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

I judged a Speech Festival a couple of years ago and was stunned by one of the candidate's performances. Not by their brilliance but by their ressemblance to a windmill. The boy in question was reading a serious, calm poem but had matched it with exuberant, dramatic gestures. Gestures will not win you a Speech Festival. At best they are unnecessary and at worst they are a distraction. Focus on the face and the voice and avoid oscillating wildly and you are in with a chance!

Hong Kong is in a temporary state of suspended animation as we wait for the next onslaught from Typhoon Vicente. Rather than the traditional Typhoon pursuits of eating junk food and entering a catatonic state in front of a DVD, how about spending a few minutes looking at our world through the eyes of the Canandian Inuit? I found the following Inuktit word in John Julius Norwich's 2001 book,  A Christmas Cracker . Looking out of my window, it gives a new dimension to the outside world. Tartitartuq : The sea has dark moving patches, or shadows, playing over it; when sky and sea are story, black shadows ripple and play over the chop of the sea. Such a delicate observation; a poem in one word.

I have written three recipe booklets for Singtao newspaper (星島日報) Baking is one of my passions and I had an enormous amount of fun producing the booklets. The first two focused on cooking with children, the third on dinner party food and the next one which will be published tomorrow will have ideas for drinks parties. I can't find a link with public speaking other than one of the most important parts of giving a speech is sharing your passion. If you start from here, no matter how many mistakes you might make, your audience will be carried along by your enthusiasm and will be sympathetic and inspired.

Reciting for an audience is a skill that, once acquired, becomes addictive. The trick is for the reader to disappear, leaving the listeners entranced. One of the classic performance poems has to be "The Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas" which is more commonly known as the "Night Before Christmas". Wikipedia has a fascinating article about the poem's disputed origins but we can all agree that it encapsulates the excitement felt as we immerse ourselves in the Christmas dream. There are many sources of this poem online and I thought that you might find it useful for me to add some reading (reciting) notes so you can enthrall your listeners this Christmas! See my notes in bold ... start quietly but clearly which will cause your listeners to lean in and become part of the story ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nic

"I interviewed a boy yesterday and it was like interviewing a computer; all you had to do was enter the question and an automatic pre-set answer came out! After half an hour, I still had absolutely no idea about what really made the boy tick." (House Master, UK School) As parents, we can see that being selected by one school over another will set our child on very different paths. Behind this poor boy will have been parents who only have his best interests at heart and will have stuffed the poor child so full of "good" answers that he could probably recite them in his sleep. They have unwittingly created a barrier between the delight of their child's personality and skillset and the interviewer. In an interview situation,it is immediately clear and ultimately frustrating when a child is a mouthpiece for parents' ideas. It is your son or daughter who will be joining the school, not you! Resist the temptation to cram them with answers and focus instead i

Wedding presents serve a number of purposes; they demonstrate that you care for the couple, that you want to give them a good start or (if we are being cynical) that you want to use your wealth to impress or even to cement business contacts. If you are short on the cash but long on the love, a poem is a heavenly present that really does keep on giving. Beautifully re-copied on a scroll or frame (depending on your creativity and budget) a poem is always a winner. As an extra gift, you could even offer to recite at the Wedding Breakfast. Last year, we had a fabulous student at Brandon Learning Centre who wanted to practice a poem for his Grandparent's 50th wedding anniverary. I heard later that his Grandmother said that this was the most meaningful gift she had every received. Ideas could include: Sonnets from the Portugese - Elizabeth Barrett Browning Sweetly pretty and has the benefit of being instantly quotable: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to

Brandon Learning Centre is normally a haven of tranquility in the maelstrom of Causeway Bay. Students discuss literature in measured tones, small children give engaging presentations and even science experiments take place in an atmosphere of studious calm. Not this week though. Oh no. Easter revision is upon us and everywhere we see teenagers frantically leafing through files of notes, prep school boys trying to cram vocabulary into over-stuffed heads and teachers desperately printing revision sheets. So how do you avoid being swept into last minute panic? 1: Plan a timetable allocating time to each subject. Work out how much work you have to cover and allocate periods to each block. Make it realistic; look at the time you have allowed and double it! Build in rest periods and any other activities (tennis?) you know that you will do. There is no point creating a work of fiction! 2: "Chunk" your work. Don't try to cover too much in one session. 3: Test yourself aft

Christmas presents and public speaking skills aren't an obvious combination but with a bit of creativity, the link can be made! For your children: encourage "show and tell" by asking children to introduce their new presents to family members. Use questions to develop a framework and help them to expand on the information they are giving. This is a great way to get your children making presentations because their enthusiasm over-rides any fear. For adults: try a "present debate" in which everyone has to give a one minute speech arguing why they have received the ultimate present. After each round, vote for the most popular gift based on the persuasive speech (not your own preferences!) Winner avoids the washing up. Effective public speaking begins with a basic interest in the subject and a desire to communicate. Both of these criteria are answered as you unwrap a fabulous Christmas present and can't wait to tell everyone about it! Happy Christmas...

The art of public speaking was developed by the Ancient Greeks. Speeches were not approached casually but carefully crafted paying strict attention to the rules of rhetoric. Aristotle dedicated an entire book to the topic, imaginatively entitled "Rhetoric." We are so lazy these days that the thought of trawling through classical literature to find inspiration fills most of us with dread. So much easier to buy one of those fabulous airport books with catchy titles promising instant public speaking skills in ten easy lessons, right? Wrong. Why waste your time on pale imitations when you can go direct to the source? I taught presentation skills to a class of fifteen year olds who not only grasped Aristotle's concepts immediately but also identified examples they had encountered. Bear in mind that this was a class of Cantonese speakers who were operating in English. Impressive. Aristotle on credibility: "Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when

We talk about presenting, speaking and performing but do we ever stop to consider the other side of the equation? How about listening? Today I interviewed a 16 year old girl for a place in a UK school. I asked her questions, she responded and I listened. In return, she asked me questions and I responded. Rather than listening, she said "yes" every two minutes. Now, there are many ways to interpret this. If I want to be generous, I could say that this was a way of showing that she was listening (although it is tricky to listen if you are speaking at the same time) Alternatively, I could assume that I was being tedious and she already knew everything I was about to say (also possible) The third interpretation is that she wasn't listening, just waiting for me to stop talking so she could speak again. Irrespective of the interpretation, my impression of her was that she valued her own opinions above mine. Active listening is a skill. You hear, process and respond to comments

I had an interesting experience at Brandon Learning Centre today. We teach presentation skills to children of all ages. One of our policies is that every child who walks through our doors should learn to return the greetings they receive from our staff. Every member of staff tries to acknowledge every child and make them feel valued and we hope that our students learn to return the compliment. Today James (not his real name!) who is seven and has been coming to us for a few months walked through the door. "Hello!" I said. No response. "Hello" I said again. James headed for the bookshelf and ignored me. Rather than ignore the incident, I knelt down next to him and started talking to him about the book he had chosen. He joined in. After a few minutes I said; "James, we still haven't said hello to each other have we? Shall we start again?" "Hello" he said. We had a talk about how it makes people feel better when other people are friendly to th

You are more likely to see starlight over Hong Kong than meet to a natural public speaker.. When we try to see the stars, we are competing with light from buildings, cars and even fireworks. When you try to present, you are competing with years of fear, the belief that you are not really a presenter and even against people you perceive to be "good speakers" So what do you do? If you want to see the stars, you need to block out other light sources. If you want to be a good public speaker, you need to silence the distractions. So to tackle them in turn... 1: The fear. Read back in this blog to find ways of removing the physical effects of nerves. 2: not really a presenter? Record your speech, play it back,listen to it critically and work on the areas you aren't happy with. Play it again, not bad eh? Remember that feeling. 3: Good speakers? Learn from them. You don't leave the house every day expecting a battle do you? You can copy ideas, listen to techniques and even a

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

You are wearing a suit you aren't used to, sitting in a room you've never seen before, being asked personal questions by someone you have never seen in your life. yes indeed, it is.... the interview! How can you make the process less painful? Start with adjusting your worldview. Interviewers aren't trying to weed out the people who don't make the grade; they are trying to find the candidates who excel. School interviews are the beginning of the fun. Having been told by parents that you shouldn't talk about yourself all the time, you find yourself being told to do just that! How can parents help their child adapt? One way is to help them to identify their strengths both inside and outside school. Talk to them about what makes them special, University interviews can be a moment of sheer panic. Calm down. Re-read your personal statement or application essays and remind yourself of why the University has chosen to see you (because you sparkle!) I have interviewed candid