Brandon Learning Centre: British Education - process, preparation and practicalities

Tonight is the Brandon Learning Centre Annual Charity Show. We have more than ninety students performing in both English and French. Last minute advice: Make sure that you know where the venue is so you aren't rushing. It is the Duke of Windsor Social Services Building at 15 Hennessy Road. Doors open at 6.45 pm. Wear something which is comfortable for you! Warm up your voice. Take three deep breaths. On the fourth breath, say "ah" as you exhale. Repeat for "ee" and "oh" Look over your words again. Have fun! This is a wonderful opportunity for you to speak in public in front of a crowd of admiring parents and to raise money for Helping Hand's elderly. See you at the show!

Every speech has the potential for disaster; you lose your train of thought, get distracted or (God forbid) fall off the platform. Last week during my annual Cantonese speech opening the Helping Hand Cookie Day, I managed to commit the first two sins but not, fortunately, the third. What do you do when you are standing on a stage in front of an audience and all goes wrong? Option one is to turn and run off the stage with the result that, for the rest of your days, you will remember the moment and cringe. Option two is to make the best of it, catch your breath, aplogise to the audience and carry on. This is the option I chose. Of course I was mortified but I did manage to pick up, apologised for my rotten pronounciation and rounded off my speech with a small shred of dignity intact. Later, I spoke to someone who had been in my audience and hadn't realised that anything had gone wrong. In an ideal world, every speech would be perfect. In the world we live in, this may not b

Every year, I stand on a stage in a shopping mall and give a speech in shocking Cantonese. Why? Not because I want to be a source of general amusement for passing shopppers or because I think that it is fair to inflict my poor language skills on innocent passersby. I do it because I am on the board of Helping Hand (www.helpinghand.org.hk) a charity that looks after the poorest elderly in Hong Kong. And there are two links to this piece. Firstly, public speaking related... When you are speaking in a different language, one thing to bear in mind is that the phrasing you add naturally to pieces in your own tongue may not apply to the second language. You may want to think about getting a native speaker to read your piece to give you the chance to listen to their phrasing and pauses. Even better; get two opinions. Second link: we take and therefore we need to give back. In Hong Kong, the public support for charities is inspiring. If you have enjoyed reading my ideas, please can you do some