he had trained for numerous clients at various venues, this was the first time he had his own programme in a real hotel. Crystal Crown was comfortable and the food was good (only too much food). Yes, we will continue to use that place until we are ready to upgrade again! Reported by Sandy Tan
This was ProSkills Trainers' very own first programme which was open to the public. The programme almost didn't happen as we did not plan for it earlier. We only decided to have it after we received several "enquiries" about such a programme for students. After fixing the dates and making the announcement, unfortunately, several prospective participants could not make it. It also took awhile for the other prospective participants (rather, their parents) to confirm. The most common concern had to do with the composition of participants. "Would my son/daughter fit in and benefit from the programme?" I assured them that each participant would be given personal attention and make progress individually, so there's no need to worry too much what the other participants are like. It took some persuasion and in the end we managed to "round up" 9 participants. An ok number. :) The programme went smoothly. I was personally amazed at the progress made by the participants within such a short time. I shall let the pictures speak for themselves.
Reported by Sandy Tan View specific programmes only: |
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