A Demonstration in Bangkok

After a long trip, I'm back to blogging.

Half of the trip was spent in neighbouring Malaysia and the other half was spent in Thailand - Bangkok specifically.

I haven't been to Bangkok in a long while but my memories of it were of friendly locals, colourful culture and great food.

I wasn't disappointed.

Most of the local stall owners and people I interacted with were friendly and ever-helpful. One particular incident stood out to me: I was attempting to ask how much I needed to pay for some street food (which was delicious, by the way) and the stall owner spoke about as much English as I spoke Thai. So, she demonstrated by taking out the amount of money I needed to pay and showed it to me, all the while chuckling. I paid the amount shown and thanked her.

This incident reminded me that demonstrations can be very effective, even when there is a language barrier. It is, after all, one of the ways we learned about the world around us while growing up.

Thoughts after Reading: Talk Like TED

Written by Carmine Gallo, Talk Like TED is an analysis of the best presentations in the now-famous TED conferences.

The author picked out the common denominators behind what made these presentations so compelling to listen to and categorised them into:

1) Passion

2) Story-telling skills

3) Being conversational with the audience

4) Presenting novelty

5) Jaw-dropping moments

6) Multi-sensory experiences

Having had these experiences, I must say that the author is right on the money with these.

On a personal note, I love a good story and thus I find good story-telling skills particularly compelling. I highly recommend the book. After all, we will each have at least one major presentation in our lives. Why not make it good enough to be featured on TED?

A Quote by Peter Drucker

"Teaching is the only major occupation of man for which we have not yet developed tools that make an average person capable of competence and performance. In teaching we rely on the 'naturals', the ones who somehow know how to teach."

A Diversity of New Projects in the Month of May

I just finished a week-long project at Hwa Chong Institution for one of the Sabbatical Programmes. This one was on Biodiversity.

This was the second time that I have been in Hwa Chong this year. The first was in March for another Sabbatical Programme on Drosophila - fruit flies.

The compound of the school is well-maintained and planted with a large variety of different flora - a very conducive environment for focus on studies. At the moment, it is still undergoing changes and renovations. Due to the size of the school, I can imagine that it will be taking quite a while longer. 

My upcoming projects include a Microbiology course and the rest of a Forensic Science course that started earlier this week.

Biodiversity, microbiology and forensic science - such a diversity of topics in just two weeks. Having had such a busy first quarter, I have experienced the importance of purposefully taking time to rest and I will be mindful of it during this period.

Of course, I'm glad to have the opportunity to refresh my memory and continue to practise my lab skills in these areas. Not only that, I have the chance to continue to hone my delivery and presentation abilities. 

Did I ever mention that I love what I do?